Upcoming
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2009
1/31/09
UFC 93
(PPV, Las Vegas, NV)
2008
12/27/08
UFC 92
(PPV, Las Vegas, NV)
12/13/08
The Ultimate Fighter 8 Final
(PPV, Las Vegas, NV)
11/21/08
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
11/15/08
UFC 91
(PPV, Portland, OR)
11/8/08
Aloha
State Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
10/25/08
UFC 90
(PPV, Chicago, IL)
10/18/08
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
UFC 89
(PPV, Birmingham, England)
10/17/08
Hawaiian Amateur Pankration Association
Presents
Friday Night Fights At Pipeline Café
(MMA)
(Pipeline Cafe, Honolulu)
10/12/08
HFL Championships
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
10/11/08
NAGA
(BJJ & Sub Wrestling)
(Blaisdell)
10/10/08
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
10/4/08
The Quest
for Champions Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling and Continuous Sparring)
(Kalani High School Gym)
9/27/08
X-1 Presents Temple of Boom
(Palolo Hongwanji, Honolulu)
(MMA & Boxing)
9/20/08
Boxing
(Palolo District Park)
(Boxing)
9/17/08
UFC Fight Night 15
(PPV, Omaha, NE)
9/7/08
2008 Samahan Filipino
Martial Arts Tournament
(Forms, Fighting, Masters Demonstrations)
(Pearl City High School Gym)
9/6/08
UFC 88:
Break Through
(MMA)
(PPV)
9/5/08
Got Skillz Fighter
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
8/23/08 & 8/24/08
Hawaii Training Ctr Boxing
(Boxing)
(Waipio
Industrial Court)
8/15/08
MMA At The O
(MMA)
(O Lounge Night Club)
8/14/08
Paragon Fighter
(Kickboxing)
(O Lounge)
8/9/08
K-1 Hawaii Grand Prix
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Stan Sheriff Center, UH at Manoa)
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Kalaheo High School)
UFC 87
(MMA)
(PPV)
7/26/08
Maui Jiu-Jitsu BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
7/19/08
Kawano B.C., Palolo B.C., & USA-Boxing Hawai Amateur Boxing
Show
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
Affliction - Fedor vs. Sylvia
(PPV)
7/12/08
Aloha State
Mixed Martial Arts Competition
10AM - 7PM
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
7/11/08
Hawaii Fighting Championships 10
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)
7/5/08
UFC 86 - Jackson vs. Griffin
(PPV)
6/27-29/08
OTM Pacific Submission
Grappling Tournament
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
MMA Expo
(Blaisdell Convention Center)
6/21/08
Hawaii
Xtreme Combat
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui)
Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale
6/20/08
Paragon
(MMA Hybred)
(O Lounge)
6/15/08
Grapplefest
(Submission Grappling)
Anderson Silva Seminar
Studio 4, UH at Manoa
1-4PM
$100
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Seminar
Tropic Lightning TKD
Waipahu
5-7PM
$60
6/14/08
EliteXC
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)
6/7/08
UFC 85 - Bedlam
(PPV)
6/6/08
Punishment in Paradise
Pound 4 Pound
(Kickboxing)
(Ahuna Ranch, Maili)
6/5-8/08
World Jiu-Jitsu Championsihps
(BJJ)
(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California)
6/1/08
Hawaiian
Open of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
WEC 33
(Faber vs. Pulver)
(PPV)
5/31/08
CBS EliteXC
Saturday Night Fights
(9-11 p.m. ET/PT)
(CBS)
5/25/08
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
5/24/08
UFC 84 - Ill Will
BJ Penn vs. Sean Sherk
(PPV)
5/16/08
X-1: Legends
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI)
5/9/08
Man Up Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Hawaii Fighting Championships 9
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballrooms)
5/3/08
Hawaii
Fight League
Season 1, Event 3
(MMA)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Full Force 4
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
Heart-of-a-Cage-Fighter
(Kauai
Veterans Center, Lihue, Kauai)
4/25/08
Punishment
in Paradise
(Kickboxing)
(Farrington High School)
4/18/08
Local Pride
Friday, April 18, 2008
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
4/12/08
Man Up &Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
4/6/08
GrappleFest: Submission
Sundays
(Submission Grappling)
(Hawaii Room, Neal Blaisdell Center)
3/29/08
Garden Island Cage Match 7
(MMA)
(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)
Hawaii Fighting Championships 8
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial)
3/28-30/08
Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(Californina State University, Dominguez Hills, CA)
Registration ends 3/22/08
3/16/08
Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament
(Continuous
Sparring, MMA, Submission Grappling)
(Maui High School Gym, Kahului, Maui)
Icon Fitness Gym Tournament
(Submission Wrestling)
(Icon Fitness Gym)
3/15/08
Icon Sport
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/9/08
2008 Pacific Invitational BJJ Tournament
(BJJ )
(Hibiscus Room, Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu)
3/7/08
Got Skillz Fighter
(Kickboxing/MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
3/1/08
USA-Boxing
Hawaii, Palolo B.C. & Kawano B.C. Presents Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park)
2/29/08
X-1 at the O-Lounge
Fight Club Meets Nightclub 4
(MMA)
(O-Lounge, Honolulu)
2/24/08
Icon Grappling Tournament
(Sub Grappling)
(Icon Gym)
2/17/08
Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ/Sub Grapping)
(Gym #1, UH Manoa)
2/15/07
Midwest Invasion: Team Indiana vs. Team Hawaii
(MMA)
(Coyotes Night Club, 935 Dillingham Blvd, Kalihi)
2/8/08
Hawaii Fighting Championships 7
(Kickboxing & MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
2/2/08
Man up and Stand up
(Kickboxing)
(Dole Cannery
Ballroom)
1/26/08
X1 World
Events: Champions
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
1/20/08
Big
Island Open Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(Konawaena High School)
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(POSTPONED)
1/19/08
UFC 80: Rapid Fire
(BJ Penn vs. Joe Stevenson)
Newcastle, England
1/12/08
Hawaii Fight League
Season 1, Event 2
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
|
|
September 2008 News
Part 1
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 6 days a week training!
We are also offering Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday nights
with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday and Thursday with Kaleo
Kwan!
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
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Check out the FCTV website! |
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Teleivision
Tuesdays at 8:00PM
***NEW TIME***
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Also on Akaku on Maui
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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
& Patrick Freitas |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
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O2 Martial Arts
Academy Day Classes Start May 2!
Women & Kids Kickboxing Class starts May 4!
Click here
for pricing and more information!
O2MAA Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Day Classes will be held on Monday,
Wednesday, and Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and will be taught
by one of Relson Gracie's first black belts, Sam Mahi!
We will be starting a Womens and Kids kickboxing class on Sunday
afternoons from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The class will be taught
by none other than O2's Kaleo Kwan! It will be a non-competitive,
fun atmosphere and allow the ladies and kids to get in a quick
workout and learn some legitimate kickboxing technique before
the long work week starts.
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Quote
of the Day
"Creativity
requires the courage to let go of certainties."
Erich
Fromm, 1900-1980, German-American Psychologist
|
Anderson:
“Paulo Filho is the best middleweight”
Pointed
for many as the best pound for pound MMA fighters, Anderson Silva
has no doubts on pointing his favorite athlete in his own division.
“Paulão (Paulo Filho) is no comments, he’s complete.
I think he’s absolute in this division, there’s nobody
to beat him. In my opinion, he’s the best middleweight”,
said Anderson, that doesn’t think about unifying the WEC
and UFC belts in a fight against Filho.
“I
would never fight with Paulão. We almost train together,
we’re always helping each other and (Josuel) Distak is our
coach. There’s no chance to happen. People can complain,
scream, whatever, but it won’t happen”, said the UFC
middleweight champion.
Source:
Tatame
|
Werdum
still wants the heavyweight belt
Randy
Couture’s back to UFC may have pushed a Brazilian fighter
back in the title line. Pointed as the next contender with a
new victory at UFC 90, against Junior Cigano, Fabrício
Werdum maybe was forgotten by the Dana White, Ultimate president,
that put Randy Couture to face Brock Lesnar, who only has one
fight in the octagon, and the winner will face the winner of
Nogueira-Mir bout. “Ultimate thinks about business, and
Lesnar is more famous in United States. I don’t know how
they’ll do it, because my new contract guarantees a title
shot with a victory against Cigano”, said Werdum to TATAME.com.
“They
should have put Cigano, who is a newcomer in the event, to face
Lesnar, who only has one fight in UFC. But that’s OK, I’ll
win quickly my next fight and my time will come”, told the
Chute Boxe athlete, that analyzed the heavyweight fights. “Nogueira
will certainly defeat Frank Mir and Couture will beat Lesnar.
The “big” Lesnar won’t make it, Couture will use
a good strategy to get him tired and will win on the last round.
I can’t see him winning, Couture has a lot more experience
and Lesnar is like a white-belt there”, bets Werdum.
Source:
Tatame
|
Thiago
Silva injuried; won’t fight Machida
One
of the most expected fights at UFC 89 won’t happen anymore.
The clash of unbeaten fighters, Thiago Silva and Lyoto Machida,
was scratched from the card after Thiago injuries his back during
some training at American Top Team. “I’m only 40% and
I can’t risk my perfect card this way. Lyoto is a great
athlete and I think they’ll find another opponent for him”,
said Thiago, that starts his physiotherapy to get better as soon
as possible.
His
manager, Alex Davis, tried to convince UFC to postpone the fight
for December, but they didn’t want. “We spoke to Joe
Silva, but they won’t postpone it, so Thiago is out. Joe
Silva got desperate when he knew it”, said Alex. Stay tuned
on TATAME.com for more news about UFC.
Source:
Tatame
|
Filho:
“I’m a new person now"
Just
a few days before his second fight with Chael Sonnen at WEC,
Paulo Filho spoke to TATAME about the thoughts of the fight,
his problems with depression, his training with André
Galvão, the possibility to face Anderson Silva, a friend
and UFC champion, and analyzed Rousimar Palhares’ bout against
the former pride champion, Dan Handerson. “The depression
is over and now is just happiness, I’m ready for the war”,
guarantees the champion, on the exclusive interview.
How
was your preparation for this fight?
Thanks
God everything was perfect... My preparation is really good,
I’m focused and I went to Minas Gerais to have a good support
with my friends and I’m a new person now. The depression
is over and I’m ready for the war.
Chael
Sonnen said that he didn’t believe in your recovery for
this fight…
American
people has big mouths… Sonnen should have said it to me,
and not put this things in media, I think he doesn’t wanna
fight me again, lose another arm…
What
are your expectations for this fight? Do the ground game again?
Actually,
there’s no strategy, is just fight and be ready to protect
and attack…
How
was your training with André Galvão for this fight?
He
was an important person in my training, he helped me to remember
some things, see how things works in Jiu-Jitsu now and we learned
a lot together… He showed me things about the modern Jiu-Jitsu
and I gave him some of my MMA experience. He submitted on his
first fight and it’ll be hard to find somebody to beat him
on the ground in MMA, maybe only another Brazilian fighter. We
had a great time together and I’m very happy with his success.
His success is my success, and my success is his too.
Will
you go to USA now and just relax or continue training?
I
have to train more, my real fight is with my weight, and I’ll
have to train more until September 8th. I need to lose weight,
I’m with 93kg and I still have a lot to lose, and I’ll
do the same, and doesn’t repeat the same mistake from my
last fight.
How
many fights remain in your WEC contract? Do you think about going
to UFC?
I
have this and another one… I’m very thankful for WEC,
I’m an employee and I’m really thankful with their
help when I had my problem, and whatever they decide is good
to me…
And
if their decision is to merge you to UFC, will you face Anderson
Silva?
Definitely
no. We’re close friends and I believe there’s space
for everybody there, it’s definitely out of my plans.
He’ll
face Patrick Cote now… How do you think will be this fight?
Anderson
will win, and I know it’ll be easy and fast. Cote isn’t
fight for Anderson Silva, he’s a level above.
And
Palhares, that will face Henderson now?
It
won’t go through the first round. Do you wanna bet? I can
bet my house that “Toquinho” will win on the first
round, and will submit on Henderson’ foot. He’ll beat
easily, he’s a thousand miles per hour and Henderson is
falling down. I know Henderson is a great athlete, but “Toquinho”
is excellent and came from nowhere, wants to help his family,
he’s stronger, younger and more technical and I can’t
see Henderson beating him. The only positive thing about Henderson
is that he’s an expert fight, but it doesn’t work with
a phenomenon.
Source:
Tatame
|
Ronys’s
Jungle opponent named
Card for 13th is complete
The
Jungle Fight Night by Pozil organization announced today Ronys
Torres’ opponent for the September 13th event, at the hotel
Windsor, in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. The one to face
off against the Nova Uniao representative is Eliene “Pit”
Silva. Another matchup announced today is between Rodrigo Ruiz
and Hacran Barnabe.
Representing
Brasa, Rodrigo Ruiz has a record of 9 wins in 16 fights, while
his opponent Hacran, of Nova Uniao, comes into Jungle Fight with
8 wins in 9 MMA fights.
Check
out the complete card:
Assuério
Silva (Total Punch) vs Todd Duffee (USA)
Paulo Thiago (Constrictor Team) vs Luis Besouro Jr
Antony Rea (France) vs Alan Frois (Macaco)
Ana Maria Índia (BTT) vs Ediene "Índia"
Gomes (Macaco)
Danilo Moto-Serra (Gracie Fusion) vs Eric Silva (Minotauro Team)
Alexandre Pulga Pimentel (NG Combat) vs Rafael Mantega (Paulão
Team)
Johil de Oliveira (Johil Team) vs Dalibor Anastasov (Slovenia)
Rafael Capoeira (Viktor Gym) vs Alexandre Visconte (Constrictor
Team)
Pedro Manoel (Clube da Luta) vs Ferrid Khender (France)
Hacran Barnabé (Nova União) vs Rodrigo Ruiz (Brasa)
Ronys Torres (Nova União) vs Eliene "Pit" Silva
(Fibra Fight Team)
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
K-1:
Glaube and Ewerton with adversaries
Check out the bouts at the K-1 World GP
The
K-1 organization released the semifinal bouts for the World GP
2008. The matches will take place during the event set for September
27th in Seoul, South Korea. As GRACIEMAG.com has already announced,
two Brazilians are among those called up to try for spots in
the quarterfinals. Glaube Feitosa, who has already made it to
runner-up in the tournament, will face off against Dutch fighter
Errol Zimmerman. Now, Ewerton Teixeira will try his luck against
Japanese stalwart Musashi.
Current
three-time champion of the competition, Semmy Schilt will face
compatriot Peter Aerts in the semis. Check out the complete card:
Semmy Schilt (Holland) vs Peter Aerts (Holland)
Badr Hari (Morocco) vs Hong Man Choi (South Korea)
Jerome LeBanner (France) vs Junichi Sawayashiki (Japan)
Ewerton Teixeira (Brazil) vs Musashi (Japan)
Ruslan Karaev (Russia) vs Chalid Die Faust (Germany)
Remy Bonjasky (Holland) vs Paul Slowinski (Australia)
Glaube Feitosa (Brazil) vs Errol Zimmerman (Holland)
Gokhan Saki (Turkey) vs Ray Sefo (New Zealand)
Opening
fights
Zabit
Samedov (Belarus) vs Fabiano da Silva (Brazil)
Randy Kim (South Korea) vs Yong Soo Park (South Korea)
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"Excellence
is a better teacher than mediocrity. The lessons of the ordinary
are everywhere. Truly profound and original insights are to be
found only in studying the exemplary."
Warren
Bennis, American Writer/Educator/Leadership Theorist
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight
Channel
52
NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!
A new episode
that features the Pac Sub tournament at the MMA Expo.
We
talk to the pound for pound best fighter in the world, BJ Penn.
East
coast to Guam transplant and technical wizard, Mike Fowler shows
off his leopard print hair and explains how he got his BJJ black
belt in only 4 years!
K-
Team and Relson Gracie competitor supreme, Brad Scott talks shop.
Last,
but certainly not the least, the lovely, but fierce Mrs. Bjjtek
expounds her roll as the enforcer of the Hawaii Ground better
known as the HG.
If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
the latest news from upcoming events, get to rub elbows with
numerous promoters and fighters, and get to voice your opinion
on any subject you can dream up. Hit the links above to sign
up for a free account and start posting away!
|
UFC
88 AWARDS: FIGHTER BONUSES NET $60,000
Rashad Evans took the heat in “Hot-lanta” to a whole
new level on Saturday night as the Ultimate Fighting Championship
descended on Atlanta. He spent the first round being stalked
by former UFC champion Chuck Liddell, but didn’t wait long
to score the “Knockout of the Night” in round two.
As
Liddell moved in with an uppercut, Evans countered with an overhand
right that sent “The Iceman” crashing to the canvas
and a $60,000 bonus check on its way to his bank account.
Jason
MacDonald welcomed Jason Lambert down to the 185-pound middleweight
division in an equally devastating fashion as Evans’ knockout
of Liddell, except he did it with a constricting rear naked choke
that earned the Canadian “Submission of the Night”
honors.
The
“Fight of the Night” was only witnessed by the live
crowd at Philips Arena due to it going the duration, but it was
no less thrilling as both Kurt Pellegrino and Thiago Tavares
left everything they had on the Octagon floor at UFC 88. Pellegrino
walked out with a unanimous decision victory, but both fighters
go home $60,000 richer for their efforts.
UFC
88 AWARDS AND BONUSES
(Each fighter received a $60,000 bonus.)
UFC
88 KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT:
-Rashad Evans
UFC
88 SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT:
-Jason MacDonald
UFC
88 FIGHT OF THE NIGHT:
-Kurt Pellegrino vs. Thiago Tavares
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
RASHAD
EVANS GRANTED FIRST SHOT AT FORREST
Rashad Evans made the long walk from the dressing room to the
Octagon at UFC 88 in Atlanta on Saturday night with an undefeated
record and the dream of ascending to a light heavyweight title
shot on his shoulders.
With
his devastating knockout of former champion Chuck Liddell, his
shoulders now bear only the weight of keeping his undefeated
record intact, as the title shot is now within his grasp.
Talking
about the possibility of a title shot after his stunning performance,
Evans said, “I’m a patient man. I’m just enjoying
the ride and whatever happens, however long it takes, it takes.”
He
didn’t have to be patient for long, however, as UFC president
Dana White informed the media at the UFC 88 post-fight press
conference that Evans would indeed be tapped to challenge UFC
light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin in the first defense
of his title.
Griffin
won the belt in a five-round battle with Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson at UFC 86 in July.
Although
White stopped short of confirming when the title bout would take
place, it is believed to be part of a planned twin bill, sharing
the spotlight on Dec. 27 with a heavyweight interim title bout
between champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and challenger Frank
Mir.
Nogueira
and Mir are the two coaches on tap for Season 8 of The Ultimate
Fighter, which debuts on Sept. 17.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
RICH
FRANKLIN TALKS UFC 88 WIN & WEIGHT CLASS
It
wasn’t an easy job, but former UFC middleweight champ Rich
Franklin got it done, stopping former training partner Matt Hamill
with a liver kick in the final round of their UFC 88 fight in
Atlanta. The onslaught of takedowns Franklin and many pundits
expected never came, and as the fight wore on, his kicks made
sure of that. His lone stay on the mat was short lived.
“I
just put myself in the mindset that if I ended up on my back
I was comfortable there anyway, it didn’t matter to me,”
he said. “I assumed that he would probably have several
shot attempts that I just wouldn’t be able to defend, because
he’s such high caliber wrestler.
“I
always do a good job with my guard, or at least try to keep moving
and work my way back to my feet if I’m going to be on bottom.
Because the last thing I want to do is sit there and take some
punishment.”
Franklin
had not fought in the light heavyweight division for three years.
In preparation, he ramped up his food intake and watched his
body slowly change. It had a hard time remembering what being
heavier felt like. It took him time and protein powder to get
in the groove.
“Once
I got into camp, training for Matt (Hume), doing two-a-days,
the weight just started to drop off me a little bit,” he
said. “I think I peaked out at 214, and then leveled out
around 210.”
It’s
a cut he’ll be happy make in the future, though. Franklin
squeezed every bit of water possible out of his body to make
the middleweight class. Often at weigh-ins, he looked sunken
in and miserable—not a guy you’d want to be around
come fight day.
“To
be honest, the weight cutting is way better for me at 205 than
it is at185. It’s a much more enjoyable week—you can
ask my camp,” he said with a smile.
After
the fight, Franklin expressed relief that he had not done too
much damage to his friend. He took the fight only when he learned
Hamill had accepted, and even then, it was bittersweet to take
a victory by hurting a friend.
“I’m
just glad that neither one of us was laying on the canvas unconscious
or something like that,” Franklin said. “The fight
kind of unfolded the way it did, we came to the press conference
and were in the medical room getting stitches at the same time—mine
worse than his. I’m glad that I won, I can’t deny that,
but Matt’s a friend, and that’s the bitterness of the
victory.”
Franklin
now faces a quandary. Should he continue to blaze a trail in
the light heavyweight division, or go back to middleweight? He
has made his name in the division, but a roadblock exists to
title glory—that of Anderson Silva. He says the UFC doesn’t
want to see a third match-up between the two, and Franklin is
a cut above all but arguably a few of his 185-pound stable mates.
For now, he will travel at the whim of the UFC and the fans.
“I’ll
talk to (UFC matchmaker) Joe (Silva) after this, whether I’m
staying at 205,” he said. “Perhaps they want me to
stay at 205, perhaps they are in a position where they say let’s
just do this fight, or this fight, because they’re exciting
fights and the fans want to see them. Bouncing back and forth
between 185 and 205 is actually do-able because at some point
in time, if I was going to stay in this division, I would have
to really put my mind at continuing to put on weight.”
A
quick look at the 205 division reveals a fight with history for
Franklin, that of Lyoto Machida. In 2003, before Franklin’s
era as a UFC mainstay, Machida handed him his first loss at Inoki
Bom-Ba-Ye in Japan. Franklin says he’s not in a rush to
delve into the past unless he’s called to do so.
“I
said the same thing about Silva after the first loss. If that
was something that was good for the UFC and good for the fans,
I’d be interested,” he finished. “But I’m
not the guy that’s like ‘Machida beat me, I need to
avenge that loss.’ I’m not having good luck with those
southpaws from Chute Box anyway, so we’ll see what happens.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
American
Nationals: Medeiros wants 4th title
Responsible
for one of the most successful BJJ gyms in the United States,
Rodrigo Medeiros is already looking for another title –
or rather, a four-time championship. That’s what Rodrigo
Medeiros BJJ, located in San Diego, is going for at the American
National Championships, scheduled September 20-21, in Carson,
California.
GRACIEMAG.com
contacted the black belt to find out his expectations regarding
one of the most important Jiu-Jitsu events of the year.
By the way, you can already sign up to the Nationals online,
up until the 13th, by clicking here.
GRACIEMAG.com
– Your academy is one of the biggest winners at the Nationals.
What is the secret of that kind of success?
Rodrigo Medeiros – The secret is to train hard, do a lot
of specific training, and work, and work on the students’
technical and physical traits, trying to exploit their strengths.
And two weeks before the competition go through specific strategies
for each athlete.
What
do you think about the Nationals and the growth of BJJ in the
US?
The Nationals is a good tournament to compete in, because it’s
a local championship, without many foreigners, so you can get
a better idea of the level of your students related to the other
gyms in the country. The organization is perfect, and it’s
only behind the Pan-Am and the Worlds in importance and technical
level.
How
are your students facing the fast growth of the number of competitions?
At the beginning of the year I put the list of IBJJF competitions
up on the wall of my academy, along with their degree of importance.
After the Nationals there is going to be a belt promotion, the
only one of the year. These competitions give me a precise idea
of what my students’ current level is.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Hurricane
delays Paulao’s return
WEC 36 rescheduled for Nov. 5
The
much awaited return of Paulo Filho to the cage will have to wait
a little longer. The WEC announced that due to Hurricane Ike,
the next event that was to take place the coming 10th will be
put off till November. The card will remain the same, they say,
and on the new date Paulao will defend his middleweight belt
against American Chael Sonnen.
Stay
tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for further information on the event.
Urijah
Faber vs Mike Brown
Paulo Filho vs Chael Sonnen
Leonard Garcia vs Jens Pulver
Jake Rosholt vs Danillo Índio Villefort
Donald Cerrone vs Rob McCullough
UNDERCARD
José
Aldo vs Jonathan Brookins
Steve Steinbeiss vs Alex Schoenauer
Danny Castillo vs Ed Ratcliff
Johny Hendricks vs Alex Serdyukov
Yoshiro Maeda vs Rani Yayha
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Braga
Neto hungry for MMA
Fighter accompanies Brodinho to the USA
After
having a great No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu World Championship in California,
where he won his weight division and the absolute, Antonio Braga
Neto is now in the United States to lend his support to his “little
brother,” as he himself says, Leonardo “Brodinho”
Issa, who will fight September 12th at War Godz against Nelson
Ocampo.
Brodinho
and Braga Neto, who share an apartment in Brazil, are working
away at Ralph Gracie’s gym in San Francisco. “I’m
there, sleeping at the gym and training every day to do well
against my opponent. God willing I will be victorious,”
said Brodinho, who is a Jiu-Jitsu black belt and originally from
Ubatuba, Sao Paulo.
Braga
Neto, who left the state of Amazonas to try his luck in Rio and
has already worked hard to win his titles, is betting on and
providing incentive not just for Brodinho’s career, but
for his performance. “He lost two fights, of the five he’s
been in. In my opinion, he had bad luck twice and I think now
he has everything it takes to explode on the scene. I’m
betting on him. I think he has what it takes to be the champion
he wants to be, as he is dedicated and doing everything just
right,” said Netao, who traveled with his friend to provide
the necessary moral support.
Both
fighters stress the importance of Ralph Gracie black belt Kurt
Osiander, better known as “Rhino”, who has helped the
two Brazilian athletes in their training.
With
his eyes on new objectives, Braga Neto is taking advantage of
his being in the United States to seal an MMA deal. “I’m
going to tell you something, I’m dying to fight MMA again,
I can’t wait,” said the fighter, who has five wins
and one loss on his record. Braga Neto said he’s received
offers and that he and his manager are studying the possibilities
of new bouts. “There’s no lack of offers, thank God.
I just haven’t fought yet because I changed weight groups
and am checking some things out. I used to fight at 93kg. Now
I’m at 84kg,” said Braga Neto in finishing.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"No
person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been
the reward for what he gave."
Calvin
Coolidge, 1872-1933, 30th President of the United States
|
Fighters'
Club Radio Mondays!
FIGHTERS
CLUB RADIO
MONDAY MAY 19
9AM-10AM
RIGHT AFTER LEAHEY & LEAHEY
AM
1500 RADIO
FAN
LINE: 296-1500
THANKS
TO OUR SPONSORS:
- OTM "ON THE MAT" ON BERETANIA
- GLACEAU VITAMIN ENERGY
- EN FUEGO GRILL AND POKE
- MUSCLE MILK
- BRIT'S AUTO BODY
|
Sigung
Richard Bustillo Seminar
Saturday,
October 4
Hawaii Martial Arts Center
HMC Academy
King's Gate Plaza
555 N. King Street
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Session #1
Muay Thai/Boxing
Mixed Martial Arts
10:00 am to 12:30 pm
Session
#2
Cacoy Doce Pares
* Eskrima/Kali/Arnis
2:00-4:30
Seminar
Tuition
$60 Both sessons
(pre-registered by September 30)
$75
Both sessions (at the door)
With over 45 years of martial arts experience, Sigung Richard
Bustillo is one of the most sought after martial artists in the
world. Mr. Bustillo is an inductee to several martial arts Halls
of Fame, a certified law enforcement defensive tactics instructor,
and credited as one of the major contributors to reviving the
Filipino Martial Arts of Kali, Eskrima, and Arnis.
He
is best known, however, for his training under Bruce Lee and
Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do.
To register contact:
The
IMB Academy 310.787-8793
imb@imbacademy.com
Edward
Barinque 808.381-2285
masdt@aol.com
James
Tanaka (808) 223-9363
jkt@pmitchelltrust.com
|
UFC
88 REVIEW: MARQUARDT CRUSHES KAMPMANN
In a pivotal match-up between top contenders in the middleweight
division, Nate Marquardt looked devastating, as he took out Xtreme
Couture fighter Martin Kampmann early in the first round of their
fight at UFC 88 in Atlanta.
With
Kampmann’s extensive background in kickboxing it seemed
that Marquardt would want to take his opponent to the ground,
but it was anything but a ground fight.
Marquardt
threw a high kick that connected flush on Kampmann’s head,
rocking the Danish fighter and sending him into a virtual daze.
Before
Kampmann had any time to recover, Marquardt seized the moment,
unloading a barrage of heavy punches including a big body shot
that signaled for the end of the fight.
As
soon as Kampmann dropped his hands, Marquardt landed a few more
shots and “The Hitman” crumbled to the ground before
the referee stepped in to stop the bout.
Following
the fight, Marquardt was confident in his gameplan and his ability
to stand and bang with a tough striker like Kampmann.
“I
knew I was better, and though he was a kickboxer, I knew I could
take him standing,” said Marquardt after his devastating
performance. “One thing that I learned from my experience
is not to just go crazy when you get a guy hurt like that, but
to be accurate.”
The
win obviously puts Marquardt right back in the top contenders
mix for future opponents of 185-pound king Anderson Silva, who
defeated the former “King of Pancrase” in their fight
in July 2007.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
88 REVIEW: HENDO FINALLY GETS OCTAGON WIN
Dan Henderson snapped a two-fight losing skid with a unanimous
decision victory over Rousimar “Touquinho” Palhares
at UFC 88 in Atlanta. The former Pride champion utilized a sprawl-n-brawl
strategy to frustrate his Brazilian counterpart.
Palhares
struggled to take Henderson down early as the Team Quest fighter
would sprawl and counter after each failed attempt. As the round
progressed, Palhares began to throw his kicks with more versatility.
Touquinho finally secured a takedown near the end of the opening
round, but ran out of time before he could take advantage of
his positioning.
Despite
a losing effort, Palhares earned the highlight of the fight in
the second round when he secured a double leg and slammed the
former champion to his back. Rousimar was unsuccessful with his
subsequent submission attempt.
Throughout
the match, Henderson landed hard right hands to the head of his
opponent. Henderson playfully grabbed Palhares’ chin after
the fight, acknowledging the Brazilian Top Team fighter’s
strong jaw.
“It
has been a while,” responded Henderson after Joe Rogan asked
how it felt to finally get a win in the Octagon. “This opponent
was just as tough as any opponent I’ve faced in here. I
felt pretty comfortable in there, but normally I’m more
aggressive in there; so I apologize for that. He’s damn
dangerous and not the best match-up for me.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
88 REVIEW: FRANKLIN'S SUCCESSFUL 205 RETURN
It had been more than three years since Rich “Ace”
Franklin competed in the light heavyweight division, but much
like his last fight in the weight class, the Cincinnati native
was victorious once again defeating friend and former training
partner, Matt Hamill at UFC 88 on Saturday night.
From
the very onset, Franklin was able to control the pace of the
fight, hitting Hamill with solid punches and a serious amount
of leg and body kicks.
Hamill
managed his only real offense in the fight during the first round,
hitting Franklin with a punch that opened a huge cut over his
eye that caused concern for the remainder of the fight, but did
not cause a stoppage to the bout.
“I
was walking around with a black eye anyway, this isn’t much
worse,” Franklin commented about the cut after the fight.
The
one takedown Hamill managed ended in Franklin almost locking
him up in an armbar, but the former “Ultimate Fighter”
season 3 fighter withstood and got out of the hold, moving the
fight into the second session.
From
there it was a Franklin attack on his opponent as he seemed to
get more comfortable on his feet landing strikes at will while
Hamill appeared to lose steam as time went on.
In
the third, it was a thunderous body kick that Franklin landed
on Hamill’s mid-section that sent him crashing to the mat
before a few more punches landed as he turtled up and the fight
was stopped.
While
Rich Franklin made mention after the win that he still hadn’t
decided whether or not to stay in the 205lb weight class, he
showed on Saturday night that he could deal with a very strong
fighter like Matt Hamill and come out with an impressive win.
“I’m
hoping he is one of the strongest 205-pounders, if not this is
going to be a long road to go,” said Franklin about his
future in the division after facing Hamill.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
88 REVIEW: EVANS DEVASTATING, KO'S LIDDELL
The crowd at UFC 88 in “Hot-lanta” hit an absolute
fever pitch during the main event for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s
debut show in the city, as former light heavyweight champion
Chuck Liddell squared off against “Ultimate Fighter”
season 2 winner Rashad Evans.
Evans
was able to keep his undefeated record in tact by putting Liddell
to sleep in devastating fashion with an overhand right during
the second round.
The
fight opened with Liddell pursuing Evans with the remainder of
the five-minute session going much the same way. Liddell landed
the biggest shot in the opening stanza when he uncorked one of
his famous right hands that seemed to catch Evans flush on the
jaw, but the former Michigan State wrestler shook it off before
moving on in the round.
The
second round saw Liddell again come out in the pursuit of Evans,
but this time he seemed more willing to stand and trade with
the former 205-pound champion.
As
Evans kept good foot movement throughout the round, he made Liddell
come after him as he counter punched at every turn and started
to land more shots.
The
end came as Liddell again came in after Evans and just as “The
Iceman” looked to catch his opponent with an uppercut, it
was Evans who landed a punishing overhand right that sent Liddell
crashing to the canvas. The fight was stopped immediately as
a shocked Atlanta crowd sat in silence while Liddell lay motionless
in the Octagon for almost five minutes.
Evans’
background in wrestling never came into play during the fight,
but his gameplan worked to perfection.
"The
strategy was going straight for the horns," said Evans.
"You can’t beat Chuck Liddell going for the takedown
all day.”
Eventually,
Liddell stood back up as the crowd gave a loud cheer knowing
that he hadn’t endured any major injury from the knockout.
As
for Rashad Evans, his counter attack and right hand kept him
undefeated while knocking out a legend in the sport.
He
now seems to be the likely No. 1 contender for Forrest Griffin’s
light heavyweight title after demolishing the former champion
in a tremendous performance from the Team Jackson fighter.
"I’m
a patient man," Evans stated about the title shot. "I’m
just enjoying the ride and whatever happens, however long it
takes, it takes.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"I
hope that I may always desire more than I can accomplish."
Michelangelo, 1475-1564, Italian Renaissance Sculptor and Painter
|
Sidney
Silva Submission & MMA Hawaii Seminar
Today!
This seminar MMA,NO GI, SUBMISSION GRAPPLING it is about to show
you effective positions, the ones that really work, not the fancy
acrobatics ones, the real ones, the most commons attacks, transitions
between strikes and grappling, mistakes, combinations and of
course the defenses and escapes for all that.
It
is all about the details. Every body knows how to do an arm bar,
triangle, choke … right? But also a lot of time people miss
the positions because they miss the details. A little detail
can make the position successful or not, can be the difference
between the victory and the defeat.
Also
I would like to innovate with a new seminar style, which instead
of only showing you the positions and drills, like the traditional
types of seminar, you will also be allowed to ask your own questions
about specific positions and/or moves that you concern about.
I
want you, at the end, to feel that you learned as much as possible
and especially had fun.
So
I would like to invite you and your friends to learn and have
fun on September 07 at ICON gym. The investment is only $ 40
and you can also get a free seminar t-shirt if you are one of
the first 10 registrants, if you miss the registration you can
buy one over there for only $20.
The seminar will start at 3pm until 6pm and after will have lots
of time for free training.
If
you want to pre-register send a check or money order to:
SIDNEY
SILVA
1503 Punahou Street, #1C
Honolulu, HI 96822
Thank
you,
Sidney
Silva
|
2008
Samahan Filipino Martial Arts Tournament
Today!
September 7,2008 @ Pearl City High School Gymnasium
On behalf of the Del Mar School of Filipino Martial Arts, I would
like to invite you to the 2008 Samahan Filipino Martial Arts
Tournament. This is the first tournament of its kind and will
happen on September 7,2008 @ Pearl City High School Gymnasium.
It features an electronic scoring system, FIRST on in Hawaii
(possibly the WORLD) to utilize this system in an FMA (Filipino
Martial Arts) tourmanet. There will be Forms, Fighting, Masters
Demonstrations, Vendors, and Entertainment. Attached is a flyer
of the event and for more information you can visit www.myspace.com/fma_samahan.com.
Our goal is to unite Philippine Martial Arts groups and individuals
that will strengthen our community's cultural awareness.
TOURNAMENT
DETAILS
________________________________
Sunday,
September 7, 2008
Pearl City High School Gymnasium
2100 Hookiekie St Pearl City, HI 96782
REGISTRATION
FEES: Forms-$30, Padded stick fighting-$40, Both events-$50
*Download
the form and check out the pre-registration fees*
SAMAHAN
Registration Forms
SAMAHAN Official Rule Book
REGISTRATION
BEGINS: 9:00 A.M.
FIGHTERS BRIEFING: 9:45 A.M.
ALL
SCHOOLS WELCOME
Caranza-Forms Divisions
PADDED STICK FIGHTING DIVISIONS UTILIZING
AN ELECTRONIC SCORING SYSTEM
________________________________
Event
Sponsors
*Explosivehands.com*
*New Image Graphics Inc.*
*Tint Doctor*
*Young Guns*
*Lighting Services, Inc.*
*American Window Cleaning*
*Oahu Tae Kwon Do Center*
Respectfully,
Roderick Baranda
Del Mar School of Filipino Martial Arts
|
Dan
Inosanto Two Day Semi-Private Training Event!
Today
On Saturday,
September 6th and Sunday September 7th, Burton Richardson and
JKD Unlimited will host Tuhon Dan Inosanto for a special semi-private
training event here in Honolulu. Tuhon Inosanto is considered
the most knowledgeable martial artist that the world has ever
known, as he has researched every system and style possible over
the last 50 years. He is best known for being Bruce Lee's number
one student and training partner, but is also famous for his
work in bringing previously unknown systems into the limelight.
From the Filipino Martial Arts to Muay Thai to Pentjak Silat
to French Savate and Burmese Bando, Inosanto's never-ending quest
is to make more martial arts available to students everywhere.
He is also a great example to follow, as this legendary martial
artist strapped on a white belt and took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
at the age of 60!
He is now a black belt under the Machado brothers. This will
be a very special seminar, as it will be semi-private. No more
that 20 participants will be enrolled. This will allow each attendee
to submit a particular question or request to be covered by Tuhon
Inosanto over the weekend. It will also mean that participants
will get more one on one interaction with this amazing instructor.
In addition, each participant will be invited to attend a dinner
with Tuhon Inosanto, to talk story with this legend. Ten will
go on Saturday's dinner, the other ten on Sunday's dinner.
The cost for this special weekend is only $500 per person. $250
is required to reserve your spot to be one of the twenty. Please
call 864-1620 for more information and to arrange for payment.
This will be a weekend to remember.
Aloha, Burton Richardson
|
UFC
88 Results
UFC 88:
Breakthrough
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia
1.
Ryo Chonan def. Roan Carneiro via split decision
2. Jason MacDonald def. Jason Lambet via submission (RNC) - R2
(1:20)
3. Tim Boetsch def. Mike Patt via TKO (strikes) - R1 (2:03)
4. Kurt Pellegrino def. Thiago Tavares via unanimous decision
5. Dong Hyun Kim def. Matt Brown via split decision
6. Nate Marquardt def. Martin Kampmann via TKO (strikes) - R1
(1:22)
7. Dan Henderson def. Rousimar Palhares via unanimous decision
8. Rich Franklin def. Matt Hamill via TKO (kick to the body)
- R3 (0:39)
9. Rashad Evans def. Chuck Liddell via KO - R2 (1:51)
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
H.A.P.A.
HAWAIIAN AMATEUR PANKRATION ASSOCIATION
PRESENTS
FRIDAY
NIGHT FIGHTS AT PIPELINE CAFÉ
OCTOBER 17TH DOORS OPEN 5 PM
FIGHTS START AT 6 PM
IF
YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES SIGN UP AT
FIGHTERS CORNER!
WEIGHT
CLASSES ARE:
135lb
145lb
155lb
170lb
185lb
205lb
265 lb
ALL
FIGHTS ARE EXHIBITION AND WEIGH INS ARE OCTOBER 16TH AT FIGHTERS
CORNER
LAST
DAY TO SIGN UP IS SEPTEMBER 30th
Presale
Tickets Start at $20
MUAY THAI
RULES
1. No elbows
2. Muay Thai shorts required
3. Fights are 2 TWO MINUTE rounds with ONE MINUTE break between
rounds
H.A.P.A.
IS PROVIDING
1. Gloves
2. Shinguards
PANKRATION
RULES
Stand up Rules:
1. NO knees
2. NO elbows
3. Two limbs have to be touching ground to be considered on the
ground (two knees or one hand and one knee)
Ground
Rules
1. NO STRIKING
2. ALL SUBMISSIONS WELCOME
3. If there is no position improvement or stalling one warning
second is "1" point
H.A.P.A.
IS PROVIDING
1. Gloves
H.A.P.A.
IS NOT PROVIDING
1. Cups (groin protector)
2. Mouth piece
3. Corner man or supplies
4. Entrance song if you want a song please provide a CD with
only one song.
Source: Fighters Corner
|
THE
INSIDE SCOOP ON COUTURE'S UFC RETURN
by Tom Hamlin
12:57 p.m. – September 2nd, 2008: Randy Couture makes a
new three-fight deal that will keep him in the UFC for three
more fights, starting with Brock Lesnar on Nov. 15 at UFC 91.
The legal battle between Couture and Zuffa, LLC is finished.
The dark clouds hanging over his head have disappeared. Now,
he can do what he loves best… fight.
Up
until 12:56, however, there wasn't a final deal. Couture and
his lawyers still had objections to the proposed UFC contract.
A teleconference of hungry journalists was pushed back an hour.
Within the last few minutes before the actual beginning of the
press conference, Couture remained outside the UFC offices (he
had gone out to take a walk and to talk more freely with his
lawyers). A series of phone calls between Couture's and the UFC's
lawyers played out. The UFC, eager to get their star back into
the fold, and Couture, eager to get back into the Octagon, collectively
resolved the remaining sticking points, and the deal was done.
As
he later stated on the press call, "There were some compromises
made on both sides."
MMAWeekly.com
spoke to several sources that told portions of the story of how
Couture's new UFC deal came to be and what those compromises
may have been. The parties closest to the matter remain pretty
tight-lipped. When contacted for comment, Couture's lawyers,
Samuel Spira and Christopher Rudd at Venable LLP, merely confirmed
the settlement and stated that they were confident that going
forward the parties would have a much more productive relationship.
In
one of the biggest turnaround stories in UFC history, "The
Natural" went from pariah to champion in a little over three
weeks.
A
Texas court set the wheels of negotiation in motion. Lawyers
for Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights filed suit against the UFC in February,
asking for a declaratory ruling on Couture's UFC contract. After
an initial ruling in May allowing a summary judgment hearing
to be put on calendar, lawyers for Zuffa succeeded in obtaining
a temporary stay on the ruling. Then, on Aug. 1, Zuffa was granted
a permanent stay, which effectively shelved the Texas suit until
arbitration proceedings in Nevada – a requirement of Couture's
contract – were complete.
As
weeks passed following the ruling, Couture realized that he had
two options. He could continue to fight in court – his lawyers
had already readied for a new offensive against Zuffa after the
stay was granted – and hope to be free for an upcoming fight.
Or, he could fight in the Octagon, resolve his misgivings about
the UFC, and pursue a fight with Emelianenko from inside the
organization.
But
before he did all that, he needed to try to encourage the UFC
to communicate with Emelianenko's representatives.
UFC
president Dana White had negotiated with Emelianenko's management
shortly after the UFC's purchase of the Pride Fighting Championships
in March of 2007, and had quickly reached an impasse over concessions
they wanted for signing the Russian to the UFC.
Instead
of taking the front door approach, Couture's lawyers arranged
a full day of meetings and photo shoots with Emelianenko and
his management team on Aug. 11 in Los Angeles. The day ended
with a large dinner for the group at the trendy STK Steakhouse
in West Hollywood, hosted by Couture and his lawyers. The meetings
were well documented by the media; in a press luncheon the next
day, Emelianenko said the parties had met to discuss "mutual
business interests."
By
the end of that week, text messages were flying between Couture
and Dana White and the UFC was communicating with Emelianenko's
representatives, but this time, it was his American representatives
at Blue Entertainment Sports Television, the firm tasked with
branding Fedor in the U.S.
In
the middle of all of this, an unlikely angel appeared to assist
Couture. Despite seemingly working against his own interest,
Mark Cuban provided advice and counsel to Couture in an attempt
to bridge the gap between the parties. Affliction wanted to loan
out Emelianenko for one fight, an idea that was not quite what
the UFC had in mind.
Communications
between Emelianenko's American representatives and the UFC are
ongoing. White said he is unwilling to "co-promote"
a fight with Emelianenko's managers – one of the concessions
that halted the original negotiations – but still wanted
to sign the Russian. "We're going to offer him a fair deal,"
he said. Now, White believes the obstacle is Emelianenko's contract,
which binds him to Affliction for two more fights.
"Fedor's
under contract with somebody else right now," he continued.
"Everybody knows how hard we are (in) protecting our contracts,
so that's another obstacle in this whole deal. We would never
interfere with someone else's contract."
White's
assertion is incorrect, though. Emelianenko's Affliction contract
contains a clause that allows him to fight for another promotion
during the term of his contract. In addition to that, his Affliction
deal is exclusive only to the U.S. Even if the UFC decides not
to provoke any more legal issues by attempting to utilize that
clause, they could promote an Emelianenko/Couture fight in the
U.K.
Speculation
that Couture would get a fight with Emelianenko after the Lesnar
fight, sometime in early 2009, continues to mount, although White
has said that the winner of the Couture/Lesnar bout would face
the winner of Nogueira/Mir.
After
the final details was agreed to, at 1:05 p.m., White and Couture
sat in the Zuffa offices, ready to tell their story to the World.
There was a lot more to it than they revealed, but in the end,
it was as much a win-win situation as possible. Couture could
go back to shattering expectations of what's possible for athletes
in their mid-forties, and White could promote what he expects
to be the biggest pay-per-view in the company's 15-year history.
"I
think we've cleared the air," Couture said. "We've
addressed a lot of those issues, we're both in a different place
and both the company and myself are trying to move forward."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JAKKS
to release WEC and PRIDE action figures
The UFC won't be the only Zuffa brand getting the action figure
treatment. Not to be left out, WEC and PRIDE have followed the
UFC into a four-year deal with toymaker JAKKS Pacific.
"We are thrilled to extend our relationship with UFC by
adding the WEC and PRIDE to our action figure roster," said
Stephen Berman, President and COO of JAKKS Pacific. "As
the world leader in fighting action figure toys, we plan on dominating
the Mixed Martial Arts collector action figure arena. The addition
of WEC and PRIDE gives JAKKS a substantial base of fighters with
which to work and develop into a broad and exciting line of collectable
products for fans."
WEC
and PRIDE figures are expected to hit stores Spring 2010.
The
UFC announced in June that it had signed a four-year deal with
JAKKS Pacific that will see the likenesses of Chuck Liddell,
Brock Lesnar, Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira, Michael
Bisping, Anderson Silva and others sculpted into action figures.
There will also be Octagon sets and role-play items based on
the UFC.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Paulo
Filho going to USA
By Guilherme Cruz
A
few days for his next fight against Chael Sonnen to try to continue
the WEC middleweight champion, Paulo Filho goes do USA tonight
to finish his preparation and stay focused on Sonnen. After getting
the plane, Filho spoke to TATAME about the thoughts of the fight,
his problems with depression, his training with André
Galvão, the possibility to face Andeson Silva, a friend
and UFC champion, and analyzed Rousimar Palhares’ bout against
the former pride champion, Dan Handerson. “The depression
is over and now is just happiness, I’m ready for the war”,
guarantees the champion, on the exclusive interview you check
tomorrow in TATAME.com.
Source: Sherdog
|
Xande’s
opponent announced
Debuts against Sugiura
Sengoku
announced today more details on the event scheduled for September
28. Making his debut in MMA, Xande Ribeiro will take on Japan’s
Takashi Sugiura. Despite not being very experienced (only three
MMA bouts), Sugiura can brag about the fact that he fought twice
at Pride FC.
Interestingly
enough, both these fights were against Brazilian athletes. At
Pride 21, in June 2002, he was defeated by Daniel Gracie in a
split decision. But at Bushido 4, in July 2004, he beat Paulo
Cesar “Giant” Silva by technical knockout.
Check
out the updated card and stay tuned for more on Sengoku 5.
Ryan
Schultz vs Jorge Masvidal
Yuki Sasaki vs Yuki Kondo*
Siyar Bahadurzada vs Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos*
Logan Clark vs Jorge Santiago*
Paul Cahoon vs Kazuhiro Nakamura*
Roger Gracie vs t.b.a.
Xande Ribeiro vs Takashi Sugiura
*
Middleweight Grand Prix fights
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Liddell’s
Top 8 Moments in MMA
by Jordan Breen
Zuffa brings its beloved big top to Atlanta on Saturday night
for UFC 88. As good hosts, Dana White and Co. are putting their
best foot forward in Georgia with an end-to-end burner of a fight
card, suitably topped off with MMA's foremost rockstar, Chuck
Liddell (Pictures).
In
a main event some five months in the making, Liddell, now with
full hamstring capabilities, meets the undefeated Rashad Evans
(Pictures). For the 38-year-old Liddell, the fight is a must-win
to secure a December mega-fight with UFC light heavyweight champion
Forrest Griffin (Pictures) and to have one last crack at solidifying
his resume as the sport's greatest light heavyweight.
On
the cusp of boom-or-bust for MMA's favorite San Luis Obispan,
here are eight of the finest episodes from "The Iceman."
And in the interest of class, only one reference to “Good
Morning Texas.”
8.
Liddell vs. Vitor Belfort (Pictures) (June 22, 2002)
While
he impressed in his recent 185-pound debut against Terry Martin
(Pictures), the MMA world has learned to temper its enthusiasm
when it comes to Belfort after approximately 42 career resuscitations.
Six
years ago, we were in the middle of the first Belfort rehabilitation
tour. After embarrassing and deflating losses to Randy Couture
(Pictures) and Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures), Belfort had seemingly
matured in the fight game and was still only 25 years old. It
was supposed to be his time (for real, this time), and he was
thus slated to meet light heavyweight kingpin Tito Ortiz (Pictures)
at both UFC 33 and 36 before injuries nixed the respective bouts.
In the meantime, Liddell had quietly piled up victories of his
own, and as Ortiz began to embrace his poster-boy persona and
shirk in-cage duties, it left a Liddell-Belfort title eliminator
as the obvious solution.
Aided
by Fox Sports Net and “The Best Damn Sports Show Period,”
which aired the fight three days later, the bout was the most
cautious of the ad-hoc promotional vehicle known as UFC 37.5,
which largely featured Octagon neophytes. However, the fight
did showcase the technical and tactical side of Liddell, who
put his now famous cage-crawl takedown defense on display vividly
in the first round.
Even
if the most memorable moment of the affair was the wild, winging
right hook that sent Belfort to the canvas with 90 seconds to
go, Liddell's ability to take over the fight was dictated by
an acute sense of distance created with low kicks and straight
punches. Not epic fight material to be sure, but a major win
in Liddell's career that highlighted the finer technical points
of his game rather than the sizzling KO power he's become acclaimed
for.
Jeff
Sherwood/Sherdog.com
Many
fans and pundits alike saw Jeremy Horn as a serious threat
to Liddell.7. Liddell vs. Jeremy Horn (Pictures) II (Aug. 20,
2005)
You
would be hard-pressed to find a seasoned MMA fan who would admit
to having taken Horn against Liddell. Amidst Horn's current spell
of disinterested doldrums and with hindsight being so crystal
clear, such a prefight prognostication would seem farfetched.
However, a considerable contingent in MMA, even if they will
lie about it now, thought that Horn could pose serious problems
for the newly minted champ.
Much
of the live-underdog hype was arguably generated by kneejerk
anti-Zuffaism that had propelled Horn to indie-hero status after
being cut from the UFC following his Elvis Sinosic (Pictures)
debacle -- the same sentiment that saw Sean Sherk (Pictures),
Ivan Salaverry (Pictures) and Matt Lindland (Pictures) all gain
acclaim and adoration only after being booted from the promotion.
In
spite of Liddell’s title triumph over Randy Couture (Pictures)
only four months earlier, some fans and pundits had begun to
pigeonhole "The Iceman" as a willfully one-dimensional
fighter. Many figured that the submission-slick Horn, who had
never been knocked out, had the skills to outlast and outwit
Liddell on the mat as he had in their first encounter six years
earlier.
Instead,
Horn was bruised and abused over a woefully lopsided opening
10 minutes that featured two nasty near-finishes. Liddell's major
weapons early in the fight were actually straight (at least by
his standards) punches from inside the pocket rather than long-range,
looping artillery. More impressive still, in the wake of Dana
White's infamous "following the game plan" rant that
has become a full-scale MMA meme, Liddell showed sober strategy
in fighting a conservative third round, only to come out firing
in the fourth and halt Horn, who told referee "Big"
John McCarthy he could no longer see.
Liddell's
one-sided avenging of his first loss was an early indicator of
his title reign ahead, even if those who had backed Horn will
never admit it.
6.
Liddell vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral I (Nov. 22, 2002)
Much
of Liddell's ability to transcend the sport itself and become
a pop culture icon can be traced to his physical packaging. The
distinctive Mohawk and mustache combo, the head tattoo and the
killer's stare all richly contribute to a seemingly violent veneer
that is the exact example of how the public would expect an MMA
ambassador to look.
Beyond
the world of posters and promotion, however, Liddell has secured
his stature in the sport by embodying the non-superficial essence
of prizefighting with an anyone-anywhere-anytime mantra -- an
attitude exemplified by his first bout with Renato Sobral (Pictures).
Already
installed as the UFC's top 205-pound contender to then-incumbent
king Tito Ortiz (Pictures), Liddell voluntarily chose to take
on the ever-tough and well-traveled "Babalu" rather
than rest on his laurels and wait for the elusive Ortiz. The
fight was more a favor to Liddell from Zuffa than vice versa,
and although he was a rightful favorite, a Liddell loss on the
main card of the biggest event the promotion had staged to that
point would've been relatively disastrous.
Just
inside the three-minute mark of the first round, Liddell thwarted
Sobral's attempt to play spoiler, putting his left shin across
the Brazilian's mug in brutal fashion. While he would replicate
his victory over Sobral in their August 2006 rematch in a mere
95 seconds, Liddell's display of his down-for-whatever disposition
and a highlight reel KO he'll be reaping royalties from forever
make their first encounter the more memorable.
5. Liddell vs. Guy Mezger (Pictures) (May 27, 2001)
It
seems like eons and epochs ago that a prized Zuffa fighter could
have jumped on a plane and scrapped in Japan for another company.
Crazier still, when Liddell halted former UFC heavyweight champion
Kevin Randleman (Pictures) in 78 seconds on May 4, he had scored
the biggest win of his career. Just 23 days later, he met Guy
Mezger (Pictures) in Yokohama and usurped that win.
A
battle of two top-10 light heavyweights at the time, Pride parent
company Dream Stage Entertainment officially announced the bout
less than two weeks beforehand in true DSE style. While Liddell
looked to play predator early, stalking Mezger around the ring
and attacking with right-handed haymakers, Mezger’s experience
was on display as he soundly outstruck Liddell with crisp counters.
With the opening 10 minutes winding down, Mezger even gave Liddell
a taste of his own medicine, putting him on the mat momentarily
with a rainbow right hand.
Despite
Mezger getting the better of Liddell and seemingly having a handle
on things, Liddell turned in his most brutal bit of handiwork
early in the second round. Pushing Mezger back to the ropes,
Liddell began firing wildly with punches, and when Mezger attempted
to return fire, Liddell let loose with a whipping right hand
that absolutely melted Mezger on the spot.
The
brutal bird's-eye view of the aftermath crystallized the vicious
KO as one of MMA's pantheon-level finishes, revealing a motionless
Mezger with his left leg pinned precariously beneath him and
his right arm slung over his chest as if he'd been laid to eternal
rest in the middle of Yokohama Arena.
Liddell
is known as one of the sport's most brutal hitters, and none
have been more brutal than his one-hitter-quitter of Guy Mezger
(Pictures).
4.
Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz (Pictures) II (Dec. 30, 2006)
Chuck
Liddell (Pictures)'s rematch with Tito Ortiz (Pictures) was not
his greatest triumph. It was not a bout that transformed MMA
fans into stark-raving lunatics with excitement the way Fedor
Emelianenko (Pictures) vs. Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) did. It
didn't produce anything significant for the Liddell highlight
reel. What it did produce, though, was a mega-marketable matchup
that made for a media and monetary breakthrough for MMA.
There
was little reason to believe Ortiz-Liddell round deux would end
any differently than their first fight. However, it didn't stop
all major media outlets from turning UFC 66 into a major sporting
spectacle, including ESPN, which two years earlier would have
seemed like an insane pipe dream for MMA.
In
the end, UFC 66 took in a gate just under $5.4 million and a
whopping estimate of 1.05 million pay-per-view buys, making it
by far the most lucrative North American MMA event to date. As
for the fight, while Ortiz did better than most expected, Liddell
retained his title with a third-round stoppage due to strikes
(and with a torn MCL, no less).
The
profile of the bout also launched Liddell's pop culture crossover,
leading to appearances on Letterman, Leno and “Entourage,”
and giving us his infamous appearance on “Good Morning Texas.”
Liddell
brought his A-game in both bouts with rival Tito Ortiz.3. Liddell
vs. Tito Ortiz (Pictures) I (April 2, 2004)
But,
for the purposes of this list, magnitude triumphs the monetary,
and few fights in the sport's history have produced the anticipation
of the first clash between Liddell and Ortiz.
The
back story is familiar lore to MMA fans at this point. Once upon
a time, Ortiz and Liddell went away to fight camp together, and
depending on whom you believe, they either stayed up all night
telling ghost stories, pricked each other’s fingers to become
blood brothers and swore to never fight, or Liddell beat up Ortiz,
kicked sand in his eyes and made him cry every day.
Whichever
you believe is up to you, but regardless, with Randy Couture
(Pictures) rekindling his rivalry with Vitor Belfort (Pictures)
and both Ortiz and Liddell returning after losses to "The
Natural," the timing was perfect for two of the sport's
most storied 205-pounders to square off.
While
the majority of the first round produced little action, the sheer
tension between the two was enough to carry it until the last
five seconds of the round, when Liddell landed a volley of strikes
that ignited the crowd at Mandalay Bay and caused Ortiz to taunt
Liddell in defiance.
However,
carrying over into the second round, the excitement had no chance
to build to a crescendo. Instead it combusted quickly when Liddell
forced Ortiz to retreat to the fence (or poked him in the eye,
depending again on which version of the truth you prefer), and
let loose with a furious chaingun flurry of punches that put
Ortiz down and out.
Liddell's
triumph over Ortiz isn't the fight that made him a champion,
but it is the bout that turned him into a bonafide star.
2.
Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) (Dec. 29, 2007)
From
the moment he first set foot in Japan, where Wanderlei Silva
(Pictures) made his combative home in Pride, Liddell told anyone
who would listen that he wanted to fight the Brazilian.
More
than any matchup in MMA history, Silva-Liddell morphed astonishingly
over its chaotic six-and-a-half-year buildup. As Silva began
his destructive reign as Pride's light heavyweight kingpin, many
believed he was the alpha dog -- an opinion strengthened in November
2003, when Liddell was brutally bashed by Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson in Pride's 205-pound grand prix. When Liddell finally
struck gold in the UFC, though, and tore off seven straight knockouts,
Silva's struggles with Brazilian rival Ricardo Arona (Pictures)
and his brutal demolition at the hands of Mirko "Cro Cop"
Filipovic led most to think Liddell would be the victor if the
most mythic of MMA fantasy matchups ever actually happened.
The
MMA world waited years for Liddell to take on Wanderlei Silva,
and the bout delivered.If Silva's February 2007 crushing KO loss
to Dan Henderson (Pictures) didn't kill all hope of the 205-pound
pie in the sky, Liddell losing his UFC title to Quinton Jackson
(Pictures) three months later, and subsequent lackluster loss
to Keith Jardine (Pictures), did. Yet, with Pride buried by Zuffa
and Silva under UFC contract as 2007 drew to a close, the fighters’
recent failings only made the stakes higher with a back-against-the-wall,
absolute must-win scenario for the sport's two greatest light
heavyweights.
After
a buildup that lasted longer than either World War, it would've
been nigh-impossible for the fight to live up to the hype. And
yet, it did.
Silva-Liddell
offered 15 minutes of the brand of balls-to-the-wall brawling
that both have become famous for, with both men hitting the deck
and a frenetic five minutes in round two that has unlimited replay
value. However, throughout the bout, it was Liddell who controlled
the action, landing the more brutal blows that seemingly would
have ended such an affair on any other night. In the end, “The
Iceman” picked up a richly deserved unanimous decision.
If there is one moment in MMA we can point to in order to justify
holding fast to our dreams and bathing in the promotional bluster,
this is it.
1. Liddell vs. Randy Couture (Pictures) II (April 16, 2005)
Anything
else here would be unsuitable.
The
UFC's product, and perhaps even the sport on the whole, can be
divided into the pre-“Ultimate Fighter” and post-“Ultimate
Fighter” eras. Ask Dana White, and he'll tell you that the
hopes of Zuffa and the UFC, and as a result, North American MMA,
were all-in on the success of “The Ultimate Fighter”
series.
While
we remember the inaugural TUF season most for bed urination,
door breaking, fatherless bastards and asparagus (among other
things), its larger design was to promote the rematch between
Chuck Liddell (Pictures) and Randy Couture (Pictures) for the
light heavyweight title -- the biggest fight the UFC could muster
at the time.
When
discussing TUF and the current climate of the sport, the 205-pound
finale between Forrest Griffin (Pictures) and Stephan Bonnar
(Pictures) is considered the ultimate moment, the JFK where-were-you-when,
the moment when MMA was forced into the mind of the mainstream.
It lived up to its purpose, making it possibly the best infomercial
in history. However, if Griffin-Bonnar I was what fixed the public's
eyes to MMA, something else would have to glue them there.
Seven
days later at the MGM Grand, the Couture-Liddell rematch raked
in a $2.57 million gate and an estimated 280,000 PPV buys, smashing
previous North American MMA marks. While the rest of the card
was crackling, Couture and Liddell's second go-around did not
live up to the sustained action and drama of their first encounter
of June 2003 that Couture had won. Instead, just six ticks past
the two-minute mark, Liddell turned Couture's lights out with
a brutal right-hand counter, culminating Liddell's seven-year
odyssey to become a UFC champion.
While
Liddell would duplicate his KO victory over Couture in their
rubber match 10 months later, his capture of the UFC light heavyweight
crown stands as his finest hour.
His
first victory over Tito Ortiz (Pictures) made him a star and
his second made him a cultural superstar, but it's his title
victory over Couture that paved the road in between, marking
his transition from perennial contender to champion and putting
a face and a fist to the new era in MMA -- a far cry from the
dream-in-the-dark the sport had when Liddell first stepped into
the cage.
Source: Sherdog
|
PHIL
BARONI HEADS PALACE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP
The Palace Fighting Championship on Thursday announced the full
line-up for its Sept. 26 event at the Tachi Palace Hotel and
Casino in Lemoore, Calif. The main event features Ultimate Fighting
Championship and Pride veteran Phil Baroni squaring off with
popular Mexican fighter Olaf Alfonso.
The
fight will be Baroni’s third since making the move down
to the 170-pound division following a three-fight skid in his
last three middleweight bouts. He has defeated both of his opponents
thus far at welterweight.
Alfonso
is a popular fighter in Lemoore area, winning his two most recent
bouts. He is trying to stay on track following a six-fight nosedive
spanning most of 2005-2007.
PFC
10 also features three title bouts. Shawn Klarcyk defends his
bantamweight bet from Brandon Miller. Brian Cobb makes the first
defense of his belt against Lance Wipf in the lightweight division.
In a battle for the vacant welterweight title, Bryan Travers
faces Jeremiah Metcalf.
-Phil
Baroni vs. Olaf Alfonso
-Shawn Klarcyk vs. Brandon Miller
-Brian Cobb vs. Lance Wipf
-Bryan Travers vs. Jeremiah Metcalf
-Antonio Banuelos vs. Bryan Goldsby
-David Mitchell vs. David Suarez
-Chris Botelho vs. Anthony Bivins
-Poppies Martinez vs. Sergio Cortez
-Dustin Akbari vs. Bill Theofanopoulos
-Joe Soto vs. Brandon Jinnies
-Lavar Johnson vs. Vince Lucero
-Elvis Franco vs. Mike Craddock
-Joey Cabezas vs. Billy Terry
-Xavier Foupa-Pokam vs. Derek Thornton
-Chad Mendes vs. Giovanni Encarncacion
-Luis Gonzales vs. Elbert Randle
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Maxim
for life: You get treated in life the way you teach people to
treat you."
Wayne Dyer, American Psychotherapist/Author/Lecturer
|
UFC
88 'Breakthrough' Preview
by Robert Rousseau
Today!
Hawaii
Air Times
3:00PM UFC 88 Preview Channel 559 (SPIKE)
4:00 PM Channel 701 (Oceanic Cable)
UFC 88 will come to us all live on September 6th from the Philips
Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The event will give Atlanta its first
taste of live UFC action, and there’s sure to be a lot of
it when Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell takes on Rashad
Evans for the likely right to face Forrest Griffin for the UFC
Light Heavyweight Championship.
But
UFC 88 is about a lot more than just the headliner. On the night,
Rich “Ace” Franklin will jump up to the light heavyweight
division when he takes on former TUF star Matt Hamill. Former
PRIDE champion Dan Henderson will try to avoid three straight
losses when he takes on BJJ wizard, Rousimar Palhares.
As
is always the case these days in the UFC, this card is simply
chock-full. So let’s get to the nitty gritty.
Chuck
Liddell (21-5) vs. Rashad Evans (11-0-1): Chuck Liddell may do
two things better than anyone that has ever fought in the light
heavyweight division. First, he may have better one punch knockout
power than any 205 pounder in history. Second, he may have the
best takedown defense as well.
In
other words, wrestlers beware.
Liddell
is an outstanding counter puncher whose technical striking is
better than he’s given credit for. His wrestling skills
are wholly underrated and of course are the reason for his stellar
takedown defense. As for BJJ, it’s hard to say.
Liddell
hardly every ends up on the ground. He likes to knock people
out as those 13 career (T)KO’s would seem to attest to.
Rashad
Evans is a former Michigan State Division I-A college wrestler
with excellent takedowns, takedown defense, and ground control
skills. As one might guess from a Division 1 athlete, Evans is
simply very athletic. Along with this, he possesses fast reflexes
and some good power.
Though
Evans’ jiu jitsu and submission skills appear to be improving,
they represent a relative weakness
Beyond
that, the knock on Evans— at least in relation to Chuck
Liddell— would probably have to be his finishing skills.
More than half of his wins have ended in decision.
And
the more chances you give Chuck Liddell to hit you the worse
your chances of victory.
Prediction:
Evans can take a punch, which will help him here. Further, he
has some power and is fast on his feet. But this fight would
seem to be tailor made for Liddell. As good as his opponent’s
wrestling is, one would be hard pressed to say that it’s
better than Randy Couture’s, who had serious difficulties
getting Liddell to the ground in their final two encounters.
In the end, that’s exactly what Evans will probably have
to do to win this one; continually take Liddell down and avoid
getting knocked out.
But
considering Liddell’s takedown defense and ridiculous power,
that’s a tall order.
Chuck
Liddell wins by second round KO over an excellent opponent.
Rich
Franklin vs. Matt Hamill (4-1): Former TUF contestant Matt Hamill
is an outstanding wrestler. He’s also very strong; inhumanly
so, almost. Since the show ended, Hamill has also clearly improved
his striking immensely.
Despite
these strengths and the fact that many believe he’s never
really lost (the loss to Bisping was controversial) Hamill doesn’t
have much in the line of submissions. Further, even when on top
on the ground he sometimes seems too willing to stay in his opponent’s
guard where the damage he does is sometimes less than you’d
expect. He’s certainly very capable as he showed against
Tim Boetsch in spurts on the ground.
It
seems to be a matter of putting it altogether.
Rich
Franklin is moving up in weight to a division he once resided
in. Along with this, you have to wonder if the move will impact
the amazing cardio he has become known for. Regardless, he possesses
better than average takedowns, takedown defense, submissions,
and technical striking. Further, he hits very hard.
Franklin
has it all except perhaps elite striking skills, which have led
to knockout losses to Anderson Silva (twice) and Lyoto Machida.
In other words, despite his toughness, against the best of the
best, Franklin has sometimes fallen via (T)KO.
Prediction:
There’s no denying that Hamill poses challenges for Franklin
from a wrestling and power perspective. In other words, expect
Ace to end up on his back more than once. Still, Franklin is
better than his adversary on the feet and will likely attempt
a few submissions from his back when that’s where the fight
goes. Hamill’s inexperience may show in this one, even if
he isn’t stopped.
Someday
this one might be Hamill’s. But today?
Rich
Franklin wins via unanimous decision.
Karo
Parisyan (18-5) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (10-2): Yoshida has won
nine straight and looked excellent in defeating John Koppenhaver
by Anaconda Choke in less than a minute in his only UFC performance.
The bottom line is that Yoshida has excellent judo skills, is
a very tough hombre, and has more than solid submissions.
He’s
also pretty good on his feet and is a ground and pound specialist.
He’s simply well rounded.
Parisyan
has looked like a title contender on multiple occasions throughout
his MMA career before faltering, such as was the case when he
was knocked out in his last fight by Thiago Alves. Still, Parisyan
is a judo nightmare for opponents. What’s more, he has excellent
submissions, usually fights at a breakneck pace, and has improved
his striking tremendously.
Parisyan
is also tough. But how does he respond from a knockout loss?
Prediction:
This may very well prove to be a good fight. Yoshida will likely
test Parisyan’s judo and ground skills. Still, provided
that we see the same Parisyan we saw before the loss to Alves,
figure that he’ll do enough to get back on the winning track.
Karo
Parisyan wins via unanimous decision.
Dan
Henderson (22-7) vs. Rousimar Palhares (8-1): Figure that Henderson
is better on his feet in this one. That said, Palhares has ridiculous
submission skills. In the end, this fight will go to the ground
in spurts. If Henderson ends up on top he wins. If Palhares ends
up on top, it’s likely submission time.
But
Henderson has that wrestling pedigree.
Dan
Henderson wins via unanimous (ground and pound) decision. Still,
this is a very close call that could go either way.
Martin
Kampmann (13-1) vs. Nate Marquardt (29-8-2): This is going to
be a war. To be honest, it’s another one of those too close
to call fights.
But
that’s not what you want to hear. . .
Martin
Kampmann wins in an upset by way of TKO in round two.
Thiago
Tavares (13-2) vs. Kurt Pellegrino (11-4): Tavares has 10 submission
victories and three out of four of Pellegrino’s losses have
come by way of submission. This should be a good fight while
it lasts.
Thiago
Tavares wins via second round submission.
Tim
Boetsch (7-2) vs. Michael Patt (12-2): Patt is very good on the
ground, but Boetsch is hard to get there. Oh yeah, and he hits
like a truck.
Tim
Boetsch wins via second round TKO.
Dong
Hyun Kim (10-0-1) vs. Matt Brown (7-6): Somebody’s getting
knocked out here.
Matt
Brown wins via second round TKO.
Jason
Lambert (23-8) vs. Jason MacDonald (20-10): Lambert’s been
on a bad streak and sometimes those are hard to get off of.
Jason
MacDonald wins via close decision.
Roan
Carneiro (12-7) vs. Ryo Chonan (14-8): Chonan is hard to submit
and has improved his takedown defense tremendously.
Ryo
Chonan wins via unanimous decision.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Dan
Inosanto Two Day Semi-Private Training Event!
Today &
Tomorrow
On Saturday,
September 6th and Sunday September 7th, Burton Richardson and
JKD Unlimited will host Tuhon Dan Inosanto for a special semi-private
training event here in Honolulu. Tuhon Inosanto is considered
the most knowledgeable martial artist that the world has ever
known, as he has researched every system and style possible over
the last 50 years. He is best known for being Bruce Lee's number
one student and training partner, but is also famous for his
work in bringing previously unknown systems into the limelight.
From the Filipino Martial Arts to Muay Thai to Pentjak Silat
to French Savate and Burmese Bando, Inosanto's never-ending quest
is to make more martial arts available to students everywhere.
He is also a great example to follow, as this legendary martial
artist strapped on a white belt and took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
at the age of 60!
He is now a black belt under the Machado brothers. This will
be a very special seminar, as it will be semi-private. No more
that 20 participants will be enrolled. This will allow each attendee
to submit a particular question or request to be covered by Tuhon
Inosanto over the weekend. It will also mean that participants
will get more one on one interaction with this amazing instructor.
In addition, each participant will be invited to attend a dinner
with Tuhon Inosanto, to talk story with this legend. Ten will
go on Saturday's dinner, the other ten on Sunday's dinner.
The cost for this special weekend is only $500 per person. $250
is required to reserve your spot to be one of the twenty. Please
call 864-1620 for more information and to arrange for payment.
This will be a weekend to remember.
Aloha, Burton Richardson
|
Source: Fighters Corner
|
UFC
88: MARQUARDT SEES KAMPMANN AS UPGRADE
by Damon Martin
“You
can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes,
you just might find, you get what you need.”
When
Mick Jagger wrote the classic song “You Can’t Always
Get What You Want,” he obviously had no idea that it would
one day relate to the sport of mixed martial arts, but for Nate
Marquardt there may not be a more perfect theme song.
In
his last bout, he faced Brazilian Thales Leites in a middleweight
showdown and despite the former King of Pancrase’s dominant
performance two separate illegal strikes causing point deductions
essentially cost him the match.
Leites
got the win via a split decision victory, but far from a definitive
performance, many fans instantly asked for a rematch to settle
the matter. Marquardt also asked for that same rematch, but he
was soon rebuffed in his request.
“I
think they would have given me that fight, I asked for it and
their response was (Leites) didn’t want to fight me again,”
said Marquardt in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio.
Little
did he know that his request for a rematch being denied may have
led him to the bigger fight that he faces on Saturday night as
he squares off against Martin Kampmann at UFC 88 in Atlanta.
“You
can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes,
you just might find, you get what you need.”
Regardless
of the rematch with Leites, Marquardt believes he is in a much
better position than his last opponent, taking on a fighter that
could be poised for a title shot in the near future. That’s
exactly what the Colorado resident is looking for as well and
he’s not looking back at past fights.
“My
stock went up after that fight,” he commented about the
Leites bout. “I’m getting a better fight than he’s
getting. I’m getting a fight against someone that beat him,
someone that’s undefeated. I’m trying to climb the
ladder, I want to get to the top and I think if I had a rematch
against him any time after this fight it would be kind of a step
down.”
What
he faces in Martin Kampmann is a tough as nails striker who has
also shown a great ability to control the ground game as well.
Marquardt knows he will have to be on top of his game to beat
the Danish fighter at UFC 88.
“He
is very well rounded, but at the same time I know I can beat
him in any area,” he said about Kampmann. “I don’t
necessarily know what his gameplan is, that’s going to be
one of the biggest questions. I can assume some things from watching
his past fights.”
Following
his last bout, Marquardt traveled to Montreal to help good friend
and training partner Georges St. Pierre prepare for his most
recent bout before traveling to Greg Jackson’s gym in New
Mexico and then closing out his training at his home gym in Colorado,
giving him the best possible camp to get ready for Kampmann.
Always
staying positive, Marquardt hopes that he gets to fight at least
one more time in 2008, and he is also hopeful to get a second
shot at champion Anderson Silva so he can “be the one that
knocks him off there.”
First
up on the agenda is facing Martin Kampmann in a feature bout
at UFC 88 in Atlanta on Saturday night.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
'Cro
Cop'-Overeem announced for DREAM 6
DREAM today announced three additional bouts for DREAM 6 on Sept.
23 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The big addition is a heavyweight "bad blood" bout
between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic and Alistair Overeem,
who has called out "Cro Cop" for dodging him during
their time at PRIDE. Read about that here.
For
this fight "Cro Cop" has worked extra hard to improve
his defense against guillotine chokes -- an Overeem favorite
-- by bringing to Croatia grappling expert Dean Lister.
In
the other two bouts, popular K-1 fighter "Mighty Mo"
will take on PRIDE veteran Sergei Kharitonov in a heavyweight
matchup, and karate champ Andrews Nakahara will fight judo champ
Yoon Dong Sik in a middleweight tournament reserve bout.
DREAM
6: Middleweight GP 2008 Final Round
September 23, 2008
Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan
Tournament
Bouts:
-Ronaldo
"Jacare" Souza vs. Zelg Galesic
-Melvin Manhoef vs. Gegard Mousasi
-Dong Sik Yoon vs. Andrews Nakahara (Reserve)
Non-Tournament
Bouts:
-Mirko
"Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Alistair Overeem
-Sergei Kharitonov vs. "Mighty Mo"
-Hideo Tokoro vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Source: MMA Fighting
|
HDNet,
Affliction Announce Long-Term Partnership
Sam Caplan
HDNet
issued a press release Wednesday afternoon to formally announce
a long-term partnership to televise Affliction’s MMA events.
The precise duration of the agreement was not specified in the
release.
The
events that will be televised on HDNet will be 60-90 minute specials
to air immediately prior to major Affliction pay-per-view events,
similar to the format utilized between Affliction and Fox Sports
Net prior to the promotion’s first show on July 19.
The
agreement between HDNet and Affliction will commence during Affliction’s
“Day of Reckoning” show on Oct. 10 in Las Vegas at
the Thomas & Mack Center.
“This
is the beginning of a long-term partnership with Affliction that
encompasses live MMA, co-marketing and top fighters for the top
weekly show in MMA - Inside MMA on HDNet,” HDNet Fights
CEO Andrew Simon is quoted in the release. “Affliction has
quickly become one of the top organizations in MMA which means
it is a must have for HDNet.”
According
to the press release, three matches will air beginning at 7:30
p.m. ET with Kenny Rice, Bas Rutten, and Ron Kruck handling the
broadcast duties. So far, only two of the three matchups set
to air have been announced, which include former IFL heavyweight
champion Roy Nelson fighting former UFC heavyweight title challenger
Paul Buentello and welterweights Mike Pyle and Jason High.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Kharitonov-Mighty
Mo Added to Dream 6
Just under three weeks out from their Sept. 23 middleweight grand
prix finale, Dream and K-1 parent company Fighting and Entertainment
Group have formalized another trio of bouts for the bill at Saitama
Super Arena.
The
most high profile of the three added affairs is the anticipated
heavyweight clash between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
and Alistair Overeem. A match-up several months in the making,
Sherdog.com confirmed the clash with Overeem late last week.
The
mercurial Overeem, 28, has recently regained his stride with
a string of impressive victories. After a 2-5 stretch through
2006 and 2007, the high-flying Dutchman has taken three straight
victories, including a brutal bashing of Paul Buentello last
November to capture Strikeforce's heavyweight crown, and a surprisingly
stealthy 71-second submission victory over former K-1 World Grand
Prix champion Mark Hunt in July.
Filipovic
hasn't seen action since his 56-second axing of an overmatched
Tatsuya Mizuno at the inaugural Dream event in March. Injuries
have since sidelined the Croatian star, forcing him out off of
Dream's June and July efforts, where potential opponents ranged
from fellow K-1 stalwarts Jerome LeBanner and Siala "Mighty
Mo" Siliga, as well as a proposed grappling match with Ralek
Gracie. After pulling out off July 21's Dream effort, "CroCop"
announced that he opted for an arthoscopy to heal a nagging right
elbow injury, also taking the time to recover from a lingering
knee injury.
In
other heavyweight action, Sergei Kharitonov will make his return
to the ring, taking on the aforementioned Siliga, better known
as "Mighty Mo.”
Kharitonov
hasn't seen action in a year, having not fought since last September
where the well-regarded Russian avenged his February 2006 loss
to Alistair Overem with a first-round knockout.
Siligia,
best known as a sturdy banger within the K-1 ring, holds a 3-0
mark in MMA, having last bested late-replacement extraordinaire
Ruben "Warpath" Villareal in 93 seconds in June 2007.
However, in the kickboxing ring, Mo snapped a five-bout losing
streak last month, taking a unanimous decision victory over Justice
Smith.
Also
official is the middleweight tournament's reserve bout, pitting
all-star judoka Dong Sik Yoon against kyokushin karate convert
Andrews Nakahara. Nakahara was submitted in his MMA debut in
April against MMA icon Kazushi Sakuraba, while Yoon made it past
Shungo Oyama in the tournament's first round before being bested
by Gegard Mousasi in June's quarterfinal.
The
Sept. 23 middleweight grand prix finale will feature semifinals
bouts featuring Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza taking on Zelg
Galesic, while Gegard Mousasi battles Melvin Manhoef, with the
two bout's winners meeting later that evening to crown Dream's
middleweight champion.
In
non-tournament action, Hideo Tokoro is scheduled to face Norifumi
"Kid" Yamamoto pupil Atsushi Yamamoto.
Source: Sherdog
|
Rafael
Cavalcante fights for EliteXC belt
By Guilherme Cruz
Rafael
“Feijão” Cavalcante just needed three fights
do get his main goal: the opportunity to win the EliteXC light-heavyweight
belt. Scheduled to be on October 5th’s edition, the Brazilian
fighter still doesn’t know who will he face, but he knows
that it’ll be a title bout. In an exclusive interview to
TATAME, he spoke about the next fight, his preparation and his
great time in the event. "That’s a goal that I had
plan since the beginning of the year with my coaches, and thanks
God we made it, and I hope I bring this belt to Brazil. I’m
doing my best and I’ll get there in shape", said the
athlete, in the exclusive interview that you can check today
here in TATAME.com.
Source: Tatame
|
Brock
Lesnar's Wresting Coach Leaves College Coaching To Train Lesnar
Exclusively
According to the Associated Press, Minnesota assistant wrestling
coach Marty Morgan will be leaving the program he worked with
for 16 years, in order focus exclusively on his former collegiate
champion Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar, who has made a huge splash in the UFC is fighting Randy
Couture for the promotions heavyweight championship in November.
Morgan
stated that he will focus on training Lesnar for the next year
and then reevaluate his plans for the future.
Source: Fight Line
|
Quote
of the Day
"All
achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea."
Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970, American Speaker/Motivational Writer/Author
of "Think and Grow Rich"
|
UFC
88: IS PALHARES UFC CHAMP'S NEXT IN LINE?
by Mick Hammond
Heading into this weekend’s UFC 88 in Atlanta, there will
be an intriguing match-up in the middleweight division of two
fighters headed in different directions at this point in their
careers.
On
one hand, you have former Pride dual titleholder Dan Henderson,
nearing the twilight of his career and currently on a two-fight
skid. On the other, you have Rousimar Palhares, in just his second
year of fighting and on an impressive six-fight winning streak.
For
Palhares in particular, this bout could very well be a turning
point in his career. A win could springboard him towards title
contention above the current logjam that is the 185-pound weight
class.
“I
am feeling very well and confident,” said Palhares entering
the toughest task of his young career. “I worked hard for
this moment.”
Coming
from the legendary Brazilian Top Team, he is eager to showcase
his skills, improve and further develop the foundations that
his team preaches.
“I
have been working the same; a lot of jiu-jitsu, takedowns and
boxing,” he commented.
“I
think I (am) getting better each fight, but I still have a lot
to improve in my skills. That’s why I work so hard every
day – I am hungry to learn everything I can.”
Along
with his eagerness in training, Palhares also has the advantage
of getting insightful information on fighting Dan Henderson from
his coach and team leader, Murilo Bustamante.
“Yes,
for sure, he has been giving me lots of advice,” he commented
of Bustamante’s involvement. “He has been studying
the strategy of me fighting Henderson, and what’d be best
to use against him.
“It
makes me totally confident in my game.”
Palhares
seems intent to make the match-up an action fight by being aggressive.
“I
think it will be a great fight,” he exclaimed. “I want
to step in the Octagon ASAP and start the fight.
“I
think he will try to fight standing – using his punches
– but I am ready to fight everywhere. I can just promise
I will push the fight all the time.”
With
his focus squarely on UFC 88, Palhares doesn’t want to worry
too much about his future in the promotion; but he does want
to stay busy and continue to face high-caliber competition.
“I
hope to fight again this year,” he said. “I am a professional,
and I love what I do; I want to be in the Octagon as much as
I can.
“I
just want to fight the best opponents the UFC can give me.”
Currently
the UFC’s middleweight division is in need of a clear-cut
contender for champ Anderson Silva’s belt.
With
a career that appears to be heading upward, Rousimar Palhares
could very well find himself in a mix for the title shot, should
he get past the waning Dan Henderson this Saturday in Atlanta.
“I
would like to thank God, that has been helping me in my life;
driving me on the way that made (it possible) to help my family,”
he concluded.
**Special
thanks to Murilo Bustamante for his help in making this article
possible.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Gonzaga
Meeting Hendricks at UFC 91
Sam Caplan
Former
UFC heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga will make his
Octagon return on Nov. 15 at UFC 91 in Portland, Oregon against
UFC newcomer Josh Hendricks. Bout agreements have yet to be finalized
but both camps have verbally committed to the fight.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com
first learned of the matchup early Tuesday morning from a source
speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Gonzaga
ended a two fight losing streak at UFC 86 on July 5 when he submitted
Justin McCully with a Kimura at 1:57 of round 1. Prior to the
victory he had lost a UFC heavyweight title fight against Randy
Couture at UFC 74 last August and then had lost a rematch to
Fabricio Werdum at UFC 80 this past January.
Hendricks
is based out of Ohio and has a record of 14-4 with one no contest.
He hasn’t lost in his last ten fights with his most recent
victory coming against James Powell via knockout at 3:35 of round
1 during a Legends of Fighting event this past November. He also
fought and lost against former UFC veterans Sam Hoger and Travis
Wiuff earlier in his career.
The
only match officially announced for UFC 91 thus far is a lightweight
encounter between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson. FiveOuncesOfPain.com
was also the first to report over the weekend that season seven
winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” Amir Sadollah announced
at Combat Sports Challenge 26 on Saturday that he expects to
fight on the show as well.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Parisyan
Under Pressure
by Danny Acosta
The fight comes natural to Karo Parisyan (Pictures), an Armenian-born
welterweight who started Judo when he was 9 years old and mixed
martial arts when he was 14.
Looking
to rebound from his first stoppage loss -- a TKO at the hands
of American Top Team’s Thiago Alves (Pictures) -- in seven
years, Parisyan (18-5) will meet Yoshiyuki Yoshida (Pictures)
at UFC 88 “Breakthrough” this Saturday at Philips Arena
in Atlanta. He declared himself ready for the Japanese standout
mere days before they collide.
“If
I get hit by lighting and I lose, God forbid, I don’t care,”
Parisyan says. “All I know for this fight is I trained twice
as hard as I did for the Thiago Alves fight. I have to thank
Thiago Alves. He woke me up.”
New
to the UFC scene but seasoned by plenty of international experience,
Yoshida (10-2) made his Octagon debut in May and choked Jon Koppenhaver
(Pictures) unconscious with an anaconda choke. “Zenko”
will enter the bout on a nine-fight winning streak. Included
in that streak was a TKO victory of Akira Kikuchi (Pictures),
the last man to defeat reigning EliteXC welterweight champion
Jake Shields (Pictures). Despite the obvious risks, Parisyan
wants to match skills with the fourth-degree Judo black belt.
“I
think I’m a little better MMA fighter than he is,”
Parisyan says. “Anyone can beat me at 170. I know what’s
going to be on the table. I’m going to try my best to neutralize
everything he does and beat him up.”
Outside
the cage, Parisyan (18-5) fights a different battle, one with
which millions are familiar. Panic disorder has become a daily
threat to normalcy.
According
to the American Psychological Association, one out of every 75
people suffers from the condition. Parisyan noticed symptoms
prior to his UFC Fight Night 13 bout against Alves in April.
It affected his training, and, at one point, he wanted to go
home before the fight, not for fear of competing but as a coping
mechanism for his anxiety. He succumbed to strikes against the
red-hot Brazilian in the second round. A nine-year veteran, he
had been finished only one other time as a professional.
“I
blame the loss because of my training, not being mentally focused
and being burned out from all these years; I didn’t blame
it on my panic attacks,” Parisyan says. “If people
think I blame the loss on a panic attack -- people say I’m
lying -- it really upsets me. People that actually don’t
have any idea what we go through can just sit there and just
judge you and say, ‘He’s just lying. He’s bulls--tting.
He’s a liar.’ It’s not right.”
Parisyan
found an ally in the form of MMA coaching guru Greg Jackson.Panic
disorder manifests itself in many ways. Symptoms include dizziness,
lightheadedness, nausea, paralyzing terror and feelings of insanity
or oncoming death. They range from mild to severe.
“I
thought it was heart problems,” Parisyan says. “But
when I asked the doctor what was wrong, he said throughout the
years, all the stress you go through in fighting, working out
to fight -- all that stuff you go through -- it builds up like
a bubble, and eventually it bursts and hits you with panic attacks.
That’s what they told me. Twelve years down the line you
start burning out, and somehow you have to repair it.”
Despite
his refusal to take prescription pills, Parisyan actively addresses
the problem. He stays away from triggers -- small rooms make
him feel claustrophobic -- and has found support in doctors,
friends and family. However, the unpredictable nature of the
disorder makes it nearly impossible to wrangle.
“After
the Alves fight, I had moved into a new house,” Parisyan
says. “The night before I was going to move, it hit me.
At the middle of the night, 2 a.m., I woke up just breathing
crazy. My heartbeat was going through the roof. My blood pressure
was 160 over 120. My mind was racing. I thought I was having
a heart attack; I didn’t know what was going on, and I was
afraid to wake anybody up because I didn’t know what it
was.”
Panic
disorder can even distort reality. In a profession that demands
control over one’s mind and body, Parisyan finds himself
in a daily struggle with an elusive opponent.
“I
think my biggest problem with these panic attacks is I’m
not able sleep,” he says. “Sometimes my bed becomes
like a casket, like a dungeon. I can’t go in the bed. I
have to sleep on a couch sitting up and stuff.”
Even
though panic attacks are short and infrequent because the body
cannot handle the dramatic changes over an extended period, the
simplest act can set off Parisyan.
“If
I put my head into a pillow and my head sinks into the pillow,
I feel like I’m gonna choke,” he says. “All kinds
of stuff; it’s unbelievably hard.”
Parisyan
discovered an ally in revered mixed martial arts coach Greg Jackson.
He traveled to Jackson’s academy in Albuquerque, N.M., to
train alongside Rashad Evans (Pictures), Keith Jardine (Pictures)
and others in advance of his fight with Yoshida. When anxiety
forced Parisyan to return to California after only one full day
in the gym, Jackson followed him to the Golden State in support.
“It
means a lot,” Parisyan says. “He came out for a couple
of days just to see where I’m at, how I’m doing for
training, put a game plan together and went back home.”
While
fans await the latest additions to his lengthy highlight reel
of Judo throws and rolling kimuras, Parisyan seems anxious to
climb back into the cage again. Supporting five family members,
the 26-year-old has a heavy burden to shoulder every time he
competes, and his match with Yoshida will be no different.
“I
have so much at stake,” Parisyan says. “I have so much
stress on me. People don’t understand how tough it is. I
need to be able to conquer this match. Not sounding selfish at
all, [but] I fight for myself. I fight to prove something to
myself, to feel good about myself when I walk outside.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Team
Link with new Muay Thai coach
By Guilherme Cruz
Expert
Muay Thai coach, Evilazio Feitosa trained guys like the UFC athletes
Thiago “Pitbull” Alves and Antonio Samuray, and now
joins Marco Alvan and Gabriel Gonzaga’s Team Link. With
more than a year in USA, he spoke to TATAME about his training
at the new team. “The team is fantastic. The athletes are
great and they really wanna make this team one of the best in
world. The impressed me a lot here and you can bet this team
will be one of the best in a few years”, said Feitosa, that
bets on Gonzaga for the heavyweight title soon.
“I
did some training with him here and I’m impressed with his
technical part. He developed a lot his game now. I trained some
of the best Strikers of the world, and I can tell you that he’s
as good as them. He’s a real champion, and will get the
UFC title”, said the Muay Thai coach.
Source: Tatame
|
Is
Fedor Emelianenko Contractually Free To Face Randy Couture Anytime,
Anywhere?
By Jason Perkins
According to Kim Couture he absolutely is.
"When Fedor signed the contract (with Affliction) it was
cut out in the contract that they get him for a certain number
of fights not including the Randy Couture fight. He's free to
fight Randy wherever, whenever."
A
source close to Emelianenko's camp has informed Fightline.com
that this is indeed the case with his contract. Look for the
UFC to get this fight done at some point next summer provided
the public is still into it after the UFC "heavyweight tournament"
set to play out over the next six months.
The
tournament, as UFC president Dana White likes to call it, will
kick off this November with a match up between Randy Couture
and Brock Lesnar. The winner of that fight will face the winner
of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir which will take place
on Dec. 27.
The
two winners will be pitted in a champion vs. champion affair
sometime in early 2009. If Couture comes out on top, expect to
see Emelianenko opposite Couture inside of an octagon sometime
later that summer.
Source: Fight Line
|
UFC
Always Comes Out Swinging
Sam Caplan
Saturday, November 19, 2005 is a date I will always remember
quite well. It was the date of UFC 56 and the night that UFC
President Dana White made a trio of Earth-shattering announcements.
First,
White announced that B.J. Penn would be returning to the UFC.
It was a shock at the time because Penn had been stripped of
the welterweight title and taken to court the year prior after
going to Japan to fight for K-1, which the UFC considered a violation
of his contract. Right before the announcement was made at UFC
56, Penn and the UFC were set to go to trial a month later and
the concept of Penn ever fighting in the UFC again appeared like
a long shot.
That
same night it was also revealed that Tito Ortiz had not only
re-signed with the UFC but would be one of the coaches for the
third season “The Ultimate Fighter” and that the opposing
coach would be long-time rival Ken Shamrock. Furthermore, it
was announced that the two would reprise their classic 2002 showdown
at UFC 40 in a pay-per-view rematch following the airing of TUF
3.
Lost
in the shuffle was the fact that White also announced a mega-rematch
between Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell during the company’s
year end show on New Year’s Eve weekend. Two months later
the UFC promised another announcement to be made during UFC Fight
Night 3 and it delivered when White told the world that Royce
Gracie would be returning to the UFC and would fight Matt Hughes
at UFC 60 in May later that year.
The
UFC wasn’t out at that time and it wasn’t even down.
But the company faced a lot of growing pains coming out of the
enormous amount of success it achieved following the first season
of TUF. While many pundits such as myself wondered if the UFC
and the sport of MMA had plateaued, the company found itself
with one of its biggest drawing cards on the open market (Ortiz)
and in the midst what appeared to be an irreconcilable divorce
one of its best pure fighters (Penn).
But
suddenly with the wave of a magic wand, White and company not
only addressed some of the hurdles it was facing as it attempted
to continue its furious pace of growth, but they also managed
to take things up a notch.
The
company again most recently found itself at at a crossroads due
to events that set things in motion last October. The Randy Couture
express, which had kicked into high gear following another amazing
performance at UFC 74 last August, came to a screeching halt
on October 11 when the promotion’s reigning heavyweight
champion announced his resignation from the company in less than
amicable fashion.
In
the months that would proceed Couture’s departure and all
the ill-will that spilled over to the public, the UFC saw year
long negotiations with HBO prove fruitless; saw rival EliteXC
become the first-ever MMA promotion to be televised on prime-time
network TV when the UFC balked at CBS’ conditions; severed
ties to one of the biggest busts in company history in Mirko
Cro Cop; saw the departures ofAndrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia
from its heavyweight division; and suffered a series of other
minor setbacks.
All
the while we’ve heard talk of buyout rumors; a Xyience scandal
that seems to have vanished into thin air; how the butchered
buyout of PRIDE would come back to haunt the company; how the
Muhammad Ali Act could be applied to MMA and suddenly create
wide-spread free agency; Quinton Jackson’s hit-and-run arrest,
etc.
But
here we are less than a year later and the UFC is about to announce
that Couture is back and will be returning in a mega-money match
against heavyweight sensation Brock Lesnar on Nov. 15. Not only
that but the company is still in the mix to re-sign Ortiz and
the New York Post reported this weekend that CBS could be looking
to replace EliteXC with the UFC. And as for Jackson, he still
is looking at some serious charges but both he and the company
dodged a major bullet when the Orange County prosecutor’s
office cleared him of have anything to do with the miscarriage
sustained by Holli Griggs, one of the victims during Jackson’s
alleged high-speed evasion of police.
The
company still faces several minor issues like finding strong
competition for Anderson Silva and re-building its heavyweight
division. However, with the WEC’s middleweight division
expected to be merged into the UFC, Silva could have a game opponent
at middleweight in friend Paulo Filho. And the heavyweight division
is bouncing back thanks not only to the addition of Lesnar, but
to the additions of Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez.
Last
year we had heard that while PPV revenue in 2007 was strong,
it wasn’t going to live up to standards set in previous
years. With major money matchups on the horizon such as Couture
vs. Lesnar, Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre II, Chuck Liddell vs.
Forrest Griffin, Hughes vs. Matt Serra, and Jackson vs. Wanderlei
Silva or Mauricio Rua, the UFC appears to have been granted a
license to print money. And I almost forgot about a possible
Liddell vs. Anderson Silva showdown at some point in the future.
There’s
also the fact that much of the competition that posed a threat
to steal the UFC’s market share no longer seems so dangerous.
The IFL has become yet another failed rival that the UFC has
added to its trophy case and according to ProElite’s most
recent SEC filing, EliteXC doesn’t have enough funding to
last past December. Affliction put on a solid debut event on
July 19 but it does not have a business model that has a chance
to work over the long-term. We’re also hearing a lot of
talk from the AFL, but not much action.
And
the botched PRIDE deal that prevented the UFC entering the Japanese
market? Maybe that was a blessing in disguise. In addition to
the purchase price of PRIDE, the UFC would have had to spend
a lot of money to operate the promotion. Considering the downturn
of the MMA industry in Japan and the rumblings that DREAM could
be over if ratings for its next event aren’t strong, maybe
things not working out in the Land of the Rising Sun for Zuffa
was for the best? Maybe the UFC could get away with doing one-off
events, but a major investment in full-time operations could
have been a money pit for the company.
Sure,
the return of Couture is just one major development but knowing
how the UFC operates, I woud expect more press conferences in
the months to come touting “a major announcement to be made
by UFC President Dana White.” UFC haters may not like it,
but they are going to have to learn to live with the fact that
the UFC is not only the number one MMA promotion in the world,
it’s number one with a bullet.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Quote
of the Day
“I
never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions
come by accident; they came by work.”
Thomas Edison, 1847-1931, American Inventor and Entrepreneur
|
AFFLICTION
CLEARS ROADBLOCKS, READY FOR MORE
By now, Affliction vice president Tom Atencio has become used
to swimming upstream against the doubters of his company. Since
he launched Affliction Entertainment as the new fight promotion
on the block in early 2008, he has faced naysayers at every turn,
despite assembling one of the most talent-packed MMA cards in
the sport’s recent history with “Affliction: Banned”
this July.
None
have been more vocal than UFC president Dana White. Since Affliction’s
emergence, his not-so-affectionate moniker for the company, “the
t-shirt guys,” has often been followed by a prediction of
the company’s approaching demise. In a teleconference on
Tuesday announcing Randy Couture’s return to the UFC, he
was true to form.
“In
this economy right now, losing money is a really bad thing,”
White said. “There’s nobody out there looking to fund
anything, nobody’s spending any money, nobody’s investing
in anything. When you’re losing the kind of money that these
guys are losing, you’ve gotta sell a lot of t-shirts to
get back that money.”
Until
now, White’s attacks have been limited to verbal slings
and arrows thrown at Affliction. But during Tuesday’s conference
call, in response to questions about various legal disputes surrounding
the Randy Couture case, the outspoken president also may have
hinted that his company could take its opposition to the next
level – possibly the courtroom.
“My
dispute with Randy Couture is done,” White said. “I’m
not saying that my dispute with anybody else is done.”
Atencio
told MMAWeekly.com he had no knowledge of any forthcoming litigation
against his company. He does, however, believe the UFC was interfering
with his ability to promote in Las Vegas, though he wouldn’t
say how.
“They’ve
been messing with me every step of the way,” Atencio said.
“There have been issues that I’ve been dealing with.
So I can’t say it’s them, but there’s been things
we’ve been dealing with that have never happened before,
so I guess that’s why.”
Atencio
declined to discuss the financial state of his company, but said
their plans had not changed – promote three shows in July,
October, and February, and assess future plans from there.
“Once
I get past these first three events, then I’ll start talking
about the next three,” he said.
White
told reporters he doesn’t plan on stealing Affliction’s
crown jewel, Fedor Emelianenko, for a fight with Couture, even
though Emelianenko’s Affliction deal is exclusive only to
the U.S. White remains unwilling to co-promote with Emelianenko’s
management company, M-1 Global, preferring to wait for Affliction’s
demise to pick up the Russian’s services.
“These
guys are dying on the vine, they’ll be gone in a couple
of months anyway, and Fedor will have to come here,” said
the outspoken UFC president. “You’re not under contract
if the company isn’t in business anymore.”
Atencio
seems resolved to a dogfight with the industry-leading promotion
in order to make his company’s Oct. 10 event a reality.
If that means going to court to do so, he’s got a Zen attitude
about it.
“It’s
their town, so it wouldn’t surprise me,” he said. “It
is what it is.”
Meanwhile,
White issued another prediction of Affliction’s end.
“I
would be (expletive) horrified if Affliction is still in business
by January,” he declared. “They’re going to burn
a lot of cash in the next few months, believe me. Good luck to
‘em. I’ll be sitting here waiting to see what happens.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
VET AND OTHERS ANNOUNCED FOR SENGOKU 5
Three more bouts have been added to Sengoku 5, which takes place
at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Sept. 28, including the final
two Sengoku middleweight tournament bouts.
In
the first announced tournament bout, Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC) veteran Kazuhiro Nakamura makes his debut in the middleweight
division as he takes on longtime Dutch veteran Paul Cahoon. Nakamura
comes off a disappointing stoppage loss to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
at UFC 84, while Cahoon dropped a unanimous decision to British
legend Ian Freeman at Cage Rage 26.
In
the final tournament bout, Strikeforce middleweight tournament
winner Jorge Santiago faces off with World Extreme Cagefighting
(WEC) veteran Logan Clark. Santiago comes off a submission victory
over fellow tournament participant Yuki Sasaki at Sengoku 2,
while Clark lost a close decision to newly signed Strikeforce
middleweight Kazuo Misaki at Sengoku 3.
In
a super fight, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu world champion Alexandre “Xande”
Ribeiro makes his mixed martial arts debut against pro wrestler
Takashi Sugiura. Ribeiro is one of the most decorated grapplers
in the world with several Brazilian Jiu-jitsu world championships
under his belt and being a former ADCC champion as well. Sugiura
hasn’t seen action over two years since being stopped by
Ryuta Noji at Pancrase Blow 3.
Already
announced for Sengoku 5 include a tournament bout between Pancrase
rivals Yuki Sasaki and Yuki Kondo and another tournament bout
between Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos and Siyar Bahadurzada,
while American lightweights Ryan Schultz and Jorge Masvidal meet
in a super fight.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
INEXPERIENCE
ASIDE, BROCK LESNAR EYES UFC GOLD
When Brock Lesnar signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
the former collegiate wrestling champion and former professional
wrestling superstar said he wanted to fight the top heavyweights.
He was serious.
At
UFC 91 on Nov. 15 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas,
Lesnar will face Randy "The Natural" Couture for the
UFC heavyweight belt in only his fourth mixed martial arts bout
and third time in the Octagon.
"I've
wanted a fight with Randy since before I signed a contract with
the UFC," Lesnar told the media on Tuesday.
Despite
his inexperience and Couture's year-long layoff from competition,
expectations are high that the match-up will generate record
numbers. "We actually do research on these things if you
can believe it or not," said UFC president Dana White.
"Obviously
Randy Couture coming back after all of the stuff that had happened.
He's one of the most popular fighters every in UFC history. And
after Brock Lesnar's beating of Heath Herring a lot of people
are interested in Brock Lesnar now and not just WWE fans. But
if you look at the amount of buzz and energy that will be created
through this fight… When we really start breaking it down
and looking at it, and the amount of WWE fans that would probably
never watch a UFC that will that night to see if Brock Lesnar
can beat Randy Couture… It's a big fight."
"From
day one my whole goal was to take it one fight at a time and
that's exactly what you have to do to get to the top," said
Lesnar. "I'm very excited. Not a lot of people get this
opportunity. But not a lot of people are me either. I had to
win against Heath Herring, and that puts me in this spot.
"It's
kind of ironic," commented the 280-pound heavyweight about
how the bout came together. "After I fought Heath Herring,
(UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and I were walking at the press conference,
and he was like, we're thinking about having you fight in November.
And I'm like (expletive), all I'm thinking about is taking my
wife and getting on my Harley and heading to Wyoming.
"While
I'm in Wyoming they propose this fight against Cheick Kongo.
I'm like, uh, that's fine. I'll fight whoever. Then I'm sitting
on my motorcycle and I have a split second thought of I wonder
what the hell it would take to get Randy Couture back in business
again, and I'd really like to fight Randy. And then the thought
never crossed my mind. Like, six days later, Dana calls and says,
'hey, what about Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar for the heavyweight
title?' I'm like, ‘I'm in. Where do I sign?’"
"I
think Randy's a smart guy. He knows how to fight at heavyweight,"
stated Lesnar. "Trying to compare me to Tim Sylvia or Gonzaga
is like apples and oranges. Randy understands that he's up against
a different beast in this fight."
Couture
will have a distinctive advantage in experience over Lesnar,
but Lesnar will be coming in with a 40-pound weight advantage.
"Randy said earlier today that he's going to come in at
225 pounds. Well, I'm coming in at 265 pounds, so there's a huge
weight difference," said the challenger. " He's a smart
guy. He's going to train to beat me and I'm going to train to
beat him, so we're both on the same page when it comes to that.
"I'm
going up against a guy that's a lot more experienced than myself,
which I have done every time since I've been in (MMA). We're
not dummies here either. We're going to figure out how to beat
Randy Couture just like we figured out how to beat Heath Herring.
I will come into this fight well prepared and with a game plan
to win the title that night."
With
Couture's return to the UFC, a lot of attention has been paid
to the unlikelihood of a match up between Couture and Fedor Emelianenko
ever happening and Lesnar is tired of hearing about the consensus
No. 1 heavyweight in the world. "I'm hearing all this talk
about Fedor Emelianenko. Who gives a (expletive) about Fedor?
I don't care. I'm fighting Randy Couture," said an agitated
Lesnar.
"I
don't give a damn about Fedor. I'm tired of hearing about (expletive)
Fedor. Randy Couture is fighting Brock Lesnar Nov. 15. His number
one concern should be Brock Lesnar. And Dana White could care
less about Fedor. Everyone is beating around the bush. Yeah,
you want that fight. I don't give a damn. I'm sick and tired
of sitting on the phone listening about Fedor. He's not with
the company. He might not ever be with the company.
"This
is what's happening,” commanded Lesnar. “I don't know
how many times you've got to say it. This is for real. This fight
is going to happen. Randy Couture and Fedor, it might not ever
happen, but this fight is going to happen."
Despite
the agitation in fielding questions and comments regarding Fedor,
Lesnar has no trouble seeing his fortune in attaining a bout
against Randy Couture so early on in his MMA career. "Things
happen in mysterious ways. And like I said, I'm fortunate. I'm
honored to get in the Octagon with Randy, so it's very exciting
all the way around.
"A
win over Randy Couture for Brock Lesnar, that solidifies me as
someone who is the UFC heavyweight champion after that... I've
never turned down any fights that Dana has offered me. This is
a super-fight. This is a fight that puts me closer to being the
UFC heavyweight champion."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Leo
Santos with quick Shooto finish
Shooto Brazil full of submissions
Leo
Santos once again was one of the standouts at Shooto Brazil.
Last night the black belt didn’t take long in finishing
off Alan Lopes (BP Team) with a triagle in the first round, thus
taking the fourth win of the MMA career. In the evening’s
main event, Vitor Miranda knocked out Sidney Silva. The event included such well-known
names to the world of MMA as Anderson Silva, Georges St.-Pierre,
Thales Leites and Pedro Rizzo among the crowd.
Check
out the results:
Diego
Nunes submitted Marcelo França with a guillotine in R1
Dinarti submitted Alexandre Brandão with a heel hook in
R1
Renan Barão defeated Bob Esponja by unanimous judges’
decision
Carlos Alberto Betão defeated Zanon Pitbull by unanimous
judges’ decision
Juciê Formiga submitted Ralph Loren with a rear naked choke
in R1
Alexandre Pinheiro submitted Zeílton Rodrigues with a
rear naked choke in R2
Yan Cabral submitted Francis Guilde with a kimura in R2
Willamy Chiquerim submitted Matheus Machado with an arm triangle
in R1
Leo Santos submitted Alan Lopes by triangle in R1
Vítor Miranda knocked out Sidney Silva
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Thiago
“Pitbull” Alves
By Guilherme Cruz
"I’m looking forward to exchange some punches with
Sanchez, to show him the difference between a Striker and somebody
that just learned it now"
The most natural destiny for Thiago “Pitbull” Alves
after the impressing knockout against Matt Hughes is a titleshot,
but after that he’ll have to prove his talent one more time
against a tough opponent: Diego Sanchez. “I’m preparing
something different (for Sanchez). He developed his stand-up
game, I’m looking forward to exchange some punches with
him, to show him the difference between a Striker and somebody
that just learned it now”, said Pitbull. In an exclusive
interview to TATAME, that you’ll read here tomorrow, the
ATT athlete spoke about the fight, the next match (if wins) against
St. Pierre and a dream fight against BJ Penn, and a lot more.
Check tomorrow, here at TATAME, the exclusive interview with
Thiago Alves.
How
is the preparation for the next fight?
It’s
great… I still have nine weeks for the fight, but I’m
ready for tomorrow if I needed. I’m doing a good diet and
my preparation is fucking great, couldn’t be better.
How
do you think will be the fight?
I’ll
knock him out. He’s tough, goes for the fight, and that’s
what I like, come right to me. He brings a lot of pressure for
the fight, a strong pass, and I wanna see if he handles my pass
too. My intention is always a knockout.
Will
you fight like you did against Matt Hughes or you prepared something
different this time?
I’m
preparing something different... He developed his stand-up game,
I’m looking forward to exchange some punches with him, to
show him the difference between a Striker and somebody that just
learned it now. I’ll wait and work on his mistakes too.
After
this fight, will you finally face Georges St. Pierre for the
WW belt?
Yes.
We had a press conference last week and went to Chicago , and
Dana (White) said that who wins this fight will get a title shot.
Is kill or die now!
Were
you expecting a title shot after you knockout over Hughes?
Man,
I were expecting that, but UFC always does this type of things…
I had my fight, put me on media, grew my image and now I’ll
have to beat another one to sell more pay-per-view… I expected
this type of thing too…
How
would be a fight between you and GSP?
It
would be awesome. I respect him a lot, he’s a good person,
a gentleman, don’t keep saying shit about the other fighters,
and is complete. He’s a huge Striker, has a good Wrestling
and Jiu-Jitsu, but I believe I’m a better Striker than he
is. With all respect, I bet on me.
Did
you watched his fight against Jon Fitch?
Yes,
I was there and it was a hell of a fight. Jon impressed me a
lot because he kept until the end, but I expected more from him…
He’s tough, but St. Pierre was better, but he didn’t
impressed me neither.
Which
was Jon Fitch’s mistake?
He
waited too much, and GSP is great on strategies and put him down
on the beginning. He works well on the others mistake. When you
see a guy like him on TV you create this image in your head,
and it can’t happen… You both are humans, has two arms
and two legs, and up there is only you, God and no one else.
Which
do you think would be GSP’s strategies against you?
I
don’t think too much and what will be my opponent’s
strategies against me, but he’d probably wouldn’t stand
with me and try to put me down. He would try to do everything,
and I’m ready for that, I want that, because it’s all
about me, I control the fight.
BJ
Penn said he’d like to face St. Pierre … What do you
think about that?
BJ
is great, man. I’m a big fan of him, he’s a phenon.
On the first fight (between them), BJ got tired, but he was doing
well. I think it’s great, I wanna fight the best and it
would be great to face him. Win St. Pierre and then BJ, I don’t
wanna nothing more in my life (laughs).
How
do you think will be Thiago Silva’s fight with Lyoto Machida?
It’ll
be a great fight. He’s a great fighter and is training hard…
UFC will watch one of 2008’s greatest fights. I’ll
be there and Thiago will win!
How
are you doing your weight cutting now that Andre Benkei left
ATT?
Benkei
left ATT because he had too, he wasn’t well here, but I’ll
continue with him. Where Benkei is, I’ll be with him. He
will continue with some ATT athletes and now he’s a freelancer,
he can train whoever he wants and it won’t be a problem.
I support him, but I’ll continue at ATT.
Source: Tatame |
Thiago
Silva backs Antônio “Bigfoot”
By Guilherme Cruz
Training
partners, Thiago Silva heard about Antônio “Bigfoot”’s
fail on EliteXC’s drug test and called TATAME to defense
him. If they’re separated by a lot of pounds, nobody could
imagine that they actually train together at American Top Team.
“I live with him here all the time, he’s my brother
and I never saw him taking anything. He didn’t used anything,
he actually does a treatment to reduce his GH from the body,
because of his natural problem… He’s the last person
in the world that I’d think that could fail the test”,
said Thiago. With EliteXC’s support, Bigfoot and his manager,
Alex Davis, started his defense at Athletic Commission.
Source: Tatame |
Jucao
hungers for revenge
Fighter to try for redemption against Ryo Chonan at UFC 88
On
September 6th, Roan "Jucao" Carneiro will not only
try to recover from a loss suffered at UFC 85, when he was submitted
by Kevin Burns, the Brazilian black belt will be looking to avenge
another loss he suffered some time ago. In one of the card's
main events, Jucao will face off against Ryo Chonan, who beat
him at Deep 18, in February of 2005.
"I'm
not going to lie, this has been bothering me for a long time.
I was bugged by the way the referee handled our fight. He constantly
brought me to my feet when I had the dominant position on the
grount, making it hard for me to beat Chonan. I'm glad I'll get
a chance for revenge in the UFC," said Jucao in an interview
on the official UFC site. "This (to beat Chonan) means a
lot to me, having revenge for a past loss that never should have
happened and put myself at the top of the UFC rankings,"
he added.
The
loss to his Japanese rival put a stop to a five-fight winning
streak, and ever since Jucao has not managed to repeat his good
performance. The goal now, though, is to get back on the winning
track and soar to new heights. "I want to keep myself at
the top of the category and one day be going for the title. I
believe there are a lot of fights for me in the UFC. I want to
face the best and that's why I'm here," he finished.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Galvao
wins debut
Black belt submits Metcalf in California
NOCAUTE’s
Kid Peligro broke the news. Andre Galvao kicked off his MMA career
in glorious fashion. The Brazilian black belt submitted Jeremiah
Metcalf with an armbar in of the fights at Fighting for Kidz,
which took place yesterday in Los Angeles, California.
“I
started off taking some punches to the face, but after a little
with I found my rhythm and got into the dispute. I won by armbar
in the second round. It was a great experience for me. I’m
really happy,” said Galvao after the bout.
Before
debuting in MMA, Andre Galvao, a consecrated athlete in competition
Jiu-Jitsu, at one point trained with Wanderlei Silva in Las Vegas.
“The Axe Murderer” was one of those to provide the
most incentive for the black belt to debut in the new style.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Tibau
out, Aurelio in
A new opponent for Franca in UFC 90
The
name of one of the fighters changed but the fight is still a
100% Brazilian duel. A shoulder injury will prevent Gleison Tibau
from entering the octagon against Hermes Franca on October 25,
the day of UFC 90. The promotion had not yet officially announced
the bout, but Sherdog.com reports that Brazil’s Marcus Aurelio
will replace Tibau.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Rousimar
Palhares going to USA tonight
It’s
time to relax and wait for the fight. Rousimar “Toquinho”
Palhares will travel today to UFC, where he faces, Saturday,
the former Pride champion, Dan Henderson, that wants to win again
after two losses in UFC, to Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva.
Bebeo Duarte, leader of Brazilian Top Team, told TATAME that
he’ll have Murilo Bustamante and Darrel Gohlar in his corner.
“He’s ready since last week. Darrel was helping him
here and we’ll be in his corner for the fight”, said
Bebeo. A curious detail: Gohlar helped Henderson for his fight
against Anderson Silva. “The American people keep saying
that this fight will put Henderson back to wins and it’s
an easy fight for him, but let them say… We’re putting
no pressure on Toquinho. He’s like a horse ready to race
and win”, guarantees Bebeo, that believes in another victory
in UFC.
Source:
Tatame
|
Jungle
fights Brazilian fighter exodus
Next event set for September 13
This
coming September 13, Jungle Fight Night by Pozil will host its
next event. Only two fights on the card have not yet been defined.
Among those called up are three international attractions, like
Frenchman Antony Rea, who defeated Brazilian Rodrigo Riscado
at the European stage of Jungle Fight, in 2006, and Slovenian
Dalibor Anastasov, winner of Jungle Fight 7 and American Todd
Duffee, who has an undefeated MMA record, with 4 wins in 4 fights.
Among
the Brazilians, the standout is Ronys Torres, undefeated in Jungle
Fight up until now, heavyweight Assuerio Silva, five-time Jungle
Fight winner Paulo Tiago, Rafael Capoeira and Alexandre Pulga.
According
to organizer Fred Souza, one of Jungle’s objectives is to
avoid the exodus of Brazilian athletes going abroad. “We
support Jungle so our athletes can have the structure here in
Brazil and won’t need to leave the country to fight abroad.
We want to produce champions and thus we are giving all the support
necessary. We want to give Brazilians the opportunity to participate
in big events right here,” says Fred.
Jungle
Fight Night by POZIL will be broadcast on the Brazilian Premiere
Combate channel and live on the Oi website, www.oi.com.br. To
guarantee your place in the crowd, tickets can be purchased at
www.ticketmaster.com.br. On the site, there are recommendations
for retail outlets throughout the city of Rio de Janeiro where
tickets may be acquired.
Check
out the card:
Assuério
Silva (Total Punch) vs Todd Duffee (USA)
Paulo Thiago (Constrictor Team) vs Luis Besouro Jr
Antony Rea (França) vs Alan Frois (Macaco)
Ana Maria (BTT) vs Ediene “Índia” Gomes (Macaco)
Moto Serra (Gracie Fusion) vs Eric Silva (Minotauro Team)
Alexandre Pulga Pimentel (NG Combat) vs Rafael Mantega (Paulão
Team)
Johil de Oliveira (Johil Team) vs Dalibor Anastasov (Slovania)
Rafael Capoeira (Gracie Barra) vs Alexandre Visconde
Pedro Manoel (Clube da Luta) vs to be defined
Ronys Torres (Nova União) vs to be defined
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"Excellence
in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime;
it is not to be purchased at a lesser price."
Samuel
Johnson, 1709-1784, English Author and Critic
|
Couture
Returns to Defend Heavyweight Crown against Lesnar on Nov. 15
By Thomas Gerbasi
If
we’ve learned one thing in combat sports, it’s to never
say never. This old adage was solidified once again today, as
UFC President Dana White announced the November 15th return to
the Octagon of heavyweight champion Randy Couture to face Brock
Lesnar in the main event of UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas.
The
announcement comes after nearly a year of contentious relations
between the organization and Couture, who walked away from the
UFC in October of 2007 with two fights remaining on his contract.
But in August, the heavyweight champion and the organization
worked on a renegotiation of his contract that will enable ‘The
Natural’ to finish his Hall of Fame career with the UFC.
“We
had some problems with Randy, we’ve resolved them all, and
he’s always been the heavyweight champion of the UFC,”
said White. “It took us some time to get everything straight,
but I think we’re all good now and ready to move forward
and get Randy back out there fighting again.”
”I
think we cleared the air and addressed a lot of the issues, we’re
both in a different place, and both the company and myself are
trying to move forward,” said Couture. “I think we
understand each other, and I certainly would much rather fight
in the Octagon than anywhere else. Spending the last year in
legal fights is not someplace where I’ve had a very good
time. At 45, I can’t sit around in court rooms for very
long – I want to fight.”
Couture’s
first order of business – taking on the imposing 6-3 ½,
265 pound Lesnar, a former NCAA Division I National Wrestling
Champion whose arrival in the UFC earlier this year shook the
foundations of the MMA world. Add in the former pro wrestling
superstar’s spectacular victory over Heath Herring at UFC
87 in August, and the stage is set for what will most certainly
be one of the most highly-anticipated heavyweight title fights
in history.
“I
haven’t looked at tape yet and studied him,” said Couture
of Lesnar. “Obviously, he’s a great big guy, and on
the ground or standing, he poses some interesting problems, so
I’ve got to go to work and find the answers to those questions.”
“My
whole goal coming into this company was to get a shot at the
UFC heavyweight title, so for me, this is a great opportunity,
one that anybody in my position wouldn’t turn down,”
added Lesnar. “Randy poses all kinds of threats, and we’re
gonna try to nullify them and try to win the title that night.”
You
don’t have to convince White when it comes to the importance
of this matchup.
“I
can tell you this right now,” said White. “Couture
vs Lesnar will be the biggest fight in UFC history.”
And
though some might question whether Couture
- 45 years old and more than a year removed from his last fight
– will be able to keep up with a younger, faster, and stronger
challenger, keep in mind that the Las Vegas resident has made
a career of baffling oddsmakers, most recently in March of 2007,
when he returned from a year-long retirement to shutout 6 foot
8, 263 pound Tim Sylvia to win the UFC heavyweight crown a record
third time.
Couture
went on to successfully defend the title with a third round TKO
of Gabriel Gonzaga in August of 2007, but two months later, the
title was left in limbo, leaving Brazil’s Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira to swoop in and take the interim belt by submitting
Sylvia in February. Nogueira is scheduled to clash with his fellow
Ultimate Fighter 8 coach (and former heavyweight champion) Frank
Mir in December, with the winners of these two heavyweight megafights
to meet sometime in 2009.
“The
winner of the Brock-Randy fight will be the heavyweight champion
of the UFC,” said White. “Obviously, the reality show
is already in motion, and those two (Nogueira and Mir) are already
scheduled to fight, so they’ll fight for the interim (title)
and then it will be Champion vs Champion when this thing’s
all done. So it’s a pretty interesting little tournament.”
Of
course, Lesnar will have something to say about putting a dent
in Couture’s fighting plans, and he’ll get his chance
to say it on November 15th.
“Things
happen in mysterious ways, and I’m fortunate and honored
to get in the Octagon with Randy, so it’s very exciting
all the way around,” said Lesnar.
As
for Couture, it’s been a long, strange trip to get to this
point, but suffice to say, he’s happy to put acting, book
tours, and speaking engagements on the side for now in order
to get back to where he belongs – the Octagon.
Source: UFC.com
|
RANDY
COUTURE REFLECTS ON RETURN AT UFC 91
The ink is still drying on Randy Couture’s new three-fight
deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the culmination
of a year’s uncertainty on his fighting future.
Announced
on Tuesday during a media teleconference, Couture will face Brock
Lesnar in the main event of UFC 91 in Las Vegas on Nov. 15. His
journey back to the UFC wasn’t a linear path, nor was it
easy on the soft-spoken champion, but now, his days away from
competition are happily numbered.
“The
best place for me to fight is in the Octagon,” Couture said.
“Not in the courtroom, not anywhere else.”
The
disagreements that sparked his exodus from the UFC appear to
have been quashed – for now. Almost a year ago, he was ready
to walk away from the Las Vegas based promotion. He had two reasons
for his exit – a lack of respect from the organization,
and its inability to make a Fedor Emelianenko fight happen. But
he was still tied to his UFC contract, and until today, locked
up in arbitration proceedings to determine whether he’d
ever be free. Unable to offer any fight-related services to other
promotions, Couture began to re-assess his previous stance.
“The
biggest part of my decision was first of all communicating with
Lorenzo and Dana about clearing up a lot of the things that I
was feeling,” Couture said. “The second part was getting
frustrated with our legal system and being tired of throwing
money at lawyers and the legal system with no end in sight. I
want to fight. That’s what I do, that’s what I do best.”
Both
Couture and White say they are determined to put the past behind
them and move on. According to UFC president Dana White, the
court battle over Couture’s fight contract is over. His
old contract, a four-fight deal signed on Dec. 11, 2006, has
been torn up.
Asked
whether he would take the same actions again, Couture was uncertain.
In a career filled with many ups and downs both in and out of
the Octagon, it was clear he hadn’t put the episode in perspective
yet.
“I
could have lived without a lot of it,” he said. “You
always kind of look back and hope that things would have gone
differently. I don’t know if there are regrets, but I could
have made better decisions, done things differently.”
Mark
Cuban, the billionaire impresario who attempted to free Couture
by suing the UFC in a Texas court, is apparently supportive of
his decision to return to the promotion.
“Mark
wasn’t disappointed in the decision,” Couture said.
“I think ultimately Mark wants what’s best for me.
He’s a very interesting guy, and I think all along, he (was)
just trying to find ways to facilitate what he thought I wanted.
And for a while that was finding a way to make the Fedor fight
happen somewhere else, and now I think that the best course and
the best path is to find a way to make the Fedor fight happen
in the UFC and with the UFC.”
Couture
says he feels confident that the UFC is still “working diligently”
to make the Emelianenko fight happen. But for now, the fight
with Lesnar is first on his mind.
And
it’s a big first fight back – literally. Lesnar carries
just shy of 300 pounds in the offseason, and at fight time, will
be around the same weight as Couture’s last comeback opponent,
Tim Sylvia. Despite having just three professional bouts to his
credit, Lesnar has set the heavyweight division afire with his
recent performance against Heath Herring at UFC 87.
“Earlier
in my career, I think it was a concern,” Couture said about
Lesnar’s size. “I don’t think I was technically
prepared to deal with the size difference. I think over the last
six years or so I’ve developed as a fighter, and although
there are things you have to consider when facing a guy the size
of Brock or Tim or Gabe or any of these guys in the heavyweight
division, I think it’s overcome-able. I think you just have
to be a little wiser about the places you put yourself in the
fight.”
That
means one thing – he’s got to stay off his back when
the two meet on Nov. 15 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Currently,
Couture has two big heavyweights at his gym, Phil Friedman and
Jay White, to simulate Lesnar’s size. It’s been rumored
that he’s calling in other big heavyweights to help him
prepare, but representatives at Xtreme Couture could not confirm
who those were.
He
says he will take the little footage he’s got and make it
work.
“I
have a pretty good idea of where Brock’s coming from, because
it’s the same place I came from,” he said. “Collegiate
wrestler that made the transition to fighting. I can take a look
at the two fights that I have seen and see his tendencies. He’s
a big athletic, very, very good fighter, so it should be very
interesting.
“I’m
not ready yet, but I will be in about ten weeks.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
88: RASHAD READY TO WORKOUT WITH ICEMAN
Run ragged from a three-month camp, UFC light heavyweight Rashad
Evans needed to blow off some steam. His fight with former light
heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell was two weeks away, and he
needed to get his mind off the fight. He stepped into an Albuquerque
movie theater to take in “Pineapple Express,” and lo
and behold, Liddell showed up in the movie, putting a beating
on Vernon “Tiger” White in the background of a scene.
So
much for getting away.
“I’m
trying to get away and think about something else, and Chuck’s
beating up this black dude on TV,” Evans snickers. “I’m
just like, damn.”
In
approaching his main event tangle with Liddell at UFC 88, Evans
is trying above all else to follow coach Greg Jackson’s
words in taking on “The Iceman”: the fight is just
a workout, and nothing more.
Eight
years into his career as a mixed martial artist, Evans has picked
up high profile fight experience since besting a field of eight
heavyweights in the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
In November, he headlined the watery UFC 78 card in New Jersey,
and took on Tito Ortiz in the co-main event of UFC 73. He’s
no longer the TUF star trying to prove himself.
But
he says the increased attention can get into your head, not to
mention the burden of carrying an undefeated record. At 11-0-1,
Evans has yet to experience that sting of defeat.
“When
you fight from a position of trying to hold a status, or trying
to protect something, then you don’t go in there and have
great performances,” he says. “I’ve had many performances
where I felt pressure to be undefeated, and you just don’t
fight right. I’d just assume to forget about my record and
start of this fight zero and zero.”
If
that’s the case, Evans is a newcomer who could throw a wrench
in the gears of the UFC’s matchmaking machine. It’s
no secret that if Liddell wins, he’s a prime candidate (read:
a UFC cash drop) for a Dec. 27 fight with current light heavyweight
champion and original TUF star Forrest Griffin.
Should
he win, Evans could possibly delay or prevent that big payday.
So it’s smart that Evans is doing his best to ignore that
possibility – and the fact that he’s fighting the most
beloved UFC fighter in its history. The danger is in thinking
about it too much.
“There
is (danger) if you’ve got too much idol worship,” Evans
says. “I respect Chuck and I’m a big fan of Chuck,
and I love what he does for the sport. But then at the same time,
I still want to go out there and kick his ass. It’s just
the competitor in me. If we were playing air hockey, I’ll
try to kick his ass in air hockey, just to compete.”
He
has come a long way to fight Liddell, and he’s determined
to make the fight about him, not the idol.
“Whenever
you fight somebody, you look across the ring, they have a different
face, but you’re pretty much fighting yourself. And it’s
a challenge I get to present to myself to see if I can go out
there and do it.”
On
Sept. 6 at UFC 88, Evans will workout, and with any luck, it
will be a good one.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Randy
Couture to drive Pepsi 500 pace car
Randy Couture will serve as a honorary race official and drive
the pace car at the Pepsi 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Sunday, Aug.
31 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
Taking
the wheel of the official Chevrolet pace car during the pre-race
ceremonies, Couture will be in charge of helping other races
cars maintain a safe speed during warm-up laps.
Affliction,
which sponsors Couture, will make its NASCAR sponsorship debut
at this event. Teaming with Michael Waltrip Racing, 51-year-old
driver Mike Skinner will race around the two-mile D-shaped oval
in a car plastered with graphics for Affliction's Oct. 11 "Day
of Reckoning" event.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Tito
Ortiz still in talks with EliteXC, Affliction, UFC
Ortiz,
who fulfilled his contract with the UFC at UFC 84 "Ill Will"
in May, spoke about his status on Friday's episode of "Inside
MMA" on HDNet.
"I
have to make sure I make the best business decision for my future,"
Ortiz said. "I've been doing this for 11 years now. I still
have 5-6 years ahead of me to compete, and I want to make sure
it's going to be a company that's going to back me, they're gonna
support me, and leave it for the best that I've been working
this far to get."
The
three main options for Ortiz are EliteXC, Affliction and the
UFC.
"Affliction,
a possibility, EliteXC, a possiblity, the UFC, a small chance
of that happening. Things between me and Dana White, I'm shoving
them off and I'm going to wash my hands and I'm going to make
sure my future will be very, very great."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
GracieFighter.com
breaks down KJ Noons' statement
Nick Diaz's camp has jumped in EliteXC's defense in response
to KJ Noon's recent statement criticizing the organization.
GracieFighter.com,
the official website of the Cesar Gracie Fight Team, posted a
message breaking down Noon's statement.
From
KJ Noons' statement:
"Honor
my contract. Elite XC wants to talk about honoring the contract.
How about when Elite XC honored the contract and my pay to fight
Edson Berto went down after I lost my first fight. That was not
part of my contract. Or how about the contract Gary Shaw breached
by not promoting my boxing career? Gary Shaw only gave me one
out of four of the agreed upon fights. I have not boxed for over
a year. When I signed with Elite XC, I was promised they would
promote both my boxing and MMA careers. I could have signed with
another MMA only company, but I wanted to box too."
GracieFighter.com:
1)
Earth to KJ; you don't have a boxing career. No one in the boxing
world knows who you are.
2)
Another MMA company would have paid you less and not given you
a title shot, especially when you were 1-1.
3)
If you will not fight Diaz due to a breach of contract by EliteXC
then why would you fight Alvarez for the same terms?
From
KJ Noons' statement:
"Elite
XC does me a favor after I lose, by putting me on the first ShoXC
against Edson Berto? Berto’s father is good friends with
Jared’s father, Gary Shaw who wants Berto’s brother
on a boxing contract. Berto was the next guy Elite XC wanted
to build. But I win that fight and now I am 1-1. Elite XC gives
me an opportunity to fight Diaz. Elite XC puts me against Diaz
because Elite XC’s roster was so light and there was nobody
else to fight him.
Elite
XC creates a new weight class for Diaz because he beat Gomi.
Giving Diaz a belt and creating a weight division (160) he can
make, will make your belt legit. Sorry to ruin Elite XC’s
plans and beat him.
Elite
XC never promoted or took care of me as their champion."
GracieFighter.com:
1)
EliteXC weight classes were never dictated by Nick Diaz. Diaz
would have preferred a 165lbs class. That's why he likes fighting
in Japan at 167lbs. He has difficulty cutting to 160lbs.
2)
Jake Shields has been promoted the same way and is quite happy.
From
KJ Noons' statement:
"In
the Elite XC’s DVD where Diaz and I fought there are two
(2) baseball cards of Diaz and Kimbo. Hello! I won the fight
and Elite XC’s promoting Diaz after I beat him? Or how about
the day Elite XC flew Diaz in to do a signing on the DVD where
he lost. Wow, that must have been uncomfortable Nick? Signing
a DVD, and it is a fight that you lost. Why wasn’t I flown
in for the signing?
Elite
XC has never promoted me on either of their websites, EliteXC
or Pro-Elite.
Elite
XC offered me a fight on the first CBS show, but only if I signed
a new long-term contract. Instead of promoting their best fighters
on CBS, you have to be on a long term contract for them to promote
you. That was not our deal."
GracieFighter.com:
1)
Nick Diaz, Jake Shields and Frank Shamrock were flown in to shoot
an instructional trailer on grappling for the CBS show. The signings
were an after thought. You weren't flown in because you aren't
a grappler. We are sure they will fly you in if they need an
instructional on whining.
2)
Your contract was for Showtime. Diaz and Shields both signed
longer deals for CBS. Nathan Diaz signed a special long term
contract for Spike TV etc... This is a business not Burger King,
you can't have it 'your way'.
From
KJ Noons' statement:
"Consider
when Elite XC gives a couple thousand tickets away at their CBS
show in Stockton.
Elite
XC gives me a hard time about comping me one extra ticket for
my cousin that helped me train for my fight. I only get four
tickets per show. I am the main event in Honolulu, my home town!
I did not ask for any tickets for my family and friends and they
gave me a hard time about one extra ticket!
Or
how about when Elite XC brought Diaz into the ring after my last
victory in Hawaii to disrespect me and my family."
GracieFighter.com:
1)
Diaz got no extra tickets in his home town of Stockton and isn't
complaining.
2)
Bringing a fighter into the ring to promote an upcoming fight
is standard practice. Your (I could of been a contender) drunk
father, started a near riot and should be banned from further
events and immediately placed in an Alcoholics Anonymous treatment
center for his own self respect.
From
KJ Noons' statement:
"Chuck
Champion (President Elite XC) threatens me, my family and my
manager with lawsuits and how he’s going to sue me. HAHA.
Pretty hard to sue a guy who does not make jack with your company.
I’m glad $kala disclosed how much I make, which breached
the confidentiality clause of the contract. I will break down
the real numbers for you. I am the defending world champ, I have
been the main event for Elite XC three out of four times on Showtime.
In almost two years I have made approximately $83,000?
After
paying my trainers and managers fee, I have $50,000 thousand.
After taxes, probably 30 grand. Divide that by two years for
$15,000 thousand a year. Divide by 52 weeks that amounts to approximately
$300 a week. I do not know anybody that can survive on that amount
of money. My buddies make more money than that in a couple days
being a bus boy or bar back. And yes you can argue I should fight
more. Elite XC doesn’t give me fights or promote me, they
ice me. Gary Shaw Productions only gave me one of the agreed
upon four fights per the boxing contract.
And
I do not want to ramble on about all the little small stuff that
I can keep going on about. But the straw that broke the camel’s
back is they want me to fight Diaz for the second time. Diaz
is not the number one contender and they are paying Diaz three
times more money than me. Diaz complained after the Stockton
fight, he was not paid enough. How do you think that made me
feel? Yes you can argue that Diaz gets more for the draw, therefore
I do not deserve as much compensation. If that is the case, it
is a result of Elite XC terrible job promoting me. Instead of
promoting me as their champ and upcoming athlete, Elite XC has
resented me for ruining their plans to make Diaz their champ.
That is just total disrespect. So it comes down to money and
what is fair. I am tired of being bent over by Elite XC with
no Vaseline."
GracieFighter.com:
1)
Promoters will sue when you don't fulfill the terms of your contract,
just ask Randy Couture. By the way, you are not Randy Couture
and the fight world is not holding it's breath waiting to see
if you will fight again.
2)
$83,000? There are several fighters that are a lot better than
you fighting for a lot less. Pay your dues and quit being a little
bitch.
3)
You are paying your management too high of a percentage and here's
some advice you should consider, "they are completely incompetent".
4)
Chuck Liddell makes 100s of thousands more than Keith Jardine
even though he lost to him. Diaz does not complain that Kimbo
makes much more. He understands marketability, why can't you?
5)
Divide this and then multiply it several times: KJ = little bitch
> KJ = real champion
6)
We agree you do need more Vaseline. You are used to it and damn
those EliteXC guys for not using it when they bend you over.
From
KJ Noons' statement:
"I
am right when I say Diaz is not the number one contender. Elite
XC is trying to force this fight for their ratings. Eddie Alaverez
is the number one contender and anybody with half a brain knows
that a fight with Eddie is a way harder fight for me than Diaz.
I will fight Diaz, but Elite has to be fair. I’m not ducking
Diaz, why the hell would I be scared of someone I already beat.
With
that being said, I am going to focus on my boxing career. I can
make more money doing 6 and 8 rounders every other month and
make more than I did being the Elite XC defending world champ.
At least I will be able to sleep at night and be able to look
myself in the mirror everyday. That right there is worth more
than $300 bucks a week or fighting a guy I cannot stand for less
money than him the second time around.
Will
the Diaz fight happen, yes. Will the fight happen on Elite XC
on October 4, 2008, probably not. The way things are being run
by Chuck Champion, a guy whose history is newspapers, not fighting,
and $kala, someone who talks a lot of game, but has never put
on a pair of gloves, never stepped in a ring or cage. $kala has
had everything handed to him with a silver spoon from daddy.
Does anyone else but me think $kala just wants to be famous and
stir up all this dirty laundry? I guess any publicity is good
publicity. When I think about it, it has been good promotion
for their October card since nobody is talking about it until
you bring up the Noons vs. Diaz match up."
GracieFighter.com:
1)
It is not up to you to decide who the #1 contender is. That is
EliteXC's sole discretion. Patrick Cote will soon be fighting
Anderson Silva at the UFC's sole discretion. Silva is not complaining
because he fights whomever they put in front of him. Silva fought
Rich Franklin after wrecking him the 1st time. Serra rematched
GSP his very next fight after demolishing him. Serra got paid
less than GSP even though he was the Champion after the 1st fight.
These men are true Champions and fight anyone. This is a concept
you cannot seem to grasp.
2)
You are scared because Diaz, despite having a terrible showing
last time was stopped by cuts. God forbid the doctor that let
the fight continue against Gomi had been calling the shots at
your fight. In your heart you know what would have happened and
you would rather live the lie of being a paper champion.
3)
What will EliteXC ever do without you? I guess you will have
to watch from your couch. Drink a beer. Prepare to make a ritual
of it.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
MMA
Fastball: Kimbo Slice-Ken Shamrock is a gamble
Ken Shamrock is still a draw in MMA and is well recognized by
even casual fans due to his early days in the UFC and former
professional wrestling presence. Since he may help EliteXC make
money at their next event, in the immediate sense this match
up makes some financial sense.
That
said, putting a fighter in there that has lost seven of his last
eight, including six by way of stoppage could hurt the organization
as well. Kimbo Slice is hardly EliteXC’s best fighter but
may be their biggest draw. So imagine that he lost to Shamrock,
a man who is well past his best years.
Talk
about destroying someone’s burgeoning reputation, which
took a hit—even if it was somewhat unfair due to the fact
that Slice has only fought three times in MMA—during his
victory over James Thompson from hardcore MMA fans. The Slice
bandwagon and any notion that he could defeat the best in the
heavyweight division in the future would be derailed permanently
by a loss to Shamrock, and his marketability would drop like
a lead weight.
On
the flip side, if Slice defeats Shamrock it won’t do much
of anything to tip hardcore MMA fans his way.
Risky.
Antonio
Silva and steroids: This is just plain disappointing. On one
hand, Silva is denying that he took steroids. On the other, he
apparently tested positive. The truth is that fans of the game
want to believe these fighters, but sometimes it’s plain
hard to.
Regardless
of what the outcome of appeals and anything else might be, the
unfortunate reality is that it takes a while to clear one’s
name of the steroid cloud. Some never do, and that alone should
be one heck of a deterrent for would be users.
Georges
St. Pierre has improved too: Here’s the thing on this one.
Everyone keeps talking about the fact that B.J. Penn is staying
in shape these days and looks better than he ever has. They’re
saying that the Penn of today is a totally different guy than
the one that took on St. Pierre way back when. All true, particularly
as it relates to his conditioning.
But
St. Pierre has also looked immensely better in recent wins over
Matt Hughes (twice), Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, and Matt Serra
than he ever has in the past. That, it seems, is being talked
about far less than Penn’s improvements.
This
could prove to be one of the better bouts of all time.
Kenny
Florian vs. Joe Stevenson: Right now, B.J. Penn still sits atop
the UFC’s lightweight division, even if defending that belt
isn’t looking like it’s going to happen anytime soon.
Enter Joe Stevenson vs. Kenny Florian.
Stevenson
is the stronger physical presence and may be the better wrestler
because of that. Both guys have outstanding jiu jitsu. Florian
would seem to have the better and more diverse striking.
In
other words, this is a great match up.
The
UFC Lightweight Division: Anytime you can throw bouts like Florian
vs. Stevenson and Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin out there while
the actual champ goes up in weight, you know that you have a
strong division.
Brock
Lesnar vs. Cheick Kongo: Brock Lesnar is a legitimate force in
the heavyweight division. That said, you’ve got to wonder
how he’ll do against a striker with Kongo’s reach,
power, and athleticism (they’re rumored to be fighting in
November). Guess is that Kongo will spend a lot of time on his
back in this one. But they do stand up at the beginning of every
round and Lesnar hasn’t shown anything in the line of submission
skills yet.
Remember,
it only takes one shot.
How
good could Rampage be in November anyway?: Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson recently plead not guilty to the felony counts of evading
police, reckless driving and hit and run. If convicted of this,
he could face up to three years in prison.
Could
take your mind off training, no?
The
crazy part is that he’s still rumored to be fighting on
the November card. Bad idea if you want to see Rampage at his
best. No matter what he says, that’s just too much to contend
with.
Congratulation
to Jared Hamman: Big revenge match victory for this up and coming
fighter over Po’ai Suganuma on August 15th. He’s a
fighter to watch.
Josh
Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski: Interestingly, I always thought
that the guy with the best chance to defeat Fedor back when he
was PRIDE’s champion—please note that I said best chance,
not would win—was Josh Barnett. Remember when Fedor continually
powered out of Nogueira’s submission attempts during their
first fight (and to an extent their second fight)?
Well,
Barnett is a big guy to do that kind of thing to. Would likely
prove to be very interesting, particularly on the ground. Perhaps
we’ll get see that fight soon.
Then
again, Arlovski vs. Fedor wouldn’t exactly stink either.
BTW-
if Arlovski or Barnett end up fighting Fedor next. . .: That
just means that Randy Couture still hasn’t. Getting kind
of depressing on that front.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Duarte
vs. Rios signed for Affliction 2
Mexican up-and-comer Antonio Duarte will fight for his first
time in the States when he tangles with California teacher Albert
Rios at the Oct. 11 Affliction "Day of Reckoning" event
in Las Vegas.
MMAFighting.com
has confirmed the featherweight bout with a source close to Duarte.
Duarte,
a Brown Belt under UFC veteran Dean Lister, holds a 10-1 record
and is riding a 7-fight win streak, while Rios is 9-3 and undefeated
in 3 fights since Sept. 2006.
Affliction
2: Day of Reckoning
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas
265
lbs. | Josh Barnett vs. Andre Arlovski
205 lbs. | Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
265 lbs. | Roy Nelson vs. Paul Buentello
170 lbs. | Mike Pyle vs. Jason High
185 lbs. | Matt Lindland vs. Trevor Prangley*
170 lbs. | Drew Fickett vs. Jay Hieron*
145 lbs. | Antonio Duarte vs. Albert Rios*
155 lbs. | Chris Horodecki vs. TBA
*not
yet officially announced
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Ask
the Doc: Dr. Benjamin on fighter safety, weight cutting and drug
tests
Is
it the smaller gloves that make MMA less dangerous and less likely
to cause serious injuries than boxing? What are the real dangers
of MMA fighters cutting so much weight?
Also,
is it possible EliteXC heavyweight champion Antonio “Bigfoot”
Silva didn’t take steroids despite his recently failed drug
test?
MMAjunkie.com’s
medical consultant and columnist Dr. Johnny Benjamin, a veteran
combat-sports specialist and a member of the Association of Boxing
Commission’s medical advisory team, this week takes a look
at those issues in his latest “Ask the Doc” column.
As
usual, the questions in his column came from the readers of MMAjunkie.com
(www.mmajunkie.com). If you have a question about fighter safety,
injuries and illnesses related to combat sports, or simply want
the doctor’s opinion on another hot topic, visit MMAjunkie.com
to submit a question.
Now, on to this week’s topics.
Q.
Do you think the smaller gloves used in MMA have anything to
do with the fact that there are far less serious injuries or
deaths in MMA than there are in boxing? (from Angry Fight Fan)
A.
Thankfully, there are far fewer devastating, life-altering injuries
and deaths associated with MMA as compared to professional boxing.
Angry Fight Fan, you have certainly touched on part of the answer,
but I believe that it is more than just a function of the gloves.
Remember,
gloves are intended for the protection of the combatant throwing
the punch—not the recipient. The larger, better-padded boxing
gloves are not intended to pad the blow for the person on the
losing end of the proposition but to protect the hand of the
“dispenser” of justice—thus allowing more justice
to be dispensed with less chance of injuring your weapon of choice.
More
importantly, the differences in the rules better protect MMA
athletes as compared to their professional-boxing peers. Generally
speaking, when a mixed martial artist gets clipped and goes down
for any significant period, the fight is immediately called by
the referee (sometimes too quickly for my liking; watching a
good beat down every now and then is good for the soul). This
saves the fighter from potentially many more devastating blows.
Contrast this with professional boxing. With the “no-three-knockdown
rule” in effect, a fighter who doesn’t know how to
move his or her head can catch a bad one—over and over and
over again. As long as the fighter can get back to his feet within
10 seconds, make purposeful movements and follow the simplest
of commands, a serious ass-whippin’ awaits.
Sure,
one punch can have horrible consequences, but more commonly,
it is the accumulation of blows that takes its toll on a fighter’s
health.
Let’s
look at two examples:
*
Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch at UFC 87 (which we can fairly
call a 25-minute, mostly stand-up war): 68 vs. 55 total strikes
landed
* Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor at the February 2008 HBO Boxing
broadcast (12 rounds, 36 minutes): 267 to 168 total strikes landed
(In
light of this subject, my prayers go out to the family of Sam
Vasquez, and God rest his soul.)
Q.
As a non-wrestler/non-fighter, I am wondering what “cutting
weight” for a fight entails. Is this purely water loss (they
always talk about sauna time), or is there something else? It
seems like this would be devastating to your kidneys, among other
organs. Are there any short-term health concerns for this practice,
and more importantly, are there any long-term health risks associated
with chronic weight cutting? (from Chris in Louisville, Ky.)
A.
Thanks Chris from Louisville. You’re trying to get me crucified
in the comments section and blogosphere with this one. Good looking
out, my man!
In
all sincerity, this is an excellent—albeit controversial—question.
Athletes who routinely cut weight are already rolling their eyes
and calling me a “nut hugger” (this one was new to
me, but thanks guys for teaching it to me here). Although I am
not completely sure of what a “nut hugger” is, I am
absolutely certain that I am not one.
I
preface my comments by stating that I make absolutely no character
or value judgments about those adults who choose routinely to
cut weight. What an adult does behind closed doors is not my
concern unless it affects a child (or farm animal).
Throughout
my athletic and professional life, I have seen many athletes
on various levels safely cut weight. But like riding a motorcycle,
every long-time cutter of weight has a story of an episode that
wasn’t so pretty—an episode that he knows in his heart
cost him.
Cutting
serious weight (for the sake of argument, let’s say greater
than eight to 10 pounds) in 24-36 hours can be dangerous—even
if you’ve “done it a million times” and “know
what you’re doing.” Cutting serious weight, in a short
“before the weigh-in” time frame, is mainly a function
of starvation and severe or total fluid restriction.
Starvation
and severe fluid restriction are harsh conditions for the human
body. Blood and plasma volume, cardiac output, sweating/heat
tolerance, energy level, glycogen (fuel) stores in the liver
and skeletal muscle, explosive quickness, and endurance are all
negatively affected. (Not to mention your breath smells like
ass and you’re cantankerous as hell.)
We’ve
all seen guys with a superior skill set and usually amazing cardio
get dominated by a guy that isn’t even in the same league.
The excuse is usually that “I had a bad night” or “he
got lucky” or “I had nothing in my tank and gassed.”
More times than not, the truth is, “I had to cut serious
weight to get on the scale.”
When
cutting weight goes well, it’s all wonderful. But when it
goes wrong, you’re lucky just to get defeated. History has
shown that outcomes can range from poor performance to kidney
failure and dialysis, and in rare cases even death. Please be
careful if you, as an adult, choose to cut weight. And please,
please never encourage or teach a kid how to cut weight—whether
you think it’s the right or wrong way.
Now,
let the name-calling begin.
Q.
Did Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva take illegal steroids,
or is there a reasonable explanation for his recent failed test?
A.
Did he or didn’t he take illegal/banned steroids? Hell if
I know. But I will give an observation. Has anyone ever heard
of a hormonal disorder called acromegaly, which is more commonly
known as “gigantism?”
Acromegaly
is a disorder of the pituitary gland in the brain that over-produces
growth hormone. Common signs and symptoms (available at MayoClinic.com,
just in case you don’t believe me) include:
*
Enlarged feet and hands (aka “Bigfoot”)
* Coarsened enlarged jaw and facial features
* Deep, husky voice
* Barrel chest
* Enlarged organs including but not limited to heart, liver and
spleen others
Now,
I’m not offering an Internet diagnosis, but take a look
at the picture. A simple blood test can answer this question
and lead this young man to the proper treatment if indicated.
Unfortunately, when untreated, it is associated with high blood
pressure/stroke, organ damage (especially heart), diabetes and
ultimately a shortened life expectancy. (Remember the professional
wrestler Andre the Giant? He sure didn’t last too long.)
Could
acromegaly and an abnormal growth hormone level be a potential
confounding variable in his failed test? I don’t know, but
I’m just saying…
*
* * *
Dr.
Johnny Benjamin is MMAjunkie.com’s medical columnist and
consultant and a noted combat-sports specialist. He was also
recently appointed to the ABC’s medical advisory team and
will help review and refine the unified rules of MMA. To submit
a question for a future column, visit MMAjunkie.com. You can
also find Dr. Benjamin online at www.drjohnnybenjamin.com.
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Quote
of the Day
"Next
to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let
people know you are doing the right thing."
John
D. Rockefeller, 1839-1937, American Industrialist and Philanthropist
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight
Channel
52
NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!
A new episode
that features the Pac Sub tournament at the MMA Expo.
We
talk to the pound for pound best fighter in the world, BJ Penn.
East
coast to Guam transplant and technical wizard, Mike Fowler shows
off his leopard print hair and explains how he got his BJJ black
belt in only 4 years!
K-
Team and Relson Gracie competitor supreme, Brad Scott talks shop.
Last,
but certainly not the least, the lovely, but fierce Mrs. Bjjtek
expounds her roll as the enforcer of the Hawaii Ground better
known as the HG.
If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
the latest news from upcoming events, get to rub elbows with
numerous promoters and fighters, and get to voice your opinion
on any subject you can dream up. Hit the links above to sign
up for a free account and start posting away!
|
The
Quest for Champions 2008
Saturday,
October 4, 2008
Kalani High School
Please
come out and show your skills at the next "The Quest for
Champions 2008" Tournament.
Please note that we are at a new location....."Kalani High
School Gym".
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need more info.
Mahalo,
Tommy Lam
Kempo Unlimited HI
|
MACHIDA
THE NEXT LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER?
Undefeated light heavyweight Lyoto Machida quietly entered the
Ultimate Fighting Championship in December of 2006 as an asset
of the defunct World Fighting Alliance and quickly became the
dark horse of his weight division. Former UFC light heavyweight
champion Tito Ortiz begrudgingly fought the last fight of his
contract against Machida at UFC 84 in May and was sent packing
by the Brazilian’s methodical attack. Casual fans finally
took notice of Machida’s threat.
His
methodical nature is a blessing and a curse. The UFC’s marquee
division is short on undefeated contenders – everyone has
a blemish on their record. But Machida’s patient, karate-infused
style, along with his native Portugese tounge, has not made him
an easy subject to market, or an easy fighter to book. He remains
the aficionado’s choice of light heavyweights.
Machida’s
next challenge is against Thiago Silva at UFC 89 on Oct. 18 in
Birmingham, England. Silva, another wrecking ball of a Brazilian
with Machida’s 13-0 record, has torn through all but one
of his four UFC opponents with strikes. It’s a good fight
for Machida, but manager Ed Soares said he expected his client
to get a title shot after defeating Ortiz.
“I
do feel that Thiago’s a tough fighter,” Soares said.
“I understand why they picked Thiago. I personally as a
manager would have liked him to fight somebody with a bigger
name.
“Yes,
we were looking for a title shot. But just the way that it all
worked out, it was going to be a while before he gets a title
shot. Lyoto wanted to stay busy, and once again, being a business,
I understand why they put this fight together. Both guys are
13-0. It’s kind of like who’s going to be the first
one to get to 14? They have to have some sort of storyline to
promote, and this makes sense. Both guys are going to enter the
Octagon undefeated, and one is going to leave with a loss.”
With
Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans, Wanderlei Silva, and perhaps Quinton
Jackson in title queue, Machida can expect up to a year before
he faces the light heavyweight champion. The contender implications
of the Silva fight are unknown, but Soares balks at the idea
that Machida can’t find fights.
“If
they don’t want to fight him, that’s their deal,”
Soares said.” I wouldn’t want to fight any of our guys
either. Our guys are all tough guys, they’re all very technical,
and you make a wrong move, expect to be punished. It doesn’t
necessarily make my job any harder, I think the UFC’s job
may be a little bit harder.”
Soares
handles the American business affairs of UFC champions Anderson
Silva and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and is very familiar with
the challenges of bringing Brazilian fighters to an American
audience. So far, his champions have been able to transcend cultural
and language barriers with their relatable fighting styles —
Silva pummels you, Nogueira submits you. Machida’s traits,
whether inherent to all of his fights or a consequence of the
styles he’s faced in the Octagon, are not an easy sell.
Soares
says the UFC is hoping for an epic bout, one that can establish
Machida as the clear contender if he wins. After all, he can
only hover around the top of the division for so long before
a big marketing push. From Soares’ perspective, it’s
the missing piece to his appeal.
“From
a business standpoint, they need to market Lyoto a little bit
more,” he said. “At the end of the day, they have to
build him up. It doesn’t make sense for them to have a champion
(as) a relatively unknown fighter. If he was to beat Forrest
Griffin, they have to put all that marketing machine on him to
build up his pay-per-views.
“If
he wins (the Silva) fight, hopefully that will give them a little
bit more leverage, and a little bit more stuff to talk about,
and more stuff to help promote him.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
88: PARISYAN READY FOR OLYMPIC CHALLENGE
Karo Parisyan has been that contender who has always been on
the cusp of a UFC welterweight title shot. In 2005, he was slated
to take on then reigning champion Matt Hughes at UFC 55 when
he was forced to withdraw due to an injury. Parisyan never did
receive his shot at the belt after healing and had lost to Diego
Sanchez in his second fight back from injury.
He
then defeated his next three opponents and was matched up in
a potential No. 1 contender bout against Thiago Alves. Unfortunately
for “The Heat,” he succumbed to a knee and a succession
of punches that forced the referee to call the bout.
Now,
the Armenian is looking to get back to his old form against a
high level judoka in Yoshiyuki Yoshida. One thing that he'll
also have to fight is a recent influx of panic attacks. “I
had some panic attacks going on and I didn't even know what it
was until I went to the doctor,” explained Parisyan in a
recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “I'm trying to cope
with that stuff... at the same time, just training and trying
to make my way up to the top again.”
Now
that he has pinpointed what has been affecting him, he has been
figuring out how to suppress the attacks. “Hopefully,”
he said when asked if he had the attacks under control. “That's
the one thing that you have to figure out... what triggers that
(stuff) and once you figure it out, you try to stay away from
stuff like that. Life is a whole experience.”
The
experience was traumatic for the UFC veteran and prior to him
having these panic attacks, he didn't even know what one was.
“Everyday you find something new about yourself. I didn't
even know what a panic attack was. The truth is that it's not
about panicking. It's like your mind travels 135 miles-per-hour.
Your heartbeat goes through the roof and you can't find yourself.
The worst part is when you tell yourself, 'is this ever going
to leave me? Am I ever going to get through this? Am I ever going
to heal?' It starts kicking your ass.”
Parisyan
had even made a trip out to Greg Jackson's camp to train, but
unfortunately, the panic attacks seemed to keep him from staying
there too long. Luckily, Jackson was able to come out for a little
while and help Parisyan prepare for his upcoming bout.
“He
had like eight guys fighting the day he came out here,”
commented Parisyan gratefully. “He still made the trip out
here to help me out, see where I'm at in my training, my conditioning.
We worked on some technique. We put the game plan together and
we'll see what's going to happen.”
One
serious part of Parisyan's game that he has been working on diligently
is his cardio. Many people have long said that his biggest weakness
is his endurance and stamina. Realizing that he needed to work
on that, he has taken a very serious approach to improving that
part of his game. “I'm trying to concentrate on cardio.
Doing a lot of sprint work, grappling, sparring, all kinds of
stuff. A lot of pad work. Training is going pretty good. First
time I'm going injury free. Everything is going okay so far.”
Yoshida
is the toughest Judoka-turned-mixed-martial-artist that Parisyan
has ever faced. He believes he is a better overall fighter than
Yoshida, and that will be the difference maker in the fight.
However, Parisyan holds a lot of respect for his opponent and
was nothing but complementary about him.
“He's
a real good judo guy. He has good ground and pound. He has fairly
decent submissions. His strength is my strength so I think when
we clash it'll be fireworks. This is the first time I fought
a real athlete. No disrespect to the guys I've fought before.
This is the first time I'm fighting an Olympic caliber judo guy
and I have a lot of respect for him. I'm going to go in that
cage and give it my all,” said the 26-year-old.
“I
think I'm a better MMA fighter than he is, however you never
know what will happen in a fight. I'm just hoping and praying
that I'll come in good shape for this fight and give the crowd
what they want to see.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Notes:
Kimbo will face Shamrock on CBS
In
a battle of one of the biggest draws in mixed martial arts history
against one of today’s most talked-about fighters, 44-year-old
Ken Shamrock will be named Kimbo Slice’s opponent in the
main event when CBS officially announces the matches for the
Oct. 4 network special from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise,
Fla.
The
official announcement of the complete show, which is also expected
to feature Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold-Gavin, is slated for
Tuesday.
Slice’s
(3-0) fame from YouTube videos translated into the most-watched
mixed martial arts match ever in North America on May 31, when
6.5 million viewers saw him beat James Thompson on CBS. Shamrock
set pay-per-view records during the early days of the sport,
and later in comeback matches with Tito Ortiz.
But
Shamrock (26-13-2), one of the first superstars of the sport
during a stint from 1993-1996, has lost five matches in a row
since a win over Kimo Leopoldo four years ago. He was not competitive
with Tito Ortiz in two matches in 2006, but the first match drew
what is still the second-largest pay-per-view number in MMA history
with 775,000 buys after the two were opposing coaches on The
Ultimate Fighter reality show.
Controversy
regarding a quick stoppage in the match resulted in a televised
rematch on Spike TV that drew 5.9 million viewers. Shamrock,
a one-time powerhouse, lost both matches in less than four minutes
combined and was easily overpowered by Ortiz.
Since
then, Shamrock’s only fight was on March 8, in London, England,
when he was knocked out in 3:26 by journeyman Robert “Buzz”
Berry.
Elite
XC desperately needs ratings success with this show, with just
one event after this left on its CBS deal, and coming off poor
ratings for the July 26 show.
While
Shamrock’s record in the ring hasn’t been impressive
after leaving the sport in 1997 to go into pro wrestling for
three years, he still poses some danger on the ground. He significantly
injured the knees and ankles of Don Frye in a 2002 battle in
Japan, and even though he lost quickly to Rich Franklin in 2005,
his submission work in the first minute did put Franklin on crutches
for a week.
But
he’s been prone to quick knockout losses and a power game
that made him a star dating back to UFC 1 in 1993 hasn’t
been evident much in the past decade.
Brock-Kongo?
While not announced officially, the Lesnar vs. Cheick Kongo match
that UFC has been attempting to put together since both won on
Aug. 9 in Minneapolis is hopeful, but far from definite for Nov.
15 in Portland, Ore.
The
date depends on how quickly Kongo can recover from a nagging
shoulder problem.
Kongo
will be the best striker Lesnar has ever faced. But Lesnar would
go into such a match as a heavy favorite because of the belief
Kongo is not going to have an answer for the wrestling ability
of the former NCAA champion.
With
so many shows to fill and so many name fighters who aren’t
going to be ready until December, if Kongo is not ready, it is
going to make the card a very difficult sell as a pay-per-view
quality lineup. The only name match finalized for that date is
Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson.
Frank
of all trades: With so much interest being generated by Lesnar
regarding pro wrestlers transitioning to MMA, someone is trying
to do both, and many other things, all at once.
Frank
Trigg, who defeated Olympic judo gold medalist Makoto Takimoto
on Sunday in Saitama, Japan, via three-round decision for the
Sengoku promotion, is becoming a jack of many trades.
Best
known in some circles as the MMA analyst on FOX Sports Net, and
by an entirely different group as the expert analyst for the
Total Nonstop Action pro wrestling organization on Spike, Trigg
also does an Internet MMA audio show and has his own clothing
line.
Trigg
(17-6) went straight from Japan to Orlando for pro wrestling
tapings. He was brought in as an announcer in March when the
wrestling company did an MMA-themed storyline. Almost as soon
as he got there, he started secretly training to add “pro
wrestler” to his resume, and his first match is expected
to be imminent.
Those
who have done both pro wrestling and MMA probably numbers more
than 100, with some of the best known being Lesnar, Ken Shamrock,
Don Frye, Mark Coleman, Josh Barnett, Frank Shamrock, Renzo Gracie,
Kazushi Sakuraba, Bob Sapp, and Bas Rutten.
Trigg’s
double-leg takedowns and overall power were too much for Takimoto,
who won the gold medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney at 180
pounds. Takimoto threw him early using his judo, but Trigg’s
wrestling controlled most of the match.
Trigg
was in the semifinal of a show headlined by Takanori Gomi, the
top Japanese lightweight star, who many rank behind only B.J.
Penn as the best in the world in the class.
Gomi
(29-3, 1 no-contest), the final PRIDE lightweight champion, hardly
looked like a rival for Penn in winning a decision over South
Korea’s Seung Hwan Bang (5-2) over three rounds.
Sengoku
is Japan’s second biggest MMA company, behind only Dream.
But both groups are question marks going forward. Sadaharu Tanikawa,
who heads Fighting Entertainment Group, the parent company of
Dream, has noted that if the company doesn’t get a strong
television rating on its Sept. 23 show, its future is in question.
Sengoku
is in even worse shape. Sunday’s show drew about 10,000
fans, maybe half-full, to the Saitama Super Arena, but in Japan
free tickets are not hard to come by. The group has no television
in Japan, and does almost no numbers on pay-per-view, while putting
on expensive first-class shows.
Awaiting
answers: Why would a fighter turn down what would be, by far,
the highest profile fight of his career, against an opponent
that he dominated the first time they faced?
K.J.
Noons is expected to have a press conference soon to explain
the answer to that perplexing question.
Noons
dominated Nick Diaz when they fought on Nov. 10 in the match
to determine Elite XC’s first lightweight king. Noons’
superior boxing technique wound up with Diaz bleeding badly within
a round, and the match was stopped at the end of the first round.
After Diaz and Noons both won matches on June 14 in Honolulu
on Showtime, the rematch was announced and followed with a mid-ring
showdown that aired on Showtime. A rematch between the two has
far more interest than any fight Noons could have at this point
in his career.
Placed
on the Oct. 4 CBS show in Sunrise, Fla., it could easily have
10 times or more as many eyeballs watching than their first meeting.
But after an impasse in negotiations, Elite XC has dropped plans
for the fight and moved Diaz to a Nov. 8 date on Showtime.
The
closest thing to an explanation given by the Noons camp is that
they felt Diaz wasn’t the top contender.
The
first U.S. Olympian to talk MMA? After placing seventh this past
week in the 163-pound weight class, American Ben Askren became
the first 2008 Olympian to bring up going into MMA.
“I
think there is a good chance I’ll be fighting soon,”
said the 2006 and 2007 Dan Hodge Award winner as the best college
wrestler in any weight class. Askren said he’s committed
to helping coach the University of Missouri wrestling team for
two years and would concentrate on improving his jiu-jitsu and
kickboxing, feeling he needs to be excellent in two of three
categories (wrestling, jiu-jitsu and kickboxing) and at least
proficient in the third before he could do really well.
Satoshi
Ishii, the Japanese superheavyweight gold medalist in judo, who
talked of fighting Fedor Emelianenko after winning the gold,
and who Japanese MMA promoters are trying to sign, is sticking
with his main sport. Japanese judo officials think, at 21, he
has the potential to win gold medals in three Olympics.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
TUF
1 crew talks old times
LAS
VEGAS – There was frequently three, four and five men speaking
at once, which shouldn’t be all that surprising if you knew
anything about this gang.
Eight
members of the cast of the inaugural season of “The Ultimate
Fighter” gathered Friday at the UFC training center to reminisce
about their experiences on the show and the impact it had on
their lives.
There
were poignant moments, such as when Nate Quarry talked about
finally having money to allow his 8-year-old daughter, Ciera,
to buy what she wanted in a store, or when Chris Leben told the
group he is sober and no longer drinking alcohol.
Leben’s
admission prompted applause from his cast mates.
But
when Joe Rogan, who was serving as the master of ceremonies,
asked the kind of question that only he would ask, there was
silence in the room. Heads turned left and right looking to see
if anyone was brave enough to tackle this one.
“If
you’re in a relationship you want out of, now is the time
to speak up,” Stephan Bonnar shouted, laughing.
When
no one was willing to talk, Rogan called them “a bunch of
(expletives).”
Rogan
had asked how much better they did with the women after being
part of the show.
Forrest
Griffin, now the UFC’s light heavyweight champion, broke
the tension by shouting, “Hey, I don’t know about you
guys, but I was doing pretty good with the women before.”
After
three hours of taping by Spike TV on Friday, it was clear that
the show impacted the men who were on it as much, if not more,
than it did the UFC.
The
UFC would likely no longer exist were it not for the show in
general and the light heavyweight finale between Griffin and
Bonnar in particular. UFC president Dana White, who calls the
Griffin-Bonnar fight the most important in the company’s
history, signed a deal to renew the series in an alley behind
the Las Vegas arena where the fight was held on April 9, 2005.
“Without
that night, everything this thing has become would not have been
possible,” Rogan said.
The
first season will be replayed in the fall, and short clips from
Friday’s reunion will be inserted into the shows.
As
Rogan was making the point how the show had changed so much for
so many in the room, he acknowledged Griffin, who won the light
heavyweight title on July 5 with a victory over Quinton Jackson.
Griffin
isn’t much for ceremony and was clearly uncomfortable when
others talked about his championship. When Rogan said, “You’re
the champ, Dude,” Griffin shrugged, made a crooked face
and said, “Well, at least until my next fight.”
Mike
Swick said he had been involved in martial arts most of his life,
but was not able to make a living at it prior to being on TUF.
He said he had a pressure-washing company, but was always frustrated
because his clients would never be satisfied.
He
would arrive and point out he’d be able to clean the driveway,
but the oil stains wouldn’t come up.
“After
I would finish, they’d come out and the oil stains were
still there and they’d be all angry about it and I’d
have to talk to them and then lower the bill,” he said.
He
focuses full time on his fighting career now as a result of the
notoriety he gained from being in the cast. Still, though, he
receives an occasional call from someone who wants to hire him
to clean their driveway.
One
of the day’s funniest moments came when Swick and Chris
Leben argued about whether Leben had ducked Swick. The two had
fought prior to being on The Ultimate Fighter in a memorable
WEC bout that Leben won.
During
filming of the show Swick managed to get Leben to sign a piece
of paper agreeing to a rematch. Later, Swick’s management
team reminded UFC matchmaker Joe Silva of Leben’s promise.
Swick
seemed irritated Friday when he recalled the incident and asked
Leben why he agreed to fight Terry Martin instead of giving him
the promised rematch. Swick was he was told by his management
that a deal was being discussed with Silva and Leben’s managers.
Leben,
though, seemed perplexed to hear about it and said he never turned
down a fight. Finally, to settle the dispute, White turned on
his cellular telephone and called Silva. White told him Silva
was taping a TV show and would put the phone on speaker so everyone
could hear his answer.
Silva
confirmed that the bout was discussed with Leben’s management,
but the managers wanted to go for a fight with Martin.
The
tension was settled, though, when it was obvious that Leben had
no idea about the fight.
“Man,
I don’t get into any of that and that’s why I’m
not on the computer or anything,” Leben said. “All
I do is get into the gym and work and when they have a fight,
they tell me. I fight anyone.”
The
group teased Bobby Southworth about how much he weighed when
he arrived for taping. Southworth conceded he weighed 237 and
had to get to 205, but he joined the cast on just 12 days’
notice.
Bonnar
pointed out that Southworth, whom the fighters were jokingly
referring to as “Dad” on Friday, made a big impact
in the house. When he was gone, there was trash everywhere. Southworth
had picked up after everyone.
“After
Bobby left the house, the place was disgusting,” Bonnar
said. “Nobody picked up anything.”
Leben
told a story of how he’d been suckered by Florian. He showed
Florian one of his best moves, then found out the two were fighting
the next day.
Sure
enough, early in the second round, Florian tried the move.
“Guy
used my own move on me,” Leben said, as Florian bent over
laughing.
They
shared stories of Bonnar’s battle with staph infection and
his escape through a tiny bathroom window to go out to buy alcohol.
They
teased Diego Sanchez, who won the middleweight division and now
fights at lightweight, about his duffel bag he carried that was
filled with supplements and how wacky he acted during the show.
“I
am wacky,” Sanchez said, drawing more laughs.
Nobody
seemed to enjoy the gathering more than White, who came up with
the idea for the reality series in a last-ditch attempt to save
the UFC. The company had lost $44 million in a little more than
three years since White and partners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta
purchased it from original owners Semaphore Entertainment for
$2 million in 2001.
The
Fertittas picked up the entire cost of the production, including
buying the air time. Even as the show was being filmed, no one,
including White, was quite sure whether it would air.
The
show succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.
During
a break in taping, White looked around the room, where the fights
during the show are filmed, and shook his head.
“It’s
amazing to think,” he said, softly, “how close we came
to not being here today. If it weren’t for what these guys
did, I don’t know if there would even be a UFC. I’ll
never forget these guys.
“Ever.”
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Coker
the man behind Strikeforce’s curtain
This
is the kind of thing that doesn’t happen every day. Or every
year. Or even every decade.
Scott
Coker was 21, teaching martial arts near his Northern California
home and not sure what he planned to do with the rest of his
life. But he had a passion for taekwondo, enjoyed what he was
doing and, like many young adults, wasn’t particularly concerned
at the time with where life was leading.
He
was instructing in an otherwise typical day at his gym when one
of his students, an employee of Coors Brewery, told him that
Coors was looking to sponsor professional kickboxing events that
were being broadcast on ESPN.
The
man asked Coker if he’d like to give it a try. It didn’t
take long for Coker to say yes, even though he’d never promoted
a fight card, never negotiated a fighter contract, never worked
out a television rights deal and had not the first clue what
to do about securing a venue.
“I
had no idea what I was getting into,” Coker says. “It
was definitely a baptism by fire.”
After
all the receipts were counted and all the bills were paid for
that first show, Coker was left with a profit of $10,000.
“And
believe me when I tell you, I thought I was rich,” Coker
said, chuckling.
Nearly
25 years later, he’s still not rich, but he’s become
one of the country’s most successful mixed martial arts
promoters. Coker’s company, Strikeforce, is the one promotion
outside industry-leading Zuffa LLC able to lure world-class talent
and still survive.
The
International Fight League was created several years ago amid
much fanfare and with predictions that it would be the company
to surpass the industry-leading Ultimate Fighting Championship.
But after all the hype, the IFL collapsed, its stock value dipped
to two cents a share (from a high of about $15) and it’s
all but legally dead now.
Elite
XC was born in 2007 and became the first MMA promoter to land
a deal with a premium cable channel when it reached a deal with
Showtime. That was a precursor to an even bigger deal, when about
15 months later it became the first MMA company to secure a contract
with one of the four major broadcast networks, CBS.
But
only 18 months after its much-hyped debut, Elite XC is $50 million
in the hole and its future is bleak.
Affliction
ran a heavily promoted show in July that was a critical success,
but which lost thousands of dollars, if not into the millions.
The
San Jose, Calif-based Coker, though, manages to chug along, putting
on quality cards that are routinely profitable.
“Scott
has a great understanding of the business, and I think that’s
where these other guys fall short,” said Frank Shamrock,
a Strikeforce fighter and one of the greats in MMA history. “They
don’t know the business and they don’t know the people
in it. They come in and they overspend and they upset people.
They start cliques and antagonize people and get distracted from
the business.
“Scott’s
secret is that he doesn’t get out there fighting with people.
He sits down with you and says, ‘Hey, let’s see if
we can do business together and help each other out.’ He’s
a square dude. If he can do something for you or with you, he
will. If he can’t, he’ll tell you why.”
Coker’s
ego is such that he doesn’t feel the need to try to outdo
another promoter. He simply wants to run a business, turn a profit
and put on a good show.
Unlike
nearly every other major promoter, he hasn’t incurred the
wrath of the UFC or its outspoken president, Dana White.
White,
who was 16 when Coker began promoting kickboxing, was effusive
in his praise of Coker.
“This
sport needs more guys like Scott Coker,” White said. “He
puts on a good show and I think if you talked to his fighters
about him, they’d all have good things to say.”
Those
words are in sharp contrast to his comments about other promoters.
He derisively refers to Affliction’s Tom Atencio as “that
t-shirt guy.” He says, “I thought Elite XC was the
(stuff) Anna Nicole Smith was taking when she died.” And
he simply chortles at the problems the IFL has endured.
“It
was a stupid concept that I told you would never work,”
White said of the IFL’s team MMA plan.
Coker
has managed to stay on the mercurial White’s good side,
as well as on the good side of most who know and work with him,
by simply being a good guy.
Talk
to him for 10 minutes and you quickly understand the passion
he has for the game and the business.
“It’s
really all about networking and building good relationships,”
Coker said of his business strategy. “I have a long martial
arts background and I have relationships with a lot of people
in this business that go back many, many years. And I’m
in an area of the country where martial arts is huge.
“There
are a lot of gyms with great, world-class talent here in my area.
I have relationships with all of those places and the people
there and it helps to be able to run a business.”
Strikeforce
has landed a late-night show that airs on NBC on Saturdays and
which has delivered far better than expected ratings. The half-hour
show, which airs between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., depending upon the
market, routinely draws more viewers than live broadcasts of
the boxing matches in much better time slots on ESPN2.
Coker
occasionally branches outside the Bay Area to promote. He has
a Sept. 20 card at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, the
second straight year he’s run a show from the venerable
location, and an Oct. 3 card in Broomfield, Colo. A February
card in Tacoma, Wash. set a state record for combat sports with
a gate of about $300,000.
But
he primarily sticks to the Bay Area, where he set a since-surpassed
North American attendance record by drawing 18,265 to the HP
Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., for a card featuring a fight between
Shamrock and Cesar Gracie.
“I’m
not surprised by anything Scott does, because he’s that
good at this,” Shamrock said. “He’s been around
20-plus years and everyone in the business knows him and respects
him. He has the ability to go not only national with this thing,
but international, if he wants. He knows talent and he knows
how to put together a fight.
“Just
throwing a ton of money at it doesn’t work. Just hiring
a million people doesn’t work. People want a good product
and they want value for their money and that’s what they
get from Strikeforce. That’s all because of what Scott Coker
does.”
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Quote
of the Day
"The
moon is a friend for the lonesome to talk to."
Carl
Sandburg, 1878-1967, American Poet and Historian
|
KARO
PARISYAN OPENS UP ABOUT PANIC ATTACKS
In the midst of a sport like mixed martial arts where the majority
of attention falls on a fighter’s performance and the competitive
nature of athletics, sometimes an athlete’s personal health
and well being get lost in the shuffle.
One
fighter who has dealt with an intense situation over the last
few months is Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight contender
Karo Parisyan, who following his fight with Ryo Chonan at UFC
78 in November 2007, was diagnosed with having panic attacks.
The
Mayo Clinic defines a panic attack as a “sudden episode
of intense fear that develops for no apparent reason and that
triggers severe physical reactions. Panic attacks can be very
frightening. When panic attacks occur, you might think you're
losing control, having a heart attack or even dying.”
Parisyan,
who has now been treated and is dealing with the disorder, spoke
candidly when appearing on MMAWeekly Radio recently about the
feeling he had when suffering from a panic attack.
“I
never even knew what a panic attack was,” he said. “The
truth is it’s not about ‘oh I’m panicking because
I left my car keys in the car.’ It’s actually like
your mind travels a 135 miles per hour. It’s like your heartbeat
goes through the roof. You can’t find yourself and the nastiest
part is when you sit there and you tell yourself, is this ever
going to leave me? Am I going to get through this? Am I ever
going to heal? You think about committing suicide, that’s
how bad it is.”
The
170-pound fighter also felt the effects of the panic attacks
before his fight with Thiago Alves in April of this year.
“I
had the worst feeling before the fight. I had the worst feeling
after the fight,” Parisyan commented about the bout with
Alves. “(When) the fight was over, I was like, ‘thank
God everything is done.’”
Still
regardless of his condition, Parisyan takes absolutely nothing
away from his opponent that night.
“(I’m)
taking nothing away from Thiago (Alves); he won fair and square.
He deserves a title shot; he’s doing great.”
Talking
to his doctors, Parisyan said that it was explained what exactly
caused the panic attacks.
“All
throughout the years, he said, ‘Karo when you go out to
fight’ – and I’ve been fighting martial arts since
I was 12 years old, so about 12 years now – he goes, ‘when
you fight, that stress, everything is stress related, that stress
in your life, in your fights, all that stuff builds up inside
you like a water balloon and eventually one day it pops and you
start seeing panic attacks.’”
Parisyan
said that the doctor prescribed Xanax to help him with the panic
attacks, but it is still something he has to live with even in
training for his upcoming fight as he traveled away from home
to prepare.
“I
went to (Greg) Jackson’s about a month ago, month and a
half ago, and I was supposed to be there for a week,” he
stated. “The second day I was there, the second night, I
had a panic attack again where I was staying at and I didn’t
sleep the whole night. I didn’t know what it was; I thought
I was dying. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever felt.
“I
had a panic attack all night I couldn’t sleep. I was trying
to find a red eye flight to fly back home and the next day I
woke up and still did some kind of a sprawling at Greg Jackson’s.
I was still kind of in the panic attack mode and I still did
a little bit of training, then I flew back home.”
Despite
the situation, he maintains a positive attitude and makes no
excuses for what affect his condition may have on his fight career
or training.
“It’s
the toughest sport in the world. You’ve got to be able to
cope with anything that comes in your path if you want to make
it to the top.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
2008
OLYMPIAN BEN ASKREN CONSIDERING MMA
Ben Askren, a 2008 Olympic wrestler, who just returned from the
Beijing Olympics will soon decide if he will continue to work
toward the 2012 games in London or make a move into the sport
of mixed martial arts.
The
University of Missouri wrestler, who won the 2006 and 2007 NCAA
National Championship in wrestling in the 174-pound weight class,
is a long time fan of the sport and sees the level of competition
he could face as a whole new challenge.
“I
see it as the ultimate competition, one man against another man,
very limited rules, and the toughest guy wins. So that’s
definitely what I like about it,” said Askren during an
appearance on MMAWeekly Radio.
He
competed at 174 pounds while in college and at 163 pounds while
in the Olympics, but he said if fighting is his ultimate choice,
he would compete in the 170-pound welterweight division.
He
has worked in Missouri with a local gym rolling in jiu-jitsu
a couple of times a week already, but has very limited striking
experience to his credit. Askren is realistic about a move into
MMA and knows he has a lot to learn.
“I’m
not going to go in the cage unprepared,” he stated. “I’m
a worker and I’m going to work. I’m going to get good
at what I do. I want to get good at jiu-jitsu, get good at striking,
and I’m going to go in there prepared.”
The
Olympian stated in the interview that he’s a fan of fighters
such as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Mirko “Cro Cop”
Filipovic, and has seen the success of past top wrestlers such
as Matt Lindland and Josh Koscheck in MMA.
“Pretty
much any high level wrestler that applies themselves to mixed
martial arts does well in it,” he commented. “I think
you’d be hard pressed to find one that actually trained
in mixed martial arts and didn’t do well.”
Just
getting home from China a few days ago, Askren has thoughts of
possibly competing in the Olympics again, while also mulling
the decision to coach at his alma mater or making the move to
MMA. It’s a decision he will make very soon.
“That’s
a decision I’ve got to make coming up really soon, maybe
in the next couple weeks,” he said. “There’s a
definite possibility I might just focus on MMA. I don’t
want to say 100 percent, but it’s definitely a possibility.”
Of
course being an Olympic level wrestler, Askren also wants to
fight the very best in the world if he does transition into MMA.
“I
want to face tough opponents, I don’t want to face ‘cans,’
as they call them,” he commented.
Askren’s
next move will be to attend the upcoming World Extreme Cagefighting
event to take a look at high level mixed martial arts first hand.
WEC 36 takes place on Sept. 10 in Florida and features a main
event title bout between defending featherweight champion Urijah
Faber and challenger Mike Brown.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
PELLEGRINO
LOOKS INTO THE MIRROR AT UFC 88
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Kurt Pellegrino is
the midst of his own personal transition period.
After
years of training and fighting out of Florida, under the eye
of other people, Pellegrino has struck out on a new path, returning
to his native New Jersey in hopes of rebuilding a career that
has always seemingly been on the cusp of something big, but never
quite breaking through.
Eager
to put the memory of his most recent outing behind him, he has
stepped up to face an equally difficult challenge in Thiago Tavares
at the upcoming UFC 88 in Atlanta.
“I’m
real excited to get my feet back in the octagon,” stated
Pellegrino. “I’m looking to erase that loss (to Nate
Diaz at UFC Fight Night 13 in April) with a big win over Thiago.
“That’s
why I suggested this fight; was to move on and not fight a lesser
opponent, but in my eyes, fight an extremely dangerous and tough
fighter.”
As
he puts it, having a good showing and getting back on the winning
track against Tavares is imperative for his career.
“It’s
really important; because that’s not the Kurt Pellegrino
I wanted everyone to see (against Diaz),” he stated. “Everyone
said I looked great in that fight, but I really don’t believe
them, because how I felt heading in to the fight (with) complications
going on.
“This
is by far the healthiest Kurt, whether I win or lose against
Thiago – and losing is definitely not in my mind as an option
– this is really the best I’ve ever felt.”
Pellegrino’s
reinvigoration comes much to the credit of his move back to New
Jersey and the new team he’s surrounded himself with.
“Now
I control my own state, I run my own school and control my destiny,”
he exclaimed. “I brought in the best people in the world
to help me with this fight, and Sept. 6, people will see that.
“I’ve
got a great team with me now, with my agent, Dean Albrecht. I’ve
brought in Kevin Kern, Kenny Florian’s strength and conditioning
coach, and I’ve been mentoring under Kenny Florian, who
is my new coach and is going to be in my corner.”
When
it comes to his match-up against Tavares, Pellegrino sees a lot
of similarities, making for he feels could be an intriguing fight.
“I
call this the mirror fight,” he said. “Thiago’s
got good hands, good kicks, jiu-jitsu and is above average in
the weight class.
“This
fight has the making of being a phenomenal fight, that’s
why I took it. If I want to beat someone, I want to beat myself;
and I consider Thiago the closest person in the UFC to myself.”
With
three losses in the UFC, it’s hard to gauge exactly where
he stands in the lightweight division. Pellegrino feels that
this fight could very well be the determining factor to where
he’s headed.
“I
always keep steamrolling ahead, and fate will only tell me where
I go from now,” he stated. “Of course, everyone wants
to keep winning and be the UFC champion; I just want to perform
to the best of my abilities.
“If
that gets me to the top, then let’s rock ‘n roll, but
right now I can’t even look ahead of me, because I have
Thiago in front of me. Once I beat him, I’ll be able to
answer that question; but right now I have to beat him even to
answer that question.”
Recognizing
what needed to change and then making the most possible effort
to do so, Kurt Pellegrino is re-working his career, one fight
at a time, starting with UFC 88.
“First
of all I really want to thank the person that made this happen
for me, my wife,” he concluded. “I want to thank my
school, Kurt Pellegrino Mixed Martial Arts (www.PellegrinoMMA.com);
Kevin Kerns, Sharron Wentworth, Kenny Florian, Gil Torres, and
every single one of my idiot crew in Jersey.
“All
you guys sitting there watching, this is the best Kurt you’re
going to see, and after this, you’re going to see an even
better one. So you guys check it out, and thank you so much for
your love and support.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NOGUEIRA
HANGING TUF, PREPARING FOR MIR
Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter” will be starting
on Sept. 17 with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir as coaches.
This season will feature lightweights and light heavyweights
looking to become the next emerging star in the Ultimate Fighting
Championship.
Nogueira
defeated Tim Sylvia back in February to become the interim UFC
heavyweight champion and has not fought since. He will take his
years of wisdom and experience and implement them to the fortunate
members of his team this season. Helping with the coaching duties
will be some of the best in the business as UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva and top light heavyweight contender Lyoto
Machida will be there to assist. “I'm sure you'll see them
pop on there,” said Nogueira's manager, Ed Soares.
Nogueira
has been involved in some of the most memorable match-ups in
mixed martial arts history. His unbelievable victories over Bob
Sapp and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic were some of the
most exciting fights ever in the sport.
He
signed with the UFC not too long after the Zuffa acquired Pride
Fighting Championships. His first fight in the Octagon was against
Heath Herring, a man that he had defeated twice before. After
nearly being knocked out in the first round, “Minotauro”
came back and was dominant in the following rounds. His subsequent
title fight with Tim Sylvia was vintage Nogueira, as he was getting
dominated in the first round, and came back to submit Sylvia
in the third round to gain the interim title.
Even
though Nogueira has tons of success in the sport and is the promotion's
reigning heavyweight king, he is not well known to the casual
fan. Soares is hoping his exposure on The Ultimate Fighter will
gain Nogueira some popularity points with the casual fan.
“In
the American market, I still don't think he was that well known,”
Soares said in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “Going
through this process on The Ultimate Fighter was a quick resolution
to making him become more of a household name. Granted he did
have to take nine months off from fighting, but I feel the exposure
this show is going to get him is going to help his career.”
After
Season 8 concludes, Nogueira will defend his belt from former
UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Mir has only had two consecutive
wins and will now be challenging for the belt, mainly due to
the lack of depth in the heavyweight division in the UFC.
He
has most recently defeated the former professional wrestler-turned-mixed
martial artist Brock Lesnar after Mir had a very shaky few minutes
to start the fight. Mir was on the verge of being pounded out
by the Minnesota native, but hung on and kept his composure when
Lesnar made a mistake that allowed Mir to secure a knee bar.
While
he may not be the ideal No. 1 contender, the UFC is simply out
of options in the short term and this fight has the potential
promotional hype to sell, especially being on the end of the
year card.
“I
don't know if Frank was the No. 1 contender, but at this point,
who would be? Maybe a Cheick Kongo? But Heath Herring beat Cheick
Kongo. With Frank Mir, there's something to promote there,”
explained Soares. “He was the former heavyweight champion.
He's known to be the No. 1 heavyweight American grappler. Obviously
Nogueira is the best Brazilian heavyweight grappler. I think
it has all the ingredients to be a good fight.”
First
things first as Nogueira will wait for The Ultimate Fighter to
air and showcase his coaching style to the thousands watching.
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir premiers on
Sept. 17 at 10PM EST/PST on Spike TV.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MMA
VETERAN PELE SIGNS WITH RAW COMBAT
Following a devastating injury in his last fight, Brazilian fighter
Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons has signed on with RAW Combat
in Canada, as announced by the promotion this week.
Pele
suffered a broken leg during his fight against Brian Gassaway
in February 2008, in which the fighter’s shin snapped completely
in half, sending him crashing to the mat in agonizing pain.
Questions
began to circle immediately if Pele could ever return to action,
but that inquiry has now ended with his new deal with RAW Combat.
"I
am 100% in boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu," explains Landi-Jons.
"I'm relaxed. I helped make this sport. The old fans know
me from a long time ago. Now I'm sending a message to the new
fans. I am a Samurai. I'm not afraid of anything. I'll fight
anyone."
During
his impressive career, Pele has defeated the likes of Matt Hughes
and Pat Miletich and boasts two wins in kickboxing over current
UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.
While
he has always been considered a highly dangerous opponent, Landi-Jons
has definitely been on the down swing of a long career, having
dropped six out of his last 10 fights.
No
opponent has been named, but Pele is expected to make his debut
for RAW Combat during the Oct. 25 show, which will also feature
former Pride middleweight Denis Kang against Marvin Eastman.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
X-1
Presents Temple Of Boom
Palolo Hongwanji, Honolulu, Hawaii
September 27, 2008
BLUE CORNER RED CORNER
Main Event
JOHN "THE WARRIOR" VISTANTE vs 170lbs MMA Title Match SEAN
SAKATA
Team Sit U Down Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds No
Remorse
Co
Main Event
CHRIS BERNARD vs Heavy Weight MMA VILI FONOKALAFI
Team Sit U Down PRO 3/3 Min Rounds No Remorse
JOSHUA
FEREIRA vs 185lbs MMA Match BRAD TAVARES
Team Ruthless PRO 3/3 Min Rounds MMAD
THADDEUS
MALBREAUX vs 145lbs MMA Match JUSTIN MERCADO
Freelance PRO 3/3 Min Rounds MMAD
ALLAN
HASHIMOTO vs 145lbs MMA Match ALDRIN FERNANDEZ
Freelance Amateur 2/3 Min Rounds MMAD
JAMES
ROMANO vs 170lbs MMA Match STEVE FARMER
EastSidaz Amateur 2/3 Min Rounds Universal
Combat
FERDINAND
RAMIREZ vs 155lbs Kick Boxing Match MATT KANEHALE
Inner Circle Grappling Amateur 3/2 Min Rounds No
Remorse
JUSTIN
HALEMONO vs 185lbs MMA Match CALEB PRICE
Team Gambla Amateur 2/3 Min Rounds HMC
MAX
HALLAWAY vs 135lbs KB Title Defense EVAN QUEZON
Gods Army Amateur 3/2 Min Rounds Team Devastion/Nakoa
Fight Club
GURU
DAS vs 205lbs MMA Match JOHN HEWIT
Team Icon Amateur 2/3 Min Rounds No Remorse
KEALII
AIWOHI vs 185lbs MMA Match ANTONY KINOSHITA
Gods Army Amateur 2/3 Min Rounds No Remorse
ADD
THE FOUR BOXING FIGHTERS
PHILLIP
LIFTEE vs 145lbs XMA Match TAI LE
Nakoa Fight Team Amateur 3/2 Min Rounds Freelance
WILL
MORRIS va 145lbs MMA Match DEVON AGARAN
Nakoa Fight Team Amateur 2/3 Min Rounds Old
School/Inner Circle Grappling
TRAVIS
BERNADES vs 155lbs MMA Match VERNON TANGONAN
Freelance Amateur 2/3 Min Rounds Old School/Inner
Circle Grappling
SCOTT
RAMIREZ vs 145lbs Kick Boxing Match ROBERT BANIS
Inner Circle Grappling Amateur 3/2 Min Rounds West
Side Connection
Source: Mike Miller
|
NAGA
RETURNS TO HAWAII
On
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Neal Blaisdell Arena
NAGA
returns to Honolulu, Hawaii for the largest grappling tournament
in the Hawaii, the NAGA Hawaiian Grappling Championship. This
tournament is open to all grappling styles. You do not need to
be a member of a team or any organization to compete. You do
not have to live in Hawaii to compete.
OUR
BEST VENUE EVER We have acquired one of the best venues in Hawaii
for a grappling competition, the Neal Blaisdell Arena. The venue
is awesome, with 4 full sets of wrestling mats for competition
and additional mats for warming up. This facility has huge bathrooms
and changing areas, and a 2,000+ car parking lot. The Arena is
located just Ward Ave and is easy to get to.
WEIGH-IN
on Friday or Saturday NAGA will be offering all competitors the
option of registering and weighing in the night BEFORE the tournament!
If
you cannot make it on Friday, you can weigh-in anytime on Saturday
prior to your division starting.
60
CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS AWARDED All Men, Women, Children and Teen
Experts take home a magnificent championship belt. SAMURAI SWORDS
to all 1st PLACE
The
NAGA will be handing out custom engraved SAMURAI SWORDS to ALL
1st place winners who do not win a belt! Medals will be awarded
to all 2nd & 3rd place winners.
RANKED EVENT All NAGA events are part of the nationwide ranking
system entitled RANKED. Our goal is to determine who the best
grapplers in the country are for various age, gender and skill
levels. NAGA Hawaii will be nationally Ranked. Do not miss your
opportunity to gain points towards a true “National title”.
Go to www.nationallyranked.com for current rankings.
SANDBAGGERS
BEWARE
NAGA works diligently to prevent 'sandbagging', the practice
of fighting down skill levels to ensure one takes home an award.
At NAGA Hawaii, front door personnel will use RANKED data to
determine whether or not individuals who have fought in past
events belong in a higher skill level (i.e. placed 1st at a prior
NAGA event for that skill level). We feel very confident that
sandbaggers will be forced to fight in their appropriate divisions.
|
2008
Samahan Filipino Martial Arts Tournament
September 7,2008 @ Pearl City High School Gymnasium
On behalf of the Del Mar School of Filipino Martial Arts, I would
like to invite you to the 2008 Samahan Filipino Martial Arts
Tournament. This is the first tournament of its kind and will
happen on September 7,2008 @ Pearl City High School Gymnasium.
It features an electronic scoring system, FIRST on in Hawaii
(possibly the WORLD) to utilize this system in an FMA (Filipino
Martial Arts) tourmanet. There will be Forms, Fighting, Masters
Demonstrations, Vendors, and Entertainment. Attached is a flyer
of the event and for more information you can visit www.myspace.com/fma_samahan.com.
Our goal is to unite Philippine Martial Arts groups and individuals
that will strengthen our community's cultural awareness.
TOURNAMENT
DETAILS
________________________________
Sunday,
September 7, 2008
Pearl City High School Gymnasium
2100 Hookiekie St Pearl City, HI 96782
REGISTRATION
FEES: Forms-$30, Padded stick fighting-$40, Both events-$50
*Download
the form and check out the pre-registration fees*
SAMAHAN
Registration Forms
SAMAHAN Official Rule Book
REGISTRATION
BEGINS: 9:00 A.M.
FIGHTERS BRIEFING: 9:45 A.M.
ALL
SCHOOLS WELCOME
Caranza-Forms Divisions
PADDED STICK FIGHTING DIVISIONS UTILIZING
AN ELECTRONIC SCORING SYSTEM
________________________________
Event
Sponsors
*Explosivehands.com*
*New Image Graphics Inc.*
*Tint Doctor*
*Young Guns*
*Lighting Services, Inc.*
*American Window Cleaning*
*Oahu Tae Kwon Do Center*
Respectfully,
Roderick Baranda
Del Mar School of Filipino Martial Arts
|
Dan
Inosanto Two Day Semi-Private Training Event!
On Saturday,
September 6th and Sunday September 7th, Burton Richardson and
JKD Unlimited will host Tuhon Dan Inosanto for a special semi-private
training event here in Honolulu. Tuhon Inosanto is considered
the most knowledgeable martial artist that the world has ever
known, as he has researched every system and style possible over
the last 50 years. He is best known for being Bruce Lee's number
one student and training partner, but is also famous for his
work in bringing previously unknown systems into the limelight.
From the Filipino Martial Arts to Muay Thai to Pentjak Silat
to French Savate and Burmese Bando, Inosanto's never-ending quest
is to make more martial arts available to students everywhere.
He is also a great example to follow, as this legendary martial
artist strapped on a white belt and took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
at the age of 60!
He is now a black belt under the Machado brothers. This will
be a very special seminar, as it will be semi-private. No more
that 20 participants will be enrolled. This will allow each attendee
to submit a particular question or request to be covered by Tuhon
Inosanto over the weekend. It will also mean that participants
will get more one on one interaction with this amazing instructor.
In addition, each participant will be invited to attend a dinner
with Tuhon Inosanto, to talk story with this legend. Ten will
go on Saturday's dinner, the other ten on Sunday's dinner.
The cost for this special weekend is only $500 per person. $250
is required to reserve your spot to be one of the twenty. Please
call 864-1620 for more information and to arrange for payment.
This will be a weekend to remember.
Aloha, Burton Richardson
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