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2008
11/8/08
Aloha
State Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
6/5-8/08
World Jiu-Jitsu Championsihps
(BJJ)
(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California)
5/3/08
Hawaiian
Open of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
4/26/08
Elite XC
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
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)
(Carson, CA)
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
Relson Gracie BJJ/Submission Wrestling Touirnament
(BJJ & Suibmission wrestling)
(Ala Moana Hotel ballroom)
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)
2/17/08
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)
|
|
February 2008 News
Part 2
|
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Quote
of the Day
“Sure,
luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is
bad luck.”
Don Shula, American Football Coach
|
Liddell
confident against Shogun
“I'll be glad to show him again why UFC is better than Pride”
Chuck
Liddell is ready for another war against a Brazilian. Mauricio
Shogun Rua will be the sixth Brazuca to cross paths with the
Mohican. On June 14 in London, at UFC 85, the fighter will have
the extremely mission of being the first Brazilian to beat the
fighter who has already defeated the likes of Murilo Bustamante,
Jose Pele, Vitor Belfort, Renato Babalu (twice) and most recently
Wanderlei Silva.
The
former light heavyweight champion is very confident about the
dispute and believes that going past the former Pride fighter,
he will be in line to challenge for the Quinton Rampage Jackson’s
title.
“He's
a good fighter ... had a great career in Pride, and I'll be glad
to show him again why UFC is better than Pride. I have the edge
in the standup game and the wrestling game, too. His submission
game is decent, but I don't think I'll have a problem with his
submission game, either. I didn't think I needed two wins in
a row to get a title shot. But two fights definitely give me
the credibility to get a title shot,” said Liddell, as quoted
by the MMA blog on the Houston Chronicle website Brawlsports.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Kimbo
takes the mantle from Tank
Just
as Tank Abbott made the perfect opponent going into Kimbo Slice's
second sanctioned MMA match, he made an even more perfect "opponent"
once the bell sounded.
Before
a raucous sellout crowd of 7,000 fans on Saturday night at the
Bank United Center in Slice's hometown of Miami, Slice, known
as Kevin Ferguson to his family, knocked Abbott down four times
with punches, with the final knockdown sending Abbott falling
face first on the canvas. The spectacle only lasted 43 seconds.
The
only reason it lasted that long is after the Abbott was put down
the first time, and Slice was pounding him on the ground and
about to finish him, ref Troy Waugh gave him a reprieve because
Slice punched him to the back of the head. It appeared Abbott
figured his work was over as he went to the corner. He came back
out, with his heart no longer into it, and they traded big punches,
with Slice's being harder and more accurate.
The
reality is Abbott is now a 9-14 fighter, and 42 years old. He
collected one more six-figure paycheck because he can talk the
talk, and because once upon a time, when MMA was primitive, Abbott
scored some spectacular knockouts, and made himself famous by
acting like the ultimate street fighter.
Slice,
34, who talked after the fight about Abbott and Mike Tyson being
his fighting idols, will now pick up the mantle that Abbott once
owned.
He's
the guy the masses see as the street fighter, whose fighting
discipline wasn't called jiu jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, judo
or wrestling, but labeled "brawling," which is this
decade's version of the "pit fighter" moniker given
to Abbott by early Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmaker
Art Davie.
Perhaps
the real story was the crowd and their reactions. Slice lit up
the room the way very few MMA fighters in history ever have.
Where he truly ranks as a fighter is a question. He can hit hard,
but that was known in advance. Abbott seemed winded when in the
corner after 19 seconds of action when Waugh was yelling at Slice
for the punch to the back of the head. Abbott showed no head
movement, and was a sitting duck for nearly every punch that
came.
After
the match, announcers Mauro Ranallo, Bill Goldberg and Stephen
Quadros were teasing that Ken Shamrock, who turned 44 last week,
may be Slice's next opponent. Shamrock first has to get past
Robert "Buzz" Berry in a match on March 8 in London's
Wembley Arena.
Slice's
win was the cherry on top of the sundae of fast and brutal knockouts
on Elite XC and Showtime's first major event of the year. Of
the five televised fights, four were knockouts.
Brett
Rogers, a 264-pound heavyweight, upped his record to 8-0 by flattening
former Pride regular James "The Colossus" Thompson,
16-8, in just 2:24 with a combination of punches.
Yves
Edwards, 33-13-1, scored a spectacular looking knockout with
a jumping knee, reminiscent of the Urijah Faber vs. Jeff Curran
finish from Dec. 12. Edwards' opponent, Floridian Edson Berto,
brother of boxer Andre Berto, had him with a single leg, and
with one leg elevated, Edwards jumped up with the other and connected
with a knee to the jaw for a win in 4:56. Berto is now 14-5-1.
Former
UFC fighter Scott Smith, 15-4, connected with a solid right to
the mouth of Kyle Noke, 14-4-1, cold cocking him at seven seconds
of round two. It took Noke some time before he could even sit
up after the punch of the night.
In
the semifinal, Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva may have beaten
former UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez by decision, but it was one
of those wins that probably did him more harm than good. Silva,
talked up as one of the premier heavyweights in the sport, fought
an even fight, at no point looking dominant, in getting a split
decision by scores of 28-29, 30-27 and 29-28. Yahoo! had the
fight for Silva 29-28.
Silva,
10-1, did better with the stand-up, but lost the first round
when he was taken down and ground and pounded. After solidly
winning round two both standing and on the ground, he seemed
to clinch the fight with a takedown right away in the third round.
But after a stand-up in a match the crowd heavily booed, Rodriguez,
27-8 took Silva down and had control in the last 90 seconds of
the fight. If the round was a minute longer, the decision could
have gone the other way.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
To
hunt your demons
Stagnation, lack of motivation, lack of stamina? Nineteen stars
reveal their secrets to exorcize any demons you may come across
during your Jiu-Jitsu career
Some
article ideas come about the same as the demons of an athlete.
It starts with a simple perception, a pop, a seed in the head,
and from there it goes feeding itself, gaining greater proportions
– in the case of this article, it grew to cover six pages.
On
the first occasion the idea was suggested, at a staff meeting,
it was lauded as a winner. Shortly thereafter, however, it got
locked up in a drawer, where it sat until it was remembered when
the first question to Leonardo Vieira was asked, for the Face
to Face section of issue #119: “What was the key to your
breaking through to the next level in Jiu-Jitsu?”
As
unfathomable as the destinies of ideas is the haunting that can
take place in a fighter’s life. A lack of stamina, lack
of motivation, stagnation of progress despite training, injuries,
doubts as to whether Jiu-Jitsu is really your sport. For all
these afflictions, our champions found their cure. Demian Maia,
for example, changed his game and broke out of the pack of promising
athletes when he started teaching private lessons with his teacher
Fabio Gurgel. Between then and now, he became Marcelinho Garcia’s
toughest training partner during his time at Alliance, and now
draws praise beyond a doubt, like that from consecrated black
belts in the audience at ADCC 2007. “To me Demian is a lighter
Roger [Gracie]. He goes pressuring, pressuring, until he smothers
his adversary completely…” Fabio Leopoldo, of Gracie
Barra, commented, from the stands in New Jersey.
So, as Mike Fowler and Rubens Cobrinha both break it down so
well, the thing is to face life like Jiu-Jitsu: if a demon arises,
face it like an opponent of flesh and blood, by giving it your
all and submitting it.
Carlos
Gracie Jr.
“The key moment for the Jiu-Jitsu practitioner is when he
starts to understand the philosophy of the art and the reason
for the movements. Until that point, the student is learning
the techniques but only using them as though he were a robot.
As the knowledge goes on accumulating to the point that the practitioner
finally understands the mechanics of Jiu-Jitsu, then he comes
to get the most out of his apprenticeship. And there is no way
around it, each has his own moment, for some it happens earlier,
others later.”
Rômulo
Barral
“When I started training, I didn’t have enough stamina.
I used a lot of force, got tired, stopped there and couldn’t
take part in the next session. That was when Cristiano Titi,
my first teacher, taught me the key to breaking through: ‘From
now on, whenever you run out of steam, you go right back and
roll for another ten minutes! You may tap out 20 times, but you
have to do it.’ And to this day I’m still doing just
that, except now there is one difference: now, when I get tired,
I go three more, or in other words, thirty minutes. That helps
a lot with the stamina and keeping your head straight.”
Ronaldo
Jacaré
“My breakthrough was to always believe in my training partners,
in my teacher and in myself. Always training a lot – and
resting a lot.”
Pé
de Pano
“I learned from a lot of good folks, but dedication is the
key to breaking through. Every week you win and lose, and when
you lose, feeling down is normal. And when you see someone with
warrior spirit: that is the one that goes back and trains, always
trying to improve.”
Demian
Maia
“I evolved a lot when I helped Fabio Gurgel teach private
lessons. He showed me the reason behind the techniques, the details.
I always study Jiu-Jitsu, its movements, its mechanics and how
to use leverage. All of that teaches me how to become more and
more efficient.
Another breakthrough I find fundamental is to not ever give up
on practicing complete Jiu-Jitsu, as created by Carlos and Helio
Gracie. That means to practice self-defense, besides training
in and out of the gi, without limiting yourself to sports Jiu-Jitsu
training. Of course you can make a priority of the style in which
you compete, but to learn Jiu-Jitsu as a whole helps you to better
understand the basic movements and, as a result, makes you improve.”
Xande
Ribeiro
“I always kept my mind open to the new, even if it wouldn’t
work for me. I understood the position to know how to defend
it. Throughout the years, my game has become more versatile,
I played the closed guard, then the half-guard, omoplata guard,
bull fighter, knee-crosser, and that all was very clear with
each belt I went through. In general, the principle is balance.”
Vítor
Shaolin
“I always valued my stamina. Even when I was technically
inferior to the others, at times I was capable of surprising
someone more experienced at the very end of a sparring session.
With good physical fitness, you never turn down a spar and your
head works a lot better during practice, and during the fight.”
Roberto
Gordo
“I was always ready to learn, even when I would be resting,
watching a good sparring session.”
Roberto
Traven
“It was when I discovered the best way to fight from the
top, when I found the best way to position myself on top, regardless
of the type of guard my opponent was playing (open guard, closed,
half-guard…). And that happened when I was already a black
belt, since until brown I only fought from the bottom. So I adapted
the positions to my body type. For example, I realized that upon
passing the guard using pressure the hip had to always be low
or flat, very near the ground.”
Robert
Drysdale
“A series of factors influenced my evolution in the sport,
like for example my coming to live in Brazil at a crucial time
in my life. At the time, in 2000, there weren’t many competitions
in the USA, so I knew that if I wanted to grow in the sport I
would have to compete frequently. Another moment was when I decided
to take Jiu-Jitsu to the next stage, dealing with physical preparation
and nutrition seriously, which improved my performance. But let’s
go to the breakthrough… Look, I don’t consider myself
a talented guy, but a disciplined one. I can count on my fingers
the number of times I don’t train in a given year. I am
addicted to training, and I have a guilty conscience when I don’t
train. Jiu-Jitsu to me is something fun, but at the same time
I see it as an obligation. I never give myself the option of
training or not. I simply go. Aside from that, I see myself as
my own greatest adversary; I like to think I’m fighting
myself when I compete. I also analyze the positions and my losses
(essential for evolving) frequently, pondering my mistakes and
how to not end up repeating them. Therefore, I spend a large
chunk of the day thinking about the art. I believe that these
factors, combined with the people that made and make up my life,
were the ingredients in my Jiu-Jitsu.”
Mike
Fowler
“The biggest thing that changed my sight on Jiu-Jitsu is
this quote. ‘When you see a problem... fix it!’ That
changed a lot for me! If their grip gives you a problem... get
rid of it.”
Rodrigo
Comprido
“As an athlete, my breakthrough came when I started teaching,
since I started to better understand Jiu-Jitsu.
“As a teacher, the breakthrough came when I started studying
physical education, as I came to understand how to put together
a training program, why things worked, why others didn’t,
the way the techniques from other sports work, notions about
diets, etc., and I adapted that to Jiu-Jitsu. There, I stopped
being the guy that would just copy what others did.
“As a person it was the fight against Roleta, at the 1999
Worlds. I had lost to Paulão in the weight group by an
advantage, and I bugged the guys on the team to let me fight
in the absolute. I started winning my fights, I beat Zé
Mario, and while folks said I would tap to Roleta, the fight
went just as I planned: I knew we both would pull guard, so I
planned the foot lock, and it worked. So the breakthrough was
to believe in myself a lot and come out on top. I was able to
motivate myself and I won, I saw the light.”
Tony
de Souza
“Posture. The most important thing is posture no matter
what sport you are doing, it boils down to everything in MMA,
wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, boxing. I meant it physically, but it also
boils down to discipline. The more constant you are, the better
you will be. It is the way you lead your life that makes you
a better practitioner. And most of all a better person.”
Léo
Santos
“Since I was 17, after losing my father, I saw that my only
way out was to teach Jiu-Jitsu classes to help put food on the
table at home. My breakthrough happened in 2002, when I had already
gotten used to hearing things like: ‘You got your black
belt and retired, huh?’ So, that year I competed in a championship
above my weight group and lost. It was not just a loss, but I
felt I had not even fought, it seemed like I was a white belt
struggling just to survive. That was where I came to the conclusion
I needed to choose between being a teacher and becoming a professional
athlete. That was when, one day, my brother Wagnney proposed
that he would take care of the bills at home, so that I could
train for a year and see if I could make money fighting. So I
went through a year of lots of training, physical preparation,
and when I encountered opportunities, I knew how to take advantage
of them all. The key was the support of my family and the courage
to risk it all for my dream.”
Rubens
Cobrinha Charles
“One of the things I learned in Jiu-Jitsu is to always put
an end to my problems, whether they are on or off the mat. Sometimes
we are doing alright technically, but out of the gym we let problems
accumulate that come back to haunt us. As with Jiu-Jitsu, when
you only think of scoring points, the last thing you expect is
to get stung. That is why my breakthrough is the dedication to
overcoming any obstacle, including normal everyday life ones.”
Hannette
Quadros
“In 2005, I lost a lot of motivation to pursue the career
of fighter in Brazil, making a pittance and coming up against
prejudice. That was when, while stopping in at Carlson’s
old gym, in Copacabana, I got a shot of good spirit from our
friend Luis ‘Manimal’ Carlos. He made me see what being
a black belt in an art like Jiu-Jitsu is worth, and reminded
me how things happen slowly. This lifted my spirits, filled me
with determination, I won the ADCC with a flying armbar and now
I am in the USA, with tons of invitations to do seminars and
plans to establish myself around here, after the Worlds in California.”
Wallid
Ismail
“The Jiu-Jitsu fighter should have posture and lots of desire,
in and out of the ring. A doctor that trains, a politician that
trains, is so much more self-confident and competent. Posture
was my breakthrough, out of the ring. In the ring, what changed
my life was the fight against Eugênio Tadeu, in the Jiu-Jitsu
vs. Luta Livre challenge broadcast on the Globo channel, provoking
an explosion in Jiu-Jitsu’s popularity. Many forget, but
I was the one to take a stand and make the challenge, when luta
livre was threatening to take over the fight market in Rio de
Janeiro.”
Cristiano
Marcello
“Folks don’t even remember, but I once took second
place in the Worlds before teaching here at Chute Boxe, and my
aim was always to try, on bottom or on top, to have an offensive
and aggressive style without forsaking technique, and to think
of scoring only as a stage before finishing. I had my breakthroughs
observing my teachers Royler and Rickson, and I especially tried
to adopt their lifestyle. Two moments that marked me were when
I saw Royler, who was my idol and measuring stick, learning a
position from his brother Rickson. I was stunned, but I saw there
that in Jiu-Jitsu you learn something new every day. The other
episode happened in the days leading up to the Pan-American of
1995, in Santa Monica, California. In front of 50 athletes from
several schools, Rickson started submitting us all one by one,
and always using the same move, the crucifix. He was excited,
and he started submitting everybody again, it took his wife,
Kim, calling him to get him to leave. I realized at that moment
that my path was to be in Jiu-Jitsu, the real Jiu-Jitsu.”
Fabio
Leopoldo
“It was security. Up until purple belt, when I won I always
had a bit of doubt as to whether I was really that good or if
I had one because of a series of factors. At brown and black,
I matured; I went in to fight without caring who was facing me.
I thought like this, ‘he might even be the man, but I’m
going to win.’ Now and again you lose, but by thinking the
other guy has no chance of winning, you gain confidence that
bubbles up inside you.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Monday
Morning Reverie: Why Bother?
When
Eric Esch, better known around these parts as "Butterbean,"
first climbed out of the Toughman Contest and into a legitimate
professional boxing ring, it was more carnival act than pugilistic
mastery. Here was a down-home Southern man who resembled a massive
egg in boxing trunks, yet he was nabbing mainstream headlines
across the continental United States every time he fought.
Butterbean
was spotted on enormous pay-per-view undercards featuring the
likes of Mike Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya, but he never fought
more than four rounds (his 10-round snoozer loss to the antique
Larry Holmes came much later in his career). Boxing diehards
and stubborn columnists refused to acknowledge how important
Butterbean was to the sport and scoffed at his too numerous highlight-reel
knockout wins because they came against washed-up journeymen
and automotive assembly line workers.
Still,
Butterbean's rise to stardom inside the world of professional
boxing was as much a circus sideshow as it was legitimate pugilism.
Though his star eventually faded out over time, he remains arguably
boxing's most prominent and successful caricature of the Sweet
Science.
Enter
Kevin Ferguson, better known around these parts as "Kimbo
Slice."
Like
Butterbean, Kimbo is known primarily by his nickname and can't
be considered a legitimate threat to the upper echelon of his
weight class in his sport. Be that as it may, Kimbo differs from
Esch in that the Bean was never going to get a chance to slug
his way toward a legitimate world title shot. Slice could.
Boxing
versus mixed martial arts is the classic case of apples against
oranges. While he two sports are eerily similar, they are worlds
apart largely because of how contenders land title opportunities.
World-class
judokas have been inserted into title contention almost as soon
as they become professional MMA fighters in Japan based almost
solely on amateur accomplishments and popularity. And had the
bestial Bob Sapp been able to score a dramatic win over Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira, he would have defeated Pride's champion in
what was only his third professional MMA bout.
Ken
Shamrock hadn't done much of anything but take years off of professional
fighting and lose half of his fights when he returned. What did
that get him? A UFC title shot against Tito Ortiz. And in keeping
with the UFC, if Brock Lesnar can nab a win or two over popular
or remotely elite men, he'll probably face "Minotauro"
in hopes of landing the UFC heavyweight crown.
Kimbo,
as flawed a fighter as he may be, is one of the rare blokes in
the sport who possesses that ultra-elusive "it" quality.
He is this generation's Tank Abbott, and it was fitting that
he scorched the original Huntington Beach Bad Boy on Saturday.
Ferguson's EliteXC main event stoppage of one of the most visible
fighters in MMA history clearly put him more firmly on the map.
It
was a classic case of hyped-up tough guy taking out an ancient
former star, and now the Kimbo publicity engine has been fitted
with a super charger. There's no telling where his popularity
will get him. He'll easily bank much more money than 95 percent
of the combatants in the sport, virtually all of which are 10
times the all-around fighter that Kimbo is.
But
regardless of the fact that Ferguson-Abbott was more of a circus
sideshow that capped off an entertaining legitimate night of
MMA on Showtime, the street fighter from Florida is the real
deal, though for the wrong reasons.
Most
hardcore MMA purists' stomachs churn at the notion of a swarming
street toughie with little to no ground knowledge eliciting such
excitement and intrigue. Fans of such veterans as Nate Marquardt,
Jeremy Horn and Anderson Silva assuredly roll their eyes in disgust
over a battle between an over-the-hill Abbott and some dude with
no authentic credibility outside of his YouTube version of Bum
Fights.
As
horrendous as it is for purists the world over, the reality is
that Slice will be nabbing the headlines for quite some time.
First we had Abbott, next was Sapp and now we have Ferguson.
There's
no doubt that he'll be scorched the minute he climbs into a cage
to wage war with someone the ilk of Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia
or Fedor Emelianenko. Once he is exposed as nothing more than
a street fighter with little to no business of even thinking
about fighting the best of the best at heavyweight, his meteoric
rise will fizzle out like every shooting star in the night sky.
However,
unlike Butterbean, Kimbo will probably land a title shot as long
as he keeps winning. He is massive, punches very hard and is
tenacious in the gym. Kimbo also believes he can become a genuine
world champion in MMA and readily admits that he has much to
learn.
The
answer to the question of why bother is simple: money.
Kimbo
will generate tons of money and exposure for himself and for
whomever he chooses to fight for -- in this case, EliteXC. With
his popularity, the real question should be: Why wouldn't they
bother?
It
is a difficult pill to swallow sometimes, the thought of Butterbean
or Tank Abbott or Kimbo Slice somehow becoming one of the best
and having a legitimate belt around his waist. But one thing
is for sure: Kimbo has a much better chance of scoring a monumental
upset than either Abbott or Esch.
I
don't see it ever happening, to be honest. And as farcical as
his "fight" with Tank was, it certainly is enjoyable
to watch Kimbo's professional fighting career unfold before our
very eyes.
Misc.
Debris
I'm anxious to see exactly what will become of UFC co-founder
Bob Meyrowitz's new MMA organization. It sounds like a long shot
that his YAMMA Pit Fighting will be anything more than a one-
or two-show event. But with it trying to bring MMA back to its
roots with as little regulations as the promotion can get away
with, it'll be interesting to see what materializes. Then again,
have you watched some of the old UFCs lately? Sheesh. …
In
keeping with new organizations popping up at every turn, how
great is it that Pride is basically being resurrected? The new
Dream organization will hopefully pick up right where Pride left
off and rekindle the classic rivalry between UFC and Pride. Hopefully,
though, the company doesn't hemorrhage money to the point where
Zuffa buys it and then demolishes everything in sight. We've
already seen that happen. …
It
was good to see Yves Edwards score an explosive knockout of Edson
Berto on the EliteXC card Saturday. Nothing against Berto whatsoever,
but Edwards has always been one of my favorite fighters to interview
and he's had an up-and-down career lately. Hopefully this win,
his third in a row, will launch him back into title contention.
It's difficult to find another fighter as classy as the Bahamian.
…
Is
it just me or did Tank Abbott look down at the canvas to find
a soft spot to land after the final right hand clipped his noggin?
I'm not saying he took a dive, but he clearly wanted to be anywhere
but inside that EliteXC cage. …
It
would be swell if Randy Couture and Zuffa could come to an agreement
soon. I don't care if Couture fights inside the Octagon ever
again; I just want him to fight, period. If it was up to me --
and I don't know every little detail of the lawsuit situation
-- I'd have Couture swallow his pride and come back to the UFC.
If he beats Nogueira to accentuate his status as the legit heavyweight
champion, a fight with Fedor would be all but a lock. But as
long he holds out and fights Zuffa tooth and nail, a Couture-Emelianenko
showdown seems less likely with each passing sunset.
Source: Sherdog |
Shields
vs Fickett
Jake Shields will be fighting Drew Fickett for EliteXC's Welterweight
Championship Belt. The fight will take place at the HP Pavillion
in San Jose, California on March the 29th and will be the co-main
event of the Frank Shamrock/Cung Le, Strikeforce show.
Shields
has already won Championship Belts in Japan's Shooto organization
and was the winner of a grueling GP tournament on the Rumble
On The Rock show. He will now look to be EliteXC's first ever
welterweight champion.
Source: Gracie Fighter |
Quote
of the Day
“Music
is what feelings sound like.”
Source Unknown
|
Fighters'
Club TV is on Tonight!
Channel 52, Tuesdays
at 7:00 PM
Fighters'
Club TV Episode 57 is complete and submitted to Olelo
programming. It will air in our normal timeslot at 7pm Tuesday nights
on February 19 and 26, and March 4 and 11 on Olelo Oahu Oceanic Channel
52.
Episode
57 features:
-highlights
from Gil Yrojo's HAWAII FIGHT LEAGUE w/ interview from Gil,
Dr. Izuka, and Larry Perreira
-interview
from Kai Garcia's Boar's Nest w/ Mario Sperry!
-Technique
of the week: teh MMA HALFGUARD PASS by Mario Sperry
-Rob
Demello's KITV report on ICON's "To HELL and BACK"
Kala vs Baroni
-and
of course, two of your favorite Olelo personalities, Mike Onzuka
and Mark Kurano
Don't
forget to join up on MMA.TV and become part of the most
prestigious MMA forum in Hawaii, THE HAWAII UNDERGROUND! where
you can
talk to us and many other key players in the MMA industry in
Hawaii
including some of the top fighters here and in the world!
Comments,
Questions, and Suggestions to: fctv@onzuka.com
|
MMA
Fastball: "Cro Cop" must return to the UFC
MMA Fastball will be a monthly column here at MMAFighting.com
where hard-hitting opinions on various MMA topics of the month
will be thrown down. So in the spirit of making the column like
a fastball, let’s get it on!
Mirko
"Cro Cop" Filipovic must return to the UFC: Fighting
in DREAM can be nothing more than a tune up for the UFC if he
wants his legacy to be a positive one. Right now, all Cro Cop
has proven is that UFC fighters are better than he is, and no
matter how much impact the Octagon and use of elbows on the ground
may in reality have to do with what happened to him people will
continue to bring up either steroid use or a lack of quality
fighters overseas to explain his poor UFC performance. Is this
fair or just? Especially when it comes to performance enhancing
drugs— which no one has any proof of— absolutely not,
but that doesn’t matter.
In
the world of popular opinion, it’s all about perception.
It’s good to hear that both UFC President Dana White and
Cro Cop believe that he will once again fight in the UFC (perhaps
sooner rather than later). He must win there or the shadow of
his poor efforts in the Octagon will follow him forever no matter
what he does in Japan. And that would be terrible for a fighter
with his skills and courage.
Kimbo
Slice is a serious MMA fighter: Knocking out Tank Abbott and
Bo Cantrell in the first round does not make you an elite MMA
fighter. Neither does training hard with Bas Rutten. But knocking
those two fighters out in dominant fashion and training hard
with Bas Rutten does make you a real MMA fighter.
In
other words, Slice is more than just a spectacle.
Carlos
Condit in the UFC: Knowing that Condit is a good striker and
seeing him submit Brock Larson and Carlo Prater from his back
so easily has people thinking. . . How would he do in the UFC
Welterweight Division against the likes of Georges St. Pierre,
Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, and the gang?
Not
sure, but it would be interesting to find out.
To
the Tim Sylvia haters: Sure, Sylvia lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
in his last match. But up until the moment that he tapped, he
demonstrated his unusual power and strong striking skills against
a guy that has everyone’s respect. Tim Sylvia is a very
good fighter with a tremendous heart.
Said
another way, how many people out there possess the heart and
toughness to want to keep fighting even after their opponent
(Frank Mir way back when) has broken their arm? Not many. Tim
Sylvia deserves people’s respect.
Antonio
Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira is never out of it: Speaking
of heart, as he proved against Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic
long ago and just recently against Tim Sylvia, Nogueira is capable
of coming back from pretty much anything. That kind of toughness
coupled with elite Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills is a deadly combination.
Frank
Mir did MMA a favor: Perception is everything. Sure Brock Lesnar
has a stellar college wrestling background, is inhumanly strong,
and has a great future in this sport. Still, the masses out there
know him as a WWE wrestler.
In
other words, Frank Mir’s victory over him serves to prove
to the masses that just being big and strong—even if that
perception isn’t the reality on Brock Lesnar—doesn’t
cut it in MMA.
Josh
Barnett, Hidehiko Yoshida, and Takanori Gomi competing at Sengoku:
Finally these former PRIDE guys will get to compete again. By
the way, with the layoffs that guys like Barnett, Gomi, and Yoshida
took between fights, can we expect anything other than some rust?
These fighters won't have competed in an MMA event for over a
year when they step up on March 5 at World Victory Road's "Sengoku".
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Carano
too busy for March bout
Athlete has been shooting 'American Gladiator'
MMA
muse Gina Carano told HDNet's Inside MMA hosts Bas Rutten and
Kenny Rice last Friday that she is not sure when she will have
time to fight again. Her last bout took place in September, against
Tonya Evinger at EliteXC, and was her fifth win in five professional
mixed martial arts fights.
The
reason behind her uncertainty is her schedule shooting the American
Gladiator TV series, where she plays Crush. She said she would
like to fight at the March 29 EliteXC/Strikeforce show, but fighting
in March might be impossible, as she will likely be shooting
another season of the TV show. Carano said she wishes to jump
into a fight right after she finishes shooting that season -
which should occur no sooner than April.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Ryan
Gracie: coroner’s report
Black belt was victim of combination of medicinal and recreational
drugs
A
little over two months since the death of Ryan Gracie, on December
15, the first toxicology report on the black belt’s death
was released yesterday by the program Fantastico, on Brazilian
television. According to the program, the document stated that
Ryan’s death was not of natural causes. Listed in the report,
therapeutic doses of the medicines midasolan, alprazolan, prometazina,
clozapina, haloperidol and the fighter had already used intoxicating
substances.
Based on analysis of the report, the authorities will determine
what caused Ryan Gracie’s death. Cardiorespiratory failure
seems to be the most probable cause.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Maeda
turns to amateur MMA with "The Outsider"
Akira
Maeda, the founder of RINGS, has his sights set on promoting
amateur MMA events.
Maeda,
49, will launch the inaugural "The Outsider" event
on March 30 at the Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan. The promotion,
which will utilize HERO's rules, will provide a platform for
fighters anywhere from 16 to 35 years old with no more than three
MMA fights to get noticed.
Maeda
was most recently a supervisor for HERO's, but FEG has phased
out the event to focus on the new DREAM event.
Maeda's
RINGS was one of the early MMA promotions in Japan. The organization
introduced the world to Fedor Emelianenko, who fought on nine
separate occasions for RINGS before debuting with PRIDE at PRIDE
21.
Source: Maxfighting
|
Quote
of the Day
“The
main thing is to care. Care very hard, even if it is only a game
you are playing.”
Billie Jean King, American Tennis Player
|
Fighters'
Club Radio Takes the Day Off!
I know
we all look forward to our weekly fill of MMA talk on the radio
with Pat and Mark, but they are taking the holiday off and will
return next Monday.
Tell
everyone to tune in to AM 1500 from 9:00 to 10:00 am every Monday
morning right after Leahey and Leahey!
|
HAWAIIAN
CHAMPIONSHIP OF BJJ 2008 Team Results!
The full
results should be arriving soon, but here are the team results!
1st Place: Team Relson Gracie 137 points
2nd Place: Longman Jiu-Jitsu 75 points
3rd Place: Brazilian Freestyle 67 points
Congratulations
to all the competitors as well as the staff who had to jump through
flaming hoops to run this tournament when everything seemed to
go wrong one after the other!
|
O2MAA's
Maria Dunn Gets it Done in Wrestling!
O2 Martial
Arts Academy student Maria Dunn won the Oceania Championships
and has qualified for the Olympics!
Oceania Senior Championship
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Oceania Championships in 2008 completed successfully from
8 to 10 February in Canberra, Australia. The fight free competitions
were dominated by Australia, which won 6 of 7 gold medals. The
seventh gold medal was won in the 120kg wrestler Palau. Battled
Greco-Roman, Australia has again demonstrated its superiority,
but on 7 three medals were won by the Pacific Islands, including
Samoa, Palau and Guam. In terms of the struggle of women, introduced
in three categories, it should be noted the performance of the
Australia, Guam and New Zealand. Full results are available on
the following link.
The
seven wrestlers qualified for the Olympics have been determined
by a special commission formed by the Committee of Oceania and
the technical delegate of the FILA, Mr Kim Jong-Ik. They are:
Sandeep
Kumar, Australia, 84kg free fight
Hassan Sashavan, Australia, 74kg free fight
Kyla Bremner, Australia, Women's 48kg fight
Maria Dunn,
Guam, Women's 63kg fight
Elgin Elwais, Palau, fight 55kg Greco-Roman
Florian Skilang Temengil, Palau, 120kg freedom struggle
Faamunu Aele, Samoa, fight 84kg Greco-Roman
World Cup Freestyle wrestling in Vladikavkaz
Monday, February 18, 2008
The World Cup Wrestling Libre 2008 made a stop in Vladikavkaz
(RUS) on 16 and 17 January. The favorite of this edition have
not failed in their reputation. It was the Russian who won the
cup as coveted. She also took first place in the 1st group to
Ukraine and the United States. As for the second group, took
orders Cuba to Uzbekistan and Turkey. Cuba will eventually 2nd
in the overall standings. It was a highly contested competition
and new year will be very interesting to the views of the services
provided.
Source: Fila |
LIDDELL
SIGNS TO FIGHT SHOGUN AT U.K. UFC
Chuck Liddell is set to return to action on June 7 as the former
light heavyweight champion has officially signed to face Mauricio
“Shogun” Rua at an as of yet unofficially announced
event in London, England. Liddell confirmed the fight to MMAWeekly.com
on Saturday evening.
Earlier
this month, MMAWeekly.com reported that Rua had signed a contract
to fight “The Iceman” in May or June, and now Liddell
has confirmed he has accepted the fight and signed the contract,
although he stated the fight would take place June 7 as opposed
to the previously reported June 14 date.
Liddell
is coming off of a win over Rua’s former teammate, Wanderlei
Silva, in December. With a win over “Shogun,” he may
find himself back to No. 1 contender’s status in the 205-pound
division.
After
the purchase of Pride by Zuffa, the owners of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship, there was much anticipation for Rua to make his
debut in the Octagon, but his welcome was short-lived, as Forrest
Griffin submitted him in his first fight in the Octagon.
The
bout between Liddell and Rua is expected to be the main event
on the card. Although no official announcement has been made
by the UFC about the event, welterweight Marcus Davis previously
stated to MMAWeekly.com that he believed he would also be on
the same show in England.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Macaco
changes category
Jiu-Jitsu
black belt, Jorge Patino Macaco told in an exclusive interview
for TATAME about his expectations for the new year, with his
weight and category changing on fight world. “I don’t
have anything already marked. I’m waiting their call, the
promoters from the events, if they need me there I’m at
their disposal”, said Macaco. Expert on fights, the black
belt is confident of 2008 with his category changing.
“Plans
for 2008 are big. I’ve got some contacts for me, I’ll
change to 77kg category because I believe that we need to deal
with high stuff, size, weight and I had always been a strong
and short guy and it hindered me. We’ll work for it. First
we need to eat the edge to eat the filling. I don’t have
any problem on fighting smaller events, that I can go, win and
get a belt, to get on my goal that is Ultimate Fighting, that
I can do a better negotiation with a belt on my waist”,
said Jorge Patino.
Source: Tatame |
ELITE
XC REVIEW: KIMBO KO'S TANK
THE LEGEND CONTINUES... KIMBO KO'S TANK
The
legend of Kimbo Slice continues to grow as the YouTube Internet
sensation continued his emergence in mixed martial arts, knocking
out Tank Abbott in just 43 seconds of the first round of their
heavyweight match-up.
Abbott
charged across the cage to start the fight and worked to take
Kimbo down, but the hometown fighter resisted and unloaded numerous
punches on Tank.
The
fight was stopped for a moment as Abbott went down on the ground.
Kimbo unloaded shots to the back of Tank’s head and the
referee stopped the action to warn the Miami native about the
illegal punches.
After
the restart, Kimbo simply came after Abbott with everything he
had in his stand-up arsenal, hitting shot after shot on Tank,
and landed a huge right hand that put Abbott down on the mat,
face first, ending the fight.
Despite
all the pre-fight build up between the two fighters, Kimbo expressed
his respect for Abbott when the bout was over.
“I
got a lot of respect for Tank,” said Kimbo in his post fight
interview. “I always watched him growing up as a shorty.
This was one of my dream fights along with (Mike) Tyson. To get
in the ring and bang with Tank.”
Commentators
Mauro Renallo and Stephen Quadros discussed the possibility of
Kimbo’s next fight being against Ken Shamrock, who is now
also signed to the EliteXC brand and will make his debut in March
for Cage Rage against Buzz Berry.
Antonio
Silva and Ricco Rodriguez fought a very tough and competitive
fight in the heavyweight division with Silva winning a split
decision over the former UFC champion.
The
first round saw Silva work his stand-up game, using effective
jabs and hooks to keep Rodriguez at bay, but eventually Rodriguez
managed to get the takedown and land his ground and pound attack
to close out the session.
Silva
dominated the second round with an aggressive ground and pound
attack of his own, which opened a cut under Rodriguez’s
eye. The doctor was called into the cage to check the fighter,
and the bout was allowed to continue.
The
third round saw both fighters exchange takedowns with Silva taking
the first half of the round and Rodriguez closing out the five
minutes with his ground attack.
Every
round saw a competitive side from each heavyweight, but in the
end Antonio Silva came out on top in one of his toughest matches
to date and moved him one step closer to possibly contending
for the first ever EliteXC heavyweight championship.
“Gary
Shaw, I want the (heavyweight) belt,” said Silva in his
post fight comments. “I want the belt.”
Scott
Smith debuted with a thunderous knockout over Australian Kyle
Noke in his EliteXC debut, winning in the second round.
In
the first session, Smith struggled with Noke’s reach as
the Aussie used a very effective jab to work his boxing over
on Smith.
The
second round didn’t last long as Smith absolutely unloaded
a right hand that put Noke down. He landed one more shot for
good measure as the referee rushed in to stop the fight declaring
Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith the winner.
Afterwards,
Smith talked about a possible match-up down the road with current
EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler that would likely
promise a slugfest between two tough 185-pound fighters.
Yves
Edwards stole the early part of the show with his highlight reel
knockout of Edson Berto with an unreal jumping knee strike that
brought visions of Edwards’ win over Josh Thomson to mind.
As
the fight began, Berto worked for an early takedown as Edwards
defended. The American Top Team fighter worked out of a guillotine
attempt by Berto and then worked for a kimura of his own. Berto
resisted and eventually the fight was stood back up.
Berto
shot straight back in on Edwards trying for a single leg takedown,
but the Thugjitsu expert pushed his opponent’s head away
to stop the shoot and as the round came towards a close, Edwards
jumped and landed a straight knee strike to Berto’s face,
sending him crashing to the canvas.
After
the fight, Edwards addressed his recent winning streak and impressive
performances giving the bulk of the credit to his training in
Florida with American Top Team.
In
the opening bout of the evening, James “Colossus” Thompson
traveled to fight in America for the first time, but an undefeated
heavyweight prospect named Brett “The Grim” Rogers
welcomed him to the states with a first round knockout.
Thompson
charged across the cage immediately as he usually does, but instead
of trading punches, he worked for a takedown, trying to show
his ground skills.
Rogers
showed his excellent takedown defense and as soon as the fighters
separated, it was the young heavyweight who unloaded with punches
that put Thompson down and out for the night.
Full
Results:
Kimbo
Slice def. Tank Abbott by KO at 0:43, R1
Antonio Silva def. Ricco Rodriguez by split decision, R3
Scott Smith def. Kyle Noke by KO at 0:07, R2
Yves Edwards def. Edson Berto by TKO (referee's stoppage due
to strikes) at 4:56, R1
Brett Rogers def. James Thompson by KO at 2:24, R1
Rafael Feijao def. John Doyle by TKO at 2:17, R1
Yosmany Cabezas def. Jon Kirk by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 0:58, R2
Dave Herman def. Mario Rinaldi by TKO (strikes) at 0:33, R3
Eric Bradley def. Mikey Gomez by Unanimous Decision, R3
Mike Bernhard def. Lorenzo Borgameo by Submission (Triangle Choke)
at 4:11, R2
Moyses Gabin def. Jirka Hlavaty by TKO at 2:32, R1
Source: MMA Weekly |
Wallid
praises Inoki for MMA support
Direct
from a beach at Rio de Janeiro, Wallid Ismail sent a video message
to the Japanese senator Antonio Inoki, congratulating him for
the support to MMA and for his birthday. “I wish all the
best for your birthday. I say thank you for everything you do
for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Thnak you”, said Wallid. To
watch the whole video message, click here.
The
plans for Brazilian MMA are big for Wallid. Carlson Gracie’s
black belt only thinks in doing higher flies. After the great
success at seven editions of Jungle Fight, Ismael wants to create
his new event, the MMA World League, for whole Brazil. “Wallid
today is all for the sport and doesn’t represent any team.
We’ll do the MMAWorld League at Brazil and all over the
world. You can be sure that this sport will change at 2008, I’m
with people can get ready, because this sport will change in
2008. I work for this sport, I don’t do anything more in
my life. It’s time to Brazil explode as soccer”, said
Wallid.
Source: Tatame |
BOETSCH
TALKS HAMILL AND NEW DEAL WITH UFC
Stepping up on short notice is sure to be the calling card for
Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight Tim Boetsch,
who will again stand in for an injured fighter as he takes on
Matt Hamill at UFC Fight Night on April 2 in Broomfield, Colo.
Though
he is replacing Stephan Bonnar, the Pennsylvania-based fighter
is looking forward to having more time to get ready for his return
to the Octagon.
“I’m
trying to figure out what to do with all the time,” said
Boetsch with a laugh about having more time to prepare for this
fight than his last time out.
It
seems UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has the fighter’s number
on speed dial, as this is the second time he will step up for
the promotion and Boetsch is fine with that arrangement.
“I’ll
be ready to fight whenever and wherever they need me,” he
stated. “Somebody gets hurt or drops out, I think my name’s
close to the top of the list of people they want to call.”
His
reward for such a standout performance over David Heath in his
debut, now coupled with his next fight, have yielded the fighter
a new deal with the UFC.
“It’s
looking like after the performance I put on, it’s looking
like a three-fight deal at this point. So you’re going to
be seeing more of me with the UFC.”
While
he looked devastating on his feet in the fight against Heath,
it’s a wrestling background that Boetsch employs. He’s
very happy to take the challenge of facing Matt Hamill, another
strong wrestler, in April.
“I
think it’s going to be a great fight,” Boetsch commented.
“It has the makings of being real exciting. He’s a
decent wrestler, and he’s not afraid to stand in there and
bang, like his fight with (Michael) Bisping. He put on a real
good show. He was getting after it most of the time, and I think
that will be a real good match-up for me.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"If
you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind
of heart trouble."
Bob Hope, 1903-2003, British-American Entertainer
|
HAWAIIAN
CHAMPIONSHIP OF BJJ 2008
Today!
New location
and start time!
When:
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
New location
and start time!
Location:
University of Hawaii Manoa, Athletic Complex, Studio 2 & 4
(upstairs next to the UH Pool)
Event
Schedule:
ALL INFO ON WEBSITE: www.hawaiitriplecrown.com.)
Sunday, February 17, 2008 (Day of Event)
11:45 Kids
Rules Clinic
12:00 am Start of Competition
Medals
for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
Most Technical Competitor Award
Team competition trophy and prizes
Weigh-in: Before his/her first fight, the athlete will check
his/her weight with the GI. There is only one opportunity to
check the weight. If the competitor does not make his/her weight,they
will be immediately disqualified. Please make sure that you are
in the correct weight division. You can not change divisions
,if you do not make your designated division. No changes will
be accepted in the tournament day, no refund.
Weigh-in
will be held in the following manner: Division called up to the
announcement table (i.e. White belt 149-161lbs); Your name will
be called to ensure you are present; Once name is called, you
will be required to step on the scale to weigh-in. Weight of
the Gi will be accounted for to 7lbs.
(Note: These are the same registration guidelines as set forth
by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation/Pan American
Jiu-Jitsu Championships).
Please
review website for more detailed information.
www.hawaiitriplecrown.com
email: david@hawaiitriplecrown.com
Source: David Hattori
|
EliteXC
"Street Certified" Results
Saturday, February 16, 2008
BankUnited Center in Miami, FL
1.
Moyses Gabin (203.75) def. Jirka Hlavaty (210) via TKO (cut)
- R1 (2:32)
2. Lorenzo Borgameo (170) def. Mike Bernhard (169.5) via sub
(triangle) - R2 (4:11)
3. Eric Bradley (169.75) def. Mikey Gomez (170) via unanimous
decision
4. Dave Herman (242.5) def. Mario Rinaldi (260.5) via TKO (strikes)
- R3
5. Yosmany Cabezas (184.25) def. Jon Kirk (183) via sub (RNC)
- R2 (0:58)
6. Rafael Feijao (204.5) def. John Doyle (203.25) via TKO - R1
(2:17)
7. Brett Rogers (264) def. James Thompson (253) via KO - R1 (2:24)
8. Yves Edwards (160) def. Edson Berto (158.25) via KO - R1 (4:56)
9. Scott Smith (184) def. Kyle Noke (184.75) via KO - R2 (0:07)
10. Antonio Silva (259.75) def. Ricco Rodriguez (262.75) via
split decision
11. Kimbo Slice (234) def. Tank Abbott (263) via KO - R1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROUND-BY-ROUND
RESULTS:
265
lbs - James Thompson vs. Brett Rogers
Round
1: Thompson rushes in wanting the takedown. He finally gets it
30 seconds in, but Rogers immediately scrambles up. Thompson
lands a knee to the body and Rogers responds with the same. Thompson
lands an uppercut. They are battling in the clinch. They separate
and Rogers misses a two-punch combo. Thompson goes right back
and scores at a takedown. Rogers gets right back up. Rogers hits
Thompson with a knee to the face. Rogers with left and rights
to knock out Thompson.
Rogers
wins via KO - R1 (2:24)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
160
lbs - Yves Edwards vs. Edson Berto
Round
1: They connect with leg kicks at the same time. Edwards lands
another leg kick. Berto hits back with a punch and a kick. Edwards
moves in with his combo. Berto hits a speedy punch to body and
head followed by a kick. Berto takes Edwards down. Edward sweeps
Berto from halfguard but Berto catches him in a guillotine. Edwards
advances to Berto's halfguard, escapes from the guillotine and
works for the kimura. Edwards stops working for it with 2:09
left in the round. Edwards works punches to the body and head
from Berto's closed guard. Edwards lands a nice elbow with close
to a minute left. Edwards continues to work in body and head
punches. The referee stands them up with 30 seconds left. Berto
lands a leg kick and shoots for the single leg. Edwards uses
his free knee to knockout Berto! He lands two more punches to
a downed Berto before the referee pulls him away.
Edwards
wins via KO - R1 (4:56)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
185
lbs - Scott Smith vs. Kyle Noke
Round
1: Noke attacks Smith with jabs that are missed or blocked. Noke
lands a leg kick. Smith misses an overhand right. Noke hits Smith
with jabs. Noke connects with another leg kick. Smith with very
little offense. Noke continues to attack with jabs. Smith moves
in for left-right punches. Noke lands a leg kick and more jabs.
Smith tries for uppercuts and misses a right. Noke nails Smith
with a jab. Smith finally gets aggressive with ten seconds left.
Noke has a small cut under his left eye.
Round
2: Noke immediately approaches Smith with jabs. Smith hits Noke
with a right cross and Noke is down and out. Smith lands one
more before the referee pulls Smith away.
Smith
wins via KO - R2 (0:07)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
265
lbs - Antonio Silva vs. Ricco Rodriguez
Round
1: They touch gloves. Both men patient with jabs and straights.
They are able to avoid each other's strikes for the most part.
Silva connects with a left and a kick. Rodriguez moves away to
avoid further damage. Rodriguez hits Silva with a flying knee
to the body. Rodriguez takes Silva down with two minutes left.
Rodriguez hits Silva with body punches. Not much action on the
ground.
Round
2: Silva lands a kick to the body. Silva connects with punches.
Rodriguez attempts a superman punch misses. Silva with a kick
that Rodriguez catches and Silva slips out of. Silva lands a
body shot. Rodriguez grabs hold of Silva's right leg. Rodriguez
switches to Silva's other leg. Rodriguez lets go and drops down
for a takedown. Silva steps away. Silva punches Rodriguez, who
is still on the ground. Silva passes to side control and loses
it to a halfguard. Silva drops punches and elbows. Rodriguez
gets full guard with 1:24 left. Silva drops hammerfists. The
referee stands them up with 52 seconds left. Rodriguez says he
can't see out of his left eye. The doctor is called in. The doctor
asks if Rodriguez wants to continue and Rodriguez says yes. The
fight is back on. Rodriguez drops for a takedown and Silva stuffs
it. Silva briefly tries for an anaconda choke. The round ends
with Silva working from Rodriguez's half guard. Silva wins the
second round.
Round
3: Rodriguez lands a leg kick. Silva gets the takedown and lands
Rodriguez's half guard. Silva stands back up and moves into Rodriguez's
closed guard. Silva drops hammerfists. Rodriguez is tiring. The
referee stands them up and they restart at 2:30. Silva with body
kick that Rodriguez catches. Rodriguez throws a high kick that
is blocked. Rodriguez takes Silva down. The fight ends with Rodriguez
slowly working strikes from Silva's defensive guard.
Silva
wins via split decision (29-28 Rodriguez, 30-27 Silva, 29-28
Silva)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
265
lbs - Kimbo Slice vs. Tank Abbott
Round
1: Abbott presses Slice against the cage. Slice drops Abbott
who desperately holds on for a single leg. Slice hits Abbott
several times in the back of head. The referee separates them
to warn Slice. Both men are trading. Slice drops Abbott. Abbott
momentarily tries to take Slice down but stands back up. Abbott
falls once more and gets back up. Slice connects with a right
and a left and Abbott collapses face first.
Slice
wins via KO - R1 (0:43)
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Brazil
wins MMA Athletic Commission
Brazil
is doing a great move to national MMA grow. Inspired at Nevada
Athletic Commission, Wallid Ismail get together with the main
names of the sport in to create the MMA Athletic Commission.
In exclusive interview for site TATAME, Wallid said the main
changes imposed by the Commission. “That’s a non-lucrative
institution, we won’t earn any money, is for the sport.
We’ll put all the events, presidents and teachers that work
for the sport and do something professional for ”, told
Wallid Ismail.
Besides
promoting the grow of the sport, Wallid’s idea, that already
had he support from big names as Rudimar Fedrigo, Bebeo Duarte,
Alessandro Renner “Gaúcho”, Henrique Machado,
Fábio Gurgel, Fernando “Fepa”, Milton Leão,
Luiz Alves, Carlão Barreto, Márcio Keske, Pedro
Gama Filho e Beto Leitão, is to create rules for all Brazilian
events. “We’ll repress non-professional attitudes.
The rules are for all events. Who will take care of it is the
local presidents. That’s something for sport, not for um
event, for all. If one athlete is suspended from one event, he’s
suspended from all”, said Wallid.
The
Commission will also count with the support from the ex-minister
of sports from Rio de Janeiro , Zé Moares, that will be
the president of the MMA Athletic Commission court, the minister
of supreme court of judicature, Luiz Fux, and the national secretary
of high performance sports, Djan Madruga. “We all know the
importance of the sport and they support the MMA because they
know that this sport can give a better condition for the population”,
said Ismail.
The
Carlson Gracie’s black belt also told that the liberation
of polemical blows like elbow, that divides opinions, will be
defined by the event promoters. “The basic rules will be
from Nevada Commission. Who wants to take the elbow can do it.
Can have more rules from Nevada , but not less. We want a professional
sport that takes care from the athlete’s health “.
With
those changing, Wallid’s idea is to organize the sport and
prohibit non-sportive actions. “Fights and confusion can’t
exist in any event. That doesn’t exist. If the athlete does
some confusion, he’ll be punished. If there’s something
in the event that the fighter doesn’t agree, will exist
the court to analyze it. We’ll do anti-doping exam, just
like at the American Athletic Commission”, said. The promoters
that wanted to be part of the Brazilian MMA Athletic Commision
can send an e-mail to wallid@junglefc.com
Source: Tatame
|
Filho-Sonnen,
Marshall-Stann announced for WEC 33
Two titles will be on the line at the next WEC on Versus event
scheduled to take place in Las Vegas on Wednesday, March 26.
Former
PRIDE standout Paulo Filho (16-0) will defend his WEC 185-pound
belt against Team Quest's Chael Sonnen (19-9-1) while Doug Marshall
(7-2) will make his third 205-pound title defense when he takes
on a First Lieutenant of the United States Marine Corps, Brian
Stann (5-0).
Filho-Sonnen
is a rematch from WEC 31 that ended in controversial fashion
when the referee stopped the fight due to a tight armbar by Filho,
which Sonnen claims he didn't tap out to. He did, however, scream
in pain, which was enough for the referee to call an end to the
bout. Sonnen's camp requested a rematch to settle the score and
Filho gladly accepted.
Marshall
is a longtime WEC competitor who has finished his last three
fights. Stann is also riding a hot streak, winning with all five
of his fights by (T)KO in the first round.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
CONDIT
TALKS WEC TITLE AND POSSIBLE UNIFICATION
by Damon Martin
“The Natural Born Killer” Carlos Condit continued his
reign as the World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight champion
by finishing Carlo Prater in the first round on Wednesday night.
The New Mexico native was proud to perform in front of his hometown
crowd and was happy with the victory.
“I’m
still kind of speechless about it,” said Condit about fighting
in front of his hometown fans. “It really hasn’t even
set in for me. Two or three months of really hard training, and
thinking about it constantly, trying to keep my mind off it before
the fight, and now that it’s over and now that it went my
way, I think it’s going to take a second to set in really.”
As
the fight started, it was questioned if Prater would choose to
stand and trade with Condit, who has a reputation as one of the
most dangerous strikers at 170 pounds, but the champion wasn’t
surprised when he went for the takedown.
“He
is really good at throws from the clinch and that’s something
we saw in a lot of his videos, that he can break balance and
trip and sweep very well,” Condit stated. “So, once
we hit the ground, it was plan B.”
Plan
B worked just fine, as Condit was able to apply a fight-ending
guillotine choke just minutes after the takedown and finish the
fight.
“I
draped my body over, maybe looking for a kimura or maybe a switch
to a sit out,” he commented about his positioning. “There’s
a couple different things you can do from there, and he defended
some of that stuff well. But when you defend on your side, sometimes
you can leave your neck open and I just snagged it. He put an
arm in to defend, but I was able to get enough pressure around
his neck to get him to tap.”
After
winning the title by submission, Condit has now finished his
last two opponents in the first round, also by submission, but
the New Mexico native is hoping to one day again show off the
stand-up game that most of his recent opponents have feared.
“I’d
definitely like to have somebody, an opponent who would stand,
so I could exhibit my skills and show people what I can do,”
Condit said. “I’ve been, as well as working on my jiu-jitsu,
I’ve been really trying to perfect a lot of my tools in
my stand-up. So when I get a chance to get somebody like that,
people are going to be very impressed.”
Now
Condit will take a few days off to relax, but then he’ll
head back to the gym and keep his game ready for the next opponent
that will try to pry the welterweight title from around his waist.
Rumors
have surfaced recently that the upcoming welterweight match-up
between Brock Larson and John Alessio will crown the No. 1 contender
for Condit’s title, but having defeated both fighters in
the last year, the incumbent is hoping for new opposition.
“I
haven’t heard much about that. I guess they’re going
to make one of those guys the contender, supposedly,” he
commented. “I kind of wouldn’t be too happy about that.
I think I beat those guys pretty decisively. I know John Alessio
has had a chance to… he’s really worked his way back
up, but I’d kind of like to fight somebody new.”
One
day in the future, Condit would also like to unify titles with
the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder and
that’s a challenge he welcomes at any time.
“I
hope so, that would be an ideal scenario,” he said about
the possibility of unifying the WEC and UFC titles. “I definitely
want to fight some of their (fighters). They have the top welterweights
in the world, and that’s where I want to be, so I’ve
got to fight those guys, right? Hopefully that happens, and I’m
doing my job one fight at a time and see what’s on the horizon.”
For
now, Condit will wait to see who is next to take a shot at his
welterweight title.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MIGUEL
TORRES: A DECADE IN THE MAKING
by Jeff Cain
Newly crowned World Extreme Cagefighting bantamweight champion
Miguel Torres spoke with MMAWeekly.com about his victory over
Chase Beebe and the Jiu-Jitsu transition that forced Beebe to
tap out and relinquish the belt.
"To
be able to be a world champion for the WEC is a real honor for
me," said Torres. "It's been a long ride and I haven't
even hit my peak yet, so for me, it's a real honor."
Heading
into the fight, Torres thought Beebe's strengths would play to
his strengths. "I knew he'd play into my game. I knew he'd
try to strike with me and I knew once I hit him he'd shoot in
on me," Torres told MMAWeekly.com
"Once
we got to the ground I knew he'd be in my world. It's wrestling
vs. Jiu-Jistu, so if a guy has good Jiu-Jitsu and knows how to
strike from the bottom, it's going to work."
Torres
was right, his Jiu-Jitsu defeated the wrestler and the fight
unfolded as he envisioned. It was a transition of submissions
that led to the eventual end of the fight.
"I
started off with an inside kimura lock from the guard. I wrapped
one of his arms up and started cranking on the inside of his
arm, and inside kimura. He started slipping out of that. From
there I switched for an umaplata sweep. When I rolled him over
and tried to control him a little bit, as he tried to get up
back to his knees, he exposed his neck," explained Torres
"I
knew he'd give up his neck when he tried to take me down from
there so I attached the anaconda choke first. I think I tried
jumping two or three times and I couldn't get my legs around
him the right way. Finally, when I did, his neck started slipping
out of the choke so I modified it into a guillotine. I put a
five-finger guillotine on him."
Torres
continued, "I've been working on that, I want to say about
three or four years, that combination, over and over and over
again, so it was second nature."
Miguel
Torres has been competing in MMA for nearly a decade, it's been
a long time coming. With that experience and only one blemish
on his 22 fight professional record, Torres could hold the WEC
bantamweight title for a long time.
"I
think now is my time and I'm going to be here for a while."
The
new WEC bantamweight titleholder told MMAWeekly.com, "I
look at every fight I've ever had and every training session
has been leading up to this moment. Some people say, 'how long
have you been training for this fight, or what have you been
doing to get ready for this fight?' Every experience I've had
in MMA has been getting me ready for this fight. Every experience,
every time I've traveled, every person I've rolled with led to
this experience. I've been training for ten years for this."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Overworked?:
The Potential Impact of Comprehensive Steroid Testing
Underpaid
gets a lot of attention as a buzz word in the MMA industry, but
what about overworked? We may soon find out if the industry's
top stars are currently "overworked," perhaps in addition
to underpaid, thanks to a new comprehensive year round drug testing
program recently announced by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
The news has been met mildly, especially considering that by
all indications it has the potential to dramatically change the
equation not only in the cage, but on the accounting ledger as
well.
There
are a series of important questions to be answered in a "clean"
(ignoring the fact that testing cannot completely stop steroids,
much less HGH) MMA industry, however, none is more important
than those that relate to recovery time. Without steroids, how
many times per year can the industry's top stars fight?
As
a rough case study, consider the number of fights for headliners
of major (i.e. numbered) UFC events in 2006 and 2007. Those 23
fighters (excluding Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie) fought an
average of 2.5 times per year during that period.
Even
ignoring mitigating circumstances (contract status, booking choice,
etc.), if any significant percentage of those fighters are on
steroids and physically need them in order to maintain their
current work load, then 1-2 fights per year may be a more realistic
projection for the average top fighter than the current 2-3.
That
reduced work rate would have significant consequences for the
industry. People pay to see stars. The fewer times any given
star is able to fight, the more stars the industry must develop
to fill the top of the card.
That
only leaves one question left to answer: how many fighters are
using steroids in the "off season?" Dave Meltzer provided
some context in the February 4th editor of The Wrestling Observer
Newsletter. Meltzer wrote:
From
talking with a few athletes since this announcement was made,
the feeling is it is far more significant than most think. Nobody
knows the percentage of MMA fighters who use steroids, but the
number isn't low. According to one person who distributes with
a major camp and named names, the best way I can put those results
is, there were guys, based on looks, guys who you wouldn't think
are using steroids who do during the off-season, guys you would
be sure of who are; and guys who ar name stars who you would
think are or at least might, but wouldn't be sure, who both are
and aren't. The idea everyone is using them so it's a balanced
field that many supporters of steroids in MMA claim is clearly
not the case. But top guys, and mid-level guys are using, because
they know the specific dates they are being tested, which is
the day before or day of their fight. Whether the percentage
of top guys is 25% or 60% (and based on name fighters at the
specific camp in question I'd guess 50% of the name fighters
in the camp isn't far off) who may use at some point during the
year or much of the time except before a known test day, few
if any are on leading up to the fight. But it is still both a
physical and mental issue in the sport, and for those who use,
a pretty significant psychological aspect of their training and
mentality.
For now speculation is the best we can do about how widespread
steroid use is and what the effect of comprehensive testing will
be on the industry. Especially since one significant part of
the equation is yet to be determined, namely, how aggressively
will the NSAC enforce it's new program? The selection guidelines
presented in the memo are vague to say the least and give the
commission total discretion for all intents and purposes.
Regardless
of its final form, in a rapidly evolving industry, comprehensive
drug testing is just the latest in a series of upheavels that
promises an interesting and tumltueous 2008.
Source: MMA Payout/Fight Opinion
|
MMA
FIGHTERS START 2008 CLEAN IN NEVADA
With all of the disappointing drug test results in mixed martial
arts in 2007, and the national spotlight shining on steroid and
human growth hormone use in professional sports, it is now news
when fighters come up clean.
All
of the fighters that were tested for three recent events in Nevada
have returned clean test results.
Fighters
tested at the Jan. 23 UFC Fight Night 12 event were: Mike Swick,
Josh Burkman, Nathan Diaz, Alvin Robinson, Corey Hill, Gray Maynard,
Thiago Tavares, and Patrick Cote.
Fighters
tested at the Feb. 1 Bodog Fight event (with Tuff-N-Uff being
the promoter of record) were: Nick Thompson, John Troyer, Bryan
Humes, Chad George, Seth Baczynski, Angela Magana, Aaron Simpson,
and Sara Schneider.
Fighters
tested at the Feb. 2 UFC 81 event were: Tim Sylvia, Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira, Brock Lesnar, Frank Mir, Nathan Marquardt, Jeremy Horn,
Rob Emerson, Tim Boetsch, Tyson Griffin, Marvin Eastman, Ricardo
Almeida, and Chris Lytle.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
M-1
Global starts reality show
Winner earns right to face Fedor
In
spite of the criticism that Fedor Emelianenko has not been facing
adversaries up to par, the mission to find an opponent able to
withstand the onslaught of the former Pride champion is nothing
easy. Knowing this and taking the opportunity to dive into the
American MMA market, which already has The Ultimate Fighter successfully
promoted by the UFC, the retainer of the rights to the Russian,
M-1 Global, pulled a new reality show from its sleeve.
The
name of the show will be Fighting Fedor and will involve 16 young
heavyweights from a variety of nationalities who will travel
to the headquarters of the Ruassian team, the Red Devils, in
Moscow. The winner of the program will earn the right to challenge
the master of combat sambo and judo black belt, who to many is
the greatest MMA fighter of all times.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
MMA
Legalization Moving Forward in Ontario?
by Scott White
The
Toronto skyline. Photo property of vibranttoronto.com.
The Fight Network’s Mike Russell recently caught up with
Terry Riggs to discuss the topic of sanctioning mixed martial
arts in Ontario. According to the report, Riggs feels the province
will instate professional MMA before amateur and it could be
a reality by the end of the year.
Terry
Riggs, widely regarded as an MMA pioneer instrumental in the
evolution of the sport in Ontario, believes the province is moving
towards professional sanctioning. The long-time trainer and manager
of former UFC welterweight titleholder Carlos Newton said, with
the strides that have been made, MMA sanctioning could be a reality
in Ontario by the end of the year.
“I
think you’ll see professional before amateur,” Riggs
said. “There is movement on both fronts, but I’ll bet
professional [sanctioning] gets here first.”
This
is positive news but one still has to wonder if Ken Hayashi,
chairman of the Ontario Athletic Commission, will allow it. Mixed
martial arts is currently banned under section 83 of the Canadian
Criminal Code.
Section
83:
83.
(1) Everyone who:
(a)
engages as a principal in a prize fight,
(b) advises, encourages, or promotes a prize fight, or
(c) is present at a prize fight as an aid, second, surgeon, umpire,
backer or reporter,
is
guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
(2)
In this section, “prize fight” means an encounter or
fight with fists or hands between two persons who have met for
that purpose by previous arrangement made by them or for them,
but a boxing contest between amateur sportsmen, where the contestants
wear boxing gloves of not less than one hundred and forty grams
each in mass, or any boxing contest held with the permission
or under the authority of an athletic board or commission or
similar body established by or under the authority of the legislature
of a province for the control of sport within the province, shall
be deemed not to be a prize fight.
With
that being said, other provinces such as Quebec, Alberta, Halifax,
Winnipeg, and British Columbia currently host MMA events.
In
a recent interview with the Canadian Press, Hayashi provided
some insight on the situation.
“A
mixed martial event is not a boxing contest,” Hayashi said.
“I
can’t speak for other provinces,” added Hayashi. “If
they want to regulate it, that’s up to them . . . but the
province (Ontario) isn’t going to put regulations in something
that will be deemed under the Criminal Code as illegal. Would
we want to take on that liability and responsibility?”
“I
don’t want people shooting the messenger here. I said if
they had regulations in place, I would regulate it. I have a
martial arts background,” he explained, adding he has studied
martial arts himself for more than 45 years and even taught karate.
It’ll
be interesting to see what type of progress is made after the
UFC hosts its inaugural event in Canada on April 19 at the Bell
Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Both UFC president Dana White and
UFC vice-president Marc Ratner have stated on numerous occasions
that they’re looking to get the sport sanctioned everywhere
including Ontario.
If
MMA is to get sanctioned in Ontario, a UFC event could draw equal,
if not greater attention than UFC 83 currently is in Montreal.
UFC 83 sold more then 13,000 tickets in the first 24 hours of
their UFC Fight Club presale and was the fastest sellout in UFC
history. The event will be host to nearly 22,000 fans surpassing
the previous record of 19,049 set at UFC 68 on March 3, 2007,
at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Two
possible venues in the heart of Toronto are the Air Canada Centre
and the Rogers Centre. The Air Canada Centre has a seating capacity
of nearly 20,000 spectators. Owned by Maple Leafs Sports and
Entertainment, the venue opened February 19, 1999 is currently
home to the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), Toronto Raptors (NBA),
and Toronto Rock (NLL).
Next
you have the Rogers Centre, a venue that has a seating capacity
of nearly 55,000 spectators. The Rogers Centre was opened on
June 5, 1989 and is currently home to the Toronto Blue Jays (MLB),
and Toronto Argonauts (CFL).
If/When
MMA becomes sanctioned in Ontario, keep your eyes open because
the province will become a MMA hotbed.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
"The
art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure much."
William Hazlitt, 1778-1830, English Writer and Literary Critic
|
BREAKING
NEWS CONCERNING THE
HAWAIIAN CHAMPIONSHIP OF BJJ 2008
New location and start time!
I just got off the phone with David Hattori, HCBJJ Coordinator
and he said that due to last minute administrative problems with
the University of Hawaii, the tournament will be held in Studio
2 & 4 of the Athletic Complex instead of Gym 1. It will also
be pushed back so the kids division will start at 12PM instead
of the previously stated 10AM start time.
New location:
University of Hawaii Studio 2 & 4 of the Athletic Complex
(upstairs
next to the UH Pool)
(Not Gym 1)
Kids division will start at 12PM
(NOT 10AM)
Please let everyone know!
|
HAWAIIAN
CHAMPIONSHIP OF BJJ 2008
Tomorrow!
When:
Sunday, February 17th, 2008
Location:
University of Hawaii Manoa, Athletic Complex, Gym #1 (Next to
Klum Gym)
Event
Schedule:
ALL INFO ON WEBSITE: www.hawaiitriplecrown.com.)
Sunday, February 17, 2008 (Day of Event)
9:45 Kids Rules Clinic
10:00 am Start of Competition
Please
see update above for new location and time!
Medals
for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
Most Technical Competitor Award
Team competition trophy and prizes
Weigh-in: Before his/her first fight, the athlete will check
his/her weight with the GI. There is only one opportunity to
check the weight. If the competitor does not make his/her weight,they
will be immediately disqualified. Please make sure that you are
in the correct weight division. You can not change divisions
,if you do not make your designated division. No changes will
be accepted in the tournament day, no refund.
Weigh-in
will be held in the following manner: Division called up to the
announcement table (i.e. White belt 149-161lbs); Your name will
be called to ensure you are present; Once name is called, you
will be required to step on the scale to weigh-in. Weight of
the Gi will be accounted for to 7lbs.
(Note: These are the same registration guidelines as set forth
by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation/Pan American
Jiu-Jitsu Championships).
Please
review website for more detailed information.
www.hawaiitriplecrown.com
email: david@hawaiitriplecrown.com
Source: David Hattori
|
UFC
Fight Night
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, CO
CURRENT
FIGHT CARD:
155
lbs: Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
170 lbs: Karo Parisyan vs. Thiago Alves
205 lbs: Matt Hamill vs. Tim Boetsch
205 lbs: James Irvin vs. Houston Alexander
155 lbs: Marcus Aurelio vs. Spencer Fisher
155 lbs: Gray Maynard vs. Frank Edgar
170 lbs: Josh Neer vs. Din Thomas
155 lbs: Samy Schiavo vs. Clay Guida
170 lbs: Roman Mitichyan vs. George Sotiropoulos
170 lbs: Anthony Johnson vs. Tommy Speer
Source: MMA Fighting
|
KIMBO
LOOKING TO KNOCKOUT TANK
by Jeff Cain
Street fighting legend and Internet sensation Kevin "Kimbo
Slice" Ferguson takes on mixed martial arts' brawling icon
David "Tank" Abbott Saturday, Feb. 16 in the main event
of EliteXC's card from the Bank United Center in Miami, Fla.
Famous
for his parking lot battles and backyard brawls shown on various
websites such as SublimeDirectory.com and YouTube.com, Kevin
Ferguson made his MMA debut in Nov. in EliteXC finishing journeyman
fighter Bo Cantrell in 19 seconds.
“I
feel I have come a long way in a short time in my Street to Elite
transition," Ferguson told the media Wednesday afternoon.
"There is a big difference in just fighting some dude and
what goes on in Mixed Martial Arts."
"Tank"
Abbott made a name for himself on MMA's biggest stage, the Ultimate
Fighting Championship, throughout the 1990's. Known for his devastating
punching power, Abbott's highlight reel includes some of the
most brutal knockouts in MMA history.
“The
only thing I want to do is win, but the main thing is I want
to break something along the way – a chin or jaw, rib, arm,
some skin, anything," commented Ferguson.
“For
sure, though, someone is going down and maybe getting knocked
out, and that someone is not going to be me.’’
EliteXC
broadcaster and fight analyst "The Fight Professor"
Stephen Quadros spoke with MMAWeekly.com about the match up.
"Kimbo is quite the phenomenon. He's very focused. I've
spoken to Bas Rutten and I've spoken to everyone around him in
training, he's a great student."
"This
match is such a perfect match for Kimbo. The question is will
Tank train? There's the huge if factor. If Tank trains, then
Tank is going to be dangerous. If Tank doesn't, he's buying into
his own legacy of getting off the bar stool and walking into
the fight like he's done so many times and he probably isn't
going to win this fight because Kimbo will come out there and
he will be slicing and dicing."
Quadros
continued, "If Tank trains and takes this fight seriously,
this could be a pick em affair. Kimbo has been dangerous against
people that we've never heard of before. Bo Cantrell didn't really
offer any resistance."
"Kimbo's
really got to be aggressive in this fight. He can't hang back.
If he hangs back, he's going to give Tank Abbott and chance to
do what he did against Wesley 'Cabbage' Corriera. Tank landed
a bomb and it was over. Kimbo can't decide to test his chin to
Tank Abbott's punch. Nobody can. Tank is one of the all time
hardest hitters in the short history of our game. I think if
Tank is in shape this is going to be a competitive fight and
it's going to possibly be a violent fight as well."
FIGHT
CARD:
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Dave
Herman vs. Mario Rinaldi
-John Doyle vs. Rafael Feijao
-Jon Kirk vs. Yosmany Cabezas
-Eric Bradley vs. Mikey Gomez
-Lorenzo Borgameo vs. Mike Bernhard
Main
Card Bouts:
-Kevin
"Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs. David "Tank" Abbott
-Antonio Silva vs. Ricco Rodriguez
-Yves Edwards vs. Edson Berto
-James Thompson vs. Brett Rogers
-Kyle Noke vs. Scott Smith
Main
card airs live on Showtime on Saturday, February 16 at 10 PM
EST and tape delayed on the West Coast at 10 PM PST.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Zyen,
Zuffa Prevail on Separate Motions in Xyience Bankruptcy Proceeding
by Adam Swift
The
Xyience bankruptcy proceedings continued Tuesday in U.S. bankruptcy
court in Las Vegas. Judge Mike K. Nakagawa gave final approval
to an additional $2.6 million loan from Zyen, a Fertitta controlled
company, and a licensing agreement with Zuffa, parent company
of the UFC.
Proceeds
from the loan will be used to fund the company as it seeks a
potential buyer, while the licensing agreement allows the UFC
trademark to continue to appear on Xyience products. The agreement
was allegedly worth $8 million in revenue to Xyience, according
to filings with the court.
Judge
Nakagawa acknowledged that the Fertitta-controlled companies
drove "hard bargains," according to a report in the
Las Vegas Review-Journal, but he believed Xyience would be forced
to shut down without the agreements. Attorneys for the unsecured
creditors opposing the loan characterized the transaction as
a "lend to own" strategy on the part of the Fertittas,
reported the Review-Journal.
According
to the filings in the case, the original $12 million note was
repayable in one year with a 15-percent interest rate and was
collateralized by all of Xyience's assets. The terms also allegedly
included warrants for 10 percent of capitalization of the company
at one cent per share and 50 percent of the company's equity
if Xyience failed to repay.
The
ruling seemed to clear the way for Xyience's creditors, chiefly
Zyen, in the bankruptcy proceeding. Unless a buyer is found,
Zyen stands in position to assume ownership of the reorganized
company as the largest secured creditor.
The
ruling was a setback for the shareholder group, which is contesting
the Zyen financing arrangement in the bankruptcy proceeding as
well as a separate civil complaint against Xyience, its former
officers, Adam Frank and Kirk Sanford, and Key Management in
Nevada district court.
The
Review-Journal reported that Xyience's attorney told the court
that a potential buyer was sitting in the courtroom. When asked,
Xyience President Omar Sattar declined to identify the buyer.
However, multiple shareholders have suggested that the Fertittas
will purchase Xyience.
"We're
excited. We're optimistic. The process has gone well," Sattar
told the Review-Journal. "We think we can continue to build
the brand going forward."
Adam
Swift is the Editor of MMAPayout.com and a frequent contributor
to Sherdog.com.
Source: Sherdog
|
BODOG
FIGHT LIVES ON IN RUSSIA
Billionaire Calvin Ayre appears ready to continue his MMA venture
in Russia. The fledgling promotion will promote a show at the
Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday,
April 19.
The
event will reportedly follow the “Russia vs. the World”
theme first popularized by Mix Fighting Championships. In the
main event, Ibragim Mogomedov (18-5-1) will square off with 400-pound
Brazilian behemoth Wagner “Zuluzinho” da Conceicao
Martins (4-3). In other action, veteran Andrei Semenov (27-9-2)
will meet Michal Materla (11-3), and Daniel Tabera (8-0-2) will
collide with MMA newcomer Stanislaw Shusko.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Mixed
Martial Arts and Marijuana: Some Answers
By Luke Thomas
Here
are some answers to questions about state athletic commission
testing for marijuana in our sport of mixed martial arts.
I
will answer directly based on questions or arguments presented
to me. Here goes, and thank you for being patient.
1.
Look Luke, I am not saying I agree with marijuana laws (I am
all for legalization) nor do I expect the athletic commssion
to act as an extended judicial branch, what I was stating is
that the athletic commission's hands are tied on this one. Under
american law marijuana is an illegal drug (prescription is for
terminally ill patients, not joe blow off the street, two totally
different scenarios), and as such those who use it "recreationally"
are subjected themselves to be punishable by law, same as those
who are "jaywalking, cheating on taxes, hitting and running,
assault and battery, drinking under age, drinking and driving,
doctor shopping for prescription pills". Athletic commissions,
being branches of the government, must too follow the laws of
the land and penalize fighters who happen to break these laws.
No, they don't. At all. It is a complete and total fantasy that
the athletic commission is required by either federal or state
laws to a) test for marijuana at taxpayer expense and b) render
punishments for aforementioned "infractions", i.e.
testing positive for some traceable level of THC. Their hands
aren't tied in the least; they are electing to test and electing
to punish fighters, boxers and other athletes.
And
athletic commissions are not branches of the government; they
are simply organizations within the government itself. They do
not operate under special or extralegal considerations. For these
organizations to act with impunity and punitive recklessness
is the perhaps the origin of the fantasy that we - the MMA community
- must confer upon them some sort special reverence. They serve
a vital role within the fight community, but they are not the
viceroys of this industry.
2.
Whoa - okay, how about we go this route; if it has no performance
enhancing effect (according to you) then why the fuck take it?
Safety of the fighters is one of the jobs of the athletic commision.
A person risking their life while being under the influence is
not one of the things that an athletic commision wants to see
happen.
Now since you are an expert on drugs and their effects, tell
me that THC is not an effective pain killer. Tell me that it
doesn't slow down relexes. Or reaction time. These are all effects
that could be had by the ingestion of marijuana....if according
to you the fighter was even under the influence. But if they
weren't, then why waist time smoking?
Explain
to your readers the logic?
Sure.
Absolutely THC has a host of effects that could affect fighter
performance. However, since there is no dose correlation that
can reliably determine impairment via urinalysis, we'll actually
never know to what extent fighters are or aren't impaired during
their matches.
As
for the effects, you're grossly distorting what's actually going
on. THC does cause some muscle relaxation, but nothing even approximating
the duration of intensity of regularly prescribed pain medications.
More importantly, this notion that they are "pain killers"
is taken wildly out of context. Just like popping two Aleve won't
make a fighter's jaw any stronger, smoking marijuana does not
cause one to be impervious to pain. What THC does is help with
chronic illnesses by easing inflammation or reducing muscular
pressure. In fact, that's why cancer patients use it. THC causes
a significant reduction in intraocular eye pressure, thus alleviating
pain. THC isn't Novocain, it's simply a natural way for those
who suffer from chronic physical ailments to get some temporary
relief.
Could
these side effects be detrimental during MMA fights? Sure, but
again, since athletic commissions decide to use tests that can't
reliably determine impairment from marijuana use, all they are
accomplishing is a massive waste in taxpayer money.
3.
The thing is...you know you're going to get tested for it. It
is not an addictive drug (at least to the point where you will
go through the kind of withdrawals associated with harder drugs)...so
why not just take a break. Regardless of if a commission shoud
be testing or should not...if you know they will be, how do you
not just stop getting high for a little while and not do damage
to your own career.
Maybe it shouldn't be tested for as it has no impact on the result
of a fight, but you either respect your career or you don't...If
you're willing to get fined and take suspensions just to smoke
some pot...well then I just can't feel sorry for you.
Yes,
this point is hard to find overly disagreeable. If you know the
rules, why be so hardheaded as to try and - usually very lazily
- skirt them? But here's the other side of that equation: What,
exactly, are these athletic commissions accomplishing? Keith
Kizer stated repeatedly the objective in testing for marijuana
was to see if fighters were entering contests impaired. It's
a noble cause, but the measures and procedures in place are Sisyphean
to the point of embarrassment. They are Don Quixotes attacking
the windmills of marijuana use. If they are truly concerned about
fighter safety, then they know better than to use urine tests.
Period. In the interim, they are wasting taxpayer money, hurting
fighter's careers, causing untold and unnecessary social embarrassment
and condemnation, and acting far outside the boundaries of what
is their essential task at hand.
And
that's the essential problem here. If you're in favor of marijuana
testing, ok, stick to your guns. But how it's currently being
applied is grotesque. They are no closer to proving fighters
are fighting impaired from marijuana use than they are to establishing
there is green cheese on the moon. If it's not dishonest, it's
incompetent. And it's woefully destructive either way.
This
is to say nothing of what we're actually testing for here. I
agree fighters shouldn't be fighting high, but since we aren't
testing for that with urine tests, what are we doing? Regulating
private choices that have nothing to do with the fight game?
Since when was that the jurisdiction of any athletic commission?
The jurisdiction of athletic commissions if fighter safety and
if that's the case, then aren't there other substances that could
be regulated? To wit:
Heroin
and cocaine were ranked most dangerous, followed by barbiturates
and street methadone. Alcohol was the fifth-most harmful drug
and tobacco the ninth most harmful. Cannabis came in 11th, and
near the bottom of the list was ecstasy.
In terms of health, perhaps the athletic commissions could barge
their way into after parties and ban or limit cigarette and alcohol
use, no? And drop the "legalities" argument and pick
up rationality instead. It will take you further.
4.
Luke, I read the old entrys on your blog and it sounded like
a cry for help for Nick Diaz. The best part was when you quoted
a doctor and his opinion on marijuana. Scare tactics work much
the same way - find one point that verifys you opinion, and run
with it. Oh no, all of a sudden, it is gospel!!!
Unfortunately, Nicks blood level was over 3 TIMES the limit set
forth by the athletic commission. THREE TIMES! (Source: Latest
issue of FIGHT! magazine) We aren't talking about an isolated
incident with him. Thats why they test.
I
don't care if he tested positive at three hundred times the limit
(a limit set arbitrarily, by the way); if there is no dose correlation
that proves impairment from urine tests, the point is moot. End
of argument.
And
I was defending Nick because he needed to be defended. Here was
a guy who in everyone's rational mind had done little wrong and
was being heavily punished for it. Justice isn't merely a matter
of banging a gavel. There has to be some sort of relationship
between the infraction and athletic commission's response. Moreover,
if we are concerned for fighter safety and health, why not make
Diaz attend drug counseling or addiction treatment? Diaz might
be sick, but he's not a criminal (I happen to believe he's neither).
Instead, the athletic commissions treated him as if he were some
sort of cheater using marijuana to give him some sort of performance
edge. One can barely tell if this is an idea from the 19th century,
a bad joke or a bad dream.
Also,
I didn't directly quote a doctor. I quoted an author and highly-respected
thinker/writer on this subject. Disagree with him all you like.
He doesn't have a purchase on the truth more than any other man.
But if Doherty is renowned for anything, it's for being eminently
reasonable. His work is highly acclaimed not just by sources
close to his line of ideological thinking (and he is more pragmatic
than anything), but by a variety of scientists, scientific journals,
newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses. I contacted Doherty
because of his sober analysis (no pun intended) and encyclopedic
knowledge of this subject matter. It does us no good to find
sources that agree with our line of thinking to buttress our
insecurities. I am happy to relinquish any element of my argument
with proper guidance from countervailing sources. But for my
money, I can find no one more authoritative than him as a single
source. I don't agree with all of his ideas about addictions,
but insofar as marijuana testing is concerned, you would do well
to read his work. So would Keith Kizer and Armando Garcia.
Source: Bloody Elbow/Fight Opinion
|
IFL
ANNOUNCES APRIL 4 RETURN TO NEW JERSEY
The International Fight League on Wednesday officially announced
its April 4 return to New Jersey. Champions Vladimir Matyushenko,
Jay Hieron, and Wagnney Fabiano will defend their belts as part
of a nine-bout fight card at the Izod Center in East Rutherford,
N.J.
As
part of the new “camp” format of the IFL, April 4 will
also feature matches between athletes from Renzo Gracie Academy,
Midwest Combat, Miletich Fighting Systems, and American Top Team.
American
Top Team is one of the camps that is outside the IFL’s core
group of camps, something that is also a departure from past
seasons of the promotion.
IFL
East Rutherford, N.J.
Friday, April 4, 2008
(order TBD)
American
Top Team vs. Miletich Fighting Systems
145 lbs.: TBD vs. LC Davis
170 lbs.: Emyr Bussade vs. Rory Markham
205 lbs.: Lew Polley vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz
Midwest
Combat vs. Renzo Gracie Academy
155 lbs.: Bart Palaszewski vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
170 lbs.: TBD vs. Delson Heleno
*205 lbs.: **Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Jamal Patterson
Additional
Championship Bouts
*170 lbs.: **Jay Hieron vs. Mark Miller
*145 lbs.: **Wagnney Fabiano vs. Shad Lierley
Additional
Bouts
155 lbs.: Chris Horodecki vs. TBD
*Championship
Bout
**Current Titleholder
Source: MMA Weekly
|
A
question about the PRIDE asset sale deal…
By Zach Arnold
Adam
Swift at Sherdog has an excellent article, talking about PRIDE
FC Worldwide Holding’s lawsuit against Nobuyuki Sakakibara
& DSE Inc.
The
complaint specifically cites a series of articles published in
Shukan Gendai magazine, which linked the previous ownership of
Pride with organized crime in Japan, as heightening the necessity
of the parties to cooperate with the investigation. Because of
their failure to cooperate, Sakakibara and Ubon were ultimately
found “unsuitable to conduct the Business and perform the
services as anticipated under the AP agreement and the Consulting
Agreement.”
According
to the filing, Sakakibara and Ubon received more than $1.5 million
in consulting fees through September 2007.
If
you’re like me and you’ve followed the PRIDE yakuza
scandal since day one, there’s a very obvious question to
be asked here.
Besides
the fact as to where or how Zuffa knows about the Shukan Gendai
articles and the contents of those articles, the most obvious
question that Zuffa has set themselves up for is this:
If
you knew about the long, negative campaign by Shukan Gendai against
PRIDE that started in 2006 and lasted until 2007 after the asset
sale deal happened, then why did you do the deal with a company
alleged to have ties to the yakuza when you knew that the Nevada
Gaming Commission bans anyone with a gaming license from doing
business deals with organized crime?
I
had a conversation yesterday with Mauro Ranallo on Fight Network
Radio (audio here) talking about this ridiculous situation.
Update:
I just got the filing of the lawsuit. Some interesting claims…
Apparently, a no-compete agreement was signed in which Sakakibara
and associates would be prohibited from doing business in MMA
for seven years after the asset sale was finalized. The lawsuit
claims that Sakakibara and his production company, Ubon Inc.,
violated three separate agreements — the asset deal agreement
itself, a consulting agreement, and the non-compete agreement.
Item
#37 is certainly interesting…
37.
The Selling Parties have repeatedly and consistently refused
to submit basic information to and have materially obstructed
the Investigator in the conduct of its background checks and
due diligence investigation of, among others, Sakakibara and
Ubon.
Item
#39 gets better…
39.
The necessity of the Selling Parties cooperating with the Investigator
was heightened further by articles published by the Shukan Gendai
magazine associating, among others, Sakakibara and Ubon with
individuals involved in organized crime in Japan, which association
could have a detrimental effect upon the Purchasing Parties’
affiliates’ gaming licenses.
Item
#42 talks about the non-compete…
Plantiffs
are informed and believe and thereupon allege that Sakakibara
and Ubon have breached the Non-Compete Agreement by engaging,
and continuing to engage, directly or indirectly, in a business
which competes directly or indirectly with the Business or by
assisting other persons in doing so.
Alright
then, I must ask this question. Is the company in question Hustle?
If it is, then why did Dana White give permission to Mirko Cro
Cop which allowed him to appear (thanks to Ken Imai) at the Hustle
NYE ‘07 event in Saitama?
What
we did learn in this lawsuit filing is that Sakakibara was paid
$1.5 million USD for the consulting agreement.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Schembri
back in MMA Black belt to fight in Canada
Not
having fought MMA since May of 2007, when he submitted the American
Amir Rahnavardi, Antonio Schembri, also known as “Nino”
or “Elvis” had been dedicating himself to his training,
even though he didn’t yet have a date for his return. Not
the Jiu-Jitsu phenomenon has a new home and a five-fight contract,
with the Canadian promotion HCF, the same event where Antonio
Rogerio “Minotouro” Nogueira now fights.
The
Carlos Gracie Jr. black belt will debut on March 29, but Nino
does not yet know who his opponent will be. GRACIEMAG.com contacted
the athlete who has a record of four wins and four losses in
MMA for him to comment on his return to the ring.
“It’s
awful to not be doing anything, but now I’ve signed for
five fights, so I’ll back in my MMA training routine. Since
the beginning of the year I’ve been going strong, mainly
in the physical conditioning side of things, so I’ll be
in shape by the 29th. I’ve been getting in shape in my condominium,
training a lot of ground, muay thai with Fabio Coelho and some
sparring partners. I’ll be doing my preparations around
here,” said Schembri.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
More
on the Chris Benoit Situation
Just when we thought we had heard the last of the story, The
Fayette Daily News reports that according to phone records, either
Nancy or Daniel Benoit had dialed 411 directory assistance to
request the number of a local police station at 9:25 pm on June
22nd, the night authorities believe Chris Benoit murdered his
wife. The report shows that the number requested was for a non-emergency
line and that it was never later dialed from the Benoit home.
The report also states that at 9:32 pm, Holly Schrepfer, a neighbor
friend of the Benoit's, was called twice but did not answer.
A few days prior to the deaths, another call was discovered to
have been made by Nancy to her Tennessee friend Pam Clark, in
which the deceased told Clark how "she was concered that
Chris may be having an affair with one of the Divas in the WWE."
The report also lists a variety of prescription drugs found in
the Benoit home, all prescribed by Dr. Phil Astin. The findings
suggest that much of the drugs had been consumed in the short
period surrounding the deaths.
**Another
article from the Fayette Daily News theorizes Benoit's religious
motives at the time of the deaths. Findings from the same Fayette
County Sheriff's investigators report reveal that an internet
search was made on the Prophet Elijah in the Benoit home sometime
Saturday following Nancy's murder. The story of Elijah draws
chilling similarities to the scene of the tragedy.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Quote
of the Day
"A
good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the
individuals and in the way they express their love."
Pearl S. Buck, 1892-1973, American Novelist and Pulitzer Prize
Winner
|
Midwest
Invasion: Team Indiana vs. Team Hawaii
Today!
Coyotes Night Club, 935 Dillingham Blvd, Kalihi, Hawaii
February 15, 2008
145 - Adam
Wyatt (Team Indiana) v TBD
150 - Danny Couch (Team Indiana) v Chris Ho (Team Island Thunder)
152 - Moises Yagaisurre (Team Indiana) v Bryant Antonio (Team
Hakuilua)
170 - Jesse Elliot (Team Indiana) v Ryan Desoto (Team Ruthless)
135 - Mana Woolsey (Team Hakuilua) v Julio Moreno (Bullspen)
155 - Ryan Devictoria (Bullspen) v Deon Dacanay (Freelance)
165 - Seikichi (HMC) v Bay Manivong (Tiger Muay Thai)
160 - Neil Dacanay (Freelance) v Gerry Calad (Team Konnah Blokk)
190 - Darrell Sylvester (Team Indiana) v Ben Rodrigues (Team
Hakuilua)
235 - Richard Barnes (Team Indiana) v Miller Ualesi (Team Ruthless)
265 - Donny Lykins (Team Indiana) v Issac Uaisele (Team Konnah
Blokk)
190 - Josh Keanu (Team Ruthless) v TBD
160 - Makana Faronde (Bullspen) v TBD
Womens'
K-1 Style Match
145 - Jenna Oda (Team Island Thunder) v Tearjah Murray (Team
Hakuilua)
Source: Doc Mason
|
FEG
starts over with "Dream"
FEG,
the parent company of K-1 and Hero's, announced today the formation
of a new MMA promotion, DREAM, with former PRIDE/"Yarennoka!"
executives in a media conference open to the public in Tokyo,
Japan.
FEG
President Sadaharu Tanikawa said the first event will take place
at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan on Saturday, March
15.
Picking
up where Pride left off, the first "Dream" event will
include a lightweight tournament featuring practically every
top lightweight not under contract with the UFC. The first bout
announced for "DREAM.1 Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 1st Round"
is Gesias "JZ Calvan" Calvancante vs. Shinya Aoki.
The
other participants scheduled for the Lightweight Grand Prix are
Tatsuya Kawajiri, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Andre Dida, Caol Uno, Bukyung
Jung, Kazuyuki Miyata, Joachim Hansen, Artur Umakhanov, Gilbert
Melendez, Luiz Firmino and Koutetsu Boku.
Other
fighters to compete under the new brand are Mirko "Cro Cop"
Filipovic, Kazushi Sakuraba, Ikuhisa Minowa, Yoshihiro Akiyama
and Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto.
The
weight classes that DREAM will utilize are similar to the ones
under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.
Lightweight
- Under 70 kg (154.3 lbs)
Welterweight - Under 76 kg (167.6 lbs)
Middleweight - Under 84 kg (185.2 lbs)
Light Heavyweight - Under 93 kg (205 lbs)
Heavyweight - 93 kg and over
Source: MMA Fighting
|
K-1
& DSE/PRIDE staff join to create DREAM
By Zach Arnold
A
big press conference was held today in Tokyo at the Metropolitan
Edmont hotel with 500 fans in attendance to announce a new promotion
called DREAM. Mirko Cro Cop was in attendance and was quoted
by the Japanese press as saying that “cage fighting doesn’t
suit me” and that Japan is really his second home. Mirko
will debut for the promotion on 3/15 at Saitama Super Arena for
DREAM 1. Essentially put, a lot of the booking will be similar
to the days of PRIDE with themes, matches, and so forth.
The
DREAM event schedule:
DREAM
1 (3/15 Saitama Super Arena) - Lightweight GP 2008 tournament
DREAM 2 (4/29 Saitama Super Arena) - Middleweight GP 2008 tournament
DREAM 3 (5/11 Saitama Super Arena) - Lightweight GP 2008 tournament
2nd round
DREAM 4 (June in South Korea or Yokohama Arena) - Middleweight
GP 2008 tournament 2nd round
DREAM 5 (7/21 Osaka Castle Hall) - Lightweight GP 2008 tournament
finals
DREAM 6 (September at Saitama Super Arena) - Middleweight GP
2008 tournament finals
Updated Card
HEIWA
DREAM.1 Lightweight GP 2008 Opener
Date: March 15th, 2008
Place: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan
LW
GP 1st Round Fights:
J.Z.
Calvan vs. Shinya Aoki
LW GP Participants:
Andre
Dida
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Tatsuya Kawajiri
Caol Uno
Joachim Hansen
Gilbert Melendez
Luiz Azeredo
Artur Oumakhanov
Koutetsu Boku
Jung Bu-Kyung
Kazuyuki Miyata
Luiz Firmino
———————
DREAM
2008 Event Schedule
March
15th - HEIWA DREAM.1 Lightweight GP Opening
April 29th - OLYMPIA DREAM.2 Middleweight GP Opening
May 11th - HEIWA DREAM.3 Lightweight GP 2nd Round
Mid June - OLYMPIA DREAM.4 Middleweight GP 2nd Round
July 21st - HEIWA DREAM.5 Lightweight GP Finals
Late September - OLYMPIA DREAM.6 Middleweight GP Finals
———————
DREAM
Weight Classes
70
kg - Lightweight
76 kg - Welterweight
84 kg - Middleweight
93 kg - Light Heavyweight
93.1 Or More - Heavyweight
——————————————
HEIWA
DREAM.1 Lightweight GP 2008 Opener
Date: March 15th, 2008
Participants:
Shinya Aoki
J.Z. Calvan
Andre Dida
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Tatsuya Kawajiri
Caol Uno
Joachim Hansen
Gilbert Melendez
Luiz Azeredo
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC-COUTURE
WAR ESCALATES
Zuffa LLC Files Preliminary Injunction against Hall-of-Famer
By Jack Encarnacao
In its latest and most aggressive legal move against its reigning
heavyweight champion, Zuffa LLC – the parent company of
the Ultimate Fighting Championship – filed a preliminary
injunction against Randy Couture that seeks to prevent the 44-year-old
from appearing at, or in promotion for, the International Fight
League show on Friday, Feb. 29 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
The
90-page injunction, filed in a Nevada court by attorneys for
Zuffa LLC on Feb. 1, claims Couture’s association with the
IFL – while still under a contract he signed with Zuffa
in December 2006 – will cause the company irreparable harm
and violates terms of his deal.
“If
Couture is permitted to terminate his employment and promptly
take his well-known name and likeness during the Restricted Period
to one, or more, of Zuffa’s competitors so that it can be
used to promote upcoming events in other MMA leagues, the harm
to Zuffa’s business goodwill cannot be calculated,”
reads the motion, which later points to a clause in Couture’s
contract that states “injunctive relief may be granted ...
without the necessary proof of actual damage.”
The
motion likens Couture’s involvement with the IFL to cases
where prominent on-air radio and television personalities were
banned by courts from appearing on competing stations while non-compete
agreements were still in effect. How a judge responds to Zuffa’s
injunction request will set a precedent regarding the legal validity
of such terms in UFC contracts.
Last
month, Zuffa LLC sued Couture for breach of contract, citing
many of the same IFL-related examples. The injunction could prevent
Couture from appearing at the Feb. 29 event or any other non-UFC
MMA card until October. It may also thwart the IFL’s plans
to use Couture’s gym – Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial
Arts – as a promotional tool since it bears his name.
Xtreme
Couture plans to field a team at the Feb. 29 IFL event, and Couture
has said he intends to corner fighters from his camp at the show.
Zuffa’s lawyers – who attached e-mails about the IFL
card to its injunction request as evidence, including an IFL.tv
screen grab that shows Couture’s face next to an Xtreme
Couture logo – argue such advertisements constitute “direct
or indirect competition” against the UFC.
“Couture’s
continued participation in the promotion of events in a rival
professional MMA league during the Restricted Period of his Employment
Agreement is causing irreparable harm to Zuffa’s business
goodwill that cannot be adequately compensated by a future award
of money damages,” the motion reads. “Zuffa, moreover,
has reason to believe that Couture’s conduct thus far is
only the first in a series of planned moves designed to compete
unfairly with and otherwise harm the business interests of Zuffa.
Accordingly, it seeks relief from the court now.”
Zuffa
bases its motion on the so-called “Employment Agreement,”
a three-year deal Couture signed in December 2006. The contract
places a one-year restricted period on Couture associating himself
with, or working with a promoter of, any non-UFC event. That
one-year period was said to have kicked in on Oct. 11, 2007,
when Couture informed the UFC by fax that he was resigning from
the promotion. He later cited UFC’s statements about how
much he was paid relative to other fighters and the company’s
unwillingness to co-promote a fight against Fedor Emelianenko
as his reasons for leaving.
The
motion calls the contract’s terms “entirely reasonable
under Nevada law” and states they do not “impose an
undue burden on Couture or impair his ability to earn a living.”
The
injunction request charts Couture’s history in the UFC,
starting with his May 1997 debut. It documents his title victories,
exposure through “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series
and retirement after a second straight loss to Chuck Liddell
in February 2006. The motion claims Couture still owed Zuffa
two fights at the time of that retirement under a contract he
signed in November 2005.
It
goes on to say Couture approached Zuffa in 2006, asking about
other employments opportunities in the UFC. This is when Couture’s
non-fighting employment agreement with Zuffa, the basis of the
injunction request, was reached. The deal, signed in December
2006, hired Couture at a $200,000 annual salary to do, among
other things, lobby state athletic commissions to embrace mixed
martial arts and act as an on-air analyst for UFC broadcasts.
“Couture,
in essence, was to be a public ambassador for MMA in general
and the UFC in particular,” the injunction request reads.
The
motion states Couture approached Zuffa about fighting again in
January 2007 and soon signed a four-fight contract that guaranteed
him a $250,000 per-fight purse and a cut of pay-per-view revenue.
The motion’s narrative moves on to Couture’s resignation
from the UFC, referring to his resignation fax as “cryptic”
and pointing out the fax was dated Sept. 18, 2007, even though
it was sent Oct. 11, 2007. The suit claims Zuffa accepted his
resignation that day.
“Zuffa
advised Couture that it interpreted his letter to mean that he
was ‘retiring’ from MMA or other professional fighting
competition as Couture cannot simply ‘resign’ under
the terms of the Promotional Agreement given that he is obligated
to fight in two more bouts,” the motion reads.
It
also claims Couture’s public comments after the resignation,
including those he made during a press conference televised on
HDNet, were “false and disparaging” and constitute
a contract violation. Couture last fought in August, when he
successfully defended the UFC heavyweight championship against
Gabriel Gonzaga.
Source: The Fight Network
|
'Pequeno'
Expected to Sign with WEC
by Martins Denis
Alexandre Franca Nogueira is set to sign with the WEC, sources
close to the Brazilian's camp have told Sherdog.com.
Nogueira's
manager has a contract for the fighter to meet Nick Agallar in
a 145-pound bout. Best known as "Pequeno," Nogueira
is the long-time king of Shooto's 143-pound division. He is considered
a master of the guillotine choke and holds a record of 13-4-2.
In
his 10-year career, Nogueira has never fought outside of Japan.
Once
long-considered the top featherweight in the sport, Nogueira
burst onto the scene in 1998 at age 20 by upsetting Shooto legend
Noboru Asahi twice. He won the Shooto world title in Sept. 1999.
"Pequeno" reigned as Shooto champion until May 2006,
when he was unable to defend his title against Antonio Carvalho
due to a lingering knee injury.
Nogueira
last fought in July, where he recorded his first career knockout
victory, icing fellow Shooto vet Shuichiro Katsumura in the second
round.
Source: Sherdog
|
FUJITA
SIGNS WITH WORLD VICTORY ROAD
The
Japan-based World Victory Road promotion announced on Tuesday
that it had signed PRIDE veteran Kazuyuki Fujita. Terms of the
deal were not disclosed, though the 37-year-old will reportedly
compete at “Sengoku” – WVR’s debut event
– on Wednesday, March 5 at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo.
The
thick-skulled Fujita (14-6), revered for his ability to withstand
punishment, last fought at PRIDE 34 in April, when he submitted
to a rear-naked choke from former UFC heavyweight championship
contender Jeff Monson. He holds victories over Mark Kerr, Gilbert
Yvel, James Thompson and UFC Hall-of-Famer Ken Shamrock.
World
Victory Road “Sengoku”
Wednesday, March 5
Yoyogi National Stadium
Tokyo
Josh
Barnett vs. Hidehiko Yoshida
Takanori Gomi vs. Duane Ludwig
Nick Thompson vs. Fabricio Monteiro
Kazuo Misaki vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
Maokoto Takimoto vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos
Ryo Kawamura vs. Antonio Braga Neto
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. TBA
Source: The Fight Network
|
UFC's
RETURN TO COLORADO IS LOADED
The Ultimate Fighting Championship on recently officially added
three more bouts for its April 2 return to Colorado. The additions
of Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin, Gray Maynard vs. Frankie
Edgar, and Roman Mitichyan vs. George Sotiropoulos rounds the
fight card out to 10 bouts at the Broomfield Event Center.
The
main event of UFC Fight Night 13 is an all-New England lightweight
contest between Kenny Florian and Joe Lauzon.
The
UFC has yet to officially name a replacement for Stephan Bonnar,
who has had to withdraw due to torn ligaments, but reports indicate
that Tim Boetsch will step in to face Ultimate Fighter veteran
Matt Hamill in Broomfield.
UFC
Fight Night 13 will serve as a lead-in to the premier of the
seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter reality series, which
features middleweight athletes.
Main
Card Bouts*:
-Kenny Florian vs. Joe Lauzon
-Karo Parisyan vs. Thiago Alves
-Matt Hamill vs. Tim Boetsch**
-Houston Alexander vs. James Irvin
Preliminary
Bouts*:
-Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
-Marcus Aurelio vs. Spencer Fisher
-Din Thomas vs. Josh Neer
-Clay Guida vs. Samy Schiavo
-Roman Mitichyan vs. George Sotiropoulos
-Tommy Speer vs. Anthony Johnson
*Subject
to Change
**Not officially announced by the UFC
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
supremo promises 'insane' year
by Ben Blackmore
“Insane”. That is the word UFC president Dana White
uses to describe the type of action that lies in store for MMA
fans over the next 12 months.
Strolling
around behind the scenes at the UFC 80 weigh-in, hoody on and
buzzing like a kid on Christmas day, White is one of the most
welcoming characters I’ve come across in sport.
Related
Links
UFC
This is a man who controls the fastest growing sport in the world,
a man with over 250 fighters on his books, a man who is quickly
gripping Britain with his explosive offering of top class Mixed
Martial Arts.
“People
don’t realise what gifted athletes these guys are. Think
about how hard it is to become a professional boxer,” White
embellishes in an exclusive interview with setantasports.com.
“Our
guys have to be trained in boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, wrestling
and Jiu-Jitsu. On top of that they’ve got to do their weight
training and their cardio.
“These
guys are without doubt the greatest athletes in the world.”
Having
just witnessed the weigh-in, and spoken with Michael Bisping,
it’s hard to argue White’s point.
“The
Prodigy” BJ Penn is about to fight Joe Stevenson for the
welterweight title on another top card of UFC action, so I can’t
help asking Mr President for a sneak preview of what else is
to come. Funnily enough, he cannot help telling me either.
“We’re
entering into the new year of The Ultimate Fighter, with Rampage
Jackson and Forest Griffin as the coaches. They’ll end up
fighting. That fight’s gonna be unbelievable.
“We’ve
got Chuck Liddell just off of a win against Wanderlei Silva,
that fight was insane. I can’t wait to see Wanderlei Silva
fight again.
“The
Shogun’s come back from injury. The Shogun will be back.
“Georges
St-Pierre is gonna fight Matt Hughes (I can’t help thinking
he means Matt Serra, a bout set for UFC 83, yet Matt Hughes will
surely get a slice of the action too) now to unify the belts
and see who the real champion is at 170 pounds.
“I
can keep going on and on, 2008 is going to be amazing, it’s
packed with superfights, and there’s never been a more exciting
time to be a Mixed Martial Arts fan.”
Too
true Mr White. You’re treating us.
For
the official UFC website, go to www.uk.ufc.com.
Source: Fight Opinion/Setanta Sports
|
Cro
Cop on his way to Dream
Croatian is announced as reinforcement at recently created Japanese
event
The mystery shrouding Mirko Cro Cop’s future seems to be
nearing an end. The Croatian was announced today as one of the
attractions of Dream, an event recently created by FEG, the company
responsible for K-1, which will employ the services of former
Pride staff. The maiden edition is set for March 15th, and the
fight between Brazilian Gesias Cavalcante and Japanese Shinya
Aoki is confirmed to take place.
A
lightweight GP with such names as Andre Dida, Luis Buscape, Tatsuya
Kawajiri and Caol Uno, and a middleweight GP with names still
to be released are to be held as well.
The
intentions of Dreams’ organizers is to offer the fans six
editions throughout 2008. Check out the dates:
March
15 – Saitama Super Arena
April 29 – Saitama Super Arena
May 11 – Saitama Super Arena
Mid-July – South Korea or Yokohama
July 21 – Osaka, Japan
End of September – Saitama Super Arena
With
the arrival of Dream, Hero’s, K-1’s MMA division will
no longer exist. More names should be announced shortly, such
figures as Kazushi Sakuraba, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto
and even Royce Gracie.
The
UFC organization has not yet made an official statement on the
probable exit of Mirko Cro Cop, whose contract is still in force.
Cro Cop
still undecided
Croatian’s performance dropped in UFC
Without
having fought since September of 2007, Mirko Cro Cop seems to
be at the crossroads. The Croatian idol had promised to make
an announcement about his future yesterday, the date that coincided
with the final deadline stipulated by UFC president Dana White,
for the fighter to show up for his next fight, as the fighter
still has two appearances on his contract with the organization.
The
former police officer, who has a record of 22 wins and 6 losses,
was thought by many to be the best candidate for the heavyweight
belt, when he was first hired, however, what was seen was an
apathetic Cro Cop who in three fights for the organization, won
only the first, against Eddie Sanchez.
With
the former Pride fighter’s lack of desire to carry on with
the UFC, the rumors abound that he is destined to return to Japan,
in an event of the caliber of K-1 or Sengoku. Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com
for news on the fighter.
“I
promised to bring some news today, and I feel bad that I’m
not doing that. There are some reasons for that but I cannot
say them at the moment. I promise to make an announcement as
soon as possible. Thank you for the support and I hope you can
give me a little patience,” said Mirko on his blog.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
|
2/14/08
Happy Valentine's Day! |
ONZUKA.COM
WARNING!
For all
you that are married or dating, this is your last warning to
bring something home for the little lady or you will most likely
be in serious trouble.
Do
me a favor and call me (Mike) to make sure that I got something.
Help a brutha out.
|
Quote
of the Day
“Let
me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength
lies solely in my tenacity.”
Louis Pasteur, 1822-1895, French Chemist
|
BJ
PENN WEIGHS
IN ON SHERK & STEROIDS IN MMA
Keeping up with his new attitude of training and work ethic,
B.J. Penn didn’t take much time to get back in the gym and
start preparing for his first title defense as lightweight champion
against Sean Sherk and the Hawaiian legend still has much to
say about the former titleholder who he faces in May.
Showing
a dominant and aggressive style throughout his win over Joe Stevenson
in January, Penn is already involved in a full training camp
to prepare for the fight with Sherk, which is still more than
three months away.
“I
took a week off, and then I came back and I trained for a week,
and then I trained half of last week, and now I’m back in
the gym and I’m just training full speed,” said Penn
in an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “I’m
going to go in there and show this man of cardio what cardio
really is.”
His
fire and energy have sparked a war of words with the former Ultimate
Fighting Championship lightweight champion that seems to have
turned this battle personal, but Penn insists it’s just
business to him.
“For
me, honestly, it’s not personal at all,” he stated.
“The man was cheating. I called him a cheater; then he got
all personal. So I think all the personal stuff is on him. He
said this is the first time a fight’s personal and this
and that and whatever. I couldn’t care less. I’m just
going to go kick his ass.”
Penn
has stayed strong on his statements about Sherk’s suspension
following his fight with Hermes Franca in July 2007, and still
doesn’t back down with the upcoming bout.
“How
can you sit around saying you’re the champ, say the other
guy’s the fake champ, and you got busted for (steroids)?
We knew he was doing ’roids the whole time, and all this
stuff, and about it’s nothing personal, he went and made
it all personal. I was calling a spade, a spade.”
It
is Sherk’s conviction by the California State Athletic Commission
for a positive test following last year’s fight that has
spurned the new champion to speak out about any steroid user
in mixed martial arts.
“Everybody
has questioned my heart, questioned my training ethics, this
and that, but I never did something as cowardly as to take any
sports enhancement drug,” Penn said. “That’s one
thing no one can ever say about me, you know? That I was a coward
and took sports enhancement drugs, because I was afraid I was
going to get my ass kicked in front of millions of people. So
anybody out there who said I never had no heart, at least I wasn’t
a coward.”
Penn
states that he’s never been tempted by the world of performance
enhancing drugs, and believes it’s the type of person in
the sport of MMA that has transitioned to the philosophy of cheating
and taking the short cut to success by taking drugs.
“To
me in this sport, it’s fighting, it’s mixed martial
arts, and I feel there’s too many athletes and not enough
fighters,” commented Penn. “I think these people going
in taking these sports enhancement drugs, they’re not real
fighters, they’re athletes. I’m a fighter. I’m
a real fighter. That’s all I did my whole life.
“I’m
not going to say, ‘Oh, Sean Sherk is doing something illegal!’
I could care less about that. The guy was cheating, trying to
steal somebody else’s dream, and that’s where it’s
just a joke.”
The
part that steroids have played in MMA has been seen by the multitude
of suspensions handed down over the years, and Penn is specifically
concerned about the other problems that may be happening beyond
just taking the performance enhancement drugs.
“It
does play a huge factor because they’re cheating and they’re
getting more training time, and they’re stronger, but I
don’t think that they’re just using steroids is the
thing,” he said. “They’re probably pulling their
blood out of a refrigerator right before the fight, blood doping,
doing all these other things.”
Regardless
of Penn’s take on steroids or Sherk, he still recognizes
his opponent as a tough challenge and one he’s looking very
forward to.
“Sean’s
a great fighter. He’s done a lot of great things in the
past. I’ll never dispute that, and it will be a great win,
whether he’s on steroids or not. It’s a great win to
beat Sean Sherk. It’s going to be sweet beating Sean Sherk
on May 24.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
32 REVIEW: CONDIT BRINGS HOME THE WIN
RIO RANCHO, N.M. – World Extreme Cagefighting on Wednesday
night took its show on the road outside of Las Vegas for the
first time since falling under the Zuffa umbrella. Amongst 4,648
fans at the Santa Ana Star Center, the WEC gave fans three title
fights with two of those belts changing hands.
Carlo
Prater didn’t stand with champion Carlos Condit for long
in their battle for the WEC welterweight title. Unfortunately
for him, taking Condit to the ground, even having him on his
back, did little to sway the fight in his favor.
Despite
Prater’s attempts to ground and pound Condit, it was the
hometown favorite that out-hustled his opponent, attacking with
point of elbow strikes, and various submissions before locking
on a second guillotine choke combined with a body triangle that
kept the belt around his waist.
Coming
into the bout, many people felt that Condit might struggle if
he hit the ground with his Brazilian opponent, but he proved
otherwise, saying, “I’m pretty comfortable off my back.”
Caught
up in the emotion of fighting before his hometown, Condit said
of avenging his earlier loss to Prater, “It feels great.
More than that, I’m just speechless right now, it feels
great to fight in front of my hometown.”
With
every fight he takes, Condit only seems to grow in confidence
and prove his place among the top welterweight fighters in the
world.
In
a battle for the lightweight title, Jamie Varner used everything
but his submission skills to overcome, now former, champion “Razor”
Rob McCullough.
Through
the majority of the first round, Varner outwrestled McCullough.
The two stood for the entire second round, but rarely engaged
or did any damage. In the third round, McCullough hurt Varner
early, but it would be the challenger midway through that would
score, and score often, with a blistering flurry of punch combinations
to rock the champ. It was a straight right that would eventually
floor McCullough and earn Varner WEC gold.
A
teary-eyed Varner gave a lot of respect to his opponent after
the fight. “He is a great champion. I expect to see him
here … for the title again.”
Chase
Beebe walked into the cage on Wednesday night the WEC bantamweight
champion. Unfortunately for him, Miguel Torres would not let
him leave in the same fashion. The two traded several exchanges
in the opening minutes, with Torres landing a brutal head kick,
but it would be his ground game that earned him a title belt.
Torres
appeared to have a tight Anaconda choke on Beebe, but after the
fight, he said that he felt his hands slipping and switched to
a guillotine that left Beebe with no choice but to tap out and
relinquish his title.
It
was obvious from the opening bell that Antonio Banuelos (cornered
by Chuck Liddell) and Manny Tapia wanted no part of the submission
facet of mixed martial arts. The two bantamweights threw down
from bell to bell in a very close contest that landed in the
hands of the judges.
After
an initial reading of the result that had the judges split one
apiece for each fighter and one scoring the bout a draw, the
New Mexico commission corrected the result as one of the judge’s
scorecards was misread. The correct tabulation scored the bout
a split decision in Manny Tapia’s favor.
After
the fight, a disappointed Banuelos said, “I just want to
apologize to my team, my family. I’m sorry I didn’t
win this for you.”
A
transplant from Texas, Leonard Garcia wasted no time dealing
with highly regarded Japanese fighter Hiroyuki Takaya, knocking
him out with a left-right combination little more than a minute-and-a-half
into the first round.
Following
the bout, Garcia exclaimed loudly, “At 145, who wants some?
I want a title shot!” With performances like that, it may
not take him long to realize his ambitions.
Josh
Grispi used an unorthodox, but effective striking style to stand
just long enough with Muay Thai stylist Mark Hominick to land
a rear naked choke on the Canadian. Hominick tried to hold on,
standing with Grispi on his back, but ended up falling back to
the mat a la Frank Trigg when Matt Hughes did the same thing
to him in a UFC match-up.
Hometown,
F.I.T. NHB fighter Coty “Ox” Wheeler fought a back
and forth battle through the first round with a very tough Del
Hawkins. He started to put himself further ahead in round two,
but then took it out of the hands of the judges’ and into
his own finishing Hawkins with an armbar a couple minutes into
the round.
The
crowd went crazy, chanting “Ox! Ox! Ox!” following
the fight, leaving Wheeler without much to say, except, “It’s
like fry bread man, I just can’t get enough.”
In
a strong bantamweight battle, it was local favorite Damacio Page
that was able to outwork Scott Jorgensen over the course of their
three-round bout to take home a unanimous decision.
He
took some hard shots from Jorgensen during the bout, but Page
said afterwards, “I have an iron jaw, there ain’t no
one going to knock me out … at 135 (pounds).”
Charlie
Valencia seemed to be edging ahead as the first round wore on
in his bout with Yoshiro Maeda, but at the midway point of the
round, Maeda threw a kick to Valencia’s body that put him
on the canvas and out of the fight.
The
night started off in exciting fashion when Micah Miller took
to the cage and displayed his newfound striking skills, courtesy
of American Top Team. He caught Chance Farrar with a straight
right and dropped him to the mat at 1:39 of the very first round
to score the victory.
-Carlos
Condit def. Carlo Prater by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at
3:48, R1
-Jamie Varner def. Rob McCullough by KO (Punch) at 2:54, R3
-Miguel Torres def. Chase Beebe by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 3:59, R1
-Manny Tapia def. Antonio Banuelos by Split Decision, R3
-Leonard Garcia def. Hiroyuki Takaya by KO (Punches) at 1:31,
R1
-Josh Grispi def. Mark Hominick by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 2:55, R1
-Coty Wheeler def. Del Hawkins by Submission (Armbar) at 1:57,
R2
-Damacio Page def. Scott Jorgensen by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Yoshiro Maeda def. Charlie Valencia by TKO (Body Kick) at 2:29,
R1
-Micah Miller def. Chance Farrar by KO (Punch) at 1:39, R1
Source: MMA Weekly
|
KAZUYUKI
FUJITA SIGNS WITH WORLD VICTORY ROAD
World Victory Road on Tuesday announced that it has signed Pride
veteran Kazuyuki Fujita. Plans call for him to fight on the promotion’s
March 5 event in Tokyo entitled Sengoku.
Perhaps
best know for his overhand right that put Fedor Emelianenko on
queer street before succumbing to the Russian’s rear naked
choke, Fujita is a strong fighter, with a strong wrestling base
and huge punching power.
No
opponent has yet been announced for his WVR debut, but with the
recent signing of Josh Barnett to face Hidehiko Yoshida, Fujita
is a strong addition to the promotion’s roster of heavyweights.
In
related news, the previously announced bout between Phil Baroni
and Sanae Kikuta was officially cancelled by WVR on Tuesday.
The move follows Saturday’s announcement by EliteXC that
Baroni had signed a multi-fight contract and would receive an
immediate title shot in its sister promotion Icon Sport.
Sengoku
Bouts
-Kazuo Misaki vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
-Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Josh Barnett
-Makoto Takimoto vs. Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos
Sengoku
Participants
-Takanori Gomi
-Kazuyuki Fujita
-Sanae Kikuta
-Ryo Kawamura
-Fabricio Monteiro
Source: MMA Weekly
|
"Yarennoka!"
to announce new promotion on Wednesday
“Yarennoka!” organizers will hold a press conference
open to the public on Wednesday, Feb. 13 in Tokyo, Japan to announce
details on a new MMA promotion.
Former
Pride officials put together “Yarennoka!” on New Year’s
Eve as a special event designed to give Pride fans and fighters
a proper send-off. While that was a one-shot event, the new promotion
will be an ongoing production.
The
new promotion is expected to be a partnership with FEG, the parent
company of K-1 and Hero’s. FEG worked closely with “Yarennoka!”
officials on the New Year’s Eve event.
The
details in the announcement will include fighters who will be
joining the new promotion.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Mark
Coleman wants UFC again
From
the halls of the first MMA fair at United States, the North American
Mixed Martial Arts Expo (NAMMAE), TATAME’s reporter at USA,
Cristiane Ripari spoke to Mark Coleman, that said that he is
waiting for a big event to come back competing in 2008. “My
life got a little confusing after that UFC bought Pride. I thought
that I’d go right to UFC, but it didn’t happen. It’s
their decision”, said Coleman, that believe in a prejudice
from the event against expert fighters. “I believe that
their getting if harder for expert fighters”.
Mark Coleman
By Cristiane Ripari
“I believe that UFC is making it difficult for more experienced
fighters…”
With
2007 bring a glorious year for MMA development, 2008 started
with the right foot for the sport. With the high demand for products,
services and information about this sport that is breaking audience
records from north to south at , it was created the first Mixed
Martial Arts fair of the sport, the NAMAE - North American Mixed
Martial Arts Expo. The event was a big sucess, even being the
first one dedicated only to the sport. The fans had the opportunity
to get closer to their idols, take pictures and get some autographs.
Some fighters showed their new labels and sold their own products
directly to the public, and some less known athletes had the
chance to get new sponsors to guarantee a better future. At the
event halls, we bumped into Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Dan Henderson,
Rampage Jackson, Sean Shark, Thierry Sokodjou, Eddie Bravo, Don
Frye, Allan Góes, Marco Ruas, Kendall Grove, Shonie Carter,
Jon Koppenhaver, Mark Coleman and others. Mark Coleman, in fact,
spoke to our reporter in , Cristiane Ripari, and told us about
his waiting from the future of the sport.
Which
are your plans for the future, after Pride’s closing?
My
life got a little confusing after that UFC bought Pride. I thought
that I would go right to UFC, but it didn’t happen. It’s
their decision. So I’ll have to win my back to UFC again.
Definitely I’ll fight with somebody… I intend to fight
in February or March so that they offer me a better proposal.
Have
you contacted UFC or was contacted from them?
I
believe that they’re making it difficult for more experienced
fighters. But I have a lot of contacts with other organizations.
I only have to decide which one is better for me.
Do
you know something about the M-1?
It’s
a new business, they’re only at the beginning. I’ll
check if they have any interest in me. I hope the best for them.
What
have you being doing?
I’m
living at Columbus, Ohio . That’s where my daughters live.
I’m training with local fighters. But where my fight gets
closer, I’ll move to somewhere else to train with other
people and stay away from distractions.
Is
there anyone that you wanna fight?
I’ll
fight with who my fans want.
Which
was the hardest and the best fight of your career?
I
believe that Fedor was the toughest opponent. Nogueira is very
good too. I had to say that, because I’m being interviewed
by a Brazilian magazine (laughs). I had a lot of tough fights.
My favorite was probably against Igor Vovchanchyn at Grand Prix
finals, or maybe when I won the UFC against Dan Severn. The fight
wasn’t one of the bests, but I won the first heavyweight
title at UFC and that was very important for me.
What’s
your opinion about this boom at MMA?
It’s
very exciting. Sincerely, I didn’t expected that it would
attract so many people. But I’m glad that exploded this
way and that’s good for everybody, including for me. I try
to keep me healthy to come back soon to the octagon or ring!
Source: Tatame
|
Cage
Warriors heads to America
The
UK's Cage Warriors Fighting Championships is making the move
to America on Saturday, March 29 at the Kissimmee Civic Centre
in Kissimmee, Florida. In the main event, Cage Warriors under-73kg
champion Dan Hardy (17-6) will take on 2-time UFC competitor
Chad Reiner (17-3).
Hardy
opened eyes last May when he flew over to Cage Force in Japan
and won a unanimous decision over then-Pancrase champion Daizo
Ishige. The 25-year-old trains with Team Rough House in the UK
and Legends MMA/Eddie Bravo's 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu in Hollywood,
California.
Reiner,
who fights out of The MidAmerican Martial Arts in Omaha, Nebraska,
recently defeated Mark Moreno via TKO on Jan. 26 to win the X-1
welterweight title.
"The Grinder" will be looking to go five straight since
exiting the UFC with two losses.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Pit
Bosses: Premature Thoughts on YAMMA Fighting
Not
since the progeny of singer David Bowie was christened Zowie
-- swear to God -- has popular culture suffered a name as patently
offensive to good taste as YAMMA Pit Fighting, the latest in
the me-too march of MMA offerings.
Too
harsh by half? Perhaps, but with two months to go before YAMMA
makes its official debut at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City,
N.J., there's precious little else about the promotion to comment
on.
Pit
Fighting founder Bob Meyrowitz -- there's one for the résumé
-- has been evasive in questions pertaining to the YAMMA fighting
surface, alleged to revolutionize how we view the combat sports.
No participants have been officially announced, though it's known
that Meyrowitz plans on dusting off combatants from the UFC's
heyday for a series of "Master" class super fights.
The event will also use a single-night tournament to crown champions,
a dubious honor awarded more for luck than skill.
Couple
this with the rumored reunion tour of New Kids on the Block,
and you'll forgive anyone who mistakes 2008 for 1994.
I
don't mean to indict Meyrowitz without a fair hearing: YAMMA
could indeed be a spectacle worthy of admission, and I'm as big
a sucker for MMA nostalgia as the next guy. But the rational
part of my frontal lobe has to express concern that Meyrowitz
-- who participated in both the UFC's staggering early success
and its later, dismal failure -- is in danger of pandering to
a market that no longer exists.
Consider
the tournament format. Once a staple of pay-per-view, the conceit
is virtually extinct, a Darwinian victim of combat evolution.
While having an athlete compete three times in an evening expedites
the emotional investment for fans, the downtime between bouts
often acts as a black hole for second thoughts and injuries.
If a fighter breaks his hand in the first minute of a three-round
bout, he's likely to fight through it. Given the opportunity
to consult with a physician and his corner for an hour, though,
he's likely to decline advancing to a second round contest.
Presuming
the fighter makes it through a truncated tournament (Meyrowitz
plans on single-round quarterfinal and semifinal bouts, with
nine minutes allotted in the finals) … so what? The prestige
of being a violent marathoner is going to remain in the shadows
of what the public perceives as the true mark of martial arts
perfection: being a UFC titleholder.
It's
rumored that two of those former champions, Oleg Taktarov and
Don Frye, will meet during one of the Masters bouts on April
11. Having worn out several previously viewed VHS copies of their
career primes, I'll watch -- I'll even be appreciative of Meyrowitz
recognizing that fights should be between contemporaries. (Tito
Ortiz -Ken Shamrock III depressed me more than a recent reduction
in my Zoloft dosage.)
Unfortunately,
I'm one of a micro-percentage of observers who even remember
Taktarov and Frye. Today's MMA fan has synapses that fire up
only when exposed to the UFC brand and its stable of basic-cable
draws. The IFL attempted to peddle the creaky musculature of
Maurice Smith , Marco Ruas and other mid-‘90s talent. No
one really cared. "Tank" Abbott will be tackling Kimbo
Slice on Saturday. Notice that it's not on pay-per-view.
Meyrowitz
still has an interest in the stories of these formative athletes.
To some extent, so do I. But our demographic is painfully threadbare
in an era where Michael Bisping and Rashad Evans can headline
a card and pull in several hundred thousand buys.
Finally,
there's the arena itself, a slice of canvas shrouded in mystery.
Will it sport piles of broken glass and inebriated buddies hurling
bricks at opponents? Athletes on bungee cords? Or will it resemble
nothing more than an oversized mat with sloped walls? (My money's
on the latter, though I'd probably pay double for the former.)
I
don't begrudge Meyrowitz his ambitions, and anything that eliminates
the perpetual eyesore that is the Octagon has my instant gratitude.
But if recent history has taught us anything, it's that any kind
of martial arts attraction not emblazoned with "UFC"
across its banner is doomed to bankruptcy.
My
advice for Meyrowitz, Gary Shaw and anyone else looking to chip
away at Zuffa's market share: Instead of losing millions over
the course of three or four ulcerous years, take a big pile of
cash and throw it at two high-profile athletes or cultural stars.
Use their recognition to offset consumer apathy over your debuting
promotion. Have Mike Tyson fight Kimbo Slice or Tank in a bare-knuckle
street match; have Jean-Claude Van Damme fight Wesley Snipes;
have Danny Bonaduce fight a tranquilized grizzly. Be as shameless
as you can -- people paid millions to watch Tyson and the early
UFCs for the sheer spectacle of it. While you're at it, throw
a few million more at a cable network to run barker ads.
Whatever
you decide, YAMMA folks, don't try and promote a legitimate sports
contest. It didn't work for the XFL, it didn't work for the IFL
and it didn't work for the ABA; their bigger brothers have insurmountable
leverage. Challenging them has become as foolish a notion as
believing your kung fu is finally going to ace jiu-jitsu.
Oh,
and Zowie waited until he was 12 to change his name. I wouldn't
take that long.
Source: Sherdog
|
Tim
Boetsch Interview: "If I throw something, I’m throwing
it with bad intent"
We all know how it usually goes. A fighter enters the Octagon
for the first time and begins to feel the pressure. Though they
fight as hard as they can, they find the crowd noise alarming.
They can’t breath like they usually do. Something is just
missing from their performance.
In
other words, most fighters have difficulty with the new surroundings
and pressure associated with stepping into the Octagon for the
first time. But every now and then you come across a guy that
seems made to fight there. Nothing, not first time Octagon jitters;
not their opponent; not even the fact that they’re fighting
on television gets in their way.
Well,
after watching Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch dispose
of David Heath at UFC 81, we’re all left thinking that he
may be that kind of fighter; one that’s simply meant to
step into the Octagon.
And
lucky for us, Boetsch took the time to talk with MMAFighting.com’s
Robert Rousseau about what happened at UFC 81 and more.
MMAFighting.com:
Congratulations on your win over David Heath.
Boetsch:
Thank you very much.
MMAFighting.com:
You were pretty dominant in that victory. Is that how you expected
it all to play out?
Boetsch:
I expected to be dominant, but not necessarily to dominate on
our feet. I kind of thought I’d be able to take him down—
I thought I’d have to take him down because of his striking.
But as it turns out, it didn’t go that way.
MMAFighting.com:
For some fans, that was the first time they saw you fight. How
would you describe your fighting style?
Boetsch:
I do whatever it takes to win, really. If I can keep it on the
feet and knock the guy out or be dominant in the striking, I’ll
do that. If I need to take it to the ground with my wrestling,
I’ll do that. I like to try and make it as exciting a fight
as possible; those are the kind of fights I like to be in. I’ve
watched the kind of lay and pray that some wrestlers do. They
get a takedown and just kind of hang out. That’s not exciting
to watch. I want people to remember my fights, so I like to keep
it exciting.
MMAFighting.com:
You spoke a little bit about your wrestling background. Can you
tell me about that?
Boetsch:
I’ve wrestled my whole life. I started back in the fourth
grade (and) went up all the way up to get a scholarship to wrestle
at Lock Haven University. I wrestled there (and) that’s
where I met Mike C ( Mike Ciesnolevicz) and my wife and everything,
so I’m really happy how that all worked out.
MMAFighting.com:
I know that you have the wrestling background, but in this particular
fight (against David Heath) it was really your striking that
turned a lot of heads. People are talking about it left and right.
You hit home with some solid knees and front kicks. Front kicks
aren’t really something that a lot of MMA guys are able
to utilize very well. How come it works for you? What do you
do different?
Boetsch:
The one thing I do differently is that I use more of an offensive
type front kick. I use my rear leg to get power on it. I use
it as a weapon to actually do damage whereas some people use
a front kick traditionally as a defensive keep a guy at a distance
type technique. But that’s not my style. If I throw something,
I’m throwing it with bad intent. And that’s what I
do with that front kick.
MMAFighting.com:
I saw that you have a Jeet Kune Do background. How much does
that play into your ability to front kick effectively.
Boetsch:
That plays in a lot. . . Going into a fight scenario, we’re
going to use all the techniques that we have available. The ones
that work, we’re going to stick with and mix it up and keep
the guy guessing so he doesn’t know where he could be defending.
MMAFighting.com:
You talked a little about this already, but you’ve never
won by anything other than stoppage. How important is it to you
to be known as a guy that goes in there to end fights?
Boetsch:
If a fight goes to decision I don’t feel like I’ve
won that fight. I’ve never been in that position yet. If
a guy survives all three rounds to me he made it, you know? The
object of a fight for me is to go in there and stop the guy.
I’m not happy unless I go in and do that. That’s how
we train; we train real hard to fight for that finish.
MMAFighting.com:
You spoke about training. Who do you train with?
Boetsch:
We’ve got our own little training camp here in Sunbury.
We have some real good guys here— mostly wrestlers—
(and) a lot of us like to brawl. Obviously, we fight hard and
we’re fighting hard to get tough. Basically, that’s
what we’ve got here.
I
do travel out to Iowa to train with Miletich and those guys.
But primarily I train out here in Sunbury with my core group
of guys.
MMAFighting.com:
Is that how you met your manager, Monte Cox (through Miletich)?
Boetsch:
I met Monte before because he managed Mike C. But I met (up with)
him again at an Extreme Challenge show in Jersey and think that’s
where I caught his eye.
MMAFighting.com:
Are there any fighters out there that you’d really love
to compete against in the future? Any guy out there that you
really think would make for a great fight?
Boetsch:
I can’t really name one in particular. The way the fight
game goes, I want to fight whoever they put me up against to
get me to the next rung on the ladder. I’m just going to
fight everybody that it takes to get to the top.
MMAFighting.com:
Anything you’d like to say to the fans?
Boetsch:
I just want to say thanks to all the fans. The support’s
been great. And I’d like to tell them to expect more brutal
fights from “The Barbarian”.
MMAFighting.com:
Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me. Hopefully
we get to do it again in the future.
Boetsch:
I hope so.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Quote
of the Day
“One
can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”
Helen Keller, 1880-1968, American Blind/Deaf Author and Lecturer
|
X-1
at the O-Lounge
Fight Club Meets Night Club 4
O-Lounge
(above Venus near Ala Moana Center)
Fights start at 7:30 PM
BLUE CORNER vs RED CORNER
Darnell
"Doc" Mason vs Kolo Koka
1ST MATCH.....exhibitionMMA
Team MMA Hawaii 170 MMAD
Dale
Kamai vs Kolo Koka
2ND MATCH.....exhibition MMA
Maili Soljah 170
MMAD
Miguel
Cabrera vs Steven "Soul Samurai" Saito.....MMA
Team FTS 155 Team ICON
Makana Vertido vs Guru Daf........... MMA
Ruthless 205 Team ICON
Andy Kau vs Jordan Patterson........Kickboxing
Jus Rush 260 Team FTS
Randy
Kamaiopili vs Sean Le .........Kickboxing
Ruthless 145 Freelance
Ryan
Desoto vs Eddie Ohia.........XMA
Ruthless 170 No Remorse
Brandon
Mendoza vs Tyler Meyakawa.......Kickboxing
Ruthless 170 NoRemorse
Kelii Aiwohi vs Frank Ruiz..........MMA
Ruthless 185 Knockout Factory
Todd
Young vs Nolen Vierra........MMA
Ruthless 170 Knockout Factory
Antony
Kinoshita vs Eddie Edwards.........MMA
NoRemorse 205 Team Edwards
Blaze
Noa vs Shane Medeiros.....XMA
Ruthless 145 Freelance
Lindell
"Smokey" Brown vs Cheyenne Padeken.....XMA
Knockout Factory 205 Freelance
Miller
Ualesi vs Des Miner.......exhibition MMA
Ruthless 225 MMAD
Joaquin "Dabbs" vs Vilitonu "Vili" Fonokalfi........MMA
Freelance 290 6'6" Super HW NoRemorse 270 6'0"
|
Torres
Takes Long-Awaited Turn in Spotlight
Ten
years ago, there was no place for a mixed martial artist like
Miguel Torres.
From
no weight divisions to many, the sport's rapid evolution has
allowed for a much wider cross section of athletes to participate.
One such fighter is Chicago's Torres.
Fighting
at 135 pounds, the lanky bantamweight, ranked ninth in the world
by Sherdog.com, finally has an opportunity to showcase his skills
thanks to World Extreme Cagefighting's focus on lighter divisions.
Wednesday in Albuquerque, N.M., Torres fights WEC 135-pound champion
Chase Beebe live on the Versus network.
Torres,
27, spoke to Sherdog.com about the title shot and its implications
for the former Carlson Gracie Sr. student's increasingly popular
division.
Martins
Denis: Miguel, you appeared in Brazil as a Carlson Gracie Team
member, but after Carlson's death in 2006, we didn't hear much
about the team. How is that now?
Miguel Torres: I am a part of the Carlson Gracie Sr. team. When
I met him, he only had about two or three fighters from his main
gym in Chicago and various fighters from different Carlson Gracie
affiliations. When Carlson passed two years ago, it was so sudden.
I was just with him before he left to Stephan Bonnar's fight
with James Irvin. He was a little under the weather, but he was
in the gym helping me and Stephan get ready for our fights. When
he got back, he took a turn for the worst. He was such a strong
man that his illness did not get the better of him until it was
too late to do anything about it. In the hospital I was with
him the day before he passed, and he was still fighting with
everyone. He told me to bring him a radio so he can listen to
his music, even though the doctor did not permit it.
When
he was around the gym, there were always tons of guys from all
over the world to train with. He was still in the process of
building a team. After he passed the gym did not fall apart --
it was just not the same anymore. I tried going in for a couple
of weeks, but there was a lack of training partners, and my gym
was growing at the same time. So I just stopped going to the
gym in Chicago. I know that Carlson Jr. is running a great BJJ
program now and even has brought brown and black belts from Brazil
to help run the gym, but for me it was not MMA-oriented enough.
Denis:
Once I talked to Stephen Bonnar about the team and Carlson Jr.'s
also. He wasn't clear enough about the situation. Carlson Jr.
isn't close to MMA training, so where are the MMA students of
the Carlson Gracie Team?
Torres: I don't know about his affiliate schools, but I do know
that Stephan is in Las Vegas now; he is training and living there.
I have not heard from Tom Murphy in a while, but I still keep
track of my friends in Brazil. I know that Ivan Jorge "Batman"
is still training and competing. I just saw him in Florida about
two months ago. He seems to be doing well. One of Carlson's black
belts, Jeff Neil, has his own program in the suburbs of Chicago
and has a full MMA facility.
Denis:
What can you tell us about Torres Martial Arts?
Torres: Torres Martial Arts was a gym that I started about six
years ago. I never wanted to teach or train other people until
I retired from fighting. My thought process was that I would
not be a good teacher until I learned everything there was to
learn. What I ended up finding out was that when you can teach
and break down a concept to people, it will also make you learn
and understand more. When I was 21, I tore my ACL training and
could not train without risking permanent damage to my knee,
so I began teaching three guys from work. After about three months,
I had about 50 students and was making good money on the side.
I quit my job and dedicated myself to teaching and training.
Now my gym is doing very well, and I have a strong MMA team that
helps me prepare for my fights.
Denis:
What changed in your training regime since Carlson's death?
Torres: The only thing that has changed in my training since
Carlson's death is that I don't have the old man to yell at me
when I do something good or bad. His advice and instruction was
priceless, let alone the fact that I had a legend in the sport
who believed in me. Other than that, my training remains the
same. I use only what works. I believe in being prepared to push
the entire fight and attacking from every position and angle.
Nonstop pressure will eventually break anyone.
Denis:
Every time Carlson talked about you, he mentioned your troubles
gaining weight. You're in the 135-pound category now. How's your
weight nowadays?
Torres: My weight was a major topic for Carlson because he could
not believe that a 135-pound fighter had so much heart and fearlessness.
He wanted to do so much for me but could not because the weight
class was not very popular at the time and the fights that were
offered were for a couple hundred dollars. I was making very
good money in my hometown fighting, and it was not feasible to
take fights for less money. Now I have the opportunity to fight
for the WEC and for good money. My weight is good. I used to
be 135 and fight at 135. Now I walk around at 145 and cut from
there. I am very comfortable with this weight class and plan
on being here for a while.
Denis:
Before entering the WEC, in which weight classes had you already
fought and which one was the hardest to deal with?
Torres: When I first started fighting, I fought in the lightweight
class, which was 130 to 160. I would say that was the hardest
because there were guys that cut from 170 or 175 to be in that
weight bracket. I am very comfortable when I fight someone who
weighs the same as me [after] I think back of the old days. The
bigger guys were very tough in the first couple of rounds, but
my conditioning always pulled me through.
Denis:
Tell us the belts you captured in MMA.
Torres: I have fought for lots of different titles in the Midwest.
I have won the Ironheart Crown, Total Fight Challenge, Mixed
Martial Arts Invitational, Superbrawl, Shooto Americas, Total
Combat and Extreme Shoot Fighting titles. These events were the
building blocks of my career and helped develop my fight game
and how to handle pressure. The WEC title fight is the biggest
title that I have fought for so far, and I am ready for it. I
have been preparing myself for this moment my whole career.
Denis:
Your résumé is superb, 20-1, with the single loss
avenged. Why do you think you delayed popping up in a MMA promotion
like WEC?
Torres: The main reason for not getting into a major promotion
was that the money to fight was not good. I know how much I put
into training and am a serious athlete. I have been waiting for
a good payday for a long time, and now it has presented itself.
When I first started fighting, it was pure. There was no money,
and I did it for honor and to test myself. My dad found out and
smacked me in the head and told me not to be an idealist. He
told me my time and sacrifice was worth money, so I started to
look at things from a business standpoint from that moment.
Denis:
Your title bout is against the champion, Chase Beebe. What are
your thoughts about him?
Torres: Chase is a very tough guy. I have seen him fight live
twice and before that never heard of him. From watching him,
I can tell that he is a strong wrestler and likes to ground-and-pound.
He will box until he is hit and then will resort to his strength,
which is wrestling. I know that I have the tools to beat him
standing or on the ground. I will not get tired like his previous
opponents and will maintain pressure the whole time. It will
be a good fight, and I know that he will be ready for me. I cannot
wait to meet him in the cage -- this is what I live for.
Denis:
He showed good cardio in fighting five rounds against Eddie Wineland
and five against Rani Yahya. Do you think this is his main weapon?
How do you overcome that?
Torres: I am old fashioned when it comes to fighting. I believe
in hard work and perfection of technique. His cardio is very
good, but to overcome it, I will hit him. I know that this will
take his steam away as well as the fact that I also have tremendous
cardio. I only lost one fight and was not well prepared for it.
Ever since then, my cardio has been a part of my whole game plan.
I believe we will be well matched here and what will make the
difference will be clean striking and consistent BJJ technique.
Fighting me is like fighting an octopus in quicksand.
Denis:
Is this a Chicago match? I mean, you are from East Chicago (Indiana),
and Beebe is from Chicago (Illinois). So will we see who's the
Chicago's badass?
Torres: You could say this is a Chicago match. It is just too
bad that we are not doing it in Chicago. This fight is big to
me because his gym is mainly a wrestler's gym, and my gym is
mainly a BJJ gym. In my heart I still represent Carlson Gracie
Sr. He would have looked at it that way. So for the BJJ community
in a whole, I believe it is a huge fight.
Denis:
Is this the most important fight of your life? I mean, even though
you have 21 fights on your résumé, this one is
for the title and for an important MMA organization.
Torres: This is not the most important fight of my life. When
I tore my ACL, I could not train for almost a year. When I had
my surgery, I trained about six months and was to fight against
a fighter at my weight. He broke his hand, and they brought a
fighter in that had a totally different style than what I trained
for. After the first round, my legs felt like cooked noodles
and he beat me by a decision. The fact that I lost did not hurt.
What hurt was to see my fans so sad, and some even cried. I vowed
to never feel like that again. That was the best thing that happened
to me because it changed my whole training regimen. When I rematched
the guy (Ryan Ackerman) who beat me, it was a very big deal.
Carlson was there, and the stadium was packed. That was the most
important fight I have had so far.
Denis:
Miguel, what do you think is lacking for fighters from 145 pounds
and 135 pounds to have the same popularity and reputation of
155 pounders and up?
Torres: The main thing that is lacking is exposure. Once American
fans get to see more of the weight class, they will see that
some of the more exciting fights are at 135 and 145. The more
promotion and spotlight that we get, the more fans we will build.
I am a firm believer in the lighter weight classes.
Source: Sherdog |
RAZOR
ROB DOING WHAT HE DOES BEST AT WEC
As World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion “Razor”
Rob McCullough steps in to defend his title for a second time,
he will again face the multitude of questions about the classic
match-up of striker versus grappler, and it’s something
he’s had to deal with his entire career.
In
the early part of his mixed martial arts career, McCullough was
a prominent kickboxer who tried to show the world just how well
rounded he really was and as he disclosed in a recent interview
with MMAWeekly Radio, he tried so hard that it cost him a fight.
After
dominating a fight on his feet, McCullough’s opponent repeatedly
shot in to take him down and the California native says he went
for every submission he could think of, but didn’t land
any to end the fight and after it was all said and done he lost
a decision.
Once
the fight was behind him, he adapted a new philosophy… have
fun and do what you do best.
“I’m
going to stick with what I have fun doing, what I’m good
at. Knocking people’s heads off,” said McCullough.
“I’ll get into submissions on the ground when I’m
training with my partners, but to be honest, when I’m out
there and I’m in the cage and I know it’s real, I just
want to beat the hell out of someone.”
His
style has worked flawlessly in his career lately, winning nine
fights in a row, with seven of them coming by way of TKO or knockout.
Now,
McCullough will once again face the age-old scenario when a devastating
striker is involved in a match-up that his kryptonite will be
to take him to the ground.
“It’s
kind of a joke around with my trainers and my camp that when
they line up another fight for me, ‘okay you’re going
to fight Razor Rob, he’s a kickboxer…just take him
down!’” McCullough said with a laugh. “I’m
just wondering in the corners of how many guys I’ve fought
that heard that. Just take him down. And it doesn’t seem
to be the best game plan so far.”
While
his opponent, Jamie Varner, actually has a fairly extensive boxing
background, it’s his ground game that has garnered the most
attention going into this fight and McCullough is confident that
his opponent will go back to what he knows best during this fight
as well.
“In
the heat of the battle, a guy usually goes back to what he feels
most comfortable, Jamie’s seems to be wrestling,” he
commented. “So I’m assuming he’s going to throw
a little hands, try to set up a takedown and just try to mash
out a slow win, but that ain’t going to happen.”
Slow
wins are something that McCullough isn’t accustomed to,
winning the majority of his fights in the first or second rounds,
but with a five-round title fight scheduled, the champ feels
his conditioning could also be an advantage over Varner, who
has never had to prepare for a 25-minute fight before.
“All
my training sessions all have to entail five rounds; five, five-minute
rounds. I usually add a minute to my rounds so I’m doing
like six-minute rounds, just for a little extra,” McCullough
said. “That being on my side, I think that definitely plays
into it. Especially, Jamie’s style, very aggressive and
he likes to push the pace, and Albuquerque, New Mexico’s
at a high altitude, which is definitely going to play a factor
on his lungs.”
The
Huntington Beach native, who actually used to bus tables at a
restaurant in his hometown and waited on fighters such as Tank
Abbott, will have close friend Tito Ortiz in his corner for the
fight and keeps his prediction for the upcoming title fight simple.
“I’m
going to step in there. I’m going to smile at him. We’re
going to bang it out. I’m going to smash his head open and
I’m getting my belt on and I’m going to fly home and
have my after party.”
“Razor”
Rob McCullough will defend his lightweight title against Jamie
Varner on Feb. 13 in Albuquerque.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Joe
Rogan disagrees with White
“Fedor’s probably the best heavyweight in the world”
He
might not be the best known names in the sport, but pretty much
every MMA fan knows him. Joe Rogan is sure to be at any UFC event,
whether at the parties, the weigh-ins or main events in which
he has been the official commentator since 2002, besides introducing
the fighters, doing interviews after the fight, etc.
Rogan,
who is a Jean Jacques Machado brown belt, is known for the charisma
and sincerity of his commentary, also pertinent and to the point.
He is also an actor and comedian, and his sincerity shows through
when he disagrees with his boss Dana White when the subject is
of the most controversial possible: Fedor Emelianenko.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
California
Commission denies Hallman's appeal
Dennis
Hallman, who filed an appeal after a positive steroids test from
a Strikeforce event on Nov. 16, 2007 in San Jose, no-showed his
hearing on Tuesday with the California State Athletic Commission.
The
Commission has denied Hallman's appeal due to his absence, upholding
his one-year suspension and $2,500 fine for positive Drostanolone
and Nandrolone Metabolite tests.
Hallman
submitted Jeremiah Metcalf by heel hook in a reserve bout for
the evening's four-man middleweight tournament, which eventually
crowned Jorge Santiago the tournament champion.
Another
athlete on the Strikeforce card, Alexander Crispim, who tested
positive for Desoxymethyltestosterone, also had his one-suspension
and $2,500 fine upheld.
Jason
Winther, who fought on Nov. 3, 2007 at a "Rebel Fighter"
show, had his twenty-one month suspension and $4,000 fine upheld.
Winther became the second mixed martial artist to fail tests
for drugs of abuse and performance-enhancing drugs, drawing positives
for Methadone, Morphine, Stanozolol and Trenbolone.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Luiz
Alves, Minotauro’s lucky charm
Minotauro’s
Muay Thai coach, Luiz Alves can be considered Minotauro’s
lucky charm. Luiz followed the biggest battles of the Brazilian
fighter in his corner and wasn’t surprised with Rodrigo’s
reaction on the fight. “It was an ordeal, but nothing comes
easily. It was like that against Mirko Cro Cop and Bob Sapp.
We knew about the difficulties that he would pass trough on the
first round because Tim Sylvia is too strong and is higher, but
we expected that from the second on it was going to be easier.
We got a worried with the knock down, but we knew that we can
suffer a lot of punches and we was confident on his reverse.
He didn’t knocked unconscious with Bob Sapp’s punches,
he wouldn’t fall with Sylvia’s”, said the Muay
Thai master, that spoke about his tactics about the knock down.
“I
said to Rodrigo to stop using his knees because he is a tall
guy. Every time he tried that, Sylvia went away. At the second
round I said him to use more kicks from inside and outside Sylvia’s
thigh, but he suffered a counter-attack and had fear of doing
more kicks, because that’s how Sylvia did with Pedro Rizzo.
Wrestling unfortunately didn’t work because he was very
slippery. Behind the scenes, people said that the American fighters
are using a baby cream during the day and when they start sweating
they became slippery. If you notice, Minotauro pulled Sylvia
down by his shorts. Congratulations for all team, because Rodrigo
was well prepared for all situations”, praised Luiz, that
spoke about American fighter’s went to Minotauro’s
locker room after the fight.
“Only
Rodrigo, Dórea and I was at the locker room when Sylvia
came in and gave a hug at Rodrigo and cried with emotion, saying
that he is a legend. He showed there that Rodrigo was an idol
for him. Is was really emotional”, said the coach, that
spoke about the rumors about Rodrigo’s next opponent. “There
are a lot of rumors that Fabrício Werdum can be his next
opponent, but there’s nothing right yet. Who comes is better
for us, because Rodrigo will stay with this belt for a long time”,
said Luiz.
Source: Tatame
|
HDNET
TO AIR KIM COUTURE "SMOKER" EVENT
Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights, announced on Monday that HDNet
will feature exclusive coverage of Kim Couture's debut fight.
Kim is the wife of recognized Ultimate Fighting Championship
heavyweight titleholder Randy Couture.
Her
debut will occur in a Boxing/Muay Thai Smoker to be held at the
Xtreme Couture Gym in Las Vegas.
"HDNet
Fights: The Debut of Kim Couture" will air on HDNet on Friday,
Feb. 29 immediately following the network's live International
Fight League event.
The
event will feature up to eight fights - each fight will consist
of three two-minute rounds.
"It
is great to be able to put business affairs aside the last month
and focus exclusively on getting ready for this fight,"
said Kim Couture. "The whole Xtreme Couture gym is looking
forward to the opportunity to showcase new and up-and-coming
athletes."
"This
event will give fans insight into where it all starts for fighters,”
said Simon. “Earlier in the evening, we will broadcast the
live IFL event taking place in front of 6,000 fans and then we'll
show the contrast by going to the Smoker at Xtreme Couture in
front of 300 fans.”
Kim
Couture will also appear as a guest on this Friday's installment
of HDNet's "Inside MMA," hosted by Bas Rutten and Kenny
Rice. She will be joined on the program by Randy Couture and
MMA fighter Gina Carano.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“One
can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”
Helen Keller, 1880-1968, American Blind/Deaf Author and Lecturer
|
Fighters
Club TV New Episode Tonight!
We're back
with anothe exciting episode.
This
episode features fights from the Hawaii Fight League as well
as a technique of the week from none other than the "Zen
Machine" Mario Sperry.
This show has a lot more so remember to tune in at 7:00 pm every
Tuesday night on Channel 52.
|
Midwest
Invasion
Friday,
February 15, 2008
Coyotes Night Club
985 Dillingham Blvd
Kalihi
Fight Card
Update:
145
– Adam Wyatt (Team Indiana) v TBD
150 – Danny Couch (Team Indiana) v Chris Ho (Team Island
Thunder)
152 – Moises Yagaisurre (Team Indiana) v Bryant Antonio
(Team Hakuilua)
170 – Jesse Elliot (Team Indiana) v Ryan Desoto (Team Ruthless)
135 – Mana Woolsey (Team Hakuilua) v Julio Moreno (Bullspen)
155 – Ryan Devictoria (Bullspen) v Deon Dacanay (Freelance)
165 – Seikichi (HMC) v Bay Manivong (Tiger Muay Thai)
160 – Neil Dacanay (Freelance) v Gerry Calad (Team Konnah
Blokk)
Womens
K-1 _style_ Match
145 – Jenna Oda (Team Island Thunder) v Tearjah Murray (Team
Hakuilua)
190
– Darrell Sylvester (Team Indiana) v Ben Rodrigues (Team
Hakuilua)
235 – Richard Barnes (Team Indiana) v Miller Ualesi (Team
Ruthless)
265 – Donny Lykins (Team Indiana) v Issac Uaisele (Team
Konnah Blokk)
190 – Josh Keanu (Team Ruthless) v TBD
160 – Makana Faronde (Bullspen) v TBD
Source: Doc Mason
|
Page
to replace Moreng at Wednesday's WEC
Damacio
Page will make his WEC debut Wednesday night when he fills in
for the injured Jesse Moreng in a bout against Scott Jorgenson.
"Fighting
in the WEC has always been a goal for me," Page said on
WEC.tv. "I'm always training so I'm not concerned about
the short notice, I always come to fight."
Page
was featured on the first episode of the "TapouT" series
on Versus, winning by knockout at Extreme Challenge 74 in Iowa.
WEC
32: Condit vs. Prater takes place Feb. 13 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. The show will air live on Versus at 9pm ET.
COMPLETE
FIGHT CARD:
-
Carlos Condit vs. Carlo Prater
- Rob McCullough vs. Jamie Varner
- Chase Beebe vs. Miguel Torres
- Manny Tapia vs. Antonio Banuelos
- Leonard Garcia vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
- Mark Hominick vs. Josh Grispi
- Coty Wheeler vs. Del Hawkins
- Charlie Valencia vs. Yoshiro Maeda
- Micah Miller vs. Chance Farrar
- Scott Jorgensen vs. Damacio Page
Source: MMA Fighting |
Liddell's
Iceman debuts on New York Times Best-Seller list
Chuck
Liddell's autobiography, Iceman: My Fighting Life, debuted at
number 9 this week on the New York Times Best-Seller list for
Hardcover Non-Fiction.
In
the book released on Jan. 29 and co-written with Chad Millman,
Liddell draws on his childhood and family life to explain his
path into becoming the most dominant light-heavyweight in UFC
history.
New
York Times Best-Sellers (February 17, 2008): 1. In Defense of
Food 2. An Inconvenient Book 3. Real Change 4. Tom Cruise 5.
I Am America (And So Can You!) 6. Liberal Fascism 7. This Republic
of Suffering 8. Born Standing Up 9. Iceman 10. Geography of Bliss
Source: MMA Fighting
|
World
Extreme Cagefighting 32 Preview
WEC 32 will be coming to us all live from the Santa Ana Star
Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 13, 2008. In other
words, from Greg Jackson’s Submission Fighting Country.
The main event? How about the ever- dangerous Carlos Condit,
fresh off of a huge win against Brock Larson, taking on Carlo
Prater for the WEC Welterweight Championship?
Without
further ado, let’s get talking about this very impressive
MMA card.
Carlos
Condit vs. Carlo Prater
What
Condit brings to the table: Carlos Condit brings an overall MMA
record of 21-4 with nine (T)KO’s and 11 submission victories
into this match up. In sum, Condit is on a six fight winning
streak with all of those victories coming by way of stoppage.
He
has a lot going for him. First, he’s a solid technical striker.
But if we’re talking strengths here, Condit has improved
to being exception on the ground with submissions and jiu- jitsu.
He has one of the best guards going.
Condit
is also tough, having never been knocked out. But as good as
he is on the ground, Condit has been submitted three times in
the past. Thus, while looking feverishly for submissions he has
proven to be somewhat susceptible.
What
Prater brings to the table: Carlo Prater brings an overall MMA
record of 21-5-1 with two (T)KO’s and 12 submission victories
into this bout. Further, way back on September 11, 2004 Prater
defeated Carlos Condit via triangle choke at a Fightworld event.
In
other words, this match has some history to it.
Prater
is a very strong guy with excellent takedowns, takedown defense,
and ground control skills. Further, he’s a jiu jitsu nightmare
for his opponents. On his feet, he’s also solid.
Prediction:
This is a much harder call than people are giving it credit for.
When you look at it, Condit is going to have trouble with Prater;
he’s simply that good. The question really would seem to
be this: How much has Condit improved on the ground since the
last time these two fought? You’d have to say quite a bit.
But has he improved enough to submit Prater, a man that hasn’t
been submitted since 2004?
Answer:
Probably not. Still, he likely has the technical striking advantage
and will be hard to submit. Condit has been fighting the better
competition lately, and this should help him.
Gonna
go with Condit via final round TKO after some deliberation.
Rob
McCullough vs. Jamie Varner
What
McCullough brings to the table: Rob McCullough brings an overall
MMA record of 15-3 with nine (T)KO’s and three submission
victories into this match up. Simply put, he’s on a nine
fight win streak and is a Muay Thai specialist that hits very
hard. McCullough is an athletic, strong guy.
When
it comes to ground skills, his takedown defense is excellent
and takedowns are good. His submission defense is also good.
That said, he’s not much of a submission threat.
What
Varner brings to the table: Jamie Varner brings a 13-2 overall
MMA record into this bout with nine wins coming by way of submission
and three coming by way of (T)KO.
Varner
has excellent takedowns, takedown defense, and ground control
skills. He also has some nice submissions, which would seem to
be reinforced by his nine submission victories. Further, against
Hermes Franca at UFC 62 he may have been in the lead before losing
in the third round via submission.
Prediction:
Can Varner get McCullough to the ground? Here’s an upset
special. Let’s say yes. If this is correct, than he may
just be able to pull out a submission victory or a decision.
If not, then he’ll probably get stopped.
Varner
by submission in round two.
Chase
Beebe vs. Miguel Torres
What
Beebe brings to the table: Chase Beebe sports an overall MMA
record of 11-1 with nine submission victories. In essence, he’s
an outstanding wrestler with solid technical striking skills
and near impenetrable submission defense. He also comes to fight
in excellent shape.
That
said, he doesn’t have much in the line of submissions himself.
What
Torres brings to the table: Miguel Torres sports an overall MMA
record of 20-1 with five (T)KO’s and 12 submission victories
to his credit. In sum, he’s an excellent submission fighter
and very solid on his feet.
Weaknesses?
Well, he’s not very powerful, which could hurt him against
a guy like Chase Beebe.
Prediction:
This is a very tough fight to call (all of these are, actually).
Will Torres give Beebe trouble on his feet? Maybe. Will Beebe
take him down and ground him out? Possibly. Will Torres pull
off the submission?
Could
be. But in the end, Beebe has never been beaten by submission.
Of course, there’s always a first.
But
not this time. Beebe via ground and pound decision.
THE
BEST OF THE REST
Ox
Wheeler vs. Del Hawkins: Go with Wheeler via submission.
Leonard
Garcia vs. Hiroyuki Takaya: This one could be a lot of fun. Not
sure if it’s possible to knock Garcia out, and that’s
probably how Takaya would like to win this one. Thus, go with
Garcia via decision.
Micah
Miller vs. Chance Farrar: Wow, have you ever seen so many hard
fights to call? Farrar has the better striking skills, better
wrestling, and more power. Miller is good on his feet also with
some nice and ever improving submissions. Tough call again.
Go
with Farrar via decision.
Jeff
Bedard vs. Yoshiro Maeda: Should be a good fight.
Maeda
via TKO in round three.
Mark
Hominick vs. Josh Grispi: Hominick just has more experience.
Hominick
via decision.
Manny
Tapia vs. Antonio Banuelos: This is going to be a war for however
long it takes place. Tapia is one tough hombre.
Tapia
via second round TKO.
Scott
Jorgenson vs. Jesse Moreng: Can you say toss up?
How
about Moreng via second round submission.
Source: MMA Fighting |
CARLO
PRATER BELIEVES IT IS HIS TIME
The World Extreme Cagefighting welterweight title will be on
the line on Wednesday night, as reigning champion Carlos Condit
faces Carlo Prater.
If
you were to ask the casual fan who Carlo Prater is, they may
not know. However, Prater is a very dangerous opponent who has
a lot of tools to finish any opponent. Prater already holds a
win over Condit from three and a half years ago where he triangle
choked the reigning champ. He also holds notable wins over Spencer
Fisher and Melvin Guillard, so he should be taken seriously.
Prater
took some time out his busy schedule to talk with MMAWeekly Radio
about his upcoming fight. When asked about how things are going
with his training, Prater said, “Pretty good. We're just
going through the motions.”
When
he finished Condit back in 2004, he was able to submit him in
less than a round. Even though he finished Condit, he doesn't
believe he can take much away from that fight.
“Not
really. I got the utmost respect for Carlos and his crew and
his team. I believe he's improved as a fighter. I have too. If
there was something to take from that fight, it's that he's human.
He's flesh and blood and if he could be beaten back then, he
can now.”
The
title fight will be the main event of WEC's card on Wednesday
night, but it will also be the highest profile fight of Prater's
career. While some people would get motivated by having their
first fight in the WEC, being that it is one of the most well
known MMA venues in the world, that isn't what motivates Prater.
“My
motivation is the belt. I think we're highly motivated and it
will be a true test for a battle of wills,” said Prater.
“It means everything. That's why I jumped at this opportunity.
This is something that any fighter dreams about. I don't really
think (about) what the organization is; as long as there is a
belt up for grabs, it's important.”
Condit
is one of the best strikers in the welterweight division and
has excellent submission skills. In fact, he has submitted his
last three opponents. As dangerous as Condit is, one would think
that Prater would be watching and studying his fights. However,
Prater feels otherwise.
“I
haven't seen too much of him in his last fights. It seems like
he's put his skills and blended them pretty well into MMA. He
just got better as a fighter and so have I.”
Even
though he hasn't seen Condit's last few fights, that doesn't
mean he's taking him lightly.
“I'm
taking this opportunity very seriously and I'm training harder
than I ever have for this fight,” explained Prater. “I've
been training since mid-December and this is my shot. This is
how I look at it. I've been taking this opportunity to the extreme.”
One
potential obstacle that Prater would have to overcome is that
the fight is happening in Condit's backyard, Albuquerque, N.M.
The crowd might be in Condit's corner, but Prater doesn't believe
it will affect him one way or another.
“I
don't really look at it like it's something that will affect
the fight. We fought there last time when we fought. That's not
gonna be an issue with me.”
Prater
and Condit are both exciting fighters who aren't the type to
feel their opponents out. While Prater didn't give an answer
on how the fight would end, he did offer his prediction on the
fight.
“I
just predict it's gonna be one hell of a fight. We're gonna put
it all on the line. At the end of the night, I just believe.
I put so much work in.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"A
wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."
Francis Bacon, 1561-1626, British Philosopher/Essayist/Statesman
|
HAWAIIAN
CHAMPIONSHIP 2008 OF BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU
2/10/2008
Online Registration extended until Wednesday February 13, 2008
until 11pm. AN
ADDITIONAL LATE FEE OF $10.00 WILL BE CHARGED TO ALL COMPETITORS
REGISTERING AFTER 10 FEB DEADLINE!!! CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS ONLY! IF PAYMENT
NOT RECEIVED - YOU WILL NOT BE BRACKETED AND ALLOWED TO ENTER
THE TOURNAMENT!
EFFECTIVE
IMMEDIATELY, WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING MAIL-IN REGISTRATIONS
FOR THE HAWAIIAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2008!!!
Revised
Schedule of Events:
WED, 13 FEB 2008 - ABSOLUTE & FINAL REGISTRATION DEADLINE!!!
$10.00 LATE FEE CHARGE IN EFFECT FROM 11-13 FEB 2008. DON'T LIKE
TO START THE TOURNAMENT LATE?... DON'T REGISTER LATE!!!
THURS, 14 FEB 2008, 2:00P.M. - "PRE-REGISTERED" CHECK
- ALL APPLICANTS DOUBLE-CHECK AND VERIFY INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE
NO LATER THAN 2:00P.M. LAST CHANCE TO MAKE CHANGES AND/OR CORRECTIONS!!!
FRI, 15 FEB 2008 - BRACKETS POSTED on www.hawaiitriplecrown.com website. Brackets
are FINAL - NO CHANGES WILL BE MADE ONCE POSTED.
If registering online: Please disable any Pop-up Blockers.
-
If these programs are enabled, this may cause errors and stop
you from completing your application. When process is completed
resume all Pop-up Blockers.
2/8/2008
CONFUSION ABOUT THE ADULT WEIGHT CLASSES? Please review "Registration"
page, Paragraph titled: "Weigh-in will be held in the following
manner:"
If you still have questions, email us on the "Contact us"
page. Again, Please review our "Registration" page
in it's entirety to avoid confusion!
If
you have registered, Please check the "pre-registered"
page to ensure your application data is correct by 14 FEB 2008. Online registration
- Updates are made within 24 hrs. Mail-in - over 24 hrs.
2/5/08
- Weight divisions for kids - we will not know actual weight
divisions for children until all registrations have been received
on our NEW
13 FEB DEADLINE!
Source: David Hattori
|
ICON
SPORT: TO HELL AND BACK
5PM SATURDAY MARCH 15
BLAISDELL
ticket on-sale date announcement coming soon
confirmed
Phil Baroni vs Kala Kolohe Hose, 185lb World _title
Bronson Pieper vs Sadhu Bott, 145lb State _title
Tyson Nam vs Devon Chong, 135lb
Koa Ramos vs Wayne Perrin, 170lb
PJ Dean vs Eddie Rincon, 160lb
David Padilla vs Alan Lima, 150lb
Jay Bolos vs Nui Wheeler, 135lb
Zack Rapal vs Dwayne Haney, 135lb
Jake Faagai vs Brian "Punisher" Platfoot, HW
Elias Delo Reyes vs Matt Comeau, 145lb
unmatched
Auggie Padeken vs TBA, 205lb
Poai Suganuma vs TBA, 205lb
Jeremy Williams vs TBA, 205lb
possible
add-ons:
Ross Ebanez vs TBA, 165/170lb
Robbie Lawler vs TBA, 185lb
changes
Kaleo
Kwan: Kaleo's
coach Mike Malone and I spoke yesterday, and we've agreed to
get him onto the March HFC card in Maui. Kaleo will return to
EliteXC and Icon
Ron
Verdadero: Ron's going to fight in another promotion. We've worked
this out with his coach, Dave Padilla.
Source:
Icon Sport |
PHIL
BARONI SIGNS WITH ELITE XC
Following a six-month suspension handed down from the California
State Athletic Commission Phil Baroni has found a new home, signing
a multi-year deal with EliteXC.
While
details of the new contract were not disclosed, Baroni will still
be allowed to compete for the Strikeforce promotion. There was
no mention of Baroni’s involvement with World Victory Road
in Japan, but as of Saturday night, he was still listed on the
promotion’s official website for its first event, Sengoku,
scheduled for March 5.
Baroni
has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as well as
Pride Fighting Championships during his career, and now he will
join the growing ranks of the EliteXC middleweight division.
“You
know any Jersey boy like me likes a ‘New York Bad Ass’
and Phil’s definitely as bad as they come,’’ said
EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw, who made the announcement
Saturday. “Phil is a promoter’s dream. He’s a
character but also as courageous a fighter as I’ve been
around.”
The
middleweight has always been seen as one of the flashiest and
most charismatic fighters in the sport and his brand of fighting
will add to the EliteXC roster.
“This
is a great deal and opportunity. I appreciate EliteXC sticking
with me and believing in me enough to sign me,’’ said
Baroni.
He
will make his EliteXC debut via the company’s Hawaii-based
Icon promotion on March 15. Baroni will fight Kala Kolohe Hose
for the Icon middleweight title that was stripped from Robbie
Lawler on Saturday in a separate announcement made by Icon Sport
president T.Jay Thompson.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Fedor’s
official open letter to the UFC president Dana White
"Numerous
times I have read mister White’s statements on Internet
concerning myself. In my opinion, allowing yourself to say those
things is not a sign of a gentleman or a grown man at all! If
he candidly wants to prove himself right then let my fight with
Randy happen or let me face the reigning UFC champion Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira. In the future I wouldn’t want to hear
those unfounded statements in my address ever again."
Source: EFN
|
DAN
LAUZON WINS AT WCF, READY TO MOVE UP?
WILMINGTON, Mass. – On Friday night in the packed Shriners
Auditorium, Dan Lauzon used his slick jiu-jitsu skills to defeat
Frank Latina. His original opponent was set to be Andrew Calandrelli,
but an injury forced Calandrelli to withdraw from the bout. Latina
stepped in to take on Lauzon in the main event, and was apparently
already training for this fight as a backup before he received
the call.
Neither
fighter wasted much time getting comfortable. Lauzon closed the
distance right from the start, throwing a right high kick that
landed on Latina’s shoulder. They traded some big punches
and then Lauzon shot in for the takedown, putting Latina on his
back. From his opponent’s half guard, Lauzon managed to
land a few solid punches before he backed off and motioned for
Latina to stand back up.
On
their feet again, Latina threw a flurry of missed punches to
set-up a takedown. Shortly after, Lauzon pulled off a smooth
butterfly sweep, passed to mount, and then took Latina’s
back as he rolled over. He attained the mount again, but Latina
swept him and they both stood back up.
With
the crowd out of their seats cheering and screaming, the two
fighters traded punches, neither of them landing any substantial
strikes. Lauzon brought the fight back to the matand took his
opponent’s back once again, but Latina spun and landed in
Lauzon’s full guard. From there, Lauzon rapidly transitioned
in and out of submissions, before locking up the fight-ending
triangle.
With
Dana White and the Tapout Crew in attendance, it was no surprise
that Lauzon needed to put on a dominating performance. His grappling
looked sharp and certainly entertained the fans in attendance.
On the feet though, “The Upgrade” looked a bit over
anxious to finish the fight. It appears nothing is definite as
of now, but he should be making his move back to one of the big
shows pretty soon.
One
of the most exciting bouts of the night was between featherweights
Justin Homsey and John Franci. Homsey, who fights out of Renzo
Gracie New Hampshire, is known for his slick grappling and submission
skills. Franchi has a well rounded game and comes from the same
team as Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Tamdan McCrory.
Early
in the fight, Franchi dropped Homsey with a hard right hand,
but Homsey latched onto one of Franchi’s legs and managed
to buy himself enough time to recover. During the remainder of
the first round, Homsey looked for the takedown, but Franchi
stuffed all of his attempts and completely dominated on the feet.
Round
two didn’t last long as Franchi dropped Homsey once again
and then landed several vicious punches to his head. After a
dominating victory over a talented fighter, Franchi proved that
he has a bright future ahead of him in his usual weight class
of 135 pounds.
MAIN
EVENT
Dan Lauzon def. Frank Latina by Submission (Triangle Choke) at
3:01, R1
MAIN
CARD
Henrique Bicalho def. Jason Bennett by Submission (Triangle/Armbar)
at 2:15, R1
Ronnie Wuest def. Nate Kittredge by Disqualification (Illegal
Elbow) at 1:50, R1
Nuri Shakir def. Travis Lerchen by TKO (Referee Stoppage) at
2:42, R1
John Benoit def. Justin Hammerstrom by Submission (Triangle Choke)
at 0:45, R2
Ken Stone def. Daniel Duarte by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 1:46, R1
PRELIMINARY
BOUTS
John Franchi def. Justin Homsey by TKO (Due to Strikes) at 0:40,
R2
Nate Lamotte def. Stephen Stengal by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 0:39, R1
Dan Bonnell def. Mark Giove by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 2:45, R1
Greg Croteau def. Aaron Chidester by Unanimous Decision, R2
Larry Kerrigan def. Luke Czekalski by Submission (Guillotine
Choke) at 3:23, R1
Jose Lopez def. Sean Ratcliffe by Unanimous Decision, R2
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Source: Trent Sera
|
Fighting
For Acceptance is Released for Orders!
Two UH
professors that were nice enough to interview us for their book,
"Fighting for Acceptance" are pleased to announce that
the book is now available for purchase. This is not your normal
MMA book, but rather a book that profiles many aspects of MMA
and fighters that has never been explored! They interviewed many
high profile fighters like Dan Henderson, Mayhem Miller, and
too many others to list. You have to read the book!
We highly recommend that you purchase this book, not only to
support MMA, but to open your mind about the many other facets
of MMA that you have probably not considered and is important
for the general public to be educated about MMA.
The book is officially available for purchase online via the
websites, below:
Barnes & Noble
Iuniverse
Amazon.com
http://MMAcademics.angelfire.com
|
|