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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)

2008

11/8/08
Aloha State Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)

7/26/08
Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)

7/19/08
Affliction - Fedor vs. Sylvia

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
Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale

6/15/08
Grapplefest
(Submission Grappling)

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)

 News & Rumors
Archives
Click Here

May 2008 News Part 2


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


Got a question for us? Email info@onzuka.com or click here to send us an email.

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!

Want to Advertise on Onzuka.com?

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!

5/20/08

Quote of the Day

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”

Confucius, 551-479 B.C., Chinese Thinker and Social Philosopher

Fighters' Club TV Tonight!
Channel 52, Tuesdays at 7:00 PM

FCTV episode 58 will run in our normal timeslot of 7pm on Oceanic Channel 52 Olelo Oahu Tuesday nights, March 25, April 1, 8, & 15.

Episode 58 features:

Highlights from the Pacific Invitational Jiu-Jitsu tournament including:

1. Interview & footage with purple belt heavyweight & absolute winner, Kelly Grissom
(Relson Gracie Kaneohe Team)
2. Interview with tournament director Ronn Shiraki
3. Highlights & great subs from Jake Scoval & Luke Hacker from Longman JJ, Dustin
Grace from Kaneohe Team, Lenora from Team HK, Andy Marshall vs. Dr. Suehiro & many
more...

-HFC highlights from the Dole Cannery including:
-Interview with fight promoter Sly Kekahuna
-170 lbs HFC champion Keoni Bryant
-Interview with Koa Ramos with highlight of fight with Bryson Kamaka
-Highlight of Brennan Kamaka in action

Technique of the Week:
-Mario "Zen Machine" Sperry demonstrates the standing guard pass

Rob Demello's report
-Kala Hose vs Phil Baroni fight highlights & inteview with Kala Hose
-Extended unedited interview with Phil Baroni

Comments, Questions, and Suggestions to: fctv@onzuka.com

FIGHT!
Student brawls posted online stir safety concerns

By Alexandre Da Silva
adasilva@starbulletin.com

Some public schools are enlisting the help of neighborhoods, parents, police and even mixed- martial arts fighters to deal with students who intentionally hold brawls off-campus, record the fights on the Internet and even get paid to participate with support from adults.

The scuffles, many available on YouTube.com, are happening in living rooms, parks and streets.

"They don't even consider it fighting, they consider it grappling. They think it's for fun. It's not a disagreement, it's just a match," Castle High School Principal Meredith Maeda said in a presentation before the Kahaluu Neighbor- hood Board. "One of the fights that we had ... (included) a community member telling the kids to get out of the way so that adults could have a better view."

One parent says she pulled her 13-year-old daughter from King Intermediate after she was beaten last month allegedly by a girl who later attacked another victim, this time on video and with her mother standing on the side for support.

Schools Deputy Superintendent Clayton Fujie said "not every complex has had this influx" of fights. He said the Board of Education has approved new rules to allow educators to crack down on fights and address cyberbullying -- the use of cell phones, computers and other technology as harassment tools.

With their fists up, two shirtless teenagers jab and kick as a crowd on the sidewalk cheers on. After 16 seconds and a flurry of punches, one spectator says, "Oh, he is bleeding already."

Combating Cyberbullying
Here are a few ways to combat cyberbullying, according to the National Crime Prevention Council:

» Keep computers in a highly trafficked room where online activities are hard for teens to hide.

» Teach teens not to respond to cyberbullies. Show them how to block the bully's messages or to delete messages without reading them.

» Tell teens that they should never try to seek revenge on a bully or cyberbully.

» Share examples of inappropriate incidents that can happen online, which teens may view as harmless or normal.

» Help teen victims keep a record of bullying incidents. This will be helpful if the actions escalate and police needs to intervene.

With their fists up, two shirtless teenagers jab and kick as a crowd on the sidewalk cheers on. After 16 seconds and a flurry of punches, one spectator says, "Oh, he is bleeding already."

The fight, broadcast in grainy video on YouTube.com and titled "Waipahu," goes on for 2 1/2 minutes before a woman intervenes. But the scuffle moves to a "second round" with the boys at the parking lot of a Chevron gas station.

The posting is among a seemingly endless archive of online footage -- allegedly of Hawaii students fighting -- that is alarming school administrators. While kids have uploaded fights on the Internet for some years now, school officials say there is renewed concern about brawls intentionally held off campus, participants getting paid and even parents joining in on the sidelines.

For Donna Lindsey, a rash of 14 fights outside King Intermediate in the 3 1/2 months she has been principal led her to seek help from community groups and the police.

"Off campus, they are fighting until they are tired," she said. "And we have parents who are more condoning than stopping it."

These screengrabs show fights posted on YouTube.com allegedly between Hawaii school students. Some of the footage allegedly shows fights taking place on school campuses.
Bridgette Ardo said she pulled her 13-year-old daughter from King Intermediate after she was beaten on April 24 by a girl who attacked another student later in the day. Ardo said the second fight was videotaped and shows the girl's mother giving her tips.

"It is just absurd to have the mother encouraging the fight, telling her daughter to lick her and kick her," she said. "There's an adult bystander who stops, tries to intervene when the student's mom grabs her, pushes her away and tells her, 'Stay out of it. Stay out of it.'"

School administrators, however, say their hands are tied when students clash off campus.

King Intermediate stopped suspending children who fought outside school after the state Attorney General's Office warned they would need to start regularly monitoring those areas to penalize students, Lindsey said.

So Lindsey, Castle High Principal Meredith Maeda and Lea Albert, the superintendent for the Castle-Kahuku complex, began asking Windward residents, businesses and church leaders to combat the problem.

"There are boundaries and limits to our authority," Albert said last week before meeting with the Kahaluu Neighborhood Board. "We are just trying to do everything we can proactively to keep our children safe and our communities peaceful."

Nationally, about 160,000 students miss school daily because they fear being bullied, and some states, including Kentucky and Maryland, have passed laws specifically addressing cyberbullying -- the use of cell phones, computers and other technology as harassment tools -- according to the National Crime Prevention Council, a nonprofit advocating for safe communities.

"It's a difficult position for schools and we certainly understand the difficulties that they have in a lot of these instances when things do occur off campus, off school property," said the council's Michelle Boykins.

Hawaii lawmakers killed a cyberbullying measure last year because the Board of Education was already updating a student misconduct code, known as Chapter 19, to broaden schools' enforcement powers. A chief clause would allow schools to discipline students who use home computers to bully classmates as long as officials prove the incident disrupted campus operations.

In February, three Niu Valley Middle School students and a Kaiser High student shown on YouTube assaulting a girl from Sacred Hearts Academy were allegedly retaliating because the girl had repeatedly bullied one of them online, according to Niu Valley Principal Justin Mew, who said a police investigation is ongoing.

Mew, who helped draft the new cyberbullying guidelines, said his students received counseling and a letter was sent to all parents highlighting the school's zero tolerance policy for fighting.

Honolulu Police Department spokesman Maj. Frank Fujii said he was not aware of other probes triggered by schoolchildren posting Web videos. He urged bystanders who witness fights to immediately call authorities.

"We are identifying that this has been something that we need to really be concerned about. We are seeing it more and more," he said, but statistics were not available. "People will videotape this, play it, but nobody, you know, very rarely do we have people come forward to make reports about it."

Online clips range from students giggling as they wrestle in a living room to bloody brawls on streets and in parks.

Educators say parents are their best ally in educating children involved in "staged fights" that resemble popular martial arts competitions on TV, with students sometimes wearing gloves and peers posing as referees.

"It all begins at home. Everybody agrees that attitudes have to begin at home," said Ted Kanemori who, as member of a citizens patrol group at Alii Shores, dons a bright yellow shirt and keeps an eye on students after the bell rings at nearby King Intermediate.

An area resident since 1971, Kanemori said the watch group was launched about four years ago when off-campus fights intensified and students began threatening neighbors who told them to quit.

"The neighbors started staying in their homes and just calling 911," he said.

Besides the community outreach, Albert plans on having students produce public service announcements about the fights and bring in professional fighters to explain the dangers of copying the sport without training, medical supervision, or knowledge of rules.

At Castle High, a student suffered a concussion in a fight but only got treated two days later when the parent discovered the injury and alerted the school, Maeda said.

"What I see on MySpace, there are 2 on 1, 3 on 1, there are no rules," he said, noting fights erupt mainly because of arguments.

On the Big Island, Mary Correa, superintendent for the Kau-Keaau-Pahoa complex, had B.J. Penn, a champion local fighter, speak to students, said Deputy Schools Superintendent Clayton Fujie.

He said "not every complex has had this influx" in fights.

School board member John Penebacker said he hopes the revised student code, which still needs to go before public hearings and be signed by Gov. Linda Lingle, will help schools crack down on conflicts.

The document would make any student who supports a fight, either by instigating or forming a circle around it, guilty of participating, and allow for penalties against a student to "be carried over to the next school year" even if the offense happened in the last days of the spring semester.

"The problem has persisted at Castle, King Intermediate and some other Windward schools," said Penebacker, who introduced Chapter 19 in the early '80s and was re-elected in 2006 on a platform of school safety.

"Whenever there is a problem, obviously we are not doing enough," he added. "But we need to recognize the shortcomings and ensure that we reinforce the programs in place so that we can teach these kids that there are better ways to do conflict resolution other than fighting."

As for Ardo, she said her daughter, who is being homeschooled at state expense, won't return to campus until King Intermediate convinces her it would be OK.

"I don't feel safe dropping my daughter off at King school, driving away and wondering and thinking, 'Am I going to get a phone call?'," Ardo said. "It's very worrisome."

Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin

Viloria on course for title shot after third-round KO

Waipahu's Brian Viloria needed a knockout last night and he took it.

Viloria (22-2, 13 KOs) floored Fred Heberto Valdez (10-18, 5 KOs) with a body shot 2 minutes into the third round in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to move closer to challenging for his second world title.

Viloria, 27, fought outside of the United States for the first time in his career and was pitted against Valdez, a Mexican signed at the last minute, who was fighting in front of his own people.

Viloria didn't give the partisan crowd a chance to influence the judges, pressing the action from the opening bell before ending it with a left to the body.

"The crowd just favored him a lot more, I didn't want it to go to the scorecard," Viloria said. "He was the home favorite here. I didn't want to have to take that chance."

Viloria had not knocked out an opponent since surprising Eric Ortiz in the first round to win the World Boxing Council's light flyweight strap in 2005.

"I wanted that fight," Viloria said. "When the KO presented itself I just took it."

Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin

X-1 recap: Reiner/Wolff steals the show
Date May 18, 2008

Chad Reiner vs. Brandon Wolff

X-1: Legends is in the book and after a very slow start, things picked up tremendously in the final three fights.

Most notable was the X-1 welterweight title fight that saw local boy Brandon Wolff earn a split decision victory over Chad Reiner of Omaha, Neb. The fight went the full 25 minutes as Wolff won by a razor-thin margin. I compared it to the Baroni/Hose fight in Icon in March, but what was different about this war was that you had no idea who was going to win. In the third round, it looked like Wolff was about to gas out and Reiner started going to work with vicious shots. Reiner even had a couple submission attempts that looked close to finishing the challenger, but Wolff found it in the fifth round and I thought clearly won the final five minutes and thus the fight. In a fight as close as that one, the guy who ends the strongest seems to (and should IMO) get the advantage on the score cards and thus Wolff is your new champion.

Like I mentioned, this fight was right up there with Baroni/Hose in excitement value, but unlike Baroni who clearly didn’t look like he had a chance to win the fight after round 1, you never knew who was going to win this fight. Huge props to both Reiner and Wolff, who earned themselves a ton of fans Friday night.

The only true knockout of the night came in the lightweight title fight that saw Alaska’s Richie Whitson drop Ray Cooper with a punch late in the first round to become the new champion.

Second win in 10 days for Whitson (4-0), who deserves a lot of credit for taking the fight on less than a week’s notice, flying all the way out to Hawaii, and bringing it against a guy many believed could make a serious comeback at 34-years-old. Cooper hit Whitson with a hard shot early, but seemed like he wanted to wrestle with Whitson and try to take him down. Whitson did a tremendous job avoiding the takedown and then caught Cooper during an exchange that put a quick and sudden end to the fight.

Egan Inoue vs. Hans Marrero

Of course, most of the estimated 2,500 in attendance Friday night came to see Egan Inoue, who didn’t take long to dispose of Hans Marrero. I was able to talk to Egan for a couple minutes after the fight, and surprisingly, he mentioned how he thought Marrero was disrespecting him prior to the fight, which is something he didn’t talk about going in. The two seemed to get along, but Egan felt Marrero was talking a little too much before the fight and made him eat his words with a 59-second TKO victory.

Because the fight didn’t last long, Egan wasn’t able to truly test himself and see if he’s ready to make a full-time comeback. He wouldn’t commit to anything, but I’d be shocked if we didn’t see him back in the ring later this year, and MAYBE as soon as X-1’s next card July 12.

The last three fights helped overcome what was a very tough start to the evening. Sean Sakata didn’t make it 10 seconds before suffering what looked like a horrible knee injury on a simple leg kick attempt. The second fight was stopped after one of the fighter’s complained of a rib injury in between the second and third rounds, and maybe the most surprising event of the night happened when Ron Jhun didn’t answer the bell for round 2 of his fight with Dylan Clay, instead stepping through the ropes and abruptly leaving. Jhun did get poked in the eye early in the fight and that may have had something to do with it, but Clay also seemed to be the better fighter. Don’t be surprised to hear more from him in the future.

Overall, a decent night of fights highlighted by a couple of upsets and complete dominance by Egan in the main event. I covered the very first X-1 fight a couple years back and they have done a tremendous job increasing both the entertainment value and quality of fights for their events.

Source: Honolulu Star Bulletin

UFC CHAMP BJ PENN TALKS TOUGH ON STEROIDS IN MMA


The problem with steroids in mixed martial arts has been well documented over the past few years. From champions to challengers all testing positive, no one can deny that an issue exists, and while many athletes shy away from the subject, Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight titleholder B.J. Penn is happy to give his thoughts on a growing trend that haunts the sport more and more each year.

Many fighters have been tested under numerous athletic commissions, and a staggering list of offenders grows to new heights each day. Recently, the Nevada State Athletic Commission instituted a new “off season” drug testing policy for combat sports and both Penn and former champion Sean Sherk were tested prior to their upcoming title bout on May 24.

While Penn feels the change is a step in the right direction, it is not the answer to the problem of steroids in MMA.

“It’s a positive idea, but it’s not like people can’t get around that stuff any time,” said Penn in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “The people taking steroids that they’re getting from their doctor, they know how to beat the test. They know what they’re doing. The athletic commission, it’s not their fault, they’re trying the best they can to see what’s going on, but steroids or blood doping, growth hormone or whatever, it’s a part of the sport. It’s a black eye on sports, but the athletic commission, that’s the best they can do and you can’t blame them for trying.”

The trend of fighters testing positive hasn’t gone away and the current lightweight champion doesn’t feel enough attention is being paid to the problem.

“The thing that’s so crazy is how it gets swept under the rug,” Penn stated. “It’s like, what would happen in the old days in the Wild West if somebody got caught with two aces up their sleeve? You shoot them right there, you know what I mean? That’s why I tell Sean Sherk he’s dead. It’s just ridiculous.”

The society of fighters using performance enhancing drugs also concerns Penn, who says the people involved are more likely to cover for each other and we may never know just how many athletes are involved in illegal activities.

“We all know. We all know when people fight. You can look at their nipples. You can just know when somebody’s blood doping. We all know,” Penn said adamantly.

“And fighters to fighters, I think so many fighters do it that they all back each other up and say, ‘No, I don’t think he was doing it.’ That’s because you were (expletive) doing it.”

With his upcoming bout with former champion Sean Sherk less than a week away, Penn isn’t afraid to call out anyone with a background that involves performance enhancing drugs.

“It’s a joke and they’re cowards and they’re not real fighters,” he commented. “That’s why I say there’s too many athletes, not enough fighters in this sport. To me fighting’s everything, and it’s such a pure thing, and this and that and they go and pervert it and go and do all this other stuff. And then they’ve got the guts to go out and say they’ve got heart or they train hard. I look at them and I just want to laugh.”

Source: MMA Weekly

CBS EXEC DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT OF ELITE XC

For all intents and purposes, EliteXC’s network debut is a roll of the dice. At least that’s what the man charged with delivering mixed martial arts to CBS’s Saturday night audience says.

Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President for CBS Primetime TV, said the choice to move forward with the 18-month-old organization was cemented by existing relationships, not personalities, getting along, or market share.

“Overall it was the best deal for us,” he explains. “There was simply an infrastructure in place. Showtime was already there to handle the production for us, and they already had a great working relationship with ProElite. There really weren’t any other issues out there other than it was the best deal for us.”

According to Kahl, it’s been a year since the organizations have moved from courting to a working relationship. Like any new business venture, there are a lot of questions surrounding the success of the product. EliteXC is showcasing its best on May 31, a combination of hard punchers (Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith) and marketing dreams (Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Gina Carano), hoping the mix will spark the imagination of hardcore and casual fans alike. A hit show would drive ad revenues the likes of which MMA’s current small screen home, cable television, have never seen.

Because Saturday nights don’t command the ratings of weekdays, Kahl is taking a gamble on EliteXC’s ability to capture the coveted 18-34 demographic. He says one indicator of the program’s success, ad sales, have been strong so far. But the most important sign of life, ratings, are a gray area. What would be a record-breaking audience for mixed martial arts could still ensure a one-way trip to cancellation on network time.

“It’s going to be a wait and see thing,” Kahl said. “This is the first time anybody’s done this, so we don’t really have a benchmark on network TV.”

On a conference call last week, EliteXC Live Events president Gary Shaw told reporters that May 31 is a make or break time for his promotion. ProElite, the parent company of EliteXC, lost a reported $31.3 million in 2007. To remain solvent through 2008 revenues have to be increased. Despite the tremendous pressure that puts on the first event, Kahl is cautiously optimistic about the future of the collaboration.

“I would hate to put more pressure on the event than I think a lot of people already think there is,” he said. “I think if you look at what’s happened to the exposure that Gina’s got and that Kimbo’s gotten, I can’t think of any other MMA fighters that in this quick of time have gotten that much popularity. So, I think it’s a powerful model and I’m excited.”

But when pressed to elaborate on a threshold for CBS’s patience with EliteXC, Kahl was non-committal.

“I think we’ll know a good number when we see one,” he said.

Source: MMA Weekly

IMANARI DROPS TITLE TO MISHIMA AT DEEP 35

Currently ranked as the No. 5 featherweight fighter in the world, Masakazu Imanari failed to live up to expectations as he dropped a decision and his featherweight title at Monday’s DEEP 35 to unranked Dokonjonosuke Mishima.

Imanari had been on a five-fight winning streak entering the bout. In defeating him, Mishima ended a two-fight skid that saw him lose bouts to Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson in the UFC’s lightweight division. The drop in weight to face Imanari proved a wise choice for Mishima, as he walked away with the DEEP belt.

Yuichi Nakanishi went the distance twice on Monday winning back-to-back bouts against Daijiro Matsui and Riki Fukuda to win the DEEP Middleweight Tournament.

In the lightweight division, Pang Sung Hwan knocked out Kazunori Yokota, securing his spot as the new DEEP champion.

DEEP Middleweight Tournament Final:

Yuichi Nakanishi def. Riki Fukuda by Decision 3-0

 

DEEP Featherweight title fight:

Dokonjonosuke Mishima def. Masakazu Imanari by Decision 2-0

 

DEEP Lightweight title fight:

Pang Sung Hwan def. Kazunori Yokota by KO Round 1, 3:38

 

Hidehiko Hasegawa drew with Hiroki Nagaoka

Mai Ichi def. Satoko Shinashi by decision 2-0

Jutaro Nakao def. Shigetoshi Iwase by decision 3-0

 

Middleweight Tournament Reserve Fight:

Ryuta Sakurai def. Young Choi by Decision 3-0

 

Middleweight Tournament Semi-Finals

Riki Fukuda def. Yuya Shirai by Decision 2-1

Yuichi Nakanishi def. Daijiro Matsui by Decision 3-0

 

Non-Tournament/Title fights:

LUIZ def. Toshikazu Iseno by KO at 0:41, R2

Koichiro Matsumoto def. Yuki Ito by Decision 2-0

Hyun Gyu Lim def. Noboru Onishi by TKO at 0:48, R2

Source: MMA Weekly

5/19/08

Quote of the Day

"Nobody owes anybody a living, but everybody is entitled to a chance."

Jack Dempsey, 1895-1983, American Boxer

Fighters' Club Radio Today!

FIGHTERS CLUB RADIO
MONDAY MAY 19
9AM-10AM
RIGHT AFTER LEAHEY & LEAHEY

AM 1500 RADIO
"THE TEAM, HAWAII'S SPORTING NEWS"

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MAN UP AND STAND UP
SUNDAY MAY 25
FILCOM CENTER
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00

ATISANOE ATISANOE 300+ SHHELTON MAAVE

SEAN ORTIZ 120 KANALOA COOKE

KELII KAMALU 140 CLEM HALLOWAY

DENNIS CABAHIT 145 DERRICK KAWALO

MAKI PITOLO 200 KALAI IRVINE

DALLAS 200+ BRANDON NALEEHA

ROYAL LONO 205 DAVID VARQUEZ

RICHARD HIT TOO HARD BARNARD 152 MIKE BALASI

JAMES PERGANON 135 ALA

IKAIKA SILVA 195 KIMO

DESMOND TALUB 165 RYAN DESOTO (THE PHARMACIST)

JON MENDONSA 150 COLIN INTENSITY MCKENZIE

FERDINAND RAMIREZ 155 CHAD VALENTINE

JAY WESTBROOK 250+ OTTO HOOPII

DENNIS MONTERA 110 JUSTIN KAHALEWAI

SAI CRAWFORD 75 ELYJAH BADUA

DALE KAMAI 170 TODD YOUNG

PHILLIP AKUI 170 VINCE TOKASHIKI

ANDREW 135 CHEVY RAQUEDAN

MIKE MCNAAB 190 MARIO DIVAS

all matches & participants are subject to change

Source: Derrick Bright

Punishment in Paradise
Pound 4 Pound
June 6, 2008
Ahuna Ranch, Maili



Source: Brennan Kamaka

JJ Worlds list takes shape
Last day to sign up with discount

Set to take place between the 5th and 8th of June, in the California State University Long Beach stadium, the 2008 Jiu-Jitsu World Championship is already taking shape. This is because the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) has already made a list available with those who have already signed up for the style’s biggest tournament on line.

It is worth noting that those to sign up before midnight tonight, May 18th, will pay only US$ 107. Now, or those to register between tomorrow (the 19th) and June 27th (deadline) will pay US$ 122.

Source: Gracie Magazine

EliteXC Primetime 5/31 Advance

Sherdog.com reported this morning that EliteXC has sold over 5,000 tickets for its 5/31 show at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The event is billed as "Primetime" and will be broadcast live on CBS. The arena is scaled for 12,000. Last November the UFC drew 11,828 for a gate of $2.1 million.

Sources have told MMAPayout.com that the company has yet to spend any money promoting the show in New York.

Source: MMA Payout

GILBERT MELENDEZ IS SIGNED, SEALED & READY TO DELIVER

Gilbert Melendez is feeling great and is ready to take the American lightweight scene by storm.

After years of primarily fighting in Japan, “Ill Nino” is on the verge of his biggest showdown stateside, as he defends his Strikeforce title against top 155-pound contender Josh Thomson. The fight is the main event of the promotion’s June 27 fight card taking place at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

“I guess it was inevitable that it’d happen,” said Melendez of the recently finalized fight. “Initially I didn’t think it was ever going to happen, but now that it is, I’m excited for it, pumped up and motivated.

“I’m ready for it. You learn to switch modes and become an animal and right now I’m out to get Josh. I’m out to get him.”

After some initial confusion following an early press release by Strikeforce about the match’s status as a fully agreed to bout, Melendez is now able to officially announce his participation in the fight.

“Everything’s ready to go,” he confirmed. “(I) gave it the go, gave it the thumbs up, and I’m ready. I’m ready to take on all challengers.”

Currently the No. 5 ranked lightweight in the world, Melendez is coming off a dominating performance over Gabe Lemley at March’s Strikeforce event, while Thomson had an equally impressive outing in his win over Adam Lynn last September.

Together the two California standouts have amassed an impressive 27-3 combined record in their professional careers.

When it comes to the fight now at hand, Melendez says, “I think it’s going to be a great match-up.

“It’s really going to be high-paced and we’re both going to go for the win. I don’t think anyone’s going to sit and hold back anything.”

What has him even more excited than fighting a long-time rival is the fact that, for the first time in his career, Melendez is the main event of a major U.S. event.

“I’ve headlined a few times in Japan on Shooto shows, but this is my first time headlining in the U.S. and it’s a very anticipated, tough fight that’s main event material,” he commented.

“I was made for this – I was born for this – right here.”

Melendez intends to use this gigantic opportunity to truly launch his assault on the American lightweight scene and prove he belongs with the likes of B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk and other top fighters in competing promotions.

He exclaimed, “On the way to the top, I said I’d take on anyone on the way here. Now that I’m here, I still want to take anyone on that wants to take me out.

“My mindset is right now, ‘I’ll fight anybody. I’m the champ. I take on all challengers. Anyone want to step up?’”

Source: MMA Weekly

HDNET FIGHTS PLANNING SUPER-FIGHTS

When Mark Cuban announced his intentions of promoting mixed martial arts, many people were excited about the possibilities the billionaire could bring to the sport.

Since the formation of HDNet Fights last year, the Dallas based organization has held two events. It's been five months since they've put on a show, but HDNet Fights CEO Andrew Simon told MMAWeekly they plan on putting together "super-fights" in the future.

HDNet started airing MMA with World Extreme Cagefighting, but has expanded their coverage to showing several regional events from around the country as well as Japanese promotions.

"We have the ability to partner with pretty much any organization out there," said Simon. "And when the timing is right, you're going to see us promote again some super-fights."

"We're going to be pretty opportunistic when we want to promote ourselves. We're in a little bit of a different position than everyone else. We have our own television network. We have our own arena in Dallas with the American Airlines Center, and we're not into it to just put on fights every month ourselves just because. I think you're going to see when we come back it will be a pretty big fight."

Simon continued, "When HDNet is the promoter, number one, it's going to be something pretty big. Congrats to the Affliction guys. They're putting on a pretty big show of big names coming up, and I think you'll see we'll do something similar, or bigger names as well. If we can partner with various organizations to do it as well, we will. There's no ego on our side. We have the ability, like I said, with our eight or nine partners to really work and bring the best fighters from a lot of organizations together."

The HDNet Fights CEO assured MMAWeekly that HDNet Fights is alive and well, stating, "We're looking forward to promoting our own events, and I think they'll be events that the fans want to see."

Source: MMA Weekly

MEET JUNIOR GAZZE, CHUTE BOXE JIU-JITSU COACH

As Chute Boxe, a perennial supplier of top-level mixed martial arts fighters, makes an official move into the United States, it has begun putting instructors in place for its move into Los Angeles.

MMAWeekly.com’s Brazilian correspondent, Ivan Canello, recently sat down with Chute Boxe U.S.A.’s new jiu-jitsu coach.

MMAWeekly.com: What is your name and where are you from?

Junior Gazze: My name is Paulo Cesar Gazze, Jr., but they all call me Junior Gazze and I am from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

MMAWeekly.com: Tell us about your experience as an athlete, some of competitions you have won and your most important fights.

Gazze: I started with Judo when I was four, then I started to practice Muay Thai when I was 13 and jiu-jitsu when I was 16. The wrestling I started with Tito Ortiz, and I’ve been training Muay Thai Chute Boxe style since 2005.

I have fought against Dean Lister and Chris Leben among others in MMA. I had some challenges inside the gym against some big names in the U.S.A., but this is another story. I had some good results in jiu-jitsu competitions in Brazil and U.S.A.

MMAWeekly.com: Who is your jiu-jitsu master?

Gazze: I started to train with Fepa Lopes and Roberto Godoi; then I started to train with Milton Maximiniano Trombini, who gave me the black belt in 2001.

MMAWeekly.com: How did you get into MMA coaching?

Gazze: I was already training with Tito Ortiz, Ricco Rodriguez, Jason Miller, “Razor” Rob, Quinton Jackson, Josh Barnett, Joe Moreira, Kimo, Fabiano Iha, Renato Babalu, and some years ago, Fabiano Iha team used to train with Joe Moreira. It was a huge training, but when Fabiano Iha moved to another state I was without a place to train in so I started my own gym.

At the time I had some MMA experience inside the Octagon and I needed a Muay Thai coach and I had a contact with Roberto Piccinini, a former Chute Boxe coach. He started to give some classes at my gym. Today, I am the jiu-jitsu coach and Master Rafael Cordeiro is the Muay Thai and MMA coach here at Chute Boxe U.S.A.

MMAWeekly.com: Tell us some names you worked with.

Gazze: I was one of Tito’s coaches to his fights against Ken Shamrock and Yuki Kondo, Ricco Rodriguez against Randy Couture, Evan Tanner against Justin Levens, Quinton Jackson against Ricardo Arona, Josh Barnett against Mark Hunt at Pride, Michael Bisping some weeks ago against Charles McCarthy at UFC 83, and many others.

MMAWeekly.com: So you met Chute Boxe from Piccinini?

Gazze: Yes, my team needed a Muay Thai coach and I met him in the Jiu-Jitsu U.S. Open in 2004. Then we had a meeting and started a partnership. He left Chute Boxe and I started to talk directly to Master Rafael Cordeiro.

MMAWeekly.com: Do you believe that this partnership will make champions?

Gazze: Yes I do. Master Rafael Cordeiro brought some huge experience and we are going to make some great champions here. In fact, the week that Master Rafael came to U.S.A. we had one of my students who is a blue belt winning against a Rorion Gracie brown belt at MMA. And also Michael Bisping, although he is not a Chute Boxe athlete, he was here a couple times to train jiu-jitsu with me.

MMAWeekly.com: Do you plan to compete or only to coach?

Gazze: To me is very important to compete and to make champions. It’s like breathing. Thank God, I’ve been blessed with athletes who want to train hard. I competed at the Jiu-Jitsu Pan-American, which I have conquered the silver medal this year.

MMAWeekly.com: Any last words?

Gazze: I would like to thank my Master Milton Maximiniano Trombini and all the athletes of our gym in Brazil, and one special thanks to Master Rudimar Fedrigo, Rafael Cordeiro and the Chute Boxe athletes that help me to grow as a coach and as an athlete. Despite the fact that I live in America, I will always carry the Brazilian flag. Thank you very much.

Source: MMA Weekly

5/18/08

Quote of the Day

"Nobody owes anybody a living, but everybody is entitled to a chance."

Jack Dempsey, 1895-1983, American Boxer

BJ Penn Talks Training, Sean Sherk and Revenge
By Jason Perkins

BJ Penn has less than two weeks until his highly anticipated battle with Sean Sherk at UFC 84: "Ill Will". Penn has been lauded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, but was also considered by many to be unfocused in training and ill prepared for fights from a conditioning standpoint; basically a guy who got by on talent alone.

However, after blowing past elite contenders Jens Pulver and Joe Stevenson in an aggressive and dominant fashion, Penn is beginning to quiet doubters who once questioned his work ethic and will look to put all doubts to rest with a victory over cardio-freak, Sean Sherk. Penn sat down with On The Mat to discuss his new found work ethic, below are some of the highlights from that conversation.

Penn On His Newfound Work Ethic:

This sport is at another level and I woke up one day and said it's time to get focused, it’s time to take this serious. I came off two loses and realized that I was not as focused as I could be, you know. I still wasn’t in a bad position. I could still fix all this now. I got focused got back on track and now I am the lightweight champ and still moving on.

I ran into a guy named Tony Aponte, he taught me the calorie to workout ratio. With that I can now train five hours a day, it’s the eating...I would not be able to do it if I was not eating properly; five to six meals a day. Wake up eat a meal, train, eat a couple more meals, not going to tell everyone exactly how much. In the morning I workout for two and a half to three hours every day, consisting of everything: plyometics, strength, technique, bag work, drills, drilling grappling; the mornings are road work, then stretching and in the evenings its more competitive.

I do everything in five minute rounds from take down drills, to drilling my own stuff, to bag drills switching to different combos, bringing it back to the basics working a lot of technique again doing 20 arm locks to triangle drills each side, just staying sharp. At one point it was all about drills and you know what I am still all about it.

BJ Penn On Training Differently Now For Sherk Than In His Most Recent Fight Against Joe Stevenson:

Well Joe was a more deadly submission guy, Sherk probably has a little better hands and powerful takedowns and explosiveness but I just gotta keep my focus, train for Sherk but honestly I don’t really feel like I am the champ and I am here to just fight fights. Urijah Fabor is here and Grey Maynard is coming, lots of wrestlers and I know if I train hard and come out sharp, I am not underestimating Sherk but I don’t see where he stands a chance.

BJ Penn On Future Fight Prospects:
After I beat Sherk it would really be great to see who’s next in the lightweight division. I would love to keep the lightweight title and I also want to get a shot to avenge GSP and Hughes, Anderson Silva is a great fighter but I gotta take care of some other guys first.

BJ Penn On Lyoto Machida vs. Tito Ortiz:

Tito has a really good style for Lyoto. Lyoto hasn’t been in the fence and Tito can get him there and really use those elbows and ground and pound. I think that’s what it is going to come down to, Tito getting his game on getting those takedowns, stabilizing, making space and ripping those elbows down like in the old days. Should be a great night for him. Lyoto, he’s got to do what he did to Sokoudjou. Lyoto is probably a little better in the trading, but Tito is always getting better with his stand up. Lyoto needs to work his Jiu-Jitsu, sweep and work his way back up, but it’s a tough fight. I think Lyoto has the same strengths as before but his jiu jitsu looks better and he was a tough guy then and he still is. He punches hard.

Source: Fight Line

THE MARINES WANT THIS TO ROLL ALL OVER THE U.S.

FRIENDS ARE BORN, NOT MADE

This is a poem being sent from a Marine to his Dad. For those who take the time to read it, you'll see a letter from him to his dad at the bottom. It makes you truly thankful for not only the Marines, but ALL of our troops.

THE MARINE

We all came together,
Both young and old
To fight for our freedom,
To stand and be bold.

In the midst of all evil,
We stand our ground,
And we protect our country
From all terror around.

Peace and not war,
Is what some people say.
But I'll give my life,
So you can live the American way.

I give you the right
To talk of your peace.
To stand in your groups,
and protest in our streets.

But still I fight on,
I don't bitch, I don't whine.
I'm just one of the people
Who is doing your time.

I'm harder than nails,
Stronger than any machine.
I'm the immortal soldier,
I'm a U.S. MARINE!

So stand in my shoes,
And leave from your home.
Fight for the people who hate you,
With the protests they've shown.
Fight for the stranger,
Fight for the young.
So they all may have,
The greatest freedom you've won

Fight for the sick,
Fight for the poor
Fight for the cripple,
Who lives next door.

But when your time comes,
Do what I've done.
For if you stand up for freedom,
You'll stand when the fight's done

By: Corporal Aaron M. Gilbert, US Marine Corps
USS SAIPAN, PERSIAN GULF

March 23, 2003

Hey Dad,
Do me a favor and label this 'The Marine' and send it to everybody on your email list. Even leave this letter in it. I want this rolling all over the US ; I want every home reading it. Every eye seeing it. And every heart to feel it. So can you please send this for me? I would but my email time isn't that long and I don't have much time anyway.
You know what Dad? I wondered what it would be like to truly understand what JFK said in His inaugural speech. 'When the time comes to lay down my life for my country, I do not cower from this responsibility. I welcome it.' Well, now I know. And I do. Dad, I welcome the opportunity to do what I do. Even though I have left behind a beautiful wife, and I will miss the birth of our first born child, I would do it 70 times over to fight for the place that God has made for my home.

I love you all and I miss you very much. I wish I could be there when Sandi has our baby, but tell her that I love her, and Lord willing, I will be coming home soon. Give Mom a great big hug from me and give one to yourself too.

Aaron

Jardine wants the old Wand
Bout to take place at UFC 84

Keith Jardine is going into UFC 84 with the morale of having just beat Chuck Liddell, precisely the last person to defeat his next adversary, Wanderlei Silva. The battle of strikers will take place on the coming 24th, in Las Vegas, and will be decisive in the futures of both in the light heavyweight division.

The American, who came to fame in the The Ultimate Fighter reality show, is already considered one of the biggest challengers to Quinton Jackson’s belt, and should he beat the Brazilian will likely have his so dreamed-of chance.

Now Wand is in a much more delicate situation. Coming off three back-to-back losses, the last of which was at the UFC, he cannot think of any outcome other than outright victory, and for that reason he is training tirelessly for the big night.

“Now I want to make my place in MMA history by beating not one but two of the icons of the sport. I’m expecting to fight “The Axe Murderer”. The guy we haven’t seen in a while. The aggressive one who fights across the ring throwing his haymakers. Chuck beating Wanderlei doesn’t give me any extra confidence for this fight. The styles match up weird in this sport. We haven’t seen how my style matches up against Wanderlei. What I can’t wait for is being in the middle of the second or third round, being sweaty, bloody, tired, just me and him – seeing who the bigger man is on the day,” said “The Dean of Mean” to the site SetantaSports.com.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Affliction announces July 19 'Banned' PPV event

Affliction revealed Wednesday additional bouts for its inaugural "Banned" card on Saturday, July 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

As announced on HDNet's "Inside MMA" last Friday, the final PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko will take on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in the main event.

Another former UFC heavyweight champion, Josh Barnett, will get a chance to avenge a knockout loss from over seven years ago at UFC 30 when he faces off against Brazilian striker Pedro Rizzo.

The former heavyweight face of the IFL on a 13-fight winning streak, Ben Rothwell will fight an opponent to be announced. The rumor flying around is that Rothwell's opponent will be former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski.

The Ultimate Fighter 2's Mike Whitehead, who left the IFL with Rothwell due to a contract dispute, will clash with former UFC title contender Renato "Babalu" Sobral.

Olympic Silver Medalist Matt Lindland will test his grappling skills against Brazilian Black Belt Fabio Nascimento in a middleweight bout.

Affliction "Banned" will air live on pay-per-view at 9pm ET for a suggested retail price of $39.95.

Affliction: Banned
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Honda Center in Anaheim, CA

265 lbs. | Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
265 lbs. | Ben Rothwell vs. TBA
265 lbs. | Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
185 lbs. | Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Nascimento
205 lbs. | Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead

Source: MMA Fighting

Johil and Daniel Moraes at Jungle Fight
By Eduardo Ferreira

Preparing the lasts details to the Jungle Fight Qualifying second edition, that will be hold at May 31st, at Minotauro Team Training Center , at Rio de Janeiro , the Carlson Gracie’s black belt Wallid Ismail, starts to announce the firsts fighters that will be at the show. The veteran Johil de Oliveira, Luta-Livre black belt, and the BJJ Mundial champion Daniel Moraes, were the firsts names announced by Ismail.

“Those guys deserv to be at the main event, but the Jungle fight is so high level that I could bring together athletes as Johil, that already was the number 1 of the world and Daniel Moraes, ADCC champion, at the same card. With them it is not enough to call this event as a ‘Qualifying’. This card is so good that it could be the Jungle 8 or 9, because everybody is praising the last event at ”, commented Ismail.

The card can have names such as César Profeta, Leonardo Peçanha, Leonardo Tangerina, Erinaldo Pitbull, Alexandre Pulga and the athletes from Boxe Thai Felipe Olivieri e Jhonny Eduardo. “The expectations are as better as possible. My mission is to discover new talents and bring formers champions to be champions again”, said Wallid Ismail.

Source: Tatame

Galvao at Worlds as medium heavy

Absolute also in Pan-American champ’s sights

Andre Galvao is as happy as can be. After a perfect Pan-American championship, where he was consecrated absolute and medium heavyweight champion, the Brasa star went on to Asia, where he disputed and won two Jiu-Jitsu tournaments – the Rickson cup, in Japan, and the Copa Hong Kong II. Back in Brazil, Galvao answered the questions the Jiu-Jitsu world has been asking since Kron Gracie was promoted to black belt: In which category will Galvao fight?

Exclusively to GRACIEMAG.com, he said: “I’ll go in as a medium heavyweight. I put in a lot of effort to gain weight and I want to win the absolute. Last year I only fought at middleweight because Brasa had three athletes in the medium heavyweight, while at middleweight there was only Lucas Leite [he ended up shutting out the category with Galvao]. As the absolute was before the weight fights, I fought poorly, since I was hungry from trying to make weight,” recalls Galvao, who was eliminated by Xande Ribeiro in the 2007 quarterfinals.

Asked about the one laying claim to the absolute division, Roger Gracie, Galvao wasted no time nor good humor: “I’m going in to fight. I don’t like drumming up strategies. Imagine if I were to plan to pull guard and he pulls guard on me, the strategy would go down the tubes,” argues Andre, who has never faced the current absolute world champion.

With his departure for California set for the coming 30th, Galvao carries on training hard. “I’ve trained a lot of judo in Sao Caetano. I even trained with Edinanci Silva [Brazilian Olympic women’s team starter]. She threw me around a lot. I’m also going to train with the French team, which is coming here for an exchange,” he tells. Whoever’s seen the absolute final from 2006, between Xande Ribeiro and Roger, might say Galvao is on the right path.

Sign-ups for the 2008 Jiu-Jitsu World Championship are open and will go till May 29th. The event takes place from the 5th to the 8th of June, at the California State University Long Beach gymnasium, in California.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Pequeno arrive at ATT
By Eduardo Ferreira

The king of Shooto, Alexandre Pequeno Nogueira, arrived this Monday (12) at Miami (EUA), where he met his new teammates at American Top Team (ATT). “The trip was slack. I am very happy to be here. André Benkei (ATT coach) picked me up at the airport and said that I was his best birthday gift. I was very well received by Ricardo Libório and I met all champions here”, said Pequeno, that though after a 12 hours fly didn’t resist at his new home structure and already trained.

“The structure here is excellent! I made a work with the Muay Thai coach of the team Mohamed Ouali, that is improving my stand up to the fight against José Aldo at WEC. He is simply the best Muay Thai coach of the world and he is with me and Benkei studying my opponent fights to make my strategy”, said the Luta-Livre black belt, that arrived at USA with his brother Leonardo Nogueira.

Source: Tatame

5/17/08

Quote of the Day

"Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision."

Peter F. Drucker, 1909-2005, Austrian-born Management Consultant and Author

X-1 World Events presents "Legends"
Results!

Legends and Legendary Upsets!

X-1 World Events presents "Legends"
Neil Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
May 16, 2008
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com

X-1 brings a Hawaiian legend back into the ring. Egan Inoue came out of retirement to give it one last shot. The outcome of this fight would determine if he would continue his rise back to greatness or fade off into the sunset. He took on Hans Marrero, a fighter who is 19 years his junior and self admittedly idolized Inoue. The fight was short, but intense, Inoue ducked and narrowly missed a kick to his head by Marrero and picked up and put Marrero on the mat. Inoue worked to pass Marrero's guard, but slipped in punches along the way. One blow hammered Marrero and caused him to turn away and curl up and Inoue finished Marrero with more hard punches. The referee had to pry Inoue off of Marrero to stop the fight. Inoue beat Marrero and Father Time. The event got off to a rocky start when Sean Sakata threw a kick and injured his knee, ending his match against John Visante in 10 seconds without even making contact. Due to this, the fight was ruled a No Contest. Legends should have been titled Upsets! Another Hawaiian legend that came out of a semi-retirement was Ray "Bradda" Cooper. Cooper is one of Hawaii's most talented fighters displaying knockout power, great wrestling and a solid submission game. He was originally set up to take on current champ Shane Nelson, but Nelson pulled out of the fight and the Alaskan Richie Whitson was brought in to take on Cooper for the newly vacated title. Whitson proved that you should never count out the last minute underdog as he turned the tide of the fight with one short straight left punch that sent Cooper to the canvas. Another upset was current X-1 Featherweight champ, in a non-title match, Kana Hyatt was caught off guard by the aggressive Mike Pedro and the speed at which Pedro could lock up a quick arm bar from the guard. And the welterweight title was up for grabs as newly crowned Chad Reiner defended his title against Brandon Wolff. This was an absolute war, going all 5 rounds, with Wolff relying on nothing but heart for the last 3 rounds. Wolff's more accurate and powerful strikes seemed to be the deciding factor, earning him the Welterweight belt. An outstanding performance by Dylan Clay, who took a leap up in competition when he was matched up against journeyman fighter Ron Jhun, was cut short literally when Clay accidentally poked Jhun in the eye which was a major factor causing Jhun's withdrawal of the fight. This left the fans wanting a rematch. Legends had a great card that delivered a number of upsets, which kept fight fans guessing what would happen in the next bout. It also introduced new MMA fans to a couple of Hawaiian Legends and a few fighters that are primed for the next level of competition.

170lbs: Amateur MMA - 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
John "The Warrior" Visante (Team Sit U Down) vs. Sean Sakata (No Remorse)
No contest due to Sakata injuring his knee prior to any contact in the bout (he threw a kick that missed and injured his knee) at 0:10 in Round 1.

142lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Brandon Visher (Wailuku Boxing Club) def. Lorenzo Moreno (Bulls Pen)
TKO due to Moreno could not answer Round 3 due to injured ribs.

135lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Non-title bout
Mike Pedro (Kahului, Maui) def. Kana "The Riot" Hyatt (Eastsidaz)
Submission via arm bar at 0:14 in Round 1.

170lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Dylan Clay (Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu) def. Ronald "The Machine Gun" Jhun (808 Fight Factory)
TKO due to Jhun could not answer Round 2.

170lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Kolo Koka (Team MMAD) def. Michael Brightmon (Gorilla House)
Unanimous decision [(29-28), (29-28), (29-28)] after 3 rounds.

155lbs: Professional MMA - 5 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Lightweight Title Bout:
Richie Whitson (Sitka, Alaska) def. Ray "Bradda" Cooper (Freelance)
KO at 3:54 in Round 1.
*Richie Whitson becomes the new X-1 Lightweight Champion

170lbs: Professional MMA - 5 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Welterweight Title Bout:
Brandon Wolff (Team MMAD) vs. Chad "The Grinder" Reiner (Southwest MMA)
Split decision [(48-47), (47-48), (48-47)] after 3 rounds.
* Brandon Wolff becomes the new X-1 Lightweight Champion

185lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Egan Inoue (Grappling Unlimited) def. Hans Marrero (Team Marrero)
TKO via referee stoppage due to strikes at 2:59 in Round 1.

Sean Sherk On BJ Penn
By Jason Perkins

It appears that Sean Sherk has had enough of the verbal jabs he's taken through the media from BJ Penn. He swung back today via Insidefighting.com; addressing Penn's will to fight, his own desire to be in the UFC hall of fame and much more.
Sherk On BJ Penn's Will To Fight:

BJ, I’ve seen him broken. In the second fight with Hughes when he was caught on his back and eating those punches and elbows he was just flopping around like a fish out of water. That was a guy that didn’t want to fight anymore. I’ve seen that in a couple of fights where if the fight is not going his way he kind of just says, ‘F_k it. I don’t really care.’ You can see it in someone’s face.

Sherk On Penn's Trash Talk:

He’s not really fooling anyone with his talk. Maybe that’s what he uses to motivate himself but I’m not going to quit. He could be punching my face and I’ll come back and get back at him. I’ve been in so many wars. Look at how many back and forth fights I’ve been in and I’ve never given in. I actually compete better if I don’t like somebody. It tends to motivate me more, I perform better. I had a couple fights where things have happened leading into a fight that frustrated me, things my opponent was doing to throw me off. In those fights I fought better than ever before. That’s what’s going to happen with this fight. If I’m mad I don’t see red to the point where I my lose attributes - I think I gain attributes. I get faster, stronger, faster-thinking and more technical. I think it helps me out and that’s one reason why I’m really looking forward to this fight.

Sherk On What This Fight Means To Him:

Really this fight to me represents redemption. It represents me getting back into the cage, me winning back my title that I shouldn’t have lost in the first place. It represents a big milestone in my career because if I win this fight right here I feel I will make it to the UFC Hall of Fame and that’s my ultimate goal.

Source: Fight Line

Iceman’s coach praises Lyoto
“He’s the Larry Holmes of MMA”

Weeks before the biggest fight of his life, Brazilian Lyoto Machida is being tipped as favorite, even with two-time champion of the weight group Tito Ortiz as his adversary. Criticized in the past for winning all his fights by decision, the karateka is now seen differently by American fans and has been carving out a place for himself at the top of the rankings ever since he beat Cameroonian Thierry Sokoudjou.

For Ortiz, the fight on the 24th in Las Vegas at UFC 84 will be his last one for the UFC, as his relationship with company president Dana White has gone from bad to worse. With that in mid, the wrestler is training hard to show the world what he’s capable of. One took analyze this fight was Chuck Liddell’s trainer, John Hackleman, who didn’t hide his admiration for the Brazilian.

"Machida is probably a top 5 light heavy right now. I think he's really good at making everything work and he's really technical. He is like the Larry Holmes of MMA. It doesn't look like he's doing much, but he does enough to keep beating people,” said the leader of team The Pit to Fighthype.com.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Norifumi 'KID' Yamamoto slated for
Dream debut on July 14

There is finally an expected date for the DREAM debut of Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto.

The 2005 K-1 Hero's Lightweight Grand Prix champion will fight against an opponent to be announced on July 14 at DREAM.4, which will feature the second round of the promotion's middleweight tournament. The lightweight tournament bout between Shinya Aoki and Katsuhiko Nagata will also take place at that event.

Ever since DREAM was unveiled in February, Yamamoto (17-1), an exclusive member of the K-1 roster the past four years, was a given as a part of K-1's newest mixed martial arts venture, DREAM.

Yamamoto last competed on the New Year's Eve K-1 Dynamite event, stopping former WEC title contender Rani Yahya with strikes in the second round.

Source: MMA Fighting

Fabio Negão ready to Matt Lindland
By Guilherme Cruz

The BJJ black belt, Fabio Negão, will have the biggest challenge ever at his career at July 19th, facing the Wrestler Matt Lindland at the event Affliction, to be hold at California . Training hard to this challenge at Negão talk to TATAME and commented his trains, his opponent and the fight. “Probably this fight will not happen at the stand up, but I will be ready for it or at the ground”, said Negão.

With a 8 wins and 3 losses card, Fábio Negão analyzed his opponent. “He is a experienced Wrestler, with many fights against very tough opponents. I am studing a lot their fight videos and, with the right training, I have can make a big fight and defeat him”, said Negão.

To fight against Lindland, the Brazilian is training his BJJ skills. “I am training a lot the stand up and I am very confident, but for this fight I will give more attention to my BJJ, looking to submit at all the time during the fight, because my opponent is a wrestler”, commented Negão.

Source: Tatame

Shogun asks for Liddell
“I hope he accepts”

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua arose in MMA as something of a phenomenon. It didn’t take long before he won over Japan through the Pride Middleweight GP and dominated his division using stomps and an attractive fighting style. With the end of the Japanese organization, the natural route for the Brazilian was the most promising market of the moment: the UFC.

The Brazilian arrived in the American organization already tipped to become champion, and as the most likely to become the main challenger for the light heavyweight belt, belonging to Quinton Jackson. But what the world witnessed was an unrecognizable Shogun in his debut against Forrest Griffin, as a knee injury hindered his preparations for the fight. Soon thereafter, the UFC threw him a great opportunity to redeem himself, offering him a bout against superstar Chuck Liddell at UFC 85.

Once again the knee got in the way of the Jiu-Jitsu black belt, who is now focusing his energies on returning to being the fighter everyone had expected him to be: a fighting ace. With a new gym, having all the time he needs to return to form and regain his morale, the youngest brother of Murilo Ninja had a talk with GRACIEMAG.com about his new phase, his desire to fight Chuck, and recovery. Check out the main points of the discussion:

Recovery

“I’ve been lifting weights, doing physiotherapy and swimming every day. My physiotherapist has cleared me to do some light boxing next week, but as I’m going to travel with my brother to catch his fight in Hawaii three weeks from now, I decided only to return to training after the trip.

Universidade da Luta (Fight University)

“I’m also having work done on my house, besides working on inaugurating the gym (Universidade da Luta), which will take place two weeks from now. Our gym will be based on Couture’s Xtreme Couture, and will be at the level of foreign gyms. We decided to stay here in Brazil and so we’ll have to have the best, including a 135 sq meter (450 sq ft) mat. We’ll have the best structure in Brazil.

“If where I am isn’t first rate, I’d never have left Chute Boxe. The UFC is my work and my boss. We’re not kids anymore and will prove to everyone that I’ll be well prepared. We haven’t even inaugurated yet and we already have a good team, which everyone will get to know domestically and internationally in the events to come.”

Chuck Liddell

“I respect him a lot as a fighter and I think he, besides being a warrior, is top of the category. I’ve been watching him since I started fighting. My fans can be sure I’ll be back at 100%. I’d like for him to wait and fight me at the end of the year. If I could choose who I’d fight on my return, it would be him, for sure, and I hope he accepts.

Source: Gracie Magazine

(Due to questionable language and, ahem, dubious subject matter -- hey, Baroni was on the call !! -- this transcript has been, at times, heavily edited ... to listen to a replay of the conference call in its entirety, please call (800) 475-6701; the access code is 923246 ... thanks ....)

CONFERENCE CALL QUOTES
“RUTHLESS’’ ROBBIE LAWLER, SCOTT “HANDS OF STEEL’’ SMITH,
PHIL “NYBA’’ BARONI & JOEY VILLASEÑOR,
ELITEXC LIVE EVENTS PRESIDENT GARY SHAW

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Crowd-pleasing EliteXC Middleweight Champion Robbie Lawler of St. Louis will defend his title against exciting, hard-hitting Scott Smith of Sacramento, Calif., while fast-talking, colorful, controversial Phil “NYBA” Baroni of Long Island, N.Y., will meet determined, dedicated, world-class Joey Villasenor of Albuquerque, N.M., in a 185-pound scrap in two of the five fights on the inaugural “CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS” on Saturday, May 31 (9-11 p.m. ET/PT), on CBS.

The first mixed martial event in primetime on network television will be presented by Los Angeles-based Pro Elite, Inc.’s live fight division, EliteXC, led by Gary Shaw, and emanate from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Kimbo Slice, of Perrine, Fla., will face England’s James “Colossus’’ Thompson in the main event on CBS. Other televised fights will be Brett Rogers of Minneapolis taking on Jon Murphy of Philadelphia in a heavyweight match and Gina Carano of Las Vegas facing Kaitlin Young of Circle Pines, Minn., in a women’s bout at 140 pounds.

Tickets for the live event start at $25 and are available at TicketMaster locations, by phone (201) 507-8900, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Prudential Center box office (973) 757-6625. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET. The first live fight is at 6:30.

Shaw: We are so excited to be working with CBS on this first-time ever (live, primetime MMA event on network television where) all you need is a screen, rabbit ears and a plug, and you get it for free, f-r-e-e. So it's really exciting, May 31, 9 p.m., live in prime time.

The card is excellent and action packed. We are very, very excited to present it, as it's going to be a great in-arena experience. It also will be great television programming for CBS and ELITEXC as partners.

Smith: I'm real, real excited to be on this card. The biggest thing about this card is every time I talk to people that watch an MMA fight for the first time, they get hooked instantly.

And people just don't always want to buy it on pay per view. And this is going to be on free television. We're going to get millions of people watching this that may have never watched MMA before. They're just going to get hooked. I think every time it's on CBS it will get bigger. It's a stacked card, going to be exciting. Get a lot of new fans and I'm honored to be a part of it.

Shaw: On May 19 at the CBS lot (in Studio City, Calif.) we're having a West Coast press conference demonstration. I'll let everybody know what it's all about. Those that are on the West Coast, we'd love for you to be there live and attend it with us.

Question: Scott, can you tell us about your preparation for the Lawler fight?

Smith: I always bounce around a lot when I train. I've been up in Big Bear with Tito Ortiz. I have gone up there a couple of times for a couple weeks at a time. I am sticking with my same Muay Thai coach in San Francisco, which is actually about an hour and 45-minute drive for me. I am on my way back from there now. I pulled over to talk. I go there two to three days a week. It is well worth the driver and working with my Jiu-Jitsu instructor. (Myself) and James Irvin, a fellow fighter, have our own gym in our own hometown to get the training for this fight. I bounce around a lot.

Question: Is Ortiz helping you out with some wrestling?

Smith: Ortiz is helping me out with the wrestling, and I'm helping him with the stand-up. We are both fighting a left-handed fighter. His fight coming up is against a southpaw, and Robbie Lawler is a southpaw. Both have the same training regiment. So, it works out.

Question: How do you and Lawler match up and how do you see this fight breaking down?

Smith: I see this as a stand-up fight. If Lawler gets in trouble, he will take the fight to the ground. Not enough people give me credit for my wrestling background. I took fourth in state in junior college in California, which is a pretty good accomplishment. I've been doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu a lot longer than Muay Thai. I haven't been able to show that in my fights as much. If this fight does go to the ground, which I believe (because) I will get him stunned, get him rocked. I see him trying to take the fight to the ground.

But, I think we both want to go out there and put on a show like we always do. I see this fight staying on its feet and somebody getting knocked out.

Question: Even though Lawler had some really good wins in 2007, do you think he may have a little ring rust?

Smith: I definitely believe in the ring rust. I have the advantage there. If I'm fighting every three to four months, it's great for me. I don't get a chance to get out of shape. I've gone six, eight months without fighting and it feels like a first fight sometimes. So, that's a definite advantage for me.

Question: Do you want to make a prediction for this fight?

Smith: I will win by knockout. I have no secrets about my game. Not only would I be willing to give my opponents my fight film, but they can come in and film me practice. There are no secrets about my game.

Question: Did you ever think you'd be fighting in prime time on CBS?

Smith: (No, I did not. I got into an MMA because I was a fan of it. I wanted to do it a couple of times. I did it seven, eight, nine, 10 times. I just kept winning. This is an absolute dream come true.

Every time I fight, I have some big accomplishments in my career. The fights become bigger and bigger opportunities for me. I don't see a bigger opportunity than this right here. Fighting for a belt on network television is just a dream come true.

Question: Do you feel you're getting closer to a point in your career where you're comfortable vertical, horizontal? Do you think you're 50/50 now, or are you leaning one way?

Smith: I still prefer to stand up and fight. But, I can honestly say in the last two years I have been doing just enough wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu to get by. In the last two months preparing for this fight, I'm actually having fun with it for the first time in a couple of years.

I look forward to my private instruction with my Jiu-Jitsu instructor and my wrestling coach. I was kind of getting myself worried there that maybe I should be a boxer, Muay Thai fighter. But I'm having a lot of fun with my ground game now. So, I'm improving every day.

Question: Do you think a quick fight favors you?

Smith: A quick fight favors both of us. A fight that goes the distance definitely favors Lawler. I'm not going out there to try to outpoint him. I'm going out there to try to finish the fight. Every combo I throw is going to try to finish the fight.

Eventually, I am either going to land a big one or Lawler is going to land a big one. If it goes the distance, he would outpoint me and I would be disappointed. I'd probably never want to fight again if this fight went the distance.

Question: With this huge platform that you'll be on, are you feeling any pressure actually to keep it standing?

Smith: I don't feel the pressure because I'm the challenger and the underdog. I'm the one with nothing to lose. If anything, Lawler would be the one feeling the pressure. It is kind of an ego thing.

I assume people aren't going to stand with me. I'm going out there and want to stand. If Lawler stands with me, that's great. But I don't feel the pressure to have to keep it on the feet. I'm not stupid. If I get rocked, I have no problem trying to take the guy down.

Question: Gary, a couple of months ago you mentioned on a conference call that you would like to put boxing gloves on Kimbo Slice. Is there any development on that?

Shaw: There is no development right now. I am concentrating on keeping Kimbo in the cage, building him to superstar status, which I believe he's at. We're happy where we are with him in his career. This is more than a spectacular opportunity for Kimbo to be in front of a potential audience of 100 million-plus eyeballs. So, for now, Kimbo is staying in the cage.

Question: Do you think Kimbo will ever be in the boxing ring?

Shaw: That is a good question. I think Kimbo is a potential heavyweight champion of the world, absolutely. But, right now, we're focusing strictly on his MMA career with Bas (Rutten) and Randy Khatami and proving all the critics wrong who say he's not really a great fighter.

We invite all those critics to (enter) the cage and we'll prove that Kimbo is a great fighter.

Question: Scott, what would a win over Lawler mean to you?

Smith: This would be huge. This would put me right where I want to be. I've been knocking on the door to the Top 10 so many times, and then I lose a big fight. Winning a big fight like this would put me right back there.

If you gave me a list of the top-20 185-pounders in the world, I would hand-pick Lawler. So, this is a huge opportunity for me.

Question: What does it mean to be on national television and be able to show your skills to a national audience?

Smith: It's a dream come true. Everybody and their mom are going to be watching this. I have family in Oklahoma that didn't even know I fought. They're all throwing huge parties to watch this.

Even I can afford to watch CBS. You don't have to buy it on pay per view. I love it.

Question: Gary, do you foresee Kimbo facing Butterbean in the near future?

Shaw: Anything is possible. (But) Right now, no, I don't have Butterbean on the radar for Kimbo. I am trying to get Kimbo in with more MMA fighters and big-time fighters.

But, there may be a time that we'll let Kimbo knock Butterbean out. I've spoken to Butterbean personally. Remember, when Butterbean goes down, it's with a thud.

Question: Scott, who do you think hits harder between you and Lawler? How confident are you standing with him? Do you think that you'll get the knockout? Do you think your chin can take one of his punches and vice versa?

Smith: I do believe Lawler will be one of the hardest-hitting opponents I've faced. But, I definitely will be the hardest hitting opponent he's faced. I've faced guys that hit real hard. Pete Sell hits hard. Jim Irvin hits like a truck. I guarantee Lawler’s never fought anybody that hits as hard as me. People don't realize that until they fight or spar with me. Lawler is going to buy all the hype. Yes, I definitely see me winning this fight by knockout.

Question: Is not worrying about the scorecards a new approach or is that how you've always approached your fights?

Smith: That's how I approach my fights. I went the distance once with Patrick Couture. It made me sick to my stomach. Even if I would have pulled off a decision, he definitely won that fight. If they would have given me the decision, it would have made me sick, too. I don't like having those fights where you go out there not to lose. I want to go out to win the fight.

Question: Why are you so committed to winning by knockout? Why are you so turned off by winning by decision?

Smith: No. 1, I'm the underdog. No. 2, I have the power advantage. If I land a clean shot, I can knock anybody out. I don't care if it's 185 pounds, 205 pounds, or heavyweights. I'm improving on my speed every day. I'm improving on my technique, and I land those shots. I'm going to knock those people out.

Question: Do you feel you should be the underdog in this fight?

Smith: I definitely should be the underdog. Lawler is the champion. He's won the bigger fights.

Question: Gary, can you tell us about some fighters on the undercard that we should watch for?

Shaw: I would think you would want to watch our entire card. One thing I pride EliteXC in is what we do on the fights and fighters that we present. I'm very proud. We've had very few mismatches. We've had very few boring fights. Before we sign fighters, we let them know they've got to fight. We're not interested in having a love fest.

Skala “Jared’’ Shaw (EliteXC VP):

You’ll want to keep your eyes on Nick Serra, Matt Serra's brother. He is a veteran making a comeback at 170 pounds against another good prospect we have out of Philadelphia named Matt Makowski. That's going to be an interesting fight. You'll want to keep your eyes out for Carlton Haselrig, a heavyweight. He is a former Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and N.Y. Jets. He is 1-0 in his mixed martial arts career. He also was an accomplished All-American collegiate wrestler. He also defeated Kurt Angle.

We are very interested to see Haselrig in the cage. Obviously we're all very excited at EliteXC about Wilson Reis, who we feel at 140 is one of the top fighters in the world.

Shaw: What it boils down to is that it's almost our entire card. I'm trying to figure out a new way not to define undercards against TV because these are all going to be the future TV stars.

I really believe that the in-arena and TV experiences of watching all these young fighters will excite you.

You'll see that we try our hardest to give all of you something to be proud of in the MMA world. We're trying to build MMA as a sport, not just EliteXC as a brand. If we don't build MMA as a sport, then the brand will not last. So, I'm glad my son, Jared, gave you a little rundown. Believe me, Smith wouldn't be challenging for a belt if we didn't think he was a worthwhile challenger, and we wouldn't put him on if we didn't think he was one of the most exciting fighters in the world.

I want to address one other thing because somebody asked a question about ratings. I think all the ratings are flawed. I've gone on record as saying that. They're basically ratings of the UFC fighters. The UFC has some very, very fine fighters and has put on some fine fights. EliteXC has some fine fighters and we've put on some great fights.

So, the rankings aren't really what they should be because until the UFC is willing to put their fighters up against our fighters, then the rankings will always be flawed. But, there are visionaries like Jay Larkin from the International Fight League (IFL) and Scott Coker from Strikeforce that see the benefit to the world of MMA, television and all the fans of these organizations fighting one another.

So, until that time happens, I don't go by any rankings. I think Smith is one of the finest fighters in the world, as is Lawler.

Question: Gary, since you promote both boxing and MMA events, where do you see the two sports going?

Shaw: Boxing continually kills itself by only featuring old fighters, boring fights, where MMA has all these young Smith-type fighters that light it up, and that fans want to see.

Fans of MMA are more rabid than boxing fans. MMA is a lifestyle. A loss in boxing is close to catastrophic. In MMA, it's not.

So, therefore MMA is a very fast-paced sport. Once people get in the arena, it becomes very addictive.

There is a huge difference. In the beginning, I wasn't sure I liked it (MMA) myself. But, I can tell you now that I love it. I find it so exciting. It's just fast. It's great. The talent level is deep. That's the major difference. That's why this is going on CBS.

This is the single biggest thing that will ever happen to mixed martial arts -- and boxing cannot get on a network.

Question: How much can mixed martial arts learn from those mistakes and try and fix it?

Shaw: Hopefully they can learn. If they cooperate, it will be much better for everyone. The differentiator is in the UFC where nobody can be bigger than (Dana White) or the UFC. In EliteXC, everyone can be bigger than Gary Shaw, not in waist line, but in notoriety. Everyone can be bigger than our brand. It's supposed to be about our athletes. We need to get the UFC and other organizations to cooperate and let the fighters fight one another. We let Nick Diaz go and fight Gomi when there was Pride, and he wound up beating Gomi and really made a bigger name for himself.

If there's a big fight out there for Smith, I'd let him go and fight for someone else. Those are the opportunities. That's what can be learned. If we don't learn about it in MMA, the sport will die on the vine just like boxing. It will be there, but it won't be what it can be. Right now, mixed martial arts has the single best opportunity in the history of the sport by having all these eyeballs on CBS.

Question: Scott, how surprised were you that your second fight in EliteXC is now for a title?

Smith: I was pretty surprised, but I was honored at the same time. I didn't think I was many fights away from being in a title fight. I didn't think it would be one win away, but Kyle (Noke) was a top contender and I took him out, so that puts me right there.

Another top contender is Joey Villasenor, but Lawler has actually beaten him. So, I think it makes sense for me to fight Lawler first.

Question: How strange does it feel to be fighting for a title fight and not being the main event?

Smith: I get a lot of questions on that. KCAL-TV in Los Angeles asked me if I was offended by that. Kimbo Slice is a huge name. He's an upcoming, great fighter. I'm honored to be on the same card as him.

I would much rather fight for a title and fight the second to last fight than be the main event and not have Kimbo on the card. The fact that he's on the card is going to have millions of more people tune in. So, if people tune in to watch him, they're going to watch me and that's great for me. So, I'm honored to be on the card with Kimbo.

Question: Gary, can you comment on the report that Mike Tyson has agreed to fight Kimbo?

Shaw: First, I want to comment on what Smith just said. He is now going to be my assistant promoter. He's better than I am. But what he said happens to be 110 percent correct.

I have the media report about Tyson. I have had no discussions with Mike or anybody surrounding Mike. I know Mike. Yes, I would make that fight in a heartbeat.

Question: Scott, can you talk about your personal transition from UFC to EliteXC? How did that all come about?

Smith: It was kind of a mutual thing, but, bottom line, they (UFC) ended up letting me go. I was coming off two losses. They basically told me to go get a couple of wins before I came back and fought. I can't stick around and wait. I've got a mortgage and kids. EliteXC had the door wide open for me, and UFC let me go at the same time.

So, it actually worked out great for me. I was a little nervous at first. But now, with the way EliteXC is going, I'm just thrilled to death they let me go.

Question: Is it correct to say you signed on for the show during the Ultimate Fighter contract?

Smith: Yes, I still have three fights left with UFC and they let me go after that.

Question: Gary, how many seats is the arena set up for?

Shaw: We are still working on it because of all the CBS television kills that we have to do. But we'll probably be set for somewhere around 12,000.

We can expand on that. Scott (Smith), you remember to tell Tito (Ortiz) my door is open.

Smith: I think he (Ortiz) knows that.

Shaw: I happen to be a huge fan of his (Ortiz) on a personal level. No organization has the best fight, fighters or puts on the best fights. It's all around. I'll take all the Smiths in the world every day. They can walk in and there will be a contract. I'm sure Smith can speak for himself, but we treat every fighter, whether it's their first fight with us or their eighth, we treat them all like champions.

Smith: That's very true.

Question: Gary, can you address the criticism directed toward Kimbo that he's getting his big shot on CBS even though he only has a couple of MMA fights?

Shaw: I'm doing a big HBO show Saturday in Nevada. It's called Rising Stars and its three kids that are some of the best fighters in the world, and one of them has only had nine fights.

So, I don't think the number of fights determines how good a fighter is, or whether that fighter could be a star or superstar. There's a lot of jealousy in this sport. People are jealous of Gina Carano. I said I was going to make her the face of women's MMA, and we delivered on that.

I knew Kimbo Slice could be a superstar. I believe if Smith does what he's capable of, and it's nothing against Lawler because I'm a huge fan, but Smith can be a huge star because of his personality, the way he speaks, the punching power.

For those that say things about Kimbo to me are haters because they should be cheer-leading him to lead the way and open more doors. I don't think MMA has had as much excitement the last few years as Kimbo is now bringing to the table.

Let me remind everyone on this call that nobody cared who Mike Tyson fought. If you asked someone what they were doing Saturday night, they would say they were going to see Tyson. They didn't say Tyson against anybody. If he beat up on somebody that wasn't as good as him, people would say he's the baddest man on the planet. Some of the questions on this call are about an aging Tyson who got knocked out in his last fight. But it's still the aura of Tyson.

That's what Kimbo Slice brings. I'm proud to promote him and proud to know him. I'm proud to call him a friend. Everybody should be cheer-leading Kimbo because he is a reason, not the only reason, but a reason that CBS really looked up. The logo of CBS, that eye, they put that eye right on Kimbo Slice.

Question: Do you think that Kimbo is just maximizing his popularity right now?

Shaw: I wouldn't even say Kimbo is maximizing his popularity because truthfully he's in awe of what's happening to him. Those that have met him and talk to him will realize that he's in awe. He doesn't walk around like he's some big kick-ass star, disses people or whatever. It's the complete opposite. He's quiet and nice, and he's a special type of person.

It's just that Kimbo is in the right place at the right time. He had a huge YouTube Internet following with more than 10 million unique hits. So, Amen. Give the man credit. He didn't just go to sleep one night, wake up on third base and thought he hit a triple.

Question: What’s it about Ortiz you like and makes you interested in signing him if he's a free agent?

Shaw: Of all my years in the fight game, I know one thing that I could see, touch, smell and feel, and that is a star and a superstar. Every time I see Tito Ortiz, he wreaks of stardom. I think I can even better his days in the UFC.

I think I can reincarnate Ortiz. He is a talented fighter and has all the mechanisms that you need to make someone a superstar.

Can you imagine Tito Ortiz and Kimbo in the cage together one day? My door is open. I hope that he's able to negotiate one day because I would never interfere with a contract. I hope he's sitting right next to me, not across from my desk, but right with me.

Baroni: This interferes with my workout to listen to this bulls**t interview thing. What am I doing? I have no idea. What do you want? I'm sick of asking questions. It's time to fight. I got my f***king mouthpiece in right now. Smokin' Joe Villasenor owes me a knockout. It's the hottest thing in California, get back home and bust this kid up.

Shaw: Would you fight the winner of Smith and Lawler?

Baroni: Yeah, I would fight the winner of Smith and Lawler. Isn’t the plan to beat the champion? I was just listening to Smith. He said he can knock out anyone. I don't get knocked out. Smith won't knock me out. So, that's a fight. If he wins, I'll be there in the center of the ring. We can go toe-to-toe and trade. I don't lose those fights.

I'll be watching that fight after I put Smokin' Joe Villasenor on ice.

Question: Joe, what are your comments on what Baroni just said?

Villasenor: Come on, this is ‘Phil the Mouth’ Baroni. Hands down, he is going to beat me in a words war, but he definitely has to deal with a lot of heart. I know I'm going into enemy territory, which totally gets me pumped. I know Baroni is going to have some family members there, and I'm excited, man. I'm actually shaking in my pants right now. I'm a little nervous right now, and Baroni has quite the mouth. I am not going to talk much. I respect Baroni. I respect the power. But, he says he doesn't get knocked out. We'll just have to test that out.

Question: Can you comment on the fact that Baroni said he is going to ice you?

Villasenor: (Laughing) That's a good one. He's going to ice me. I don't care what Baroni says. We know him. He said he's going to do this and that all the time. But he's got to come through. I didn't say I'm going to do this or that. I'm going go out there and perform my best and we'll see what happens in the end.

Baroni: You are going to get knocked out, kid. Your best isn't going to be big enough. The bottom line is this is my coming home party, and you're the victim.

Villasenor: Your coming out party, Phil? You've been out for a while. You've been exposed for a while. I'll just have to show everybody on national television and expose you, expose you at home, expose you in front of everybody. I'm excited to get the opportunity.

I respect you, man. I respect the power you've got. But it's coming. It's coming. You know it's coming. I don't need to talk trash. You know what's coming. That's all there is to it.

Baroni: I ain't talking trash. I'm stating the facts, dude. I'm going to smash you and you'll get hurt real bad. Be ready. Try your best. Your best is not going to be good enough, and we'll send you back to Nashville.

Villasenor: You're getting me even more excited for this. I'm pumped. This is just what I needed. I needed somebody to talk trash to me. This is the first time in 30 fights that I've had somebody treat me this way. Hey, thanks for the motivation.

Baroni: You're welcome, buddy.

Question: Phil, are you thinking about a rematch with Frank Shamrock given his broken arm?

Baroni: Of course I think about a rematch against Shamrock. I think about it every day. A day doesn't go past I don’t think about it. Everyone watched the Cung Le fight saying, ‘Wow, Cung Le is this, is that. Wow, Shamrock should have had him.’ I was watching the fight thinking, ‘I can't believe I lost to this bum.’ I can't believe this guy got a “W” over me.

It is what it is. Joe Villasenor still owes me a knockout. He is going to pay for that loss. When Shamrock gets better, he's next. That's a fight I never should have lost. I fought the guy with a torn adductor muscle. That's a fight I want back. But, I'm focused on Smokin' Joe, big mouth Smokin' Joe. I'm focused on him and shutting his mouth.

Question: How is your ground game?

Baroni: It f***ing blows, and it is not going to the ground. Who cares about the ground game? Smokin' Joe tries to stand and trade. You saw his last fight. He likes to bang. So, this is going to be a great fight. That's why it's on CBS.

It is going to be two guys in there and throwing down for another exciting fight. Villasenor is not going to leave until he's carried out on a stretcher. My ground game doesn't make a difference. Who cares about a ground game anyway? Nobody wants to watch that s**t.

Question: Joey, do you have a rebuttal to that?

Villasenor: I think Baroni is right. His ground game does suck. I'm sure that's what he wants, for us to bang it out where he has an opportunity win. I hope he doesn't go down form shock because I'll have to have to choke him out like Shamrock did.

Baroni: Yeah, hopefully. Villasenor can't wrestle and he can't take me down. So, it's not going to the ground.

Question: Gary, will there be a seven-second delay on Baroni?

Shaw: Baroni will be a 30-minute delay.

Question: Robbie, what are your thoughts on the upcoming title defense on CBS?

Lawler: I'm just working hard and trying to stay healthy. That's about it.

Question: Joey, do you think you have the advantage in overall technique?

Villasenor: I think my overall game is improving daily. I have power with movement. It's about executing. Overall, we all know that Baroni has stand-up power, but I'm going to try to expose him with my movement. So, it's just all about executing.

Baroni: Basically to sum it up, Villasenor is going to run. He basically just said that he (will) bring his track shoes and chase me. He's going to run. It doesn't matter because in the cage you can run, but you can't hide. I'm going to find you, I'm going to hit and everyone's going to think about you.

Villasenor: You're going to make me pay for your last two losses, right, Phil?

Baroni: Uh-huh.

Question: Joey, how do you feel as far as where your career is headed? Do you think you're on track and back to where you need to be to get a title shot?

Villasenor: I think I've been doing the right things. The Ninja and Lawler fights were something that I've definitely needed in my career, some humps to get over with, some things to look at on film and correct and executing the right training methods for me. So, those fights definitely needed to happen in my career to move forward.

I'm excited for my future and for what's happening with the sport. I think I'm right on track.

Question: Do you have any response to Baroni talking about how basically you're just going to end up running around the cage to stay away from him?

Villasenor: I don’t really have a response to that. We all know that Baroni is getting me tangled into his game right now. This is where he wins every fight. Baroni wins every vocal fight. He is getting me a little pumped up and a little pissed off, but I'm not going to fall into that game. I'm just going to let Baroni talk, and I'm just going to execute game plans and then we'll just see what he's saying afterwards.

Baroni: The game plan is to run, Joe. That is a good game plan, run and try to survive. A lot of guys tried that game plan against me on the ground. Get me on the ground. That's what nobody cares about, Smokin' Joe. Run, get the guy on the ground. No one wants to watch that sh**t. Just think about this. I'm bigger, and I'm stronger. I'm faster. I'm a better athlete than you. In fact, I'm the biggest, strongest, fastest, best athlete in the division. Remember that. I'm going to catch you. I'm going to catch you and hurt you. When I'm ripe, I hurt people. I'm ripe for the fight. I've got my f**king mouthpiece in my mouth right now. I am ready to go and ready to bust you up

Villasenor: Put that f**king mouthpiece in deeper, please.

Baroni: No.

Question: Gary, is the winner of the Villasenor-Baroni fight entitled to a title shot?

Shaw: No one is guaranteed anything. People have to earn it. Let's see what happens. Let’s see what kind of fight it is, and let's see how it ends. There are definitely top contenders for the belt. All four of these guys on the call right now are the premiere fighters at 185 pounds in all of mixed martial arts.

Question: Robbie, could you set the record straight on why you dropped out of your last two fights?

Lawler: I had to drop out of one fight due to illness. I flew into Hawaii the night before I got sick. That's how I made weight. I was on the toilet all night. I made weight, but I wasn't ready to fight.

The next one was in December when I was supposed to fight in Hawaii again. I hurt my shoulder, and actually tore my bicep.

Baroni: I saw it, too, in Vegas; it was definitely torn.

Shaw: That's why we're bringing Lawler to the East Coast. It is safer.

Question: Robbie, are you healthy now?

Lawler: I'm training hard, so I'm a little sore right now. But, next week, I'll heal up. I will let my body rest a little this weekend and I should be ready to go.

Question: Phil, originally your opponent was (Murilo) “Ninja’’ (Rua). Have you changed anything about your training, or is everybody the same to you?

Baroni: Everybody is the same. What you see is what you get. I am coming to throw bombs. My chin is down. My hands are up. Let them fly. I'll bring my track shoes. Villasenor will be running. So, thanks for the heads up, brother. I'll work on my movement and cutting people off, and knock them down on the run. I've done a lot of that in my career. As I said, Villasenor can run, but can't hide. I'm going to get him. The cage gets smaller by the round. I'll be ready to do my thing.

Question: Phil, now that you're with EliteXC, do you have a new set of wheels?

Baroni: We'll see. We'll see. Gary's (Shaw) is talking s**t about Dana White, and all this crap. Where's my car, Gary? Hook me up.

Shaw: I'll take you for a ride in my Ferrari.

Baroni: I don't want to go in your car. Let me hold onto your watch for a while we're at it.

Shaw: Let me hold onto your girl for a while.

Baroni: (Laughter) Which one?

Question: Robbie, how concerned are you that you may have a bit of ring rust?

Lawler: I'm not too worried about ring rust. I do well when I have some layoff. I've been training hard. I'm in shape. I'm ready to go. I'm mentally prepared and that's all that matters. I hadn't even sparred for the last two years, and I've been sparring for the last month and a half. So, I feel pretty good.

Question: Joey, when the fight was offered to you after Rua couldn't make it, (were you concerned there was not enough time to prepare for a different opponent)?

Villasenor: I wasn't really that concerned. I didn’t overexert myself in the fight with (Ryan) Jensen. It ended within the first round. I was still in great condition, and when given the opportunity to fight on CBS, when you have all these positives going in your direction, it would be hard to say no. I made my mind up as soon as the phone rang.

Question: Gary, what is the status of any negotiations between you and DREAM?

Shaw: There are no negotiations. However, we've loaned them some fighters recently, including Nick Diaz. I will put my fighters anywhere. I'll let anybody else's fighters fight our fighters. I will co-promote if the deal is right with anybody.

That's what mixed martial arts needs. If it's going to survive, that is what has to happen.

Baroni: I'm going to hold you to that because I've got two scores I have to settle over in Japan.

Villasenor: Go over there and fight, too.

Shaw: Maybe we'll bring a whole team to fight their team.

Baroni: Sounds good. Let's do it.

Question: Robbie, do you think the fight against Smith will be pretty close?

Lawler: I don't know. What I'm going to try to do is not get hit, first of all, so if I don't feel his (Smith’s) power, that's going to be awesome. If I get hit in the right spot at the right time, I could get hurt. But, I've been training hard and I'm not too worried about it. I'm in shape, and I'm going to try not to get hit and that's my game plan.

Question: Robbie, what are your thoughts on MMA going primetime live for the first time?

Lawler: It is awesome for the sport. I don't care about necessarily being on TV in front of a whole bunch of people. I care more about making money. Sponsorships are big right now, and that's awesome for the sport.

Baroni: Let me answer that question real quick. Guys like me and Lawler have been fighting for a long time. We were in the UFC when no one knew what the UFC was. We've been fighting for chump change. We're fighters. That's what we do. Yeah, it's great to be on CBS, but when we got into this sport it wasn't even on pay per view.

So, it's great to be on CBS and it's great to have all that exposure and everything else. But, I didn't get into fighting because I wanted to be a rock star, and neither did a guy like Lawler. That's not why we did it. I don't really give a sh**t about Gary Shaw's watch or his Ferrari. I do it for pride, and I do it to set high goals and accomplishments. Six million people in the world and there's only one world champion. Lawler is that guy right now. So, I really don't think it matters to him or the real fighters about fighting on CBS.

As far as Kimbo Slice, the guy is pretty much a real fighter. Why? Because he didn't know he was going to be a big success, MMA guy or be fighting on CBS. He likes beating people up. That's just what it is. Big dogs can't get in the yard and see who's bigger. Fight in the cage. Let's not make it more than it is. It's a fight in the cage. Fighters fight and people are drawn to fighters. Football players and sh**t get into it now because they see how big it is and they see the opportunity. That's bullsh**t. We've been here a long time, and we're grateful for the opportunity. We're happy to be fighting on TV. It's great, but that's not why we're doing it. That's not why we got into it. There was no TV to get into. We just wanted to get into a fight. We're basically doing this for free.

Shaw: That's what the beauty of what you guys have on the call right now, along with Kimbo and Gina and the rest of the card. None of our fighters are prima donnas. They're here for the love of the sport and the pride they fight with, and they're all going to lead and show you their souls on May 31. You can guarantee that.

Baroni: That's right. We're real fighters. Joe Villasenor, whatever, he's a victim. I'm going to kill him. But, he's a real deal fighter. He's going to fight in a cage. But, he's a champ. He wasn't fighting for the money, (or) the girls. He wasn't some f**king teacher that f**king retired so he could be on Ultimate Fighter. He's a real fighter. He's doing it because he wants to f**king fight. He wants to prove himself. That's where I am. That's where Lawler and Kimbo are at. I don't know much about Smith, but he's in there banging away. He's the real deal to me. So, we're real fighters. We ain't movie stars.

I didn't sign a contract with CBS. I signed because I wanted to fight. I saw the roster and opportunities available to me and I took it. I want to fight the best fighters in the world. Frank Shamrock signed with that organization. I want that mother. I want to kill him. So, CBS, that's a bonus. I'm a real fighter. I want a shot. I want to fight. Gina Carano, she's a chick that wants to fight. She wants to kick box. So, we're all real fighters.

Question: Robbie, what would a win mean for you in terms of getting more exposure?

Lawler: Sponsorships will come. My name is going to get out there. I have to go out there. If I'm ranked high or get my ass kicked, I have to go out and perform and fight the way I know how. I need to win, plain and simple.

Question: Gary, what would it mean to have maybe Randy Couture sign with EliteXC and have the DREAM match between Couture and Fedor?

Shaw: I would love to put that fight on. I know everybody is in it for the money. I appreciate what everybody says. But sometimes deals cannot be made because people are not realistic. People need to be realistic in order to put fights on. When Fedor wants to fight just anybody for $2 million, that is not realistic for my company. So, somebody wants to give him that kind of money, not for a real fight, that's strictly up to them.

Question: Would you take the opportunity to pick up Couture if you had the opportunity?

Shaw: Yeah, of course. Couture is a legend. He is in great shape. But every day at the age that Randy is starts taking its toll on the athlete. All these guys on the phone can tell you that. I've dealt with enough fighters to know that there comes a certain time and an age that they peak and then there comes a time that they just can't keep up the pace of the training.

I think it was Lawler who said that his body is hurting right now from the rugged training. You can't keep that pace up forever. If it was, George Foreman would still be boxing and Joe Frazier would still be boxing. I don't know if Couture’s time has passed. I know he's a spectacular athlete and spectacular talent. If Randy was not under contract, and I'm not sure if he's clear of his contract, then I'd be more than happy to sit down and talk with him. But make sure someone tells Ortiz my door's open.

Question: Phil, how does EliteXC treat its fighters? How does it compare to the other leagues?

Baroni: They're treating me well. I went into the office to do bulls**t paperwork. They had a birthday cake and surprise party. I'm 29 again this year. I was pretty happy about that. It was pretty surprising. So, maybe they're trying to butter me up, but whatever it was, it's the thought that counts. It was a nice thought and a nice gesture. I'm waiting for my f***ing keys. You can mail them, Gary. (Laughter)

Lawler: Some guys are getting cut. Live with it. I was cut a while back, like four or five years ago. Guess where I am at right now because I kept working? I don't feel sorry for anyone. Go to work and get better, plain and simple.

Baroni: I agree. It's our business. It's not the nice business. It's not about feeling. It's about winning f***ing fights.

Villasenor: I've fought for Pride. I've competed against Lawler in Pride. I fought in Japan. I fought for King of the Cage. I fought for numerous organizations. It's (EliteXC) the best I've been taken care of. The staff is down to earth and they don't treat me like a product. They treat me like a person. I think that's probably the most important thing with someone like myself. They treat me like an individual. EliteXC is on the right track with the way Gary Shaw talks about treating its fighters. Shaw has been in this game a long time and he understands what fighters want, what we need and that's being respected. There is no show without the fighters. Along with that, there's no fight for the fighters without a good promoter. So, we are all scratching each other's backs on this one. Hands down, I think that EliteXC is making some big moves, and they're going to be a force to be reckoned with.

EliteXC is the one to get the first big show on the road. I'm just glad to be a part of it.

Question: Robbie, aside from the injuries do you think you're at the peak of your career?

Lawler: I'm just mentally prepared more than anything. When I first came into the fight game, I was just raw, just coming out. I was going to knock everyone out by training hard. But, I wasn't mentally prepared to go to war and put my body through everything. So, now I can go to war. I can fight for five rounds and I'm ready to go. That's the difference between now and six years ago.

Question: How did you accomplish that change?

Lawler: When you train with the best in the world and they're doing great, they're beating people up and I train with these guys every day. I'm lumping these guys up. I had to look within and try to change some stuff and slow my game up a little bit and think a little more when I was out there fighting. That's what I've been doing.

Question: What do you think of Smith as a fighter? He seemed to indicate that he expects this to be a stand-up battle.

Lawler: Standing up is where all fights start. I'm ready to bang. I'm ready to kick. I'm ready to defend takedowns. I'm ready to take someone down. I'm ready to do Jui-Jitsu on the top or bottom. It's going to be a fight. I’m going to start on the feet, but who knows where it will go.

Question: Do you think you have better or equal wrestling skills to Smith?

Lawler: It doesn't matter. I'm a pretty good athlete. I can move really well and we'll see.

Question: Do you want to make a prediction for the fight?

Lawler: It's going to be a great fight. I don't talk a lot of trash. I'm going to come out there ready to bang and go to war. That's the way I do it.

Question: Do you have any closing comments?

Lawler: I'm training hard. I'm going to be ready to go May 31. I've got a good team behind me. I have a new facility in Granite City, Illinois, H.I.T. squad. That's it.

Villasenor: I am very excited. I am glad that they gave me the ring. I look forward to going to war in enemy territory. It's never real until moments like this, and all that hard work and all that training here in Albuquerque with my team.

I have a great team behind me. I'd like to say to my family and friends in Albuquerque and New Mexico I love you and the world finally gets to see my heart.

Baroni: I'm kind of shy. I really don't have much to say. Put me on the spot like that and all. I'm just f***king happy to get home. I'm happy to get home. I look forward to the East Coast, New Jersey, New York. I fought a long time in Japan, all over the place, California, and in dude’s hometowns all the time. Now, we're coming to my house, and I'm going to defend.

I'm happy to be back. It's a long time coming, and I'm training real hard. I'm at AKA. I think it's the best camp in the business. I'm training real hard. All fighters think their camp's the best, but mine speaks for itself. I'm in top shape and I'm going to be ready to go. I'm not going to be denied. Blood and guts. I'm 15 minutes, rounds all out, man, ready to go. I'm going to be proving what I started in 2002 before injuries and bulls**t happened. I am the best 185-pounder in the world. When things are right and I'm ripe, I hurt people and I knock them out and I'm a show-stopper. I'm going to stop this show on CBS. I'm winning this fight and ending it violently. I will separate Joe Villasenor from consciousness.

Smith: I'm expecting a check from Gary Shaw for my phone bill, an hour and a half call. But this is a historic event, like everybody's been talking about, CBS, network television. EliteXC couldn't have done a better job. The match makers couldn't have done a better job. These will be exciting fights. If I weren't fighting on the card, I'd be excited to sit at home and watch the fights myself. So, tune in, you guys, you will get some good fights.

Baroni: Gary, tell the people in Jersey (Arturo) Gatti retired, but Phil Baroni is coming back home.

Shaw: They'll be there. I wanted two thank yous that are really important other than our sponsors, main sponsor Rockstar and Burger King. I'd like to thank Ken Hershman from SHOWTIME, who was the visionary who allowed me to bring the product and put it on SHOWTIME to begin with. I’d also like to thank the folks at CBS for keeping their eye on the ball, and in this case putting mixed martial arts on TV. I would also like to give a special thank you to Mitch Graham from the (CBS) PR department who has been working so hard with us.

The single most important thing is the health, safety and welfare of the fighters and caring about the fighters because without the fighters, we don't have a show. I think it was Joey Villasenor who said that. On May 31 in prime time, that's the single most important thing. It is going to be prime time live, not 2 a.m. in the morning, not a tape, but live. You are going to get to see a spectacular card with these fighters who are really warriors, really skilled athletes.

This will be the single biggest day in the history of mixed martial arts. It is a chance for people to learn and understand what mixed martial arts is all about, that these fighters are not just street fighters or brawlers, but they're highly skilled, trained athletes that have many different disciplines.

So, I think it's our chance to await the world to see what it is. For these fighters on this call and those that also will be fighting on CBS, their lives will change dramatically. When they pull up to that arena and see all those satellite trucks that are beaming this around the world, they'll get the feel of that arena and they'll realize that they're making history because they're part of the first event of this type in the history of the world on network TV.

The fighters will be a part of that history forever. These fighters that are on this call will be part of building up the sport of MMA, which I know is so very important to them.

So, on May 31, you'll get to see them in prime time. The next morning they will be people who will be in so many households that they'll be spotted and noticed in train stations, airports, car rental places, wherever. It's a great day for MMA. It's a spectacular day for these athletes. I'm proud on behalf of EliteXC and our staff, who I think really care about the athletes, our match-making team, which I think is the best in the world. I thank all of you. I thank the press for indulging us and for being interested and asking great questions, and you're all apart of it.

I hope you write what you see on that day, whether it's good or bad. I know it's going to be good. But, we always take your comments well. So, I thank all the press. Thank you for giving me and EliteXC the opportunity to represent all of you.

Source: Johnny Bey

5/16/08

Quote of the Day

"To know the road ahead, ask those coming back."

Chinese Proverb

X-1 World Events presents "Legends"
Today!

X-1 World Events presents "Legends"
Neil Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Friday, May 16, 2008
7:30pm

X-1 World Events presents "Legends"

Friday , May 16th at Neil Blaisdell Arena 7 30pm
7 pm prelimanary match, entertainment, Kaleo Pilanca

Tickets on sale at Blaisdell Box Office,all Times Super
Market locations,Ticketmaster.com or call 1-877-750-4400

Ticket discount Children 12 and under and Military.
Infants on lap are free. Prices starting at $25

X-1 World Events announces the Friday, May 16, 2008 "Legends" event at the Blaisdell Arena featuring the comeback of former state middleweight champion Egan Inoue. The card is scheduled to have 9 bouts including the main event showcasing Inoue against Arizona's Hans Marrero. Inoue, 42, is making his MMA comeback after a nearly 5 year hiatus. Marrero is 23-years old with a professional mark of 15-5.

For this event, there will be a LIVE Internet stream available for $19.99 (total price including tax and fees) for purchase and viewing through this site. This Friday night LIVE Internet stream starts at 7:30pm HST (1:30 EST/10:30 PST), with a replay to follow immediately. Orders will be available 1 hour before the event (6:30pm HST).

To see the past X-1 events on Video on Demand. Channel 221 Oceanic Cable.

142lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Chris "Red Bull" Willems (BJ Penn MMA) vs. Brandon Visher (Wailuku Boxing Club)

170lbs: Amateur MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
John "The Warrior" Visante (Team Sit U Down) vs. Sean Sakata (No Remorse)

135lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Featherweight Title Bout:
Albert Manners (BJ Penn's MMA) vs. Kana "The Riot" Hyatt (Eastsidaz)

170lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Ronald "The Machine Gun" Jhun (808 Fight Factory) vs. Dylan Clay (Brazilian Freestyle Jiu-Jitsu)

170lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Michael Brightmon (Gorila House) vs. Kolo Koka (Team MMAD)

170lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Welterweight Title Bout:
Brandon Wolff (Team MMAD) vs. Chad "The Grinder" Reiner (Southwest MMA)

155lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Lightweight Title Bout:
Ray "Bradda" Cooper (Freelance) vs. Richie Whitson (Sitka, Alaska)

185lbs: Professional MMA - 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Egan Inoue (Grappling Unlimited) vs. Hans Marrero (Team Marrero)

Source: Event Promoter

Wand raring to go Alejarra guarantees:
“He has an incredible desire to win”

The fight this coming 24th at UFC 84 against Keith Jardine is not just the 41st of the fighter’s career. Wanderlei Silva, who etched his name in MMA history by dominating his weight group in Pride was always known as a great fighter, but coming off three losses in a row, this time he must win.

The mission to take place in Las Vegas will not be the easiest, as Jardine is coming off a win over precisely the last person to beat Wand, Chuck Liddell. GRACIEMAG.com, just as curious as everyone else, spoke with physical trainer Rafael Alejarra about how training is going.

“Preparations are being done in a seiour, rigid way with much care and emphasizing the muay thai part and sparring. We will only take a break the week of the fight, for now we are training hard every day. Some are critical of how Wand says he wants to put on a show, so let’s just say he has an incredible will to win this fight, is calm but has a lot of desire to fight Jardine,” said the instructor, who recently created the site www.mmaconditioning.net that provides photos, videos, pointers and articles about physical preperations for MMA.

Source: Gracie Magazine

AFFLICTION VP ATENCIO DEBUNKS RUMORS
by Tom Hamlin

After months of hush-hush negotiations and a rumor mill working overtime, clothing company Affliction has stepped out of the shadows to announce its entry into fight promotion.

In an appearance on “Inside MMA” last week, Affliction vice president Tom Atencio announced a card to be held July 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., featuring a laundry list of top fighters including the ever-elusive Fedor Emelianenko.

Several published reports have put Emelianenko’s asking price at between $1.5 and $2 million. “Not true,” Atencio told MMAWeekly.com. “They’re rumors, they’re all rumors.”

So how then did Affliction secure the world’s most expensive fighter?

Atencio wouldn’t disclose Emelianenko’s base pay, but said, “It’s a considerable amount of money, but it’s not what everybody says.”

Still, with names like Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Josh Barnett, and Matt Lindland – all high-priced free agents – it’s apparent that the promotion is starting in the red. Atencio says that’s fine. He doesn’t expect the July 19 show to make money.

“I don’t see how anybody can,” he said. “The only people who are making money in this business are the UFC and Scott Coker with Strikeforce. Do we plan on making money this first show? Absolutely not. The second and third? Hopefully.”

Plans for a second show in October and a third in February will round out the first phase of Affliction’s new venture. At that point, Atencio and his partners will decide whether they still want to be carnival barkers.

“This is new to us, so we’re going to take it step by step,” he said.

Already, Affliction has attracted the ire of existing promoters, particularly the Ultimate Fighting Championship, who banned them as a fighter sponsor. EliteXC followed suit shortly after, echoing the Las Vegas based organization’s non-compete policy. In a conference call for EliteXC’s upcoming “Saturday Night Fights” card on May 31 on CBS, president of live events Gary Shaw took a swipe at Affliction.

“I think they should stick to the clothing business,” Shaw said. ”I predict they will do one or two shows and then go back to making clothing.”

Atencio said he understands the arrows slung his way, though he didn’t expect Affliction to be banned by the UFC. As a lifelong fan of the sport, he simply sees his company’s venture as a natural extension of their success in the clothing industry.
“We’ve been involved in the industry as far as the clothing side of it, and I’ve been personally involved in MMA for over 16 years. I’m a huge fan of the sport so it just makes sense for us at this point,” he said.

Affliction plans to hold press conferences with several of its fighters on May 20 in Los Angeles and May 22 in New York.

Source: MMA Weekly

EliteXC seeks to promote an all-female card by 2009

EliteXC President Gary Shaw said today that an all women's mixed martial arts card will happen under the EliteXC banner as soon as the promotion collects a stable of talented female fighters.

"That's something that I'd like to present to the public, a night of women's fights," Shaw said. "I think that would be a major milestone and it'd be good for the sport."

In the meantime, the first women's title could happen sometime in the fall. The winner between Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young on the EliteXC-CBS card on May 31 will help determine a contender for promotion's first women's belt, which will represent the 140-pound division.

"There are a lot of women out there that are unhappy. Not with us, because we're the pioneers. We're putting our talk, not just coming out of our mouth, we're acting on it."

HOOKnSHOOT, based out of Indiana, is arguably the real pioneer of female mixed martial arts in America, but the promotion does not regularly promote shows. A new promotion out of California, Fatale Femmes Fighting has jumped into the forefront of the all-female fighting circuit by showcasing a number of local talent mixed in with fighters from Brazil and Japan.

EliteXC will have the deeper talent pool though. In addition to Carano and Young, EliteXC's current roster includes Shayna Bazler, Debi Purcell, Julie Kedzie, Carina Damm and Tonya Evinger.

"I think by '09, you should look for an all women show," said Shaw.

Source: MMA Fighting

Gouveia looks for a title bout chance

Training for one more fight at the UFC, Wilson Gouveia has four consecutives wins and his next opponent is Goran Reljic at the UFC 84 (24th May), but the Brazilian wants a tough fighter in the other side of the cage “To be honest, I pulled four wins in a row. My last fights I won by submission or knockout. I was expecting a real tough (opponent). It's no problem. I fight anybody they put against me. I want to fight a big name. If I could pick the fights I want right now, I would like to fight Chuck (Liddell) or a rematch against Keith (Jardine). They are the two guys that are in my mind right now. I'm taking this fight very seriously though. I trained very hard”, said the American Top Team athlete to MMAWeekly.com.

Source: Tatame

Sylvia leads knockout artists
Cro Cop, Fedor and Minotauro were not forgotten

Tim Sylvia, twice holder of the UFC heavyweight belt, was always in MMA fans’ sights, mainly the American ones, for being a boring, uninspired fighter. However, the big man, who recently left the American organization to join manager Monte Cox’s latest enterprise (Andrenaline MMA), doesn’t even need to defend himself from persecution, the numbers do it for him.

According to the site TheFightNetwork.com, Sylvia leads the list of heavyweights with the highest career knockout rates, winnning 57% of his fights in this way (16 of 27). In second place comes Mirko Cro Cop, whose days at Pride brought him to the 52% mark.

Completing the list is former IFL fighter Ben Rothwell, with 50%, former UFC fighter Andre Arlovsky, with 47%, Alexander Emelianenko (44%), Randy Couture (29%), Gabriel Napao (27%), Fedor Emelianenko (21%), Fabricio Werdum (21%), Heath Herring (17%), Josh Barnett (15%) and Rodrigo Minotauro (8%).

Source: Gracie Magazine

CONFERENCE CALL QUOTES GINA CARANO & KAITLIN YOUNG ELITEXC LIVE EVENTS PRESIDENT GARY SHAW
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Popular, unbeaten women's superstar Gina Carano of Las Vegas will face hard-hitting, confident Hook 'n Shoot champion Kaitlin Young of Circle Pines, Minn., in one of five fights on the inaugural "CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" on Saturday, May 31 (9-11 p.m. ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

The first mixed martial event in primetime on network television will be presented by Los Angeles-based Pro Elite, Inc.'s live fight division, EliteXC, led by Gary Shaw, and originate from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Kimbo Slice, of Perrine, Fla., will face England's James "Colossus'' Thompson in the main event on CBS. Other televised fights: EliteXC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler of St. Louis defends against Scott Smith of Sacramento, Calif., Phil Baroni of Long Island, N.Y., meets Joey Villasenor of Albuquerque, N.M. in a 185-pound scrap and Brett Rogers of Minneapolis takes on Jon Murphy of Philadelphia in a heavyweight match.

Tickets for the live event start at $25 and are available at Ticketmaster locations, by phone (201) 507-8900, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the Prudential Center box office (973) 757-6625. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET. The first live fight is at 6:30.

Shaw: Thank you, everyone, for joining this call for this inaugural event. We're all very excited. On Saturday, May 31, in primetime at 9 p.m. ET from the Prudential Center in New Jersey is a historic card. It doesn't only mean a lot to EliteXC, but it should mean a lot to all the fighters. More importantly, it's a huge step for mixed martial arts. It brings the sport to the forefront so that people no longer think of it as a barbaric sport but as a real sport with fighters with real disciplines that train hard, that are professional athletes. We at EliteXC are honored to be putting on a women's fight. And those that have watched our SHOWTIME fights know about Gina Carano and what we have meant to Gina here at EliteXC and what Gina has meant to EliteXC. More importantly, fans know that Gina has become the face of women's mixed martial arts. So today we're honored to have Gina with us on this call and Kaitlin Young. I'd like to turn it over first to Gina to say opening remarks.

Carano: I am extremely honored to be fighting on the CBS card. I think it speaks leagues for how far women have come in the sport. I'm extremely honored to be fighting Kaitlin Young. I think it's one of the best match-ups I've ever had. I'm looking forward to the fight. I am a little depressed because "American Gladiators'' ratings kind of plummeted a little bit (laughing). I'm excited to get back in the ring and focus on what my passion has been in my life and that's been fighting. I'm super stoked for this fight and I'm anticipating a tough one. My training has been pumped up for the last two weeks. I had a little side shot with "American Gladiators'' so we're going to see how I perform with this crunch-time training. I'm expecting a good fight. This is going to be awesome. I'm really honored to be on this inaugural event.

Shaw: Thank you very much, Gina. Before I introduce Kaitlin, I just want to say that we always had confidence in women fighting. Gina led the way for us, but we have other fine women that fight for our organization. It's been my feeling all along that women should be treated as equals. If they can go to war, they sure can fight in mixed martial arts. We're proud to have Gina on this card. We're proud to have Kaitlin. It's going to be a very good, very tough match. But more than anything else, the world will be able to see two professional athletes that can really fight. So without further adieu, Kaitlin, would you make some opening remarks?

Young: I'm honored to be fighting on the CBS card and fighting her as well. I think it's going to be a great match-up, a great stylistic match-up. The beauty of our sport is that styles make fights. I really think this will be a great one. Training's been going very well. I had a lot of notice for this fight so I've been lucky to be able to put in more time for this one than ever before. So I'm really excited about that and really excited to be representing women's MMA for the first time. It's going to be seen by such a large (audience). I think a lot of people don't realize there are so many women fighters. Fortunately, EliteXC is there to showcase women's fighting. It's a great honor to be part of it.

Shaw: Thank you very much. I also want to say thank you as always to Ken Hershman from SHOWTIME, who had the real foresight with Matt Blanc to be able to put mixed martial arts on a premium cable network. He allowed us to put Gina on. And I'm sure Gina remembers the day when Ken gave us the OK. And, obviously, to all the powers that be at CBS for allowing us to bring our product to the airwaves of CBS. We're very, very respectful for that opportunity. It is a wonderful opportunity for all our fighters and for mixed martial arts. So thank you to CBS. And also a special thank you to Rockstar and to Burger King, two of our sponsors. Anybody that knows me knows I eat a lot of Burger Kings.

Question: What weight are you fighting at?

Young: This fight's at 140.

Question: Gina, why do you say this will be your best fight yet?

Carano: I just think it's an awesome match-up. I think it's a great opponent. I think that I'm definitely somebody who fights better with somebody better in front of me.

Question: Are you referring that you are both stand-up fighters?

Carano: I think she is a good fighter in general. I'm sure she has been practicing a lot on the ground, so I am not going to count her as a stand-up fighter; I am going to count her as a complete fighter, an MMA fighter. I think she is an aggressive fighter. I just think it's going to be a really good match-up for me, and I think it's going to make for an awesome fight.

Question: Kaitlin, how much notice did you have for the fight?

Young: I don't think I necessarily had more notice than Gina did. I want to say I had probably a good nine weeks where I suspected that I would be taking this fight. So I've been training very hard since then.

Question: Gina, is there anything that concerns you heading into this one that maybe you haven't covered in preparation?

Carano: I wish I would have had nine weeks completely to focus on it like Kaitlin. But there's not going to be any excuses. I just chose to do "American Gladiators'' and take my time away from it. So am I concerned? No. I feel more mentally clear than I've probably ever felt in my life. I think I'm good. I think I'm confident. I've got the next two weeks to kind of sharpen everything up and I'm ready to fight.

Question: Gina, are you surprised by the level of attention you're getting?

Carano: You know, I kind of live in my own world anyway. I'm very good at keeping a good head about me and really looking at things for what they are. I know who I am and where I am at in my career. I'm not surprised that all the females are starting to get attention in the sport because it's well deserved. We put on great fights all around the country, all around the world -- fights that people walk away from (still) talking about. So I think females getting attention is awesome and it's well deserved. I don't buy into the hype. I know I am 5-0 in MMA. I don't listen to what everybody says about me I just kind of know who I am and keep my head about me. I think that's one reason why people might like me.

Question: Gina, if the bout goes the distance do you think that favors you or Kaitlin?

Carano: I think this fight could go either way and I'm planning it on favoring me. But we're pretty equal in our stand-up. I'm expecting a pretty equal match-up. As soon as I get in that cage with her then I'll be able to kind of gauge where we're at.

Question: Gina, how are you getting back in fighting shape and honing your technique with the short time you have?

Carano: I've been fighting in a different way outside the ring for the last nine months. I think it's going to be pretty refreshing just to get in there and get physical. I'm not worried about it at all. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm better at being physical. I'm better at using my body. I'm better at fighting than I am at doing any of the entertaining or press conferences. I'm better at using my body and my physical ability and natural instincts. It's going to be refreshing. Fighting outside the ring is not an easy thing. At least when you are in the cage you know who is throwing the punches (laughing).

Question: Gina, do you want to keep it standing, go to the ground or are you ready for anything?

Carano: You now, I think the game plan is something that I probably like to keep a little bit more private. I'm not going to give it away to her right now. I'm not going to tell her exactly what I'm going to do. So we're just going to keep that under wraps.

Question: Kaitlin, how is your ground game developing?

Young: I feel that it's coming on very well. I've done a couple of grappling tournaments. I try to hit those up when I can in-between fights to sort of work on the ground game against people of equal size and weight and skill level. And I try to do as many divisions as possible for experience. It doesn't go on the record, so it's kind of nice. I've had some submission victories at grappling tournaments. I'm feeling pretty confident about the fact that my ground game has improved quite a bit since my last fight.

Question: Gary, tell us why you decided to have a women's fight on this first show on CBS?

Shaw: The same reason I thought we should have a women's fight on the first show ever that we did on SHOWTIME. I think there are women out there that train hard, that have the skills and in my mind are professional athletes. If we are willing to put women into war where they can get killed by real bullets and protect us and protect our country, why shouldn't they have the same right if they're training hard to be seen by the American public? Just because they're females? I don't believe in that. Gina's fights have all been competitive. Gina said it before, in some ways the fights she's been in have been some of the most exciting fights that we've presented. I am proud to stand behind the women that fight for us at EliteXC. I'm proud that our match- making team has put together the right type of fights. Not only do we have these two young ladies that will be fighting on May 31 but we have others that are waiting in the wings behind them that are equally skilled and ready to go. And I think at the end of the day you will all be writing the next day about the great fight between these two athletes and warriors.

Question: Kaitlin, what does this mean to you?

Young: Like I said, it really is such a great honor. I do feel a tremendous obligation to perform well and represent female fighters well.

Question: Kaitlin, are you more comfortable on the ground now?

Young: Yeah, I'm feeling much better on the ground. Obviously, it's not as natural as stand-up feels to me. I don't know if it ever will be. I'm working on trying to become the same level on the ground as I am standing up.

Question: You feel OK going toe-to-toe with Gina?

Young: Yeah. I'm really excited for that. I know she beat Tonya with a submission, which is awesome for her to transition like that, but it's hard to say. I haven't seen much of her other than that fight. So I think it will be really interesting if this goes to the ground.

Question: Kaitlin, if it goes the distance, does that favor you or her?

Young: It's hard to say. I think it's going to be a really good fight. She's tough and very athletic. So I think it could go other way. Obviously I'm going to do everything in my power to make it go my way. But I can't give a sure-fire prediction on that one.

Question: Gina, how do you maintain focus on the task at hand?

Carano: I'm crazy (laughing). No, actually, for the last three weeks I was supposed to go to New York for a promotional tour for "American Gladiators" and I just finally laid it down to them. I was, like. 'I can't do it. I've got to just stay at home and train and get my mind right.' I'm not even doing that many fight interviews. I'm kind of just detoxing from the public eye for a second. Then I'm training and just getting my mind straight for the fight. I would have liked to do it sooner. I've got a beautiful life and I'm just surprised I've gone so far. I'm just going to stay positive and go for it. I'm balancing it out. I've got a good head on my shoulders. I'm able to just cut everything off when I need to.

Question: Gina, with this show being on CBS, do you look at this fight any differently from a prestige standpoint? Or are you approaching it the same as every other fight?

Carano: A fight's a fight and once you get in the cage, everything goes away and it's just you against that person. We can only do the best we can do. We've both had about the same amount of fights and we've both (been) brought up in the sport pretty fast. We're going to put on a good fight. I know that's what we're both made out of. So I'm not even worried about that. But as far as pressure, we can only do what we can do. If we just be ourselves, which we both will be, I think the public will really, really love it and be drawn to it and want to see more of it. I just try to appreciate and be honored that I get this opportunity and I'm so happy that EliteXC has put me out there the way they have and taken a chance on me. I'm appreciative of what they're doing for women in the sport. I'm just going to keep doing my thing because that's really all I can do.

Question: Gina, if there's been one prevailing criticism of you it is that you have had trouble making weight. Do you anticipate it being a problem for May 31?

Carano: Oh yes, the weight. A fight has never been canceled because I didn't make weight. Unless one does, then I don't have anything to be ashamed of. I do cut weight. I get down. I'm not very good dehydrated, so I walk into the weigh-ins not looking so hot sometimes. But it's not going to be a problem for May 31. I am in surprisingly good shape where I am at right now. I feel great. I'm strong and ready to go. So, no, it shouldn't be a problem and we'll just see how it goes. I'll just keep on trying to get more professional and trying to get down faster. (And) try to lay off the ravioli a little bit more (laughing).

Question: Kaitlin, what do you think a win over Gina would mean for your career?

Young: I think obviously it would give my career a boost. I think just having this fight regardless of the outcome really does anyway. But obviously a win would do that much more for it.

Question: Kaitlin, what are your thoughts on the state of women's MMA and its potential to grow?

Young: I think it has great potential to grow. I think some of the women who have been in MMA for awhile aren't particularly happy with the state of things right now. But I think it's a very, very good time for women just getting into the sport. It's growing so fast.

Question: Are you willing to elaborate on what other women fighters might be unhappy about?

Young: You know, I don't want to put words into anybody's mouth, but I think the general feeling is there aren't as many high-profile opportunities for female fighters that have been in the game for a long time.

Question: Gary, do you have plans to add to the women's roster?

Shaw: We are continually adding to the women's roster. We do have a women's division. And we do like women fighting for us. We're going to continue to put them on CBS. We're going to continue to put them on SHOWTIME and on our ShoXC(Elite Challenger Series) shows as well. Shayna Baszler is on the roster and we have other women on the roster. I know the fight team and Jeremy Lappen are working hard to make additions to the women's roster. We have signed a couple in the last few weeks. If nobody else wants to do it, then that's all the better for us. It's not better for the women, but it's certainly better for EliteXC.

Question: Gary, do you have any specific guideline for how many women you would like to have on the roster eventually?

Shaw: As many as can fight, just like the men. If we find the women that we find are exciting fighters and we put them on shows that excite the fans, both on television and in the arena, then we'll keep continuing to add to them. We don't have a limit. It's not like we're going to have 10 women in two weight classes and that's it -- not at all. If the women can fight, then we're signing them.

Question: Is there any plan for an EliteXC women's title (fight), say in the next year?

Shaw: Yes we're talking about two things. We're talking about a women's title and we're also talking about an all women's show where we feature one night of just all women's fights.

Carano: That would be cool.

Shaw: Thank you very much. I hope you'll back us. That's something that I'd like to present to the public, a night of women's fights. And I think that would be a major milestone. I think it would be good for the sport and good for women. I think Kaitlin said there are a lot of women out there that are unhappy. Not with us, because we're the pioneers. We're (not just talking), we're acting on it. With the help of CBS and the help of SHOWTIME, we'll continue. I would think in '09 that you should look for an all women's show.

Question: Gina do you regret at all putting so much on your plate when you didn't really have to?

Carano: No, (not) at all. Would it have been nice to just focus on the fight? Of course. But that's not the reality of it. I focus on the fact I've got a beautiful life and I'm going to go do something that I really love to do in a couple weeks against Kaitlin Young. I'm living out my dream right now. It would have been nice to focus on it more especially since I think it's just going to be such a difficult fight. But, no, let's just do this. Then let's look back and see how I do and then make improvements from there. Definitely for the next fight - (and) I'm sure I'll have another one sometime this year -- that one's definitely getting all my attention. I can't wait for that, you know, lifestyle and that feeling to come back. Really, training for a fight and spending so much time getting in the mental state is the best part about it. So we'll see how I do and then look at it from there.

Question: Has the taping completed for this season of "American Gladiators"?

Carano: Yeah, we've been done for about a week I think.

Question: Now you are 100 percent focused on the fight?

Carano: Yeah, I've cut off all the media stuff and everything and pretty much just training.

Question: Tonight, you'll be featured on ESPN "E:60." Are you hoping for a positive piece?

Carano: I think it's going to be a realistic piece. I was completely myself and I spoke my mind. I'm not going to say it's going to be a negative piece. I think there are a lot of other female MMA martial artists out there that have been in it a longer time than I have and they have bigger records - and so they're wondering why I'm where I'm at and why they aren't here. I sympathize with them and I don't know why either. I think that, you know, EliteXC looked at me and saw something that they could really build and they saw talent. And people sign new talent all the time. I think that they did a couple interviews with a couple other female fighters that might bring up that kind of aspect of it, which they have all the right in the world to. I hope we get to see some of these females fighting and I hope I get to fight them. Now that I'm building up kind of a bigger record, I think it will be more of an equal match-up now.

Shaw: Let me (say one thing. The piece on Kimbo on "E:60" was not negative.

Comment: I meant EPSN the magazine.

Shaw: The magazine, (yes) that was a negative article. The article started off by saying exactly this: 'Although I have never met Kimbo or spoken to Kimbo' ... I take those articles; I have three dogs and they're very happy with those articles. I can't respect someone who doesn't speak to an athlete, doesn't interview an athlete, and then just gives a one-sided slant on the story. That's not journalism.

Question: Gary, has anyone from ESPN contacted you?

Shaw: They didn't understand why the piece came out. Kimbo has been very accessible to ESPN for "E:60" not only once, but twice. He's going to be on (the cover of) ESPN The Magazine where they'll do an entire article on him. I think if you meet Kimbo , if you spoke to Kimbo, it might not be the Kimbo the journalist, that writer, that individual, I don't know what to call him, really wrote about. The same with Gina. If there's a woman fighter that doesn't like her or has negative things to say on the "E:60" piece -- that hasn't seen it yet -- then that's really unfair because they haven't spoken to Gina. So they don't really know Gina. Gina didn't push anybody out of the way. She is not a bad girl. This wasn't some contest that she fixed to get on the air. Gina was at the right place at the right time. Someone told me about Gina and (after) they told me, I went after her. I happen to know her father as well. When I met her, I said to her immediately, 'you're going to be the women's face of mixed martial arts.' On behalf of EliteXC, we delivered. On behalf of Gina, she delivered. So that's what it's all about. Like she said, she's in a tough, tough competition on May 31. It's real fight with Kaitlin. If she is successful and she wins, then she moves on. If she doesn't, she'll still move on. Those girls that have negative things to say, if they're in the right weight class, they're going to have an opportunity, if they can fight. But just because someone's done it longer, doesn't mean they're the right person.

Question: Gary, you now have this new pact agreement with DREAM. Have they expressed any interest in having Gina fight for them on one of their cards in Japan?

Shaw: I haven't had long talks with them. We loaned them Nick Diaz this past week. They want to do more with us. They're starting to realize we have athletes and we have the fighters that can really fight. We're one of the few organizations willing to go out there and work with other organizations. I'm hoping they allow me to bring them some of our greatest women fighters.

Question: Gina, do you feel any pressure fighting in front of a large audience on such a big stage?

Carano: No, I don't. It's kind of a different question actually. (As a person, I'm a bit more shy). I don't get nervous. Fighting, that's the fun part and I love that. Being in front of people, I've learned to get use to. But, regardless, once you get hit it all goes away any ways. So I'm just planning on my natural instinct to kick in, and it will. So, no, I (feel) good. I'm keeping a level head.

Question: Gina, what do you do to relax before a fight?

Carano: I like to dance a little; dancing kind of shakes out the nerves a little. And I pray. I pray just for a peace and for God's will to be done. And whatever the outcome of the fight, just to have a peaceful feeling about it, you know.

Question: When do you do the dancing?

Carano: (Laughing) Just right before I go in the ring. I dance the nerves out of my body.

Question: Your dad was a professional athlete. What are his thoughts on where you've progressed?

Carano: He has stood behind me 100 percent and it's been a really beautiful thing. My whole life he has trying to tell me go to school, become a lawyer, become a doctor, become something of importance. Then I go and become a professional fighter. It just kind of threw him off his seat for a second. But he's climbed back on and he is 100 percent behind me and it's the best feeling in the world.

Question: You said you were more mentally clear than before. What's different now?

Carano: I think what's different now is I have my confidence about me and I know who I am a little bit more than I ever have. And it's a really good feeling. Because, you know, at the beginning you just kind of get shoved up there and you're just trying to do everything to make everybody else happy. Now I've kind of realized I need to learn how to make myself happy and by doing that other people around me will be inspired through that. I am just at the cusp of grasping a hold of where I am at 26. I'm sure I've got a lot more to learn, but at least I have a handle on it.

Question: Gary, where will you be watching the fight?

Shaw: On May 31, I'll be in that arena. I'll be at a table pressed against a cage. I'll have a monitor and at the start of the show I'll have a lot of goosebumps. And, as Gina said, my nerves will be rattled. And when the first fight takes place and the action starts, I will shake it out.

Question: You will be nervous prior to the beginning of the show?

Shaw: For sure.

Question: What causes the nerves for you?

Shaw: Well there's a lot of pressure. First of all, I care about the health, safety and welfare of all the fighters. So the single biggest thing in my mind is that not only do they have great fights but everybody comes out of the cage safe and healthy. That's on my mind until the final fight is over. The rest is that everything goes right. We have an arena experience to put on, we have a television show to put on, we have a lot of responsibility to all the athletes and we have a lot of responsibility to all the people that support us. So there's a lot of pressure that nobody sees and nobody knows (about). You think of everything from, God forbid, a problem with the cage, to a problem with the camera, to anything else that can go wrong. So, for me, personally, I'm not at ease all until it's over. I don't go to parties. I'll go to a coffee shop or something like that because it wipes you out. And those that work can understand how much it wipes you out.

Question: How gratifying is it after the fact though?

Shaw: Spectacular. It's a feeling that I wish I could transport to everybody around me. It's like your graduation. You made it. You got through it all. And then when you see all these fighters and the smiles and you see two fighters -- and I'm sure it will happen with Gina and Kaitlin -- they'll go at each other as hard as any athletes will fight to knock the other one out or submit them or put them to sleep, and then the final bell rings or the fight's over, any way it ends, and they'll just hug one another. I mean, there's something very special about the fighting game that's much different. You watch a hard fought tennis match, they walk to the net and they just shake hands. I mean they don't even do that. Then golf, there's nothing. But in the fighting game where there's real physical contact and the winner is the one that does the most damage, it is just unbelievable that they will then go, men and women, and hug one another, embrace one another and show that respect for one another. So, for me, personally watching that is just joyous. I mean, Gina was talking about her father who I said I know. In her last match he jumped up -- he is a big guy to start with - and I thought he hit the top of the arena.

Question: When you are online, how often do you check ProElite.com and what's that experience like for you?

Young: I usually check it maybe once a day or once every two days. Sometimes I'll talk to people on there, like about interviews or whatever. If I have time, I like to answer people's questions. Sometimes, I don't get around to it but I try to.

Carano: I haven't been on for a while but I will. I will go on there every once in a while.

Question: Is exciting for both of you to have that sort of interaction with fans?

Carano: Yeah, it is. I wish I could actually respond to more because I really get some amazingly heart-felt messages on that site. The problem with responding is if I do respond then people, you know, think that we have a relationship and then they start wondering why I don't write back all the time and they start writing to me all the time and it kind of gets hectic. So I usually don't respond to messages. But I want people to know I do read and appreciate them.

Question: Kaitlin, what was the feeling after you won a Hook 'n Shoot tournament by stopping three opponents in one night in a combined 1:52 or 1:53 seconds. Also, what is your personal and schooling background?

Young: Well, I started Olympic style Taekwondo a long time ago when I was 14. For those who don't know what it is, it's full contact but it's basically above the waist. It's like boxing with your feet, is the best way I can describe it. I did that for a long time. Then I got started in amateur kickboxing and made the switch to MMA this last year. I'm a student at the University of Minnesota studying kinesiology, which is exercise science if you are not familiar with that. I am going to be dropping down to part-time after this semester because it's too much with fight training. I don't concentrate enough on school.

Question What's your GPA?

Young: I want to say around 3.0.

Question: Gary, do you have any idea when you may launch women's titles and would there be two of them in two different weight classes?

Shaw: There might be more depending on how many more women. I would think we would love to fight the winner of this fight for a title in the fall. So we would give the first women's title out sometime in the fall. The other titles will depend on how many different weight classes we wind up with. We'll wait until we have legitimate weight classes, legitimate amount of fighters that we're proud of, then we'll introduce a belt at that time. Not before.

Question: So 140 would probably be your first one?

Shaw: Yes.

Question: So the winner between Gina and Kaitlin wouldn't be fighting on the second CBS card in July, but some other time?

Shaw: Correct. I think that we're looking to bring these girls back probably around September.

Question: You mentioned Rockstar and Burger King as sponsors. Are there going to be additional ones or are those the two main ones?

Shaw: There are additional ones but the main sponsors right now are Burger King and Rockstar. But there are other sponsors on board already.

Question: You were listed at 155 on "American Gladiators." So is it a fair assumption you are working within a 15-pound range to cut this weight in the next couple weeks?

Carano: I'm thinking by the time I get to New Jersey it will probably be a five- or six pound weight cut.

Question: Gina, do you actually enjoy the weight cutting process?

Carano: Well, you hit a point of complete exhaustion and of complete emptiness. And you just don't care and you kind of enter this like euphoric state I guess. It can kind of be a dangerously addicting thing.

Question: Gary, what are your expectations for this first show and for the company, in general, for its future.

Shaw: I thank you for the question. We're not embarrassed about our numbers. We're losing money. We'll probably lose more money. But that's what start-ups do. There are very few companies that start from day one and make money. It's about staying power. The UFC lost over $35 million before they (got a) push. We know we have the product. We know we have the fighters. Gina can speak for herself, but all the fighters that have come with us are happy they came with us. They didn't jump ship. They don't read the reports. They know at the end of the fight they get paid what we promise them. We've never breached a contract. And we've taken people like Gina Carano, who no one knew and we made her a huge star. And we're doing that with Kimbo and Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields and Nick Diaz and other fighters that have fought for us. So are we losing money? Yes, we're losing money. Are we going to be here long term? Yes, we're going to be here long term. We're the only company out there that has a SHOWTIME type deal and a CBS deal. Nobody else has that to offer to any athlete. And for the fighters that fight on May 31, the following day when they walk through an airport everybody will know them. Just like those reality shows, "Survivor" -- shows like that, they're going to be instantaneous stars. So we're going be here for a long time. We're number two behind the UFC, there's no question. We're Pepsi to Coke. We're Avis to Hertz. But it's not always a bad place to be. As I said, we're far, far away from 16 months ago when we started. I don't think anybody would have ever believed that we would have been on SHOWTIME, we would have been going on CBS, and we'd have the rosters that we have, the product that we have in 16 short months. So where we were a lap behind the UFC. I tell everybody that knows NASCAR, they better look out of their rearview mirror because we're right on their bumper. And it's not a bad place to be. I don't know if that answers your question. I'm speaking to it. I'm not being protective of it because I think the future is so bright for our company and so bright for the fighters that fight for us. We treat all of our fighters like champions. And Gina can tell you how she is treated and the guys can tell you how they're treated. I think, you know, we treat them like they're all champions, belt or no belt.

Question: Gary, when do you think you will move to the pay-per-view realm? How close do you think your company is to that?

Shaw: My company is the same as my boxing career has been. I do pay-per-views when they're worthy of pay-per-views and I'm not embarrassed to ask people for their money and the fans for their money. I don't think you should be asking fans for their money every single month. Pay me to see my fighters -- I don't believe in that. I believe we have a great model with SHOWTIME. We put on great fights. It's people television. And this is free television on CBS. You just need a plug, a screen and rabbit ears and you are in business. So we'll do a pay-per-view when we have a fight that we believe is worthy of pay-per-view, but not until then. Look, we gave you (Frank) Shamrock and Cung Lee. That was a spectacular card, a great fight. We gave it free. I think asking fans to pay every single month, you are just ripping them off. And that's wrong and I'm not going to be a party to that. And our company won't be a party to that.

Question: Gary, (in terms of) social networking, this (ProElite.com) seems to open the door for people to talk about all MMA.

Shaw: Yes. We wanted to do a site that helped MMA. I am a believer that the stronger we make mixed martial arts, the better it will be for EliteXC and the better it will be for the fighters. I've always used this expression and I hope this answers your question: If you have one restaurant on the street, good or bad, it's only a restaurant. If you have many restaurants on the street, then it becomes restaurant row. And the fans grow and people go to eat there because they says 'let's go to restaurant row, there's this, this and that.' So I'm not a believer, like the UFC and Dana White, of crushing everyone around you. I'm more of a believer of working with everybody around us, build the sport of mixed martial arts and educate the people that aren't fans out there. Hopefully it will become an Olympic sport. The fighters know the discipline that's required. They're highly disciplined fighters. So we work with others. We loan Nick Diaz. So there are things out there that we believe in that will make the sport stronger. We're all about mixed martial arts. It's not just about EliteXC.

Question: The IFL is very interested in the notion of having unified champions, wherever it's possible or practical. Would that be something you would want to get involved with?

Shaw: I'm all for it. I know Jay Larkin very well. I'd love to fight for an IFL belt. If they want to do women's, we'll fight for a women's IFL belt. We'll put our belt at risk as well. I believe in it. Women like jewelry. The more belts the better for them. They like accessories. So why not fight for an IFL belt or a DREAM belt. I've always said all along, we'll put anybody on SHOWTIME or CBS. If they're legitimate fighters, I don't care if they fight for the UFC. What's good for the sport is good for my athletes is good for our brand.

Question: Kaitlin, how have the finals (in school) been going?

Young: You know, I have two tomorrow morning, then two Friday morning. So studying is fine. But I haven't actually taken them or gotten the results yet, so we'll see.

Question: What's it like working at the gym you are, especially (from a) grappling (standpoint) when you consider Sean Shirk and Brock Lesnar both train at the same gym. Do you feel that you're getting a lot more wrestling training and lot more grappling training?

Young: Yeah. Obviously, Lesnar working with me would be hilarious just thinking of the physics of that. So I don't ever do anything with him. But Sean has helped me a lot with takedown offense and that kind of thing. He's been super helpful.

Question: Gary, what are your thoughts on live TV versus pay-per-view?

Shaw: We'll do a pay-per-view when a fight warrants itself for pay-per-view. There's a misnomer out there about pay-per-view; that if you become a pay-per-view fighter you have really arrived. Well, a good pay-per-view today does 200,000 or 300,000 buys. This fight on May 31 live on CBS has the ability to bring 100 million eyeballs. I mean the numbers are staggering. You could be on pay-per-view once a month and nobody will know who you are when you get to the train station. I am telling you live TV is the real place to be. That's where the notoriety comes from. Not from pay-per-view. I can name you fighters that have fought pay-per-view and most of you won't even know their names -- both in boxing and mixed martial arts. You can prove it because you can bring them to 42nd street and Broadway in New York City and everybody will be walking past them all the time. But if you have the eyeballs as Kimbo has proved with YouTube, as we've proved with SHOWTIME, as we're about to prove with CBS, there is absolutely nothing bigger in the world.

Question: Gary, will being open in the free TV market help with websites recognizing you more when it comes to rankings?

Shaw: Well I hope so. I think those that know me personally know how I feel about rankings and how I feel about websites' rankings. When I look at most websites -- and I have to be candid -- I don't read the blogs, I don't go there, they don't rule my world, both in boxing or mixed martial arts. But when I read them, they're mostly all UFC fighters. That's because that's all these writers know or feel because everything's the UFC. But I can tell you I would put our women fighters against any women in the world. I'd put Jake Shields against anybody in the world. I think he is one of the finest fighters in the world. Robbie Lawler. I'm willing to fight Kimbo against anybody from the UFC, so you know we have fighters that are tremendous fighters. But they're not ranked because they're all UFC rankings. So I don't think my fighters take it seriously. I've never had a fighter coming to me and ask 'why aren't I ranked third? Why am I not in the ranks?' It doesn't cut any mustard.

Question: Gina, did the "American Gladiators" thing help with your endurance?

Carano: What it does help with is putting me out in front of people and getting me used to being in front of crowds and performing. That's something I definitely need help with. I'm a little bit more to myself. So that's what it did help with. Being around a bunch of healthy body builders and positive people, and a great production team also helped.

Question: Did anybody from "American Gladiators" say they wanted to be an MMA fighter?

Carano: You know, a lot of them have actually trained here and there in boxing or whatever they trained in. I don't know how many of them have actually fought. I think they're all probably pretty much sticking to the entertainment business. I think they found their niche and they want to kind of ride it out.

Question: Gary, did you have any resistance on the CBS side to putting a women's fight in the first MMA show?

Shaw: There was absolutely no resistance. Zero. As a matter of fact, they were thrilled to have Gina in the fight on CBS. I put the fight where I thought it should be for entertainment value and what I'm looking to do on the card.

Question: What is the challenge with mixed martial arts with getting people like ESPN to cover it as a sport rather than cover it as entertainment?

Shaw: I think we need to do a better job. There was only one player in the space for a long time. Now, there is us and a lot more. I think we owe it to the fans to educate the fan base and others out there to become fans about the discipline and this truly is a real sport -- because it didn't have its start as a real sport in the eyes at least of the American public. I can't complain about ESPN, they've done a spectacular job. We have two athletes that have now appeared on "E:60" -- when Gina appears tonight (Tuesday), we're getting coverage of their web sites. We're getting coverage on the magazine. That's huge. And we're being covered in a broad way like never before. We're backed up right now with over 85 requests for interviews from our athletes. And they're important stuff. And it's important to MMA, the sport, because it's not just a sport now. We're crossing over to those like "People" magazine and that direction, let's call it lifestyle, rather than plain sport. So I think we're in a very, very good place. I'm very excited about what CBS has brought to the table for us. Obviously, I always thank SHOWTIME because they were the ones who took a real gamble on us. But I think that you are going to see the coverage and it's going to be wide, a lot wider than any of you that are on this call has ever seen before. I think it's going to be good for the sport of mixed martial arts.

Question: What do you think about doing more than four shows for CBS?

Shaw: I think it would be spectacular. Obviously, May 31, I don't want to say it's make or break, but it's sure make or -- maybe its rather than make and shatter, maybe make and break. If we do the rating that I think we can do, and the fighters fight like I think they're going fight, and the match-ups by the fight team are the correct match-ups, then I think CBS is going to be all over us to do more than four fights as year. And they have that right in our contract to ask us to do more than four a year.

Question: Gary, what do you think of Affliction now having its own promotion?

Shaw: What a question. I think they're going to find out that they're better off in the clothing business. Stick with what you know. Stick with what you do best and don't try to be somewhere that maybe you shouldn't be. I mean, look, we're not allowing any of our fighters to wear anything with the affliction name. UFC has done the same thing. So wouldn't they have been better off being in the clothing business where they have a spectacular line of clothing and lifestyle brands and being branded in our show on CBS in front of potentially 100 million eyeballs than try to do fights that may not be competitive or may be boring. The names don't make the fights. The fighters make the fights, not the names of the fighters. And, you know, we're proving it every day with new people that we're bringing aboard. I can't wait for Eddie Alvarez to be a fighter on CBS or SHOWTIME. I mean we've got some great fighters in the wings, exciting fighters. But as far as directly to your point, I think that maybe they'll do one or two fights. My prediction: they'll be back in the clothing business.

Question: At that point do you think you would allow your fighters to wear Affliction again?

Shaw: When the day comes and they can e-mail me or call me and say we're back strictly in had the clothing business, yes, that ban will coming off that second. I always say this, and I'm stealing it from a boxing promoter so I can't claim the credit for this statement, but I sure know it's true: The desert of Nevada is littered with the bones and skeletons of would-be promoters.

Question: Coming from the world of boxing, what are the most significant differences you see in the athletes and the promotion of the sport?

Shaw: The fan base and the lifestyle. Boxing is not a lifestyle. Boxing's a sport that people go to that could be an event or they're just a boxing fan. Mixed martial arts is a lifestyle. They wear the gear. They wear the lifestyle clothing to the fights, to press conferences, to weigh-ins. It's a much more rabid fan base. The true fans are a lot more educated about the sport than a boxing fan. And when you are there -- when you go to a boxing match you can sit in the front row and wave to your friends until the main event comes on because nobody gets there until the main event. In mixed martial arts, everybody is there when the doors open. It just shows you the fan base. The other part is the demographic in mixed martial arts skews much younger. The other part that still shocks me -- and maybe Kaitlin or Gina can speak to it because I am really not sure why -- but in boxing there are very few women in the audience unless on occasion someone brings a wife or a girlfriend. Very rarely will you see just girls there; in mixed martial arts you see a group of eight girls coming to the fight. The place is it littered with women, fans, both with men and just girls night out. And I don't know why but I do know that's a huge difference between mixed martial arts and boxing.

Comment: (For everyone in the Southern California area, CBS Media Day is this Monday, May 19, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. It will take place at the CBS Studio Center, 4024 Radford Ave., in Studio City. It will be on Stage 4. Gina will be part of the proceedings along with Kimbo, Phil Baroni, Nick Diaz and Jake Shields. Also, this Monday night, May 19, from 6-8 p.m. at the Best Buy on 1015 North La Brea Ave., in West Hollywood, Gina, Frank Shamrock, Baroni, Diaz and Shields will participate in an autograph session put together by EliteXC.)

Shaw: Just to go along with that (theme), CBS will send out a release Monday morning announcing the announcing team on the first CBS card. We will have the announcers at media day. We are bringing in a cage. We are going to allow the people that have never been in the cage to go in the cage with Nick Diaz and Jake Shields. There will also be demonstrations inside the cage, so it's going to be a terrific media day.

Question: Kaitlin, what are your thoughts about fighting your first high-profile opponent, the highest, the most publicized fighter that you will be facing in your career?

Young: It's really exciting actually. This is the first time I have fought somebody that I've been able to see footage of beforehand. I think my preparation has been more complete so that part of it is really great. I think there's that much more exposure available because she is such a big star right now, so that works out very well for me. I'm really excited for this fight.

Question: If this becomes a fight of striking are you confident you are going to win? Is that how you'd like this fight to play out?

Young: Not necessarily. You know, it is MMA. I think this fight has the potential to turn into a fight-boxing match. But it is MMA. It's mixed martial arts. And it will be a mixed martial arts fight. It wouldn't surprise me if this fight goes the ground.

Question: Gina, you mentioned you 're not buying into your own publicity or own hype. Have you noticed that your profile has gone up as you walk around your hometown or wherever?

Carano: Yeah. It's definitely way up. It's not only my hype; I'm not buying into hype in general. I know who I am and I know how far I've come probably more than anyone. And I see where I am at in the sport. I just don't buy into it. A lot more people recognize me and that's a great feeling, but, you know, most people that are coming up to me are very genuine. It's cool.

Question: Gina, can you give a brief idea of what your training normally consisted of, how many weeks out you started seriously training for a fight and what you have been able to do for this fight?

Carano: Normally, I would like to train seriously for a fight for eight weeks. For this, I've been probably anywhere between three to four weeks. Again, no excuses. Whatever happens happens and that's just what's going to happen. I'm not feeling confident in what I can do. Then, you know, it's pretty much two days, three days sometimes, of just hardcore preparation for the fight and that's what it usually is eight weeks out. So, I'm just having to crunch it into three weeks out. And the difference between what I am doing now is, I'm kind of just keeping my mind clear and just relaxing. And we'll see how I do.

Question: Gary, why is the show in New Jersey?

Shaw: First of all, I live in New Jersey. I'm a former regulator (for the athletic commission) in New Jersey. For years, it is just something that if I thought I would get the opportunity to do, I wanted to jump at it. The Prudential Center is part of the AEG family, who I do business with. I think the Prudential Center's a spectacular place for the fight. When our fighters get there I know they're going to be impressed. It's close to New York City, major media including all of you. When you think of the demographics from Philly to Connecticut, I mean we're loaded with people, loaded with MMA fans. So to me it's a natural fit. But personally, going to the campus of the University of Miami for our last big show where, you know, I'm proud to say I'm a graduate, then coming home to New Jersey, to me that's like I hit the sweepstakes.

Question Gary, how are tickets selling?

Shaw: Very well. We're all out of all the $25 tickets, and I made plenty available. I think there are six $1,000 seats still left available. So we're doing very well. We have no complaints. We're going to have a full house when that CBS TV camera rolls at 9 o'clock..

Question: Gary, obviously you're aware of the comments of Sumner Redstone regarding the deal. Were you surprised by his comments? Despite all the gains that MMA has made in the last couple years, it is clear there is still a stigma attached to it. How do you combat that?

Shaw: Good question. I thought it was a, sort of like just a remark off the cuff. Because, you know, chairman Sumner Redstone has the majority stake in the CBS world, but also has Viacom, which has Spike, which is probably 90 percent UFC. So you can't be a mixed martial arts hater because he's got 90 percent of it on one of his channels. I didn't take offense of that. A little bit of setback? Sure. Any time anybody says anything negative, I think it's education. I think I've tried to say that all through this call. You need to meet these athletes up close and in person. You need to meet Kaitlin, who is telling you that she's a student. You've got to meet Gina or Kimbo or fighters out of other organizations. Not just in our organization, but other organizations, too, to find out that they're good citizens and that they're not animals or hoodlums. I think part of it is the dress, part of it is the fighting within a cage and how the sport started. But this is truly a discipline. It's truly a sport. I mean, go to the gym with any of these fighters and go through a training session. You'll have newfound respect for all these fighters. So I think we just have to really educate the people that it's truly a real sport and the two girls that are on this call are proud of what they do and proud of the discipline. And I think a lot of their friends and family admire them for it. So, education, education, education.

Shaw

Closing: This has been a tremendous conference call. I have a lot of respect for a lot of the questions asked. I've been on hundreds of conference calls and it's always the same questions to the athlete, tell us about your training, etc. So the fact you're all interested, both in our company, myself and our two fighters that I represent, I thank you all very much.

Question: Gina, with "Gladiators," did you have to tone down the kind of aggression you would bring into the ring for your MMA fights?

Carano: That's a good question. The first season they were kind of freaked out having me - well, it seemed like they were kind of freaked out having me be part of it. Because they're coming back to go over the rules of each event and they would just be directly talk to me. They're like no punching, kicking, whatever, don't check anybody out on the pyramid. I was looking at them like, I'm just here to have fun and that's exactly the way I look at it. They should have been telling that to everybody else because I'm used to being physical on a regular basis. And I was completely looking at it as fun and games. There were a couple times where I pulled guard or I wanted to go for a submission or something and I had to rethink it because of where I was in spandex in front of people. It's a good question but I didn't have any problems holding back because it's a completely different mentality.

Question: Gina, is that very much a case of having to switch on a different part of your brain for a contest like this?

Carano: Definitely. I have to just get back to Gina being the fighter. I have been in a completely different world for the last nine months. And it's really fascinating to me because I'm coming back to the fight world. But I like my little refreshing outlook that I have on it and it's really kind of lightened my load and kind of refreshed me. I am reminded I love doing this. I love fighting. If I didn't, I wouldn't do it any more. If it's something I love to do, I'm not going to dread it. I'm not going to run from it I'm just going to embrace it and I love the feeling that comes along with it. I used to get so nervous and now I feel those nerves coming back and it's like a whole different game now because I feel refreshed and I'm loving it.

Question: Is it fair to say that if this hadn't been such a high profile potential showcase for you, you might have thought twice about taking a fight at this stage?

Carano: You know, that's a good question, too. I probably would have held off and liked to really have put everything into my training for the fight. But that's not the case. So we're just going to do it. We're just going to go for it. Think I owe it to EliteXC, I owe it to my fans and I owe it to myself to get back in there and not spend so much time in between fights. I'd like to fight a lot more so I'm hoping to get another fight in this year regardless of what happens.

Question: Have you had a chance to compare notes with Laila Ali or discuss the challenges you're facing in MMA compared to some of the challenges she's facing in boxing?

Carano: Yeah, actually I have and it really refreshed me when I walked into "American Gladiators" and she walked into the room. I was kind of having second thoughts. I was taking myself really, really seriously. Too seriously even. And I told her I didn't know if I was going to do. I want to be taken seriously as a fighter and all this stuff. She looked at me and she's like 'you know that people are always going to say what they're going to say. So what you can do for yourself is just do what you do and have fun. You get just one life to live. So just live it the way you want to. And don't be worried about what people are going to say about you because they're always going to have something to say.' I read through some of the interviews -- I guess , the old interviews that were done on her and people just gave her a lot of grief about being Ali's daughter. It's just too bad. We're standout characters right now. We're doing what we love. People should be inspired by it instead of trying to bring it down. Look at it for what it is. OK, fine, I've got a 5-0 record. There are more females out there that have bigger records but right now people like watching me. In a month that could change or in this fight that could change or whatever it is. But it's not so say we're not skilled. It hurts. It hurt as little bit that the American public is so focused on building people up and watching them fall. We should just be more into the inspirational story of everybody's lives. Laila is a tremendous, awesome boxer. I've spoke to her trainer and she's awesome. I mean put anybody in there to spar with her and just watch her go. So, yeah, we do relate on a bunch of different issues. I'm just learning to believe in myself and take it for what it's worth.

Carano

Closing: I want to thank everybody for your support and for all the writers who look at it from a positive perspective. Thank you -- because it's not been easy. I can't imagine why people are still even asking the question, 'why is this really considered a sport' because there's obviously two professional athletes training and going against each other in competition. So I thank the writers, I thank the fans so much for being positive. If it wasn't for them I definitely wouldn't be where I am at in life. So I really owe that to them. And for all my trainers and for all the other female fighters that are in it, you know I appreciate that we're all doing this together and it's big event. I'm just happy to be part of it.

Young

Closing: I am also very thankful for everybody that's covering this fight. We're going to give you guys a great fight to watch. I'm really excited about it. I'm really glad to see the EliteXC women's division is growing the way it is. I recently heard they booked a fight for 130 so it sounds as though there might be another weight division coming. This is a very exciting time for women in general and women's MMA so keep watching.

Source: Johnny Bey

5/15/08

Quote of the Day

“Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.”

Albert Camus, 1913-1960, French Author and Philosopher

For Immediate Release:
X-1 LOOKS NORTH FOR REPLACEMENT

X-1 World Events is pleased to announced 22-year old Richie Whitson from Sitka, Alaska, will battle local boy Ray "Braddah" Cooper for the vacant X-1 World Lightweight Championship Friday night May 16, 2008, at the Blaisdell Arena. This championship bout is one of many fights scheduled for the X-1 World Events "Legends" card featuring the comebacks of Ray Cooper and former middleweight champion Egan Inoue.

Whitson steps into the Blaisdell ring 10 days after recording his third professional victory, a TKO win over Schon Ellis May 7, 2008, at the Alaska Fighting Championships (AFC 47) held in Anchorage. Whitson began his MMA career in March, 2007, and has a perfect 3-0 record. Whitson replaces Hilo's "Sugar" Shane Nelson who unexpectedly pulled out of the match. X-1 stripped Nelson of the lightweight belt which he held for only one year. The hard slugging Cooper returns to MMA after a 2-year hiatus and has a pro mark of 14-8.

One other change to the card has Chris Willems of the BJ Penn MMA facing Maui's Brandon Visher. Willems will be making his second pro appearance and replaces Danny Steele who withdrew for unspecified reasons.

X-1 World Events presents "Legends" May 16, 2008, at the Neal Blaisdell Arena. The event can also be seen live on Oceanic Time Warner pay per view. Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 1-877-50-4400, Blaisdell box office, or at all Times supermarket locations.


X-1 World Events presents "Legends"
Tomorrow!
Friday , May 16th at Neil Blaisdell Arena 7 30pm
7 pm prelimanary match, entertainment,Kaleo Pilanca

Tickets on sale at Blaisdell Box Office,all Times Super
Market locations,Ticketmaster.com or call 1-877-750-4400

Ticket discount Children 12 and under and Military.
Infants on lap are free. Prices starting at $25

This event will be shown LIVE on pay pre view on channel 260 and in HD
channel 1260. Time 7 30pm and replay at 10 30pm. Also Saturday at
7 00 pm. (Oceanic Cable)

Also LIVE on web at www.x1ppv.oceanic.com

To see the past X-1 events on Video on Demand. Channel 221 Oceanic
Cable.

BLUE CORNER RED CORNER
185
Hans Marrero vs Egan Inoue
Team Marrero Grappling Unlimited

170 welterweight title
Brandon Wolff vs Chad"the grinder"Reiner
Team MMAD Southwest mixed martial arts

155 lightweight title
Richie Whitson vs Ray"bradda"Cooper
Sitka Boxing Club Freelance

170
Michael Brightmon vs Kolo Koka
Gorila House Team MMAD

170
Dylan Clay vs Ronald"the machine gun"Jhun
brazilian freestyle jiu jitsu 808 Fight Factory

135 featherweight title
Albert Manners vs Kana"the
riot"Hyatt BJ Penn MMA
Eastsidaz

150
Chris"Red Bull"Willems vs Brandon Visher
BJ Penn MMA Wailuku boxing club

170 Amatuer title
Sean Sakata vs John"The Warrior" Visante
No Remorse Team Sit U Down

St. Pierre's love life makes headlines

Montreal fighter Georges St. Pierre is back squarely in the mixed martial arts limelight and that includes his personal life, it seems.

The tabloid Star magazine reported that actress-singer Mandy Moore has a crush on GSP, which has since escalated into reports they are dating (Britain's Sun) and Moore is in love (American Girls blog, www.usgirl.org). Other Internet outlets following the Star report simply described Moore as “crushing hard” on the Canadian.

Moore was in the Bell Centre crowd in Montreal last month when St. Pierre regained his welterweight title.

So what is the skinny on GSP outside the cage?

A spokeswoman for the 26-year-old St. Pierre says UFC president Dana White introduced Moore to the fighter backstage prior to one of the Canadian's Las Vegas bouts last year. The two are not romantically involved, although St. Pierre “did say that he would date her if given the opportunity,” according to the spokeswoman.

It appears the ball is now in Moore's court. The 24-year-old has previously been linked romantically with actors Zach Braff and Wilmer Valderrama, musicians Greg Laswell and Ryan Adams, and tennis star Andy Roddick.

UFC fighters and the ladies also figure in Chuck Liddell's entertaining autobiography “Iceman.” Liddell notes that after a night of celebrating his UFC 47 win over rival Tito (The Huntington Beach Bad Boy) Ortiz, he brought some company to his room. “A lot of company. I can't remember how many women, but I know it was more than two.”

White came to Liddell's hotel room the next morning and found two women asleep in the living room, two more in the bathroom and another in bed with Liddell. “None of us had any clothes on,” the unmarried fighter said.

In the “we didn't really need to know” department, Liddell adds he ended that morning by having sex while doing a phone interview with a radio station.

“Again, I'm not trying to brag,” wrote Liddell. “That is just the way it was. What else can I say? It's good to be a winner.”

Chase Gormley is hoping third time's the charm when he takes on fellow American Eric (Big E) Pele in the co-main event of MFC 16: Anger Management on Friday night in Enoch, Alta.

Gormley, 24, is the third opponent for Pele (11-4), replacing Gary (Big Daddy) Goodridge and Wayne Cole. That meant the six-foot-three 265-pounder has had less than two weeks to prepare, but Gormley says he's ready to fight.

“I've had a few fights that fell through in the last few months so I was actually in shape,” he said. “That's the only reason I took the fight. It was just convenient for me because I was actually looking for a fight, so it actually worked out perfectly to tell you the truth.”

Gormley (5-0) was slated to make his pro debut at 18 but put his fighting career on hold when he got a wrestling scholarship to Montana State Northern and then Lindenwood University in Missouri, where he was an NAIA all-American and placed fourth in the U.S.

Now based in Los Angeles, Gormley is managed by Ed Soares, whose clientele includes middleweight champion Anderson Silva and interim heavyweight title-holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Soares is a longtime Gormley family friend.

Fighting is in the Gormley blood. His father boxed and his brother, fighting as heavyweight Josh Dempsey, was ranked as high as fourth in the world in 1997-98.

Gormley trains full time during the week — his coaches include IFL veteran Antonio McKee — and works weekends as a bouncer at the Red Rock club on Sunset Boulevard.

After fighting in smaller circuits, Gormley is looking forward to the Maximum Fighting Championship.

“I feel like the MFC's going to be kind of like a huge step up from where I was so it's going to be nice to be actually treated like an athlete instead of just another body to throw in there,” he said.

And as for Pele, Gormley plans to test the 38-year-old's conditioning.

“I definitely think he wants to stay on his feet. So pretty much my job is to make him work, hit him with big punches and really see how his cardio is, test him out, see if he does have a gas tank.”

NOTES — Spike TV is airing Chuck Liddell's epic UFC 79 battle against Wanderlei (The Axe Murderer) Silva on May 31 (10 p.m. ET), following the TV debut of the documentary “Ultimate Iceman: Chuck Liddell” (9 p.m. ET). ... Some tidbits from Liddell's autobiography: Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality TV show cost the UFC US$10 million to produce. Spike TV paid nothing for the show, providing only the airtime while the UFC had to find the advertising. Liddell made just US$800 a week during the show. UFC president Dana White gave Liddell a US$330,000 Ferrari “for being a guy the UFC counts on.” ... The International Fight League will debut a hexagon-shaped ring on Aug. 15, at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Dubbed “The Hex,” the six-sided surface will measure 24 feet (7.3 metres) across and 27 feet 8 inches (8.4 metres) end-to-end and will be enclosed by five ropes. The IFL currently uses a traditional boxing ring.

Source: Globe Sports

FLORIAN TO HOST MMA SHOW FOR ESPN.COM

A new online show focusing on the world of mixed martial arts is set to debut exclusively on ESPN.com Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET. Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contender Kenny Florian, along with ESPN’s John Anik and Newark Star-Ledger reporter Franklin McNeil, will host the show.

“(It’s) kind of a fast-paced show on the current news and events going on in the sport. There’s a whole lot of guys at ESPN that have been trying to get this done I guess for two years,” said Florian in an exclusive interview with MMAWeekly.com.

The show will talk about all aspects of the sport, including various promotions including the UFC, EliteXC, Dream, and other organizations.

The Boston native said the deal with ESPN was in the works even before his last fight. Now the show has finally become a reality.

“Basically, I was contacted by ESPN about two weeks before my fight against (Joe) Lauzon, and there was some interest. They finally got the okay to do an MMA show, and they were interested in using me for this show,” Florian said.

It will be called “MMA Live” and feature segments with Florian, Anik and McNeil. They will discuss the latest news and notes from the sport, and eventually will look to add interviews and other possible ideas as they move forward.

Right now the show will be featured exclusively on ESPN.com, but Florian says with the right reaction it could find its way to television.

“It’s strictly going to be on ESPN.com. It’s not going to be on TV as of right now,” he commented. “Basically they’re going to do a run for three shows on ESPN.com and see what the response is, see how it does. Then if it goes well, we’ll do a regular thing on the Internet, and if it does even better, then possibly you’ll see it on TV.”

Each show will be 30 minutes long. It debuts on ESPN.com on Thursday, May 15.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC VET TREVOR PRANGLEY: "I HAVEN'T GONE AWAY"

It’s been six months since preeminent middleweight Trevor Prangley last stepped foot inside a competitive arena.

After being stopped for the first time ever in a fight during his career at the finals of the Strikeforce middleweight tournament by Jorge Santiago, he was in need of a long-deserved break.

After healing up from various nagging injuries and taking time to visit his native South Africa, Prangley has returned to the States renewed and ready to reestablish himself as a contender in the middleweight division.

Speaking from his adopted hometown of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, he explained his recent absence from the MMA scene, his personal restoration and the future of his fighting career.

MMAWeekly: First off, Trevor, what have you been up to since November’s Strikeforce event?

Trevor Prangley: I was going to take three months off after that (tournament). I had fought like seven fights in a fourteen-month period, so I was pretty tired and was going to take time off anyway. When I came back, I guess Bodog went through some changes, and so on and so on, and I’m just looking for new home now.

MMAWeekly: Speaking of Bodog, it’s apparent that they’ve closed down their fight promotion. What do you think about coming back only to have that happen?

Trevor Prangley: It’s business. They needed to do what was best for them, just like I have to sometimes do what’s best for me. I don’t have any hard feelings. I had a good time while I was there, and it is what it is, right?

MMAWeekly: Now that you’ve had time to just take a step back, recoup and get healthy, how do you feel?

Trevor Prangley: I feel great. I really forgot how it felt to be rested up and get back to training when you’ve rested. I don’t have a problem and I’m ready to go right now. I’ve been training for the last two months. I go down to AKA (American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.) every two weeks, and two weeks up here. I’m back in shape, ready to fight, and I’ve just got to find a place to fight.

MMAWeekly: Was the reason for taking such a hectic fight schedule out of a sense of urgency or some other reason?

Trevor Prangley: Basically for me, the more I fight the better I get. I think I improve with every fight. I just wanted to stay busy, stay in shape a lot better, but it was also a sense of urgency too. The money was out there. The fights were out there. So why turn them down? Now I’m sitting without a fight. You can’t complain when you’ve got the work, so you’ve just got to take it.

MMAWeekly: Are there still any residual thoughts from your last fight, or are you over it and moved on?

Trevor Prangley: It doesn’t matter. It was a tournament. Not taking anything away from Jorge either, but he had an 18-second first (fight); I had a war. Basically I fought two fresh, top-level guys in one night, and anybody can suffer a loss with that. He won the tournament, fought a great tournament, but didn’t fight the best Trevor Prangley there is. I’m not too concerned about it, it happens, and it’s the luck of the draw in the tournament.

MMAWeekly: Would you want a rematch under more conventional circumstances?

Trevor Prangley: I’m not the guy who hunts rematches. If it comes up, it comes up; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. It’s not going to bother me or be something I dwell on the rest of my life, you know?

MMAWeekly: Moving on to the present, what will fans see when you return to action?

Trevor Prangley: I think they’re going to see a stronger, faster and a better conditioned Trevor. I’m rested up and my body feels good again. I was falling apart before that tournament. I was going in there with three or four injuries, and two of them were really bad. I committed to taking it, I wanted to do it and I was excited to do a tournament again, but looking back in hindsight now I probably should have taken some time off in between there. But as I said, when the work is there, you’ve got to take it. That’s what fighters do; they fight.

I’m rested up now and feel 100 percent better than I did before that last fight. I was really burnt out. For me it’s a heavy cut (to make 185 pounds), and to cut it so many times in one year, I think my body paid a big toll for it.

If you’ve watched my fights you know I’m somebody that will stand in and take a couple (shots) to give a couple, and I’m trying to change that aspect of it. I’m trying to give more than I take. It used to be that I’d take the same amount or take a little more, just so I could deal out a little more damage, but I don’t want to do that any more. I really want to become a better fighter and not rely on having a great chin or just being mentally tough and working my way through it.

If you’ve never been stopped or never been put down, like I had, you get a false sense of security that you can’t be put down. So I thought the tournament was a learning curve for me, knowing that when you’re worn and tired like that, you can be put down by somebody, so I definitely don’t want to go there again.

MMAWeekly: Needing a new promotion to call home, what do you feel you can provide an organization looking to bring Trevor Prangley into their 185-pound division?

Trevor Prangley: Really, I think any organization I go into, will be beneficial for both of us. Right now I do believe I’m the toughest 185-pounder out there that’s not signed to an organization. I’ve always said I believe I’m a Top 10 fighter. I still believe that, and I’m not signed to an organization. I did some great fights for Bodog. Every fight I did there was exciting, whether it was quick or a long grueling match; it was an exciting fight. I didn’t have any sleepers in there or anything.

I changed my philosophy from when I was in the UFC; where I just wanted to win, win at all costs, whether you have to stall it out or not. I just want to go in there and fight now. I find when I go out there to put on an exciting fight I tend to win a lot easier and a lot more. So wherever I go, I believe it will be beneficial for all of us. I need a home and people need exciting fights, and I’m there to give it to them.

MMAWeekly: Sounds great, Trevor. Thanks for taking time out for us. Is there anything you want to say in conclusion?

Trevor Prangley: I want to tell the fans that I haven’t gone away. I’ve been quiet for a while, but I’m just looking for a home, the right place to fight. I’ll be back. I haven’t disappeared. I may be old, but I’m not done yet. I’m hoping to do at least three fights this year. (I want to work my way back into title contention) in one of the organizations; I believe I deserve to be there. If you believe that, you have to put in the work to prove it, and I’m ready to do it.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC SIGNS TOP BRITISH FIGHTER DAN HARDY

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Tuesday announced the signing of British welterweight Dan Hardy.

He is a staple of the U.K. mixed martial arts scene, having fought the majority of his career for the Cage Warriors fight promotion. Hardy is currently the promotion’s welterweight champion. He also fought his way to the finals of Japan’s Cage Force welterweight tournament before losing to Yoshiyuki Yoshida via disqualification due to delivering an illegal kick to the groin.

Hardy is a member of Team Rough House, which is also the home of fellow British standouts Paul Daley and Andre Winner.

“The plan was always to fight in the UFC when I felt I was 100% ready. But there were things I felt, as a fighter, I needed to work on before I made my UFC debut,” Hardy said on CageWarriors.com. “I probably could have fought in the UFC before now, but I wanted to work on my skills, my BJJ and my wrestling. I have trained as a striker since I was six years old, but have really worked very hard on my ground game over the last four years, including working with Eddie Bravo out in the States, and I feel I've got one of the most well rounded games of any fighter in Europe."

With an impressive 8-1 record in his last nine fights, including a TKO win over UFC veteran Chad Reiner, the multi-colored Mohawk sporting Brit enters one of the UFC’s most crowded divisions. Currently ruled by welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, the division includes many of the top fighters in the world including Jon Fitch, Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, Thiago Alves, Diego Sanchez, Karo Parisyan, Josh Koscheck, and more.

No information has been forthcoming from the UFC or Hardy on when he will make his debut in the Octagon.

Source: MMA Weekly

IFL LOOKING FOR NEW PARTNERS OR BUYER


During a media conference call on Thursday, International Fight League CEO Jay Larkin confirmed rumors that the organization is actively shopping the promotion for new investors and could even possibly sell the company.

“Are we actively looking for a partner or a sale? The answer is, yes,” Larkin stated on the call. “We entertain phone calls and questions almost on a daily basis from potential investors, potential buyers, people who want to get in the MMA business, people who are already in the MMA business.”

The news comes just prior to the organization’s May 16 event, which will take place at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. The promotion will then go on a brief hiatus until its August 15 event, which will feature a newly designed hexagon-shaped ring dubbed “The Hex.”

Larkin also stated that the company recently made significant changes in its business structure to cut losses. While they are actively shopping the promotion, they have received support from its original investors.

The CEO of the IFL also went on to comment that he believes solidarity between promotions is the only way MMA will survive and be successful in the future.

“This harkens back to something I’ve been saying consistently, is that I do believe the MMA world is a fractured world, and the way to make it a healthier, stronger, and a mainstream sport and industry, is through consolidation and roll-up,” Larkin stated. “There’s just too many little groups out there who are fighting over the same meatless bone.”

For now the IFL will prepare for its upcoming show on May 16 and then wait until August to debut “The Hex.”

Source: MMA Weekly

SENGOKU III SLOWLY COMING TOGETHER

With the fight card for Sengoku II finalized and the event set for May 18, World Victory Road has begun piecing together its Sengoku III event, which is scheduled to take place on June 8 at the Saitama Super Arena.

Bodog Fight welterweight champion Nick Thompson returns to Japan to face Chute Boxe fighter Michael Costa. Thompson makes his second start for World Victory Road having won a decision victory over Fabricio Monteiro at Sengoku I. This will be Costa's first fight outside of South America, most recently scoring a knockout victory over Gerson Gonceicao at Capital Fight in Brazil.

Several participants have been announced for the card as well: Pride superstar Hidehiko Yoshida, Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz, Chute Boxe middleweight Fabio Silva, Brazilian lightweight Rodrigo Damm, and Pride veteran Kazuyuki Fujita.

Source: MMA Weekly

AFFLICTION MMA PROMOTION NOW OFFICIAL

Tom Attencio, a vice president at Affliction Clothing, on Friday officially confirmed the company’s new mixed martial arts promotion. He made the announcement on a preview of Friday night’s edition of HDNet’s Inside MMA program, which is currently available for public viewing on YouTube.com.

Fights between Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia, as well as Josh Barnett and Pedro Rizzo, have already been confirmed by the fighters and/or their camps for the July 19 event.

Matt Lindland also recently confirmed that he would be fighting on the event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Attencio noted on Inside MMA that Lindland’s opponent would be the previously speculated Fabio Negao.

He also announced the participation of Ben Rothwell, Mike Whitehead and Renato “Babalu” Sobral. Although Attencio did not mention the match-up, the Xtreme Couture web site lists Whitehead – an Xtreme Couture fighter – as facing Sobral at the Affliction event.

Source: MMA Weekly

DAY TO FACE BISPING AT UFC 85 IN LONDON


The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Friday announced that Jason Day will step in to replace Chris Leben in a proposed bout with Michael Bisping on June 7 at UFC 85 in London.

Leben recently turned himself in to authorities in Oregon for a violation of his probation stemming from a past DUI arrest. He was sentenced on Thursday to 35 days in jail, effectively removing him from the bout against Bisping.

Day most recently competed on the UFC 83 event in Montreal, stopping Alan Belcher in the first round. Bisping also compete in Montreal, defeating Charles McCarthy, when the American Top Team fighter was unable to answer the bell for the second round.

Day and Bisping will compete as part of the main card at the O2 Arena, which is headlined by a bout between former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes and fellow contender Thiago Alves. The event is scheduled to include 13 bouts in total, the most of any UFC event since the 1990s.

-Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves
-Fabricio Werdum vs. Brandon Vera
-Nate Marquardt vs. Thales Leites
-Michael Bisping vs. Jason Day
-Rashad Evans vs. James Irvin
-Marcus Davis vs. Mike Swick
-Martin Kampmann vs. Jorge Rivera
-Paul Kelly vs. Jonathan Goulet
-Ryo Chonan vs. Roan Carneiro
-Thiago Tavares vs. Matt Wiman
-Luis Arthur Cane vs. Jason Lambert
-Jess Liaudin vs. Paul Taylor
-Neil Wain vs. Antoni Hardonk

Source: MMA Weekly

BRAD IMES STEPS INTO IFL TITLE BOUT

The International Fight League on Friday announced some changes to its upcoming fight card scheduled for May 16 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.

Heavyweight champion Roy Nelson had been scheduled to defend against UFC veteran Brandon Lee Hinkle. Due to an injury during training, however, Hinkle was forced to withdraw from the bout. Stepping in to take his place is another UFC veteran in Brad Imes. The bout will still be for Nelson’s title.

Fabricio Camoes, who had been scheduled to face Jim Miller, also had to back out of his bout due to injury. Following Camoes withdrawal, Miller also backed out of the fight.

155 lbs.: Frank Latina vs. John Franchi
205 lbs.: Aaron Stark vs. Lamont Lister
170 lbs.: John Howard vs. Nick Calandrino
155 lbs.: Zac George vs. Josh Souder
185 lbs.: Matt Horwich vs. Joey Guel
185 lbs.: Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Massenzio

Championship Bouts
185 lbs.: Ryan McGivern vs. Dan Miller
265 lbs.: *Roy Nelson vs. Brad Imes
155 lbs.: *Ryan Schultz vs. Deividas Taurosevicius

Source: MMA Weekly

SOUTHWORTH DEFENDS AGAINST RUIZ AT STRIKEFORCE

Strikeforce vice president Mike Afromowitz on Friday confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that Bobby Southworth will defend his light heavyweight championship at the promotion’s June 27 event in San Jose. He will face Anthony Ruiz.

Southworth and Ruiz met for the first time in November of last year in a non-title affair. Ruiz won their initial pairing by TKO due to a cut early in the second round.

Prior to the loss to Ruiz, Southworth, a veteran of the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, had won back-to-back bouts defeating Vernon White for the vacant title and defending it against Bill Mahood.

Since losing to Trevor Prangley in October of 2006, Ruiz has turned things around, currently riding a six-fight winning streak. His defeat of Southworth was the fourth victory in that streak. He has since added wins over super heavyweight Jimmy Ambriz and Brad Imes, another Ultimate Fighter veteran.

The event, to be held at the HP Pavilion, is headlined by another title bout. Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, currently ranked No. 6 in the world in the weight class, will defend his belt against American Kickboxing Academy fighter and Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Josh Thomson.

Source: MMA Weekly

Braz. Natls: Braga Neto and Souza in absolute final
Kyra Gracie and Luzia Carmem decide women’s

Once again, the creme de la creme of Brazilian domestic Jiu-Jitsu gets together in the Tijuca Tennis Club, and GRACIEMAG.com was there to tell the story. The 13th Brazilian Domestic Championship again brought together new and old talents, as well as lots of excitement for the public.

In the prestigious absolute category, Antonio Braga Neto, of Gordo JJ, guaranteed his place in the final going past four adversaries (three by submission), including an advantage win over Otavio Souza (Gracie PE) in the quarterfinals and a hotly disputed semifinal against Augusto Ferrari (Barbosa JJ), who had to give up from a choke.

The one to face the man from the Amazon in the final, which is also worth a ticket to the World championship, is current European champion Alexandre Souza, who was considered more combatitive by the judges after 10 minutes and a 0 to 0 score against Murilo Santana, of Barbosa JJ, in the semis.

“Tomorrow is revenge for the 2007 Brazilian Nationals. I’ve been working hard for this title and I’m going after it. I expect a tough fight, and that it will be a great spectacle, not to mention that I will also fight at weight tomorrow. All this has been a dream for me. Perhaps I’ll be on my way overseas after this championship, but what I learned here in Rio and what (Roberto) Gordo taught me was very important. I will always represent his name and wherever I may be I will be a representative of his,” said Neto.

Now in the women’s absolute black belt, Kyra Gracie (Gracie Barra) has arrived at another and will dispute the final against Gracie Cuiaba representative Luzia Carmen, who had one of the most exciting fights of the tournament. The semifinal with Luana Moraes brought the crowd to its feet, and after much back and forth fighting, Luzia had her arm raised thanks to a riveting 9 to 6 score. Nor did Kyra have it easy in the semis. The Gracie had to rally back from a score of 3 to 0 to win by 8 to 3 against Diana Menezes.

Luzia to face Kyra at women's final

Meanwhile at brown, the weight groups were going off, unlike the absolute, in which Fabio Gurgel’s Alliance reigned supreme and shut out the category. The winners were Antonio Peinado Batista, who had already won his weight division (heavy), and Leonardo Pires. The teammates tapped out the Nova Uniao athletes Daniel Garcia and Ricardo Henrique in the semis.

Check out the Brown belt disputes by weight

Rooster – Paulo Oliveira (Monteiro) became champion by beating Elvis Deyvid Fernandes (Alliance)

Super feather – Pablo da Silva Santos (Gracie BH) submitted David Moreira (Brasa) with a triangle and took the gold.

Feather – Guilherme Mendes (Brasa) submitted Pan-American champion Tiago Clemente (Alliance) in less than a minute with a kneebar, avenging his brother Rafael Mendes, who was disqualified in his fight against Tiago. “I took the X-guard and went for the kneebar. I went to have revenge for my brother and everything turned out alright, thank God,” said Gui.

Lightweight – Sandro Vieira (Brasa) showed a lot of resilience in overcoming Gracie Rio Sport Center athlete Guilherme Ferreira Iunes by 6 to 0 with two guard passes.

Middleweight – In one of the most disputed categories of the belt, Wencler de Oliveira (UGF) sunk a triangle on his opponent Rafael Torres (Alliance Sul), who by judges’ decision was disqualified for trying to flee the mat with the hold in place. “I’m from Sergipe, we don’t have support over there. I have to work to go to college and train at midnight, but the conquest is very gratifying,” said Wencler.

Medium heavyweight – Kleber Buiu of Gracie Barra was the big champion. After getting the submission in the semifinal with a footlock, Buiu, who used an arsenal of beautiful takedowns throughout the competition, went past Joao Zeferino in the final with a score of 6 to 0 (taking the back and takedown). “I’d like to dedicate this title to Lucio Lagarto (black belt and GB teacher). He won a battle against cancer and is an example to us all,” said the GB athlete.

Heavyweight – Before taking the absolute, Antonio Peinado Batista (Alliance) took home his second Brazilian Nationals title in the belt with a 14 to 0 drubbing of Guybson Sa (Nova Uniao). And about a possible belt change, the cheerful athlete said: “Getting the black belt depends on the general (Fabio Gurgel)”

Super heavyweight – Sergio Teixeira (DDR-JJ) achieved victory over Fernando Colombo (Gracie Floripa) after passing the guard once and getting a takedown (5 to 0).

Ultra heavyweight – Gustavo Dias (Chute Boxe) didn’t want to hear about it and took home his fifth Brazilian championship title (two at blue, one at purple and now one at brown) by submitting Alan Francisco (Godoi JJ) with an americana, when the score was 15 to 0 for the chuteboxer. Despite the conquests, Gustavo showed he was in no hurry: “Black only after the worlds.”

Source: Gracie Magazine

Gesias comments his bout against Aoki

Gesias Cavalcante was the center of some controversy at the GP lightweight, at his fight against the Japanese Shinya Aoki. The athletes made two bouts: the first was declared No Contest and at the second the Brazilian was defeated, at judges decision. After that Aoki left the event with a fracture in the face and Gesias did not took his place, due an knee injury. In a conversation with TATAME.com, Gesias talked about the second fight against the Japanese, with a possible return fight against Aoki and his plans for the future. "It has many things that I could have done, but there come the “if”, "and “if" my mother was a cow, I could have been born calf" said the Brazilian.

Source: Tatame

Jorge Santiago
By Marcelo Alonso
"Now I’m happy that we will finally have the opportunity to fight in Japan, a place that I always dreamed to fight"

Jorge Santiago, JZ's best friend

He was one of the first Brazilians to came to ATT (six years ago). He was also the first Jiu-Jitsu top guy to have courage to spend 3 months in Holland training Muay Today with 23 fights (16 wins and 7 losses), Jorge Santiago (1,85m/84kg) is being pointed as one of toughest guys of 83kg weight division. After four impressive wins in 2007 knocking out tough guys like Andrei Semenov (Bodog Fight), Trevor Prangley and Sean Salmon (Strike Force) and submit the experienced Jeremy Horn (Art of War), the best friend of Gesias Cavalcante, is ready to face another big challenge, the Japanese Yuki Sasaki (21-13-1). Very nice and humble Santiago talked with us right after a hard training session with his Muay Thai trainer Mohamed Owali. Check the conversation in the sequence.

How you started practicing Jiu-Jitsu?
I started training Jiu-Jitsu with Angelo Mandovani (Bustamante’s black belt). He took me to train in Murilo and then I went to AABB and started to train with Libório and when He came here (ATT), He brought me to came with him. By that time I was still a brown belt and had just win the Pan-American JJ championship. I started to train Vale-Tudo when I arrived in ATT, six years ago, when I was only 21 years old. Today I´m 27. Since than I did 23 MMA fights.

I’ve heard you and Gesias are like brothers. Do you live together?
Not now. Now I live in Coconut Creek very close to the academy with my wife and our 8 months old daughter and Gesias is living with his girlfriend. But we always came together to the gym, we have lunch together we do physical train by same time, that’s why people make jokes we are brothers.

I’ve heard you were one of the first Jiu-Jitsu fighters to improve the stand up skills in ATT?
When I started to fight in here in Hook´s shoot and AFC events I felt that MMA were improving and to be a top guy I should learn stand up fight, so I decided to go to Holland.

How you decided to go there?
Marco Aurélio went there. He met some guys from Gene Alckman (Drago, Melvin Manhoef, Badahari) and He told me that those guys needed someone to teach them Jiu-Jitsu, so I decided to go. By that time I was really interested about learning Muay Thai so I went there and spent 3 months in there. I taught a lot of Jiu-Jitsu for them but also learned Muay After this, I started to be more comfortable in the stand up fight.

Who was your best Muay Thai teacher in there?
Badahari, a very tall guys that already fought in K-1. I also got very close to Melvin Monhoef, whom I use to teach everyday and also Drago. Those guys I was together everyday. They were very inexperienced on the ground so I taught them in the ground in the morning and they teach me Muay Thai by night time. Today we are very close friends. They always came here to train Jiu-Jitsu with us and we always go there to train Muay Thai with them. Actually they helped Gesias a lot in the fight against Masato. The reflex of this hard train with them could be seen in my last fight. On 2007 I fought four times and won three by knock outs and one by submission. This is result of my train in Holland and also, mainly, by the excellent daily train of our striking trainer Mohamed Owali who is an amazing trainer.

I’ve hear a lot of good things about him. What’s the difference of Ali and the other trainers in your opinion?

He was four times world champion in Muay I should say that He has two very important points. First He teaches Muay Thai for MMA, He is pretty much focused in MMA rules, He don’t prepare his fighters for Muay Thai fights. Also He concerns a lot about improve the technique of each one of his students. Today for example I trained with him twice. In the morning He leaded a sparring stand up train correcting every details of my kicks and punches and tonight I trained only with him. It’s amazing the way He always finds mistakes in little details. When you train with him guy like that you always feel yourself as a beginner, but you also can feel improvement every week when you fight your partners in the ring.

What’s the difference of Muay Thai for MMA?
The fighter way of walking in the ring, the hand guard (because MMA glove are smaller) has to be closer. He also joined very well wrestling sprawls with knee clinching and He took away a little bit of the kicks, so I should say that his striking classes are pretty much focused in Boxing and the right way to move in the ring. Leg kicks are probably 40% of his drills.

What’s the secret of ATT?
I should say that the union between Andre Benkei (physical trainer), Ricardo Libório (ground trainer) and Ali (Muay Thai) is a perfect union. Besides being excellent professionals they make ATT like a family. Here there is no ego. Everybody is treated the same way. Even with all this excellent structure I should say that this family climate is the most important in our team.

What about Wrestling. Don’t you have someone taking care of take downs in the team?
Today we are working with Mike brown and Carmello, but I heard Libório is trying to bring a top guy, probably Darrel Gohlar.

What about your next opponent, the Japanese Yuki Sasaki?
We were going to fight when I were the champion of Strike Force tournament. It was supposed that we fight in the first fight of the tournament, but He had some problem with his medical exams in Japan and He could not fight, so I fought the alternate Sean Salmon (UFC fighter). Now I’m happy that we will finally have the opportunity to fight in Japan, a place that I always dreamed to fight.

What do you think about him?
I liked very much his fight against Dean Lister I was in UFC in that day. He is a very tough guy to be submitted in the ground who likes very much the stand up fight. He is Typical Japanese fighter who feels comfortable in any place (stand up or in the ground).

What’s your game plan for this fight?
I have to look other of his fights and try to find a hole in his game, but as far as I could see in his fight against Lister, He is a very tough guy, like most Japanese fighters and I’m expecting a tough fight.

What’s the Japanese fighter you like the most?
I think Kawajiri is the most complete among all Japanese fighter. I admire very much his game. He is good standed up and in the ground. I love to see him fighting.

Source: Tatame

Salaverry's Last Stand

To say Ivan Salaverry has seen a lot in MMA would be a massive understatement. When he began fighting in 1999, the sport was still outlawed in many states and the UFC was on financial life support. Fast forward to 2008, MMA is now the fastest growing sport in the world, guys like Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are household names and the UFC is making money hand over fist. While the sport has changed, the Seattle based Salaverry has remained the same grounded, humble and well rounded fighter that won over many fans. I recently had a chance to speak with Ivan, as he prepares for what could be his last professional fight, at UFC 84: Ill Will. The 12-5 Salaverry will take on the highly regarded Rousimar Palhares in one of the event's under card fights.

TK: Thanks for talking with me, how has training been going?
IS: Phenomenal. I had to take some time off after my last fight (a TKO loss to Terry Martin last May) to take care of a few things, but I've had a nice little training session and I can't wait to fight.

TK: Your opponent is a bit of an unknown, but he is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and has a solid 7-1 record, do you have a specific game plan in mind for him or are you sticking with what you've always done?

IS: He is obviously a very very good grappler and the number one rated fighter out of Brazil. I always train a good general martial arts base. I do a lot of striking and a lot of grappling. Obviously for Palhares, I'll try to keep it standing, but if it goes on the ground, I don't mind. I enjoy the ground. Either way, it doesn't really matter to me, but the strategy going in; we're going to keep it up.

TK: How much longer do you plan on fighting professionally?
IS: This is about it brother. I can't tell you this is it, no more for sure. If someone comes up to me with the right offer, guess what? I'll be back training again, but I've been doing this since 1999 and my priorities have switched over now to my gym and my family. I have two kids and that takes a lot of out you. Before, I could pick up and go train at Team Punishment or in Japan. Now, those things aren't as easily available to me. I love fighting and I'm not going to say "never." I really want to start veering into building up my gym within a team aspect. I want to bring MMA into the Seattle scene in a respectable way. I maybe want to promote fights and promote grappling tournaments, things of that nature. I also want to spend a lot of energy on my team and have my guys go on to bigger, better things.

TK: What made you decide to become a pro fighter?
IS: I just immediately fell in love with it. The same fever that's catching people now? I had that fever 12 years ago. The first UFC was phenomenal. Here was Royce Gracie, a skinny little guy that looked like my dad, beating giants. Back then, people didn't see the reality of fighting and thought it was about fancy kung fu moves and holistic martial arts and it really wasn't. It came down to fundamentals of good grappling and good striking, things like boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Judo. Those to me are realistic striking and grappling arts.

TK: You've seen the sport undergo a lot of changes. Talk about some of the biggest changes between the days of Royce Gracie and today.
IS: Elite athletes are now coming into MMA. Guys who are NCAA champions are now also great strikers. Amateur boxers and Golden Gloves champions are now learning to grapple. Fighters now have grown up watching the UFC from 1993 until 2008. Not only the UFC, but PRIDE, Shooto, Pancrase and all the different promotions that they've seen and grown to love. Back then, it was martial art versus martial art, now everyone are hybrid fighters, good at everything.

TK: If you had all the power over MMA, what would you do to improve the sport?
IS: I think there needs to be a way to give fighters more leverage in determining their own worth. Promotions are very powerful and can make it hard for the fighters to negotiate. Within that, there needs to be an organization, a situation, some form of representation or union just like any other pro sport. Unless you pay for it on your own, no fighters have medical insurance. You are covered during your fight, but you train three months before that fight! Millions are being paid to these promotions and fighters, if you really break it down, get just a fraction of that. There needs to be a place where we can go, to negotiate our own worth.

TK: You are fighting on a very stacked card, what are your thoughts/predictions for the BJ Penn/Sean Sherk fight?
IS: My favorite is BJ. I just love his style, I think he's a phenomenal athlete and a freak of nature in grappling. He's also not afraid to bang, he's a hard head. I think right now, he's on a good path. Before, his focus may have veered off a bit, but he's looked very focused in his last few fights. Sean Sherk is a beast and I won't take anything away from him, but I'm picking BJ for the win.
TK: Thoughts/predictions for the Keith Jardine/Wanderlei Silva fight?
IS: Wow, that's a good one. It all depends, if Wanderlei goes out there with the ferocity he showed in PRIDE, then Jardine is going to have a tough time. But Jardine trains hard and is with a very good team down in New Mexico. Wanderlei left his Chute Boxe team in Brazil and is now in Las Vegas and I'm not sure what his training is like now. Based on that, I say Jardine has the edge.
TK: Last, but not least, talk about the fight between your friend/training partner Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida.
IS: My support is absolutely for Tito. I think his style is one of the few styles that might be able to get Machida. Lyoto has an awkward style. He's got that old Karate style with a very diagonal stance. He's also no slouch on the ground, has beaten some no joke fighters lately and he's got a lot of momentum. Tito however, can nullify all of that, if he can bring him down. If he can put him against the cage and throw down punches and elbows, Lyoto's going to have a tough time.

TK: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
IS: I like to have dinner with my wife bro. I like to chill, go to Alki Beach and just look at Seattle. With my career, family and gym, there's not time for much else. I live a very fortunate life, so I'm allowed to do, what I love to do.

TK: How do you balance the time between training your students with your own training?
IS: I've allotted some of my training sessions/classes over to my better students. That gives me the capability to do my own two-a-day workouts (in the morning and the late evenings). I have a lot of good guys helping me out right now like Brad Blackburn, Shad Lierley, Bristol Marunde, and Maurice Smith. I've got a bunch of guys who are helping me become a better fighter and also teaching some of my classes. I think the students here can also appreciate me taking a little time off from teaching so I can fight in the UFC.

TK: How many students do you currently have, what's the typical class size and what's the overall feel of the gym?
IS: We have about 170. We have about 20-25 per class. It's such a great situation. I'm very fortunate that this place took off from the get go. I think Seattle really needed it because all the great MMA schools are outside the city. I just wanted something here and it's taken off. We have a variety of people who train here including students, business people, women, younger kids, we have it all.

TK: How many of your students are training to become pro-fighters themselves?
IS: Just a handful actually. My gym's focus is for people who want to do realistic martial arts as a lifestyle, not for competition. My fighters actually come train later at night because I try to separate those animals from the regular folks. What I try to do, is teach regular people the fundamentals of fighting; boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and submission wrestling.

TK: Do you feel a certain responsibility to teach more than just fighting at your gym?
IS: Yes, but only to a certain extent. I'm not a guru or anyone's sensei, but I do have a certain philosophy that I like to push and that's to be a good sportsman. Within that scope, I think things settle into being a good person. It's difficult for someone who works all day, comes in here and trains for 2 hours, to get into a lot of trouble. When you're working out all your frustrations on the mat or on the bag, then it's hard to be a mean person when you leave the gym. I'm lucky because almost all my students and training partners are really nice, sweet people.

TK: Any advice for up and coming fighters who want to make fighting a career?
IS: Wow. I'd say have your (expletive) squared. That means you have to have a job that supports all your necessities like food, rent, training, insurance, etc. You need to make sure your base is strong enough to support what you love. If you have rich parents; good for you! If you don't, you better have a good job that can pay for everything. That's when you can think about becoming a fighter because fighting doesn't pay until way later on. You have to literally fight, to get to the point of making money.

Source: Seattle PI

5/14/08

Quote of the Day

“When what we are is what we want to be, that's happiness.”

Malcolm S. Forbes, 1917-1990, American Publisher

PRO ELITE & DREAM ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP

At a pre-fight press conference held on Saturday in Japan for Sunday’s DREAM.3, officials from both Dream and ProElite, Inc. announced a working relationship between the two promotions that will include sharing of fighters and referees, as well as co-promoted shows in the future.

“In the last year ProElite and EliteXC and other brands have made a lot of progress, and some of our progress is due in part to our relationship with FEG and now with Dream,” said ProElite executive William Kelly. “We are sharing fighters. We are sharing referees. We intend to do co-promotions with Dream both in Japan and in the U.S.”

Kelly also mentioned possibly taking co-promoted shows between Dream and EliteXC to places like England and Korea in the future. He commented on the strong relationship between ProElite and television giants CBS and Showtime, and indicated that they will work to present EliteXC and Dream co-promoted shows on the networks.

ProElite also announced the intention of opening offices in Japan, with the hopes of putting on an EliteXC show there at some point in the future.

On the current Dream card set to take place on Sunday, two EliteXC fighters are already competing, as Nick Diaz faces Katsuya Inoue and Eddie Alvarez squares off in the second round of the lightweight Grand Prix against Joachim Hansen.

ProElite executive and former ICON Sport owner T. Jay Thompson also mentioned names like Kimbo Slice, Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, and Jason Miller as other U.S. stars that the promotion would like to introduce to Japanese fans in the future.

DREAM.3 takes place on May 11 and will broadcast live in the United States on HDNet.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC ON FORBES IS A BIG DEAL - BUT HOW BIG A DEAL IS THE UFC?

Mixed martial arts is featured in the May 5 issue of Forbes.

On the cover.

The headline is “Ultimate Cash Machine,” and it is superimposed over a photograph of the Fertitta brothers - Lorenzo and Frank - with sort of menacing, half-shaven looks. Underneath it - “How two casino moguls turned a violent fight club into a billion-dollar sports empire.”

We can debate another time, I guess, about whether one can truly be a “mogul” when one has essentially inherited their situation, but suffice it to say that what these gentlemen have managed to accomplish is indeed Forbes-worthy. I know a lot of you don’t read Forbes, but take my word for it - it’s a big deal.

In terms of revelation, the cover story itself was something of a disappointment, although for those readers unfamiliar with either the UFC or MMA, it might have been quite shocking to find out, for example, that a UFC event on pay-per-view can do as well with the key 18-49 demographic as, say, last year’s Ohio State-Michigan football game.

The story also has some background on how Station Casino Inc. was started by the father, Frank Fertitta Sr., and how the sons transformed the company, taking it public and taking it private again, and in general how there could have been $44 million available to pump into the UFC enterprise.

If they got most of the guts of the story from Lorenzo (i.e., if they didn’t do a lot of research on the internet or speaking with MMA “insiders” who were outside the bounds of the UFC), it is understandable that details are a bit sketchy as to how the UFC was somehow unsanctionable under the ownership of Bob Meyrowitz but perfectly acceptable under the control of Zuffa, the Fertittas’ holding company.

Naturally, there is the implication that Zuffa and the “new” UFC pioneered standard rules that made the sport more palatable to the so-called establishment, something that has come to be called the “Zuffa Myth.”

And then there’s the tale - well-worn by now - about how desperate the Fertittas were to sell after presumably blowing the aforementioned $44 million. I know it adds color to the success story we see now, but I wonder how much of it was embroidery.

One of the themes centers around how much the UFC might be worth. The brothers claim that they have received offers that are in excess of $1 billion. Maybe that’s true, but it got me wondering as to what the buyer would be getting in such a transaction.

This wouldn’t be like selling a company lie Coca-Cola or General Motors - ongoing concerns for years that are “corporate” in every sense of the word, distancing themselves from the cult of personality, seemingly giving the impression that they run on auto-pilot, with nameless, faceless power behind them.

I would think that a tremendous portion of the value in a company like the UFC, outside of the brand itself, would not necessarily be that which is intrinsic in the company, but instead what is contained in the creative imagination and vision of the Fertittas and Dana White. In other words, the management is largely responsible for the value, and without these guys in the picture that value would seem to get considerably lower. And I do believe that this is the case with the UFC to a much greater extent than it is with the vast majority of companies that would carry a billion-dollar price tag. I mean, if Vince Lombardi had owned the Green Bay Packers and wanted to sell out, what good would it do you to have paid top dollar for the team if he wasn’t going to be around to coach it? He takes a lot of the value you paid for with him.

And this doesn’t even address the fact that ongoing operations might continue to dip; to use the figure that is represented in the Forbes article, IFC controls 90% of the MMA industry. Well, that figure should be trending a bit downward if it isn’t already, simply by virtue of new entrants into the marketplace. Under ownership that was NOT part of the group that built the 90% position in the first place, one could expect that the figure would diminish just a little bit.

So maybe these guys are in a bit of a quandary - to an extent, they may have gotten too successful for their own good, because from a discriminating buyer, they may never really get what they think it’s worth.

Of course, that’s a quandary I wouldn’t mind having.

Source: MMA Memories

Silva both a fighter and a fan

LAS VEGAS – For many years, Wanderlei Silva was regarded the same way at Zuffa headquarters that Derek Jeter is at Fenway Park.

UFC president Dana White, who for years had been eager to see Chuck Liddell knock Silva unconscious, makes no bones about his feelings toward the man who was the face of the rival PRIDE Fighting Championship.

“He was my enemy,” White says unhesitatingly.

No longer is that true, however. Because on any given day, White will saunter downstairs from his office into the tiny gym located in the bowels of UFC headquarters to find Silva preparing for his fight with Keith Jardine at UFC 84 on May 24.
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They greet each other with an embrace and a smile and while away the time discussing their mutual passion for mixed martial arts.

Silva is such a fan of the sport, he said he’s pleading with White to make a match between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre, who currently are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Yahoo! Sports poll of the world’s best fighters.

“If Dana can make that fight, I’ll be in the line to buy a ticket,” Silva said, beaming. “What a great fight. I am a fighter, yes. It is my job, and it is a job I love. But before I’m a fighter, I am a fan. I love this sport.”

And that’s why White has fallen for Silva the way a high school football star might for a sultry cheerleader.

White is making money, and lots of it, in the UFC, but it’s a double bonus to him because he’s indulging his passion.

“The reason I got into this (expletive) in the first place is because I love it so (expletive) much,” White said. “Part of the way I run the company is from a fan’s perspective. If I want to see a fight as a fan, then I know it’s a fight that we should make and that’s what I do.

“Well, Wanderlei is the same way. You see the passion he has for this sport. He told me once that he’d rather lose a fight and have the fans going crazy instead of winning a fight where the people are booing. That’s the kind of guy I want in my company fighting on my shows.”

After a recent workout at the UFC gym, Silva was talking of his love for MMA and for pleasing his fans. He’s a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and probably could have won a lot of his fights much easier by doing more work on the ground.

Grapplers tend to have longer careers than strikers and Muay Thai fighters because it puts less strain on the body.

But Silva rarely uses his jiu-jitsu, largely because he’s aware that he’s an entertainer when he walks into the cage.

“The people love to see a fight between two guys who are standing up and trying to knock each other out,” Silva said. “Go to any fight card and you can see that. That’s why I fight that way. Give the people what they want.”

He has done that even during his current three-fight losing streak, which began in 2006 when he was knocked out by a kick from heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop.

Silva later was stopped by Dan Henderson and then lost a unanimous decision to Liddell at UFC 79 in December.

Most UFC fighters on a three-bout losing streak would be in serious jeopardy of being cut. White recently released a number of fighters from their contracts, including high-profile men such as Travis Lutter.

The company’s roster of fighters had swollen to much more than its normal 250, White said.

“We need to give these guys three fights a year, and we just had too many guys and it was getting harder and harder to give them the fights we owed them,” he said. “So we started to let some guys go.”

And have no doubt that the ones let go were ones whom White wasn’t particularly fond of watching. The majority of those the UFC has cut were ones White felt weren’t regularly producing exciting fights.

Win or lose, all of Silva’s fights are edge-of-the-seat heart-pounders.

But Silva concedes the fight with Jardine is a significant one in his career. He’s not interested in losing yet another stirring battle and is desperately trying to find a way to win again.

He hasn’t had his hand raised in triumph since July 1, 2006, when he defeated Kazuyuki Fujita.

“I don’t feel like there is pressure for me to win, but I want to win so I am training so much harder,” Silva said. “This is the hardest I’ve ever trained.”

A loss to Jardine would all but force Silva to drop to the middleweight division. White said, “If you can make the weight, that’s probably the division you should be fighting in,” but he respects Silva so much that he’ll let him make his own decision.

Silva is mulling it around and said he walks around between fights at 210, just five pounds over the light heavyweight division’s limit of 205. He seems a perfect fit for middleweight and would add considerable spice to a division in desperate need of a jolt.

But Silva also knows he’s capable of beating anyone at 205. “I have two wins already over the champion,” he says, referring to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, “and so maybe it would be good to stay here and try to get a fight with him.” But he also is realistic enough to know that as the sport evolves, it’s going to get progressively more difficult for guys his size to compete at light heavyweight.

Ultimately, he says, the move will be dictated by where he can put on the best fights.

“He just wants to be able to blow your mind every time he fights,” White said. “That’s how he is. I just wish I had 250 other guys like him. If I did, this sport would be so far in front of everything else, it would never get caught.”

Source: Yahoo Sports

SANTIAGO LOOKING TO FINISH SASAKI AT SENGOKU

American Top Team fighter Jorge Santiago will take on Yuki Sasaki on May 18 at World Victory Road’s Sengoku II in Tokyo. These two were supposed to square off in Strikeforce’s middleweight tournament last November. Sasaki, however, was pulled from the fight after failing to get medical clearance. Now, Santiago is ready to finish what he never had the chance to start.

MMAWeekly Radio had a chance to speak with Santiago amidst his final preparations for the fight. “I'm so excited,” exclaimed Santiago. “I've been training harder than ever. I'm prepared to put on a big show for the Japanese crowd.”

Since they were previously scheduled to fight, it wasn’t much of a problem to adjust to Sasaki’s style. “I studied him before because we were supposed to fight.”

While Santiago had mixed results in the UFC, he has rebounded well since then. After finishing Andrei Semenov in Bodog, he submitted the always tough Jeremy Horn in Art of War 3.

Santiago then went on to the Strikeforce middleweight tournament and drew Sasaki, who would have to pull out of the tournament. Instead, he took on Sean Salmon, who he knocked out in just 24 seconds of the first round. In the finals of the tournament, he finished Trevor Prangley in less than a round.

However, since his win in Strikeforce, he hasn’t had the chance to come back to the promotion. “I'm still waiting for a chance to go back. I hope I'm going to go back to Strikeforce. For now, I just need to fight here in Sengoku, but I'll be available to fight in the U.S.”

An intriguing match up for Santiago in the Strikeforce promotion could be its middleweight champion, Cung Le. Le is undefeated and just completed the biggest fight of his career, defeating former UFC champion Frank Shamrock to capture the Strikeforce belt.

He welcomes the chance to fight Le. “That would be perfect. Cung Le is a tough guy. He's a good fighter. He's got some stand-up skills. I would really look forward to fighting Cung Le, for sure.”

If Santiago were to fight Le, he would look to take him where no one else has yet: the ground. “Yeah, if I fight him, for sure,” he said. “I'm gonna choose the ground.”

Before he plans a fight with Le, Santiago has a tough test ahead of him in Sasaki and he’s not taking it for granted. “I'm really in my best shape,” he commented. “I know I can do it. I'm really excited. I had a dream to fight in Japan. It's a dream come true. I'm so excited for this.”

Santiago is well aware of the dangers his opponent possesses and does not take it for granted. “I think he's dangerous on his feet. He has a good jab and a right hand.” However, he also believes he will have an advantage on the ground. “I've been training all of the positions, so when I see an opening, I'm going to finish.”

Even though he wishes to fight back in Strikeforce at some point, Santiago has no problem fighting for Sengoku again either. “I still have three fights in one year. If they want me to fight in Sengoku III, I'm ready.”

With the way Santiago has fared in his last couple of fights, he believes he can finish this fight like the rest of them. “It's not going to be by decision. I'm going to finish this fight as soon as I can, in the first round or the second round. It won't go to the third. I promise.”

Source: MMA Weekly

END OF THE ROAD: ORTIZ PLANS FUTURE WITHOUT UFC


The end of the journey for “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,” Tito Ortiz, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship seems to be drawing near. The former light heavyweight champion has all but packed his bags to leave the company after his May 24 fight against Lyoto Machida.

“I really think it’s time for me to move on,” said Ortiz during an appearance on MMAWeekly Radio. “I’d love to finish my career with the UFC, but the way they treat me, it’s just… it’s really, really bad. It really hurts me. It’s really disrespectful towards me. I’ve given them 11 years of my life, blood, sweat and tears in that Octagon, putting my heart on the line, putting my life on the line, and they give me no respect for it because I’m outspoken.”

The outspoken nature of which Ortiz speaks is his tendency to try and fight for fighters to receive a higher salary from the various promotions, a battle he has been fighting for many years.

“I believe the fighters should get a fair cut of what they (UFC) make. They’ve made their money back time and time over, now it’s time I think for the fighters to start receiving revenue that they get because of us,” Ortiz stated. “I’ve been a person to be outspoken about that, and no one else has.

“I think Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell should be thanking me from three years ago when I spoke out and they started getting paid more money, and I started making more money. That’s what it’s really about, focusing on fighters of the future, not just being paid low sums like some of the undercard guys are getting.”

Obviously, Ortiz has been fighting a very public battle with UFC president Dana White. The California native can’t deny it’s a major reason for his departure.

“To me, it’s just with Dana White, he has such hard feelings against me, he’s been very disrespectful towards me, and I’m willing to move on,” he commented. “To not have to wake up every day and worry about what he’s going to say about me.”

While the former champion doesn’t deny the tough relationship with White, he also says that he’s ready to put all of that behind him and just go somewhere else.

“I really just want to focus on what’s going to happen after this. I’m willing to move on, I’m willing to think about the positive stuff that’s around me and diss all the negative stuff,” Ortiz said about his future. “I’m over all the negative stuff, I’m over talking about Dana… I’m very thankful for Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, for what they’ve done for me. I’m very thankful, and they don’t want to help me anymore, which is fine.”

Ortiz went on to say that he was negotiating for a new contract with the UFC, but ultimately the talks ended and the last fight on his current contract, the fight against Machida, will likely be his last UFC fight ever.

“At this point it’s pretty much stopped,” he said of the contract negotiations. “I gave them my first offer. They came back at me with some totally… I thought was ridiculous (offer). I held out, and I held out, and I held out until they gave me something else, which was a six-fight contract, and I don’t want to be held down for six fights with them.

“I want to go to a company that they’ve got respect, that’s the biggest thing. It’s not about the money, people got to understand, the money’s going to be there no matter what. It’s about a fair cut and being respected as a champ, as the fighter I am.”

After his May 24 fight against Lyoto Machida, Ortiz stated he has a 60-day waiting period before he can negotiate with another company. During that time he plans on attending some shows, checking out the production value and how the various organizations handle promoting their events.

He also talked about working behind the scenes of a promotion to help with marketing, while working to build young fighters and make new stars in the sport.

Specifically, Ortiz mentioned organizations such as EliteXC and Affliction as promotions he intends on checking out. And what kind of animal does Tito Ortiz hope to unleash when he works with a new promoter?

“I think it’s going to be huge for any company that does sign me,” said Ortiz about a positive relationship with a new company. “The marketability I’ll have where I want to put my heart and soul into it, as I did for the UFC.”

Source: MMA Weekly

HCF closes its doors
Minotouro and Babalu had contracts with the event

As with all big sports, accelerated growth causes some damage. The unexpected news that the Canadian HCF will be closing up shop came at precisely the moment in which the news of its sale to a Canadian television network was expected, which according to organization president Keith Crawford, would propel the company into second place, right behind the UFC.

The news as reported on the Sherdog website does not explain the reasons for closing, although it states keith and his partner Houshiar will remain in the realm of MMA events promotion. Brazilians Renato Babalu and Rogerio Minotouro had a contract with the Canadians, who organized only four events.

Rodrigo Minotauro’s twin brother’s next fight would have been on July 9th, while Babalu would have fought on the May 10th show, although there was an unexplained postponement and its seems the event will no longer take place.

Source: Gracie Magazine

5/13/08

Quote of the Day

“Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not.”

Ursula K. Le Guin, American Author

Fighters' Club TV Tonight!
Channel 52, Tuesdays at 7:00 PM

FCTV episode 58 will run in our normal timeslot of 7pm on Oceanic Channel 52 Olelo Oahu Tuesday nights, March 25, April 1, 8, & 15.

Episode 58 features:

Highlights from the Pacific Invitational Jiu-Jitsu tournament including:

1. Interview & footage with purple belt heavyweight & absolute winner, Kelly Grissom
(Relson Gracie Kaneohe Team)
2. Interview with tournament director Ronn Shiraki
3. Highlights & great subs from Jake Scoval & Luke Hacker from Longman JJ, Dustin
Grace from Kaneohe Team, Lenora from Team HK, Andy Marshall vs. Dr. Suehiro & many
more...

-HFC highlights from the Dole Cannery including:
-Interview with fight promoter Sly Kekahuna
-170 lbs HFC champion Keoni Bryant
-Interview with Koa Ramos with highlight of fight with Bryson Kamaka
-Highlight of Brennan Kamaka in action

Technique of the Week:
-Mario "Zen Machine" Sperry demonstrates the standing guard pass

Rob Demello's report
-Kala Hose vs Phil Baroni fight highlights & inteview with Kala Hose
-Extended unedited interview with Phil Baroni

Comments, Questions, and Suggestions to: fctv@onzuka.com

MIKE DOLCE'S ULTIMATE FIGHTER 7 BLOG: WEEK 6

I’ve been waiting two whole months for last night’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter 7” to air.

The anticipation has almost been too much to for me. I was like a little kid waiting for Christmas, only this was way better.

You see, Santa Spike had brought all the good little girls and boys a glorious gift tonight.

That gift was cold, sweet justice, served straight to the face of Jeremy May, compliments of Matt Brown’s left foot, leaving a broken, bloody nose and a suffocating mouthful of good old humble pie for Jeremy to chew on.

Now, nobody died, Jeremy is okay, back to practicing Jeremy-Jitsu I’m sure, so just relax a second and hear me out.

My reasons are admittedly selfish.

I wanted to see Jeremy May get kicked into a coma by Matt Brown’s foot for a second time! And with my DVR, I can relive that glorious moment anytime I need to crack a smile and pontificate on life’s universal truths!

You certainly do reap what you sow.

Before you cast me as some sort of evil and crazy man, I must let you know that I have my reasons.

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” – Romans 12:18

In my daily life I try to follow the teachings of the Bible. Much of the Bible I do not know as well as many others.

Some lessons though, have shaped the kind of man I have grown to become and Romans 12:18 is one such lesson.

After weeks of rationalizing Jeremy’s behavior to the cast and production staff as a simple social ineptitude, a cry for attention that should be sympathized with, I extended my hand to Jeremy many times as a friend and confidant only to feel it smacked away with a daily barrage of cruel misdeeds. Some of which I can not yet tell, as we are barely half-way through the season.

Let me back this story up a few months.

My first impression of Jeremy May was not very pleasant. Standing in the living room of the fighters’ house talking to my new roommates, I turned to my left and saw a tall, dark man standing in the open kitchen about 15 feet from me, wearing a burgundy and black bathrobe, styled and chosen as a direct result of one Mr. Hugh Heffner!

Identical in design to Heff’s in every way, except Jeremy’s “robe” was made of Wal-Mart cotton and Mr. Heffner’s “identity” is woven from the quiet dreams of pubescent American males and the sweet scented sweat of blossoming buxom beauties that all live just next door.

But, I digress.

The BAMF’s (as he likes to call himself) robe was open to the naval and tied in a way as to show off his bare torso? His hair was freshly styled with a gel-like substance and he appeared to have oiled his body with some kind of lube? He was pacing the kitchen with no true reason other than to be seen? It was quite creepy!

I slammed my eyelids shut as if I had just been maced and turned back to the living room wondering what I had gotten myself into. Where is my contract? I want to see the fine print!

“Is that guy really wearing a Playboy jacket and posing for a house full of dudes on the very first night? This must be a gimmick by the producers,” I thought to myself.

“Either he’s a homosexual or a bleeping bleep,” the fighter seated next to me said. (Well, he actually used slightly more offensive words than I care to relate, but you get the picture.)

Unfortunately for the cast, Jeremy did not turn out to be a homosexual.

Though, he did prove to be a big smelly turd…and no matter what wrapper you cover a turd in, it is still quite offensive to anybody in its vicinity, as Jeremy tried very hard to be.

That is my first impression of The BAMF, and as many chances as I gave him to alter my opinion in those first four weeks, Jeremy failed miserably each time.

By the way, The BAMF is an acronym for The Bad Ass Mother F***er. That is Jeremy’s “official” nickname. Yes, it really is. He made it up himself.

As far as training goes, Team Rampage really only had seven members, aside from the coaches that could be counted on as training partners, because Jeremy never actually trained.

Well, scratch that, he did train three whole times that I am aware of. Mind you, Team Rampage trained twice per day, seven days per week for six weeks.

Am I coming off a bit too harsh here? There were some positives.

As it turned out, Jeremy wasn’t totally self-absorbed, he stepped up and did his part to help out around the gym while the rest of us were busy training.

You see, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is a human being, and as such, probably has normal, healthy bowel movements each day, just like most other human beings, but being the champion of the world in addition to taking on this coaching job, Rampage was a very busy man.

Jeremy, possibly concerned for the health and well being of our coach’s sphincter, saw fit to follow him around the gym each day with his head shoved so far up his behind, I actually thought Quinton was a centaur for two full weeks!

Until of course, Quinton stepped into the Octagon, then Jeremy ran off to the bicycle.

With that much ass kissing, I’m genuinely surprised that Rampage’s backside didn’t get extremely chafed. Or, maybe that is why Tinactin was brought in as a sponsor? Hmmm?

Jeremy May proved to be lacking as a person, lacking as a roommate, lacking as a teammate, but most importantly lacking as an athlete.

He did himself a huge disservice by acting in a way that would ensure an inordinate amount of air time, yet ostracize himself from a terrific group of young athletes and ruin his reputation on an international scale.

Had Jeremy focused on his craft and trained seriously for his fight with Matt Brown, maybe the result would have been different?

Nah!

Mike Dolce is a cast member of “The Ultimate Fighter 7.” He is a professional fighter, strength coach, and sports nutritionist. For more information, to read past blogs, or to learn about “The DOLCE Diet,” go to www.MikeDolceMMA.com.

Source: MMA Weekly

ADRENALINE CEO ANNOUNCES DEBUT EVENT

Fledgling mixed martial arts promotion Adrenaline MMA is scheduled to debut in Chicago on June 14. Adrenaline MMA's CEO, Monte Cox, spoke with MMAWeekly.com about the organization's plans and it's first fight card.

"It's a nice card that's probably going to be shown on HDNet or something like that," Cox said. "We're going to try to make money and put on a good show at the same time. We're heavily biased here towards Chicago talent (for the first event) because it's in Chicago. I've got like 18 guys with Chicago ties."

Cox has been around the fight game as long as anyone and has worn many hats in the industry. Along with managing more than sixty fighters, the Adrenaline MMA CEO has promoted several events.

"I see Adrenaline being very much like Strikeforce. I think that's a good thing," he commented. "Obviously, Adrenaline has Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell signed. Those are two pretty good names. We have Eddie Alvarez also. I'm looking at the fight card, and... I have 12 guys right now that are UFC guys, and not guys from UFC 3. I have some current guys.

“My show will be, what I hope other shows will be like, they're a mixture. I've got a guy who's under contract with Pro Elite fighting. I have guys who are under contract to the IFL fighting. It's a mixture of a little bit of everything."

In getting Adrenaline MMA off the ground, Cox isn't looking to go straight to pay-per-view, which can be a costly way to build a following for a start-up promotion.

"If you look at my card and compare it to Affliction, I'm not going to be that card," continued Cox. "That's why they're on pay-per-view and I'm not. But if you look at it just from here's a guy spending hundreds of thousands of dollars just to make a fight card, well I have a pretty good show."

Although the first two Adrenaline MMA events are scheduled in Illinois, Cox plans to take it on the road in the future.

"We'll travel. Right now, I'm happy... I love Chicago as a fight town. My next show for Adrenaline will be September 6 and that's going to be at the i wireless Center in Moline, Ill. And that's basically the Quad Cities, home of the Miletich Fighting Systems. That show will include Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell."

Discussing the promotion's debut fight card, Cox said, "My main event is going to be Jeff Monson and Mike Russow. That's a really good fight for anybody who knows MMA and has been around. The one other fight that I've got that I'm really proud of is Terry Martin is going to fight Daiju Takase. Of course, Takase is a guy that has beaten Anderson Silva... Terry Martin is 16-4 and never lost outside of the UFC."

ADRENALINE MMA
June 14, 2008 * Sears Centre, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Main Event
Jeff Monson vs. Mike Russow

Main Card
Daiju Takase vs. Terry Martin
Zac George vs. Clay French
Tony Fryklund vs. Brian Gassaway
Jeff Cox vs. Bart Palaszewski
Taiwon Howard vs. Rory Markham
Mark Miller vs. TBA
Herc Hayes vs. Kerry Schall
Rob Kimmons vs. Hector Urbina
Aaron Rosa vs. Ron Fields

Preliminary Bouts
Dom O'Grady vs. Mike Stumpf
Joe Jordan vs. Ryan Williams
Joe Pearson vs. John Hosman

Source: MMA Weekly

Tim Credeur's 'The Ultimate Fighter 7' Journal - Episode 6
By Tim Credeur on May 8, 2008

This blog is going to be very different than any of the other blog’s from the show. During the show I kept a day to day personal journey about my experiences on the show. It is very personal but will give you insight into the mind and feelings of a fighter going through this very difficult process that we have come to know and love as the Ultimate Fighter.

“Crazy” Tim Credeur’s Ultimate Fighter 7 Journal

Episode 6

I would like to apologize to everyone for my lateness in turning in my Blog. I was in a panic because I could not locate my journal which by the way contains the show’s contents and if found and released would violate my 5 Million dollar gag order and get me pretty much skinned alive and massacred at the hands of Dana White himself. The cause of the problem goes back to my life long struggle with an extreme case of ADHD and my ability to lose everything that I put my hands on. I have to this day lost 4 wedding rings in 3 years. I found the journal just slightly to the left of where I usually leave it and I guess that was just out of eye site for old Timmy. Well without further ado,

Day 16

I had a pretty restless night of sleep that I would sort have to attribute to our team’s extremely hard training that takes place each and every day. I am not an expert and I do not know if we are overtraining or not but one thing I do know is that we are working as hard as we can possibly work. Forrest says “Control the variables”, we are controlling all of them and we are really controlling them if you know what I mean. Just about every practice is a ball buster but I feel myself getting better and stronger every day. I woke up really early and made breakfast and got ready for our day. For the am practice we really worked hard on our Muay Thai training with our coach Kru Mark Beecher leading us through a blistering Thai style practice. Beecher’s nickname is the Hyena for a reason, he is tough and no nonsense in the gym. He laughs a lot but expects you to be doing work and he never stops yelling and bitching at you to make sure you’re putting forth your best effort with every strike and technique you deliver. He has about 60 Muay Thai fights and 5 MMA fights plus he also has earned a legit purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu so he has a well rounded fight game and coaching style. His practices are really intense and very motivating for fighters. We came home after and eat and then had to go right back to the gym for the weigh-in’s between Matt Brown and Jeremy May. The stare down was brutal and I can actually see the fear all over Jeremy May. That kid really insulted Matt again last night by staying up all night and drinking. We heard he was just drinking water trying to play his games but it is just sad that the kid does not realize how ridiculous he is going to look. Many fighters have worked for years to erase the stereotypes that guys like Jeremy May bring to the sport, it is sad to see that after all that work this douche bag just ruins it with his pathetic and childish attempts to get attention and acceptance. Mentally Jeremy May is a small child and Matt Brown is about to do some spanking. He needs to learn a lesson and I could think of no one better to teach him than the one and only Matt “the Man” Brown. When we got home we rested until the pm practice because Forrest told us it would be brutal once again. We did a 15 min warm-up and then 5/ 5min rounds of hard sparring in the small MMA gloves. When we finished that we went over some Jiu-Jitsu Techniques and drilled for about an hour and then did a 25 min ground and pound drill on the floor dummies. We were all having a pretty difficult time standing up after the practice was over but it felt good to be training so hard like real warriors. No matter what happens I know I gave this thing my 100% effort everyday and honestly that is all I can do.

Day 17

This morning I woke up to a very sore back, extremely bruised body, possible broken nose, shin splints and no skin on any of my knuckles due to our very tough training sessions. I just love it but I am really overtraining myself at this point. It is not in any way, shape or form Forrest’s fault or any of the other coaches on our team for that matter. They tell us to take as much time off as we need too. They never pressure us to train or imply anything derogatory if we do not. They just provide tough quality training sessions twice a day that make you better. It is really up to you what you want to do with the trainings they are providing. I am extremely impressed with the situation and in this type of environment I can see myself getting a whole lot better at my overall MMA game. For the am practice we did a long warm-up and then we did 6 5 min. rounds through a variety of different MMA scenario stations. We covered some Jiu-Jitsu techniques after with Cameron Diffley aka Peter Parker and then did a warm down stretch. I decided not to train for the pm practice later tonight to let my body heal and rest from what it has already been through. In the van we almost died laughing at JT Money and his insane poetry. I just hope America gets to be privy to this guys amazing lyrical talent. Our whole team returned to the gym at 4pm for the Matt Brown and Jeremy May bloodletting. It is really weird fighting there in the gym in front of only 20 or 30 people. It feels more like a sparring session than anything to be honest. We all encourage Matt Brown and told him not to let the emotion get the best of him and to stay focused through the anger. He seemed very very relaxed in the cage. Jeremy came out acting like a douche bag as always. The fight started with Jeremy throwing wild uneducated Hail Mary bombs that had Matt Brown defending and slipping easily but not countering much. The fight went to the ground with both getting on top at different times and throwing heavy ground and pound. Then at about 2 min into the fight it seemed like Jeremy May was done, he was like that kid with the shiny new toy who gets his feelings hurt and then takes his game home with him so no one can play. Matt caught him with a hard knee and some hands to follow it up and as Jeremy fell Matt connected with a picture perfect head kick or face kick that knocked Jeremy completely out and sent him to the canvas in a heap. I felt as though it was a reckoning for Jeremy May and I truly hoped he was humbled and would now learn his lesson. I for one was going to give him a second chance. After the fight Jeremy was taken directly to the hospital and the doctor told Matt Brown that he would also need to go and get an X-Ray on his foot and leg just to make sure he was ok and it was not broken. In the locker room we all congratulated Matt and were really proud as a team to be 4-0 against team Rampage especially since 3 of the 4 were finishes. We were dominating those guys and our hard work and training were really beginning to show and pay off. 3 of us had 10G’s to show for it and Dante had 5G’s. At the pm practice that night Forrest told us that he was really proud of us but he was concerned that we were not fighting up to our full potential. He said we are all 10 times better than what we were showing in our fights and that he wanted us to think more about transferring what we do in practice to the ring more seamlessly and more efficiently. I could actually not agree with him more. We are winning but we should be destroying. I am going to really start working on being the fighter I am in practice in the ring. I sat during the pm practice and just really worked hard on mentally preparing myself for my next bout. I already had 10G’s but another 10 or 20 would really help Mamie and me out a great deal right now. I am ready to fight anyone at all even my teammates if need be. I am prepared to do whatever it takes and endure and hardship no matter how great it is for Mamie. After practice we were hanging out in the living room listening to JT Money’s poetry when Jeremy returned from the doctor. Right away he ruined his 2nd chance with me. He started talking about how he was actually dominating Matt Brown the whole fight until he realized he was fighting in the UFC (by the way, no he was not, it is just a reality show to get an opportunity to fight in the UFC and you are only fighting in front of 20-30 people not 20,000 screaming fans and cameras so it is not even close to the same thing at all) and it just kind of freaked him out and he accidentally dropped his hands and got caught with Matt’s one lucky shot. This guy is delusional. Matt Brown let him throw and defended everything and then just destroyed him that is what happened. At least when you lose be a man and admit it, you douche bag. I just can’t wait till he disappears back into whatever white trash hole he came out of in Florida. He is a stain on MMA in my opinion and if even a broken face knock-out does not teach him his lesson he is just a lost cause. Tomorrow is fight announcement and I think our last pick Luke Zachrich is going to challenge Dan Cramer from ATT. I call Luke the dark horse because I think he is a sleeper. The guy is Rich Franklin’s #1 training partner and he is really a beast to be honest. I am positive that I can beat him by submission but he can be really tough to takedown. I think if you use the fence on him that is your only real option. I think the fight might go the distance but I think Luke will beat Dan up pretty bad in the fight. We only have 3 weeks left until we go home. I can do 3 weeks anywhere standing on my head. I just really miss my wife. I can’t stop thinking about her and about her smile and her face. Being here has really given me a new outlook on how much I truly love her. I have been blessed with such a wonderful person in my life and I can never allow myself to take her for granted. She is truly one in a million.

Day 18

This morning Forrest told us we could have the am practice off. It was awesome and really something that we all needed. We still had to go to the UFC training center at noon for the fight announcement. Dana was there and had a really nice normal conversation with us. He is really a cool down to earth guy that just loves the sport with his whole heart. I have so much respect and admiration for the man and for what he has done for the sport I love so much. I just hope to continue to impress him and have a successful career with his company. For the announcement we had control once again and our last pick Luke “the Dark horse” Zachrich called out Dan Cramer. Dan is hands down the hottest guy on the show. He looks like he just walked out of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog. I know he is from ATT and made friends with my good friend Yves Edwards down there. I swore to Yves to watch out for him if we made it on the same team but we did not and he is going to have his hands full with Luke for sure. Luke is a tough dude from the Ohio camp of Gurgel and Franklin. Luke played linebacker in college for Bowling Green. He is one of the guys from the gym that gives me lots of problems in the gym. On the ground I do well with him but standing up we battle pretty good and he is very hard to take down and keep down. Cramer does not have very good stand up but he throws and his wrestling is also not very good either but he battles through it and gets it done somehow. Cramer is just very mentally tough and he does not give up an inch. I see the fight going a ways in because Cramer is so tough but I just see Luke getting the W in some fashion eventually. For our pm practice we did one hour of jiu-jitsu rolling non-stop. It was so much fun to get back on the mat and do some good old jiu-jitsu. I think I am going to send Nick Kline a purple belt in the mail when I get home. He is really good and slick on the ground. He caught me in a triangle the other day clean. I did pretty well with Matt Brown he is just a tough SOB. Dante and I mauled each other and I think we both tapped a couple times but we just love rolling with each other really. Dante has a really good foot lock he keeps catching me with and he is powerful enough to break it off if he needs too. Forrest and I went crazy on each other as usual but it was a great roll. Finally I rolled with Amir”TNT”Saddollah and I was trying to help coach him and help him along with some techniques and what not but he was having none of that. He looked at me and said “Just tap me as many times as you can and that’s it OK!!!” So I rolled as hard as I could roll with him and I was catching him early on pretty good but he kind of got better during the roll and I was starting to have trouble with him. That guy is very resilient and learns quickly he even began to counter correctly and get me in some bad positions. As always I am very impressed with Amir, the kid is intense and a quick learner, I envy his drive and determination. He is an awesome training partner to work out with. He keeps shit real, no bullshit rolling or sparring with Amir only 100% or you’re getting an earful, I love it. When we got home I made diner and a bunch of guys eat my leftovers as always and then me, Dante, Matt Brown and Amir played spades for about 2 hours. Dante and I killed them this time. The nightly hot tub ritual keeps us all in one piece and it helped me again tonight. The barbers also came today and I felt bad having someone else do my hair but Mamie. I had a great barber clean me up real nice; I might be hooked on their style now.

Day 19

I feel much better now in my body with the soreness and fatigue. I think physically and mentally I got over the hump and my body has accepted and adjusted to the conditions. Our morning practice was called “light sparring”. We did some technique and then proceeded to completely beat the crap out of each other for at least 6 5 min. rounds. My nose as always was busted open and spewing blood all over me and all my training partners. Matt Brown and I pretty much go 110% power and speed every time we spar. It is like being in the middle of a war the whole round. We are getting better because of it though. I sparred with Forrest again and he is just huge and strong. I got a couple in but only a couple at best. After practice Luke Zachrich and Dan Cramer did their weigh-in and Cramer was really giving Luke the evil eye. I think Luke has his number and is going to knock him out. For our pm practice we did the kick for a minute then grapple for two minutes from bad positions drill. With your partner switching it is a 6 minute drill and we did about 8 rounds of this. Then Norn our strength and conditioning coach came in and set up 8 brutal stations for us. We were to do one minute per station and Forrest made us do the rotation 3 times in a row. That is 24 minutes of non-stop plyometric exercises. It was rough. We were all crushed after the practice was over. I only weighed 190 after 202 the very same morning. When we got home I went straight to the supplement shelf, food and then right to bed. Training like this is really no joke. This is some real professional athlete type of training going on here.

Day 20

I woke up sore but ready to train again. We got to do a lot of technical Muay Thai training at the am practice with Mark. It really helped me out a lot with some things I do in my game. We did a burn out cardio deal after and I felt great. I eat at home and then it was back to the gym for the Zachrich and Cramer fight. From the beginning of the fight Luke just did not look like himself. It was like Cramer was just really throwing off his rhythm somehow. At the end of the first round Luke took him down and mounted him and began punishing him. Cramer gave his back and I thought it was going to be over but the round ended. Luke looked really tired in the corner and from the beginning he was taking shots that he should have not been taking. His hands were down a couple times but he was throwing back a little. Kramer got a takedown to side mount and then immediately went to the mount. From there it was all Cramer till the ref stepped in to stop the fight. Our team had suffered its first loss and we were all pretty devastated but none so much as Luke. I watched him sit alone outside with tears in his eyes and it broke my heart because I know that road and you go down it alone and it is tough. I think BJ Penn said it best “Winning is not that great, it is just losing that sucks so bad”. I immediately asked Forrest if I could fight Cramer in the next round. He said that it was up to Dana and not up to him. I asked for Cramer from the beginning when he beat my friend Jeremiah Riggs but the team thought he was too easy of a fight for me. I bet they don’t think that now. I just want to try and avenge my friends Jeremiah and Luke, nothing personal …. Well maybe a little personal. On the van ride home none of us said a single word. We were in shock and the loss was hard for us to swallow even though we knew this day would was inevitable. The pm practice was really cool because Forrest brought in one of his training partners and my brother-in-law Ross’ favorite fighter Mike “Quicksand” Pyle. Mike had just returned from a victorious fight in Canada for the Hardcore Fighting Championship organization. We warmed up hard then wrestled and did jits for an hour and a half. We trained non-stop and it was awesome. It took Mike about 10 min. to finally pass my guard and then he caught me in a head and arm choke. I was just so impressed with his ground game. He is really smooth and very knowledgeable. After practice Forrest offered to give my wife Mamie a call on Valentine’s Day and tell her I love her. That is a really cool offer and I plan on taking him up on the offer. I am sure she has no idea that Forrest Griffin is going to call her for Valentine’s Day. That will be pretty funny I guess. I miss her so much. It is only 3 weeks left and I got the most important fights of my young life ahead of me. I can’t believe I even made it to the 32 much less the final 8 now but I am here to win this thing and I am giving it my all in practice and in controlling the variables. I will not fail. I will fight to my last breadth because I have promised someone the world and she deserves it so I see to deliver no matter what the cost to myself.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank some of my sponsors for all of their help, support and hard work in my career. Third Coast Combat is definitely reping the Deep South (www.thirdcoastcombat.com). Assassin Athletics is a new and enterprising company down here supporting local fighters and myself as well (www.assassinathletics.com). Rocky and Kevin Miller from Xtreme Nutrition of Lafayette at both locations have gone above and beyond to really help my career in terms of suppliments and diet thanks a ton guys (www.xnonline.net). John Ouano at Ouano Kimonos has been sponsoring me with GI’s and supplies for the last ten years plus he has been a jiu-jitsu teacher and mentor all of my jiu-jitsu career, John you will never be forgotten (www.ouano.com). Scotty, Gumby and all the guys at On the Mat have been brother’s in arms for many years and have always supported me thanks a million guys (www.onthemat.com). All the guys at Manto Fight have been amazing with their sponsorship and their interests in my career thanks guys (www.mantofight.com) . Courtesy Mazda of Lafayette is a new sponsor that has come on board and really taken a chance with me I promise you won’t regret it Paul Stroderd. City Bar in Downtown Lafayette thanks for all of the support and love. I would also like to thank Barczyk Chiropractor Group and Dr. Barczyk for all his help. Dr. Thomas Montgomery and all his staff have been amazing thank you as well. I would never be here without my mentor and master Rodrigo Medeiros who has been a real life Mr. Miyagi to me in my life, your work with me has changed my life and I thank you (www.bjjrevolutionteam.com). Last but not least I would like to thank everyone out there who has believed in me and made my career possible there are just too many to name. To all my students never stop training and remember the secret is in the journey not the destination.

This blog is my personal opinions and personal experience from the show. I cannot speak for anyone else but this is how Tim Credeur see’s it so enjoy it. If you have any questions concerns of comments please hit me up on www.myspace.com/crazytimbjj or crazytimbjj@yahoo.com.

Don’t miss the party every Wednesday night at City Bar Downtown. Please attend if you can it will be a great time to support your local UFC fighter and I am down to earth and cool so feel free to come introduce yourself and ask me any questions you have or discuss fights. I am the guy that looks like a wilder beast. I will also be selling the new "Crazy" Tim T-shirts that you can view on my myspace page. Until next week keep on fighting.

Source: MMA Fighting

Dana White exalts Wand
“I’d like to have 250 guys like him”

The fight against Keith Jardine on May 24, at UFC 84, will be Wanderlei Silva’s second since his return to the UFC. In his debut for the organization, the former Pride champion was overcome by Chuck Liddell. The loss was his third in his last three appearances, but was far from shaking the prestigious Brazilian fighter in the eyes of Dana White, UFC president.

“You see the passion he has for the sport. Once he told me he’d rather lose a fight driving the fans wild than win the fight with people booing. That’s the kind of guy I want in my company, fighting in my event. He just wants to be able to drive you wild every time he fights. And that’s how he is. I’d like to have 250 guys just like him. If I had them, this sport would be way beyond anything else, and would be unmatchable,” said Dana White to Yahoo! Sports.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Who wins? Wanderlei or Jardine?

At TATAME.com new poll, we want to know your opinion about Wanderlei vs. Jardine, schedule for the UFC 84, to hold at Las Vegas , at May 24th. Wanderlei came from three defeats (Cro Cop, Henderson and Liddell) and Jardine came from a unbelievable win over Chuck Liddell. Mr. Pride tries the redemption to return to win victory and Jardine tries to prove again that he is one of the top fighters at the weight division. Check out and vote at our new poll.

At our last poll, we asked “What would happen in a bout between Anderson Silva Roy Jr.?” and with 43% Roy Jones Jr. was pointed as a possible winner by KO. Anderson was pointed a KO winner by 19% and with 20% pointed Roy Jones by decision. 14% believed that “this bout is just marketing”, while 2% voted in a draw and 1% at Anderson winning by decision.

Source: Tatame

The Man who is going to kill MMA

Chuck Liddell has spent a career to make MMA mainstream. How quickly will Kimbo Slice destroy that work? Photo Courtesy: Zuffa, LLC

Mixed martial arts has come a long way in this country since the original UFC pay-per-view in November 1993. It has been a non-stop journey uphill to not only get the sport to catch on in mainstream America but to show the legitimacy of the sport and the fighters as truly great athletes. Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Rampage Jackson and Forrest Griffin are not only great athletes but epitomize the face of an all-around great fighter. All the blood and sweat and hard work are on the verge of being thrown away. On May 31st, the majority of the country will get to see a man that could not be worse for the sport, Kevin Ferguson better known to fight fans as Kimbo Slice.

Make no mistake about it, Kimbo Slice is NOT a mixed martial artist, he is nothing more than a glorified street fighter in a cage. If you don’t believe me, just check out some of his ‘fights’ on Youtube. Slice has entered the Cage three times as a professional and has seen a total of two minutes and 14 seconds of action. He submitted Ray Mercer with a guillotine choke in 1:12. He won via TKO with strikes over Bo Cantrell in his EliteXC debut in only 19 seconds. His latest fight came against MMA ‘legend’, Tank Abbott in February. That fight lasted all of 43 seconds before Slice knocked out Abbott.

Slice comes out to his opponents like a freight train and there is no doubt he packs a punch. His opponent on CBS will be James Thompson and he is the perfect foil to continue to build the Kimbo legend. Thompson is a six foot, five inch giant that will give the illusion of over-matching Slice. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Thompson has a glass jaw that will likely shatter and send him sprawling when Kimbo starts throwing his haymakers.

EliteXC will likely continue to feed Kimbo fighters that have no hope of beating him but will lose in spectacular fashion to build his ‘reputation’. If you’re a fan of train wrecks, then Kimbo Slice is your man. The smart move would be to tune in to check out the freak show and never, EVER watch another one of his fights again. Better yet, just tune into Spike TV that night as they will pay homage to Chuck Liddell, a real mixed martial artist.

Source: MVN

Dan Henderson: What's Next?

Feburary 24th, 2007: Dan Henderson Reaches the Summit

After spending the majority of his career as a good (not great) fighter, Dan Henderson surprised most of the MMA world with a knockout of all-time great Wanderlei Silva to win the Pride middleweight (205-pound) title. It was obvious that the fighter once known as "Decision Dan" had morphed into something more fearsome: "Dangerous Dan" and "Hollywood Henderson" were just some of the new and fanciful nicknames offered to the fighter who had previously been submitted by both Nogueira brothers.

While those submissions represent no large defeat (considering that the Nog brothers are two of the best submission experts in the sport), they did represent Henderson’s placement near the middle of the pack. Sure, he was always heralded as a talented fighter, but until the Wanderlei KO, he was not a star.

But with his new tools, a one-punch knockout and a now two Pride title belts (he also owned the 185-pound belt) around his waist, the former Olympic wrestler was primed to take his game to the top and set off for the UFC, the pinnacle of professional MMA competition.

Present Day: Uncertain Future
Henderson chats on the phone with MMA Madness, explaining how he’s 0-2 in the UFC and no longer holds either title belt.

"I have no idea what’s next for me," he says.

It is a startling fall from grace. Just months ago, Henderson was primed for MMA's first-ever Pride champion vs. UFC champion showdown with a chance to collect his third championship belt. If he had, he would doubtlessly be considered the greatest fighter of all time.

September 8, 2007: UFC 75 Champion vs. Champion
Rampage Jackson proves to be too much. Henderson is technically solid, but generally overmatched and, at times, outwrestled. The match was close heading into the fifth round -- tied on one judges' card -- but Rampage won the fifth convincingly. Despite the loss, Henderson shows that he can hang with the UFC’s elite. And at least he’s still got that belt at 185…

March 1, 2008: UFC 82 Pride of a Champion
Henderson cut weight to face Anderson Silva, the consensus best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Still, because of his wrestling background and strength, Henderson became a fashionable pick as the fight drew near. If anyone could beat Silva, the thinking went, it would be "Dangerous Dan," who seemed to possess the right skillset. "Obviously, my plan was to set up takedowns and pound of him for a little bit," Henderson said. "I stuck to my game plan fairly well. Maybe I could have opened up a little better…"

Henderson started well, taking Silva down and pounding to the best of his ability. Despite avoiding any real punishment, Silva loses the first round -- the first round he has lost since joining the UFC. It’s obvious that Henderson, through sheer strength and control, is taking this fight. Until…

"My body felt a little bit odd and fatigued, it might have had to do with the weight cut, which didn’t go as planned," Henderson said. "I got tired going into the second." In the second, Silva rocked Henderson on their feet before the fight moved to the mat. Henderson's wrestling background was supposed to give him an advantage on the ground. But Silva tied him up and submitted him via rear naked choke late in the second round.

"He definitely beat me. He came out ready to go in the second event after he got beat up," Henderson admitted. "My hat is off to him."

Present Day: Idling
His two titles now a memory, Henderson is still one of the top fighters in the UFC. But he knows he can’t ask for another title shot…at least not just yet.

"I want another title shot, but it’s hard to justify that considering I lost in both weight classes," he says. " They probably feel that I need to beat someone."

For Henderson, being second best in the world in two different weight classes is just about as painful as it gets.

"I’ll take whoever they give me. Possibly (Yushin) Okami at middleweight. Or at light heavyweight, Chuck (Liddell) is right in there. Even Wanderlei. I’ll consider anything," says Henderson.

Still winless in the Zuffa UFC and further away from a title shot than ever before, Henderson is steadfast in his commitment: "I’ll do what I need to do."

Fast forward: The Future
Henderson ducks under a right and pops with a jab. As quickly as it left, the confidence is back. The sweat trickles down his brow and into the cut above his eye. But it does not distract. Instead, Henderson focuses deeper and snakes under another punch, quickly finding himself in familiar territory. He’s felt this moment before…the Wanderlei fight…that left hook. Henderson fires his hips and slingshots the left. It connects.

Source: MMA Madness

5/12/08

Quote of the Day

"I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for me."

William Hazlitt, 1778-1830, English Writer and Literary Critic

Fighters' Club Radio Today!

Tune in every Monday morning for your weekly fill of MMA talk on the radio with Pat and Mark.

Tell everyone to tune in to AM 1500 from 9:00 to 10:00 am every Monday morning right after Leahey and Leahey!

On tomorrow's show we want listeners to call in and tell us:

"are you loyal to the HG or MMAHawaii or both?" and "why?"

i think we could get a lot of callers for this one, as there's something of a silent rivalry between the two.

fan-line: 296-1500

9am-10am
AM 1500

Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Tournament Date Announced!

On July 26th, Maui Jiu-Jitsu will host another one of their great tournaments on the Valley isle. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

X-1 World Events presents "Legends"
This Friday! Get Your Tickets Now!

Friday , May 16th at Neil Blaisdell Arena 7 30pm

Tickets on sale at Blaisdell Box Office,all Times Super
Market locations,Ticketmaster.com or call 1-877-750-4400

Ticket discount Children 12 and under and Military.
Infants on lap are free. Prices starting at $25

This event will be shown LIVE on pay pre view on channel 260 and in HD channel 1260. Time 7:30pm and replay at 10:30pm. Also Saturday at 7:00 pm. (Oceanic Cable)

To see the past X-1 events on Video on Demand. Channel 221 Oceanic Cable.

More info at X1events.com , mmahawaii.com , onzuka.com

185
Hans Marrero vs Egan Inoue
Team Marrero Grappling Unlimited

155 lightweight title
Ray"Bradda"Cooper vs "Sugar" Shane Nelson
Freelance BJ Penn MMA
Fight Cancelled. No replacement for Shane named at this time.

170 welterweight title
Brandon Wolff vs Chad"the grinder"Reiner
Team MMAD Southwest mixed martial arts

170
Michael Brightmon vs Kolo Koka
Gorila House Team MMAD

170
Dylan Clay vs Ronald"the machine gun Jhun
brazilian freestyle jiu jitsu 808 Fight Factory

135 featherweight title
Albert Manners vs Kana"the riot"Hyatt
BJ Penn MMA Eastsidaz

170 (Amatuer) title
John Visante vs Sean Sakata
Team Sit U Down No Remorse

145
Brandon Visher vs Danny Steele
Maui boxing club Team Steele

140
Tony Giraldi vs TBA
Giraldi muay thai

Source: MMA Weekly

HANSEN & ALVAREZ PRE-FIGHT COMMENTS

Joachim Hansen takes on Eddie Alvarez in the second round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix. MMAWeekly caught up with both competitors before they face off May 11 in Saitama, Japan.

Joachim Hansen is coming off back-to-back wins, entering this fight as the favorite, but many feel Eddie Alvarez is the dark-horse to win the tournament.

"We have similar styles and it's going to be a good fight," Hansen told MMAWeekly.com.

Alvarez respects Hansen's abilities and agrees with his assessment of their fighting styles. "Even before this tournament, I was a big fan of Joachim," said Alvarez. "I like the way Joachim fights. He's much like myself. He fights to finish the fight, not to win the fight, and I think the two of our styles, the way we clash, it can only make for the most exciting fight of the tournament."

This is the biggest fight of Alvarez' career and the American fighter recognizes the opportunity before him. "I realize the opportunity that's ahead of me, and it's allowed myself to push myself beyond barriers that I've ever pushed myself," said Alvarez.

"I believe this is the finals match. It's unfortunate that it has to happen so soon, but if we didn't get to fight, it would also be unfortunate. If we're going to fight, we might as well do it now and give the fans what they want to see. I think it's a great match up."

Hansen is a natural lightweight and has competed in that division his entire career. Alvarez recently moved down to the lightweight division from the 170-pound welterweight class. "I've been training very hard this time, so I'm a little bit under weight," commented Hansen. "I'm eating a lot to make the weight."

Alvarez will have a size advantage over Hansen, and expects to enter the ring well above the 154 weight limit after re-hydrating following stepping on the scales for the weigh-ins.

"I usually start my cut around 176, something like that, 176 pounds and I cut my weight down to 154 ," stated Alvarez.

"I would have never come down to 154 if I didn't feel it was to my advantage," said the Pennsylvania fighter. "I feel like I'm a lot bigger than some of the guys, and I'm a lot stronger. I've proved I can knock guys out at 170 pounds, and I think I can do it again here at 155, just in more devastating fashion."

Both athletes foresee conditioning being a factor in the outcome of the fight. "The first round is ten minutes and we're prepared to go ten minutes," said Hansen. "You have to be smart and try and save some strength to use."

"I'm in the best condition that I've ever been in, in my life," commented Alvarez. "I think a lot of it will come down to conditioning. We both seem to get ahead of ourselves. We're very aggressive. We try to finish fights, so that will be a key factor. I think conditioning is going to play a key role in the outcome of the fight."

FIGHT-BY-FIGHT: DREAM 3 PREDICTIONS
LIGHTWEIGHT ROUND 2

DREAM Lightweight GP Bout:

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Luis Buscape

Former Shooto welterweight champion Tatsuya Kawajiri takes on Brazilian Top Team lightweight Luis Buscape. Kawajiri has a 21-4-2 record and trains out of T-Blood with Mitsuhiro Ishida. Buscape has a 12-3 record and trains out of the Brazilian Top Team with Murilo Bustamante.

Kawajiri comes off a decision victory over Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill at DREAM 1, while Buscape submitted Kazuyuki Miyata at the same show.

This will be a rematch of a fight that happened several years ago at Pride Bushido 8, where Kawajiri won a decision. A lot more is riding on this fight than their first encounter, so expect them to take more risks and be more aggressive this time around.

Kawajiri has been steadily improving his striking in recent years and coupled with his wrestling, he should have an edge over Buscape. On the other hand, Buscape is the better submission fighter of the two and will no doubt look to end the fight in that manner.

Look for Kawajiri to be more aggressive this time around. He will secure a takedown right off the bat and begin to pound on Buscape with relentless strikes. Buscape will need to capitalize if Kawajiri gets a little too careless, throwing submissions from his back and looking to lock one either for a finish or a possible sweep. The fight will play out with Kawajiri pounding on Buscape en route to a decision victory.

Prediction: Tatsuya Kawajiri by decision.

DREAM Lightweight GP Bout:

Joachim Hansen vs. Eddie Alvarez

Former Shooto welterweight champion Joachim Hansen faces off with former Bodog Fight welterweight champion Eddie Alvarez. Hansen has a 17-6-1 record and trains out of Hellboy Hansen MMA in Norway. Alvarez has a 13-1 record and trains out of the Fight Factory with Stephan Haigh.

Hansen scored a dominant decision victory over Koutetsu Boku at DREAM.1, while Alvarez comes off a stoppage victory over Andre “Dida” Amade at the same show.

This is going to be the most competitive and evenly matched bout of the night. Expect it to be all action and vie for fight of the night honors.

Hansen is the better striker and submission fighter of the two, but Alvarez is the better wrestler. That could play a big factor in this one. Another factor will be which fighter will be better conditioned to go the distance.

Alvarez got tagged several times by Amade and switched strategies in the fight by taking him down and pounding out a stoppage. Hansen will be willing to trade, but if Alvarez gets tagged again, look for him to shoot for a takedown like in his last fight. The only difference is that Hansen will threaten from his back with submissions, unlike Amade. This is a tough fight to pick, but the difference will be Alvarez’s wrestling, which will win him a hotly contested decision.

Prediction: Eddie Alvarez by decision.

DREAM Lightweight GP Bout:

Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Caol Uno

Former Shooto Pacific Rim welterweight champion Mitsuhiro Ishida takes on K-1 Hero’s veteran Caol Uno. Ishida has a 16-3-1 record and trains out of T-Blood with Tatsuya Kawajiri. Uno has a 24-10-1 record and trains out of Wajyutsu Keisyukai Tokyo with Yushin Okami.

Ishida comes off a decision victory over Bu Kyung Jung at DREAM.1, while Uno dropped a decision to Andre “Dida” Amade at K-1 Hero’s 10.

Ishida has been on the cusp of greatness, but fell short in a loss to Takanori Gomi. He has another chance by winning the DREAM lightweight grand prix. For Uno, it may be his last chance at making another run at being a relevant fighter.

The edge in wrestling goes to Ishida, but Uno is the better submission fighter. Neither is known for his striking and it could go either way on the feet.

Ishida has stated his displeasure over Uno skipping the first round of the tournament and being seeded into the second round, while every other fighter had to fight his way in. Uno is a former shell of himself and this could be his last hurrah as a relevant competitor. Look for Ishida to take Uno down and pound out a brutal decision victory.

Prediction: Mitsuhiro Ishida by decision.

DREAM Middleweight GP Bout:

Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Former ICON Sport middleweight champion Jason “Mayhem” Miller takes on pro wrestler Katsuyori Shibata. Miller has a 20-5 record and trains out of Team Quest with Dan Henderson. Shibata has a 2-3 record and trains out of Japan with Masakatsu Funaki.

Miller in his last outing won a decision victory over Tim Kennedy at HDNet Fights: Reckless Abandon, while Shibata comes off a stoppage loss to Min Suk Heo at K-1 Hero’s Korea 2007.

Although the first round is already complete, this will be the last match-up of the middleweight grand prix. Miller never fails to deliver an entertaining fight and this one should be no different.

Miller has the edge in every aspect of the fight. He is the better ground fighter and the better striker. Shibata only has his tenacity behind him in this fight and not much else.

This is an easy fight for Miller. He is clearly the better fighter and Shibata is on a three-fight losing streak, which will continue with this fight. Look for Miller to entertain the crowd and submit Shibata with ease.

Prediction: Jason “Mayhem” Miller by submission in the first round.

DREAM Middleweight GP Reserve Bout:

Melvin Manhoef vs. Dae Won Kim

Dutch striking machine Melvin Manhoef faces off with Korean wrestler Dae Won Kim. Manhoef has a 20-4-1 record and trains out of Holland. Kim has a 4-3 record and trains out of Korea

Manhoef earned a stoppage victory over Pride veteran Yosuke Nishijima at K-1 Dynamite!! 2007, while Kim won a doctor’s stoppage over Marcelo Garcia at K-1 Hero’s Korea 2007.

Manhoef just fought a K-1 rules kickboxing match, getting knocked out by former K-1 world champion Remy Bonjansky. It seems, though, that he is injury free entering the fight. Kim has always looked good in his fights, but hasn’t been able to break through.

Manhoef is by far the better striker of the two, but Kim has the edge on ground with his wrestling skills. Neither fighter is too well versed in submissions. If cardio plays into the fight, expect Kim to have the edge because Manhoef typically tires out early trying to finish the fight.

This is a classic striker vs. grappler match-up. Whoever can get off first will win the fight. Kim needs to be patient and avoid Manhoef’s onslaught of strikes, then score a takedown to work his game. Although he can very well win, Kim will be unable to avoid Manhoef’s fierce striking game and will be finished.

Prediction: Melvin Manhoef by TKO in the first round.

DREAM Welterweight Championship Eliminator Bout:

Katsuya Inoue vs. Nick Diaz

Former welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue takes on EliteXC veteran Nick Diaz. Inoue has a 16-5-3 record and trains out of Wajyutsu Keisyukai RJW with Kenji Osawa. Diaz has a 15-7 record and trains out of Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu with his brother, Nathan Diaz.

Inoue comes off a draw with Russian fighter Djamal Kurbanov at Pancrase: Shining 3, while Diaz suffered a stoppage loss to KJ Noons at EliteXC: Renegade.

Inoue dropped down to lightweight in his last fight and it didn’t seem to work for him. Now he returns to welterweight to try and recapture success. Diaz has had a troubled year, but finally gets a chance to fight after being prevented to do so in his last scheduled outing in California due to complications with the athletic commission.

Inoue is the better wrestler and has technical striking, but lacks power in his strikes. Diaz is a wizard in submissions and, just like Inoue, is technical on the feet, but lacks power in his strikes. Both fighters have decent cardio, but Diaz had to cut weight on late notice and might be jet-lagged, affecting his cardio.

At the beginning of the week, Diaz was told by EliteXC that he would not be allowed to fight because of the close proximity of this bout to his next fight for EliteXC, but that decision was later reversed midway through the week. Inoue is a tough fighter, but Diaz should be able to control the fight and win a decision to get a chance to fight Hayato “Mach” Sakurai for the title in late July.

Prediction: Nick Diaz by decision.

Lightweight Bout:

Daisuke Nakamura vs. Bu Kyung Jung

Pride veteran Daisuke Nakamura faces off with 2000 Olympic Judo silver medalist Bu Kyung Jung. Nakamura has a 13-9 record and trains out of the U-File Camp with Kiyoshi Tamura. Jung has a 0-2 record and trains out of Team Yoon with Dong Sik Yoon.

Nakamura comes off a decision victory over Juri Ivlev at M-1 Challenge, while Jung dropped a decision to Mitsuhiro Ishida at DREAM.1.

This should be an interesting fight because Nakamura has shown himself to be a talented fighter, while Jung will finally get a chance to fight someone on his level and really show how good of a fighter he is.

Expect an entertaining ground battle between these two. Both are well versed in submissions, but an edge would have to go to Jung, who almost submitted two of the best lightweights in the world. On the feet, Nakamura would have a slight edge because of his experience in MMA.

Jung finally gets an opponent that he has a chance at beating after being put up against two of the best lightweights in the world in Top 5 lightweights Shinya Aoki and Mitsuhiro Ishida. Nakamura has always been a game fighter, but he may be in over his head against Jung if the fight goes to the ground. Expect Jung to get the fight down and work his ground mastery, locking on a submission late in the opening stanza.

Prediction: Bu Kyung Jung by submission in the first round

Featherweight Bout:

Takeshi Yamazaki vs. Shoji Maruyama

Team Grabaka fighter Takeshi Yamazaki takes on lightweight King of Pancrase Shoji Maruyama. Yamazaki has a 13-7-2 record and trains out of Team Grabaka with Kazuo Misaki. Maruyama has a 6-2-1 record and trains out of K.I.B.A. in Japan.

Yamazaki won a submission victory over Daiki Ozaki at Cage Force: EX Eastern Bound, while Maruyama comes off a draw with Koji Oishi at Pancrase: Shining 3.

The winner of this fight might have a showdown with Kid Yamamoto for the DREAM featherweight title in his future, so a lot is riding on this fight. They have contrasting styles, which could make for an entertaining fight.

Yamazaki has the edge on the ground, being a better wrestler and submission fighter. Shoji will have the edge on the feet and is the bigger fighter, cutting down to fight at featherweight.

This bout will be an exciting back and forth affair with both fighters getting in their shots. Yamazaki will dominate on the ground and Maruyama will crack him on the feet, but it will be Yamazaki’s ground control that will win him the decision.

Prediction: Takeshi Yamazaki by decision.

Source: MMA Weekly

DREAM 3 REVIEW: UNO AND ALVAREZ VICTORIOUS

DREAM on Sunday held its second event in two weeks at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan before 21,789 fans in attendance. DREAM.3 was highlighted by the second round of the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix.

In the upset of the night, Caol Uno submitted tournament favorite Mitsuhiro Ishida in an entertaining affair. Uno stuffed Ishida’s early takedown attempts, tagging him with punches and stunning him on several occasions. Ishida began to bleed profusely from his nose, unable to get the fight to the ground. As the fight unfolded on the feet, Ishida began to land some strikes, but it was clear that Uno was still getting the better of the exchanges. Ishida finally scored a takedown towards the latter stages of the first round and secured Uno’s back, but was unable to sink the choke as Uno reversed out as the round ended.

The second round began better for Ishida, who was able to get the fight to the ground right off the bat. A scramble ensued with Uno securing a rear naked choke without the traditional hooks in, but Ishida tapped out none-the-less at 1:38 of the first round.

Eddie Alvarez and Joachim Hansen engaged in a fifteen-minute war, in what will be considered a fight of the year candidate. They began trading early with Alvarez dropping Hansen, who stayed composed and attempted an armbar before making his way back to his feet. They began to trade again, with Alvarez again stunning Hansen, getting on top of him on the ground and dropping punches. Alvarez mixed in his crisp striking with wrestling, getting several takedowns and controlling the opening round.

The second round was much closer with Hansen finally finding his range on the feet, tagging Alvarez with combinations. Alvarez continued to take Hansen down, but was continually threatened with armbar attempts. Hansen nearly secured the lock on several occasions, but Alvarez managed his escapes. As the fight came to a close, Alvarez landed a high kick and the bell rang as the two were trading blows. Hansen made the fight close in the second round, but Alvarez walked away with the unanimous decision and a spot in the semi-finals of the Lightweight Grand Prix.

Tatsuya Kawajiri also moved on to the semi-finals of tournament, pounding out a decision over Luis “Buscape” Firmino. Buscape tried his best to score a takedown, but Kawajiri defended well, putting the Brazilian on his back. From there Kawajiri would unleash a barrage of ground and pound. Back on their feet, Kawajiri dropped Buscape with a combination and continued his ground and pound attack.

The second round played out much like the first with Kawajiri stuffing Buscape’s takedown attempts and ending up on top, then unleashing his ground and pound assault. Buscape’s only bright spot in the fight came towards the end when he secured Kawajiri’s back, threatening with a choke. Kawajiri, however, reversed out and ended the fight with a barrage of strikes, securing a unanimous decision.

Following a week of being on the fight card, being removed, and then being added back in at the last minute, the always controversial Nick Diaz returned to action against former welterweight King of Pancrase Katsuya Inoue in a title eliminator for the DREAM welterweight title. These two traded blows for the duration of the bout, with Diaz landing the crisper and more powerful punches, bloodying Inoue’s nose early in the fight. Inoue was game, returning fire with combinations of his own, but not finding the same success. After a restart, Diaz turned up the heat on Inoue, landing a series of stinging punches that had him staggered and out of the fight. Diaz continued to land unanswered punches until Inoue’s corner threw in the towel, stopping the fight at 6:45 of the opening round.

In an entertaining lightweight contest, U-File Camp lightweight Daisuke Nakamura knocked out 2000 Olympic Judo silver medalist Bu Kyung Jung. They exchanged submission attempts in the first round with Jung almost locking in an armbar. Nakamura escaped and an entertaining ground battle ensued with Nakamura going for armbars, kimuras and heel hooks.

The second round started with Nakamura attempting a standing kimura then transitioning to an armbar once they hit the ground. Jung escaped and got back to his feet. Back on their feet, Nakamura landed a stinging right that knocked Jung down, finishing the fight with strikes at 1:19 of the second round.

Dutch striker Melvin Manhoef survived early trouble to stop Korean judoka Dae Won Kim. Both fighters started tentative, sizing each other up before Kim attempted to get the fight down on the mat. Shortly thereafter, they began to trade punches with Kim getting the better of the exchange and then taking the fight to the ground. After some struggling, Kim attempted a triangle choke, but Manhoef escaped, landing in side mount and ending the fight shortly thereafter with a devastating knee and following it up with punches until the referee stepped in at 4:08 of the first round.

Jason “Mayhem” Miller advanced to the second round of the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix – this was the final bout of the middleweight tournament’s opening round – thoroughly dominating former Japanese pro wrestler Katsuyori Shibata. Miller seemed to be toying with Shibata throughout the fight, leaving his chin out and getting tagged with some punches before taking the fight to the ground. From then on, Miller dominated Shibata tagging him with punches and knees, mixing in an armbar attempt, which Shibata escaped. The end came midway through the round, when Miller in full mount, rained down punches until the referee finally stepped in to save Shibata from further punishment at 6:57 of the first round.

The featherweight division made its first DREAM appearance, when DEEP veteran Takeshi Yamazaki faced off with lightweight King of Pancrase Shoji Maruyama. Maruyama started out the fight in the air, partially landing a flying knee on Yamazaki, who immediately took the fight to the ground. Yamazaki would control Maruyama with punches and submission attempts, as Maruyama fought back with stinging punches of his own from the bottom.

Yamazaki nearly ended the fight towards the end of the opening round, locking on a tight armbar that looked to have the fight finished. Maruyama somehow escaped, however, and made it out of the round.

Yamazaki employed the same strategy in the second round, taking the fight to the ground and avoiding Maruyama’s dangerous stand-up. Maruyama did land one strike, a stinging high kick that hurt Yamazaki, who immediately took the fight back to the ground. In the end, the judges were impressed with Yamazaki’s ground control, awarding him the unanimous decision.

-Caol Uno def. Mitsuhiro Ishida by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:38, R2
-Eddie Alvarez def. Joachim Hansen by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Luis Buscape by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Nick Diaz def. Katsuya Inoue by TKO at 6:45, R1
-Daisuke Nakamura def. Bu Kyung Jung by KO at 1:19, R2
-Melvin Manhoef def. Dae Won Kim by TKO at 4:08, R1
-
Jason Miller def. Katsuyori Shibata by TKO at 6:57, R1
-Takeshi Yamazaki def. Shoji Maruyama by Unanimous Decision, R2

Source: MMA Weekly

On the mat with David Mamet

Playwright David Mamet has a purple belt in jiu-jitsu.

HOLLYWOOD — David Mamet would prefer to avoid conflict, but he isn't above choking another man into unconsciousness. He knows where the body's pressure points are and how to use them. And although the Chicago transplant never sets out to "win" a fight, his aim, should he be drawn into one, is simple: Don't lose.

Turns out Mamet's got a purple belt in jiu-jitsu. Who knew?

Quite a bit of dojo wisdom came up in conversation one sunny morning outside Street Sports Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the Santa Monica academy where the Pulitzer Prize winner has studied martial arts for the last seven years. Lately, the way of the warrior has been front of mind for Mamet on professional and personal levels.

The writer-director's cerebral martial-arts potboiler, "Redbelt," opened in Seattle and other cities Friday. The film follows a jiu-jitsu academy owner (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who obeys a strict samurai code of honor; the prizefight circuit is anathema to his sense of integrity. However, when he gets sucked into a typically Mametian vortex of corruption, exploitation and deceit, the character must either suit up for a high-stakes cage fight at an Ultimate Fighting Championship-style event or fall short of his high moral ideals and face bankruptcy.

"The movie is my love letter to the world and philosophy of jiu-jitsu," Mamet said.

Also, through his connections at Street Sports, Mamet was able to enlist a who's who of mixed martial-arts and boxing luminaries in supporting roles. Three-time UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture has a role as a commentator; former WBA lightweight champ Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini plays a movie stunt coordinator; and John Machado, a multiple world jiu-jitsu titleholder, and Ejiofor's character must square off in the film's climactic battle.

Mamet credits Renato Magno, his instructor at Street Sports and a technical consultant on "Redbelt," with inspiring him. "Much of it is a homage to Renato and the people he introduced me to," he said. "A lot of them, guys from Brazil like John Machado, Rorian and Rickson Gracie, they understand jiu-jitsu as a spiritual discipline. It's a way of looking at life."

Even though mixed martial arts has reached a kind of cultural apogee lately — with televised bouts scheduled to appear on CBS and reality television shows about the sport regularly airing on Spike TV and Black Entertainment Television — Mamet said nothing other than personal enthusiasm and kismet had factored into his making "Redbelt."

"It takes a long time to do a movie," he said. "And to have it synergistically mesh with something that's going on in the world, it's an accident."

Mamet surveyed the practice facility's padded walls and floors. "The guys who train here are real fighters," he said. "Cops and Navy SEALS, stuntmen and bouncers. They come to learn skills in the real world.

"Why do a movie about this? There's no real answer. One's choices are not the result of intellectualization. It's the result of inspiration."

Source: LA Times

Red Belt Movie Review

(AP) - It sounds like a jarring combination at first, as if the two just don't to go together -- until you learn that Mamet himself is a purple belt in Jiujitsu. Clearly, this is a subject that's dear to his heart.

Then you realize while watching "Redbelt" that many tenets of the sport -- the ideas of control, manipulation and one-upmanship -- jibe perfectly with themes the playwright, director and screenwriter has explored for decades in some of his best-known works, such as the plays "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Speed-the-Plow."

And so "Redbelt" makes sense in its own weird way: a mix of sports-flick cliches and Mamet's patented rat-a-tat writing. It's "Rocky," it's "The Karate Kid" -- only with more stylized, rhythmic dialogue.

Several Mamet regulars show up (Ricky Jay, Joe Mantegna, David Paymer and Mamet's wife, Rebecca Pidgeon), which does put us in somewhat comfortable territory. But it's Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Dirty Pretty Things"), the film's star, who commands our attention. As the unflappably moral, placid Jiujitsu instructor Mike Terry, Ejiofor can be both attractive and warm, fierce and intimidating.

A series of strangely intertwined events forces Mike into the ring, a place he's never wanted to be, to fight for $50,000. Among the players pushing him into battle are his sexpot wife (Alice Braga); a jittery lawyer (Emily Mortimer); an aging movie star (Tim Allen); a producer (Mantegna); a loan shark (Paymer); and a shady fight promoter (Jay).

It goes without saying in Mamet Land that none of these people can be trusted.

But Mike truly practices what he preaches, handling every obstacle and challenge that thrusts itself into his path with the same calm he urges his students to achieve.

"Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. You know the escape," he'll repeat when someone looks particularly defeated during his class. Here's a bit of advice that he takes, which comes from his wife, Sondra, and gets him further into trouble: "Let the wheel come around."

Mike and Sondra are already struggling to maintain their West Los Angeles studio at a time when the more violent Ultimate Fighting and mixed martial arts are in vogue. A shattered front window, the result of an accidental gunshot, puts them further into debt. Then a chance encounter at a bar with Allen's Chet Frank seems to turn their financial troubles around.
In no time, Mike is visiting Chet on the set and talking about receiving a producing credit, and Sondra, a fabric designer, is working with Chet's wife, Zena (Pidgeon) on a clothing line. (Allen is surprisingly good in an uncharacteristically cynical, haggard role.)

Could all this happen so quickly? And could it all disappear just as fast? Probably not. But something has to get Mike into the ring for The Big Showdown. Even though the championship match doesn't play out exactly the way you've seen it before, it still adheres to the same hackneyed conventions. And the final moment, which was probably intended to be poignant, instead feels laughable.

"Redbelt" is also overly familiar in its serious, "Crash"-like collision of disparate Los Angeles denizens, tied together by fate.

It is novel, though, that Mamet didn't subject us to the obligatory training montage. Perhaps that's because he figured it would be one less opportunity to have his characters talk.

"Redbelt," a Sony Pictures Classics release, is rated R for strong language. Running time: 99 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Source: Penn Live

5/11/08

Quote of the Day

"I can enjoy society in a room; but out of doors, nature is company enough for me."

William Hazlitt, 1778-1830, English Writer and Literary Critic

Sugar Shane Pulls Out of X-1

Here is a statement by Sugar Shane Nelson in regards to him pulling out of his fight at X-1 against Ray "Bradda" Cooper. Many people were looking forward to this fight and are disappointed, but at least Shane stepped up to release a statement.

"I regretfully have to withdraw from my may 16th bout with braddah cooper and will also be relinquishing my title and status as champion I apologize to the fans and especially braddah! Thanks to x1 for taking care of me and the support from everyone. "

Thanks , Shane

Werdum’s eyes on Minota
Chuteboxer wants title dispute in December

Having beaten for the second time also-Brazilian Gabriel Napao, chuteboxer Fabricio Werdum returned to the list of top challengers for the UFC heavyweight belt, according to the president of the organization himself. But to remain at the top, the fighter has a tough task ahead of him: Philippino/American Brandon Vera.

Despite the loss at UFC 77 to Tim Sylvia, Vera, a Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, is coming off eight wins in a row against such names as Frank Mir, Mike Whitehead and Assuerio Silva.

To avoid any setbacks, Werdum has been applying himself in training, to show once again a dangerous mixture of muay thai and Jiu-Jitsu. Should he win, Werdum has no doubts: he wants Rodrigo Minotauro’s belt.

“Training has been really tough, intensive. Every day we train from 5 to 6, sometimes even seven hours per day. I’m sure it will be a good fight (against Vera), from the fact that I want the belt by year’s end. I’ll fight this one, but I’m already thinking of the next one, I’m going to concentrate on this fight, but in December I want to fight Minotauro to be able to take this belt,” said the fighter in an interview on the official Chute Boxe site.

Source: Gracie Magazine

UFC to go head-to-head with EliteXC on May 31

When EliteXC debuts on CBS on May 31, the UFC will devote an entire night on Spike TV to one of its biggest stars, Chuck Liddell.

To lead off two new Spike TV specials, the night will begin with a repeat of "Ultimate Knockouts 4" at 8:00pm ET/PT. Previously only available on DVD, a one-hour documentary on the life of Liddell called "Ultimate Iceman: Chuck Liddell" will make its television premiere at 9:00pm ET/PT. Following that will be a special called "Liddell vs. Silva: UFC Unleashed," which features the UFC 79 from last December.

This programming was designed to draw eyeballs away from the live EliteXC event on CBS featuring Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson.

Source: MMA Fighting

Steve Heath's Second Comeback
by Mike Sloan

Not too long ago mixed martial artist Steve Heath (Pictures) was hit with a dose of reality harder than any punch he had ever taken.

He had endured a knee injury at some point in his fighting career, but due to a divorce, a new house and an eventual lack of financial stability, he was unable to treat the knee properly.

Instead he allowed the injury and residual discomfort to linger, which hindered his performance against Yuki Kondo (Pictures) in their 2004 Pancrase bout. Kondo easily tapped out Heath with a rear-naked choke, but the loss was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg for the Cesar Gracie (Pictures) student's problems.

"I had a couple of bad runs in the past few years with knee injuries," Heath said matter-of-factly in a recent interview with Sherdog.com. "It happened [while training] with my little buddy Randy Spence (Pictures), and I ripped my ACL all to hell. I couldn't afford to take off nine months from work, as that was how long [the recovery] was going to take. I wound up taking a little more than a year off from fighting and I had a cadaver put in my knee with a couple of screws."

And that's when everything tumbled downhill, hitting every single rock along the way.

While Heath was training for a fight after the Kondo loss, one of the screws broke and gouged his knee, causing a bone infection. He felt an annoying discomfort that straddled a badly swollen leg. But since he thought nothing of the situation save for maybe a slight sprain, Heath allowed the infection to spread until he was ravaged by terrible fevers.

Eventually his girlfriend rushed him to the hospital, where physicians performed emergency knee surgery. Had she not taken Heath in, he never would have fought Phil Collins (Pictures) last April and he certainly wouldn't be set to lock horns with Jaime Jara (Pictures) this Friday on the Pure Combat card in Stockton, Calif.

The infection had slowly rotted away the tissue in Heath's knee, and the gangrene had become so severe that Heath's leg nearly had to be amputated.

"Things get put into perspective real quick when the doctor says that you have to have your leg amputated," he said. "Things you thought were important no longer mean anything. The doctor came in and said the gangrene has spread throughout my leg … and the infection is very serious and I need to tell you where it may lead."

Always one to liven up a situation, Heath simply cracked a joke to the man wielding the stethoscope.

"I said to him, ‘Doc, if you gotta saw off my leg at the knee, you better sew on a big, giant horse d---.' He then looked at me and said, ‘I'm not joking with you; you're about to lose your leg.'"

Suddenly the wisecracks turned into grave seriousness, and the treatment began. Two torturous weeks later, Heath was in the clear, though he remained on a stringent rehab and prevention program in which a PICC line for antibiotics was attached to his bicep and ran straight into his heart. About nine months later, he was able to get up and run around like normal.

Heath had staved off the threat of losing his leg. Next he got himself back into fighting shape and finally climbed into the ring against Collins some three years after the Kondo bout. He took care of business, too, choking out Collins in 2:14.

Then, however, he injured the other leg.

Fortunately the injury was nowhere near as severe as the first. There was no threat of amputation, but it was another setback and another series of rehabs.

Now it's been more than a year since Heath submitted Collins in his first comeback. To say he is amped to fight the 17-5 Jara on Friday in a second comeback would be a gross understatement. Preparation with Cesar Gracie (Pictures) and the Diaz brothers has gone well, and Heath knows that now is the time to make a name for himself in a sport he has competed in professionally since 1998. He'd also like to make some money.

"I would like to somehow get back some of the $375,000 I paid to the doctors for my two knee surgeries," he said.

Heath is ready to resume what was a promising career, though he snickers in disbelief at how big the sport has become.

"Back when I was starting out, there were no rules, really, and I'd fight a guy as big as a house," he mused. "I had that awesome fight with Chuck [Liddell], and now there are rounds, weight classes and all these rules. When I used to tell people what I did, they were like, ‘You do what?' Now it seems like everybody is a fighter these days, and all these guys look the same -- trendy tattoos, the shaved heads and the goatee.

"What MMA is today, really, is a way to keep a lot of white trash out of jail," he added with a hearty laugh. "Seriously, the way to keep the jail rates down is to give these guys a job. No disrespect to my opponent, Jaime Jara (Pictures), because he has a ton of tattoos and he's a legitimate full-time fighter. But if you watch that ‘Ultimate Fighter' show, they all look the same and it amuses the hell out of me."

Heath readily admits that fighting isn't the most important aspect of his life. He's a father and works full-time as a supervisor at a bakery plant. Yet he also maintains a passion for the sport that almost took his leg.

"I love to fight," Heath concluded. "I'll fight anybody at anytime. Hell, I'll even fight Chuck again. I don't know too much about Jara, but I do know that the only thing he does is fight and full-time fighters are always hard to fight because, well, that's all they do. I don't know what to expect from Jaime Jara (Pictures) except that I know he'll bring it 100 percent on Friday. Pure Combat has been great to me, and I expect to give them the fight they want."

Source: Sherdog

Rodrigo Damm sign with Sengoku
By Guilherme Cruz

Five times Brazilian Wrestling champion and BJJ black belt, Rodrigo Damm is the new Brazilian fighter confirmed to Sengoku third edition, schedule to 8th June at Japan. Without a opponent yet, Damm is going to train at Minotauro Team. “I am already training for this fight. I have four bouts to make in one year an a half of contract. I get in contact with (Rodrigo) Minotauro and I am going to train with him. He is going to open his academy at Miami but I’m going to train here at Rio de Janeiro for this fight, because is near my home and it is more comfortable for me, but for the second one, I’m going to train there”, said Damm.

Source: Tatame

AMERICAN TOP TEAM CAMP REPORT
by Damon Martin

Considered one of the best training camps in the world, American Top Team continues to churn out top fighters on what seems like a daily basis. In the latest installment of the American Top Team camp report, we catch up with the latest fighters and match-ups from the Florida based team.

Gesias “JZ” Calvancante And The Dream Grand Prix

After dropping a unanimous decision to famed grappler Shinya Aoki at the recent Dream event, rumors began circulating immediately that Aoki could possibly have to withdraw from further fights in the tournament due to injuries sustained in his fight with Calvancante.

Rumors then began to circle that Calvancante turned down the opportunity because of financial issues dealing with Dream. MMAWeekly.com has confirmed with American Top Team representatives that Calvancante was unable to continue in the tournament due to a nagging knee injury that would not have healed in time for his next round opponent.

At this point, Calvancante is simply resting his injuries. While he wished he could have stepped up and taken the fight, he could not because of health reasons.

Din Thomas Released From UFC; WEC Bound?

Din Thomas was recently released from his Ultimate Fighting Championship contract, as confirmed by representatives at American Top Team. He most recently lost by unanimous decision to Josh Neer at UFC Fight Night 13. Soon after the verdict was in, Thomas learned that he would be released from his contract.

The news comes on the heels of Thomas stating his intent on dropping to 145 pounds, a weight class the UFC currently does not utilize.

While there is no contract currently in place, Thomas is expected to end up fighting for Zuffa’s other promotion, World Extreme Cagefighting, competing in their ever-growing featherweight division.

July 5 Event Could Be Called UFC: ATT

While American Top Team fighters are seemingly a part of every sizable event out there, the July 5 UFC event featuring a headline bout between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Forrest Griffin, will also have a number of ATT fighters on the undercard.

In lightweight action, Gleison Tibau returns to action against former top contender Joe Stevenson, Marcus Aurelio takes on Tyson Griffin, and Cole Miller puts himself to the test against Jorge Gurgel.

Also on the show will be Ben Saunders taking on former “Ultimate Fighter” housemate Jared Rollins, while Steve Bruno takes a shot at Chris Wilson.

Other News & Notes from American Top Team:

– WEC featherweight Alexandre Franca Nogueira will be making the trip to American Top Team in preparation for his upcoming fight against Jose Aldo.

Match-ups featuring American Top Team fighters:

– IFL, May 16 – Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Massenzio

– World Victory Road: Sengoku II, May 18 – Jeff Monson vs. Josh Barnett; Jorge Santiago vs. Yuki Sasaki

– UFC 84: May 24 – Wilson Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic; Thiago Silva vs. Antonio Mendez

– WEC: June 1 – Mike Brown vs. Jeff Curran; Antonio Franca Nogueira vs. Jose Aldo

– UFC 85: June 7 – Roan Carneiro vs. Ryo Chonan; Thiago Alves vs. Matt Hughes

– Elite XC: June 14 – Yves Edwards vs. K.J. Noons

– Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale: June 21 – Luigi Fioravanti vs. Diego Sanchez

Source: MMA Weekly

Big Stage Set for June Sengoku
by Tim Leidecker

With the card for its May 18 show set since the beginning of the week, Sengoku promoter World Victory Road has now moved on to planning its third event, scheduled for June 8.

After shows at the 10,500-seat Yoyogi National Gymnasium and the 10,000-seat Ariake Colosseum, WVR will try to fill the roughly 37,000-seat Saitama Super Arena in June.

The venue, which is located just outside Tokyo, has a sentimental value for Japanese fight fans. It was the main arena for the Pride Fighting Championships for the past seven years.

Headlining the show will once again be WVR showpiece Hidehiko Yoshida. The Olympic judo gold medalist is coming off the first submission defeat of his career, losing in March to Josh Barnett. An opponent for the 38-year-old Japanese grappler is being chosen from a selection of four foreign fighters, according to the promotion, and will be announced in the next few days.

Yoshida, along with his management company J-Rock, is also responsible for the booking of the event.

"We want to put on a show which the customer can enjoy," he told the Japanese media. "I am currently working very hard on my boxing. At least once in my career, I would like to win by knockout."

The promotion also announced the first fight for the June 8 show. In a welterweight clash, Bodog Fight welterweight champion Nick Thompson will take on Brazilian muay Thai specialist Michael Costa of Chute Boxe fame.

Thompson was in action at the first Sengoku event, winning a controversial decision over Costa's countryman Fabricio Monteiro. Costa has spent the majority of his career fighting for Chute Boxe's house show, Storm Samurai.

Also scheduled to appear on the card is five-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz, Bodog Fight veteran Rodrigo Damm, former K-1 MMA heavyweight champion Kazuyuki Fujitaand another member of Chute Boxe in Fabio Silva.

Takanori Gomi stated in an interview that he also plans to return at Sengoku III, but the "Fireball Kid" has yet to be officially confirmed by the promotion.

Source: Sherdog

Boxing at Palolo Gym!

Boxing Show will be on Sat. June 7th at Palolo Gym starting at 6 p.m. Admission will be $10. It's a fundraiser to help the Hawaii Junior Olympic Boxing Team. If you need more info. email me back.

Thanks for the Support!!

Bruce Kawano
Hawaii Junior Olympic Regional Coordinator/Team Manager.
USA-Boxing Hawaii Junior Olympic Chairman.
USA-Boxing Hawaii Board of Dir./Gov.
Ringside Board of Advisors.
NMU Boxing Program Task Force Member.

Pacific Submission Grappling Tournament
June 27, 28, 29, 2008
Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall
For more info:
www.grapplingtournaments.com


Hawaiian Open Championship BJJ Tourney Date Change!

The Hawaiian Open Championship BJJ Tourney Has Been Moved To Sunday, June
1st!

HAWAIIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Competitor Fees:
Adults: $65
Kids: $35

When:
Sunday June 1, 2008
11am Kids Rules Clinic & Kids Matches
PM Adult Matches

Location:
Klum Gym
University of Hawaii

TIMELINE:
http://www.hawaiitriplecrown.com/

EARLY ONLINE REGISTRATION DEADLINE
(1 WEEK PRIOR TO EVENT DAY)

LATE ONLINE REGISTRATION DEADLINE
(5 DAYS PRIOR TO EVENT DAY)

"PRE-REGISTERED" CHECK BY APPLICANTS
(4 DAYS PRIOR TO EVENT DAY).

ALL ERRORS MUST BE ADDRESSED BY THIS DATE OR NO.BRACKETS POSTED ON WEBSITE
(2-3 DAYS PRIOR TO EVENT DAY)

Divisions:
Adult, Kids, Women, All Weight Divisions, All Levels.
The Adult division is open for everyone, but athletes of other age
divisions willing to compete here will not be allowed to fight in their own
division (athletes can only enroll in one age division)

Medals for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
Most Technical Competitor Award
Team competition trophy and prizes

STAFF
Time/Score keepers and Referees are needed for the Hawaiian Open 2008

Would you like a front row seat to see the Hawaiian Open Championship? Help
our sport grow and be an active part of the development of Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu?

We are currently filling staff positions for the Hawaiian Open 2008. We are
in need of Time/Score keepers and referees. You do not have to have any
experience to be a time keeper, just the willingness to hang in there for a
long fun filled day. We will offer a staff meeting at the start of the day
to answer any questions that you might have.

Information:
Hawaii Triple Crown Staff


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