Upcoming
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2009
10/10/09
NAGA Hawaii
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Hawaii, Tentative)
6/28-29/09
2009 Pac Sub
(Gi & No-Gi competition)
6/4/09 - 6/7/09
World JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(California)
5/9/09 - 5/10/09 &
5/16/09 - 5/17/09
Brazilian Nationals JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)4/18/08
NY International JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
5/9/09
15th Grapplers Quest Las Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Las Vegas, NV)
5/2/09
Uprising MMA
(MMA)
(Maui)
May 2009
Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships
(Sub Grappling)
(Tentative)
4/4/09 - 4/5/09
NAGA World Championship
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(NJ, Tentative)
3/29/09
Kingdom MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
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)
3/21/09 - 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
Got Skillz
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom, Waipahu)
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)
|
|
February
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 and Thursday with
Kaleo Kwan & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
In
Memory of Lars Chase
Rest in peace my brother
March 10, 1979 - April 2, 2008 |
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for a hotel room on Oahu?
Check out this reasonably priced, quality hotel in Waikiki!
For
the special Onzuka.com price, click banner above! |
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Fighters'
Club TV
The Toughest Show
On Teleivision
Tuesdays
at 8:00PM
***NEW TIME***
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!
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O2
Martial Arts Academy Day Classes Start May 2!
Women & Kids Kickboxing Class starts May 4!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2MAA Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Day Classes will be held on Monday,
Wednesday, and Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and will be taught
by one of Relson Gracie's first black belts, Sam Mahi!
We will be starting a Womens and Kids kickboxing class on Sunday
afternoons from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The class will be taught
by none other than O2's Kaleo Kwan! It will be a non-competitive,
fun atmosphere and allow the ladies and kids to get in a quick
workout and learn some legitimate kickboxing technique before
the long work week starts.
New
O2MAA Kid's Jiu-Jitsu Class Starts Friday, December 5 from 5:30
to 6:30 PM!
Adult Wrestling Class Starts Starts Friday, December 5 from 8:30
to 9:30 PM!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Quote
of the Day
"If
you don't risk anything you risk even more."
Erica Jong
|
GOT
SKILLZ IS BACK!
FILCOM CENTER, WAIPAHU, HAWAII
MARCH 7, 2009
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30
JAMEN 130 AJ PANG
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 120 ISRAEL ALVAREZ
LAA KAHOOKELE 150 SAGE YOSHIDA
DAVIN CUMMINGS 185 JACOB RAUSHENBURG
MATT SAMUELS 220 RONSON NELSON
ACE 110 THEODORE BROWN
MIKE CUBAN 170 SHAISON LAUPOLA
JOSHUA 170 LAWRENCE HINOJOSA
PAKI 260 JAMES
JOSH AFAFALA 130 DEGUZMAN
JORDAN FONTEZ 140 CLEM HALLOWAY
WALLY HAINA 150 JOE ENAENA
JAN QUIMOYOG 125 MARK CABERTO
KEA DEMELLO 175 DANIEL
ANTHONY 170 KEVIN GRACE
TBA 155 ROB CARLYON
JOEY 130 EMERSON SOUERIA
ROLAND SEFO 220 KEONI GANDY
all matches & participants are subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
DA
BOSS TO FACE KAWAJIRI AT DREAM 7
Hilo boy Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez (19-6) has agreed to
fight the #10 ranked lightweight in the world Tatsuya "Crusher"
Kawajiri (22-5-2) at Dream 7 on March 8th. The event will take
place in Japan at the Saitama Super Arena and will be broadcast
in the States the following Friday on HDNet. This will be Ebanez's
first fight at lightweight after a solid run at welterweight.
Despite the short notice, "Da Boss" is confident and
ready. "This is a huge opportunity and even though it's
on a weeks notice I will be ready. It's a drastic cut for me
but I was already in the gym training, when the call came I jumped
on it" said Ebanez.
Dream
7 will also feature the following bouts:
First
Round of Dream Featherweight Tournament
-Atsushi
Yamamoto vs. Masakazu Imanari
-Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kim Jong Won
-Yoshiro Maeda vs. Micah Miller
-Chase Beebe vs. Joe Warren
-Takafumi Otsuka vs. Bibiano Fernandes
-Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura vs. Abel Cullum
Non-Tournament
Bouts:
-Shinya Aoki vs. David Gardner
-Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Source: Rich
|
'Cabbage'
Suspended in Wargods Contract Dispute
by Loretta Hunt
The California State Athletic Commission suspended Wesley "Cabbage"
Correira last week for failing to satisfy a one-fight contract
to face Buddy Roberts at a co-promoted Wargods and Ken Shamrock
Productions event on Feb. 13 in Fresno, Calif.
Correira
(19-14) pulled out backstage an hour before the scheduled bout
at the Selland Arena, he said after he learned the promotion
would be cutting his fight purse in half to cover last-minute
costs for his state-required medical tests.
The
30-year-old Hawaiian known for his granite chin told Sherdog.com
on Friday that he'd been issued a letter from the regulatory
agency late last week, stating that he must hold up his end of
an agreement he signed with the California-based promotion before
he would be licensed to fight anywhere else in the state again.
A
Wargods representative said the four-time UFC veteran will be
asked to headline the promotion's next event on May 30 in San
Diego, though Correira was slated to face Lavar Johnson for the
vacant Palace Fighting Championship heavyweight title on May
8 in Lemoore, Calif. PFC promoter Christian Printup could not
be immediately reached for comment, though the event is held
on sovereign land and not overseen by the CSAC.
The
circumstances leading to Correira's withdrawal from the Feb.
13 bout are compounded by a host of "he said-he said"
accusations between promoter and fighter.
Correira
had a laundry list of grievances with the promotion, including
a lack of per diems, spotty transportation for the fighters,
and little notice given for airplane flights to and from the
event.
Correira
said the final straw came when a CSAC official told him at the
arena that half of his show purse would be withheld by Wargods
to cover his medical testing -- something Correira said had not
been negotiated beforehand between fighter and promotion.
"If
I knew they were they were going to take it out, I could have
done my own medicals much cheaper," Correira said.
The
Wargods rep said the Hilo resident was given ample time to turn
in his paperwork on his own, which is generally customary, but
missed his deadlines. Corriera said he was given five hour's
notice to make his flight for the mainland, and had to cancel
two of his tests scheduled that day.
"We
had to fly him in and get [the medical tests] done over here.
It was the only way we could ensure to save that fight,"
said Wargods' marketing and public relations representative,
who asked not to be identified by name. "It was his responsibility
to get his medicals, but we had to have one of our promoters
drive him around and get his medicals, of course, making our
job harder."
The
rep said Correira was informed at the weigh-ins on Thursday that
his purse would be deducted for the medical costs, and didn't
protest it until fight night. Correira said he only agreed to
have the licensing fees for his two cornermen taken from his
purse.
The
Wargods representative said every attempt was made to appease
Correira on fight night.
"Even
Marcelo Rivas, one of the promoters, offered to not take that
money out of the purse, but that still wasn't good enough for
him," said the representative. "[Rivas] even asked
the commission if they would let him increase the pay and that
wouldn't work. We tried to do everything to make him happy."
Correira
corroborated that the last-minute negotiation took place, but
the promoters would not provide the new terms in writing when
the fighter requested it.
"They
never approached me with the papers, and I've been kicked around
way too much by promoters by just taking their word," said
Correira.
Correira,
who was contracted for $4,000 to fight with a $2,000 win bonus,
said the medical costs totaled half of his purse. The promotion
said the tests ran closer to $1,600.
The
fighter said he was informed by the commission at the event that
he would be suspended if he didn't compete.
"[The
commission] asked me what happened, but they said I had signed
a contract and it was between me and the promoter," said
Correira.
The
fighter also claimed that he had agreed to take a lower-than-usual
purse price because Wargods had agreed to use four of his teammates
on the card as well. However, the promotion dropped the other
Hawaiian fighters one by one as the fight date approached, said
Correira.
"We
were never trying to get four other guys on the card," said
the promotion rep. "We were trying to get, maybe, two guys
from Hawaii, from B.J. Penn's camp, to fly down. We were going
to try to bring guys from the camp."
The
rep also said per diems -- money traditionally given to fighters
and their cornermen to cover the cost of food on-site -- are
not offered automatically in Wargods contracts and are something
the managers have to ask and negotiate for.
Neri
Moevao, a scout who helped broker Correira's deal with Wargods,
said he requested a per diem for Correira and his cornerman after
the fighter had signed his contract, but the request fell through
the cracks once the fighter's medicals became the priority. Correira
estimated he spent about $200 out of pocket to feed himself and
his cornerman over the three days. Moevao said he did not take
any fee from the fighter once the situation soured.
The
Wargods representative said that "pretty much all"
of the fighters other than Correira completed their medical paperwork
on time. However, CSAC Assistant Executive Director Bill Douglas
told Sherdog.com that a proposed card of 13 fights had been whittled
down to eight bouts, half of which hadn't been medically cleared
by the regulatory body the night before the show. Wargods ended
up hosting eight bouts.
The
drama continued into Saturday, said Correira.
Cabbage
said he and his cornerman were picked up by Rivas around 9:15
a.m. for a flight that left at 9:50 a.m., and had to insist the
promoter follow them inside the airport because they knew they'd
miss their flight.
The
Wargods rep said Correira and his companion missed the flight
because the fighter had wasted time trying to negotiate for payment
that morning. Correira said Rivas left and promised to return,
but that the fighter and his cornerman were stranded at the Fresno
Yosemite Airport for nearly seven hours before another Wargods
rep picked them up. Corriera said he made numerous calls to the
promoters during that time and that conversations got tense on
both ends. Correira said he had to resort to blocking his phone
number to get Wargods promoters to answer his follow-up calls.
Correira
and his cornerman were eventually retrieved from the airport,
given $500 provided by one of the event's sponsors, and put up
in a hotel for an additional night. The pair was flown back to
Hawaii promptly on Sunday morning.
"We
tried to do everything we could to take care of him," said
the rep. "We wanted his 'show money.' A lot of fighters
think it's 'show money' when it's actually 'fight money.'"
The
rep said the promotion was wary to work with Correira again,
but they would welcome him back on May 30.
"He
owes us this [fight]," said the rep. "We'll fight him.
We'll even forgive his medicals. We want to be fair to fighters.
We don't want them to feel we're taking advantage of them."
Correira
said he would honor the one fight for the same purse as long
as Wargods "got their s--- together." Correira said
he would also have to be paid a remaining $1,500 he is owed (Correira
said the promoter eventually agreed to pay half of his purse),
a per diem during his stay and be given reasonable notice for
his ingoing and outgoing fights.
"I
told them, 'If you guys do that, I'll fight for you guys for
the same price, no questions asked,'" said Correira. "I
told them they need to talk to the fighters and find out what
they're doing wrong. Talk to them."
Update:
This article was updated at 7:08 p.m. EST to make a correction.
Correira's proposed opponent at Wargods was Buddy Roberts, not
Buddy Clinton.
Source:
Sherdog
|
BOWLES
OUT; MIZUGAKI TO FACE TORRES AT WEC 40
by Damon Martin
Miguel Torres will have a new opponent for his April 5 title
defense at WEC 40 in Chicago, as MMAWeekly.com has confirmed
that Brian Bowles has been forced out of the bout with an undisclosed
injury. Stepping in to replace him is No. 6 ranked bantamweight
Takeya Mizugaki, who is expected to sign a five-fight deal with
the WEC, Torres being his first opponent.
The
news was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by multiple sources close
to the fight on Wednesday.
Mizugaki
makes not only his WEC debut, but also his debut in the United
States with an impressive resume of fights on the worldwide stage.
The Japanese based fighter has won his last five fights while
competing in the GCM Cage Force series. He spent the biggest
part of his career with the Shooto organization.
Mizugaki
brings a very stiff challenge to the table for Torres, who is
riding a 16-fight win streak, his last two wins serving as successful
title defenses after taking the belt from Chase Beebe in February
2008.
The
fight between Torres and Mizugaki will headline WEC 40, the promotion's
first trip to the Windy City, which will also feature another
bantamweight showdown between Jeff Curran and Joseph Benavidez.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Palaszewski
Gunning for 2nd WEC Victory
By Kelsey Mowatt
It didn't take long for Bart Palaszewski to be given an opportunity
to really entrench his presence in World Extreme Cagefighting's
lightweight division, as in just his second fight with the promotion;
the veteran will square off with former title contender, Rich
Crunkilton Jr. In fact, the tilt will feature two of the promotion's
more experienced lightweight fighters, as Palaszewski will head
into the March 1st bout with a record of 30-11, while Crunkilton
Jr. has put together a resume of 16-2 throughout his near decade,
long career.
"We
had a couple of names brought to us," said Palaszewski,
when asked about how the fight came together. "I can't remember
the other guy's name, but we told the WEC that we'd rather have
Rich. He's more than established in the WEC and as a fighter
overall. I wanted a tough fight to prove myself for the WEC to
get a title shot. We weren't sure who they were going to give
us but we were definitely happy with Rich."
Crunkilton
has fought just once since he failed to lay claim to the promotion's
championship, as at WEC in September, 2007, he was stopped in
the first round by the current champion at that time, Rob McCullough.
When Crunkilton squares off with Palaszewski on March 1st, it
will have been nearly one year since his last fight, when he
worked his way to a Unanimous Decision victory over Sergio Gomez
at WEC 33.
"He's
a good wrestler. He's got strong jiu-jitsu. He's a well rounded
fighter like everybody is these days," Palaszewski said,
when asked for his assessment of Crunkilton Jr. "He's coming
from a strong camp, but his ground and wrestling is the strong
point of his game."
Over
the last couple of years Palaszewski has evolved into a fighter
that is capable of finishing fights on his feet or on the ground,
but despite this progress, he has conceded in the past that the
wrestling component to his game was perhaps lagging behind.
"I
definitely want to keep this fight on my feet," Palaszewski
told FCF. "The last year or so I've really busted my but
working on my wrestling. I've been working with Overtime Wrestling.
They're a really good team and have really good coaches. I've
been wrestling more than anything. Three or four times a week
I've been wrestling, so it's jumped tremendously from where it
was before, which was pretty non-existent. I'll definitely put
up a fight anytime we end up wrestling."
During his tenure with the now defunct International Fight League,
Palaszewski became one of the promotion's more notable competitors,
putting together a record of 8-4. Although his debut for the
promotion was not televised, a second round stoppage of Alex
Karalexis in December, the Illinois fighter is excited about
the fact that this next bout will be part of the Versus broadcast.
"Obviously
I caught somebody's eye with my first fight," Palaszewski
said. "I'm really happy about that. It was a good war. It
was a good fight. I came out on top; I won in the fashion that
I like to win with a knock out. Somebody likes me out there so
it's definitely a compliment. With the 170lb. division being
taken out of the WEC, we got bumped up to the co-main event,
so I'm even happier about that."
One
would think that if Palaszewski can get by Crunkilton, the Jeff
Curran trained fighter could be within striking distance of a
title shot.
"You
know God willing if I win this fight, if they want to give me
a title shot, hopefully Jamie's (Varner) ready by then,"
Palaszewski added. "If not then I'll just keep going. I
just can't not fight. It drives me nuts. In '08 I had like a
five month lay-off not fighting. It drove me crazy. This fight
win or lose, as long as I have just a few bumps or bruises, I'll
get right back in the gym and start training. Hopefully that
training's for a title fight but if not, that's okay too."
Source:
Full Contact Fighter
|
Chase
Beebe Fails to Show for UWC Weigh-ins
Press Release
Fairfax,
VA --- Chase Beebe failed to show for today's weigh-in and is
officially out of Saturday's UWC - MAN "O" WAR Bantamweight
Championship title bout against Mike "The Hulk" Easton
at Patriot Center. Beebe has been replaced by H.I.T. (Hughes
Intensive Training) Squad's Justin Robbins for the Main Event's
title fight.
Beebe allegedly sustained a knee injury that hampered his training
and ability to reduce his weight to the contractually-set limit
of 135 pounds. However, the former WEC champion failed to provide
medical records regarding his injury and did not appear at today's
official weigh-in, resulting in the UWC finding a last-minute
replacement.
"We are extremely disappointed that Chase failed to show
up today to compete at MAN "O" WAR and equally frustrated
by the way this entire situation has played out," said Ultimate
Warrior Sports Development CEO Marcello Foran. "We were
aware that he was having troubling cutting weight earlier this
week, but never received any official medical documentation about
the severity or extent of an injury that would force him to pull
out of the show which is required in his contract."
Beebe missed his Thursday morning flight from Illinois to Washington,
DC and failed to post at today's official weigh-in. He has not
communicated directly with any UWC official to alert them of
his decision. UWC plans to hold Beebe legally accountable and
Virginia's sanctioning body, the Department of Professional and
Occupational Regulation, plans to impose sanctions against the
fighter.
"While this situation is certainly disappointing to everyone,
I promise that MAN "O" WAR will live up to everyone's
high expectation as the biggest and best MMA show to hit the
National Capital region," continued Foran about the UWC's
third Washington DC area event. "Every single fighter participating
tomorrow will give 100-percent and my hat certainly goes off
to Justin and Mike for their professionalism for agreeing to
the championship fight at last minute."
Beebe's camp through trainer Marc Fiore informed UWC officials
this past Tuesday night that the 24-year old fighter was having
trouble making weight due to an apparent knee injury suffered
in training camp. Beebe's camp asked Easton's team if they would
be willing to allow Beebe to fight at a higher weight of 145
pounds, mentioning the possibility that Beebe might not be able
to compete at 135 pounds on Saturday. A one pound concession
to 136 pounds was granted to Beebe by UWC officials. Beebe's
contract with the UWC requires the fighter to be medically evaluated
by a UWC-approved physician in the event of injury that would
prevent him from participating. At mid-week, UWC officials began
working on a contingency replacement as a result of their conversations
with Beebe's camp.
Known for his heart and strong work ethics Robbins has been training
at H.I.T. Squad with nine-time UFC champion Matt Hughes ever
since his bosses' bout with George St. Pierre. Robbins, 27, is
13-6-1 and has competed at a highest level in Elite XC and in
WEC 29.
UWC 5: MAN "O" WAR will be co-headlined by a light
heavyweight battle between Antwain "The Juggernaut"
Britt vs. Jamal "The Suit" Patterson, as well as seven
other high level fights. Doors will open at 6:30pm and the first
fight is at 7:30pm. Tickets for the event are available via Ticketmaster
and at the door. For more information, visit www.uwcmma.com.
The Ultimate Warrior Challenge (UWC) is the Mid-Atlantic region's
leader in providing fans with the best, most competitive and
highest quality professional mixed martial arts (MMA) events.
In addition to featuring elite fighters from the top MMA teams
across the country, UWC also showcases and builds the careers
of the many top pro fighters from the leading Virginia, DC and
Maryland teams and gyms by giving them an opportunity and platform
to challenge the very best in their highly competitive hometown
area. UWC's fighters and events will serve as the catalyst for
turning the Mid-Atlantic region into a powerful and highly-regarded
MMA east coast destination. For more, please visit www.uwcmma.com.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Fertitta:
"I'd love to see Fedor in the UFC"
By Guilherme Cruz
One of the richest mans in the world and owner of the UFC, Lorenzo
Fertitta was the responsible of putting money in the Ultimate
Fighting Championship to bring it where it is today, but he wants
more. Lorenzo, one of the billionaire brothers, spoke to the
reporter Paula Sack in an exclusive interview to TATAME Magazine's
February issue, and asked the question everybody wants to make
to Fertitta: Why isn't Fedor Emelianenko in the octagon?
"That's a great question. I don't understand it too. He's
a great fighter, I'd love to see him in the UFC. We've already
offered a lot of money, more than what he has being paid in other
events, so it doesn't make sense to me", said Fertitta,
who revealed plans of bringing the UFC to Brazil.
Source:
Tatame
|
Demian
Maia under the lights
Brazilian wants a shot at the title
Just as Lyoto Machida, another Brazilian is now catching the
attention of the international specialized press. After getting
his fifth straight win - all by submission - Demian Maia is already
pointed out as one of the possible contestants to Anderson Silva's
belt.
With
an efficient ground game, Demian is not exactly spetaculous as
his adversaries but he has been pleasing all of those who watch
him at the UFC.
After
last night's victory, the Brazilian, talked about his current
moment: "I am very well prepared. For the first time, I
have the title in my mind. I think I deserve a shot at it. I
want to show Jiu-Jitsu to the world. I want to prove that is
possible to win a fight without hurting your opponent,"
said Demian.
In
a good moment, Maia, however, will have to have some patience
to get his chance for the title. That's because according to
indications of the UFC's directors, if Silva beats Thales Leites
at UFC 97, on April 18th, his next contestant should be the winner
of the Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping bout. As for Demian,
the only choice is to keep winning.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Randy
Couture vs. Mirko "Cro Cop Filipovic
At UFC 99?"
I'm
working on a movie this March, April and May. It depends when
I finish the movie. If I can get a full camp in before the Germany
[show] I'd love to fight Cro Cop. He's a huge star in Germany.
But the question is whether I'll be able to get a full camp in."
- Former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture gives Raw Vegas
the lowdown on a possible match-up between he and 2006 PRIDE
Grand Prix champion Mirko Filipovic.
Filipovic is rumored to be returning to the UFC and would be
a great asset to the promotion as they attempt to make a splash
in their inaugural foray into Germany. "Cro Cop" is
a huge star in Germany due in part to the countries close proximity
to Cro Cop's native Croatia.
Rumors have put a date for the UFC's German debut, UFC 99, at
June 13.
If this is the case, it's unlikely that Couture would have enough
time for a full eight week camp. The UFC hall-of-famer is currently
filming a new Sylvester Stallone action movie that will take
him into May, making a full camp impossible.
Dates haven't yet been etched in stone however, and the possibility
remains that a fight between the two could take place. If the
UFC is looking at Filipovic as a one and done proposition they'll
likely push the Croatian into a high profile match up and attempt
to milk him for what he has left.
If, however, the promotion believes that Filipovic can recapture
the magic that once made him an elite, top five heavyweight,
they'd be more likely to put him in against a fighter with less
experience and allow him to become more familiar with the cage
and ease his way into his second UFC go-round.
Source:
Fight Line
|
UFC
95 draws 1.6 cable rating
By Zach Arnold
Not bad for a main event with Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson.
Check out UFC's ratings over the last six months on Spike TV.
Nothing to sneeze at. Here's the press release from Spike TV
on UFC 95 ratings.
Glad to see that HGH InFusion had 1.6 million eyeballs watching
their sponsorship of Dan Hardy pay off without any media criticism
in MMA circles. Because, you know, nobody in the general sports
media would have said anything if a baseball player had wiped
sweat off his face during a Home Run Derby contest with a towel
saying "Signature Pharmacy, get your HGH InFusion here"…
or if a basketball player had a "powered by HGH InFusion"
logo on his jersey during the Slam Dunk Contest…
Way to step up your game, MMA media.
Addendum: I find the reaction to the non-coverage to be interesting.
This is not a case of manufacturing a scandal. What it is a case,
however, is highlighting the hypocrisy and selective outrage
that sports fans have when it comes to athletes taking performance-enhancers
(as far as which ones should get villified and which ones people
determine to be sob stories.)
We came off a week where the sports media was absolutely hysterical
about Alex Rodriguez and steroids. If any athlete from one of
the 'major' US sports or in soccer was sponsored by a company
with HGH in the name, that athlete would have been crucified.
However, because MMA is still under the radar of so many in the
broadsheet sports media, incidents like this with Hardy go unnoticed.
Therefore, the onus should be on the people actually covering
the business. The MMA media. And what have we gotten so far?
Predictably, crickets. Silence.
" "It's not a big deal."
" "It's not real HGH!"
What fan watching at home seeing a fighter with a "HGH"
sponsor is going to sit there and think, "That's fake HGH!"
Of course not. The message being sent here, by the media and
by those in the business, is that the issue of performance-enhancers
really doesn't matter. When a fighter fails a steroid test, everyone
starts screaming, "That's deplorable!" Yet, we have
a fighter who is sponsored by an "HGH" product, and
nobody says a word. Selective outrage. And hypocrisy at its worst.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
"Great
ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new
assignment."
Baltasar Gracian
|
X-1
WORLD EVENTS "NEW BEGINNING"
Today!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: PRESS CONFERENCE FOR "NEW BEGINNING"
You are cordially invited to meet and interview the fighters
participating in the X-1 World Events "NEW BEGINNING"
show. The Press conference takes place Tuesday February 24, 2009
and starts promptly at 2:30pm in the Dave and Busters Showroom.
The showroom is located on the second floor.
"NEW BEGINNINGS" featuring the highly anticipated MMA
local favorite Falaniko Vitale, takes place 7:00 PM Friday February
27, 2009, at the Maui War Memorial Gym.
Falaniko Vitale a former college standout football player and
UFC veteran will take on EliteXc veteran and Renegades Extreme
Fighting Middleweight Champion Jon "El Jagur" Kirk
of Houston, Texas. Kirk is a pure striker and looks forward to
going head to head with Vitale.
Also that night 4 of Maui's top fighters will take to the ring.
UFC Veteran and the top ranked Heavyweight in Hawaii Scott "Punk
Haole" Junk will go toe to toe with the very dominating
new comer Lolohea Mahe. Mahe has ran through all 4 of his previous
opponents and jumped at the opportunity to fight Junk. This will
be the first high caliber opponent for Mahe and he hopes that
a win in Maui will get him the match that he keeps asking for,
a fight against X1 World Champion Ron Waterman.
155lb jiu jitsu specialist Dominic Ahnee of Maui will go head
to head with talented wrestler Michael Brightmon. In record time
Brightmon built up his pro record to an impressive 10-2, he is
ready to make the move to the lightweight division and feels
that he is more then ready to take on Ahnee for the X1 State
Lightweight Title. Ahnee is no stranger to tough fights, having
submitted World Muay Thai Champion Trevor Hardy and going the
distance with local standouts Harris Sarmiento and Kaleo Kwan,
Ahnee feels that a win here could make him that much closer to
the X1 World Lightweight Title.
Maui boxer Brandon Visher continues to dominate Hawaii's 145lb
division and is easily considered the number one contender for
the X1 World Featherweight Title. As he patiently waits for his
shot at the current champion Eddie Yagin, Visher finds himself
matched up against another veteran fighter Justin Mercado. Mercado
first entered the ring back in 2002 and has always been an exciting
fighter that never gives in, Visher himself an exciting boxer
has continued to show the fans that his ground game can be just
as dangerous. These two warriors will be fighting for the X1
State Featherweight Title.
Maui's undisputed bantamweight king Mike "The Pitbull"
Pedro has a very exciting ground game and proved it when he submitted
current X1 Champion Kana Hyatt in a non-title match in just 14
seconds into the fight. Don't look past Hansen though as he too
is a stud on the ground thanks to his amazing camp at Team MMAD.
This bout has all the makings of fight of the night.
Maui native Koa Ramos will make his return against exciting striker
Jason Daquel.
8 more exciting fights will be on the undercard featuring Maui's
top amateur fighters as they too try to earn their way into the
X1 rankings.
Tickets can be purchased by calling
Toma Garage 1-808-575-2652, Hot Spot video 1-808-244-1014 or
1-808-875-1005, Peak Performance 1- 808-871-2877, 967KO 1-808-871-5807,
SOLID 1-808-893-0929, West Side Vibes 1-808-667-1900, Urban City
1-808-871-5550
Christine Young
X-1 World Events Executive Director
Cell: 808-723-0504
Fax: 808-689-8866
Email: christine.x1events@gmail.com
Source: Event Promoter
|
Falaniko
Vitale defends X-1 185-lb. belt this Friday
Falaniko Vitale will defend his X-1 middleweight title against
Jon Kirk this Friday, Feb. 27 at X-1 "New Beginning"
Maui War Memorial Gym in Kahului, Hawaii.
Vitale (26-9) holds wins over current UFC middleweight title
contender Yushin Okami, former UFC champ Dave Menne and former
UFC number one contender Matt Lindland. In his last fight, Vitale
lost a unanimous decision to Frank Trigg at Strikeforce "Payback"
in Denver, Colorado on Oct. 3, 2008. Vitale's opponent Jon Kirk
(11-5) is a two-time EliteXC competitor.
Also on the card is one-time UFC heavyweight Scott Junk (6-2)
returning to action against undefeated Lolohea Mahe (3-0). Junk
was last seen at UFC 76 "Knockout" on Sept. 22, 2007
tapping out to a heel hook applied by Christian Wellisch.
FIGHT CARD:
" Falaniko Vitale vs. Jon Kirk
" Scott Junk vs. Lolohea Mahe
" Michael Brightmon vs. Dominic Ahnee
" Justin Mercado vs. Brandon Visher
" Brysen Hansen vs. Mike Pedro
" Koa Ramos vs. Jason Dacquel
Source:
MMA Fighting.com
|
Mayeda
Examines MMA's Role in Society
by Danny Acosta
Fights inside and outside the cage and ring fall under the mixed
martial arts umbrella. For David Mayeda, MMA has become as much
about responsibility as excitement.
The
"human cockfighting" phrase still reverberates, despite
support from mainstream advertisers like Nike, Bud Light and
Microsoft. Mayeda, who earned his PhD in American Studies from
the University of Hawaii, set out to explore MMA's place in society
in 2005 after coming to know the sport through "The Ultimate
Fighter" reality series.
"I
knew, even though I was seduced by mixed martial arts as a fan,
it potentially could have differing effects on society in terms
of violence," said Mayeda, who has placed his academic focus
on violence prevention geared toward youth.
"Fighting
for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Artists and Violence in American
Society" was published in February 2008. Mayeda took his
theses from print to film when he directed, co-produced and narrated
the documentary "MMA 808: Inside Hawaii's Fight Game,"
which was later derived from his book.
"I'm
going to stick to my assertion that because MMA is the closest
thing to the complete sport of fighting, it holds -- the sport
as a whole holds -- a broader social responsibility," he
said. "That overlap between MMA and street school or domestic
violence is the most striking concern for me socially. I'd like
to see the MMA community take a broader responsibility in distancing
the sport from those types of violence and sending out the right
social messages to prevent those types of violence."
MMA
enthusiasts charge Mayeda with taking the sport backward by acknowledging
its warts. Detractors, on the other hand, view him as an apologist.
The
Hawaiian recognizes reluctance to be honest about the sport because
of the obstacles it has had to overcome to become accepted in
the mainstream. If the UFC applies its marketing muscle to social
issues, it can make a visible impact, according to Mayeda. He
was pleased with UFC Fight Night 16 "Fight for the Troops"
in December and hopes the show serves as the first step in significant
social involvement.
Balance
between violence and the "feel good" story seems paramount,
and the former high school football player points to the NFL
as a potential model for the UFC. That organization -- the most
popular and powerful professional sports entity in America --
also walks arm-in-arm with violence.
"They
have really strong charitable organizations that they promote
during their commercials during their games," Mayeda said.
Responsibility
does not rest solely with the UFC. If an MMA promotion can profit
from a community, it can give back to it, as well. Mayeda offered
one startling example of MMA doing its best to curb violence.
In Kailua, Hawaii, more than a year ago, a man beat his ex-girlfriend
to death with the butt of his gun. MMA Hawaii executives who
run MMA Hawaii Magazine and mmahawaii.com recognized the perpetrator
as one of the spectators at an event they sponsored.
In
response, MMA Hawaii initiated partnerships with the Hawaii State
Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Mothers Against Drunk
Driving. MMA Hawaii Magazine also enlisted Icon Sport middleweight
champion Kala Hose and had him pose with his daughter under the
caption: "You love your daughter. You want to give her the
world. Start by treating her mother with respect. Real fighters
keep it in the ring." Mayeda thinks responsible fighters
should speak out against domestic violence, drunken driving,
substance abuse and other social ailments more often.
Even
with island MMA in recovery after the extended absence of Rumble
on the Rock and Icon Sport -- Mayeda believes MMA was more popular
in 2001 than it is now -- ads like the one involving Hose do
more than educate fans; they educate lawmakers, too. It frustrates
Mayeda that similar campaigns are not already fixtures in the
sport.
"I
think those icons need to be pushed, not just as athletes but
as humanitarians, as well," he said. "I think that
can do a lot to change the culture of mixed martial arts."
Mayeda
thinks MMA has the power to use its popularity to bring about
positive change. He and Antonio McKee -- a former International
Fight League standout who also works with children in his community
-- agree that youth violence prevention programs involving MMA
appeal to at-risk kids because it provides a release through
which they can draw on their physical abilities. However, advancing
the culture of MMA has many obstacles, and one -- "The Ultimate
Fighter" -- stands out above all the rest.
Each
installment of the Spike TV reality series brings promising talent
to the UFC. What happens along the way perturbs Mayeda. The fights
may not be official, but UFC President Dana White's presence
-- along with prominent fighters serving as coaches -- makes
the show a representation of the UFC, in particular, and MMA,
in general. It has a heavy influence on first impressions.
"They
already have the [male] 20- and 30-something demographic kind
of hooked," Mayeda said. "So I don't know that 'The
Ultimate Fighter' is bringing new fans from that demographic.
They need to be reaching out to an older demographic, men and
women."
Mayeda
sees it as a tug-of-war between long-term investment and a shortsighted
play for ratings and cash. He points again to the NFL, which
puts together family-friendly events despite the inherent violence
associated with football. MMA role models abound, according to
Mayeda.
"[Rosi
Sexton has] a 2-year-old child and [is an] 8-1 mixed martial
artist with a PhD," he said.
Mayeda
now watches traditional MMA programming as he continues his advocacy
for a sport still struggling to find its identity. The more he
speaks out, the more criticism he receives. His is a thankless
job. Mayeda no longer watches "The Ultimate Fighter,"
even though it brought him to MMA. He suggests Junie Allen Browning's
antics on the most recent season countered the UFC's efforts
to keep negative images -- like the infamous Noah Thomas-Marlon
Sims street fight on season five -- under wraps. Mixed signals
are being sent.
"It's
hard to reconcile that inconsistency," Mayeda said. "It's
like 'Jackass' the movie for the series. They're really helping
to create that ambiance. I just don't understand anymore. They
should have learned from TUF 1. They're not evolving. They're
devolving."
Mayeda wants MMA to borrow from traditional martial arts. Teach
it for discipline, self defense and self-esteem building. Teach
younger students more grappling than striking. Build family relationships
and educational goals.
"Those
are the things that martial arts schools are known for doing,"
he said. "If MMA schools can capture that identity and really
pursue those goals, it'll have a much easier time gaining acceptance
across the country."
Source:
Sherdog
|
Hawaii's
Dylan Clay loses in Team USA West vs. Team Brazil Naja
South Korea Upsets Russia at 2009 M-1 Challenge
Press Release
Tacoma, Washington - In a stunning upset, Team South Korea defeated
the defending 2008 M-1 Challenge Champions Russia Imperial Team
(formerly Russia Red Devil) by a score of 3-2 during the 2009
"M-1 Challenge Presented by Affliction" season opener
on Saturday night at the Emerald Queen Casino near Tacoma, Washington.
A
capacity crowd witnessed an outstanding show featuring 30 fighters
from six teams in three head-to-head matchups for a total of
15 fights. In addition to Russia Imperial Team's upset, the debuting
USA Team West gave the partial crowd in attendance a major upset
victory by defeating the debut Brazil Naja team by a score of
3-2.
Finland
also asserted itself as a legitimate contender for the 2009 championship
with a dominant 4-1 victory over 2008 second-place finishers
Team Benelux (formerly Team Holland). South Korea's Do Hyung
Kim sent a message to the Imperial Team's Mikhail Malyutin that
his decision to move from welterweight to lightweight was made
with the intention of displacing Malyutin as the M-1 Challenge's
top fighter at 155 pounds. After a spirited two rounds, the judges
awarded Kim a unanimous decision victory.
Following
Kim's win, welterweight Myung Ho Bae took the stage and earned
his second career victory over a disappointed Erik Oganov. Oganov,
a former BodogFIGHT veteran who holds notable wins over Derrick
Noble and Keith Wisniewski, fell to 0-2 in head-to-head matchups
with Bae when he was forced to tap to a rear naked choke at 2:12
of round 2. Up 2-0, South Korea looked to pull off the sweep
as Hyung Yu Lim went toe-to-toe with the Imperial Team's Dmitry
Samoylov.Samoylov cut South Korea's lead in half by improving
his career M-1 record to 4-2 following a unanimous decision victory
over Lim.
Now
only down 2-1, the Imperial Team appeared a lock to even the
score as its light heavyweight ace Mikhail Zayats headed out
to take on Jae Young Kim. Zayats entered the fight with an impressive
8-1 overall record and a perfect 4-0 record during M-1 Challenge
team play. A World Combat Sambo Champion in 2008, Zayats dominated
the shorter Kim in the first round and appeared to be well on
his way to his ninth career victory. However, the resilient Kim
refused to quit and continued to move forward despite absorbing
a great deal of strikes from Zayats. The Kyoshin Karate expert's
hard work eventually paid off after he rocked the reigning World
Sambo Champion with a three-punch combo, prompting color commentator
Jimmy Smith to remark that Zayats appeared to be half-conscious.
Showing
a tremendous amount of resiliency of his own, a dazed Zayats
continued to engage with Kim as he attempted to re-establish
himself in the fight. However, before he could recover, Zayats
was knocked out with a high kick by Kim at 4:02 of round 2 in
what play-by-play announcer Sean Wheelock referred to as one
of the biggest upsets in M-1's 11 year history of promoting fights
around the world.
Kim's
win clinched South Korea's 3-2 upset over the Imperial Team and
gave the live audience watching the event live in South Korea
reason to celebrate.
Looking
to make a statement by winning with a score of 4-1, South Korean
heavyweight Sang Soo Lee was poised to exact a measure of revenge
against Imperial's Alexy Oliynik. Oliynik proved himself once
again to his teammates after stepping in forAffliction-bound
Kirill Sidelnikov and winning during last month's 2008 Championships
against Team Holland's Jessie Gibbs. Oilynik submitted Gibbs
with a rare Ezekiel choke at 3:42. Proving that the execution
of the difficult move was no fluke, the 24-4 Moscow native won
his ninth consecutive fight when he tapped Lee with another Ezekiel
choke at 4:27 of round 2.
Team
USA West, led by owners Roy Engelbrecht and Steve Bash as well
as head coach Colin Oyama, showed the world it's here to contend
for a title in 2009 following its 3-2 upset over Brazil Naja.
A new star was born in Team Quest's Dave Jansen, who improved
to 8-0 by recording an impressive unanimous decision over former
Rio Heroes star and cult Vale Tudo legend Flavio Alvaro. Using
a strong mix of combination striking and takedowns, Jansen left
little doubt in the minds of the supportive audience after the
fight went to the judges' scorecards. Despite suffering three
facial lacerations during the fight and in spite of accepting
the bout on just eight days notice after Brian Cobb was signed
by the UFC, Jansen recorded a decisive unanimous decision with
his breakthrough effort that made him the talk of press row.
Brazil
Naja evened the score to 1-1 following Eduardo Pamplona's unanimous
decision victory over Maui's Dylan Clay. Clay, a professional
grappler who also holds a 2-0 record in pro Muay Thai, more than
held his own with the vastly more experienced Pamplona. In a
back and forth battle, Clay forced the bout to go to overtime
in the third round. Unfortunately, the aggressive Clay ran out
of steam and was TKO'd at 2:48 of round three after finding his
arms trapped underneath Pamplona and being physically unable
to defend himself from strikes. A veteran from the seventh season
of The Ultimate Fighter, Reggie Orr let everyone know that he
intends to be one of the premier middleweights in the M-1 Challenge
following his split decision victory over the 9-2 Juliano Belgine.
With Team USA up 2-1, the pressure was on Raphael Davis to clinch
the win for Team USA against Jair Goncalves.
Davis, an IFL veteran and one of the world's top rated submission
grapplers, displayed improved standup skills by recording a first
round TKO just four minutes and five seconds into the fight.
With Davis' win, Team USA managed to secure a victory on its
home turf during its inaugural performance. Brazil Naja saved
some face by cutting the win to a 3-2 margin following Jose Franca's
split decision victory over former EliteXC heavyweight veteran
Carl Seumanutafa.
In
the head-to-head opener of the show, Team Finland showed marked
improvement in its 4-1 victory over Team Benelux. Filling in
for the injured Bogan Christea, lightweight Danny van Bergen
showed just as much moxie and heart as Christea during his unanimous
decision victory over Finland's Juha-Pekka Vainikainen. Despite
the early 1-0 lead, it was all Finland thereafter. Welterweight
Janne Turlinta pulled off a beautiful standing D'Arce choke against
the previously undefeated Tommy Depret. Finland then moved to
2-1 following Lucio Linhares' armbar submission over Kamil Uygun
at 1:22 of round 1. Light heavyweight Marcus Vanttinen then clinched
the team victory for Team Finland by upsetting Jason Jones via
unanimous decision. Former light heavyweight Toni Valtonen then
added the exclamation point in his heavyweight debut when he
knocked 21-year old Sander Duiyvisout following a vicious slam.
With
2009 successfully underway, the M-1 Challenge is set to debut
in Sofia, Bulgaria with matchups featuring Bulgaria vs. USA South,
China vs. the World Team, and Turkey vs. Australia/New Zealand.
Final rosters and lineups for the event are expected to be announced
in the coming weeks at www.M1Mixfight.com.
Official
results for the Feb. 21 2009 M-1 Challenge Opener at the Emerald
Queen Casino near Tacoma, Washington:
Team
Finland vs. Team Benelux (Finland wins 4-1) -
Danny
van Bergen (150.92 lbs.) def. Juha-Pekka Vainkainen (154 lbs.)
via unanimous decision
Janne Tulirinta (166.32 lbs.) def. Tommy Depret (165 lbs.) via
submission (D'Arce choke) at 2:30 of round 1
Lucio Linhares (184.36 lbs.) def. Kamil Uygun (182.16 lbs.) via
submission (armbar) at 1:22 of round 1
Marcus Vanttinen (204.6 lbs.) def. Jason Jones (200.2 lbs.) via
unanimous decision
Toni Valtonen (228.8 lbs.) def. Sander Duyvis (253.88 lbs.) via
knockout (slam) at 0:18 of round 1
Team
South Korea vs. the Imperial Team (South Korea wins 3-2) -
Do
Hyung Kim (154 lbs.) def. Mikhail Malyutin (151.88 lbs.) via
unanimous decision
Myung Ho Bae (166.76 lbs.) def. Erik Oganov (167.2 lbs.) via
submission (rear naked choke) at 2:12 of round 2
Dmitry Samolyov (182.16 lbs.) def. Hyung Yu Lim (184.8 lbs.)
via unanimous decision
Jae Young Kim (204.16 lbs.) def. Mikhail Zayats (200.2 lbs.)
via knockout (high kick) at 4:02 of round 2
Alexy Oleinik (231 lbs.) def. Sang Soo Le (234.08 lbs.) via submission
(Ezekiel choke) at 4:27 of round 2
Team
USA West vs. Team Brazil Naja (Team USA West wins 3-2) -
Dave
Jansen (154 lbs.) def. Flavio Alvaro (154 lbs.) via unanimous
decision
Eduardo Pamplona (163.24 lbs.) def. Dylan
Clay (165.88
lbs.) via TKO (strikes) at 2:48 of round 3
Reggie Orr (182.6 lbs.) def. Juliano Belgine (180.84 lbs.) via
split decision
Raphael Davis (204.16 lbs.) def. Jair Goncalves (199.32 lbs.)
via TKO (strikes) at 4:05 of round 1
Jose Franca (243.76 lbs.) def. Carl Seumanutafa (260.04 lbs.)
via split decision
Source: The Fight Network
|
Tim
Sylvia set to box Ray Mercer, Affliction bout possible
by John Morgan
In his first action since a July 2008 loss to Fedor Emelianenko,
former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia will face Ray Mercer
in the main event of Adrenaline MMA III.
First
reported as a possible bout by Fiveouncesofpain.com, Sylvia's
manager and Adrenaline MMA promoter Monte Cox today confirmed
with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Sylvia vs. Mercer
will be headlining the May 30 event at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino
Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.
While
first pitched as an MMA contest, Sylvia (24-5 MMA, 0-0 Boxing)
will instead turn in his open-fingered gloves for a pair of boxing
mitts.
"I
was doing Tim Sylvia against Ray Mercer as a headliner,"
Cox said. "First I was doing it in MMA. We changed and thought
it would be a lot more interesting in boxing."
Mercer
(36-7-1 Boxing) began boxing professionally in 1989. Now 47-years-old,
Mercer last fought in a majority decision win over Richel Hersisia
(30-2 boxing).
"In
boxing, who knows who is going to win," Cox said. "Mercer
just beat a guy who is 30-2. He was ranked fifth in Europe and
Mercer just beat him."
Mercer
fought Wladimir Klitschko for the WBO heavyweight title in 2002
and lost via sixth-round TKO. "Merciless" has gone
6-2 since that bout, including four wins by knockout or TKO.
"You
just have no idea who is going to win," Cox said. "I
don't care if he's 47 (years old). He's been boxing his whole
life, won an Olympic gold medal, went to split decision with
Lennox Lewis. Believe me, he's going to hit hard. Tim's going
to have a hard time."
Mercer
is best-known by many MMA fans for his June 2007 submission loss
in an exhibition bout with Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson.
Despite
having one event remaining on a broadcast contract with HDNet,
Adrenaline's third event will not be shown on the network that
carried the organization's first two outings.
"It
won't be on HDNet," Cox said. "I still have a deal
left. But (HDNet Fights CEO) Andrew Simon decided that he didn't
want to do that show."
Instead,
Cox will look to broadcast the event with an alternate partner.
"I've
got another group that put together a deal with me where it would
be available in 55 million homes and another one that's up to
70 million homes," Cox said. "I'll do one of those
two."
Cox
said that there were not yet any other finalized bouts for the
card, but that he plans on Adrenaline MMA III being "a good
East Coast card."
As
for Sylvia, "The Maine-iac" may also be looking to
break his recent two-fight slide in a potential return to MMA
action at Affliction's as-yet-unannounced third show.
Sources
close to the bout have indicated to MMAjunkie.com that Paul Buentello
could be in line for Sylvia. Cox said the bout was possible,
but that Sylvia's participation would depend on the date Affliction
elects to hold its event.
"I've
been in discussion with them for that," Cox said. "A
lot depends on what the date ends up being. Obviously we're doing
May 30. If [Affliction's next show] is in July, we're definitely
interested."
Source:
MMA Junkie
|
Gray
Maynard Interview
by Steven Marrocco
In
a recent chat with FCF, UFC lightweight Gray Maynard spoke about
his opponent, Jim Miller, whom he fights at UFC 96 in Columbus,
Ohio on March 7, his disappointment about his decision win over
Rich Clementi at UFC 90, and fighting last minute.
FCF:
Where are you at in camp?
Maynard:
I've got two weeks left, and I've got one more hard week, and
then I ease up.
FCF:
You were disappointed in your last win against Rich Clementi,
what did you learn from that fight that you might take into this
fight?
Maynard:
You've gotta get the win, and a guy like Clementi, he's tough.
Against, Edgar as well, it was tough. It's just going to be a
war, that's just the way it is. It was a little slow, but that's
all I could do.
FCF:
You won that fight primarily through your wrestling and positioning.
Jim Miller is a strong wrestler, and does particularly well when
he puts guys on their back. How do you see this fight playing
out?
Maynard:
As far as being on my back, it might happen, but I don't think
it's going to happen a lot. He's a southpaw, of course, so this
is about two camps in a row where that's happened. I don't know
what's going to happen.
FCF:
Did you see his last fight with Matt Wiman?
Maynard:
I did. I talked to Matt, and I know he came in with two weeks
[of preparation]. I know that Matt-it was a complete change.
He told me it was tough.
FCF:
Wiman got rocked early in that fight.
Maynard:
He told me it was the choke, and he just couldn't recover after
that.
FCF:
So are you working a lot of anti jiu-jitsu?
Maynard:
Yeah, I'm always doing that. That's a given.
FCF:
Miller's got dangerous hands too.
Maynard:
You think so?
FCF:
He was tagging Wiman.
Maynard:
Yeah, he looked all right. It's a fight of course, so we'll see.
It's going to be interesting. I'm pumped. It's going to be a
fun fight.
FCF:
What does a victory over Jim buy you?
Maynard:
Probably not much.
FCF:
Is this a good fight for you?
Maynard:
I think so. He's a tough kid. He'll go three hard rounds, and
that's always good. His name? I doubt it. But it's a fight. I'm
just pumped to scrap with whoever.
FCF:
He seems to perform really well under last-minute circumstances.
Maynard:
Yeah, it's been going on a lot. If I was going into a last-minute
fight, it would be okay. Because, it's like, well, I've only
training for about a week, two weeks--who cares? But if I was
the guy who had an eight-week camp and prepared-you've got to
change the game plan? I wouldn't like that. I probably get a
camp going eight to ten weeks preparing. I would do it, but it
would be tough.
FCF:
So far you haven't been asked to fight a last-minute. Why is
that?
Maynard:
I asked for Edgar, and I asked for Rich [Clementi]. I asked for
them about 12 weeks out. I was talking to Joe Silva about being
on the card in Ohio. I had 12 weeks, and he told me it was Jim.
I remember when it was Thiago Alves, he was going up against
Diego in Chicago, and Diego pulled out. Josh Koscheck replaced
him in a couple of weeks. That's a game plan that's kind of easy.
But if you're going up against a guy who's a southpaw-it's like,
what a second I need a camp to train. I'm just anal like that.
I'm anal about everything.
FCF:
Why are you so anal? Is it your wrestling background?
Maynard:
I just like to be prepared. I've been important since I was 12
years old. If I know I'm not, it's like, am I prepared? Am I
going to do this? Am I going to do that? If I'm prepared, I know
it's going to be easy. You've gotta train hard-then good things
will come.
FCF:
What's the first thing you think Miller will do?
Maynard:
He'll probably try to push the pace, probably try to take me
down. But I'm prepared for everything.
Source:
Full Contact Fighter
|
MMAWEEKLY
WORLD MMA RANKINGS UPDATED
The latest MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday,
February 25. This system ranks the Top 10 MMA fighters from all
across the world in each of the seven most widely accepted weight
classes.
Taken
into consideration are a fighter's performance in addition to
his win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty
of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most
comprehensive rankings system in the sport.
Fighters
who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible
for Top 10 consideration until they have fought one time after
the completion of their suspension. Karo Parisyan is currently
under suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and
ineligible for consideration.
Fighters
must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to
be eligible for Top 10 consideration.
Below
are the current MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings, which are up-to-date
as of February 25.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
HEAVYWEIGHT
DIVISION (over 205 pounds)
#1
Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Fedor Emelianenko
2.
Josh Barnett
3.
Frank Mir
4.
Andrei Arlovski
5.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
6.
Randy Couture
7.
Tim Sylvia
8.
Gabriel Gonzaga
9.
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
10.
Brock Lesnar
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)
#1
Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Rashad Evans
2.
Lyoto Machida
3.
Forrest Griffin
4.
Quinton Jackson
5.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
6.
Chuck Liddell
7.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
8.
Keith Jardine
9.
Wanderlei Silva
10.
Thiago Silva
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
MIDDLEWEIGHT
DIVISION (185-pound limit)
#1
Middleweight Fighter in the World: Anderson Silva
2.
Robbie Lawler
3.
Yushin Okami
4.
Nathan Marquardt
5.
Jorge Santiago
6.
Dan Henderson
7.
Gegard Mousasi
8.
Vitor Belfort
9.
Kazuo Misaki
10.
Yoshihiro Akiyama
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
WELTERWEIGHT
DIVISION (170-pound limit)
#1
Welterweight Fighter in the World: Georges St. Pierre
2.
Jon Fitch
3.
Thiago Alves
4.
Jake Shields
5.
Josh Koscheck
6.
Matt Hughes
7.
Matt Serra
8.
Carlos Condit
9.
Nick Thompson
10.
Mike Swick
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHTWEIGHT
DIVISION (160-pound limit)
#1
Lightweight Fighter in the World: Shinya Aoki
2.
B.J. Penn
3.
Eddie Alvarez
4.
Joachim Hansen
5.
Tatsuya Kawajiri
6.
Gesias "JZ" Calvancante
7.
Kenny Florian
8.
Mitsuhiro Ishida
9.
Josh Thomson
10.
Satoru Kitaoka
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
FEATHERWEIGHT
DIVISION (145 pound-limit)
#1
Featherweight Fighter in the World: Mike Brown
2.
Urijah Faber
3.
Wagnney Fabiano
4.
Hatsu Hioki
5.
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue
6.
Akitoshi Tamura
7.
Hideki Kadowaki
8.
Jeff Curran
9.
Rafael Assuncao
10.
Leonard Garcia
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
BANTAMWEIGHT
DIVISION (135 pounds or less)
#1
Featherweight Fighter in the World: Miguel Torres
2.
Brian Bowles
3.
Masakatsu Ueda
4.
Koetsu Okazaki
5.
Marcos Galvao
6.
Takeya Mizugaki
7.
Will Ribeiro
8.
Chase Beebe
9.
Manny Tapia
10.
Atsushi Yamamoto
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Future
Shock: The Champions in 2010
by Jake Rossen
The
great Royce Gracie once said, "A belt only covers two inches
of your ass. You have to cover the rest."
What
Royce meant, of course, is that you need to wear underwear. He
was also probably referring to the fact that a belt -- either
a cloth awarded by an instructor or a gold-plated eyesore from
a promotion -- can't do your fighting for you. Great champions
have shown up only to turn in substandard performances; guys
who got their brown belt from Sears have delivered some epic,
ass-thrashing bouts.
That
said, a championship belt is indisputable proof that you've achieved
rare air in the combat sports -- especially if you had to dodge
the murderer's row in a promotion like the UFC, which is gleefully
masochistic in its matchmaking.
Performances
from contenders like Demian Maia and Diego Sanchez on Saturday's
UFC 95 freebie were indicative that 2009 is going to be a turbulent
one for defending champions. Which titles will stay strapped
in place and which will expose the rear cleavage of its former
owners?
If
I knew, I'd bet big and blog from Acapulco. Until then, be happy
with irresponsible speculation. The guaranteed-not-to-be-accurate
champions on Jan. 1, 2010:
UFC
Lightweight Champion: Sean Sherk
The
155-pound belt is B.J. Penn's for as long as he wants to hold
on to it. Given his famously erratic motivations, that might
only be for another couple of weeks.
Penn
has shown little more than fleeting interest in being a lightweight
shark. He fled from the UFC in 2004 to take open-weight fights
in Hawaii and overseas. When he came back, he was obstinate in
competing at 170 pounds. Only after losses to Georges St. Pierre
and Matt Hughes did the promotion convince him to start skipping
the bacon.
Literally
the second after unifying the lightweight title against Sherk,
Penn called out Georges St. Pierre.
Penn's
divisional ADD gives me little confidence that he'll be able
to focus on defending his lighter-weight belt. His attitude hints
he considers the class to be beneath him -- that he's so much
better than everyone else, there's no fear to get him out of
bed in the morning.
Which
is why a lackadaisical Penn will drop a decision to a busier,
hungrier Kenny Florian in the summer -- who will, in turn, have
no answers for the wet blanket that is Sean Sherk in the fall.
Sherk
regains his strap; Florian continues dropping other contenders;
Penn begs to fight Lyoto Machida.
UFC
Welterweight Champion: Georges St. Pierre
Jon
Fitch is a brick wall. If St. Pierre can toss him around like
an empty beer can, he's going to grind Thiago Alves down. Unless
he doesn't. But he probably will.
UFC
Middleweight Champion: Anderson Silva
Demian
Maia might be the Fred Astaire of jiu-jitsu. It's too bad Silva
is the Gene Kelly of kicking everyone's ass.
Maia's
technique -- which involves sucking opponents into his Phantom
Zone of a guard and digesting limbs -- might give Silva some
night sweats, but we've yet to see how effective it is against
someone with a black belt in jiu-jitsu from the Nogueira brothers.
My guess is, not as effective as Silva's stand-up against someone
who's spent most of his training life off his feet.
Who's
left? Nate Marquardt? He looked dangerously sharp in his stand-up
Saturday, but that confidence is bound to leak out of his nose
the moment Silva connects with a barrage of knees. (Marquardt's
destiny probably lies with Rich Franklin in a battle of who would
be champion of an alternate universe in which "The Spider"
was never hatched.)
Unless
Silva has a repeat of his abysmal Patrick Cote non-fight -- essentially
sabotaging himself -- he has little to fear. The man who can
take his title hasn't shown himself yet.
UFC
Heavyweight Champion: Randy Couture
Let's
all be spared the Metamucil-with-extra-protein jokes. There's
better logic at work here.
Frank
Mir will continue to be Brock Lesnar's Achilles heel: Both are
quick starters, but Lesnar's tendency to throw opponents to the
mat is the worst possible strategy against Mir, who is most dangerous
where Lesnar instinctually wants the fight. He'll lose by submission.
Again.
That
leaves Couture to busy himself with either Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
or Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. While the latter bout
fills me with utter dread -- I can see even a fading Croatian
punting Couture's head like a FILA demo -- it's entirely likely
that a battle of aging warriors will be won by the craftiest
of the lot.
That
leaves Mir and Couture for a Christmas engagement. Considering
Couture probably wants no part of Mir on the mat in the first
two or three rounds, it'll be a kickboxing match, and that's
a game Couture has been playing longer. Having worn Mir down
for 10 or 15 minutes, "The Natural" might start in
with the ground throttling.
A
record sixth UFC title would be an appropriate capper for both
the year in MMA and Couture's tenure as the elder statesman of
the sport.
UFC
Light Heavyweight Champion: Quinton Jackson
Any
concerns that Jackson's emotional breakdown and subsequent highway
rampage after a title loss to Forrest Griffin in the summer would
influence his fighting were put to rest -- right along with Wanderlei
Silva -- in December.
If
we accept that Jackson will not need to be straight-jacketed
between rounds, and we also accept that he will handle the difficult-but-not-insurmountable
Keith Jardine in March, then we're left with a summer or fall
pairing between Jackson and current champion Rashad Evans.
Evans
has arguably made the bigger strides in his conditioning: Having
faded somewhat against Michael Bisping, he looked fresh late
against Forrest Griffin.
Jackson,
though, usually shows up with a tuned engine and possesses both
power and combinations in his mitts Evans has yet to deal with.
(Versus Chuck Liddell, the former champion loaded his right hand
like he was posing for a still.)
Five-round
war. Traded takedowns. Jackson lands the bigger shots and the
decision. Meets Lyoto Machida Super Bowl weekend in '10.
And
if his cornermen are smart, they'll hide his car keys.
Source:
Sherdog
|
A
note on the Pennsylvania athletic commission…
By Zach Arnold
With the news that Pennsylvania has now passed legislation to
regulate Mixed Martial Arts, let us take a look at who exactly
is running the show in the state.
The main boss of the athletic commission is a man named Greg
Sirb. Sirb is a well-known name in boxing circles and the (public)
reaction to him is all over the place (good, bad, ugly).
In terms of media articles on Greg Sirb, investigative writer
Charles Jay has a series of articles on Sirb and the ABC in boxing.
The articles from CJ take some time to read, but lay out a pretty
negative attack against Sirb.
Inside Boxing has an article detailing the role of the ABC (Association
of Boxing Commissions) in relation to safety in professional
boxing. Here is a transcript of when Sirb appeared on ESPN's
Outside the Lines several years ago to talk about Greg Page.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
"Living
in dreams of yesterday, we find ourselves still dreaming of impossible
future conquests."
Charles
Lindbergh, 1902-1974, American Aviator
|
THOMSON:
MIXED EMOTIONS ON MELENDEZ REMATCH
Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson does not sound
excited to face Gilbert Melendez.
Only
hours after news broke that he’d be facing his sometime
training partner again at “Strikeforce: Shamrock versus
Diaz” – their second meeting since a five-round war
last June – Thomson alternated between resignation, disappointment,
and optimism.
On
Saturday, the two ran into each other at the Cage Combat Fighting
show in Santa Rosa, Calif., and Thomson thought the fight wouldn’t
happen.
“My
interpretation of what I got from him is that he wasn’t
going to accept the fight,” he told MMAWeekly.com. “We
both heard about it on the way up there. So I really don’t
know what made him change his mind. I’ve always considered
myself pretty straight forward. Maybe he wanted to get it over
with so we could start training together again.”
While
Thomson dominated their first fight, he’s absolutely convinced
the same won’t happen again when they meet on April 11 in
San Jose.
“I’m
dreading the five rounds,” he groaned.
Thomson
spent the last half of 2008 on the disabled list. He was forced
to bow out of a title defense against Yves Edwards in November,
hobbled by a nagging toe injury that prevented him from preparing
for the fight.
He
said the injury is not 100 percent healed, like his shoulder
was not 100 percent before he turned in a brilliant performance
against Melendez. But Thomson remains candid about his struggles,
namely the ones he’ll face in the rematch.
“This
one, the roles are reversed,” he said. “The pressure
is all on me. I think people are looking for me to finish him,
and I can’t go in there that way. I see it being another
grueling five rounds of us scraping by. I actually see this one
possibly being a split decision. I don’t think one person
is going to dominate.
“There’s
no pressure on him right now. He has nothing to lose. He could
come out and go 100 miles an hour and gas out and be finished
in the second, and everyone would be like, ‘we knew that
was going to happen.’ He’s just got to perform like
he always does and do what he does best, which is apply pressure.”
While
Melendez was unable keep the fight at his strongest point –
the mat – Thomson doesn’t think he’ll double his
efforts this time around.
“I
think he’s going to try and stand,” he said. “He’s
going to try and make some changes to his game, and I think some
of it will work.
“It’s
not going to be the same Gilbert we all saw last year. It’s
not. There’s no way in hell he’s going to come in and
fight the same way. The same fight’s not going to happen.”
While
he has mixed emotions about the meeting, he understands Strikeforce’s
rationale behind it. They need a barnburner for their new Showtime
deal.
“I
guess the benefit of it all is if I do win, hopefully he can
come back and train with us knowing that there won’t be
a rematch for a long, long time,” said Thomson. “If
I lose, than we might do it again for a third one. I’ve
always wanted a trilogy; I’ve always wanted a nemesis, and
what better person to have than a close friend of mine and somebody
I respect 100 percent. Like Barrera and Morales, Marquez and
Vasquez – those are all great fights. That’s where
we’re going to try to put this one at.”
But
give him a few days to warm to the idea.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
FIGHT NIGHT 18 FIGHT CARD RELEASED
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has firmed up the final fight
card for its debut trip to Nashville, Tenn., which takes place
on April 1. As was previously announced, WEC welterweight champion
Carlos Condit moves in to face Martin Kampmann in the main event
of UFC Fight Night 18.
Condit
had originally been scheduled to rematch Brock Larson at this
weekend's WEC 39 event in Corpus Christi, Texas. Following a
sprain to his wrist, Condit was unable to maintain a training
schedule to keep him on track for WEC 39. Zuffa – the UFC
and WEC's parent company – had been considering a consolidation
of the two promotions' welterweights anyway, thus they decided
to take this unexpected opportunity to make the move.
Facing
Kampmann in his first UFC bout is no easy task for Condit. Kampmann
has a strong skill-set that includes an equal mix of ability
in both striking and submissions. That matches up well against
Condit, who is also a well-rounded fighter.
The
rest of the main card – to be televised live on Spike TV
– is loaded primarily with veterans of The Ultimate Fighter
reality series, which also airs on Spike. Season 8 champions
Efrain Escudero and Ryan Bader lead The Ultimate Fighter charge,
along with the season's "bad boy," Junie Browning.
UFC
Fight Night 18 Main Card Bouts:
-Carlos Condit (#8 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Martin Kampmann
-Efrain Escudero vs. Jeremy Stephens
-Ryan Bader vs. Carmelo Marrero
-Cole Miller vs. Junie Browning
UFC
Fight Night 18 Preliminary Bouts:
-Tyson Griffin vs. Rafael dos Anjos
-Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Horwich
-Brock Larson vs. Jesse Sanders
-Jorge Rivera vs. Nissen Osterneck
-Rob Kimmons vs. Joe Vedepo
-Aaron Simpson vs. Tim McKenzie
-Steve Steinbeiss vs. Ryan Jensen
Source: MMA Weekly |
HERRING
VS VELASQUEZ AGREED TO FOR UFC 99
American Kickboxing Academy heavyweight Cain Velasquez will move
up another rung on the UFC heavyweight division ladder when he
faces longtime veteran Heath Herring at UFC 99.
Sources
close to the fight told MMAWeekly.com that the fighters had agreed
to face each other at the UFC’s German debut on June 13,
though bout agreements have yet to be signed.
Herring,
30, was last seen at UFC 87, where he suffered a unanimous decision
loss to now-heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar. In the first punch
of the fight, Lesnar floored Herring with a right hand that sent
him end over end, and proceeded to dominate the veteran over
three rounds.
In
a post on his official Facebook profile, Herring said the punch
fractured his left orbital and he needed six months to recover.
In recent months, he has returned to training at the Warrior
Training Center in Las Vegas.
In
five UFC appearances, Herring has alternated between losses and
wins since making his debut at UFC Fight Night 8, where he dropped
a unanimous decision to wrestling-based heavyweight Jake O’Brien.
Prior to Lesnar, Herring dispatched prospect Cheick Kongo at
UFC 82 by unanimous decision.
A
standout in the early days of Pride Fighting Championships, Herring
carries an overall professional record of 28-14-1.
Velasquez,
26, is widely considered to be one of the top prospects amongst
UFC heavyweights. With the exception of his most recent performance,
a TKO win over Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens,
he has finished all of his fights within the first round. He
is undefeated in five professional appearances.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
inks Akiyama
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship today announced that it has signed
top-ten middleweight contender Yoshihiro Akiyama to an exclusive
promotional contract that will see him step into the UFC Octagon
for the first time this summer.
“I’m
excited to bring Akiyama into the UFC and I can see him making
an immediate impact in the middleweight division,” said
UFC President Dana White. “Besides his great judo and submission
game, he’s a finisher, and UFC fans are going to love watching
him because he always shows up to fight.”
Born
of Korean descent in Osaka, Japan, Akiyama first made his name
in the international sports world as a decorated black belt in
judo who collected numerous titles, including a Gold medal in
the 2002 Asian Games.
By
2004, Akiyama sought a new challenge in the world of mixed martial
arts, and he made an immediate impact on December 31, 2004 when
he debuted with a first round submission win in his bout against
former world heavyweight boxing champion Francois Botha.
Over
the next three years, the 5 foot 10 Akiyama built a stellar reputation
as one of the best fighters in the world, submitting highly-touted
knockout artist Melvin Manhoef, knocking out UFC middleweight
Denis Kang, and engaging in battles with the likes of Kazushi
Sakuraba and Kazuo Misaki. In 2008, the 33-year old continued
his run of excellence, submitting Katsuyori Shibata and Masanori
Tonooka to up his stellar MMA record to 12-1 with two no-contests,
with none of his bouts going the distance.
Press
conferences in Japan and Korea will take place in the coming
days; details to be announced shortly.
No
opponent or date has been determined for Akiyama’s UFC debut.
Source: Gracie Magazine |
Exclusive
interview with the Master Helio Gracie
Passed
away at January 29th of 2009, Master Hélio Gracie has
left orphans thousands of practitioners of Jiu-Jitsu and martial
arts around the world. Running to produce a just tribute to the
Master already in February’s edition of the TATAME Magazine,
we overturned our files after all the details of the life of
the creator of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, next to his brother Carlos,
and we’ve found a treasure.
Visiting
his farm in Itaipava, mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro, in
2000, the journalist Marcelo Alonso did with the Master an exclusive
interview ever published. At the edition in his honor, we decided
to publish the historical material, in which Helio talks about
his start in Jiu-Jitsu, his family and his historical fights.
"In childhood, I never had great health, I lived fainting
at school. When I began my 20 years, my brother started to give
lessons of Jiu-Jitsu and my distraction was to watch his lessons.
I remember that, after a year and a half, I knew all the theory
of mind", said.
At
the chat, the Master spoke about about all subjects. Who is the
best Gracie? What the creator of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu think of
the world championships of the sport? The Gracie diet is the
secret of longevity? How was your fight with Valdemar Santana?
Helio didn’t escape from any of them, and spoke, still,
about more intimate subjects, as love and sex. "I didn’t
needed yet, but should be very good for those who need it. Thank
God, power is something that I have", said Helio, discarding
the Viagra of his life.
Source: Tatame |
Rani
Yahya wants his second ADCC title
After
the second place in ’05 ADCC, Rani Yahya won the competition
and 2007 and will have the chance, this year, to win his second
title. Also focusing in the MMA competition, the WEC fighter
won’t let the submission aside in training. “ADCC is
great to compete, it’s always a marathon and is great for
the athlete, because it makes you work hard in training. I’ve
already started my preparation for the ADCC”, said the athlete,
counting on his experience to get another golden medal.
“The
experience I got from the other competitions help a lot on the
way I’ll train. It’s a tournament that you need to
be well trained in everything, a great timing, because everybody
is getting better day after day and creating new positions too”,
revealed, pointing Leonardo Vieira (Leozinho) as his toughest
opponent. “We don’t who’ll compete yet, but in
other editions I always had great fights with Leozinho. It’s
always great to fight with him and I fell that I grow a lot every
time I fight with him, and I believe he’ll come more prepared
this year”, told the fighter to TATAME.com.
Source: Tatame |
With
Faber’s prodding, Munoz embraces MMA
There
were nights that Mark Munoz would go to bed, but he frequently
couldn’t rest. Life as a minor league professional fighter,
particularly one with a family, meant living with economic hardship
and uncertainty as constant companions.
The
2001 NCAA wrestling champion was urged to give mixed martial
arts a try by his buddy, World Extreme Cagefighting star Urijah
Faber. Faber took a look at Munoz and saw a guy with superb wrestling
skills, great athletic ability and strength beyond measure.
“Mark
is the kind of guy everyone likes, and he’s the kind of
guy who could easily become a very marketable star in this sport,”
Faber said. “I don’t know if I know of anyone who has
ever had even a bad word to say about him.”
Munoz
developed fierce competitiveness during his long and decorated
wrestling career, and serving as an assistant collegiate coach
didn’t fill that void in his life.
He
took Faber up on his offer, but instantly brought on a whole
series of problems on himself. Beginning fighters don’t
usually make a lot of money, as Munoz was quick to find out.
“I
got into this to provide for my family and try to give them a
better life, but it’s hard because there are so many sacrifices
you have to make along the way,” Munoz said. “You’re
living month-to-month, sometimes day-to-day. You stretch the
money as much as you can, but the money doesn’t come in
as quickly as the bills do. You worry about if they’re going
to shut off the electric, and you have to deal with the credit
card companies calling. It takes a lot of sacrifice, a lot more
than people realize.”
Munoz,
30, has made his way to the UFC and will meet Matt Hamill on
the pay-per-view portion of the card at UFC 96 on March 7 at
Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Faber
raves about Munoz, who is 5-0 since turning professional in 2007.
Faber has little doubt that Munoz will soon move among the elite
at 205 pounds.
“He’s
the kind of wrestler that guys like Randy Couture and Dan Henderson
were and I think his development can be a little along those
lines,” Faber said, heaping as much pressure as praise upon
Munoz.
The
two met in 2003, when Munoz took a job as an assistant wrestling
coach at the University of California at Davis. Munoz left a
similar job at Oklahoma State, where he was a two-time All-American
in addition to the 2001 national champion at 197 pounds, in order
to be closer to his family.
MMA
was still in the dark ages in 2003, but Faber saw the sport’s
potential and believed it would be wise for Munoz to get in early.
Munoz opted instead to try to make the 2004 U.S. Olympic team,
where he lost in the Olympic trials.
It
wasn’t until 2007, when Munoz’s burning desire to compete
eventually won out, that he accepted Faber’s offer to learn
MMA.
“I
was really done competing, I thought, and I’d gotten up
to 265 pounds,” Munoz said. “Urijah just kept talking
in my ear and telling me I would regret it if I didn’t at
least try to do this, so finally I figured it was worth a shot.”
He’s
quickly adapted, so much so that he earned the nickname “The
Philippine Wrecking Machine” for his ground-and-pound prowess.
Faber said Munoz has natural punching power that comes from his
athleticism and is a first-rate finisher.
The
defensive part of his game still needs to come, but there is
no doubt that Munoz knows how to inflict pain.
“He’s
such a great athlete. You didn’t have to teach him how to
throw his punches,” Faber said. “Almost right away,
you could see he was putting his entire body behind his punches
and it just makes such a difference. He’s not throwing arm
punches.”
He
readily admits he’s an underdog against Hamill, who has
much more experience at the top level. Only the truly elite –
Rich Franklin and Michael Bisping – have beaten Hamill.
Munoz
has big dreams and is eager to test himself against the elite
in what may be the UFC’s deepest division. But he knows
that Hamill is a significant test for him.
He
says it’s “an honor and a privilege and I’m humbled
he accepted a fight against me.” It’s all such sweet
talk, but have no doubt, Munoz will lay a few knots alongside
Hamill’s head if given half a chance.
“Oh
yeah,” he says, chuckling. “That’s part of the
sport.”
Munoz,
though, knows that Hamill is no pushover and this fight is going
to be as much a measuring stick of the progress he’s made
as a mixed martial artist as anything else.
“It’s
going to be a real good barometer for me,” Munoz said. “Matt
Hamill is an established guy and I haven’t done the things
he’s done. But I’ve trained with real good guys and,
believe me when I tell you, I’ve put every last little bit
I have of myself into my training.
“This
is such a significant fight for me. Just to get to the UFC is
huge, but to be fighting someone of Matt’s caliber makes
it that much more significant. I can’t help but think of
just a couple of years ago when I would have to ask myself if
I did the right thing. It’s not that long of a time, but
I know I’ve come a real long way.”
Source: Yahoo Sports |
SHANE
CARWIN UFC 96 FIGHT BLOG (PART 2)
This
week, I've really been amazed and grateful for the support I've
been getting in our community. I have some of the most amazing
fans and this week has been a strong reminder of that. Here at
home, and even on the road, I have encountered the best fans
that MMA has to offer.
Everywhere
we go, people in town are stopping me to wish me good luck. There
are months of sacrifice that go into getting ready for a fight;
a lot of blood sweat and tears pour out in the privacy of our
gym. I really do appreciate the fact that you recognize my efforts.
Thank you to the great fans of this sport because without you
I wouldn't be where I'm at. Not only that, but you are what injects
this sport full of the energy I thrive on.
This
has been about the toughest training camp I can remember. In
the last two weeks, I have had the following people come through
our camp: Keith Jardine (who is preparing for a fight), Georges
St. Pierre, Rashad Evans, and James McSweeney. They all bring
a different perspective and skill set to help me elevate my game
to the next level. The ring experience between them, the guys
at my camp and my trainers are pretty much unparalleled in this
sport.
On
top of these incredible competitors we had Nate Marquardt and
Cody Donovan fighting the 21st – and both were victorious
– and then Brendon Schaub and myself fight in about two
weeks. To say it has been intense in the gym would be an understatement.
Our gym is truly top notch and I'm proud to be part of it. No
egos, just a bunch of great pros getting ready to take their
careers to the next level.
I
have had the UFC in my house for a few days filming the Countdown
to UFC 96, along with FIGHT magazine the week before. I'll be
on the cover of FIGHT in March, so let me know what you think!
In addition, my new firm is keeping me busy with interviews.
It is a struggle to find that balance, but I suspect it only
gets more hectic the higher you go in this sport.
For
me, the media is one of the ways to stay in touch with the fans,
so I work hard to do all the interviews and answer all the questions
and notes I can. I am busy, but in all honesty there would be
no UFC 96 without the fans, so I want to do all I can do to interact
with them. I have even recently launched my very own social networking
site and we are working on a jewelry line as well. I am humbled
by all of the great fans and athletes I have had the luxury of
being around.
My
job as an engineer is going great. One of the projects I am working
on is installing a new 16” water main extension for the
district. Everyone probably knows, we are in a rural area in
Northern Colorado, and there are a lot of new dairies going in.
This is the reason for the new water main extension. Good for
our economy and good for our business as well. It's amazing when
you think that the dairy farms use as much water as they do,
it's actually the equivalent of a small town. As you can see,
both of my jobs are mentally challenging – just in different
aspects.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Quote
of the Day
"Action
itself, so long as I am convinced that it is right action, gives
me satisfaction."
Jawaharlal
Nehru, 1889-1964, Indian Nationalist and Statesman
|
LOMBARD
DEFENDS AGAIN AT CFC 7 IN SYDNEY
CFC
7 – The Battle of the Big Top
Middleweight
Championship bout
-Ron Verdadero v Hector “Shango”
Lombard
Crowd
favorite and CFC veteran Hector “Shango” Lombard returned
to Sydney, Australia, to defend his CFC championship belt against
the tough Hawaiian Ron Verdadero.
After
a warm welcome, Shango wasted no time landing a big right hand
that put Verdadero down. Lombard chased in, but Verdadero was
already recovering from the hook. Lombard took the opportunity
to get his stunned opponent’s back, standing up and delivering
a huge suplex that almost put Verdadero out again. Quick to finish
it off, Lombard delivered some vicious ground strikes, eventually
forcing the TKO.
Lombard
left with another win and title defense, and dedicated his performance
to the country he now calls home - Australia. His most devastating
performance to date, it will be intriguing to see how he matches
up to the stiffer competition in the US.
Lightweight
Championship bout
-Rob
Hill v Bernardo Trekko
Controversy
reigned in the final round of the Eliminator tournament from
the CFC#6 card, as comeback kid Rob Hill took on undefeated Brazilian
Bernardo Trekko.
Trekko
opened his account with a stiff right that caught Hill by surprise
but did not damage him. A clearly stunned Hill turned angry,
starting to work his strikes and forcing Trekko to search for
his ground skills. Trekko landed a takedown from the clinch but
Hill was quick to get back to his feet. Trekko relentlessly worked
Hill for another takedown from the clinch, succeeding again.
Trekko
worked his way to half guard before Hill, trying to escape, gave
up his back but the round ended before Trekko could use the advantage.
The
opening of the second round saw a fierce exchange, with Trekko
getting another takedown only for Hill to capitalize by reversing
and landing a couple of monster punches that went undefended.
Hill, utilizing his tremendous ground striking through the Brazilian’s
guard, earned his way to a TKO victory and a world championship.
There
was some confusion in the stoppage, as Trekko seemed unharmed
when he rose. But senior referee Steve Perceval saw that Trekko
had been “flash” KO’d and as he was showing no
defense, intelligently called the stoppage. In true Brazilian
style, drama erupted cage side with Trekko’s corner attempting
to storm the cage, one succeeding, walking straight up to Perceval
waving his finger directly in front of the referee’s face.
It was neither calm, nor respectful.
A
poor end to the night for a well-deserved champion. A little
respect from both the crowd and opposition corner was poorly
lacking
Fight
7 - 70kg
-Adrian
“The Hunter” Pang v Denis Kelly
Irishman
Kelly came out striking, but slipped a quick kick to the groin
of Pang. The fight was stalled to allow Pang recovery. Kelly
apologized and the fight resumed. Both exchange and briefly clinch.
Pang
forced his way inside to clinch. Moving to the Thai clinch, he
slipped a knee on Kelly that stunned him. Pang dragged his opponent
to the ground but was unable to finish him off.
Pang
methodically struck from the guard of Kelly, turning it up toward
the end of the round where he landed some solid elbows. But,
with the clock having run out, Pang could not take the victory
at that point.
The
start of the second round saw Pang come out kicking, but Kelly
managed to counter with the right hand. Pang fought his way back,
landing a combo that put Kelly down. This time, the Irishman
did not have luck on his side and “The Hunter” went
on to finish the fight by TKO.
Fight
6 - 65kg
-Richie
Vas v Ross Macleod
Sydney-based
pro surfer Richie Vas made short work of his opponent Ross Macleod.
Hitting a huge right overhand, Vas left MacLeod on the floor,
much to the delight of the fans. There’s nothing like a
12 second stoppage to get a crowd on its feet, let alone a largely
parochial one.
Fight
5 - 77kg
-Jon
Levens v Chris “The White Sniper” Johnson
Both
fighters came out swinging. Levens showed no fear of his world-class
kickboxing opponent, and with good reason as he quickly muscled
his way inside Johnson and threw the New Zealander to the mat.
From here Levens moved straight to the mount and took Johnson’s
back soon after.
After
a scramble, the fighters got back to their feet. Johnson was
looking to use his striking pedigree to open up on Levens, but
again Levens persevered and went to take Johnson down. There
was a break called for a cage grab in this clinch.
Johnson
landed a couple of hard shots on Levens before being taken down
once again. Levens worked hard to secure position, taking mount
and full back control quickly. He then worked for a choke that
forced Johnson to tap out.
A
side note to this fight is that Chris Johnson had only five weeks
training in ground fighting before taking this fight.
Fight
4 - 70kg
-Tony
Ourico v Jason Harris
Harris
went into this fight aggressively but was taken down by Brazilian
fighter Ourico. Moving to half guard, Ourico threw an unnoticed
knee to the head of Harris. Still in half guard working ground
and pound, Ourico threw another knee to Harris’ head, stalling
the fight while the referee tended to the matter. Harris took
his time to recover, clearly shaken by the strikes. Ourico, seemingly
confused by the ruling, received a warning and the fight resumed
when Harris said he was able to continue.
Harris
came back with some solid leg kicks and worked to clinch his
opponent. Some loose knees were thrown from both fighters before
Harris found himself hanging onto a guillotine choke. Harris
pulled guard to try and secure the submission, but the experienced
jiu-jitsu fighter in Ourico emerged and he passed to the mount.
Round
1 finished with Ourico on Harris’ back. Although Ourico
fought off a choke, he seemed to be in more control of this round.
Harris
again came out aggressively at the start of the second round,
throwing a variety of strikes from leg kick to spinning back
fist. Nothing significant landed and Ourico moved in to take
the clinch and avoid more strikes. After an even wilder clinching
episode, Harris wanted nothing to do with it, upper-cutting his
way from Ourico’s grasp and moving back to his favorite
position of striking.
Harris
found a good groove, landing leg kicks and really mixing his
strikes, using superman punches and high kicks to set up his
punches.
Harris
slipped late in the round, giving Ourico another chance to clinch.
Ourico took the back, though Harris was quick to get back into
half guard. Harris pushed Ourico away and the round finished
with Harris throwing up kicks at his opponent from his back.
A
close round with both fighters getting making their own chance.
Harris coming out slightly more aggressive gave him this round.
The
final round was uneventful and saw the two men spending most
of their time clinching, with no significant strikes thrown.
Ourico pushed for several takedowns without landing any. Harris
tried body shots in the clinch but did not phase Ourico. Ourico
did little while clinching, forcing a break. Neither threw any
committing strikes.
As
the round drew to a close, Ourico tried one more takedown but
failed to get it in time.
The
fight goes to deserved Jason Harris by judge’s decision.
Fight
3 - 105kg
-Jeff
King v Lucas Browne
Jeff
King charged in to start the fight, ending up clinched and pressed
against the cage by 117kg Kung Fu practitioner Lucas Browne.
Browne was much stronger in the clinch, bullying his opponent
to the mat where he worked efficient elbows and forearm strikes.
Moving to side control, Browne continued his assault on the now
bloody King. King worked his way back to guard but was met with
a massive elbow strike from Browne.
After
a scramble from the guard, King found fortune in his favor, as
he ended up reversing position to side control on Browne. This
did not last long as Browne created a scramble of his own and
got back to the dominant position, though King worked his guard
back.
King,
going for an armbar late in the round, wound up slammed hard
by the powerful Browne who dropped some huge fists on his stunned
adversary. The fight was called soon after.
Lucas
Browne wins by TKO.
Fight
2 - 62kg
-Kian
“Karnage” Pham v Phil Lai
Victorian
Phil Lai started the fight well. With an air of confidence he
looks to pick his shots, working a clinch and landing some solid
knees to the midsection of Kian Pham. During the clinch game,
Pham jumped guard only to be put down hard on his back by Lai.
On the ground, Lai continued to work and advance position on
a relatively flat looking Pham. Lai attempted to take a knee,
but aborted and went back into half guard where he worked in
some more strikes.
The
fight stagnated, forcing the referee to stand the pair up.
Standing,
Lai tried showboating with windmill punches and a Nick Diaz-esque
cockiness. Nothing from Lai landed but he did get the crowd worked
up.
Round
1 ended with Pham finally working a takedown, but with no time
to do anything with it.
Round
2 began with some strikes, including a kick to the groin on Pham
that the referee failed to notice. More loose strikes were thrown
before “Karnage” came alive, landing a takedown and
advancing position quickly to half guard. Pham worked his way
to the back of his opponent quickly, grabbing a rear naked choke
and forcing the tap out from Lai.
Although
cocky through the fight, Lai respectfully acknowledged the talent
displayed by his opponent.
Fight
1 - 93kg
-Rawdon
Lee v Hohepa Ngarimu
The
opening fight started off with some moderate striking from both
fighters until Roots Jiu-Jitsu trained Rawdon Lee pushed for
a clinch, dragging his opponent down a few moments later.
On
the ground Lee worked hard with some solid ground and pound,
opening his opponent Ngarimu up and moving to half guard as a
result.
With
Ngarimu flat on his back, Lee worked some more ground and pound
until he found Ngarimu’s neck wide open and applied a forearm
choke. Ngarimu tried to defend but the weight of Lee was too
much, the choke sinking deep enough to force the submission.
Lee
wins by forearm choke.
The
promotion will be back at Luna Park on May 22 for CFC 8.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BELLATOR
OPEN TO WORKING WITH STRIKEFORCE
You’d be hard pressed to find an avid MMA fan that didn’t
want to see Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson face
off with East Coast standout Eddie Alvarez.
While
Thomson carries the belt of an organization poised to be the
next serious player in the MMA market, Alvarez’s popularity
in recent years has run parallel to the American Kickboxing Academy
product.
Alvarez’s
fight contract was one of 42 acquired in Strikeforce’s purchase
of ProElite assets, touching off speculation on the 25-year-old’s
future home. In November, Alvarez signed a deal with Bellator
Fighting Championships, whose 12-week tournament based show debuts
on ESPN Deportes in April.
Monte
Cox, Alvarez’s manager, confirmed to MMAWeekly.com last
week that his fighter was under exclusive contract with Bellator
and would meet his obligations to the emerging promotion, which
included its first tournament pairings in April and, if victorious,
the second and third rounds scheduled for May and June. If Alvarez
were to fight for another promotion, it would be at the discretion
of Bellator, said Cox.
But
Bjorn Rebney, CEO of Bellator FC, says there is room for Alvarez,
and others, to roam.
“From
our perspective, the agreements that we have with numerous different
fighters we’ve signed, that contractual opportunity absolutely
exists,” he said. “We have the wherewithal and ability
to put together matches and put together fights that people want
to see across promotional platforms. Those are open doors.”
Rebney
said he had not met Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, but had great
respect for the San Jose, Calif.-based promotion.
“I’ve
been traversing this landscape for the last two and a half years,
putting everything in motion,” said Rebney. “One guy
who I have heard nothing but good things about is Scott. His
record speaks for himself. Those of us in the fight industry
who have been able to consistently operate in a positive margin
– that speaks volumes.”
So
far, Strikeforce has sustained only one co-promotional relationship,
with now-dormant EliteXC, though it was borne out of a contractual
snafu with one of its chief stars, Frank Shamrock. In December
of 2006, the former UFC middleweight champion nearly caused a
lawsuit by announcing his intention to fight for Elite less than
two months before a Strikeforce event proposed for April of 2007.
The crisis was averted when the two promotions came to a limited
co-promotional agreement.
Rebney
hoped any possible fighter exchanges take place under better
circumstances.
“I’m
kind of old school,” he said. “If the best fighting
the best means that (Strikeforce) fighters would match up through
our ESPN alliance on Bellator shows, that’s what will happen.
If the best fighting the best would mean there’s an opportunity
to test an Eddie Alvarez or a Wilson Reis or a Jorge Masvidal
against the best that fight for Strikeforce that would be very
cool from my perspective.
“I’m
not the kind of promoter that says you’ll fight under this
banner and this banner alone,” said Rebney. “If we
can make those things work – and I think Scott’s shown
a pretty open willingness to make those kind of things happen
– and it were the right kind of fight, I’d be completely
open to it.”
At
the time of this writing, Strikeforce is in the final stages
of booking its April 11 show, as well as a proposed May card
in Tacoma, Wash., with new broadcast partner Showtime. Showtime
executive Ken Hershman said 10 Strikeforce cards would air by
the end of 2009. Coker was to fly to New York next week to schedule
the remaining eight events with Hershman and his team, but was
held up by negotiations for the spring events.
Bellator
is expected to announce locations and dates for its April, May,
and June cards on Wednesday.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Pequeno
looks to Sengoku
Suspension ends in April
Not
having fought since June of 2008, when he was suspended for use
of a banned substance after facing Jose Aldo in the WEC, Alexandre
Pequeno is already back at training for his return to the ring.
The “King of the Guillotine” is looking to return to
Japan, where made a name for himself fighting in the Shooto organization.
“I’m
waiting for my suspension to end, which is coming up in early
April. Then I’ll come back with a vengeance. The Japanese
want me over there in the Land of the Rising Sun, they want me
back. They said I was born there and there I will remain,”
he said.
And
Pequeno’s future should be in Sengoku, the organization
holding a featherweight Grand Prix event with such names and
L.C. Davis and the undefeated Marlon Sandro on the roster.
“I’ll
be going to Sengoku. They want me there full time in the event.
I’ll go in during the second stage, just as Gesias did in
the K-1 GP,” he recounted.
According
to Pequeno, who is already hungry to return to action, he has
already begun his training for the challenge.
“I’m
training with my eyes on the second stage of the GP to go in
and win. I’ll be training around these parts and will deal
with my visa so I can head to the ATT for final preparations,”
he said in finishing.
Source: Gracie Magazine |
UFC
97 is sold out!
Dana White: "I knew it"
For
the second time in a row, the UFC has sold out the Bell Centre
in Montreal, Canada. Tickets for UFC 97: REDEMPTION are no longer
available less than one week after they went on sale to the public.
Now the only place to watch this star-studded event on Saturday,
April 18 is on pay-per-view.
“I
knew going back to Montreal would be another homerun,” UFC
President Dana White said. “Our Canadian fan base is incredibly
strong and continues to grow even in these hard times. UFC events
continue to bring a substantial economic impact to the city of
Montreal - tickets for this fight sold out faster than UFC 83
did last year.”
For
the UFC’s last trip up to Montreal for UFC 83, more than
13,000 tickets were sold the first day through the UFC® Fight
Club™ Presale. The eventual sellout last year and this year’s
record sellout cement Montreal as a true hub for mixed martial
arts and the UFC.
Unstoppable
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will meet his toughest
test to date when he faces submission specialist Thales Leites.
Also on the card, former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck
“The Iceman” Liddell will trade punches with another
dangerous striker when he takes on Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua.
UFC
97: REDEMPTION, presented by TapOut® will be available live
on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell
ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada
for a suggested retail price of $44.95 for standard definition
or high-definition broadcasts (where available).
In
the world of mixed martial arts there is not a more feared striker
than Anderson Silva (fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil). While
posting an amazing eight fight win streak in the UFC, the 33-year-old
champion has stopped seven of those eight fights within two rounds,
with only Patrick Cote seeing daylight in Round 3 before the
champion earned the TKO victory at UFC 90. With two impressive
wins over former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin, one
over Nate Marquardt and a submission victory against former Pride®
champion Dan Henderson, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is
riding high heading into his match with Thales Leites.
“I’m
looking forward to fighting in Montreal,” Silva said. “I
have a lot of Canadian fans. Thales is a very tough opponent,
and it’s going to be a great fight.”
Winner
of his last five UFC matches, 27-year-old Thales Leites (fighting
out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is truly hitting his stride in
the world of mixed martial arts. With a split decision victory
against Marquardt, submission victories over Ryan Jensen and
Floyd Sword and most recently Drew McFedries, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu
black belt could be Silva’s greatest test on the ground
to date.
“I
feel great about this fight and I will be one hundred percent
for sure.” Leites said. “I did my job to get recognized
by the UFC, and this will be the fight of my life. I know Anderson
Silva is a very, very tough guy, but I know that I can do it.”
There
are a few names that are synonymous with the UFC and Chuck Liddell
(fighting out of San Luis Obispo) is one of those. The former
UFC light heavyweight champion is coming off a loss to the division’s
present title holder Rashad Evans and is looking to recapture
the magic that saw him win an amazing 14 of 15 UFC matches from
1999-2006. The 39-year-old is now focused on getting back on
another winning streak.
“I’m
very excited about fighting Shogun,” Liddell said. “It’s
another step in getting back my title. I’m going to hit
him hard and I plan on knocking him out. The Canadian fans have
been great for years. They are some of the most exciting fans
in the world.”
With
an impressive resume overseas, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
(fighting out of Curitiba, Brazil) is starting to make a name
for himself in the UFC. The 27-year-old is coming off a TKO victory
against former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman at UFC 93
and is excited at the opportunity to fight a legend.
“It
is an honor to fight Chuck Liddell, one of the greatest light
heavyweights ever in the UFC,” Rua said. “I have a
lot of respect for him, and I am very excited to fight him. I
like to keep myself challenged, and this fight with Chuck is
definitely a big fight for me and for UFC fans.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Sanchez
a winner in UFC 95 main event
LONDON
– Diego Sanchez began his lightweight career with a unanimous
decision over Joe Stevenson at UFC 95 at London’s O2 Arena.
Sanchez
dropped down to 155 pounds for the first time in his career after
having his title aspirations at welterweight checked by successive
losses in 2007, and looked the stronger, more powerful fighter
in three excellent stand-up rounds between two “The Ultimate
Fighter” series winners.
“I
feel this is a permanent move, for now,” Sanchez said of
his drop in weight class in a cageside interview after the result
was announced. “When I’m in my 30s, maybe I’ll
go back up to welterweight. For now, I am here to do what the
UFC wants me to do. If they want me to fight BJ Penn, Kenny Florian
or Sean Sherk, I don’t mind.”
Stevenson,
smiling his way through the opening stages, caught southpaw Sanchez
with two solid early jabs but it was the Mexican-American who
landed the more hurtful blows in the first-round stand-up with
two uppercuts getting through the Stevenson defense.
Sanchez
then caught Stevenson with a knee and a right hook at the start
of the second before an unsuccessful guillotine attempt. Some
dynamic, explosive work from both men on the ground failed to
fashion an opening with the second round ending with another
spell of sharp stand-up, Sanchez catching the smaller man with
two late head-kicks.
The
more unpredictable and effective striking continued to come from
Sanchez in the third, although both fighters landed solid blows
in a fantastic late flurry to the fight that had the crowd on
their feet in appreciation.
Stevenson,
who has said he was “embarrassed” by how easily he
was manhandled by Kenny Florian in his last fight, has some thinking
to do after dropping his third defeat in four fights in the UFC.
Meanwhile,
UK welterweight Dan Hardy lived up to the growing hype over his
talents with a big first-round KO of Rory Markham.
The
Nottingham-based fighter landed a superb counterattack right
hook after Markham had failed with an overhand right, finishing
the American with a punch on the ground before the referee stepped
in.
Hardy
has been training with some of the top gyms in the US over the
last few months and is looking for a big year as he attempts
to join Michael Bisping as the British faces of the UFC.
The
victory, coming off the back of his win over Akihiro Gono in
his UFC debut in October, is his fifth in succession and should
continue to make fans both sides of the Atlantic sit up and take
notice. Markham, of Bettendorf, Iowa, is now 1-1 in his UFC career
following his move from the International Fight League.
Earlier,
Paulo Thiago put a huge dent in Josh Koscheck’s welterweight
title ambitions with a stunning first-round KO on his UFC debut.
Koscheck,
who took a pounding from Thiago Alves after accepting a fight
on just two weeks notice in October, walked on to a huge uppercut
from the Brazilian after three minutes, 29 seconds of the opening
round.
The
Californian was initially angry with the immediate stoppage but
looked badly dazed by the blow, with Thiago set to rain down
further hammers before the referee stepped in.
Koscheck
had been ranked in the top five in the welterweight rankings
by most publications but will slip down the pecking order after
suffering his third loss in six fights over an 18-month spell.
Damian
Maia will be hoping UFC president Dana White holds true to his
word of a title shot after submitting Chael Sonnen in the first
round of their middleweight contest.
An
excellent leg-sweep from Maia took down Sonnen before the Brazilian
locked a textbook triangle and brought the tap from the American
after two minutes, 37 seconds, improving the 31-year-old’s
record to 10-0.
Maia,
twice a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, is considered a fighter
with the calibre of skills to cause a problem for middleweight
champion Anderson Silva, with White now expected to pair the
two sometime later in the year.
Nate
Marquardt impressed in his middleweight clash against Wilson
Gouveia, finishing the Brazilian with a TKO mid-way through the
third round to cement his place as a contender in the 185-pound
division.
Nate
“The Great” had Gouveia in trouble with a guillotine
late in the second round, leaving his opponent groggy at the
start of the third. A flying knee had Gouveia staggering backwards,
allowing the Denver man to finish the fight with a series of
strikes as Gouveia slumped against the fence.
Marquardt
had suffered two loses in his previous four fights – against
champ Silva in a title fight in July 2007 and to Thales Leites
in June 2008 – but looks to be back in the sort of form
to put him in the title picture again.
Junior
Dos Santos further enhanced his reputation as one of the most
feared strikers in the sport with a stunning early KO of debutant
Dutchman Stefan Struve at UFC 95 at the O2 Arena in London.
There
were also impressive wins for Brits Paul Kelly and Terry Etim
in the prelim fights of the card topped by Diego Sanchez’s
lightweight debut against former title contender Joe Stevenson.
Dos
Santos, fighting out of the same gym as Silva and former interim
UFC heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, entered the
fight on the back of a big KO over much-fancied Fabricio Werdum
on his UFC debut in October, and followed it up with another
stand-out victory.
The
24-year-old Brazilian rocked the towering Struve with a big left
before putting him on his pants for the second time in the opening
seconds with a powerful right, leaving the referee with little
option but to step in and call a halt to the punishment and lift
Dos Santos a rung higher on the UFC heavyweight ladder.
Kelly
got the evening started on a high note for the partisan home
crowd with a unanimous (30-27, 30-27, 30-28) victory over Hawaiian Troy Mandaloniz
in a hard-hitting
welterweight battle.
Liverpool
native Kelly took the first two rounds fairly comfortably after
rocking his opponent with some big flurries followed up by takedowns,
managing to open up a big cut above Mandaloniz’s left eye.
A tight final round saw more fine wrestling from the Brit and
a late takedown from
Mandaloniz
failed to bring a chance to finish, Kelly claiming a wide decision.
Fast-rising
lightweight Terry Etim scored a second-successive UFC victory
with a fine KO of late stand-in Brian Cobb thanks to a superb
display of kickboxing that saw the youngster floor his opponent
with a thumping head kick 10 seconds into the second round.
Etim
had battered Cobb with a series of sickening leg-kicks in the
first round before finishing the fight early in the second to
build on his debut victory over Sam Stout at UFC 89 last October
and live up to the tag of being the most promising fighter in
the UK.
Things
did not go so well for British heavyweight Neil Grove, who was
submitted early in the first round by fellow debutant Mike Ciesnolevicz,
formerly a fighter on Pat Miletich’s IFL Silverbacks squad.
Grove
had around 30 pounds on the American, who usually operates at
light-heavyweight, but the former collegiate wrestler showed
impressive ground skills by nailing an ankle-lock one minute
into the fight to leave the tapping Grove in obvious discomfort.
Meanwhile,
Evan Dunham marked his own UFC debut with a highlight-reel KO
of veteran Swede Per Eklund in their lightweight clash. The Oregon
man entered the Octagon with a 7-0 record after a rapid rise
since his professional debut in 2007 and served notice of his
UFC intentions with a huge left-hook finish after just two minutes,
14 seconds of the first round.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
eyes Hardy as next big U.K. star
When
the Ultimate Fighting Championship was scheduled to expand to
the United Kingdom two years ago, one of the first fighters on
its radar was welterweight Dan Hardy.
When
the offer came to Hardy, he turned it down.
“I
just thought I wasn’t at the stage where I felt I could
stay in the UFC,” said Hardy. “I thought of myself
as mid-level and I didn’t want to go in to fight nobodies.”
Hardy,
like most U.K. fighters, started out in the stand-up game and
found himself having to play catch-up on the other aspects. The
one area where the British athletes have an inherent disadvantage
is wrestling, because amateur wrestling barely exists in the
country.
“We
don’t have any kind of organized wrestling in the country,”
he said. “We’ve got no wrestling in schools. A lot
of the stuff we’ve learned is picked up off studying DVDs.
That’s the main advantage of training in America. In the
U.S., you don’t have to go far to find someone to train
with who has wrestled in high school.”
So
when Hardy decided to get serious about the sport five years
ago, he knew he’d have to train in the United States. These
days his U.S. base is in Los Angeles at Legends Gym, learning
jiu-jitsu under Eddie Bravo, and he sometimes trains with UFC
announcer Joe Rogan. But over the past five years, he’s
trained everywhere.
“I’ve
been to Extreme Couture (Las Vegas), both Team Quests (the Temecula,
Calif., and Portland, Ore., branches) and the American Top Team
(in South Florida),” said Hardy, who made his first trip
to the U.S. to, as he put it, “to get beat up for a month
straight,” when he went to Florida.
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s
going to take a lot to catch up in a welterweight division that
is headed by champion Georges St. Pierre, who has no formal wrestling
training but many consider the best MMA-style wrestler on the
planet right now, and wrestling standouts like Matt Hughes, Josh
Koscheck and Jon Fitch, three of the bigger names in the class.
Hardy
is hoping his work pays off in the biggest match of his career
Saturday night in London. Hardy faces Rory Markham at the O2
Arena, where he’ll be exposed to a worldwide audience for
the first time when the fight airs on tape delay in the U.S.
on Spike TV.
Hardy
hails from Nottingham, England, about 150 miles away, and is
expected to be one of the most popular, if not the most popular
fighter with the live crowd. He’s been a favorite of the
local media, and he’ll also be bringing his unique ring
entrance to the big stage.
Wanting
to be noticed as more than just another fighter, he used a combination
of his hometown and nickname to create his entrance. Nottingham
is best known as the home of Robin Hood, and his nickname, “The
Outlaw,” stemmed from having a split with a gym owner early
in his career who banned any of his fighters from training with
him. Hence, around town, he became known as “the outlaw
fighter.” He comes out dressed like a Robin Hood-type of
outlaw, and to make it more television friendly, his team is
planning on passing around outlaw gear to fans in the arena.
Of
course in UFC, having an elaborate ring entrance is fine, but
you still have to win your matches. Akihiro Gono, a product of
the Japanese entertainment aspect of the sport, had the best-received
ring entrance in recent company history when he and his cornermen
came out dressed up like a Japanese version of Diana Ross &
The Supremes, with wigs and flashy dresses at UFC 94. But he
is still in dire need of a win to stay in the promotion.
Hardy
(20-6, 1 no-contest) debuted on UFC 89 in Birmingham, England,
beating Gono via split decision on Oct. 18. But that was a preliminary
match, whereas this match will air worldwide.
“When
you look at the losses on his (Gono’s) record, Shogun Rua,
(Dan) Henderson, Denis Kang and (Jon) Fitch,” he said, “That’s
pretty good company to be in.”
The
UFC’s U.K. office is hoping this fight will begin to establish
the 26-year-old Hardy as its second genuine native star, to go
along with Michael Bisping. Hardy, who knew Bisping before he
went to the U.S. and won “The Ultimate Fighter” reality
show, noted that the UFC and Bisping are now household names
in the country less than two years after the debut show.
Hardy
has his positives outside the ring as a potential local star.
He understands the promotional end of the business, is talkative,
and not afraid to say what he thinks, including a controversial
television interview in the U.K. a few weeks back where he was
heavily critical of retiring boxer Joe Calzaghe. He said it was
the best thing for Calzaghe to do because he can’t draw
on pay-per-view and wasn’t going to be getting any more
paydays at the level of his recent fights.
“My
goal right now is three solid wins this year,” he said.
“Rory Markham is the first, and I’ll use this year
to prepare for 2010, when I went to get into title shot contention.”
It’s
been a long journey, starting at the age of six when his parents
enrolled him in Tae Kwon Do classes, because his love for the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
“I
was a big fan of the Ninja Turtles like all of the kids, but
I was the one on the playground throwing kicks at the other kids.
My parents tried to find a place for me to channel my energy
where it wouldn’t cause problems.”
He
stayed in the sport for 11 years, eventually competing in national-level
tournaments.
“I
tried kung fu and boxing, and finally Muay Thai, which was the
best because it taught you that you had eight different weapons
(two fists, two feet, two elbows and two knees),” he said.
“When
I was 18 or 19, I went to a DVD store and found an early UFC,”
he recalled. “I then went back and checked out three or
four more.”
He
started training overseas and competing, with his turning point
coming in a loss by decision to Forrest Petz three years ago.
“I
got a bad decision,” he said. “I thought I won that
fight and he went on to fight in the UFC. I knew in my heart
that I’d beaten him and that gave me a lot of confidence.”
Markham
(16-4), also 26, made his name going 6-2 in two seasons with
the Quad City Silverbacks of the International Fight League.
The product of the Pat Miletich gym in Bettendorf, Iowa, Markham
had a wild UFC debut on July 19. He came back from being rocked
by punches from Brodie Farber, to finish him with a highlight
reel caliber high kick in 1:37. Markham, in his 20 pro fights,
has only gone twice into the third round and has never gone the
distance. Hardy hasn’t been stopped in his last 19 fights,
and has never been knocked out.
“It
has all the makings of an epic fight,” said Hardy. “He
likes to stand and trade punches and so do I. I’m expecting
a toe-to-toe war from the first bell to the moment he hits the
canvas, unconscious.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Palhares
ready for “whoever comes”
With
two victories in three fights in the UFC, Rousimar "Toquinho"
Palhares didn’t have any easy fights when he entered the
octagon. Dominating the fight against Jeremy Horn, at UFC 93,
the athlete of the Brazilian Top Team wasn’t able to finish,
due to a fracture in his hand in the first round, but the undoubted
victory left the Brazilian more than satisfied. "I'm much
better, I’ll go to the doctor to be able to return to training
as soon as possible. In fact I still haven’t got back to
the trainings, I'm just doing a movement, nothing heavy",
says the fighter.
"The
hand didn’t help, but had nothing to do. My hand hurt a
lot, I left some things out of the fight, but this isn’t
the case", said the Brazilian, who doesn’t expect easier
challenges ahead. "First I will take care of my hand and
then I think about it. Murilo (Bustamante) is taking care of
that part, but I’m used to fight against tough guys and
now I’m ok with it... Whoever comes is ok (laughs)”,
finalized the fighter, without forecast to return to the UFC.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
“In
scientific work, those who refuse to go beyond fact rarely get
as far as fact.”
Thomas Huxley, 1825-1895, English Biologist
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel
52
NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!
Don't miss
another exciting, or at least semi-exciting episode of Fighters'
Club TV.
Please
spread the word!
|
X-1
Maui This
Friday Night!
An incredible
card is lined up for Maui's War Memorial. This is a Blaisdell
level blockbuster card.
Doors open at 6 pm, Show starts at 7:00 pm.
You are cordially invited to meet and interview the fighters
participating in the X-1 World Events “NEW BEGINNING"
show. The Press conference takes place Tuesday February 24, 2009
and starts promptly at 2:30pm in the Dave and Busters Showroom.
The showroom is located on the second floor. "NEW BEGINNINGS"
featuring the highly anticipated MMA local favorite Falaniko
Vitale, takes place 7:00 PM Friday February 27, 2009, at the
Maui War Memorial Gym.
Falaniko
Vitale a former college standout football player and UFC veteran
will take on Shannon "The Cannon" Ritch. Ritch who
has fought in Hawaii before is no stranger to tough competition
with 105 Professional MMA bouts already under his belt.. Having
fought Ross Ebanez, Masanori Suda, Charuto, Ronald Jhun, Kazushi
Sakuraba and Jake Shields this Pride and King of the Cage veteran
looks to continue his win streak when he takes on Vitale the
current X1 World Middleweight Champion.
Also
that night 4 of Maui 's top fighters will take to the ring. UFC
Veteran and the top ranked Heavyweight in Hawaii Scott "Punk
Haole" Junk will go toe to toe with the very dominating
new comer Lolohea Mahe. Mahe has ran through all 4 of his previous
opponents and jumped at the opportunity to fight Junk. This will
be the first high caliber opponent for Mahe and he hopes that
a win in Maui will get him the match that he keeps asking for,
a fight against X1 World Champion Ron Waterman.
155lb
jiu jitsu specialist Dominic Ahnee of Maui will go head to head
with talented wrestler Michael Brightmon. In record time Brightmon
built up his pro record to an impressive 10-2, he is ready to
make the move to the lightweight division and feels that he is
more then ready to take on Ahnee for the X1 State Lightweight
Title. Ahnee is no stranger to tough fights, having submitted
World Muay Thai Champion Trevor Hardy and going the distance
with local standouts Harris Sarmiento and Kaleo Kwan, Ahnee feels
that a win here could make him that much closer to the X1 World
Lightweight Title.
Maui
boxer Brandon Visher continues to dominate Hawaii's 145lb division
and is easily considered the number one contender for the X1
World Featherweight Title. As he patiently waits for his shot
at the current champion Eddie Yagin, Visher finds himself matched
up against another veteran fighter Justin Mercado. Mercado first
entered the ring back in 2002 and has always been an exciting
fighter that never gives in, Visher himself an exciting boxer
has continued to show the fans that his ground game can be just
as dangerous. These two warriors will be fighting for the X1
State Featherweight Title.
Maui's
undisputed bantamweight king Mike "The Pitbull" Pedro
has a very exciting ground game and proved it when he submitted
current X1 Champion Kana Hyatt in a non-title match in just 14
seconds into the fight. Don't look past Hansen though as he too
is a stud on the ground thanks to his amazing camp at Team MMAD.
This bout has all the makings of fight of the night.
8
more exciting fights will be on the undercard featuring Maui
's top amateur fighters as they too try to earn their way into
the X1 rankings..
Tickets
can be purchased by calling
Toma Garage 1-808-575-2652, Hot Spot video 1-808-244-1014 or
1-808-875-1005, Peak Performance 1-808-871-2877, 967KO 1-808-871-5807,
SOLID 1-808-893-0929, West Side Vibes 1-808-667-1900, Urban City
1-808-871-5550
Fight
Card
Falaniko Vitale (808 Fight Factory) vs Jon Kirk
185lbs Pro MMA - 3 rounds x 5 minutes
Scott
Junk (Team MMAD) vs Lolohea Mahe (Maui Mulisha)
HW Pro MMA - 3 rounds x 5 minutes
Michael
Brightmon (Gorilla House) vs Dominic Ahnee (Wailuku Boxing)
155lbs Pro MMA - State Title Match - 3 rounds x 5 minutes
Justin
Mercado (Team MMAD) vs Brandon Visher (Wailuku Boxing)
145lbs Pro MMA – State Title Match - 3 rounds x 5 minutes
Brysen
Hansen (Team MMAD) vs Mike Pedro (Bang Inc)
135lbs Pro MMA - 3 rounds x 5 minutes
Plus
8 other exciting bouts
*
Fight Card Subject To Change |
UFC
95 YIELDS $40,000 BONUSES IN LONDON
After another exciting event in England on Saturday night, the
UFC handed down $40,000 bonuses to several fighters who performed
above and beyond on the card.
UFC
officials notified MMAWeekly.com of the bonuses shortly after
UFC 95 at the O2 Arena.
The
"UFC 95 Knockout of the Night" bonus could have gone
to several different fighters. The card featured a whopping six
bouts ending by way of KO or TKO. In the end, it was debuting
Brazilian fighter Paulo Thiago who stunned the crowd with his
first round knockout of perennial Top 10 competitor Josh Koscheck.
For
his efforts, Thiago goes home with a win that puts him on the
map and a $40,000 bonus.
The
"UFC 95 Submission of the Night" landed in the pocket
of Demian Maia, who upped his UFC record to 5-0 with a triangle
choke win over former WEC top dog Chael Sonnen. Maia continues
to climb the middleweight ranks while racking up his fifth submission
win in the Octagon in as many tries.
Saving
the best for last, the "UFC 95 Fight of the Night"
went to main event competitors Diego Sanchez and Joe Stevenson
who battled back and forth for three rounds while mixing in a
few ground scrambles during their bout as well. Both fighters
were rewarded with a $40,000 bonus for their efforts.
UFC
95 AWARDS AND BONUSES
(All awards include a $40,000 bonus for each fighter.)
UFC
95 Fight of the Night
– Diego Sanchez and Joe Stevenson
UFC
95 Knockout of the Night
– Paulo Thiago
UFC
95 Submission of the Night
– Demian Maia
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Fedor
Emelianenko wins gold in Combat Sambo
WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko won gold Saturday
at the 2009 Russian Combat Sambo Championship in Nizhny Norgorod,
Russia.
Competing
in the over 100-kg division, it took a minute combined for Emelianenko
to win his quarterfinal, semifinal and final matches.
Emelianenko
becomes a six-time Russian Combat Sambo Champion and has finished
first place the past four years.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
BUILDING NEW STARS IN ENGLAND
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship's worldwide expansion will grow
later this year as the promotion will travel to Germany, but
this is only after spending the last couple of years building
a brand name in both England and Ireland. That showed true once
again with a successful show in London on Saturday night.
As
announced at the post fight press conference, UFC 95 drew a crowd
of 13,268 rabid MMA fans clamoring to see the show, with a live
gate of just over $1 million U.S. dollars. The success of the
UFC in the U.K. cannot be denied and UFC U.K. President Marshall
Zelaznik agrees with the successful plan implemented so far.
"I
still think we're a couple years behind where the U.S. is. I
remember being there then," he commented after the show.
"We're getting better and better media coverage, which I
think is important, it helps spread the word. There's still a
lot of misunderstanding about our sport."
The
U.K. UFC president added how important it is for the sport to
continue to grow in England and beyond.
"We're
building a sport, not just the UFC," Zelaznik stated. "I'm
very passionate about that as is everybody."
The
UFC is definitely building a brand name overseas and the star
power is starting to grow as well. With British fighter Dan Hardy
claiming the last fight before the main event on this show and
the success of other U.K. fighters on the card, such as Paul
Kelly and Terry Etim, England is continuing to build new stars.
At
the top of that list of course is British superstar and "Ultimate
Fighter" winner Michael "The Count" Bisping. While
fellow Brit Dan Hardy is happy to be mentioned in the same breath
as Bisping, he's okay playing backup for now.
"I'm
certainly not trying to steal his spot. He's done wonders for
MMA in the U.K. and just for the UFC. He's pioneered the UFC
in the U.K. You say UFC to a British person and the first person
that's on their lips is Michael Bisping, so I think he's secured
his spot," Hardy said about Bisping. "We've just got
his back."
As
The Ultimate Fighter season 9 starts with a U.K. based team and
Bisping as a lead coach on the show, the UFC will look to return
to the island later this year, although no date or time line
has been announced for the next England card.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UWC
"MAN O WAR" QUICK RESULTS FROM D.C.
UWC
BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE
-Mike Easton def. Justin Robbins (Tap Out, Guillotine Choke,
4:44 3rd)
-Jamal
Patterson def. Antwain Britt (Tap Out, 0:44)
-John Dodson def. Jose Villarisco (unanimous decision)
-Richie Hightower no-contest Marcus Foran (accidental foul)
-Ron Stallings def. Herbert "Whisper" Goodman (KO,
4:56)
-Cody Donovan def. John Doyle (Strikes, 2:33)
-Iman Acchal def. Felice Herrig (split decision)
-Kyle Baker def. Levon Maynard (Strikes, 2:57 2nd)
-Kris McCray def. Manny OKorie (Tap Out, 4:51)
Attendance:
6,248. DC Metro Region MMA Record.*
*According
to UWC officials
Source: MMA Weekly
|
2009
M-1 Challenge Opener Results
South Korea's Victory over defending 2008 Champions Russia Imperial
Team Leads Night of Upsets at the 2009 M-1 Challenge Opener
Tacoma,
Washington - In a stunning upset, Team South Korea defeated the
defending 2008 M-1 Challenge Champions Russia Imperial Team (formerly
Russia Red Devil) by a score of 3-2 during the 2009 "M-1
Challenge Presented by Affliction" season opener on Saturday
night at the Emerald Queen Casino near Tacoma, Washington.
A
capacity crowd witnessed an outstanding show featuring 30 fighters
from six teams in three head-to-head matchups for a total of
15 fights. In addition to Russia Imperial Team's upset, the debuting
USA Team West gave the partial crowd in attendance a major upset
victory by defeating the debut Brazil Naja team by a score of
3-2.
Finland
also asserted itself as a legitimate contender for the 2009 championship
with a dominant 4-1 victory over 2008 second-place finishers
Team Benelux (formerly Team Holland).
South
Korea's Do Hyung Kim sent a message to the Imperial Team's Mikhail
Malyutin that his decision to move from welterweight to lightweight
was made with the intention of displacing Malyutin as the M-1
Challenge's top fighter at 155 pounds. After a spirited two rounds,
the judges awarded Kim a unanimous decision victory.
Following
Kim's win, welterweight Myung Ho Bae took the stage and earned
his second career victory over a disappointed Erik Oganov. Oganov,
a former BodogFIGHT veteran who holds notable wins over Derrick
Noble and Keith Wisniewski, fell to 0-2 in head-to-head matchups
with Bae when he was forced to tap to a rear naked choke at 2:12
of round 2.
Up
2-0, South Korea looked to pull off the sweep as Hyung Yu Lim
went toe-to-toe with the Imperial Team's Dmitry Samoylov. Samoylov
cut South Korea's lead in half by improving his career M-1 record
to 4-2 following a unanimous decision victory over Lim.
Now
only down 2-1, the Imperial Team appeared a lock to even the
score as its light heavyweight ace Mikhail Zayats headed out
to take on Jae Young Kim. Zayats entered the fight with an impressive
8-1 overall record and a perfect 4-0 record during M-1 Challenge
team play. A World Combat Sambo Champion in 2008, Zayats dominated
the shorter Kim in the first round and appeared to be well on
his way to his ninth career victory. However, the resilient Kim
refused to quit and continued to move forward despite absorbing
a great deal of strikes from Zayats. The Kyoshin Karate expert's
hard work eventually paid off after he rocked the reigning World
Sambo Champion with a three-punch combo, prompting color commentator
Jimmy Smith to remark that Zayats appeared to be half-conscious.
Showing
a tremendous amount of resiliency of his own, a dazed Zayats
continued to engage with Kim as he attempted to re-establish
himself in the fight. However, before he could recover, Zayats
was knocked out with a high kick by Kim at 4:02 of round 2 in
what play-by-play announcer Sean Wheelock referred to as one
of the biggest upsets in M-1's 11 year history of promoting fights
around the world.
Kim's
win clinched South Korea's 3-2 upset over the Imperial Team and
gave the live audience watching the event live in South Korea
reason to celebrate.
Looking
to make a statement by winning with a score of 4-1, South Korean
heavyweight Sang Soo Lee was poised to exact a measure of revenge
against Imperial's Alexy Oliynik. Oliynik proved himself once
again to his teammates after stepping in for Affliction-bound
Kirill Sidelnikov and winning during last month's 2008 Championships
against Team Holland's Jessie Gibbs. Oilynik submitted Gibbs
with a rare Ezekiel choke at 3:42. Proving that the execution
of the difficult move was no fluke, the 24-4 Moscow native won
his ninth consecutive fight when he tapped Lee with another Ezekiel
choke at 4:27 of round 2.
Team
USA West, led by owners Roy Engelbrecht and Steve Bash as well
as head coach Colin Oyama, showed the world it's here to contend
for a title in 2009 following its 3-2 upset over Brazil Naja.
A new star was born in Team Quest's Dave Jansen, who improved
to 8-0 by recording an impressive unanimous decision over former
Rio Heroes star and cult Vale Tudo legend Flavio Alvaro. Using
a strong mix of combination striking and takedowns, Jansen left
little doubt in the minds of the supportive audience after the
fight went to the judges' scorecards. Despite suffering three
facial lacerations during the fight and in spite of accepting
the bout on just eight days notice after Brian Cobb was signed
by the UFC, Jansen recorded a decisive unanimous decision with
his breakthrough effort that made him the talk of press row.
Brazil
Naja evened the score to 1-1 following Eduardo Pamplona's unanimous
decision victory over Maui's Dylan Clay. Clay, a professional
grappler who also holds a 2-0 record in pro Muay Thai, more than
held his own with the vastly more experienced Pamplona. In a
back and forth battle, Clay forced the bout to go to overtime
in the third round. Unfortunately, the aggressive Clay ran out
of steam and was TKO'd at 2:48 of round three after finding his
arms trapped underneath Pamplona and being physically unable
to defend himself from strikes.
A
veteran from the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, Reggie
Orr let everyone know that he intends to be one of the premier
middleweights in the M-1 Challenge following his split decision
victory over the 9-2 Juliano Belgine. With Team USA up 2-1, the
pressure was on Raphael Davis to clinch the win for Team USA
against Jair Goncalves.
Davis,
an IFL veteran and one of the world's top rated submission grapplers,
displayed improved standup skills by recording a first round
TKO just four minutes and five seconds into the fight. With Davis'
win, Team USA managed to secure a victory on its home turf during
its inaugural performance. Brazil Naja saved some face by cutting
the win to a 3-2 margin following Jose Franca's split decision
victory over former EliteXC heavyweight veteran Carl Seumanutafa.
In
the head-to-head opener of the show, Team Finland showed marked
improvement in its 4-1 victory over Team Benelux. Filling in
for the injured Bogan Christea, lightweight Danny van Bergen
showed just as much moxie and heart as Christea during his unanimous
decision victory over Finland's Juha-Pekka Vainikainen. Despite
the early 1-0 lead, it was all Finland thereafter. Welterweight
Janne Turlinta pulled off a beautiful standing D'Arce choke against
the previously undefeated Tommy Depret. Finland then moved to
2-1 following Lucio Linhares' armbar submission over Kamil Uygun
at 1:22 of round 1. Light heavyweight Marcus Vanttinen then clinched
the team victory for Team Finland by upsetting Jason Jones via
unanimous decision. Former light heavyweight Toni Valtonen then
added the exclamation point in his heavyweight debut when he
knocked 21-year old Sander Duiyvis out following a vicious slam.
With
2009 successfully underway, the M-1 Challenge is set to debut
in Sofia, Bulgaria with matchups featuring Bulgaria vs. USA South,
China vs. the World Team, and Turkey vs. Australia/New Zealand.
Final rosters and lineups for the event are expected to be announced
in the coming weeks at www.M1Mixfight.com.
Official
results for the Feb. 21 2009 M-1 Challenge Opener at the Emerald
Queen Casino near Tacoma, Washington:
Team
Finland vs. Team Benelux (Finland wins 4-1) -
*
Danny van Bergen (150.92 lbs.) def. Juha-Pekka Vainkainen (154
lbs.) via unanimous decision
* Janne Tulirinta (166.32 lbs.) def. Tommy Depret (165 lbs.)
via submission (D'Arce choke) at 2:30 of round 1
* Lucio Linhares (184.36 lbs.) def. Kamil Uygun (182.16 lbs.)
via submission (armbar) at 1:22 of round 1
* Marcus Vanttinen (204.6 lbs.) def. Jason Jones (200.2 lbs.)
via unanimous decision
* Toni Valtonen (228.8 lbs.) def. Sander Duyvis (253.88 lbs.)
via knockout (slam) at 0:18 of round 1
Team
South Korea vs. the Imperial Team (South Korea wins 3-2) -
*
Do Hyung Kim (154 lbs.) def. Mikhail Malyutin (151.88 lbs.) via
unanimous decision
* Myung Ho Bae (166.76 lbs.) def. Erik Oganov (167.2 lbs.) via
submission (rear naked choke) at 2:12 of round 2
* Dmitry Samolyov (182.16 lbs.) def. Hyung Yu Lim (184.8 lbs.)
via unanimous decision
* Jae Young Kim (204.16 lbs.) def. Mikhail Zayats (200.2 lbs.)
via knockout (high kick) at 4:02 of round 2
* Alexy Oleinik (231 lbs.) def. Sang Soo Le (234.08 lbs.) via
submission (Ezekiel choke) at 4:27 of round 2
Team
USA West vs. Team Brazil Naja (Team USA West wins 3-2) -
*
Dave Jansen (154 lbs.) def. Flavio Alvaro (154 lbs.) via unanimous
decision
* Eduardo Pamplona (163.24 lbs.) def. Dylan Clay (165.88 lbs.)
via TKO (strikes) at 2:48 of round 3
* Reggie Orr (182.6 lbs.) vs. Juliano Belgine (180.84 lbs.) via
split decision
* Raphael Davis (204.16 lbs.) def. Jair Goncalves (199.32 lbs.)
via TKO (strikes) at 4:05 of round 1
* Jose Franca (243.76 lbs.) def. Carl Seumanutafa (260.04 lbs.)
via split decision
Source: MMA Fighting
|
SOUTH
KOREA UPSETS 2008 CHAMPS AT M-1 OPENER
In a stunning upset, Team South Korea defeated the defending
2008 M-1 Challenge Champions Russia Imperial Team (formerly Russia
Red Devil) by a score of 3-2 during the 2009 "M-1 Challenge
Presented by Affliction" season opener on Saturday night
at the Emerald Queen Casino near Tacoma, Washington.
A
capacity crowd witnessed an outstanding show featuring 30 fighters
from six teams in three head-to-head matchups for a total of
15 fights. In addition to Russia Imperial Team's upset, the debuting
USA Team West gave the partial crowd in attendance a major upset
victory by defeating the debut Brazil Naja team by a score of
3-2.
Finland
also asserted itself as a legitimate contender for the 2009 championship
with a dominant 4-1 victory over 2008 second-place finishers
Team Benelux (formerly Team Holland).
South Korea's Do Hyung Kim sent a message to the Imperial Team's
Mikhail Malyutin that his decision to move from welterweight
to lightweight was made with the intention of displacing Malyutin
as the M-1 Challenge's top fighter at 155 pounds. After a spirited
two rounds, the judges awarded Kim a unanimous decision victory.
Following
Kim's win, welterweight Myung Ho Bae took the stage and earned
his second career victory over a disappointed Erik Oganov. Oganov,
a former BodogFIGHT veteran who holds notable wins over Derrick
Noble and Keith Wisniewski, fell to 0-2 in head-to-head matchups
with Bae when he was forced to tap to a rear naked choke at 2:12
of round 2.
Up 2-0, South Korea looked to pull off the sweep as Hyung Yu
Lim went toe-to-toe with the Imperial Team's Dmitry Samoylov.
Samoylov cut South Korea's lead in half by improving his career
M-1 record to 4-2 following a unanimous decision victory over
Lim.
Now
only down 2-1, the Imperial Team appeared a lock to even the
score as its light heavyweight ace Mikhail Zayats headed out
to take on Jae Young Kim. Zayats entered the fight with an impressive
8-1 overall record and a perfect 4-0 record during M-1 Challenge
team play. A World Combat Sambo Champion in 2008, Zayats dominated
the shorter Kim in the first round and appeared to be well on
his way to his ninth career victory. However, the resilient Kim
refused to quit and continued to move forward despite absorbing
a great deal of strikes from Zayats. The Kyoshin Karate expert's
hard work eventually paid off after he rocked the reigning World
Sambo Champion with a three-punch combo, prompting color commentator
Jimmy Smith to remark that Zayats appeared to be half-conscious.
Showing
a tremendous amount of resiliency of his own, a dazed Zayats
continued to engage with Kim as he attempted to re-establish
himself in the fight. However, before he could recover, Zayats
was knocked out with a high kick by Kim at 4:02 of round 2 in
what play-by-play announcer Sean Wheelock referred to as one
of the biggest upsets in M-1's 11 year history of promoting fights
around the world.
Kim's
win clinched South Korea's 3-2 upset over the Imperial Team and
gave the live audience watching the event live in South Korea
reason to celebrate.
Looking
to make a statement by winning with a score of 4-1, South Korean
heavyweight Sang Soo Lee was poised to exact a measure of revenge
against Imperial's Alexy Oliynik. Oliynik proved himself once
again to his teammates after stepping in for Affliction-bound
Kirill Sidelnikov and winning during last month's 2008 Championships
against Team Holland's Jessie Gibbs. Oilynik submitted Gibbs
with a rare Ezekiel choke at 3:42. Proving that the execution
of the difficult move was no fluke, the 24-4 Moscow native won
his ninth consecutive fight when he tapped Lee with another Ezekiel
choke at 4:27 of round 2.
Team
USA West, led by owners Roy Engelbrecht and Steve Bash as well
as head coach Colin Oyama, showed the world it's here to contend
for a title in 2009 following its 3-2 upset over Brazil Naja.
A new star was born in Team Quest's Dave Jansen, who improved
to 8-0 by recording an impressive unanimous decision over former
Rio Heroes star and cult Vale Tudo legend Flavio Alvaro. Using
a strong mix of combination striking and takedowns, Jansen left
little doubt in the minds of the supportive audience after the
fight went to the judges' scorecards. Despite suffering three
facial lacerations during the fight and in spite of accepting
the bout on just eight days notice after Brian Cobb was signed
by the UFC, Jansen recorded a decisive unanimous decision with
his breakthrough effort that made him the talk of press row.
Brazil
Naja evened the score to 1-1 following Eduardo Pamplona's unanimous
decision victory over Maui's Dylan Clay. Clay, a professional
grappler who also holds a 2-0 record in pro Muay Thai, more than
held his own with the vastly more experienced Pamplona. In a
back and forth battle, Clay forced the bout to go to overtime
in the third round. Unfortunately, the aggressive Clay ran out
of steam and was TKO'd at 2:48 of round three after finding his
arms trapped underneath Pamplona and being physically unable
to defend himself from strikes.
A veteran from the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter, Reggie
Orr let everyone know that he intends to be one of the premier
middleweights in the M-1 Challenge following his split decision
victory over the 9-2 Juliano Belgine. With Team USA up 2-1, the
pressure was on Raphael Davis to clinch the win for Team USA
against Jair Goncalves.
Davis,
an IFL veteran and one of the world's top rated submission grapplers,
displayed improved standup skills by recording a first round
TKO just four minutes and five seconds into the fight. With Davis'
win, Team USA managed to secure a victory on its home turf during
its inaugural performance. Brazil Naja saved some face by cutting
the win to a 3-2 margin following Jose Franca's split decision
victory over former EliteXC heavyweight veteran Carl Seumanutafa.
In
the head-to-head opener of the show, Team Finland showed marked
improvement in its 4-1 victory over Team Benelux. Filling in
for the injured Bogan Christea, lightweight Danny van Bergen
showed just as much moxie and heart as Christea during his unanimous
decision victory over Finland's Juha-Pekka Vainikainen. Despite
the early 1-0 lead, it was all Finland thereafter. Welterweight
Janne Turlinta pulled off a beautiful standing D'Arce choke against
the previously undefeated Tommy Depret. Finland then moved to
2-1 following Lucio Linhares' armbar submission over Kamil Uygun
at 1:22 of round 1. Light heavyweight Marcus Vanttinen then clinched
the team victory for Team Finland by upsetting Jason Jones via
unanimous decision. Former light heavyweight Toni Valtonen then
added the exclamation point in his heavyweight debut when he
knocked 21-year old Sander Duiyvis out following a vicious slam.
With
2009 successfully underway, the M-1 Challenge is set to debut
in Sofia, Bulgaria with matchups featuring Bulgaria vs. USA South,
China vs. the World Team, and Turkey vs. Australia/New Zealand.
Final rosters and lineups for the event are expected to be announced
in the coming weeks at www.M1Mixfight.com.
Official
results for the Feb. 21 2009 M-1 Challenge Opener at the Emerald
Queen Casino near Tacoma, Washington:
Team
Finland vs. Team Benelux (Finland wins 4-1) -
Danny
van Bergen (150.92 lbs.) def. Juha-Pekka Vainkainen (154 lbs.)
via unanimous decision
Janne Tulirinta (166.32 lbs.) def. Tommy Depret (165 lbs.) via
submission (D'Arce choke) at 2:30 of round 1
Lucio Linhares (184.36 lbs.) def. Kamil Uygun (182.16 lbs.) via
submission (armbar) at 1:22 of round 1
Marcus Vanttinen (204.6 lbs.) def. Jason Jones (200.2 lbs.) via
unanimous decision
Toni Valtonen (228.8 lbs.) def. Sander Duyvis (253.88 lbs.) via
knockout (slam) at 0:18 of round 1
Team
South Korea vs. the Imperial Team (South Korea wins 3-2) -
Do
Hyung Kim (154 lbs.) def. Mikhail Malyutin (151.88 lbs.) via
unanimous decision
Myung Ho Bae (166.76 lbs.) def. Erik Oganov (167.2 lbs.) via
submission (rear naked choke) at 2:12 of round 2
Dmitry Samolyov (182.16 lbs.) def. Hyung Yu Lim (184.8 lbs.)
via unanimous decision
Jae Young Kim (204.16 lbs.) def. Mikhail Zayats (200.2 lbs.)
via knockout (high kick) at 4:02 of round 2
Alexy Oleinik (231 lbs.) def. Sang Soo Le (234.08 lbs.) via submission
(Ezekiel choke) at 4:27 of round 2
Team
USA West vs. Team Brazil Naja (Team USA West wins 3-2) -
Dave
Jansen (154 lbs.) def. Flavio Alvaro (154 lbs.) via unanimous
decision
Eduardo Pamplona (163.24 lbs.) def. Dylan Clay (165.88 lbs.)
via TKO (strikes) at 2:48 of round 3
Reggie Orr (182.6 lbs.) vs. Juliano Belgine (180.84 lbs.) via
split decision
Raphael Davis (204.16 lbs.) def. Jair Goncalves (199.32 lbs.)
via TKO (strikes) at 4:05 of round 1
Jose Franca (243.76 lbs.) def. Carl Seumanutafa (260.04 lbs.)
via split decision
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“Nowhere
can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his
own soul.”
Marcus Aurelius, 121-180, Roman Emperor and Philosopher
|
NATE
LOOKS GREAT, MAIA STAYS PERFECT AT UFC 95
The middleweights were on display at UFC 95 in London on Saturday
night, as both Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia made impressive
statements with victories over top competition on the event's
main card.
Ever
since losing to champion Anderson Silva almost two years ago,
Marquardt has worked harder and harder with each fight to make
his way back to another shot at the 185-pound championship. The
Colorado resident took a huge step forward with a third round
stoppage over American Top Team standout Wilson Gouveia.
Marquardt
controlled the pace throughout the bout with crisp striking that
Gouveia never seemed to time right, and the Team Jackson fighter
did a good job of mixing up punches, kicks and knees to keep
his stand-up fresh throughout.
Taking
Gouveia down in both the first and second rounds, Marquardt showed
a tremendous ground game to compliment his stand-up, as he was
able to unload a barrage of elbows on the Brazilian, who could
only defend and never threw any kind of submission attempt at
the former "King of Pancrase."
It
was the third round that saw Marquardt take over, as Gouveia
started to look winded and Nate the Great took quick advantage.
As the two exchanged strikes in the middle of the Octagon, Marquardt
again mixed things up, throwing a beautiful flying knee that
sent Gouveia flying backwards against the cage.
Knowing
that his opponent was hurt, Marquardt absolutely opened up throwing
a high kick, spinning back fist, another right hand, and a couple
of knees that sent Gouveia to the mat for the last time in the
fight as the referee stepped in to stop the punishment.
Now
7-2 in the UFC, Marquardt feels that it's his time to get back
in the title hunt and he's gunning for the 185-pound champion.
"It's
not going to be a rematch," Marquardt said about another
shot at champion Anderson Silva. "Because the Nate you saw
tonight is not the Nate that fought for the title. It's going
to be my first time."
Demian
Maia continued the undefeated streak in both his career and his
time in the UFC as the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion made quick
work for former top WEC middleweight Chael Sonnen, getting the
win by triangle choke.
Sonnen
did a good job early on, staying out of Maia's ground game, using
his tremendous wrestling background to counter the Brazilian's
takedown attempts. As Maia continued to stalk Sonnen, he eventually
pressed the action against the cage where he was able to get
an underhook on his opponent's arm and executed a brilliant throw
and trip takedown.
Transitioning
almost immediately while still holding onto the underhook on
Sonnen's arm, Maia made a fluent move to lock on a triangle choke.
The Team Quest fighter tried to maneuver his way out of the hold,
but Maia tightened the choke and Sonnen was forced to tap out.
"I
was surprised even because I put him down and he's such a good
wrestler," Maia said after the win. "I just have the
title in my mind. I think now I want the title shot. I want to
show the world the jiu-jitsu."
With
the win, Maia moves to 5-0 in the UFC and likely a bout in his
near future against a top ten level opponent that will test how
close exactly he is to title contention.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
THIAGO
AND HARDY DELIVER KO'S AT UFC 95
Heading into UFC 95 no one knew much about the Brazilian Paulo
Thiago making his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at the
O2 Arena in London against top five ranked welterweight Josh
Koscheck. But after a perfectly placed uppercut followed by a
left hand, the world now knows who he is.
For
Koscheck, he was working his way back to title contention, accepting
fights often against anyone the UFC put in front on him. But
his route back to No. 1 contender status was derailed at the
3:29 mark of round one.
The
two circled early trying to set up that one big shot. Koscheck
landed a few solid right hands, testing the chin of Thiago. The
American Kickboxing Academy trained Koscheck appeared to be finding
his rhythem and establishing his jab when Thiago stepped in with
an uppercut - left hand combination that sent Koscheck crashing
to the canvas. As Thiago dropped his hands in celebration, the
referee stopped the fight.
Paulo
Thiago improved his undefeated record to 11-0 and immediately
became a force in the 170-pound division. An upset Koscheck didn't
like the stoppage, but the replay showed he was knocked out and
the referee made the right decision.
In
other welterweight action, Dan Hardy delivered a counter-left
hook knocking out Mileitch trained Rory Markham just 69 second
into their match up.
When
UFC matchmaker Joe Silva put together the Hardy and Markham bout,
many thought it had the makings of a "Fight of the Night"
candidate. It started slow with each feeling their opponent out,
circling and working for an angle to attack.
Markham
decided to push the pace and as he missed with a right hand,
Hardy fired back landing a left-hook that knocked Markham out.
Hardy followed Markham to the mat landing one more shot for good
measure before the referee called a halt to the fight.
"No
punching power, huh? He's known for his punching power and to
be honest, I'm not really known for that," said the mohawked
brit in his post-fight interview. "He's a very aggressive
fighter and as he stepped in with that punch, I knew he'd be
open and boom there it is."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SANCHEZ
WINS; NIGHTMARE REBORN AT UFC 95
"This is my rebirth. I was on my way to starting a legacy
back when I was 19-0 and this is my rebirth for that Diego legacy.
Not only am I going to make a statement the way I look, I'm also
going to make a statement the way I fight."
Those
were the words of Diego Sanchez in the days prior to his fight
with Joe Stevenson at UFC 95 on Saturday night in London, words
that turned out to be prophetic.
Awarded
the UFC 95 Fight of the Night at an event the did not fall short
of contenders for such honors, it was still Sanchez that led
the way throughout in front of 13,268 rabid British fans.
The
fight began with a tide of excitement that didn't recede. Sanchez
and Stevenson opened with some excellent stand-up exchanges,
continuing to strike on their feet for the majority of the three
rounds. But Sanchez began to take control early, being the more
active and versatile striker.
Stevenson
would continue to plod forward as the rounds wore on, but he
never really varied his routine. He would press forward, firing
in the straight right, but Sanchez was not an idle target, nor
was he backpedaling.
As
much as Stevenson pushed forward, it was Sanchez that would side-step,
and cut angles, exploding back at Stevenson with much quicker
and more accurate boxing combinations; continually throwing a
powerful body shot-uppercut combination. Just when it seemed
Stevenson could have timed Sanchez's combos, the Ultimate Fighter
season one winner would shift gears, launching a jumping knee,
or stepping out and firing a kick to the head.
This
fight displayed a world of opposites to Diego Sanchez's early
career when the Nightmare was a tangle of powerful wrestling
and twisting submissions. Now the Nightmare comes in the form
of lightening fast and pinpoint accurate boxing combinations,
explosive jumping knees, and decapitating kicks to the head.
This
was Sanchez' debut at 155 pounds, but it was painfully clear
that he had not lost a step with the weight cut. In fact, he
quite possibly gained a step, which adds a new dimension to the
Nightmare.
Prior
to the fight, Sanchez talked about the move to lightweight not
being permanent, planning to move back up when he got older,
and he reiterated that on Saturday night.
"(The
move is) definitely permanent for now. I made the weight cut
fine. It's permanent for now, when I'm in my thirties maybe I'll
go up," he told Joe Rogan, probably stirring up a whole
bunch of bad dreams for many of the UFC's other lightweight fighters.
"I'm
here to do whatever the UFC wants me to do. If they want me to
fight Kenny Florian, they want me to fight B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk,
(expletive) if they want me to fight Koscheck or Fitch, I'll
go up there and re-avenge those fights, too."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
STEVENSON
REFLECTS ON UFC 95 LOSS TO SANCHEZ
Win
or lose, the days of post-fight laziness are over for Joe “Daddy”
Stevenson.
“Not
any more,” Stevenson told MMAWeekly.com after his disappointing
decision loss to Diego Sanchez at UFC 95. “Joe doesn’t
take time off anymore.”
After
a few days with his family, he will return to the gym to help
training partners prepare for upcoming fights.
Though
he fell short in his goal of introducing Diego Sanchez to the
lightweight class with a loss, Stevenson recognized the danger
of leaving things to the judges.
“That’s
fighting,” he said. “If the judges tell you, ‘you
lost,’ you lost. I’m upset at myself, I shouldn’t
have let it go to the judges, should have tried to finish the
fight, but c'est la vie.”
Stevenson
struggled to find his range during their 15-minute meeting, and
was thrown off by a more tactical and versatile Sanchez.
“I
didn’t expect him to backpedal as much,” said Stevenson.
“I thought he was going to stand in the middle a little
bit more, be a little bit more aggressive.”
Back
to the drawing board, Stevenson said he would welcome a second
chance against Sanchez. Questions of a possible jump back to
welterweight – or, more of a stretch, to featherweight –
will go unanswered for now.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nate
Marquardt, Demian Maia ready for title shots
UFC middleweights Nate Marquardt and Demian Maia made their cases
for a title shot with strong performances Saturday at UFC 95
in London, England.
Marquardt
(28-8-2) stopped American Top Team's Wilson Gouveia in the third
round, while Maia (10-0) submitted uncrowned WEC middleweight
champ Chael Sonnen with a triangle choke in the opening frame.
"Last
fight I [said] that I was just waiting, that I was just step-by-step,
but now if I have the chance, I want to fight for the title,"
Maia said in the post-fight conference. "I won five fights
by submission. I deserve to fight [for the belt] but of course
it doesn't depend on me, but I want to fight for sure. I feel
prepared right now psychologically, physically and technically."
Marquardt,
who has won three of four since getting stopped by champion Anderson
Silva at UFC 73 in July 2007, says a title shot would be ideal
but would also be happy to take on Maia.
"My
last three, four fights have shown that I deserve a title shot
but if I need to face Demian first, that'll be great," Marquardt
said.
Silva
is scheduled to defend his belt next against Thales Leites --
Marquardt's most recent loss -- at UFC 97 "Redemption"
on April 18 in Montreal, Canada.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Dan
Hardy talks 69-second KO over Rory Markham
Besides another addition to his win column, UFC welterweight
Dan Hardy at UFC 95 was out to show off his knockout power.
Hardy
prior to the fight had his punching power questioned by his opponent,
the heavy-hitting Rory Markham out of the Miletich Fighting Systems.
Hardy responded by telling the press that he was going to knock
Markham out -- and he did.
In
just 69 seconds into the showdown, Hardy countered a missed overhand
right with a left hook for the knockout.
The
first words out of Hardy's mouth for the crowd were, "No
punching power, apparently, ladies and gentleman. No punching
power. What do we think about that?"
Hardy
said afterwards that his strategy was to keep Markham guessing
and to throw something that would open Markham up, but he didn't
count on winning so quickly.
"I
wasn't planning on landing that knockout shot that early on,"
Hardy said. "My intention was to get him to make a few mistakes.
He's a very aggressive fighter and he's got one thing that he's
very good at, and that's putting people to sleep."
Hardy
continued, "When I caught him with that jab, I could see
it in his eyes that he was ready to step it up. When he came
after me I was expecting to hit him with my overhand right to
be honest, but the left hook just followed on from there nicely
and it was just nice to catch him cleanly."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Brazilian
Carnival in London
In
the middle of Carnival, the Brazilian team did great in England,
this Saturday, where the UFC 95 was held. Out of four Brazilians
fighting, Demian Maia, Paulo Thiago and Junior Cigano came out
winners. Even better, they got it with a submission and two knock-outs.
The only one who got defeated was Wilson Gouveia, who had a tough
fight against Nate Marquardt. In the main event of the evening,
Diego Sanchez beat Joe Stevenson by unanimous decision.
Demian
Maia vs. Chael Sonnen
After
pulling Sonnen to his guard, Demian ignored his opponent’s
strong wrestling skills and applied a beautiful sacrifice takedown.
He then set up the triangle and finished the job on the ground.
With Wanderlei Silva on his corner, Demian celebrated his 11
fights undefeated streak and the fifth win by submission in the
UFC. After the quick triumph, he asked for a shot for the title.
Paulo
Thiago vs. Josh Koscheck
On
his debut in the UFC, Paulo Thiago proved that his ten wins in
Brazilian events were a real credential to be in London. After
suffering some blows from Josh Koscheck, who started out on top,
the beast from Brazilia connected an upper punch and a side punch
that threw the opponent to the canvas. Before Thiago had the
chance to beat Sonnen on the ground, the referee stepped in and
stopped the fight with 3min29s. Koscheck complained but Thiago
was already celebrating the maintenance of his undefeated streak.
Junior Cigano vs. Stefan Struve
First
Brazilian to step in the UFC’s octogon, Junior Cigano got
his second UFC win. Just as in his debut against Fabricio Werdum,
Cigano gave no chances and beat Stefan Struve rapidly. Using
his strong boxing skills, the brazilian connected some punches
soon into the fight. The referee stopped the fight at the 54s
mark. Struve didn’t agree but it was too late.
Wilson
Gouveia vs. Nate Marquardt
Against
Nate Marquardt, Wilson Gouveia was the only Brazilian to walk
out of the octagon defeated. After a very close first round,
Marquardt came out on top in the second round when he punished
Gouveia from the ground and pound and connected good sequences
with knees and punches. With Gouveia on the ground, he continued
to punch until the referee stopped the fight.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"Mistakes
are the portals of discovery."
James Joyce
|
Destiny
Second Coming Results!
Waipahu
Filcom Center, Waipahu, Hawaii
Saturday, February 21, 2009
The
up and coming promotion titled Destiny goes back to its roots,
showcasing some of the up and coming fighters and many fighters
making their debuts. With these types of fighters, two things
are guaranteed, one is a lot of action and the second? You never
know what to expect. The event showcased a couple of fighters
that came in with high expectations and they performed. Richie
Cabinian made his debut and came back after a devastating knee
to the head that almost knocked him out to take AJ Lani down
and started a never ending onslaught of punches. Lani escaped
from a number of positions and showed that he is tough as nails,
but eventually, Cabinian's continued pounding caused the Referee
to step in and stop the bout. Caleb Price returned to the cage
and fought a game Tillis Sionesini. However, Price controlled
him with solid knees in the clinch, followed by a nice take down
that led him to control the ground where he laid some solid punches
that Sionesini contested were to the back of the head. Price
is definitely on the map at 195lbs.
The
action was very fast paced and kept the crowd entertained as
many fighters who started out with an advantage, got it taken
away. Some of the fighters showcased great wrestling skills and
ground control in the cases of Travis Beyer and Joshua Obena,
but were surprised by a couple of quick submissions. The majority
of fights were fast paced, short wars where both fighters went
after each other, until they met a quick and sudden end.
The
event also featured two title bouts and one professional bout.
The 145lbs amateur title was up for grabs and pit Dustin Kimura,
from Team Icon against 808 Fight Factory's Vernon Perengit. Kimura
looked to be the more technical fighter, but Perengit stayed
in the pocket at times to return fire. Kimura ended the bout
with a straight punch that sent Perengit to the canvas, where
Kimura followed, controlled and slipped in a rear naked choke
on a scramble. Perengit defended the initial rear naked choke,
but Kimura transitioned to a rear choke for the finish. The professional
bout pitted Tim Moon against Brandon Peiper. Peiper was swinging
for the fences while Moon utilized his reach. The fight ended
quickly when Moon Thai clinched Peiper and it looked like a knee
to the chin of Peiper that sent him down face first. The Referee
was quick to step in and stop it, but Brandon's twin brother
Bronson climbed up the fence, shoes flying, and jumped into the
cage to call out Moon. This was quickly calmed down and order
was brought back to the cage. The title fight and final match
of the evening featured the reggae colored hair of Keoni Farm
from Maui against the quick hands of Nate Quinola. After a few
exchanges, Farm tried to increase his odds by taking Quinola
to the mat, however, he could not launch any offensive there
and Quinola took Farm down a few times to answer him back. Quinola
started landing multiple combinations and taking over the fight
with Farm looking for an answer to Quinola's quick hands. The
judges awarded Quinola the unanimous decision and the 155lbs
Amateur title.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
185lbs
Paul "Rocky" Gemmati (808 Fight Factory,Oahu) vs Kapono
Kuikahi (Team Luku, Big Island)
Draw after overtime
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
185lbs
Jason Adamos (Freelance) def. Travis Lau (Freelance)
Submission via rear naked choke in Round 1.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
160lbs
Richie Cabinian (O2 Martial Arts) def. AJ Styles Lani Jr. (Inner
Circle Grappling)
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes in Round 1.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
170lbs
Matt Waipa (Freelance) def. Chris Esmena (Freelance)
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes in Round 1.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
210lbs
Jamar Winston (94 Block) def Jon Wright (Kurrupt Ambitionz)
Submission via key lock in Round 2.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
Super Heavyweights
Marcus Edwards (Freelance) def. Sililo Nikolau (Up & Up)
Unanimous decision after 2 Rounds.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
135lbs
Isamu Lopez (Freelance, Big Island) def. Keka Doi-Toilolo (Team
Makaha, Oahu)
Split decision after 2 Rounds.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
155lbs
Raymond Tran (Bulls Pen) def. Trey Corrales (Team C.A.T.)
Submission via rear naked choke in Round 1.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
125lbs
Mahi Newbury (Polynesian Fight Club, Big Island) def. Alika Kumukoa
(Universal Combat, Oahu)
TKO via Referee stoppage in Round 2.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
185lbs
Caleb Price (Central Oahu Jiu-Jitsu) def. Tillis Sionesini (Up
& Up)
TKO via Referee stoppage in Round 1.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
155lbs
Ben Santiago (Gods Army) def. Joshua Obena (Team C.A.T.)
Submission via arm bar in Round 2.
2
Rounds x 3 Minutes
145lbs
Travis Beyer (808 Fight Factory) def. Waylen Mata (Bulls Penn)
Submission via arm bar in Round 2.
3
Rounds x 3 Minutes
145lbs Title Match
Dustin Kimura (Team Icon) def. Vernon Perengit (808 Fight Factory)
Submission via rear choke in Round 2.
3
Rounds x 3 Minutes
145lb Pro Bout
Tim Moon (Freelance) def. Brandon Pieper (808 Fight Factory)
TKO via Referee stoppage in Round 1.
3
Rounds x 3 Minutes
155lbs Amateur Title Match
Nate Quinola (Freelance, Oahu) def. Keoni Farm (Team 323, Maui)
Unanimous decision after 3 Rounds.
|
UFC
95 results
O2 Arena in London, England.
Sanchez
wins lightweight debut
Diego
Sanchez showed no wear from his drastic weight cut and immediately
established himself as a threat in the lightweight division.
Sanchez outworked Joe Stevenson through three rounds for the
unanimous nod. Sanchez was so happy with his performance that
he said he will remain as lightweight until later in his career.
Hardy
knocks out Markham in 69 seconds
Dan
Hardy gave Rory Markham a taste of his own medicine with a highlight
reel knockout in their welterweight bout at 69 seconds of the
first round. Hardy crumbled Markham with a left hook counter
to a Markham right hand. Coming into the fight Markham commented
that Hardy lacks punching power and Hardy was intent on proving
Markham wrong.
Marquardt
lights up Gouveia
Boring
no more. In the third round, Nate Marquardt stumbled Wilson Gouveia
with a flying knee and then set off headkicks, a spinning backfist,
a punch and a knee to put Gouveia away at 3:10.
Maia
submits Sonnen
Who
is the best submission artist in the UFC if not all of MMA? Simply
put: Demian Maia. The Brazilian improved to 5-0 in the Octagon
by tossing wrestler Chael Sonnen into a triangle choke for the
win at 2:37 of the first round. More impressively, all five of
Maia's UFC wins have come via submission.
Thiago
upsets Koscheck
Signed
to only a one-fight contract, little-known Paulo Thiago was brought
in to keep Josh Koscheck busy. Thiago overcame the odds and dropped
Koscheck with an uppercut and left hook. The referee stepped
in between the fighters to award Thiago the win at 3:29.
Etim
snaps Cobb's nine-fight win streak
UK's
Cage Gladiators champion Terry Etim (12-2) connected on a left
high kick to head of Brian Cobb (15-5), crumbling the Palace
Fighting Championship lightweight champion and setting himself
up with punches on the ground for the referee stoppage win. Etim
improves to 3-2 in the UFC with his 10-second victory in the
second round. Cobb, who took the fight on one week's notice,
entered his UFC debut undefeated in his previous nine bouts.
Dos
Santos goes 2-0 in the UFC
Junior
"Cigaro" Dos Santos (8-1) needed even less time to
win via TKO in his second Octagon appearance. Dos Santos dropped
the six-foot-eleven Stefan Struve with a flurry of punches for
the victory 54 seconds into the opening frame. In Dos Santos'
previous bout, he rocketed up the heavyweight rankings with an
upset 81-second win over Fabricio Werdum.
Dunham
remains undefeated in UFC debut
Evan
Dunham (8-0) of Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas dropped Per Eklund
(14-4-1) of Stockton, Sweden in a lightweight contest between
grappling-based fighters. The BJJ brown belt Dunham dropped purple
belt Eklund with a left hook and finished with punches for the
referee stoppage at 2 minutes and 13 seconds of the first round.
Ciesnolevicz
wins UFC debut
Former
IFL Quad Cities Silverback member Mike Ciesnolevicz (17-3) won
his UFC debut in 63 seconds with a heel hook over former Cage
Rage champion Neil Grove (7-2). Ciesnolevicz, who accepted this
heavyweight fight as a replacement for Justin McCully, would
prefer to return to light-heavyweight for his next UFC fight
but said he would fight as a heavyweight if that's what the UFC
wants.
Kelly
outpoints Mandaloniz
In
the opening fight of the night, British welterweight Paul Kelly
(8-1) defeated "The Ultimate Fighter 6" cast member
Troy Mandaloniz (3-2) via unanimous decision. Kelly, who trains
out of the Wolfslair Academy, was awarded scores of 30-27, 30-27
and 30-28.
RESULTS:
1.
Paul Kelly (169) def. Troy Mandaloniz (168) via unanimous decision
2. Mike Ciesnolevicz (235) def. Neil Grove (263) via sub (heel
hook) - R1 (1:03)
3. Evan Dunham (154) def. Per Eklund (155) via TKO (punches)
- R1 (2:13)
4. Junior Dos Santos (237) def. Stefan Struve (240) via TKO (punches)
- R1 (0:54)
5. Terry Etim (156) def. Brian Cobb (155) via TKO (punches) -
R2 (0:10)
6. Paulo Thiago (169) def. Josh Koscheck (170) via TKO (punches)
- R1 (3:29)
7. Demian Maia (184) def. Chael Sonnen (185) via sub (triangle
choke) - R1 (2:37)
8. Nate Marquardt (185) def. Wilson Gouveia (185) via TKO (strikes)
- R3 (3:10)
9. Dan Hardy (170) def. Rory Markham (170) via KO (left hook)
- R1 (1:09)
10. Diego Sanchez (156) def. Joe Stevenson (155) via unanimous
decision
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Report:
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett in July
Fedor Emelianenko could be facing Josh Barnett in July at Affliction
3 in Anaheim, California.
Josh Gross of SI.com reported today that sources close to M-1
Global and Affliction Entertainment are working towards the heavyweight
scrap as the main event on a Saturday date in July at the Honda
Center.
Emelianenko
(29-1) would be defending his WAMMA heavyweight belt for the
second time. Emelianenko captured the belt against Tim Sylvia
last July at Affliction "Banned" and then retained
the belt against Andrei Arlovski last month at Affliction "Day
of Reckoning."
Barnett
(24-5) was recently announced by WAMMA as the number two heavyweight
in the world due to his win against Dutch striker Gilbert Yvel
and Arlovski's loss to Emelianenko at "Day of Reckoning."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Matchups
finalized for DREAM Featherweight GP
DREAM announced today the brackets for its 2009 Featherweight
Grand Prix.
The
opening round will consist of seven matchups with six taking
place at DREAM.7 on March 8 and one happening at DREAM.8 on April
5.
Norifumi
"KID" Yamamoto, who is currently recovering from right
knee surgery he underwent last August, will be the one fighter
seeded into the second round.
Hideo
Tokoro vs. Daiki "DJ.taiki" Hata was postponed to April
5 to allow Hata additional time to recover from his qualifying
bout at a DEEP event on Feb. 10.
The
second round of the tournament will take place at DREAM.9 in
May.
DREAM
Featherweight Grand Prix
Masakazu
Imanari vs. Atsushi Yamamoto (DREAM.7)
Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Jong Won Kim (DREAM.7)
Yoshiro Maeda vs. Micah Miller (DREAM.7)
Chase Beebe vs. Joe Warren (DREAM.7)
Takafumi Otsuka vs. Fernandes Bibiano (DREAM.7)
Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura vs. Abel Cullum (DREAM.7)
Hideo Tokoro vs. Daiki "DJ.taiki" Hata (DREAM.8)
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto (Bye)
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
confirms remaining bouts for UFC 97 'Redemption'
A
day after news the Quebec athletic commission and the UFC came
into agreement for the UFC 97 "Redemption" to remain
in Montreal, the remaining bouts for the April 18 pay-per-view
card have been officially confirmed.
Pay-Per-View
Bouts:
Anderson
Silva vs. Thales Leites
Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brian Stann
Cheick Kongo vs. Antoni Hardonk
Steve Cantwell vs. Luiz Cane
Preliminary Bouts:
Denis
Kang vs. Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Jason MacDonald vs. Nate Quarry
David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman
Mark Bocek vs. David Bielkheden
Ryo Chonan vs. TJ Grant
Sam Stout vs. Matt Wiman
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Paulao
Filho back in training
Black belt back in training in Rio
Carlos Osorio / PortaldasLutas.com
On November 5th, when he met defeat for the first time in his
MMA career, Paulo Filho was unrecognizable in the ring. Against
Chael Sonnen, he was slow and over weight, apparently unable
to focus, not in the fight. It was not the Paulao the fans were
used to. Again suffering from depression, the Carlson Gracie
black belt went with friend Amaury Bitetti to a clinic, where
he was interned for treatment.
Having
weathered the worst storm of his life, in which, besides losing
his invincibility, was left out of the WEC and UFC, Paulao is
starting all over again. In the academy of master Oswaldo Alves,
in Copacabana, he returns to his roots and recharges his battery
with lots of Jiu-Jitsu and judo, styles he has always represented.
On April 3, when he should be making his return to the ring,
we will probably not be seeing in action – as fighters tend
to say – the old Paulao. In truth we will be seeing the
new Paulao, a fighter who has learned from life’s hardships
and who, above all, wants to win.
Portal
das Lutas – You are already back in training. When will
we see you in action next?
Paulo
Filho – Everything points to April 3rd, in the United States.
The event will be broadcast on ESPN, and should be in Las Vegas.
I don’t know the name of the event yet, my agent is coming
to Brazil will all the papers for me to sign. I just know I’ll
fight on the 3rd and want to get back in the ring.
PDL
– Tell us about what you’re doing with Master Oswaldo
Alves.
PF
– I’ve spent my whole life in judo and Jiu-Jitsu, so
I think the best school right now is Master Oswaldo’s, as
he has a very good and effective teaching method. He teaches
several tricks, since he is a scholar in the art and a very high
quality judoka, everything fits my fighting style well, as it
is based on judo and Jiu-Jitsu. So I’m at the right place,
where my friends are, the great Amaury Bitetti, Gabriel “Hooligan,”
Alex and Tico, people who help me a lot and I’m really happy.
PDL
– How important is this training to you?
PF
– The importance is in fine tuning me. These days a lot
of Jiu-Jitsu fighters reach a good position but end up losing
it. They end up getting caught under that famous ground and pound,
Americans’ main resource. They train a lot in the cage and
ground and pound and, the moment you lose a position, things
get tough. The master makes a point of always emphasizing stabilization
of the position, weighing down well and making the guy uncomfortable
whenever you are on top, to not lose the position.
PDL
– Beyond practicing Jiu-Jitsu, what are you doing about
the rest?
PF
– I have Distak (Josuel), who works with me on my hands
so I’ll be more comfortable standing, to not get shaken
by combinations and become more accustomed to it. But I’m
also really concerned with the stuff I’m working on with
Master Oswaldo, which to me is really important, using the least
energy to the greatest effect.
PDL
– How are you feeling now? What does it mean to you going
back to your roots, doing a lot of Jiu-Jitsu?
PF
– I’m feeling really great, I’m happy again. I’ve
found myself, I was lost. Jiu-Jitsu is really important to me
and I’m glad to represent it against other arts. I’m
a Jiu-Jitsu fighter, when I get in the ring to go toe to toe,
you can be sure I’ll always be representing Jiu-Jitsu.
PDL
– And what about the Sonnen fight? What was that like for
you?
PF
– Truth is I didn’t want to fight. At that moment I
went to fight because of money and not to break a commitment.
It would have been even worse not to have shown up, even being
unprepared. I chose to lose rather than make up an excuse and
not fight.
Paulao’s
close friend, who stand’s by the fighter through thick and
thin, Amaury Bitetti was very happy to see his friend come back.
Excited, the black belts put on their gis and got down and dirty.
Bitetti sends a message of support to his companion:
“Paulo’s
number one. To me he always was and will always be number one,
regardless of what happened last fight. He’s a guy with
the killer instinct and I know he’ll get back on his feet
and will show who he is. He’s valiant, has heart and can
beat anyone in his weight group, of that I’m sure. Wherever
he may be, I’m there for him to help.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Werdum
can fight in Brazil at December
By Guilherme Cruz
In
the Clube da Luta, an event that prepares a great edition for
March 21st in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Eduardo Maiorino hopes
to begin a journey towards to the top. "I will fight now
on March 21st against a guy named Hulk... He only has three fights,
but seems to be very hard. For almost ten years working with
the Master Sérgio Batarelli, I met Márcio Curi,
promoter of Clube da Luta, and we signed a five fights contract
for this year, being the main fight in December, against Fabricio
Werdum", celebrates the fighter, excited to the greatest
chance of his career.
"As
an athlete, obviously that everybody respect and admire the career
and a job well done in all places that I work. My standing technique
was fully refined and my ground worked well. By December, I’ll
be a ninja (laughs). Inside the ring, I never respected anyone
and it won’t be now that I will. Certainly we will make
a show and, if anyone thinks that if putting me on the ground
I will be submitted, is mistaken. I will hit, take blood and
I can get you", promises, working hard in the preparation.
"I
come from a difficult season in my career because of personal
problems that I’ve passed, but I promise for those who believe
in me that, in 2009, Eduardo Maiorino will be back to do a great
show in the rings of Muay Thai and MMA. I believe that, with
two years without fighting MMA and training with the Master Nilson
Pulgatti and friends who also help in Jiu-Jitsu, fans will see
that I’m not only a striker, I’ll submit too",
says the fighter.
Source:
Tatame
|
4-Time
Female Champ Hallback Wants Carano, Cyborg
Knoxville,
TN: When you’re a four-time female world boxing champion,
having captured titles with the IBA, IFBA, WIBA and WBAN, you’re
going to be held to an extremely high standard. When you’ve
won fights on FOX Sports, ESPN and Pay-Per-View, the audience
will expect to witness blazing hand-speed and thunderous punches
whenever you compete. And when you’re so dominant in prize
fighting that EA Sports has even featured you as a playable character
in its “Knockout Kings” video game franchise, fans
will expect you to deliver a dominating performance from the
moment the first bell chimes.
Even
when you’re trying to master a brand new sport.
And
when – in your Mixed Martial Arts debut – you utterly
decimate former EliteXC fighter Melissa Vasquez, stopping her
after a barrage of punches in just 41 seconds, the expectations
of fans and industry experts changes once again.
Now,
it’s not just a question of whether or not Chevelle “Fists
of Steel” Hallback will eventually battle the likes of Gina
Carano or Cyborg Santos. It’s a question of when.
And
also, whether or not she’s already the best female fighter
in MMA.
“I
try not to get caught up in the expectations game,” said
Chevelle Hallback from her training camp in Tampa, Florida. “I’ve
learned that the only expectations I can fully control are my
own – and my personal expectations aren’t influenced
by outside opinions. All I’ve got to say is, I’m working
nonstop to learn all the nuances of MMA, and when those big fights
happen, believe me – I’ll be ready.”
Before
stepping into the cage against Carano or Santos, Hallback will
face Sarah Wilson, a Muay Thai expert from Waterloo, Iowa. Wilson
brings an amateur record of 7-0 and a professional record of
1-0 to her fight against Hallback on the undercard of XFC 7:
“School of Hard Knox,” the first-ever professional
MMA fight card in Tennessee state history. The event takes place
on Friday, February 20 at the 21 thousand-capacity Thompson-Boling
Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Since
signing with Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) in November
of 2008, Hallback has trained full-time with XFC trainer Mike
Yanez, a Popovitch black belt in BJJ. Yanez’s fighters have
won 80% of their professional and amateur bouts, and Hallback
credits Yanez for her accelerated MMA development. “Mike
knows the game, but more importantly he knows how to teach,”
said Hallback. “He’s so well-versed in MMA’s intricacies,
every minute I’m learning something new. The submissions,
the counter-holds, the ground game – I’ve learned that
just a subtle change in body position can literally be the difference
between winning and losing. And I don’t plan on losing.”
According
to Hallback, MMA training is significantly more challenging than
the training she undertook for boxing. “Boxing is primarily
preoccupied with footwork and hands,” Hallback explained.
“MMA is about the total body – from head to toe. And
the flexibility training is completely new to me! Retraining
my body for MMA was difficult at first, but my body eventually
acclimated itself to the sport. And now, rolling on the ground
is as automatic as firing a three-punch combination.”
Speaking
of punches, did Yanez try to tweak Hallback’s boxing technique?
“No, he left that pretty much alone,” she laughed.
“My fists are a proven commodity. And I don’t want
to sound arrogant, but any girl who wants to trade punches with
me is absolutely crazy. And if she does want to trade, she won’t
be trading very long, I promise you.”
And
does Hallback think she’s now ready to fire those punches
at Gina Carano or Cyborg Santos? “Yeah, I’m ready now,”
she immediately replied, “but I’ll be more ready one
month from now. And even more ready one month after that. I’m
still improving, and within six months, I don’t think anyone
will be able to talk about the top female fighters in MMA without
mentioning my name. I respect the world out of girls like Gina
and Cyborg. They’ve already done so much in the sport –
and I’m still learning. They’ve earned their right
to be at the front of the line. I’ve gotta wait, just like
everyone else.”
Hallback
then flashed a wide grin and added: “That means that Sarah
Wilson and all the other girls waiting in line with me should
be on the lookout. ‘Cause I plan on shortening this line,
one fight at a time.”
XFC
7: “School of Hard Knox,” the first-ever pro MMA fight
card in Tennessee state history, takes place on February 20 at
Knoxville’s Thompson-Boling Arena. Undefeated heavyweights
collide in the main event when Scott “The Bear” Barrett
battles Chad Corvin in a showdown between two of the fastest-rising
prospects in the sport. Tickets are now available at the Thompson-Boling
Arena box office and Tickets Unlimited outlets, including Cat's
Music, Disc Exchange, and Fye Music.
Source:
The Fight Network
|
K-1
champion training in Brazil for Sengoku
By Guilherme Cruz
One
of the greatest Kickboxing fighters in the world, Peter Graham
is in Brazil to work his ground game focused on his next challenge.
Experienced striking fighter, K-1 World GP 2003 champion is training
at Gracie Barra Campo Grande team, led by Professor Nilson Pulgatti,
the Jiu-Jitsu part for his fight at Sengoku, in March. "We
will do a belt examination today to Peter, who is here training
with me for two months. Peter came here to train for fight in
Sengoku, in March", says Nilson. Despite of having two losses
in that time fought MMA, the Australian’s record is impressive.
In 77 fights of Kickboxing and Boxing, Graham got 60 victories,
against 14 losses and three draws.
Source:
Tatame
|
Eddie
Wineland slated to fight Rani Yahya at WEC 40
Former
WEC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland has signed a new contract
with the WEC and will return at WEC 40 on April 5 in Chicago,
Illinois.
MMAFighting.com
has learned from sources close to Wineland that his opponent
will be former title contender Rani Yahya.
Wineland
lost the belt to Chase Beebe at WEC 26 in March 2007 and Yahya
challenged for the belt in a losing effort against Beebe at WEC
30 that September.
Wineland
(14-5-1) has since won two fights in local shows in Hammond,
Indiana.
Yahya
(12-4) lost in his next fight against Norifumi "KID"
Yamamoto at K-1 Dynamite!! 2007, but won in his return to WEC
against Yoshiro Maeda at WEC 36 in November 2008.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Antonio
Margarito Suspended 1 Year for Illegal Wraps
SAN
FRANCISCO (AP) - Antonio Margarito's boxing license was revoked
for at least one year Tuesday by the California State Athletic
Commission for the illegal wraps discovered on the former welterweight
champion's hands before his loss last month to Sugar Shane Mosley.
The
commission's decision effectively bans Margarito, a California-born
fighter who lives in Mexico, from boxing in the U.S., since other
states generally uphold such suspensions under federal law. Margarito's
trainer, Javier Capetillo, also lost his license for at least
one year despite claiming he made an innocent mistake while wrapping
Margarito's hands.
The
decision stunned and infuriated Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who
attended the hearing in Sacramento. Arum, Capetillo and Margarito
all insisted the boxer had no knowledge of the illegal nature
of the wraps, which contained a plaster-like substance nestled
tightly inside the usual tape on a fighter's fists.
"It's
an absolute outrage," Arum told The Associated Press. "It's
something that I never thought would happen in the United States,
where somebody who is totally and completely innocent, has no
knowledge what happened, and didn't do anything wrong, gets his
license taken away because his trainer allegedly did something
wrong. Everybody is blown away. It's absolutely crazy."
A
few minutes before Margarito (37-6, 27 KOs) entered the ring
in Los Angeles on Jan. 24, officials discovered the plaster-like
substance when Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, ordered Margarito's
hands to be unwrapped. A hardened substance like plaster can
give a fighter heavier hands, putting extra power on his punches.
"The
conduct of both Mr. Margarito and Mr. Capetillo was unacceptable
and threatened the health and safety of another licensee,"
said Carrie Lopez, the director of the state's Department of
Consumer Affairs, which licenses fighters. "Today's action
shows that both the Department of Consumer Affairs and the California
State Athletic Commission take the issue of boxer safety very
seriously, and will move quickly when a licensee's actions threaten
the safety of others."
Mosley
stopped Margarito in the ninth round of their bout at Staples
Center to claim Margarito's WBA welterweight title. The largely
pro-Margarito crowd was the biggest in the arena's history.
Arum
said Capetillo "deserved what he got," but strenuously
objected to Margarito's punishment. Margarito and Capetillo must
apply with the California commission for reinstatement before
their licenses can be reinstated.
Margarito
could challenge the ruling in the California courts, or he could
apply to the Association of Boxing Commissions to get permission
to fight in states other than California.
Keith
Kizer, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission,
told the AP it's too early to say whether such a strategy would
allow Margarito to fight in Las Vegas in the next year. Kizer
previously has said Nevada is likely to honor any ban from California.
Arum
said it's more likely Margarito's next fight will be in Mexico,
where several cities already had contacted him about hosting
one of the nation's most popular fighters despite his recent
loss.
"There
are legal remedies, but there are practical remedies that would
keep him fighting," Arum said.
Arum
doesn't expect Margarito to be back in the ring until June at
the earliest after absorbing ample punishment from Mosley, who
won every round on many observers' scorecards in an upset victory.
The result was shocking to fans who watched Margarito's punishment
of previously undefeated Miguel Cotto last summer to win the
WBA belt.
Source:
The Fight Network
|
Quote
of the Day
"Ultimately,
the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises
over himself."
Elie Wiesel
|
Destiny
Second Coming Tonight!
Waipahu
Filcom Center, Waipahu, Hawaii
Saturday, February 21, 2009
155lb Title Match
Nate Quinola(freelance,Oahu) vs Keoni Farm (team 323,maui)
145lb
Pro Bout
Brandon Pieper(808 Fight Factory) vs Tim Moon (freelance)
-185lbs
Title Match
Gino Venti(808 Fight Factory) vs Alex Pulotu (freelance)
-145lbs
Title Match
Vernon Parangat (808 Fight Factory) vs Dustin Kimura(Team Icon)
-145lbs
Waylen Mata(Bulls Penn) vs Travis Beyer (808 Fight Factory)
-155lbs
Joshua Obena (Team C.A.T.) vs Ben Santiago(Gods Army)
-185lbs
Tillis Sionesini (Up & Up) vs Caleb Price (Central Oahu jiu-jitsu)
-170lbs
Matt Waipa (freelance) vs Brandon Naleiha (Kurrupt Ambitionz)
-125lbs
Alika Kumukoa(Universal Combat,Oahu) vs Mahi Newbury(Polynesian
Fight Club,Big Island)
-135lbs
Keka Doi-Toilolo(Team Makaha,Oahu) vs Isamu Lopez (Freelance,Big
Island)
-155lbs
Raymond Tran (Bulls Pen) vs Trey Corrales(Team C.A.T.)
-185lbs
Mike Solomen(Bulls Pen) vs Jason Adamos(freelance)
-Heavyweights
Sililo Nikolau (Up & Up) vs Marcus Edwards (freelance)
-160lbs
Richie
Cabinian (O2 Martial Arts) vs AJ Lani Jr. (Inner Circle Grappling)
-215lbs
Matt Eaton (Bulls Penn) vs Pisa "Ata" Tivao (94 Block)
-170lbs
Chris Esmena (freelance) vs Jessie West (Na Koa)
-185lbs
Paul "Rocky" Gemmati (808 Fight Factory,Oahu) vs Kapono
Kuikahi (Team Luku, Big Island)
-140LBS
Gavin Ramos (808 Fight Factory) vs Jordan Dekneef (Bulls Pen)
-210
Jamar Winston (94 Block) vs Jon Wright (Kurrupt Ambitionz)
Source: Promoter
|
WOMBAT'S
WORLD OF COMBAT
Predictions
for UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson
Today!
by Jeff "Wombat" Meszaros
For
the past few days, I have been relaxing on a rooftop patio in
Rio De Janeiro., drinking bottles of beer the size of cricket
paddles with other gypsy travelers. This has given me a prime
opportunity to meet people from around the world, and annoy them
endlessly by purposefully guessing their accents incorrectly.
Last night I asked an Irish girl if she was from Alabama. It
did not have the humorous effect I intended. My point is that
I've met quite a few British people; many of whose relatives
are undoubtedly heading to the 02 Area right now to get prime
seats for UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson. I admit that is a very
loose correlation, but life only gives you so many chances to
gloat, and I'll be damned if I'm going to skip this one. Of course,
I am on my fourth Itaipava beer of the morning. Bear that in
mind if you plan on betting on my predictions.
Joe
Stevenson vs. Diego Sanchez
This
is the second time in as many months that the UFC has gone over
to the U.K. to put on a show where the main event features two
American fighters. This flies in the face of logic, since it
makes more sense to have fighters compete close to home where
their whole family, plus every friend and enemy they've ever
had, will buy a ticket to watch them either claim a dramatic
victory or get badly thrashed. Of course, given the popularity
of the UFC, they'll probably sell out London's 02 Arena anyway,
and probably would sell out even if the main event was Mandy
Moore vs. David Spade; both of whom are often seen sitting in
the second row, chatting on their cell phones with their agents
instead of watching the main event, which they showed up for
after skipping the undercard.
As
I have said in at least six recent episodes of Full Contact Fighter
radio, I am giving the skill advantage here to Stevenson but
the size and savagery advantage to Sanchez who, for some reason,
reminds me of a Mexican wolf. Are there Mexican wolves? I will
leave it to you to consult Wikipedia. Regardless, when I put
these two guys together in my head, I see Sanchez getting his
arm raised as blood drips from his mustache. Why? Possibly I
am still traumatized by Stevenson's loss to B.J. Penn. Regardless,
if "Daddy" doesn't score his trademarked guillotine
choke on Sanchez (and I am guess he won't) he might find himself
facing a terrific onslaught of elbows to the orbital bones from
the sombrero-fiend. My Guess: Sanchez by TKO.
Dan
Hardy vs. Rory Markham
Together,
Hardy and Markham have put more people to sleep than your local
anesthesiologist. Of course, their methods are slightly more
brutal than you would want before an important surgery and may,
in fact, be the very reason you're in the hospital in the first
place. Even though both of them hit like a mouth full of firecrackers,
the keen difference is that Hardy seems to be winning his fights
en route to winning, while Markham always seems to pull out of
a proverbial nose-dive and snatch victory from the mouth of defeat
by knocking out his opponent in the final round of his match,
after being on the wrong end of the fist-tossing contest up until
then. Who wins here? Given their tendencies, I will go with the
fighter who has the scarier haircut. My Guess: Hardy by decision.
Nate
Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia
Marquardt
is clawing his way back to the top to get another title shot
at Anderson Silva. In case you don't remember what happened the
first time, it looked like Marquardt had Silva on the run; and
even had him on his back, but then "The Spider" arm-dragged
him, reversed the position and KO'd Nate "The Great"
with a jackhammer punch from hell. Since then, he has plowed
through a number of guys, including Thale Leites; but was denied
a victory in that match by reffing that I thought reeked of bias.
For future note, the human ear is located on the side of the
head, not the back. Therefore, if I am punching you in the ear,
you should not be saying that is the back of your head unless
you are some wicked mutant - and if you are, you likely deserve
a punch in the ear, you awful abomination against nature. Regardless,
a match with Gouveia is a good one, and I hope the winner gets
a title shot soon; as the match between Leites and "The
Spider" seems bran-flakes bland to me. My Guess: Marquardt
by split decision.
Demian
Maia vs. Chael Sonnen
Maia
is undefeated in the UFC, and has tapped out everyone he has
faced with the same sort of ease you normally associate with
out-wrestling your bratty little cousin Bradley. However, Sonnen
is coming off a pair of beatings over Paulo Filho who, up until
his mental and physical breakdown, had a record even more impressive
than Maia's, with submission wins over everyone including, in
some instances, your mom. Given the recent history of each fighter,
there is a strong likelihood that Maia will win this one, unless
he has developed some kind of fearsome substance abuse problem
and, like Filho, comes into the octagon ten pounds heavy and
looking like he's spent the last month under a bed, fighting
off invisible intruders with a hayfork while consuming only apple
pie and potato chips. My Guess: Maia by submission.
Josh
Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago
There
still isn't a picture of Thiago up on the UFC website and, with
the fight just around the corner, that isn't a good sign. Of
course, I said the same thing about Jon Jones, and he ended up
absolutely thrashing Stephan Bonnar, throwing him on his head
and nearly killing him with a spinning back elbow that immediately
took second place for "hardest elbow shot ever" behind
the almost fatal-mauling that Gary Goodridge put on Paul "Wonderdog"
Hererra back at UFC 9: David vs. Goliath. Of course, anyone who's
seen the action movie Bonnar made knows that elbow was just justice
being served for poor acting. My Guess: Koscheck by decision.
Paul
Kelly vs. Troy Mandoloniz
Kelly
is British, which mean he can sleep in his own bed the night
before the fight and step into the cage while everyone he knows,
including his milkman, howl their approval from the stands. Mandoloniz
is Hawaiian, so he'll be flying upwards of 40 hours to a place
with limited access to pineapple, sunshine and decent tattoo
artists. Given this advantage, I expect the UK to score one here
in the battle between islands. My Guess: Kelly by TKO.
Terry
Etim vs. Brian Cobb
Half
of Etim's face looks bored while the other half looks surprised.
How is that even possible? I'm not sure. Cobb's nickname is "The
Bandit" which, I guess, is scarier than the obvious go-to
of "Corn". Also, according to the very little research
I've done, he comes from a gym called "Team Pain and Suffering".
I wonder how the kids class is at that school. My Guess: Etim
by submission.
Junior
Dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve
In
his UFC debut, Dos Santos beat Fabio Werdum, who himself beat
Gabriel Gonzaga not long ago. It's fights like those that make
the people in the UFC marketing department shave their heads
and go off to join monasteries since it is nearly impossible
to market fighters when, as soon as they become a familiar face,
they lose to someone who nobody knows. Speaking of which, the
only thing I know about Struve is that he is trained by "Dirty"
Bob Schrijber, who may hold the record for the most DQ's in a
single career. Hopefully, Struve resists the cheering from his
cornerman to bite, eye-gouge and kick his opponent in the throat
after the bell. My Guess: Dos Santos by decision.
Jeff
Meszaros welcomes reader feedback at wombat@fcfighter.com and
can be heard as the host of FCF Radio.
Source:
Full Contact Fighter
|
UFC
95 PREVIEW: THE SUPPORTING CAST
by Ricardo Mendoza
Dan
Hardy vs. Rory Markham
British
fighter Dan Hardy makes his UFC return as he faces off with IFL
veteran Rory Markham. This is one of the more anticipated bouts
of the night because both fighters fight at a quick and exciting
pace. Expect the crowd to be at its loudest during this fight
as they cheer their fellow countryman and jeer his opponent without
mercy.
Both
are brawlers on the feet, so the difference in the fight will
be which fighter is better equipped to handle his opponent on
the ground. Markham was getting lit up on the feet in his last
fight before landing a devastating high kick, so he has to be
smart and not get into a brawl with Hardy. He needs to stay on
the outside and keep Hardy at bay with low kicks. Hardy will
look to pressure Markham on the feet then take him to the ground
and pound on him.
This
fight is going to be an absolute brawl, as these two will be
going toe to toe for fifteen minutes or until one them ends up
unconscious. A loss for either fighter won’t set them back
too much, while the winner of the fight will start to gain attention
in a crowded UFC welterweight division.
Nate
Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia
Former
UFC middleweight title challenger Nate Marquardt continues his
path to another title shot at UFC 95, as he takes on emerging
middleweight contender Wilson Gouveia. This fight has serious
implications. The winner will probably be in line for a shot
at the UFC middleweight title. These two are fairly evenly matched,
so expect a very competitive fight.
If
the fight stays on the feet then a slight advantage would have
to go to Marquardt, who is the more technical and powerful striker
of the two. On the ground, Marquardt will have a definite advantage
when it comes to wrestling, while Gouveia is the better submission
fighter. Both are well conditioned, so these two are more than
ready to go the distance.
The
factor in the fight will be which fighter can control the pace.
If the pace of the fight is quick, that benefits Marquardt. If
the pace is slower, it will benefit Gouveia. Marquardt seems
to have an advantage in every aspect in the fight, giving Gouveia
fewer options to win. Gouveia’s best chance will be to catch
Marquardt in a submission, while Marquardt can grind out a decision
or finish the fight with strikes.
Demian
Maia vs. Chael Sonnen
Highly
touted middleweight contender Demian Maia faces off with the
uncrowned WEC middleweight champion Chael Sonnen. This is an
interesting fight because the winner will more than likely not
be far away from getting a title shot and possibly cracking the
Top 10 in the middleweight division. Although it’s a cliché
in the sport, this is a classic wrestler versus grappler match-up.
It's
fairly obvious that Maia has a huge advantage on the ground,
being one of the best ground fighters in all of mixed martial
arts today. Although Sonnen is a standout wrestler, it would
be a mistake for him to take the fight to the ground because
the risk is bigger than the reward. It’s a different story
on the feet as Sonnen has the clear advantage with Maia still
being relatively untested on the feet.
Sonnen
had an excellent strategy in his last fight, using his wrestling
to keep the fight on the feet where he was able to pick apart
Paulo Filho with his better striking. He’ll need to use
the same exact strategy against Maia. That will be his best chance
to win. If the fight goes to the ground, then Maia will finish
the fight with a submission.
Josh
Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago
Ultimate
Fighter standout Josh Koscheck continues his path to a title
shot as he faces UFC newcomer Paulo Thiago. Koscheck is coming
off a devastating knockout of Yoshiyuki Yoshida, showing all
the progress he’s made since coming off the original Ultimate
Fighter. Thiago is a bright, undefeated prospect out of Brazil,
but he is being thrown to the wolves in his UFC debut.
Koscheck
has the clear edge on the feet with his crisp striking and on
the ground with his superior wrestling. Thiago has shown that
he is more than competent in submissions, but he might have a
tough time against Koscheck, who has shown excellent submission
defense. The key in the fight will be whether Thiago will get
an opportunity to utilize his submission game.
Expect
Koscheck to keep the fight on the feet because it’s a less
risky option for him. If the fight hits the ground, Koscheck
will need to stay on top where he can smoother the Brazilian.
Thiago’s best opportunity to win the fight will be to somehow
end up on top, where he can work for a submission. A win for
Koscheck keeps him on a path to a title shot, while for Thiago
a win would make him an instant contender in the UFC welterweight
division.
Terry
Etim vs. Brian Cobb
Standout
British lightweight Terry Etim will look to get his UFC record
over five hundred as he takes on late replacement Brian Cobb.
Etim was originally scheduled to face Justin Buchholz, but Buchholz
was forced out due to injury. Cobb takes the fight on about a
week’s notice. Etim has the clear advantage on the feet
with better striking and a long reach advantage. Cobb has the
advantage on the ground with both better wrestling and submissions.
If Etim can keep the fight on the feet then expect him to win,
but if Cobb can get the fight to the ground then he’ll be
in a strong position to win.
Junior
Dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve
After
making an impressive UFC debut, Junior Dos Santos returns to
action to take on UFC newcomer Stefan Struve. Dos Santos is now
being touted as a bright prospect in the heavyweight division,
but this fight will prove whether or not he is a true contender
or just a prospect. The fight is evenly matched, but Dos Santos
has a slight edge both on the feet and ground because of his
better training partners. The only thing that is certain in this
one is that the fight will not go the distance.
Mike
Ciesnolevicz vs. Neil Grove
In
an interesting clash of UFC newcomers, late replacement Mike
Ciesnolevicz faces off with the huge British slugger Neil Grove.
Ciesnolevicz takes the fight on short notice and will be moving
up in weight to heavyweight. Grove will have the advantage on
the feet with powerful strikes and a huge size advantage, outweighing
Ciesnolevicz by 30 pounds. Ciesnolevicz has the edge on the ground
with his wrestling, but the huge size advantage might negate
that. If Grove can keep the fight on the feet and use his size,
he’ll win. But if Ciesnolevicz can get the fight to the
ground, all bets are off.
Per
Eklund vs. Evan Dunham
Swedish
ground fighter Per Eklund takes on the undefeated late replacement
Evan Dunham. Both guys are ground fighters, so whoever can push
the pace on the feet will have the advantage. This will be Dunham’s
UFC debut and that could play a factor, as he doesn’t have
the experience that Eklund does. Whoever can end up on top on
the ground will have the advantage because neither fighter has
been tested off his back. A loss for either fighter could mean
a return to the UFC might be a ways away in this day and age.
Paul
Kelly vs. Troy Mandaloniz
Wolfslair
Gym welterweight Paul Kelly faces off with Ultimate Fighter 6
participant Troy Mandaloniz. Kelly tasted defeat for the first
time in his last fight, while Mandaloniz hasn’t fought in
more than a year. Kelly has the advantage on the feet and on
the ground, as he has a better training camp. The time off for
Mandaloniz will also be a factor in the fight, as Kelly will
surely be in his face right off the bat. If Mandaloniz can slow
the pace of the fight, he’ll have a better chance to win,
but Kelly is going to make that rather difficult in his return
to action.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Immediate
Release:
PRESS CONFERENCE
FOR "NEW BEGINNING"
We would like to invite you to X-1 Press Conference on Tuesday
February 24, 2009 at Dave and Busters on the second Floor in
the show room. The Press Conference will start promptly at 2:30
PM and you can expect to meet with Falaniko Vitale, John Kirk,
Lolohea Mahe, Scott Junk and many more. Pupus and drinks will
be provided !!!
Mahalo,
Christine Young
X-1 World Events Executive Director
Cell:808-723-0504
Fax:808-689-8866
Email:christine.x1events@gmail.com
|
Kimo
Leopoldo arrested for meth possession
Kimo Leopoldo was arrested Monday afternoon for possession of
a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia and stolen property.
Officers
spotted Leopoldo in a shopping mall parking lot wearing a Long
Beach Police Department jumpsuit. According to TMZ, Leopoldo
was wearing a badge only officers are allowed to wear.
Officers
considered the jumpsuit stolen property when Leopoldo had no
background in law enforcement and was unable to explain his wardrobe.
Leopoldo
was further searched and inside his car was a small amount of
methamphetamine and an accompanying pipe.
Leopoldo
(10-7-1) is a UFC old schooler who made his UFC debut at UFC
3 in September 2004. He made a comeback in the UFC in June 2003
with a choke submission victory over Tank Abbott, but in his
next fight suffered a knockout loss to Ken Shamrock.
Earlier
this month, Leopoldo applied for for the position of the executive
director of the California State Athletic Commission.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Unlike
EliteXC, Strikeforce has a business model for success
For
the Pro Elite fighters whose contracts were purchased by San
Jose, Calif.-based MMA organization Strikeforce, there is good
news and there is better news. The good news is that their time
in career purgatory is over. They can finally go back to work
doing what they do best (though I suppose that's bad news for
the bar owners who were looking forward to an influx of overqualified
bouncers).
The
better news is, this time they'll be working for an organization
that has what it takes to stick around.
In
many ways, Strikeforce is the anti-Pro Elite. It comes with none
of the unnecessary baggage, and yet now has all the marquee fighters
that EliteXC did. What's more, Strikeforce actually knows how
to use them as well as how to turn a profit in the MMA business,
which has eluded every organization not named the UFC.
But
that's just one of many reasons to be optimistic about Strikeforce
after these recent acquisitions. Here are a few more:
The
Right Talent, In The Right Places
Talking with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker this week, there was
no getting around the bearded elephant in the room: Kimbo Slice.
He's an undeniable draw for ratings-hungry networks, and despite
his questionable abilities in the cage he's still one of MMA's
most recognizable figures. Coker knows this, but he also knows
Slice doesn't belong in the main event.
"I
think he's the guy in the middle of the card," said Coker.
"And let him train, let him get back, let him get four or
five fights and get some experience. The way it was done with
him in the past, I'm not saying it was wrong or right, but it
obviously didn't work for him."
Instead
of pushing a novice fighter like Slice as the organization's
main draw, Coker sees the value of some of Pro Elite's supporting
cast, like Slice's would-be heavyweight rival, Brett Rogers,
who Coker plans to "put to work right away," hopefully
as early as May.
Add
to that stable fighters like Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, and
former EliteXC 160-pound champ K.J. Noons, who left the organization
to pursue a boxing career after a very public dispute with management,
but who Coker is confident will return, and you have a group
of fighters deserving of main event status for all the right
reasons.
Experience
and Attitude
Strikeforce boasts two important accomplishments -- one concrete
and the other more ephemeral, though no less important.
The
first speaks to the organization's ability to put people in the
seats. Strikeforce still holds the record for the highest paid
attendance at an American MMA event, selling 17,465 tickets for
a 2006 event headlined by Frank Shamrock vs. Cesar Gracie (though
the card also featured names like Cung Le, Nate Diaz, Clay Guida,
Josh Thomson, and Gilbert Melendez, just in case you still think
they can't spot talent when they see it).
And
second, Strikeforce is still one of only competing MMA organizations
that UFC President Dana White can't find anything bad to say
about. Get this, he actually praises the company. For his part,
Coker is the first to point out that White and the Fertittas
built the industry as we know it today. Instead of going at the
UFC and trying to lure its fighters away, Strikeforce has been
content to focus on its own business over the past few years,
and the strategy has paid off.
Lean
and Mean
Ever since Coker and Co. began promoting MMA fights in 2006,
one thing that's separated them from the pack of other new organizations
has been a small, though efficient staff. Unlike Pro Elite, which
believed bigger was always better and had dozens of employees
with often vague job descriptions, Strikeforce keeps in-house
costs low.
"I
pride myself on the way we run this company. We're pretty lean
and mean and that's helped us stay in the black when other companies
were in the red," said Coker. "We probably will expand
a little bit to meet the needs of the organization, but we have
tremendous resources available to us so that we don't need 100
employees to run this company."
That
means no useless hangers-on, no nepotism keeping people in positions
they aren't qualified for, and more money to spend on promotion
and fighter salaries.
None
of this guarantees success for Strikeforce. There's still the
tricky business of making money promoting fights in a difficult
economy, and doing so without drawing the destructive ire of
the UFC. But considering how well they've done both, even before
this influx of talent, there's no reason to think Strikeforce
won't be around for a while.
Source: SI.com
|
Barnett
Becomes Top Contender for WAMMA HW Title
Orlando,
Florida -- Following Andrei Arlovski's first round knockout loss
against WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko during last
month's Affliction and M-1 "Day of Reckoning" event,
the pollsters for the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA)
have voted on a new number one heavyweight contender in its latest
rankings release for the month of February.
The
rankings, now available at GoWAMMA.com, feature Affliction-contracted
heavyweight Josh Barnett (24-5) as the new top contender to the
WAMMA heavyweight crown.
Published
reports began to circulate soon after DOR that Affliction promoters
were looking to sign a match this summer between Emelianenko
and Barnett. A fight between the two has yet to be finalized
but Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio stated in a video interview
with the web site FiveOuncesOfPain.com that he was "hoping"
to be able to make the match happen. If signed, it would go down
as the first-ever head-to-head match between the two former PRIDE
heavyweight stars.
To
the surprise of almost no one, officials with WAMMA would have
no hesitation regarding sanctioning a title fight between the
two.
"While
PRIDE's heavyweight champion, Fedor fought just about all of
the top heavyweights on the promotion's roster including Mirko
Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Mark Coleman," said
WAMMA Chief Operating Officer Michael Lynch. "However, the
one fight that never happened for various reasons was a showdown
between Fedor and Barnett. I don't think there's a diehard fan
in existence who wouldn't want to see that matchup take place.
"Barnett's
resume speaks for itself and I can honestly tell you that if
Affliction is able to make Fedor vs. Barnett happen, then WAMMA
will be on board as far as sanctioning the fight as a heavyweight
title bout."
Another
notable change in WAMMA's February rankings was the debut of
Vitor Belfort as the ninth rated middleweight in the world.
The
move into the top ten middleweights is another milestone in the
talented Brazilian's remarkable MMA comeback. Once considered
a consensus top ten light heavyweight, Belfort slowly began to
fade due to personal issues as well as disappointing performances
in the cage and ring.
However,
since dropping to 185 pounds, Belfort has resurrected his career
by going 2-0. Last month's win at DOR against then-sixth ranked
Matt Lindland was enough to catapult Belfort into the top ten.
"Vitor
apparently has been spending a lot of time at Xtreme Couture
in Las Vegas training with Shawn Tompkins and the hard work has
certainly paid off," said Lynch. "With one punch he
was able to get people in the MMA industry clamoring for a match
vs. Anderson Silva. Belfort's return to the top creates a lot
of other potential future matchups that would carry a lot of
intrigue. Who wouldn't want to see fights between Belfort and
Gegard Mousasi or Robbie Lawler?"
There
were also a couple of big moves in WAMMA's light heavyweight
rankings. Lyoto Machida is now the new consensus number two ranked
WAMMA light heavyweight behind only UFC light heavyweight champion
Rashad Evans. Machida was able to make the move from four to
two following his first round knockout of Thiago Silva last month
at UFC 94.
Also,
Renato "Babalu" Sobral's decisive victory over Rameau
Thierry Sokoudjou at DOR caused WAMMA's collective group of pollsters
to vote him as the tenth ranked light heavyweight in the world.
To
see other notable changes feel free to go to GoWAMMA.com to see
February's rankings in their entirety.
WAMMA's pollster committee -- featuring nationally recognized
MMA experts such as AOL MMA Fanhouse's Michael David Smith, Mike
Straka of FoxNews.com's Fight Game, and Jon Anik of ESPN.com's
MMA Live -- will convene again on March 16.
Source:
The Fight Network
|
Pe
de Pano in ICF
Black belt to fight April 11
Not
having fought since June of last year, Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz
was today confirmed as one of the participants in the ICF (Intimidation
Cage Fighting) event to take place April 11, in Cincinnati.
The
Brazilian black belt will face off against Dan Christinson, a
participant in the second season of the The Ultimate Fighter
reality show, holding a record of 13 wins and six losses.
Also
announced were bouts featuring former UFC fighter Shonie Carter,
who will face Victor O’Donnel, Luke Zachrich and Jeff Cox.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
WEC
NEWS: UFC lightweight Manny Gamburyan making the drop to 145
lbs and the WEC
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Manny
Gamburyan, fresh off a split decision loss to Thiago Tavares
last month at UFC 94, will be dropping down to the 145 lb. featherweight
division and will join the WEC roster. MMAWeekly.com reported
the change.
Gamburyan
had lost his last couple of fights in the UFC's lightweight division,
and the weight class move was made shortly after that last loss.
Gamburyan's a samller lightweight, for sure, and as he says,
"the day I'm fighting, I’m 160, 162. The guys are outweighing
me by at least 20 pounds every fight, so I don’t think that’s
fair."
The
report states he's looking to debut sometime in May or June of
this year.
Penick's
Analysis: This is a smart weight drop for Gamburyan, as he may
not have gotten another fight in the UFC at lightweight with
all the cuts being made. He'll be on more equal footing against
the 145 pounders in the WEC, but I wouldn't really stack him
near the top yet. A win or three and he'll be looking good, but
he's got to start somewhere. The WEC featherweight division continues
to gain depth, and it's going to continue to be one of the most
exciting divisions in the sport because of that depth. Good move
and I can't wait to see what Gamburyan pulls out at 145.
Source:
MMA Torch
|
ProElite’s
reality show comes to light
When Chuck Champion came out of hiding to announce the sale of
certain ProElite assets to Strikeforce, he mentioned that he’d
still be overseeing King of the Cage and a MMA-related reality
show. I figured the show would end up being a pilot no one would
see, but it seems like MTV has picked up the show for later this
year:
The
concept of the show, originally reported by MMAInsider in October
as an Elite XC-helmed venture produced by reality kingpin Mark
Burnett, involves singling out town bullies to fight with professional
fighters for cash.
Enter
professional bullies Shields, Denny, and Heun. Shields tells
MMAInsider that former Elite executive Jeremy Lappen recruited
them to appear on the show, and Shields was a part of its pilot
in December. “I get to be a good guy bully,” he said.
“It’s pretty cool.” Shields will log two days
on the show’s set and will appear on two of its eight episodes,
scheduled to debut sometime this summer.
Show
contestants will have 2 rounds with the professional fighters–one
3-minute round of grappling and one 3-minute round of kickboxing
with pads and headgear. Alas, Shields and co. are not allowed
to elbow the lions-turned-lambs on the ground.
When
we first got wind of this show we thought it was about the worst
idea ever and it hasn’t exactly grown on me over the past
few months. For some reason, watching professional fighters beating
on completely outmatched opponents doesn’t really interest
me. I got my fill of that when ProElite was still throwing events.
Source:
Fight Linker
|
Bibiano
vs Otsuka in Dream
First stage of GP March 8
The
Brazilian representative in the Dream featherweight GP, Bibiano
Fernandes already knows who he will be facing in the first stage.
The black belt was called on to face off against Takafumi Otsuka.
Five
other bouts round off the first stage. Local hero Norifumi “Kid”
Yamamoto, who is sidelined by injury, has a place saved for him
in the second stage, while Hideo Tokoro and Daika Hata face each
other to define the eight quarterfinalists in April, at Dream
8.
Check
out the bouts on the card for Dream 7 GP:
Masakazu
Imanari vs Atsushi Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Takaya vs Jong Won Kim
Yoshiro Maeda vs Micah Miller
Chase Beebe vs Joe Warren
Bibiano Fernandes vs Takafumi Otsuka
Abel Cullum vs Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Silva
in Sight, Maia Focused on Sonnen
by Marcelo Alonso
Four fights, four submissions. Demian Maia could not have drawn
up a more impressive start to his UFC career.
Maia
(9-0) will face arguably his toughest challenge when he meets
Team Quest veteran Chael Sonnen at UFC 95 “Sanchez vs. Stevenson”
this Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. Some believe an impressive
victory against Sonnen will thrust the unbeaten Brazilian to
the front of the line of potential contenders for UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva.
Sonnen
(21-9-1) -- the first man to defeat former World Extreme Cagefighting
middleweight champion Paulo Filho -- has won two straight fights
and seven of his last eight.
“Chael
is a pretty tough and strategic opponent and very hard to put
down,” Maia says. “It’s going to be a hard fight,
but at the end, I believe I’ll get my fifth submission.”
Maia
prepared for Sonnen by training with former Pride Fighting Championships
titleholder Wanderlei Silva in Las Vegas and wants nothing more
than to maintain his current momentum. The 31-year-old has finished
his past six opponents and has turned his world-class submissions
skills into quite the business venture. In three of his four
appearances inside the Octagon, he has earned the “Submission
of the Night” bonus, his haul totaling $175,000.
A
two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Maia had no trouble
his last time out, as he submitted Nate Quarry with a rear-naked
choke in just 2:13 at UFC 91 in November. He coaxed tapouts from
his three other UFC opponents -- Jason MacDonald, Ed Herman and
Ryan Jensen -- with chokes, as well.
“The
difference between me and other black belts is that I truly believe
that jiu-jitsu can be used in all aspects of MMA, because it
was created to do that,” Maia says. “If you train hard,
it will work.”
Already
viewed by many as the top jiu-jitsu player in MMA, Maia spent
his training camp sharpening his conditioning and striking skills.
“I
trained the first month in Brazil and then came to Las Vegas
to finish my last three weeks of preparation with Wanderlei and
our physical trainer, Rafael Alejarra,” says Maia, who left
for London on Monday. “Plus, I had Wanderlei to hit me every
day.”
Maia
watched the rematch between Sonnen and Filho at WEC 36 in November
but does not believe the bout provided adequate insight into
either fighter. More than half of the Sonnen’s nine career
defeats have come by submission, and he tapped out to an armbar
the first time he met Filho.
“I
still haven’t had the opportunity to see the first fight
between them, when Filho won, but in the second, I couldn’t
get a handle on it, because it was not Paulo Filho,” Maia
says. “I respect Sonnen, but I believe I can submit him.”
The
reigning Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling world champion
at 88 kilograms, Maia has focused all of his attention on his
burgeoning MMA career.
“I
think I’ve already won the most important titles in Brazilian
jiu-jitsu and grappling,” Maia says. “Now, I’m
totally focused on MMA. If I win this fight, I may get the most
important fight of my career against Anderson Silva, who I believe
is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”
Though
a fight with Silva seems within reach, Maia sees Sonnen as a
formidable foe. The outspoken Oregonian and NCAA All-American
wrestler figures to enter to Octagon hungry, as he has not appeared
in the UFC since he submitted to a Jeremy Horn armbar at UFC
60 three years ago.
“One
opponent at a time,” Maia says. “I’m totally focused
on Sonnen. What I can say is that my strategy is to get in the
Octagon and always use my jiu-jitsu.”
Source:
Sherdog
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Will
Ribeiro shows improvement
By Guilherme Cruz
At
the night of December 16th, Will Ribeiro was involved in a motorcycle
accident in Rio de Janeiro and was hospitalized in serious condition
at the Hospital of Andaraí. Almost two months after the
serious accident that almost cost his life, Luiz Alves, his Muay
Thai, commemorates the excellent recovery of the WEC fighter.
"I had visited him at Christmas and then in January, but
I left very sad and swore I wouldn’t return there anymore.
He was swollen, very thin... But I was there yesterday and left
very happy, because he spoke with me, remember everything that
happened, kissed me", revealed Luiz. "He is already
in the ward, it’s better because he can watch TV now, he’s
doing physiotherapy, is eating well and is excited".
Source: Tatame
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Shields-Riggs
On for Strikeforce
by Loretta Hunt
Jake
Shields and Joe Riggs will meet in a featured welterweight bout
at Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz” on April 11 at the
HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Mike
Afromowitz, Director of Communications for Strikeforce, confirmed
that the bout has been agreed to by both fighters. Aroundtheoctagon.com
first reported the matchup on Tuesday.
The
170-pound bout is currently not scheduled as a title fight, said
Afromowitz. Strikeforce does not have a welterweight champion,
although it does have plans to crown a 170-pound king in light
of its recent agreement to produce 16 events a year for Showtime
and CBS.
Shields
was the EliteXC titleholder prior to parent company Pro Elite’s
financial collapse. Shield’s contract was one of 42 purchased
by Strikeforce in a select assets acquisition deal finalized
nearly three weeks ago. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has stated
that he would give all EliteXC champions the opportunity to compete
for Strikeforce titles.
Shields,
30, went 4-0 for the EliteXC promotion. His last victory, a second-round
armbar submission against brawling Brit Paul Daley, was televised
on CBS last October. Shields (24-2-1), a Brazilian jiu-jitsu
black belt, boasts wins over UFC middleweight contender Yushin
Okami, as well as welterweight standouts Mike Pyle, Nick Thompson,
and former WEC champion Carlos Condit.
Riggs
(29-10) has buoyed between the 170- and 185-pound divisions since
2005. A rugged competitor noted for his iron fists, Riggs has
bested Nick Diaz and Chris Lytle. Riggs dropped a controversial
second-round stoppage to Japanese standout Kazuo Misaki last
September, but bounced back with a dominant win in November over
local prospect Luke Stewart at Strikeforce “Destruction.”
Shields
and Riggs join an already announced fight between middleweights
Scott Smith and Benji Radach. Former UFC middleweight champion
Frank Shamrock and EliteXC welterweight contender Nick Diaz will
face off at a catch-weight of 179 pounds in the evening’s
main event.
Strikeforce
“Shamrock vs. Diaz” will air live on Showtime.
Source:
Sherdog
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Seth
Petruzelli Speaks on Doug Marshall, Kimbo Slice
Seth
“The Silverback” Petruzelli was the guest on the most
recent edition of PWB's Official Podcast Hotline. Here are some
brief excerpts:
On
his next fight at “March Badness”:
“I’m
fighting Doug Marshall who was the former WEC Champ March 21
on pay-per-view. It’s going to be in Pensacola, Florida.
It’s actually going to be a boxing slash MMA event. Roy
Jones Jr. is the main event and I’m the co-main event right
before Roy Jones…It should be good, it’s the first
time they’ve put boxing and MMA together…Should be
a pretty good lineup for the fights.”
On
a potential rematch with Kimbo Slice:
“I
signed two letters of intent for two different organizations
to fight him again. They both went to Kimbo and Kimbo does not
want to do it. That’s an absolute fact…The last time
they went up to him and asked him he said no, he wants to concentrate
on boxing...My people went to his people and said, ‘hey,
let’s just do a boxing match with you,’ and he still
didn’t want to do it. He wants to practice a lot before
he gets in there and start with somebody that’s not had
any boxing matches before. So, I don’t know what his deal
is.”
Source:
The Fight Network
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UFC
signs new French television deal
The
UFC has signed a new television agreement with RTL9 for UFC programming
to reach over 14 million French-language homes across 38 countries
and territories on two continents, Europe and Africa.
"I'm
very excited that the UFC has hit the RTL9 airwaves and that
from here on in, French and French-speaking mixed martial arts
fans won't miss out on any of the action from inside the Octagon,"
UFC president Dana White said in today's announcement.
White
has said in the past that the UFC has every intention to run
a show in France once MMA is sanctioned there. Georges St- Pierre
and Cheick Kongo are fighters with French backgrounds who could
headline the show.
Source:
MMA Fighting
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