Upcoming
Events
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2010
February
BJJ Tournament
(tba)
1/30/10
Quest for Champions
(Pankration/Sub Grappling)
(Kalani HS)
1/23/10
Kauai MMA & Kickboxing
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Kauai)
1/17/10
X1 World Events
(Boxing)
(Waipahu H.S. Gym)
2009
12/19/09
MMA at Level 4
(MMA)
(Level 4 RHSC)
12/17/09
Scrap MMA Event
(MMA)
(Pipeline Cafe)
12/5/09
Aloha
State Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
12/4/09
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
11/21/09
X-1 LIGHTS OUT
(MMA)
(Kekuaokalani Gym, Kona)
UFC
106
(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas)
11/14/09
UFC
105
(United Kingdom)
11/8/09
X-1 Scuffle at Schofield
(MMA)
(Tropics, Schofield Barracks)
11/7/09
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing/Triple Threat)
(Waiphu Filcom)
11/6/09
Up & Up
(MMA)
(Kapolei High School)
11/1/09
Boxing
(Palolo District Park Gym)
10/31/09
H.A.P.A.
Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association
Hit-And-Submit
#4
(Pankration)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
10/30/09
Niko's MMA Event
(MMA)
(Veterans Hall, Keehi Lagoon)
10/24/09
X-1:
Scuffle on Schofield 2: Homebound Heroes
Press conference, autograph signing & picture taking
(Tropics Rec Center, Schofield Air Force Base, Wahiawa)
UFC
104
(Staples Center, Los Angeles)
10/18/09
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Pearl City H.S. Gym)
10/17/09
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
10/10/09
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
10/3/09
Destiny Unfinished Business
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
9/19/09
UFC
103
(American Airlines Center, Dallas)
9/16/09
UFC
Fight Night 19
(Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City)
9/12/09
Hawaiian
Open Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
Up & Up
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
8/29/09
MAUI OPEN 2009
Submission Grappling Challenge
(Sub Grappling)
(Maui War Memorial Gym)
Island Assult
(Boxing)
(Blaisdell Arena)
UF1C
102
(Rose Garden, Portland)
8/22/09
Destiny: Maui vs. Oahu
(MMA)
(War Memorial Gym, Maui)
8/15/09
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing & Triple Threat)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
8/9/09
WEC
(Las Vegas, NV)
8/8/09
UFC
101: Declaration
(BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian)
(Wachovia Center, Philadelphia)
8/1/09
Affliction: Trilogy
Fedor vs. Barnett
(Honda Cetner, Anaheim, CA)
7/25/09
X-1
Scuffle On Schofield
(MMA)
(Tropics Recreation Center, Schofield Barracks)
Amateur Boxing at Palolo
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym)
Gracie Tournament
(Kalaheo H.S. Gym)
**Cancelled**
7/23/09
JUST SCRAP
(MMA)
(Pipeline Cafe)
7/20/09
Dream 10: Welterweight GP Final
(Japan)
7/11/09
UFC
100: Lesnar vs. Mir
(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV)
7/10/09
Man up and Stand up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
6/27-28/09
OTM's 2009
Pac Sub
(Gi & No-Gi competition)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/20/09
The
Ultimate Fighter 9:
Team US vs Team UK Finale
6/13/09
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
UFC
99: Comeback
Silva vs. Franklin
(Cologne, Germany)
6/7/09
WEC: Brown vs. Faber 2
(Versus)
6/6/09
Quest for Champions 2009 Tournament
(Sport Pankration, Sub Grappling)
(Kalani HS Gym)
Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields
(St. Louis, MO)
6/4/09 - 6/7/09
World
JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA)
5/30/09
Event of the Champions
(Triple Threat, Kickboxing, Grappling)
(Elite Auto Group Center)
5/26/09
Dream 9
5/23/09
UFC
98: Evans vs. Machida
(PPV)
5/16/09
KTI's Scrappa Lifestylez
Scrapplers Fest
(BJJ/Submission Grappling)
(Kauai)
5/9/09 - 5/10/09 &
5/16/09 - 5/17/09
Brazilian Nationals JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)
5/9/09
X-1 Kona
(MMA)
(Kekuaokalani Gym, Kona)
15th Grapplers Quest Las Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Las Vegas, NV)
5/2/09
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
Uprising MMA
(MMA)
(Maui)
May 2009
Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships
(Sub Grappling)
(Tentative)
4/25/09
MMA Madness Water Park Extravaganza
(MMA)
(Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Kapolei)
4/18/08
Kingdom
MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
NY
International JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
4/11/09
Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser High)
X-1: Temple of Boom
(Boxing & MMA)
(Palolo Hongwangi)
4/10/09
HFC: Stand Your Ground XII
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
4/4/09 - 4/5/09
NAGA
World Championship
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(NJ, Tentative)
3/28/09
Garden Island Cage Match
(MMA)
(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)
3/27/09
- 3/29/09
Pan
Am JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)
3/27/09
Tiger Muay Thai Competition
(Muay Thai)
(Tiger Muay Thai Gym, Sand Island Road)
3/21/09 - 3/22/09
$30k Grapplers Quest/Fight Expo/Make a Wish Weekend
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Del Mar, CA)
NAGA US Nationals
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Georgia)
3/14/09
Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association: "Hit and Submit"
(Pankration & Muay Thai)
(O-Lounge Night Club, Honolulu)
NAGA Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
3/7/09
UFC 96
(PPV)
(Columbus, OH)
Grapplers Quest Beast of the East
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Wildwood, New Jersey)
2/27/09
X-1 World Events
NEW BEGINNING"
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
2/21/09
Destiny
(MMA)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
UFC
95
(PPV)
(London, England)
2/15/09
X1 World Events
Temple of Boom: Fight Night III
(MMA)
(Palolo Hongwanji)
2/8/09
IWFF
Submission Wrestling Tournament
(No-Gi)
(IWFF Academy, Wailuku, Maui)
2/7/09
4th Annual Clint Shelton Memorial
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym)
Manup and Standup
(Kickboxing)
(Kapolei Rec Center, Kapolei)
UFC Fight Night
(PPV)
(Tampa, FL)
1/31/09
UFC 93 BJ vs GSP
(PPV)
(MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV)
1/30/09
MMA Event
(MMA)
(Schofield Barracks)
1/24/09
Eddie Bravo Seminar
(BJJ)
1/17/09
UFC
93
(PPV)
(Dublin, Ireland)
1/10/09
MAT ATTACK Jiu-Jitsu & Submission Grappling Tournament
(Sub Wrestling)
(Lihikai School, Kahului, Maui)
1/3/08
Uprising - Maui
(MMA)
(Paukukalo Hawaiian Homes Gym)
Hazardous Warfare - Maui
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center)
|
|
December
2009 News Part 3
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ Dean, & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
Looking
for a hotel room on Oahu?
Check out this reasonably priced, quality hotel in Waikiki!
For
the special Onzuka.com price, click banner above! |
 |
Fighters'
Club TV
The Toughest Show
On Teleivision
Tuesdays
at 8:00PM
Olelo Channel 52 on Oahu
Also on Akaku on Maui
Check
out the FCTV website! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
|
Want
to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
Click here for pricing and more
information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
|
O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer a Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran heads our Kali-Escrima classes (Filipino
Stickfighting) who was trained under the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
Quote
of the Day
“People
rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
Dale Carnegie
|
New
Year's Eve!
Tonight
is the night to celebrate the New Year by getting together with
friends and family. Onzuka.com would like to remind you to drink
responsibility and get a designated driver set up BEFORE you
go out to party. When one of the boys had too much to drink,
take it upon yourself to call it for your friend and keep him
out of trouble. Everyone out is there to have fun. Please remember
that!
We
want you back next year to check out our updates.
|
Professional
Boxing Returns.
X1 World Events presents: The Showdown in Waipahu.
Waipahu High School Gym (Part of the Proceeds will benefit the
Waipahu High School Athletic Dept.)
Sunday, January 17, 2009
Doors Open at 4 p.m. fights at 5 p.m.
Bouts and Order pending approval by the Hawaii State Boxing Commisssion.
Pro Boxing
170lbs -4 rounds: Hawaii MMA Legend Ronald "Machine Gun"
Jhun, Pro Boxing Debut (808 Fight Factory) vs 1-0 Chris Cisneros
(AP Boxing). Upcoming Hawaii Prospect from the Big Island.
130 -6 rounds: Isaac Arasato 5-0 with 4 KOs (Palolo Boxing) vs
Andrew Mendez 5-6 with 4 KOs (Illinois). Arasato received Presidential
Scholarship, graduated from U.H. last year.
147 -6 rounds: Mike Balasi 8-1 with 6 KOs (Kawano Boxing) vs
John Hoffman 11- 23 with 3 KOs (Minnesota). Hoffmans 23 losses
are to top boxers with a combined record of 317-50.
155 - 4 rounds: Harris "Hitman" Sarmiento Pro Debut
(808 Fight Factory) vs Clay Lewis 1-1 (Kakaako Boxing). Sarmiento
Kickboxing Veteran who fought on ESPN, and many big cards has
28 wins as a Kickboxer and MMA fighter.
147 - 4 rounds: Justin Mercado 1-0-1 (Team MMAD) vs Brandon Pieper,
Pro Debut (808 Fight Factory). Pieper is a veteran of over 16
Kickboxing/MMA fights.
147 - 4 rounds: Ian Dela Cuesta, Pro Debut (808 Fight Factory)
vs Chris Willems, Pro Debut (AP Boxing, Big Island). Dela Cuesta
from the always tough and technical 808 Fight Factory family.
Undercard-
All bouts Amateur Competition.
Super Heavy MMA - Luis Santiago (Freelance) vs Dirty Curty (Team
Submit)
170 MMA - Palema Amone (Average Joes) vs Tommy Lawhorn (Team
Submit)
145 MMA - Petey Vital (Demon MMA) vs Shawn Burrough (Univ. Combat)
150 MMA - Lani Fauhiva (Avg Joes) vs Jessica Tauala (Team Submit)
165 KB - Manu Benedicto (PFC) vs Gaylord Balasi (Kawano KB)
135 KB - Chris Mattos (UFS) vs Travis Costa (Hakuilua)
135 KB - Ola
Lum (O2MAA)
vs Carlos Lave (Hakuilua)
130 KB - Maka Benedicto (PFC) vs Ioane Kim (Hakuilua)
100 Pan - Sonja Soon (Avg Joes) vs Sivada Koulthasen (Team Submit)
* Pan is Pankration- No striking on the ground.
155 TT - Royal
Kaua (O2MAA) vs
John Giron (Hakuilua) * TT is Triple Threat, 1 rd Kickboxing,
1 rd Boxing, 1 rd grappling.
Pre Sale Tickets: $30, $40 at the door.
Buy tickets at No Fear Store (Windward Mall) 235-7576, Razor
Concepts (PearlRidge) 485-5007, Fighters Corner (Kalihi) 599-4448,
Enfuego Grill (Kapolei) 674-8805, 76 Gas Station Waipahu OTM
(Townside) 591-6620 MMA Box 489-2660 or email X1events@yahoo.com
If you have any questions email me back at bkawano@aol.com
Thanks for your Time!!
Bruce Kawano
|
FANS
WARMING UP TO RASHAD EVANS
UFC
108 headliner Rashad Evans got an unexpected surprise in the
lobby of the MGM Grand on Tuesday: cheers.
“What
a difference a year makes,” Evans said in between screams
of his name. “Last year I would have came in, probably got
boo’ed out of the place, but it’s cool that everybody
is receiving me well.”
His
fight on Saturday with Thiago Silva is incredibly important for
keeping his place on the light heavyweight ladder, but he’s
determined not to let the pressure make him freeze.
Evans
said he had matured greatly as a fighter in the last year, and
though much of his evolution came with heartache – he said
he had become deeply depressed after losing his belt to Lyoto
Machida at UFC 96 – it had made him a better person.
In
serving as a coach on the tenth season of “The Ultimate
Fighter,” he re-connected to his passion for fighting, and
thinks that was the catalyst for changing his image with fans.
“It
gave people the chance to see the type of person I truly am,”
he said. “A lot of people took to it. It feels good, because
it’s one thing to be known for just being out there for
15 minutes at a time, but it’s another thing to have 13
weeks of people following you and getting to see your character...
it shows people a different side of you.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
AN
EXPERIENCED DAN LAUZON RETURNS AT UFC 108
Dan
Lauzon returns to the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Jan.
2 at UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva taking on Cole Miller in a preliminary
fight that will air live on Spike TV.
He’s
no longer a teenager making his UFC debut at UFC 64 in 2006.
Lauzon is on an eight-fight win streak and while he admittedly
will be nervous returning to the biggest stage in mixed martial
arts, he feels he’s gained valuable experience since losing
to Spencer Fisher that night when he was 18 years old.
“I
can’t wait. It’s been a long time, a little over three
years, but I think the last three years have been good,”
Lauzon told MMAWeekly.com content partner TapouT Radio. “I’m
8-1, but I’m much more experienced now. I’m a much
better fighter than I was then. I’ve grown up a lot in the
last three years mentally and physically.”
The
21-year-old realizes the sport has grown over the last three
years and that he has the opportunity to garner a lot of exposure
with the bout airing on Spike TV.
“I’m
sure the night of the fight I’ll be nervous,” said
the younger of the Lauzon brothers. “I’ve been there
before, but it’s on a different level now. When I was there
at UFC 64, the sport has grown ten times. It’s only UFC
108, but the sport has grown so fast. It’s much, much bigger
now.”
“I’m
just happy to be on Spike TV and have everyone see my fight,”
added Lauzon. “I’m very excited that my fight is going
to be on TV. All of my friends in Boston will be watching and
it gets me that much more pumped knowing that all those people
are going to be watching. I’ve got to really go out there
and perform.
“I
can’t wait to go out there and just get a win.”
Lauzon’s
older brother, Joe, faces Sam Stout on the pay-per-view portion
of the fight card emanating from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
HAZELETT
DEFIES THE TRADITIONAL GRAPPLER MOLD
UFC
welterweight Dustin Hazelett was on short notice again Tuesday
in the lobby of the MGM Grand Casino.
Throngs
of fans waited to see main event fighters Rashad Evans and Thiago
Silva, pressed against a long line of barricades that bookended
a pair of lobby doors. Evans made it, but Silva hit a travel
snag and the UFC needed someone to step up.
Hazelett
had just finished lunch after flying in to Las Vegas Tuesday
morning when he got the call at 12:30 p.m. to press some palms
in a half hour.
Though
he wasn’t necessarily comfortable with the attention, he
appreciated it. Things had turned out well so far: he had gone
from the leadoff fight on the UFC 106 main card last month to
the co-main event of UFC 108 against Paul Daley on Saturday.
“It’s
crazy,” he said. “I was not expecting this at all.
I’m not used to this kind of attention. It’s cool.”
With
his Muay Thai coach Dorian Price – a veteran of "The
Ultimate Fighter" season six – in tow, Hazelett reluctantly
agreed to call his fight with Daley an easy breakdown on styles.
“On
paper it looks like that, but I’ve been working very hard
on my stand-up, and I’m not the typical grappler. I think
my stand-up’s much improved. But on paper, yeah, it does
look like the typical striker vs. grappler.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC,
WEC & DYNAMITE CREATE MMA NEW YEAR'S EVE
Move over Dick Clark, mixed martial arts fans have other options
for New Year’s Eve in America... and plenty of them.
Japan’s
Dream and Sengoku co-promotion, Dynamite!! 2009, kicks the day
off at 3 a.m. ET on HDNet. That’s early Thursday morning
on Dec. 31, and will repeat later in the day.
But
that’s just the opening act. The Ultimate Fighting Championship
and sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting are both kicking
up extended programming of their own with Spike TV and Versus,
respectively.
The
UFC starts up on Spike TV at 9 a.m. ET/PT with back-to-back-to-back,
that’s three straight, Ultimate Fighter finales.
World
Extreme Cagefighting and the Versus sports network take the top
prize for extended programming, however. Getting into gear at
2 p.m. ET with replays of their latest events, culminating with
“Greatest Knockouts of 2009” and “Best of 2009.”
That puts you up to 11 p.m. ET.
Take
a break to welcome in the New Year. Then WEC returns to kick
off 2010 on Versus from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. ET with a repeat of
Mike Brown vs. Leonard Garcia.
Happy
MMA New Year!
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
PRES SAYS CANTWELL'S CAREER IN JEOPARDY
Steve Cantwell, just days before the event, was the latest fighter
to fall victim to what has quickly become known as the UFC 108
curse.
His
scheduled opponent, Vladimir Matyushenko, told MMAWeekly.com
on Tuesday that Cantwell had withdrawn from the event for undisclosed
reasons. That typically means some sort of training injury or
illness, someone steps up to fill in, and the debilitated fighter
heals and moves on to another fight card down the road.
In
this case, the fight was scrapped, due to the short notice. But
that’s not the worst of the news.
“Just
like 97 other fights in the last couple of months that one fell
apart. Cantwell has some medical problems; he might not ever
fight again,” were the unfortunate words of UFC president
Dana White at Wednesday’s UFC 108 press conference.
That’s
all the detail afforded at this point. Several attempts to contact
Cantwell’s camp to discover the nature of his medical issues
have been unsuccessful.
Cantwell
was the latest in a long line of fighters to make the UFC 108
injured reserve/physically unable to perform list. Preliminary
reports had Anderson Silva penciled into the main event prior
to his elbow surgery, heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar is still
fighting a case of diverticulitis, former interim heavyweight
champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Gabe Gonzaga both fell to
staph infections, former WEC champion Carlos Condit sliced his
hand on a piece of sheet metal, former lightweight titleholder
Sean Sherk suffered a laceration over his eye, and Tyson Griffin
withdrew due to a training injury for the first time in his career.
And that’s just the short list.
“This
is a physical sport. These guys train hard. I don’t think
people really realize what goes into mixed martial arts training.
It’s actually shocking that we haven’t had injuries
like this earlier,” said White realistically, adding that
there was also a rash of “some freak stuff” like what
happened to Lesnar and Condit.
With
so many UFC 108 dropouts, MMAWeekly.com sources said that Matyushenko
is waiting in the wings, still preparing to make weight and fight,
just in case someone else falls of the card before fight time.
Saturday’s
fight card will move forward with a slate of 11 bouts instead
of the intended 12. Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva headline UFC
108 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a light heavyweight showdown.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NICK
CATONE VS JESSE FORBES AT FIGHT NIGHT 20
UFC matchmaker Joe Silva has had his hands full with fight changes
in January. Another has come down the pipe, as Nick Catone will
now face Jesse Forbes in a middleweight bout on the upcoming
UFC Fight Night 20 in Virginia.
Catone
was originally set to face Steve Steinbeiss, a training partner
of Forbes, but he's been forced out of the fight for unknown
reasons.
The
bout, first reported by MMAJunkie.com, was confirmed by independent
sources to MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday evening.
With
a 1-2 record in the UFC, Catone knows that this is a make or
break fight for him as he takes on another experienced wrestler
in Forbes. Before moving to the UFC, Catone was undefeated as
a professional and came up just short in his last fight against
Mark Munoz, dropping a split decision.
Forbes,
a cast member on the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter,"
makes his return to the UFC for the first time since a loss to
former housemate Matt Hamill in 2006.
Since
that time, Forbes has gone on to see a lot of success in other
promotions, and now he's earned his way back to the UFC.
Bout
agreements for the fight should be issued shortly and both fighters
are expected to sign. Stay tuned for MMAWeekly.com for more information
on UFC Fight Night 20 as it becomes available.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Draculino
full blast into 2010
Trained
by masters Carlos Gracie Junior and Jean Jacques Machado, Vinicius
Magalhães, better known as Draculino, opened the Belo
Horizonte, Minas Gerais, branch of Gracie Barra in 1995. Since
then, he has produced a number of world-class black belts, like
Rômulo Barral, among others. Winner of the senior category
of the 2008 No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Pan-American, the black belt says
he still has a lot of fuel to burn. He still plans on competing
with the “kids” in the adult division and even fighting
MMA. Check out the chat Draculino had with GRACIEMAG.com.
How
has work in Belo Horizonte and the other affiliates been going?
The
work in BH is still going strong! At the headquarters, instructors
Mauro Rodrigues, Sergio Beninne, Claudio Mattos (Caloquinha),
Edson Sururu and Gustavo Coelho are keeping up the level of instruction,
student numbers and results. Marcelo Uirapuru, who was the main
instructor in BH, has been in Houston for nine months, where
he is head instructor. He’s doing awesome too, doing a great
job. The other black belts on the team working at other branches
in BH and around Minas Gerais, like Cristiano Titi, Erik Wanderley,
Danilo Manoel, Rodrigo Muleta, Joaquim Mamute, Charles Bonfim
and many others are also to be congratulated for the jobs they’re
doing.
What
new projects are you working on now?
Besides
the work with the Gracie Barra association in Texas, I’m
developing a high-level Jiu-Jitsu-instruction website. I feel
that, up until now, nothing with good technical quality, in terms
of image and structure, has been produced yet. It’s a site
meant for instructors who haven’t access to a proven method
of teaching. Beyond techniques, it features tips on strategy,
films of training sessions of mine and my main students, and
much more.
How
did the opportunity to teach in Minas Gerais come about?
I
went to BH with the conviction that I would do a great job. I
had great support from the family of my wife, Monica, and managed
to get into the market and produce, with no lack of modesty,
one of the biggest Jiu-Jitsu teams ever seen. Countless world
champions, top-flight MMA fighters and more than 100 first-rate
proven black belts produced by myself and my older students.
Just at the end-of-the-year promotion ceremony there were 15
new black belts.
Did
you ever imagine you could put together such a strong team in
Minas?
I
had no doubt about it; the work in BH is my greatest achievement
as a Jiu-Jitsu professor. I hope to do something similar in Houston,
in the USA, where I have a new academy with more than 300 students.
Do
you plan on competing again, perhaps at the International Masters?
This
year I suffered a series of injuries to my ribs, lower back and
shoulder. I recovered from one and suffered another! But I’ve
been better and training now for a month. I think you might even
see me in an MMA fight in America. Gi and No-Gi competition,
too, like I did in 2008. Who knows maybe even in the adult division,
to test myself against the excellent kids in the featherweight
category these days.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Gegard
Mousasi’s schedule packed with challenges
Riding
a 14-fight winning streak, Gegard Mousasi has beaten such top-flight
opponents as Melvin Manhoef, Ronaldo Jacaré, Renato Babalu
and Rameau Sokoudjou, among others. Owner of the Strikeforce
light heavyweight and Dream middleweight GP belts, the Armenian
just keeps earning more and more respect in the world of MMA.
At only 24 years of age, he has amassed 27 victories, just two
losses and one draw.
And
there is no end to the number of challenges being thrown the
fighter’s way. As confirmed by the organizers of Dynamite!!,
to take place on the 31st of this month, Mousasi will enter the
ring to face Gary Goodridge in a K-1 rules bout. Beyond his New
Year’s fight, he has a plateful of challenges coming up
in 2010.
According
to his manager, Apy Echteld, in an interview with MMAJunkie,
Mousasi should fight in both Strikeforce and Dream during the
first semester of the year. The former, probably to take place
in April, the card will probably feature Fedor Emelianenko, while
the event in Japan to take place May 30 will feature the organization’s
light heavyweight GP. The fighter also had a boxing match scheduled
for January, but plans changed upon confirmation of the Goodridge
fight.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
“Love
is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every
hand.”
Mother Teresa
|
CONTROL
THE KEY TO SILVA'S TITLE ASPIRATIONS
Thiago Silva’s New Year’s resolution is simple: take
emotion out of fighting.
The
27-year-old Brazilian has made a career from aggression. He’s
got a smoldering, take-no-prisoners attack that doesn’t
move backwards. But after a split-second loss to champion Lyoto
Machida in January, Silva has re-thought his approach.
“To
perform my job and be the best, and get a win and be on track
to be the champion,” Silva said of his goals. “That’s
what I want, is to compete against the best and be the champion.”
That
can only happen, he says, if he’s not a prisoner to his
emotions.
Appearances
aside, Silva said he wasn’t trying to be a hothead when
he screamed bloody murder after knocking out his latest victim,
Keith Jardine. On the contrary, he was just happy to be back
on the winning track.
He’s
just got an unusual way of showing it.
“It
was just my extended point to say, ‘I’m back,’”
said Silva.
The
Sao Paulo native is the betting underdog in his upcoming fight
against Rashad Evans at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas. That
might upset a fighter who is used to being the dominant favorite,
but Silva is taking it in stride.
“I’m
going out there to execute my job and do the best I can and be
on track to be the champ, so it doesn’t really bother me
at all,” he said.
So
far, Machida has been the only stumbling block to Silva’s
road to the title, and Silva believes a win over Evans is the
first step to getting a rematch with the champion. But he’s
not overlooking Evans’ talent.
“I
learned a lot from that fight (with Machida),” said Silva.
“I think I can’t correct the mistakes from that fight.
I’m not overlooking anything else right now. I think we’re
gonna get the chance to fight him again.
“Rashad
is in our way and that’s what it should be. We get to fight
Rashad because he’s one of the best in the world. There’s
no bad blood at all on our side, especially coming from a camp
like Greg Jackson. There’s a lot of respect.”
Neither
fighter is giving too much away in terms of an approach to the
fight. Evans has been more of a stand-up fighter in his recent
career, though his wrestling base has won fights in the past.
Silva has always been a Muay Thai stylist, but putting Evans
on his back might prove a wise strategy. That is, if he can keep
himself in check when the first punch lands.
Silva
says his training at American Top Team has prepared him for such
a scenario.
“I
train with a big team with one of the best coaches, some of the
best teammates, and my confidence can’t be better than that,”
said Silva. “I’m back. I’m ready.”
And
if Evans makes a small slip, as teammate Jardine did, he'll be
waiting.
“The
game plan is to go out there and fight the best fight,”
said Silva. “Whatever shows up there, we’ll be ready
for it.
“I’m
going to do everything I can to realize my dream.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
HAZELETT
READY FOR NEXT STEP IN TREK TO THE TOP
Returning to the Octagon on Jan. 2 at UFC 108 after a slew of
mishaps, Dustin Hazelett is ready to make an emphatic return.
After
rehabilitating a torn ACL suffered in preparation for a bout
with Ben Saunders at UFC 96 last March, Hazelett was then lined
up opposite former title contender Karo Parisyan for a UFC 106
televised spot in November.
Following
an exchange of jiu-jitsu versus judo banter between the two,
the fight was cancelled at the last minute, and became the center
of much controversy.
“I
just want to fight; I really wanted that fight,” stated
the surging welterweight prospect while a guest on MMAWeekly
Radio.
“Especially
after (Karo) said he ‘eats jiu-jitsu guys for breakfast’
and that ‘judo is better than jiu-jitsu’ and stuff
like that, I wanted that opportunity to defend my art,”
proclaimed the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, who calls the
infamous Jorge Gurgel master.
Though
Hazelett was not able to lock horns with his antagonist, he was
able to pick up his show and win money courtesy of the UFC brass.
Hoping to return to action sooner rather than later, “McLovin”
received the call and was already well underway for his next
bout.
Gaining
the biggest push of his career – made possible by the uncanny
number of injuries plaguing the card – Hazelett steps in
for injured former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit to
face U.K. slugger Paul Daley in the co-main event of the evening.
Returning
after a yearlong layoff to face a Top 10 fighter is just what
Hazelett had in mind.
“I’ve
taken a lot of fights on short notice and I usually do well with
it,” he told MMAWeekly.com.
“It’s
the co-main event. It’s bigger; it’s more exposure.
(Daley) is ranked higher now (after his win over Martin Kampmann
last September at UFC 103); bigger in that sense.”
“Semtex”
has an obvious penchant for stand-up, winning 17 of his 22 career
victories by way of knockout. This particular fight resembles
the classic “striker versus grappler” matchup, though
Hazelett is comfortable wherever it goes.
“Being
a grappler, my path of least resistance is almost always on the
ground,” he stated. “With him being an excellent striker,
his easiest path to victory is usually on the feet. But, it’s
mixed martial arts. You have to be able to go anywhere and fight
anywhere. I’ve been working a lot on my Muay Thai the last
couple of years; I think it’s a good test for me.”
His
eyes on the ultimate prize, the cerebral and sometimes analytical
Hazelett knows that should he get past Daley next Saturday night,
there is a long line of contenders that will be waiting for him.
“The
welterweight division is incredibly stacked,” said the 23-year-old.
“I think it’s one of the most highly stacked of any
division. I might be a little biased because I’m in it.
I don’t know how other people look at their divisions. When
I’m in my division, I’m looking at every single person
like I would have to fight them.
“It’s
a hard climb to the top,” but Hazelett is willing to trek.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Suspect
in murder of Marcos Jara arrested
Vinícius
da Silva Neto, one of the two suspects in the robbery and murder
of coach Marcos Jara, was arrested this Monday morning, according
to the “O Globo” website. The rolex of his friend Brent
Garret, who was shot during the assault, was recovered with the
suspect. The American remains hospitalized at Copa D’Or
hospital and is in stable condition.
The
accused was found by the military police by an anonymous lead,
in Santa Cruz. He was arrested one day after the Rio de Janeiro
civil police force released a police sketch of the suspects.
Jara,
39, was found dead in his car on Marmiari Street, one of the
access roads leading in the Sapo Favela slum, in the Senador
Camará borough of West Rio de Janeiro, last Wednesday.
The former Jiu-Jitsu teacher to such stars as Bob Sapp, Mirko
Cro Cop an Mike Tyson was on his way to the coastal city of Parati,
where he was going to spend Christmas.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Renzo
Gracie: “Rashad is real tough. He’s on fire”
Rashad
Evans headlines UFC 108 against Thiago Silva, on January 2nd,
in Las Vegas. Both fighters have a lone loss on their records
and see the upcoming bout as a stepping stone to challenge for
the light heavyweight belt now held by Lyoto Machida. Rashad
is a wrestling specialist and has heavy hands, having knocked
out strikers of the caliber of Chuck Liddell. For the challenge
against Silva, his Jiu-Jitsu, too, will be up to speed, as he
has the support of Renzo Gracie.
“Rashad
is a really tough guy. I even feel he should fight one division
down, at middleweight, because he’s practically my size.
But he doesn’t want to hear it; he likes that weight and
is on fire. I feel he has a good chance of being division champion
again,” Renzo remarks to GRACIEMAG.com.
Nevertheless,
the focus is on Thiago Silva, one beast at a time.
“This
fight will be tough, because he’s got a really tricky opponent.
We worked together on several aspects so he can return to being
champion and let’s see how it goes. I can’t wait for
him to get in there,” he says.
Should
he win, Rashad will be well placed for a shot at the title, which
will be decided when Lyoto and Maurício Shogun face off
on May 1st. Renzo has nothing but praise for the current champion,
but would like to see him against Rashad again.
“There
were some technical errors against Lyoto, who is a fantastic
guy who breaks all the parameters of how one should fight in
there. The longer the fight goes, the better he fights. But Rashad
has a chance to face him again and have a good fight,” said
the trainer in finishing, who will make his UFC debut at 43 years
of age against Matt Hughes, at UFC 112, in Abu Dhabi.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Top
MMA stories of 2009
In
an industry that has featured rampant changes annually since
hitting it big in North America in 2006, the mixed martial arts
scene seems strangely calm as we approach 2010.
With
the exception of the industry-leading Ultimate Fighting Championship,
the story of the sport over the past few years seemed to be a
race to see which companies can spend themselves out of business.
But with Affliction closing its doors just eight days before
its second scheduled 2009 event, and the Japanese Sengoku promotion
seemingly on its last legs, joining up with rival Dream for the
country’s annual New Year’s Eve event, the year ends
with the industry largely dominated by three groups. And none
of the three seem in any danger of closing up shop.
Zuffa
LLC, which runs UFC and the smaller World Extreme Cagefighting,
remains the worldwide market leader. In 2009, Zuffa continued
to expand television into new countries and pursued new revenue
streams, such as merchandising and licensing, most notably a
successful video game that sold in the neighborhood of 3 million
units. The year saw the company debut in Germany, and next year
is set for inaugural shows in both Australia and likely Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates.
After
spearheading legislation to get regulated in Pennsylvania and
Tennessee, UFC debuted in the former with UFC 101 in Philadelphia
on Aug. 8, and ran two shows in Tennessee, on April 1 in Nashville
and Dec. 5 in Memphis.
Before
the year was out, the company successfully lobbied for regulation
in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Massachusetts, with major
events scheduled for June 12 in Vancouver and Aug. 28 in Boston.
The
company has in particular set its focus on New York state and
Ontario, two of the final holdouts, hopeful of running in Madison
Square Garden as well as the Rogers Centre in Toronto. The latter,
which could hold 60,000 fans, would undoubtedly set the sport’s
all-time attendance record in North America.
Strikeforce
ends the year as the most solid No. 2 brand in the history of
MMA. Scott Coker’s former San Jose, Calif.-based regional
promotion, owned by Silicon Valley Sports, the parent company
of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion, made its big move early
in the year when it finalized a three-pronged deal. It purchased
contracts and certain assets from Pro Elite, Inc., the parent
company of the defunct Elite XC group, for $3 million. They also
signed television deals with Showtime and CBS, and it boasts
some of the best-known names in the sport, including Fedor Emelianenko,
Dan Henderson and Gina Carano.
Dream
remains the last remnant of a once-strong Japanese market. What
is unique is Strikeforce and Dream plan to exchange talent, with
Dream’s welterweight champion, Marius Zaromskis, headlining
the first Strikeforce show of 2010 against Nick Diaz.
10.
Georges St. Pierre dominates rematch with B.J. Penn: Billed as
the rare occasion of seeing two of the most gifted fighters of
their generation meet while both were in their prime, the story
at the end was that size mattered. Welterweight champion St.
Pierre dominated lightweight champion Penn for four rounds on
Jan. 31 in Las Vegas before the match was stopped. The two previously
met in 2006, with St. Pierre winning a far more competitive fight.
The
match, which drew an estimated 925,000 buys on pay-per-view,
the second largest of the year, remained controversial long after
it ended. The Nevada Athletic Commission caught St. Pierre’s
cornermen putting Vaseline on his upper back during the fight,
and made them wipe it off. Penn protested the loss on those grounds,
but his complaints fell on deaf ears. By the end of the year,
Penn’s trainer, Rudy Valentino, was throwing steroid accusations
at St. Pierre while Penn talked of wanting a third match.
9.
Death of Charles “Mask” Lewis: Lewis, one of the founders
of the Tapout clothing brand, passed away on impact after his
Ferrari was hit by a Porsche driven by a drunk driver, crashed
into a light pole and demolished on March 11 in Newport Beach,
Calif. Lewis, 45 was a well-known MMA celebrity with his painted
face on television commercials, his own TV show and at ringside
at most major events. Along with business partners Dan “Punkass”
Caldwell and Timothy “Skyscrape” Katz, Lewis started
selling T-shirts out of the back of their cars at MMA shows in
1997 and built their brand to a $100 million per year merchandise
line. During the summer, Lewis was inducted into the UFC Hall
of Fame along with his good friend Chuck Liddell.
8.
Kimbo Slice leads “Ultimate Fighter” to record ratings:
After Kimbo Slice, who had set the Showtime MMA ratings record
with Tank Abbott and had the most-watched MMA fight ever in North
America with James Thompson on CBS, was knocked out in 14 seconds
by Seth Petruzelli, people wrote him off like the gimmick was
exposed.
As
a fighter, he was, but as a personality, he clearly had a lot
left in the tank. UFC signed Slice to be the star of Season 10
of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show, built around
an all-heavyweight cast with Slice and a few ex-NFLers.
The
show averaged a series record 2.22 rating, up 78 percent from
the previous two seasons, including the seven highest rated episodes
of the series in history, and was, with the exception of Monday
Night Football, the most-watched cable television show of the
season among adult males. When Slice lost to eventual season
champion Roy Nelson on a show that aired Sept. 30, the 3.7 rating
was the largest for any MMA broadcast in U.S. history. Slice
will likely never contend for a championship, but his record
as a television draw is unmatched, with three of the four fights
in history that have topped 6 million viewers.
7.
Injury and illness rate skyrockets: Just as UFC seemed poised
to close out the year with a series of monster shows, the company
ran into a near-incomprehensible level of bad luck. Of the company’s
five champions, four were on the shelf, with heavyweight Brock
Lesnar (diverticulitis), Lyoto Machida (surgery on his broken
hand), Anderson Silva (elbow surgery) and Georges St. Pierre
(torn abductor muscle). In addition, Quinton Jackson, expected
to face Rashad Evans in what would have been one of the most
anticipated fights of the year, pulled out after being hired
to play B.A. Baracus in “The A-Team” movie. The injuries
continued to the point of being almost comical by the end of
the year with major contenders such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
(staph infection), Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (fractured ankle)
and Shane Carwin (knee) heading the list.
6.
Strikeforce signs Fedor: After spurning a multimillion dollar
UFC offer, Strikeforce and Fedor Emelianenko’s parent company,
M-1 Global, reached a complicated co-promotional agreement. Under
the agreement, M-1 gets 50 percent of the proceeds from any card
the Russian heavyweight appears on. The agreement covered not
only Emelianenko, but M-1’s Gegard Mousasi, who quickly
won Strikeforce’s light heavyweight title. Emelianenko,
who hasn’t lost since 2000 and is generally regarded as
the greatest MMA fighter in history, knocked out Brett Rogers
on Nov. 7 in Chicago in his first match with the new promotion.
5.
Affliction bites the dust: The T-shirt company that tried to
compete with UFC by spending huge money on fighter contracts
found the pay-per-view business much more difficult than expected.
After substantial losses on its first two shows, the company
threw in the towel eight days before a scheduled third event
that was to be held on Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif. The card unraveled
when Josh Barnett, scheduled to face Emelianenko in the main
event, failed a pre-event steroid test taken weeks before the
fight, and the California State Athletic Commission refused to
license him.
Affliction
claimed it would not be allowed to hold a show because the main
event advertised wouldn’t take place, but the UFC regularly
has changed main events due to injuries. In reality, Affliction
wanted out after heavy losses and made a deal with UFC, which
got contracts with the fighters it wanted from the Affliction
stable, such as Vitor Belfort and Ben Rothwell, in exchange for
Affliction sponsorship of UFC events.
4.
UFC 100 sets records: A triple main event with Brock Lesnar retaining
the heavyweight title beating Frank Mir, St. Pierre retaining
the welterweight title beating Thiago Alves and Henderson (in
his final UFC match before signing with Strikeforce) finishing
Michael Bisping became the biggest UFC event in history. Doing
an estimated 1.6 million buys on pay-per-view, the July 11 show
in Las Vegas became the fourth biggest event of its kind, trailing
only boxing blockbusters Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather
Jr. (2.4 million), Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield (1.99 million)
and Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis (1.97 million). The show also aired
live on Televisa in Mexico, with the Lesnar vs. Mir fight doing
a 13.3 television rating.
3.
Lesnar’s future in question: After establishing himself
at UFC 100 as not just the biggest money draw in the sport’s
history, but the sport’s most controversial and polarizing
figure in a post-fight interview that put UFC atop sports headlines
like never before, Lesnar found his future in jeopardy not long
afterward. The UFC heavyweight champion, 32, who made his name
first as a star with World Wrestling Entertainment, pulled out
of his Nov. 21 fight with Shane Carwin due to an illness that
had left him run down and unable to train properly. First diagnosed
with mononucleosis, Lesnar then collapsed weeks later while visiting
his brother in rural Manitoba and was diagnosed with diverticulitis,
an intestinal infection.
As
the year comes to a close, there is no timetable as to when he
would be able to fight again or even the certainty that he would
fight again.
2.
Strikeforce becomes solid No. 2 promotion with CBS and Showtime
contracts: The promotion, which once had less than 20 fighters
under contract, now has nearly 150. Strikeforce began on Showtime
on April 11, with a show headlined by Frank Shamrock vs. Nick
Diaz, and then broke Kimbo Slice’s ratings record on the
network with an Aug. 15 show headlined by Gina Carano vs. Cris
Cyborg, by leaps and bounds the biggest women’s fight in
the sport’s history, doing a 2.17 rating. The CBS debut
was Nov. 7, with Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers, doing a 2.45 rating,
a number at least good enough for CBS to agree to an April second
date. Between CBS and Showtime, Strikeforce plans 20 televised
events in 2010.
1.
UFC sets all-time pay-per-view record: Despite the challenges
presented by injuries to top fighters in the second half of the
year, the increase in pirated signals on the Internet, and those
who believed the pay-per-view model is a dinosaur with so much
product on free television, UFC is estimated at doing approximately
7.7 million buys at $44.95 on pay-per-view on 13 shows, smashing
the estimated 6.4 million buys record it set in 2008. UFC does
not release its pay-per-view numbers so they are derived from
cable industry estimates. For the fourth straight year, the top
10 charts on pay-per-view in North America consisted of seven
UFC events, two boxing events and WWE’s annual WrestleMania.
Besides the expected big numbers from Lesnar vs. Mir and St.
Pierre vs. Penn, the big surprise of the year was UFC 101, headlined
by Penn vs. Kenny Florian and Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin,
doing an estimated 850,000 buys.
The
year also marked the first in which UFC, not boxing, had the
year’s most purchased event, as UFC 100 (1.6 million) topped
boxing’s biggest event, Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto
(1.25 million).
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Upset
of the Year: Ray Mercer Knocks Out Tim Sylvia
There
are a variety of methods in which a fighter can win and all it
takes is a single mental lapse for a fight to end. These are
strong ingredients for unpredictability in even the most straight
forward matchups. Who can forget Matt Serra knocking out Georges
St-Pierre to win the UFC title in 2007 or when Junior Dos Santos
defeated Fabricio Werdum last year?
2009
had its own fair share of wild upsets and below is my list for
the top five.
5.
Paulo Thiago vs. Josh Koscheck, UFC 95
Paulo Thiago appeared to be someone brought in to keep Josh Koscheck
active and the assumption was that Thiago would be another one-and-done
in the UFC. Sure, he was perfect in 10 fights coming into his
UFC debut, but his fights were against unheard-of local fighters
in Brazil. However, with a nasty right uppercut that dropped
Koscheck, Thiago propelled himself from an unknown to a title
contender -- for better or for worse: Thiago has yet to receive
an easy assignment.
4.
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto vs. Joe Warren, DREAM.9
Warren can claim to have the best start of any MMA fighter's
career. In his MMA debut, he bested former WEC champion Chase
Beebe, but even more shocking was when he topped Norifumi "KID"
Yamamoto in his second career MMA fight. I would have ranked
this higher as a upset, but Yamamoto was coming off a knee surgery
and ring rust could have conceivably reduced Yamamoto's chances
against Warren.
3.
Mackens Semerzier vs. Wagnney Fabiano, WEC 43
Coming into the fight as an unknown with only four fights on
his belt, Mackens Semerzier launched himself in the top 10 rankings
with a surprising win over final IFL featherweight champion Wagnney
Fabiano. Fabiano was on an eight-fight winning streak and had
never been finished in his nine-year career. Semerzier not only
defeated the accomplished grappler, but also submitted him with
a triangle choke in two minutes and 14 seconds.
2.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Brett Rogers, Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields
2009 was not a good year for Andrei Arlovski. He was knocked
out in devastating fashion by Fedor Emelianenko and five months
after, suffered a knockout loss to Rogers in 22 seconds. The
loss sunk Arlovski's stock and boosted Rogers to the point where
he was billable as a threat to Fedor on Strikeforce's first live
event on CBS.
1.
Ray Mercer vs. Tim Sylvia, Adrenaline 2
What a shocker it was that a 48-year-old making his professional
MMA debut would knock out a former UFC champion who a year prior
was in the top 10 world rankings and challenging the No. 1 heavyweight
in the world. Tim Sylvia was coming off fights against Fedor
at Affliction 1 and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the interim
UFC title. Meanwhile, Mercer last lost (in an "exhibition"
bout) to brawler Kimbo Slice -- by submission. Sure, Mercer is
an Olympic gold medalist and a former boxing champion, but nearly
all aspects of the fight should have favored in a fight under
MMA rules the experienced Sylvia, who practically ruled the UFC's
heavyweight division from 2003-2007. To make matters worse, Sylvia
lost in nine seconds.
Honorable
Mentions: Brian Bowles over Miguel Torres, Scott Smith over Cung
Le, Choi Mu Bae over Dave Herman and Mike Pierce over Brock Larson.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
BELLATOR
ADDS IRAQ WAR VET TO 170 TOURNEY
Bellator Fighting Championships on Monday announced the latest
addition to its ranks, Iraq War veteran Steve Carl, who will
compete in the promotion’s upcoming eight-man welterweight
tournament beginning in April.
Carl,
25, a U.S. Army sergeant, took up MMA about five years ago while
stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and has since compiled a professional
record of 10-1. His rear naked choke submission of the previously
undefeated Ivan Ivanoff at the M-1 Challenge in Bulgaria earlier
this year won him international acclaim and drew the attention
of matchmakers from all of the top MMA promotions.
“I
was getting offers from the UFC and others, but Bellator was
just a better opportunity for me,” Carl said. “I’m
really excited about the exposure that Bellator’s TV deal
will bring me and the chance to fight against some awesome competition.”
Carl,
an Iowa native and recent college graduate, joins fellow top
MMA talents Dan Hornbuckle, Jacob McClintock, “Judo”
Jim Wallhead and former NCAA wrestling champion and U.S. Olympian
Ben Askren in what was recently described by Yahoo! Sports as
“a kick-butt welterweight tournament” that offers “good
balance of experienced fighters … and up-and-comers with
unlimited potential.”
“Steve
Carl is yet another tremendous addition to our welterweight tournament,”
said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “In addition
to being a talented fighter, he also has an inspirational life
story that will make it tough not to root for him once our second
season begins April 8. I’m proud to welcome him to our organization.”
Carl’s
signing with Bellator marks the culmination of a harrowing three-year
journey that, at one time, put his promising MMA career in jeopardy.
In December 2006, he was involved in a horrific car crash on
an icy eastern Iowa road that shattered his right leg and left
doctors questioning whether he would ever walk again without
the use of a cane. His career in fighting, they said, was almost
certainly over.
Carl,
though, was undeterred, and began a rigorous conditioning and
physical therapy regimen that put him back in the cage in roughly
18 months. During his first few bouts after his return, he fought
with a titanium rod implanted in his leg.
“After
the accident, everyone wanted me to move on from MMA,” Carl
said. “But I knew it in my heart beforehand that I had a
chance to make it to the top and I didn’t want to give that
up. Now I’ve got the chance to show what I can do in front
of the whole country on national TV.”
Each
of Bellator’s 24 fights during Seasons 2 and 3 will be distributed
live in primetime on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its
regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each
week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed
30-minute highlight show, broadcast every Saturday night, late
night, on NBC. A one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish
on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“Courage
is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”
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Fighting
a restrictive MMA judging system
When
UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida got his hand raised
on Oct. 24 after his title defense against Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua, in a fight where most polls showed about 80 percent of the
public believed the title should have changed hands, it set off
a series of three straight major-show UFC main events in which
judging became a hotly debated issue.
But
some of the most vehement response has come from a surprising
source: the judges themselves, some of whom feel handcuffed and
frustrated with the system in place.
The
most vocal is veteran official Nelson “Doc” Hamilton.
Hamilton was one of the three judges who controversially scored
that fight 48-47 in favor of Machida. Yet after watching tape
of the fight, Hamilton now believes Rua was the winner.
“There
was a round in that fight [Round 4] where my line of sight while
they were standing was blocked,” said Hamilton, who feels
TV monitors for judges would solve the problem. “Because
of the angle where most of the round was fought, I couldn’t
see the punches and whether they were landing. If the fight had
been on the ground, I could look at the big screens, but this
was a fight where the blows were coming one at a time and you
don’t want to look away and miss an important blow.”
When
Hamilton saw the fight again, he noted that viewers saw Round
4 from a completely different perspective that he did. He also
added that the live commentary may have swayed viewers into thinking
Rua won decisively. So, based on what he couldn’t see from
his cageside vantage point, he believes Rua won the round.
Keith
Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission,
said usage of monitors at the judging stations is worth looking
into, but he also noted its flaws. He said he’s noticed
that when he has watched fights on monitors while at ringside,
sometimes he’s still looking at the monitor when the fight
is front in front of him.
“The
reason we have judges in three different positions is to get
three different vantage points,” said Kizer. “If all
three judges are watching a monitor, they are all getting the
same vantage point – the television camera angle.”
‘Square
peg in a round hole’
The
lack of monitors, however, is a secondary point in Hamilton’s
attempt to revamp the scoring system and the primary criteria
used for fight judging. He considers the 10-point must system
– used by commissions for MMA because it was in place for
boxing – as “trying to put a square peg into a round
hole.”
Machida-Rua
and other fights, including the Nov. 14 Brandon Vera-Randy Couture
match and the Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin fight seven days
later, underscore points that Hamilton has been trying to make
about the current system. Most of the regulations in the sport
were put in place in 2000, when New Jersey’s Athletic Control
Board started regulating UFC events in Atlantic City. It created
rules for the sport and its judging, which, with some modifications,
turned into the current “unified rules” used throughout
North America.
“But
we’re a different sport,” said Hamilton, 61, a chiropractor
by trade and lifelong martial artist who not only regularly judges
MMA events under the current system, but who has also judged
MMA in Japan for Pride with a different system, as well as kickboxing
with another system. “We’re not wrestling, we’re
not judo and we’re not boxing.”
The
single most obvious problem with the current scoring system came
with Ortiz vs. Griffin. Judges are discouraged from handing out
10-10 scores in a round, and they usually only hand out 10-8
scores for an incredibly one-sided round. So most of the time,
anything from winning a squeaker of a round to completely dominating
a round yet coming short of destroying the guy ends up on the
scorecard at 10-9.
In
the case of Ortiz-Griffin, the first two rounds were close and
could have been judged either way. The third round saw Ortiz
run out of gas. Griffin picked him apart at will, out-striking
Ortiz 41-5 in a round that didn’t go to the ground. Still,
he never knocked Ortiz down or had him on the verge of finishing,
and thus didn’t get a 10-8 score.
Griffin’s
dominant second round counted as much in the scoring as the two
previous rounds, which were coin-flip close. In judging the fight
overall, Griffin clearly won, and he did get the split-decision
win. But a very reasonable judge could have scored it 29-28 for
Ortiz based on the flaws inherent in the round-by-round scoring
system, while being fully cognizant that Griffin clearly won
the fight.
Another
inherent problem is that while judges are told they can give
10-10 scores, they also believe if they do so with any frequency,
they won’t be asked back.
“I’m
not going to die on that sword,” said Hamilton.
There
is also a reluctance to give 10-8 rounds unless a fighter is
completely dominant in the round.
“Judges
think that if they give a 10-8 in a three-round fight that they’ve
made it almost impossible for the other fighter to win a decision,”
said John McCarthy, MMA’s most well-known referee, who frequently
works as a judge and teaches seminars in judging the sport.
Half-point
proposal
Hamilton
proposes a scoring system based on breaking the scoring down
to half-points, where a close round, a solid win, a dominant
win and having the opponent on the verge of defeat could all
be differentiated.
Under
this system, if a fighter wins a round that’s difficult
to call, it gets scored 10-9.5. When it’s clear that one
fighter won the round, it’s 10-9. When a fighter dominates
the round but doesn’t have his opponent in bad shape during
the round, or if a fighter does major damage but the opponent
gets a degree of offense in, that would be a 10-8.5. A 10-8 round
or lower would be similar to how things are scored today.
“To
a man, every judge I’ve spoken with favors this system,”
Hamilton said. “The problem is you will start getting arguments
about a 10-9 vs. a 10-8.5. Do we then go to quarter-points, or
go like gymnastics with tenths of a point,” said Kizer,
the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission.
Without
question, this system will lead to more debates about scorecards
from fans, but it could fine-tune final scores, to the point
that the judges’ scores aren’t at odds with the person
they feel won the fight.
Kizer
said Hamilton’s proposals were talked about at the recent
American Boxing Commissioners convention, and he believes that
of all the different ideas for scoring he’s seen, Hamilton’s
is the second best “only to the system we have in place.”
“I
think that MMA is a young sport and we should be open to possibilities
for improvement,” said Nick Lembo of the New Jersey Athletic
Control Board. “Doc Hamilton’s half-point system is
something that should be explored and debated. In a sport featuring
three- and five-round fights, a half-point system, used properly,
may lead to more acceptable and proper outcomes.”
Hamilton
noted that in the Nov. 14 main event, where Couture beat Vera
on straight 29-28 scores based on squeaking out Rounds 1 and
3 but solidly losing Round 2, his system would have likely judged
Vera the winner. He saw it as 10-9.5 for the first and third
for Couture, and a 10-8.5 for Vera, adding up to 29-28.5 for
Vera, who scored a knockdown and inflicted the most damage in
the fight in Round 2.
He
wasn’t the only official who came to the conclusion that
Vera won.
“Based
on who did the most damage, Brandon Vera won the fight,”
said McCarthy, who advocates the half-point system.
McCarthy
noted that when he watched the fight, under the current scoring
system, he felt Couture won the first round close because Vera
did almost nothing on offense. He said Vera clearly won the second
round but while he got a takedown and was even momentarily in
a mount in Round 3, Vera did no damage and he was inactive much
of the round, and could reasonably have been judged to have lost
it.
Damage
done
The
current criteria in place for judging fights are listed as effective
striking and grappling, effective aggression and cage control.
McCarthy
believes damage should be the first criteria looked at, and the
effort to finish the fight the second.
“At
the end of the day it’s a fight, and the winner of the fight
should be the guy who does the most damage,” McCarthy said.
Hamilton
and McCarthy concur that a major problem with the current judging
is that not enough credit is given to effective grappling, and
in particular, near-submissions that do damage. Hamilton pointed
to the Oct. 10 fight between Donald Cerrone and Ben Henderson,
where Cerrone had Henderson in a choke and on the verge of finishing
him in the first round, yet he still lost the round because Henderson
got more punches in. Cerrone ended up losing a close decision
in the five-round fight.
“When
you have a choke or a triangle nearly sunk in, you are making
it hard for the opponent to breathe; you are doing damage,”
said McCarthy, who also pointed out in Machida-Rua that a clear
sign of damage was Machida switching his stance and changing
his lead foot as the fight wore on.
McCarthy
said another issue, which he’s heard directly from judges,
is the mentality that comes from boxing where, in a championship
fight, a challenger should have to clearly beat the champion
to win the title.
“That’s
the most asinine thing in the world,” he said. “The
minute the fight starts, nobody is the champion. They are fighting
for the championship.”
Hamilton
said making changes in bureaucracy is difficult and that, left
to their own devices, those in charge aren’t going to make
the changes.
“At
this point, it is far from implementation,” said Lembo.
“It would need to be presented to the ABC, voted on and,
if passed, adopted by individual commissions in their respective
jurisdictions.
“It’s
my goal that these changes are implemented within my lifetime.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
EVANS
WON'T LET HIS FOCUS DRIFT FROM SILVA
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans has seen the
top of the mountain and learned to sweat the small stuff. Unfortunately,
he had to come off the mountain to see that.
Evans,
30, did some soul searching after a loss to Lyoto Machida at
UFC 96 in his first title defense, the first time he was knocked
out in a five-year career. To that point, his record had been
almost spotless, with a string of impressive knockout victories
following his time on the second season of “The Ultimate
Fighter.”
Outside
the cage, he battled more with a nagging reputation as a showboater
that fans loved to boo. But he had the belt and he was winning.
Then
he was humbled.
“When
you’re winning and things are going good, it seems like
that’s how it’s always gonna be, and there’s things
you know that you should do, you kind of neglect it, because
you’ve been getting away with it,” said Evans during
a media teleconference promoting his fight with Thiago Silva
at UFC 108 on Jan. 2. “But then when you get your butt kicked,
it’s like dang, if I would have just tightened this up here,
or listened here, then maybe that wouldn’t have happened.”
Evans
said his goal for Silva was refusing to rent space to distractions
in his head. There were plenty to go around: ongoing “verbal
intercourse” with fellow “Ultimate Fighter” coach
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson; Silva sizing him up after
a beatdown of his teammate Keith Jardine; rumors of Silva backing
out of the fight with an ankle injury.
The
injury rumor was the worst, because it meant yet another delay
to fighting for the hungry Evans. He had already seen one of
his fights go by the wayside when Jackson pulled out of a scheduled
fight at UFC 107 to pursue movie interests. It had already been
seven months since the Machida fight.
Thankfully,
it was just Internet noise, and things moved on as usual.
“I’m
not gotta put that on my mind, ‘oh, he’s hurt, he’s
hurt, so I’m gonna try and go after him,’” said
Evans. “I’m just happy that he’s healthy and we
are going to fight, and unless I get a call from Dana (White)
or Joe Silva, I try not to pay attention to what’s happening.
But they didn’t call me, so everything must have been good.”
Evans,
who’s given up a second straight Christmas with family to
fight on the New Year card, said he’s an open book during
practice and is listening to his coaches as much as possible.
He feels more confident in his game plan and feels sharper in
the gym. He won’t, however, make promises as to what will
happen when his rear is on the line.
“It
all remains to be seen,” he said. “You can feel one
way in practice and go out there on the night of the fight and
look like crap, so it’s all about execution.”
He
said he’s moved on from the Machida loss and another shot
at the belt will come whenever the UFC makes it so.
“I’m
not even going to go out there and put pressure on myself, to
say, I have to win, I have to win,” he said. “I’m
just going to go out there and perform well. And me performing
well, the outcome will be a victory.”
Evans
was offered Silva prior to his career-highlight fight with Chuck
Liddell last September and knows he can’t look past the
Brazilian to a showdown with the surly Jackson.
“I
don’t want to overlook (Silva) even a little bit,”
said Evans. “A lot of people are worried about Rampage,
Rampage, but Rampage don’t mean nothing if I can’t
beat Thiago.
“Every
time I find myself drifting away from the person I gotta fight,
I just watch some of the tape and see what this boy can do, and
it just gets me motivated all over again.”
On
the good side, Evans has already scouted the hard-slugging Silva.
As Jardine learned the hard way, even a small lapse in defense
can be disastrous.
And
on Jan. 2, he’s looking to close that gap.
“I’m
just focusing on going out there and executing,” he said.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JIM
MILLER: STUDENT OF THE GAME
UFC 108 has quickly become known as the most cursed card in the
promotion's history with injury after injury forcing fighters
off the show. Some of the mainstays have had to become somewhat
superstitious as it gets down to crunch time.
One
fighter who has remained steadfast in his approach is lightweight
Jim Miller, who changed opponents three times in under a week
as he went from Tyson Griffin to Sean Sherk and has now settled
on Duane "Bang" Ludwig. Miller has prepared himself
like always, but it doesn't mean he wasn't avoiding a few black
cats along the way.
"Every
time I walk underneath something I'm looking up to make sure
nothing falls on my head," Miller said with a laugh when
speaking with MMAWeekly Radio recently.
The
situations that came about are nothing new to the sport in which
training can knock out the toughest fighters, and ultimately
Miller is just happy he gets to go out and perform.
"It
happens is the thing. I still get to fight. I still get to step
in the Octagon. The way that I train I don't really train specifically
to fight guys," Miller said. "I feel like I have so
much room to improve, and that's what I'm working on in between
fights is getting better and not specifically training for an
opponent."
The
opponent he has finally zeroed in on is Ludwig, a veteran of
the UFC and other top promotions like Strikeforce. While the
change can be bothersome to many, Miller reacts with a sense
of calm and ease because the alternative could be much worse.
"I
know him and that's the great thing, he's fought all around the
world, he's got experience, he's got some great wins, fought
some really tough guys," Miller commented about Ludwig.
"Me personally, I get really nervous when I fight the nobody,
when I'm fighting somebody that 'oh Jim's just going to beat
the crap out of this guy.' It doesn't happen that often, but
that's where I get the nerves because anything can happen out
there. I'd rather if I'm going to lose, I'd rather lose to somebody
that's worth losing to really."
Heading
into UFC 108, it's no secret that Miller has shown a tremendous
ground game while Ludwig's has always been somewhat suspect.
The New Jersey native is prepared for all things that could happen
on Saturday night, but he isn't trying to reinvent the wheel
either.
"The
sport was created to show weaknesses and exploit your opponent's
weaknesses," stated Miller. "When Royce (Gracie) came
in there they knew none of these guys he was fighting had any
ground game. So, the game for him was take them down, sub them
out. I don't know why guys who are exceptional in one aspect
decide that they want to do something else. The way I look at
it is I want to exploit every weakness I can find."
Miller
points to fights like Brandon Vera vs. Randy Couture when he
believes Vera became so fixated on Couture's clinch game that
it ultimately hurt his own explosiveness and ability to win the
fight. Ready for whatever Ludwig will bring, the AMA Fight Club
fighter believes in a simple strategy of attack.
"If
somebody is bad on the mat I'm going to take them down, I'm going
to put them where they're uncomfortable. If they're horrible
on their feet, I'm going to stay on my feet and sprawl and brawl,
make them uncomfortable, make them desperate for a takedown,"
Miller said. "I'm not in this to build my ego up, I'm in
this to beat the crap out of guys basically."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MARLOES
COENEN ON CRIS "CYBORG" TITLE BOUT
Cris “Cyborg” Santos will defend her Strikeforce 145-pound
women’s title for the first time against Marloes Coenen
on Jan. 30 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. Coenen
is looking forward to the match up.
“I’m
really looking forward to this fight,” Coenen said recently.
“It’s like a dream come true. She’s now considered
the best in the world and this is my chance to become the best
in the world.”
This
is the biggest fight of Coenen’s career, but the 29-year-old
fighter sees Santos as an opportunity and a formidable opponent
with exploitable holes in her game.
“She’s
an amazing athlete. I will not deny that, but everybody is a
human being with two arms and two legs, so everybody is beatable,”
commented the challenger. “Everybody has some flaws in their
game, and I did see some flaw in her game.”
Santos,
known for her aggressive style, is a product of the Chute Boxe
academy in Brazil. She specializes in a relentless Muay Thai
style of fighting. Coenen is comfortable on her feet and welcomes
a stand-up battle with Santos.
“I’m
from the Netherlands, so as you know, Thai Boxing is quite big
over there. I think it’s very important for an MMA fighter
to be well rounded,” said the Dutch mixed martial artist.
“I think I’m well rounded and good enough to take the
fight.”
Nick
Diaz and Dream champion Marius Zaromskis headline Strikeforce:
Miami in a battle for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight championship.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Cobrinha
out of European with back injury
Rubens
Charles Maciel was having lunch with his wife, Daniela, along
with friends and Alliance teacher Rafael Rosendo and his wife,
Marcela, when GRACIEMAG.com interrupted.
It
was for a good reason, as Cobrinha turned 30 on December 24,
and we wanted to extend birthday wishes to the four-time featherweight
world champion (2006/07/08/09).
“You
didn’t disturb us, it’s always a pleasure to talk to
you guys,” said Cobrinha. “That’s right, I get
older today. But I still feel the urge to fight for some years
yet. I really want to fight to win my fifth world championship,
in August. Truth is I was planning to compete at the European
in Lisbon, at the end of January, but my back is still injured.
I want to make the most of your call to thank the fans who have
been sending me messages of support. Thank you all very much!”
We
asked what the ideal end of the year would be to him, and what
his dreams for 2010 are.
“Good
festivities, to me, are to be able to be with the ones I love
– like my wife Daniela, with Rafael Rosendo and his wife
Marcela at the home of Romero Jacaré and his family. It
will be almost perfect, because I’ll not be with someone
most beloved: my mother, Nilza. I want to wish her a happy 2010
and tell her I love her.”
“I
want to take the chance to wish all Jiu-Jitsu practitioners a
new year of great health and peace in their hearts. May they
lay out their objectives in life, believe in them, and make them
happen, because anything is possible when you believe in your
dreams. For 2010, I also wish Master Jacaré great health,
and I’d like to inform everyone that he has already gotten
back to training since his operation! I’m just not silly
enough to train with him, since he’s going full blast now!”
Cobrinha chuckled.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Dynamite!!
with more fights to wrap up 2009
K-1,
World Victory Road and Dream have added the final touches to
their end-of-the-year event, Dynamite!!, to be held December
31 in the Saitama Arena. And, as Japanese organizations tend
to do, some last minute matchups have been announced. Among them
is the bout pitting Melvin Manhoef against Kazuo Misaki.
Another
challenge to feature on the card, at least according to messages
posted on Twitter, is Gegard Mousasi facing Gary Goodridge. Besides
matching the current light heavyweight champion of Strikeforce
against a heavyweight, the bout is under K-1 rules, making it
a non-MMA match. It has not yet been officially confirmed, though.
Beyond
that, the event features Olympic-judo gold-medalists Satoshi
Ishii and Hidehiko Yoshida, facing each other, and such standouts
as Shinya Aoki, Alistair Overeem and Rameau Thierry Sokodjou,
among others. Check out the promo video for the event:
Check
out the complete card:
Masato
vs Andy Souwer (K-1 rules)
Satoshi Ishii vs Hidehiko Yoshida (MMA)
Melvin Manhoef vs Kazuo Misaki (MMA)
Shinya Aoki vs Mizuto Hirota (MMA)
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Kazunori Yokota (MMA)
Masanori Kanehara vs Norofumi “Kid” Yamamoto (MMA)
Akihiro Gono vs Hayato “Mach” Sakurai (MMA)
Hiroshi Izumi vs Katsuyori Shibata (MMA)
Marlon Sandro vs Hideo Tokoro (MMA)
Michihiro Omigawa vs Hiroyuki Takaya (MMA)
Kazuyuki Fujita vs Alistair Overeem (MMA)
Yosuke Nishijima vs Ray Sefo (K-1 rules)
Gegard Mousasi vs Gary Goodridge (K-1 rules)
Ikuhisa Minowa vs Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (MMA/”Super Hulk”
final)
Hiroya vs Masaaki Noiri (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
Katsuki Ishida vs Shota Shimada (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
Tsukasa Fuji vs Ryuya Kusakabe (K-1 KOSHIEN reserve bout)
K-1 KOSHIEN final
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Family
support pulls Hill through adversity
Throughout
Corey Hill’s brief career as a mixed martial arts fighter,
there was one constant for his wife, Lauren.
She
didn’t attend his bouts in person, instead preferring to
remain at home caring for their three children. Their routine
was that about 20 or so minutes after his bout ended, the telephone
would ring and Corey would call to say he was fine.
Things
were different on Dec. 10, 2008, however. Twenty minutes after
she figured his fight would be over, the phone hadn’t rung.
Another half-hour went by with nothing. Lauren Hill began to
get a bit anxious.
“I
knew his fight was supposed to start around 6:15 and here it
was 7:30 and he hadn’t called me,” she said. “The
other fights he had, the latest I heard from him was 20 minutes
(after). Corey would always call me right away and when he didn’t,
that’s when I kind of got a little bit nervous.”
After
another few minutes went by with nothing but silence, she was
excited when the telephone finally rang. But the voice on the
other end of the line was not who she expected.
It
was her mother-in-law, Elnora Hill, on the line rather than Corey,
her husband of nearly five years.
“I
didn’t get that much information, because she just said
Corey had broken his leg and they were carrying him out on a
stretcher,” Lauren Hill said. “It was awful. It was
just awful news to get. But I didn’t know how bad things
really were.”
Corey
was fighting Dale Hartt that night in an Ultimate Fighting Championship
event at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, N.C. Hartt had just
checked a leg kick from the spindly 6-foot-4 Hill, who at 155
pounds is built like the Mini Me version of former NBA star Manute
Bol.
“He
went down and I honestly didn’t know what had happened,”
Hartt said.
For
a few dizzying seconds, Hartt didn’t know either what had
happened or what to do. But now, more than a year later, he says
he will never forget.
Hill
fractured the tibia and the fibula in his right leg when he kicked
Hartt’s leg. Hill’s shin snapped the way a baseball
bat cracks when a 96 mph fastball bores in on the hitter’s
fists.
Hartt
followed Hill to the mat, as fighters usually do when they score
a knockdown. But he didn’t throw any punches. He heard the
referee shouting and could make out Hill moaning, “My leg!
My leg!”
Hartt
looked back and saw Hill’s right leg bent into a V-shape
at about mid-shin. “When I finally saw Corey’s leg,
I was like, ‘Holy (expletive)!’ ” Hartt said.
“It’s one of those things, when you see it, you’ll
never forget it. I’ll be 90 years old on my deathbed and
I’ll still remember that.”
Hill
underwent surgery and had a rod inserted into his leg, which
was held in place with pins at the ankle and the knee.
Many
who saw the injury, one of the most gruesome in the 16-year history
of the UFC, wondered not whether Hill would ever be able to fight
again, but whether he’d walk without the aid of a cane or
a crutch.
“It
was pretty bad,” Hill says, chuckling, a year after the
injury. “Kind of messed up plans for Christmas, I’d
say.”
The
long road back
A
second Christmas is at hand since the injury and it is a much
different Corey Hill than the angry, disillusioned worried young
man who was a prisoner in his own bed in the weeks after his
injury.
He’s
bright, optimistic and filled with hope, looking eagerly at the
future and dreaming of one day handing the UFC lightweight championship
belt to his wife.
Hill
has already gotten a present and he doesn’t have to seek
out a gift-wrapped box under the tree to get it.
He’ll
fight Mike Dizak on Jan. 23 at the Raging Wolf VI fight card
at the Seneca Niagara Casino Hotel in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
For
Hill, stepping into the cage once again will be the ultimate
redemption, a story of courage and determination that turned
a potential tragedy into a fairy tale.
He
was told unequivocally by multiple doctors that his fighting
career was over. Friends questioned why his wife would have ever
allowed him to compete in mixed martial arts. There were more
than a few who shared the notion that walking normally again
would be a challenge.
Hill,
though, was undaunted. He knew that somehow, some way, despite
the excruciating pain, despite the fact he was bedridden, despite
the fact his leg had essentially split in half, that he would
find a way back.
“I
had these people who are very smart, who went to college and
have advanced degrees and have become doctors, and they’re
supposed to always be right, and they’re telling me that
there’s no way I’m going to fight again,” Hill
said. “But I was like, ‘Whatever. I’m not listening.’
I was scared, I’ll admit that. There were a lot of negative
things going on, but I wasn’t only scared, but I was stubborn.
“And
I said, ‘This is not going to be the end of Corey Hill.
It’s not going to end like this.’ Doctors are telling
me I’m not going to fight. Well, I don’t know if they
say that for motivational reasons, or if they really mean it
at the time, but it was great motivation for me to hear doctors
say, ‘You’ll never do this. You’re never going
to fight.’ I was like, ‘Oh yeah? Watch me.’ I’m
a competitor and this was my dream. I wasn’t quitting that
easily.”
The
power of family
In
the first two weeks after the injury, though, Hill was all but
convinced he would quit. It was his wife, who was so horrified
when she learned of the injury, who wouldn’t let him entertain
thoughts of quitting.
Hill,
31, was tormented by the pain in his leg and unable to do even
the most basic bodily functions without assistance. Yet, his
wife wouldn’t stand to hear him talk of giving up.
“Once
I got over the initial shock of it, I just knew that Corey and
I would find a way to deal with it and get through it,”
she said. “There were tough times, but tough times are part
of life. Corey is such a wonderful, good, kind person. And I
knew things could have been way worse than they were.
“Corey
had always been like Superman to me. He was always there and
always came through. In the 11 years we’d been together,
he’d always done everything in his power to support me and
take care of me and our family. I’d never seen him as happy
as when he was fighting, so I knew I had to do what I could to
help him get back.”
And
she did her part by refusing to allow him to say “no,”
and by essentially becoming his surrogate mother.
Hill
said the desire came back as his wife attended to some of life’s
most intimate details for him. He didn’t make life easy
on her, but she never flinched.
“If
you want to know the truth, I was an ass,” he said. “I
was like a little baby. I whined. I yelled. She literally had
four kids to take care of: The three we have, plus myself. I
was a baby. I couldn’t get to the bathroom. I had to stay
in bed and pee in a freaking bucket for almost four months.
“This
sounds gross, but there were times when I urinated on myself
because my bucket was too far and I couldn’t get to it.
She came home to some bad scenarios and it never fazed her.”
She
inspired him to work harder than he thought he could. She insisted
that the only thing that could prevent him from returning to
fight was if he didn’t care enough to go after it. Hill
gradually began to change his attitude. There were days when
he was at physical therapy when he questioned himself and his
morale would sink.
He
let his mind drift to a life without the fight game.
“I’d
cry with my wife, I’d cry with my kids,” he said. “It
would be 3 o’clock in the morning and I’d be laying
there with a leg in so much pain. There were stress and financial
problems and everything was building up. I was physically drained
and the pain was getting to be too much.”
Change
of perspective
Hill
was leaving physical therapy and he passed a 70-year-old man
in a wheelchair whose legs were amputated at the knees.
He
said he saw the wheelchair-bound man at a time when he was at
one of his low points, feeling sorry for himself. His wife, who
had stayed at home taking care of the kids when he was fighting,
had gone back to work as a hair stylist. The family’s financial
situation was a wreck. Their lifestyle was cut back dramatically.
Corey
Hill walked out of therapy that day pitying himself. And then
he saw the double amputee in the wheelchair.
“I
saw him and as I limped to my truck, I said to myself, ‘Who
the hell am I?’ ” Hill said. “I think I realized
at that moment that things could always be worse. I said to myself
then, ‘OK, Corey, it’s time to end the pity party and
quit crying about the pain.’ There are some people who don’t
have a choice. He didn’t have a choice. He was in that chair
and couldn’t do a thing about it. I had a choice. I could
suck it up, work through the pain and make myself better, or
I could quit. I didn’t have to fight. I had a choice. I
chose to fight. He didn’t have a choice. And that’s
when I really had a turnaround.
“I
saw this guy and I was like, ‘I’m complaining because
I’m limping and I’m in a little bit of pain and this
guy was in the wheelchair and he was always going to be in the
wheelchair.’ And I saw how happy he was, how at peace he
was with things and how he just found a way to get through every
day and I knew that was the direction I should be going.”
His
father, Bill Hill, was an athlete who played college football
at Florida A&M and attended a Kansas City Chiefs training
camp. He gave his son much of his competitive streak.
He
had his doubts, too, about whether his son should fight again,
but he wanted to be supportive.
“I’ve
seen a lot of injuries in my time and maybe if Corey had a real
traumatic brain injury, I’d feel differently, but broken
bones can heal,” Bill Hill said. “From a father’s
standpoint, I wanted to see him get his degree and go on and
do something and become a success. But Corey has an incredible
determination and when he sets his mind to doing something, nobody
can change it. And he was determined he was going to fight. The
way I saw my role here was to support him and be there for him.
That’s what I did.”
As
he worked, encouraged by his family’s unconditional love
and support, Corey gradually began to feel better. He was able
to gain much of his lateral movement and quickness. His strength
began to return.
The
entire family was reed-thin and Corey was no exception. He used
to walk around at 160 pounds and would cut just five pounds to
make the 155-pound lightweight limit. After he healed, though,
he looked at everything: How he ate, how he trained, how he took
care of his body. The injury has changed him, he says, in many
ways, most of them positive.
He
would spend an entire day in the gym and eat only twice, many
of which were puny meals.
“I
realized I was treating my body horribly,” Hill said. “It
was like I was driving a car without oil.”
He’s
eating more and supplementing his diet. He’ll be bigger
and stronger when he returns to fight.
And
after fits and starts in the early days after the injury, he’s
now regained his enthusiasm for his job. He’s even allowed
himself to watch the Spike TV broadcast of the fight with Hartt.
He
didn’t watch the tape of his fight with Hartt until Nov.
2, about 11 months after the accident. He still won’t watch
the slow motion replays.
“As
a fighter, you know there are all sorts of risks, and they’re
scary, but you have to repress that and go out and be confident,”
Hill said. “I just can’t watch that slow motion, though.
The fight itself, in normal speed, it’s not bad. Slow motion?
Nah. I don’t think so. I don’t need to see that.”
He’s
a wrestler and wrestling is always going to be his base. He won’t
kick, he says, “unless it’s a 100-percent, surefire
bulls-eye that even a three-year-old can make.”
And
he knows there will be plenty of thoughts swirling in his head
on the night he walks back into the cage.
But
he already knows one conversation he wants to have when the fight
is over and, win or lose, he walks out of the cage under his
own power.
“I
want to talk to my wife and tell her, ‘We did it,’
” Hill said, bubbling with enthusiasm. “And I meant
that very much when I said we. This has been a team project.
Without her, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be limping around
somewhere probably doing who knows what. But by her being so
strong and so understanding and so supportive, I’m able
to do what I love to do again. When that fight’s over, the
first thing I plan to do is to tell her, ‘It’s over
and we finally did it. Together. We did it together.’ “
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Rankings:
2009’s top dogs
As
2009 comes to a close, it’s clear that the mixed martial
arts world consists of two groups of fighters: The trio of Anderson
Silva, Georges St. Pierre and Fedor Emelianenko; and everyone
else.
The
world’s three best fighters have monopolized the top of
the Yahoo! Sports Top 10 for the past two years. Combined, they’ve
won their past 28 matches, including a 6-0 record in 2009.
Silva
had the top spot in the poll all to himself from January 2008-January
2009. Then Emelianenko, the world’s best heavyweight, knocked
out Andrei Arlovski in spectacular fashion on Jan. 24, and Silva
and Emelianenko spent the next three months tied for No. 1. After
Silva’s stinker of a unanimous decision win over Thales
Leites in April, Emelianenko and St. Pierre, the UFC welterweight
champ, spent the next two months in a first-place tie. St. Pierre
took the lead in July after his five-round thrashing of Thiago
Alves; only to have Silva knock out Forrest Griffin in August
and re-take the top slot, a position he’s held ever since.
So
it should come as little surprise that Silva, St. Pierre and
Emelianenko finished 1-2-3 for the second straight year in the
cumulative 2009 Yahoo! Sports poll. Using the same formula for
the monthly poll’s tabulation, with 10 points for a first-place
finish; nine for a second; etc., Silva finished with 112.5 points,
St. Pierre 106, and Emelianenko 103.5. (Ties split the difference
between the two spots, so a first-place tie received 9.5 points
each; second-place tie 8.5, etc.).
Rounding
out the top 10 were Loyoto Machida (68 points); B.J. Penn (61.5);
Miguel Angel Torres (61.5); Rashad Evans (30); Quinton Jackson
(26); Mike Brown (25) and Jose Aldo (12). Silva, St. Pierre,
Emelianenko, Machida, Penn and Torres were the only fighters
ranked in the top 10 for each of the past 12 months.
Penn,
meanwhile, appears to have a lock on the No. 4 spot after his
one-sided win over Diego Sanchez on Dec. 12. While the UFC lightweight
champ still pines for a third shot at St. Pierre, few doubt,
at this point, the Hawaiian is the greatest 155-pound fighter
ever. Since dropping down to 155 in 2007, Penn has won all five
of his lightweight fights via stoppage and has rarely had to
break a sweat in the process.
If
Penn continues on his current path, the UFC may have no choice
but to let him jump up in weight class again.
The
Yahoo! Sports Top 10 poll features 21 top mixed martial arts
reporters from leading sports web sites, newspapers, wire services
and blogs. This month, we welcome four new reporters to the poll:
Ariel Helwani of AOL Fanhouse and Versus.com; John Morgan of
MMAjunkie.com; Brett Okamoto of the Las Vegas Sun; and Dann Stupp
of MMAjunkie.com . For a list of this month’s panel participants,
go here.
10.
Dan Henderson
Points: 25
Affiliation: Strikeforce
Weight class: Middleweight/Light heavyweight
Hometown: Murrieta, Calif.
Record: 25-7 (won past three)
Last month’s ranking: 10
Most recent result: def. Michael Bisping, R2 KO, July 11
Analysis: A rumored Strikeforce debut against Jake Shields in
April will serve more as a test of whether Shields is truly an
elite fighter.
9.
Miguel Angel Torres
Points: 39
Affiliation: WEC
Weight class: Bantamweight
Hometown: East Chicago, Ind.
Record: 36-2 (lost last one)
Last month’s ranking: 8
Most recent result: lost to Brian Bowles, R1 TKO, Aug. 9
Analysis: Gets back into the cage on March 6 against a TBD opponent.
8.
Brian Bowles
Points: 41
Affiliation: WEC
Weight class: Bantamweight (WEC bantamweight champion)
Hometown: Athens, Ga.
Record: 8-0
Last month’s ranking: 9
Most recent result: def. Miguel Torres, R1 TKO, Aug. 9
Analysis: Has to get through a March 6 defense against Dominic
Cruz before we get to see the Torres rematch.
7.
Mauricio Rua
Points: 53
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Record: 18-4 (lost last one)
Last month’s ranking: T7
Most recent result: lost to Lyoto Machida, unanimous decision,
Oct. 24
Analysis: Biding him time until he gets his second shot at “The
Dragon.”
6.
Jose Aldo
Points: 83
Affiliation: WEC
Weight class: Featherweight (WEC featherweight champion)
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Record: 16-1 (won last nine)
Last month’s ranking: 6
Most recent result: def. Mike Brown, R2 TKO, Nov. 18
Analysis: All you need to know about Aldo is that the featherweight
is already being talked about as the man who might be the one
who gives Penn a match at lightweight.
5.
Lyoto Machida
Points: 122
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight (UFC light heavyweight champion)
Hometown: Belem, Brazil
Record: 16-0 (won last 16)
Last month’s ranking: 5
Most recent result: def. Mauricio Rua, unanimous decision, Oct.
24
Analysis: Healing a hand injury before he begins training for
Rua.
4.
B.J. Penn
Points: 149 (one first-place vote)
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Lightweight (UFC lightweight champion)
Hometown: Hilo, Hawaii
Record: 15-5-1 (won last two)
Last month’s ranking: 4
Most recent result: def. Diego Sanchez, R5 TKO, Dec. 12
Analysis: Thanks for playing, Diego. Next …
3.
Fedor Emelianenko
Points: 182 (six first-place votes)
Affiliation: Strikeforce/M-1 (never lost PRIDE title)
Weight class: Heavyweight
Hometown: Stary Oskol, Russia
Record: 31-1, one no-contest (won last 11)
Last month’s ranking: 3
Most recent result: def. Brett Rogers, R2 KO, Nov. 7
Analysis: If Emelianenko really is fighting Fabricio Werdum in
April as is rumored, expect Werdum’s KO loss to Junior dos
Santos to be aired on Spike TV approximately 12,455,201 times.
2.
Georges St. Pierre
Points: 185 (four first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Welterweight (UFC welterweight champion)
Hometown: Saint-Isidore, Quebec
Record: 19-2 (won last six)
Last month’s ranking: 2
Most recent result: def. Thiago Alves, unanimous decision, July
11
Analysis: Here’s guessing that even if Dan Hardy isn’t
considered a threat to beat St. Pierre, come March 27, people
will buy UFC 11 just because they want to see someone shut Hardy’s
mouth.
1.
Anderson Silva
Points: 196 (10 first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Middleweight (UFC middleweight champion)
Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Record: 24-4 (won last 10)
Last month’s ranking: 1
Most recent result: def. Forrest Griffin, R1 KO, Aug. 8
Analysis: Silva says his elbow is healing nicely. Which means
next week his agent will probably say he’s suffered a setback.
And on it goes.
More
•
Votes for others: Gegard Mousasi 18; Brock Lesnar 15; Rashad
Evans 10; Urijah Faber 8; Quinton Jackson, Mike Brown 5; Jon
Fitch, Shinya Aoki 4; Kenny Florian, Jake Shields 2.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Quote
of the Day
“The
good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”
Bertrand Russell
|
GILBERT
MELENDEZ SAYS BRING ON SHINYA AOKI
Winning back the Strikeforce lightweight title was the last step
for Gilbert Melendez to erase some tough losses on his record
and get back on the track. He was ranked as high as the No. 3
lightweight in the world just two years ago. Now, Melendez is
focused on the future and hopefully a showdown with Dream champion
Shinya Aoki.
Following
his recent five-round war against Josh Thomson, the immediate
questions turned to a trilogy between the two lightweights, but
both played it down saying they wanted to explore some new fights
instead of hitting each other in the face for a little while.
"At
the time right now I'm trying to call it even. He's a really
tough guy and if he wants to call it even for now, it's up to
him. I'm the champ right now and he has to challenge me so that's
how it goes, but that was a great fight and if people want to
see it again, I don't see why we should neglect the fans on that,"
Melendez told MMAWeekly Radio following the win. "But in
two years."
Melendez
believes that both he and Thomson are more than capable of hanging
with any of the top 155-pounders in the world, and they are ready
to prove it. He also says if they are both successful in other
fights, it makes the trilogy that much bigger.
"I
want to fight some other guys, he wants to fight other guys,"
Melendez commented. "Right now, beating each other up doesn't
get us higher in the rankings, but him and I beating other guys
that are ranked top ten is really possible and we could both
beat a lot of guys in the top ten. If we kind of move around
a little bit, fight some other guys, it would be cool and then
build us up again."
The
challenge that may await Melendez for his first title defense
is a match-up against highly regarded submission specialist Shinya
Aoki, who has been rumored for a Strikeforce appearance for some
time. Ranked the No. 2 lightweight in the world, behind only
UFC champion B.J. Penn, Aoki is the top of the food chain and
Melendez is ready to see what he's made of.
"He's
No. 2 in the world and I was the lucky guy who won this fight,
and they've been talking about bringing him to Strikeforce. Whether
it's in his mind if I deserve it or not, I think I kind of earned
it and I think I match up really well with the guy," he
said about Aoki. "I think he's tough. I think I have the
proper game plan for him. I've got the proper training partners
for him, and I think he knows I'd be a tough match for him. I'd
love to fight that guy.
"If
they could really make that happen in Strikeforce, I'm all over
it. I'm ready for it, let's do it on CBS."
With
2009 coming to a close, Melendez believes this was a monumentally
important year for his career. With his sights set on Aoki, he's
ready for the next great challenge. So much so, that it's already
in his subconscious.
"All
of a sudden this year, I avenged both my losses. I cleaned my
slate. I beat Rodrigo Damm, a tough guy, I'm the champ again,
and now they're talking about me fighting the No. 2 guy in the
world," Melendez stated. "One win away from being top
five in the world again."
"The
night I got home after fighting Josh, I promise, I had a dream
of Aoki that same night. (I'm) moving on now."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
HDNET'S
'VOICE' BREAKS DOWN DYNAMITE!
Normally New Year’s Eve is a loaded night for MMA in Japan,
but with the announcement that Dream and Sengoku would be uniting
for a one-time-only show, the evening just got bigger.
Over
20 fighters across both promotions will be competing at this
year’s Field’s K-1 Dynamite! show at the Saitama Super
Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Hoping
to make sense of could be the biggest MMA show ever, HDNet’s
Michael Schiavello broke down some of the evening’s most
important match-ups, provided a look back at HDNet’s year
in MMA coverage, and took a look towards 2010.
MMAWeekly:
First off, Michael, tell us your reaction to the news that Dream
and World Victory Road would be teaming up for this year’s
Dynamite show.
Michael
Schiavello: I was pleased to be honest. I heard that Sengoku
had been in some strife of late financially and I didn't want
to see so many great fighters on their roster fall by the wayside.
When I heard that FEG (the parent company of Dream) had acquired
many of the Sengoku fighters for Dynamite! it was a relief as
we still get to see WVR's fantastic talents on New Year's Eve,
even if it's not on their previously planned NYE show at Ariake
Coliseum.
MMAWeekly:
It’s been stated that this is a one-time-only teaming of
the promotions. Do you think that this could happen again?
Michael
Schiavello: I believe so and this is a great thing for fans.
Inter-promotional battles are always touted but rarely come off.
It is fantastic that the two biggest promotions in Japan now
square off against one another. We will get to see which promotion
has the better fighters and that can only be good for all fans
and create tremendous feuds and storylines, which in turn is
probably just the shot in the arm Japanese MMA needs.
MMAWeekly:
While there will be an abundance of matches on this year’s
show, let’s talk about some of the more interesting fights,
starting with Hayoto “Mach” Sakurai versus Akihiro
Gono.
Michael
Schiavello: This is one of the inter-promotional matches that
makes this Dynamite! so exciting. Both have had their ups and
downs this year, and both have a point to prove on New Year's
Eve. I think Sakurai takes it. It will be a stand-up and drag-out
battle as both men are fantastic on their feet. When it eventually
does go to the ground I see Sakurai being the one to take it
down and getting the win via ground and pound.
MMAWeekly:
One of Dream’s key attractions this year was the Super Hulk
Tournament. Who do you think will take the finals between Rameau
Thierry Sokoudjou and Ikuhisa Minowa?
Michael
Schiavello: On paper you'd say Sokoudjou. He is bigger, stronger,
more aggressive, has the better striking, has brilliant ground
and pound, and very good takedowns. But Minowa is an enigma.
You can never write him off. New Year's Eve is a time of miracles
and unbelievable happenings. I will go on record then and say
Minowa performs the miracle and becomes the Super Hulk Champion
on NYE via a patented crazy submission.
MMAWeekly:
Let’s move on to the clash of lightweight champions as Dream
titleholder Shinya Aoki takes on the man who holds Sengoku’s
belt, Mizuto Hirota.
Michael
Schiavello: Obviously on paper Aoki is who most people would
tip to win, but Hirota is a guy who knows how to beat champions.
Hirota knows how to bang – having won eight fights by knockout
– and Aoki doesn't like hard hitters. Aoki has the superior
ground game, better takedowns and better submissions and is improving
his stand-up, but Hirota will be tough pickings and now has the
chance to launch himself to international stardom should he upset
Aoki on New Year’s Eve.
MMAWeekly:
Lastly, let’s talk about the evening’s proposed main
event that matches up two Olympic gold medalists in Hidehiko
Yoshida and Satoshi Ishii.
Michael
Schiavello: I think it will most likely be a scrappy and ugly
fight. The really interesting thing for me is seeing a current
Olympic gold medalist competing. It won't last long, but it will
be exciting and I hope Ishii takes it. He was once the most sought
after fighter on the planet with everyone from the UFC to Dream
and beyond was trying to get his signature. I'm thrilled we have
his debut at Dynamite! and on HDNet, and I am so pumped to be
calling it.
MMAWeekly:
What fighter do you think will most likely be the evening’s
recipient of “The Big Kabosh?”
Michael
Schiavello: Yousuke Nishijima. Ray Sefo is going to put him to
sleep. Look out for Ray's patented switch-hit right hand.
MMAWeekly:
Looking back on this year, tell us your thoughts on HDNet’s
MMA coverage.
Michael
Schiavello: This was my first year working with HDNet and it
was a blast. I really do believe we have the best team in all
of the fight game. I have worked with TV crews all over the world,
but these guys know their stuff inside and out and that passion
comes across on all of our broadcasts. I have enjoyed every moment
of working side-by-side with Guy Mezger and Ron Kruck and all
the production staff.
Then
of course you have Kenny Rice and the immortal Bas Rutten giving
us the best show on TV with Inside MMA every week. We have broadcasted
more MMA than any other network in the world this year, including
DREAM, Sengoku, Affliction, M-1, Adrenaline, MFC, XFC, Army Combat
Championships, K-1 and more. I wish I lived in the United States
– I would turn into a couch potato glued to HDNet all the
time!
MMAWeekly:
And what are your thoughts for next year?
Michael
Schiavello: We have a big year coming up in 2010. Once again
we will broadcast more MMA shows than any other network in the
world and our CEO, Andrew Simon, is in talks with several organizations
from the U.S. and around the world to be broadcast on HDNet next
year. Also I can't say too much, but HDNet will have a new original
MMA talk show happening next year too.
MMAWeekly:
Thanks for your time Michael. Is there anything you want to say
in conclusion?
Michael
Schiavello: 2009 was a banner year for MMA. What a great time
to be an MMA fan! On a personal note, I want to say thank you
to all the fans that have sent me so many emails and Tweets and
messages on Internet boards all year. This has been my first
year true on the American market and I have been overwhelmed
by the response and extremely humbled. Thank you so much and
keep watching HDNet in 2010 and our team will keep delivering
all the action in a way only we can!
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MISAKI
VS. MANHOEF BOOKED FOR NYE DYNAMITE!!
A bout pitting Kazuo Misaki against Melvin Manhoef has been added
to the Dec. 31 Fields Dynamite!! event at the Saitama Super Arena
in Saitama, Japan. It is the latest inter-promotional bout pitting
a Sengoku fighter (Misaki) against a Dream fighter (Manhoef)
in the Japanese New Year’s Eve co-promotion.
Misaki
(22-9-2) is the No. 7 ranked middleweight fighter in the world.
This bout will be his third of the year. Misaki lost to Jorge
Santiago in January then bounced back with a victory over Kazuhiro
Nakamura at Sengoku Ninth Battle in August.
Manhoef
(23-6-1) was on a five-fight winning streak before hitting a
rough patch of 1-2 in his last three outings. Losses to Strikeforce
champion Gegard Mousasi and former WEC champion Paulo Filho sandwiched
a stunning knockout of Mark Hunt.
Manhoef
was a leading candidate to face Robbie Lawler at the recent Strikeforce
event on Dec. 19 in San Jose, Calif. A veteran of the Japanese
fight scene, he opted for New Year’s Eve in Japan instead.
If
unscathed following the fight with Misaki, it's possible Manhoef
could be scheduled as an opponent for Lawler when Strikeforce
lands in Florida. Lawler is currently in negotiations with the
promotion for a Jan. 30 bout in the Sunshine State.
Olympic
Gold Medal judoka Satoru Ishii makes his mixed martial arts debut
against fellow Gold Medalist Hidehiko Yoshida in the main event
at Dynamite!! The event is scheduled to air live in the United
States on HDNet at 3 a.m. ET / Midnight PT.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MMA
and Jiu-Jitsu coach victim of violence
Joe
Moreira Jiu-Jitsu black belt Marcos Adriano Albuquerque, better
known as Marco Jara, is yet another victim of violence in Brazil,
which even on Christmas Eve spares no one. The coach was murdered
this Thursday, while Jará’s friend, American Brent
Garret, was shot in the stomach and is in stable condition.
The
coach and the American recently arrived in Brazil from the United
States. Both went on to a party in the Southern Rio de Janeiro
town of Paraty, where they would have celebrated Christmas, when
they stopped in Santa Cruz to ask directions. At that moment,
they were approached by two armed men. According to the police,
Garret was shot when he tried to react, and thrown from the car,
while the suspects fled in Jará’s Land Rover.
The
coach was found hours later, dead, in the car, at the entrance
to Sapo Favela, in the Senador Camará area of Western
Rio.
Recently,
Jará accompanied Brett Cooper, who defeated Brazil’s
Sergio Moraes, at Jungle Fight.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
109 confirms Rolles and Coleman vs Couture
Yesterday,
December 25, Rolles Gracie’s opponent for the February-6
UFC 109 show, in Las Vegas, was confirmed. The first member of
the Gracie family to feature in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
since Royce, Rolles, will have Mostapha Al Turk across the octagon
from him in his debut for the event, just as GRACIEMAG.com announced
some weeks ago. According to the UFC website, the fight will
feature on the live television broadcast.
Mostapha
has lost his last two outings in the UFC, whereas Rolles has
used his Jiu-Jitsu effectively to remain undefeated in his prior
MMA bouts, achieving the submission before the bell ending the
first round sounded in all three outings. The most recent came
at Art of War, in China, when he used an arm-and-neck choke to
finish off Peter Grahan. Check out the GRACIEMAG.com Photo Gallery
featuring a recent training session of the Gracie’s.
The
evening’s main event pits Randy Couture against Mark Coleman.
On the main card, Jiu-Jitsu black belts Demian Maia and Paulo
Thiago face off against Dan Miller and Josh Koscheck, respectively.
Also
on the main card, Nate Marquardt faces Chael Sonnen and Matt
Serra dukes it out with Frank Trigg. Another Gentle Art black
belt, Ronys Torres makes is long-awaited debut in the event,
against Melvin Guillard.
Check
out the updated card:
UFC
109
January 21, 2010
Las Vegas, Nevada
Mark
Coleman vs Randy Couture
Josh
Koscheck vs Paulo Thiago
Demian
Maia vs Dan Miller
Nate
Marquardt vs Chael Sonnen
Matt
Serra vs Frank Trigg
Justin
Buchholz
vs Mac Danzig
Melvin
Guillard vs Ronys Torres
Tim
Hague vs Chris Tuchscherer
Rob
Emerson vs Phillipe Nover
Rolles
Gracie vs Mostapha Al Turk
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Arona
remembers rivalries on TATAME #166
On
the cover story of December edition of TATAME Magazine, we tried
to find out why do Brazilians doesn’t like to face each
other anymore on the biggest MMA events of the world. With the
highlights over him on the biggest fights between Brazilians
on Pride, Ricardo Arona gave his version to the change of behavior.
“Before the guys fought, but there was a rivalry. It looked
like it was Brazil against another country”, remembers Arona,
who made historical combats against Wanderlei Silva and Maurício
Shogun, on the finals of Pride’s GP.
Source: Tatame
|
Shogun
sorrows “Brazilian wars” at Pride
After
a misunderstanding at Pride’s backstage, the teams Chute
Boxe and Brazilian Top Team became rivals. For years, things
went ugly when athletes from these teams got face to face on
the Japanese ring, and who won was the fan of big fights.
Maurício
Shogun, Pride’s GP champion, revealed in interview to TATAME
Magazine December’s edition that he sorrows the rivalries
of the past, when he faced Brazilian athletes in Japanese rings.
“There
was a great rivalry between Chute Boxe and BTT, but, if I could
choose, today, I’d choose to fight with a foreigner”,
Shogun guarantees, who faced the compatriot Lyoto Machida at
the UFC. “Brazil is Brazil, the guy pass by bad moments
to get there... I’d prefer to face a foreigner”.
To
read the complete story, that analyze all this change on Ricardo
Arona, Murilo Ninja, Anderson Silva, Paulão Filho’s
opinion and a lot more, guarantee yours TATAME Magazine #166.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"It
is every man's obligation to put back into the world
at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it."
Albert Einstein
|
ROGERIO
NOGUEIRA COULD MAKE MARCH RETURN
by Ken
Pishna
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira recently had to pull out of a scheduled
fight against Brandon Vera at UFC 109. Though his ankle injury
was severe enough to keep him off the Feb. 6 fight card, don’t
be surprised if Nogueira surfaces again sometime in March or
April.
Nogueira’s
ankle had been giving him some trouble prior to his Nov. 21 fight
with Luiz Cane. You’d have never had known it judging by
his performance. He took out Cane by TKO inside the first two
minutes of the opening round. The victory was Nogueira’s
Octagon debut.
“His
ankle was swollen for about a week after the fight,” his
manager, Ed Soares, told MMAWeekly.com. “We thought it was
just a sprain and would get better, but it just kept getting
worse.”
Nogueira’s
doctor advised him to avoid any strain on the ankle for at least
three to four weeks. That would have left him just about three
weeks to prepare for Vera, not what his camp deemed an appropriate
amount of time for a quality opponent.
“After
such a great performance and on the hurt ankle, he wants to heal
it up since it is a lot more serious than we all expected,”
said Soares, who indicated that Nogueira shouldn’t have
to sit on the sideline for long.
Asked
if Nogueira could be back in the Octagon as soon as the March
27 event in New Jersey, Soares replied, “We would love for
the UFC to offer us something like that.”
His
UFC 109 opponent, Brandon Vera, is expected to headline a March
21 event in Denver against Jon Jones, so it is unclear who Nogueira
might face upon his return.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ontario
indicating an embrace of MMA regulation in the future
By Zach
Arnold
Ken
Hayashi aggravated the MMA community for years and years. Where
is he now?
CTV
Toronto: Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty leaves door open to
Ultimate Fighting
The
excitement from those comments is being felt by everyone in the
Ontario MMA community:
“There’s
a tremendous amount of interest [in the Ontario market], and
we would come up there at [the Premier's] beck and call, whatever
timing, and be more than happy to talk about the sport of mixed
martial arts.” said Marc Ratner, who left his post as head
of the Nevada State Athletic Commission three years ago to join
UFC, of which he is vice-president of regulatory and government
affairs.
The
Toronto Star reports that UFC is hiring some big lobbyists:
The
Star revealed last month that UFC, one of the world’s fastest
growing sports properties, hired Liberal lawyer Noble Chummar
as a registered lobbyist.
Also
advising the privately owned UFC is former Ontario premier David
Peterson, a political mentor to McGuinty.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Muhammed
Lawal on CSAC Fine:
'They Don't Want to See Me Have Fun'
By Ariel
Helwani
Muhammed Lawal celebrated his first Strikeforce win on Saturday
night by paying homage to pro wrestling great "Stone Cold"
Steve Austin. Austin was famous for smashing Budweisers together,
pouring some of the beer in his mouth and the rest all over himself
and the ring after a big win.
So
Lawal recreated the Austin post-fight drinking scene with a few
Rockstar energy drinks after defeating Mike Whitehead, however,
the California State Athletic Commission did not appreciate the
gesture and fined "King Mo" on Monday 10% of $20,000
purse. When FanHouse contacted Lawal, he was surprised to hear
that he had been fined.
"Someone
told me, 'You got fined.' I was like what? Fined by who?,"
Lawal said.
"I
told Strikeforce. I figured that everybody knew. I think it probably
had to do with the huge uproar because everybody was like, 'Mo's
unsportsmanlike,' and their corny a** bulls***. They don't want
to see me have fun and what not. They think this is the NFL."
Lawal
even mentioned on last week's edition of The MMA Hour that he
would pull off the stunt should he defeat Whitehead, and contrary
to what has been reported online, this was not a cheap ploy to
get a sponsor more air time.
"I'm
not sponsored by Rockstar. The thing is, I couldn't have any
other beverage in the ring. If I could have, I would have had
Pepsi. But Rockstar is cool, they are the sponsor for Strikeforce,
I have a lot of respect for Strikeforce so I just did it. Why
not? I was just out there having fun."
Lawal
took offense to people claiming he tried to soak the mat on purpose
with three fights left on the card.
"I
didn't splash the mat with the drink. The drink exploded when
I opened it because someone shook it up," he said.
"As
far as people saying, 'Yeah, Mo got the mat slippery on purpose.'
Let me telling you something, you idiots: the canvas is slippery
anyway. If I get Rockstar on the mat and it dries up, I'm doing
them a f***ing favor, you know what I'm saying? It irritates
me when people run their mouths and sh**. They always say the
dumbest sh** ever and they don't know sh** about what's going
on."
The
former All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University said
that he tried to climb the cage so that none of the drink would
fall on the mat anyway, but he was told by a CSAC official that
he couldn't do so.
"I
didn't know that you can't jump on the cage anymore. I had no
idea," he said.
"I
tried to, but they were like, 'Get down! Get down!' So I got
down, and the guy beside me was like, 'Calm down,' and I was
like, 'Yeah, I am. I'm going to go to my corner real quick, I'm
going to get some towels and do it over a towel.'"
FanHouse
contacted the CSAC on Monday to get an official reason for the
fine, but didn't hear back.
Lawal
planned on talking to his manager Dr. Ryan Parsons about contesting
the fine, but doesn't know if that was even a possibility. Regardless
of the fine, though, Lawal said he promises to do more elaborate
celebrations following his future wins.
He
kicked off his Strikeforce career with one of his now-famous
entrances, but it wasn't televised. However, surprisingly, "King
Mo" wasn't bothered by the fact that his entrance did not
air on the Showtime telecast.
"It's
whatever, man, because you know what? I don't care if they show
it or not because I just do it for me. If I'm having fun and
if people there are having fun ... if they want to see my entrances,
they need to fly to a Strikeforce event and buy a ticket,"
he said.
Lawal
is planning on training with the Golden Glory team in the Netherlands
over the holidays to improve his striking skills. He has been
placed under a one-week medical suspension by the CSAC, but hopes
to talk to Strikeforce in the near future about his next fight.
According to Lawal, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told him that
he could be in line to fight the current light heavyweight champion
Gegard Mousasi after two more impressive victories.
Viewed
as one of the brightest young stars in the sport, Lawal improved
his pro MMA record to 6-0 on Saturday night. Yet, due to his
colorful personality and his willingness to always tell it like
it is, he has received a lot of criticism online from MMA fans.
Regardless, though, "King Mo" says he is fueled by
his critics.
"Keep
hating. Y'all are just wasting your time. Keep hating. There
are other people out there you can hate on, but, actually, I'm
proud that you waste all your time and energy to hate on me.
Makes me feel special, and I'm just going to keep on doing what
I do, so be prepared to be mad in the future."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Anderson
talks Nogueira vs. Velasquez
By Guilherme
Cruz
Rodrigo “Minotauro” will be back to UFC octagon on
February 21, but the preparation to face Cain Velasquez already
started. Training partner and friend of the heavyweight, Anderson
Silva joked with Nogueira, who will have a big challenge ahead
again. “I said to Minotauro that he has to open a destructive,
they only give giants for him to beat (laughs)”, said. Knowing
the difficulty of the opponent, who’s undefeatable for seven
fights, five on Ultimate. “It’s a tough fight, Cain
Velasquez is a very tough opponent, but we’re training”,
guarantees.
With six victories by knockout on the career, most of them in
the first round, Velasquez likes to play on ground and pound,
but Anderson doesn’t believe that this strategy would be
good to Minotauro. “That thing that game helps don’t
exist, there’s no easy fight. In there, there’s no
good fight, it’s tough”, the champion said.
With Brock Lesnar with na injury and Shane Carwin to fight with
Frank Mir for the interim title, a victory over Cain could put
the Brazilian right on the fight for the title. Check below the
complete card of UFC 108, that will have Minotauro and Wanderlei
Silva in action, and stay tuned on TATAME to more news about
Ultimate.
COMPLETE CARD:
UFC 110
Sidney, Australia
Saturday, February 21, 2010
- Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez;
- Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva;
- Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell;
- Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine;
- Stephan Bonnar vs. Krzysztof Soszynski;
- C.B. Dollaway vs. Goran Reljic;
- Dong Hyun Kim vs. Chris Lytle;
- Chris Haseman vs. Elvis Sinosic;
- James Te Huna vs. Igor Pokrajac.
Source: Tatame
|
Remy
Bonjasky Turns Down Rematch with Badr Hari
by Fraser
Coffeen
Big news coming out of the It's Showtime camp today - Remy Bonjasky
has declined to face Badr Hari in the main event of the company's
big Amsterdam ArenA show next year. This would of course be the
much anticipated rematch to last year's Grand Prix finale and
a match fans are eager to see.
It's
Showtime officials offered the fight to Bonjasky, however the
former GP champion turned it down, stating that after the footstomp
incident he received threatening letters from Hari's fans that
disturbed him and his family. Because of this, he is unwilling
to face Hari (and deal with his fans) again.
Current
rumors indicate that Gokhan Saki may step in as Hari's opponent
in the main event, however that remains unconfirmed.
Truly,
this is unfortunate news, and is certainly not going to earn
Bonjasky any fans.
Source: Head Kick Legend
|
After
Injury Plagued Year Cavalcante Looking to 2010
By Kelsey Mowatt
In a just a few days the collaborative efforts of FEG and World
Victory Road will bring MMA fans the latest Dynamite!! card,
and the New Year’s Eve event, as always, is set to feature
many notable competitors. Unfortunately for Gesias “JZ”
Cavalcante, however, the renowned lightweight will watch the
event from the sidelines, as the American Top Team fighter continues
to recover from a knee injury. When Cavalcante was forced to
withdraw from his scheduled October 6th bout with Daisuke Nakamura
because of the injury, the 26 year-old-fighter had originally
hoped that the fight could be moved to the Dynamite event. But
as Cavalcante is quick to concede, pushing an injury to get back
in the ring, has cost the 14-3-1 fighter in the past.
“I decided to take a break,” Cavalcante told FCF. “I
had the injury so I had to pull out and I don’t want to
rush anything. I think I made a mistake during this year doing
those things you know? Trying to push my body harder than I could.
I’m trying to be smart so I don’t do the same mistake
again. So I’m taking a break so that I’ll be a hundred
percent.”
“I’m
still young,” Cavalcante added. “I don’t need
to push it you know? I have at least 5, 10 more years to fight.”
“JZ”
last competed in May, when he dropped a Unanimous Decision to
Tatsuya Kawajiri at Dream’s ninth event. The bout was Cavalcante’s
first since April, 2008, when he was defeated for just the second
time in his career, losing by UD to current Dream champion Shinya
Aoki. After further entrenching his international presence in
2007, by defeating the likes of Andre Amado and Vitor Ribeiro,
2008 was also a year where Cavalcante was plauged by injuries.
Now it appears as though the ATT fighter could be set to go another
12 months without fighting.
“I
think April or May,” said Cavalcante, while discussing a
possible return date. “I think that would be a good time
where I can be back in training, improve all areas, and come
back stronger. Try to bring something new to the table.”
According
to Cavalcante he believes he has two more bouts on his current
contract with Dream; a deal that has seen the Brazilian continue
to compete in Japan, where the lightweight has fought exclusively
since 2006. Due to the organization’s ongoing partnership
with Strikeforce, several notable fighters from Dream like Ronaldo
“Jacare” Souza, have recently signed with the American
promotion and competed in the U.S.
“Yeah
for sure man,” said Cavalcante, when asked if the prospect
of fighting for Strikeforce interests him. “Especially because
Strikeforce and Dream are working together kind of. I’m
going to keep fighting in Japan and if I could fight here so
that more people would know me, get more popular here in America,
that’s my home, it would be awesome. I wouldn’t have
to fly 17 hours, with jet lag, all of those things would be easier
here. I have my fans here; take my family to watch me fight,
for sure I would be interested.”
And
as far as Cavalcante’s aspirations for 2010?
“For
me the next year is always going to be better,” the lightweight
told FCF. “I always look forward to the next year and I
hope that it’s going to be the best year. That I’ll
have the best fights. You know I’ve had a tough year with
the fighting, but my day life has been good, so I have nothing
to complain about. Fighting is everything for me. I do what I
love. I’m doing the right thing; taking the break. Now I
find out what I did wrong, I’ve adjusted to all those things,
to do better, now I feel better.”
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Lineup
for Injury-Riddled UFC 108 Finalized
The revolving door of UFC 108 fighters has stopped spinning for
now. Zuffa announced the complete 11-fight lineup for the event
Monday, less than two weeks before its scheduled Jan. 2 date
at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Former
UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and top contender
Thiago Silva will headline the card. Evans (13-1-1) is returning
from the first loss of his professional career and will try to
reestablish himself as a contender in the 205-pound division.
Silva
(14-1) shares at least one thing in common with Evans: They suffered
their only defeats, both by way of knockout, to current champion
Lyoto Machida in 2009. Silva has been dominant since migrating
to the UFC, rattling off five wins in six bouts and asserting
himself as a force in the division.
Should
the American Top Team product win, he might just find his way
into the rematch he so desires. Evans, on the other hand, is
slated to face bitter rival Quinton Jackson if he can pull out
the win. The two were scheduled to fight at UFC 107 before Jackson
pulled out to co-star in the movie rendition of the “A-Team.”
Up-and-coming
welterweight Dustin Hazelett will finally get to make his much-anticipated
return from knee surgery when he faces talented British striker
Paul Daley in a clash of 170-pound contenders. Hazelett (12-4)
had his original return fight canceled due to opponent Karo Parisyan’s
late withdrawal from their November bout. The talented grappler
last fought over 13 months ago after injuring his knee while
training.
It
will be a stiff test against Daley, who burst onto the UFC scene
in September with a dominant TKO over perennial contender Martin
Kampmann in his promotional debut. Daley (22-8-2) has become
an immediate contender in the welterweight division but may have
his path blocked should teammate Dan Hardy defeat champion Georges
St. Pierre in March.
Rising
heavyweight prospect Junior dos Santos will meet Pride veteran
Gilbert Yvel in what should be a violent clash of big men. Dos
Santos (9-1) has been virtually untouchable since joining the
UFC’s heavyweight division, pinning stoppage wins over Fabricio
Werdum, Stefan Struve and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic
to his resume. A victory over Yvel could position him well in
the division, which is currently in flux due to Brock Lesnar’s
health issues.
Yvel
(36-13-1) is a true veteran of the sport and showed he still
has something left to give when he took Josh Barnett the distance
last January before knocking out Pedro Rizzo in his last bout.
This will be Yvel’s first appearance for the UFC.
UFC
108 will be a family affair for Joe and Dan Lauzon. The brothers
will take on Sam Stout and Cole Miller respectively. Joe is returning
from knee surgery and will fight for the first time in 11 months
while Dan will be making his first Octagon appearance since 2006.
After losing to Spencer Fisher as an 18-year-old, Dan has fought
his way back to the big show by racking up eight consecutive
wins.
Source: Sherdog
|
Langhi
plans to fight MMA in the future
Jiu-Jitsu’s world champion in every belts, Michael Langhi,
24, doesn’t consider himself a phenomenon, besides to have
been on the highest place of the podium in all competitions that
he participated in 2009.
Chosen the highlight of the year, Langhi told his history on
December’s X-Ray of TATAME Magazine, that’s in all
the newsstands of Brazil. Ex capoeira partner, friend and fan
of Rubens Charles “Cobrinha”, the black belt talked
about the beginning on the mats, the relationship with Fernando
Tererê and revealed the interest to follow the MMA way.
“I
think that’s natural today, even because MMA gives much
more money than Jiu-Jitsu. I don’t think different, I have
this will, I always watch UFC on weekend and I’d like to
feel that adrenaline”, Michael told, saying that his priority
is still Jiu-Jitsu. “I think that’s not my moment yet,
I still have a lot to show on Jiu-Jitsu and Submission, but in
the future would be nice”.
Source: Tatame
|
Recently
Released Jake Rosholt Admits to Getting UFC Call Too Early
By Ariel
Helwani
Ariel Helwani is a Video Reporter and Writer for FanHouse
Things weren't supposed to happen this way for Jake Rosholt.
The four-time collegiate All-American wrestler and three-time
Div. I national champion at Oklahoma State University entered
the UFC with a perfect 5-0 record in February. But after losing
his second in three fights to Kendall Grove at UFC 106 last month,
the UFC released him.
Rosholt
was recently a guest on The MMA Hour, and he admitted to not
being ready to fight in the UFC so early in his career and wishing
he had just a little more time to hone his skills before fighting
the organization's top middleweights.
"I
absolutely think that it was too early, and it wasn't my decision,
really," Rosholt said. "You know, I signed a five-fight
contract with the WEC, and it wasn't but two weeks after I signed
my contract that I was hearing rumors that they were going to
shut [the middleweight division] down and switch it over to the
UFC. So I got one fight in the WEC.
"I
think if I get those five fights in the WEC, so I would probably
still have a fight left on my WEC contract right now and be fighting
in that [organization] and then moving on to the UFC, I think
I would have been in a much better situation. But it's just how
it worked out and I got into the UFC. I think that I am capable
of winning all the fights that I lost in the UFC, it just didn't
happen -- it didn't go my way. But right now, God's got a plan
for my life and it wasn't to be fighting in the UFC right now,
but it will all work its way out."
Rosholt's
first loss came via first-round submission to Dan Miller in his
Octagon debut. He rebounded by submitting Chris Leben in the
third round of their UFC 102 fight in August, but prior to that
point, he had not looked particularly good against Leben, who
had not competed in over 10 months due to a steroid suspension.
The
Team Takedown member said he had no idea his job was on the line
going into the Grove fight, but had a feeling his UFC run would
come to an end after his disappointing performance.
"I
give props to Kendall. What he did was really nice, and it was
a sweet setup to a triangle," he said.
"I
could fight the choke much, much better. You know, I'm pretty
difficult in the gym to choke out and I just do a lot better
job of fighting. I think out there in front of the lights and
in front of the crowd, that I just kind of panicked, and lost
my head."
Rosholt
says his manager Ted Ernhardt was told by UFC matchmaker Joe
Silva that the door has not fully closed on his UFC career, and
should he string together a few impressive wins in a row, he
could very well find himself fighting again in the Octagon.
And
while Ernhardt has talked to "everyone from Bellator to
Strikeforce to some small promotions," Rosholt is leaning
towards playing the field next year just so that he isn't tied
to any single organization if or when the UFC comes calling again.
"I
think our direction right now is probably not going to be to
go to Strikeforce or anywhere like that. I don't really want
to get tied down in a long-term contract. I just want to fight
fight-to-fight just in case an opportunity arises that the UFC
calls and I may be able to get back in there with them.
"I
think we're going to try to go and get some good fights for me
in some not high-profile name organizations so I can get some
experience and keep getting better. Basically, what I'm trying
to do is trying to get back into the UFC."
For
now, Rosholt, who expects to fight again come February, is licking
his wounds. He says this is the first time he has been cut from
anything in his life, and it doesn't feel good. That said, he's
remaining positive because he knows that at 27 years old there
will be plenty more opportunities to prove that he can translate
his successful collegiate career into a dominant run in MMA.
"It's
not the end of the road for me -- this is just the beginning
of my career. It's just a bump in the road, and I'll be back
fighting in the UFC some day. I just got to go out now and get
some more experience and get some more wins under my belt. More
than anything, it just hurts my pride. I've never been cut from
anything in my life. So it was a little bit hard to swallow,
and I love fighting in the UFC. I want to get back there someday
and I will with more experience and a little bit of time. I'll
get back in there and I'll be better off because of this."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
The
Top 10 Stories of the Past 10 Years
by Jake Rossen
Financially and functionally, the mixed martial arts scene of
the 1990s had the organization of an upended wastebasket. There
are moments valued with nostalgia -- if you need a remedial course
on Royce Gracie’s influence or the proliferation of opposing
styles, grab a book -- but on the whole, it was just one big
experimental phase, with everyone searching for the sense in
a superficially disgusting sport. To stage a show without being
chased out of town or arrested was considered an achievement.
This is not an environment that thrives on survival, not invention.
Beginning
in 2000, the changes were very nearly immediate. (And for the
purposes of this article, convenient.) Fighters began to understand
layered training, and policymakers were finally clued in to the
idea that an uptick in cage fights was never referenced in Revelation.
Distanced from the label of ruining civilization, the sport was
free to make its own kind of history. More than just being a
key decade in mixed-fighting, it’s really been the only
decade.
There’s
really no viable way of boiling down 10 years of stories -- life,
death, trends, competition -- into a single list. It would almost
be preferable to throw out 100 events and let readers prioritize
them. But it’s the holidays, and time is short, so what
follows are the 10 stories that kept coming to the surface in
examining what really shook the fight industry from 2000-2009.
(And by examining, I mean to say, “Staring at a giant toy
Octagon until the Chinese food came.”)
The
10 stories that mattered most:
10. The New Year’s Eve Wars in Japan (2001-Present)
It’s
easy to be the only bakery on the block. You set your own hours,
pick your own weddings and charge whatever you like. There’s
no nudge from competition.
Give
a customer options, though, and that’s when things get hot.
In MMA, that was the arrival of the end-of-year spectaculars
in Japan, when promotions from Dream Stage (which housed Pride),
K-1, Inoki and others began to angle for a slice of the staggering
television market. (In Japan, New Year’s Eve is big for
television.) Top fighters were booked, and sometimes stolen wholesale,
from under the noses of competing promotions; actors and other
ill-equipped celebrities became grappling dummies. While some
matches made little sense to Western audiences, it was a mega-budget,
mega-high risk game of chicken that forced multiple companies
into promoting some absolutely terrific fights.
Although
Pride’s demise and waning interest in fighting overseas
has largely dimmed the competition, Fedor Emelianenko continues
to talk of the night in spirited, reverential terms. As well
he should: He’s a five-time veteran.
9.
Gina Carano (2007-Present)
Not
women’s MMA, but Gina Carano. An important distinction.
Prior
to Carano’s EliteXC debut in 2007, the idea of hosting female
fighters was seen as too absurdly progressive for a sport that
still nauseated a good portion of mass media. If they couldn’t
accept men exchanging blood, observers figured, seeing a woman
mounted and pummeled might be cause for a defibrillator.
“Conviction”
-- the daughter of football great Glen Carano -- rejected that
sexist attitude not by challenging it, but by ignoring it. She
conducted herself as a fighter, displaying sharp skills in the
ring and presenting herself as an articulate personality outside
of it. Her looks? Absolutely a factor, but curiosity would’ve
quickly given way to disgust if she had nothing to offer as an
athlete.
It’s
rare for any sports figure to have the weight of an entire genre
on their shoulders. Even Ali, in rewriting boxing’s history,
was still toiling in an institution that had a past before him
and would have a future after him. But try to find even one piece
about the females of the sport without a mention of Carano. She
didn’t just define a division: She was the division.
8.
The Death of Evan Tanner (2008)
Heath
Herring once told me that, while mired in the Texas circuit,
he came out for a fight with Evan Tanner in a ring set up over
a dirt-encrusted rodeo floor. A year later, Tanner was in Japan
and Pancrase. A year after that, he was in the UFC. For a man
who started learning the intricacies of submission fighting through
videotapes, eventually achieving a winning stretch in the UFC
that culminated with a middleweight title in 2005, he was a better
fighter than he probably had any right to be.
As
he got older and fell in and out of shape, Tanner took to posting
bizarre confessionals online, writing candidly about his issues
with alcohol and diluting motivation. Seeing him in a Grizzly
Adams beard, pickaxe slung over his shoulder, you got the sense
that he wanted out of his own skin.
Tanner
was found dead in September 2008, victim of extraordinary heat
conditions during an ill-planned trek through Southern California
desert territory. His sport had never really known tragedy in
a face so familiar to them; the morbid nature of his death brought
up issues about whether athletes were being as psychologically
battered as they were physically -- whether some hike so far
away from their sense of self-preservation that they never find
their way back home.
7. Lee Murray (2002-Present)
If
you can’t get enough of prizefighting and crime stories,
the idea of a talented puncher wrapped up in one of the biggest
money heists in history should be enough to completely arrest
your attention. And it did: Lee Murray’s hop from mid-card
attraction to antihero seized headlines from ESPN, Sports Illustrated
and a full-length book, “Heist,” which documents Murray’s
(alleged) master plan to walk away with over $92 million in bank
robbery winnings. He fled to Morocco; he was thrown in prison;
he walked out of prison; he bought tacky, gold-plated furnishings;
he inspired a kind of perverse reverence among observers who
had to admire his audacity. Murray is not the sport’s only
personality, but he’s perhaps the only one worth making
a movie about. And that’s coming soon.
6.
The Irony of ‘Rampage’ (2008)
What
really breaks your neck in fighting: Saturday, you’re somebody.
Sunday, you’re just another body. Quinton Jackson, a man
who had come from neighborhoods more dangerous than cages, learned
that lesson the hard way when he lost a five-round decision to
heavy underdog Forrest Griffin in a summer 2008 UFC title match.
After
knocking out Chuck Liddell and knocking back Dan Henderson, Jackson
looked to be settling in for a lengthy run: Griffin countered
those expectations by pulling Jackson into a dog fight, scoring
with kicks and frustrating Jackson with sheer persistence. Ten
days later, Jackson was careening down a California roadway,
evading police and risking the lives of pedestrians in an attempt
to cure his ill feelings.
It
nearly left him with another title: the first UFC fighter to
suffer death by misadventure. TMZ hasn’t missed a step since.
5.
The Death of Sam Vasquez (2007)
For
all the macho boasting about killing, being ready to die and
training like the devil was chasing you, athletes can’t
really take enough punishment from four-ounce gloves to actually
expire. (They’ll bleed or go to sleep first.) The two that
did -- Douglas Dedge in 1998 and a Korean fighter known to stateside
press as “Lee” in 2005 -- received little attention
beyond some borderline-selfish fretting over what the incidents
would “do” to the sport’s reputation. And besides,
supporters reasoned, Dedge and his other trivia partner were
halfway around the world. Who knows what precautions were taken?
The
death of Sam Vasquez was different: It transpired in Houston
under the eye of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation,
and at a time when mixed martial arts was finally entering its
adolescence. Vasquez was said to have had a blood clot going
into the bout; his opponent, Vince Libardi, inadvertently aggravated
it, and a comatose Vasquez died in the hospital 42 days later.
The
predicted hysteria over the gorehound nature of the sport never
came; even bullying journalists had to acknowledge one death
in North America after 14 years of regular competition was statistically
insignificant. That’s little consolation to Vasquez’s
family.
4. Mark Kerr (2001)
Sports
from basketball to boxing have had the benefit of provocative
documentaries made about their personalities: it's impossible
to view collegiate athletics -- and the passing smoke of NBA
potential -- quite the same after "Hoop Dreams," and
it's difficult to fully understand Ali's cultural imprint without
a viewing of "When We Were Kings."
It's
far from perfect, but John Hyams' "Smashing Machine,"
which premiered on HBO in January 2001, was the first sternly
critical look of what men do in order to compete at the highest
levels of violent spectacle. Mark Kerr, who had been feared in
Brazil, the U.S. and Japan for years, trusted Hyams enough to
bare his soul for cameras. He shot in painkillers, collapsed
in emotional agony after losses and eventually found himself
near-comatose in a hospital bed, sobbing as friends begged him
to stop polluting his body with under-the-counter courage. “Machine”
was the first real proof this sport would make its share of monsters.
3.
Bob Sapp (2002-2009)
Both
Kimbo Slice and Brock Lesnar proved to have appeal far outside
the normal fan circles, bringing in millions in revenue that
might otherwise be lost to other outlets. (That UFC 100 pay-per-view
just happened to be the cost of a video game -- and yes, some
consumers need to make that choice.) And there is danger in omitting
them from a list like this one. But in crunching hard numbers,
no one -- not Lesnar, not Slice, not even the mighty Jose Canseco
-- can compare to the elevation of Bob Sapp in Japan.
Sapp,
who spun a well-worn story about being an NFL benchwarmer who
once blacked out his windows out of depression, played to that
country's bare instincts: They were absolutely in awe of a 375-pound
giant who snarled at cameras, had shoulders like bowling balls,
forearms like pins and an affected laugh -- Hah, Hah, HAH!"
-- that tickled everyone in diapers to dorms.
Sapp's
celebrity became exaggerated to the point that he couldn't cross
the street without congesting traffic. He recorded albums. Hundreds
of products bared his image: You could lose your paycheck on
a Sapp slot machine, cry into your Sapp pillow, then take a Sapp
multivitamin to snap out of it. Accounting for size and cultural
context, it is not much of an exaggeration to call him the fifth,
sixth and seventh Beatle.
At
his height, 54 million viewers tuned in to watch Sapp exchange
with the top-heavy Akebono in 2003. But that level of audience
euphoria had a price: Publicity demands siphoned from Sapp training
time, and later encounters with real, hungry professionals frequently
ended with him getting hurt. Today, the sun is setting on that
insane appeal. He's down to a few dozen people following him
on the street.
2.
The Death of Pride (2007)
There
is something strictly mercenary about the absorption of the competition.
Driving a rival company into bankruptcy is fine, but to seize
their assets and control their future -- however short -- is
a different kind of achievement.
In
a war fought primarily on message boards, Zuffa’s UFC product
in the first half of the decade was largely found lacking against
the talent pool and spectacle of Dream Stage Entertainment’s
Pride brand. 10,000-seat arenas in Vegas? Pride could pull 20,000
or 30,000. The best fighters in the world? Chuck Liddell was
squashed by Quinton Jackson in an attempt at synergy. Observers
delighted in painting a picture of the UFC as the hayseed product
to Pride’s polished chrome.
While
a good bit of Pride’s legacy has been lost to excessive
nostalgia -- the promotion had its share of brutally boring,
brutally stupid fights -- there was no mistaking it for anything
other than a big-budget celebration of martial arts at the highest
levels. But when newspapers began beating drums over alleged
Yakuza involvement in the promotion, TV contracts evaporated;
Zuffa, on solid financial footing thanks to “The Ultimate
Fighter,” digested it whole.
No
one is likely to miss some of Pride’s silliness -- I’m
reminded of Wanderlei Silva fighting a 0-0 Kyokushin karate stylist
-- but the demise of the foreign attraction was really the last
gasp of MMA as a well-kept secret. The UFC was becoming as ubiquitous
as the NFL, and if you didn’t like it, you were officially
out of options.
1. Nevada (2001)
Zuffa’s
purchase of the UFC in January 2001 removed one of the biggest
obstacles to the sport’s survival: Bob Meyrowitz.
The
former owner, who had spent years and millions bailing water
from the franchise, was out of money and patience. He exited
just as MMA had received crucial sanctioning in New Jersey, which
had adopted a form of the Unified Rules in a major-league concession
to the sport’s safety record. Zuffa would go on to put on
good shows, awful shows, great shows, a reality show and an endless
stream of strategic moves that put the company on steady ground.
None
of it would’ve been possible without Nevada’s consent
on July 23, 2001, to sanction mixed martial arts, a unanimous
vote that ended eight years of social and political rejection.
Other commissions who had previously reacted with disgust had
little recourse: Nevada, the most respected athletic body in
the world, had set the standard.
It’s
possible that with the support of both iNDemand -- the pay-per-view
provider who reinstated the UFC after a years-long blackout the
month prior to the approval -- and New Jersey, the UFC could
have found its way without Nevada. But without the financial
support, status and profits of working in the major strip hotels
and casinos, it would’ve been difficult. (Meyrowitz, after
all, couldn’t survive without the state.) To find a bigger
jolt to the fight industry, you’d have to go back to Farnsworth
and the invention of television. It was that important.
Source: Sherdog
|
CHRIS
WILSON MOVES ON, READY FOR A NEW YEAR
by Damon
Martin
"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." –
Vince Lombardi
There
are no guarantees in mixed martial arts, but the only thing that
is a virtual lock to keep a fighter with the Ultimate Fighting
Championship is to rack up victories. After a series of up and
down performances, former Team Quest fighter Chris Wilson was
released from his UFC contract following his last fight. Now
the Brazilian transplant is focusing on the future and building
himself back up again.
Going
1-3 in the UFC was not Wilson's ideal plan, and his last fight
was especially tough as he dropped a submission loss to Mike
Pyle in September.
"I
have seen my fight and as you can imagine I was disappointed
all around," Wilson told MMAWeekly.com. "I feel there
were things I should've done differently and some things that
I physically couldn't overcome by fight time. All in all my effort
fell short. The most I can do is get back to training and do
my best.”
The
loss did result in his eventual exit from the UFC, and Wilson
understood their position. While his long-term goals may or may
not involve the UFC, he just wants to get his career back on
track.
"
Nowadays there really isn't much wiggle room in the UFC and unfortunately
after a couple of consecutive losses it is common to get cut,"
Wilson commented. "I can only assume that if I continue
fighting and do well they may be interested in me again, but
I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. My goal isn't necessarily
to get back into the UFC, but to get my career back on track
and get some wins. When I find a promotion to fight for I will
train hard and fight hard and show the same loyalty and professionalism
I always have to whomever gives me a chance to fight."
Moving
from the United States to Brazil was a major move for Wilson
in the last few years, and now he knows what it takes to be a
successful fighter, more so now than ever before.
"I
have learned more about myself and my fighting style from my
last couple of fights than I have in the rest of my career,"
stated Wilson. "The way my training and fights have unfolded
have taught me a lot about myself mentally and physically. I've
learned some big lessons recently. There are some pretty minor
yet extremely meaningful changes I need to make and they are
already being handled."
Working
at the Nogueira brothers' gym in Brazil, Wilson is focused on
getting his fight career back on track and putting 2009 behind
him.
"Honestly,
I'm just excited for 2009 to be over. I know that sounds bad,
but I have to be honest, it has been the worst year I can remember,"
he said. "I have had some unbelievable issues throughout
the year both in my personal life and my career. I'm just excited
for the sun to come up in 2010. I am very hopeful to find a promotion
to fight for and come back and fight to my potential. I believe
I can still make a bad day for any welterweight and I am anxious
to prove it."
Chris
Wilson would also like to thank the people that have supported
him this year, "a big thank you to my sponsors Born Stronger,
Throwdown, RevGear, MMA Authority and AdapTx Labs. Also, Nate
Quarry helped me in a pinch, thanks man, I owe you one."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Dynamite
12/31 Saitama Super Arena
By Zach
Arnold
DREAM
vs. Sengoku
¦Kazuo
Misaki vs. Melvin Manhoef
¦Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Masanori Kanehara
¦Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Akihiro Gono
¦Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Izumi
¦Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Michihiro Omigawa
¦Hideo Tokoro vs. Marlon Sandro
¦Alistair Overeem vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
¦Shin’ya Aoki vs. Mizuto Hirota
¦Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazunori Yokota
K-1 matches
¦Ray
Sefo vs. Yosuke Nishijima
¦Final match: Masato vs. Andy Souwer
MMA matches
¦Hidehiko
Yoshida vs. Satoshi Ishii
¦Super Hulk Tournament finals: Minowaman vs. Sokoudjou
Source: Fight Opinion
|
MMA
Vet Goodridge Returning January 9th
By FCF Staff
The
MMA Big Show promotion has announced that MMA pioneer Gary "Big
Daddy" Goodridge will return to competition January 9th,
at the organization's upcoming "New Dawn" event in
Belterra, Indianna. Goodridge will face undefeated superheavyweight
Ron Sparks. The card will take place at the Belterra Casino and
will also feature a bout between Luke Zachrich and Byron Sutton
for the promotion's light-heavyweight title.
Goodridge
(23-19-1) has not participated in a MMA bout since November,
2008, when he was submitted by current Strikeforce Heavyweight
Champion Alistair Overeem at an Ultimate Glory event. The loss
was the Canadian fighter's 4th in a row. Goodridge's last win
came in March, 2007, when he stopped the experienced kickboxer
Jan Nortje in the first round at a K-1 Hero's event. The soon
to be 44 year-old-fighter began competing professionally in 1996,
as Goodridge won his MMA debut in memorable fashion, knocking
out Paul Herrera with a series of elbows at UFC 8.
"I’m
doing my research on Ron. He’s a big muscle-bound guy, he’s
very entertaining to look at, and it’s going to be like
a young buck taking on the old lion. I know Ron has a really
good right hand, so I’ve been training with boxers quite
a bit, including a Canadian boxing champ. I have my game plan,
and I’m going to try to stick to it, but everything changes
once you get hit," Goodridge was quoted saying on the promotion's
official website.
The 6'5, 285lb. Sparks has won all five of his MMA bouts to date.
Most recently the superheavyweight earned a Unanimous Decision
victory over Jonathan Ivey at a Maximum Impact card in June.
Prior to the decision victory, Mann had won four straight fights
by TKO or KO.
"Trust
me, we’re going to go down swinging. There will be no tap-outs,
and it will be a quick one. We’ve both been training hard,
so stay tuned, and don’t blink," Sparks said in the
press release. "It’s an honor to get it on with him.
He’s a UFC vet, a legend, and I’ve been a big fan of
his. I’ve watched him for a long time, and I’m going
to do my best to win. I don’t talk a lot of trash, and I
believe in being respectful of the guy getting in there. It’s
definitely an honor to be in the cage with Gary Goodridge."
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
4-Pronged
Plan for Strikeforce Takeover
by Tomas
Rios
Despite sharing its name with a 1980s World Wrestling Entertainment
tag team, Strikeforce has emerged as the top threat to the UFC’s
chokehold on the sport. With arguably the world’s best fighter,
Fedor Emelianenko, in its employ, a broadcast deal with Showtime
and CBS and the cash flow to keep the show above water, Strikeforce
appears uniquely positioned to pull off a coup that would completely
alter the future of the sport.
After
watching one of its would-be standard bearers get knocked out
by a UFC castaway at “Evolution” on Saturday in San
Jose, Calif., it has become obvious that Strikeforce has made
some strategic errors in its ongoing climb up the ladder. However,
they’re mistakes that can be solved with some smarts and
old-school cutthroat business tactics. While I don’t have
an MBA and immediately fall asleep anytime I accidentally flip
to a business news show, I’ve seen enough promotions collapse
to know what it takes to survive and thrive in the game.
What
follows is a four-part plan of attack for the good folks at Strikeforce,
which looks to be in need of some direction after the demise
of the Cung Le mystique. Just follow the strategy and watch the
money stack; feel free to repay me in the form of gold rope chains
and exotic animals. I always wanted a Komodo dragon to call my
own.
Part
One: Le, Shamrock Old News
The
sight of Le simultaneously gassing and getting knocked out by
Scott Smith was a reality check for the entire Strikeforce front
office. Battling for market share with the UFC means making wise
decisions, and none are more important than being judicious about
who you make your star attraction. Picking a 37-year-old Sanshou
convert who seems more concerned with combat choreography than
actual fighting to headline shows was never a good idea.
Demonizing
Strikeforce for bringing in someone who puts butts in seats may
sound foolish, but there comes a time when you have to realize
that someone like Le will never lead you to the Promised Land
once legitimate competition starts lining up. The smart thing
to do would have been to pit Le against someone like incumbent
middleweight champion Jake Shields or save him for Dan Henderson’s
impending debut with the organization. One way or another, Le’s
star power would have been sacrificed to an elite middleweight
around which Strikeforce could have built its promotion.
This
is hardly a game-breaker for Strikeforce, but it’s a lesson
it needed to learn now rather than later. With a roster highlighted
by brilliant young talents such as Muhammed Lawal and Tyron Woodley,
there’s really no need to make stars out of fighters on
the wrong side of 35, especially when they act like they have
better things to do than train. Strikeforce doesn’t suffer
from the dearth of talent that has crippled most would-be challengers
to the UFC’s crown, but if it doesn’t start using that
talent wisely, it will waste an awful lot of money trying to
convince fans that Le and Frank Shamrock are worth the price
of a Showtime subscription.
Part
Two: No More Mr. Nice Promotion
Business
is a nasty game, and playing nice will get one nothing but broken
promises and empty seats in the fight game. Now is the time for
Strikeforce to aggressively acquire elite fighters instead of
entering talent-exchange programs that perpetually leave it wondering
when Dream will be nice enough to send a live body. Don’t
get me wrong. I love watching Marius Zaromskis turn brains to
mush as much as the next guy, but the lay fan has pretty much
no familiarity with the Lithuanian headhunter.
Imagine
the nightmare scenario in waiting if Zaromskis beats Nick Diaz
next month for the Strikeforce welterweight crown and then suffers
a long-term injury preparing for his next match in Dream. These
aren’t the kinds of variables Strikeforce needs right now,
and the only solution is to cut ties with Dream. We already saw
Strikeforce snatch Dan Henderson from the UFC, and it’s
high time it starts luring talent from Japan by using established
relationships across the Pacific.
It
will always be a battle to get elite Japanese fighters to leave
the comforts of home, but martial artists like Zaromskis, Eddie
Alvarez and Joachim Hansen will invariably follow the money.
By making those fighters exclusive talent, it would allow Strikeforce
to develop them properly without dealing with the inherent headaches
of a talent-exchange program. It’s no secret the UFC got
shafted by trading talent with Pride, and it’s only a matter
of time before making friends with the competition becomes more
trouble than it’s worth for Strikeforce.
Part
Three: Learn, Evolve, Adapt, Steal
Regardless
of what UFC President Dana White says, the UFC does make mistakes,
and it’s dealing with a significant one right now. Rapid
expansion has led to a bloated roster that features many fighters
fans no longer care to follow. Strikeforce’s roster remains
relatively streamlined, but as it starts promoting more shows,
being careful about how many fighters come onboard will prove
critical.
While
Strikeforce has a built-in minor league system in its Challengers
Series, it has yet to produce a quality prospect outside of Woodley.
A perplexing fact since fellow upstart promotion Bellator Fighting
Championships managed to lock up top-shelf prospects like Ben
Askren and Jacob McClintock despite an unwieldy tournament-based
format that has left its current champions on the sidelines since
June.
Hoarding
talent like the UFC invariably creates problems, but signing
as many exciting young fighters as possible remains a smart investment
in the future for a company that often seems far too focused
on the present. Stealing the competition’s game plan and
steering clear of its mistakes is the only way Strikeforce will
stay alive, and it desperately needs to start showing the savvy
to do so.
Part
Four: Hit Them Where It Hurts
Having
two high-profile broadcast deals is a boon for any promotion,
but there’s a reason why the UFC puts on at least a dozen
pay-per-views a year. Simply put, PPV is the easiest way to generate
Master P money and strike some fear in the UFC by putting a dent
in its sales.
Building
an addiction by giving fans free shows is a smart move, and the
time is nearing when PPV will be the next logical step for a
promotion that has grown at an incredible rate in barely three
years time. It’s a move that will come with significant
risks, but a loaded Strikeforce card can sell out the same venues
as the UFC, and scheduling it the same month as a weak UFC show
would force fans to choose between value and name brand.
It’s
hard to imagine an injury-ravaged card like UFC 102 outselling
a Strikeforce offering anchored by Emelianenko, Henderson, Gegard
Mousasi and the rest of its big-ticket talent. If Strikeforce
is serious about making a game-changing move, PPV is the only
way to make it happen. The resources are there, but it remains
to be seen if Strikeforce has the guts to take on the UFC on
its home turf.
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
"If
you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint,"
then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced."
Vincent Van Gogh
|
Semmy
Schilt: K-1 Heavyweight of the Decade
By Michael David Smith
1. Semmy Schilt
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
K-1 Regional Wins: K-1 in Paris 2005
Key Wins This Decade: Ernesto Hoost 2005, Glaube Feitosa 2005,
Peter Aerts 2006, Peter Aerts 2007, Ray Sefo 2007, Jerome LeBanner
2008, Badr Hari 2009
No fighter has dominated an era in K-1 history like four-time
champion Semmy Schilt. The High Tower from Holland is, quite
simply, the most powerful K-1 champion in history and a man who
dominated the last ten years by breaking K-1's most time-honored
records.
Schilt's
four K-1 Grand Prix tournament victories is matched only by Ernesto
Hoost, but the difference is that Schilt has two of the top three
fastest Grand Prix victories of all time (first fastest and third
fastest) and won four crowns in four Grand Prix appearances,
a feat Hoost cannot match.
Schilt's
5:52 romp through the stacked 2009 Grand Prix tournament is a
feat that will most likely never be bettered, smashing Peter
Aerts's 1998 Grand Prix record winning time of 6:43. In winning
his fourth Grand Prix title, Schilt also remains the only repeat
champion in Grand Prix history to never lose a Grand Prix match
(he is now 12-0 in the K-1 Grand Prix tournament). Indeed, if
you include his win in the 2005 K-1 GP in Paris tournament, Schilt
becomes the only fighter in K-1 history to hold a perfect tournament
record.
In
2007 Schilt became the first ever K-1 World Super Heavyweight
100+ kilogram champion when he knocked out Ray Sefo (Schilt became
the first fighter to KO Sefo cold in K-1 competition).
Between
September 2006 and June 2008, Schilt set another record for the
longest winning streak in K-1 history with 13 fights undefeated,
eclipsing Peter Aerts's 12-fight winning streak set between 1993
and 1996.
Consider
also the fact that Schilt has disposed of four K-1 Grand Prix
champions, with stoppages of Mark Hunt, Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky
and two decision wins over Peter Aerts.
2.
Remy Bonjasky
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: 2003, 2004, 2008
K-1 Regional Wins: K-1 in Las Vegas 2003
Key Wins This Decade: Musashi 2003, Musashi 2004, Hong Mann Choi
2005, Glaube Feitosa 2007, Badr Hari 2007, Jerome LeBanner 2008
Often
over looked as an all-time great in favour of Hoost, Aerts and
Schilt, Bonjasky has captured three K-1 Grand Prix crowns in
six years making him the second most dominant K-1 fighter of
the last decade. Even more impressive is the fact that since
making his K-1 debut in 2001, Bonjasky has only lost eleven fights
– an amazing win/loss ratio for a fighter constantly competing
at the highest level.
Bonjasky's
back-to-back wins in the 2003 and 2004 Grand Prix's are regarded
as the weakest wins in the sport's history. However respect needs
to be granted to Bonjasky who still had the fortitude to win
back-to-back titles in two long and punishing tournaments (his
2004 title took a record 36 minutes to win). Four years later
he would claim a third title in 2008 in a tremendously strong
line up in which he spectacularly KO'd two opponents before being
gifted a win in the final over Badr Hari – even then it
should not be forgotten that Bonjasky did drop Hari during that
fight. Bonjasky's three semi-final appearances in the Grand Prix
(2005, 2007, 2009) are also testament to his being one of K-1's
most consistent performers.
While
Bonjasky has never come close to attaining a world record winning
streak, his winning streaks have been impressive in the last
nine years of K-1 competition and include an 8-fight win streak
between 2003 and 2004; a seven-fight streak between 2004 and
2005 including two wins over former boxing world champions Frans
Botha and Ray Mercer; a six-fight streak between 2006 and 2007;
and an awesome nine-fight streak between 2008 and 2009 including
wins over Melvin Maenhoff (twice), Jerome LeBanner, Gokhan Saki,
Badr Hari and Alistair Overeem.
A
consistent performer who knows how to win tournament fights as
well as he does single matches, Bonjasky has only ever been stopped
four times by three different men, being Errol Paris in 2002;
Mirko Cro Cop in 2002; and Semmy Schilt in 2005 and 2009.
3.
Ernesto Hoost
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002
K-1 Regional Wins: K-1 World GP in Melbourne 2001
Key Wins This Decade: Jerome LeBanner 2002, Mark Hunt 2001, Matt
Skelton 2001, Ray Sefo 2000, Mirko Cro Cop 2000
Though
there is good argument to be made for Ernesto Hoost as the greatest
K-1 fighter of all time, this article is examining performances
between 2000 and 2009 and as such Mr Perfect cannot feature at
the top of the list.
Hoost
kicked off the decade with a thrilling win of his third Grand
Prix crown in 2000 over Ray Sefo in the final and captured his
fourth title (with some luck after losing to Bob Sapp in the
quarter final stage) in 2002 against Jerome LeBanner in the final.
Also in this era of Hoost dominance, let's not forget his win
in the K-1 World Grand Prix in Melbourne tournament in which
he defeated Mark Hunt in the semi finals and Matt Skelton in
the final.
Speculation
can be made that had Hoost not been sidelined with illness during
the Bonjasky reign of 2003/2004, he may have won more Grand Prix
crowns. That is all speculation, however, and the fact remains
that Hoost never went close to winning another Grand Prix after
his 2002 victory, especially when K-1 entered the Schilt era,
a man to whom Hoost lost twice and drew with once.
Between
2000 and 2002 Hoost went on a brilliant 11-fight winning streak
including wins over Mirko Cro Cop, Francisco Filho and Musashi.
It can also be speculated what may have been had he not broken
his foot in his 2001 K-1 Grand Prix quarter final win over Stefan
Leko and fought Mark Hunt again in the semi finals, after having
beaten Hunt earlier that year. Hunt would of course go on to
win the crown.
4.
Mark Hunt
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: 2001
K-1 Regional Wins: K-1 Oceania 2000, K-1 Oceania 2001, K-1 in
Fukuoaka 2001
Key Wins This Decade: Hiromi Amada 2001, Adam Watt 2001, Jerome
LeBanner 2001, Francisco Filho 2001, Mike Bernardo 2002
Mark Hunt wasn't in K-1 for a long time but no fighter has quite
shaken up the K-1 world like the Super Samoan did between 2000
an 2003. Indeed in that short time Hunt accomplished more than
almost any other K-1 fighter, winning three regional tournaments,
placing runner up at another regional tournament and, of course,
winning the K-1 Grand Prix on his first attempt as a virtual
unknown.
What
makes Hunt's story so compelling is that only a few years before
he won the K-1 Grand Prix he was scrapping outside of bars in
South Auckland. A bouncer saw Hunt deck a bloke on the street
and offered him a kickboxing fight, which Hunt accepted. Having
no pedigree in boxing, kickboxing or any martial arts, Hunt was
just a big lug with a right hand fashioned from granite and a
jaw to match. He would go on to become the most feared slugger
in the K-1 world and produce a string of legendary matches, including
his epic series against Jerome LeBanner and his war with Ray
Sefo.
Hunt's
2001 Grand Prix win was the biggest Cinderella Story in K-1 history
– indeed I rank it as one of the biggest Cinderella Stories
in fight sports history! Nobody gave Hunt a chance of winning
as he was seemingly there to make up the numbers. Problem was
that someone forgot to show Hunt the script. His 17-punch combination
knockout of a prime Jerome LeBanner was as awesome a spectacle
as ever seen in the Grand Prix, and his two decision wins over
Stefan Leko and Francisco Filho to win the crown showed Hunt's
underrated technical skills.
One
wonders what could have been had Hunt had the discipline to train
hard and fully commit himself to K-1 fighting. He reached the
semi finals of the 2002 Grand Prix and may very well have won
several more GP titles, especially during the Bonjasky 2003/2004
period, which featured opposition tailor-made for Hunt's knockout
prowess.
Hunt
made an ill-fated comeback to K-1 in 2008 with a fight against
Semmy Schilt in which he was knocked out in the first round by
a turning back kick to the midsection.
5.
Musashi
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: None
K-1 Regional Wins: K-1 Japan GP Champion 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003
Key Wins This Decade: Ray Sefo 2003, Peter Aerts 2003, Ray Mercer
2004, Frans Botha 2005, Bob Sapp 2005, Junichi Sawayashiki 2008,
Musashi
doesn't get a lot of air-time in debates about all-time K-1 greats,
but there is no doubt that for the better part of the last decade
Musashi was a headache to all of K-1's elite and lower tier fighters
and one of the sport's most accomplished tournament fighters.
The
K-1 Japan GP tournament is traditionally devoid of marquee names
but has always been one of the hardest tournaments to win. The
fact that Musashi has won this event a record four times, including
three wins at the start of the decade is testament to his incredible
fighting spirit. He also twice found himself runner-up to Remy
Bonjasky for the K-1 World Grand Prix crown in 2003 and more
emphatically in 2004 where he pushed Bonjasky to two extra rounds.
Sure there are the arguments that Musashi was often helped along
by some very questionable judging, but you still cannot deny
Japan's greatest K-1 heavyweight his place in the annals of history
as a big-hearted warrior with tremendous passion and persistence.
6.
Peter Aerts
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: 1994, 1995, 1998
K-1 Regional Wins: None
Key Wins This Decade: Ray Sefo 2000, Alexey Ignashov 2003, Mighty
Mo 2005, Semmy Schilt 2006, Remy Bonjasky 2007, Semmy Schilt
2008
Had
this list been compiled for achievements in the previous decade,
Peter Aerts would most likely be number one. However over the
last ten years, while Aerts was always a threat and among K-1's
elite, he never repeated his successes of the 1990s.
Aerts
makes his way onto this list by competing in every Grand Prix
tournament from 2000 to 2008. He placed runner up twice in 2006
and 2007, both times to Semmy Schilt, and placed third in 2003.
Aerts was also a finalist at the 2003 K-1 in Las Vegas tournament.
Another
reason for Aerts being rated this highly, even though his most
stunning achievements took place in the 1990s, was his incredible
2008 decision win over Semmy Schilt in the Final 16 in Seoul
which kept Schilt out of the Grand Prix and unable to defend
the title he had won in 2007. Indeed that emotional performance
from Aerts showed two things: it taught every other K-1 fighter
how to combat the strengths of Schilt and it signaled to the
watching world that even in the twilight of his illustrious career
Aerts is still a force to be reckoned with. He proved this again
recently against Gokhan Saki in a Grand Prix reserve match in
December 2009, coming up trumps by employing a sound gameplan
and an aggressive nature against a far younger fighter.
7.
Badr Hari
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: None
K-1 Regional Wins: None
Key Wins This Decade: Stefan Leko 2005, Yusuke Fujimoto 2007,
Ruslan Karaev 2007, Peter Aerts 2008, Ray Sefo 2008, Glaube Feitosa
2008, Alistair Overeem 2009
Badr
Hari ranks seventh on my list by way of becoming the first ever
K-1 World Heavyweight –100kg champion in 2007 and a two-time
K-1 World Grand Prix runner up in 2008 and 2009. He also has
the honour of the longest knockout streak in K-1 history with
his 10 wins between 2007 and 2009 all coming by way of KO or
TKO, something even K-1's greatest hitters such as Ray Sefo,
Mike Bernardo, Jerome LeBanner and Peter Aerts never achieved.
Though
Hari's wins haven't translated into Grand Prix success, his accomplishments
since exploding onto the K-1 scene in 2005 cannot be overlooked.
In just four years he has become one of the sport's most popular
commodities, competed in three Grand Prix tournaments, placed
runner up twice and captured the heavyweight world title. If
you include his non-K-1 wins (on It's Showtime) then he has knocked
out two of history's seven K-1 Grand Prix champions (Aerts and
Schilt) and has put together more first round knockout wins in
a shorter time than just about any other K-1 fighter in history.
8.
Jerome LeBanner
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: None
K-1 Regional Wins: K-1 World GP in Nagoya 2000, K-1 World GP
in Osaka 2000
Key Wins This Decade: Ernesto Hoost 2000, Mark Hunt 2002, Musashi
2002, Gary Goodridge 2002, Hong Mann Choi 2007
There is a lot to be said about Jerome LeBanner as arguably the
best K-1 fighter to never win the K-1 Grand Prix. In his eleven
attempts, LeBanner has placed runner-up twice, one of those being
in the last decade when he was less than two minutes away from
capturing the crown against Ernesto Hoost in 2002.
A
Hoost roundkick shattered LeBanner's forearm in that gutsy final
and LeBanner never looked the same since. Indeed the man renowned
for his incredible knockout power never managed to find the short
route to victories as easily this decade as he did back in the
1990s.
LeBanner
finds himself on this list by way of that runner-up placing at
the 2002 Grand Prix and two amazing regional tournament victories.
In 2001 he set a record time in Osaka when he laid waste to Adam
Watt, Pavel Mayer and Ebenezer Fontes Braga in just 4:10 –
the fastest K-1 tournament victory in history! A year earlier
in Nagoya he had dispatched of Mark Hunt, Nicholas Pettas and
Ernesto Hoost in one night.
Had
this been a list of all-time K-1 greats, LeBanner would have
featured much higher. But in recent years, though still active
on the K-1 circuit, he never managed to find the ferocious knockout
power that once made him K-1's most feared fighter. Indeed LeBanner
only has one knockout win in K-1 over the last four years, and
even that was back in 2007 against the miserable Yong Soo Park.
9.
Ray Sefo
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: None
K-1 Regional Wins: None
Key Wins This Decade: Musashi 2000, Cyril Abidi 2000, Mark Hunt
2001, Peter Aerts 2002, Bob Sapp 2004, Ruslan Karaev 2005, Melvin
Maenhoff 2006
Like Jerome LeBanner, Ray Sefo's K-1 career never translated
into success where it mattered most in the Grand Prix. However
also like LeBanner, there was a time when Sefo created an aura
of invincibility and put fear in the hearts of every opponent
with his phenomenal knockout ability.
It
is unfortunate that injury ruled Sefo out of the 2001 Grand Prix
at the very time when his career was peaking and he most likely
would have captured the crown after having placed runner-up to
Ernesto Hoost the previous year. The injury occurred in the fight
which forged Sefo's legacy, against Mark Hunt in Fukuoka in 2001
when the two went to war in a way never seen before and never
seen since. Sefo defeated Hunt in a fight fans still rate as
the greatest in K-1 history but could not continue in the tourney
due to injury, handing Hunt a golden opportunity that lead him
all the way to the Grand Prix crown.
Until
his horror losing streak triggered by the devastating KO loss
to Semmy Schilt in 2007, Sefo remained a long-time threat to
K-1's elite and moreso to new blood entering the scene. Sefo
was often used as a gatekeeper by K-1 Corporation when new fighters
came on the scene: if they could get past Sefo, they had to be
good. Fighters such as Ruslan Karaev and Melvin Maenhoff fell
victim to Sefo's hellacious power, in particular Karaev who was
KO'd in just 37 seconds in Hiroshima in 2005 and in 1:42 in Seoul
in 2006. Maenhoff was KO'd in 40 seconds in 2007.
10.
Alexey Ignashov
K-1 Grand Prix Wins: None
K-1 Regional Wins: K-1 GP in Paris 2001, K-1 GP in Nagoya 2001,
K-1 GP in Belarus 2000
Key Wins This Decade: Nicholas Pettas 2001, Lloyd Van Dams 2001,
Peter Aerts 2002, Cyril Abidi 2003, Mike Bernardo 2003, Alexander
Ustinov 2003, Carter Williams 2004
The last spot up for grabs on this list is a difficult one to
decide. While I award it to Alexey Ignashov (1 x GP semi finalist,
1 x GP quarter finalist, 3 x regional champion), there are four
other superb athletes in my opinion who could all take tenth
place. They are: Francisco Filho (GP runner up, 2 x K-1 regional
champion); Stefan Leko (2 x regional champion, 1 x GP quarter
finalist, 1 x GP semi finalist); Cyril Abidi (2 x GP semi finalist,
1 x regional champion) and Ruslan Karaev (4 x GP quarter finalist,
2 x regional champion).
Ignashov
makes my list by way of being such a major player in the K-1
world at the start of the decade. Indeed before the emergence
of Badr Hari on the K-1 scene in 2005, Ignashov was the man as
I touted as being the most naturally gifted fighter I've seen.
Had a wayward lifestyle not gotten the better of him, Ignashov
is a man who could have ruled K-1 with an iron fist (and iron
knees and iron legs for that matter) and perhaps been the only
man to have stopped the Schilt Era (he knocked out Schilt in
just one round with a knee in 2004 on an It's Showtime Event).
Ignashov
exploded onto the K-1 scene in 2000 with a win in the K-1 GP
in Belarus. A year later he won the K-1 GP in Nagoya and qualified
for his first of two K-1 Grand Prix appearances. Here he produced
one of the most devastating knockouts in Grand Prix history with
a knee to the face of Nicholas Pettas that broke the Dane's nose.
To
be a fan of Ignashov, as so many of us are, is to be frustrated
in more ways that you can imagine. His is a career littered with
false promise, for among the glimpses of in-ring genius that
have shone in such wins as those over Peter Aerts in 2002, Cyril
Abidi in 2003, Alexander Ustinov in 2003, Mike Bernardo in 2003
and Carter Williams in 2004, are losses that should never have
happened against the likes of Kaoklai in 2004 and Peter Graham
in 2005.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Retrospective:
the best quotes of 2009
Going with the flow of celebrations of end of year, TATAME searched
on the files the phrases that have marked 2009. Check below the
declarations of Anderson Silva, Wallid Ismail, Wanderlei Silva,
Vitor Belfort, Paulão Filho, Dana White, Rickson Gracie,
Hugo Duarte, Lyoto Machida, Quinton Jackson, Michael Langhi,
Celsinho Venícius and a lot more:
“Mir surprised me, but I’ll come back stronger in 2009
and get this belt back” – Rodrigo Minotauro, about
the loss at UFC 92
“Maradona, Zico and Pelé are remembered by everyone,
but Maradona made the difference” Anderson Silva, in interview
to Kamipro magazine
“I’m on the best shape of my life, now I need to change
my technique to win again” – Wanderlei Silva, after
the defeat on UFC 92
“Arona and Paulão are wasting time not coming to
Chute Boxe” – Rudimar Fedrigo, after welcoming his
former rival Alexandre “Cacareco“ at his team
“I got a ‘girl’ who supports me and I am 100%
again... People will have a big surprise to see me back”
– Paulão Filho, on the beginning of 2009
“One of the biggest warriors I’ve ever met is dead.
Helio Gracie could prove for his Jiu-Jitsu that the stronger
law can be beaten by the intelligence” – Pedro Valente,
Master Helio Gracie’s student
“We invaded Gracie Gym with about 60 psychopaths, Helio
Gracie should be more than 80 is he convinced Rickson to fight
with me and got inside and controlled all the situation. It was
one of the biggest male demonstrations I’ve ever saw”
– Hugo Duarte, remembering the historical combats with the
Gracies
“Tell him to wait that I’m coming” – Paulão
Filho, about the invitation made for his former rival Wanderlei
Silva
“I don’t see anyone to celebrate this winning record
of our fighter” – Ronaldo Jacaré, about the
critics made to Anderson after his victory over Thales Leites,
on UFC 97
“The war is declared. Eye on eye, he knows who’s the
Silva” – Wanderlei Silva, declaring war to Anderson
Silva in May 2009
“I don’t think about to change to a weight above, but
about a challenge. Brock Lesnar is a great guy, I’d like
to test myself” – Lyoto Machida, challenging the heavyweight’s
champion
“I’m ready to Machida. Should I start to drink pee
now” – Quinton Jackson, provoking the urine therapy
of the Brazilian
“To win the ADCC it’s an matter of honor, because I’m
undefeatable and that’s the best way to be back” –
Ricardo Arona, before canceling the participation because of
Bitetti Combat
“I want to fight with Fedor. I’m fast. Besides he has
a heavy hand, I train with heavy guys and wouldn’t be a
surprise” – Vitor Belfort, about the fight that was
being rated to Affliction
“Lepri is the second, Langhi is the third and I’m the
first of the lightweights” – Celsinho Venícius,
three times BJJ world champion
“If I’m the third of the category and I won all of
that, when I’m the first I’ll win weight and absolute
(laugh)” – Michael Langhi, champion of the lightweights
in 2009
“If his mind is good, he can be a dangerous guy. It would
be a great fight” – Dana White, about Belfort x Anderson
“We’ll start to teach the technique of BTT’s Jiu-Jitsu
in all gyms here in Los Angeles” – Murilo Bustamante,
when he moved to United States
“Anderson is Pelé and Fedor is Dunga on MMA”
– Wallid Ismail, after Anderson’s victory over Forrest
Griffin
“I loved Michael Jackson, I was crazy about him, I even
had his poster on my wall” – Anderson Silva, after
his idol death
“I would take more time to submit Fedor than Lesnar”
– Rickson Gracie, in interview to AdCombat.com
“I’m the real pitbull” – Paulão Filho,
celebrating the victory over Melvin Manhoef
“Who gives shows is Xuxa” – Antônio Pezão,
after the defeat to Fabrício Werdum
“When it’ll going to get in the ring, two (opponents)
will have to get in, because only one can’t handle it (laugh)”
– José Aldo, after spancking Mike Brown on WEC
“If we had lost from MMA, who would be commanding the MMA
market, everyone would be training in swimming suits” –
Wallid Ismail, on Paredão
“I’ll do everything I can to get back to the top again.
We have ups and downs on life, but we have to overcome that”
– Alexandre Pequeno, after losing in Japan
“I’ve
been doing therapeutic things as fishing and chatting with friends”
– Paulão Filho, revealing the recipe to beat the
depression
Source: Tatame
|
ECONOMICS
AT HEART OF OVEREEM'S STRIKEFORCE DELAY
by Steven
Marrocco
Hardcore American MMA fans have torn out a lot of hair over Strikeforce
heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem’s stateside absence.
It’s
been over two years since the Dutch fighter triumphed over Paul
Buentello to win the first Strikeforce heavyweight strap at “Four
Men Enter, One Man Survives,” an abrupt turnaround to a
1-4 slide near the end of Pride Fighting Championships.
In
January, the promotion secured Overeem to a one-year, three-fight
deal, obligating him to a return in lieu of an informal talent-sharing
agreement with K-1 that saw him snag the title in November 2007.
Overeem,
who was forced to pull out of two scheduled Strikeforce events
in June and August with a serious hand injury, is scheduled to
appear against Kazuyuki Fujita at K-1 Dynamite on New Year's
Eve - his fifth K-1 fight in 2009 – and is planning a sixth
in late March/early April 2010.
That
was grim news to those expecting a showdown between Overeem and
Fedor Emelianenko under the CBS eye in April. More confounding
was that it was Overeem asking to fight the Russian after sacking
James Thompson at Dream 12.
“Alistair
Overeem wants to fight Fedor in April 2010,” the Dutchman
said after the Oct. 25 fight. “So write that down."
And
while Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told MMAWeekly.com he would
invite the champion to participate on the promotion’s second
CBS card in April, his manager said the K-1 opportunity –
the final fight on his contract with the Japanese promotion –
is too good to pass up.
“I
never said he wasn’t fighting in April,” Overeem manager
Bas Boon told MMAWeekly.com. “What I said was there will
be a fight by the end of March or April in K-1, and actually,
he did very well in K-1 and he’s got an extremely good contract.
Commercial-wise, it’s better for him, and we agreed to this
already on K-1, that we will do that fight. After that fight,
he will fight in Strikeforce. Two, three times, whatever is available
in May, June, July, we don’t care.”
Boon
said Overeem could make a late April date if he wasn’t injured,
but doubted Coker would agree to promote a fight under those
circumstances. He said the hand injuries extended the time on
his Strikeforce contract, but did not say for how long.
For
now, it was time to strike when the iron was hot.
“(Golden
Glory) has a 10-year relationship with Alistair, and we told
him that this is a better way to work for him,” said Boon.
“Think about it, man, he’s broadcast in 150 countries
(on K-1). Right now, he’s got more sponsors than he ever
had before. In his own country, he had a crazy rating during
the Grand Prix, but also on EuroSport and also in Thailand. And
this is where the UFC isn’t even broadcast. UFC is not even
broadcast in Europe. Nobody knows about the UFC. Semmy Schilt
and Alistair Overeem are gods there. You’re talking about
a continent with 280 million people.
“(American
fans) have to understand, man, to fight Badr Hari, Remy Bonjasky,
Peter Aerts, Texeira, and again, Badr Hari, these are the top
strikers in the world. If there would be any Americans wanting
to win $400,000 or $500,000 in U.S., which is big money, why
are they not there? Why are they not in K-1?”
Boon
believed delaying the Fedor fight would be good for Strikeforce's
business, anyway.
“I
don’t see the point in immediately fighting Fedor,”
he said. “It seems Scott doesn’t want to do that as
well. I think he first wants to put us against whoever and build
up a pay-per-view.”
There
are indications that Overeem has punched his last delay ticket.
Following Strikeforce: Evolution on Saturday, Coker said if the
fighter did not fight in Strikeforce by mid-2010, he would evaluate
his options regarding Overeem’s title status.
"I
understand Americans look at America as the number one country
in the world, but we also have stadiums with 20,000 people and
broadcasted live on TV all over Europe and in a lot of different
countries," said Boon.
"Worldwide,
(Alistair) gained a lot more popularity, financially he got a
lot better off, and that doesn’t mean we’re not going
to be obliged to our contract with Strikeforce. Yes, he’s
going to fight in 2010, and it will not be mid, but it will be
earlier in the year. In May, for sure, he will fight in America.
It just depends on the date."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Barnett’s
CSAC Appeal Postponed a Third Time
by Loretta
Hunt
The California State Athletic Commission postponed Josh Barnett’s
re-licensure appeals hearing Monday for a third time, reports
Sports Illustrated’s Josh Gross. The CSAC denied the heavyweight
fighter’s re-licensure in late July after he allegedly produced
a positive pre-test for an anabolic steroid.
Michael
J. DiMaggio, Barnett’s New York-based attorney, was unable
to attend the hearing due to a Northeast blizzard that crippled
air travel over the weekend, CSAC Assistant Executive Officer
Bill Douglas confirmed with Sherdog.com. Barnett’s appeal
was granted two previous extensions when the law firm said it
still awaited additional information from the UCLA laboratory
that conducted Barnett’s tests.
The
CSAC notified Barnett on July 21 that he had tested positive
for the anabolic steroid 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one
in a June 25 pre-test conducted to renew his license for his
bout against Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction III on Aug. 1 in
Anaheim, Calif. Barnett was pulled from the headlining bout,
and the event was canceled a few days later.
Barnett’s
second sample was laboratory-tested and came back with the same
results on July 29, according to the CSAC.
The
Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Barnett, 31, for six
months in 2002 due to a post-fight urinalysis that revealed the
presence of three anabolic agents (Boldenone metabolite, Fluoxymesterone
metabolite and Nandrolone metabolite) in his body when he defeated
Randy Couture to win the heavyweight title at UFC 36. Barnett
denied using the anabolic steroids and challenged the NSAC’s
testing protocol.
Source: Sherdog
|
DYNAMITE!!
2009 UPDATE
Aoki vs.
Hirota and Kawajiri vs. Yokota
Confirmed for Dynamite!!
By FCF Staff
Two
more bouts have been announced for Dream, World Victory Road
and K-1’s upcoming collaborative Dynamite!! 2009 event;
a card that will be held on New Year’s Eve at the Saitama
Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The organizations have confirmed
that Dream’s lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will take
on Sengoku’s title holder Mizuto Hirota, while in another
notable lightweight tilt; Tatsuya Kawajiri will face Kazunori
Yokota.
Aoki
(22-4) will head into Dynamite having won back-to-back bouts
over Vitor Ribeiro and Joachim Hansen, after being stopped by
Hayato Sakurai in Dream’s welterweight tourney in April.
Aoki tapped out Hansen in October, with a second round armbar,
to secure the promotion’s lightweight belt.
Hirota
(12-3-1) is also coming off a championship win, as the Shooto
veteran stopped Saturo Kitaoka in August to win Sengoku’s
lightweight title. Hirota has gone 3-1 fighting for the promotion
to date, also earning victories over Ryan Schultz and Mitsuhiro
Ishida, with his only loss coming against Yokota last November.
The Aoki and Hirota fight will reportedly not unify the promotion’s
respective titles.
Kawajiri
(25-5-2) went 3-0 this past year after being stopped by Eddie
Alvarez in Dream’s lightweight tourney last summer. The
accomplished vet has defeated Ross Ebanez, Gesias “JZ”
Cavalcante and most recently, Melchor Manibusan since.
Yokota
(11-2-3) will also head into Dynamite having won 3 straight,
as the Deep veteran defeated Leonardo Santos, Ryan Schultz and
most recently, Eiji Mitsuoka, after losing by UD to Kitaoka last
November.
Some
of the other bouts that will be featured at Dynamite include
Satoshi Ishii vs. Hidehiko Yoshida, Norifumi “Kid”
Yamamoto vs. Masanori Kanehara, Kazayuki Fujita vs. Alistair
Overeem, and Akihiro Gono vs. Hayato Sakurai. The card will also
include the finals for Dream’s “Super Hulk” tourney,
which will see Thierry Rameau Sokoudjou take on Ikuhisa Minowa.
Dream
is also set to feature several K-1 kickboxing bouts including
Masato vs. Andy Souwer.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Debating
the Top 10 MMA fighters of this decade
By Zach
Arnold
Jonathan
Snowden compiled his list and you can click the link to read
not only his list but why he picked the fighters he did. His
list includes:
Chuck
Liddell
Brock Lesnar
Matt Hughes
Bob Sapp
Fedor
Tito Ortiz
Georges St. Pierre
Anderson Silva
BJ Penn
Kimbo Slice
I’m sure his list will stir up a hornet’s nest in terms
of who got excluded and who got included. Take a look at what
the basis for this Top 10 list is:
It
took some breakthrough stars to get us there, of course, and
this list runs down the ten fighters most responsible for the
sport’s success.
It’s
a lot easier to come up with names to include than it is to exclude,
but let’s give it a go here with some fighters who weren’t
select who could make a case for inclusion on this list:
Kazushi
Sakuraba. By far the most star power of those outside on this
list. There has been so much MMA activity this past decade that
it’s hard for some people to remember that his run against
the Gracies peaked in 2000 at the Tokyo Dome in the 90-minute
match with Royce. He was the Japanese ace of PRIDE for a long
time (even when Yoshida came into the mix years later) and his
defection to HERO’s during the negative campaign by Shukan
Gendai against PRIDE essentially bruised the image of PRIDE as
they were struggling to stay afloat.
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira. Nogueira will be forever tied to two of the
names on Mr. Snowden’s list, Fedor and Sapp. Nogueira’s
win against Sapp at Kokuritsu Stadium in August of 2002 really
propeled Sapp’s start in K-1 (if you remember, the next
month Sapp got booked against Cyril Abidi with Kazuyoshi Ishii
as a referee) and the juggernaut went on from there. Nogueira
also fought Fedor multiple times and those bouts were tied into
the famous New Year’s Eve TV wars in Japan. He’s done
so much this decade that it’s hard to imagine but he’s
underrated as far as what he has accomplished in MMA.
Randy
Couture. Until his financial spat with UFC (where his image took
a real hit) a year-or-so ago, Couture’s fairytale comeback
was incredible in terms of heat and reaction. Much like Sapp
and Nogueira, Liddell will be forever tied with Couture in terms
of their fight history. Couture’s popularity is/was such
that his fight style in the ring didn’t get him booed despite
the fact that if other fighters did the same thing, they would
be booed out of the arena. Business-wise, Couture peaked a while
back but his career became red hot after dethroning Tim Sylvia.
Nobody will ever forget that fight in Columbus, Ohio. I, of course,
remember it vividly because of the close-ups in between rounds
of Tim Sylvia constantly burping and gasping for air.
Wanderlei
Silva. He went from IVC to knocking Kazushi Sakuraba around in
scary fashion in the PRIDE ring. Silva presented the scariest
aura out of any fighter on the PRIDE roster. His brutal wins
over Sakuraba and Rampage Jackson became so famous and so ingrained
in the mindset of the MMA fan base that Silva continues to live
off of his past reputation to this day — and people don’t
discount him one bit at all. His crowd-pleasing fight with Chuck
Liddell in UFC cemented his forever-likeable status with the
fans. Look at some of the big names he beat this decade: Dan
Henderson, Kiyoshi Tamura, and Hidehiko Yoshida (man who got
the biggest payday in the history of PRIDE). He’s had an
absurd amount of fights involving big-name opponents (lost some
big ones, too).
Mirko
Cro Cop. His jump from K-1 to PRIDE during the 2003 New Year’s
Eve war became the biggest political hot-potato move in Japanese
MMA. After breaking Bob Sapp’s eye socket in Saitama in
a K-1 fight, Mirko was going to face Yoshihiro Takayama at the
Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye event at Kobe Wing Stadium in Hyogo. If that
fight would have happened, PRIDE certainly wouldn’t have
had as much momentum as they did. Without Mirko, the Inoki show
turned into a complete disaster. Mirko’s run in the PRIDE
ring culminated into a gigantic big-money fight against Fedor.
(Who can forget some of the video packages done by Fuji TV leading
up to that fight? First-class production.) As PRIDE was on its
final legs in September of 2006, Mirko won the one-night tournament
beating Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett in an amazing performance.
His jump to UFC at the time was big news. Then came the ultimate
shock when he lost to Gabriel Gonzaga, which set up Gonzaga taking
a beating from Randy Couture in ‘07. Mirko had been such
a big figure in Japan for both K-1 and PRIDE, then flopped in
UFC when it was expected that his high-level striking would set
him up for big fights. Despite the UFC tenure not being a success,
Mirko made enough splashes this decade to warrant his inclusion
on the Top 10 list.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Cyborg
wants to defend the belt with a KO
By Guilherme
Cruz
On January 30, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos will put the
Strikeforce’s belt in game for the first time, and she’s
over confident to the fight against Marloes Coenen. “The
expectation is very good, I’ll fight now on January 30 and
I’m training hard, preparing myself to fight”, said
Cris. “I’m very happy, training hard to search for
one more knockout”.
About the opponent, who debuted on the event winning by submission,
Cris guarantees that will be a tough opponent, but believes in
another victory to the record.
“It’s gonna be a good fight, she’s also from Muay
Thai, has a little bit of Jiu-Jitsu... I’ll be prepared
standing up and on the ground, in any situation that she wants
to”, said the Chute Boxe’s athlete, without news on
the strategy. “My game is not a surprise, I’ll always
search for the knockout. I think it’s gonna be a good fight,
but, if it’s God’s will, it’ll be the first defense
of many”.
While she’s preparing to her fifth fight on United States,
Cris followed, from far, her husband coming back to national
rings, when he knocked the Argetine Daniel Zarate out on Samurai
FC.
“I
was here because of my fight, but I was supporting him and everything
went okay. I knew it would be a great fight and one more knock
out. It’s a great beginning to 2010”, celebrates the
Santos, sending a message to the Brazilian fans: “I want
to thank to Brazil people, people o Chute Boxe, Master Rudimar,
my fans… I’ll try one more knock out, one more great
fights to you”, finished.
Source: Tatame
|
DON
FRYE 'QUITS' MMA, WANTS TO ACT
by Mick
Hammond
Chances are that if you’ve been watching television over
the past couple weeks you may have noticed the new AT&T ad
campaign for its latest Blackberry phones.
Shortly
after the campaign started, MMA fans began to notice that one
of the commercial’s stars looked very familiar.
With
an unmistakable gruffness, chiseled jaw line, and trademark mustache
it became clear that the commercials were the latest foray into
acting for former UFC and Pride star Don “The Predator”
Frye.
“I
got lucky, the luck of the Irish,” said Frye of his recent
acting exploits. “Michael Mann likes me for some reason.
He’s put me to work three times; on Miami Vice, Public Enemies,
and then he chose me for the AT&T commercial.
“I
always have a great time working with Michael Mann. He’s
a class act. The food is top of the line, the accommodations
are top of the line, and he treats everybody with respect –
that is very uncommon in the MMA world.”
While
Frye had initially intended acting to be something of a side
gig, he has enjoyed increasingly better opportunities from it,
leading him to decide it is time to step away from the sport
that first put him on the worldwide scene.
“I’m
pretty much quitting MMA. I’ve had enough of the (expletive).
I’m done with it,” announced Frye. “The competitive
urges still flow through me, but I’m tired of the (expletive)
of the promoters.
“I’m
tired of the (expletive) treatment, being lied to and tired of
getting bounced checks from people. They can go pound sand as
far as I’m concerned.”
With
his announcement, Frye joins Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
as fighters who’ve decided to make acting their main occupation.
And Frye is working hard to become better at it.
“I’m
taking acting lessons up in Scottsdale from Peter Stelzer and
his wife, Marla Finn. They’re putting up with me enough
to take my money and correct my stupidity,” chuckled Frye.
“It’s
hard work. It’s not like you just stand there in front of
the camera, make faces and read lines – you’ve got
to put effort into it.”
As
Frye puts it, acting is a respectful profession, unlike what
he feels MMA has become.
“The
fight game isn’t a respectful profession any more,”
he stated. “They’ve made a mockery out of it by letting
Jose Canseco fight, and now Hershel Walker, and all these other
jackasses in their 40’s who have never fought.
“They’re
getting paid more than the guys who have been putting years into
it. It’s an embarrassment and a shame.”
While
Frye’s not sure what kind of acting opportunity he’ll
have next, he’s open to anything, and regrets nothing of
his decision to leave the fight game behind.
“I’m
starting over again, starting on the bottom, but I’ve got
nothing to complain about,” he said. “As long as I’m
working, I’m healthy and my family’s healthy, there’s
nothing in the world to complain about.
“I’d
love to work with (Clint) Eastwood on a western. It’s always
fun to hop on a horse and shoot somebody.”
Having
given all he can to the sport that helped make him famous, Frye
enters a new decade with a positive attitude and hope that fans
will continue to support him, regardless of profession.
“I’ve
had a hell of a run,” exclaimed Frye. “I appreciate
the fans. Bob Meyrowitz was a great promoter back when he ran
the UFC; he treated the fighters with respect. I had a great
time in Japan. I’ve got nothing to complain about.
“What
a great time I’ve had. I wish I could do more for the fans.
I wish I could come back for another one, but until the promoters
straighten out, they can all go pound sand.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Evans
Dismisses Silva Injury Rumors
by Loretta
Hunt
Rashad Evans said he’s chosen not to buy into the rumors
that his Jan. 2 opponent Thiago Silva is injured.
Silva,
who faces Evans at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas, was said to
have strained his ankle in training but was coaxed to stay on
the injury-laden card by the promotion for additional compensation.
Silva and his American Top Team camp have denied the rumors.
Evans,
a former light heavyweight champion and recent “Ultimate
Fighter” coach, said he does his best to avoid Internet
discussion that could cause his mind to wander from his objective.
“I’m
not going to put in my mind that, ‘Oh, he’s hurt, so
I’m going to go after him,’” Evans said Tuesday
during a media teleconference call. “I’m just happy
that he is healthy and that we are going to fight. Unless I get
a call from Dana (White) or Joe Silva, I try not to pay attention
to what’s happening and they didn’t call me, so I was
like, ‘Alright, everything must be just a rumor.’”
Silva,
27, who rebounded from a first-round knockout loss to champion
Lyoto Machida last January by stopping Evans’ teammate Keith
Jardine seven months later, couldn’t answer how or where
the rumors originated.
“I
was completely surprised by it,” said Silva through his
translator. “I don’t know how this came out. This completely
(makes) no sense. This is one of the stories that came out of
nowhere. There was nothing wrong with me. I’m completely
healthy. I’m ready to fight. We can’t understand how
this thing came up.”
Likewise,
Evans, who turned 30 in September, said he is also shelving his
ill will toward nemesis Quinton “Rampage” Jackson,
who dropped out of a high-profile December bout against Evans
to pursue a movie role.
“My
focus is on Thiago so much. I don’t want to overlook him,
not even a little bit,” said Evans. “A lot of people
wonder about Rampage, Rampage, but Rampage don’t mean nothing
if I can’t beat Thiago.
“(It
was) a long to-do with Rampage, a lot of verbal intercourse that
never really amounted to anything,” continued Evans. “I’m
ready to get back in there and get a fight in there.”
More
from Evans:
On
fighting around the holidays: “Last Christmas, I was sitting
in the hotel at the MGM getting ready to fight Forrest Griffin,
so it’s the second Christmas in a row. I think I got over
the initial sting of not being able to be with my family on Christmas,
so I think I’m good for this Christmas.”
On
trusting himself more: “I think one of the things that happens
is you get to a certain point, you’re the champion, and
everybody thinks they can add to your game, help you out. Sometimes
they can, but sometimes it just gets a little bit overwhelming
and distracting when you have too many people in your ear telling
you do this and do that when essentially, you pretty much know
what to do.”
On
staying focused: “I’ve made it a point not to get distracted
on what I want to do because Thiago is a very hungry fighter
and every time I find myself drifting away from the person I
got to fight, I just watch what I say and do what I’m supposed
to do and then it just gets me motivated all over again.”
On
rebounding from the Machida loss: “For the most part, I’m
just a lot more confident in my game plan and my strategy going
into this fight. I think I’m a bit sharper than I was, but
it all remains to be seen. You can feel one way in practice and
get out there and totally, you know, in the fight, look like
crap. It’s all about execution. That’s what I’m
focusing on -- just going out there to execute.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
"One
cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does
not fit the present."
Golda Meir
|
Onzuka.com
wants to wish everyone
a very Merry Christmas!
"Da Night Bafo Christmas"
Was da night bafo' Christmas, and all ova' da place,
Not even da geckos was showin' their face.
Da
stockings was hangin' on top da TV
('Cause no mo' fireplace in Hawai'i )
Da
kids stay all crashed, my old man too.
They leave all da work for you-know-who.
So
me, I stay pickin' up alla dea toys,
When - boom! - outside get only big noise!
I
run to da window, I open 'em up,
I stick out my head and I yell, "Eh! Whassup?!"
And
then, I no can ba-lieve what I seen!
Was so unreal, you know what I mean?
This
fat haole guy get his reindeers in my yard!
And reindeers not housebroken, you know, as' why hard!
But
nemmind, this Christmas, so I cut 'em some slack.
Plus, had uku pile presents pokin' outta his sack!
So
I wait 'till he pau tie up his reindeer,
Then I yell out da window, "Huui! Brah, ova hea!"
An'
I tell 'em first thing, when I open da door,
"Eh, Hemo your shoes! You going dirty my floor!"
He
take off his boots, he tell, "You know who I am?"
I go, "Ho! From the smell, must be Mr. Toe Jam!"
He
make mempachi eyes and he go, "Ho, ho, ho!"
By now, I stay thinking this guy kinda slow!
He
look like my Tutu, but little less weight,
And his beard stay so white, mo' white than shark bait!
He
stay all in red, specially his nose,
And get reindeer spit on top his nice clothes!
But
him, he no care; he just smile at me,
And he start fo' put presents unda-neath da tree.
I
tell 'em, "Eh, brah, no need make li'dat,
And watch where you step! You going ma-ke da cat!"
Then,
out from his bag, he pull one brand new computah,
Choke video games, and one motorized scootah!
He
try for fill up da Christmas socks too,
But had so much pukas, all da stuff went fall troo.
When
he pau, I tell 'em, "Eh Santa, try wait!
I get plenty leftovahs, I go make you one plate!"
But
he nevah like hang, he had so much fo' do;
Gotta make all them small kids' wishes come true.
So
I wave 'em goodbye, and I flash 'em da shaka,
And I tell 'em, "Mele Kalikimaka!"
When
he hear that, he stop...and I telling you true,
He go, "Garans ball-barans! Merry Christmas to you!"
We wish you all Good Health , a Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year!
|
X1
World Events
Waipahu High School, Waipahu, Hawaii
January 17, 2010
Pro Boxing
170 - Ronald Jhun vs Chris Cisneros
130 - Isaac Arasato vs Andrew Mendez
147 - Mike Balasi vs John Hoffman
155 - Harris Sarmiento vs Clay Lewis
147 - Justin Mercado vs Brandon Pieper
147 - Ian Dela Cuesta vs Chris Willems
Source: Event Promoter
|
KJ
Noons Still Considers Himself a Champion
By Ariel
Helwani
Following KJ Noons' 48-second EliteXC 160-pound title defense
against Yves Edwards in June 2008, he was considered to be one
of the rising lightweight stars in MMA. But failed contract negotiations
with the organization and a desire to further his professional
boxing career stunted his growth as a mixed martial artist immensely.
EliteXC eventually stripped him of his title before the organization
folded in October 2008. Noons hasn't competed in MMA since.
"King
Karl" recently resurfaced with Strikeforce, signing a multi-fight
agreement with the organization. The 7-2 fighter, whose most
famous win came against Nick Diaz in November 2007, met with
the media last week to talk about his future plans in MMA and
why he still considers himself to be a champion.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Testing
issues could derail Mayweather-Pacquiao
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports
 
Nearly every detail is finalized for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and
Manny Pacquiao to fight on March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas but one. That one detail, though, may kill the fight.
Negotiations
are at an impasse over Pacquiao’s failure to agree to random
Olympic-style drug testing, said Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of
Mayweather Promotions, on Tuesday.
Pacquiao
trainer Freddie Roach said his fighter is willing to comply with
strict drug-testing standards, but Roach won’t allow Pacquiao
to have blood drawn 48 hours before the fight.
Ellerbe
said he would not let Mayweather enter the ring unless Pacquiao
agreed to it.
Both
sides agreed that the drug testing issue is the only hurdle preventing
the fight from being finished. Earlier Tuesday, Golden Boy Promotions
officially requested March 13 from the Nevada State Athletic
Commission to host the show.
“As
Floyd’s management, we are insistent that there be a level
playing field,” Ellerbe said. “This is in the best
interests of the fighters, the fans and the sport. If you want
a level playing field, the best way to do it is to have Olympic-style,
random drug testing administered by the premier agency in the
world, the [United States Anti-Doping Agency].”
Pacquiao
promoter Bob Arum said the demand is “absolutely crazy,”
done simply to harass Pacquiao, who is squeamish about needles,
and is proof that Mayweather doesn’t really want the fight.
Arum
said the request has been an unsettled issue since the first
day of negotiations last month.
“We’re
not going to agree to have Manny give blood in training, because
that’s stupid,” Arum said. “Every doctor in the
world will tell you that is stupid. He’ll give his blood
at the beginning of the year and he’s willing to be urine-tested
24/7, but blood doesn’t show [expletive] and he’s not
going to do it.”
Michael
Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser and de facto manager, said Pacquiao
believes drawing blood so close to a competition harms the body,
but the boxer is willing to have his blood drawn a month away
from the fight as a compromise.
Koncz
said Pacquiao was willing to pass on the fight if it came to
that.
“Manny
has a lot more options than Mayweather does,” Koncz said.
“Manny is clean and he’s never done a thing, and he’s
willing to go to great lengths to prove it. It’s my understanding
that this stuff doesn’t just leave your system overnight.
“He’ll
take a blood test immediately after the fight, if that’s
what they insist upon. But Manny believes very strongly that
it would be harmful to him to draw blood that soon before the
fight and he plain and simple isn’t going to do it.”
In
a statement released by his publicist, Mayweather said he is
willing to submit to the testing. There was never any suspicion
that Pacquiao had ever taken banned substances until earlier
this year, when Floyd Mayweather Sr. suggested he was on steroids.
Pacquiao
has passed every urine test he’s been given in connection
with boxing matches.
“I
understand Pacquiao not liking having his blood taken, because
frankly I don’t know anyone who really does,” Mayweather
said in his statement. “But in a fight of this magnitude,
I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship
at the highest level. I have already agreed to the testing and
it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same.
“It
leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would
be facing in the ring that night. I hope that this is either
some miscommunication or that Manny will change his mind and
step up and allow these tests, which were good enough for all
these other great athletes, to be performed by USADA.”
Blood
tests for illegal drugs and banned substances are not required
by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which would have regulatory
control of the bout if it is held in Las Vegas.
In
Nevada, a fighter is required to submit to a blood test that
screens for HIV and Hepatitis B and C, as well as other blood-borne
diseases, as part of the requirement to gain a license.
A
license in Nevada is good for one year. In Pacquiao’s case,
he received his 2009 license shortly before he fought Ricky Hatton
in May. He submitted his blood to the commission between April
5 and April 20, said Keith Kizer, the commission’s executive
director.
Kizer
said all fighters who fight in Nevada are subject to random urine
tests as well as any other medical tests, such as an MRI or a
CAT scan, that the commission deems necessary. Arum said Pacquiao
is willing to submit to testing by an outside agency but won’t
give his blood. Roach said it’s an issue because Mayweather’s
side has been insisting Pacquiao give blood as close as 48 hours
within the fight.
“We’ll
accommodate their requests and do urine testing up the wazoo
and we’ll agree to have them done by an outside agency,”
Arum said. “Manny has nothing to hide. But he’s not
going to give blood because that’s crazy. He’ll do
it at the beginning and he’ll do it at the end. That’s
how it is done. Ask some former Olympic boxers how many times
they give blood.”
Ellerbe
said having the testing administered by USADA would quell suspicions
about the procedures or the result.
“This
is no rooty toot organization,” said Ellerbe, who noted
that such testing was accepted by elite athletes such as LeBron
James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps and Lance Armstrong.
Roach
scoffed at such talk and said it won’t matter to him if
the fight is not held.
“I
really don’t care, because Manny doesn’t need Floyd
Mayweather,” Roach said. “The tests he’s requesting
are not commission tests, they’re not boxing tests and this
is not an Olympic sport. A urine test is just as qualified as
a blood test. [Human growth hormone] is not detected by blood
or urine.”
The
World Anti-Doping Agency successfully used blood testing at the
2004 Olympics in Athens to test for HGH.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Independent
World MMA Rankings - December 18, 2009
By Zach
Arnold
From the office of the Independent World MMA Rankings
December
18, 2009: The December 2009 Independent World MMA Rankings have
been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA
media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple
web sites.
In
addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent
World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time
by going to www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
Some
of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the
MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent
voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical
order:
Zach
Arnold (Fight Opinion);
Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings);
Jared Barnes (Freelance);
Jordan Breen (Sherdog);
Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist
Blog);
Jesse Holland (MMA Mania);
Robert Joyner (Freelance);
Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline);
Jim Murphy (The Savage Science);
Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA);
Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow);
Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse);
Jonathan Snowden (Heavy.com);
Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion);
Ivan Trembow (Freelance);
and Dave Walsh (Total MMA and Head Kick Legend).
Note:
Will Ribeiro is no longer eligible to be ranked, due to the fact
that he has not had an MMA fight in over 12 months.
December
2009 Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on December 15, 2009
Heavyweight
Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.)
1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest)
2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)
3. Frank Mir (13-4)
4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 No Contest)
5. Shane Carwin (11-0)
6. Brett Rogers (10-1)
7. Alistair Overeem (31-11, 1 No Contest)
8. Junior dos Santos (9-1)
9. Cain Velasquez (7-0)
10. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
Light
Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.)
1. Lyoto Machida (16-0)
2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-4)
3. Rashad Evans (13-1-1)
4. Quinton Jackson (30-7)
5. Anderson Silva (25-4)
6. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1)
7. Forrest Griffin (17-6)
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3)
9. Dan Henderson (25-7)
10. Thiago Silva (14-1)
Middleweight
Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.)
1. Anderson Silva (25-4)
2. Nathan Marquardt (29-8-2)
3. Dan Henderson (25-7)
4. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
5. Demian Maia (11-1)
6. Jake Shields (24-4-1)
7. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)
8. Yushin Okami (23-5)
9. Robbie Lawler (16-5, 1 No Contest)
10. Jorge Santiago (21-8)
Welterweight
Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.)
1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2)
2. Jon Fitch (20-3, 1 No Contest)
3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
4. Josh Koscheck (14-4)
5. Dan Hardy (23-6)
6. Matt Hughes (43-7)
7. Paulo Thiago (12-1)
8. Mike Swick (14-3)
9. Carlos Condit (24-5)
10. Marius Zaromskis (13-3)
Lightweight
Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.)
1. B.J. Penn (15-5-1)
2. Shinya Aoki (22-4, 1 No Contest)
3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2)
4. Kenny Florian (12-4)
5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (25-5-2)
6. Gray Maynard (8-0, 1 No Contest)
7. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
8. Diego Sanchez (21-3)
9. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1)
10. Mizuto Hirota (12-3-1)
Featherweight
Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
1. Jose Aldo (16-1)
2. Mike Brown (22-5)
3. Urijah Faber (22-3)
4. Hatsu Hioki (20-4-2)
5. Bibiano Fernandes (7-2)
6. Raphael Assuncao (14-1)
7. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue (17-3)
8. Wagnney Fabiano (12-2)
9. Manny Gamburyan (10-4)
10. Michihiro Omigawa (8-8-1)
Bantamweight
Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Brian Bowles (8-0)
2. Miguel Torres (37-2)
3. Takeya Mizugaki (12-3-2)
4. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2)
5. Dominick Cruz (14-1)
6. Akitoshi Tamura (14-7-2)
7. Joseph Benavidez (10-1)
8. Damacio Page (12-4)
9. Rani Yahya (15-4)
10. Manny Tapia (10-3-1)
The
Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis
in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight
to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place
vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The
rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the
voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody
else’s vote, and no computerized voting.
The
voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’
actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition
that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective
perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy
match-ups.
Inactivity:
Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible
to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time
they fight.
Disciplinary
Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary
suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test
or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing
Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one
weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter
is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he
has his first fight in the new weight class.
Catch
Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are
in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are
considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits
for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for
each weight class.
Special
thanks to Eric Kamander, Zach Arnold, and Joshua Stein for their
invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett
Bailey for designing our logo.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
NSAC
DENIES JON JONES' APPEAL OF DQ
by Steven
Marrocco
Jon Jones’ disqualification against Matt Hamill at “The
Ultimate Fighter” season 10 finale will not be overturned.
Jason
Genet, a representative of Jones’ camp, said he received
a letter Monday from the Nevada Attorney General’s office
stating an appeal to have the result changed would not be heard.
“It
wasn’t really a denial, it just said (the Attorney General’s
office) doesn’t overturn decisions like that,” said
Genet. “So there’s no need to appeal, and therefore,
they didn’t want to waste the commission’s time.”
Jones
was disqualified after throwing several illegal elbows at Hamill
from the mount position during the Dec. 5 battle in Las Vegas.
Referee Steve Mazzagatti halted the bout after reviewing the
blows on instant replay – the first time a referee had done
so in Nevada.
In
a letter dated Dec. 11, Jones’ managers, Ryan Ciatoli and
Gary Marino, filed a letter with the Nevada State Athletic Commission
asking to change the fight’s official result to a win in
Jones’ favor. Keith Kizer, Executive Director of the NSAC,
sent the letter to the Attorney General’s office for official
review.
The
letter did not dispute that Jones’ elbows were illegal,
but said Mazzagatti erred when he did not involve ringside physicians
in determining whether Hamill could continue, and said a shoulder
injury Hamill suffered prior to the illegal blows rendered him
unable to continue.
Hamill,
who is legally deaf, had blood in his eyes when Mazzagatti asked
him if he was okay after stopping the bout. When he did not respond,
Mazzagatti reviewed the sequence and made his decision.
Jones’
complaint said the cuts that caused blood to run into Hamill’s
eyes were the result of legal elbows thrown from the mount. It
also cited a statement from Hamill’s website where Hamill
admitted the bout was “probably over” after the shoulder
injury.
Genet
said Jones’ camp would likely end their appeal efforts.
“We
felt it was important to appeal, just to be on record,”
he said. “But it’s one of those things where there’s
not a guaranteed winner, so we’ll probably just move on
from this, even if there’s a way to prove that it should
have been (overturned). It looks like the UFC’s recognizing
that Jon’s a dominant force. It appears people are not judging
the disqualification, they’re judging the performance, which
is really all you can care about in the fight game right now.
“
Jones
is already scheduled to face light heavyweight standout Brandon
Vera in the main event of the yet-unannounced UFC Fight Night
21 on March 21 in Denver. He declined comment on the ruling Wednesday
afternoon.
Kizer
was out of his office and did not respond to calls and emails
requesting confirmation of the denial.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Anderson
“recovering fast”, back to training
By Guilherme Cruz
It was 11 fights in less than four years until Anderson Silva
asked for some time. Not that he was tired of fighting, but the
elbow was asking for a surgery. After the surgery, the UFC middleweight
champion talked to TATAME.com in the end of October and said
that he was crazy to “kick some asses”, but was waiting
for doctors authorization. “I’m almost totally recovered,
thanks God the recovering is pretty fast”, Anderson said,
back to the gym. “I’m starting to train a little bit”,
celebrates. Excited to the next year, the champion doesn’t
know yet when he’ll be back to the octagon, but he’s
excited: “2010 will be great”.
Source: Tatame
|
David
Tua Off Feb. 6 Card in Atlantic City
NEW
YORK (Dec. 16, 2009) – Promoter Cedric Kushner, president
of Gotham Boxing, Inc., announced today with deep regret that
WBO #3 rated heavyweight contender David Tua had advised him
that, due to family matters, he had to withdraw from his proposed
February 6th fight in Atlantic City.
“I
was really looking forward to coming to America after the holidays
but, due to this significant family matter,” Tua explained,
“I simply have to remain in New Zealand and continue my
preparation for my March 27th event here.”
Tua
(50-3-1, 43 KOs) has defeated four world champions – Michael
Moorer, Hasim Rahman, John Ruiz and Oleg Maskaev -- during his
illustrious and often entertaining 17-year pro career.
“I
really feel sorry for Dave,” Kushner said. “I know
how much he was looking forward to the first defense of his WBO
Asia Pacific and Oriental titles, but Dave has always considered
his family above and beyond everything else.”
Source: The Fight Network
|
“King
Mo” Talks Latest Win; Strikeforce Future
By Kelsey
Mowatt
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal did nothing but add to his
growing reputation as a ‘man on the move’ Saturday
night, as the highly touted prospect stopped the veteran Mike
Whitehead in the first round at Strikeforce’s “Evolution”
event. In a fight that was largely contested on its feet, Lawal
turned to his developing striking skills to put away Whitehead,
extending the accomplished wrestler’s record to 6-0.
“I’d
probably give myself a C; something like that,” Lawal told
FCF, when asked to grade his performance Saturday. “I was
happy with the result though. Everyone should be happy with themselves
if they get a knock-out. Some people were criticizing me for
celebrating, whatever, I could have just sat there and they would
have tried to criticize me for that. I just wanted to have fun
and that’s what I did. Someone always is going to say something;
you can’t please everybody.”
The
win is Lawal’s second in a row competing at heavyweight;
in August, the 28 year-old-fighter stopped Mark Kerr in 25 seconds
at M-1 Global’s “Breakthrough” event. Whitehead,
on the other hand, was coming off a contest at light-heavyweight,
as in June, he defeated Kevin Randleman by Unanimous Decision.
“I
thought he was going to make a campaign at 205,” Lawal responded,
when asked if he was surprised about the fact that the bout with
Whitehead was at heavyweight. “I thought we’d fight
at 205; the fact he didn’t want to fight me at 205 confused
me, but I agreed to fight at heavyweight.”
“At
205 I would have been able to do what I wanted,” said Lawal,
who weighed in over 40lbs. less than Whitehead on Friday. “I
would have been stronger. I felt stronger anyways but I would
have been a lot stronger than him if he didn’t have the
extra weight.”
Lawal
informed FCF that he has “not yet” had any further
negotiations with the promotion as to when he will fight next,
in addition to stating that he believes Strikeforce would prefer
to have him fight primarily in the light-heavyweight division
and occasionally at heavyweight. The charismatic Lawal has stated
publicly on several occasions, that he would welcome any opportunity
to fight Strikeforce’s renowned heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko.
“I
have no idea,” said Lawal, when asked if he believes Strikeforce
would look to match the rising prospect against Emelianenko in
the future. “I just think that if I keep on winning, and
he keeps on winning, it could happen.”
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker conceded this past weekend that Emelianenko could
face Werdum on the promotion’s next CBS broadcast in April.
“He
has to get past Fabricio Werdum,” Lawal said. “That’s
my training partner; that’s my boy. He has the style to
beat Fedor; you know what I’m saying? Everybody thinks that
Fedor is going to beat him but anybody in combat sports is beatable.
Roy Jones got knocked out. Roy Jones Jr. has been way more dominant
that Fedor’s ever been. If you compare Roy Jones’ career
in boxing to Fedor’s in MMA, he’s been more dominant
and he even loses.”
“If
he (Werdum) can keep his feet moving he can beat him,” Lawal
added. “Fedor’s always been the fastest heavyweight,
but if you move with Fedor you can do good, like (Andrei) Arlovski
and Brett Rogers were doing.”
Lawal
went 4-0 this past year, winning bouts against Yukiya Naito and
Ryo Kawamura while fighting for Japan’s World Victory Road
promotion, before competing in the U.S. this past summer.
“Everything
went well,” said Lawal when asked to reflect on the year.
“I’m just going to keep moving forward, keep up the
momentum and keep going.”
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Fighter
of the Decade: Fedor Emelianenko
Michael David Smith
To say that Fedor Emelianenko is the mixed martial arts fighter
of the decade is, if anything, to understate just how dominant
a fighter "The Last Emperor" has been.
In
a sport where results are unpredictable and no one is unbeatable,
where legendary fighters like Randy Couture have pedestrian-looking
records like 17-10, Fedor has stood far beyond the rest of the
pack, establishing a record of 31-1, with the one loss coming
when he was cut by an impermissible elbow.
Fedor
started his MMA career in 2000, fighting in his native Russia
with the RINGS promotion, beating a little-known fighter by the
name of Martin Lazarov. He would fight twice more against little-known
opponents, choking out one guy in seven minutes and knocking
out another in 12 seconds, before Rings invited him to enter
what might have been the most impressive tournament field in
MMA history.
Looking
back on it, the tournament field was simply amazing: Future Pride
and UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira beat Valentijn
Overeem in the final. Future UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight
champion Randy Couture lost to Overeem in the semifinal. Dave
Menne, who would become the UFC middleweight champion in 2001,
lost in the third round of the tournament. Renato "Babalu"
Sobral lost in the second round of the tournament.
And
yet fans who remember that tournament today remember it mostly
for Fedor.
After
Fedor beat Ricardo Arona by unanimous decision in the first round,
he moved on to face Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in the second. Kohsaka hit
Fedor with an elbow that opened a cut, and tournament officials
ruled that Fedor couldn't keep fighting. Even though elbows weren't
allowed in the tournament, they awarded Kohsaka the victory anyway
because they wanted him to be able to move on to the next round.
The fight should have been a no contest, but it was instead a
loss -- still the only loss of Fedor's career.
Fedor
fought a few more times in Rings, always winning in dominant
fashion, before taking a step up in competition to fight in Japan
with Pride.
In
Fedor's first Pride fight he was matched up with the enormous
Dutch kickboxer Semmy Schilt, a dangerous striker and three-time
K-1 World Grand Prix champion who is almost a foot taller and
60 pounds heavier than Fedor. It looked like a mismatch, and
it was -- just not the way people expected. Fedor avoided Schilt's
striking and outmuscled him for 20 minutes, winning a one-sided
unanimous decision.
Five
months later, Pride matched up Fedor with Heath Herring, and
although Herring made it out of the first round, Fedor had beaten
him so savagely that the doctors wouldn't allow him to come out
for the second. At that point, Pride decided to put Fedor in
with its champion, Nogueira.
Nogueira's
world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu made many MMA observers think
Fedor would have no chance with him on the ground. In reality,
it was Fedor's incredible power that hurt Nogueira, using his
ground and pound to win a unanimous decision and become the Pride
heavyweight champion.
Fedor
kept that title through 12 more Pride fights, growing his legend
with each successive win. When Kazuyuki Fujita rocked Fedor with
one of the hardest punches he ever took, Fedor recovered and
finished him with a rear-naked choke on the ground. When Kevin
Randleman suplexed him onto his head, Fedor calmly gathered himself
on the ground and got Randleman in a kimura.
Fedor
would beat Nogueira again in the final of Pride's openweight
Grand Prix, and after that he would beat Mirko Cro Cop in a bout
that many MMA observers thought for sure would give Fedor his
first legitimate loss. No one is unbeatable, but the way Fedor
tore through his opposition he looked close.
After
the Cro Cop fight, however, Fedor started to take criticism for
fighting opponents who should have been beneath him. His next
five fights came against a collection of opponents who really
weren't threats to Fedor's crown at all: Zuluzinho, Mark Coleman,
Mark Hunt, Matt Lindland and Hong-Man Choi. Pride had fallen,
Fedor hadn't signed with the UFC, and some fans feared that we'd
never get to see the best fighter in the world test himself again.
Fortunately,
we did. Affliction came along, brought Fedor to the United States,
and signed him up to face three former UFC heavyweight champions:
Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett. Although the Barnett
fight was canceled, bringing Affliction down with it, Fedor finished
both Sylvia and Arlovski in the first round, removing any doubt
that he was the best.
And
in Fedor's final act of the decade, after spurning the UFC's
offers once again, he beat Brett Rogers in a Strikeforce/M-1
Global co-promotion on CBS, giving him by far his largest American
audience to date. Millions of Americans got to see MMA's heavyweight
champion for the first time when he fought Rogers, and Fedor
didn't disappoint.
There's
no question that the rise of the UFC from near-banishment to
legitimacy is the MMA story of this decade, and that's why so
many fans are disappointed that Fedor won't fight in the Octagon.
But when it comes to judging fighters rather than judging promoters,
there's no question that the 2000s were the decade of Fedor.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
Vet Howard, 51, Charged with Attempted Murder by Brian Knapp
Harold Howard, who appeared at UFC 3 and UFC 7 during his brief
mixed martial arts career, faces two counts of attempted murder
after he allegedly assaulted two people at a Niagara Falls, Ontario,
Canada, residence, then drove his vehicle into the Fallsview
Casino.
Howard,
51, the subject of a Sherdog.com feature in February, was also
charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, attempted break
and enter, fail to remain, flight from police, dangerous operation
of a motor vehicle, mischief and two counts breach of recognizance.
The
Niagara Falls Review reported that officers drew their guns on
Howard before taking him into custody. He was taken to Greater
Niagara General Hospital for treatment of his injuries, the extent
of which were not immediately known.
According
to the police report, a man, believed to be Howard, was involved
in a dispute at a Niagara Falls residence that resulted in assaults
with an unidentified weapon on a male and female victim. The
perpetrator then fled the scene in his vehicle and “attended
another residence” on the north end of the city, where he
collided with a vehicle in the driveway. The male, the report
reads, then fled that residence, as well. The victims of the
initial assault were taken to the hospital, where they were being
treated for serious but non life-threatening injuries.
Police
later attempted to stop the vehicle in question, but the driver
refused. Officers continued their pursuit, the report said, due
to the serious nature of earlier events. Their pursuit ended
when Howard -- “intentionally,” according to the report
-- drove his truck into the casino at approximately 2 a.m. on
Tuesday.
“Thank
God it wasn't a Friday night,” Niagara Regional Police Staff
Sgt. Shawn Clarkson told The Review. “We were extremely
fortunate not more people were around. A couple of people had
to duck out of the way, but we could [have] had some real serious
problems there if it had been a few hours earlier or another
day.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Aldo
says only one opponent can’t beat him
By Guilherme
Cruz
Who watches José Aldo passing thru his opponents on WEC
doesn’t imagine that he changed Manaus for Rio de Janeiro
with a smaller dream. “When I came to the gym, I just wanted
to be a Jiu-Jitsu fighter, to get the black belt”, said
the tough fighter, who took the chance he had to get to the top.
“I saw an opportunity and I grabbed with all my strength”,
remembers.
In
a story that you can’t miss, published in December edition
of TATAME Magazine, Aldo remembered the beginning on MMA, the
matter of the training at Nova União, the surprise to
pass thru the former IFL champion Wagnney Fabiano on the ride
for the belt and the challenges that will come ahead. “At
first, I want to defend my belt, to present myself well prepared.
When I’ll get in the ring, two (opponents) will have to
get in, because only one won’t handle (laugh)”, jokes.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
“The
measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”
Vince Lombardi
|
STRIKEFORCE
CONFIRMS TWO TITLE BOUTS FOR MIAMI
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed Nick Diaz will face Dream
welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis on Jan. 30 at the BankAtlantic
Center in Sunrise, Fla., for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight
title and Cris “ Cyborg“ Santos will defend her 145-pound
belt for the first time against Marloes Coenen.
Strikeforce
originally planned to put Diaz in with Jay Heiron in August for
the welterweight crown, but those plans were scrapped when Diaz
failed to show up for mandatory licensing drug screening. Heiron
defeated “The Ultimate Fighter 7” cast member Jesse
Taylor in a non-title fight instead.
Diaz
heads into the fight on a five-fight win streak defeating Scott
Smith and Frank Shamrock in his first two bouts with Strikeforce,
both taking place at catchweights.
Zaromskis
comes in with five straight wins as well, including winning the
2009 Dream Welterweight Grand Prix.
The
fight with Coenen will be Santos’ first bout since dismantling
popular female fighter Gina Carano in August. She’s on an
eight-fight streak without a loss.
The
Dutch born Coenen debuted in Strikeforce in August avenging a
previous loss to Roxanne Modafferi.
The
two title bouts headline the fight card and will air on Showtime.
“Strikeforce:
Miami” Tentative Fight Card:
-Cris
"Cyborg" Santos (8-1) vs. Marloes Coenen (17-3)
-Nick Diaz (20-7) vs. Marius Zaromskis
-Jay Hieron (18-4) vs. TBA
-Herschel Walker (0-0) vs. TBA
-K.J. Noons (7-2) vs. TBA
-Bobby Lashley (4-0) vs. TBA
-Robbie Lawler (16-5) vs. TBA
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce:
Evolution Salaries
MMAWeekly
has obtained the fighter salary information from the California
State Athletic Commission for Strikeforce: Evolution featuring
a middleweight fight between Cung Le and Scott Smith, which took
place on Saturday, Dec. 19, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just
as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed
bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not
disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view
bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included
in the figures below.
In
the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined
as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear
on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take
place before the main card goes on the air, regardless of whether
or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.
MAIN
EVENT FIGHTERS
-
Scott Smith: ($55,000) def. Cung Le: ($150,000)
-
Gilbert Melendez: ($55,000) def. Josh Thomson: ($30,000)
MAIN
CARD FIGHTERS
-Ronaldo
Souza: $65,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Matt Lindland:
$50,000
-Muhammed
Lawal: $19,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)* def. Mike Whitehead:
$30,000
PRELIMINARY
CARD FIGHTERS
-Antwain
Britt: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Scott Lighty:
$5,000
-Justin
Wilcox: $5,000 def. Daisuke Nakamura: $200
-Alex
Crispim: $4,000 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. AJ Fonseca:
$2,000
*Lawal
was fined 10 percent of his $10,000 “show purse” for
spraying Rockstar energy drink in the cage following his victory.
STRIKEFORCE:
EVOLUTION DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $480,200
“The most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
CERRONE
& BENAVIDEZ TOP WEC 45 FIGHTER SALARIES
WEC 45 Fighter Salaries and Bonuses
By MMAWeekly.com Staff
The
Nevada State Athletic Commission on Monday released the salaries
for WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff featuring a lightweight showdown
between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Ed “9mm”
Ratcliff, which took place on Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Pearl
at the Palms Resort Casion in Las Vegas.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just
as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed
bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not
disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view
bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included
in the figures below.
In
the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined
as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear
on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take
place before the main card goes on the air, regardless of whether
or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.
MAIN
EVENT FIGHTERS
-
Donald Cerrone $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Ed Ratcliff
$9,000
*Cerrone and Ratcliff each also received a $10,000 bonus for
Fight of the Night
MAIN
CARD FIGHTERS
-Anthony
Njokuani $8,000 (includes $4,000 win bonus) def. Chris Horodecki
$12,000
*Njokuani also received a $10,000 bonus for Knockout of the Night
-Joseph
Benavidez $25,000 (includes $12,500 win bonus) def. Rani Yahya
$9,000
-Scott
Jorgensen $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Takeya Mizugaki
$8,000
*Jorgensen and Mizugaki each also received a $5,000 bonus for
a second Fight of the Night
PRELIMINARY
CARD FIGHTERS
-Bart
Palaszewski $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Anthony
Pettis: $3,000
-Zach
Micklewright $4,000 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. Muhsin Corbbrey
$4,000
-Chad
George $5,000 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. John Hosman $3,000
-Brandon
Visher $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Courtney Buck
$3,000
-Brad
Pickett $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Kyle Dietz $2,000
*Pickett also received a $10,000 bonus for Submission of the
Night
-Erik
Koch $4,000 (includes $2,000 win bonus) def. Jameel Massouh $3,000
WEC
45 TOTAL DISCLOSED FIGHTER SALARIES: $162,000
(Does not include “of the Night” bonuses.)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SMITH
PROVES AGAIN HE IS MMA'S ROCKY BALBOA
Following yet another incredible come from behind win, Scott
Smith may soon have to begin every walk to the cage with the
theme song from "Rocky." The California based fighter
has a tendency to hang around in every fight he's in and then
at the crucial moment pull out a stunning victory.
The
latest conquest for Smith was a third round knockout of former
Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le, who was getting the
better of the fight for two-plus rounds, but when the window
opened for Smith to explode he did just that.
Realizing
he was down in the fight, Smith knew the third round was the
key. That's when he finally implemented his trainers' game plan
and then unloaded the shot heard all over San Jose.
"Once
I finally did close the gap, I felt myself kind of block some
of those kicks. He kind of hit me in the shoulder with his knee
instead of the kick, so you definitely have to close the gap
on a guy like Cung Le," Smith said after the fight.
"I
think I got him to bring his hands in when I fainted the right,
and caught him with the left hook."
The
first round and first exchange almost brought an abrupt end to
Smith's night as Le caught him early and had him on the ground,
pounding away for a stoppage. Somehow, the former UFC middleweight
battled through and regained his composure.
"I
got caught, I was more worried about the mid-section. He caught
me with one mid-section shot and that was the very first kick
he threw," Smith said of the first exchange. "So I
was real worried about keeping my elbows in. That was the strategy
in the fight was blocking the kicks with my elbows and my elbows
are killing me so I did a good job of that, but he came over
top of my hands with one of those kicks, dropped me and had me
rocked and I was just trying to cover up."
Smith
survived and lived to fight another round and finally seized
his moment in the third. The win once again put Smith on the
map as one of the most exciting and dangerous fighters in the
sport. One who shows an unbelievable amount of heart in every
battle he steps into.
"I
believe in myself as a fighter. I believe I'm an exciting fighter,"
Smith said. "It takes a great organization, it takes a great
venue for people to be able to see that. This is a dream come
true for me."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
THOMSON
TIPS HAT TO MELENDEZ, CALLS UFC OUT
Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thompson took his
loss to Gilbert Melendez like a man, but was right when he said
their five-round war was one of those fights where no one really
loses.
Melendez
outpointed Thomson Saturday at “Evolution,” avenging
a June 2008 decision loss and picking up the undisputed title
on the way. It was one of the most action-packed affairs of the
year.
Thomson,
31, couldn’t keep Melendez at bay with striking as before
and couldn’t turn up the heat in time to recover from a
deficit in points. Neither could keep the other down. So, for
the most part, they slugged it out.
“I
don’t think either of our stock went up or down… but
I can say I’m definitely proud of (Melendez),” Thomson
said at the post-fight press conference after the fight. “He
came back, like a true champion does, and he got his title back.
So now it’s my turn to turn around and do what he did.”
The
difference between this fight and last, he said, were the intentions
behind the punches. This time, they really wanted to take each
other’s heads off.
“I
felt like the pace was slower than the first fight, because the
first fight, he kept coming, and we just kept countering,”
said Thomson. “So there was always active movement. But
this fight, the pace was a little bit slower, but when we did
throw, it was hard. It was stand toe-to-toe and go at it, and
someone’s getting hit. We enjoyed the moment. We took them
on the chin and we let everyone enjoy it.”
And
though he was enjoying it – wide smile and all – Thomson
got a warning after the third round that he was falling behind.
“My
corner came up to me and said ‘look, you need to pick up
the pace and you need to start getting at it or this fight’s
gonna slip away,’” he said. “And I just couldn’t
go out there and deliver, that’s the bottom line.”
Still,
the American Kickboxing Academy fighter had no excuses for his
performance Saturday night. He was simply outclassed.
”His
timing was on,” said Thomson of the new champion. “I
said this two weeks ago: if he beats me, it’s because he’s
a better fighter tonight. He made sure everything was fixed from
the first fight. His timing was on, he threatened the takedowns,
he delivered what he had to do to beat me tonight. That’s
the bottom line.”
With
the long-awaited fight over, his attention shifted to staking
Strikeforce’s claim as a serious player in a market dominated
by the UFC.
“I’m
tired of clicking onto websites and seeing the first thing is
UFC, UFC, UFC, and I would like to see something that says Strikeforce
and something positive about our fighters,” he said. “Cause
I’m getting sick and tired of that.”
Thomson
has not gone the traditional route with media as he’s matured
as a fighter. A staunch truth-teller, he’s drawn headlines
for revealing his struggles with training injuries, of which
there have been many in the last year.
After
being removed from his second re-scheduled meeting with Melendez
due to his disclosure of a nagging ankle injury, Thomson called
on the media to stop dwelling on the negative side of his fight
path.
“It
would be nice to see some positive energy in (the media’s)
interviews,” he said. “This is a great sport. I’d
hate to see the media bring us down by saying negative things.”
With
that, he challenged the UFC’s market dominance and said
Strikeforce fighters were on their way up.
“When
was the last time you seen a UFC fight card put together like
this?” he said. “When was the last time you saw UFC
fighters lay it on the line like we did tonight, and when was
the last time you seen a main event like you did tonight? I haven’t
seen one of those in a while from the UFC. So, I think we delivered.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
STRIKEFORCE
SIGNING AN EASY CHOICE FOR LASHELY
Strikeforce announced their acquisition of former WWE wrestling
champion Bobby Lashley on Dec. 11. Set to make his Strikeforce
debut on Jan. 30 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.
against a yet to be named opponent, Lashley spoke with the media
Saturday at the “Strikefoce: Evolution” post-fight
press conference about his signing and upcoming bout.
“I
met Scott Coker a while back and I’ve just been watching
Strikeforce. They have a lot of good things going on,” commented
Lashley about inking the deal with San Jose, Calif.-based fight
promotion.
“There
were a lot of other organizations that were kind of throwing
their bid in the hat, but the opportunity was here. And to be
honest with you, the best fighter in the world right now is at
heavyweight and he is with Strikeforce,” added the 33-year-old.
“Why not come here? If you want to consider yourself the
best fighter in the world, why not come to Strikeforce?”
The
former collegiate wrestling champion entered sports entertainment
as a professional wrestler in 2004 and has made recent appearances
on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Asked if he would do both
or choose one over the other, Lashley answered, "I’m
not really sure about that right now.
“Jan.
30 is right around the corner, so I’m going to have to put
100 percent of my effort into that. Right now it’s just
fighting. After that, or maybe sometime in the near future we’ll
talk and maybe I can make a decision, or maybe I might be able
to do both. I don’t know yet. It‘s a bunch of maybes.”
Lashley
last competed as a mixed martial artist on June 27 and is eager
to get back in there and fight.
“Right
now, since I’ve taken some time off, I just want to get
back in there and start swinging, start banging. I’ve been
training hard, really hard,” he said. “Now since I
have that date, Jan. 30, now I have my sights set on it. We’ll
find an opponent. I’m sure we’ll find someone pretty
soon and once we do all of my focus is going to be on that opponent.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“The
most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend.”
Henry David Thoreau
|
Cerrone
wills way to pivotal victory
LAS
VEGAS – Donald Cerrone proved the power of positive thinking
on Saturday in his fight with Ed Ratcliff in the main event of
WEC 45 at the Pearl at the Palms.
Cerrone
was on the verge of a disqualification, which would have been
his third loss in four fights in 2009 and would have put his
hopes to fight for both the World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight
and lightweight titles in 2010 well on the back burner.
But
he didn’t think of the dire consequence at all and roared
back down the stretch to submit Ratcliff with a rear naked choke
at 3:47 of the final round.
Cerrone
had enlisted the aid of sports psychologist Brian Kane after
his October loss to Ben Henderson, hoping to cure a problem of
slow starts. Kane, who made a dramatic improvement in Ultimate
Fighting Championship welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre’s
outlook, clearly had an impact upon Cerrone, as well.
Cerrone
wasn’t worried about a loss. He wasn’t worried about
being disqualified. He wasn’t worried about blowing a fight
with WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo or one against the
winner of the upcoming lightweight title fight between Henderson
and Jamie Varner.
He
was simply concerned with fighting to the best of his ability.
“This
fight was all about me and maturing my mind mentally,” Cerrone
said. “I was out there having fun. I knew in my head I was
losing the fight and I’d had two points deducted. But I
said to myself, ‘I don’t care. I’m having a good
time.’ That’s all I cared about.”
It
was a back-and-forth, high-energy fight that Cerrone slowly began
to take control of as the bout wore on. He was stronger and had
a more varied attack.
Ratcliff
was also slowed by the knees to the midsection, but he said quitting
was never an option.
“There
was never a point in time where I was going to quit,” Ratcliff
said. “I needed a little time, for sure. It didn’t
feel good, but it never crossed my mind that I was about to go
home.”
After
the third low blow – and second point deduction – Cerrone
engaged in an animated conversation with Ratcliff’s mother,
as well as his friends and family, while Ratcliff was recovering.
Cerrone
apologized for the unintentional fouls, but was getting more
animated by the second.
When
the fight resumed, he charged ferociously at Ratcliff, trying
to end the fight on the spot.
“That’s
something that’s expected,” Ratcliff said. “You’re
at war, man. We were at war in there. When you see somebody is
injured, you’re going to go for the finish. Why not? He
would have been dumb not to. I was going to keep fighting. I
don’t lay down for nobody.”
Cerrone
went hard for the finish in the third. At one point, he slipped
on a triangle choke, though he said that move was more just to
maintain position. He transitioned to a knee bar and then finished
the fight by catching Ratcliff in a rear naked choke.
It
kept alive all of his dreams for 2010, but that never dawned
on him until it was mentioned to him afterward.
“When
I was in there, this fight was just about me going out and doing
what I had been working on, getting started and having fun,”
Cerrone said. “I was having a good time. Ed said he was
going to stand and bang and he did that and was fun. That one
point, we stopped and the disqualification, I thought there was
a possibility of it, but I was saying, ‘Come on, Ed, let’s
go.’ It was just so much fun.”
He
also had plenty of fun at the post-fight news conference, where
he yet again was given Fight of the Night honors. When he was
asked if he’d like to fight Anthony Njokuani, who won Knockout
of the Night with an amazing head kick to Chris Horodecki’s
face, Cerrone beamed.
He
then turned toward Njokuani, who was sitting to his left, and
high fived him and then knuckle bashed him.
“I
just love fighting, man,” Cerrone said.
He
showed it yet again with his emotional, high-energy effort. It
would have been a great night of fights even if Cerrone-Ratcliff
had been a dud – “This was one of the most amazing
cards I’ve seen,” WEC general manager Reed Harris said
– but it turned out to be a terrific scrap.
Clearly,
Cerrone loves to fight. And just as clearly, the fans love to
watch him. There aren’t many better in the sport when it
comes to consistently delivering high-quality bouts.
“I
thought my fight (with Takeya Mizugaki) might be Fight of the
Night, but it’s pretty hard when Cerrone’s on the card,”
said Scott Jorgensen, who stopped Mizugaki in the third round.
There
may be a number of lightweights in the world who can defeat him.
There
are very few, though, who are more entertaining.
And
at the end of the day, what’s more important?
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Why
is competent reffing important? Ask Scott Smith
"Big"
John McCarthy, who is known as one of the best referees in MMA,
refereed Scott Smith's amazing comeback win against Cung Le.
In
the first round, Smith looked in trouble as Le knocked him down
and landed punch after punch. McCarthy got in close and saw that
Smith was still surviving. A lesser referee may have stopped
the fight at that point, and not allowed Smith to continue. That,
of course, would have kept Smith from pulling out the third-round
win.
Referees
have the tough job of deciding whether a fighter is healthy or
not, knocked out or not, able to continue or not. Boxing and
MMA referees have more to do with who wins and loses than in
most other sports. If a football referee makes a mistake, it
can affect the outcome of the game, but it may not.
That's
not true in MMA. If a referee calls the end of a fight too early,
a fighter will not only lose unfairly, but could lose the "win"
part of his purse. If the referee is too late to stop, the fighter
could be injured. Outside of Orlando Brown, a football referee's
actions are unlikely to injure a player.
That's
what makes the Nevada State Athletic Commission's waffling on
McCarthy's application to ref in their state so puzzling. The
man is a good referee. He's not perfect; he seems a little too
concerned with his own fame and he's made some enemies in the
world of MMA, but that doesn't seem to affect his ability to
officiate a clear fight.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
DOWN
BUT NEVER OUT: SMITH KO'S CUNG LATE
He earned his nickname as "Hands of Steel" but he may
soon pick up another moniker as "The Comeback Kid"
as Scott Smith pulled out a late third round knockout over former
Strikeforce middleweight champion, Cung Le, to secure the win
in the main event in San Jose on Saturday night.
Despite
a long layoff, it looked early on like Cung Le was right back
in form as he threw his signature kicks that caught Smith off
guard as soon as the fight began. Smith was dropped midway through
the first round with one of those unorthodox kicks, and it looked
like Le might get the early finish.
Always
fighting with a ton of heart, Smith battled through and lived
to fight another round as Le continued to step forward and batter
him with kicks to the head and body. It was the 2nd round though
that started to show the lengthy time off for Le as it looked
like was starting to run out of gas.
Smith
started to land more punches as Le's defense got sloppy, and
it seemed like the odds were starting to even up just a little
bit with each passing moment. Likely down 2 rounds to none heading
into the third, Smith knew that he had to pull out the knockout
or he was probably going back home with a loss on his record.
It
was the heart that keeps him in every fight that saw Scott Smith
finally land the combination his trainer had been calling for
as he fainted a right and blasted Le with a left hook that dropped
him to the mat. Le recovered, but only for a moment as Smith
swarmed him with punches, and a straight right finally put him
face first on the canvas.
A
few more punches followed as Le's legs went limp and Scott Smith
pulled off yet another incredible victory. The California based
fighter has been in more than his fair share of exciting fights,
and Smith proved once again that you can never count him out.
"That
was so much fun, that's how I like to fight," Smith shouted
following the win. "I got a hard head, he beat on me for
a good 2 ½ rounds. I'm never out of a fight you guys,
that's why I'm fun to watch."
The
San Jose crowd showed great support for Cung Le even in defeat,
who returned after over a year off, and a turn into a Hollywood
action star.
"He
caught me with a punch, he was a better man tonight," Le
commented after the loss.
The
Strikeforce middleweight division is the most stacked weight
class in the promotion, and while Scott Smith may not be in light
for a title shot, he is not an enviable match-up for any fighter
at 185lbs.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
45: COWBOY CLUTCHES WIN FROM JAWS OF DEFEAT
Another slow start, two points deducted due to fouls, and Donald
“Cowboy” Cerrone still managed not only to excite the
crowd at WEC 45 on Saturday, but also walk out of the cage with
a victory.
Ed
“9mm” Ratcliff took immediate advantage of Cerrone’s
notorious penchant coming out of the gate slow, landing several
hard combinations that stung Cerrone.
Once
he got going, Cerrone started firing back strong, but every time
he started to build momentum, he landed an inadvertent knee to
Ratcliff’s groin. The low blows totaled three in the fight,
costing Cerrone two points.
Cerrone
indicated after the fight that he made “no change of attack”
following the point deductions, but it appeared differently from
the outside of the cage. After the second deduction, Cowboy attacked
with calculated aggression, coming at Ratcliff from all angles,
toeing the edge of reckless abandon.
Knowing
he had to finish to get the win, he took Ratcliff down midway
through round three, locking on a reverse triangle and nearly
finishing a knee bar.
“I
had no choice but to finish it. I was down two to one. I had
no choice,” he said later.
Ratcliff
escaped the knee bar, but Cerrone was immediately on his back,
locking on a body triangle, and finishing the fight with a rear
naked choke.
Ratcliff
easily could have laid blame to the low blows – which Cerrone
said were unintentional – but he gave full credit to Cowboy.
“I
ain’t making no excuses man, he did what he was supposed
to do.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
45 MAIN EVENT TOPS $10,000 BONUSES
World Extreme Cagefighting has a reputation for delivering exciting
fights, particularly its headline bouts, and Saturday night’s
WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff was no different.
Donald
“Cowboy” Cerrone clutched a desperate victory from
the jaws of defeat in his main event contest with Ed Ratcliff.
By the end of round two, Cerrone had two points deducted for
low blows, nearly handing the bout to a machine gunning Ratcliff.
Cerrone
came out possessed in round three, knowing he had to finish the
fight to get a win. “I had no choice but to finish it. I
was down two to one. I had no choice,” he said later. And
finish the fight he did, with a rear naked choke deep in the
final round.
The
combined performance of Cerrone and Ratcliff was enough to earn
them each a $10,000 bonus for Fight of the Night honors.
Anthony
Njokuani has been on the outskirts of the radar, but after Saturday
night, he’s likely to become a mainstay at the top end of
the WEC lightweight division. He earned Knockout of the Night
honors for chasing Chris Horodecki down and welcoming him to
the WEC with a head kick that floored the former International
Fight League fighter.
Due
to some speedy performances on the main card, U.K. fighter Brad
Pickett’s Submission of the Night effort on the preliminary
portion of the event made it to television. He finished Kyle
Dietz late in the second round with a Peruvian Neck Tie choke.
Both
Njokuani and Pickett scored $10,000 bonus checks.
Normally
that would be the end of it, but WEC general manager Reed Harris
also announced that Scott Jorgensen and Takeya Mizugaki were
each given a bonus for opening the telecast on Versus with a
Fight of the Night runner up performance.
“That’s
how great of a fight that was,” said Harris.
WEC
officials confirmed that Jorgensen and Mizugaki each received
an additional $5,000 for their efforts.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Demian
Maia
After
the knock out suffered to Nate Marquardt, Demian Maia is training
hard to don’t be surprised again. Maia faces Dan Miller
on his return to UFC, in February, and is sharpening the Boxe
in Salvador, Bahia. In a chat with TATAME, Demian talked about
his trainings, evaluated his category, talked about combats that
will happen on UFC and other subjects. Check below the complete
interview with the black belt.
How
are the trainings?
Are
excellent, I’m here in Salvador, training with the guys
here, I also train in São Paulo with my Boxe teacher…
I have a lot of good people to train with me, my physical prepare
is excellent, I can focus here in Bahia, I don’t have the
worries that I have in São Paulo, I have a Jiu-Jitsu train
with quality… I’m fine.
You
were close to fight for the belt, but you suffered that defeat
to Nate… What do you bring new to your return against Dan
Miller, to don’t be surprised?
Surprises
always happen and I can’t say that it will never happen
anymore, because it always can happen. I always trained a lot,
but now I have a different focus, investing in all I need, I’m
doing everything I can to be better every way and modalities.
Do
you know his game?
I
know that he fights well standing up and on the ground, he won
a lot by submission, but I didn’t start to study him yet.
I didn’t receive, but I’ll get his DVD to watch the
fights. To me, clinch is always a good deal. Besides I’m
getting a lot better standing up, my weapon is Jiu-Jitsu, and
my stand up may be a secret weapon.
Middleweight
category is one of the most disputed on UFC...
That’s
true, there’s a lot of great guys with me, I think that
it will mess out a little now. They’re having difficulties
to find someone to face Anderson, it seems that they will put
Vitor Belfort now… This category has (Michael) Bisping,
Wanderlei (Silva), Nate (Marquardt), Anderson, who’s the
champion, there’s a lot of good guys… I think that
a lot of things will change, let’s see what will happen.
I saw that I was rated in fourth on the category, below Nate
and Anderson.
How
do you analyze the combat between Vitor and Anderson?
Everyone
I know and that knows both doesn’t risk to preview, no one
knows who will win. It’s a very complicated fight for both,
to the audience is gonna be great, an excellent fight. Vitor
is an explosive guy, strong on the beginning, like a swimming
competition. Vitor has a lot of chances on the beginning and
Anderson is very technical. If he carries the fight and brings
Vitor to his game, he will grow.
What
can the fans expect of your return?
They
can expect for the same aggressive fighter of always, but with
more experience, knowledge and much more will on the octagon,
and always trying to give the best show as possible. I like to
fight to the audience, is very important on the show.
Source: Tatame
|
Jean
Silva
Idol
in England and one of the most talented Brazilian athletes of
the lightweight category, Jean Silva announced, exclusive to
TATAME’s website, that he’s close to retire from MMA
rings. After 11 years dedicated to MMA e 40 fights on the career,
Jean explained, in a exclusive interview, the reasons that made
his mind to retirement, the best moments and the big fights that
he made around the world, the training at Chute Boxe and plans
to the future.
Why
did you decided to retire? How did you took this decision?
Actually
I was almost forced to leave the rings. There’s no way keep
fighting without a good team. On the fight on Shine, I went without
corner, without no one. On WFE, I’ve trained with friends,
then I had a result that was obvious, the defeat. To complete,
my manager left me without answers and then the need to survive
came. So I opened my training center. But I can tell you that’s
not easy to leave something that I love to do, specially at this
moment that’s coming, including my son, soon you’ll
see some videos of him on Youtube. He’s only five, but he’s
a promise.
How
old are you retiring and with how many fights on your card?
I’m
retiring with 40 fights on career. I made 10 fights between 1999
to 2001 here in Paraíba, on time, with names from here,
I including fought the IVC. And 30 are those fights on Sherdog.
Now I’m 33, I started with 22.
What
were the best moments of your career?
The
best moments were between 2003 and 2006, on Cage Rage, where
I kept the belt. I’m the only one who has the belt as a
memory in home.
You’re
an idol in England. Do you think about living there again?
I’m
pretty popular in England, I left a lie there, I have great friends,
but I don’t see myself living there.
How
were the time that you trained and fought for Chute Boxe?
It
was a very good time, I’ve learned almost everything there.
There were great sparrings, so it wasn’t impossible not
to develop. I miss that time…
Remember
your best fights...
Were
against Cris Braner, Milton Vieira and (Takanori) Gomi... It
was a war… Besides to lost, it was a huge fight, the heaviest
hand I’ve ever saw. But I think the best fight was against
Flávio Álvaro… That one was huge.
Do
you want to leave a message to the fans?
I’d
like to say I’m sorry for leave like this, but I can’t
do it alone. If it’s to disappoint you, is better to took
off and keep my private life. A big hug and God bless you.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"The
art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing
with them."
Bernard M. Baruch
|
Fighters'
Club TV Today!
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8:00 PM!
If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
the latest news from upcoming events, get to rub elbows with
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on any subject you can dream up. Hit the links above to sign
up for a free account and start posting away!
|
Melendez’s
win tops strong Strikeforce card
SAN
JOSE, Calif. – If Josh Thomson was going to predict a scenario
in which he’d lose his Strikeforce lightweight championship,
it probably would have gone pretty close to what happened Saturday
night at the HP Pavilion.
Thomson
lost what is already being talked about as a match of the year
candidate, losing to someone that he long considered a very good
friend, Gilbert Melendez.
Melendez
(17-2), who became Strikeforce interim champion in April while
Thomson was on the sidelines all year after breaking his ankle
twice, in April and August, won the five-round fight via unanimous
decision on scores of 49-47, 49-46 and 49-46.
The
win avenged Melendez’s five-round loss of the title to Thomson
in the same arena last June. Thomson agreed to give Melendez
a title rematch that night, but due to injuries, it took a year
and a half for it to happen.
Both
Melendez and Thomson thought Saturday’s fight was at a slower
pace than the original fight, but to the 9,362 spectators it
looked to be the opposite. The first fight figured on paper to
be a battle between two evenly-matched well-rounded fighters,
but instead it was a one-sided domination by Thomson.
This
time, while Melendez clearly won the fight, it was everything
expected out of the first fight and then more. There were a number
of exchanges where both men just stood there toe-to-toe firing
punches. Most of those exchanges saw both men stand there and
absorb the damage until the fifth round, when Thomson was tiring
and needed a finish and it was Melendez, who got the better of
it, putting Thomson down. But Thomson came back late in the round
with a takedown and getting Melendez’s back, before the
men stood and traded big shots as the fight ended to bring the
crowd to its feet.
“The
punch in the second round didn’t hurt, but the punch in
the fourth round (actually the fifth) was a punch to the head
that knocked the wind out of me,” said Thomson. “In
the second (the knockdown), I didn’t really feel hurt.”
While
his face was all marked up, Thomson was all smiles when it was
over, praising Melendez, a former good friend and training partner.
“We
talked at weigh-ins and said we planned to have the fight of
the night,” said Thomson (16-3, 1 no-contest). “I don’t
think either of us saw our stock drop with a fight like this.
I’m proud of Gilbert. He came back from a loss like a champion.
I want to let him enjoy the night.”
“It
was a war,” said Melendez, who became the first two-time
champion in the four-year history of Strikeforce as a mixed martial
arts promotion. “I’m ready for any champions from the
UFC or Dream.”
Melendez
noted that the fight was not fun, and at no time was he thinking
that he may have been in the middle of the match of the year.
He was only thinking he was sore and was glad for it to be over.
He also was mad that he felt he and Thomson, by not being in
the UFC, weren’t getting their fair respect in the MMA world,
noting when he saw ratings where he wasn’t in the top ten,
and Thomson was in the lower rungs of the top ten.
While
there was immediate talk of a third match, which is likely to
happen at some point, Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker talked
after the show about going to Japan for the New Year’s Eve
show and trying to put together Melendez vs. Dream lightweight
champion Shinya Aoki and Thomson vs. Dream’s Tatsuya Kawajiri
for the next show in San Jose. Although with the nature of the
top Japanese fighters having to be available for the big events
in Japan, and the availability of buildings and Showtime dates,
the stars have to be aligned perfectly for such matches to happen.
“Gilbert
won because he was the better man tonight,” said Thomson.
“I want to make it clear so people don’t make excuses.”
Thomson
said that all week, but it had been 15 months since he last fought,
and his injuries didn’t allow him to run in training, which
could have made the difference in the later rounds. The difference
between the two fights? In the original, Thomson was the matador,
teasing Melendez at every opportunity. This time, Melendez, who
blamed himself for not training hard enough for the first fight,
was in better condition.
After
the frantic exchanges, and particularly late, Melendez’s
conditioning seemed to be the difference. The wrestling of both
men largely neutralized the other, but this time Melendez was
able to connect on a far greater percentage of his punches.
“I
trained for five rounds and expected to go a hard five rounds,”
said Thomson.
On
most any other night, people would be talking almost exclusively
about Scott Smith’s comeback performance in ending the unbeaten
record of local favorite Cung Le in what was the show’s
main event.
Le
(6-1) was the star the Strikeforce promotion, before MMA was
legal in California and it was a kickboxing organization, was
built around during the 1990s. An unbeaten San Shou fighter (a
sport that combined kickboxing with takedowns, but no ground
work), dominated the entire fight. He scored three knockdowns,
and befuddled Smith with his usual array with side kicks and
spinning kicks that are only supposed to work on the movie set,
and not in MMA fights.
But
it was evident even as he was dominating Smith that he was breathing
heavily, particularly when he tried to slow the fight down in
the second round, holding Smith against the cage in an attempt
to regain his wind.
Le,
now 37, hadn’t fought since March 29, 2008, and like so
many fighters in the past who ventured into the movie world,
came back and was missing the edge that he had when he was younger.
Like
his classic fight in April with Benji Radach, Smith came back
from almost certain defeat with a Hail Mary like finish, a hard
left that suddenly put Le in trouble. After putting Le down a
second time, after a few punches on the ground, referee John
McCarthy stopped the fight.
“He
caught me with a punch,” said Le immediately after the fight.
I did my best. I fought my heart out and he fought his heart
out. He just caught me with a punch. You win some and you lose
some.”
The
key blow was a left hook that came out of nowhere.
“My
left hook is really my best punch eve though people think it’s
my right,” said Smith. “He was waiting for the right
and I brought the left hook in and caught him.”
“I
think maybe I need someone to beat the hell out of me before
I go out there,” said Smith (17-6). “I almost always
lose the first round.”
Smith,
who has made a career of providing memorable knockouts, one in
UFC against Pete Spratt that is considered one of the greatest
finishes in the history of that organization, the Radach fight,
and this, given how badly he was losing the fight and was nearly
stopped, being another one.
After
Le’s first knockdown, he pummeled Smith with hard punches
on the ground as Smith just tried to cover up. He blocked some
punches and others were getting through. Many, if not most referees
would have stopped it, and McCarthy told Smith he’d better
get out of trouble, and the urgency of the situation got him
back to his feet.
In
the television opener of the Showtime card, Muhammad “King
Mo” Lawal (6-0), a natural middleweight fighting as a 218-pound
heavyweight, finished veteran Mike Whitehead (24-7) after knocking
him down and finishing him with punches on the ground in 3:08
of the first round.
Mo,
who came to the cage with a group of dancing girls, wearing a
crown, and walking under an umbrella, was originally scheduled
to face Whitehead at light heavyweight. However, Whitehead, who
in the past has cut from as heavy as 275 pounds to 205, asked
for the fight at heavyweight and came in at 261 pounds.
The
U.S. debut of former Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion Ronaldo
“Jacare” Souza (11-2, 1 no contest) was also successful,
stopping former top five middleweight Matt Lindland (21-7) with
an arm triangle submission at 4:18 of the first round.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
MELENDEZ
RECLAIMS TITLE IN WAR WITH THOMSON
It was a loss a year ago that woke the sleeping giant that lived
inside of Gilbert Melendez. The beast was unleashed as Melendez
welcomed Josh Thomson back with a furious performance that saw
him take back the title that "The Punk" took from him
in their last match-up as the Cesar Gracie fighter became the
new Strikeforce lightweight champion on Saturday night.
The
fight that cost him the title was a thing of the past as Melendez
came in with great power that rocked Thomson several times in
their 5-round war. After a razor close first round, Melendez
dropped Thomson early in the 2nd, as he looked for the finish.
The
American Kickboxing Academy fighter did a great job in survival
mode, and soon made his way back to the feet where he and Melendez
continued to battle for the next 15 minutes.
Establishing
a great counter striking style that punished Thomson throughout,
Melendez popped his opponent with a steady diet of uppercuts
and power punches that put "The Punk" on the defensive
for much of their title fight.
Putting
Thomson on the mat a few times during the fight, Melendez showed
that he is back to being one of the best lightweights in the
world, and one of the most dangerous match-ups for any fighter
at 155lbs.
"I
just wanted to perform better than I did the last time,"
Melendez said after claiming the lightweight title. "Josh
hands down is the toughest guy I've ever fought, the toughest
match-up for me, maybe the toughest match I'll ever have. It
feels great right now though."
While
the loss had to sting, Thomson made it clear that he was in the
best possible shape heading into the fight, and was classy in
defeat as he congratulated the new champion.
"I
just wanted to make sure this is 100% clear that the reason why
Gilbert beat me tonight is he was the better fighter tonight,
he was the bigger man," Thomson stated.
With
each fighter claiming a victory over the other, a trilogy seems
like a perfect fit for Strikeforce as Melendez and Thomson have
become one of the great rivalries in all of MMA. For now, Gilbert
Melendez will enjoy his win and a welcome back to the championship
ranks.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Benavidez
comments on win over Rani
After
the outcome of the fight in which Joseph Benavidez knocked out
Rani Yahya, in the WEC, a question was left lingering. Was referee
Kim Winslow too hasty in interrupting the match? In a statement
made at the post-event press conference, Benavidez said his mission
was complete prior to the stoppage.
“It
was over. I saw his eyes roll back in his head and everything,”
said the fighter, who feels the decision to stop the bout was
the right one.
Against
a Jiu-Jitsu specialist and former ADCC champion, Benavidez was
surprised with the strategy of his opponent, who didn’t
avoid the standup action.
“At
the start, I thought he was going to try and take me down. Once
I figured he was going to stand with me, I noticed I could throw
some hard blows at him.”
With
11 wins and only one loss, Benavidez brings his record to three
triumphs in his last four appearances for the WEC. Asked whether
he may fight former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, likely
in March, the fighter didn’t discard the possibility.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Anderson
“recovering fast”, back to training
It
was 11 fights in less than four years until Anderson Silva asked
for some time. Not that he was tired of fighting, but the elbow
was asking for a surgery. After the surgery, the UFC middleweight
champion talked to TATAME.com in the end of October and said
that he was crazy to “kick some asses”, but was waiting
for doctors authorization. “I’m almost totally recovered,
thanks God the recovering is pretty fast”, Anderson said,
back to the gym. “I’m starting to train a little bit”,
celebrates. Excited to the next year, the champion doesn’t
know yet when he’ll be back to the octagon, but he’s
excited: “2010 will be great”.
Source: Tatame
|
Dos
Santos: “I wanna be a big champion”
Junior
“Cigano” dos Santos’ career jumped in a way that
even he couldn’t imagine. Debuting as unknown on UFC, he
knocked Fabrício Werdum out to jump to the fame, as the
victories over Stefan Struve and Mirko “Cro Cop” just
make him to shine more.
On
the chat of December’s edition of TATAME Magazine, that’s
already on the newsstands around all Brazil, the heavyweight
told his history and talked about his relationship with Minotauro,
trainer and idol.
“I
owe everything I am in fight to Rodrigo. When he has the belt,
I’ll be his guardian. To fight with him, they’ll have
to fight with me first”, said the heavyweight, laughing.
With defined return on UFC 108, against the rough Gilbert Yvel,
revealed that his biggest dream is to be on top of the world.
“As fighter I’m not different of anyone, I also want
to be a big champion, to be a big name as Minotauro and Minotouro”,
said.
Source: Tatame
|
WEC
45: THE ARRIVAL OF ANTHONY NJOKUANI
You may not be able to pronounce his name just by looking at
it, but you’ll never forget the tremendous finishing power
that Anthony Njokuani brought to the cage at WEC 45 on Saturday
night.
WEC
newcomer Chris Horodecki stalked Njokuani, alternately trying
to find an opening for his strikes and searching for the takedown.
The lanky Njokuani did a good job stinging Horodecki when he
was in range, and deftly defended his takedown attempts.
Midway
through the opening round, Njokuani blocked a takedown attempt,
instead reversing and taking Horodecki down. The former IFLer
got right back up, turned and ran away from Njokuani, who gave
chase and dropped Horodecki with a right kick to the head.
“He
just turned his back, I saw the opening, and went for it,”
said Njokuani after the fight. “Bam! Right on the button
baby.”
It
wasn’t quite over, however. Njokuani first had to unleash
a brutal flurry of punches that caused the referee to step in
and stop the fight.
The
win will likely launch Njokuani into the upper crust of the WEC
lightweight division.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
45: BENAVIDEZ AND JORGENSEN IMPRESS
Rani Yahya stepped into the cage on Saturday night at WEC 45,
looking to add to his three-fight winning streak. Joseph Benavidez
had other plans, however.
After
losing to Dominick Cruz his last time out – the first loss
of his career – Benavidez wasted no time righting his ship.
Known for a strong grappling game, Yahya appeared to be setting
up for a takedown by trading punches with Benavidez, but left
himself open for a crushing overhand right.
The
Benavidez sledgehammer found its mark, dropping Yahya to his
back. Benavidez followed him down and landed a couple more right
hands before the referee stepped in and stopped the bout.
“The
key was to stay on my feet as long as I could,” said Benavidez
after the fight, showing respect for Yahya’s world-class
submission game.
Miguel
Torres is set to return March 6 at the promotion’s Columbus,
Ohio, event. Benavidez could be on tap to face the former WEC
bantamweight champion.
Asked
what he thought of such a bout, Benavidez responded, “Hey,
you know, I’m here to fight the best there is, whatever
the WEC wants.”
Scott
Jorgensen did everything he could to put Takeya Mizugaki away
early in their bantamweight bout on Saturday night, but it wasn’t
to be.
He
dropped Mizugaki in the opening seconds with a right hook, and
then again late in the round with an onslaught of power right
hands that had Mizugaki all but unconscious. Inexplicably, Mizugaki
dug deep in his heart and finished not only the round, but the
entire fight.
Jorgensen
maintained the upper hand through most of the fight, winning
the stand-up, scoring with takedowns, and driving knees to Mizugaki’s
body when they clinched.
Mizugaki
fought back hard in the third round, finally managing to take
Jorgensen down and scoring with a strong ground and pound attack,
but it was too little too late for the Japanese brawler.
“I
knew he could throw. I knew he could land some solid strikes.
The plan was to stay mobile,” said Jorgensen after earning
a unanimous decision.
Asked
if he had a message for current 135-pound champion Brian Bowles,
Jorgensen simply stated, “I’m coming.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“The
most I can do for my friend is simply be his friend.”
Henry David Thoreau
|
STRIKEFORCE:
EVOLUTION RESULTS & PLAY-BY-PLAY
Former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le returns to face
Scott Smith in the main event of Saturday night’s Strikeforce:
Evolution.
MMAWeekly
is on location at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., bringing
you live results and round-by-round play-by-play.
The
first preliminary bout is scheduled to being at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00
p.m. ET, and the main card, which airs on Showtime, begins at
7:00 p.m./10:00pm ET.
Refresh
your browser page often for the latest results and blow-by-blow
coverage.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
-Cung
Le vs. Scott Smith
R1-Cung with a high kick to the head of Smith followed by a kick
to the body. Cung Le lands a spinning back kick to the body of
Smith that bounces him off the cage and then drops him. Le pounces
and drops hammerfists and multiple punches off of Smith, who
amazingly makes it back up. Smith charges in with punches, but
doesn’t have any great success. Le drops him again with
a backkick, but Smith doesn’t stay down long. More high
kicks whirl by the head of Smith. They lock up against the cage
after short exchange.
MMAWeekly scores R1 Le.
R2-
Smith tries to connect, but can’t and ends up on the wrong
end of a Cung Le backkick. Down goes Smith and Le follows him
into the guard, where a stalemate occurs. Referee Gig John McCarthy
stands them up and Smith charges in with rights and lefts down
the middle. Le retaliates and they end up clinched against the
fence. They fight out the center and end up right back against
the cage in the same spot, until Le circles off the cage and
they trade again.
MMAWeekly scores R2 Le.
R3-
Le showcase continues as he throws more spinning backkicks, high
kicks and a spinning backfist that all either land or graze Smith.
Le with a successful takedown. Smith gets back up and traps Cung
Le against the fence with a hard shot. Le slides away A left
hand followed by multiple rights drop Le, who by instinct and
determination jumps up quick only to be dropped again by a similar
combination. Le is in bad shape and Smith finishes him with a
plethora of strikes on the ground. Referee “Big” John
McCarthy steps in and ends the fight.
-Scott Smith def. Cung Le by TKO (Referee stoppage due to strikes)
at 3:25in R3.
-Josh
Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez
R1-Gilbert tests the leg of Thomson early with a fast leg kick.
A brief exchange lead to an attempted low single by Melendez,
but Josh stuffs it. Josh catches a low kick from Melendez and
puts him on his seat for a moment and follows it with punches.
They’re back up and Melendez goes for another leg, but “The
Punk” defends it well. Melendez slides in pumping the jab,
but Thomson correctly creates distance here. Thomson wings some
nice wide hooks at Melendez before the horn.
MMAWeekly scores R1 Thomson.
R2-
A right hand by Melendez connects and leads to Thomson going
down for a second. They are up again and trading within moments,
until an inadvertent knee to the groin by Melendez stops the
action for a moment. When they resume, they continue with Melendez
trying to drive Thomson towards the cage with strikes and takedown
attempts. Thomson circles off the cage and improves his position
forcing Melendez to fight with his back close to the cage. They
trade feverishly until Melendez catches Thomson with a good shot
and drops him. Gilbert follows him down and finishes the round
in Thomson’s guard.
MMAWeekly scores R2 Melendez.
R3-
They poke at each other with jabs and leg kicks to start the
round. Melendez drives back Thomson with a lightning like leg
kick. Gilbert slips after an attempted low kick and they both
drop for a second. They’re back up and throwing again. Thomson
shoots in for a low single, but Gilbert against it.
MMAWeekly scores R3 Thomson.
R4-
They test each other hard on the feet with punches then Thomson
pulls Melendez down with a double leg. Melendez pushes him off
and they resume the battle on their feet. Melendez utilizes some
very good combinations like a jab, cross followed by a leg kick.
Thomson goes down, but gets back up quickly. Gilbert’s jabs
are landing a lot on an incoming Thomson. Melendez endures body
kicks and retaliates with a knee from the muay thai plum. An
inadvertent eye poke causes a slight break in action. They pick
up but there is little time remaining in the round.
MMAWeekly scores R4 Melendez.
R5-
Thomson circles Melendez and then comes in close where they trade
some wild wide hooks. A firefight breaks out and both men get
as good as they give. A right hand by Melendez drops Thomson
to his back, but he is still in it. Melendez follows him down
and they battle on the ground, but Thomson wrestles his way back
up. Melendez with the jab to leg kick combo. Thomson lands a
spinning backkick and Melendez hits a jumping knee to the midsection
of Thomson, who hits a takedown. Thomson can’t keep Melendez
down and they are up and swinging feverishly again to end the
fight.
MMAWeekly scores R5 Melendez.
-Gilbert
Melendez def. Josh Thomson by unanimous decision (judges scores
read 49-47, 49-46, 49-46).
-Ronaldo
“Jacare” Souza vs. Matt Lindland
R1-They feel each other out with punches then an attempt by Lindland
to clinch and take “Jacare’s” back is thwarted.
Souza with the strikes causes Lindland to rush in for a takedown.
On the ground, Souza attempts an armbar, but Lindland scrambles
out and moves for an umaplata. The tables turn again as “Souza”
escapes the attempted submission and catches Lindland with a
head and arm choke that forces “The Law” to tap out.
-Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza def. Matt Lindland by submission
(due to an arm triangle) at 4:16 of R1.
-Muhammed
“King” Lawal vs. Mike Whitehead
R1-Whitehead plays the aggressor as he tries to connect with
attempted kicks to the body, but Lawal is quick on the feet and
able to slide out of range. Lawal is a lot more defensive than
offensive, but when he attacks his connection on punches is pretty
precise. Whitehead utilizes a very low leg kick and slides in
with a jab, but pays for keeping his hands low, when “King
Mo” catches him coming in with a hard right that drops big
Mike. Lawal follows him to the floor and drops a series of punches
that end with a trio of consecutive right hands that finish the
fight.
-Muhammed
“King” Mo Lawal def. Mike Whitehead by KO at 3:08 of
R1.
-Scott
Lighty vs. Antwain Britt
R1- Britt comes out and trades with Lighty. A big miss by Lighty
leads to Britt jumping on him and controlling his body while
delivering a succession of uppercuts and hooks to the body and
head. This same thing repeats itself almost verbatim after Lighty
walks into a jab.
-Antwain
Britt def. Scott Lighty by TKO (Doctor’s stoppage) at 5:00
of R1.
-Justin
Wilcox vs. Daisuke Nakamura
R1- Wilcox lands first with a one-two combination that he uses
repeatedly. Nakamura slides in and out, but his timing is off
a little. Nakamura attempts some leg kicks before throwing a
combination of his own. Wilcox makes Nakamura pay for holding
his hands around his waistline by bouncing a bunch of hard shots
off his face.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 Wilcox.
R2-
Wilcox with a high kick to Nakamura, followed by two jabs and
an uppercut. Nakamura continues to taunt Wilcox, but it is not
a very successful strategy as Wilcox lands the majority of punches.
Nakamura faints strikes then throws a legkick, but it only works
a couple of times before Wilcox shoots for the double leg and
lands in his guard to finish the round.
MMAWeekly scores R2 10-9 Wilcox.
R3-
Nakamura attempts a jumping knee but slips and Wilcox leaps on
him with strikes. Nakamura scoots away quickly and they resume
on the feet. Back and forth strikes lead to a brief shootout
with Wilcox trying the jab, jab, uppercut combo and Nakamura
winging hooks. Wilcox has red nose from Nakamura’s punches,
but is clearly winning on his volume of punches in the remainder
of the fight.
MMAWeekly scores R3 10-9 Wilcox
-Justin
Wilcox def. Daisuke Nakamura by unanimous decision (Judges scores
read 30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
-Alex
Crispim vs. A.J. Fonseca
R1 – Fonseca pushes Crispim against the fence, where Crispim
tries to reverse the standing position and ends up hitting a
trip takedown. Crispim with a head and arm lock shovels Fonseca
back first towards the cage. They’re back up, but not for
long until they are up again. Fonseca pushes for a striking match,
but Crispim prefers to clinch at for a bit. Fonseca pumps the
jab at the horn.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 Crispim.
R2-
They hit the ground almost immediately and Fonseca defends against
and guillotine choke, but slips it and gets back to his feet,
where they start the striking match. Crispim with some hard rear
leg kicks to the lead leg of Fonseca.
MMAWeekly scores R2 10-9 Crispim.
R3-
Crispim continues to use the leg kick to counter Fonseca’s
incoming assault. Fonseca clinches and tries to secure a low
single against the fence, but Crispim turns the tables and reverses
him against the fence, where he opens up with knees including
one to the face when Fonseca was down. Referee steps in and deducts
a point. They’re up and down again as Fonseca tries to catch
him with an omaplata, but then Crispim slips his arm out and
goes for an ankle lock to close the fight.
MMAWeekly scores R3 10-9 Crispim.
-Alex
Crispim def. AJ Fonseca by unanimous decision (30-27 on all three
cards.)
QUICK
RESULTS:
STRIKEFORCE
MAIN CARD (on Showtime)
- Scott Smith def. Cung Le by TKO (Referee stoppage due to strikes)
at 3:25in R3.
- Gilbert Melendez def. Josh Thomson by unanimous decision (judges
scores read 49-47, 49-46, 49-46).
- Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza def. Matt Lindland by submission
(due to an arm triangle) at 4:16 of R1.
-Muhammed “King” Mo Lawal def. Mike Whitehead by KO
at 3:08 of R1.
STRIKEFORCE
PRELIMINARY CARD (Non-Televised):
- Antwain Britt def. Scott Lighty by TKO (Doctor’s stoppage)
at 5:00 of R1.
- Justin Wilcox def. Daisuke Nakamura by unanimous decision (Judges
scores read 30-27, 29-28, 30-27.)
-Alex Crispim def. A.J. Fonseca by unanimous decision (30-27
on all three scorecards.)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
45 RESULTS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY
World Extreme Cagefighting closes out 2009 with a bang, as Donald
“Cowboy” Cerrone and Ed “9mm” Ratcliff headline
WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff in Las Vegas.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
-Donald
Cerrone vs. Ed Ratcliff
R1
- Cerrone rushes across the cage and clinches. They separate
and Ratcliff using his speed to land shots. Leg kicks by Ratcliff.
Cerrone clinches. They separate and Ratcliff shows his hand speed
again. They clinch. Ratcliff winning the exchanges, but Cerrone
lands a knee to the head in the clinch. Ratcliff’s pace
slows with 90 seconds in the round. In the clinch Cerrone lands
a low knee that didn’t seem to land on the groin on the
replay. The fight is restarted. Cerrone pressing the pace. Another
low blow by Cerrone that definitely landed low with a knee inside
the clinch. Referee Herb Dean takes a point from Cerrone. On
the restart Cerrone gets aggressive and a takedown. The round
ends. MMAWeekly.com scores it 9-9.
R2
- Cerrone gaining confidence and landing kicks to the body and
legs. Ratcliff is backing up instead of moving forward this round.
Cerrone working kicks to the legs, the body and high kicks. They
clinch and Cerrone lands a low knee. The action is stopped again.
Ratcliff given time to recover and it’s restarted. Referee
Herb Dean takes another point from Cerrone. Greg Jackson in Cerrone’s
corner says no knees anymore. Cerrone really gets aggressive
throwing flying knees and landing combinations. Ratcliff caught
a kick and fires a right hand down the middle that lands. Cerrone
works submissions as the round ends possibly saving Ratcliff
from a guillotine. MMAWeekly.com scores the round 9-9.
R3
- After an initial exchange, they clinch but quickly separate.
The crowd chants “Cowboy.” Cerrone gets the takedown
and the referee stands them up because Cerrone grabbed the fence.
A warning was issued. Cerrone with two kicks to the body. Ratcliff
has no answer for Cerrone’s kicks. They’re clinched
along the cage at the half way mark. Cerrone pulls Ratcliff to
the canvas and takes his back where he slaps on a reverse triangle.
Ratcliff somehow escapes but Cerrone takes his back and works
for a rear naked choke. Ratcliff works had defending but is forced
to tap.
Donald
Cerrone def. Ed Ratcliff by submission (rear naked choke) at
3:47, R3
-Chris
Horodecki vs. Anthony Njokuani
R1
- Horodecki comes out throwing kicks and punches but Njokuani
avoids all of it before landing a jab. Horodecki clinches but
takes a hard knee to the body in the process. They clinch along
the cage where Horodecki works for a takedown. They separate
and stand with each picking when to exchange but neither doing
much. They go to the round but get back up immediately. Horodecki
turns and runs away and Njokuani lands a high kick dropping Horodecki.
He finishes Horodecki off on the ground.
Anthony
Njokuani def. Chris Horodecki by TKO at 3:33, R1
-Joseph
Benavidez vs. Rani Yahya
R1
- Yahya lands the first blow with an outside leg kick. They exchange
bombs but neither land. Yahya with a jab. Benavidez rushes in
with a flurry that misses. Benavidez lands a right hand that
drops Yahya and follows him to the ground where he finishes.
Joseph
Benavidez def. Rani Yahya by KO at 1:35, R1
-Scott
Jorgensen vs. Takeya Mizugaki
R1
- They touch cloves. They clinch and Jorgensen lands a right
hand that sends Mizugaki to the canvas. Jorgensen pounces on
him and applies a guillotine but Mizugaki escapes and they two
are back on their feet clinched along the cage. They exchange
knees to the body before Jorgensen takes him down after catching
a high knee, but Mizugaki immediately gets back to his feet.
A combination to the body by Mizugaki. Jorgensen hurts him with
a right and drops him with another. Mizugaki recovers but gives
up his back before standing back up. They clinch and the round
ends as they separate. MMAWeekly.com scores the round 10-8 for
Jorgensen.
R2
- They come out throwing heavy punches and Jorgensen takes him
down with a double leg. Mizugaki works back to his feet where
they clinch against the fence working for position and exchanging
knees. Referee Herb Dean separates them. Mizugaki throwing combinations
and Jorgensen takes him down but Mizugaki again immediately bounces
back up. Jorgensen lands short shots as they clinch landing an
elbow. Mizugaki separates and lands body shots but Jorgensen
takes him down with a powerful double leg. Mizugaki again bounces
back up. The round ends with them clinched. MMAWeekly.com scores
the round 10-9 for Jorgensen.
R3
- R3 - They stand and trade for the first thirty seconds before
Jorgensen ties him up. They separate and stand toe-to-toe. The
pace slows in the final three minutes. Jorgensen shoots in and
a scramble ensues resulting in them standing where Mizugaki scores
a takedown. Mizugaki passes to side control and has Jorgensen
in a crucifix momentarily before Jorgensen gets out and back
to his feet. Mizugaki with a big slam and lands knees to the
body on the ground. Mizugaki lets loose in the final seconds.
MMAWeekly.com scores the round 10-9 for Mizugaki.
-Scott
Jorgensen def. Takeya Mizugaki by unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
QUICK
RESULTS:
WEC
45 Main Bouts (on Versus):
-Donald Cerrone def. Ed Ratcliff by submission (rear naked choke)
at 3:47, R3
-Anthony Njokuani def. Chris Horodecki by TKO at 3:33, R1
-Joseph Benavidez def. Rani Yahya by KO at 1:35, R1
-Scott Jorgensen def. Takeya Mizugaki by unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
WEC
45 Preliminary Bouts (non-televised):
-Bart Palaszewski def. Anthony Pettis by Split Decision (30-27,
30-27, 29-28), R3
-Zach Micklewright def. Muhsin Corbbrey by Unanimous Decision
(30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Chad George def. John Hosman by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27), R3
-Hawaii's
Own Brandon Visher def. Courtney Buck by TKO at 4:45, R1
-Brad Pickett def. Kyle Dietz by Submission (Peruvian Neck Tie
Choke) at 4:36, R1
-Erik Koch def. Jameel Massouh by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27), R3
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
RESERVES AUG. 28 FOR TD GARDEN IN BOSTON
UFC president Dana White has been waiting a long time to take
his brand of mixed martial arts to one of his favorite cities,
Boston.
With
the recent passage of sanctioning in Massachusetts, White confirmed
that the Ultimate Fighting Championship would be heading to Boston
in late summer of 2010.
Late
summer has now been narrowed down to a target date. White told
the Boston Herald on Saturday that the promotion has scheduled
Aug. 28 at TD Garden. An official announcement will come as the
date draws nearer.
“We're
gonna go to the Garden first, but we'll do Fenway too. Fenway
wants us too,” White told reporters following UFC 107.
“(Boston’s)
a personal one for me. I've been waiting a long time to get this.
So many guys are injured now; it'll be a stacked card. We're
gonna blow this one out.”
No
potential match-ups have been revealed yet for Boston, although
White did shoot down rumors of current heavyweight champion Brock
Lesnar being a target.
“I’m
not targeting him for any fight right now. I don’t even
know what the hell is going to happen to him. Right now, fighting
is the least of his worries,” White told the Boston Herald.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JACARE
AND KING MO DOMINATE AT STRIKEFORCE
A combination of power and submissions kicked off the latest
Strikeforce card on Showtime as Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
made quick work of Matt Lindland with a head and arm choke, while
"King Mo" Lawal crowned Mike Whitehead with a first
round TKO to pick up his first Strikeforce win as well.
It
seemed destined for a ground fight as Abu Dhabi champion, Ronaldo
"Jacare" Souza faced U.S. Olympic silver medalist wrestler,
Matt Lindland, and ground action is exactly what happened with
Jacare getting a slick submission win in his first Strikeforce
contest.
After
showing some much improved stand-up, Jacare baited Lindland into
the takedown and as soon as the fight hit the mat, the grappling
wizard put on a clinic. Transitioning from an armbar to an omoplata,
and eventually landing in top control on Lindland.
It
was a seemless move to watch Jacare slip from side control and
then lock on a head and arm choke that caught Lindland in the
perfect position for the finish. The Team Quest fighter struggled
for a minute before tapping out, handing Jacare the win and putting
him one step closer to a shot at the Strikeforce middleweight
title.
"Strikeforce
is my new home now," Jacare said in his post fight interview.
"Jiu-Jitsu is what I came from, but I'm training MMA, I'm
getting ready for everything."
They
call him the King for a reason as Muhammed "King Mo"
Lawal kept his record perfect with a first round destruction
of veteran, Mike Whitehead, to kick off the Strikeforce card
on Showtime Saturday night.
For
a fighter with tremendous wrestling pedigree, King Mo never once
looked to shoot in on his opponent, instead relying on his tremendous
punching power to make Whitehead pay. While the former "Ultimate
Fighter" competitor seemed to have his gameplan set early
to punish Lawal's legs with kicks, he left his head open at just
the wrong moment.
As
Whitehead came forward, Lawal unloaded a huge right hand that
sent him crashing to the mat. Before Whitehead knew what happened,
King Mo was on him reigning down punches as the referee swooped
in for the save. Following the win, King Mo gave his trainers
the credit for his quick advance in the sport of MMA.
"I've
got the best coaches out here you can get and they taught me
all I know," Lawal said after the win about his trainers.
Fighting
at heavyweight on Saturday night, Lawal says he wouldn't back
down from the challenge as long as the paycheck was right.
"I'm
a money weight, I don't care man, throw somebody in front of
me," Lawal commented. "I'm a money weight…I fight
where the money at."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Werdum
may face Fedor in April; Cyborg to defend title
As
previously published in this month’s issue of NOCAUTE magazine,
ADCC champion Fabrício Werdum openly stated his desire
to face Russia’s Fedor Emelianenko.
Werdum in action against Pezão. Photo: Esther Lin
“I’ll
be well prepared for sure. I trained a lot for my last fight,
but for Fedor I’ll need more time. He’s the best in
the world and I respect him a lot. He’s the man, good on
the ground, good standing and is a warrior. He never gets the
worst of things. But I think my time has come. A lot of people
have faced him before and I have a right to, too. I would be
really happy with such an opportunity and, although some people
don’t believe it, I think I have what it takes to beat him.
It would be a war, but I can do it.”
And
it really does seem the Brazilian’s chance to test his mettle
against the Russian, voted by Sports Illustrated as the best
of the decade in MMA, may come. In a statement made at the Strikeforce
press conference, this Saturday in California, CEO Scott Coker
remarked on the possibility.
“It’s
not confirmed… but you’ll most likely see Fedor fighting
Fabricio,” said Coker in reference to the April 2010 card
for the event. Other stars likely to feature on the card are
Dan Henderson, making his debut in the event since exiting the
UFC, Gina Carano, Shinya Aoki and, perhaps, Alistair Overeem,
the current Strikeforce heavyweight champion who has not put
in an appearance for the promotion in two years.
Cris Cyborg
Cris
Cyborg to defend belt –Female champion of the California-based
promotion Cris Cyborg will defend her title against Marloes Coenen.
The title bout will figure as one of the main events on the January
30 card, to take place in Miami.
Source: Gracie Magazine
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Benavidez
comments on win over Rani
After
the outcome of the fight in which Joseph Benavidez knocked out
Rani Yahya, in the WEC, a question was left lingering. Was referee
Kim Winslow too hasty in interrupting the match? In a statement
made at the post-event press conference, Benavidez said his mission
was complete prior to the stoppage.
“It
was over. I saw his eyes roll back in his head and everything,”
said the fighter, who feels the decision to stop the bout was
the right one.
Against
a Jiu-Jitsu specialist and former ADCC champion, Benavidez was
surprised with the strategy of his opponent, who didn’t
avoid the standup action.
“At
the start, I thought he was going to try and take me down. Once
I figured he was going to stand with me, I noticed I could throw
some hard blows at him.”
With
11 wins and only one loss, Benavidez brings his record to three
triumphs in his last four appearances for the WEC. Asked whether
he may fight former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, likely
in March, the fighter didn’t discard the possibility.
Source: Gracie Magazine
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Wallid
Ismail’s life story at TATAME #163
Wallid
Ismail took the bus in Manaus and, even without money on the
pocket, didn’t rest until comes to Rio de Janeiro to realize
his dream: to train Jiu-Jitsu. Now, many events and fights later,
Wallid consider himself a winner. In a historical Paredão,
published on December edition of TATAME Magazine, the black belt
told how he became one of the biggest students of Carlson Gracie
and revealed how his rivalry with Gracie family started.
How
did you rivalry with Gracie family started?
I
faced three Gracie and there was that fight with Ryan on the
backstage of the Bad Boy runaway… I took Carlson’s
pains and I have no regrets, because I’m a soldier, if you’re
my partner I’m with you, if you’re not… Nowadays
I’m of composition, but I was radical at the time, and Carlson
got mad with problems with the heritage…
Do
you remember how were the fights?
The
first one I faced was Ralf, in 1987, on Rio sport Center, I won
by 3x0 with a passage. After was Renzo, in 1993, on Flamengo’s
Gymnasium, and was like this: I was Brazilian champion, he was
Brazilian champion too, and at the time people wanted to know
who were best, me on Carlson’s side or him on Gracie Barra’s.
We fought, I won with three guard passages… Then was Royce,
in 1998, who came to Brazil to challenge everyone…
Your
name wasn’t rated to face Royce. How were you chosen?
I’ll
be honest, wasn’t Zé Mário (Sperry) nor Murilo
(Bustamante) who will fight, was Amaury Bitetti. That’s
the true, he had a deal with Carlinhos Gracie. But he was so
sure that he would fight that on the meeting that we had scheduled
with Zé Moraes, to see who was going to fight, he didn’t
show up, only Murilo and Zé Mario. They were imposing
too much rules and I said to Zé Moraes: “I fight
with Royce with kimono, without kimono, with point, without point,
however he wants to”…
Source: Tatame
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