Upcoming
Events
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2008
11/21/08
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
11/8/08
Aloha
State Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
10/11/08
NAGA
(BJJ & Sub Wrestling)
(Blaisdell)
10/10/08
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
9/5/08
Got Skillz Fighter
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
August 2008
The Quest
for Champions Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling and Continuous Sparring)
8/23/08 & 8/24/08
Hawaii Training Ctr Boxing
(Boxing)
(Waipio
Industrial Court)
8/14/08
Paragon Fighter
(Kickboxing)
(O Lounge)
8/9/08
K-1 Hawaii Grand Prix
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Stan Sheriff Center, UH at Manoa)
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Kalaheo High School)
UFC 87
(MMA)
(PPV)
7/26/08
Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
7/19/08
Kawano B.C., Palolo B.C., & USA-Boxing Hawai Amateur Boxing
Show
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
Affliction - Fedor vs. Sylvia
(PPV)
7/12/08
Aloha State
Mixed Martial Arts Competition
10AM - 7PM
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
7/11/08
Hawaii Fighting Championships 10
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)
7/5/08
UFC 86 - Jackson vs. Griffin
(PPV)
6/27-29/08
OTM Pacific Submission
Grappling Tournament
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
MMA Expo
(Blaisdell Convention Center)
6/21/08
Hawaii
Xtreme Combat
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui)
Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale
6/20/08
Paragon
(MMA Hybred)
(O Lounge)
6/15/08
Grapplefest
(Submission Grappling)
Anderson Silva Seminar
Studio 4, UH at Manoa
1-4PM
$100
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Seminar
Tropic Lightning TKD
Waipahu
5-7PM
$60
6/14/08
EliteXC
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)
6/7/08
UFC 85 - Bedlam
(PPV)
6/6/08
Punishment in Paradise
Pound 4 Pound
(Kickboxing)
(Ahuna Ranch, Maili)
6/5-8/08
World Jiu-Jitsu Championsihps
(BJJ)
(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California)
6/1/08
Hawaiian
Open of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
WEC 33
(Faber vs. Pulver)
(PPV)
5/31/08
CBS EliteXC
Saturday Night Fights
(9-11 p.m. ET/PT)
(CBS)
5/25/08
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
5/24/08
UFC 84 - Ill Will
BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
(PPV)
5/16/08
X-1: Legends
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)
5/9/08
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Hawaii Fighting Championships 9
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)
5/3/08
Hawaii
Fight League
Season 1, Event 3
(MMA)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Full Force 4
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
Heart-of-a-Cage-Fighter
(Kauai
Veterans Center, Lihue, Kauai)
4/25/08
Punishment
in Paradise
(Kickboxing)
(Farrington High School)
4/18/08
Local Pride
Friday, April 18, 2008
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
4/12/08
Man Up &Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
4/6/08
GrappleFest: Submission
Sundays
(Submission Grappling)
(Hawaii Room, Neal Blaisdell Center)
3/29/08
Garden Island Cage Match 7
(MMA)
(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)
Hawaii Fighting Championships 8
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial)
3/28-30/08
Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(Californina State University, Dominguez Hills, CA)
Registration ends 3/22/08
3/16/08
Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament
(Continuous
Sparring, MMA, Submission Grappling)
(Maui High School Gym, Kahului, Maui)
Icon Fitness Gym Tournament
(Submission Wrestling)
(Icon Fitness Gym)
3/15/08
Icon Sport
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/9/08
2008 Pacific Invitational BJJ Tournament
(BJJ )
(Hibiscus Room, Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu)
3/7/08
Got Skillz Fighter
(Kickboxing/MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
3/1/08
USA-Boxing
Hawaii, Palolo B.C. & Kawano B.C. Presents Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park)
2/29/08
X-1 at the O-Lounge
Fight Club Meets Nightclub 4
(MMA)
(O-Lounge, Honolulu)
2/24/08
Icon Grappling Tournament
(Sub Grappling)
(Icon Gym)
2/17/08
Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
2/15/07
Midwest Invasion: Team Indiana vs. Team Hawaii
(MMA)
(Coyotes Night Club, 935 Dillingham Blvd, Kalihi)
2/8/08
Hawaii Fighting Championships 7
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
2/2/08
Man up and Stand up
(Kickboxing)
(Dole Cannery
Ballroom)
1/26/08
X1 World
Events: Champions
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
1/20/08
Big
Island Open Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(Konawaena High School)
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(POSTPONED)
1/19/08
UFC 80: Rapid Fire
(BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson)
Newcastle, England
1/12/08
Hawaii Fight League
Season 1, Event 2
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
|
|
July 2008 News Part
3
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 6 days a week training!
We are also offering Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday nights
with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday and Thursday with Kaleo
Kwan!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
In Memory of
Lars Chase
Rest in peace my brother
March 10, 1979 - April 2, 2008 |
Looking for a hotel
room on Oahu?
Check out this reasonably priced, quality hotel in Waikiki!
For the special Onzuka.com price, click on one of these banners
above! |
Check out the FCTV website! |
Fighters' Club TV
The Toughest Show On
Teleivision
Tuesdays at 7:00PM
***NEW TIME***
Olelo Channel 52 on Oahu
Also on Akaku on Maui
Fighters' Club TV Radio
The Toughest Show On
Radio
Mondays at 9:00-10:00AM
AM1500 The Team
(808) 296-1500
- Call
in with questions and comments
with hosts Mark Kurano
& Icon Sport's Patrick Freitas |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
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Click here
for pricing and more information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
|
O2 Martial Arts
Academy Day Classes Start May 2!
Women & Kids Kickboxing Class starts May 4!
Click here
for pricing and more information!
O2MAA Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Day Classes will be held on Monday,
Wednesday, and Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and will be taught
by one of Relson Gracie's first black belts, Sam Mahi!
We will be starting a Womens and Kids kickboxing class on Sunday
afternoons from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The class will be taught
by none other than O2's Kaleo Kwan! It will be a non-competitive,
fun atmosphere and allow the ladies and kids to get in a quick
workout and learn some legitimate kickboxing technique before
the long work week starts.
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Quote
of the Day
"The
art of living lies not in eliminating but in growing with troubles."
Bernard
M. Baruch, 1870-1965, American Financier and Statesman
|
ATTENDANCE
NUMBERS FOR 2ND ELITE XC/CBS SHOW
The attendance numbers for the July 26 Elite XC show in Stockton,
CA have been reported by the California State Athletic Commission.
According
to the report, a total number of tickets printed were 8, 541,
and of those tickets available, only 3,701 were sold to attendees
while another 2,817 were given away as complimentary tickets.
The
total number of fans in attendance for the Elite XC show in Stockton
was 6,518.
The
final live gate for the event was $268,715, which is still less
than the face value amount of money put into the tickets given
away as complimentary which totaled out at $340,960.
2,023
tickets were unsold and left over at the time of the event taking
place.
At
the inaugural Elite XC/CBS show in May at the Prudential Center
in New Jersey, the promotion reported a total attendance of 8,033,
but no numbers were released as to the total live gate or complimentary
tickets gien at the event.
The
numbers are seemingly very low considering the promotion’s
investment in putting local fighters such as Nick Diaz, Jake
Shields and Scott Smith on the card to help boost interest in
the event.
The
attendance number coincides with a much lower television rating
that the show garnered as reported by numerous news outlets following
the event.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
ELITE
XC FIGHTER SALARIES
The California State Athletic Commission released the salaries
for the Elite XC/CBS event that took place in Stockton, Calif.
on July 26.
Jeremy
Freitag - $2,500
Anthony Ruiz - $5,001 ($2,001 + $3,000 win bonus)
Shayna Baszler - $8,000
Cristiane Cyborg - $6,000 ($3,000 + $3,000 win bonus)
Jake Shields - $45,000 ($35,000 + $10,000 win bonus)
Nick Thompson - $25,000
Nick Diaz - $60,000
Thomas Denny - $8,500
David Douglas - $4,000 ($2,500 + $1,500 win bonus)
Marlon Mathias - $2,500
Brandon Tarn - $2,000
Drew Montgomery - $3,000 ($1,500 + $1,500 win bonus)
Mike Cook - $2,000
Carl Seumanutafa - $4,000 ($2,000 + $2,000 win bonus)
Wilson Reis - $5,000 ($2,500 + $2,500 win bonus)
Bryan Caraway - $2,000
Rafael Feijao - $20,000 ($10,000 + $10,000 win bonus)
Travis Galbraith - $5,000
Antonio Silva - $200,000 ($100,000 + $100,000 win bonus)
Justin Eilers - $20,000
Robbie Lawler - $90,000 ($45,000 + $45,000 win bonus)
Scott Smith - $14,000
Total
payouts were $533,501
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
SHAW
AND DELUCA RESIGN FROM PRO ELITE
According the latest filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission from Pro Elite Inc, Elite XC Live Events President
Gary Shaw and Executive Chairman of Pro Elite, Doug DeLuca, have
resigned from their positions in the company effective immediately.
Both
Shaw and DeLuca will remain on with the company in a consultant’s
role that will pay them a salary until the contract ends in 2009.
Gary
Shaw had been the public face of Elite XC since its inception,
but he has seen a diminished role over the past few months. He
had already announced a reduced role in the company due to the
constant travel involved, as he is based on the east coast and
the Elite XC offices are in California, but that he would still
be included in all Elite XC business.
DeLuca
is a stranger case with the resignation because even as of last
week prior to the second Elite XC/CBS show, he was a part of
media conference calls discussing the show, but now it appears
he has left the company and his previous role.
Shaw
and his company, Gary Shaw Productions, as well as DeLuca will
be kept on as consultants through Sept. 30, 2009 while collecting
a salary from Pro Elite as well.
No
word has come from Pro Elite or Elite XC as to who will lead
the company now that both of the most prominent public figures
have stepped down. MMAWeekly.con did receive an interview with
Elite XC Vice President, Jared Shaw, on Tuesday who is still
working at the Elite XC offices in his role as matchmaker and
executive.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
TITO
ORTIZ NOT YET SIGNED TO AFFLICTION
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz is not out of
the Octagon just yet.
Despite
several published reports of Ortiz’s whereabouts, Affliction
Vice President Tom Atencio today told MMAWeekly.com that he has
not signed the popular UFC fighter. Atencio claims that Ortiz’s
promotional contract with the Las Vegas based company precludes
that.
“I
can’t talk to Tito until after August 3rd,” Atencio
says. “Everybody just wants to read into it and put whatever
they want on the internet.”
Atencio
says he is still hard at work confirming the venue for the proposed
October 11th date. At this point, most of the card is still a
work in progress—including a main event showdown between
Andre Arlovski and Fedor Emelianenko.
Ortiz,
33, and UFC president Dana White have had a much-publicized war
of words over the past year. Ortiz gave numerous interviews decrying
the UFC’s lack of respect for him, while White told a teleconference
of reporters gathered for UFC 84 that he no longer wanted to
be in “the Tito Ortiz business.”
In
a May interview with MMAWeekly Radio, Ortiz said his fight with
Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 was his last for Zuffa, and hoped to
have fight set up by “September or October.”
“Me
going to somewhere else is 100% happening,” said Ortiz.
Atencio
hopes to have announcement next week confirming the second show
and main events of its card.
“I
hate to use the phrase ‘up in the air,’ but it’s
in the works is a better term,” Atencio says.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
87 FINALIZED FIGHT CARD
The Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced the finalized
UFC 87: "Seek and Destroy" fight card taking place
at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Aug. 9, headlined by the
UFC welterweight title bout between champion Georges St-Pierre
and challenger Jon Fitch.
Kenny
Florian and Roger Huerta square off in a lightweight match up
that could determine the number one contender to vie for BJ Penn's
title. Collegiate wrestling champion and professional wrestling
superstar Brock Lesnar returns to the Octagon taking on UFC and
Pride veteran Heath Herring.
In
preliminary action, Ben Saunders was originally scheduled to
take on fellow "The Ultimate Fighter" season six housemate
Jared Rollins, but Rollins has been replaced by Ryan Thomas who
will be making his UFC debut.
French
heavyweight Cheick Kongo looks to bounce back from his loss to
Heath Herring at UFC 82 against Dan Evensen while Andre Gusmao
steps into the Octagon for the first time against Jon Jones.
FIGHT
CARD:
Main
Card Bouts:
-Georges St. Pierre (#1 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Jon Fitch
(#2 Welterweight in the World)*
-Kenny Florian vs. Roger Huerta
-Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring
-Demian Maia vs. Jason MacDonald
-Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Cheick Kongo vs. Dan Evensen
-Andre Gusmao vs. Jon Jones
-Steve Bruno vs. Chris Wilson
-Tamdan McCrory vs. Luke Cummo
-Ben Saunders vs. Ryan Thomas
Main
card airs in the United States on pay-per-view for $44.95
*Based
on MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
GAN MCGEE
RETURNS TO FIGHTING SEPT 13
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - MMAWeekly.com Staff
GanMcGeeUFC44.jpg
Following a 4 year absence from the sport, former Ultimate Fighting
Championship heavyweight contender, Gan McGee, is set to return
to action on Sept. 13 at the XFC event being held in Tampa, Fla
against Jonathan Ivey.
McGee
hit the pinnacle of his career in 2003 when he got the chance
to fight for the UFC heavyweight title against Tim Sylvia. He
lost in the first round, and following that fight he lost the
desire to focus on fighting.
After
the fight concluded, Sylvia tested positive for steroids and
while the now former UFC champion did admit the usage, neither
the promotion or athletic commission decided to strip him of
the win or the title, and McGee took a crushing blow to his career.
“Tim
Sylvia is a great fighter and the video tape doesn’t lie,
he beat the hell out of me,” remarked McGee from his San
Luis Obispo training camp. “Did the steroids make a difference?
Different people have different theories, I guess. But for me,
what hurt the most was sacrificing absolutely everything I had
to finally achieve my dream of becoming a world champion, and
then falling short. And when it became clear that UFC wasn’t
going to consider me for a second title shot, my entire world
collapsed. I felt like a part of me had just died. It was beyond
devastating.”
McGee
then traveled to Japan to fight for the Pride Fighting Championships
where he dropped two straight fights before leaving the sport
of MMA all together.
Now
focused and back in training, McGee is ready to once again throw
his hat in the ring and work his way back up the heavyweight
ladder.
“My
killer instinct is back, and trust me – it’s never
been deadlier,” said McGee.
His
opponent, Jonathan Ivey, is an experienced fighter in his own
right having fought a number of tough opponents in his career
and he’s looking forward to welcoming McGee back to the
sport.
McGee
and Ivey will do battle in Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC)’s
“Salute to Our Armed Forces V” at the St. Pete Times
Forum in Tampa, Fla on Sept 13.
The
event will also be streamed live on www.mmaxfc.com.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
LEVENS
SUSPENDED AND FINED FOR POSITIVE TEST
Justin Levens, who was scheduled to fight Ray Lazama July 19
in the Affliction: "Banned" event, has been fined and
suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for testing
positive for the painkiller Oxymorphone.
Levens
was fined $1000 of his $6000 fight purse and handed a six-month
suspension that runs retroactively from July 19, 2008 through
Jan. 15, 2009.
Levens'
pre-fight sample came back positive, but the bout with Lazama
was scrapped by the promotion due to time constraints after a
delayed start when paramedics were late arriving at the Honda
Center in Anaheim, Calif.
According
to CSAC Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas, the nanogram
cutoff for Oxymorhone is 120 ng/ml and Levens' sample tested
at 10,141 ng/ml.
All
20 fighters scheduled to compete on the Affliction fight card
were tested by the commission for drugs of abuse as well as steroids.
The results of the steroid tests are still pending.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
JAMES
IRVIN TESTS POSITIVE
Following his UFC Fight Night 14 bout against Anderson Silva
on July 19, James Irvin tested positive for banned substances,
the Nevada State Athletic Commission confirmed to MMAWeekly today.
Following
the loss to Silva, Irvin submitted to a urinalysis, and the urinalysis
reflected the presence of Methadone and Oxymorphone.
Oxymorphone
is a pain reliever prescribed to alleviate moderate to severe
pain. Methadone is most commonly prescribed to recovering heroin
addicts or for the management of chronic pain.
None
of the fighters who competed on the July 19 card were subject
to the NSAC's out-of-competition drug testing policy, which could
have been due to the event being put together on relatively short
notice.
Eleven
of the 22 fighters who competed on the card were tested at the
event. Anderson Silva, James Irvin, Hermes Franca, Cain Velasquez,
Brandon Vera, CB Dollaway, Tim Credeur, Frankie Edgar, Shannon
Gugerty, and Nate Loughran were all tested for steroids, drugs
of abuse, and stimulants. Irvin is the only competitor who tested
positive for a banned substance.
Irvin
has 20 days to formally respond to the NSAC. Previous cases of
fighters testing positive for drugs of abuse in Nevada have typically
resulted in suspensions of eight or nine months.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Change
is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present
are certain to miss the future."
John
F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, 35th President of the United States
|
Icon
Sport
August 2, 2008
Blaisdell Arena
5:00 PM Start
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
TUESDAY
JULY 28, 2008
ICON
SPORT: HARD TIMES PRESS CONFERENCE
2pm
Wednesday, July 29
King
Street Cafe
Yellow
building on corner of King/Ke'eaumoku
Metered
parking on King; limited parking at establishment
Media
credentials distributed
Scheduled
to appear at presser:
Mark
Oshiro vs Bao Quach - 140lb North American Title bout
Kala
Kolohe vs Rolando Dominique - 180lb bout
Phil
Baroni vs Ron Verdadero - 175lb bout
Special
announcements at presser:
Preview
of huge Nov 22 Icon Sport event
Icon
Sport's new weight classes
ICON SPORT:
HARD TIMES WEIGH-IN
2pm
Friday, Aug 1
Icon
Gym
ICON SPORT:
HARD TIMES EVENT
5pm
Saturday, Aug 2
Blaisdell
Weight
BLUE CORNER TEAM RED CORNER TEAM rounds
1 180 Rolando Dominique Fairbanks MMA Kala Kolohe Hose Bad Intentions
3x5
2 140 N. AM Title Bao Quach Team Oyama Mark Oshiro Bulls Pen
3x5
3 175 Ron Verdadero Jesus Is Lord Phil Baroni Extreme Couture
3x5
4 160 Hideto Kondo Mach (Sakurai) Dojo Sidney Silva HMC 3x5
5 185 Jose Diaz CA Mario Miranda AMC 3x5
6 160 Eddie Rincon Impact Zone Dean Lista HMC 3x5
7 140 Kurrent Cockett Impact Zone, Maui Sadhu Bott HMC 3x5
8 205 Maui Wolfgram MMAD Richard Desforge Bad Intentions 3x3
9 150 Ed Newalu 808FF Ricky Hoku Wallace Icon Fitness 3x5
10 170 Kyle Miyahana MMAD Brewski Lewis Bulls Pen 3x3
11 140 Ian Dela Cuesta Jesus Is Lord Ola Silva HMC 3x3
12 185 Brad Tavares MMAD Devin Kauwe Bad Intentions 3x3
13 145 Mark Tajon Bulls Pen Alan Lima HMC 3x3
CONTACT:
PATRICK FREITAS
PHONE:
808 232-3481
EMAIL:
superbrawl21@yahoo.com |
Hawaii
Training Center
Home of
Evolution Boxing Club
Presents
a Match Event @ Hawaii Training Center
Aug. 23, 2008 @ 7pm Aug.24 @ 1pm.
94-547 Ukee St.
Suite #209
Waipio Industrial Court
Waipahu, Hawaii 96797
$10.00
at the door
"
Boxers under 16 yrs. old (One parent free admission)
" 2 Coaches per participating club (free admission)
STREET
PARKING ONLY
"
WE WILL BE USING THE NORTH SIDE ENTRANCE
(TOWARDS REVTEK, OZONE GLASS TINTING, TAIRA'S AUTO REPAIR)
"
Please have your boxer ready to go as soon as the prior bout
is completed.
"
We want to keep this show running smoothly & on time.
"
Bring your own music for your entrance during your
Introduction into the Boxing ring.
(no vulgar, inappropriate, degrading language allowed)
If boxer does not bring music, any song will be played.
"
No Outside food/drinks allowed in boxing event.
" Small coolers allowed with ice & water ONLY.
o Participating clubs only.
o Coolers will be checked at the door.
"
Waipio Industrial Court is a private facility.
Keep parking lot area clean.
Please respect other tenants & neighbors.
Please keep the restrooms clean.
No alcohol on premises.
Smoking allowed near driveway entrance only.
"
Kindly pass the above information to those attending this event.
" Thank you for participating in this boxing event.
|
Minotouro
hard at it
Fighter comments on win over Edwin Dewees
Rogerio
Minotouro wants to keep up his strong pace, as he is coming off
two knockouts in a row. The first, in February, against Todd
Gouwenberg. His victim the second time was Edwin "Baby Face"
Dewees, who could not withstand Minotouro's heavy hand and had
his lights put out in the first round, 4 minutes into the bout,
at Affliction, last Saturday.
"The
fight was quick, relatively easy, but that's because I attacked
first. I was waiting for him to throw kicks and at two minutes
I started attacking my adversary and he felt my fists and started
back stepping. So I clinched and managed to get the knockout
with a left cross. Edwin fell and I went after him with two more
punches, but he was already out," said Minotouro to GRACIEMAG.com.
The
Brazilian now intends to rest to get back to his training routine
already next week. "Now I just have to await the next Affliction,
which should be in October, and see who they'll put me against.
I heard it could be October 11th," Minotouro said in finishing.
Source:
Gracie Magazine |
Rodrigo
Damm to Sengoku GP
Takanori
Gomi also on card for 24th
Rodrigo
Damm was officially confirmed for the card of Sengoku 4, to take
place on August 24th, in Saitama, Japan. The Brazilian black
belt's opponent in the first phase of the lightweight GP will
be Japanese fighter Eiji Mitsuoka, who has performed in Pride
and King of the Cage, and in his last appearance submitted Kwang
Hee Lee at Sengoku II, in May.
Now,
Damm will be trying for his ninth win out of ten professional
MMA fights. His last victim was Jorge Masvidal, defeated by technical
knockout at Sengoku III, in June.
Another
who was confirmed on the card is Takanori Gomi. Idol to the Japanese
fans during the days of Pride, Gomi will face South Korean Sung
Hwan Pang, current lightweight champion of Deep. Check out the
card:
Superfights
Takanori
Gomi vs Sung Hwan Pang
Makoto Takimoto vs Frank Trigg
Peter Graham vs Moise Rimbon
Lightweight
GP
Clay
French vs Satoru Kitaoka
Rodrigo Damm vs Eiji Mitsuoka
Bojan Kosednar vs Kazunori Yokota
Mizuto Hirota vs Ryan Schultz
Source:
Gracie Magazine |
Stories
from Rio Open day 2
Find out some of the stories brought to you by the GRACIEMAG.com
team
Through
oriental philosophy one learns balance. Defeat is accepted with
the same simplicity and peace of spirit as victory. Just understanding
the laws of human nature one knows everything changes: it's not
always the day, nor the night. Perhaps that is the secret of
the moral attributes that the martial arts teach so well.
A
good example of this comes from Ednaldo Lima de Almeida, 32,
from Aracaju, Segipe. The Jiu-Jitsu brown belt came from his
city of birth paying his way entirely on his own. Minutes before
being interviewed, in the semifinal, he had beaten with determination
and persistance and adversary with a kneebar. Happy for being
in the final he quickly told us his story of struggle and achievement,
as Jiu-Jitsu had helped him, as a child, to become more serene
and calm and avoid the mix-ups on the street he used to frequently
find himself in. Now he is a physical education teacher in his
city, black belt in Aikido and Brown in Jiu-Jitsu.
Ready
for the final, Ednaldo went for it. He faced his challenge, but
was quickly submitted with a foot lock. "I lost the battle,
but not the war. War in the good sense," said Ednaldo, who
dreams of being a champion at the World Championship in California.
To him, a title abroad would be really special.
Ednaldo,
even having lost stuck around the whole time supporting his colleagues
and filming the fights joyfully. His friend, Wancleir de Oliveira,
a brown belt ws competing with an injured knee and even so did
not miss the chance to compete.
These
are some of the stories of achievement from the first day of
the Rio Open International and International Master and Senior.
Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com and we will soon bring further information
straight for the Tijuca Tennis Club.
Source:
Gracie Magazine |
|
Second
time is the charm for Robbie Lawler
STOCKTON,
Calif. – On the second mixed martial arts show on prime-time
network television, Elite XC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler
finished what he set out to do the first time.
Lawler
(16-4, 1 no-contest) retained his title Saturday night, beating
Scott Smith at 2:35 of the second round at the Stockton Arena.
The
champion’s finishing flurry was precipitated by concern
after Smith had opened a cut near Lawler’s left eye.
“It
(the cut) was spraying blood on his chest,” said Lawler.
I didn’t want (ref) Herb Dean to see it. I kept my hands
moving.”
“It
was a knee right to the midsection,” said Smith (15-5, 1
no-contest). “I don’t remember a lot about what happened.
I think I got dropped twice, but I know what did me in.”
The
second fight picked up right where the May 31 fight in Newark
ended, sans the accidental third-round eye poke to Smith that
caused the doctor to stop the evenly fought battle, which was
ruled a no-contest.
Both
men went back and forth, connecting with strong punches as the
sometimes impatient crowd of about 6,500 started to boo at first.
But at that point, both started firing high kicks. Smith, usually
a slow starter, connected with more accuracy on his kicks, both
to the leg as well as going high as the crowd started chanting
his name.
Both
men were cut in the second round, when Lawler started connecting
with hard knees that turned the tables against the local favorite
from nearby Elk Grove.
The
show was filled with high-action entertaining fights. While it
isn’t expected the card will do the same television rating
as the first show, in many ways Saturday’s action was more
of a success, with better matches and all four winners looking
strong.
The
show opened with the creation of a new women’s star in Brazilian
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, from the famed Chute Boxe
Academy. Santos (5-0) connected with rapid-fire punches to Shayna
Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D., who trains out of Seattle, for
much of the fight. Baszler (11-5), a submission specialist, failed
on a few early attempts, and by the second round, was unable
to get Santos to the ground, and couldn’t hang with her
standing.
Santos
almost won the fight twice in a strange situation. Santos knocked
Baszler down hard, turned around and jumped on the top of the
cage to celebrate. The only problem was ref Steve Mazzagatti
hadn’t stopped the fight.
Once
Santos realized what happened, she picked up where she left off.
She fired more punches against the cage until Baszler crumbled
to the ground at 2:48 of the second round and Mazzagatti waved
it off.
Santos’
striking was as impressive as any seen in a women’s MMA
fight on U.S. television. After she won, she was showered with
chants of “Gina,” for Gina Carano, the most popular
female fighter in the U.S., who was ringside.
Carano
and Kimbo Slice will headline Elite XC’s third show on CBS,
scheduled for Oct. 4 at the BankNorth Arena in Miami. A match
with Cyborg would garner the most interest and would become the
biggest women’s MMA fight to date.
Elite
XC’s head of fight operations, Jeremy Lappen, indicated
he was interested in such a match but wouldn’t go as far
as to confirm it for the next show.
Two
other champions were crowned on the show, with Jake Shields (21-4-1)
running through Nick “The Goat” Thompson (36-10-1)
to become Elite XC’s first welterweight champion. Shields,
who had been groomed for the title for the past year, caught
Thompson in a guillotine in just 1:03.
“There’s
no shame in losing to someone like Jake, but I made a mistake,”
said Thompson, who in a few days will take the Minnesota bar
exam. “Him getting the mount was because he’s that
good, but the submission was because I made a mistake. Hopefully
I can get some wins and have another chance.”
“That
was something I was training to do,” said Shields. “I
tap everyone in practice with it.”
In
a match that aired during the one-hour preliminary broadcast
on Showtime, Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (11-1) took advantage
of his much larger frame and weight advantage to become the company’s
first heavyweight champion when he finished Justin Eilers (19-7-1)
with a standing flurry 19 seconds into the second round.
Silva,
at 257, made Eilers, at 218, look like a little boy in comparison.
After the fight, Eilers said he was going to cut to the 205 pound
weight class from this point forward.
The
biggest crowd reactions were reserved for Stockton’s Nick
Diaz (18-7, 1 no-contest), who took the measure of Thomas “Wildman”
Denny (26-17) early in Round 2 in a slobberknocker.
Diaz
got an ear-ringing ovation local reporters said they hadn’t
heard in Stockton in years. Diaz survived being outstruck early
and decked Denny three times. The first two knockdowns were at
the end of the first round and the bell likely saved Denny, but
only temporarily. Diaz knocked him down again, and finished him
with punches on the ground at the :30 mark of the round.
“We
(Diaz and training partner Shields) won’t lose to someone
with pink fingernails (Denny) or someone who weighs in wearing
women’s underwear (Thompson weighed in Friday wearing a
jock strap),” said Diaz, the older brother of UFC’s
Nate Diaz.
The
win puts Diaz in line for a fall rematch with lightweight champion
K.J. Noons, who was not at the show.
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
|
Affliction
to hit Vegas in October
LAS
VEGAS – Fedor Emelianenko will defend his newly won World
Association of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight championship belt
on Oct. 11 against Andrei Arlovski in the UFC’s backyard.
Affliction’s
second MMA promotion will be at the Thomas & Mack Center
on the UNLV campus, in the shadow of the UFC’s corporate
offices, according to a venue official.
Affliction
made its promotional debut last Saturday at the Honda Center
in Anaheim, Calif., with Emelianenko submitting ex-UFC heavyweight
champion Tim Sylvia in just 36 seconds.
Affliction
vice president Tom Atencio said Wednesday an announcement on
its next show would come Tuesday. But arena director Daren Libonati,
who is a big MMA supporter, said he was excited to have Emelianenko
back in his building.
Libonati
was instrumental in bringing the now-defunct PRIDE Fighting Championship
to the U.S. for the first time on Oct. 21, 2006, with a show
at Thomas & Mack that featured Emelianenko defending his
heavyweight title against Mark Coleman.
“We’re
really excited to have Affliction in the building and particularly
to have Fedor and all those other great names,” Libonati
said. “I remember working so hard with all those people
at PRIDE and the ultimate goal was to put on a show (at Sam Boyd
Stadium, UNLV’s football stadium) where the PRIDE champions
would have defended their titles against the UFC champions.
“That’s
what we were working toward in those two (PRIDE) shows we did
back then, but it never worked out. We always want to bring big
events here, and any time you have Fedor in your building you
have a big event.”
Arlovski
is a former UFC heavyweight champion who was impressive on Saturday’s
Affliction show in stopping Ben Rothwell.
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
|
Filho
bets on André Galvão to MMA
With
André Galvão’s partnership on trainings, Paulo
Filho celebrates the presence of the two times world BJJ champion
to get prepared for his WEC title defense at September 10th,
and bets on Galvão for his debut on MMA. “I believe
a lot on BJJ, and he’s not a rookie, his an expert, he’s
a star. I’m sure he’ll debut with a victory, I trust
on BJJ a lot more than any other martial art. It’ll be hard
to find an opponent with better BJJ than his”, guarantees
Filho, that believes Galvão helping him on training will
be excellent. “He trained with Wanderlei (Silva) and will
help a lot on the ground work. I hadn’t a great material
to work with for a long time”, celebrates Paulão.
Source:
Tatame |
Quote
of the Day
"When
ideas fail, words come in very handy."
Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832, German Poet/Dramatist/Novelist
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel 52
7:00 PM
|
Man
Up and Stand Up
August
9, 2008
Kalaheo High School
|
ELITE
XC AND CBS ANNOUNCE NEXT SHOW OCT 4
During the CBS broadcast of Elite XC Saturday Night Fights, the
promotion announced their next network show set to take place
on Oct 4 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla at the Bank Atlantic Center.
Popular
heavyweight fighter, Kimbo Slice, was in attendance at the show
on Saturday night and he was announced as a participant and likely
main eventer for the next CBS/Elite XC Saturday Night Fights
card.
Also
slated to be on the Oct. 4 show will be still undefeated female
MMA sensation, Gina Carano, who sat cageside and gave her thoughts
after the Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Shayna Baszler
fight.
It
was mentioned during the broadcast that Carano could face the
winner of the Cyborg/Baszler, but it has been rumored that she
may face veteran fighter, Kelly Kobald instead.
Many
other fighters could end up on the next CBS card including the
man who called out Kimbo Slice after his last fight, Brett “The
Grim” Rogers, but it hasn’t been determined if he will
be the one to face Kimbo in the main event.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ST.
PIERRE PUTS RUMORS OF UFC EXIT TO REST
Speculation has run rampant for the last few months with everyone
from fighters to promoters weighing in on the possible defection
of Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion, Georges
St. Pierre, leaving the company when his current deal is up.
According
the St. Pierre, he still has time left on his current deal and
an ongoing negotiation is already happening between his camp
and the UFC.
“I’m
with the UFC, I have two more fights on my contract, and you
know we’re in negotiations,” said St. Pierre during
an appearance on MMAWeekly Radio Thursday night. “Everything
is going well, you know. We’re talking and everything is
good.”
Despite
just about everyone having an opinion on what he should do next,
St. Pierre says that he’s confident a deal will get done
and the UFC will remain his home.
“We’ll
end up to an agreement, I’m sure,” St. Pierre said.
“I like the UFC, I’m glad I’m champion, I want
to represent the sport and also the UFC well.”
St.
Pierre still maintains a strong relationship with his main sponsor,
Affliction, regardless of the UFC’s current ban on the company’s
shirts and name brands being worn by their fighters.
But
the current welterweight champion isn’t looking at his sponsor
as a future home for fighting. While nothing is ever certain
until a deal is done, according to St. Pierre, he plans on fighting
in the Octagon for a very long time to come.
“The
UFC, that’s what made me known, and if possible I want to
retire there."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ikemoto
captures DEEP welterweight title
Seichi Ikemoto became the new DEEP welterweight champion at DEEP
36 Impact Sunday, unanimously outpointing Hidehiko Hasegawa through
three rounds at the Zepp Osaka in Osaka, Japan.
The
win was Ikemoto's second over Hasegawa. Ikemoto also won by unanimous
decision in their first meeting at DEEP 20 Impact in September
2005.
Ikemoto
improves to 17-14-5, while Hasegawa drops to 14-10-5.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
MMA
Fastball: Fedor Emelianenko erases all doubt
It’s called fastball for a reason, folks. Now let’s
get to it.
Fedor
erases all doubt who the number one heavyweight in the world
is: When Fedor was the PRIDE Heavyweight Champion almost everyone—
especially this writer—was absolutely convinced that he
was the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world. Along with
this, most were pretty sure that he would dispose of his UFC
counterparts quite easily.
But
then two things happened. First PRIDE fell and Fedor found himself
out of work, creating a situation by which he went over two years
without fighting a heavyweight contender. Second, Mirko “Cro
Cop” Filipovic went over to the UFC and performed very poorly,
causing most people’s confidence in the former PRIDE organization’s
heavyweight division to be shaken.
But
then came July 19th and Affliction: Banned. If you’re still
doubting Fedor’s greatness after his 36 second destruction
of former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Tim Sylvia, something is
wrong.
Fedor
Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski: Yahoo Sports has reported that
Fedor’s next opponent will be former UFC Heavyweight Champion
Andrei Arlovski in October. Of course, that will mean that one
of MMAFighting.com’s former Dream Match Ups will take place.
It’s a huge bout as Arlovski is one of the most explosive
and athletic strikers in the world today.
But
here’s the question: Is it a better fight than Josh Barnett
vs. Fedor would’ve been? Arlovski is definitely at a disadvantage
that Barnett would not have been—certainly not to the same
degree, anyway—if this fight goes to the ground.
Food
for thought.
Anderson
Silva needs some movement: This is to take nothing away from
Patrick Cote; he’s an extremely tough guy that brings well
rounded skills, toughness, heart, and a lot of stand up power
to every fight he participates in. Still, when you heard that
Silva would be taking him on at UFC 90, did you get excited?
In
the end, Cote seems to be at a disadvantage in this fight no
matter where it ends up. On his feet, he’ll be playing it
out against one of the greatest strikers in MMA history and on
the ground he’s likely to have to defend submission attempt
after submission attempt (if he can get the fight to the canvas
to begin with). Sure, Cote could come off with a rocket shot.
But. . .
Anderson
Silva requires some movement. Either the UFC should have Georges
St. Pierre move up to fight him or they should have him go up
in weight to take on someone like Chuck Liddell or Wanderlei
Silva. Now that would bring some anticipation.
Christiane
Cyborg vs. Gina Carano: It seems like every time a female fight
goes off at an EliteXC event it ends up being one of the more
entertaining bouts of the night. That said, most fans haven’t
really sat with bated breath in anticipation of any of them.
But
after Cyborg’s performance against Shayna Baszler this past
Saturday, that may be changing. Cyborg looks like a brutal striker
on her feet—like a female version of Wanderlei Silva. Carano
has already proven her stand up mettle.
This
is a female fight that many fans would love to see.
Should
instant replay be a part of MMA?: After watching Anthony Johnson
lose a fight to Kevin Burns due to multiple thumbs in the eye,
the most important of which the referee missed, you’ve got
to wonder about this. Instant replay would’ve rightfully
left Johnson in the winner’s circle; hell, it would’ve
at least kept him from adding an undeserved loss to his record.
If
used in such situations some form of instant replay might be
beneficial to the sport. To question judge’s decisions or
have referee stoppages that didn’t have anything to do with
a rule- breaking incident be questioned would not be beneficial.
In
other words, it all depends on how it might be used.
Kenny
Florian vs. Roger Huerta at UFC 87: This fight has the potential
to be one of the best of the year. Be sure to catch UFC 87 for
this one alone!
The
IFL has taught us many things, one which should not be forgotten:
Well, the IFL will either completely fold or be purchased. In
fact, it looks as if Zuffa may have already acquired the promotion,
though this has not been confirmed. Regardless, we must remember
one thing from the IFL’s fall.
MMA
is a sport about individuals. Fans won’t buy the team concept.
Anyone
else getting a little tired of Forrest Griffin being the underdog?:
People still seem to be selling Forrest Griffin short. The bottom
line is that the guy has defeated Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson consecutively and
is as tough as they come.
Anytime
he fights you know that you’re going to see the best Forrest
Griffin that there is. Now that says something; and the something
it says is not that he should continue to be the underdog in
all of his fights.
Looking
forward to seeing the UFC in Minnesota: The state of Minnesota
just seems right for mixed martial arts. Guess is that the place
will be rocking when the UFC shows up there next month.
Eddie
Alvarez is a guy to watch: Sure, Joachim Hansen won the DREAM
Lightweight Grand Prix; and yes, despite being an alternate he
fought very well. That said, the fighter that came out of this
tournament most impressively, in my opinion, was Eddie Alvarez.
This guy has a motor that doesn’t stop, is as tough as they
come, and has well- rounded skills to boot.
What
else is there? Looking forward to seeing what he can do when
two fights aren’t required on the same night.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Babalu
on win over Whitehead
Brazilian beats Whitehead by unanimous decision
At
Affliction in Las Vegas, last Saturday, besides Rogerio Minotouro
and Vitor Belfort, another Brazilian to do well was Renato "Babalu"
Sobral, of Gracie Barra, who, by unanimous decision defeated
American Mike Whitehead, of team Xtreme Couture.
Babalu
told GRACIEMAG.com he tried to submit Whitehead, but found it
hard due to his opponent's physical strength. "I'm been
training for a good long while and am really well prepared, I
training boxing in Los Angeles, with sparring partners from the
gym. This win went according to plan. I tried to finish the fight,
but the guy is really strong, I didn't manage to, I tried to
impose my game, but we just traded blows standing. The holds
that got closest were a guillotine and an omoplata," said
the fighter.
On
his next moves and challenges, Babalu said he is planning to
face, in September, a current Strikeforce belt holder: Bobby
Southworth, who has 9 wins and 5 losses. In Southworth's opinion,
Babalu is a legend. The Brazilian has 30 wins and only 7 lossses.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
It's
Jiu-Jitsu time in Rio
Rio Open and Master and Senior underway
It's
time to tighten up the belts, straighten out the gis, step onto
the tatami and look opponents in the eye, as the Rio International
Open and International Master and Senior championships are both
underway, both held by the International Jiu-Jitsu Fedeeration
in the Tijuca Tennis Club gymnasium. According to its organizers,
around 1,100 athletes are expected over the three days of the
event, which ends on Sunday.
The
events are open to the public. And several beasts of Jiu-Jitsu
are guaranteed to appear, like the veteran Alexandre "Gigi"
Paiva; Mario Reis; the Nova Uniao featherweight and champion
of Brazil, Marcelino Freitas; Brasa fighter Gabriel Vellz; and
Serginho Moraes, world welterweight champion, who eliminted Kron
Gracie, son of legendary Rickson Gracie. Among the ladies, featured
is world absolute champion at black/brown Kyra Gracie.
"The
idea's to hold International Opens in several grand metropolitan
centers around the world. The next Open, next year's, for example,
should be in New York. The goal is to do an international championship
in Rio for the folks who like to visit the city, for the athletes
overseas who want to get to know it here and also for Brazilians
who are unable to compete at the Worlds," explained Marcelo
Siriema, director of events at the IBJJF.
Stay
tuned to GRACIEMAG.com. Over the weekend we'll bring more on
what goes on at the championships.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"The
best part of beauty is that which no picture can express."
Francis Bacon, 1561-1626, English Philosopher/Essayist/Statesman
|
Fighters'
Club Radio Today!
AM 1500
9:00 to 10:00 AM
Call in
with your comments at 296-1500
|
EliteXC
'Unfinished Business' Review
EliteXC: Unfinished Business took place on July 26, 2008 from
the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California. The card? How about
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith in a rematch of a bout earlier
this year that ended prematurely due to a thumb in Smith’s
eye-- hence the unfinished business tag-- plus an EliteXC Welterweight
Championship fight between Jake Shields and Nick Thompson, and
a Stockton native by the name of Nick Diaz set to fight on the
card as well.
Let’s
get ready to rumble!
The
night started off with a female fight between Shayna Baszler
and Christiane Cyborg. “What makes Chris Cyborg so tough
is her aggression,“ said Baszler before this bout. Leading
to the following question: Would Cyborg, a Chute Box fighter,
be able to utilize that aggression to her advantage against an
excellent ground fighter like Baszler?
Cyborg
started off aggressively with strikes=2 0and a takedown. However,
as soon as the fight hit the ground, Baszler nearly pulled off
a kneebar. Cyborg ended up on top after evading the attempt.
Then Baszler turned things over on her, got a takedown, and was
turned over once again after looking briefly for a heel hook.
Then came the bell.
Give
Baszler the round based on the kneebar attempt.
Cyborg
came out and connected with a bunch of punches to start things
off. She looked very strong, literally throwing her opponent
to the canvas. When they came back to their feet, Cyborg went
after Baszler aggressively, connecting with punches and a huge
knee. Then came a plethora of punches that left Baszler on the
canvas. Thinking she had won already, Cyborg started to celebrate.
Problem was that the referee hadn’t called the match yet.
The shenanigans allowed Baszler a chance to recuperate.
But
it did no good.
Several
punches after the two once again started to fight, Baszler was
in trouble once more. Then Cyborg hit home with a right.
Game
over.
Christiane
Cyborg wins via TKO at 2:48 of round two. Damn, I want to see
Gina Carano fight this woman. What a stand up fight that would
be.
Next
up was the EliteXC Welterweight Championship bout between Nick
Thompson and Jake Shields. “I think this fight’s exciting
because both Jake and I are true mixed martial artists,”
sa id Thompson before this match up. So what happens when two
true mixed martial artists meet in a cage?
In this case, a fast ending.
Shields
immediately came out and got the takedown. From there he gained
the mount. Then after some scrambling, Shields choked Thompson
out with his right arm from the mount with his second arm posted
out.
Jake
Shields wins at 1:03 of round one via a modified guillotine choke.
It’s very rare to see someone as adept at the ground game
as Thompson lose via a one-armed choke.
“I
want to win this fight so I can back in line for a title shot,”
said Nick Diaz before his fight with Thomas “Wildman”
Denny. In other words, he wants another shot at K.J. Noons. But
would he be looking past his opponent because of this?
Denny
started off the fight aggressively, connecting with several punches.
Then he took Diaz down, which almost proved to be a poor move
as Diaz quickly transitioned to an armbar that only narrowly
missed.
When
they came to their feet after the armbar attempt, Denny connected
several times with punches. But then it was Diaz who did what
he always does. Namely, he kept moving forward and those slow
punches of his began to land. Then they began to land hard. And
by the end of the round, as a spectator you were wondering if
Denny was even going to make it through.
Roun
d one goes to Diaz. Both of these guys are tough as nails.
In
the second, Diaz landed a hard right that rocked his opponent.
Then came a flurry, which didn’t stop until Denny hit the
canvas. Multiple punches later and it was all over.
Nick
Diaz wins via TKO after 30 seconds in round number two. This
was a fun fight; both guys proved their mettle, but Diaz was
clearly the better man on the night.
Then
came the main event of the evening, a rematch between Scott Smith
and Robbie Lawler. “It’s just gonna be me, him and
the ref,” said Lawler before the bout. “Whatever it
takes.”
Let’s
get it on.
The
fight started off with Smith hitting home with low kicks and
Lawler nailing his opponent with a high kick. That said, by the
midway point, Smith had connected with enough low kicks to do
some damage.
The
middle of the round was a different story, however. Namely, Lawler
started hitting home with jabs and then a big left. Smith looked
a little bit dazed for a moment. But then late in the round,
Smith connected with some power shots.
Give
it to Smith. But it was close.
After
a nice kick to the ribs by Lawler to start the second, Smith
landed some hard rights. Then Lawler hit home with some big punches.
Then Smith countered with a very hard elbow that opened a decent
sized gash on the top of Lawler’s head. However, as the
blood flowed Lawler seemed to become stronger, connecting with
several big punches to the body while inside, along with some
damaging knees.
Those
knees meant something. Namely, their cumulative effect caused
Smith to drop to the canvas. From there, the two fighters came
to their feet but one more big knee dropped Smith to the canvas
soon after. A few strikes later and it was all over.
Robbie Lawler wins via TKO at 2:35 of round two.
In
the end, EliteXC: Unfinished Business was a good night of fights.
Christane Cyborg showed that she was a force to be reckoned with
in female MMA; Jake Shields proved that he was championship caliber
to anyone that could’ve possibly doubted him; Nick Diaz
did what Nick Diaz always does; and finally, Robbie
Lawler showed that he was the man in the EliteXC Middleweight
Division.
That’s
all folks.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Frank
Shamrock thinks Robbie Lawler is next
Add EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler to the list of
potential opponents for Frank Shamrock's return from surgery.
Shamrock,
who suffered a broken arm in a loss to Cung Le in March, told
CBS 11 in Dallas that he was cleared last Tuesday to resume training
for a potential fight this year.
"I'm
projecting November I get back in there [to fight]," Shamrock
said. "I don't know who it is yet but I have a feeling that
if Robbie Lawler pulls this one out, he and I are going to be
butting heads."
Another
matchup for Shamrock could be Strikeforce lightweight champion
Josh "The Punk" Thomson, who told MMAFighting.com last
week that he's willing to move up in weight to resolve his feud
with Shamrock.
Besides
a rematch with Le, Frank Shamrock also has a long talked about
brother versus brother matchup against Ken Shamrock, which could
happen early 2009.
"I
think the Ken fight is really important to get done as soon as
possible not only because we're both getting older, but I think
now is the time to tell the story of the sport and the families
and the brothers and stuff that were involved at the beginning
of the sport and how it came to be what it is," Shamrock
said in media call. "I think it's an educational opportunity
and it's great television so I'd love to get that fight in first.
And Cung's a great martial artist and we do really well here
in San Jose. But I want the world to see that fight and a promotion
like 'Blood Brothers' would really kick that fight to the next
level."
Source: MMA Weekly |
SILVA
VS. COTE HEADLINE UFC 90 IN CHICAGO
Anderson Silva will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship
middleweight title against hard-hitting Canadian Patrick Cote
in the main event of UFC 90 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago
on Oct. 25.
The
news comes from the Chicago Sun Times who cited UFC president
Dana White.
Anderson
Silva is coming off a first round knockout win in the light heavyweight
division over James Irvin on July 19 at UFC Fight Night 14. The
bout with Cote will mark his return to the middleweight division
and will be his fifth title defense.
Cote
is coming off a win over Ricardo Almeida at UFC 86.
Ultimate
Fighter season one winner Diego Sanchez is expected to take on
American Top Team trained Thiago Alves in the co-main event.
Source: MMA Weekly |
ELITE
XC "UNFINISHED BUSINESS" RESULTS & LIVE PLAY-BY-PLAY
MMAWeekly is on location from the Stockton Arena in Stockton,
Calif., for EliteXC "Unfinished Business," providing
you live results and play-by-play of tonight's mixed martial
arts action.
The
second installment of Elite XC on CBS is headlined by the rematch
between top five ranked middleweight "Ruthless" Robbie
Lawler and Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith for the Elite
XC Middleweight Championship.
Two
other title fights are featured as Jake Shields and Nick Thompson
fight for the vacant Elite XC welterweight title and Antonio
Silva and Justin Eilers face off in the main event of the Showtime
portion of the card for the vacant Elite XC heavyweight crown.
QUICK
RESULTS:
-Anthony Ruiz def. Jeremy Freitag by unanimous decision (29-28
on all 3 cards)
-David Douglas def. Marlon Mathias by TKO at :12, R1
-Robbie Lawler def. Scott Smith by TKO (strikes) at 2:35, R2
-Nick Diaz def. Thomas Denny by TKO (strikes) at :30 seconds,
R2
-Jake Shields def. Nick Thompson by submission (guillotine choke)
at 1:03, R1
-Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos def. Shayna Baszler by TKO
at 2:48, R2
-Antonio Silva def. Justin Eilers by TKO (Strikes) at :19, R2
-Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante def. Travis Galbraith by
TKO (Strikes) at 3:01, R1
-Wilson Reis def. Brian Caraway by unanimous decision (30-27
on all 3 cards)
-Carl Seumanutafa def. Mike Cook by TKO (Strikes) at 3:39, R1
-Drew Montgomery def. Brandon Tarn by TKO (Cut) at 4:22, R3
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
-Robbie
Lawler vs. Scott Smith
R1- Smith gets out of the gate early, pursuing Lawler as the
champ works to find his range while throwing a few head kicks.
Smith lands some good jabs and leg kicks. Lawler starts to stalk
his opponent, landing some power shots. Smith comes right back
at him in the last minute, hitting him with some good punches
as the round ends. Very close round.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 for Scott Smith
R2-
Smith catches Lawler early on with a nice elbow that opens a
big cut over his forehead. Lawler answers back by pushing into
the clinch, working his dirty boxing game. Lawler hits Smith
with overhand punches and starts to unload knees on his opponent.
Smith falls down, but is able to get back up just in time to
be met with another barrage of strikes from Lawler. Smith falls
to the canvas one more time as Lawler hits him a few more times
before referee Herb Dean stops the fight. Lawler retains his
title.
Robbie
Lawler def. Scott Smith by TKO (strikes) at 2:35, R2
-Nick
Diaz vs. Thomas Denny
R1- Denny starts out with some heavy strikes coming right after
Diaz. He lands some good punches and leg kicks. Diaz counters
with his peppering jab and hooks. The fight goes to the ground
briefly where Diaz tries for a kimura and then an armbar, but
Denny gets back up. The fighters exchange heavy shots for the
remainder of the round with Diaz landing more shots, using his
reach advantage to hurt Denny.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 for Nick Diaz
R2-
The fighters come out striking again, but Diaz quickly gets the
upper hand, landing big shot after big shot and eventually Denny
crumbles. Diaz stands over his opponent landing a few more strikes
before the referee steps in to stop the fight.
Nick
Diaz def. Thomas Denny by TKO (strikes on the ground) at :30
seconds, R2
-Jake
Shields vs. Nick Thompson
R1- Shields gets the fight to the ground early, transitioning
almost immediately to full mount. As Thompson tries to reverse,
Shields moves quickly to lock on a guillotine choke, then moving
back to mount. Thompson isn't able to move out and is forced
to tap out. Jakes Shields becomes the first Elite XC welterweight
champion.
Jake
Shields def. Nick Thompson by submission (guillotine choke) at
1:03, R1
-Shayna
Baszler vs. Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos
R1- Cyborg comes out ultra aggressive, striking and coming after
Baszler. Baszler survives the onslaught and takes the fight down
where she attempts a knee bar, transitioning to a toe hold. Cyborg
gets out of the hold and starts to reign down shots on her opponent.
Baszler tries to get out from under Cyborg, but she spends the
majority of the time under the Brazilian.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 for Cristiane Cyborg
R2-
Cyborg comes out striking again in the 2nd round, putting Baszler
on the defensive immediately. Cyborg backs Baszler against the
cage where she starts to unload, and Shayna falls to the canvas,
but the fight is not over. Cyborg actually thought the fight
was stopped, but the bout continued. The almost stoppage seemed
to anger Santos as she came after Baszler again, blasting her
with punches until she crumbled to the mat and the fight is stopped.
Cristiane
"Cyborg" Santos def. Shayna Baszler by TKO at 2:48,
R2
-Justin
Eilers vs. Antonio Silva
R1 - Silva opens with a leg kick. Both fighters circling and
feeling each other out. They're picking their spots for short
exchanges. Silva lands a double leg takedown and Eilers turtles
up. Silva unleashes on him but is deducted a point for striking
to the back of the head by referee Herb Dean. The fight is restarted
and Silva attempts a high kick that is blocked. Eilers lands
a big shot but slips in the exchange. Silva swoops in as Eilers
turtles up again. Eilers gets back to his feet. Silva clinches
and presses Eilers against the fence where he lands knees to
the body. They separate and take the center of the cage. Eilers
lands a couple of good shots as Silva counters. MMAWeekly scored
it 9-9 due to the point deduction to Silva.
R2
- Eilers lands a left hook but eats a big punch in teh process
knocking out his mouth piece. As he staggers back, Silva looks
for the finish landing several punches as Eilers holds on to
the fence trying to stay on his feet. He collapses to the canvas
where Silva lands more punches. Herb Dean calls a stop to the
fight.
-Antonio
Silva def. Justin Eilers by TKO (Strikes) at :19, R2 becoming
the first Elite XC heavyweight champion.
-Rafael
"Feijao" Cavalcante vs. Travis Galbraith
R1 - Galbraith thinks about a kick but doesn't pull the trigger.
Cavalcante lands a leg kik and sets up getting to the clinch
off of a punch but Galbraith powers him to the fence. They exchange
knees and Galbraith lands an elbow as the two separate. Back
in the clinch, Galbraith tries for a takedown but Cavalcante
stays on his feet. Cavalcante lands a right hook hurting Galbraith
then followed it up with knees sending Galbraith to the canvas.
The referee stops the fight.
-Rafael
"Feijao" Cavalcante def. Travis Galbraith by TKO (Strikes)
at 3:01, R1
-Wilson
Reis vs. Brian Caraway
R1 - Caraway opens the round with a body shots before Reis gets
the fight to the ground with a single leg where he passed to
half guard, then to mount and back to half guard. Reis works
ground and pound until Caraway escapes out the back and gets
to his feet. Reis lands another single leg takedown where he
immediately moves to half guard and worked it to the mount position.
Caraway gave up his back but escaped out the back again. Reis
gets another takedown in the closing seconds. MMAWeekly scores
round one 10-9 for Wilson Reis.
R2
- Reis secures an dearly takedown but Caraway quickly gets back
to his feet. Caraway landed a knee while Reis went for a leg.
Caraway tries to ground and pound he hurt Reis, but after a brief
scramble, Reis obtains top position. Reis advanced position to
side control, but Caraway gets back to half guard and eventually
full, closed guard. Reis passes his guard again, advancing back
to side control. Caraway does a good job re-establishing his
guard and works his way back to his feet. Reis goes for a single
leg but it's Caraway that gains top position. Reis sweeps back
to top position where we works a few elbows before Caraway scrambled
back to his feet. The round ends with the fighters pressed agaisnt
the cage. MMAWeekly scores round two 10-9 for Reis.
R3
- Caraway opens the third round aggressive landing a few punches
and a knee before Reis gets the takedown. Reis works elbows in
half guard as Caraway works back to full guard. Reis eventually
gets to the mount position, but Caraway reverses the position
landing in Reis' guard. After a battle for position, Caraway
gets back to his feet. Caraway landed another knee but Reis gets
the takedown. Reis stands and tries to land a big punch that
puts him on the bottom. Caraway lets him up and lands a knee
as Reis gets a single leg. But Caraway immediately gets back
to his feet. MMAWeekly scores the final round 10-9 for Reis.
-
Wilson Reis def. Brian Caraway by unanimous decision (30-27 on
all 3 cards)
Source: MMA Weekly |
MATT
LINDLAND ON HIS VICTORIOUS RETURN
It
had been over a year since Matt “The Law” Lindland
had last competed, prior to his win over Fabio Negao at this
past weekend’s Affliction: Banned show.
In
that time the middleweight division has seen its share of changes,
but mainly, do to his inactivity, Lindland saw Anderson Silva
rise to the top of the division.
However,
with a new multi-fight deal with Affliction, and an opportunity
to compete on a higher level again with more consistency, Matt
can begin to work his way back up the rankings and prove that
he belongs in that top spot, starting with his win over Negao.
Speaking
to MMAWeekly from his home in Oregon, Lindland discussed his
returning performance, his fighting career goals, and what lays
ahead for his other pursuits; politics, Team Quest and Sportfight.
MMAWeekly:
First off Matt, how did it feel getting back into action for
the first time in over a year?
Matt
Lindland: I felt great. I was excited to get in there and go.
I just couldn’t figure out why I was so winded, and then
I got home and I went to the doctor and got diagnosed with phenomena,
so I figured it out. But yeah, it was a long break. I was excited
when I got in the ring. I ran across the ring and touched gloves
even before we got instructions. So, I was ready to go, yeah,
for sure.
MMAWeekly:
Illness aside, what do you think of what you were able to do
in the fight, technically?
Matt
Lindland: I felt like I performed pretty well. My technique was
pretty good. I threw some nice high kicks and a couple of body
kicks. I dropped him, landed punches and was close to a submission
– there’s a lot of positive stuff out of that fight.
As an athlete you’re always looking to improve, and I certainly
came away from it knowing there’s a lot of things I could
do better.
You
know, he didn’t come after me real hard. He was more of
a counter guy in that fight, so it made me push the action and
initiate everything. Basically if he would have came at me and
pushed to win the bout more, it would have opened up more stuff
for me, but I didn’t have that luxury.
MMAWeekly:
It appeared you had him in trouble a couple times in the fight
on the ground, but the ring didn’t allow for you to control
him a cage would have. Was the ring a factor in the fight for
you?
Matt
Lindland: Yeah, I think for that fight – since we spent
so much time on the ground – that a cage would have been
better, but esthetically I like the ring better. Personally,
just for esthetics I think it looks more sporting. Honestly if
it’s a ring or a cage, I don’t really have a preference
to tell you the truth.
MMAWeekly:
Having fought in a multitude of shows over the years, what do
you think of what Affliction did this past weekend?
Matt
Lindland: I was impressed with them. I think they did a great
job. I don’t know if they’re going to make their money
back on Pay-Per-View or not, or if they’re making money
off selling merchandise, but they’ve got Donald Trump involved,
so I’m sure they have a good business plan.
They’d
said that they were ready to lose money the first couple of shows,
and I think anyone who gets into this business has to be ready
to make those kind of investments to put together a new show
and organization.
Look
at all these other shows… Bodog had the money to continue,
they just decided it wasn’t worth it. The IFL, I think they
made mistakes along the way and spent maybe more than they needed
too. But these guys (Affliction) sold a lot of tickets. I don’t
think the IFL did a show close to this number of tickets sold.
MMAWeekly:
Did they give you any indication afterwards that they were going
to make a push and bring in more talent for you to round out
the middleweight division?
Matt
Lindland: There was some guys, some names mentioned. Certainly
the guy they have on the roster now at 185 was Vitor (Belfort),
and he looked phenomenal. But yeah, they mentioned some other
big names. I certainly hope so, because I have a couple more
fights with them. I certainly hope that the Affliction guys use
me on their next show. It was great to back in there, and getting
my legs back under me, it was fun. I want to compete as much
as I can.
MMAWeekly:
During the broadcast, Jay Glazer mentioned how good it was to
see you fighting again, and the fans sure appeared to have the
same notion. It’s got to feel good knowing you’ve still
got a ton of people behind you that missed you this past year.
Matt
Lindland: Absolutely, I felt like there was a lot of support.
I don’t think it was necessarily my best performance, but
I step up to the level of competition I face, and I think it
was stylistic-wise, Fabio wasn’t in there to make me look
good. He was in there to make a statement that he could hang
for three rounds and he didn’t allow me to show how I have
improved over the last couple of years. I still think I was able
to show a lot.
I
had a lot of people telling me that they were looking forward
to watching me. Honestly, I had 37 text messages after that fight
telling me congratulations and it was good to see me fight. That’s
a lot of people; I didn’t even know I had that many people
in my phone book. I was getting all that support going into the
fight, so it was great.
MMAWeekly:
Okay, now tell us about some of the things you’ve got going
on outside the ring. Can you update us on Team Quest, Sportfight
and your political run for office?
Matt
Lindland: I’ve got a couple guys coming off IFL contracts,
so we’re in negotiations right now to find all those guys
homes. I’m sure you’ll be the first to hear pretty
soon when we’ll get everyone landed, but those negotiations
are going well. I’ve got a great gym manager, Scott McKendry,
who is doing a real phenomenal job increasing memberships.
The
weekend I was fighting at the Affliction show, he hosted the
FILA grappling event, and we had over 50 competitors there. We
qualified a bunch of guys for the new FILA grappling tournament,
world team trials. He’s experimenting some in Marketing,
adding Gi classes with Fabiano Schrener there teaching, a Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt. The gym is really becoming a turn-key operation
for us, with the base we built and the new manager we got in
there.
The
Sportfight promotion is continuing to go. I’m just trying
to pull myself away a little more and just become more of the
match-maker and the guy that oversees things, rather than the
guy who does everything. I’ve got Chris Moss on the production
side, and I’m looking to get someone new to help come in
on the promotion side and help with the marketing and all that
kind of stuff. I’m just really getting myself more organized.
I just recently hired a personal assistant, so I have that in
place.
I
have a great campaign manager named Tootie Smith, she was the
former representative in the neighboring district, and she’s
on board with my campaign now. We had a strategic meeting the
other day and we’ve got some fundraising events being set
up; some door-knocking, campaigning event scheduled, and just
getting the game plan in place. Now it’s just a matter of
executing everything and moving forward. I’m still looking
to raise more money to win this election. MattForOregon.com is
the website to direct people to if they want to see me legislature.
MMAWeekly:
Sounds good, Matt. Thanks for taking the time for this interview.
Is there anything you want to say in closing?
Matt
Lindland: I want to thank my new sponsor for this event, that
were great to have them behind me, Grenade Gloves. They make
snowboarding gloves and apparel right here in Oregon. Danny Kass,
an Olympic silver medal winner, X-Games champion, and one of
the co-owners of the company came down and supported me. I’m
looking forward to continue a long relationship with those guys.
Dirty Boxer, this is the year that we’re going to see a
lot of promotion for them and getting our apparel line out. And,
a special thanks to Clinch Gear for making my custom shorts.
Keep
blowing up the message boards and letting people know you want
to see me back in the ring. Make some suggestions on opponents,
because I’m open to fighting anybody. So if there anyone
in particular that fans want to see me fight, let us know. There’s
a couple guys that I’d like to avenge some losses against
like Murilo Bustamante and David Terrell, but I’m open to
fighting whoever the fans want to see me fight.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC'S
ANTHONY JOHNSON HAS EYE SURGERY
Most of the time mixed martial arts events go smoothly. Minus
a few small snags, most shows go off without a hitch, but occasionally
there is controversy.
Such
was the case at the July 19 Ultimate Fighting Championships’
Fight Night 14 event at The Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada.
During
the welterweight bout between Anthony "Rumble" Johnson
and Kevin Burns, it had appeared as if Johnson was well on his
way to earning a decision victory over Burns when with just over
a minute and a half left in the third and final round, circumstances
came together to cost Anthony the fight.
After
an exchange on the ground, the two fighters were stood back up.
Kevin struck Anthony in the head, and Johnson fell to the ground,
in obvious pain. Thinking it was a clean strike the referee declared
the fight in Burns’ favor via TKO, but the replay showed
otherwise.
What
apparently happened was that Anthony was struck in the eye by
a finger, with the strike not actually landing beyond that point
of contact.
With
Johnson’s camp currently busy protesting the fight’s
outcome, the UFC welterweight spoke the match-up, as well as
gave an update on the condition of his eye.
“I
had surgery.” he said. “It was pretty intense for me.”
“My
retina was damaged, possibly detached, and the laceration was
pretty long. It was basically from one end of my eye to the other.
They did laser surgery that took about two hours, put some stitches
on it basically.”
As
for when he will possibly be returning to action, Anthony replied,
“The doctor said I should be back in the September. So,
hopefully you’ll get to see me do my thing in September
or October.”
“Everything
should be fine. I’ll go back soon (for a check-up) and they’ll
just make sure that I don’t have any infections.”
When
it comes to the fight, Johnson says there is no ill will between
he and Burns, however, he is concerned about future safety issues
due to Burns' inability to close his hand into a fist.
“I
told my agent, Ken Pavia, I have nothing against Kevin; but personally
I don’t want him to fight again until he gets his hands
fixed,” he commented. “I don’t want any other
fighter to go through what I went through.”
“I
don’t think it’s cool that he fought with his hands
like that. It put himself and others that he’s competing
with in danger. Just look at me. I can accept a loss, but I can’t
accept a loss or the consequence of someone else’s wrong
doing in a fight like that.”
Since
the fight, the general reaction Johnson is getting from people
has been nothing but positive on his behalf.
“I’ve
had fans support me,” he said. “Even the lady at the
eye doctor’s office recognized me and told me I got robbed
and it was a bad eye poke.”
“Everybody’s
been saying that I showed a lot of class and respect for that
to happen to me. A lot of people are saying if that happened
to them, they would have raised hell; but raising hell wouldn’t
have done anything but made me look bad, so I do whatever I have
to do to make myself and the sport look good.”
Regardless
of the eventual outcome of his petitioning the result of his
fight, Anthony is looking forward to getting back into action
as soon as he heals, and he believes the UFC wants the same.
“Definitely,
you’ll see me get another shot,” he exclaimed. “I
don’t think they would want to get rid of somebody that
goes out there and gives it his all and puts on a show for the
fans and respects the sport like I do.”
“Not
a lot of guys will go out there and lay it on the line for 15
minutes, so I think you have to respect someone like that and
give them a shot when they deserve it.”
With
an upbeat attitude and an ever-improving skill set, it won’t
be long before Anthony Johnson puts this incident behind him
and continues on his way towards putting on exciting fights and
making an impact in the welterweight division.
“I’d
like to thank my sponsors, Tapout and KNOXX; the UFC, the fans,
Royal Bloodline Generation and MMAWeekly,” he concluded.
“Thanks to everyone that’s supported me.”
“I
even thank the people that think that I faked it and I gassed
it. Thanks for your opinion too. It will just make me a better
fighter the next time you see me. I’m just glad I’m
still here and able to talk to you guys and let you know how
I feel and giving you updates on me, thank you all.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"I
can't imagine a person becoming a success who doesn't
give this game of life everything he's got."
Walter Cronkite, American Broadcast Journalist
|
Fighters
Analyze Wins, Losses
by Tony Loiseleur
OSAKA, Japan -- Despite predictions from fans and pundits alike,
none of the original four Dream lightweight grand prix semifinalists
found their way into the victory circle at Dream 5. Instead,
perennial fan favorite and tournament alternate Joachim Hansen
(Pictures) unexpectedly realized his own dreams at Osaka Castle
Hall on Monday.
Hansen
won a reserve bout against Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill
and then stopped Shinya Aoki (Pictures) on strikes in the final
after Eddie Alvarez (Pictures) was forced to withdraw from the
competition with an eye injury.
“I
was only thinking about the ‘Black Mamba’ fight, and
then all this stuff happened for what became a strange night,”
Hansen said. “But I’m still happy.”
The
beginning of Aoki’s end came when Hansen stood inside his
guard and landed a devastating left hand to the grappler’s
jaw. Aoki curled into the fetal position, and Hansen blasted
him with lefts and rights until the fight was stopped.
“[For]
the finishing move, I was standing up on top, and I had to watch
out for his upkicks because he was kicking me real good,”
Hansen said. “I was thinking [that] all I had to do was
land one really good shot, so I took some time to aim before
firing.”
Aoki
and Hansen had met once previously, as the Japanese standout
defeated the Norwegian by gogoplata submission in 2006. Hansen
learned from his mistakes.
“I
was uncomfortable with his rubber guard,” Hansen said. “I
think most people who fight him are aware of his guard game,
but I got good instructions from my sparring partner, Antonio
[Carvalho], there, and it worked.”
Hansen
also addressed comments he made at the conclusion of his bout
with Gill, as he had dedicated the fight to two people battling
cancer.
“My
boxing trainer’s mother is struggling with cancer, and I
was also visiting a fan in the hospital who supports me and is
struggling with cancer,” he said. “Because I was pretty
scared and nervous before the fight, I was thinking, ‘You
know, they are the ones who are really fighting.’”
Meanwhile,
Dream promoter Keiichi Sasahara answered questions regarding
why Hansen -- and not Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) -- was used
as an injury replacement in the final. Kawajiri lost to Alvarez
by TKO in the tournament semifinals.
“It’s
written in our regulations that in the case of a submission,
a fighter eliminated in the [semi]finals will be allowed to continue,
but [Kawajiri] was knocked out,” Sasahara said. “The
first priority was to Kawajiri, but that was eliminated [when
he was knocked out].”
Exhaustion
costs Aoki in final; damage superficial for Alvarez
Clad
in Osaka food culture’s kuidaore-inspired red and white
spats, Aoki dominated UFC veteran Caol Uno (Pictures) in the
Dream lightweight grand prix, as he put on yet another outstanding
display of mat technique during their tournament semifinal. An
exhausted Aoki changed into his yellow and black pants before
meeting Hansen, and while the in-ring attire had proven helpful
in previous bouts, it appeared to be less effective in his rematch
with the Norwegian.
“Uno
is a great fighter, and I gave everything in my fight with him,”
Aoki said. “Honestly, I think he’s really strong. I
was exhausted coming into the Hansen bout, so today, maybe Uno
was it for me.”
Aoki
remains interested in competing in future tournaments, though
he admitted doing so might not be in his best interest.
“That’s
a very difficult question to answer, but regarding whether I
will want to participate or not, I think I will participate,”
he said. “I intend to regroup and rebuild, and then try
it once more.”
The
25-year-old Aoki credited Hansen for a stellar performance, particularly
his ability to finish. It was the first time he had been stopped
in almost four years.
“At
first, I was thinking I would survive, but then I was getting
pounded on,” Aoki said. “I thought, ‘This is dangerous,
but I don’t want to get stopped.’ Then, I got stopped.”
Alvarez
-- whom Hansen replaced in the final -- had to be taken to the
hospital for evaluation and was unable to make it backstage to
comment on his potential “Fight of the Year” performance
against Kawajiri or his being replaced by Hansen.
“To
the Japanese fans, thank you for tonight,” Alvarez wrote
in a prepared statement. “The doctor stop was very disappointing
to me, but next time, I want to return to Dream to challenge
Joachim Hansen (Pictures). I’ll be back soon after my injury
is healed to see you all again in Japan.”
Alvarez’s
medical evaluation proved positive, as the lightweight later
confirmed that he had suffered no serious damage to the orbital
bone or to his vision.
Kawajiri,
Uno share disappointment, uncertainty
Typically
humble and self-critical of his performances, win or lose, Kawajiri
was particularly harsh on himself during his post-fight interview.
Despite appearing to have done more visible damage to Alvarez
than Alvarez had done to him, Kawajiri expressed frustration
over a foiled gameplan after he was knocked out by the American.
“Honestly,
I thought I could have won on the feet,” he said. “I
was controlling the fight. My weakness is that I can’t finish
people off, like in the [Gilbert] Melendez fight, so that’s
why I believe I am not yet a top fighter.
“I’d
say that I did what I trained and my punches hit him well, so
to some extent I am satisfied but not 100 percent,” Kawajiri
added. “I set up my power punches with the jabs, and when
he came in, I countered him well, I thought. That was my gameplan,
and I think I did well by it.”
Kawajiri
cast some doubt on a possible time frame for his return. The
30-year-old lightweight had defeated Gill and Luiz Firmino (Pictures)
to advance in the tournament.
“I
don’t know what will happen to me,” Kawajiri said.
“I’m not sure if I can fight in the Dream ring again,
but I’ve got my homework, so I’ll just rest and continue
to work on things to improve upon myself. Until then, it’s
probably meaningless to fight anymore.”
Caol
Uno (Pictures) shared similar thoughts following his semifinal
loss to Aoki.
“Frankly,
I’m disappointed with myself. That’s it,” he said.
“I couldn’t fight my fight, and that’s why I lost.”
Stifled
by Aoki’s control, Uno was dominated to such an extent that
the thought of surrender passed through his mind at various points
in the match.
“Several
times during the fight, I felt that I wanted to give up, but
I couldn’t quit because I thought of all the people who
were supporting me,” Uno said. “I just continued to
keep moving and trying to escape, to try and make things difficult
for my opponent.”
Benavidez
wants in on tournament; Faber optimistic about ‘Kid’
bout
Joseph
Benavidez (Pictures) made a successful promotional debut at Dream
5, as well, as he choked out Junya Kudo (Pictures) -- a late
replacement for Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto -- by guillotine
2:42 into the first round.
“It
really feels like all the hard work has paid off to fight in
a show like Dream,” the undefeated Benavidez said. “It
feels like the culmination of all the hard work, the sacrifices,
the time I put in [at] the gym. This is what I dreamed of, and
this is what I think I was born for.”
Benavidez’s
mentor, World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Urijah
Faber (Pictures), expressed pride in his performance.
“I
was really happy with Joseph’s performance,” Faber
said. “I know how tough he is because I’ve been hit
by him, choked by him, and I’ve wrestled him everyday, and
that’s why I was confident of him going up against ‘Kid.’”
On
a 14-fight winning streak, the once-beaten Yamamoto withdrew
from the event with a knee injury. Benavidez expressed disappointment
in a lost opportunity.
“When
I first got to Japan, I was doing all these interviews about
fighting ‘Kid’ Yamamoto, and that’s when I suddenly
realized, ‘Holy cow, I’m fighting here in Japan, and
it’s a huge deal,’” he said. “And right after
I realized that, it was taken away from me.”
Faber
also responded to questions regarding his own desire to face
Yamamoto at some point. He remains confident a bout between the
two will happen.
“I’d
like my guys to have the opportunity first, though, and I have
some of the best guys in the world on my team,” Faber said.
“I feel like, ‘Let [Yamamoto] beat Joseph first, and
then we’ll see if he can even hold a torch to me.’
[Benavidez is] a whirling dervish … ‘Reno,’ we
call him -- the biggest little man in the world. You’ve
seen a little bit of that today, and he still hasn’t really
been challenged in his career. I think that when they fight,
and whether Joseph wins or ‘Kid’ wins, either way,
I’d still like to fight ‘Kid’ at some point.”
Benavidez
also addressed his potential participation in next year’s
rumored Dream featherweight grand prix.
“I
want [Dream] to be my home, and I love the tournament style,
so it’d be awesome to participate in the featherweight tournament,”
he said. “Like I said, I want to be a champion, and that’s
what’s going to get me there.”
Akiyama
remains everyone’s favorite heel
It
was a bit of a homecoming for Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures), as
the biggest heel in Japan chose to wear a gi for his fight against
professional wrestler Katsuyori Shibata (Pictures).
“When
I was a judo player, I had a match here in Osaka Castle Hall,
and I lost,” Akiyama said. “I wanted to have redemption
for that. When the venue was decided, that’s when I decided
on the gi.”
Vilified
for previous transgressions in Olympic Judo and in MMA, Akiyama
reacted with a smile when asked about his ability to draw the
ire of Japanese MMA fans, particularly those in his hometown
of Osaka.
“I
think I’m the only fighter in MMA who receives boos like
this,” Akiyama said. “I just want to play the role
that was created for me to help enhance the atmosphere of the
fights.”
Akiyama
then took the opportunity to challenge Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures).
“He’s
the one who has been complaining about me the most,” Akiyama
said. “In the magazines, he’s complained about my fights,
my friends and me, so like everyone else wants, I’d like
to settle this with him myself.”
Sasahara
seemed open to a potential Akiyama-Tamura bout, though he has
other plans for the controversial judoka, too.
“They
are in the same weight division, so it would be an interesting
matchup,” Sasahara said. “However, personally, I want
to make matches beyond [Akiyama’s] weight division, because
he’s such a strong fighter. I think he can beat heavier
fighters. I can’t think of any specific names, but the winner
of the middleweight tournament is one possible opponent, while
another possible opponent is someone heavier.”
Shibata,
who tapped out to Akiyama’s Ezekiel choke 6:34 into the
first round, had much less to say, apologizing for his performance
before storming out of the interview room.
Miscellaneous
notes
Like
many of the Japanese fighters at Dream 5, Hideo Tokoro (Pictures)
apologized for what he considered a subpar performance, despite
the fact that he earned a unanimous decision against Cage Force
featherweight tournament semifinalist and Deep standout Takeshi
Yamazaki (Pictures). Tokoro complimented his opponent’s
skills, claiming that though he controlled the action on the
feet, he was afraid to get too adventurous on the canvas for
fear of being reversed.
Yamazaki,
also dissatisfied with his performance, blamed the loss on not
“going for the win.” While his face was swollen and
mostly hidden under a bag of ice, Yamazaki claimed he had no
serious injuries after the fight. That news was met with a sigh
of relief by many, as Yamazaki will continue his run in the Cage
Force featherweight tournament later this year.
Elsewhere,
Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (Pictures)
-- who defeated Mark Hunt (Pictures) with a kimura a little more
than a minute into the first round -- told reporters he received
the call to fight the heavyweight hulk while vacationing on a
beach in Thailand. Without any proper training for the bout,
Overeem accepted the match and managed to pull out a quick submission
victory over the Samoan before taking any real damage. As such,
Overeem took the opportunity to once again call out 2006 Pride
open-weight grand prix champion Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic,
who has allegedly turned down a fight with Overeem several times
before.
A
dejected Hunt expressed his disappointment at being unable to
put his jiu-jitsu training into practice in the ring, despite
having trained with Gracie Barra Sydney representative Marcelo
Rezende. Hunt conceded he was unsure whether or not he would
be able to continue competing inside the Dream promotion given
his performance.
Sasahara,
meanwhile, saw Dream 5 as a success but admitted the promotion
had more ground to cover and needed to raise its profile within
Japan before branching out to other countries. He hinted at the
possibility of three more events this year, including a show
on New Year’s Eve. Sashara commented briefly on Fedor Emelianenko
(Pictures)’s incredible performance against Tim Sylvia (Pictures)
at Affliction: Banned over the weekend. Many expect him to pursue
the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight champion’s
services for the New Year’s Eve show.
Source: Sherdog
|
Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ
Tournament
Today!
5th Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open Tournament
Saturday, July 26, 2008 - Start time - 10:00a.m. (Sharp!)
War Memorial Gymnasium, Wailuku, Maui
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Gi only Tournament, Standard Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu rules and weight
classes apply.
Entry Fees: Adults: $60, Kids: $30, No additional fee for entering
open divisions, Free T-Shirt.
Mail completed entry
forms to:
5th Maui JJ Tournament
150 Haiku Road
Haiku, Hawaii, 96708
or
sign in at the Maui JJ academy
810 Haiku Road Unit #230
(Haiku Cannery) all day Friday.
Day of tournament sign up - $20 late fee - NO EXCEPTIONS
Weigh ins will be at Maui JJ Academy all day Friday and Saturday
morning for contestants already signed up (entry forms already
received).
Call Lee at 298-7698 or Luis at 575-9930 for more info.
See You all there!
Start planning your travel arrangements now to avoid last minute
troubles. Check out the Hawaii Super Ferry (approx. $108) and
Hawaiian Airlines ($160-180) recently has shown lower prices
than Go Airlines.
Maui Jiu-Jitsu open tournament
looking for black belt competitors!
We are looking for
black belt and brown belts to compete in individual and open
bracket matches for cash and prizes! This year we are looking
to hold individual matches between black belt competitors for
cash prizes. We are also planning to have an open division for
black and brown belts that will feature cash and prizes for the
winners. Please contact Luis or Lee for more details.
Registration and
entry forms:
Entry forms must be received no later than Friday, July 25, 2008.
A late fee of $20 will be assessed to all applications received
after the deadline or on the day of the event. This is essential
for us to be able to have all brackets set up and to facilitate
a timely start to our event. All competitors registering on the
day of the event will be charged the late fee.
Please mail all completed entry forms to: 150 Haiku Road, Haiku,
Hi. 96708. Don't forget to include a phone number if we need
to reach you and make sure you check the weight class you want
to compete in. Mail your forms early, it must reach us by Friday
or you will be charged a late fee. No exceptions!
Weigh-ins:
Competitors can weigh in all day on Friday at the Maui Jiu-Jitsu
Academy, located at the Haiku Cannery Center, 810 Haiku Road,
Unit #230. Outer island competitors arriving on Saturday can
weigh in at the event prior to the start of competition. Please
be sure to make your weight!, you will be charged a late fee
if we have to move you to a different weight bracket.
If you have any
questions, please feel free to call Luis or Lee at the numbers
listed, or email us. It is our hope that you will join us in
the spirit of friendly, fun competition and to further promote
the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!
Luis "Limao"
Heredia
Head Instructor - Maui Jiu-Jitsu
Lee Theros Event Coordinator
Ph. (808) 357-0657 or 575-9930
Ph. (808) 298-7698
Website: www.mauijiujitsu.com
Email: mauibadboy@aol.com
|
EliteXC
on CBS Today
From
CBS Entertainment
FEMALE
MMA STANDOUTS SHAYNA BASZLER AND CRISTIANE CYBORG
ADDED TO THE CARD FOR SECOND PRIMETIME BROADCAST
OF "CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS"
SATURDAY, JULY 26, ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK
SHOWTIME
To Televise Three Live Fights Preceding CBS Broadcast,
Including EliteXC Heavyweight Championship
Featuring Antonio "Big Foot" Silva vs. Justin Eilers
The
female bout between Shayna Baszler of Sioux Falls, S.D. and Brazil's
Cristiane Cyborg has been added to the lineup for the second
primetime broadcast of CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS, live
from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif. on Saturday, July
26 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Baszler
and Cyborg, who are fighting in the 140 pound weight class, complete
the primetime matchups for the CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS
on July 26. Other CBS fights include:
·
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler vs. Scott "Hands of Steel"
Smith (for EliteXC Middleweight title)
·
Jake Shields vs. Nick Thompson (for EliteXC Welterweight title)
·
Nick Diaz vs. Thomas "Wildman" Denny (Lightweights)
Nicknamed
"The Queen Of Spades," the talented Baszler is 9-4
and has won her last four
starts. All of Baszler's victories have come via submission;
her last four outings ended in the first round.
Regarded
as one of the roughest and toughest women in MMA, Cyborg has
a record of 4-0. This will be the United States debut for Cyborg,
who has scored first-round technical knockouts in her last three
fights.
SHOWTIME
will televise three live fights preceding the CBS broadcast from
8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT including:
-
Antonio "Big Foot" Silva vs. Justin Eilers (for EliteXC
Heavyweight title)
-
Wilson Reis vs. Brian Caraway (140 lb. weight class)
-
Rafael Feijao vs. TBD (light heavyweight fight)
CBS
Sports play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson, cageside analysts
Frank Shamrock and Mauro Ranallo, and reporter Karyn Bryant will
return as the "CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" broadcast
team and also have the call for the SHOWTIME telecast.
CBS
ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS will be produced by SHOWTIME Sports.
The executive producer is David Dinkins, Jr.
For
more information on the first CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS,
visit cbssports.com
Source:
CBS Entertainment
|
Josh
Thomson Interview:
The Punk wants The Legend
by Robert Rousseau
Coming into his fight against former Strikeforce Welterweight
Champion Gilbert Melendez, the man they call “The Punk”
had a 17-2 overall MMA record with six (T)KO’s and eight
submission victories to his credit. Of course, Melendez had certainly
earned the high level status that many afforded him coming into
that fight; he’d defeated Clay Guida, Tatsuya Kawajiri,
and Tetsuji Kato during his career.
But
when you throw together Thomson’s stellar record and past
victories against Duane “Bang” Ludwig, Hermes Franca,
and “Razor” Rob McCullough, shouldn’t we all have
given him a little more credit as well?
Well,
since defeating Gilbert Melendez on June 27th Thomson has certainly
earned a higher status amongst MMA fans and a championship belt
to go along with it. And if you’re wondering if he has some
strong feelings regarding the next fighter he takes on, you better
believe that he does.
Can
you say Frank Shamrock? Josh Thomson sure can.
MMAFighting.com:
How’s it going, man?
Josh
Thomson: It’s going good.
MMAFighting.com:
I know it’s a little while back, but I wanted to say congratulations
on your win over Gilbert. You looked great in that fight against
some stiff competition.
Josh
Thomson: Thanks.
MMAFighting.com:
You’d won six straight coming into your fight against him
and your only losses were to upper echelon fighters. Do you think
people underestimated you coming into that fight, and if so why
did they?
Josh
Thomson: I had shoulder surgery and was injured since September
(of) last year. There were a lot of things going on. I hadn’t
fought in nine months and so I think that was another reason.
Gilbert always is a top guy. He was ranked higher than me. He’d
beaten some top guys; he’d also beaten someone that I had
lost to you. So I think that (was it).
MMAFighting.com:
You know I’m trying to remember front kicks used as effectively
as you did in a championship fight, and I’m having trouble
doing that. What do you do differently from other people in terms
of training to utilize them?
Josh
Thomson: I think anytime that you have someone that walks right
in or tries to track you down (or) stalks you. . . they sometimes
stay a little square, especially someone that’s a good wrestler,
and that’s what Gilbert is; Gilbert’s a great wrestler
and someone that obviously stalks his opponents. You know (he)
tries to wear them down (and) tries to make them fatigue. I think
he was able to do that against a lot of his opponents.
We
worked a lot on keeping him at bay with the front kick and mixing
it up. Not just the front kick, but mixing it up from the face
to the stomach to the legs— every little thing I could do
to keep him off, to keep him guessing.
That
was the biggest thing we had actually worked on. . .
MMAFighting.com:
Did his game plan surprise you at all or no?
Josh
Thomson: No. Honestly I kind of figured his game plan was to
try to put me on my back and ground and pound me. I think later
on he had said that’s what his game plan was. So I worked
a lot on my wrestling and tried and stop people’s shots.
I have a lot of good wrestlers at my gym— Jon Fitch and
(Josh) Koscheck. . . I honestly thought that they might try and
change it (the game plan) a little bit as the fight went on.
I think they didn’t really try working anything else. They
just tried letting the hands go more throughout the fight because
they knew that the takedown wasn’t coming as easy as they
thought.
I
was expecting them, I guess, to change their game plan completely.
MMAFighting.com:
And it just didn’t happen.
Josh
Thomson: Yeah, it made it a little bit easier for us.
MMAFighting.com:
Did you feel—and I’m not sure about this myself—but
did you feel that physical strength was an advantage for you
in this match up coming in? And then afterwards did you feel
it was?
Josh
Thomson: No, not at all. I think a lot of people think because
I’m a bigger lightweight that I’m strong. I’m
not a strong lightweight at all. And Gilbert and a lot of guys
I train with can attest to that. I think what it is, is that
I keep them at bay with my speed. I’m kind of fast. . .
I think maybe I seem like I’m strong sometimes, but I’m
not really.
I
think in this fight definitely not. My strength never was really
a factor.
MMAFighting.com:
Okay. Well, now you’re the champ. Any idea on who’d
you like to fight next?
Josh
Thomson: We were leaning towards Jorge Masvidal, but then he
went and got his ass kicked in Japan by Rodrigo Damn. I guess
after all the trash talking he did he couldn’t really hold
up his end of the bargain.
Right
now, I’m really looking forward to maybe getting in the
works with some sort of fight with Frank Shamrock. (I’m)
probably going to try and come up a little bit in weight.
He’s
done a lot of bad talking I guess about me. I just have a strong
feeling that I could beat him. I think that we were able to show
a little bit— Cung Le trained with me and Javier Mendez
for that fight— and I think with a game plan executed perfectly
I think we can beat him. I think that’s another thing that
Frank’s a little concerned about. I don’t think he’s
interested in fighting me. But I think now that he’s lost
and shown ways to beat him, I think I can execute a game plan
that would obviously beat him.
I’ve
trained with him before in the past and he’s done some things
through the internet, criticizing me and stuff. So I guess it
all comes down to whether he feels like he’s ready to fight.
If he wants to fight and he entertains the fact that he’d
like to fight me, then that’s somebody I’m really interested
in fighting.
MMAFighting.com:
Has Strikeforce talked at all about a possible fight with you
and Frank, because I know that they were also talking about Frank
and Ken and a lot of other stuff?
Josh
Thomson: I guess it’s been just kind of spinned around.
I think because I’m smaller they don’t think Frank
would entertain the issue. But for someone like him, I think
that he should probably start entertaining it. You know, he lost
to Cung. . . I’m willing to come up in weight to meet him.
. . After all of the things he’s said and done against me
I think on a manly point of view it would probably be beneficial
for him to just go ahead and let’s just get it on. I don’t
understand.
We’ll
see what happens. I’m really interested in that fight. I
don’t think he’ll do it. . . I think he feels that
his legend is too big.
MMAFighting.com:
I saw on a TV preview before the Melendez fight you said you
were partying a lot less when training for Gilbert and that you’d
go back to your old ways—you were joking, obviously—if
it didn’t work out. My guess is you’re sticking with
what worked. Am I right?
Thomson:
Yup. You know, I stick with what works. There’s a lot of
things we’ve been working on. I just think the whole deal
is I have the trainers behind me and the people behind me to
come up with a game plan to implement to beat Frank. I think
Frank knows that, especially now after we implemented the game
plan for Cung that beat him. So, I guess now it just comes down
to him. I don’t think he’ll entertain it (the fight)
because I believe he thinks he’s better than that. But I
think that he knows deep down inside after training with me for
several years that I can beat him.
MMAFighting.com:
So you basically think right now that Frank just doesn’t
want to risk it at this point against someone like you.
Josh
Thomson: I think he has a lot to lose if he loses to me. After
years of training, I think he knows that I have all of the tools
to beat him. I think that I showed a lot of my tools against
Gilbert, from my kickboxing to my wrestling to my submissions.
I think that Frank’s got a lot to lose.
MMAFighting.com:
You were friends with Gilbert Melendez before this fight. Have
you talked to him since the fight or no?
Josh
Thomson: No, I haven’t. I have seen and talked to Jake Shields.
He came in and trained at AKA the whole week after the fight.
He said Gilbert right now is trying to make a decision; he has
one more fight left on his contract with Strikeforce. So, he’s
trying to make a decision whether he’s going to stay with
Strikeforce or leave. . .If he decides to stay in Strikeforce
we probably won’t train together again until he works his
way back up for another fight against me, which he will. I don’t
see anybody right now out there that can really contest to beat
him. I think that he’ll be back at the title trying to fight
me for the title back . . . If he goes somewhere else then obviously
he’ll be in training with me again.
MMAFighting.com:
Did you see the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix last night?
Josh
Thomson: No, I didn’t. But I heard about it, and I’ve
said this from the beginning that Eddie Alvarez was probably
the smallest 170 pounder I’ve ever seen in my life. But
I also thought he’d probably be one of the best 155 pounders
in the world. And I think he showed it against Kawajiri. I knew
that Kawajiri and him were going to come to fight. I don’t
think that Aoki or Uno would’ve had a chance against Eddie
or Kawajiri, that’s why they matched him up against Kawajiri.
Kawajiri looked like a stud coming into the tournament and missed
an opportunity to win it. I think Eddie was just someone that
peopled underestimated because they’re not used to seeing
him fight yet at 155. He’s a savage.
I
think that the fact that he beat Joachim, (well) that’s
part of the sport. I think it’s going to be interesting
to see what happens in the future. They’ll possibly have
him and Joachim fight again.
I’ve
said it before. I’ve always been impressed with Joachim
Hansen. I’ve always said that I wanted to fight him. I thought
he was one of the best fighters in the world; he’s always
shown that. I think he’s a great fighter and I’d love
to fight him.
MMAFighting.com:
Yeah, that would be a really cool fight to see, you and Hansen.
Josh
Thomson: We match up for a very entertaining fight.
MMAFighting.com:
Definitely. Anything you’d like to say to the fans in closing?
Josh
Thomson: It’s just nice to finally have a lot of fan support
and be involved in the future growth of the sport. I’m just
going to keep trying to win. That’s the best I can do, and
I’m glad that everyone now has had an opportunity to see
me fight (and) see what I’m capable of against a top fighter.
You know, they saw a little bit against Hermes Franca when I
beat him, and now they’ve seen it against Gilbert. It’s
only going to get better from here. I think as I grow as a fighter,
it’s only going to get better. So all my loyal fans and
all my new fans just keep watching; just keep watching me get
better.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
MMA
Update - July 23 - UFC Signs Miller
Ariel Shnerer
-
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has signed both reigning International
Fight League middleweight champion Dan Miller and brother Jim
Miller to four-fight exclusive contracts. Financial terms of
the deal have not been disclosed.
-
On an Albuquerque radio show, Keith Jardine said he will take
on Brandon Vera in a 205-pound matchup at UFC 89. The event is
scheduled for Oct. 18 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham,
England. The card is headlined by a middleweight bout between
Michael Bisping and Chris Leben. Another rumored fight would
feature middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva defending the
title against Patrick Cote.
-
ProElite Executive Chairman Doug DeLuca confirmed that ProElite
is in negotiation with Fox Sports Net (FSN) for future shows.
The ProElite combat sports family includes EliteXC, ICON Sport,
Cage Rage, King of the Cage, Spirit MC and others.
-
Since the initial report was published, which stated the ratings
for Ultimate Fight Night 14 peaked at 3.8 million viewers, Spike
TV has released updated ratings. The new data pins the peak audience
at 4.46 million viewers.
-
Speaking of Spike TV, UFC is currently negotiating with the network
to broadcast UFC 89 free of charge. This follows the report that
UFC 90, being held only a week later, will air on pay-per-view.
-
Three fights have been added to UFC 88 on Sept. 6 in Atlanta,
GA. The first sees former middleweight champion Rich Franklin
take on veteran of the third season of "The Ultimate Fighter,"
Matt Hamil. The second fight pits former Pride middleweight and
light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson against Rousimar Palhares,
victorious against Ivan Salaverry at UFC 84. And finally, Karo
Parisyan will look to rebound from his loss to Thiago Alves when
he steps into the octagon against Yoshiyuki Yoshida. The Ultimate
Fighting Championship officially confirmed all three bouts on
Wednesday.
-
Matt Hughes updated fans on the condition of his injured knee
on his personal blog. The former UFC welterweight champion estimates
the torn ACL ligament will take 6-7 months to heal.
-
MMAWeekly.com is reporting that the planned welterweight bout
between Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez, originally slated for
UFC 89 on Oct. 18, is now expected to take place at UFC 90 on
Oct. 25 in Chicago, IL.
-
Sam Caplan of "Five Ounces of Pain" reports that Phil
Baroni is set to make his return to ICON Sport Aug. 2 in Honolulu, Hawaii when he
takes on Ron
Verdadero
in a 175-pound fight. Baroni last competed at Cage Rage 27 with
an impressive knockout victory over Scott Jansen. The ICON Sport
card is also set to feature Bao Quach vs. Mark Oshiro for the
North American 140-pound title and middleweight champion Kala
Kolohe Hose vs. Rolando Dominique in a 180-pound non-title special
attraction matchup.
-
Caplan is also reporting that EliteXC officials have begun preliminary
work towards organizing a Showtime event to take place Friday,
Sept. 26 at the Chumash Hotel & Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif.
Verbal commitments have been made for two fights: Erik Apple
vs. Matt Makowski and Jon Murphy vs. Shane Del Rosario.
-
In a conference call last week, ProElite chariman Doug DeLuca
hinted at Kimbo Slice return on the fall CBS show.
-
As a guest on ProMMA Radio, Anderson Silva's manager Ed Soares
said Georges St. Pierre needs to prove himself and defend his
newly won title a few times before being considered for a fight
against Silva.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Anderson
analyzes fast victory
By Guilherme Cruz
Considered
the best pound-for-pound athlete of the world, Anderson Silva
dominated the UFC middleweight division and, at UFC Fight Night
14 show, did a great fight at light-weight category. Facing the
tough James Irvin, that was coming from a huge eight seconds
knockout, Silva showed why he’s pointed as the best fighter
of the MMA world. “Funny, huh? I wasn’t expecting such
victory that fast and easy, but we train to do the work perfectly
and I go to the octagon to do what I train. Thanks God everything
was alright. The only bad thing is that he (Irvin) got hurt,
cut the face, but it’s part of the job”, commented
the middleweight champion, that is now thinking on his next title
defense.
Anderson
confirmed with exclusivity to TATAME that he may fight at September,
and the opponent is defined. Yushin Okami, which would likely
face him for the title, broke a hand while training, so Anderson
may now face Patrick Cote. “We came to Las Angeles now and
will help Rafael (Feijão) to prepare for his fight at
Elite XC. After that, we’ll go back to to train for my fight
at September. I believe I’ll face Patrick Cote”, told
Anderson , that faces the opponent that beat Ricardo “Cachorrão”
Almeida at his last fight. “I haven’t seen his that
fight, I’ll take a look at that”, said Anderson .
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"To
know what people really think, pay regard to what they do, rather
than what they say."
George Santayana, 1863-1952, Spanish-born American Philosopher
|
Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ
Tournament
Tomorrow
5th Annual Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open Tournament
Saturday, July 26, 2008 - Start time - 10:00a.m. (Sharp!)
War Memorial Gymnasium, Wailuku, Maui
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Gi only Tournament, Standard Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu rules and weight
classes apply.
Entry Fees: Adults: $60, Kids: $30, No additional fee for entering
open divisions, Free T-Shirt.
Mail completed entry
forms to:
5th Maui JJ Tournament
150 Haiku Road
Haiku, Hawaii, 96708
or
sign in at the Maui JJ academy
810 Haiku Road Unit #230
(Haiku Cannery) all day Friday.
Day of tournament sign up - $20 late fee - NO EXCEPTIONS
Weigh ins will be at Maui JJ Academy all day Friday and Saturday
morning for contestants already signed up (entry forms already
received).
Call Lee at 298-7698 or Luis at 575-9930 for more info.
See You all there!
Start planning your travel arrangements now to avoid last minute
troubles. Check out the Hawaii Super Ferry (approx. $108) and
Hawaiian Airlines ($160-180) recently has shown lower prices
than Go Airlines.
Maui Jiu-Jitsu open tournament
looking for black belt competitors!
We are looking for
black belt and brown belts to compete in individual and open
bracket matches for cash and prizes! This year we are looking
to hold individual matches between black belt competitors for
cash prizes. We are also planning to have an open division for
black and brown belts that will feature cash and prizes for the
winners. Please contact Luis or Lee for more details.
Registration and
entry forms:
Entry forms must be received no later than Friday, July 25, 2008.
A late fee of $20 will be assessed to all applications received
after the deadline or on the day of the event. This is essential
for us to be able to have all brackets set up and to facilitate
a timely start to our event. All competitors registering on the
day of the event will be charged the late fee.
Please mail all completed entry forms to: 150 Haiku Road, Haiku,
Hi. 96708. Don't forget to include a phone number if we need
to reach you and make sure you check the weight class you want
to compete in. Mail your forms early, it must reach us by Friday
or you will be charged a late fee. No exceptions!
Weigh-ins:
Competitors can weigh in all day on Friday at the Maui Jiu-Jitsu
Academy, located at the Haiku Cannery Center, 810 Haiku Road,
Unit #230. Outer island competitors arriving on Saturday can
weigh in at the event prior to the start of competition. Please
be sure to make your weight!, you will be charged a late fee
if we have to move you to a different weight bracket.
If you have any
questions, please feel free to call Luis or Lee at the numbers
listed, or email us. It is our hope that you will join us in
the spirit of friendly, fun competition and to further promote
the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!
Luis "Limao"
Heredia
Head Instructor - Maui Jiu-Jitsu
Lee Theros Event Coordinator
Ph. (808) 357-0657 or 575-9930
Ph. (808) 298-7698
Website: www.mauijiujitsu.com
Email: mauibadboy@aol.com
|
EliteXC
on CBS Tomorrow
Elite XC
"Unfinished Business" Predictions
by Jeff "Wombat" Meszaros
To the untrained eye, it would appear that the first EliteXC
"Saturday Night Fights" event had more hiccups than
a fat kid full of Coca Cola. After all, they only aired five
fights and three of them ended in controversy; two thanks to
doctor interference and one due to the worst refereeing I've
seen since Mike Tyson was a guest ref at WrestleMania XIV. But
I think that it all went according to the master plan of Elite
XC president Gary Shaw. In fact, I suspect that the doctors and
referee were under the effects of some kind of advanced mind
control ray, possibly disguised to look like a spotlight. How
else can you explain their curious decisions to stop the Gina
Carano and Robbie Lawler fights despite the protests of coherent
fighters but then allow the main event to continue, despite James
Thompson beating Kimbo Slice's beard off throughout most of the
second round? Maybe Shaw slipped them mind-control ear-worms
like from the 1982 movie "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan."
It isn't unheard of. It would also explain why nobody drained
Thompson's massive cauliflower ear before his fight and instead
let it explode like a perogie full of blood when Kimbo finally
nailed it in third round. That's just one of my many MMA conspiracy
theories, of course. Will the next EliteXC event be the source
of another? It's hard to say but, based on their track record,
it's likely something will happen that will enrage internet fight
nerds everywhere.
“Ruthless”
Robbie Lawler vs. Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith
Anyone
who's seen "The Karate Kid" knows that if a man can't
see, he can't fight. If a man can't stand, he can't fight and
if a man can't breathe, he can't fight. Also, karate kimonos
with the sleeves cut off are bad ass. I guess Smith never saw
that movie. Otherwise, when he caught that thumb in the eye,
he would never have told the ring doctor "I can't see"
... twice. Also, he would not then have been surprised to hear
that they'd stopped the fight. Personally, I am surprised that
he was surprised. It's kind of like telling someone "I have
a severe case of whooping cough" but then still expecting
a kiss. Based on personal experience, I can tell you that you
will not get that kiss, especially if you just coughed on that
person's birthday cake. Similarly, when you tell a doctor that
you can't see, stand or breathe, you will not be allowed to fight.
I
am also surprised that Smith agreed to take a rematch considering
that, moments before the fight was stopped, Lawler was beating
Smith around the cage like an ape assaulting a rookie zoo-keeper.
Had the doctor not called the match off due to blindness, Smith
likely would've ended up in the intensive care unit of the local
hospital with a team of doctors drilling holes in his skull to
release the pressure of massive brain swelling. Who climbs back
into the ape-cage for a second round with Mr. Tickles the 400-pound
orangutan? I don't understand that at all. My Guess: Lawler by
KO.
Jake
Shields vs. Nick “The Goat” Thompson
Can
a goat chew through a shield? That depends on what the shield
is made of. If it is made of tasty chocolate or maybe a corn
tortilla then probably yes. This is why it is important to never
fight a goat using an edible shield. Where do you get an edible
shield? I don't know but if you find a place send me an e-mail
because I want one. I have never seen a goat eat a shield, but
I once had a hamster that viciously assaulted anything you put
in his cage. He was 3-1 against an apple, a Ritz Cracker, a slice
of bread and a lasagna noodle. That noodle kicked his ass. He
couldn't do anything to it and it was in there for a week. The
apple pinned him briefly, but he escaped and went crazy on it
in the second and third round. Shields doesn't have a nickname,
but he has beaten Mike "Quicksand" Pyle, Carlos "Natural
Born Killer" Condit, Steve "The Red Nose Pitbull"
Berger and Yushin "Thunder" Okami. Using the law of
"I beat you, I get your nickname" that makes him the
"The Natural Born Thunder Quicksand Killer Pitbull."
How do you bet against that? My Guess: Shields by decision.
Nick
Diaz vs. Thomas “Wildman” Denny
Diaz
and Denny embody the two kinds of crazy, those being "ha
ha" crazy and "uh oh" crazy. The "ha ha"
crazy guy is always doing "ha ha" crazy things, like
putting shaving cream in your lunchbox or taking a dump down
your chimney. He's the guy where if someone mentions his name
you say "I know that guy! He's crazy" but you say it
with a big smile on your face. Then there is the "uh oh"
crazy guy. He does "uh oh" crazy things, like hiding
in bushes with machetes and putting dead animals in people's
mailboxes. When people say his name, you say "I know him.
He's crazy" but you say it without a hint of amusement on
your face, and then you spend the next four nights worrying that
the guy will show up on your doorstep with an axe in one hand
and a deck of cards in the other. Which one is which? I will
leave it up to you to decide. My Guess: Diaz by TKO.
Shayna
"Queen of Spades" Bazler vs. Cristiane “Cyborg"
Santos
I
had no idea that, in Brazil, it is customary for a wife to adopt
not only her husbands' last name but also his nickname as well.
There must be a lot of women with the nickname "Pitbull."
Of course, in Brazil that is pronounced "Pichee Boo."
Bazler is called "The Queen of Spades" because she
does card tricks. If I were her, I would take a gardening spade
with me everywhere and whenever anyone asked why I was called
"The Queen of Spades" I would whip it out and shatter
a table lamp. That's more kick-ass than a card trick any day.
My Guess: Bazler by submission.
Antonio
“Bigfoot” Silva vs. Justin Eilers
Incredibly,
this is the second time Eilers has fought on a show called "Unfinished
Business." The first time was UFC 49 where I won $300 betting
that he would beat Mike Kyle. My Guess: Silva by TKO.
Wilson
Reis vs. Brian Caraway
I
still have not seen the Reis fight from the last EliteXC, and
that haunts me mercilessly since, from what I hear, it was the
most awesome display of jiu-jitsu in MMA since Rickson won the
Vale Tudo '95 (honorable mention to "Minotauro" Nogueira
for beating Bob Sapp in 2002). Hopefully, this fight will make
the broadcast. Caraway has won nine fights by submission and
his name reminds me of Caramilk chocolate bars. Have they ever
figured out how they get the caramel inside of those? My guess:
Reis by submission.
Rafael
“Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Travis “The Gladiator”
Galbraith
Galbraith
won his last fight by somersaulting into an omoplata shoulder
lock and then transitioning into a triangle choke. If you'd told
me that was going to happen before the fight, I would've laughed
until I threw up. Then I would've called you a fool and changed
my shirt. I was talking to Denis Kang the other day and when
I mentioned that Galbraith was fighting Feijao, Kang's eyebrows
shot up so hard, they nearly flew off and hit the ceiling. My
Guess: Feijao by TKO.
Jeff
Meszaros welcomes reader feedback at wombat@fcfighter.com and
can also he heard as the host of FCF Radio.
Source:
Full Contact Fighter
|
Sylvia
earns $800,000 in 36-second loss
A total of $3,321,000 was paid out to the twenty-two fighters
assembled for the "Affliction: Banned" event last Saturday
at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
$2,866,000
was handed out in base salaries, while $455,000 was awarded as
win bonuses.
The
overall total was over three times higher than UFC's most recent
pay-per-view, "UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin," which
paid out $943,000. "UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin,"
the UFC event on the same night as "Affliction: Banned"
paid out only $623,000.
Despite
a loss in 36 seconds, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia
earned $800,000 for his main event fight against Fedor Emelianenko,
who earned $300,000. These figures only represent the salaries
reported by Affliction to the California State Athletic Commission
and do not include other sources of fighter income. Fedor likely
earned a signing bonus.
Another
former UFC heavyweight champion who left the UFC for greener
pastures was Andrei Arlovski. The Chicago-resident who left the
UFC for greener pastures, earned $750,000 in his fight against
former IFL star Ben Rothwell. In Arlovski's final fight with
the UFC, Arlovski earned $170,000, win bonus included.
Fighter
salaries:
(W)
Fedor Emelianenko - $300,000
(L) Tim Sylvia - $800,000
(W)
Josh Barnett - $300,000
(L) Pedro Rizzo - $70,000
(W)
Andrei Arlovski - $500,00 + $250,000 (Win Bonus) = $750,000
(L) Ben Rothwell - $250,000
(W)
Mark Hominick - $5,000 + $5,000 (Win Bonus) = $10,000
(L) Savant Young - $7,000
(W)
Vitor Belfort - $70,000 + $70,000 (Win Bonus) = $140,000
(L) Terry Martin - $30,000
(W)
Mike Pyle - $15,000 + $5,000 (Win Bonus) = $20,000
(L) JJ Ambrose - $5,000
(W)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira - $50,000
(L) Edwin Dewees - $15,000
(W)
Matt Lindland - $225,000 + $75,000 (Win Bonus) = $300,000
(L) Fabio Nascimiento - $20,000
(W)
Renato "Babalu" Sobral - $60,000 + $30,000 (Win Bonus)
= $90,000
(L) Mike Whitehead - $50,000
(W)
Paul Buentello - $60,000 + $20,000 (Win Bonus) = $80,000
(L) Gary Goodridge - $25,000
(Fight
Cancelled) Justin Levens - $6,000
(Fight Cancelled) Ray Lizama - $3,000
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Affliction
sees $2,085,510 in ticket sales
The official attendance for this past Saturday's "Affliction:
Banned" event was 14,832, with 11,242 tickets sold. The
receipts came out to total $2,085,510.
The final attendance was actually higher than the announced 13,988
during the event.
The
total number of tickets printed was 15,572, which valued at a
total of $2,842,195. 3,590 tickets were given away and 740 tickets
were left unsold.
On
the other end, Affliction paid out $3,321,000 to its fighters,
and another $115,247 to the California State Athletic Commission.
To get an idea on how much it costs to run a show sanctioned
by the California Commission, Affliction was charged a live gate
tax of $100,000, a radio/TV tax of $1,000, neurological assessments
(for fighters) for $8,137 and purse adjustments for $5,110.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Dan
Inosanto Two Day Semi-Private Training Event!
On Saturday,
September 6th and Sunday September 7th, Burton Richardson and
JKD Unlimited will host Tuhon Dan Inosanto for a special semi-private
training event here in Honolulu. Tuhon Inosanto is considered
the most knowledgeable martial artist that the world has ever
known, as he has researched every system and style possible over
the last 50 years. He is best known for being Bruce Lee's number
one student and training partner, but is also famous for his
work in bringing previously unknown systems into the limelight.
From the Filipino Martial Arts to Muay Thai to Pentjak Silat
to French Savate and Burmese Bando, Inosanto's never-ending quest
is to make more martial arts available to students everywhere.
He is also a great example to follow, as this legendary martial
artist strapped on a white belt and took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
at the age of 60!
He is now a black belt under the Machado brothers. This will
be a very special seminar, as it will be semi-private. No more
that 20 participants will be enrolled. This will allow each attendee
to submit a particular question or request to be covered by Tuhon
Inosanto over the weekend. It will also mean that participants
will get more one on one interaction with this amazing instructor.
In addition, each participant will be invited to attend a dinner
with Tuhon Inosanto, to talk story with this legend. Ten will
go on Saturday's dinner, the other ten on Sunday's dinner.
The cost for this special weekend is only $500 per person. $250
is required to reserve your spot to be one of the twenty. Please
call 864-1620 for more information and to arrange for payment.
This will be a weekend to remember.
Aloha, Burton Richardson
|
The
good Jiu-Jitsu's at the Gracie academy on Rio Branco
In Rio, an historic exposition for fans of the gentle art
It's
a July morning in 2008. The old Gracie academy on Rio Branco
Avenue, in downtown Rio, Helio Gracie is wearing his gi, eyes
fixed on his adversary.
After
studying each other and trading grips, Helio Gracie sinks his
hands into his Japanese rival's gi. That is when Kato, a grand
champion of judo in his country, leaves the crowd aghast by throwing
the master in spectacular fashion, causing Helio to land with
his back against the ropes. Helio grows after the throw and,
with a counter-attack, takes the Japanese champion down landing
on top. If it hadn't been Jiu-Jitsu, it would have been an ippon.
"That
one from Kato is one of the most sensational I have seen in my
life," remarks Alvaro Barreto standing before the plasma
screen one of the big attractions of the historic exposition
"Homenagens" ("Homages"), open to the public
from Monday to Friday, from 1pm to 5pm on the 17th floor on 151
Rio Branco. Among youths, of both genders, and experienced masters
who have gone to catch a glimpse of the both rich and rare material,
it is easy to see notable figueres from Jiu-Jitsu, many of them
not hiding their tears when gazing upon sensational images, many
of which did not fit into Reila Gracie's new book, "Carlos
Gracie - Creator of a Dynasty."
"This
exposition was put on by the Carlos Gracie Sporting and Cultural
Association in homage to the patriarch and the fighters of the
Gracie clan," explains curator Reila, in the text emblazened
at the entrance of the former academy, now a cozy atelier, ending
with: "The occasion chosen for this event, coinciding with
the release of a book authored by myself, is meant to make public
the path of obstacles and overcoming of an obstinate man and
fully conscious of the work he had since his youth dreamed of
fulfilling. That is how he did it."
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
DREAM
5 Results
John Pollock
**Daisuke
Nakamura over Andy Ologun by armbar at 3:41 of Round 1
**Shinya
Aoki over Caol Uno by unaninmous decision
**Eddie
Alvarez over Tatsuya Kawajiri by TKO at 7:35 of Round 1
**Joachim
Hansen over Kultar Gill by armbar at 2:33 of Round 1
**Joseph
Benavidez over Junya Kudo by guillotine choke at 2:42 of Round
1
**Kuniyoshi
Hironaka over Motoki Miyazawa by TKO at 8:57 of Round 1
**Hideo
Tokoro over Takeshi Yamazaki by unanimous decision
**Yoshihiro
Akiyama over Katsuyori Shibata by submission at 6:34 of Round
1
**Alistair
Overeem over Mark Hunt by armbar at 1:11 of Round 1
**Joachim
Hansen over Shinya Aoki by TKO at 4:16 of Round 1 (Hansen subbed
for an injured Eddie Alvarez) to become the DREAM Lightweight
Champion
Source: The Fight Network
|
Belfort:
“The Phenom is back”
By Guilherme Cruz
Away
from fights since 2007, Vitor Belfort faced a tough battle to
make weight at middleweight division, months away from the family
and living by himself at USA, but all that suffering was forgotten
after his fight at Affliction. Facing Terry Martin, the Brazilian
started with a good job, studying the opponent, but on the first
round he broke his hand after punching Martin’s face. While
he was at the hospital, Vitor spoke to TATAME about his fight.
“I thought it was a great fight, he was so prepotent. It
was a beautiful knockout, he landed well on the ropes”,
commented the fighter, that hit his opponent with a flying knee
after finishing the job with two tough punches.
“That
was our strategy. Another fighter told me that the ring was very
sliding, so I used the first round to study his game and came
to the second round to knock him out. It was perfect”, analyzed
the Phenom, that guarantees his good times are back. “The
Phenom is back, like Batman, got out of the cave”, celebrates
Belfort, that watched Rogério Nogueira and Renato Sobral
victories on the event.
“It
was perfect. He (Nogueira) fought really well, it was great.
Babalu fought good too, he faced a tough guy and did a great
job”, said Vitor, that only regretted Pedro Rizzo’s
loss. “The only thing we were said is about Pedro Rizzo’s
loss, it was sad. But I’m sure that he’ll come out
of the cave too, now he deserves another rematch (against Josh
Barnett)”, guarantees, Belfort.
Source: Tatame
|
Jungle
back September 13
Hotel Windsor to house bouts yet again
Promoter
Wallid Ismail and businessman Fred Souza are already working
on the next edition of Jungle Fight. The predicted date for the
next event is September 13th, at Hotel Windsor, in Barra da Tijuca,
Rio de Janeiro.
Besides
the confirmed female bout between the two "Indians,"
Ana Maria (BTT) and Ediene Gomes (Macaco), several athletes are
being selcted for the event, like the Frenchmen Antony Rea and
Xavier Foupa-Pokam, as well as Brazilians Ronys Torres, Cristiano
Marcello, Rafael Manteiga, Paulo Thiago, Allan Frois and Eric
Silva. More foreign athletes will also be announced in the weeks
to come.
"We're
working hard to finish the card," explained Wallid. "Our
idea is to have the card finalized as quickly as possible and
with great combats," he finished.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"If
you believe everything you read, you better not read."
Japanese Proverb
|
MEDIA
RELEASE
For immediate release
World's
most popular fighting event coming to Hawaii
- K-1 World Grand Prix 2008 in Hawaii -
HONOLULU,
HAWAII, July 27, 2008 - Fighting & Entertainment Group USA
and Hawaii's native son Grand Champion Akebono are bringing the
last of 2008's regional K-1 World Grand Prix events to Oahu on
Saturday, August 9, 2008. The event will be held at the Stan
Sheriff Center and tickets are now on sale there and through
etickethawaii.com.
Tournament
fighters for the evening will include the USA's Mighty Mo (6'1"
282 lbs Kickboxing), Justice Smith from American Gladiators (6'
8" 290 lbs Kickboxing), Super Heavyweight Butterbean (5'
11", 416 lbs Boxing) and representing Hawaii, local fighters
Wesley
"Cabbage" Correira (6' 3", 265 lbs Jiu Jitsu) and Chris West (6' 214 lbs Muay Thai).
Scott Junk from BJ Penn's MMA
group (6'1" 275 lbs MMA) will participate in a Super Fight
versus Min Soo Kim of Korea. Full fight card scheduled as follows:
Grand
Prix tournament
Mighty Mo vs. Justice Smith
Wesley
"Cabbage" Correira vs. Eric "Butterbean" Esch
Chalid "The Fist" vs. Chris West
Nicholas Pettas vs. Rick Cheek
Super fights
Badr Hari vs. Domagoj Ostojic
Paul Slowinski vs. Aziz Jahjah
Scott Junk vs. Min Soo Kim
Reserve fights
Gohkan Saki vs. Billy Hall
Randy Kim vs. Vilitonu Fonokalafi
Deutsch Puu vs. Rico Verhoeven
K-1
is one of the world's most popular combat sport with fans on
a global scale. It fuses various stand up techniques from Muay
Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, Kickboxing, traditional Boxing,
and other martial arts (the "K") to determine the single
best stand-up fighter in the world (the "1"). Due to
K-1's unique rules, defensive tactics are ineffective and fighters
are forced to constantly move and attack which results in maximum
action and a very high Knock Out ratio.
The
classic K-1 tournament follows a challenging eight-man elimination
format where the victor must win three fights in one night. This
event will determine the Regional GP Champion who will advance
to the K-1 Final Elimination in Seoul in September.
Tickets
to the event are priced at $30, $50, $80, $120 Ringside, and
VIP Ringside for $200. Doors will open at 5.00pm.
Live
appearances by Akebono, Mak Takano, and local fighters are scheduled
as follows to offer fans and media the opportunity to get up
close and personal to some of the fighters (subject to change):
Wednesday,
July 30 (11 AM to 1 PM) Schofield Barracks PX Mall in cooperation
with Fight Stop
Thursday,
July 31 (9 PM to 11 PM) Kahunas Club at Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Friday,
August 1 (11 AM to 1 PM) Pearl Harbor NEX Mall
Friday,
August 1 (8 PM to 10 PM) Dave and Buster's in Ward Center
Saturday,
August 2 (11 AM to 1 PM) Adrenaline Konceptz Grand Opening at
Pearlridge Uptown
Saturday,
August 2 (2 PM to 4 PM) Don Quijote Waipahu
Saturday,
August 2 (8 PM to 10 PM) The Shack in Hawaii Kai
Sunday,
August 3 (11 AM to 1 PM) Center Stage at Windward Mall in cooperation
with WatchChaBack
Sunday,
August 3 (2 PM to 4 PM) Don Quijote Kaheka Street
Tuesday,
August 5 (11 AM to 1 PM) at Marine Corps Base Hawaii Fitness
Center
Wednesday,
August 6 (9 PM to 11 PM) at Dave and Buster's Ward Center
Tickets
are available through:
Stan Sheriff Ticket Office: TEL : 808-944-2697
website : http://www.etickethawaii.com
Stan Sheriff Center, University of Hawai`i at Manoa
UH Campus Center, University of Hawai`i at Manoa
Rainbowtique at Ward Centre
OCET Office, Windward Community College
Military Ticket Outlets
For
all media inquiries in Hawaii please contact:
Contact: Jay Chen
Telephone: (808) 366 1913
Email: jay@kgc-hi.com
Website: http://www.k-1hawaii.com
|
LAWLER
FORGETS THE PAST, FOCUSES ON THE FIGHT
Since
his early days fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
current EliteXC middleweight champion “Ruthless” Robbie
Lawler has been a man of few words when it came down to talking
before his fights. Instead, he let his hands do the talking for
him in the ring or cage.
With
14 of his 17 professional wins coming by way of knockout or TKO,
there is no doubt that Lawler has become one of the most feared
punchers in all of mixed martial arts.
Unfortunately
for Lawler, the chance to defend his middleweight championship
for the first time ended when doctors stopped his fight with
Scott Smith due to an accidental eye poke in the third round
that caused the fight to be called a no-contest.
According
to Lawler, the last fight is the past, and his fight with Scott
Smith this Saturday night is just like a new opponent all over
again.
“Really
I don’t care,” Lawler said about fighting the same
opponent twice. “I look at it as a new fight, and I kind
of look at it as we’ve never fought before and I’ll
be ready to go.”
To
his credit, Lawler has been able to move on much better from
past performances, where the former Miletich fighter was as emotional
as they come in many of his fights.
During
a 2004 fight with Nick Diaz in the UFC, Lawler bought into his
opponent’s antics and allowed the fight to become a pure
slugfest for which he came out on the short end, being knocked
out in the second round.
After
moving up to 185 pounds, Lawler has seen his success grow along
with his maturity in the sport. He now trains exclusively with
close friend Matt Hughes at his H.I.T. Squad gym and he avoids
most outside distractions by focusing on training and getting
ready for his next fight.
“More
bouts under my belt, just training a little harder, a little
smarter and working on aspects and working on the mental game,”
Lawler commented on his growth and maturity in the sport.
One
thing is for sure. Lawler is not thinking about the last fight
with Smith. He is truly focused and ready for round two in Stockton,
Calif. on Saturday night.
“I’m
focusing on this next fight and I don’t care how that last
one went,” Lawler said. “I just need to go out there
and get the job done on Saturday.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
FRANKLIN,
HENDERSON, PARISYAN TO UFC ATLANTA
The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday announced three
additional fights for UFC 88 on Sept. 6 in Atlanta.
Former
UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin will face off with "The
Ultimate Fighter" season 3 alum Matt Hamill. Franklin is
three months removed from a TKO victory over Travis Lutter at
UFC 83. Hamill soundly defeated Tim Boetsch by TKO at UFC Fight
Night 13 only weeks before the UFC’s first incursion into
Canada.
Former
Pride champion and fellow middleweight contender Dan Henderson
will return to the Octagon against Rousimar Palhares, who’s
impressive victory over Ivan Salaverry at UFC 84 gave him the
shot at the Team Quest original.
Karo
Parisyan will again begin his ever-evolving quest for welterweight
contendership against fellow Judoka Yoshiyuki Yoshida, a Shooto
and Greatest Common Multiple veteran who choked out Jon Koppenhaver
in his UFC 84 debut. Parisyan hit a roadblock to his title dreams
in the form of Thiago Alves’ knee at UFC Fight Night 13.
The
just-added fights round out the bulk of the main card for the
southern evening. Undercard bouts have yet to be confirmed.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Affliction:
over US$ 3 million in purses
Organization outdoes UFC in pay
That
Affliction is set to take on the UFC's reign among American MMA
organizations everyone knows. What was a mystery till today was
how much the brand, famous for its clothing, was prepared to
invest in this new battle front. And from the look of it, they
are prepared to invest more than a little. The purses paid to
the fighters who fought at last Saturday's event, were released,
going over the 3-million-dollar mark. The sum has never been
reached by the UFC.
The
biggest check of the night went to Tim Sylvia, who was submitted
in only 36 seconds by Russian Fedor Emelianenko. Curiosly, the
Russian fighter, considered the star of the card, received "only"
US$ 300,000.
So
satisfied were they with the first event, Affliction's directors
are already preparing for the next edition. The most likely date
is November 8th. The location has yet to be determined, but the
presence of Fedor on the card is pretty much certain.
Check
out the purses in dollars officially announced. The amounts already
include win bonuses pre-arranged in the fighters' contracts.
Tim
Sylvia: $800,000
Andrei Arlovski: $ 750,000
Fedor Emelianenko: $300,000
Matt Lindland: $300,000
Josh Barnett: $300,000
Ben Rothell: $250,000
Vitor Belfort: $140,000
Renato "Babalu" Sobral: $90,000
Paul Buentello: $80,000
Pedro Rizzo: $70,000
Mike Whitehead: $50,000
Rogerio Minotouro: $50,000
Terry Martin: $30,000
Gary Goodridge: $25,000
Fabio Nascimento: $20,000
Mike Pyle: $20,000
Edwin Dewees: $15,000
Mark Hominick: $10,000
Savant Young: $7,000
Justin Levens: $6000
JJ Ambrose: $5,000
Ray Lizama: $3,000
Total:
US$ 3,332.100
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
The
good Jiu-Jitsu's at the Gracie academy on Rio Branco
In Rio, an historic exposition for fans of the gentle art
It's
a July morning in 2008. The old Gracie academy on Rio Branco
Avenue, in downtown Rio, Helio Gracie is wearing his gi, eyes
fixed on his adversary.
After
studying each other and trading grips, Helio Gracie sinks his
hands into his Japanese rival's gi. That is when Kato, a grand
champion of judo in his country, leaves the crowd aghast by throwing
the master in spectacular fashion, causing Helio to land with
his back against the ropes. Helio grows after the throw and,
with a counter-attack, takes the Japanese champion down landing
on top. If it hadn't been Jiu-Jitsu, it would have been an ippon.
"That
one from Kato is one of the most sensational I have seen in my
life," remarks Alvaro Barreto standing before the plasma
screen one of the big attractions of the historic exposition
"Homenagens" ("Homages"), open to the public
from Monday to Friday, from 1pm to 5pm on the 17th floor on 151
Rio Branco. Among youths, of both genders, and experienced masters
who have gone to catch a glimpse of the both rich and rare material,
it is easy to see notable figueres from Jiu-Jitsu, many of them
not hiding their tears when gazing upon sensational images, many
of which did not fit into Reila Gracie's new book, "Carlos
Gracie - Creator of a Dynasty."
"This
exposition was put on by the Carlos Gracie Sporting and Cultural
Association in homage to the patriarch and the fighters of the
Gracie clan," explains curator Reila, in the text emblazened
at the entrance of the former academy, now a cozy atelier, ending
with: "The occasion chosen for this event, coinciding with
the release of a book authored by myself, is meant to make public
the path of obstacles and overcoming of an obstinate man and
fully conscious of the work he had since his youth dreamed of
fulfilling. That is how he did it."
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Toquinho
vs Henderson confirmed
Bout set for September 6th, in Atlanta
GRACIEMAG.com
had already reported it, but now it’s official. The UFC
organization has confirmed the bout between Brazilian Rousimar
“Toquinho” Palhares and American Dan Henderson. The
bout will be one of the attractions at UFC 88, to take place
September 6th, in the city of Atlanta.
Both
fighters are experiencing different moments in their careers.
While Toquinho has been moving up in the production and is on
a five-fight winning streak, including his UFC-debut fight in
May, Henderson will fight to show he is recovering from the loss
he recently suffered at the hands of Quinton Jackson and Anderson
Silva.
Check
out the card for UFC 88:
Rashad
Evans vs Chuck Liddell
Rich Franklin vs Matt Hamill
Dan Henderson vs Rousimar Palhares
Karo Parisyan vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Tim Boetsch vs James Lee*
Roan Carneiro vs Ryo Chonan*
Matt Brown vs Dong Hyun Kim*
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Titi's
in too
Athlete will fight at No-Gi Worlds
Cristiano
"Titi" Lazarini will participate for the second time
in the No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Worlds, to be held in the gymnsaium of
the California State University Dominguez Hills, on the 9th and
10th of August. In 2007, the fighter took second in the ultra
heavyweight category.
In
an interview with GRACIEMAG.com, Titi revealed his wish for the
championship to grow even more and praises the efforts of International
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation president Carlos Gracie Jr.
"My
hope is that with every year the No-Gi Worlds will become a bigger
and more consolidated tournament. "Taking second place was
a bitter experience for me, beacuase as it was a bracket of three,
I fought Vinicius Pezao in the first fight and finished him in
under two minutes. I ended up fighting him again in the final
and lost by an advantage point, in a fight where he stalled,
but that's just the way it goes," he said.
In
respect to the fighters in the other categories that are coming
in strong for the Worlds this year, Titi highlighted two names
from his gym (Gracie Barra): Caloquinha and Uirapuru. From the
other academies, the athlete cited names like Roberto Tussa,
Jeff Monson, Pablo Popovitch and Samuel Braga.
Sign-ups
for the No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Worlds are open and remain so till August
2nd. Anyone to sign up today, the 22nd, will pay the discount
rate of US$ 82. Starting tomorrow the fee will be US$ 102.
It's
worth remembering that each athlete will receive a t-shirt from
the event, to be worn in the competition.
Going
on at the same time as the Worlds will be the International Master
and Senior No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship. The points will be counted
separately from the Worlds, and the event is open to athletes
from blue to black belt, aged over 30 years.
Click
here for greater information on the events and stay tuned to
GRACIEMAG.com, soon we will return with more news regarding the
greatest Jiu-Jitsu party in the world.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"I
do not seek. I find."
Pablo
Picasso, 1881-1973, Spanish Artist and Painter
|
Oregon
House nominee wins Mixed Martial Arts fight
FileAfter Matt Lindland's win tonight at Affliction: Banned,
he can concentrate on sparring with a different type of opponent:
Suzanne VanOrman, the democratic rival for the Oregon House of
Representatives District 52 seat.
Matt "The Law" Lindland, the Republican nominee for
District 52 of the Oregon House of Representatives and and Olympic
silver medalist in Greco Roman Wrestling (Sydney, 2000), won
a tiring bout with Brazilian fighter Fabio Negao by unanimous
decision at the "Affliction: Banned" Mixed Martial
Arts event in Anaheim, Calif. on Saturday.
Although
both fighters were exhausted enough by the third round to draw
boos from the crowd, the judges felt Lindland was superior in
each round, scoring the bout 30-26 and 30-27 twice in his favor.
It was Lindland's first fight since losing by way of a first-round
submission to Russian Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko
in April of 2007.
In
the main event, Emelianenko made quick work of former UFC Heavyweight
Champion Tim Sylvia, winning a submission with a rear naked choke
36 seconds into the first round.
Source:
Oregonian
|
Silva
quells concern, wins
UFC
middleweight star makes quick work of light heavyweight foe
ANAHEIM,
Calif. — Fedor Emelianenko didn’t need much time to
pound out a victory over Tim Sylvia on Saturday, becoming the
first World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight champion
in the process.
Emelianenko
threw a flurry of punches and quickly got Sylvia, a two-time
UFC heavyweight titlist, down to the mat. Emelianenko (28-1,
one no contest) then got Sylvia (24-5) in a rear naked choke,
ending the bout 36 seconds into the first round.
Also
on the card, Andrei Arlovski (13-5) knocked out Ben Rothwell
(29-6) at 1:13 of the third round in a heavyweight bout.
Anderson
Silva finishes off James Irvin with a knockout in the first round
of their UFC light heavyweight bout Saturday night at the Palms.
James
Irvin tries to ward off a kick from Anderson Silva during their
UFC light heavyweight bout Saturday night at the Palms. Silva,
from Brazil, scored a knockout 1 minute, 1 second into the bout.
Anderson
Silva stands alone after knocking out James Irvin, rear, in their
UFC bout Saturday at the Palms.
Anderson
Silva admitted that some members of his camp were skeptical about
his decision to move up to the light heavyweight division for
one fight.
It
took him only 1 minute, 1 second to assure them that they had
nothing to worry about.
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion looked as
impressive as ever competing 20 pounds above his normal fighting
weight as he scored a vicious knockout over James Irvin in the
main event of a UFC card at the Palms on Saturday night.
"I
felt like I was fighting at my regular weight. I felt good at
this weight," Silva said through a translator.
Silva
caught a right leg kick attempt by Irvin and unleashed a right
hand to the face that lifted Irvin off the ground and onto his
back.
The
fight essentially was over at that point.
Silva
threw six punches to his downed opponent that only partially
landed. The seventh punch slipped cleanly between Irvin's fists
and prompted the referee to stop the fight.
"Like
in a chess game, he happened to move the wrong piece, and I countered,"
Silva said. "I was able to capitalize on his mistake."
Silva
said after the victory that although he might take more fights
at light heavyweight in the future, he is committed to remaining
the middleweight champion.
"My
weight class is 185, and that's the belt I'm going to defend,"
he said.
Aside
from Silva, the most impressive fighter on the card might have
been Cain Velasquez. The highly touted heavyweight made quick
work of Jake O'Brien, winning by knockout at 2:02 of the first
round.
Velasquez,
a former wrestler at Arizona State, quickly worked to top position
on O'Brien. He then worked himself to a point where O'Brien's
arms were pinned at his side.
Velasquez
then pounded on O'Brien with hard right hands until the fight
was mercifully stopped.
Frankie
Edgar and Brandon Vera each scored fairly decisive unanimous-decision
victories, though Edgar's lightweight clash with Hermes Franca
featured more action than Vera's battle with Reese Andy.
Vera
was fighting for the first time at light heavyweight, as well,
but he was moving down from heavyweight. He said it was the first
time in nine years that he had to cut weight for a fight, and
it had a big effect on him as the bout progressed.
"Going
into the fight, people were asking me if it would be a big deal
to cut down, and I was saying 'No way,' " Vera said. "But
after the first round, I was just thinking, 'What the hell is
going on here? This is crazy.' "
Vera,
normally a crowd favorite, was roundly booed as his victory featured
little action. He doesn't blame the fans for their reaction.
"That
wasn't the performance I am supposed to be putting on,"
he said.
C.B.
Dollaway, another former Arizona State wrestler, submitted Jesse
Taylor with an unusual move.
Dollaway
executed the creative "Peruvian Necktie." The maneuver
is a choke that involves the arms and legs.
Anthony
Johnson suffered the most unfortunate loss of the night.
Johnson
was well on his way to a victory in the third and final round
when he caught a forceful finger to the eye from Kevin Burns.
Johnson
went to the mat in pain, but referee Steve Mazzagatti never saw
the eye poke. Burns hesitated before pouncing on Johnson and
beginning to throw punches.
At
that point, Mazzagatti stopped the fight and declared Burns the
winner by technical knockout.
The
card was put on to offer a basic cable alternative to startup
promotion Affliction's first pay-per-view event.
UFC
president Dana White doesn't think the rival company will be
around for long, and he predicts some of the talent that the
fledgling promotion has assembled will be headed to the UFC.
"After
tonight those guys are going out of business and (the fighters)
will be over here," White said before he even knew how Affliction's
card went on Saturday night. "They spent a lot of money
tonight, and I know a lot more about this business than they
do."
On
the UFC undercard, Rory Markham, Tim Creduer and Brad Blackburn
all won by knockout.
Markham's
was the most impressive as he appeared to be in trouble before
knocking Brodie Farber out cold with a head kick.
Shannon
Gugerty and Nate Loughran each scored first-round submission
victories.
Source:
Las Vegas Review Journal
|
Griffin
kept focus on fight
UCF champ from Evans handled stepfather's death
Recently
crowned UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin telephoned
for three consecutive days to no response, and he had the feeling
it was over.
This
was a fight in which he had no control.
His
first stepfather, Clifford Abramson, died June 18 at the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in Augusta.
Griffin,
who was in Las Vegas preparing for his Ultimate Fighting Championship
bout with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, had called Abramson
all three days of Father's Day weekend without getting an answer.
Griffin's
mother, Kathryn Danielson, called her son later that week to
break the news of the death.
Griffin
knew about Abramson's heart troubles, but had been optimistic.
Abramson suffered his first heart attack when Griffin was 14
and doctors told him the situation was dire. Fifteen years later,
Abramson was still with him.
"That
was Abe," Griffin said of the man who helped raise him from
18 months to 8-years-old. "Abe always pulls through."
The
news hit Griffin hard the first day, then he let it go. He said
he was desensitized.
The
memorial service was pushed back until after Griffin's July 5
fight with Jackson for the UFC light heavyweight title.
The
Wednesday after the fight, after the 1997 Evans High School graduate
had taken the championship belt from Jackson by unanimous decision,
he took the red eye to join his family in remembering Abe.
'Old-timey
values'
Abramson
worked for years as a contractor for Sitemaster Inc. He gave
Griffin his first job, picking up rocks and other debris from
construction sites. The job gave Griffin pocket money and a sense
of the man who was awarded two Bronze Stars and three Purple
Hearts in Vietnam.
"He
had an old-timey value system," Griffin said. "You
joked with him, but you didn't do stupid stuff. I never dyed
my hair funny or anything like that. He wouldn't understand it."
Abramson
and Griffin's mother divorced and she married Byron Danielson
when Griffin was 12.
Griffin
and Abe stayed in touch, though. Griffin would tag along with
Abramson on his many excursions to the Pinetucky Gun Club.
The
two would use the shooting range and have dinner at the club
each Wednesday that Griffin was in town.
Griffin
said he was 18 the last time he spoke with his biological father,
Dan. Griffin's mother hasn't told him what happened between her
and his father, and he hasn't asked.
"There's
no animosity," Griffin said. "I had Abe and Byron.
I had two dads, really."
After
Griffin graduated from the University of Georgia, he had a degree,
but went looking for a different education. He found it one day
at The HardCore Gym in Athens, Ga.
"We
were before this huge explosion in mixed martial arts,"
said Adam Singer, the gym's head coach and Griffin's first teacher.
"We were doing this when UFC wasn't on pay-per-view. No
one had fought from the gym."
Griffin
had a passion for fighting. He decided to pursue it for a living.
But after a fight left him with a broken arm and a $3,000 doctor
bill his $1,000 fight purse wouldn't cover, he decided to hang
it up and work for Richmond County Sheriff's Department.
About
a year later, Griffin was asked to be a contestant on the first
Ultimate Fighter reality show on Spike TV. Griffin won the show,
earned a contract to fight for UFC and left law enforcement behind.
His
career, and the sport, took off.
The
underdog
Kathryn
Danielson doesn't know how breaking the news of Abe's death affected
her son. She doesn't hear from him in the days leading up to
a fight.
"He
kind of goes into himself that week before and doesn't have a
lot to do with family," Danielson said. "He's getting
his head set for the fight."
No
one gave Griffin much of a chance in the fight held at the Mandalay
Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. He had returned to the Ultimate
Fighter show as a coach, with his team of fighters pitted against
a group coached by Jackson. At one point during the show, which
concluded June 21, Jackson bet his purse that his fight with
Griffin wouldn't go to a decision.
He
would have to backtrack.
Griffin
emerged from his pre-fight routine with a solid plan: avoid Jackson's
power punches, keep him moving and create space with a healthy
dose of leg kicks.
Early
in the first round, the fight's announcers recognized what Griffin
was trying to do.
"He's
out-moving him."
"He's
catching him right on the knee every time, Joe."
"It's
possible Quinton Jackson underestimated Forrest Griffin."
But
then Griffin was buckled by a shot to the temple. Jackson tried
to force Griffin to the cage and better position him for a pounding.
But
Griffin trapped Jackson's arms at his sides to limit the damage.
He was soon back on his feet and delivering knees to Jackson's
gut.
An
uppercut sent Griffin reeling, but Jackson was unable to do anything
more with his opponent before the first round ended.
Less
than 10 seconds into Round 2, Griffin landed a crushing leg kick
to Jackson's left knee. He then forced Jackson to the ground
-- uncomfortable territory for the champ. Griffin mounted Jackson
with 2:10 left in the round and delivered elbows to his opponent's
head.
Jackson
came out for the third round favoring his left knee and avoiding
Griffin's subsequent leg kicks. Griffin tucked his chin to avoid
Jackson's uppercut.
In
the fourth, Jackson opened a deep gash near Griffin's right eye
and then got on top of him. Griffin tried for the triangle choke
-- a submission move in which the fighter wraps his legs around
his opponent's head and squeezes them together. Instead of tapping
out, Jackson rose to his feet with Griffin suspended upside down,
his legs still securely wrapped around the champ's neck.
Griffin
had done his best to avoid one of Jackson's signature slams throughout
the fight, but it appeared he was about to feel the full force
of one.
But
Jackson's slam wasn't as powerful as the one he'd used to turn
the tables during a 2004 knockout of Ricardo Arona. Griffin grabbed
just enough of Jackson's leg to limit the fall.
The
fifth round concluded without further highlights. The two television
announcers struggled to call a clear-cut winner.
When
the ring announcer belted the word "new" before "light
heavyweight champion of the world," Griffin threw his arms
up to celebrate.
He
called it the best moment of his life and said he expected a
rematch was in his future.
Awaiting
a rematch
A
few days after Abramson's memorial service and 10 days after
the fight, Griffin sat in the lobby of Omni Health and Fitness
in Martinez while one of the club's employees read him a list
of medical suspensions from a UFC Web site.
"Says
you're out until Sept. 4 with a lacerated right eyelid,"
he told Griffin.
"Sounds
about right," said Griffin, whose area around his right
eye had gone from black and blue to a yellowish tint.
"Says
Jackson's out until Jan. 2."
"What?
Because of the knee?" Griffin asked.
The
man read off Jackson's various ailments, including the knee Griffin
had slammed with the second-round leg kick.
Jackson
could be out longer. He was arrested July 15 in Newport Beach,
Calif., and charged with felony evading, reckless driving and
hit-and-run.
Griffin
will have plenty of time to heal before a potential rematch --
both physically and emotionally.
"I
was just hoping it didn't interfere with Forrest's fight,"
Danielson said of Abe's death.
"But
he did it. He won the championship. That's one of the things
Abe had taught him, to be determined and never give up. That
definitely came from Abe.
Source:
News Times Augusta
|
LI's
Hieron stuck as welter champ in failing IFL
What
Long Island's Jay Hieron should be doing right now is enjoying
his reign as International Fight League's welterweight champion,
while working, sweating, and toiling away at the gym in preparation
for his next opponent.
But
he's not.
Instead,
Hieron, 31, of Freeport, is toiling away at the gym while twisting
in some sort of pugilistic purgatory, anxiously waiting for his
next fight and purse to materialize. That has become difficult
given the bleak future and financial instability of the IFL,
which has Hieron under contract.
"I
live my life off being a fighter; that's my income. When I can't
do it, I don't have the money coming in. When I'm on salary,
that can only go so far," Hieron said. "I want to keep
my skills sharp and keep my career going forward. When you're
not fighting, you're kind of in limbo."
After
losing two fights in the UFC, Hieron, who has a 6-2 IFL record,
has become one of the most dynamic, charismatic fighters in the
league. Unfortunately, what appears to be the peak of his career
is coinciding with the league's apparent doom.
The
IFL, established in 2006, is in dire financial straits, and is
desperately seeking help to remain afloat. The league canceled
an August show at the Meadowlands.
"We
would have exhausted all our funds by putting on an honest event,"
IFL spokesman Joe Favorito said.
Hieron
was on that August card, set to fight Brad Blackburn. Instead
of looking forward to that paycheck, he'll subsist on his salary,
which Hieron said takes care of "his living situation,"
but makes it hard getting by with much else.
"That's
the thing about the business. A lot of people just see the fighter
winning and getting his hand raised, but there's a lot to deal
with, like this right now," Hieron said.
Although
Hieron's short-term opportunities are limited, the folding of
the IFL eventually might benefit him.
Hieron
has lucrative offers from other professional fighting organizations
that his manager, Monte Cox, said will more than double what
he makes in the IFL.
"I
think every organization out there is interested in his services.
He's an exciting fighter peaking at the right time," Cox
said. "He's definitely in demand if he becomes a free agent."
Rampage's
rampage
Former
UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
lived up to his nickname this week after a violent vehicular
frenzy that got him arrested on felony charges and presumably
led to his hospitalization a day later.
Jackson,
30, who was defeated by Forrest Griffin for the title July 5,
was arrested after a Costa Mesa, Calif., police officer said
he witnessed Jackson weaving in and out of traffic, talking on
his cell phone, driving over the median, and eventually plowing
into the sidewalk, forcing pedestrians to flee. Jackson evaded
police, running red lights, and eventually collided with another
vehicle. Before his arrest, Jackson had been involved in two
separate collisions.
Jackson
was charged with felony evading, reckless driving and hit and
run, according to Costa Mesa Police Lt. Paul Dondero. He was
released Tuesday evening after posting $25,000 bail. Dondero
said "no evidence indicated alcohol or drugs were involved."
The
drama did not end there.
The
day after being released from Orange County jail, Jackson was
taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation after, according
to Irvine Police Lt. Rick Handfield, an officer on routine patrol
was flagged down for assistance inside Jackson's Irvine home
to determine "whether he was a danger to himself or others."
It
was not known whether Jackson remained hospitalized and UFC spokeswoman
Jennifer Wenk declined to comment.
Source:
News Day
|
Ratner
recalls his brief fighting career
Marc
Ratner’s fighting career didn’t last long. He went
0-1, that loss by knockout.
A
one-punch TKO, actually.
“I
remember it well. I was 11 or 12 years old,” the Ultimate
Fighting Championship’s vice president and former executive
director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission said earlier
this afternoon, about 90 minutes before the UFC light-heavyweight
bout between Anderson Silva and James Irvin at the Pearl Theater
at the Palms. “I was at one of my friend’s house. I
was teasing his younger brother, and he just hauled off and hit
me. It was in So-Cal, where I was growing up, in Pomona and yeah
… he just hit me right in the face, my lip bled and that
was it.”
Ratner
spent more than 20 years with the Nevada state commission and
served as its executive director from 1992-2006, when he was
lured from that post by the Las Vegas-headquartered Ultimate
Fighting Championship. At a lithe and fit 63 years old, he says
he’s “the most non-combat person in the combat world,”
and estimates he’s seen more than 7,000 fights ranging from
boxing to kick boxing to mixed martial arts events. His first
UFC event was in May 2006, “around UFC No. 35, somewhere
in there, so I have seen a lot of fights.”
There
have been innumerable tense moments in that tenure, when Ratner
wondered if someone might actually try to land a blow on that
lip.
*
July 17 -- Transcript of a live chat with Marc Ratner
“I’ve
been in some horrible confrontations in the back room, where
it’s tough when a guy gets beat controversially and I am
the face of the commission,” he said. “Nobody ever
hit me, but there were times I was a little intimidated.”
By
the Nation of Islam, even.
“The
time I was most intimidated, I’ll never forget, was before
the third (Evander) Holyfield-(Riddick) Bowe fight,” Ratner
said. “The Nation of Islam was guarding Riddick’s dressing
room, and when I went to bring the gloves in, and all these guys
were 6-5, 250, and I said, ‘I gotta do this – we gotta
get the gloves on the fighter.’ They let me in, but they
made sure to bump into you a little bit, to sort of remind you
of their size.”
But
Ratner came away unscathed.
“I
have a great job,” he said, laughing and adding, “knock
on wood.” Then he found some wood trimming in the Pearl
hallway, made a fist and gave it a couple of shots.
Source:
Las Vegas Sun
|
Reese
Andy falls in UFC debut
LAS VEGAS - Brandon Vera controlled the bout to win a unanimous
decision over Billings native Reese Andy in a 205-pound Ultimate
Fighting Championship match Saturday night.
Vera
won by scores of 30-27, 29-28, 30-27. The bout, which marked
Andy's UFC debut, was the co-main event of UFC Fight Night, which
was televised live on the Spike TV Network.
Andy
took Vera down seconds into the match, but Vera quickly scrambled
back up. Standing 6-foot-3 and with a 41/2-inch reach advantage,
Vera scored a big takedown two minutes into the bout and kept
the 5-10 Andy, a former standout wrestler at Billings Skyview
and the University of Wyoming, on the mat until 38 seconds remained
in the period.
The
second round was somewhat slow, but Vera used a takedown at 4:19
that kept Andy down for nearly a minute. Vera also connected
with a knee to Andy's face at 1:27. Andy closed the round by
connecting with a couple of jabs.
Andy, needing a big third round to overcome a deficit on the
scorecards, landed a nice jab at the 4:23 mark. The two then
exchanged shots before the referee stepped in at the 3:13 mark.
Vera landed a big knee to Andy's face when both were standing
with 1:43 left, and followed that with a solid kick to Andy's
face.
After
the fight, Vera acknowledged in a TV interview that it wasn't
his most exciting fight and said dropping down from heavyweight
to 205 pounds was difficult.
"I
didn't think it (losing the weight) would have the effect it
did, but when me and Reese locked up I was a little, 'Woo, I'm
tired,' " said Vera, giving Andy credit for his strength.
Vera
improves to 9-2-0. Andy is now 7-2 as a professional.
Source:
Billings Gazette
|
Quote
of the Day
"A
successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always
with the same person."
Mignon
McLaughlin, 1913-1983, American Journalist and Author
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tuesday!
Channel
52 at 7:00 PM!
|
Belfort:
“The Phenom is back”
Away
from fights since 2007, Vitor Belfort faced a tough battle to
make weight at middleweight division, months away from the family
and living by himself at USA, but all that suffering was forgotten
after his fight at Affliction. Facing Terry Martin, the Brazilian
started with a good job, studying the opponent, but on the first
round he broke his hand after punching Martin’s face. While
he was at the hospital, Vitor spoke to TATAME about his fight.
“I thought it was a great fight, he was so prepotent. It
was a beautiful knockout, he landed well on the ropes”,
commented the fighter, that hit his opponent with a flying knee
after finishing the job with two tough punches.
“That
was our strategy. Another fighter told me that the ring was very
sliding, so I used the first round to study his game and came
to the second round to knock him out. It was perfect”, analyzed
the Phenom, that guarantees his good times are back. “The
Phenom is back, like Batman, got out of the cave”, celebrates
Belfort, that watched Rogério Nogueira and Renato Sobral
victories on the event.
“It
was perfect. He (Nogueira) fought really well, it was great.
Babalu fought good too, he faced a tough guy and did a great
job”, said Vitor, that only regretted Pedro Rizzo’s
loss. “The only thing we were said is about Pedro Rizzo’s
loss, it was sad. But I’m sure that he’ll come out
of the cave too, now he deserves another rematch (against Josh
Barnett)”, guarantees, Belfort.
Source:
Tatame
|
Lyoto
Machida
“I know that this fight will show who is going to lose.
The event will sell it this way, two unbeaten guys... I wanna
do a great fight, a great show”
The
victory over the former champion Tito Ortiz was what Lyoto Machida
expected to accredit him to a belt dispute, but the Brazilian
will have to make another effort to win that right. With thirteen
wins and no defeat in his career, Lyoto faces the compatriot
Thiago Silva, who maintains a cartel identical and the same determination
to reach the belt. In an exclusive interview to TATAME, Lyoto
examined the fight against the ATT athlete, spoke about facing
another Brazilian and examined the category to the dispute for
the belt. Check out below the full interview.
What
do you expect from the fight against Thiago Silva?
I
know that this fight will show who is going to lose. The event
will sell it this way, two unbeaten guys. I wanna do a great
fight, a great show for me, for the event, for the audience.
This is the most important thing.
How
is to face a Brazilian at the Ultimate?
I
didn’t want to, but we are all professionals and the things
are like that, it’s a inevitable thing… There will
be only one champion among the Brazilians, and it’s part
of our work to face others Brazilians. We have to face it as
a professional thing. Among the North-American they already has
this culture, they understand that, they are friends, but at
the fight… At the K-1 it happens many times, they fight
but they have a good relationship. For sure I don’t like
to face a Brazilian, we are together defending a nation, but
everybody is defending their own flag too. I know that he is
unbeaten too, he had some good victories at the UFC, but I am
training hard to win this fight.
Did
you study his game already?
I
watch some of his fights, but it’s early to train specifically
to him. What I am doing now is my normal train, the physical
train, the stand up game, and after that, in August, I will start
a train specifically. He is tough, like the others, I need a
good strategy, I need to study him.
You
were highly rated to dispute the belt, but the fight didn’t
come… Do you expect this chance in case of victory?
I
am always waiting for that, but the truth is that I don’t
have it in my mind. I am doing everything as a part of my life.
I try not to think about that all the time. It’s like walk.
Every day I make a part, I keep train… I like what I do
and I value my job. The belt is my biggest goal, but it’s
not everything, the day by day it’s more important.
Do
you believe the next to fight for the belt will be the winner
from your bout, from Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans or Wanderlei
can appear too?
Well,
I believe everything can happen, but I believe Liddell, as former
champion, has great chances to, if he wins, dispute the belt.
Wanderlei, for sure, can dispute also, but he was Pride champion,
it’s a distant thing. I believe Wanderlei has certainly
game to fight for the belt, for all the things he had done and
do, but it’s a matter of the event.
Did
the UFC mentioned a belt dispute if you win?
No,
they didn’t tell nothing. That’s why I try to do my
work, but it’s what I want, this is my focus, without forgetting
the day by day. The belt is a consequence.
Are
you going to train with Anderson for this fight?
Yeah…In
August I must go train with Anderson at Rio de Janeiro.
Source:
Tatame
|
Silva
Dismantles Irvin in 61 Seconds
LAS VEGAS -- For a fighter competing as a light heavyweight in
the UFC for the first time, it couldn’t have looked easier.
UFC
middleweight emperor Anderson Silva blew away James Irvin in
the main event of Zuffa’s UFC Fight Night 14 card Saturday
at the Palms Hotel and Casino.
“The
Sandman” was considered by some to be a dangerous opponent
for Silva. He is bigger than the Brazilian, and his punching
power is significant. However, Silva backed up the Las Vegas
sports books that had labeled him the prohibitive favorite by
ending the fight with virtually a single right hand.
Irvin
tried unfurling a right leg kick, but Silva caught it and retaliated
with a stick of dynamite planted firmly on Irvin’s mouth.
The blow was dealt with the precision of a surgeon and the speed
of a piston. Irvin slumped to the canvas, and the Cannon from
Curitiba, Brazil, pounced on his opponent with a vicious barrage
of punches, punctuated by two lethal right hands.
Sixty-one
seconds after referee Mario Yamasaki had instructed the fighters
to fight, he was prying a victorious Silva off of a bewildered
Irvin.
“Basically,
I’m a muay Thai fighter,” Silva said through an interpreter
after the fight. “I’ve been doing muay Thai since I
was a kid. I didn’t step into the 205-pound category to
disrespect any fighters. I’m here to do my job. But you
know, you stand up and exchange muay Thai, this is what happens.”
Silva
made the first-round destruction of Irvin, one of the most dangerous
men at 205 pounds, look quite simple -- a frightening proposition
for anybody at his normal fighting weight of 185 pounds, should
they hope to challenge him for his middleweight crown.
Brandon
Vera made his UFC debut at light heavyweight as well Saturday,
but his fight didn’t unfold anything like that of his Brazilian
counterpart. Vera had a tough time against the gritty Reese Andy,
but he won a unanimous decision.
However,
the two combatants fought in spurts, and their actions inside
the Octagon left much to be desired. By the midway point of the
second round, the mostly filled Pearl Concert Theater was littered
with boos and jeers as the crowd begged the two to pick up the
pace.
In
the end, Vera’s speed and overall athleticism paved the
way toward victory, 30-27 (twice) and 29-28. He accepted the
win, especially since it halted his two-fight losing streak,
but he admitted that it wasn’t the best performance of his
life.
“The
205 cut was a little bit more tough than I thought,” Vera
said afterward with a sigh. “But I’m happy where I’m
at. I’ll do whatever the UFC needs me to be at: heavyweight
or 205.”
Frankie
Edgar took another step toward title contention, as he surprisingly
handled exciting veteran Hermes Franca for three rounds and won
a unanimous decision. Winning 30-27 on all three cards was impressive,
but the fight was much tougher than the scorecards indicated.
Edgar
pressed the action from the start and gave as good as he got
on the feet. However, the native of Tom’s River, N.J., also
scored multiple takedowns and dished out a fair amount of ground-and-pound
from within Franca’s guard. Aside from a scare midway through
the opening frame, during which Franca latched on an armbar,
“The Answer” had his opponent figured out and clearly
won the contest.
Franca
tried everything in his arsenal to offset Edgar’s rhythm.
Yet the Brazilian jiu-jitsu maestro couldn’t land that massive
punch or suture up a submission to prevent the loss. Edgar was
too powerful, and his relentless pressure ultimately wilted Franca,
who was competing for the first time in more than a year.
Cain
Velasquez continued to ascend the rankings among young heavyweight
prospects, as he needed only 2:02 to dispatch of the game Jake
O’Brien. Velasquez quickly had O’Brien down and in
side control. From there he pummeled his foe with about 30 unanswered
punches and elbows. Not many were hard strikes, but O’Brien
was stuck in a crucifix. He had no way of escaping, and Mario
Yamasaki stopped the fight.
Kevin
Burns and Anthony Johnson, two promising welterweight contenders,
fought two grueling rounds that were split between the two. Burns
withstood all of Johnson’s vaunted power, and eventually
started out-striking him. Johnson scored several powerful takedowns,
but he didn’t do too much damage while on top. Going into
the third stanza of the fight, it was anybody’s guess as
to who would win.
Johnson
was badly fatigued in the third. During a quick flurry, Burns
inadvertently jammed one of the fingers on his left hand into
Johnson’s right eye socket. Burns threw a right uppercut
during the combo, but it didn’t land and Johnson cupped
his eye and fell to the canvas, face-first.
“As
soon as he poked me, I couldn’t see anything. … His
finger went deep in my eye,” Johnson said after the fight.
“I couldn’t help but scream.”
Referee
Steve Mazzagatti had his view obstructed by Burns and didn’t
see the eye gouge. He stopped the fight once he saw that Johnson
couldn’t continue, ruling it a TKO victory for Burns. The
crowd angrily booed the decision when Bruce Buffer announced
it, but the ruling in Nevada is that referees cannot use instant
replay to change their calls.
“It
was extremely accidental,” a disappointed Burns said of
the eye gouge. “I throw a palm strike with my left hand.
I’ve broke it three times previously, so I’ve got to
throw it as a palm. I can’t throw it as a closed fist. It
was completely accidental.”
CB
Dollaway did his best impression of submission guru Tony DeSouza
by replicating the choke De Souza invented: the Peruvian necktie.
Dollaway locked up the submission on Jesse Taylor in their anticipated
showdown, which was a back-and-forth affair from the start.
Taylor
scored a trip takedown midway through the opening frame and began
pelting Dollaway with strikes. He got a wee overzealous with
his punches and elbows, though, and it caused him to get swept.
Taylor turtled up when Dollaway got his back, but Dollaway calmly
transitioned into the Peruvian necktie from the side and forced
the tap at the 3:58 mark.
“I
can’t explain it. It’s insane,” a jubilant Dollaway
stated after the fight. “Finally getting to pull off a submission
in a big show like this, and being in the UFC and getting a win,
[I’m] speechless right now. It’s one of my favorite
moves. I work on it all the time. It was right there, and I was
like, ‘I better go for it.’”
Timothy
Credeur made quick work of Cale Yarbrough, stopping him at 1:54
of the first round. Credeur hurt his opponent with a stinging
right hand early and bullied him into the fence for more punches.
Yarbrough slumped to his knees, which ended the fight.
Rory
Markham scored arguably one of the greatest head-kick knockouts
in the history of mixed martial arts, knocking Brodie Farber
flat on his back and stiff as a board in just 1:37. Farber had
Markham in some trouble with a series of right hands. He got
a little careless, however, when he charged after Markham and
caught a shin to his chin. Once Markham landed the perfect Cro
Cop-esque kick, he calmly turned around and walked to his corner
because he knew the fight was over. It took Farber about a minute
to get off the canvas and onto his stool.
“This
is a dream that has come to fruition over a lot of years of arduous
work,” Markham said of his long-awaited UFC debut.
It
took him four attempts, but Nate Loughran finally sunk a triangle
choke on Johnny Rees at 4:21 of the first round.
Brad
Blackburn stopped a battered and exhausted James Giboo with strikes
at 2:29 of the second round.
Shannon
Gugerty opened the event with a rear-naked choke of Dale Hartt.
Gugerty mounted Hartt relatively early, and when Hartt rolled
to try and escape, Gugerty seized his neck. After a rather lengthy
battle, Gugerty finally sunk in the choke and Hartt tapped at
the 3:33 mark of the first.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Fedor
Emelianenko makes short work of Tim Sylvia at Affliction show
Former PRIDE heavyweight champion needs only 36 seconds to win
the main event of the apparel company's first MMA card at Honda
Center in Anaheim.
By Dan Arritt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Red and white lights created a rose-colored glow inside the Honda
Center in Anaheim, a fog machine sent wafts of vapor through
the arena and a distinctly Orange County crowd filled every available
seat.
There
was nothing artificial about Affliction's first fight card, however.
Fedor Emelianenko isn't playing the heavy in this crowd
The
apparel company-turned-mixed martial arts producer turned up
the volume as Saturday night wore on, and so did the sellout
crowd of 13,988 during the final three bouts.
In
the main event, former PRIDE Fighting Championships heavyweight
champion Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) needed only 36 seconds to dispose
of Tim Sylvia (24-5) in a match scheduled for five rounds. Emelianenko,
a Russian making his second appearance in the United States,
landed four lightning-quick lefts before dropping Sylvia with
a rapid combination. He then pounced on Sylvia, rolled him over
with his back on Emelianenko's chest and locked in on a rear
naked chokehold, forcing Sylvia to tap out as blood trickled
from his nose.
"I
was hoping I would end the fight then," Emelianenko said
through an interpreter. "I was prepared to fight standing
up, but I knew I had a better chance to end it on the ground."
It
was Emelianenko's second straight first-round submission against
a much larger opponent. He beat 7-foot-2, 352-pound Hong-Man
Choi with an arm bar in December.
"He
got off first and I had so many things going through my mind,"
Sylvia said. "He landed the big punch, got on me and got
the submission."
Affliction,
which has built a niche among MMA followers, ventured into the
fight business with a production that seemed part rock concert
and part fashion show. Affliction was competing with MMA heavyweight
UFC, which put together a card in Las Vegas on five weeks' notice
and televised it simultaneously on the basic cable channel Spike
TV.
Among
those in attendance at the Honda Center were former UFC light-heavyweight
champion Tito Ortiz, former heavyweight champion Randy Couture,
former pro wrestler Bill Goldberg and real estate tycoon Donald
Trump, an investor in the event who sat next to Ortiz's girlfriend,
former adult film star Jenna Jameson.
The
show had some early glitches, particularly with the oversized
boxing ring Affliction chose to use. On three occasions, fighters
fell through the ropes, forcing the referee to halt the action
so they could get back in the ring. Several fighters also appeared
out of shape, leading to slow-paced action that elicited booing.
The
action heated up during the heavyweight undercard bouts, with
Andrei Arlovski and Ben Rothwell engaged in a slugfest for two
rounds. Arlovski, who is from Belarus, unleashed a battery of
punches late in the second round, followed by a knee to Rothwell's
jaw, drawing blood from his nose and ear. At 1:13 of the third
round, Arlovski (13-5) dropped Rothwell (29-6) for good, landing
a straight right followed by a right hook.
In
another heavyweight bout that was scheduled for three rounds,
Josh Barnett (23-5) of Seattle beat Pedro Rizzo (16-8) of Brazil,
inflicting two right hammer fists before referee Herb Dean stopped
the bout at 1:44 of the second.
Source:
LA Times |
Fedor
rings Sylvia's bell just 36 seconds into Affliction bout
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The main mixed martial arts event between
heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia at Affliction Banned
ended almost as soon as it started.
The
two tapped hands when the bell rang and Emelianenko wasted no
time taking the fight to Sylvia.
The
Russian delivered a powerful and speedy combination of rights
and lefts that stunned and quickly knocked down Sylvia, who is
eight inches taller and 33 pounds heavier.
With
the two-time former Ultimate Fighting Championship champ down,
Emelianenko continued to pound Sylvia and then applied a choke
hold on his near-defenseless opponent.
Thirty-six
seconds into the much-anticipated and much-hyped fight, Sylvia
tapped out and Emelianenko captured the World Alliance of Mixed
Martial Arts heavyweight championship.
UFC:
Silva KOs Irvin
"I
felt all along I was quicker than Tim, and I wanted to use my
quickness to my advantage," Emelianenko said through a translator.
"I said before the fight I felt comfortable in my stand-up
game. If that's what it takes, I feel very comfortable doing
that."
Said
a visibly disappointed Sylvia immediately after the fight: "He
got off first. I had so many things going through my mind. He
landed the first punch, jumped on me and got the submission."
Having
time to let the result sink in, Sylvia had even more praise for
Emelianenko. "All I can say is that I know I'm one of the
best in the world and I was amazed how good Fedor was. …
I've never been hit that hard before."
Heavyweights
dominated the card — arguably five of the world's top 10
fought Saturday — and heavyweights delivered in front of
an announced crowd of 13,998 at the Honda Center.
With
his easy victory, Emelianenko remains the consensus No. 1 heavyweight
in the world. Questions about the quality of Emelianenko's opponents
and the number of recent fights (just two in the past 15 months
prior to Saturday) disappeared in about half a minute.
The
two heavyweight fights prior to Emelianenko's convincing victory
provided fans with a formidable prelude to the main event. And
it provided possible foes for Emelianenko on Affliction's next
card in November.
Andrei
Arlovski and Ben Rothwell put on a show. Arlovski is a top-five
fighter, and Rothwell is in the top 10 in some rankings.
Arlovski,
the more sculpted fighter, hit Rothwell with several punches
late in the first round. It wasn't enough to knock down Rothwell.
Arlovski
took it to Rothwell in the second round, bloodying Rothwell's
nose. Still, Rothwell didn't go down immediately. Arlovski continued
to pummel Rothwell, who managed to escape and connect with solid
punches.
Arlovski
rallied late in the round and popped Rothwell in the face with
a kick and a flying knee. Still, Rothwell — battered and
bloodied — didn't go down.
However,
Rothwell could only take so much. Arlovski knocked down Rothwell
early in the third round and the referee stopped the fight.
"The
game plan was to take him down. ... I didn't show my jiu-jitsu
but I showed my boxing," Arlovski said.
In
a fight that elicited boos from the crowd for its lack of action
in the first round, Josh Barnett drilled Pedro Rizzo with a left
hook in the second round. Rizzo fell to the ground and Barnett
threw a couple of more punches before the referee ended the fight.
Barnett
avenged a loss to Rizzo that happened more than seven years ago,
and Barnett admitted so much time had elapsed that he didn't
even remember what he was avenging.
"Before
the fight and during the fight, it was completely destroy everybody
mode, but after the fight, I felt pretty upset. I wasn't very
happy I knocked Pedro out," Barnett said of his friend.
"There's not a lot of people in this world that really have
a beautiful soul, and Pedro is one of them."
For
Barnett, this victory continues his climb back to heavyweight
prominence. The former UFC heavyweight champ, who had his title
stripped after a failed drug test he disputed, has spent much
of the past four years fighting in Japan. This was just his second
fight in the United States since 2003.
Barnett
is ranked as high as No. 3 and as low as No. 7 in the major rankings.
Barnett
and Arlovski said they would like a shot at Emelianenko.
In
other fights:
•Lightweight
Savant Young had control against Mark Hominick for a portion
of the second round, but Hominick applied an armbar, forcing
Young to tap out 4:25 into the second round.
•Light
heavyweights Renato Sobral defeated Mike Whitehead by decision
in a contested fight from beginning to end.
"People
forgot I can strike. I will make people remember," Sobral
said. "I tried to finish the fight but I couldn't. Two times
I had the choke (on him) but the ropes gave me some problems.
… I like to finish my fights with submissions, but he was
very smart."
•Middleweight
Matt Lindland defeated Fabio Nascimento by decision in a match
that left both fighters exhausted by the end of the third round.
Lindland
dropped Nascimento 15 seconds into the fight, pounced on his
opponent and had Nascimento in a choke hold. But he could not
finish the fight.
"After
I had him on the ground, I was thinking this was going to be
an easy night," Lindland said.
•Light
heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira connected with a couple
of knees against Edwin Dewees before unloading a series of punches
and another knee that knocked Dewees to the ground. Nogueira
continued his assault on Dewees until the referee ended the fight
with 54 seconds left in the first round.
•Welterweight
Mike Pyle quickly took JJ Ambrose to the ground, pinning Ambrose
on his stomach while throwing punches to the body and head. Pyle
won by submission 2:51 into the first round when he locked Ambrose
in a rear-naked choke hold.
•Light
heavyweight Vitor Belfort dazed Terry Martin with a knee and
took advantage with a right-left combo to the face, knocking
out Martin 3:12 into the second round.
•Heavyweight
Paul Buentello won by decision against Gary Goodridge, who was
a last-minute replacement for Aleksander Emelianenko. Emelianenko,
Fedor's younger brother, did not meet California licensing requirements.
Source:
USA Today |
|
MMA:
Russian champ Emelianenko beats Sylvia in 36 seconds
ANAHEIM
- Russian champion Fedor Emelianenko strode in the ring with
no pomp, no circumstance and little emotion, but once the bell
rang he attacked with a surprising ferocity and overwhelmed Tim
Sylvia to become the first World Alliance Mixed Martial Arts
heavyweight champion.
In
front of a Hollywood-like production of smoke and eerie red lights,
Emelianenko led an Eastern bloc of MMA fighters and showed Saturday's
sold-out crowd of 13,988 at Honda Center why so many people feel
he's the best fighter in the world.
"I'm
very happy about the fight and about my performance," Emelianenko
said with an almost embarrassed look.
More
embarrassed was Sylvia (24-5), the two-time former UFC heavyweight
champion who had a six-inch height advantage.
"He
got off first, and then I had so many things going on my mind,"
said a shaken Sylvia, who was still shaking his head long after
the fight. "He ended it with a big punch, jumped on me and
got the submission."
It
took only 36 seconds for the Russian fighter to floor his American
opponent with a lightning-quick, four-punch combination. And
once Sylvia was down, Emelianenko quickly jumped on the floored
fighter and managed a rear naked choke to force a submission.
"I
was hoping I would end the fight then," said Emelianenko
(28-1), who was making his American debut. "Everything I
wanted to do I was able to do."
Before
Emelianenko came to America, there was a dispute among MMA fans
and experts over his fighting ability. Some cited a lack of credible
opponents during the past few years. Beating Sylvia erased all
doubt.
"That
is the baddest man on the planet," John McCarthy, a former
MMA wrestler turned TV personality, said of Emelianenko. "Whoever
says otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about."
After
the fight Emelianenko was asked whom he would like to face next.
Shyly he looked around and said, "It would be a great honor
to meet Randy Couture of course."
Undercard
Bouts
In
the semi-main event, Belarussian Andrei Arlovsky dominated a
heavyweight contest, and especially while on his feet. But Ben
Rothwell withstood a hurricane of punches and had his moment
on the ground in the second round.
It
proved to be the eye of the hurricane, because Arlovsky unleashed
a torrent of punches in the third round and used an overhand
right and right uppercut combination to put Rothwell down for
good.
"He's
tough, tough fighter," Arlovsky said of Rothwell. "My
training was harder; that's how I did what I did."
Popular
Josh Barnett (23-5) avenged a defeat to Pedro Rizzo (16-8) in
a heavyweight fight that ended at 1:44 of the second round. A
right hand missed, but a cleanup left hook landed flush on Rizzo's
jaw for a knockout.
Brazilian
favorite Renato "Babalu" Sobral (30-7) used his considerable
fighting skills to out-score Mike Whitehead (20-6) in a nip-and-tuck,
three-round, light heavyweight fight. The judges scored it 30-27
for the more accurate puncher and kicker.
"He
was a world-class fighter," Sobral said.
Oregon's
Matt Lindland (21-5) used his experience to dominate Fabio Nascimento
(8-4) in all three rounds of their middleweight bout. He out-punched
and out-grappled the Brazilian in gaining a unanimous decision.
The judges scored it 30-27 twice and 30-26 for Lindland.
Source:
PE.com |
Quote
of the Day
"If
you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm
positive that a doer makes mistakes."
John
Wooden, American Basketball Coach and Player
|
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FEDOR
RE-ESTABLISHES ROLE AS TOP HEAVYWEIGHT
Fedor
Emelianenko erased any doubt about him being the top heavyweight
in the world when he took out former UFC heavyweight titleholder
Tim Sylvia in just 36 seconds at the Honda Center in Anaheim,
Calif. Saturday night in Affliction's debut event, "Banned."
Emelianenko
overwhelmed Sylvia with punches, dropping the 6'8” Miletich
trained fighter to the canvas before taking his back and applying
a rear naked choke that forced Sylvia to tap out.
"I
felt all a long that I was quicker than Tim," said the Russian
fighter during the post-fight press conference. "I wanted
to use my quickness to my advantage and just immediately went
for it.
"I
felt comfortable in the stand up game," he added. "I
have the best trainers in the world. And I know that if that's
what it took than I was very comfortable doing that. They've
trained me very well."
Emelianenko
stated he'd like to fight three-time UFC heavyweight champion
Randy "The Natural" Couture in the ring following his
quick win over Sylvia. Questioned about a match up with Couture,
the newly crowned WAMMA champion commented, "Every fighter
has their strengths and weaknesses. Randy's just a fighter that
has a lot of strengths, but I see a couple of weaknesses as well.
"It's
just a matter of each opponent taking advantage of the others'
weaknesses. Randy has a lot of strengths and it really would
depend on who takes advantage of the other person's mistakes."
Emelianenko
feels like he's in his prime and plans to continue his dominance
for the foreseeable future. "I feel I'm at my peak right
now, and I feel great," he told the media. "I know
I'm going to have a contract. I'm going to fight for at least
another year, and then we'll go from there. I'm confident that
I'll keep fighting, and fighting for a long time. God willing."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
AFFLICTION
REVIEW: FEDOR CRUSHES SYLVIA
AFFLICTION
VIDEO: FEDOR EMELIANENKO POST-FIGHT
ANAHEIM,
Calif. – In front of 13,988 fans, Fedor Emelianenko stated
his case to be considered the best pound for pound fighter in
the world, stopping former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia
in stunning fashion on Saturday night to become the WAMMA heavyweight
champion at the Honda Center.
The
crowd was electric as the fight began. Sylvia came out throwing,
but was soon met with hands of stone, as Fedor absolutely hammered
him. Sylvia was obviously stunned as Fedor charged in with lighting
quick combinations that dropped the former UFC champion. He continued
the onslaught of strikes on the ground before sinking in the
hooks and locked in the choke that forced Sylvia to tap just
thirty-six seconds into the opening round.
“I
was very pleased with my performance. Everything I wanted to
do I was able to do,” said Fedor after the fight.
“I
was amazed at how good he is. The guy’s a stud. I don’t
think he’s human. He’s incredible. I don’t think
anybody’s going to beat him for a while,” said Sylvia
of Fedor at the post fight press conference.
Former
UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski put on a brilliant display
of striking as he stopped former IFL heavyweight standout Ben
Rothwell. Arlovski looked light on his feet as he used good foot
movement to set up his punches and tag Rothwell with kicks and
combinations. The fight went to the ground with Arlovski falling
back for a heel hook, but Rothwell escaped and got back to his
feet. As the round came to a close, Arlovski landed a vicious
combination that had Rothwell stunned.
Arlovski
came out firing in the second round, once again tagging Rothwell
with powerful shots before taking the fight to the ground. Again
Arlovski went for a heel hook, but this time Rothwell escaped
and got on top, dropping several shots before slowing down. They
were stood back up and Arlovski again started to tee off on Rothwell,
trapping him in the corner and battering him until the round
ended.
The
final round was much of the same as Arlovski finally put Rothwell
away with a right hand and then an uppercut to score the knockout
at 1:13 of the final round.
In
a rematch of fight that happened several years ago, Josh Barnett
gave Pedro Rizzo a taste of his own medicine. The first round
was slow as Barnett kept Rizzo away with front kicks. Barnett
was the aggressor throughout the round, as Rizzo played his usual
game of counter striking, using low kicks and on occasion throwing
a jab, but not following with a combination.
The
second round started much quicker as Rizzo came out more aggressive,
trading shots with Barnett. Then just like that it was over.
As the fighters traded, Barnett landed a huge left hook that
flattened Rizzo, landing two more shots before referee Herb Dean
pulled him off at 1:44 of the second round.
The
little guys went at it as UFC veteran Mark Hominick took on IFL
veteran Savant Young in a featherweight bout. They fought at
a methodical pace in the first round, as they felt each other
out with Hominick using punch combinations and Young utilizing
low kicks. Although neither fighter landed anything significant,
it was Hominick who was the aggressor throughout the first round.
After
some feeling out on the feet, the fight finally hit the ground
with Young on top. As Young went for ground and pound, Hominick
would attempt several triangle chokes before finally being able
to lock on an armbar that forced Young to tap at 4:25 of the
second round.
Former
UFC light heavyweight contender Renato “Babulu” Sobral
outworked Ultimate Fighter alumnus Mike Whitehead in a three-round
light heavyweight bout. Sobral was the quicker and crisper fighter
on the feet, landing punches and kicks. Towards the end of the
round Babalu was able to get a takedown, but Whitehead popped
back up as the round came to a close.
The
second was much of the same with Babalu getting the better on
the feet, but Whitehead was able to get the fight to the ground.
Babalu defended well though, not taking much damage before the
fighters were stood back up. As the round came to close, Babalu
began to score on the feet with some knees to the body.
In
the final round, on two occasions, Whitehead went for a takedown
while Babalu locked on a guillotine choke and both times the
fighters fell out of the ring. Again Babalu was quicker on the
feet, beating Whitehead to the punch and winning a unanimous
decision with scores of 30-27 on all three judges’ scorecards.
In
a grueling three-round battle, former top middleweight Matt Lindland
earned a unanimous decision over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt
Fabio Negao. Lindland dropped Negao right off the bat, following
it up with a guillotine choke that looked locked on, but Negao
was able to work his way out after some scrambling. Lindland
then proceeded to pound on Negao, using punches, elbows and forearms
to batter him. They got back to their feet and neither fighter
did much damage as the round ended.
Negao
looked better in the second, tagging Lindland on several occasions
with wild combinations, but Lindland returned fire with his own
combinations. Again Lindland was able to get the fight to the
ground and continued his ground and pound assault for the rest
of the round.
The
last round was slow as both fighters were tired at this point
with Lindland landing several good shots on the feet, but with
nothing behind them. Negao stayed tough and threw some punches
of his own, but Lindland was too much as he finished the fight
strong. At the end, Lindland had earned a unanimous decision
with scores of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27.
Pride
veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was dominant, stopping UFC veteran
Edwin Dewees with strikes late in the opening round. Through
the entire fight it was Nogueira who was sharp on his feet, putting
together crisp combinations. Dewees stayed composed, returning
fire, but not finding the same success as Nogueira, who continued
to batter the smaller Dewees. Finally Nogueira closed in, hurting
Dewees with a combination then following up with knees before
dropping Dewees with a hook and finishing him off with strikes
at 4:06 of the first round.
Mike
Pyle made quick work of local fighter J.J. Ambrose after getting
the fight to ground early and taking Ambrose’s back. From
there Pyle peppered Ambrose with shots before locking in a rear
naked choke at 2:51 of the opening round.
In
a middleweight bout, former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor
Belfort made his debut in the division against Midwest fighter
Terry Martin. The opening round was a slow one as both fighters
felt each other out with Martin being the aggressor with jabs
and combinations, while Belfort looked uncomfortable for much
the round.
The
second round started out better with both fighters swinging for
the fences. Belfort looked much more comfortable than in the
first as he pressed forward, landing clean shots, as did Martin,
who took the fight down after catching a Belfort kick. Martin
was unable to land any shots before Belfort was able to escape
back to his feet. From there, Belfort landed a flying knee that
stunned Martin, who tried to take the fight to the ground, but
to no avail. The end was next as Belfort knocked Martin out cold
with a left straight at 3:12 of the second round.
Paul
Buentello took on last minute replacement Gary Goodridge to open
up the night. Throughout the fight, Buentello landed hard shots
that would force Goodridge to cover up, but Buentello would be
unable to finish the fight. The fight played out the same for
all three rounds and in the end Buentello walked away with a
unanimous decision, all three judges scoring the fight 30-27.
The
bout between Justin Levens and Ray Lizama never took place. The
fight was supposed to have happened earlier in the evening, but
due to the late arrival of the paramedics it had to be pushed
back until, finally, there was no time left to make it happen.
Affliction vice president Tom Atencio told MMAWeekly.com that
both fighters would receive their show money and were also being
“taken care of” on top of that by Affliction.
-Fedor
Emelianenko def. Tim Sylvia by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 0:36, R1
-Andrei
Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell by KO at 1:13, R3
-Josh
Barnett def. Pedro Rizzo by KO at 1:44, R2
-Mark
Hominick def. Savant Young by Submission (Armbar) at 4:25, R2
-Renato
“Babalu” Sobral def. Mike Whitehead by Unanimous Decision
(30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Matt
Lindland def. Fabio Negao by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27,
30-27)
-Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira def. Edwin Dewees by TKO at 4:06, R1
-Mike
Pyle def. J.J. Ambrose by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:51,
R3
-Vitor
Belfort def. Terry Martin by KO at 3:12, R2
-Paul
Buentello def. Gary Goodridge by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27)
Source: MMA Weekly |
DREAM
5 PRESS CONFERENCE PHOTOS AND VIDEO
OSAKA
– When the DREAM mixed martial arts fightsport production
premiered in March of this year, 14 of the world's best MMA fighters
went head-to-head in the Lightweight Grand Prix Round 1 Elimination.
In May, more than 21,000 fans filled the Saitama Super Arena
as four victorious fighters took another step toward the 70kg/154lbs
Championship. Now it's boiled down to one night, and the last
man standing will wear the DREAM Lightweight Belt.
Set
for the Osaka Jo Hall, tomorrow's DREAM.5 Lightweight Grand Prix
2008 Final kicks off with a pair of Round 3 semifinal bouts.
The two winners there will clash for the 2008 Championship in
the Main Event. The event also features a trio of Superfights
and three other MMA bouts in a variety of weight classes.
On
the eve of the action, participating fighters met the media at
the Osaka Bay Tower Hotel.
The
first of the Lightweight GP semis features a couple of Japanese
fighters -- MMA veteran Caol Uno and judoka Shinya Aoki.
Aoki,
who came to the press conference shirtless, proclaimed, "I
will show my smile in the ring tomorrow, and when I win I will
show tears of joy!"
Characteristically
soft-spoken, Uno pledged, "I will fight my kind of fight
and show my spirit, so enjoy it!"
The
second GP semifinal bout pits American Eddie Alvarez against
Tatsuya Kawajiri of Japan in a showdown between a couple of wrestlers
Said
Alvarez, "It's always great to fight in front of Japanese
fans! I prepared for eight months for this, so tomorrow you'll
see the most exciting and the best fight of my career!"
Said
Kawajiri, "This will be my 30th bout, and I turned 30 this
year. The day has come, this is historic for me and I will make
it to the final!"
In
the GP reserve fight, Joachim Hansen of Norway will meet Black
Mamba of India.
Hansen:
"I expect a hard fight and will do my best to win and make
it exciting."
Mamba:
"Hansen is a tough opponent but I'm ready to go to war!"
In
Superfights:
For
some time now, 2001 K-1 World GP Champion Mark Hunt of New Zealand
has been booked on tomorrow's card, and today his "TBA"
opponent was finally revealed as Dutch fighter Alistair Overeem.
Walking
onto the stage, Hunt affected shock and awe at the sight of big
Overeem, before coolly remarking, "I just want to say thanks
to Alistair for taking the fight, and you're going to get paid."
Overeem
delivered his curt remarks in Japanese: "Thanks Mark --
I'm going to get you!"
In
a Middleweight Superfight (84kg/185lbs), HERO's 2006 Light Heavyweight
Champion Yoshihiro Akiyama of Japan will step in against compatriot
Katsuyori Shibata.
Osaka
is Akiyama's hometown, and the fighter remarked on the stifling
heat that has descended on the city over the last few days, "It's
hot here in the summer, it reminds me of festival time. So I
will make a festival of my own tomorrow in the ring!"
Shibata
said simply, "I'm a pro-wrestler and I will do what I do."
A
Featherweight Superfight (64kg/141lbs) will see a couple of Japanese
fighters -- Hideo Tokoro and Takeshi Yamazaki.
Tokoro
remarked that he intended to make it a "speedy fight,"
while Yamazaki said "Tokoro is great so it will be exciting,
but I am going to win!"
Norifumi
"Kid" Yamamoto was supposed to be on tomorrow's card,
but suffered an injury to his right knee during training three
days ago. In his place, Japanese fighter Kodo will entertain
Joseph Benavidez of the United States in a Featherweight (62kg/137lbs)
contest.
Said
Kodo, "This is like a dream for me, I want to make it come
true."
Benavidez:
"It's unfortunate that Kid got injured, but I want to thank
my opponent for taking the fight on short notice. I am focused
on the fight I have now, and I just want to go in and get the
win."
A
couple of Japanese grapplers -- Kuniyoshi Hironaka and Motoki
Miyazawa -- will face-off in a 76kg/168lbs match.
"It's
my first time in DREAM," said Hironaka, "and I want
to make a good fight."
Replied
Miyazawa, "I'm not talkative, so please just watch me fight
tomorrow."
In
the evening's opening fight, it will be Japanese armbar specialist
Daisuke Nakamura vs Andy Ologun of Nigeria, who has fought but
once in MMA.
The
DREAM.5 Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 Final kicks off at 3 p.m.
on Monday, July 21 at the Osaka Jo Hall. The event will be broadcast
live in Japan on the TBS network and SkyPerfect; and live in
the United States on HDNet Fights.
Source: MMA Weekly
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EDDIE
ALVAREZ WANTS TO PUSH INTO TOP 10
Eddie
Alvarez attempts to break into the lightweight division Top 10
on July 21 as he vies for the Dream Lightweight Grand Prix title.
He will have to fight twice that evening in order to become the
victor, but that doesn’t seem to bother him.
Alvarez
recently appeared on MMAWeekly Radio and explained his thoughts
and preparations for his semi-final match against Tatsuya Kawajiri.
“I've
been busting my ass and it's finally here,” said an elated
Alvarez.
Dream
announced the designated match-ups back in June, but he wasn’t
worried about who was his chosen foe. “I was training either
way. I wasn't going nuts on who I was going to fight. I figured
when I woke up, I'd find out,” revealed the former Bodog
champion.
Fighting
twice in one night has benefited some fighters and hindered others.
Staying injury-free and having enough endurance to proceed has
proven to be a challenge to many mixed martial artists. Alvarez
believes that his endurance will not fail and he’ll have
plenty to get through the night.
“I
pride myself on my cardio,” he explained. “I'm a mentally
strong fighter. My cardio is one of my strong points. My strength
and conditioning coach has me doing a circuit like I normally
do. Then he has me do an hour break so I can re-hydrate. Then
we do it again. He's getting me ready for that fight night so
I'm prepared to go through that kind of night.”
Having
the potential to fight twice in one night will sometimes change
a fighter’s normal approach to their game plan. However,
Alvarez is not changing anything in his fight with Kawajiri to
prepare himself for his potential night ahead.
“I'll
do one fight at a time. I'm not going to fight any different
than I normally fight,” stated Alvarez. “I'm going
to fight the first fight and I'm going to fight the same way
I'd fight every fight start to finish and if I gas myself out
during the second fight, then I'll see where it goes in the second
fight.
“I'm
not concerned about my second fight. I want to knock my first
guy out. I want to put him away as soon as possible. If that
doesn't happen and I go a full 15 minutes, then physically and
mentally I'll be prepared to go two fights. The second fight
I think will come down to your heart and mind, not your physical
body.”
Tatsuya
Kawajiri, MMAWeekly’s No. 4 ranked lightweight, is one of
the toughest fighters in the world. His wrestling is fantastic
and he keeps a frenetic pace. Alvarez thinks that there are benefits
and downfalls to fighting a tough guy like Kawajiri in his first
fight of the night.
“It
has pros and cons. Kawajiri would be a good guy to fight in the
first round because you need a lot of energy against a guy like
that. He uses a lot of his power and a lot of his strength,”
he explained. “Fighting him in the second round wouldn't
be bad either just because all that wrestling he does uses muscles.
He would probably tire out. He's probably a good guy to fight
in the second round because he would be so worn down from using
all that strength.
“I
wanted to fight Kawajiri the most out of these three guys. He's
a good match up for me. He's strong. He's fast. He gets a lot
of credit over in Japan. If I can beat a guy like that, I'll
get the recognition in Japan that I want.”
Fighting
a strong opponent like Kawajiri is a tall order, but Alvarez
strongly believes that the key to defeating that type of fighter
is to break him mentally.
“I
believe that will be a big part of this fight. Keeping it on
my feet and stalking him and get him nervous. Let him feel my
power and let the anxiety set in,” commented Alvarez.
“I
feel like I can beat him as long as I do the game plan that I
want to do as long as I'm focused that night. I can knock Kawajiri
out. He's used to dominating fights. I don't think he'll be able
to do that. I think I'll put him in a situation where he'll panic
and he'll break. That's what I'm looking forward to doing.”
The
Philadelphia native is very focused on his fight with Kawajiri
and is not concerning himself at all with what will happen next.
He’s studied Shinya Aoki and Caol Uno in the past and he
feels comfortable fighting them, assuming he gets past Kawajiri.
“I
think what's most important is to focus on the first round fight.
It's very important to focus on the present and focus on what's
in front of you, and that's Kawajiri. That will be my first round
fight. I've looked at the second round guys and I have a good
idea on how to fight them. But like I said, I think the second
round is going to come down to a lot of heart and a lot of mind
– and I have that. More than any fighter in this tournament,
I think I have that.”
If
Alvarez makes it to the finals, that will be his fourth and fifth
fights this year. After this tournament, he plans on taking some
much deserved time off.
“I'm
going to take some time off. I'm getting married in September,
so I'll be off in September,” he explained. “I want
to spend some time with my family. I've been really busy and
I haven't had a lot of time to spend with my family. That's really
important.”
Source: MMA Weekly
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Assuério
wants to go back to UFC
Pancrase’s
former champion and coming from victory at Jungle Fight by Pozil,
over the American fighter Terroll Dees, Assuério Silva
is now dreaming with a possibility to go back to UFC. Assuério
suffered three losses at UFC, to Brandon Vera, Cheick Kongo and
the former champion Tim Sylvia, but guarantees that if he has
another chance, he’ll show all his potential at the cage.
“We’re
working hard. My manager spoke with Joe Silva (UFC matchmaker)
and I guarantee that if I have another shot, I’ll do my
job with all my heart. I’m here to fight that’s my
job and I know that you only survive on it if you’re on
the top”, said Assuério, that commented about his
fast victory at Jungle Fight, when he submitted Terroll with
a leg-lock with only 1min42s on the first round.
“My
preparation was intense, like always. I believe that rings are
like wars, and I have to be always better than I believe my opponent
will be. I didn’t knew this opponent, I was going to face
another one, but he got hurt and changed my opponent. I did this
great fight and won”, said Assuério, trying to rebuild
his way back to Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Source: Tatame
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Vanderlei
Silva Seminar in Hawaii!
Sunday, August 3,
2008
UH Manoa Athletic Complex Studio 4
The seminar
will be at University of Hawaii (UH) at athletic complex, Lower
Campus Road on the studio 4 above the swimming poll across from
the cantina.
Over
there you guys can taste and purchase Acai (brazilian berry)
from Acai Roots, Wanderlei’s clothes line (Wand), Vandal
(sun glasses), Justap (fight wear), MMA magazine, do a body check
up with Dr. Tania (Peak Performance Chiropractic), Chosen (fight
wear), Power Balance, Fight stop and Revolution Motor Sport.
Please
send the payment check payable to Sidney Silva . I need to have
the checks in my hand by the 25nd of this month to guarantee
your place.
Mail the checks to:
Sidney Silva
1503 PUNAHOU ST #1-C 96822
HONOLULU - HI
The
conditioning and strength seminar will start at 1 pm (sharp)
so be there 15 min before to make sure you get your bracelet
that will allow you to attend the seminar and don’t miss
anything. The MMA seminar start at 3:30 pm we expect you guys
be there at 3 pm (bring a picture ID).
Feel
free to contact me if you have any questions.
Find
attach with the new poster a pre registration form.
WANDERLEI
SILVA SEMINAR PRE- REGISTRATION FORM
SUNDAY
AUGUST 3, 2008
STRENGTH
& CONDITIONING ( ) MMA ( ) BOTH ( )
NAME
–
ADDRESS
–
CITY
- STATE - ZIP -
PHONE
NUMBER- ( ) E-MAIL –
AGE
- SCHOOL ATTENDING - GRADE –
DO
YOU HAVE AY INJURIES OR PHISICAL CONDITIONS NOW OR IN THE PASS
THE MIGHT EFFECT YOUR
PARTICIPATION IN THE SEMINAR ? –
MARTIAL
ART BACK GROUND -
HOW LONG -
RANKING
–
HOW
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE SEMINAR
[
] FRIEND, WHO? –
[
] NEWS PAPER –
[
] FLYER –
[
] INTERNET WHERE? –
[
] OTHER -
Thank
you
Sidney
Silva |
NAGA
RETURNS TO HAWAII
On
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Neal Blaisdell Arena
NAGA
returns to Honolulu, Hawaii for the largest grappling tournament
in the Hawaii, the NAGA Hawaiian Grappling Championship. This
tournament is open to all grappling styles. You do not need to
be a member of a team or any organization to compete. You do
not have to live in Hawaii to compete.
OUR
BEST VENUE EVER We have acquired one of the best venues in Hawaii
for a grappling competition, the Neal Blaisdell Arena. The venue
is awesome, with 4 full sets of wrestling mats for competition
and additional mats for warming up. This facility has huge bathrooms
and changing areas, and a 2,000+ car parking lot. The Arena is
located just Ward Ave and is easy to get to.
WEIGH-IN
on Friday or Saturday NAGA will be offering all competitors the
option of registering and weighing in the night BEFORE the tournament!
If
you cannot make it on Friday, you can weigh-in anytime on Saturday
prior to your division starting.
60
CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS AWARDED All Men, Women, Children and Teen
Experts take home a magnificent championship belt. SAMURAI SWORDS
to all 1st PLACE
The
NAGA will be handing out custom engraved SAMURAI SWORDS to ALL
1st place winners who do not win a belt! Medals will be awarded
to all 2nd & 3rd place winners.
RANKED EVENT All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking
system entitled RANKED. Our goal is to determine who the best
grapplers in the country are for various age, gender and skill
levels. NAGA Hawaii will be nationally Ranked. Do not miss your
opportunity to gain points towards a true “National title”.
Go to www.nationallyranked.com for current rankings.
SANDBAGGERS
BEWARE
NAGA works diligently to prevent 'sandbagging', the practice
of fighting down skill levels to ensure one takes home an award.
At NAGA Hawaii, front door personnel will use RANKED data to
determine whether or not individuals who have fought in past
events belong in a higher skill level (i.e. placed 1st at a prior
NAGA event for that skill level). We feel very confident that
sandbaggers will be forced to fight in their appropriate divisions.
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