Upcoming
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2010
February
BJJ Tournament
(tba)
2009
11/21/09
UFC
106
(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas)
11/14/09
UFC
105
(United Kingdom)
November
Aloha
State Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
10/24/09
UFC
104
(Staples Center, Los Angeles)
10/18/09
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Pearl City H.S. Gym)
9/19/09
UFC
103
(American Airlines Center, Dallas)
9/16/09
UFC
Fight Night 19
(Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City)
9/12/09
Hawaiian
Open Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
8/29/09
MAUI OPEN 2009
Submission Grappling Challenge
(Sub Grappling)
(Maui War Memorial Gym)
UFC
102
(Rose Garden, Portland)
8/22/09
Destiny
(Maui)
8/9/09
WEC
(Las Vegas, NV)
8/8/09
UFC
101: Declaration
(BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian)
(Wachovia Center, Philadelphia)
8/1/09
Affliction: Trilogy
Fedor vs. Barnett
(Honda Cetner, Anaheim, CA)
7/25/09
Gracie Tournament
(Kalaheo H.S. Gym)
Amateur Boxing at Palolo
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym)
7/23/09
JUST SCRAP
(MMA)
(Pipeline Cafe)
7/20/09
Dream 10: Welterweight GP Final
(Japan)
7/11/09
UFC
100: Lesnar vs. Mir
(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV)
7/10/09
Man up and Stand up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
6/27-28/09
OTM's 2009
Pac Sub
(Gi & No-Gi competition)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/20/09
The
Ultimate Fighter 9:
Team US vs Team UK Finale
6/13/09
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
UFC
99: Comeback
Silva vs. Franklin
(Cologne, Germany)
6/7/09
WEC: Brown vs. Faber 2
(Versus)
6/6/09
Quest for Champions 2009 Tournament
(Sport Pankration, Sub Grappling)
(Kalani HS Gym)
Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields
(St. Louis, MO)
6/4/09 - 6/7/09
World
JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA)
5/30/09
Event of the Champions
(Triple Threat, Kickboxing, Grappling)
(Elite Auto Group Center)
5/26/09
Dream 9
5/23/09
UFC
98: Evans vs. Machida
(PPV)
5/16/09
KTI's Scrappa Lifestylez
Scrapplers Fest
(BJJ/Submission Grappling)
(Kauai)
5/9/09 - 5/10/09 &
5/16/09 - 5/17/09
Brazilian Nationals JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)
5/9/09
X-1 Kona
(MMA)
(Kekuaokalani Gym, Kona)
15th Grapplers Quest Las Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Las Vegas, NV)
5/2/09
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
Uprising MMA
(MMA)
(Maui)
May 2009
Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships
(Sub Grappling)
(Tentative)
4/25/09
MMA Madness Water Park Extravaganza
(MMA)
(Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Kapolei)
4/18/08
Kingdom
MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
NY
International JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
4/11/09
Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser High)
X-1: Temple of Boom
(Boxing & MMA)
(Palolo Hongwangi)
4/10/09
HFC: Stand Your Ground XII
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
4/4/09 - 4/5/09
NAGA
World Championship
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(NJ, Tentative)
3/28/09
Garden Island Cage Match
(MMA)
(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)
3/27/09
- 3/29/09
Pan
Am JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)
3/27/09
Tiger Muay Thai Competition
(Muay Thai)
(Tiger Muay Thai Gym, Sand Island Road)
3/21/09 - 3/22/09
$30k Grapplers Quest/Fight Expo/Make a Wish Weekend
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Del Mar, CA)
NAGA US Nationals
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Georgia)
3/14/09
Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association: "Hit and Submit"
(Pankration & Muay Thai)
(O-Lounge Night Club, Honolulu)
NAGA Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
3/7/09
UFC 96
(PPV)
(Columbus, OH)
Grapplers Quest Beast of the East
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Wildwood, New Jersey)
2/27/09
X-1 World Events
NEW BEGINNING"
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
2/21/09
Destiny
(MMA)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
UFC
95
(PPV)
(London, England)
2/15/09
X1 World Events
Temple of Boom: Fight Night III
(MMA)
(Palolo Hongwanji)
2/8/09
IWFF
Submission Wrestling Tournament
(No-Gi)
(IWFF Academy, Wailuku, Maui)
2/7/09
4th Annual Clint Shelton Memorial
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym)
Manup and Standup
(Kickboxing)
(Kapolei Rec Center, Kapolei)
UFC Fight Night
(PPV)
(Tampa, FL)
1/31/09
UFC 93 BJ vs GSP
(PPV)
(MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV)
1/30/09
MMA Event
(MMA)
(Schofield Barracks)
1/24/09
Eddie Bravo Seminar
(BJJ)
1/17/09
UFC
93
(PPV)
(Dublin, Ireland)
1/10/09
MAT ATTACK Jiu-Jitsu & Submission Grappling Tournament
(Sub Wrestling)
(Lihikai School, Kahului, Maui)
1/3/08
Uprising - Maui
(MMA)
(Paukukalo Hawaiian Homes Gym)
Hazardous Warfare - Maui
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center)
|
|
July
2009 News Part 2
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ Dean, & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
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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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Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
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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.
We have 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 On Fridays from 5:30 to 6:30 PM!
Wrestling Class Starts On Fridays from 8:30 to 9:30 PM!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
Quote
of the Day
“Always
do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.”
Mark Twain
|
BUCHHOLZ IN FOR TORRES AT UFC FIGHT NIGHT 19
An undisclosed injury has forced UFC newcomer Ronnys Torres to
withdraw from a scheduled bout with Jeremy Stephens at UFC Fight
Night 19 on Sept. 16 in Oklahoma City, MMAWeekly.com has confirmed
from a source close to the situation. MMAMania.com was the first
to report the change.
Stepping
into Torres' slot will be Justin Buchholz, who last appeared
at UFC 99 last month, where he lost to rising star Terry Etim
via submission. It was his second loss in the Octagon. He also
lost to Matt Wiman in his debut at UFC Fight Night 12 last January.
His UFC record stands at 1-2.
Buchholz
(8-3) trains out of Ultimate Fitness in Sacramento alongside
WEC vets Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez.
After
a highlight reel knockout of Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 91, Stephens
(15-5) dropped two consecutive fights, most recently in April
to American Top Team standout Gleison Tibau. The Des Moines native
is now 3-4 inside the Octagon.
A
timetable for Torres' return is unknown.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
HEADED BACK TO U.K. ON NOVEMBER 14
British mixed martial arts fans can rejoice; the UFC is set to
return to U.K. soil this fall. UFC U.K. president Marshall Zelaznik
confirmed the news to Ariel Helwani of Versus recently.
"Yeah,
let's make it official. We're looking at November to be in Manchester.
It's been too long, we need to get back there," he stated.
"Nov. 14 is when we will be back there."
In
fact – although the UFC was in London earlier this year
– it has been more than two years since the MMA juggernaught
re-launched its assault on the U.K. scene at the MEN Arena, where
Gabriel Gonzaga surprisingly knocked out Mirko "Cro Cop"
Filipovic.
The
promotion's U.K. television options have been narrowed down to
two likely proposals, but are still in negotiations. As of right
now, Zelaznik said all indications are leaning towards the Manchester
event being made available for free in the U.S. on Spike TV,
although that has not been solidified either.
UFC
matchmaker Joe Silva is likely brainstorming the fight card (could
rising U.K. star Dan Hardy possibly be in the mix for a headlining
position?), but Zelaznik had no news on that front, "Right
now I have no idea who is fighting."
For
now, just look for the UFC to return to Manchester, England on
Nov. 14.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
COTE
INJURY UPDATE; WELCOMES HENDERSON FIGHT
MMAWeekly on Thursday caught up with former middleweight contender
Patrick Cote to get an update on his injured knee and get his
thoughts about last Saturday’s UFC 100. Prior to the centennial
show, the 29 year-old Montreal resident wanted to fight Michael
Bisping if he emerged victorious against Dan Henderson. Obviously,
that’s changed.
MMAWeekly:
How’s the knee?
Cote:
The knee’s doing well. I’m going to see my doctor next
week, just to check if everything’s okay and to have the
okay to push more. Next week I’ll be fixed for sure.
MMAWeekly:
What are you doing right now in terms of training?
Cote:
Right now I’m just doing conditioning under supervision.
I don’t do any fight training yet. I have to be careful
of my knee. Next week I’m going to have another MRI and
we’ll see if everything is okay for hard training.
MMAWeekly:
Has it been difficult for you to take this much time off of fight
training?
Cote:
For sure. That’s my life. It’s my job. It’s hard
to see everybody in the gym sparring and training hard for a
fight and I can’t. It sucks.
MMAWeekly:
A lot of video games in your spare time?
Cote:
Yeah, video games and I play a lot of golf. I don’t do a
lot because I want my knee to be 100 percent.
MMAWeekly:
You did say prior to UFC 100 that you’d like to face Michael
Bisping if he defeated Dan Henderson. That didn’t happen—what
did you think about Bisping’s performance?
Cote:
I think he had a stupid game plan. I was there; I did the French
pay per view so I was cageside. He was always turning into his
right hand, and Dan Henderson made his career with his overhand
right. So it was just a question of time until Bisping got caught.
I found that a little bit strange. And Bisping looked very nervous;
he looked tight. So I wasn’t surprised at all. After the
first round, I said in the second round it will be done.
MMAWeekly:
Do you still want to face him?
Cote:
Yeah, I want everybody. I don’t care. But I don’t think
Bisping needs a fighter like me to fight right now. Right now,
I want a big fight that’s going to put me on top of the
middleweight division.
MMAWeekly:
You initially said you wanted to return in October. Do you think
that’s a realistic assessment right now?
Cote:
That’s the plan, but it’s out of my hands now. I did
everything the doctor told me to do, so next week, I’ll
be more able to say when I’ll be able to come back. My goal
for two months now, I tell everybody I want to be back in November
for UFC 104 in Los Angeles, but if I’m not ready, I’ll
be back later than that.
MMAWeekly:
You said you wanted to get back to the top of the middleweight
division, and it would seem Dan Henderson would be great fight
to put you there, given that Anderson Silva is fighting at light
heavyweight in August and probably won’t be ready by early
next year. How would you feel about facing Dan?
Cote:
For sure. I respect Dan Henderson very much. I like his style;
he’s a legend to me. If they gave me this fight, it would
be a big honor for me. I think that could be a very, very good
fight. We’ll be standing in front of each other and banging.
MMAWeekly:
How would you approach that fight differently than Bisping? Henderson
does have a great overhand right, but he also has top-notch wrestling,
which you’ve struggled with in the past.
Cote:
Maybe in the past, that was my weakness, but I think I showed
in my fight with Ricardo Almeida that I’ve improved my wrestling.
For sure, if I were to face Dan, I would do a lot of wrestling,
but Dan Henderson’s a gamer, so I think he would want to
fight with me on the feet and try to knock me out. I think he
would want to be the first one to try and knock me out.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SHOGUN
SAYS PATIENCE IS KEY TO BEATING MACHIDA
Mauricio
“Shogun” Rua hopes to turn light heavyweight champ
Lyoto Machida’s greatest attribute – timing –
against him when the two square off at UFC 104 in October.
It’s
the first 25-minute fight in Rua’s career, five minutes
longer than his battles in the days of Pride. But that’s
not a bad thing.
“I
get very happy with that, because when you get to the first five-rounder
of your career, it means you’re fighting for the belt,”
he told MMAWeekly.com backstage at UFC 100. “I take it as
a great thing. I always wanted to train for five rounds.”
Rua
will begin his training shortly in Curitiba and decide two months
out whether to move to Sao Paulo, where he and his new trainers
bore down for an all-important fight with Chuck Liddell at UFC
97.
He
emerged a new man with a first round knockout of the former light
heavyweight champ, setting the stage for what could be his toughest
challenge yet against Machida. Gone was the sluggish fighter
who withered to Forrest Griffin and ran out of gas against old-timer
Mark Coleman.
"Machida
karate" is the current riddle of the light heavyweight class,
with its angular stance, control of range, and explosive counter-strikes
the bane of every fighter who encounters it in the Octagon.
It
goes without saying, but most have not done a good job at adapting
to the style. His training partners struggle.
"Sometimes,
I ate some shots," said Vitor Belfort, who often sparred
with Machida at Black House in Brazil. "I ate five to get
one."
Rua
thinks people are taking the wrong approach.
“Most
of the guys that fought Lyoto… found a problem with patience,
with finding the right moment to attack, or to counter-strike
him,” he said. “Some guys try to rush it too much;
some guys try to stay too patient, (and) they start to get nervous
because of that.
“I
think the key is the timing of the fight, to get the feeling
of when to engage and when to counter-strike him. This is likely
the key, to find the pace and the rhythm, mostly the timing of
the strikes to be able to connect and to make it a fight. For
sure, I’m going to concentrate on that and develop a good
strategy.”
The
main problem now, as Rua said, is finding sparring partners to
emulate “The Dragon.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Pitbull:
“I learned a lot with this fight”
Thiago
“Pitbull” Alves had the chance, at UFC 100, to stop
Georges St. Pierre’s domain at the welterweight division,
but the Canadian used the perfect strategy to annul the Brazilian’s
gamae and dominated him in the co-main event of the night. TATAME.com
talked with the fighter, who commented about the difficulties
during the fight and what impressed him in the bout.
“What
surprised me was that I couldn’t find the guy… I did
a great strategy, but every time I tried to catch him he moved
away… About the takedowns and everything, man, when you’re
out of distance is easy for someone to take you down. He was
with the perfect timing, when I realized he already was in my
legs”, said, revealing that he already expected to be taken
down in the title fight.
“I
already waited for that, it’s normal, he’s a hell of
a wrestler and I already expected for some takedowns, so I was
training for that”, says the Brazilian. “In the ground
I was cool, but the problem was my striking, my movement, that
was the difference. I knew he’d take me down, but the thing
is that he couldn’t hold me there. If I were with my best
striking, like I always were, the fight would have been different”.
With
the decision loss, Thiago recognized GSP’s domain. “I
have nothing to say, he was better than me that night and now
I have to go back to my training and work hard to get this belt.
There are a lot of thing in my camp that was a mistake. Now I
see the mistakes that I did and I’ll fix them and won’t
let it happen again. St. Pierre is a great fighter, fought very
well, but I couldn’t find myself in the fight. I learned
a lot with this fight, I saw what the best fighter in the world
has at his best, seen the best of the best fighter and I know
I can beat him”, guarantees.
About
the Muay Thai training, Alves reveals that his coach, Mohammed
Ouali, had to leave the country three months ago. “The only
problem that I had in my preparation for this fight is that I
wasn’t with my Muay Thai coach, with whom I train for the
last three years. He had to go away three months ago and I missed
him a lot. I felt out of timing in the fight… My cardio
was good, I'm as strong, but my timing wasn’t good”,
said the fighter, waiting to come back to the octagon by October.
Source: Tatame
|
Filho
training for Manhoef at TATAME TV
Almost
three years later, Paulo Filho is back to where he made his name
in the MMA world. Getting ready to face Melvin Manhoef at Dream
10, that happens this weekend, the balck belt opened his training
to TATAME TV, who followed his steps during the preparation for
the bout in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, with his coach Josuel
Distak. “Melvin is a fighter that, the same way he can lose
to anyone, he can beat anyone. I won’t guarantee a result,
but I’ll guarantee a Paulo that you didn’t see the
last time”, said Paulo.
Source: Tatame
|
Paulao
in at Bitetti Combat
Brazilian to face American Alex Shonawer
The
Bitetti Combat organization confirmed yet another big name for
the September 12 event to be held in the Maracanazinho gymnasium,
in Rio de Janeiro. Paulo Filho, who has appeared in the past
in Pride and the WEC, is guaranteed on the card.
“I’d
like to congratulate the entire organization for this opportunity.
MMA was created here many years ago by the Gracie family, some
of the best fighters in the world are from here and we aren’t
recognized in our own country. In the United States the UFC is
a great success, turning lots of profit, and I couldn’t
understand why such opportunity had never arisen here. If we
have the best athletes it’s only right we have a big event
too,” said the fighter.
On
the terrace of his building in Copacabana, Paulao finishes up
training for his next challenge the coming 20th, at Dream, where
he will face Melvin Manhoef. Nevertheless, the black belt already
knows what will come next in the Brazilian organization, as Alex
Shonawer, a Sergio Penha student, has been names as his opponent.
“I
believe the American comes from another style, he can’t
be better at it than I am at Jiu-Jitsu. Now what I need to find
out is what his characteristics are, to study them along with
my coaches Josuel Distak, Amaury Bitetti and Master Oswaldo Alves,
to put together a strategy and take him out of his comfort zone.
I need to do what’s good for me and not let him do what’s
good for him,” he analyzed.
Away
from the rings since November of 2008, when he suffered his first
loss and dropped out to deal with problems with depression, Paulo
states that he is brimming with desire to fight in Brazil again.
The fighter hopes Bitetti Combat will show the strength of MMA
to Brazilians.
“May
MMA come to stay, to undo the bad impression people have of it
and to value those who train to fight gladiator who also ready
themselves to fight in the ring, with rules and for money,”
he finished.
The
other fights confirmed for the event include Fury FC champion
Leandro Batata against Cassiano Tytschyo and Vitor Miranda against
Fabio Maldonado.
Check
out the car as it stands (subject to change):
Ricardo
Arona vs Marvin Eastman
Paulo Filho vs Alex Shonawer
Rogério Minotouro vs Alex Stiebling
Pedro Rizzo vs Jeff Monson
Glover Teixeira vs Leonardo Chocolate
Vitor Miranda vs Fabio Maldonado
Luciano Azevedo vs Milton Vieira
Henrique Chocolate vs Eduardo Pamplona
Leandro Batata vs Cassiano Tytschyo
Alexandre Pulga vs Luciano Yzzy
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"Cheerfulness
is full of significance: it suggests good health,
a clear conscience, and a soul at peace with all human nature."
Charles Kingsley
|
ROYCE
GRACIE NOT FIGHTING... FOR NOW
by Steven Marrocco
Royce Gracie, the first dominant UFC champion in its 16-year
history, is far past any of the traditional motivators for fighting.
He
doesn’t need the money, or the fame, or the students. There
is nothing for him to prove. Life is pretty good outside the
cage.
He’s
sitting on the fence, though, about whether he wants to get back
in.
The
42-year-old gets hounded regularly about when he’s going
to fight next. Call it Gracie nostalgia: fans want to see the
man who, at 170 frail pounds, tapped out a field of brutes a
decade ago.
For
most of the requests, he smiles and leaves it in the air –
anything’s possible.
Gracie
has had several stops and starts since leaving the Octagon in
1995. He returned to action in Japan, with an all-out battle
with Kazushi Sakuraba in 2000 – one he lost – marking
the apex of his post-UFC career.
In
May 2006, he finally returned to the Octagon, looking suddenly
very old against a younger, stronger, faster champion in Matt
Hughes. Hughes, the next dominant welterweight in the company’s
history, resorted to pounding the side of Gracie’s head
after he realized the legend wouldn’t tap to an armlock
that dislocated his elbow.
There
was his appearance at Dynamite! USA in June 2007, where he defeated
old nemesis and fellow legend Kazushi Sakuraba in a dull re-match
and afterwards tested positive for steroids. A regulator later
told MMAWeekly.com that the levels of drug found in his system
were indicative Gracie didn’t know he was taking performance
enhancers, or didn’t believe he’d be tested.
Since
then, he has remained off the map, content to be out of the spotlight.
Fans
and media mobbed him as he walked the corridors of the Mandalay
Bay Event Center on the weekend of UFC 100. He felt ambiguous
about being there; on one hand, the promotion had made it past
the dark days of half-empty arenas and political scorn (well,
mostly), and on the other, he wasn’t a part of it.
“One
hundred is good, but it makes me feel so old,” he told MMAWeekly.com.
Unlike
half-brother Rorion, Royce embraced the changes he says needed
to happen for the sport to grow. Rorion, who along with Art Davies
incubated the 1993 version of the UFC based on father Helio’s
combat skirmishes in Brazil, once said he didn’t watch the
event anymore.
Royce
says that’s not true, though he shared Rorion’s wish
to return to the days of no time limit bouts.
“I
understand the changes that happen,” he said. “With
the changes, it makes it legal all over the world. It’s
sanctioned. You have to have the time limit; you have to have
the weight division. As a fighter, you just have to adapt to
that, but he likes the old idea. I prefer no time limit, too;
don’t take me wrong. It’s just you can’t do it.
Okay, let’s adapt to it.”
Most
believe Gracie failed to adapt in his many returns. MMA had evolved
into a hybrid sport, and he hadn’t put in the time to become
well rounded in all of its dimensions. He could avoid being finished,
but he couldn’t finish a fight.
Still,
the public wants to see him. Nostalgia is reliable in a time
of here today, gone tomorrow fighters.
But
perhaps the biggest adaptation he needs to make is a lack of
edge needed to fight. He doesn’t have the fire. He wants
to compete, and says he’s physically fine. Something else
is missing.
“(I)
don’t feel the urge to fight,” he said. “I’ve
never had a fight on the street, never hurt my opponents. But
I don’t feel that edge, that urge to fight. Before, four,
five, six months after the fight, I would call my manager and
say, ‘get me in the ring, I want to train.’ I want
to go into that concentration camp mode and just train for the
fight. Now… eh, I don’t feel that.”
And
he isn’t too concerned about whether he’ll get the
fire back. Realistically, he knows he has a few years to decide.
There’s no rush.
Gracie’s
legacy was all over the action on Saturday night. Fighters took
each other down, fought for position, and some got choked out.
Royce watched from outside the cage, taking it all in.
Will
he ever step back inside? Probably not. But anything’s possible.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Marquardt
Looking to Halt Maia's Title Shot Run
By Kelsey Mowatt
Just a few weeks after UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva
tests the light-heavyweight waters again against Forrest Griffin
on August 8th, the renowned fighter will likely turn his attention
to a middleweight clash at the promotion’s August 29th,
UFC 102 card, as two of the division’s top contenders in
Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt are scheduled to square off. While
Marquardt has been a force in the UFC 185lb. division for quite
some time now, contending and failing to unseat Silva as champion
in July, 2007, Maia has yet to challenge the champ for his belt.
With an undefeated record of 10-0 and having won 5 straight since
his arrival in the UFC, Maia is likely one win away from getting
his title shot. Marquardt is hoping to derail Maia’s championship
aspirations for the time being.
“I
was surprised and excited,” Marquardt told FCF, when asked
for his reaction about being offered the Maia fight. “A
lot of times you don’t get fights with top contenders like
Demian. He has a good name right now; he’s on a roll, and
a lot of time the UFC doesn’t want top contenders fighting
like that because then only one of them has an opportunity to
fight for the title. I was really happy to get that fight because
I think a lot of people think he’s next in line, but obviously
if I beat him it’s a lot better for me.”
Maia’s
reputation as an elite jiu-jitsu competitor is well documented,
and in his five UFC performances to date, only Jason MacDonald
and Ed Herman have managed to survive into the second round.
“He’s
gotten far very far and obviously he’s undefeated,”
said Marquardt, when asked to assess Maia as a fighter. “He’s
a great fighter but I definitely think that I can beat him. I
have all the tools to beat him.”
“Probably
not,” Marquardt added, when asked if he feels if all of
Maia’s abilities have been thoroughly tested so far in the
Octagon. “He’s never fought anyone like me; I don’t
know necessarily know what level his striking and wrestling is
at, but to me it doesn’t really matter. I believe in my
skills. Even on the ground I believe in my skills against him.”
Due
to the fact that Marquardt is a highly accomplished grappler
in his own right, he is quick to say he is not intimitaded by
Maia’s ground game, skills that have led to submission victories
in 8 of his 10 pro bouts.
“At
the same time I feel I’ll have an advantage anywhere I’m
at,” said Marquardt. “If I take him down I’m going
to lay some leather; I’m going to put him in a bad position,
and he’s not going to want to be there.”
Of
course Marquardt is coming off back-to-back performances where
he has continued to demonstrate his own ever improving arsenal;
by putting away notable opposition in Martin Kampmann and Wilson
Gouveia with brutal striking combinations.
“I
feel like I’m getting better all the time,” Marquardt
(28-8-2) told FCF. “I feel like I’m a different fighter
now because of my mind set, not necessarily just because of skills.”
The
topic of future contenders for Silva’s 185lb. title has
been a persistent one as of late. After Silva’s last two
title defenses against Patrick Cote and Thales Leites were less
than memorable, the promotion set up a 205lb. bout with Griffin,
and recent comments from UFC President Dana White alluding to
the fact the promotion might look elsewhere (like Vitor Belfort)
for Silva’s next opponent, has further fueled discussion
about the division’s title picture.
“I
still think there are a lot of guys Anderson hasn’t fought,”
said Marquardt, when asked for his thoughts on the promotion
possibly bringing in a challenger. “I don’t feel that
I really did my best in our fight and I don’t think I’m
the same fighter that fought him, as you’ve seen in my last
performances. So I want that shot."
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
DANA
WHITE CONFIRMS GSP'S NEXT OPPONENT
by Ken Pishna
It has been widely rumored and Joe Rogan mentioned it during
the UFC 100 broadcast, but the Ultimate Fighting Championship
on Wednesday made it official, the fight between Mike Swick and
Martin Kampmann will determine the next challenger to UFC welterweight
champion Georges St. Pierre.
"Wherever
we go, fans know UFC delivers great fights,” UFC president
Dana White said. "Mike Swick vs. Martin Kampmann could be
fight of the night at UFC 103 because the winner takes on Georges
St. Pierre for the welterweight title.”
After
suffering an injury to his groin at UFC 100, St. Pierre will
be taking some time off to heal up, but has at least narrowed
his next opponent down to the winner of the bout on Sept. 19
in Dallas.
"I
want to face the best guy," the champ commented after his
victory over Thiago Alves. "Right now, I'm in really bad
pain. I'm going to take a step back and take a look at it and
we'll talk about it, and in a couple of weeks we'll see."
He
should have plenty of time to rehab his injury and get prepared
for his next challenge. Swick vs. Kampmann is still two months
away and no date has been revealed for St. Pierre's return bout
against the winner.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Royce
Gracie makes the media rounds at UFC 100
By Zach Arnold
He
did a couple of interviews, so I decided to transribe what he
said and give you a summary of what interviewers asked him.
First,
he was interviewed on ESPN.com’s MMA Live show.
Could
you imagine that MMA would blow up like it has when UFC 1 happened
in Denver? “I knew it was going to get that big. Man, it’s
an honor for my family to see this thing grow, not just in the
United States but all over the world now.”
“I
don’t have a chance to watch all the events, but I try to
follow as much as I can. After all, I’m still in the business,
c’mon man.”
What
are you up to right now? “I’m just traveling a lot,
I spend about six months on the road traveling, doing seminars,
and then six months home with the family.”
What’s
it like to make such an impact on so many fighters? “I mean,
it’s a pleasure for our family, that was the goal to teach
the world, it’s not just to keep it inside the family but
to teach everybody what fighting is all about, we grew up doing
this thing, but my father my uncles they all did that back in
Brazil so now it’s a world type of business, it’s awesome.”
The
motivation behind the creation of UFC? “Any given chance,
that’s the whole idea, give a chance to us little guys to
be able to defend and not to fight but to defend ourselves against
somebody bigger and stronger.”
So
who’s the best newcomer in the Gracie family? “Man,
I’ll say my daughter. She wraps me around, she gets anything
out of me.”
Thoughts
on women’s MMA and if you would allow your daughter into
MMA? “Oh yes, not a problem. I have a lot of students that
want to compete, a lot of female students, and I tell them the
time is now. About three, four years from now, the market’s
going to be very crowded, it’s going to be harder. So right
now is the time for the girls to get into this.”
Then
Royce did an interview for the Versus web site.
Did
you think UFC would grow this much? “Oh, I knew it’s
going to make it this far man. That’s a easy one, people
like fighting, everybody like the fights and everybody likes
this kind of sport.”
Are
you in fighting shape? “Man, I’m always in shape, I
walk around 180 and I fight at 180.”
Did
you want to fight at UFC 100? “I don’t look at it that
way, I don’t look at the number to come back or to fight
again, it’s whenever the body feels good, the body says
‘let’s do it’ I’ll do it.”
Is
there still an itch to fight? “I know where the itch lives,
I just… not feeling right now. I know where it lives, I
have the itch’s address, whenever/if the right time comes
I will knock on the itch’s door and take it out for a date.”
“I
still got it, I still got it man.”
Want
to repair your image (given what happened against Sakuraba at
K-1 and the failed drug test)? “I have nothing to hide,
man, not because of that, no. No, if I come back it’s not
because of that.”
What’s
your best UFC memory? “Man, fighting four fights in one
night, it’s unreal.”
Could
the new breed of fighters hang with the older MMA stars under
the NHB rule set? “There’s only one way to find out,
that’s why we create the fight show.”
“Man,
on the street you don’t pick opponents, you don’t pick
size and the weight, you don’t pick how many fights you’re
going to have to fight, so today’s more like a sport. Back
then, it was raw, you had to fight and come back and fight again
and come back and no gloves, no time limit, no weight division.”
What’s
it like to be recognized all over the world? “Oh yes, everywhere
man, they heard about it, they’ve seen it, they practice
and I travel all over the world teaching.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Study
recommends beer to athletes
By Guilherme Cruz
A
good diet is as important as physical preparation when it comes
to professional sports. And, of course, it’s not different
when you talk about MMA. However, a study done by specialists
in medicine, physiology and nutrition from the University of
Granada can make the happiness of the athletes who enjoy a beer
to relax. According to the document, which was approved by the
Superior Council of Scientific Investigations of Spain, beer
helps in the hormonal recovery and immune metabolism after the
sport practice in high level, preventing, also, the annoying
muscle pain.
For
Thales Leites, UFC middleweight fighter, who trains six days
a week and enters the octagon at least three times a year, the
news was received with surprise. "I didn’t know, but
it’s a good news, right?", joked the Jiu-Jitsu black
belt, who avoids the consumption of alcoholic drinks when is
getting prepared to the fights. "When I’m with fight
schedule, I cut the alcohol totally. Two months from the fight,
I drink two beers at most, but it’s difficult. I drink socially
when I go out, I don’t drink when I'm at home", says
Thales, seeing another good side of the study. "This is
good, because it seems that it’s a poison and that it will
destroy you".
Former
Pride and UFC fighter, now manager and coach, Carlos Barreto
says that always avoided drinking before the fights. "I
like beer, but I always avoided drinking wine or beer during
the trainings, only after the competitions to relax, but all
very moderate", remembers the fighter, indicating another
"villain" in his time of fighter. "My only mistake
was the sweet (laughs)". Although controversial, the study
highlights that the consumption can’t be excessive. According
to the researchers, men can drink until 600ml of beer, while
women couldn’t ingest more than 400ml per day.
"Everyone
likes a beer to relax and chat with friends, but not exaggerating",
warns Thales. "Each one drinks on their limit. This is good
news, I don’t see why we can’t drink, even because
it has good ingredients for health", says the UFC fighter.
With moderation, Carlão also believes that the consumption
wouldn’t cause problems. "With these new researches,
I think the excess is the big problem. Everything depends on
how the guy trains and how it changes his life. If the guy is
a ruled person he can do anything, even eat some sweet on the
weekend", finished Barreto.
Source: Tatame
|
Diego
Sanchez to face winner of Penn-Florian
Diego Sanchez will have the opportunity to scout his next opponent
fight in the luxury of a ringside seat at UFC 101.
Sanchez
told FanHouse at the UFC Fan Expo over the weekend in Las Vegas
that he will take on the winner of the BJ Penn-Kenny Florian
title fight happening on Aug. 8 in Philadelphia.
"This
comes from Lorenzo [Fertitta] and Dana [White]," Sanchez
said. "They're flying me out to Philadelphia. I'll be sitting
there ringside. I'll probably be in the ring afterward. It's
on."
It
is typical for the UFC to bring the next challenger inside the
Octagon after a championship fight to stir up drama for the champ's
next fight. Perfect for a future pre-fight package, a recent
confrontation was when Rashad Evans engaged in trash talk with
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson after Jackson's win over
Evans' teammate Keith Jardine at UFC 96.
Sanchez
(21-2) is unbeaten as a lightweight with wins this year over
Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Sengoku
9 complete card
August 2 marks Featherweight GP final
The
organizers of Sengoku 9, to take place August 2, in Japan, have
completed the official card for the show. In all there are 15
fights, with the featherweight GP featuring.
Check
out the official card and stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for more
news on Sengoku:
Featherweight
GP – Semifinals
Hatsu
Hioki vs Masanoru Kanehara
Michihiro Omigawa vs Marlon Sandro
Reserve
fight
Matt
Jaggers vs Chan Sung Jung
Featherweight
GP
Final
Lightweight
title bout
Mizuto
Hirota vs Satoru Kitaoka
Superfights
Kazuo
Misaki vs Kazuhiko Nakamura
Kazuyuki Fujita vs Blagoy Alexandre Ivanov
Choi Mu Bae vs Yoshihiro Nakao
Clay French vs Eiji Mitsuoka
Dan Hornbuckle vs Akihiro Gono
Koji Ando vs Ikuo Usuda
Ryosuke Komori vs Takeshi Numajiri
Koji Ando vs Ikuo Usuda
Toru Harai vs Shigeki Osawa
Ryosuke Komori vs Takeshi Numajiri
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Mark
Coleman lays the Hammer down on Stephan Bonnar’s UFC career
by Zach Arnold
“Ha
ha ha! That’s why I still do this! All you fuckers! No feeling
in the world like this. Nothing!”
That’s
how Mark Coleman greeted fans and media writers backstage after
winning his fight against Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100. Coleman
was pissed off at the fact that he was being called an old man
and was a +300 underdog to Bonnar who was a -450 favorite. That’s
right — Stephan Bonnar was as big of a favorite at UFC 100
to win his fight as Georges St. Pierre, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and
Jon Fitch. Bonnar was an even bigger ‘lock’ than Brock
Lesnar. Coleman had every right to be insulted at the fact that
Bonnar, coming off a horrible loss to Jon Jones, was such a prohibitive
favorite.
There
was a real sense of pride from Coleman after he won his fight
relatively easily. Coleman had a war with Mauricio Shogun in
which both men were exhausted and Shogun managed to pull off
the win against a very game Coleman. For casual fans, both Shogun
and Coleman were in an epic battle. In the eyes of hardcore fans,
it was two men who were former shells of themselves. Coleman
wanted to prove his doubters wrong and show that at age 44 he
can still hang and still be a contender. It may be harder for
someone like him to keep cutting weight to make Light Heavyweight,
but clearly you cannot question his work ethic or his ability
to do the things needed to win.
In
an official UFC media interview after the fight, Coleman ranked
his win over Bonnar as one of the best in his career.
“Right
now I have to say number one. I got to say this is number one
because you know I had a lot of doubters, I can’t stand
being called an old man, you call me any fucking thing you want
but I can’t stand being called an old man so I had to shut
a lot of people up. I may be 44 but there’s been reasons
why I got tired, distractions, I didn’t train hard enough,
if I put the time in I can compete with anybody. I was about
70% tonight. I’m going to go back home, continue to build
on this base, I’m going to come back I’m going to be
a factor in this division, I guarantee it. I can get a lot better.
I’m just learning.”
In
going through all of the various audio and video clips of interviews
heading into UFC 100, there was one interesting thing happening
in relation to the Coleman/Bonnar fight. Bonnar did an interview
with Yahoo’s Steve Cofield in which he told Steve that he
had to move out of Xtreme Couture and set up camp at the new
Tapout facility. Why? Because Shawn Tompkins decided to train
Mark Coleman and thus the Xtreme Couture staff was split up between
the two fighters. Coleman alluded to this in his post-fight interview.
“Great
camp, Shawn Tompkins elite trainer, everybody in Vegas treated
me so well, the fans were great, it means so much more when you
work this hard and have people helping you, I didn’t want
to lose because of these people, McKenzie & Morgan my daughters
I haven’t seen you in 70 days, that’s been the hardest
part, Daddy did this for you, you know I showed you if I work
hard your Daddy’s a winner, girls. I feel great.”
Coleman’s
comments should definitely raise some questions about not only
Xtreme Couture but also Shawn Tompkins. Factually-speaking, what
does it say that Couture and Tompkins decided to train Coleman
and leave Bonnar to train on his own with a couple of Xtreme
Couture guys at another gym? Isn’t that a proverbial slap
in the face to Bonnar? What kind of a statement are you making
to Stephan Bonnar by saying that you’re choosing to train
a 44-year old MMA fighter over a guy who, on paper, supposedly
might have a longer shelf life in MMA?
The
notion of splitting up a training camp in order for a fight to
happen is something that Jon Fitch warned about recently in a
Versus.com interview. Fitch said that if he was offered a fight
against fellow AKA team Mike Swick that he would refuse to take
it.
“We
train as a team. If two people from our team were to fight each
other, who trains with what training partner? Who trains with
what trainer? Who gets to use the gym and when? It just doesn’t
add up. We’d have to tear our team apart and split our camp
in half in order to make one fight happen. It’s not worth
it. We’ve worked very hard the last seven, eight years to
build up AKA and we’re not going to throw it away for one
fight.”
In
the end, training with Tompkins clearly helped out Coleman and
the veteran picked up the big win. Coleman said the training
made all the difference in the world.
“(In
the past) I didn’t prepare like a champion, I didn’t
like train like a champion, that’s why I look like shit
a lot of times. When I put my mind to it, I’m fresh I’m
fast I’m quick I punch hard, I’m good. If I put in
the time, I’m going to be a factor. Like I said, I’m
about 70%. You give me another 3 months of injury-free training
and I’m going to be even better yet. Everybody else better
watch out because the Hammer’s back.”
There
was a humorous exchange backstage between Coleman and a media
interview when discussing the Shogun fight, which clearly remains
a sore spot for the Hammer.
“I
didn’t look tired, what are you talking about?”
The
interviewer started getting cold feet.
“I
mean that’s what some people would thought, I thought that
you look tired.”
Coleman
was not taking any of this laying down.
“I
always look tired. I played possum. OK? Well, listen. He worked
his ass off in that first round. He worked his ass off, he tired
himself out just like Shogun. Nobody gave me any credit, nobody
gave me any credit for wearing Shogun out. They just said he
was out of shape. Well, I’m a different breed when I’m
on you, when I’m on you I’m a different type of man.
I’m a world-class wrestler and Bonnar, he emptied his tank
in that first round and that’s why I was able to come back
and win that fight. I was fresh. I got better as the fight went
on.”
For
Bonnar, this is likely the end of the road for him as a UFC fighter.
It’s a tough pill to swallow for a guy who has been viewed
as a “Mount Rushmore” type figure amongst the modern
UFC fan base that looks at his fight against Forrest Griffin
as the Holy Grail of UFC fights. Nevertheless, Bonnar’s
had a very rocky, up-and-down stint in UFC including a performance-enhancing
related suspension for Boldenone.
Mark
Coleman may have officially hammered the nail in Bonnar’s
UFC career.
One
young UFC fighter who has a lot to look forward to, however,
is Jon Jones, a man who made a big name for himself against Bonnar
with some unique Greco Roman throws in the cage. Jones was assigned
a fight against former heavyweight Jake O’Brien at 205 pounds.
Jones was able to pull out the victory and get a win over an
opponent he should beat. He took care of business.
“My
strategy going with going in the fight with Jake O’Brien
you know we knew that he’s a former heavyweight, he cuts
a lot of weight and that fatigue could possibly be an issue with
him,” Jones said in an official UFC media interview after
the fight. “So, you know, I realized right away when he
was throwing his punches he was holding his breath and kind of
grunting and you can’t do that in a fight, you know, you
got to really breathe as you punch so I knew that he would be
running out of breath sooner or later, and so my main focus was
just to kind of pick him apart a little bit, time that shot,
but mainly just pick him apart a little bit and sense him out,
you know allow him to get tired and just breathe, dance around,
you know pick my shots. And you know we were working a lot from
the front headlock position, you know Jake’s a great wrestler
so you know I’ve had a lot of submissions that I practiced
and one you know came out, it felt great.”
What
makes Jones such a rising up-and-comer is that he’s not
only a great talker, but he’s also very flashy and has an
exciting fight style. You just never know what he is going to
do next. That unpredictability factor makes him dangerous.
“I
have a lot of tricks. I have a lot of tricks. I think I might
be you know starting to have too many tricks and I need to just
go back to the basics and really master maybe like three or four
moves. I have a lot of moves up my sleeve and as you seen tonight
you know I was trying things that I’ve been doing in practice
but when you’re in a fight you know it doesn’t work
like you want. I think in the future I’m going to train
and just work a few techniques and master a few techniques.”
Some
fighters focus intently on studying video of their opponents.
Other fighters don’t watch any video at all and focus on
their training only. In the case of Bones Jones, he got his most
recent inspiration on video from the legendary Muhammad Ali.
(And I’m not talking about the upcoming Tyson/Ali boxing
video game.)
“Definitely,
you know I watched him a lot getting ready for this fight. I
knew Jake O’Brien was going to be a boxer, you know I have
fast hands and long hands so I’m just trying to master things,
I’m trying to work on things. I’m really didn’t
feel good at all about the performance and the way it was going
until I actually finished it. I felt like I was getting hit a
lot and being sloppy, so I’m going to just start sparring
more. I did look up to Muhammad Ali a lot in this fight, you
know, just the way he dances with his feet and you know the way
he pops that jab out there. I just got a lot to learn, man.”
Jones
recently made a lot of waves on the Internet with comments he
made about UFC Light Heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Some
fighters say that they don’t pay attention to what is said
about them online, but clearly Jones is an exception to that
rule.
“I’m
not really worried about Lyoto Machida, you know I guess I talked
about him in an interview and it got a lot of hype, me thinking
that I can beat him type of thing. Just as a champion in my mind
and a champion mindset I believe that you know people should
think they can beat anyone, you know, so if Lyoto’s not
the champ by the time I get there whoever it may be I’m
going to think, I’m going to beat him. So I have nothing
to say about Lyoto Machida, he’s a great champion and pretty
much you know whoever has the belt you know when I get to that
level I’ll be ready and I say that I can beat anyone, it’s
just the attitude that I think you should have. As far as where
I am, I have a lot of learning to do you know I wasn’t really
impressed with that fight out there just now, I just thought
I was getting hit a lot and the objective is to hit and not be
hit so I just think that I have a lot of learning to do and I’m
just going to keep working.”
Source: Fight Opinion/MMA Memories.com
|
Carano
and "Cyborg" Ready for August 15th
By FCF Staff
New York City’s historic Madison Square Garden was the host
venue for a Strikeforce press conference yesterday, as the promotion
continues to drum up hype for the upcoming August 15th 145lb.
championship bout between Gina Carano (7-0) and Cristiane “Cyborg”
Santos (7-1). “Carano vs. Cyborg” will take place at
the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, and will also feature
three other title fights, as heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem
(29-11) will face Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1), Josh Thomson (16-2)
will look to defend his lightweight crown against former champ
Gilbert Melendez (15-2), and rivals Joe Riggs (30-10) and Nick
Diaz (20-70 will fight for the promotion’s welterweight
belt.
The
headliner between Carano and Santos is being billed as the biggest
fight in women’s MMA history, and accordingly both women
took center stage at yesterday’s press conference.
“I
am not into public speaking, but I am so humbled and blessed
by this unbelievable turnout of media and fans,” Carano
said. “It feels so great the support that you have given
Cyborg and I. (But) It is not just us. There are four title fights
on this great card.”
“Like
Gina, I am not into public speaking,” Santos added. “I
prefer to fight. I want to thank the media, Strikeforce, Showtimeand
my fans. This is a great opportunity and this will be a very
good fight for the fans and media.”
As
far as strategy for the upcoming bout, each woman offered the
following:
“Cyborg
is very strong,” Carano said. “That is why I have reached
out to Randy Couture to support me. He has been a mentor to me.
I need somebody like him to get me mentally and physically ready
for the biggest fight of my career. He is a great backboard for
me.”
“Randy
is training me to get ready for the toughest fight of my career,”
Carano added. “He is my head trainer and he will be in my
corner.”
“I
think the one who makes the fewer mistakes will win this fight,”
Santos noted. “I am expecting a war. I have been training
a lot since my last fight. I am ready and very excited.’’
The
August 15th event will air on the Showtime network beginning
at 10:30PM (ET/PT- tape delayed on the west coast)
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Quote
of the Day
"To
enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we
ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character."
Aristotle
|
This
is the last day for the discounted registration fee!
Aloha Competitors
We have received an extensive amount of requests in regards to
the price of the tournament in the last 2 days and in order to
attend all of these requests we decided to give all Onzuka.com
site fans a special
discount code for
our event on July 25th 2009.
With the new
code the pre-reg
price for the tournament that expires on July 18, 2009 will be as follows:
ADULT
GI OR NO-GI.......$45
BOTH .................$55
KIDS
GI OR NO-GI........$30
BOTH .................$45
THE DISCOUNT
CODE WILL BE EFFECTIVE JULY 16TH 2009 AT 7AM HAWAII TIME
THE CODE IS:
OAHU
For questions
please contact
Riane Gracie
Tournament Coordinator
(310) 667-2067
rianegracie@gmail.com
|
Maui's premiere BJJ and submission grappling tournament has been
scheduled! Normally two large tournaments are planned per year,
one gi and one no-gi, but this time athletes will get the best
bang for their buck by being able to compete in both divisions
gi and no-gi. Start your team's travel planning now!
Currently all airlines are charging $98 for a flight from Oahu
to Maui, so book now before the rates creep up.
For more information, please contact Luis Limao at info@mauijiujitsu.com or Lee Theros at leetheros@aol.com.
Source: Event Promoter
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UFC
103 ANNOUNCED FOR DALLAS; FOUR BOUTS
The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Tuesday officially announced
UFC 103 for Sept. 19 in Dallas. The event, which will take place
at the American Airlines Center, has yet to be donned with a
main event.
The
UFC did, however, announce four of the bouts for UFC 103. The
announced bouts thus far include Tyson Griffin vs. Hermes Franca,
Josh Koscheck vs. Frank Trigg, Efrain Escudero vs. Cole Miller,
and Mike Swick vs. Martin Kampmann.
Although
not yet released, a bout between Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
and Junior dos Santos is also expected at UFC 103. UFC president
Dana White confirmed that fight to Yahoo! Sports on Monday.
UFC 103: SEPTEMBER 19, 2009
venue: American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas
-Josh
Koscheck (12-4; #5 Welterweight)* vs. Frank Trigg (19-6)
-Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (25-6-2; #7 Heavyweight)*
vs. Junior dos Santos (8-1)
-Martin Kampmann (15-2; #7 Welterweight)* vs. Mike Swick (14-2;
#9 Welterweight)*
-Tyson Griffin (13-2) vs. Hermes Franca (19-7)
-Sean Sherk (33-4-1) vs. Gleison Tibau (17-7)
-Efrain Escudero (11-0) vs. Cole Miller (15-3)
-Drew McFedries (8-5) vs. Tomasz Drwal (16-2-1)
-Rich
Franklin (25-4) vs. TBA
Source: MMA Weekly
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Edwards
is Healed Up, Looking for Fights
By Kelsey Mowatt
For a man with over 50 professional bouts on his record, 2009
has been a frustrating year in the career of Yves Edwards to
say the least, as the accomplished veteran has not been able
to fight since last November. The UFC and Pride vet incurred
a broken orbital bone during his decision loss to Duane Ludwig
at Strikeforce’s “Destruction” card, and as a
result, this year may be the first since Edwards began fighting
in 1997, where the 32 year-old-fighter may not compete 3 times.
“Ah
man, it was initially because of an injury,’ said Edwards,
while discussing the past 8 months with FCF. “In my last
fight with Duane Ludwig I fractured my orbital. I had surgery
for that and was out for about 6 months. The doctors cleared
me to fight in June, late June. I was trying to prepare for a
fight then but an opportunity came up to work on a film about
MMA. It’s a movie I’m working on right now called “Warrior.”
“It’s
directed by Gavin O’Connor, the guy that did “Pride
and Glory,” Edwards added about the film, which is set to
come out in 2010. “So I jumped on that; it was a lot of
fun. I played one of the fighters in the tournament; the tournament
is supposed to be the best middleweights in the world and I play
a guy name Houston Greggs. I don’t want to give away who
I’m fighting. There are a few other fighters in it, Erik
Apple, Nate Marquardt, Anthony Johnson; we don’t have really
big parts, not like major speaking roles or anything, but you
get to see a few guys you might recognize.”
After
putting together some solid performances and a three fight winning
streak while competing for Elite XC and HDNet Fights throughout
2007 and early 2008, Edwards is now eager to comeback from two
disappointing outings. Prior to his aforementioned loss to Ludwig,
Edwards was stopped in the first round by former Elite XC lightweight
champ KJ Noons last June.
“It’s
been really frustrating,” said Edwards, when asked about
the timing of his injury. “At first it was really bad; I
mean I couldn’t even walk. It was weird. It was real hard.
Couldn’t play video games, couldn’t train, I couldn’t
do anything for like 3 months. I tried to help out guys, do some
coaching, but it’s really hard when you can’t train.”
Edwards
is hoping to return to real fighting sometime in the early fall,
and as Strikeforce continues to ramp up production, one would
think that the lightweight could very well appear on one of the
promotion’s events over the coming months.
“I
have a few fights left with Strikeforce,” said Edwards,
who is currently helping BJ Penn prepare for his August 8th title
defense against Kenny Florian. “They’re not exclusive.
Neither one of us has to be held to it you know? But Strikeforce
has been cool and they’ve been waiting for me to get over
my injury. I’m not 100% sure what their schedule is like.
I know they have a few shows booked through August and September
but I would like to fight in early September or early October.
If Strikeforce has their shows set I wouldn’t mind fighting
in a smaller show; get the ring rust off, get the juices flowing
again. Get ready to tear someone’s head off.”
Things
often change quickly in the landscape of MMA, and since Edwards
last competed for Strikeforce, the organization has landed a
deal with Showtime and acquired several fighters from the now
defunct Elite XC.
“Definitely,”
said Edwards, when asked if he’s happy to see the California
based promotion growing. “Strikeforce is going to be around
for a long time. In my opinion they’re doing it right you
know? You can always do things and tweak it, what you think may
be better for them, but you can do that with the UFC. Strikeforce
is growing slowly and steadily. They didn’t come out and
say that they are going to shutout the UFC like others have;
they’ve just come out, sold out shows and keep growing consistently."
Source: Full Contact Fighter
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Cyborg
working hard for Gina Carano
By Guilherme Cruz
Set
to fight the undefeated Gina Carano for Strikeforce’s first
ever female 145lbs title, Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos
is training hard in the United States. After one of those training
sessions at Cléber Jiu-Jitsu gym, the Chute Boxe star
spoke with TATAME.com about the expectation for the fight. “I'm
training a lot. I was already prepared since the last fight,
but now I'm getting even more prepared and it’ll be a great
female fight. I hope I can show a good performance for the fans”,
said Cyborg, fighting at the main event.
“After
this fight, with me and Gina showing a good job, the guys will
like it as the main fight. It’s being great, all the work
we’ve done, everything that I’ve trained, I deserved
this opportunity”, guarantees the Brazilian, revealing her
plans for the fight. “I‘ll do the same thing I always
did, with focus, looking for the knockout and the victory, representing
the Brazilian people”, says, analyzing Carano’s game.
“She’s from Muay Thai, knows Jiu-Jitsu, but she’s
better standing than on the ground. I work with the Muay Thai
in every fight, but I’ll be prepared for the ground. I’ll
keep the fight standing, I’ll seek the knockout, but I'm
preparing all my game for this fight”.
After
doesn’t making weight for her last fight, Cyborg guarantees
it won’t be a problem. ““I can’t have problems...
I said that this wouldn’t happen anymore, and it won’t.
I'm already in working and making a diet, I believe I will make
weight easily. The first fight was at 140 pounds, I believe I
can did it. And if it’s hard for me, I think it’s for
Gina too, but I think we can make nice this time”, said
Cris, revealing the Evangelista Cyborg’s plans. “If
I tell you that he came here and, two days after the fight (against
Joey Villasenor), and already returned to the trainings, will
you believe me? He’s training a lot with me here. He said
that he wants to fight again in August, but I don’t know
if it’ll be at Sengoku or Strikeforce”, finisher the
Brazilian.
Source: Tatame
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Kimbo
Slice talks about being on The Ultimate Fighter
by Zach Arnold
On Friday, the day before UFC 100, Zuffa rolled out their ad
campaign for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. The show
will feature Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans
as coaches, but the centerpiece of the ad campaign is Kimbo Slice.
In
a web promo released on Friday, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player
Marcus Jones is featured first talking.
“Well,
I tell you what, it’s a weird transition. The things you
learn in your previous sport no longer you know hold steady in
MMA, it’s two different worlds. I think I made the transition
for myself you know I was somewhat bored at home you know I was
retired and when you’re retired you sitting at home, you
become good at one or two things: either changing the channel
or just sitting on the couch, so I got up you know went to my
gym and started training, fell in love with this sport.”
“You
know I’ve been a fan of MMA for a long since the beginning,
you know I remember watching the old UFCs in like 96 and stuff
like that. Just was enamored with the whole sport and it was
one of those things where after I was retired you know I had
a chance you know to get my body back in shape. You know I was
like 320 when I first started you know I lost like 70 pounds
at that point so it was one of those things I just wanted to
get back in shape and when I realized, “Hey, I could possibly
do this,” I gave it a shot and here I am.”
Then
came Kimbo Slice.
“Feels
good man. You know it’s the biggest thing in the world,
this is the NFL of Mixed Martial Arts. So you got to feel good
about it.
“It
was different, I’m still unwinding because I’m still
seeing my guys, I’m still seeing everybody you know what
I’m saying so in a sense I’m mentally, mentally I’m
still there. You never know what’s going to happen at any
given time so just the fact that you look around you you see
who is around you and you’re like oh yeah you got to be
up on your game, you know what I’m saying because if not
you’re going to get knocked the fuck out man so you got
to be ready for it you know, you don’t want to be that guy
eating and sleeping and bullshitting when you know the motherfuckers
around you are here to you know what I’m saying to bang
so you got to be up on point.”
On
Friday, Kimbo held court with the media and answered various
questions. Steve Cofield of Yahoo Sports put the audio online
and here is the transcription of Slice’s comments.
Cofield:
“What are you doing here?”
Kimbo:
“I am here to be an Ultimate Fighter. Street certified,
now it’s time to be Ultimate Fighting certified.”
Cofield:
“So how did it come together?”
Kimbo:
“Ah man, it’s up to the brains, up to the brains and
I got a call saying, it’s time to do this.”
Reporter:
“Was it Joe (Silva) or Dana (White) who called you?”
Kimbo:
“I didn’t actually get a call but my guys got called
up, my manager and everybody took care of everything.”
Reporter:
“What did you think when you got the message?”
Kimbo:
“A little excited, didn’t know what to expect with
a house full of guys, a lot of testosterone walking around. Being
the guy, being the only guy to have the bullseye on your back
you know what I’m saying it’s kind of like in jail
in a sense, being in jail in a sense, you know, except that these
guys got skills, they know how to fight which is not a bad thing
because I’m a fighter myself.”
Reporter:
“Well, what did you think about actually going into the
house and living with these guys? You’ve had handlers, you
know, people sort of catering to your needs for a long time.”
Kimbo:
“Well, not really catering, you know, you kinda you know
it’s, put everything into perspective, all the fighters
have different people handle different things, you know what
I’m saying, this is kind of like saying when it comes down
to really fighting and training you know what I’m saying
you’re kind of here already with the skills you have already
you know what I’m saying, you’re pretty much just…
the training is, I don’t take anything from the coaches,
I haven’t really trained with them yet, you know what I’m
saying, but you kinda you know it’s like, look, at any given
time you’ve got to fight, you know so it’s like you’re
going to sit here and wait until it’s time to fight, you
know and I’m like, being out there in the world, in the
real world, out there in the world you can kind of like you know
what I’m saying go here, go here, go there, do whatever,
get your mind off of certain things, it’s different for
me just to sit in one spot for hours looking at a blue room or
a green room and painting skeletons everywhere, kind of fucks
with you a little bit you know what I’m saying.”
Reporter:
“But is it a positive in terms of the focus?”
Kimbo:
“You know, it depends on your mentality, you know, how you
look at it, you know what I’m saying, I’m looking at
it in a positive way, I thank Dana for giving me the opportunity
to prove myself, you know what I’m saying regardless of
what the guy thinks, you know being on my team or on the other
team you know you hear little things here and there but no one
directly saying anything to me, which is cool you know what I’m
saying, because again I’m a street fighter, I’m a fighter,
you know, I mean, I’m going to fight, push come to shove
I’m going to fight.”
Reporter:
“What happened, uh, you’re no longer training with
Bas. What were you doing training-wise before you came on this
show?”
Kimbo:
“Bas was more, he was the mental support you know for me,
being like I said, coming into the sport, coming into the sport
of Mixed Martial Arts you know late in the game like I did, he
kind of mentally put me in the mind frame of being in the cage
and fighting with the ref and having the gloves on and you know
how to defend yourself to submissions and you know and things
like that, so he was more mental support.”
Reporter:
“Have you been training in the last three months, four months?
Where have you been training?”
Kimbo:
“I have been training still at Elite MMA with my guy Randy
Khatami at Thousand Oaks, I’ve been training with Randy
Khatami, my head trainer, and Raul trains with the Gracies and
you know showing me a little ground work but I had only like
a couple of weeks for them to get me right to come into the house.”
Reporter:
“So what was it like after the loss (to Petruzelli)?”
Kimbo:
“A reality check, you know. regather my thoughts, you know
and you know knowing when not to make the same mistakes again,
like I said fighting is more mental than it is physical you know
you have to be 100% mental and maybe 70% physical because no
one goes into a fight 100%, especially if you train every day
doing this there’s always going to be a little nick, a little
crink, a little something here and there, you just got to push
through it, mentally you gotta push through it.”
Reporter:
“So were you kind of mentally screwed up that night with
the way the whole thing came down?”
Kimbo:
“In a sense, I was in there just how the way everything
played out you know I did a lot of things that I wouldn’t
have done you know coming out going straight forward you know
keep my guards right, I didn’t even have my game plan in
my head so it was just a lot I kind of beat myself you know so
that little puff sat me down.”
Reporter:
“Did you take a break before going back to training? Like,
how long was it, did you just kind of relaxed and thought about
what you wanted to do?”
Kimbo:
“I took a little bit of time off because the organization
that I was fighting for at the time they were going through whatever
they were going through so it kinda, I kind of took a little
more time than normal.”
Reporter:
“What was your reaction to the stories that came out where
Seth Petruzelli said he was paid to fight a certain way and all
of a sudden now you lose, it’s a big story, but now we’re
now talking fight fixing, I mean it just got really crazy there.”
Kimbo:
“I have no idea.”
Reporter:
“What do you hope to get out of this experience?”
Kimbo:
“A learning process, you know, I had an opportunity to meet
Rampage, you know, seeing Rashad and you know a couple of good
guys and I just hope to learn something from them. Being away,
you know again another sacrifice, you know, away from my family
the kids you know what I’m saying all that to be in this
house for the guys you know it’s just I hope to learn something
good from it in a positive way.”
Reporter:
“Do you get a good vibe from them? Do you get a good vibe
from the people?”
Kimbo:
“I mean, for what it’s worth, like I said everybody
respect each other to a certain extent, no one’s being really
disrespectful, you know, everyone respect each other for what
they can bring to the table, a lot of good wrestlers, good grapplers,
you know, a couple of good strikers, everyone has their own little
signature move, you know.”
Source: Fight Opinion/MMA Memories.com
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Jim
Ross: Lesnar's level of competitiveness can be dangerous
WWE Hall of Fame color commentator Jim Ross backs Brock Lesnar's
post-fight press conference comments that the UFC heavyweight
champion's intensity inside the Octagon stems from his competitiveness.
"Lesnar's post match, unscripted remarks did not completely
surprise me," Ross wrote on his blog. "Those that do
not personally know Lesnar as do I need to understand that his
level of intensity and fury is scary."
Ross,
who has been with the WWE since 1993, was around Lesnar during
Lesnar's tenure with the pro wrestling group from 2000-2004.
"Brock
has said many things in private conversations that I have been
a part of that would make one do a double take," Ross continued.
"He is an intimidating, emotional jock who has been known
for speaking first and thinking later. I don't think Brock is
an inherently evil person whatsoever but his level of competitiveness
can be dangerous."
Ross
points to a match at Wrestlemania 19 in March 2003 where Lesnar
botched a high flying move and landed face-first onto the mat.
Lesnar attempt a "Shooting Star Press," which is basically
a forward moving moonsault from the top rope. The move is typically
done by lighter weight wrestlers, not by near 300-pounders.
"It's
like Brock 'moonsaulting' at Wrestlemania 19 in Seattle against
Kurt Angle when being advised not to prior to the bout,"
Ross explained. "Lesnar was told that men his size don't
do top rope moonsaults which was the wrong thing to say to the
former NCAA All-American and National Champion. Lesnar came close
to tragically ending his athletic career that night while defying
logic and doing what others told him that he could not do."
Lesnar
basked in the jeers after the fight, flipping off fans and further
inciting the crowd's boos with remarks that drew a backstage
conversation later in the night with UFC president Dana White
regarding conduct. In the pro wrestling realm, Lesnar is playing
a perfect "heel," someone who makes his living by being
hated.
"Lesnar
is seemingly so detested right now by MMA purists and fanatics
that they will continue to pay big money to see someone humble
Lesnar and kick his ass," Ross said.
"...Bottom
line is the next man to beat Lesnar is 'made.'"
Source: MMA Fighting
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Quote
of the day - skepticism about UFC
By Zach Arnold
Skip
Bayless from ESPN:
Still
have suspicions about UFC, and Brock Lesnar only added to ‘em.
Went straight wrestling villain. Felt staged. Proceed at own
risk.
This
is the other edge of the dual-edged sword in terms of having
Lesnar as the face of your company and as the face of MMA. And
I’m not talking about that tattoo on his chest, either.
Ray
Ratto on CBS Sports:
In
other words, Lesnar knew what he was doing, and thought this
would take the UFC over the top, as though beating the viscera
out of people laying on their backs isn’t over the top enough.
White,
though, is playing for bigger stakes, and that includes a bigger
piece of the mainstream market.
And
as it turns out, they’re both right, and therefore both
wrong.
MMA
has found its niche, and UFC 100 was the top end of that. It
was as big a card as could be constructed, and White had months
to make it right. By most analyses by MMA fans, he did. For those
who aren’t MMA fans, it doesn’t matter.
Kevin
Blackistone at AOL Fanhouse:
“I
was so jacked up [because] I’m used to selling pay-per-view
tickets,” Lesnar, who was a professional wrestler on the
WWE circuit until a few years ago, told reporters. “I come
from a business that is purely entertainment. I screwed up, and
I apologize.”
Wow.
Call me underwhelmed.
There
isn’t a sports commissioner worth his or her suit coat who
would take Lesnar’s mea culpa as enough punishment for the
superfecta of fouls Lesnar just committed. They’d have him
on indefinite suspension as I write and getting ready to cough
up part of his purse as restitution.
But
that isn’t what the UFC is all about. It’s not about
being spectacular; it’s about being a spectacle.
John
Ryan in the San Jose Mercury News:
“That’s
not who Brock really is, and what he did out there is not real,”
White said. “You don’t have to act like someone you’re
not. This isn’t the WWE. I’m not trying to get someone
to act all crazy so we’ll do more pay-per-views. That’s
not what this sport is about.”
No,
not at all, not what this sport is about. This is the same Dana
White whose previous foray into mainstream sports media was a
homophobic and sexist rant, in the most vile terms possible,
against a reporter who had gotten a story entirely correct but
in a manner that displeased White. So, yeah, White apologizing
for etiquette doesn’t carry a whole lot of truth.
Source: Fight Opinion
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Jose
Aldo to face Mike Brown
Featherweight title bout set for September
Jose
Aldo’s long-dreamed-of shot at the WEC featherweight crown
has come. As discovered by GRACIEMAG.com, the Brazilian fighter
will face Featherweight champion Mike Brown on November 11.
“I
found out the news yesterday, when I came to the gym to train.
Dede [Andre Pederneiras] told me and I signed the contract. Now
I’m just waiting for the day to get here,” said and
excited Jose Aldo, exclusively to GRACIEMAG.com.
The
Nova Uniao black belt made it clear, however, that despite the
good news, he will remain concentrated and focused solely on
the challenge at hand. “I’m only going to feel fulfilled
when I conquer the belt, we have to work hard and consistently,
since I still have another rung to climb,” stated the fighter.
“Mike
Brown is a great athlete and he’s becoming more and more
well-rounded as time goes by. He came over from wrestling and
is really good at the style. His ground game has come a long
ways. We’ll se. Now I’m going to travel with Marlon
Sandro, my teammate, for the Sengoku final, August 2, and later
when I return I’ll focus on training real hard and coming
up with a good strategy,” he said.
With
15 wins and only one loss in professional MMA, Aldo has had a
successful campaign in the WEC, winning all five fights in the
organization by knockout, three in the very first round.
Mike
Brown is undefeated since 2005, having won all four of his appearances
in the WEC. His latest victim is former champion Urijah Faber,
who he beat by unanimous decision in June of this year.
Stay
tuned to GRACIEMAG.com and we’ll be back shortly with more
information on Jose Aldo and Mike Brown.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Chase
Gormley Ready for Ben Rothwell at Affliction 'Trilogy' Press
Release
SEAL
BEACH, California (July 9, 2009) — Fighting has flowed through
Chase Gormley’s bloodline for generations. Even before he
was born, he was destined to meet others in combat in the ring.
Son and younger brother of professional boxers, the unbeaten
heavyweight (6-0-0) was an NAIA All-America wrestler at Lindenwood
University. Now he brings the whole mixed-martial-arts package
to his August 1st fight against former IFL® heavyweight titlist
“Big” Ben Rothwell (30-6-0) for Affliction M-1 Global’s
star-studded “Trilogy” Pay-Per-View show at Honda Center
in Anaheim.
GoDaddy.com
presents Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy,” featuring
Fedor vs. Barnett in association with Golden Boy Promotions and
Donald J Trump. The show is separated into two live broadcasts
on the same night—a one-hour special will air on HDNet starting
at 7:30 PM/ET (4:30 PM/PT), followed by the sensational Pay-Per-View
event, “Trilogy,” commencing at 9PM/ET (6 PM/PT). Russian
combat fighting legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko(30-1-0)
defends his WAMMA heavyweight title against No. 1 contender Josh
“The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett (24-5-0), in a potential
Fight of the Year match-up as the main event.
The
6-3, 270-pound Gormley trains with MMA stars Antonio “Minotauro”
Rodrigo Nogueira and Anderson Silva at Black House Gym and is
a paid sparring partner for heavyweight boxers, including Chris
Arreola and Lance Whitaker. “My father, Dan, briefly boxed
professionally but my brother, Josh (heavyweight with a 19-4
record with 18 knockouts), who fought as Josh Dempsey, was rated
No. 4 in the WBO (World Boxing Organization) in 1998. I plan
to go pro, too. I had to fight and started when I was four. Pepe
(Correira), who coached on The Contender (season 4, television
reality show) is my boxing trainer.”
Rothwell,
who will fight Gormley on the HDNet version of the show, has
24 more wins than Chase has pro fights. “Big” Ben,
a protégé of Pat Miletich, has won 14 of his last
15 fights, including notable victims such as Ricco Rodriguez
and Pat Nelson, and the veteran has been up against other notable
competitors, such as Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia and Mike Whitehead.
Gormley
doesn’t view his bout with Rothwell as a breakthrough fight
for him, nor does he feel that his opponent has a clear experience
advantage over him. “Rothwell’s no big deal,”
Chase explains. “There’s no added pressure on me. This
is a fight I should easily win, if I go in with the right mindset.
His kicks are real dangerous. He’s aggressive and has a
lot of heart. But, if I stay calm and use my footwork properly,
it won’t be too tough of a fight for me. I try not to think
about it (fighting on HDNet). It’s good for my career and
I thank Affliction for this honor. I just have to focus on the
task at hand and win. Fighting on a big show like this won’t
matter if I don’t win. Winning is all that matters and afterwards,
I’ll look back at it differently, I’m sure. Rothwell
has had a lot of fights against good fighters, but I started
competing when I was four, and I don’t think he did until
he was 17. I’m not worried about that (experience factor)
at all. This is what I was bred and born to do.”
On
the PPV card supporting the Emelianenko-Barnett bout in a highly
competitive and potentially entertaining co-main event, Armenian
kick-boxing specialistGegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi
(25-2-1) fights for the first time in the Unites States, taking
on former Strikeforce® light heavyweight challengerRenato
“Babalu” Sobral (32-8-0).
Dutch
knockout artist Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel (36-13-1)
plans to parlay his recent devastating triumph against 3-time
UFC® heavyweight title challenger Pedro “The Rock”
Rizzo into a standout performance versus yet another former UFC®
heavyweight title challenger, Paul “The Headhunter”
Buentello (27-10-0).
Brazilian
bomber Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (18-8-0), former
UFC® Light Heavyweight Champion, unloads on spirited Sengoku
middleweight title-holderJorge Santiago (21-7-0) in another PPV
match.
In
addition to the Rothwell-Gormley fight, the undercard on HDNet
features ex-IFL® Welterweight Champion Jay “The Thoroughbred”
Hieron (17-4-0) against former Cage Rage belt-holder, British
brawler Paul “Semtex” Daley (21-8-2); exciting lightweight
prospects Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki(12-1-0)
and Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon (12-2-0) go to war; featherweight
L.C. Davis (13-2-0) faces Javier “Showtime” Vazquez
(13-2-0), former KOTC and Gladiator Challenge champion; ex-IFL®
lightweight challenger Deividas Taurosevicius (10-3-0) meets
Mark “The Machine” Hominick (16-8-0). Two off-television
matches are also on tap between heavyweights Jessie Gibbs (7-2-0)
and Rob Broughton (10-4-1), as well as Brazilian light heavyweight
Lucio Linhares (12-4-0) and Michael Zayats (8-3-0).
All
fights and fighters are subject to change. For more information
go online to www.afflictionclothing.com.
Tickets
for Affliction M-1’s “Trilogy” range between $50.00
and $600.00, are on sale at Honda Center Box Office (1.714.704.2500)
and also online at Ticketmaster.com and all Ticket Master outlets
(1.714.740.2000).
Source: The Fight Network
|
A
few questions to ask about Brock Lesnar
By Zach Arnold
I’m mostly done gathering the material to write the articles
on the aftermath of UFC 100, but I wanted to bring up a few points
about the position Brock Lesnar is in right now business-wise
with UFC given his antics at UFC 100.
I
am writing an article soon on why I think people who support
Lesnar’s ascension to the top are so devoted to him, no
matter how good or bad of a person he is. For discussional purposes,
I’ll throw a few questions out there and see if anyone is
on the same wavelength as I am.
1.Ask
yourself why are pro-wrestling fans and wrestling-friendly MMA
fans so enamored and so emotionally dedicated to defending Brock
Lesnar’s antics online. Think about the psychology of this
in relation to professional wrestling compared to MMA.
2.What does history tell us about Brock Lesnar and what he represents
not just as a fighter but the way he handles his affairs outside
of the ring or cage?
3.After you answer the first two points, put your answers together
and take a look historically at MMA since the 90s and think to
yourself, what kind of template are Lesnar supporters trying
to put him into and who are they modeling his success after in
an attempt to make what he’s doing more important than it
truly is? (There’s a certain fighter that Lesnar boosters,
given his pro-wrestling background, are trying to emulate him
against. If you can figure out who it is, then suddenly the psychology
of why these boosters are so invested in Lesnar’s success
becomes very clear.)
It’s funny to watch a lot of pro-wrestling writers and media
types defend Lesnar very hard. Not only are they defending him
hard, they are mocking all of Lesnar’s critics and the valid
criticisms being raised against a man with his kind of track
record business-wise. I don’t have a horse in the race —
Lesnar’s a great athletic talent, but he’s always bored
me personally-speaking so I can’t really get too angry or
get excited about him. What I am intrigued by is playing psychologist
in watching how people react to him and why they do.
I’ll
explain later in written form what I mean with these specific
questions and who I think Lesnar boosters, fans and media, are
trying to model him after from MMA’s past (but it won’t
work because Brock doesn’t have the specific personality
to make it work). Focus on more than just money here. Read the
comments section to find out the answer to these questions up
above. I’m issuing an open challenge to any MMA writer to
take on this topic and to focus a post on the theme that is revealed
in the comments section about who Lesnar’s biggest supporters
are trying to compare him to and why they are doing so (and whether
or not it’s a legitimate line of thinking). Step up to the
plate and take your best swing.
I
was talking with someone in China who is well-plugged into MMA
and understands the martial arts climate there in the mainland.
He is someone who saw PRIDE live during the boom period and has
been to UFC events before. He saw UFC 100 and said that the image
created by Lesnar and Henderson is cringe-worthy and likely not
helpful at all on a political level. He noted to me that UFC
wants in China within the next couple of years, but that the
landscape is tough and that what happened over the weekend will
make it that much more difficult.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
"Experience
is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what
happens to him."
Aldous Huxley
|
NAGA
is official
It will
be held on Sunday, October 18th at Pearl City High School Gym.
Eric Goo is also putting on a tournament in February next year.
It will be a NAGA ranked event. All
gi.... NO no-gi divisions. White, Blue, Purple, Brown, Black....AND
Absolute
division's. One day event. Set for be 2010. More info will be
released shorty.
Source: Eric Goo
|
Amateur
Boxing at Palolo on July 25th!
Wanted to inform you that our next amateur boxing event will
be on Saturday,
July 25th at the Palolo District Park Gym. Bouts begin at 6 p.m.?
Tickets will be available at the door for $10.00. If you need
more info, or have any
boxers email me at bkawano@aol.com
Thank You for Your Help and Support!!
Source: Bruce Kawano
|
Dana
White says Fedor Emelianenko will fight in the UFC, Brock Lesnar
fight imminent
by Dann Stupp
Prior to this past Saturday's UFC 100 event, an underground movement
took root and called for mixed-martial-arts fan who would attend
the show to begin "Fedor!" chants throughout the night.
The
thought, of course, was to make UFC executives well aware of
the fans' desire to have Fedor Emelianenko, the world's top-ranked
heavyweight and arguably the greatest MMA fighter in the division's
history, fighting in the octagon.
The
chants were never heard, but after UFC 100, UFC President Dana
White said he wants Emelianenko in the UFC, that it's eventually
going to happen, and that a fight with Brock Lesnar is imminent.
Lesnar,
the former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar and NCAA Division
I national wrestling champion, picked up his third consecutive
UFC victory and first-ever title defense with a dominant second-round
TKO of interim title-holder Frank Mir in UFC 100's main event.
With
Lesnar's current streak of wins over Heath Herring, then-champ
Randy Couture and now Mir, many are looking to possible future
opponents for the seemingly invincible ground-and-pound machine.
Emelianenko,
the former longtime PRIDE heavyweight champion, is the man many
see as most likely to topple Lesnar. At 30-1, with back-to-back
Affliction wins over two former UFC champions (Tim Sylvia and
Andrei Arlovski) and a 26-0 record (with one no-contest) over
the past nine years, many fans are clamoring for the Russian
fighter to take on the top talent in the world's premier fight
organization.
"This
Fedor thing has gone on and on and on," White said in the
post-UFC 100 press conference. "Eventually, Fedor's going
to be here. I want Fedor. I want him to come to the UFC and everything
else.
"This
guy (Brock Lesnar) just won the heavyweight title, and we'll
end up getting that deal done. And then we'll do Brock vs. Fedor,
and it'll be a huge fight."
How
soon could we such the fight?
"Who
knows," White said. "He's obviously contractually obligated
to fight (with Affliction). Once that's over, we'll figure it
out."
UFC
officials have met with Emelianenko and his representatives multiple
times. However, the meetings proved far from productive and often
left each side blaming the other for the inability to get a deal
done. The UFC said Emelianenko's demands were too outrageous,
not necessarily from a monetary standpoint (though Emelianenko
is believed to make at least $2 million per fight) but because
a deal would essentially require the organization to enter the
Russian market as business partners with Emelianenko's manager,
Vadim Finkelchtein. Emelianenko's people say the UFC's contract
demands are too restrictive without any allowances, for example,
for Sambo competitions and would dictate all aspects of the fighter's
career.
Concessions
will be need to be made, and that's often led White to predict
a slim chance of a deal coming to fruition. In fact, White has
often criticized the fighter, going so far as saying Emelianenko
"sucks" while mocking past recent opponents such as
kickboxer Hong Man Choi and Matt Lindland, who normally fights
at middleweight.
However,
White's tune has changed, and on Saturday, he spoke rather definitely
about the fighter's future in the UFC.
Of
course, that future could hinge on Emelianenko's upcoming Aug.
1 fight at "Affliction" Trilogy." There, Emelianenko
meets another former UFC champ, Josh Barnett, who many rank among
the division's top three or four.
However,
don't expect Barnett to get the same invitation to the UFC is
he knocks off Emelianenko.
Why?
"No
one's beating down my door to get Barnett," White said.
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Post-Fight
Antics Dim Lesnar’s Afterglow at UFC 100
by Brian Knapp
On a night when he stood alone atop the UFC heavyweight division,
Brock Lesnar’s behavior -- not his destructive, one-sided
victory against Frank Mir -- was the subject of post-fight discussion
on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Lesnar
unified the heavyweight championship in only his fifth professional
appearance, as he bullied his way to a technical knockout against
Mir -- the only man to defeat him -- in the UFC 100 main event.
His tirade afterward -- which included a low blow to the UFC’s
primary sponsor, Bud Light, waving his middle fingers at the
audience, taunting Mir and exposing plans for a post-fight sex
romp with his wife -- drew the ire of UFC President Dana White.
The
32-year-old Lesnar claimed he was headed out to drink a Coors
Light because Bud Light would not pay him any money. One of the
UFC’s highest-paid fighters, he made $450,000 in disclosed
pay for his TKO victory against hall of famer Randy Couture at
UFC 91 in November.
“I
was blown away,” White said. “I don’t think in
the history of the UFC we’ve had anybody do that. It’s
not who we are, and, to be honest, it’s not who he is. You
hang with these guys personally, and you get to know them. If
he was a dick, I’d tell you right now this guy is a psycho
and I don’t know what I’m going to do with him. He’s
not. He’s a smart guy. The sponsorship thing was the craziest
thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Lesnar’s
antics drudged up memories of his days as a World Wrestling Entertainment
superstar, when showboating and pushing the envelope of taste
were encouraged and profitable. White claimed he confronted the
apologetic champion in his dressing room after he left the Octagon.
“Brock
went so far over the top, I can’t even put it into words,”
White said. “WWE -- that’s what it is. We had a talk.
We talked like men, and he said he was sorry. He said, ‘I’m
embarrassed by what I said.’ I take his word for it this
time.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Affliction
defines official card
Fedor Emelianenko versus Josh Barnett to headline
Set for August 1, in Anaheim, California, Affliction Trilogy
finally has its official card in place. In all there will be
13 bouts, with the heavyweight title bout between Fedor Emelianenko
and Josh Barnett featuring as the main event.
Check
out the complete card and stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for further
information on Affliction Trilogy.
Fedor
Emelianenko vs Josh Barnett
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs Gegard Mousasi
Vitor Belfort vs Jorge Santiago
Paul Buentello vs Gilbert Yvel
Jay Hieron vs Paul Daley
Takanori Gomi vs Rafaello Oliveira
Chris
Horodecki vs Dan Lauzon
Ben Rothwell vs Chase Gormley
Brett Cooper vs Akbarh Arreola
Javier Vazquez vs LC Davis
Mark Hominick vs Deividas Taurosevicius
PRELIMINARIES
Rob
Broughton vs Jessie Gibbs
Lucio Linhares vs Givanildo Santana
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Lashley:
I wanna fight the champ when I get to the big show
Former WWE star Bobby Lashley talks Sapp, Brock and building
his career from the bottom up.
Despite
a high-profile and devastatingly one-sided win over Bob Sapp
at the weekend, Bobby Lashley is trying to maintain his grounding
and take his time in building his career towards to upper echelons
of the sport.
Of
his win over Sapp, Lashley had a few words to say when speaking
on ProMMA radio.
Regarding
the size difference, an issue which the ATT fighter has never
really faced. Lashley said,
"For
me it was easy. I felt just from having a wrestling background
I know how to position myself when fighting a big guy like that,
you can't take on their strength the whole time." He continued
respectfully, "He’s a tough fighter you know he hits
really hard."
The
detractors were quick to take away from his win stating Sapp
is one-dimensional but Lashley mused that, to some extent, it
is true with all fighters.
"Bob
has his forte just like every fighter out there. If you went
against Mir you know he’d have excellent Jiu Jitsu. He can
knock you out, it is a possibility, but you know his Jiu Jitsu
is what he goes with. Brock is a wrestler, he has good hands
but you’ve gotta worry about that takedown. Bob is not really
eastablished in other aspects of the game but he has his forte
which is his size and strength," he noted.
He
was level-headed in his continuation though as he realised people
are always there to bring you down. "The naysayers and the
critics are always gonna be there no matter who I fight. If I
fight Superman theyre gonna say 'why don’t I fight aquaman'?
I can't please them all the time but I can prove to them that
I'm answering the questions they're throwing at me."
Despite
his crossover popularity and profile, it is great to hear the
ex-Pro Wrestler being so humble and focused on his career without
trying to rush it despite pressure to do so. He is not wanting
to take the Lesnar route to immediate success, instead looking
to continue expanding on his experience and skillset so he is
in the best position possible when he does make it to the big
show.
Whilst
many comparisons could be drawn to Lesnar, Lashley wants to go
his own route.
"Anytime
someone comes in that has a name somewhere else, everybody wants
them to be tested at the highest level. 'Oh we want to see him
with Brock'. No, because Brock's the champ right now. 'We wanna
see him with Frank [Mir]'. No because you've got to do it like
everyone else."
"The
way I see it, I see the GSPs, the Anderson Silvas, the Machidas
and I think 'wow these guys are incredible'. These guys are 15-20
matches into it because they had their opportunity before to
build and hone their skills."
So,
while the whole world wants to push him forward, he is comfortable
taking his time stating "I am reserving and pulling myself
back as much as possible. Hopefully when I get the chance I can
go out there and show I am a well rounded and accomplished fighter."
Whilst
his modesty is admirable, so is his confidence. He has no doubt
that he will make it to the big time, but when he gets the call
he wants to be ready because it is an accolade not to be scorned.
"It
is a big deal to be on the main stage. The 'Superbowl' of fighting.
But, for me, when I go over there [UFC, Afflicton, Strikeforce]
I want to be a top, top level guy. I want to be top ten or fifteen,
said Lashley, before explaining his choice. "When they're
looking at me they're talking about me fighting the champ when
I go over there. I'm not saying I'm gonna get to Fedor's level
but when they talk about him coming to the UFC they're not talking
about him fighting just a bunch of guys, they’re saying
'we want Fedor vs. Brock'. I want them to talk like that about
me when I’m ready to go over there."
Despite
a career in sports entertainment over in the WWE, Lashley is
not keen to overinflate himself too soon, instead looking to
do the sensible thing by treating his career with care and building
himself to be the best fighter possible. Only time will tell
if Lashley will ever reach the upper echelons of the sport but
it will be an exciting journey.
Source: MMA Unlimited
|
10
Questions for Lorenzo Fertitta
by Loretta Hunt
He’s the majority owner of the most successful fight promotion
in the world -- yet Lorenzo Fertitta rarely takes centerstage.
However,
to commemorate UFC 100, fans were treated to a special one-hour
question and answer session with the reserved billionaire casino
owner last Saturday at the UFC Expo in Las Vegas. With the fans
at the helm, here are some highlights:
We
have “The Ultimate Fighter” for the 155ers on Spike
TV, but what about something for the 135- and 145-pounders on
Versus?
Fertitta:
We talked a lot about developing some sort of reality show for
Versus. Now, we certainly don’t want to copy “The Ultimate
Fighter” and what we’ve done on Spike, but we have
been working on concepts where we can try to find new talent,
bring new talent back to the WEC. You will see something happen
where we have some kind of a show that will be a breeding ground
for new talent to get into the WEC.
There’s
an online petition called FedorChant.com, where a thousand people
are going to cheer “Fedor” (Emelianenko) during the
main event (at UFC 100). Is that going to put more pressure on
you, and just the fact that Fedor doesn’t want to sign because
of sambo, was that something that you’d ever overlook?
Fertitta:
I hope all 12,000 people yell Fedor’s name at the same time.
The pressure’s not on me. The pressure’s on him. They
already know. The facts are the facts. We made him the best offer
out there, more money than anybody offered him –- so you
can’t say it’s about the money. Then they come back
and they say, “Well, it’s a one-sided contract.”
Let’s break this down from a logical standpoint. We offered
the exact same contract that three hundred other guys have signed,
including Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, GSP, all
the top stars. Why is that contract not good enough for Fedor?
What Fedor wants is this. He doesn’t want to be exclusive.
So, it’s like saying, okay, Tom Brady: “I’m going
to play for New England Patriots one Sunday, but you know what?
After that game’s over, I want to be a free agent and go
see where I can play for the rest of the season.” Every
weekend he’s going to skip around and play for whoever he
wants. How does that make sense for us as a business or for the
fans? He needs to come into our fold if he wants to cement his
legacy as the best fighter in the world. We can figure something
out with the sambo thing… (but) at the end of the day, I
think we need to have a situation where at least 90 or 120 days
before he’s signed a contract to fight, he shouldn’t
be out there competing in events like that because I don’t
want to take the chance of him getting hurt. But all of this
stuff with Fedor: we want Fedor. As soon as he gets done with
this show that he’s doing, he can come –- we’ve
never met Fedor. I want to sit down. I want to talk to him and
that’s part of the problem. We’ve never even met the
guy. But it is a shame that he has not come forward to challenge
the best guys in the world and I hope he comes. We want him.
Fertitta's
T-shirt might say "No Mas," but the fans want more.Is
the sambo really a sticking point?
Fertitta:
That’s a big excuse for Fedor to say he’s not coming
to the UFC, and quite honestly, I don’t think it’s
Fedor. I think Fedor wants to compete. The issue has been his
management. They’ve completely kept him aside. I’m
not sure he even knows what we offered him, to be honest with
you. I think if he knew what we offered, he would have been here
a long time ago. There’s been a little bit of disconnect
there… we want to meet him in person. We will not sit down
and negotiate until me and Dana meet him in person. And if at
that time he decides to not be a part of what we’re doing,
then we know.
Why
did you do a one-fight deal with (Mirko) "Cro Cop"
(Filipovic) and not Fedor?
Fertitta:
We have a direct relationship with Cro Cop and we talk to him
on the phone and the deal went down so quickly. It wasn’t
a one-fight deal. The contract was a quick one-fight contract,
but he gave us his word that it was going to be a four-fight
deal. I just got back from Croatia last week, spent some time
with Mirko, went to his house. (He’s a) super nice guy,
we went to lunch, and the fact of the matter is yesterday I got
a contract signed for three fights.
What was your initial reaction when you were approached by Brock
Lesnar? Were you a little hesitant that it was for real or not?
Fertitta:
I’ve got to give props to Dana White on that one, man. He
called me up one day and said, “You know what? I want to
get Brock Lesnar.” I had watched Brock when he fought in
the (Los Angeles) Coliseum (for K-1) and I was really impressed
with his athleticism. I could tell it was no joke. And the other
thing we looked at, is we said, “This guy is a world-class
athlete.” It’s not like that’s some made-up thing…
we said we might take some hits here or there because he’s
a pro wrestler, but we believed in his abilities and just the
sheer size, power, and strength. We sat down and talked to him
and this guy’s the real deal. The other thing is, I had
heard through a few guys at the Miletich camp, where he’d
gone down and trained, and they said, “Let me tell you what.
This guy is no joke. If he focuses, he could be the heavyweight
champion.”
There’s
a lot of great superfights out there, but teammates refuse to
fight teammates, such as Anderson Silva vs. Lyoto Machida. What’s
the UFC’s opinion about teammate vs. teammate fights?
Fertitta:
Look, at the end of the day, we’re here to see fighters,
we’re here to see fights. If teammates don’t want to
fight, then they’re gonna have to go somewhere else. We
don’t put up with that stuff.
What
about Dublin (Ireland)?
Fertitta:
We will be back in Dublin next year on St. Patty’s Day.
I
live in Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada). When are you coming?
Fertitta:
Vancouver is actually somewhere where we’ve made a lot of
progress, and we’ve actually penciled in our June pay-per-view
for Vancouver of next year.
What’s
your opinion of the ten-point must system?
Fertitta:
I’m comfortable with the ten-point must system. It is different
than boxing, as far as how you score on a ten-point must. It
can get a little bit tricky and some of the fights are just close…
I don’t know of a better system. I think what we need to
do is continue to run seminars for the officials, teach them
about what to look for in mixed martial arts.
Is
their any type of HMO or PPO healthcare plan you can offer the
fighters for injuries they sustain outside the fights?
Fertitta:
From an insurance standpoint, all of the fighters are covered
that fight in the show. We carry more coverage than we’re
told to from the state… Go to the insurance company and
tell them you want to cover 300 ultimate fighters for everything
they do in life. If we can figure it out, I’m in. We just
haven’t been able to get a carrier that will do it. So,
what do we do? We don’t advertise or publicize this, but
we pay for tons of surgeries: guys blowing out their knees in
training, guys getting hurt, breaking their hands. The guys that
are on our team, that are part of our family, we fix all that
stuff.
Source: Sherdog
|
Jacaré
vs. Miller 3 to happen in September
By Guilherme Cruz
Coach
of big stars like Anderson Silva, Paulo Filho, André Galvão
and Rafael “Feijão”, Josuel Distak spoke with
TATAME.com about the return to the rings of another great fighter
he commands: Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza. After a
disastrous title fight against Jason Miller, who applied an illegal
soccer kick against the black belt and wasn’t punished,
the Brazilian will return to Dream against the same opponent
in September, again in a title fight.
“Jacaré
will return to the rings in September to fight again with Jason
Miller, the irregular guy... So, let's get this irregular guy
and, this time, we will work more submissions", revealed
Distak, in the expectation with the belt conquest in the MMA
of the two times BJJ open class world champion. "It happened
that fatality, not by our mistake. We were winning the fight,
and I hope that Jacaré can win the belt in September",
says, defending the strategy used in the fight. "The strategy
was right, so that we were winning the fight, what happened was
Jason Miller’s mistake. So, we're already working this,
so that it doesn’t happen any mistake from the others. It’s
equal on traffic, you have to drive for you and for others, and
is like that that we’ll have to do now with Jacaré",
finalized.
Source: Tatame
|
Lorenzo
Fertitta speaks
In
the triumvirate behind the UFC, Dana White is the noisy one and
Frank Fertitta III is the quiet one. In between is Lorenzo Fertitta,
who shifted his attention from the family's Station Casinos to
work on global expansion.
Fertitta's
question-and-answer session at the UFC Fan Expo this morning
didn't attract as many fans as White's session yesterday, but
he gave some candid answers and basked in the acclaim of some
of the UFC's most passionate fans. (As you may have seen in today's
story, there's a lot of passion in that room.)
Some
of the highlights:
-
Asked his reaction to an Internet movement to get fans to chant
"Fedor" tonight, a reference to the Russian heavyweight
who has spurned the UFC so far, Fertitta said he welcomes it.
If more fans chant "Fedor," he says, the pressure turns
up on Emelianenko, not the UFC, which he claims offered Emelianenko
good money with conditions no different than other fighters have
signed.
-
Yes, he wants to see Georges St. Pierre fight Anderson Silva
(assuming GSP wins tonight).
-
No, he doesn't think MMA needs more weight classes, citing the
confusing array of belts awarded in boxing.
-
He called out EA Sports for passing up a deal with the UFC on
a video game and then coming around after the success of UFC
2009 Undisputed to do another MMA game.
-
A man who said he had just finished his second overseas deployment
in the military asked about the UFC's efforts with military-related
charities. He was rewarded with tickets to tonight's show.
The
bulk of the questions:
- When are you coming to (Miami, Vancouver, wherever)?
- Will you hire me?
- Thanks for doing this.
Some
questions arose on labor conditions -- fighters' sponsorships
and health care -- that will require some more research (on my
part) to flesh out. But no one asked why Frank Shamrock and Tito
Ortiz weren't better-represented in the historical hype around
UFC 100.
Source: USA Today
|
Fujii
Moves to 18-0 at ‘Fourth Ring’
by Tony Loiseleur
TOKYO -- Undefeated Megumi Fujii took her undefeated streak to
18 fights, as she racked up her sixth straight submission victory
against Saori Ishioka in the main event of Jewels “Fourth
Ring” on Saturday at the cramped Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.
Despite
being clearly outmatched by Fujii (18-0) in the experience department,
Jewels’ poster girl Ishioka still had an impressive two-round
showing against “Mega Megu.” Ishioka (7-4) thwarted
much of Fujii’s early takedown attempts and traded knees
with her in the clinch. Fujii scored a knockdown soon after by
sweeping Ishioka’s leg but was pulled off by referee Ryogoku
Wada when she charged in to finish her.
After
Ishioka answered the count, Fujii took her down with the inside
trip. As the only bout on the card to allow punches to the face
of a downed opponent, Fujii punched away as she passed to mount,
where she bounced Ishioka’s head on the canvas with fully
postured punches. After eating some punishment, Ishioka bridged
to escape an armbar, allowing her to reverse Fujii and drop punches
of her own. Fujii kicked her away out and stole top position
in guard, though, and finished out the round with more head-bouncing
ground-and-pound.
The
second period started with Ishioka again defending well against
takedown attempts, as she landed low kicks and right hands on
the southpaw Fujii. The unbeaten Fujii answered back with stiff
lefts and inside low kicks of her own before getting Ishioka
to the mat, again punching her way to mount. With Ishioka holding
Fujii close to minimize punching distance, Fujii quickly changed
tactics and wrenched out an armbar finish at the 4:17 mark.
One
fight removed from her unceremonious shellacking to an overweight
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, Hitomi Akano started out
tentatively against Miki Morifuji (7-6) but turned the tide in
the second frame and captured a straight armbar submission.
After
losing an Achilles lock thanks to a stray Morifuji punch to the
face that prompted a stand-up by referee Kenichi Serizawa, Akano
(15-6) came back in the second round to threaten with more submission
attempts. Earning catches for guillotine and triangle chokes,
Akano soon struck gold after taking mount, as she reached over
to put Morifuji’s left arm in a straight armbar; Like the
Fujii-Ishioka match before it, the end came 4:17 into round two.
Meanwhile,
Rina Tomita started out well enough, but Mika Nagano toughed
out an early triangle and armbar attempt to regain control en
route to a second-round submission.
Nagano
(3-2) reversed to take Tomita’s back for an attempted choke
that was stood up due to both fighters falling out of the ring.
Nagano secured the takedown soon after, passed to mount and threatened
with an armbar at the end of the round. Nagano went on to take
that armbar in the second period, as she submitted Tomita (2-1)
at the 35-second mark.
Shizuka
Sugiyama defeated Mika Harigai by unanimous decision with an
overwhelming number of clean punches to the face.
In
both rounds, Sugiyama (4-0) blazed forward with an endless barrage.
Harigai (6-20-1) chose to absorb the punishment, as she stayed
close and delivered counter punches and hard low kicks. The only
time the bout hit the canvas was when either fighter tired of
attacking on the feet; they rested on the ground in the relative
safety of the anti ground-and-pound rules. However, Serizawa
only let the women indulge in brief breaks before standing them
back up to resume punishing each other on the feet. All three
judges ruled the bout for Sugiyama.
No
other fight on the card went the distance.
Asami
Kodera wore down the gutsy Yukiko Seki with knees in the corners
before dropping to her back for an armbar attempt. Seki (5-17)
held on, however, as she defended and scrambled to get the fight
back to a standing position, where she pressed forward with wild
punches. Kodera (3-3) rebounded, landing counters before dropping
for another armbar, successfully executing the submission at
4:47 of the first period.
Elsewhere,
Mutsumi Kasai (3-0-1) worked a clinic on Celine Haga, bashing
her in the stand-up with savage hooks that dropped her for an
early knockdown. Answering the count but clearly out on her feet,
Haga (0-2) conceded the takedown before falling prey to a kimura
at 3:06 of the first round.
Finally,
Hiroko Kitamura got in 3:51 of sparring time against the winless
Harumi Harumi -- who dropped to 0-12 in defeat. Kitamura (1-0)
punished Harumi on the feet, followed her strikes with a rear-naked
choke attempt and ultimate cinched a successful triangle choke.
Source: Sherdog
|
Coach
confident in Filho against Manhoef
By Guilherme Cruz
Who
watched Paulo Filho last fights against Chael Sonnen doesn’t
recognize the black belt, who was considered one of the best
middleweight fighters so far. Back to the trainings with Josuel
Distak, Amaury Bitetti and Oswaldo Alves, Filho is training hard
for another tough opponent, Melvin Manhoef. In the classic fight
between Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu, Distak bets on the superiority
of the gentle art.
"Paulão
is training a lot, he’s very strong. He’s training
with me, Oswaldo and Amaury. For this fight, we focused more
the Jiu-Jitsu, because this fight will be the Muay Thai against
the Jiu-Jitsu. It’ll be two lions in the ring, and Paulão
wins", said the coach, celebrating the evolution of the
fighter in question that most concern: health. "First, I
thank God that Paulão got out of medicines and depression.
Paulão was born talented, if you put him to play Capoeira,
he will. He trained a lot of Judo and Jiu-Jitsu, and he has the
gentle art in his blood. Unfortunately, his problem of depression
has led him to the defeat, but God gave another chance for him
and his life, so that he could fight with Melvin".
Former
WEC champion, belt that he lost in his only defeat in the career,
Paulão returns to the Japanese rings at the Dream 10,
which happens on July 20th. In the same country where he shone
to the world, beating big names in Pride, the Brazilian can restart
his journey towards another belt. However, Distak wants to take
one step at a time. "Paulão is after his dream, of
regaining his belt, and this fight against Melvin will be a great
chance. The winner God already knows, and we will know over the
ring what God wants to Paulão’s life and Melvin’s.
Melvin is a very strong fighter, respected, and as Paulão
is also respected it’s going to be very interesting. We
are very confident", concluded the coach.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"Dreams
come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite
us to have them."
John Updike
|
Aloha Competitors
We have received an extensive amount of requests in regards to
the price of the tournament in the last 2 days and in order to
attend all of these requests we decided to give all Onzuka.com
site fans a special
discount code for
our event on July 25th 2009.
With the new
code the pre-reg
price for the tournament that expires on July 18, 2009 will be as follows:
ADULT
GI OR NO-GI.......$45
BOTH .................$55
KIDS
GI OR NO-GI........$30
BOTH .................$45
THE DISCOUNT
CODE WILL BE EFFECTIVE JULY 16TH 2009 AT 7AM HAWAII TIME
THE CODE IS:
OAHU
For questions
please contact
Riane Gracie
Tournament Coordinator
(310) 667-2067
rianegracie@gmail.com
|
Amateur
Boxing at Palolo on July 25th!
Wanted to inform you that our next amateur boxing event will
be on Saturday,
July 25th at the Palolo District Park Gym. Bouts begin at 6 p.m.?
Tickets will be available at the door for $10.00. If you need
more info, or have any
boxers email me at bkawano@aol.com
Thank You for Your Help and Support!!
Source: Bruce Kawano
|
Erasing
Shamrock from the UFC History Books
by Jason Probst
With an over-the-top buildup leading into UFC 100, Zuffa’s
promotional effort for Saturday’s card left virtually no
stone unturned, including a countdown that recapped the greatest
100 UFC fights as voted on by fans.
That
is, the greatest fights except those involving Frank Shamrock.
The
UFC’s first middleweight champ and arguably its biggest
star in the late 90s, Shamrock never lost a fight in the Octagon.
However, the UFC excluded all of his bouts from fan voting --
even his epic scrap against Tito Ortiz in September 1999 at UFC
22.
In
short, Shamrock-Ortiz was one of the UFC’s earliest title
bouts that felt like a top championship boxing match, given the
buildup and drama that made Shamrock’s fourth-round TKO
his finest -- and final -- performance in the Octagon. Giving
up more than 20 pounds after the weigh-in, Shamrock calmly and
tactically dissected Ortiz in what stands as a masterpiece of
strategy, along with a heady dose of down-and-dirty know-how.
Sadly,
the bout won’t be featured on the UFC’s countdown that
has been airing on Spike TV.
“I
thought it was a pivotal fight (in MMA),” Shamrock told
Sherdog.com. “Physically and mentally, it was a pivotal
fight in the history of the sport itself. It’s obviously
pretty ridiculous and childish they left it out. That’s
obvious. I was the first-ever champion, and Tito was the first
guy in a weight class to work his way up. In my opinion, it was
the first real legitimate build-up to a championship fight. It
was a real story.”
Shamrock
doesn’t get along with Dana White and UFC brass. Nor does
Ortiz, another former UFC champion, whose losses only -- not
wins -- were made eligible to be voted on by fans.
Given
the good the UFC has done -- from pushing MMA into the mainstream
spotlight to contributing to positive causes such as last December’s
Spike TV card that raised funds for soldiers dealing with Traumatic
Brain Injury -- such treatment of fighters seems overtly bush-league.
Zuffa,
the UFC’s parent company, has skirted the potholes that
derailed a half-dozen competing promotions in the past three
years. The company has carefully built the UFC brand and scrupulously
polished its image to become a mainstream attraction with a revenue
upside that is seemingly limitless given its talent base.
But
rumblings inside the industry, along with observations by assorted
Zuffa watchers, suggest power moves underway that will significantly
alter the considerable sums of money the UFC generates.
Shamrock
and Dana White have long been at odds.
As reported by multiple sites recently, the UFC has begun making
sponsors -- whose guerrilla marketing through fighter gear and
banners is a big source of dough for athletes -- pay a fee to
the promotion, reportedly up to $100,000, to sponsor (and advertise
on) fighters. White acknowledged Friday on CNBC that the UFC
has implemented such a policy, though he didn’t say how
much money his company is requiring from sponsors.
For
years fighters have secured individual deals with sponsors through
agents and managers. Those criticizing the new policy have suggested
that fighters will lose sponsors who can’t pay the fee and,
by losing sponsors, will lose money. To wit, all is not well
in UFC-ville amidst the rank and file who comprise its citizenry,
but the tourists keep coming in bigger numbers then ever, blissfully
unaware for the most part.
“I
think it’s terrible,” said Shamrock of the sponsorship
fee. “It would be different if (the UFC was) on network
television and the network, say, ABC, said, ‘Hey, you can’t
have a Condom Depot ad on your trunks,’ but the UFC is not
on ABC. They’re going to be putting that money in their
own pocket.”
Shamrock
added that if the UFC is tightening up sponsorship requirements
with the fee-based policy, it could push athletes to other promotions.
“It
will attract fighters to Strikeforce,” said Shamrock, who
is currently under contract with the promotion himself. “When
I go in and fight, endorsements are 30 percent of my purse, and
I make a good purse. When you’re working your way up, that’s
your house payment. I know what the UFC is doing. They’re
trying to change their business model midstream, and that’s
hard to do. But do you really need 100K so someone can put a
logo on (a fighter’s) shorts?”
To
the UFC’s credit, the organization did make a hugely needed
change a few years ago when it quashed the problem of fighters
thanking sponsors during post-match interviews. A tradition begun
by Ortiz, it quickly mushroomed into an embarrassing sideshow
as fighters would thank an ever-expanding list, instead of discussing
the match that just transpired. Critics of the move howled that
sponsor thank-yous would dry up funds, and were savagely incorrect,
and the sport seems a lot more professional now that Joe Rogan
can interview fighters about fights instead of having the fans
get bombarded with nettlesome sponsor thank-yous.
But
the latest move could in fact reduce fighter compensation and
also thin the long-expanding ranks of agents, managers and middlemen.
For now, though, the UFC’s market dominance figures to only
rise after this weekend’s stacked UFC 100 card.
Shamrock’s
UFC 100 Picks
Shamrock
hopes to return to Strikeforce in December and fight one of the
fighters he sees as emerging stars in the organization, such
as Jake Shields or Robbie Lawler. In the meantime, here are his
picks for UFC 100:
Dan
Henderson vs. Michael Bisping
“I think Bisping is tougher than we all think he is, but
Dan’s the guy to test that. Dan literally is the toughest,
most rugged person I’ve ever met. Every moment he goes as
hard as he can. That’s Dan. I think Bisping might be bigger
and stronger, but I pick Dan.”
Georges
St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves
“I like St. Pierre. I just think he’s a more complete
martial artist, in every area, mentally and physically. Plus,
he’s in his prime right now.”
Brock
Lesnar vs. Frank Mir
“I like Brock. I look at the sport from afar, because I
don’t really watch fights. Brock, to me, looks like a guy
who’s just incredibly serious and focused. He’s not
there to hang out and get chicks. He’s there to smash people.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Chase
Gormley Ready for Ben Rothwell at Affliction 'Trilogy'
SEAL
BEACH, California (July 9, 2009) — Fighting has flowed through
Chase Gormley’s bloodline for generations. Even before he
was born, he was destined to meet others in combat in the ring.
Son and younger brother of professional boxers, the unbeaten
heavyweight (6-0-0) was an NAIA All-America wrestler at Lindenwood
University. Now he brings the whole mixed-martial-arts package
to his August 1st fight against former IFL® heavyweight titlist
“Big” Ben Rothwell (30-6-0) for Affliction M-1 Global’s
star-studded “Trilogy” Pay-Per-View show at Honda Center
in Anaheim.
GoDaddy.com
presents Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy,” featuring
Fedor vs. Barnett in association with Golden Boy Promotions and
Donald J Trump. The show is separated into two live broadcasts
on the same night—a one-hour special will air on HDNet starting
at 7:30 PM/ET (4:30 PM/PT), followed by the sensational Pay-Per-View
event, “Trilogy,” commencing at 9PM/ET (6 PM/PT). Russian
combat fighting legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko(30-1-0)
defends his WAMMA heavyweight title against No. 1 contender Josh
“The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett (24-5-0), in a potential
Fight of the Year match-up as the main event.
The
6-3, 270-pound Gormley trains with MMA stars Antonio “Minotauro”
Rodrigo Nogueira and Anderson Silva at Black House Gym and is
a paid sparring partner for heavyweight boxers, including Chris
Arreola and Lance Whitaker. “My father, Dan, briefly boxed
professionally but my brother, Josh (heavyweight with a 19-4
record with 18 knockouts), who fought as Josh Dempsey, was rated
No. 4 in the WBO (World Boxing Organization) in 1998. I plan
to go pro, too. I had to fight and started when I was four. Pepe
(Correira), who coached on The Contender (season 4, television
reality show) is my boxing trainer.”
Rothwell,
who will fight Gormley on the HDNet version of the show, has
24 more wins than Chase has pro fights. “Big” Ben,
a protégé of Pat Miletich, has won 14 of his last
15 fights, including notable victims such as Ricco Rodriguez
and Pat Nelson, and the veteran has been up against other notable
competitors, such as Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia and Mike Whitehead.
Gormley
doesn’t view his bout with Rothwell as a breakthrough fight
for him, nor does he feel that his opponent has a clear experience
advantage over him. “Rothwell’s no big deal,”
Chase explains. “There’s no added pressure on me. This
is a fight I should easily win, if I go in with the right mindset.
His kicks are real dangerous. He’s aggressive and has a
lot of heart. But, if I stay calm and use my footwork properly,
it won’t be too tough of a fight for me. I try not to think
about it (fighting on HDNet). It’s good for my career and
I thank Affliction for this honor. I just have to focus on the
task at hand and win. Fighting on a big show like this won’t
matter if I don’t win. Winning is all that matters and afterwards,
I’ll look back at it differently, I’m sure. Rothwell
has had a lot of fights against good fighters, but I started
competing when I was four, and I don’t think he did until
he was 17. I’m not worried about that (experience factor)
at all. This is what I was bred and born to do.”
On
the PPV card supporting the Emelianenko-Barnett bout in a highly
competitive and potentially entertaining co-main event, Armenian
kick-boxing specialistGegard “The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi
(25-2-1) fights for the first time in the Unites States, taking
on former Strikeforce® light heavyweight challengerRenato
“Babalu” Sobral (32-8-0).
Dutch
knockout artist Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel (36-13-1)
plans to parlay his recent devastating triumph against 3-time
UFC® heavyweight title challenger Pedro “The Rock”
Rizzo into a standout performance versus yet another former UFC®
heavyweight title challenger, Paul “The Headhunter”
Buentello (27-10-0).
Brazilian
bomber Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort (18-8-0), former
UFC® Light Heavyweight Champion, unloads on spirited Sengoku
middleweight title-holderJorge Santiago (21-7-0) in another PPV
match.
In
addition to the Rothwell-Gormley fight, the undercard on HDNet
features ex-IFL® Welterweight Champion Jay “The Thoroughbred”
Hieron (17-4-0) against former Cage Rage belt-holder, British
brawler Paul “Semtex” Daley (21-8-2); exciting lightweight
prospects Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki(12-1-0)
and Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon (12-2-0) go to war; featherweight
L.C. Davis (13-2-0) faces Javier “Showtime” Vazquez
(13-2-0), former KOTC and Gladiator Challenge champion; ex-IFL®
lightweight challenger Deividas Taurosevicius (10-3-0) meets
Mark “The Machine” Hominick (16-8-0). Two off-television
matches are also on tap between heavyweights Jessie Gibbs (7-2-0)
and Rob Broughton (10-4-1), as well as Brazilian light heavyweight
Lucio Linhares (12-4-0) and Michael Zayats (8-3-0).
All
fights and fighters are subject to change. For more information
go online to www.afflictionclothing.com.
Tickets
for Affliction M-1’s “Trilogy” range between $50.00
and $600.00, are on sale at Honda Center Box Office (1.714.704.2500)
and also online at Ticketmaster.com and all Ticket Master outlets
(1.714.740.2000).
Source: The Fight Network
|
Brock
Lesnar Sorry for Post-Fight Antics
By Mike Chiappetta
Brock
LesnarLAS VEGAS -- Brock Lesnar realized a bit too late that
he should have let his performance alone make the statement.
And the statement was this: He's big, he's bad, and he's the
champ.
There
was no need for anything else, but he let his emotions get the
best of him and taunted a bloodied man he'd already physically
beaten, then badmouthed a major sponsor of his company and finally,
flipped off the fans.
Soon
after pulling off that trifecta and the heat of the moment wore
off, he realized he'd gone too far. And for the record, he apologized.
"First
and foremost, I want to apologize. I acted unprofessionally,"
he said during the UFC 100 post-fight press conference. "I'll
leave it at that. I'm a sore loser. Frank and I in the first
fight, I felt I gave it to him."
Lesnar
explained that coming from the entertainment business of WWE,
hyping fights was part of his ordinary mindset, and it's the
only part of his past job that remains.
"I
have nothing against Frank," he continued. "The only
thing I have against him is that he beat me. In the end, this
stuff comes out because I'm just amped up."
Just
to make sure Lesnar got the point, UFC president Dana White walked
back into the champion's locker room shortly after his match,
pulled him aside into the bathroom and let him know his conduct
wasn't acceptable.
"Any
fighter will tell you, you get emotional out there at times,"
White said. "You say stupid things you don't mean. What
he did was so far over the top, I can't even describe it and
put it into words ... He apologized like a real man would. He
said, 'I'm embarrassed.' "
The
win took some of the luster off Lesnar's otherwise dominant win
over Frank Mir. Evening the score from their first go-round,
Lesnar was able to stay out of Mir's submission traps until finding
an opening that led to a series of hammer-like right hands that
ended the fight. According to White, Lesnar could possibly next
see the winner of the upcoming Shane Carwin-Cain Velasquez UFC
104 matchup.
Source: AOL Fanhouse
|
BROCK
LESNAR, UNDISPUTED UFC CHAMPION
by Steven Marrocco
Frank Mir believed until the very end that Brock Lesnar could
not hurt him.
The
interim heavyweight champ had mocked the undisputed champ’s
power from the start, saying he hit like a girl. Lesnar had said
he wouldn't make the same rookie mistakes twice. He would stay
away from submissions, and he would make his punches count when
the two stepped into the Octagon at UFC 100 on Saturday night.
When
the fight went to the ground, as it was bound to, Mir went for
the same kneebar that brought him a victory against Lesnar at
UFC 81. This time, Lesnar powered out of the hold and took half
guard. From there, his size and power overwhelmed Mir.
Mir
almost invited the punishment in the first, letting Lesnar control
his hand as he lay on the bottom in half guard. One after the
other, he took the punches. He wasn’t going anywhere, but
seemed to be biding his time for something else.
He
stood up at the end of the first wearing a big smile. But it
was the face of a man whose face was swollen and bloodied.
In
the second, Mir got his bearings on his feet, catching Lesnar
with an elbow as the distance closed. Lesnar went for a takedown,
but ate a knee from Mir’s free leg.
Nevertheless,
Lesnar wanted the fight down, and Mir wasn’t going to stop
him.
Against
the cage, Mir took the same strategy: stay in half guard and
bide time. But he left more space between them, and Lesnar had
the room to generate more power. This time, the punches slammed
his head against the mat and cage.
After
several hard shots, referee Herb Dean issued warnings that went
ignored, prompting a stoppage.
Nevada
State Athletic Commission officials had to step in between the
two when Lesnar went in Mir’s direction as the cage filled.
The
audience booed Lesnar generously, for which he issued no apologies.
“I
love it!” Lesnar yelled, happy to be the heel. “Keep
going, keep going! Frank Mir had a horseshoe up his ass. I told
him that a year ago... then I beat him on the head with it!”
Mir
was fairly zen about the fight’s ending.
“I
made a dumb mistake, let a guy that strong get a hold of my wrist,”
he said. “I guess I have some more stuff to work on.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Royce
remembers his history in TATAME
While walking to the octagon, in 1993, everybody was wondering
how that slim guy with kimono would face opponents much bigger
than him. In just four minutes and 49 seconds, Royce Gracie answered
to all questions in a fantastic way, submitting three opponents
and showing the world the Jiu-Jitsu that revolutionized the Vale-Tudo
and gave the initial step to the MMA. Fifteen years later, the
black belt reminded his history in the paredão of July’s
edition of the TATAME Magazine.
In
an unforgettable conversation, the Gracie compared the old style
of fighting with the current MMA, the importance of the challenges
for the deployment of the Jiu-Jitsu in the Vale-Tudo, the best
and worst moments of his career and recalled the biggest battles
in the rings, as the fight against Akebono, three times heavier
than him. "We knew that there wasn’t a way to I take
him down or knock him out. He was a Sumô champion and weighed
220kg... There wasn’t a way to close a triangle, I was training
with two tied guys to fight him... I had to bring him to the
ground, then Daddy said: 'sit, my son, that he will stumble on
you'", reveals the black belt. And the end of the story
everyone knows: one more submission.
Run
to the nearest newsstand and check the exclusive interview with
Royce, analyzing the current Brazilian representatives in the
MMA, electing Demian Maia as the big representative of gentle
art in the rings, the intimacy and the trainings in the family,
the death of his father, in beginning of the year, the professional
Jiu-Jitsu, the recognizing of the importance of his family around
the world and much more. Click here and know everything the TATAME
#161 brings to you.
Source: Tatame
|
UFC’s
Next Chapter
by Jake Rossen
Much of this week’s post-UFC dialogue will inevitably surround
the concrete constitution -- and cranium -- of Brock Lesnar,
who is now on a podium that very few combat athletes achieve.
When his career numbers are tallied, he stands an excellent chance
of being the biggest-drawing pay-per-view attraction outside
of boxing’s reach.
That
he’s not exactly a Zen master of martial respect is beside
the point: no one ever grew poor preying on the slobbering sensibilities
of fight fans. A minority of people tune in to watch men like
Lyoto Machida or Anderson Silva behave like violent gentlemen;
most of UFC 100’s million-plus buyers used their remote
to see someone’s face grow into new levels of hematoma disfigurement.
Lesnar is quickly becoming a guarantee of that.
The
charge that Lesnar led this past weekend is perhaps bigger than
his XXL gloves, his perfectly square head, or any of his pre-
and post-fight boasts: It’s yet another indication that
the UFC’s brand of corporate concussion is spreading like
an oil spill. This is not a transient fad, as boxing promoters
and critics had hoped; this isn’t a fringe “extreme”
sport in the vein of skateboarding or bike stunts. It’s
a serious contender for global attention on a very prominent,
very profitable scale.
How
much bigger can it get?
“UFC:
Undisputed,” the video game from THQ, has sold three million
copies since its May release; between 30,000 and 50,000 fans
attended their Fan Expo in Las Vegas Friday and Saturday, more
than had purchased pay per views nationwide during the promotion’s
worst economic drought; Spike airings regularly best MLB, golf
and basketball numbers in advertiser-demanded demos; and over
the weekend, the UFC essentially commandeered the entire city
of Las Vegas, opening multiple closed-circuit telecasts for fans
who failed to beat scalpers to the mouse click during pre-sales.
Photo
by Sherdog.com
Brock
Lesnar differs from Anderson
Silva's gentleman image.When everything is sorted, it’s
very possible UFC 100 and its surrounding fanfare will be recorded
as another quantum leap in the sport’s bid for mass recognition
-- which shouldn’t be confused for acceptance.
Among
the major news outlets that carried piles of coverage, T.J. Simers
of the Los Angeles Times nearly choked on his own repulsion.
“Ultimate Bore and Gore,” he wrote. “They wring
the mat out here with all the blood spilled at the end of the
night, and the blood banks in Las Vegas will be restocked. …
Lesnar raises the middle finger on each hand in saluting the
paying customers, the WWE finish with Lesnar urging the crowd
to boo louder, one more reason why this so-called sport is still
a long way away from qualifying as mainstream fare.”
CBS’s
Ray Ratto promised the UFC would remain a “niche” sport,
and that UFC 100 might be the company’s never-equaled pinnacle,
drawing comparisons to the WWE’s “Wrestlemania III”
promotional record attendance number.
How
much bigger can it get -- if the path is cut off by a segment
of the population coughing up bile for what is inarguably the
most unpleasant-looking sport in the world?
Simers
is, by some accounts online, a man of roughly 60. If you consider
his diet of Audie Murphy, stand-up-and-fight-like-a-man movies
and the superficially sterile aesthetic of boxing, watching Lesnar
straddle Mir and smash his teeth into powder must have caused
his jaw to slack. UFC fans have been indoctrinated into absorbing
this gore without a problem. But for a percentage of people,
it’s sickening. Boxing kills, MMA bleeds. And people are
far more disgusted by the latter.
It’s
going to take a generational rotation to erase Simers’ reaction
and create a cultural tolerance, in the same way boxing was once
demonized before eventually -- through births and deaths -- becoming
as much a part of life as toilet paper or taxes. You or I can
watch this stuff knowing that a face covered in blood poses no
significant danger to an athlete, that shots to the head are
diluted considerably by other attacks, and that a mortality rate
of three against the tens of thousands who have competed is statistically
sub-zero.
But
Simers, and others like him, understands none of this, and who
can blame them? Go find a car accident victim, watch him stumble
around in a drunken daze covered in his own plasma, one broken
arm swinging listlessly from his shoulder, and have someone tell
you that he’s “fine, just a little beat up.”
How
much bigger can it get? Big enough to accommodate Lesnar’s
outsized personality. Big enough to draw record crowds and cable
audiences. But not so big that other sports will be forced to
stand in its shadow. Dads and their kids can toss a football
around a yard: They’re not likely to be grappling in it.
Dana
White is often fond of saying that fighting translates into any
language or demographic. It’s true, but that appetite often
demands it be packaged in a more digestible form. Boxing is wrapped
in a suit; MMA is a knife fight, messy and haphazard.
We
will eventually spawn a generation that’s rewired to accept
broken bones and orbital bleeding as a recreational evening.
Lesnar will smash a Bud Light bottle over someone’s head
in a commercial, and it won’t be any more newsworthy than
when Derek Jeter smiles next to a stick of deodorant.
But
until then, MMA will resemble a mutated bit of prizefighting,
too ugly to be embraced by too many people and too foreign to
be understood by anyone old enough to remember John Wayne. Conflict
is the core of drama, and White is right to imagine that his
product appeals to us in a primal, pared-down way. But this is
conflict painted bright red when people are used to black and
blue.
Source: Sherdog
|
Press
Release: Women’s MMA show claims audience of over 4,000
in Las Vegas
By Zach Arnold
“Tuff
Girls” Makes MMA History in Las Vegas
Vegas’ First Female MMA Card Features 10 Exciting Battles
Las
Vegas, Nevada (July 10, 2009) – Proving that brains, brawn
and beauty mix, “Tuff Girls” fought to a packed house
at the Orleans Arena where 20 female mixed martial arts warriors
battled in the amateur ranks. Promoted by Tuff-N-Uff, the nation’s
premiere amateur mixed martial arts organization, “Tuff
Girls” was the first all-female MMA card in Las Vegas history.
“We
made history tonight with the largest attended female MMA event
in Las Vegas history,” said Barry Meyer, president of Tuff-N-Uff
Productions of the 4,000 plus attendees. “We provided exciting
matchups that featured some of the top talent in the United States.
Women have a place in MMA and have the talent to back it up.”
In
the evening’s first bout Tamara Riley of Team Asylum (Phoenix,
AZ) evened her record at 1-1 with an unanimous decision over
Michelle Velebit (0-1) of Team Girls (Portland, OR) in the 135
lbs. weight class.
At
145 lbs., Autumn Richardson of Team Quest (Vista, CA) scored
her first victory (1-0) with a TKO at 41 seconds in the third
round over Holly Dixon (0-1) of Freestyle MMA (Mesa, AZ).
The
170 lbs. match featuring Brooke Guidry (1-1) Xtreme Couture (Las
Vegas, NV) versus Latoya Walker (0-0) Team XFC (Austin, TX) was
ruled a no contest due to referee stoppage.
During
the evenings fourth bout Paige Zio of Gracie Fighter (Oakland,
CA) moved her record to a perfect 2-0 with a second round TKO
over Kiley Martin (0-1) of Team Girls (Portland, OR) in the 135
lbs. weight class.
At
the 140 lbs. weight class, Stephanie Webber of Victory Athletics
(Seattle, WA) moved her record to 3-2 with an arm bar submission
of Robin Hartman (2-3) of Team Pedro Sauer (Roanake VA).
After
the intermission, Amanda LaVoy (4-1) of American Karate &
Kickboxing Academy (Monroe, OH) scored a unanimous decision over
MaEisha Lowe (3-2) of Morse Jiu Jitsu (Henderson, KY) at the
135 lbs. weight class.
Amanda
Wilcoxen (3-0) of Morgan MMA (Toledo, OH) beat Courtney Stowe
(1-2) of 10TH PLANET JJ (SPRINGFIELD, MO) in a unanimous decision
in 155 lbs. weight class.
In
the 125 lbs. weight class, Ivana Coleman (4-2) Gladiator Academy
(Slidell, LA) won a split decision over Lauren Feldman (5-2)
FFADC NEW YORK, NY.
Kate
McGray 1-0 Legends MMA (Los Angeles, CA) won a unanimous decision
over Gabriella Lakoczky (0-1) Xtreme Couture (Las Vegas, NV)
at 120 lbs. weight class.
In
the main event, Moa Palmer (4-1) Team Oyama (Irvine CA) scored
a first round knockout of
Patricia VanDermeer BUCKLEY MMA (Canada) (2-1) in the 145 lbs
weight class.
A
portion of the proceeds from this event went to help Jessica
Bednark. Bednark is a professional MMA fighter who suffered a
ruptured artery in her brain while training.
On
August 22, Tuff-N-Uff will host “The Future Stars of MMA”
featuring Ryan Couture, son of MMA legend Randy Couture, Larry
Mir, cousin of former UFC champion Frank Mir, and former Playboy
playmate Latasha Marzolla. Tickets may be purchased by calling
702.284.7777, online at www.orleansarena.com or in person at
the Orleans Arena box office located at 4500 West Tropicana Avenue
at Arville Road.
About
Tuff-N-Uff:
Founded
in 1994, Tuff-N-Uff Productions is the nation’s premiere
amateur MMA organization. Tuff-N-Uff is a proving ground for
amateur fighters providing an unparalleled outlet for up and
coming fighters. Tuff-N-Uff has helped launch the MMA careers
of pros such as Jon Fitch and Aaron Riley. Tuff-N-Uff strives
to help the younger generation of fighters pursue their dreams
of becoming professional MMA athletes through the development
of individual athletic skills, work ethic, discipline, sportsmanship,
self-respect and pride. For more information visit www.tuffnuff.net.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
"Love
the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond
all boundaries."
Corita Kent
|
Former
boxer Arturo Gatti found dead on second honeymoon in Brazil
By Mitch Abramson
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Saturday, July 11th 2009, 5:04 PM
Stabley/AP
According
to reports, Arturo Gatti was found dead in Brazil on Saturday.
In 2004, Gatti won a vacant WBC junior welterweight title by
defeating Gianluca Branco.
Gatti was known as one of the sport's most exciting television
fighters.
Arturo
Gatti, who trained at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn and became a
star on the Boardwalk in New Jersey while winning acclaim as
one of the most compelling television fighters of the modern
era for his rough-and-tumble style, was found dead Saturday in
Brazil.
Gatti,
37, was on his second honeymoon with his wife, Amanda, and their
10-month-old baby when his blood-spattered body was discovered
in a seaside resort in Porto de Galinhas, according to media
reports.
A
police investigation was ongoing and foul play is suspected.
Gatti was found to have blood stains on the back of his head
and neck around 6 a.m. Saturday morning, according to the Canadian
Broadcasting Co.
A
police spokeswoman said "there were no bullet or stab wounds
on his body, but police did find blood stains on the floor."
His
death comes on the heels of another boxing legend, Alexis Arguello,
who won titles in three weight classes and died on July 1 from
an allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest in Nicaragua.
Gatti
(40-9, 31 knockouts) was raised in Montreal, but became a star
in Atlantic City, where he won his first title, at junior welterweight,
by beating Tracy Harris Patterson in 1995, then went on to have
some of his most memorable fights by the Boardwalk. He continued
to live in Jersey City after retiring - his last fight was a
seventh-round TKO at the hands of Alfonso Gomez on July 14, 2007,
in Atlantic City.
Gatti,
nicknamed "Thunder," started his professional career
in 1991 and won world championships in two different weight classes,
at 130 pounds and 140 pounds.
Gatti
was best known for his three fights with Micky Ward in 2002 and
2003 - the first in Uncasville, Conn., the final two in Atlantic
City. Both fighters were known for their all-action style and
matching them together provided some of the most intense boxing
action of the decade. Gatti won the series 2-1, all on brutal
10-round decisions, and the two fighters grew close outside the
ring, often golfing together.
"He
was a great guy. He enjoyed life," Ward said when reached
at his home in Lowell, Mass. "People don't understand how
two guys who beat the heck out of each other could become friends,
but that's what happened. He was the heart and soul of boxing.
I'm going to miss him."
Gatti
was never quite the same after his battles with Ward - although
he won his next two fights, to capture and retain the WBC junior
welterweight title against Gianluca Branco and Leonard Dorin,
he was TKO'd by Floyd Mayweather Jr. on June 25, 2005, and lost
to Carlos Baldomir on a ninth-round TKO with the welterweight
title on the line in 2006, his second-to-last fight.
Source: Daily News
|
10
Fights That Changed the UFC: Part 1
by Jake Rossen
The huffing, puffing barn-house clawing of a bout during 2005’s
“Ultimate Fighter” live finale between Forrest Griffin
and Stephan Bonnar has taken root in MMA like no other fight
before or since. It is credited with restoring the UFC’s
potential as the combat sport of the new century, turning on
a bunch of casual, Saturday-night television surfers and serving
as a splint for what was then a company crippled by debt.
All
of this is more or less the truth. But what the near-religious
fascination with the fight ignores is that no sport is ever made
or broken on the value of one night alone. The UFC put itself
in a position to host Griffin/Bonnar by building on the effort
of many fighters prior; the fight would ultimately have made
little difference if the events proceeding didn’t maintain
the attention of the audience.
For
business and cultural awareness reasons, it’s a crucial
fight. It is also one of many.
And
where Griffin/Bonnar disappoints is by forcing any list of “top
10” UFC fights to arrive at a rather boring and predictable
conclusion: Far more amusing is to consider the bouts that changed
the UFC -- and by association, MMA -- by excluding it. (Go debate
the best basketball player with your friends, but force them
to censor Michael Jordan. I promise the conversation will be
a hell of a lot more interesting.)
What
follows are the 10 UFC fights that -- for better or worse --
altered our thinking about the sport, informed us of new possibilities
or staged a minor revolution in how fighters would enter the
cage from that point on. (What it’s not is a list of the
best fights: At least one is so sensationally awful that it should
never be viewed sober.)
Beginning
today and continuing all this week on ESPN and Sherdog.com: 10
bouts that made Saturday’s landmark UFC 100 possible.
Forrest
Griffin vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (UFC 76, Sept. 22,
2007)
Griffin
-- and I say this with the utmost respect -- reminds me a lot
of Curious George, the children’s book character. He has
easily parodied features, a sardonic delivery and a gimmick based
almost exclusively on his (alleged) low self-esteem. In addition,
he was a reality TV series participant. To say his chances in
the UFC were perceived as dismal would be putting it mildly.
Rua,
on the other hand, might as well have had horns and a tail: As
a Pride standout, he was argued as the top 205-pound fighter
in the world. Pride athletes, fandom believed, were so far ahead
of anyone stateside that this would look more like a vehicular
accident than a fight. But Griffin kept his composure, pressured
an ailing Rua -- who was said to have suffered from injury --
and finally finished him with an improbable choke.
The
Winner: Griffin via submission.
The
Lesson: “Ultimate Fighter” products would be taken
seriously as contenders -- even champions, as Griffin proved
when he later defeated Quinton Jackson for the light heavyweight
title. More importantly, Pride was just a placard: It lent its
affiliated fighters no special powers. Rua, like Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva and a host of others, would go on to
look woefully human outside of Japan.
Mark
Coleman vs. Maurice Smith (UFC 14, July 27, 1997)
“Ground
and pound, that’s my goddamn game.” Mark Coleman’s
pre-event quote -- if not his most articulate -- was at least
honest. Coleman had little interest in learning the nuances of
submission or striking, having found success as one of the first
NCAA-accredited wrestlers to enter the UFC. No one could stop
his takedown -- certainly not Smith, a rangy kickboxer who went
to the ground only when he dropped something.
If
Coleman did not respect Smith at the opening bell, he quickly
learned his lesson: Despite planting him on the mat and dropping
an unending series of punches and head butts, Smith refused to
panic, dodged, covered and waited out the storm. Back on the
feet, an exhausted Coleman stood idle while Smith cracked him
with kicks. Wrestlers would never seem quite so scary again.
The
Winner: Smith via decision.
The
Lesson: Wrestlers were not invincible, and their cardio conditioning
in their native sport -- with its two- and three-minute phases
-- was not up to the task of fights that could sometimes go 15
minutes without interruption.
Ken
Shamrock blew it at UFC 9.Dan Severn vs. Ken Shamrock II (UFC
9, May 17, 1996)
“You
are talking about a guy who was given more opportunities to be
a star in the UFC,” the promoter Art Davie once said of
Ken Shamrock, “[yet] every time someone handed him a spear
and asked him to throw it, he figured a way to drop it and not
throw it at all.”
Shamrock,
marbled like a bodybuilder and with a mug that nearly got him
in movies, was slated to face rival Dan Severn in a Detroit superfight.
Political interference mandated rules changes before the show:
No closed-fist strikes would be allowed. Fighters would be “fined”
for infractions, but it was understood that it would be business
as usual.
Shamrock
disagreed, and spent 30 minutes circling Severn in what quickly
became the single most damaging fight to the UFC’s reputation.
While political pressure ramped up, cable providers may have
stuck it out if business was good. It wasn’t: Buyrates dropped
by a quarter after this show. Not long after, the event was relegated
to satellite customers. And Shamrock suffered the worst indignity
of all: His father didn’t speak to him for a week.
The
Winner: Severn via decision.
The
Lesson: One bad fight can erase the memory of the previous hundred.
Vitor
Belfort vs. Tra Telligman and Scott Ferrozzo (UFC 12, Feb. 7,
1997)
For
the preceding three years, the UFC had been home primarily to
grapplers. Even if you were adept at striking, a wrestler or
jiu-jitsu expert would suffocate your attempts. It was new and
interesting, this grappling, but it did not provide the dynamic
and explosive motion boxing had spoiled us on.
The
20-year-old Vitor Belfort needed only two minutes to put this
belief on its ass and send both Tra Telligman and Scott Ferrozzo
on their heels. This was not a lumbering heavyweight, but someone
who had the hand speed of a man operating at another frame rate
than everyone else. He blitzed the two and signaled the arrival
of what four-ounce gloves could do in the right hands. More importantly,
he stirred up an excitement and enthusiasm among devotees that
was sorely needed in what was about to become a very distressing
time for the promotion.
The
Winner: Vitor Belfort via what the f--- was that?
The
Lesson: Mark Coleman -- who debuted at UFC 10 -- would not be
the only athlete in the cage.
Tito
Ortiz vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (UFC 33, Sept. 28, 2001)
The
story of UFC 33 has become the sport’s most unpleasant campfire
tale: the first event back on cable operators, all five televised
fights went to a decision. None were particularly exciting, and
the last -- a title fight between Ortiz and Matyushenko -- was
cut off midway through because the time slot had expired.
Whether
it was the main event or simply the entire program itself, Zuffa
and the Nevada Commission took immediate and swift action: Beginning
with UFC 34, referees would have the ability to stand up bouts
they felt were stalemated on the ground. Purists cried foul,
but MMA has always been a spectator sport first and combat experiment
second.
The
Winner: Fans.
The
Lesson: The change has probably saved us from some horrifically
boring fights -- and possibly the sport from extinction based
on the damp-blanket strategies of one-dimensional wrestlers.
Source: Sherdog
|
FIGHTERS
POCKET $100,000 BONUSES AT UFC 100
by Damon Martin
A historic night happened in Las Vegas on Saturday as UFC 100
and 11,000 fans in attendance ascended on Sin City with two monumental
title fights headlining the card. The promotion also handed down
its largest bonuses ever with each fighter honored with a post-fight
award getting $100,000 for his efforts in the Octagon.
"Knockout
of the Night" was a virtual lock after Dan Henderson landed
one of his famous right hands to put "Ultimate Fighter"
season 3 winner Michael Bisping to sleep in the second round
of their middleweight showdown. Henderson put Bisping out with
one punch, but followed up with one more shot for his troubles,
and now pockets an extra $100,000 for the knockout.
Tom
Lawlor went from his "Just Bleed" tribute on Friday
to a "Submission of the Night" on Saturday, as he choked
out opponent C.B. Dollaway in the first round to earn his fight
bonus, and his first win at 185 pounds.
"Fight
of the Night" landed in the hands of Japanese newcomer Yoshihiro
Akiyama and opponent Alan Belcher. Akiyama won a controversial
split decision after a three-round war. Both Akiyama and Belcher
will take home an additional $100,000 for the best fight of UFC
100.
The
historic card that drew such a large live crowd also earned the
UFC a $5.1 million gate. The only UFC event in Las Vegas to draw
a larger number was Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz II, which grossed
$5.4 million.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
On
beauty
by Jeremy Fernando
In
the after-math of the 2009 of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship,
the difficult question posed by GRACIEMAG.com still rings strong;
‘should athletes from the same team face each other in competition’?
The irony of course was that Sergio Moraes and Marcelo Garcia
from Alliance decided to close out their division, whilst Roger
Gracie and Romulo Barrral from Gracie Barra disputed theirs;
this is of course in contrast to the opinions which arose from
their respective camps only a short time ago. Regardless of this,
one should take the words of Flavio Almeida and Romero ‘Jacare’
Calvacanti with the utmost seriousness, and consider them as
such.
The
Gracie Barra point of view is that competitions are a team effort:
in that sense, if teammates reach the finals, the job of the
team is done; in other words, the team has proved its point that
it is superior. There is of course an echo of Carlos Gracie Sr.
in all of this, especially in his take that it is pointless for
Jiu-Jitsu practitioners to fight in vale-tudo matches any longer;
the point has long been established that without Jiu-Jitsu, one
will be greatly incapacitated in a fight.
The
Alliance leader, ‘Jacare’ Calvacanti, points out that
in the earlier years of Jiu-Jitsu competitions, it was common
for teammates to battle each other in finals. Regardless of whoever
won, both were still teammates and more importantly friends;
in other words, competitions only displayed who was better on
that day: in the greater scheme of things, it meant very little.
One can of course hear the spectre of Helio Gracie here: to him
modern Jiu-Jitsu competitions are meaningless; the whole point
of Jiu-Jitsu is to give the small man a chance in a fight against
a larger aggressor. At the heart of the art is the ability to
defend oneself; the sportive variation was a variation at best
– an arena to hone one’s body, one’s reactions,
one’s spirit. In that sense, winning or losing on the mats
was irrelevant; the true test is in a situation where one had
to fight for one’s – or a loved one’s – life.
And in many instances, the confidence that Jiu-Jitsu gives one
is more than enough to avert the situation.
Perhaps
the difference in opinion stems from the very philosophies on
which they are based. If Jiu-Jitsu is perceived to be a sport,
then the concept of teams – and by extension strategies,
secrets, and esprit de corps – comes to the fore. This is
magnified when one takes into account the call for the professionalism
of the sport; for that is always already accompanied by commodification.
One can detect a symptom of this logic in the standardization
of the belt system. Whilst there are many merits of a certification
system – foremost amongst them is that no one can just claim
to be a ‘BJJ Black Belt’ and dupe people of hard earned
cash – it also run contrary to the spirit of Jiu-Jitsu.
This is especially true when one takes into account the attempt
to standardize the time between belts.
What
sets BJJ apart from many other arts is the absolute trust in
the instructor to grade her/ his students: in many cases, there
is no reason to hand out a belt except for the fact that the
instructor feels that the student ‘is ready’. Hence,
the grading system is an intuitive system; moreover, since the
belt always already carries the name of the said instructor,
this suggests that by awarding that belt, the instructor is also
putting her/ his reputation on the line. It is no coincidence
that the black belt has always been equated with earning a PhD:
both are stages where the person achieves her/ his viva voce,
voice of life. Hence when one is awarded a black belt, the instructor
is also saying ‘now you are ready to express the art in
your own way, in your own voice’. This is captured beautifully
in Royce Gracie’s famous quip, “the belt only covers
two inches of your ass; you have to cover the rest yourself.”
It
is this unknowable aspect of Jiu-Jitsu – after all one can
never know what ‘ready’ means much less transmit, teach,
it to another – that Rickson Gracie has encapsulated in
the elegant name he has given to his approach, that of “invisible
Jiu-Jitsu.” This is an approach to an art that acknowledges
that part of the art always lies outside the person; that it
is an intuitive aspect that can only be glimpsed at momentarily,
through years and years of rolling, feeling, touching. And it
is for this reason that Jiu-Jitsu is arte suave, the gentle art.
In this sense, whilst many have focused on the efficiency of
Jiu-Jitsu, or even on the gentleness of the leverage, it is Rickson
that reminds us that it is first and foremost an art; and art
in the precise sense of a craft at its highest level, where it
consumes the practitioner, and often in ways which are exterior
to one’s cognitive ability. Hence at the highest level,
not only is Jiu-Jitsu invisible to the eye, but it remains invisible
to one; it expresses itself through one.
It
is this poetic approach to Jiu-Jitsu that opens the register
that the gentle art is also arte bela, the beautiful art; for
what is art if it is not enigmatic.
With
this in mind, the opening question of whether teammates should
dispute a medal at a championship becomes moot. This does not
take away anything from the achievement of the athletes who won,
lost, competed at the Mundials, or in fact any tournament; many
sacrifices, much training, and great dedication, has been given
in order to even step onto the mats in the first place. However
one should not forget that this – and in particular winning
or losing – has very little to do with Jiu-Jitsu itself.
And
even less to do with its status as a beautiful art.
Jeremy
Fernando is a Research Fellow at the School of Humanities and
Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
His PhD is with the European Graduate School where he explores
the intersections of literature, philosophy, and the media; and
is the author of Reflections on (T)error. He has spent many years
in judo dojos, and even though wears a black belt, spends much
time looking at the ceiling; he has also refined tapping out
to an art, complete with rhythm and all.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Young
and Hungry
Gegard Mousasi's California Dreaming
SEAL BEACH, California (July 7, 2009)— “All my focus
is on Gegard Mousasi,” asserts current Strikeforce Light
Heavyweight Champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral (32-8-0)
about his upcoming bout with the fast rising star. “He is
a huge challenge for me. I look forward to stepping in there
against a former Dream Middleweight Champion. This fight will
be champion vs. champion.”
Gegard
“The Dreamcatcher” Mousasi (25-2-1) moved up in weight
and will compete in a light middleweight bout against Sobral
for Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy” on August
1st at Honda Center in Anaheim. He has an impressive record,
is currently ranked the #3 middleweight in the world by Sherdog
and #7 middleweight by MMAWeekly, and made the majority of last
year’s “Fighter of the Year” lists. Mousasi defeated
Ronaldo “Jacare” de Souza for the Dream title last
September and heavyweight Mark Hunt in the first round of DREAM’s
highly-publicized Super-Hulk Tournament at Dream 9.
Mousasi
is managed under the Red Devil International banner, the same
association Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko fights
under, and the two have worked out together. Fedor, whose headline
fight with Josh Barnett for “Trilogy” promises to be
a blockbuster match up, has influenced Mousasi in a number of
ways. The young fighter even speaks in the same calm, collected
manner as the heavyweight champ. “Training with him, that’s
also one of the reasons I thought I can be a heavyweight,”
says Mousasi of Fedor. “Standing next to Fedor, I feel so
much bigger than him. When you train with him, he feels like
a middleweight. He’s as strong as a heavyweight but as fast
as a middleweight, so I think that makes him special. If I can
take my speed as a middleweight, have that explosiveness and
mobility and move up to heavyweight, I think that’s something
a lot of them don’t have.”
And
Mousasi has the same quiet confidence in his abilities as Fedor,
too. “I feel always that I’m physically stronger than
my opponents. I feel like my opponents can’t hurt me because
I’m always comfortable in stand-up and there hasn’t
been a fighter that’s ground-and-pounded me,” he says.
“I feel like I can hurt them, but they can’t hurt me.”
Still,
Mousasi anticipates that facing Sobral in the ring will be a
tough trial of his skills. “It’s a good test for me,
I’m training very hard for it,” says the Dutch-Armenian
mixed martial artist. “Babalu is a big challenge. I like
the way he fights—he fights to win. He’s a real fighter.
I like fighters who come to fight. This fight will be and all
out war. I think the fans will get an exciting fight.”
Sobral
agrees. “Mousasi is a great match for me. (It’s) a
great match for him, too. He’s a true champion. People might
not know him in the U.S., but he’s a true fighter. I’m
very impressed with him.”
Sobral
will pose the biggest challenge for Mousasi on the ground, where
his years of experience and expertise will be a threat. “I
think he will be the better wrestler and Jiu-Jitsu guy,”
says Mousasi. “But none of that matters—this is MMA.”
And
what does Mousasi bring to the table to try to unhinge Sobral’s
advantage on the ground? “He’s hungry to fight,”
states Babalu, “That’s the big difference. We both
have great styles, so this fight will come down to youth vs.
experience. Mousasi is a young, hungry fighter. He wants it.
Against him I have the experience and strategy and the fight’s
in my backyard. That makes me think it’s equal. We will
see which mindset wins out.”
“Even
if he could take me down, I don’t see him (being able to)
ground and pound me,” says Mousasi of Sobral. “I don’t
see him getting mount or top position (or) that he can do any
damage. I don’t see him submit(ting) me. So eventually it’ll
be a stand up fight again. And sooner or later, I’ll catch
him.” Mousasi, who is enjoying an incredible 12 victory
winning streak will be making his American fight debut at “Trilogy”—a
great opportunity to increase his fast growing fan base.
“I’m
going to fight stand up. If I can take him down, I’ll take
him down,” the six-foot-one, two-hundred and sixteen pound
competitor asserts. “I feel strong, I feel explosive. I’m
very confident. I think I can beat him.”
GoDaddy.com
presents Affliction M-1 Global “Trilogy” featuring
Fedor vs. Barnett in association with Golden Boy Promotions and
Donald J Trump. The show is separated into two live broadcasts
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event, “Trilogy,” commencing at 9 PM/ET (6 PM/PT).
Tickets
for Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy,” ranging
between $50.00 and $600.00, go on sale June 8th at Honda Center
Box Office (1.714.704.2500), and also online at Ticketmaster.com
and at all Ticket Master outlets (1.714.740.2000).
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Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Keith Jardine, Alistair
Overeem, Yushin Okami, Ben Rothwell, Mike Pyle, Melvin Manhoef,
Roman Zenstov, Denis Kang, MartinKampmann, Omar Suloev, and Chalid
Arrab, to name a few. (www.m1mixfight.com)
The Trump Organization
The
Trump Organization encompasses global real estate development
and global licensing, sales and marketing, property management,
golf course development, entertainment, entertainment and product
licensing, brand development as well as restaurants and event
planning. Donald J. Trump is the Chairman and President of the
Trump Organization, a privately held company in New York. (www.Trump.com)
Golden
Boy Promotions
Los
Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions was established in 2002 by
Oscar de la Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing
promotional company. Golden Boy Promotions currently has over
60 fighters under contract, from future hall of famers Bernard
Hopkins, Sugar Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez, to current
world champions Ricky Hatton, David Haye, Joel Casamayor, Israel
Vazquez and Gerry Peñalosa. Also included on the company’s
roster are top contenders Jeff Lacy, Juan Diaz, Daniel Ponce
De Leon, Jhonny Gonzalez, Librado Andrade, Rocky Juarez and Rey
Bautista; 2004 Olympians Abner Mares, Vicente Escobedo and Rock
Allen; and highly regarded prospects Danny Garcia, Jermell Charlo,
Hylon Williams and Carlos and Juan Velasquez. (www.goldenboypromotions.com)
Source: The Fight Network
|
UFC's
Anthony Johnson arrested for domestic violence
UFC welterweight Anthony Johnson (7-2) is facing misdemeanor
charges for an alleged altercation with an ex-girlfriend on June
27.
Johnson,
currently out on bail, was charged with domestic violence, battery,
death threats and destroying a phone to prevent the report of
a crime, according to a report by the San Jose Mercury News.
Police
said Johnson was on poor terms with his ex-girlfriend for allegedly
at some point marrying another woman while being in a three-year
relationship with his ex-girlfriend. In the police report, Johnson
forced himself into his ex-girlfriend’s home after being
denied entry to check on his dogs. An altercation followed that
left both with minor injuries to the face.
Johnson
is claiming that he was struck first and acted in self-defense.
The
top UFC prospect holds a record of 4-2 in the UFC, one of which
was a wrongful loss as a recipient of an illegal eye poke. Johnson
would avenge the loss to Kevin Burns with a Knockout of the Night-winning
head kick. He was scheduled to fight last month on the "TUF
9 Finale" card but pulled out due to a knee injury.
Johnson’s
agent Ken Pavia is asking for judgment to be withheld until all
relevant facts are known. In a statement e-mailed to the media,
Pavia said, “Mr. Johnson is completely and unequivocally
innocent of all charges. These charges are completely outside
the realm of Mr. Johnson’s character; he has no prior criminal
record and has never been in trouble with the law.”
Johnson
has a trial date set for July 17.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Robert
Drysdale
By Guilherme Cruz
The
ADCC open class champion in 2007, Robert Drysdale will face Roger
Gracie at the super fight of the tournament of this year, and
is excited for the challenge. With the confirmation of the submission
championship to the end of September in Barcelona, Spain, the
fighter spoke with TATAME.com about the preparation to face the
Gracie. "I’m very excited, training a lot with the
heavy guys. I'm getting prepared for a long time, but my most
intense preparation will start now. It’ll be the most important
fight of my life. He’s very good, but that is why I want
to beat him", said Robert, commenting about the Gracie’s
performance at the BJJ Worlds 2009, the success of his gym at
the USA and the trainings with Frank Mir, who is getting prepared
to dispute the belt of the UFC with Brock Lesnar.
How
is the preparation to face Roger at the ADCC?
I’m
very excited, training a lot with the heavy guys. I'm getting
prepared for a long time, but my most intense preparation will
start now. It’ll be the most important fight of my life.
He’s very good, but that’s why I want to beat him.
If he were a guy with no qualities, I would have no merit to
beat him. I feel that, if I beat him, I’ll be the best in
the world in submission, and this is my dream. I want to be the
best at what I do, and I feel that beat him it’s what I
have to do. I think he’s an excellent guy, full of qualities,
and that makes me have even more determination.
How
many times have you faced Roger?
I
lost to him three times in jiu-jitsu competitions, but never
fought in submission tournaments. It’s different, the rules,
the strategy is another, is another fight. I’m confident,
I think about this fight every day. I’ll enter heavier to
fight with him. Winning Roger, my life will change. It already
changed with the open class (ADCC title), which opened many doors
for me, but winning him, I’ll establish as the best in sbumission,
and this will open more doors for me. I think about this fight
since I defeated Marcelinho (Garcia).
What
did you think of Roger’s performance at the BJJ Worlds 2009,
submitting all his opponents with a choke from the mount?
It
was fantastic. The guy doing the same thing with everybody and
submitting everybody... Roger is the man, he’s great. We
can’t take off his credit. You can say that he’s big,
strong, but no, he’s good. He has a simple game and he’s
the man. But it’s all a kimono thing... If you take it off,
it changes everything. That’s why I’m confident. Much
of what he does depends on the kimono, and this is what I’ll
explore. His performance at the BJJ Worlds was brilliant.
How
is your gym at the United States?
I’m
opening a second gym here in Las Vegas, it’s awesome! Half
of the UFC is training Jiu-Jitsu here. We have trainings three
times a week and it’s full, only top guys. Frank Mir, Forrest
Griffin, Phil Baroni, Martin Kampmann, only the tops. For me,
it’s being a great training. The Wrestling guys from the
American team are here, it couldn’t be better. I’m
very happy with the academy and the way that things are going.
There is no lack of training here.
Seeing
Frank Mir’s preparation, how do you think it will be his
fight against Brock Lesnar?
He’s
trained. Who sees the Frank don’t believe in him, but he’s
sinister. I’ve never seen a guy learn so fast, he sees it
and already absorbs it. It’s very easy to teach him. If
Brock lets, he’ll take off the arm, the neck... I saw Frank
roll with a guy good of Jiu-Jitsu and people let and he almost
takes the arm off... With Brock will be the same thing. He hit
once and will hit again. The Frank Mir of today is better than
the one that fought against Minotauro. We didn’t stop training
his Jiu-Jitsu. I’m giving him particular lessons for a long
time and he improved absurdly, has no comparison. This fight
will probably go to the ground, it’s difficult to avoid
Brock’s takedowns, but, when it gets there, I have faith
that Brock will tap. If I were Brock, I wouldn’t take Frank
down, because if he does it, he’ll tap. Frank is very dangerous
there.
Since
he arrived at the UFC, Brock improved a lot...
Improved,
he has time and disposition, beyond a great team, but he’s
technically behind the other heavyweights. He was losing to Couture
and got that lucky punch behind the ear. Frank is very comfortable
with the back on the ground. I’m more confident for this
fight than I was to the fight against Minotauro, because Brock
doesn’t concern me much. He’s heavy, strong, but is
limited. He isn’t striker, isn’t good on the ground.
He’s a bull, that runs and takes you down.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
Education
is the chief remedy for all those great evils which afflict the
country. Education will not only cultivate and improve the intellect
of the nation, but will also purify its character."
Keshub Chunder Sen
|
New
Fighters' Club TV Episode Tuesdays!
Channel 52
Tuesday, 8:00 PM
Fighters'
Club TV Episode 63 is finally cut and submitted to Olelo Programming.
I
will air in our normal time slot; Tuesday night, 8pm on Olelo
Oahu Channel 52--or can be viewed via stream at Olelo.org at
the same time of it's scheduled airing.
Episode
63 features:
Mike
and Mark back in action from the 1st Jewel of Romolo's Triple
Crown of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
-interviews and footage of Rylan Lizares vs Jair Muniz
KINGDOM
MMA
-Andy "Danger" Cohea vs LJ Borges
-Dejuan Hathaway vs Tommy Tuiloma +intvw w/ Dejuan (featuring
our special guest interviewer!)
|
Greg
Jackson talks about GSP’s strategy against BJ Penn
By Zach Arnold
In
addressing a question about whether or not he game plans a fight
to break an opponent’s will:
“It’s
kind of a complicated issue,” Jackson recently pontificated.
“We have a structure that we give him, these are the things
that you want to do, these are things you don’t want to
do, here’s what you do when he does this, here’s what
you do when he does that, within that structure the artist has
to be able to work, so you have… you’re tethered by
it, but within that structure you’re able to move around.
The BJ Penn fight is a great example of that. Once I saw that
with BJ Penn we were able to out kickbox him, I wanted to take
that way from BJ Penn so even though our game plan was to take
him down, in the second round I called, I believe it was the
second round I called “I want to kickbox him more”
because mentally I wanted BJ Penn to know that he couldn’t
win at that point kickboxing, so if he was going to try to get
up from the guard it was going to be no better for him, and that
starts the breaking process. So that was something that we did
on the fly a little bit, you can do it Georges, once you see
where the fight is going, so there’s a little bit of that
adaptation stuff, but mostly you pretty well stick to the game
plan.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Johnson
Surgery Went ‘Well,’ Says Trainer
by Loretta Hunt
The emergency surgery that Lavar Johnson underwent on Monday
morning “looks like it went well,” said his manager
and trainer Bob Cook via a text to Sherdog.com.
The
32-year-old heavyweight prospect was shot once to the back and
abdomen area with a semi-automatic weapon by an unidentified
assailant in the early hours of July 5 in Bakersfield, Calif.
Cook
did not know Johnson’s current condition, but said he’d
visited the fighter on Sunday evening in a local hospital, and
had been told Johnson was “between serious and critical”
condition.
Johnson
was attending a family reunion and holiday celebration outside
a private residence when a passerby opened fire on the gathering.
Three others were shot and received minor to moderate wounds.
A fourth man, Anthony Mack Johnson, reportedly died at the scene
from multiple shots, according to the Bakersfield Police Dept.
A
police dept. representative told Sherdog.com Monday that no further
information would be released regarding the “ongoing investigation.”
Johnson
(12-3) had been scheduled to compete on the undercard at Strikeforce’s
Aug. 15 event in San Jose, Calif.
Source: Tatame
|
Diaz
vs. Guillard, Huerta vs. Maynard Confirmed for Sept. 16th
By FCF Staff
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has confirmed two feature bouts
for the promotion’s upcoming September 16th, UFC Fight Night
19 card, which will take place at the Cox Convention Center in
Oklahoma City. In a widely expected bout between two lightweight
contenders, Roger Huerta will take on Gray Maynard, while in
another lightweight clash, former “Ultimate Fighter”
competitors Nathan Diaz and Melvin Guillard will square off.
Huerta
(20-2-1) will head into the bout having not fought since last
August, when he lost by Unanimous Decision to Kenny Florian at
UFC 87. Due to the fact the Maynard bout will be the last on
Huerta’s current contract, coupled with the fighter’s
acting ambitions, it remains to be seen whether or not he returns
to the organization. The loss to Florian was Huerta’s first
since June, 2004.
Maynard
(7-0) is coming off a Unanimous Decision win over Jim Miller
in March, and has now won 5 straight, since his No Contest result
against Rob Emerson at the TUF 5 Finale. A win over Huerta would
likely entrench the Xtreme Couture fighter as one of the division’s
top contenders.
Diaz
(10-4) will be looking to back on track against Guillard, as
the Cesar Gracie fighter has now lost back-to-back fights, losing
by Split Decision to Clay Guida in January, and most recently,
by Unanimous Decision to Joe Stevenson at the TUF 9 Finale in
June.
Guillard
(22-7-2) has won 2 straight since returning to the Octagon last
July, as after the veteran stopped Denis Siver by TKO at UFC
86, he worked his way to a Split Decision victory over Gleison
Tibau at the recent TUF 9 card.
No
other bouts have been announced yet for the September 16th event.
Source: Full Contact Fighterr
|
Cigano
may face Cro Cop
Brazilian off UFC 102 card
Carlos Ozorio / Portal das Lutas
Called
on to face Justin McCuly at UFC 102, coming up in August, Junior
“Cigano” dos Santos ended up being dropped from the
card. However, what seemed like bad news, turned into something
much better. When, before, he was not to appear on the main card,
the Brazilian should now return in September in the main event,
against none other than Mirko Cro Cop.
“I
think I’ll fight September 19. They took me off the August
29 show,” he said, also announcing he will no longer be
facing the same opponent. “My opponent’s changed. I’ll
probably face Cro Cop. If I beat him I’ll be in really good
standing. If that’s truly the case, I’m guaranteed
on the main card and in the main event of the evening. If I were
to fight now it wouldn’t be on the main card,” he said
to Portal das Lutas, GRACIEMAG.com partner site.
With
eight wins and one loss, Cigano is coming off three knockout
wins, two of which were in the UFC. In his career, the Brazilian
has won six fights in such fashion. Cro Cop too is coming off
a knockout win, at UFC 99, in Germany. Disputed by both the UFC
and Dream, the Croatian looks to remain in the American organization.
To Cigano, it will be a great opportunity to face him.
“To
me it’s incredible. When they asked me if they could change
the fight date I was a bit bothered, because I wanted to fight
right away. I’ve been away for some time now. But the Fertitta
brothers asked me and I accepted. After that I found out it would
be against Cro Cop and was overjoyed. It’ll be a big opportunity
in my career. Lots of good things have happened in my life and
this is one more. I’m going to make the most of it,”
he finished.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Pat
Barry vs. Antoni Hardonk lined up for UFC 104
In a meeting of heavyweights with an affinity towards kickboxing,
Pat Barry (18-6-1) and Antoni Hardonk (8-5) will battle each
other at UFC 104 on October 24 in Los Angeles.
Both
fighters have agreed to the matchup and are looking forward to
signing their bout agreements, reports MMAWeekly.com.
Barry
and Hardonk are both coming off disappointing losses after strong
efforts.
Hardonk
was unbeaten in three UFC fights in 2008 but in April at UFC
97 suffered a TKO loss to Cheick Kongo. Last month Hardonk had
another fight in Los Angeles, when he prevented three men from
stealing a victim's wallet with a threat of a knife.
A
former K-1 and WCL kickboxer, Barry made an impression in his
UFC debut, forcing an end to the fight in the first round by
chopping Dan Evensen with leg kicks. However in his next fight,
his inexperience in grappling was on display when he was tapped
out by UFC newcomer Tim Hague at UFC 98 in May.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Sérgio
Moraes anxious for Bellator’s GP
By Erik Engelhart
World
champion of Jiu-Jitsu, Sérgio Moraes made a beautiful
performance at his debut in Bellator FC, submitting Josh Martin
with a triangle choke. After the performance, the black belt
was called to fight at the middleweight tournament, which will
start in October. In interview to TATAME.com, the fighter commented
about the opportunity and guaranteed that, even focused in the
MMA, will never leave the Jiu-Jitsu competitions.
"I
received this invitation after my victory, I’ll be at Bellator’s
GP and I’ll work, train as much as I can, improve everything
that I have to improve, correct some flaws and, God willing,
bring this title to Brazil. I love Jiu-Jitsu, I’ll always
raise the flag of the modality and always fight the championship
when I can", said Moraes, who was happy with the comment
of his manager, Wallid Ismail, affirming that he would soon be
the best pound for pound in the world, but recognized that still
has much road ahead. "This is what I would like most...
I cheer for this to happen for real, but, for this to come truth,
I still have to work and a lot and certainly it won’t miss
work or disposition from me", concluded the fighter.
Source: Tatame
|
The
Ultimate Wingman
by Loretta Hunt
Zach Light always knew there was a place for him in mixed martial
arts. It just took him a little while to figure out exactly what
that was.
A
two-time All-American wrestler in high school and junior college,
Light might best be remembered for his brief appearance at UFC
37.5 in 2002. Pete Spratt submitted Light with a first-round
armbar, the finishing move that would account for four of the
Californian’s eight career losses of a lackluster 4-8 pro
record.
Light
admits he was one of those fighters who couldn’t quite transfer
his success in the gym to the cage.
“I’d
hang with everybody, but maybe it’s a mental thing,”
said Light. “I don’t know why I lost all of those fights.”
Light
doesn’t have to ponder over that so much anymore –-
this Saturday he will corner “Ultimate Fighter” winner
Michael Bisping in his fight against Dan Henderson at UFC 100
in Las Vegas. The bout will cap off a 10-week training camp Light
orchestrated over two continents for the 30-year-old fighter.
In
the last three years, Light has made the leap from fighter to
trainer, though many who have worked with the tireless and patient
gym guru describe him as much more than a coach.
Tiki
Ghosn calls Light “the ultimate wingman” -- equal parts
training partner, confidante, motivational speaker, and personal
assistant thrown in to boot.
In
final days leading up to an event, Light might procure his fighter
a new cup or make sure his fight shorts are just the right color
and cut, and that all the sponsors’ brands have been embroidered
on them.
“It’s
a lot of running around and getting simple things,” said
Light. “The fighters are very, very particular over their
fight shorts. If it’s not perfect and doesn’t look
exactly the way they want, they’ll want something else.”
On
one occasion, Light delivered a condom to one of his fighter’s
hotel rooms.
At
the tail-end of Bisping’s less racy training cycle, Light
brought in “The Ultimate Fighter 7” veteran Mike Dolce
as an on-site nutritionist so the Brit could have his meals waiting
for him after his late-night sessions.
Light
never intended to become a trainer. He thought fighting was his
calling.
The
decision was made for him when Light’s marriage began to
unravel in 2002. With a 3-3 record and no foreseeable way to
make a decent living, Light left the sport, though he didn’t
wander far.
“Every
single day, I would be on all the Web sites,” said Light,
who took an office job selling fitness equipment. “I’d
watch every single pay-per-view. In my mind I was going through
strategies in the fight and pretty much picking who would win
because this guy was going to do this or that.”
Terry
Goodlad/Sherdog.com
Light
will corner Bisping at UFC 100.
Light’s eye for detail did not go unnoticed. Tito Ortiz,
who’d huffed and puffed alongside Light during their days
with Team Punishment in Huntington Beach, Calif., doled out the
ultimate recommendation.
“Tito
told me if I wanna be the champ to train with Zach,” said
“Razor” Rob McCullough, “and if I could hang with
him on the mat with my standup skills, I’d smash dudes.”
McCullough
and Light began a year-and-a-half run training together, one
that saw the lightweight with razor-sharp kicks grasp the WEC
title.
Light
continued to fight as well, but didn’t find the same success
as McCullough, losing five of his next seven fights.
The
clouds parted when Quinton Jackson hired Light as his wrestling
coach in late 2006, just as the future light heavyweight champion
was making his cross-over into the UFC.
Light
had known Jackson already for ten years, which proved a valuable
asset when the trainer had to assert himself.
“I’d
wake ‘Rampage’ up at 6 a.m. every morning and I know
the guy hated my guts,” he said. “There’s nobody
in the whole camp that would wake him up besides me. He hates
people in the morning. He hates me all the way leading up to
the fight and just loves me after.”
Jackson
cinched up the UFC title in only his second fight for the promotion
and word started to get out about Light and his services.
In
the last eight months, Light has had only seven weeks off and
seen his two young children only three times. Most recently,
he coordinated back-to-back camps for U.K. lightweight Paul Kelly,
Cheick Kongo (who was a three-week replacement at UFC 99), and
Bisping, who Light started with ten weeks ago in England, then
traveled with to Las Vegas to finish out his last three weeks.
Mario
Neto, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who’s helped guide
Bisping’s career over the last few years, also moved with
the group to Sin City, and watched the Brit trade shots with
the likes of Phil Baroni, Trevor Prangley, and Ricco Rodriguez.
“It’s
hard to get fighters together to do their training on time,”
said Neto. “It takes a Superman and (Light) is perfect for
this. Not everyone likes to be all about the fighter like he
is.”
Light
has drawn from his own career in molding each camp to fit each
fighter’s individual needs.
“The
biggest thing I learned in fighting myself is that you can’t
train yourself,” he said. “A fighter needs a go-to
guy. He needs to look at his corner and believe in the person
he’s talking to. It’s that somebody that’s looking
out for you no matter what.”
It’s
not always easy. Light described Kongo’s June 12 fight at
UFC 99, a loss to Cain Velasquez, as painful to watch, especially
as the Frenchman seemed ill equipped to adjust his game plan
from round to round.
“There’s
some small changes you can make, but you can only say so much
and even in so many words in the corner that the fighter can
understand,” said Light. “Me being a fighter and knowing
that and what I can take in, even with all those things in play,
you can only say too much.”
Kongo
certainly didn’t hold the loss against Light.
“He
has the ability to know my opponents and set up my training camp
and my strategies (to fit that),” Kongo wrote via text.
“He’s more than a coach.”
Though
his services might seem all-encompassing, one area Light doesn’t
intervene in is management.
“I’ve
figured out a way as a trainer to not be involved with the fighter’s
money so much,” he said. “I’m not their manager
and don’t want to be. As a trainer, if you do the best you
can with a guy and don’t get involved in the politics of
his personal money, you’ll be around forever.”
Finding
order in organized bedlam has suited Light well.
“I’m
way more confident as a trainer,” said Light. “I find
it fulfilling enough as a fighter to be able to be in the gym
and still be able to spar with some of these guys or just wrestle
with them. I do almost everything that the fighter does and I
don’t even have to fight.”
That
doesn’t mean Light has satisfied his original itch though.
“I’m
probably going to fight a couple of more times in my career,”
said the emerging trainer, “but more because I love it.
I’m not going to be fighting to become the world champion.”
When
that happens, expect Light to have one of the most stacked corners
in the biz.
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
"Learn
the rules, break the rules, make up new rules, break the new
rules."
Marvin Bell
|
Ultimate
Fighter Cast Announced
Hawaii's Scott Junk Is On The Show!
Live from the
floor at the UFC Fan Expo, Spike and the UFC officially announced
the full cast for The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights, which premieres
September 16. Hit the jump for details and exclusive video footage.
Among
tons of other cool stuff at the Expo, the UFC is hosting an autograph
session with the cast members, so be sure to check back later
for all of Spike.com's coverage with the fighters, the fans and
of course, the Octagon Girls.
But
for now, let's get to business. The talent level this season
is higher than ever before and the personalities are, well, heavyweight.
From ex-NFL stars to MMA champions and a street fighting phenomenon,
the house may literally explode this season (ed. Note: not literally),
but it promises to make for some damn good television.
Without
further ado:
Zak
Jenson - standout wrestler at Augsburg College
Marcus Jones - former 1st round NFL draft pick who had a six-year
career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Scott Junk - Division II All-American football player at Southwest
Oklahoma State and fought in UFC 76.
James McSweeney - former international kickboxing and Muay Thai
champion
John Madsen - defeated Brock Lesnar in a high school wrestling
match
Matt Mitrione - played for New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings
Roy Nelson - former IFL Heavyweight Champion
Demico Rogers - high school football and wrestling star
Brendan Schaub - played for Buffalo Bills and Arena Football's
Utah Blaze
Darrill Schoonover - decorated Army veteran
Wes Shivers - former member of the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta
Falcons
Wes Sims- fought two heated battles with former UFC champ Frank
Mir at UFC 43 and UFC 46
Kimbo Slice - former EliteXC heavyweight contender and YouTube
sensation
Abe Wagner - played linebacker at Michigan Tech and has a degree
in mechanical engineering
Mike Wessel - UFC veteran and former strength and conditioning
coach at University of Arkansas
Justin Wren - high school All-American wrestler
Source: Spike.com
|
LESNAR
AND GSP BIGGEST EARNERS FOR UFC 100
With the UFC 100 prelims already underway and the main card just
minutes from starting, the salaries for the main event fighters
have been released as well as the bonus amounts for tonight's
show, according to a report by Yahoo.com's Kevin Iole via his
official Twitter account.
UFC
heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will take home a flat $400,000
paycheck for his efforts at UFC 100, making him the highest paid
fighter on the card before anything even happens.
His
opponent, interim champion Frank Mir, will earn $45,000 for his
show money, and another $45,000 if he defeats Lesnar for the
second time in his career.
UFC
welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre has a chance to match
Lesnar's payout with a win, as he will earn $200,000 for the
fight, and an extra $200,000 if he gets the title defense win.
Thiago
Alves, taking his first shot at a UFC championship, will take
home $60,000 as his show money and another $60,000 if he can
unseat St. Pierre as the welterweight champion.
"Ultimate
Fighter" season 9 coach Dan Henderson will make $100,000
to show and $150,000 if he wins, while his opponent and fellow
coach, Michael Bisping, will earn $150,000 to show and $100,000
for a win.
Iole
also announced on his Twitter page that UFC president Dana White
confirmed that the bonuses for "Fight of the Night,"
"Knockout of the Night," and "Submission of the
Night" will be $100,000 apiece, which is the biggest award
the promotion has ever offered for a single bonus at an event.
Stay
tuned to MMAWeekly.com after UFC 100 closes for the fighters
that will earn the $100,000 bonuses.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Poll
results: Kimbo Slice of 'The Ultimate Fighter'
Way back when, when the news broke about Kimbo Slice being on
Season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter," we posed a simple
question: How far would he go?
And
seeing how Spike TV and UFC will announce the full cast of Season
10 during UFC 100 weekend, now's as good a time as any to publish
the results of our highly unscientific Fightin' Words poll:
How
far will Kimbo Slice go on Season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter"?
38% - He'll lose in the preliminary rounds
27% - He'll lose in the semifinals
26% - He'll win it all
9% - He'll lose in the final
Source: Fightin' Words
|
Fabrício
Monteiro eyes Sengoku return
By Eduardo Ferreira
Black
belt of Jiu-Jitsu, Fabrício Monteiro is removed from the
MMA rings since July of 2008, when defeated the Japanese Yoshitomo
Watanabe in the sixth edition of Fury FC. After facing difficult
times in his career, the fighter told TATAME that is focusing
on Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, but doesn’t take the eye away
from the Sengoku, one of the biggest MMA events in Japan, where
he fought in the beginning of 2008.
"I’m
dedicating myself to the specific trainings, the cloth trainings,
and I want to fight the Jiu-Jitsu championships again. I’m
giving lessons in social projects for poor children that I have
in Teresópolis, but I'm there waiting for an opportunity
in the Sengoku", says, revealing that still has fights under
the contract. "I have contract with them for four fights,
and I’m waiting the opportunity, because they’re having
some problems in finding opponents for me... They’re solving
it and I believe that in September I’ll return to fight
in Sengoku".
Used
to compete with the welterweights, the athlete will have to sweat
to return to normal weight, after fighting between the heavies
in some Jiu-Jitsu competitions. "Today I’m 92kg, much
above the weight, relaxed, but I fight until 77kg. I’m also
heavier because in Jiu-Jitsu I prefer to fight in the heavy category,
so I'm more relaxed. But, when I return to train to fight MMA,
the weight naturally goes down and I return to 77kg again",
revealed the fighter.
Source: Tatame
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Taurosevicius
Ready for Featherweight Debut
By Matt Kaplan
Deividas
Taurosevicius (10-3) is eager to show the MMA world the new “Russian
Dave.” He’ll be fighting for a new promotion, at a
new weight, and with newly improved weapons (that he’s honed
at his new gym).
After
a 15-month layoff, the former IFL New York Pitbull is set to
make his Affliction debut on August 1 against dangerous Canadian
kickboxer Mark Hominick (16-8), who will also be returning after
more than a year of inactivity.
Taurosevicius
recognizes the dangerous striking skills of the Shawn Tompkins-trained
Hominick, but says that since his last pro fight (in May, 2008),
his boxing skills have shown marked improvement.
“I
see him keeping pressure all fight, I’ll keep the pressure,
and we’ll be banging with the hands. I’m holding nothing
back. My hands are good too, but this is mixed martial arts.
Maybe the fight will go to the ground; I’d love to go to
the ground,” said Taurosevicius, whose 10 pro wins include
8 submissions.
Taurosevicius’
fight against Hominick will also mark the first time the native
Lithuanian will be fighting at featherweight.
“I
always used to fight at 155, but I always used to fight at my
weight: 157. My coaches said, ‘Why don’t you fight
at 145?’ You know, at the professional level, everybody
is dropping weight, and when I see how some guys are built, dropping
20, 25 pounds, I changed my mind, and said, ‘Yeah, why don’t
I do that?’ We tried to do 145. No problem. Weighed in,
felt great. I don’t think I’m going to have any advantage
at 145, but there’s not going to be a disadvantage for me.”
Deividas
says that he is happy to be a part of a card that features Fedor
Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Renato ‘Babalu Sobral’,
and Gegard Mousasi, and is primed to climb into the ring on August
1 with Hominick and steal some of the thunder from the bigger
guys with the bigger names:
“We’re
both going to be in great shape, and both will push the pace
all fight. It’s going to be a good match. It’s going
to be a war.”
Source: Full Contact Fighter
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Ricardo
Arona opens his home...
… and readies himself for MMA return
Carlos Ozorio / Portal das Lutas
The first scene of Ricardo Arona receiving the PORTAL DAS LUTAS
and GRACIEMAG crew into his home, in Niteroi, set a relaxed mood
for what was to come. Catching sight of his pet cat strolling
by, he took it in his hands and tossed it up in the air, over
the wall, into the neighbor’s house. “He always lands
in the tree,” he said. However, after soaring some three
meters into the air, the creature, awkwardly, ended up landing
on the ground of the house next door. After letting out a cackle,
the fighter admitted: “Well, sometimes he doesn’t make
it!” And back came the feline, unharmed and content with
the wild ride, to the to fighter’s side.
In
the extremity of the house the black belt keeps other pets, two
pitbulls. In the yard, a ring set in open air in the final stages
of being put together. And to better receive visitors, the living
room is furnitureless, not even a table to eat on, but a massive
mat for training, where he constantly receives black belts from
all around.
Seated
before trophies he displays prideful, with ADCC and Pride titles,
he spoke. “I have quality material for training here, both
in terms of equipment and in human resources. I receive big-time
guys here to train with, whether in muay thai, wrestling or Jiu-Jitsu.
I also receive some trainers who are brushing me up,” he
said.
Outdoors,
Arona plans to have training sessions inspired by his trip to
Thailand. “I’ve ordered transparent plastic to cover
the space and still see the sky. I don’t want to feel confined,”
said he, who likes to strengthen himself with energy derived
from nature.
It
is in this setting that the black belt prepares for his next
engagement after two years without stepping in a ring. On September
12, he will be back in action in one of the main events at Bitetti
Combat, against Marvin Eastman.
“I
found out I’d be fighting him. I still haven’t seen
his fights, but I know he’s tough, and even beat Quinton
Jackson. That just makes me more motivated to have a great appearance.
I want to get my career going again, I’m anxious for my
return. I’ll put together a strategy and it’ll be a
great fight,” he finished.
Source: Gracie Magazine
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Mirko
'Cro Cop' could be back with UFC at UFC 103
Flying to meet with Mirko "Cro Cop" last week at his
home in Croatia, UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta reportedly made
the striker "an offer he couldn't refuse." And it's
appearing that Cro Cop has accepted.
Junior
Dos Santos is telling Portal de Lutas that he has been removed
from a UFC 102 fight against Justin McCully for a match against
Cro Cop at UFC 103 in Dallas. It's a step up in competition that
Dos Santos is pleased with.
"To
me it's incredible," Dos Santos told Portal de Lutas. "When
they asked me if they could change the fight date I was a bit
bothered, because I wanted to fight right away. I've been away
for some time now. But the Fertitta brothers asked me and I accepted.
After that I found out it would be against Cro Cop and was overjoyed.
It'll be a big opportunity in my career. Lots of good things
have happened in my life and this is one more."
Mirko
Cro Cop made his return to the UFC in June at UFC 99 and defeated
Mostapha Al Turk via TKO in the first round. But within a few
hours, Cro Cop had already bolted to DREAM, according to UFC
president Dana White.
When
Jon Fitch had his promotional contract terminated by White last
November due to a contract dispute, it was Ferttita who essentially
played "good cop" to White's "bad cop." Fitch
signed the merchandising agreement and was brought back into
the UFC following a talk with Feritta. Fitch would later say
that it was never about the contract but with White's overbearing
approach.
In
this case, though it was Fertitta who secured the deal, it wasn't
White's approach but Cro Cop's desire to fight more frequently.
A fight at DREAM 10 on July 20 had already been ready for Cro
Cop. That fight, against "Mighty Mo," will be scrapped
if Cro Cop proceeds with the UFC 103 fight.
Source: MMA Fighting
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Robinson:
The UFC, Walking a Fine Line between Business and Sport
by Zac Robinsonm
It
would seem that Zuffa, owner of the UFC, is in the middle of
operation clampdown. I’m referring to the banning of numerous
apparel companies (or charging them a fee of $100,000) and now
the alleged threat regarding the Electronic Arts (EA) MMA game.
In
most cases I’m a supporter of the UFC when it comes to business
decisions. Even if I think they are harsh or delivered in a not
so couth manner, they still seem to work and whether we like
it or not, the running of a promotion is a business. It doesn’t
take a genius to see that the UFC has done a great deal for the
sport and continues to do so.
Every
now and then however, an issue arises that I just can’t
comprehend. The threat of banning fighters from the UFC for life
if they sign on with EA’s MMA game (a game that would compete
against THQ’s UFC Undisputed), even if they don’t currently
fight for the promotion, is simply outrageous and bordering on
tyrannical. This is why I’m not completely convinced that
we’ve heard both sides of the story, but just in case we
have, here are my thoughts on how such a ban could actually damage
the integrity of the sport, that is as long as the UFC continues
with one of its other policies.
By
following through with this alleged threat regarding EA, the
UFC in effect decreases its talent pool. We all know there are
so many fighters training hard each and every day, so many getting
better and better with each fight. Some may not be stars now,
but will be in the future. If EA comes knocking on their door,
who could blame them for welcoming them with open arms? They
sign with EA, dominate fight after fight until they are a star,
and yet they can never fight the UFC’s best! There is something
wrong with this picture.
The
UFC walks a fine line between business and sport. It has to.
With the relative newness of MMA and its huge and growing popularity,
the promotion must protect what it has. It also has to ensure
that the fights feature the best fighters they can get and often
the best in the world.
Of
course this wouldn’t be such a big issue if the UFC allowed
for cross-promotion. Many fans champion this idea, but it makes
no sense for the UFC. Why give other promotions the opportunity
to piggy back on what you have built? So this isn’t an option
and it probably won’t be for a long time.
We
are left with a situation where some of the soon to be best fighters
in the world may have to decide: a deal with EA, or screw it
because they might one day fight in the UFC. This is unfair and
if the best fighters can’t square off in the Octagon because
of a deal with a competing video game, then it does absolutely
damage the integrity of the sport.
Let’s
hope this is nothing more than something to get us worked up
about that never comes to fruition. Because if it does EA Sports,
and the fans, is gonna be pissed!
Zac
Robinson is author of the upcoming MMA IQ Trivia book, Sports
By The Numbers MMA book and blog, as well as the author of the
upcoming cutman Stitch Duran book. He can be reached at zacrr6@yahoo.com
Source: MMA Payout
|
Quote
of the Day
"If
it is a mistake of the head and not the heart don't worry about
it, that's the way we learn."
Earl Warren
|
X-1
Scuffle On Schofield
TROPIC'S
7/25/2009
BLUE CORNER RED CORNER
Main Event
TILIS SIONEINI 185lbs Pro MMA Match MICHAEL WINKELSPEHT
3/5 Min Rounds
Co Main Event
MILLER UALESI 185lbs MMA Match BILL OAKLEY
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
PAUL LOPES 145lbs MMA Match MILES HAYES
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
SHAUN BROOKS 135lbs MMA Match STEVEN ALBANESE
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
JOEY PALAMIA HW MMA Match DAVID UNTALAN
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
MAKANA VERTIDO 205lbs MMA Match MIN AN
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
MAKI PITOLO 195lbs MMA Match STEVE ROVELSTAD
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
DALE SOPI HW MMA Match LINO KAKIVAGA
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
TRAVIS BYERS 145lbs MMA Match DUSTIN CABE
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
AUSTIN FIGUEROA 205lbs MMA Match YANCY YAGER
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
ROBIN CLARK 170lbs MMA Match DANNY MABALOT
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
OTTO HOOPII HW MMA Match STEVEN BEAL
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
SASAE PAGOFEIA 205lbs MMA Match JOSEPH COUNTERMAN
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
LUCKY 155lbs MMA Match DUSTIN SMITH
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
RICKY MARILLO 170lbs MMA Match JOSE VELEZ
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
FRED CABATING 170lbs MMA Match KELLY KEMP
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
MCKENZIE YOUNG 145lbs MMA Match DANIEL MANAREGO
Amateur 3/3 Min Rounds
|
UFC 100
Results
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
July 11, 2009
LAS VEGAS – Welcome to our live coverage of tonight's UFC
100 event, which takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center
in Las Vegas.
MMAjunkie.com
is on scene for tonight's long-awaited milestone show and will
have live round-by-round updates – the quickest and most
detailed you'll find anywhere on the Web – from the preliminary
card beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT) and the main card
at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT).
Be
sure to check out our UFC 100 discussion thread to comment on
tonight's pay-per-view event, and follow along with up-to-the-minute
updates here.
As
always, MMAjunkie.com will have complete fallout of the event
at the conclusion of UFC 100, which features UFC heavyweight
champion Brock Lesnar vs. interim title-holder Frank Mir and
welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre vs. top contender Thiago
Alves.
And
for complete coverage of tonight's event, stay tuned the UFC
100 section of the site.
Enjoy
the fights everyone.
*
* * *
MATT
GRICE (10-3) VS. SHANNON GUGERTY (12-3)
Round
1: As the first fight gets underway, the arena in only about
30 percent full (but sure to fill up quickly). After a touch
of gloves, the long-awaited UFC 100 event is underway. Gugerty
swings and misses wildly with a leg kick. Grice does the same
and then blocks a front kick. Gugerty clinches, gets underhooks
and takes the fight to the mat. Gugerty works from half guard
and looks for the mount position while peppering Grice with punches.
Grice powers his way back to his feet, but Gugerty slaps on a
guillotine and delivers knees to the body. Grice pushes his opponent
into the cage but can't break free of the submission. Gugerty
falls to his back and then rolls over Grice, and the bout is
stopped when he goes limp and unconscious. Shannon Gugerty def.
Matt Grice via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 2:36.
C.B.
DOLLAWAY (9-3) VS. TOM LAWLOR (6-1)
Round
1: (Tom Lawlor is coming to the cage with "Who Let the Dogs
Out?" playing. Seth Petruzelli is on a chain, bone in mouth,
walking on all fours. Really; I can't possibly make this stuff
up.) Dollaway opens the bout with a nice one-two combination.
Lawlor swings, but Dollaway ducks under and shoots. While airborne,
Lawlor slaps on a guillotine choke. Dollaway hits his back, and
there's little movement seconds later. Lawlor yells at the ref
that Dollaway is out cold, and Yves Lavigne jumps in to break
up the bout with Dollaway clear out cold. Tom Lawlor defeats
C.B. Dollway via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 0:55.
(After
the bout Lawlor, a middleweight, calls out the winner of Brock
Lesnar vs. Frank Mir. And Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves.
And the WEC. Yes, he was kidding. Well, at least I think he was.)
T.J.
GRANT (14-3) VS. DONG HYUN KIM (12-0-1)
Round
1: Grant misses with an early body kick but shoots and puts Kim
against the cage and on his butt. Grant tries to pull his legs
out from under him as Kim peppers him with punches. Kim gets
back to his feet, reverses the position, and puts Grant in the
same position he was in seconds prior earlier. Kim frees a leg
and moves to half guard and postures up to deliver a couple body
shots. Grant pulls him back into full guard, avoids a triangle-choke
attempt and eats a few elbow strikes from below. Kim delivers
a steady stream of punches to the head before Grant slows the
attack. Kim frees a leg to get a loud cheer from his corner and
additional applause when he delivers a few punches. Grant uses
an open guard to escape, but Kim clinches, delivers a knee to
the chest and then slams Grant back down the mat. Grant has some
blood trickling from near his left eye. Kim backs off, and Grant
gets to his feet, dips for a single leg and drags Kim to the
mat. Kim gets back up and muscles Grant to his back. From inside
full guard again, Kim tees off with a couple brutal elbows that
draw gasps from the crowd. Kim pops Grant with a few more strikes
before the round ends. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Kim.
Round
2: Kim connects a left hed kick. Grant quickly defends and regains
hos composure before landing a right and charging in. With Kim
pinned against the cage, Grant works for the single leg. Kim
defends, reverses the position and puts Grant in the guillotine
submission from top position. Three in a row? Nope. Grant escapes
but is now on his back as Kim works from full guard. Grant goes
high with his guard but eats a right and a few elbow strikes.
Grant is looking frustrated on his back as Kim continues a dominant
top games that includes some pretty nasty shots. Grant, though,
ties up Kim and has him stretched out in an odd position, but
Kim backs out and stands over his opponent. He missed when raining
down a shot but quickly returns to full guard. Grant works for
an arm, but Kim gives up an effort to free a leg and puts Grant
back into guard before posturing up and just missing with a huge
right hand from the standing position. A timeout is called when
Grant connects on a kick to the face while Kim still has a knee
on the mat. A point may have been deducted for the illegal blow.
The fighters restart from the standing position as the round
expires. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Kim, possibly 10-8
if a point was deducted.
Round
3: A touch of the gloves gets the final round underway, and Grant
opens with a stiff jab. The fighters trade shots from the clinch
before Grant again tries for the single-leg takedown, again with
no luck. Kim punishes him with elbows. Grant tries a hip toss,
but Kim again shows remarkable balance and fends it off. The
fighters continue fighting from close quarters, but a restart
is called for after a lull in action. Grant immediately connects
on a combination of punches, but Kim slams him back to the mat.
Grant's had no answer for this position, and Kim knows it. He
begins looking to pass guard and frees a leg before Grant pulls
him back in. Kim backs off and stands, but Grant gets to his
feet when a kick misses. The fighters clinch, though, and Kim
takes him back to the mat. Kim works to improve the position,
but stopping him is the one thing Grant's been able to do from
his back. The round ends, and MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for
Kim in what should be a clean sweep of the judges' cards. Dong
Hyun Kim def. T.J. Grant via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26,
30-26).
JON
JONES (9-0) VS. JAKE O'BRIEN (11-3)
Round
1: Lots of defense early as the two fighters settle in. O'Brien
shoots forward with punches, but Jones fends it off, and we start
again. O'Brien just misses a left hook and partially blocks a
body kick. Both fighters swinging and missing at a minute in.
O'Brien shoots again, but Jones again sidesteps it. O'Brien shoots,
and Jones sprawls and avoids the takedown again. Jones throws
kicks from a variety of angles. O'Brien blocks most, but a few
get through. Not much behind them, though. Jones lands a nice
jab but eats a one-two combo. Jones looks very patient and calm
as he bounces and considers his next move. The pace slows as
neither fighter wants to engage. Jones connects on the second
part of a combo with a left and goes high with a soft head kick
that partially connects. Jones' left jabs keep O'Brien from shooting
and he blocks another head kick just in time. Jones next lands
a body kick that has some power behind it. Jones charges in with
fancy footwork and a couple punches, but O'Brien answers with
a combo. MMAjunkie.com scores a fairly close round for Jones,
10-9.
Round
2: Jones connects with a body kick. O'Brien is unaffected and
takes the center of the cage and lands a nice right. Jones keeps
circling and won't be a stationary target. Jones snaps off a
good inside leg kick but the following head kick is blocked.
The pace slows a bit as the fighters trade the occasional punch.
Jones fires off a couple combinations and leg kick and graces
O'Brien with a spinning back elbow. O'Brien quickly recovers,
but Jones turns on the burners and throws a series of kicks.
O'Brien shoots, Jones stands over him and then slaps on a choke
that forces the tapout in quick fashion. Jon Jones def. Jake
O'Brien via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 2:43.
MAC
DANZIG (19-7-1) VS. JIM MILLER (14-2)
Round
1: Danzig plays defense as Miller swings and misses with short
punches. The fighters connect simultaneously, and Miller gets
the better of it. Miller then shoots, scoops up Miller and puts
him on his back. Miller pops out of guard, but Danzig pulls him
back in. Danzig slaps on a loose guillotine from his back, but
Miller continues looking to free a leg with no concerns. Miller
pops free and drops a few elbows. Miller frees one leg, but Danzig
again pulls him back in. Danzig sits up and is blasted with a
forearm strikes that opens a gusher on his forehead. Danzig,
though, gets back to his feet, and as Miller pushes him into
the cage, he's doused in a steady stream of his opponent's blood.
It's an absolute gusher. Miller takes the fight to the mat again,
and both fighters are coated in the slippery substance. Danzig
somehow keeps it out of eyes. Danzig throws elbows from his back
as Miller throws a few punches and concentrates on improving
his position before the round ends. MMAjunkie.com scores a literal
bloodbath of a first round, 10-9 for Miller.
Round
2 - Danzig's corner can do little to stop by the flow, but round
two starts to a huge ovation. Miller lands a body kick that makes
me wince just hearing it. Danzig slips in a right, blocks a head
kick but is then taken down with a textbook double-leg. Miller
works short punches to the body and then pops Danzig with another
blow to the face. Danzig remains calm as he looks to his corner
for help. Danzig spins to maintain full guard and leaves a trail
of blood as he circles. Miller then throws a quick burst of punches
to the gaping wound, which causes the crowd to audible grimace.
Danzig goes high with his guard, but he can't get off his back.
Miller again drops elbows to the head and continues working at
the cut. Miller then unloads a series of hammerfists from both
hands. Danzig throws some elbows from below, but they slip to
the side of Miller's blood-stained kisser. (The UFC and Dayton
Daily News teamed up to give away a commemorative piece of tonight's
canvas. Looks like it's going to come up with a DNA sample.)
Steve Mazzagatti finally calls for a standup, and we start again.
The pink fighters trade punches, and Danzig seems hesitant to
close the distance for fear of the takedown. Sure enough, Miller
shoots, and Danzig locks in a very deep guillotine. The crowd
erupts, but the bell saves him. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9
for Miller.
Round
3 - The crowd roars as the third round get started, and Danzig
seems to feed off it. Miller smiles and lands the first jab of
the round. Danzig now becomes the aggressor before sprining to
life with a series of punches. However, when he shoots, Danzig
tags him with a perfectly timed knee to the face. Miller gets
the takedown, anyway. However, Danzig gets to his feet quickly,
breaks free of the clinch and restarts in the center of the cage
looking like a someone shot him 20 times with a paintball gun.
Miller works inside leg kicks, but Danzig pushes forward. Miller
secures another takedown, and Danzig desperately throws punches
from below with a high guard. He secures one arm with his legs,
but Miller easily breaks free and looks again to pass guard.
Danzig tries to roll him over, but Miller backs out and takes
his back. Miller gets in his hooks and attempts a rear-naked
choke. Danzig defends, grabs an arm and tries to muscle free.
Miller reins him back in, locks in the choke deeply, and tries
to force the stoppage. Just when it looks like he's out, Danzig
slips free, takes top position and rains down punches as the
crowd cheers him on. However, he runs out of time. MMAjunkie.com
scores it 10-9 for Miller in a bloody, one-sided affair. Jim
Miller def. Mac Danzig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27).
(UFC
president Dana White dropped by press row to inform us the UFC
100 "fight night" bonuses will be worth $100,000 each
to commemorate tonight's event. Those are the biggest bonuses
ever.)
STEPHAN
BONNAR (14-6) VS. MARK COLEMAN (16-9)
Round
1: No action early as Coleman watches Bonnar fake moving in.
After 35 seconds, Bonnar throws the first punch and misses. Coleman
shoots and quickly puts his opponent on his back. Bonnar grabs
a leg and forces Coleman into a akward position by trapping an
arm between his legs. Coleman is turned away from Bonnar, which
allows him to work for a knee and ankle. Coleman looks to fold
up Bonnar and drops a punch punch to his belly, and he then moves
into north-south position from the top. Bonnar tries to roll
free and eventually secures half guard. Simultaneous "Coleman!"
and "Bonnar!" chants erupt. Bonnar gets back to his
feet. Coleman hangs on to him and eats a quick burst of elbows
to the head as Bonnar kneels over him. Bonnar continues the strikes
as Coleman is on all fours with Bonnar pinned with his back against
the cage. Herb Dean keeps a close eye on the action as Bonnar
now looks to secure an arm. He again locks in arm between his
legs and then tries to take Coleman's back. The awkward positioning
is favoring Bonnar, who mixed in the occasional elbow to the
side of the head. Bonnar works a kimura in the final seconds
but is stopped by the bell. Coleman had it early, but MMAjunkie.com
scores it 10-9 for Bonnar.
Round
2: Coleman patiently waits for Bonnar to engage before shooting
for the takedown. Bonnar fends it off and a following attempot
and then find shis mark with a couple punches. On the next one,
though, Coleman catches him, takes his back, drags him to the
mat, and take top position. A big elbow strike opens a deep,
deep gash on Bonnar's forehead. The dueling chants recommence
as Bonnar provides the latest fountain of blood. Bonnar works
ground and pound from the top, but Bonnar works from the bottom
with short elbow strikes. Bonnar looks got a possible gogoplata
before giving it up. Coleman rises up over him but looks like
he's running out of energy and nearly loses top position. Coleman
pins him down while against the cage, but Bonnar sits up and
loosk to get back to his feet. Bonnar secures one arm and delivers
strikes from below. Coleman fends off Bonnar's attempt to get
back to his feet and then takes his back when Bonnar tries to
get back up again. Bonnar is forced to roll over on his back,
and he eats a couple hammerfists because of it. Bonnar stays
active from below and outworks Coleman for the final 30 seconds.
MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for Coleman as both fighters labor
to get back to their feet.
Round
3: Coleman looks a bit gassed and remains flatfooted as Bonnar
throws punches to open the round. Bonnar bounces with head movement
before he's backed up with a couple nice rights from Coleman.
Coleman shoots again, but Bonnar sprawls and gets back to his
feet. Coleman clings to him from a kneeling position but then
joins his opponent standing. Coleman pins him against the cage
and then secures another takedown. Coleman frees a leg and works
from half guard while the fighters are tight up against the cage.
Bonnar ties up his opponent's arms and initially avoids damage.
Bonnar goes into the fetal position up close to Coleman's body,
but he spread back up and drops a big right hand from the top.
Coleman then works short punches to the body before standing
over Bonnar, who tags him with a kick-slap to the face. Bonnar
remains standing over him, too tired to do anything but collapse
on top of him. Working from full guard, Coleman drops elbows
and punches knowing he could likely take the decision with this
round. Bonnar tries to escape, Coleman takes his back. Against
the cage, though, Coleman doesn't have the room he needs to lock
in both hooks. He holds Bonnar close to wait out the round. MMAjunkie.com
scores it 10-9 for Coleman and 29-28 overall for him. Judges'
decisions up next. Mark Coleman def. Stephan Bonnar via unanimous
decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
YOSHIHIRO
AKIYAMA (12-1) VS. ALAN BELCHER (13-4)
Round
1: The fighters trade punches from a distance before Akiyama
lands a nice high body kick. Belcher is then popped with a straight
jab to the kisser. Belcher, appearing the much larger fighter,
charges in and eats a punch seconds later. Belcher then tags
Akiyama with a brutal kick straight to the old coin purse. Akiyama
is down, and time has been called. After a minute, Akiyama assures
Mario Yamasaki he's OK to go, and we're underway again. A touch
of gloves gets us started, and both fighters stick and move.
Akiyama lands two nice shots and a body kick when Belcher charges
in. A big overhand right backs Belcher up and just misses its
mark. Akiyama catches a low kick and then pops Belcher with a
leg kick and punch. Belcher then connects and sends Akiyama to
his back. The Japanese fighter quickly recovers and jumps back
to his feet. Akiyama begins to pick apart Belcher with jabs and
then lands a nice head-kick punch combo and later an uppercut
before Belcher clinches against the cage. Akiyama catches another
leg kick and sends Belcher to the mat with a right hand. Akiyama
drops a big right just as the bell expires, and Belcher jumps
to his feet ticked off at the possible late blow. MMAjunkie.com
scores an action-packed first round 10-9 for Akiyama.
Round
2: The fighters trade body kicks, but Akiyama grabs Belcher and
forces him to his back. Belcher eats a couple quick punches but
reverses the position. Akiyama reverses it again and then takes
side mount and delivers a couple nice forearm strikes to the
face. Belcher pulls him back into guard, but Akiyama postures
up and poses - and then eats a punch. But he rains down two more
as Belcher remains on his back. Belcher starts to defend pretty
effectively and shuts down Akiyama's offense. But Akiyama passes
guard and eventually stands up to restart the fight. The fighters
trade low kicks, and the pace slows as both fighters looked a
bit exhausted. Akiyama keeps Belcher honest with a couple quick
jabs but then absorbs a solid low kick from Belcher. The pace
quickens, and the two fighters stand chin to chin and trade blows
before resetting in the center of the cage. Belcher lands a nice
right but is nearly knocked off his feet with a low kick and
then a left. Belcher lands a kick of his own as the second round
comes to a close. MMAjunkie.com scores a close round 10-9 for
Akiyama.
Round
3: An energetic pace opens the round as the fighters trade punches
and leg kicks. Akiyama gets through a combination before Belcher
throws him with a punch and kick to the body. Akiyama answers
with a shot to the head. This Muay Thai fight is proving more
evenly matched as the round goes on, and Belcher is starting
to figure out Akiyama. Belcher just misses a well-timed right
forearm to the face, sidesteps a spinning back kick and lands
kicks to the body and legs before whiffing on a roundhouse to
the head. Akiyama's left eye is nearly swollen shut, and Belcher
attacks that side of his body. Belcher slips after a kick and
then does a backward roll to avoid Akiyama rushing in and gets
back back to his feet, much to the crowd's delight. Akiyama then
pops him with a left, but Belcher backs him up with jabs before
whiffing on a telegraphed spinning back fist. Akiyama uses the
opportunity to score a takedown, but Belcher quickly gets back
to his feet to trade a few blows before the fight ends. MMAjunkie.com
scores another close round for Belcher, 10-9. Yoshihiro Akiyama
def. Alan Belcher via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28).
MICHAEL
BISPING (18-2) VS. DAN HENDERSON (25-7)
Round
1: Henderson begins to swing, and Bisping continually circles
away and avoids any damage. A minute in, and we still have little
action until Henderson connects on a combination and has Bisping
dazed. As Henderson charges in, Bisping throws a knee, but Henderson
avoids it and keeps the assault coming with punches. Bisping
retreats long enough to regain his composure two minutes into
the round. Henderson, though, partially connects on an overhand
right. Bisping looks fresh, though, and answers with a right
hand of his own. The fighters continue trading, and Bisping lands
a nice right. Henderson continues pushing forward, eats a jab,
blocks a body kick but takes a short right to the face. Henderson
just misses with a big overhand right, but he closes the distances
and clinches with Bisping against the cage. Henderson looks for
underhooks, but Bisping fends it off and then creates distance.
Bisping shoots, but Henderson scurries away before eating a nice
right from Henderson, who concludes the round with a nice shot.
An exciting first round goes to Henderson, 10-9, on the MMAjunkie.com
scorecard.
Round
2: Henderson takes to the center of the cage, misses on an overhand
right and takes a jab to the nose. Bisping follows with a body
kick before the two misses with simultaneous power shots. Henderson
uses the right to charge in, but Bisping answers with a quick
knee from the clinch. Henderson's next overhand right finds its
mark, though, but Bisping shakes it off. Bisping lands a nice
left before sidestepping Henderson. Both fighters then miss on
big looping right hands. Bisping works a combination but is out
of reach to do much damage. Henderson charges in, blocks a knee
to the body but can't avoid Bisping's right. After an inside
leg kick, Henderson scores a massive overhand right that knocks
Bisping out cold. Henderson winds up and drops a huge right to
the face of his unconscious opponent before the referee can stop
him. Dan Henderson def. Michael Bisping via TKO (strikes) - Round
2, 3:20.
CHAMP
GEORGE ST-PIERRE (19-2) VS. THIAGO ALVES (22-5) - welterweight
title fight
Round
1: A touch of gloves from two classy fighters gets us started.
St-Pierre shoots early, scoops up Alves and takes him to the
mat. Alves nearly gets back to his feet before St-Pierre picks
him up again and takes him down for better position. The powerful
Alves, though, gets back to his feet. St-Pierre takes him back
down, Alves lands on his knees, and St-Pierre takes his back.
St-Pierre locks in his hooks and works the rear-naked choke,
but Alves miraculously gets back to his feet. We restart in the
center of the cage, and Alves lands a leg kick. St. Pierre fakes
a Superman punch and set up a low kick of his own. The fighters
trade inside leg kicks before St-Pierre shoots. Alves successfully
sprawls and lands a knee to the body before they seperate. Back
to the center of the cage, and Alves lands two nice rights before
St. Pierre shoots and again easily puts him on his back. Alves
tries to kick his way free and successfully gets back to his
feet before the round ends. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for
St. Pierre.
Round
2: The fighters trade low kicks again early. Alves lunges forward
with a left that St-Pierre avoids. St-Pierre lands a swift Superman
punch and then shoots to take Alves to the mat. Working from
half guard, St-Pierre is pushed to the side, and Alves nearly
escapes before his opponent reclaims the position. St-Pierre,
now in full guard, postures up to drop a few punches and opens
a cut on Alves. St-Pierre works through his opponent's tight
guard and then passes to sidemount. Alves pulls back in one leg
and then both before St-Pierre postures up to land a right hand.
St-Pierre keeps Alves chest to chest as he tries to pass guard.
Alves senses an opening and quickly escapes back to his feet.
St-Pierre presses him against the cage, and it now appears the
blood may be coming from inside Alves' nose. MMAjunkie.com scores
it 10-9 for St-Pierre.
Round
3: Alves amps up his energy level and goes on the offensive.
However, he walks into punches before sprawling free of a takedown
attempt. The fighters return to the center of the cage and trade
shots for the next minute. Nothing significant lands until each
lands a nice body kick. St-Pierre snaps off two rights and then
shoots and again puts Alves on his way back. St-Pierre frees
a leg and looks to improve the position while softening Alves
with punches. Alves again muscles his way back to his feet by
simply overpowering the champ. St-Pierre trips him up with a
leg kick. The fighters trade jabs and then an exchange of rapid-fire
shots before retreating. Alves wipes the blood from his nose
but is then knocked on his back by a left from St-Pierre. The
Canadian pounces on his opponent and unload ground and pound
as Alves recovers and defends. Alves ties up St-Pierre and avoids
any additional damage before the round sounds. Another clear
round for St-Pierre, 10-9, who's up three rounds to none.
Round
4: A huge ovation gets the championship fourth round underway.
Alves shakes off an inside leg kick and continues pushing forward.
St-Pierre pops him with jabs and then shoots and again easily
secures the double-leg takedown. With one leg free, St-Pierre
looks to make it two. St-Pierre flattens out his opponent and
holds him tight to his body. Alves backs out and gets to his
feet at St-Pierre remains on his back. Alves swarms on top and
throws punches to the head and body. A couple get through and
connect flush. St-Pierre, though, again pulls him tight, but
Alves postures up to rain down a punch and then a series of them.
However, St-Pierre kicks his way free and gets back to the standing
position. St-Pierre still looks extremely fresh, though Alves
is far from tired. Alves telegraphs and misses an uppercut before
St-Pierre again scores a takedown at will. St-Pierre moves to
half guard, Alves rolls to his knees, and St-Pierre takes his
back with 25 seconds to go. Alves fends off the rear-naked choke
and waits out the round. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9 for St-Pierre.
Alves needs a knockout or submission in the final round to win
it.
Round
5: St-Pierre lands a low kick and then avoids an overhand right
from Alves. St-Pierre misses wide right on a Superman punch and
then blocks Alves' head kick. After ducking under a punch, St-Pierre
again shoots and easily secures the takedown. Alves muscles his
way back to his feet, and the fighters restart in the center
of the cage. After exchanging a few punches, St-Pierre again
shoots and delights the soldout crowd with yet another takedown.
Moments later, Alves again powers his way back to his feet, but
he's got a look of dejection. Moments later, he's taken down
again, knowing he can do nothing to stop it. St-Pierre looks
to pass guard, but Alves secures a leg. With a minute to go,
the crowd begins to cheer sensing the inevitable. Alves desperately
tries to escape, unwilling to give up, but St-Pierre envelops
him. Winning a small battle in the war, Alves briefly gets to
his feet before the blowout concludes. Georges St-Pierre def.
Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44, 50-45) to
retain UFC welterweight title.
(We're
told we're going straight to the main event and saving Fitch
vs. Thiago for after the headliner.)
(Just
saw Bruce Buffer stretching cageside. Is the long-anticipated
Buffer 360 coming?)
CHAMP
BROCK LESNAR (4-1) VS. FRANK MIR (12-4) - heavyweight title fight
Round
1: Lesnar refuses a touch of the gloves, and we're underway.
Lesnar lands a big inside leg kick and then follows with another.
Once the distance is closed, Lesnar simply overpowers Mir to
the mat. Lesnar uses the "rape choke" to pin Mir down
briefly before freeing a leg into half guard. Lesnar can do little
with the position, and after a minute, the boos start. Lesnar,
though, then delivers a quick succession of punches to Mir's
head and then follows with another barrage. Mir can't protect
from the blows, and Lesnar delivers a couple dozen more in sporadic
fashion. The shots are doing damage, and Lesnar mixes in a few
punches to the midsection. Mir frees his head, and it's already
swollen pretty badly. Lesnar delivers a few hammerfists from
his dominant position, and Mir looks to his corner for guidance.
A cut has opened as Lesnar continues the assault. The bell sounds,
and Lesnar simply overpowers Mir to take the first round on the
MMAjunkie.com scorecard, 10-9.
Round
2: Mir throws a leg kick, and Lesnar easily throws him to the
mat and then waits for him to get back up. Mir charges in with
kicks and punches, and even throws in a jumping knee, but Lesnar
throws him to the mat. Back in half guard, Lesnar pushes Mir
into the side of the cage and continues his ground-and-pound
assault. The crowd yells for a stand up even though Lesnar remains
active. Mir rolls to his knees, and Lesnar continues a rapid-fire
succession of blows that completely batter Mir. The referee jumps
in to award the TKO victory for Lesnar. A melee breaks out as
some cornermen try to charge in the cage after Lesnar, who continued
yelling at Mir even after the stoppage, but they're held back.
Brock Lesnar def Frank Mir via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 1:48
to retain UFC heavyweight title.
JON
FITCH (22-3) VS. PAULO THIAGO (11-0)
Round
1: The energy has been sapped for this fight. We're underway,
and Fitch works kicks high and low. He then scores a takedown
and puts Thiago on his back. Thiago clamps on a guillotine choke,
but Fitch continues working shots to the body. Thiago re-tightens
it and tries to get to his feet with the submission. Fitch won't
let him, but he's still trapped. Thiago remains pateient, as
does Fitch. Thiago clamps on a second arm and tightens the hold.
Fitch squirms with a sense of urgency and torques to create some
breathing room. Three minutes in, and Fitch finally pops out
of the submission. Fitch unloads punches and then forces the
fight back to the mat when Thiago tries to get back to his feet.
Fitch works from half guard and looks to pass to mount. Thiago
rolls to his knees and gets to his feet, but Fitch keeps him
in a hunched-over position while securing an arm and delivering
elbows to the side of the head. Thiago gets to his feet briefly,
but Fitch sticks on him like glue. It's a close round and hard
to score, but MMAjunkie.com has it 10-9 for Thiago, though Fitch
may have convinced the judges otherwise in the final minute.
Round
2: Thiago blocks a head kick, but Fitch clinches and eventually
trips him to the mat. Fitch lands in sidemount but has little
room to maneuver against the cage. Thiago again slaps on a guillotine
from his back, but he doesn't have the grip or position he needs.
Thiago tries to work his way free, but Fitch takes his back and
tries to sink in his hooks from the standing position. Thiago
breaks free and now puts Fitch against the cage. Fitch, though,
scores another takedown and takes top position. As Thiago rolls
for better position, Fitch takes his back and again tries to
lock in his hooks. Fitch secures them and works for the rear-naked
choke, though he's a little too high initially. Thiago tries
to back out of the hold as Fitch works short punches to the body.
Fitch then tries to readjust as Thiago tries to escape from the
position. Thiago gets to a kneeling position, but Fitch remains
on his back as the round closes. MMAjunkie.com scores it 10-9
for Fitch.
Round
3: Fitch with a few inside leg kicks and then one to the body.
He charges in with a combination and then scoops of Thiago and
takes him to the mat. Fitch works his way to Thiago's back again.
(The crowd, though still here, is absolutely dead.) Fitch hops
into the mount position to garner seven cheers, and Thiago then
rolls to his knees, which again gives Fitch his back from the
standing position. Thiago slams backward onto Fitch's body, but
the former Purdue wrestler doesn't break the hold. However, after
a little scramble, Fitch nearly goes into the north-south position
with a choke. Instead, he ends up on his back with Fitch standing
over him. Thiago rolls to his knees and is tagged with punches
to the side of the head. Fitch takes his back and locks in his
hooks again, and it's so quiet you can hear the fighters talking.
Fitch secures a body lock and flattens out Thiago and locks in
a rear-naked choke. Thiago defends and then rolls into the cage
hoping to cut away Fitch's room to maneuver. Thiago survives
the round, which MMAjunkie.com gives to Fitch, 10-9. Jon Fitch
def. Paulo Thiago via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Source: MMA Junkie
|
We would like to announce a seminar coming up in August of 2009
Koretoshi Maruyama Sensei will be teaching.
For further information please contact me:
James Peters
Noelani Ki Aikido Yuishinkai
(808) 256-9944
e-mail: james@jpetersdesign.com
|
Complete
lineup for UFC 102 'Couture vs. Nogueira'
The UFC 102 card in Portland has been completed with the addition
of a preliminary bout between heavyweights Todd Duffee and Mike
Russow.
UFC 102 is headlined by former champions Randy Couture vs. Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira and takes place Saturday, August 29 at the Rose
Garden.
Russow
(11-1) is a Chicago police officer and one-time PRIDE competitor
who recently signed a a four-fight deal with the UFC. Russow
fought twice last year for his manager's Adrenaline MMA promotion
and won both fights with choke holds.
Duffee
(4-0) of the American Top Team was lined up to face Mostapha
Al Turk at UFC 99 on June 13 before he was shelved to allow Mirko
Cro Cop to make his promotional return. Duffee established himself
as an up and comer to watch last September when he TKO'd PRIDE
and UFC veteran Assuerio Silva in Brazil.
FIGHT
CARD:
Pay-Per-View
Bouts:
•Randy
Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
•Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
•Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
•Nate Marquardt vs Demian Maia
•Matt Hamill vs. Brandon Vera
Preliminary Bouts:
•Gabriel
Gonzaga Vs. Chris Tuchscherer
•Wilson Gouveia vs. James Irvin
•Junior Dos Santos vs. Justin McCully
•Mike Russow vs. Todd Duffee
•Nick Catone vs. Mark Munoz
•Matt Veach vs. Evan Dunham
Source: MMA Fighting
|
FRIENDSHIP
ASIDE, BEN HENDERSON EYES WEC TITLE
by Brian Lopez-Benchimol
Interim title, shm-interim title, this is a fight!
One
of the WEC’s top prospects, Ben Henderson, has now vicariously
become one of the bigger commodities in the promotion's lightweight
division.
Originally
earning his way into the organization riding a six-fight win
streak, which included a victory over three-time UFC veteran
Diego Saraiva, Henderson made an immediate mark into his new
home when he faced off against Anthony Njokuani (now 10-2), a
dangerous and explosive knockout artist, submitting him in the
second round via guillotine choke.
Njokuani
had only been defeated once before, at the hands of Donald Cerrone;
a man who Henderson will make himself all the more familiar with
this September at WEC 43 in Youngstown, Ohio.
Henderson
enters the bout on the heels of eight-straight wins, including
two impressive showings in the WEC, trading in his second-round
submission victory over Njokuani for a first-round comeback TKO
victory against Shane Roller in his most recent fight.
In
his fight against Roller this past April, the Arizona native
showed his skill and desire to fight, when he appeared to be
down and out after being knocked to the mat in the opening moments
of the bout, only to reverse those fortunes and end up finishing
the fight early in the first due to strikes.
The
fight clearly displayed just what fans and WEC executives want,
making Henderson the obvious choice when it came to viable contenders
for the interim WEC lightweight strap.
Although
Jamie Varner is still not quite out of the woods yet with some
lingering injuries, the show (and title) must go on, as Henderson
will square off against former title challenger Cerrone.
Though
the prospects of fighting in the WEC are great in and of themselves,
it is every fighters dream to be able to challenge for the title
and “Smooth” will soon realize that dream, yet was
caught off guard much like everyone else.
“I
had no idea. I’m not gonna lie man. I was as blown away
as most the fans were to read it, and I was blown away when they
first told me,” he explained to the MMAWeekly Radio crew.
An
ill fate, born with less than perfect vision, Henderson could
normally be seen adorning his classy frames at the weigh-ins
leading up to the fight. However, what may not be known to most
was the fact that he did not use any other visual aids going
into his fights and was essentially fighting impaired.
Going
through the measures to correct his eyesight in order to perform
and react more efficiently, a “new” Ben Henderson will
be walking into the cage this September, against his most difficult
challenge to date.
“I
did have the eye surgery and it is a hundred times better. I
can see now without my glasses. Its really amazing to be honest.
“It’s
actually a huge difference. From my sparring, my boxing and my
kickboxing, it adds a good half a second reaction time, to me
just moving and slipping. A half a second is a long time to react
to something, so it’s a huge difference.”
An
honor in itself to be challenging for the title, Henderson will
do so with a burden placed upon him, as he takes on good friend
and fellow competitor “Cowboy” Cerrone, with the two
having known each other since their days moving up the ranks
and making a name for themselves in Denver.
“Me
and Donald are buddies, he’s a friend of mine. We both kind
of came up in Denver together. We both started our fighting careers
right around the same time. It’s a little bit bitter sweet.
I’m excited to fight for the title, fight a guy who has
a big name and all that, but it does kind of suck that it is
a buddy."
Though
the two having known full well of the potential of this occurring,
the MMA Lab prospect will make sure that the possibility of victory
will not be squelched with feelings of camaraderie and friendship
when they battle for the coveted interim WEC title, which will
later move on to be unified with reigning champion Jamie Varner,
barring injuries.
“Me
and Donald are both professionals, we’ve already talked
about it and everything. We knew that there was a chance of us
fighting in the WEC.
“Once
that cage door shuts, were both gonna go out and set out for
the ‘W.’”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Liddell
and Lewis to be Inducted in UFC Hall of Fame
By FCF Staff
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced that former
light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and Tapout co-founder
Charles “Mask” Lewis, will be the latest inductees
into the promotion’s Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take
place this Friday, July 10th, at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas,
Nevada, one night prior to UFC 100.
“I
appreciate this gesture and I’m glad that people appreciate
what I do and that they think that I deserve this, but I’m
just one of the guys that fight out there,” Liddell was
quoted saying on the promotion’s official site, before referring
to Lewis, who was tragically killed in an automobile accident
earlier this year. “It’s gonna be a little rough being
that it’s Charles and me, but for us to go in together,
I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The
announcement comes while Liddell ponders his future in the sport,
after the 39 year-old-fighter was stopped by Maurico “Shogun”
Rua in April, the former champion’s 4th loss in 5 fights.
Regardless of Liddell’s recent difficulties, his induction
into the Hall of Fame was inevitable, as after entering into
the UFC in 1999, the feared striker lost just 3 times until early
2007. During that time Liddell went on to become not only one
of the sport’s most recognizable figures, but one of its
first mainstream stars, putting together wins over notable fighters
like Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Jeremy Horn, Vitor Belfort and
Renato Sobral.
Liddell’s
last win came in December, 2007, when he worked his way to a
Unanimous Decision victory over Wanderlei Silva.
Lewis
was one of the founding forces in the creation of the Tapout
clothing line, and through his role with the company he forged
a close relationship with the UFC organization, as well as countless
others from the MMA community.
Other
UFC Hall of Fame inductees include Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock,
Dan Severn, Randy Couture and Mark Coleman.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Dream
Super Hulk semifinalists
Mousasi faces Sokodjou, Hong-Man against Minowa
The recently-created Dream Super Hulk tournament has established
its semifinalists to appear at Dream 12, in October, on a yet-to-be-determined
date. Hence, Gegard Mousasi will face off against Rameau Sokodjou,
while Ikuhisa Minowa faces the giant Choi Hong-Man.
The
Super Hulk semifinals were meant to take place at Dream 11, set
for September 23, but were postponed without explanation from
the promoters.
On
July 20 Dream 10 is to take place, where André Galvão,
André Dida, Paulão Filho and Vitor Shaolin are
scheduled to appear.
There
is still hope Mirko Cro Cop will be there. The Croatian, though,
has not been officially announced on the card.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
K-1
Event Schedule and Fight Cards
Ariel Shnerer
Below
is a list of upcoming K-1 events from around the world.
2009
July 13, Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan
FieLDS K-1 WORLD MAX 2009 - Final 8
K-1
MAX Final 8:
-Drago vs. Yuya Yamamoto
-Albert Kraus vs. Giorgo Petrosyan
-Artur Kyshenko vs. Andy Souwer
-Nieky Holtzken vs. Buakaw Por. Pramuk
Reserve
Bouts:
-Yoshihiro Sato vs. Joeri Mes
-Yasuhiro Kido vs. Leroy Kaestner
Other
Bouts:
-Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. MASATO
-Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto vs. Jae Hee Cheon
-HIROYA vs. Kiko Lopez
-HINATA vs. Dzhabar Askerov
-Go Yokoyama vs. Jae Gil Noh
---
2009-mid
October, Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa, Japan
FieLDS K-1 WORLD MAX 2009 - Final
Source: The Fight Network
|
Carlson
Gracie’s legacy in Chicago
By Guilherme Cruz
Master
Carlson Gracie passed away three years ago, but his legacy remains
alive, and not only in Brazil. Living for two years in Chicago,
USA, André “Negão” is working hard to
promote the gentle art since 2007, where the black belt began
to teach at Carlson Gracie Chicago, but started an independent
project.
"We
decided to follow our path and enter the company of an academy
in the heart of Chicago, where we have a larger structure and
began to build our group. I had the honor of graduating three
students of the wistful Master Carlson Gracie” says André.
"All three are persons aged above 40 years and began to
train with the Master when he moved to Chicago and, after his
death, lost the pleasure to train, because, for them, the Jiu-Jitsu
had to be with someone real. I don’t know if it was a gift
from God or because we resist the cold and the snow (laughs),
I got this big responsibility and honor to teach the latest people
who have had the pleasure of taking classes with Master Carlson".
Initially
with 30 black belts, André and his wife, Hannette Quadros,
already account the success of the duo in Chicago. "At exactly
one year ago, my partner had about 30 students. Today, the school
already shows positive results after this partnership, where
we almost tripled the number of students. It was almost a year
of hard work together with Hannette", said the black belt,
who formed, next to Hannette, his first black belt in America.
"We made our first belt delivery here in Chicago, where
12 students were graduated: eight in blue, three in purple and
a one black belt".
Seven
times world champion of Jiu-Jitsu, Hannette celebrated the success
of her student, the North American Sharon. "Sharon started
with Hannette for about a year. She debuted at the Pan and made
four fights, staying in third place. Right after that, she fought
the International Novice and was champion, making three fights.
Our job is ours and we are already reaping the fruits that we
started to plant recently. Make a student is something completely
different then getting somebody ready, so I let my congratulations
to the excellent work that Hannette is doing, because today she
divides her time helping me in male classes, their training,
which are of about four hours per day, private lessons and her
female class", says André.
With
the work in Chicago, André makes his objective clear.
"I want to teach the real Jiu-Jitsu, from A to Z, step by
step, how we learn and how it works. We don’t see the no-gi
as the main method in our teaching, we are worried to keep what
is taught in Brazil. We don’t care about the many MMA academies,
where you learn a little of everything. We want to make black
belts of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, give opportunity to the weaker,
the helpless, the insecure, the women and children to be able
to learn this noble art", concluded the black belt.
Source: Tatame
|
More
on the UFC’s EA MMA ban, Sponsor Tax
by Robert Joyner
The situation with the UFC ban on NON -Zuffa fighters who sign
on with the EA MMA game remains a bit murky but MMAPayout has
been able to glean a bit more additional information on the genesis
of the ban and reaction. Sources indicate to MMAPayout that UFC
Talent Relations head Joe Silva was the contact man form Zuffa
who got the word out to agents and managers about the ban. The
word on the ban got out to the fighter management, but almost
as quickly got back to EA MMA brass. Within a short time after
the announcement, reportedly half a dozen fighter agents/managers
had contacted the video game titan to inform them of the ban.
MMAPAyout spoke with the Product Manger for the EA MMA game,
but he offered no comment at this time. The EA embargo plan went
sideways when word of the ban hit the UG, though, as Dana White
is said to have gone through the roof when getting out the message
went a little too well.
In
news on another controversial move by the UFC , this week’s
Wrestling Observer Newsletter gives a little more information
on the sponsor tax that is being imposed on businesses seeking
to sponsor fighters in the UFC:
The
UFC is now charging prospective sponsors a $100,000 fee for the
right to sponsor fighters that appear on UFC broadcasts for a
six month period. This eliminates all the small-time sponsors
because they may be able to pay $1,000 to a fighter but they
aren’t paying $100,000 to UFC for the right to pay $1,000
to a fighter. The ones hurt the worst are the low-end guys who
are struggling to make it on prelim money contracts. It also
lessens the amount of money going to the fighters, because the
$200,000 per year going to UFC as a licensing fee means perhaps
$200,000, but certainly significantly less, going directly to
the fighters.
UFC
fighters in some cases earn more money through outside sponsorship
than their UFC pay, although one manager estimated that for all
but the top fighters, it would probably average about 40% of
their income from a fight is coming from sponsors. But this is
going to cut it back heavily, and with the exception of the top
fighters, most in UFC are struggling, and even those who aren’t
for the most part are going to have short-lived careers and many
are going to have significant medical bills after their careers
are over.
With
$200,000 in fees for a year of sponsorship, sponsors in the cage
will be either the higher end of sponsors, or likely ones that
the UFC has points/business interests or personal relationships
with (Tapout, Cage Fighter, Xyience, Skeletal Metal, etc.). With
the UFC creating whitewash effect on fighters sponsorship opportunities,
the new high end companies won’t be coming in via agent
management relationships, as in the past , but via direct relation
ship between the sponsor and the UFC. As Meltzer notes in the
WON, the sponsorship market for fighters took a big hit last
fall, and this upping of the ante by the UFC imposing this steep
fee will only worsen the financial state of the fighters.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Quote
of the Day
"Many
people flounder about in life because they have no purpose.
Before it is possible to achieve anything, an objective must
be set."
George Halas
|
UFC 100
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
July 11, 2009
Hawaii
Air Time:
4:00PM
Channel 701
Main
Card Bouts:
-Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir (heavyweight championship)
-Georges St. Pierre (18-2) vs. Thiago Alves (15-3) (welterweight
championship)
-Dan Henderson (24-7) vs. Michael Bisping (18-1)
-Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-1) vs. Alan Belcher (14-5)
-Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Jon Jones (8-0) vs. Jake O'Brien (11-2)
-Mac Danzig (21-6-1) vs. Jim Miller (13-2)
-Mark Coleman (15-9) vs. Stephan Bonnar (13-5)
-Dong-Hyun Kim (11-0-1) vs. T.J. Grant
-Matt Grice (9-2) vs. Shannon Gugerty (11-3)
-C.B. Dollaway (11-2) vs. Tom Lawlor (6-2)
Source: The Fight Network
|
Holly
Madison on the card for UFC 100, sorta
Holly Madison will be an Octagon girl for UFC 100 this Saturday
in Las Vegas.
Not
much news beyond that. Really, it's just an excuse to post a
photo of Madison, a former Playmate, "Girl Next Door"
and girlfriend of Hugh Hefner who is now starring in the Las
Vegas show "Peep Show" at Planet Hollywood.
Madison's role as a Octagon girl consists of, in this order:
Wearing skimpy clothes, looking hot, walking around an eight-sided
cage, holding up a sign that indicates which round is about to
start while walking around that eight-sided cage, and then blowing
a kiss to the camera that follows her as she walks back to her
seat.
She's
joined by veteran UFC Octagon Girls Arianny Celeste, Logan Stanton
and Edith Labelle. Who do you think would win in a four-way MMA
tournament? Sure, that's a stupid question, but it's a great
visual. Enjoy your day.
Source: Fightin' Words
|
Lesnar-Mir
2 More Than Strength vs. Skill
by Mike Harris
The first clash between heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir
at UFC 81 in February 2008 was widely viewed as a contest pitting
strength against skill.
Indeed,
the fight bore out those views from the get-go, as the 265-pound
Lesnar, a former NCAA national wrestling champion and World Wrestling
Entertainment superstar, overwhelmed the smaller Mir with sheer
brute power, took him to the mat and ferociously grounded-and-pounded
him.
In
fact, the beating was a bit too ferocious in the view of referee
Steve Mazzagatti, who stopped Lesnar’s attack and penalized
the UFC newcomer one point for punching Mir in the back of the
head. When the fight resumed, Lesnar had lost his momentum, allowing
the more experienced Mir to deftly use his black belt jiu-jitsu
skills to submit the bigger man with a kneebar at 1:30 of the
first round.
The
two meet again inside the Octagon this Saturday in a heavyweight
unification rematch atop the super-stacked UFC 100 card at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Expect
another classic matchup of strength versus skill, right? Perhaps,
but in Mir’s estimation, that’s an oversimplification.
“One
thing everybody always talks about is my skill versus Brock’s
power,” the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion said
during a recent conference call. “That’s kinda funny
in that it’s a real simple way of looking at it, because,
honestly, if I go to the athletic club down the street, I’ll
be hard pressed to find many guys in the gym who are stronger
than I am.
“And
I guarantee you that Brock is not that unknowledgeable about
jiu-jitsu or grappling,” added Mir, 30, who has trained
for the fight at Robert Drysdale’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and
Ken Hahn’s Striking Unlimited gyms in Las Vegas. “He
has had the ability to train with world-class guys every day
now for the last couple of years. So even though that obviously,
on paper, the first thing that stands out is, you know, ‘Frank
– submissions; Brock is a strong guy,’ there’s
definitely a lot more to it than just that.”
Lesnar
(3-1), the UFC’s heavyweight champion, agrees.
“I
think I’ve improved dramatically since my first venture
of even thinking of getting into MMA,” said Lesnar, 31,
who trains at Greg Nelson’s Minnesota Martial Arts Academy
in Brooklyn Center, Minn. “I bill myself as a fighter now,
and I want to evolve and make myself a well-rounded fighter.
So obviously I’m not going to leave any stone unturned when
it comes to submissions, submission defense, striking, knees,
leg kicks and also learning to defend everything.”
Frank
Mir vs. Brock Lesnar I was strength against skill.Given Lesnar’s
wrestling pedigree, Mir said it’s no secret where his chief
strength as a fighter lies.
“Obviously,”
Mir said, “the wrestling area is pretty much the dominant
area.”
However,
he noted that in Lesnar’s last two fights -- both victories
-- against Heath Herring and Randy Couture he saw improvements
elsewhere.
“I
also saw that his boxing was very successful,” Mir said,
“so I look to see that in the fight.”
Lesnar
became the heavyweight champion in his technical knockout win
over Couture at 3:07 of the second round at UFC 91 in November.
Mir, meanwhile, secured the interim heavyweight title in a TKO
victory over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at 1:54 of the second round
at UFC 92 a month later.
Despite
Lesnar’s ever-improving grappling, Mir does not expect him
“to be playing a jiu-jitsu game, where he takes me down
and passes my guard and looks for a submission. I just think
he’s gonna [try] to take me down, look to establish a very
dominant controlled position somewhere against the cage and rain
down punches, use his size and power to his greatest advantage.”
Mir
noted that for a big man, Lesnar moves with great speed and agility.
“There
were times [in the first fight] when I was in the ground that
I lost him,” Mir said. “I was, like, ‘He’s
on my right side. He’s punching me. Oh, s--t, where’d
he go?’”
As
for his own game plan, Mir revealed that, in training, he “would
find ways to use technique and my agility to alleviate”
Lesnar’s fighting style, which Mir’s sparring partners
tried to mimic.
“I
can’t really go head-to-head [with Lesnar],” he said.
“It’s not the smartest game plan in the world.”
Because
of his willingness to learn, Lesnar feels his striking and ground
game have improved markedly since he started competing in MMA
in 2007. He considers himself very coachable.
“I
could have been very pig-headed when I made this transition from
a former pro wrestler to an ultimate fighter and said, ‘Well,
I’m just gonna use my wrestling technique and my strength
and speed,’” Lesnar said. “That would have been
very ignorant of me.”
Lesnar
admits the desire to payback Mir for his loss at UFC 81 remains
a significant motivation.
“Revenge
is a key factor here for me,” he said.
Lesnar,
however, brushed aside talk that he and Mir do not like each
other personally.
“I
don’t dislike Frank in any way, other than he’s got
a win over me,” Lesnar said. “And I don’t like
to lose.”
Mir
echoed Lesnar’s sentiments.
“If
there’s any animosity, I think probably … it’s
that neither one of us feels like maybe we have the same amount
of respect we should have and what we want to attain right now
in the heavyweight division,” Mir said.
Noting
that Lesnar has had only four professional MMA bouts, Mir believes
the monstrous Minnesotan seeks legitimacy.
“With
his skill level and NCAA wrestling and stuff, he obviously wants
to push forward on his credibility and why he deserves the exposure
he gets,” Mir said. “On my part, too, I think after
I had the [2004 motorcycle] accident, I had so many bad fights
in a row. Now, coming back on the winning streak I am on now,
I’m also craving that fame. Respect, I guess, is the bottom
line at the end of the day, and you want to have that recognized.”
Lesnar
disagrees.
“I
don’t give a damn what anybody thinks,” he said. “The
only thing that matters to me is that I’m happy and my family’s
happy.”
Mir’s
jiu-jitsu coach, Drysdale, started training the interim champion
for the Lesnar rematch a few weeks after Mir’s last fight
-- the victory over Nogueira that earned him the interim heavyweight
belt.
“Frank’s
looking leaner, faster and his ground game has improved a lot,”
said Drysdale, an Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling world champion.
“Brock makes a mistake, he’s gonna get tapped. If I
were Brock, I’d be very, very careful in taking Frank down.”
Drysdale
thinks Mir’s striking -- with the help of his striking coach,
Hahn -- has improved since the Nogueira fight.
“The
Frank that is fighting Lesnar is a much better striker than the
Frank that fought Nogueira,” Drysdale said.
That
says a lot, considering he stopped Nogueira, a man who had never
before been finished. Even so, going into UFC 100, Mir finds
himself an underdog again, with oddsmakers favoring Lesnar.
Source: Sherdog
|
ALVES
SAYS WEIGHT CUT IS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
by Steven Marrocco
As of 2 p.m. PST on Tuesday, UFC welterweight contender Thiago
Alves said he weighed 183 lbs.
The
25 year-old American Top Team product meets his biggest opportunity
on Saturday when he faces reigning champion Georges St. Pierre
at UFC 100.
With
thirteen pounds to go, Alves looked relieved, and the UFC felt
the same.
“That’s
really good for me,” he told MMAWeekly. “Usually I
get here (at) 188, 189, and I’m amazed with myself. 183,
I’m like whoa. Everybody from the UFC was like, wow, I can’t
believe it.”
Alves
said a hellish training camp put him on track.
“I’ve
just been doing what I’m supposed to do more professionally,”
he said. “No cheating on myself, things like that. Before,
(it was like), ah, I’m going to skip one day. It would always
catch up with me later on. I’d leave everything to the last
minute.”
The
only remaining challenge is the wait until Satur.
“
It’s gonna be a war,” he said. “Georges St. Pierre,
he’s the champion, but I’m going to knock him out.
It’s my time.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Pros
Pick: Lesnar vs. Mir
by Mike Sloan
This Saturday night, what’s being tabbed by some as the
greatest event in MMA history will finally come to fruition.
UFC 100 features a welterweight showdown between Georges St.
Pierre and Thiago Alves but will be capped off by a goliath-sized
heavyweight championship tilt between defending champion Brock
Lesnar and interim titlist Frank Mir.
The
fight community appears torn over Lesnar’s power, athleticism
and sheer size versus Mir’s excellent submission game, technique
and improved standup.
Sherdog.com
spoke with dozens of professional trainers and fighters to find
out how they think the matchup will unfold.
Roland
Sarria: I feel Frank is back, but Brock has too much raw power
along with some experience now. Brock wins by stoppage.
Jeff
Monson: Lesnar by TKO in the second.
Chael
Sonnen: Mir will put the icing on the cake that (Dan) Henderson
just got done making.
Kevin
Burns: This will be a great fight. Brock is like a truck, but
I think Frank still has the technique advantage. I see Frank
winning by KO or submission.
Travis
Wiuff: Brock by ref stoppage early in the first round.
Nick
Thompson: Brock via ground-and-pound. I might be a little biased,
though.
Nate
Diaz: Mir (will win).
Cung
Le: Mir by submission.
Luigi
Fioravanti: Brock by decision.
Jaime
Fletcher: Lesnar by TKO standing or on the ground. Mir got saved
by the referee in the first one. Plus I’m biased because
(Erik) Paulson helps coach Brock.
Marcus
Hicks: Gotta be honest; I think Lesnar early in the first or
Mir if Brock doesn’t finish it in the first three minutes
-- then definitely Mir.
The
pros like lesnar's size.Billy MacDonald: I want to pick Frank
Mir badly in this one, but I am going to have to pick Brock by
ground-and-pound in round two. Lesnar started to panic and tapped
too early in their first matchup. Lesnar won't get caught that
easily this time around. Mir is a tough S.O.B. though, and he
will hold on as long as possible. Mir will refuse to tap out,
so the ref will step in and call it in round two after Frank's
face starts swelling up like Will Smith's did in “Hitch.”
Jake
Bostwick: Lesnar I believe will win by TKO (via) ground-and-pound.
I think Brock wants this win more than anything. He f--ked up
with his first fight with Frank (because of) nerves and rushed
a bit too much, but I believe it's Brock’s.
Bill
Mesi: Lesnar does nothing for me. I like nothing about him; attitude,
skill, just nothing about him makes him good for the sport. Mir
caught him once, but that fight was finished with the ground-and-pound
that Brock put on him, but (it) was restarted because of the
blows to the back of the head. Mir’s newfound confidence
on his feet, which was flawlessly showcased against (Rodrigo)
Minotauro (Nogueira), will present a momentary problem for Brock,
a Mir glitch, if you will. I see this fight stopped in the second
via Couture-style ground-and-pound with Brock retaining title.
Stav
Economou: Mir was lucky the first time -- he won't be this time.
Lesnar to win (via) first-round KO.
Tom
Gavrilos: Mir dodged a bullet last time and I am sure Lesnar
has worked tirelessly on his submission defense. By the same
token, I don't see him being able to control Mir on the ground
as easily as he did Heath (Herring). Subs will still be a strong
threat. In the end, I think Lesnar will just be too much. Lesnar
by KO.
Jamie
Varner: I have Mir winning.
Robin
Black: This is an interesting fight. Mir could out-strike Lesnar,
but Lesnar will take Mir down. Lesnar's ground-and-pound will
be effective, but Mir could submit the big man. It can really
go either way. What the hell; I'll pick Mir by submission. But
I'm not betting any money on that. No sir.
Thomas
Denny: Lesnar is just too big and strong for most of the UFC
weight classes. I like Mir a lot, but (I) will say revenge in
way of Lesnar keeping the title.
Elvis
Sinosic: They both have greatly improved since their last bout
against each other. Mir and Lesnar have both obviously worked
on their striking. They are looking more precise and technical.
Mir's gas tank seems to be much better than in earlier days.
Lesnar has the strength and wrestling advantage. I think Lesnar
also has more power in his striking. Mir has the grappling and
submission advantage. I don't expect to see this fight remain
standing, though it is possible. The match will hit the ground
and this is where it will be decided… I think Lesnar will
take down Mir, but will be much more controlled… Look for
him to punish Mir with punches, forearms and elbows. Mir will
look to guard and will work for submissions… I think Mir
will work for the legs again, as he no doubt perceives this as
a weakness of Lesnar. I think Lesnar will have been working like
crazy to defend his legs. I can see Frank landing a lower body
submission -- I don't think he will get an arm or leg -- and
winning the fight. I just don't think it will happen. I think
Brock will come in well-prepared for this match. I am predicting
Brock to win via TKO in the later rounds.
Stephane
Vigneault: Sorry, I don’t like Lesnar. But since Mir’s
performance against Nogueira I am a fan of Mir. Mir by submission
in round two.
Pete
Spratt: I guess I would have to say it depends on which Mir shows
up. Will it be the Mir that fought Nog or the Mir that fought
Lesnar the first time? In my opinion, Mir has a slight chance
to win if this was a grappling match. He got away with one when
he caught an inexperienced Lesnar, who was winning the first
fight. I don’t think Lesnar will make those same mistakes
again. I think he's too big, too strong and too athletic for
Mir to beat. I will go with Lesnar by TKO (in) round three.
Gabe
Ruediger: This fight has no real interest for me. Not sure of
a winner, (but I’m) leaning towards Lesnar.
Din
Thomas: I’m picking “Branck Lesmir” to get it
done based on size, strength and superior technical jiu-jitsu.
Eddy
Millis: This is a tough call. I was very impressed with Frank
in his last fight. Meanwhile, Brock is on the fast track. I think
if Frank can weather the storm, he comes out with a submission
win in the third round.
Lyle
Beerbohm: I don’t think Mir will catch him like he did the
first fight. In that case, I’m picking Brock to win. Since
his fight with Mir, I think he’s gotten more experience
in the cage. And with that experience I think he will be a little
safer when it hits the ground. Submission defense is the key.
I pick Brock (via) second round TKO. If Mir is gonna win, he
better catch him in the first.
Mike
Dolce: Last December, when Frank fought “Big Nog,”
I went against the grain and picked Mir to win by TKO in round
two. This time around I'm picking Mir to win by submission in
round two. Frank's a stud and such a nice guy. I truly think
he's hit his stride and will be ready for what the still green
Lesnar has to offer.
Pros
who picked Lesnar: 16
Pros who picked Mir: 9
Pros who couldn’t decide: 2
Source: Sherdog
|
Overeem
to Face Werdum August 15th
By FCF Staff
Strikeforce has confirmed that the promotion’s heavyweight
champion, Alistair Overeem, will defend his title against Fabricio
Werdum, August 15th, in San Jose, California. The “Carano
vs. Cyborg” card will be headlined by a 145lb. women’s
championship bout between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg”
Santos.
Overeem (29-11) hasn’t competed since last November, when
he submitted Gary Goodridge with a first round Kimura at a Golden
Glory event. The veteran fighter submitted Paul Buentello with
knees to the body at a Strikeforce event in November, 2007, to
lay claim to the promotion’s heavyweight belt.
Overeem
fought and lost to Werdum in May, 2006, as the Brazilian heavyweight
submitted the Dutch fighter with a second round Kimura.
“I’m
very happy that I’m being given the opportunity to fight
him again and I’m looking forward to beating him,”
the 29-year-old Overeem was quoted saying in today’s release.
“This is the one rematch I’ve wanted. I’m going
to punish this guy.”
Werdum
(11-4-1) is coming off a stint in the UFC where he went 2-2,
defeating Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga, with losses coming
against Andrei Arlovski, and most recently, a TKO stoppage at
the hands of Junior dos Santos last October.
“I
am very confident. I have trained my whole life for this moment,”
the 31-year-old Werdum said. “Coming in as the challenger
in a title match is a huge motivating factor for me. Whether
the fight is against Alistair or another fighter doesn’t
necessarily matter to me. What matters is that I am fighting
the champion.”
The
August 15th event will also feature a lightweight title fight,
as champion Josh Thomson and former champion Gilbert Melendez
are scheduled to have their rematch. Thomson defeated Melendez
by Unanimous Decision last June.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
ADCC
keeps same categories for 2011
New weight groups only for internal championships
Announced last week as changes to be made for 2011 by the ADCC,
the new weight categories will be restricted to internal competitions
held by the organization, according to ADCC Brazil general secretary
Wagner Gomes.
“I
received the information from the ADCC in Abu Dhabi, saying the
categories mentioned were just suggestions, and the categories
for the ADCC World Championship will be the same as this year’s,
or in other words, 66kg, 77kg, 88kg, 99kg and over 99kg for men,
and under 60kg and over 60kg for women,” said Mr. Gomes.
Wagner
also announced that in the 14-and-15, 16-and-17 year-old, amateur
and veteran categories of the ADCC circuit the changes will be
put into effect in the near future.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Gomi-Oliveira
Completes Affliction 'Trilogy' LineupPress Release
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The
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Russian icon Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (30-1-0),
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and global licensing, sales and marketing, property management,
golf course development, entertainment, entertainment and product
licensing, brand development as well as restaurants and event
planning. Donald J. Trump is the Chairman and President of the
Trump Organization, a privately held company in New York. (www.Trump.com)
Golden
Boy Promotions
Los
Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions was established in 2002 by
Oscar de la Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing
promotional company. Golden Boy Promotions currently has over
60 fighters under contract, from future hall of famers Bernard
Hopkins, Sugar Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez to current
world champions Ricky Hatton, David Haye, Joel Casamayor, Israel
Vazquez and Gerry Peñalosa. Also included on the company’s
roster are top contenders Jeff Lacy, Juan Diaz, Daniel Ponce
De Leon, Jhonny Gonzalez, Librado Andrade, Rocky Juarez and Rey
Bautista; 2004 Olympians Abner Mares, Vicente Escobedo and Rock
Allen; and highly regarded prospects Danny Garcia, Jermell Charlo,
Hylon Williams and Carlos and Juan Velasquez. (www.goldenboypromotions.com)
Source: The Fight Network
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Wanderlei
brings hope to young Americans
The small town of Pensacola, Florida, United States, will make
party to welcome the Brazilian fighter Wanderlei Silva. Eternal
idol of Pride and one of the biggest names of the MMA world,
Silva will participate of a lecture, on July 16, for young and
teenagers local people, telling a little of his life and determination
to overcome obstacles inside and outside the rings, serving of
inspiration for young people. After the lecture, the Brazilian
will receive, from the hands of the mayor Mike Wiggins, the key
of the city.
Source: Tatame
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