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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
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)
10/10/09
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Hawaii, Tentative)
9/19/09
UFC
103
(American Airlines Center, Dallas)
9/16/09
UFC
Fight Night 19
(Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City)
August
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)
8/9/09
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)
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)
|
|
June
2009 News Part 3
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ Dean, & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
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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
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Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
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O2
Martial Arts Academy Day Classes Start May 2!
Women & Kids Kickboxing Class starts May 4!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2MAA Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Day Classes will be held on Monday,
Wednesday, and Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and will be taught
by one of Relson Gracie's first black belts, Sam Mahi!
We will be starting a Womens and Kids kickboxing class on Sunday
afternoons from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The class will be taught
by none other than O2's Kaleo Kwan! It will be a non-competitive,
fun atmosphere and allow the ladies and kids to get in a quick
workout and learn some legitimate kickboxing technique before
the long work week starts.
New
O2MAA Kid's Jiu-Jitsu Class Starts Friday, December 5 from 5:30
to 6:30 PM!
Adult Wrestling Class Starts Starts Friday, December 5 from 8:30
to 9:30 PM!
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Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Quote
of the Day
“What
is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step
to something better.”
Wendell Phillips
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Club TV Tonight!
Channel
52
NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!
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you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
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UFC'S
RATNER HOLDS HOPE FOR N.Y. MMA IN 2009
The past two weeks have not been kind to the UFC’s interests
in New York. Turmoil within the Senate has ground to a halt its
legislative business and impeded the state assembly.
Day
two of the Senate’s special session wrapped up Wednesday
in near total chaos, with representatives feuding over control
of the proceedings and refusing to address bills placed on the
agenda by the Governor.
In
other words, a fight is getting in the way of fights in New York.
UFC
president Dana White has long had his eye on Madison Square Garden,
promising an event there by the end of the year.
Senate
bill S2165A and assembly bill 2009-B, which seek to legalize
MMA in the Empire State, have remained in committee since the
battle broke out.
There
has been no indication the Senate version of MMA legislation
will be heard.
On
the assembly side, multiple legislators MMAWeekly.com spoke to
said there were no special sessions planned for the myriad of
bills left on its desk, but none ruled out the chance of going
back to Albany.
But
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner doesn’t
hear any singing just yet.
“Here’s
my feeling as to what’s going to happen: Eventually, the
Senate’s going to have to get back in session,” Ratner
told MMAWeekly.com. “Once the Senate’s back in session,
they're going to have to pass some bills. Then the Assembly’s
going to have to come back before the end of the year or before
the end of summer and they’re going to have to look at some
of these bills. The session is, at this moment, over. But this
is my prediction: they’re going to have to meet again.”
Of
course, if the assembly decides to return before the close of
2009, MMA’s fate will rest in which bills they decide to
address. That power lies with the Speaker of the Assembly, representative
Sheldon Silver.
“In
each of the last several years, the assembly has come back into
special session two, sometimes three times after their regular
session,” said a staffer for Herman D. Farrell, Jr., chair
of the assembly’s Ways and Means committee where bill 2009-B
was stranded. “However, during those special sessions, most
of the bills that have been considered are of an economic nature.
It is not unheard of for program bills to be considered during
special session, but it’s not common.”
Ratner
said the sheer volume of unfinished business actually improved
his company’s chances.
“There’s
going to be a lot of bills out there that only one house has
passed,” he said. “I think the assembly passed around
150 or 200 bills in the last couple of days before they adjourned.
So if the Senate changes any of those, they’re going to
have to come back, they’re going to have to have some compromises.
So I feel there’s still a chance that it will be done this
year. Maybe I’m being more optimistic than some, but that’s
the way I feel.”
Assemblyman
Jonathan Bing, who’s argument for the MMA legislation helped
it pass the Tourism, Arts, and Sports Development committee June
3, was hopeful the bill would be addressed sooner than later.
“There’s
a good chance we’ll be back in Albany for one reason or
another before then, and my hope is that when the legislature
does re-convene, whether it’s later this year or early next
year, that we can go forward on this legislation,” said
Bing. “Certainly I will advocate for the bill to be brought
up as soon as possible, but in terms of when that’s going
to be, that’s made by the speaker.”
However,
if the bill does not see the light of day before the year’s
end, Bing says he will make the case once again in January. There,
Bob Reilly, the “accidental opposition” to the bill,
will take another chop at the sport.
A
representative from Speaker Silver’s office declined comment
on the likelihood of the MMA bill being placed on the agenda.
“The
assembly is always available to return at the call of the Speaker,
but as of now, there is no assembly session at this time,”
the representative stated. “The bill is still being reviewed
through the committee process.”
Regardless
of the outcome in Albany, Ratner will soldier on.
“What’s
happening is unprecedented in their political history,”
he said. “I feel very strongly that if the Senate hadn’t
had what happened to it, with guys changing sides, that we might
have a bill on the Governor’s desk already. But it did happen,
and we’re going to go forward. I’m still cautiously
optimistic that in the year 2009, it will be passed.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
STRIKEFORCE
CHALLENGER FIGHTER SALARIES
MMAWeekly.com has obtained the fighter salary information from
the Washington Department of Licensing’s Professional Athletics
Program for Strikeforce Challenger Series featuring Joey Villasenor
vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, which took place on
Saturday, June 19, at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just
as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed
bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not
disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view
bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included
in the figures below.
In
the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined
as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear
on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take
place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of
whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet
broadcast.
MAIN
EVENT FIGHTERS
–
Joey Villasenor ($48,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Evangelista
“Cyborg” Santos ($10,000)
MAIN
CARD FIGHTERS
–
Tim Kennedy ($20,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Nick Thompson
($15,000)
–
Jorge Gurgel ($20,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Conor Heun
($4,000)
–
Sarah Kaufman ($8,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Shayna
Baszler ($8,000)
–
Luke Rockhold ($7,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Cory Devela
($7,500)
PRELIMINARY
CARD FIGHTERS
–
Dennis Hallman ($10,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Justin
Davis ($2,000)
–
Bryan Caraway ($6,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Alex Zuniga
($1,000)
–
Lyle Beerbohm ($6,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Duane Ludwig
($15,000)
–
Landon Showalter ($3,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. George
Stork ($1,000)
–
Len Bentley ($1,500/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Marques Daniels
($1,500)
–
Steve Hadsel ($3,000/win bonus was undisclosed) def. Taylor Roberts
($1,000)
STRIKEFORCE
CHALLENGER SERIES DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $198,500
Source: MMA Weekly
|
LASHLEY
MUST OVERCOME 67 POUNDS TO BEAT SAPP
Former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley, now a burgeoning mixed martial
artist, will have to overcome a nearly 70-pound weight difference
and a vast experience gap if he hopes to maintain his undefeated
record on Saturday night.
Lashley,
3-0, weighed in at 255.4 pounds on Friday for his bout against
Bob "The Beast" Sapp, who tipped the scales at 322.2
pounds. The two will collide in a pay-per-view main event emanating
from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss.
Supporting
bouts include a heavyweight clash between Pride veteran Gilbert
Yvel and former UFC title contender Pedro Rizzo, the winner of
which is likely to face Paul Buentello at Affliction "Trilogy"
in August.
Affliction
Entertainment vice president Tom Atencio also puts the gloves
on for just the second time, as he faces Randy Hedderick in a
160-pound catchweight bout.
-Bobby
Lashley (255.4 lbs.) vs. Bob Sapp (322.2 lbs.)
-Gilbert Yvel (237 lbs.) vs. Pedro Rizzo (243.6 lbs.)
-Din Thomas (146.6 lbs.) vs. Javier Vasquez (144.8 lbs.)
-Chris Horodecki (155 lbs.) vs. William Sriyapai (154.8 lbs.)
-Brett Cooper (169.2 lbs.) vs. Waachiim Spirit Wolf (168.4 lbs.)
-Tom Atencio (160.4 lbs.) vs. Randy Hedderick (159 lbs.)
-John Harris (154.2 lbs.) vs. Brandon Harder (154.2 lbs.)
-James Orso (173.2 lbs.) vs. Danny Abbadi (174.6 lbs.)
-Eric Bradley (170.4 lbs.) vs. Kelly Leo (168.4 lbs.)
-Colin McKee (174.2 lbs.) vs. Lance Thompson (172 lbs.)
-Eric Graham (159 lbs.) vs. Drew Wallace (159 lbs.)
-Greg Maher (265.2 lbs.) vs. Rocky Overstreet (253.4 lbs.)
LASHLEY
DEFEATS SAPP, YVEL KO'S RIZZO AT "ULTIMATE CHAOS"
BILOXI, Miss. – Bobby Lashley took super heavyweight Bob
“The Beast" Sapp to the mat immediately following the
opening bell and used his improved ground-and-pound game to win
by first-round submission in the main event at “Ultimate
Chaos” at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi,
Mississippi.
“Going
up against Bob,” Lashley said after the fight, “you
always expect the big bulls. I had to take him down, cover and
pound. The first thing is to win: ground-and-pound to wear the
big man down. He has a big punch. I used my ground-and-pound
and got out of there.”
“I
got a good shot in the eye and was unable to see,” Sapp
explained the ending. “He got me in the eye. No excuses,
He got me down today and controlled it. Give it up to Bobby Lashley.”
In
a devastating display of power striking, Dutch heavyweight Gilbert
“The Hurricane” Yvel registered his 31st knockout with
five lethal right hands on a fallen Pedro “The Rock”
Rizzo at 2:10 of the first round in the co-feature.
“I
want to move up to (fight) the champions because I want a belt,”
Yvel explained his next move. “I’m learning the ground
game. What I did tonight was be patient, relax, and kick-off.”
Veteran
Javier “Showtime” Vazquez took pro debuting Mark Kergosian,
who was a late replacement for Din “Dinyero” Thomas,
to school with a first-round submission by Guillotine choke only
59-seconds into the opening frame.
“I
want to thank Mark or I wouldn’t have had a chance to fight
tonight,” featherweight Vazquez remarked. “I was looking
forward to fighting Din. It’s unfortunate. I’m back!
This is my weight class. Very few guys can touch me at 145. That
was just a tip of the iceberg.”
Hot
21-year-old lightweight prospect Chris “The Polish”
Horodecki won by submission for the first time, using a rear
naked choke to force William “The Bull” Sryyapai to
tap-out in round one.
Waachim
“Native Warrior” Spirit Wolf unleashed a barrage of
punches to stop a dazed Brett Cooper at 1:04 of the opening round
of their welterweight fight.
“I
heard Brett Cooper signed to fight in 30 days,” Spirit Wolf
noted. “It was all over the news. I said, if he didn’t
take me serious, he’d be in trouble and that’s what
happened. He never should have looked past me. I’ve been
fighting tough guys since I started. I’ve always told my
management to get me the best fighters. I’ll fight anybody.
I’ve gone through wars and it’s made me a more powerful,
spiritual fighter.”
Affliction
vice president Tom Atencio, 42-years-old, turned back the clock
and ruined local favorite Randy Hedderick’s pro debut in
a spirited lightweight match. Atencio won the second-round TKO
when Hedderick, 17 years Atencio’s junior, was unable to
continue due to a broken nose at the end of the second round.
“Randy’s
a tough kid and I thank him for the fight,” Atencio said.
“Screw Dana White for what he said about you. Anybody who
steps in the ring deserves a lot of respect. Win, lose or draw,
at least you had the balls. He rocked me a couple of times and
decked me.”
Mississippi
lightweight Brandon Harder used an arm triangle to submit John
Harris in round two.
James
Orso defeated Danny “The Assassin” Abbadi by decision
for the second time in their welterweight rematch.
Northern
Ireland welterweight Colin “The Gift” McKee won by
way of a series of strikes in the first round against tapping-out
Lance Thompson.
ULTIMATE
CHAOS RESULTS:
-Bobby
Lashley def. Sapp by submission (strikes) at 3:17, R1
-Gilbert Yvel def. Pedro Rizzo by KO at 2:10, R1
-Javier Vasquez def. Mark Kergosien by submission (guillotine
choke) at 0:59, R1
-Chris Horodecki def. Sriyapai by submission (rear naked choke)
at 4:02, R1
-Waachiim Spiritwolf def. Brett Cooper by KO at 3:41, R1
-Tom Atencio def. Randy Hederick by TKO (stoppage) at 5:00, R2
-Brandon Harder def. John Harris by submission (arm triangle)
at 4:31, R2
-James Orso def. Danny Abbadi by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-28)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
EDDIE
ALVAREZ PUTS ON THE BRAKES
Reports that Eddie Alvarez was Japan bound this fall spread quickly
after his lightweight championship run in Bellator FC.
Initially,
the word was that Alvarez’s contract with the tournament
based promotion ruled out a bout with Tatsuya Kawajiri for Dream
in September.
After
speaking with Alvarez rep Monte Cox and Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney
this week, the story is the same, but the reason is a little
different.
Alvarez
just wants a break.
“Just
hanging out at the pool with Eddie after the (Bellator) win,
I can tell you that all Eddie wants to do is relax and eat some
pizza,” said Rebney.
“We
agreed that win or lose, he would take three months off,”
Cox agreed. “He’s had like six fights in a year, and
at the level of fights he’s fighting, not too many bums
in there. He’s had a heck of a run. If he’s going to
take July, August, and September off, he’s not going to
fight in September, that’s for sure. It doesn’t give
him any time to train.”
Rebney
echoed an earlier interview with MMAWeekly.com where he opened
the door to fighter loan-outs that made sense, and said a future
Alvarez appearance overseas might be possible.
“If
Eddie came back and said, ‘man, I’d like to get back
in the cage,’ (around a) September time frame, and there
was the right opportunity out there, be it in Japan or wherever,
I’d talk about it and we’d figure out if there was
a way to make it work,” said Rebney.
Bellator’s
second season is targeted to begin in October, and will focus
on a challenger tournament to determine four contenders to the
current titleholders in the featherweight through middleweight
classes. An announcement on the promotion’s broadcast partners
is forthcoming.
Rebney
and Cox expect Alvarez to sit out four to five months as the
next challenger is groomed. If he wants a fight before that,
a sit-down will be needed.
“The
reality is from a contractual perspective, we have the ability
to approve or not approve one of those outside fights happening,”
said Rebney. “But my first inclination would be to get on
the phone with folks and say, hey, what can we do, how can we
make this work, what can we do together? As opposed to taking
the closed-door approach where we say, no, they’ll only
fight guys that are under contract with us.”
Switching
to his fan hat, Rebney said Kawajiri was a good match-up.
“That
would be a cool fight, wouldn’t it?” he said. “He
hasn’t had the best run as of late, but still, he’s
a magical fighter at 155. That isn’t a fight I would mind
watching.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Rômulo
Barral eyes the ADCC 2009
Two
times Jiu-Jitsu world champion, Rômulo Barral still celebrates
the title, won at the beginning of the month, in California,
USA. Back to the trainings, the fighter eyes, also, the 2009
edition of ADCC. "I couldn’t participate of the selective
in Brazil because I'm living here in the United States. I’m
very happy with my World title and I want to go to the ADCC,
I really want to fight there. I’m waiting anxiously for
an invitation of the organization", says Barral, who won
his first World title in the black belt in 2007, year in which
he disputed the ADCC and was eliminated in the semifinal by Flávio
Cachorrinho. The 2009 ADCC is scheduled for September 26 and
27, in Barcelona, Spain.
Source: Tatame |
Nakahara
vs. Galesic possible at Dream 11
Karate
Kyokushin world champion in 2005, Andrews Nakahara will try the
second title in the middleweight category in August 21, 22 and
23, when the World Cup takes place in Japan. In 2005, Andrews
made four fights to be champion and, this year, despite the category
have fewer athletes, the competition for the gold promises to
be more difficult. "To be champion, I’ll have to make
three fights. This year decreased because the event is choosing
only the eight best in the world to fight the World Cup. Before,
each country sent two representatives", said Andrews.
Despite
being focused on the World Cup, the black belt under Francisco
Filho guarantees that haven’t abandoned the MMA trainings
and that he’ll probably should return to the rings in September.
"I returned my focus to Kyokushin trainings, but didn’t
leave the Jui-Jitsu and MMA trainings aside. I only decreased
the rhythm. As Dream wants me to fight in the event of September,
I can’t be without training MMA", said Nakahara, who
comes from two victories at Dream and should face Zelg Galesic
in his fourth fight of MMA.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
“One
must not lose desires. They are mighty stimulants to creativeness,
to love, and to long life.”
Alexander A. Bogomoletz
|
Rodrigo
Ranieri Seminar Monday & Tuesday!
Rodrigo
was the killer black belt that was competing against Hawaii's
best black belts and put on am impressive show.
Gracie
Technics is hosting two seminars with Rodrigo:
Monday, June 29 at 7:00 pm at the Mapunapuna School
Tuesday, June 30 at 7:30 pm at the Town School
Cost is $30 for one day or $50 for both days
For more information call Rylan at 808-834-2550 or visit www.gracietechnics.com.
|
SANCHEZ,
OTHER TUF 9 FIGHTERS CLEAR DRUG TESTS
The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Thursday released the
post-fight drug test results for the fighters of The Ultimate
Fighter "Team U.S.A. vs. Team U.K." Finale, held June
20 at the Palms in Las Vegas.
Twelve
fighters were tested for performance enhancers and drugs of abuse
following their bouts: Diego Sanchez, Clay Guida, DaMarques Johnson,
James Wilkes, Ross Pearson, Andre Winner, Chris Lytle, Joe Stevenson,
Brad Blackburn, Nick Osipczak, Melvin Guillard, and Tomasz Drwal.
All
the drug tests came back negative.
The
event saw an unprecedented three "Fight of the Night"
awards issued by the promotion for the efforts of Diego Sanchez
and Clay Guida, Chris Lytle and Kevin Burns, and Joe Stevenson
and Nate Diaz, in their respective bouts. The event also crowned
James Wilkes, at welterweight, and Ross Pearson, at lightweight,
as the winners of season nine of the reality series.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
CERRONE
VS. HENDERSON AT WEC 43; FOR BELT?
The delay brought by WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner's
hand injury has created an opening.
Donald
Cerrone, who was expected to take on the champion in a rematch
from their January battle, will instead take on rising prospect
Ben Henderson, likely for an interim lightweight belt, at WEC
43 in September. Henderson was booked as the challenger after
early discussions named former contender Rich Crunkilton as the
replacement.
Cerrone
on Thursday confirmed the news to mmamania.com and Henderson
announced it on his personal blog. While bouts agreements haven't
been signed, and details are still being worked out, both parties
have agreed to the fight.
It
would mark the first time the WEC has employed an interim title.
The
event's date and location are still undetermined, but Cincinnati
has been named as a possible host.
Henderson
last appeared at WEC 40, where he defeated Shane Roller by strikes
in the second round. The 25-year-old Korean-American has won
all but one of his nine professional appearances. He currently
trains out of The Lab in Glendale, Ariz.
Cerrone
lost his bid for the lightweight title in January when an illegal
knee he threw brought a premature close to the WEC 38 bout. Varner's
lead in points ruled him the winner. The loss was his first in
12 professional bouts. The 26-year-old Colorado native bounced
back at WEC 41 with a decimation of James Krause, submitting
the newcomer in the first round.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
FIGHT NIGHT 19: HUERTA VS. MAYNARD
A lightweight match-up between Roger Huerta and Gray Maynard
has been agreed to for UFC Fight Night 19, MMAWeekly.com has
learned.
The
bout was first reported as a possibility by Sherdog.com, and
subsequently confirmed by sources close to the fight. The event
is scheduled for Sept. 16, at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma
City.
Huerta
has been inactive since a loss to Kenny Florian at UFC 87 took
him off the title contender list at 155-pounds. In the pre-fight
buildup, Huerta made waves with an interview where he openly
questioned the payout practices of the promotion.
The
26-year-old Hispanic fighter had been promoted heavily by the
UFC, gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated in May 2007.
Following
the Florian fight, his first loss in seven UFC appearances, he
softened his stance, saying his views were a matter of sound
business practices.
The
layoff, however, lead many to believe he had lost the UFC's good
graces.
Huerta
in January announced he was taking a hiatus from MMA to pursue
acting opportunities, including a development deal with Lions
Gate Pictures.
Maynard,
30, has been on his way towards a title shot since a dominating
performance over Jim Miller at UFC 96. Since a freak occurrence
at the finale of "The Ultimate Fighter" season 5, where
Maynard first came into the UFC fold, he has notched five straight
victories. The Las Vegas wrestling standout trains at Xtreme
Couture alongside Randy Couture, Tyson Griffin, Jay Hieron, and
Forrest Griffin, among others.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
RAMPAGE
IN CIVIL SUIT, STEMS FROM JULY INCIDENT
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has been named as the defendant
in a civil suit filed by a woman who claims his hit-and-run incident
involving Orange County police caused her to give birth to a
stillborn baby. The news comes from TMZ.com.
The
woman, identified as Holly Griggs, says Jackson rammed her car
"so he could escape and flee the scene." As a result,
she alleges, "the impact of her abdomen with the steering
wheel caused her amniotic fluid membranes (bag of waters) to
rupture, ultimately resulting in the stillbirth of her baby."
Jackson
was taken into custody on July 15 after a short chase which careened
through the streets of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, Calif. He
initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, but later changed
his plea to guilty when a deal was reached that would eliminate
the possibility of jail time.
After
a short investigation, the Orange County District Attorney's
office decided against filing additional charges related to Griggs
in the case.
“We
reviewed all the medical records and spoke with the victim's
physician, and the evidence showed that the loss of the fetus
was not related to or a result of the crash caused by the defendant,”
said Farrah Emami, spokesperson for the DA's office.
Grigg's
civil lawsuit asks for $25,000 in damages for "property
damage, personal injury and emotional distress."
A
call to Jackson's attorney, Carol Lavacott, was not immediately
returned.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
RELEASES CIESNOLEVICZ AFTER TUF LOSS
The current downsizing of the UFC’s packed roster continued
recently, as MMAWeekly.com has learned the promotion has released
Mike Ciesnolevicz, who joins fellow light heavyweight Tim Boetsch
on the outside of the Octagon looking in.
Boetsch
made waves when he stepped in as a late replacement for Tomasz
Drwal at UFC 81 and defeated David Heath in impressive fashion,
but went 2-2 for the promotion, with his most recent appearance
being a unanimous decision loss to Jason Brilz at UFC 96 in March.
He was released shortly thereafter.
Ciesnolevicz
also stepped in with late notice for his UFC debut, moving up
a weight class against Neil Grove in a heavyweight bout this
past February at UFC 95, defeating the massive Grove via heel
hook in the first round.
However,
in his follow-up bout against Drwal at the recent Ultimate Fighter
9 Finale, Ciesnolevicz again was a late replacement, but this
time admittedly performed below expectations, losing in the first
round via TKO, splitting his UFC record at 1-1.
Sources
say Boetsch’s next stop may be Strikeforce; while Ciesnolevicz
told MMAWeekly.com that he is looking into fighting again soon,
with the eventual hopes of returning to the UFC after stringing
together a couple of wins outside the promotion.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JOEY
VILLASENOR IS BACK, TAKING AIM AT BIG NAMES
As someone once said, “Good things come to those who wait.”
That
has never been more evident than it was recently for Strikeforce
middleweight contender Joey Villasenor.
After
a year in limbo, predicated by the downfall of EliteXC and numerous
fight delays, he finally returned to action last Friday victorious
over Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos at the second edition
of ShoMMA: Strikeforce Challengers Series on Showtime.
“I
put my head down and kept working,” said Villasenor to MMAWeekly.com
about his year out of the cage. “It was frustrating, don’t
get me wrong, but I definitely feel like I’ve gotten better.
“If
anything, it put everything in perspective. For instance, all
my teammates know how much I hate to cut weight, but I missed
it. I missed those challenges of making weight, and really enjoying
all those little things that I didn’t like before about
fighting.”
Despite
the hard fought split-decision battle with Santos, Villasenor
admits he loved every minute of getting back into the fight game.
“The
week of the fight was a great experience for me to do it all
over again,” he elated. “I actually was all smiles
in the cage – even though I had my serious face on –
I was just glad to be back in there, and was appreciating the
whole process of having a fight.”
Perhaps
sensing it was his last chance at a big show, Santos fought differently
than he had in previous bouts, becoming a cautious, methodical
counter-striker, which definitely threw Villasenor for a curve
at first.
“The
game plan we had for him we had to totally adjust, because the
Santos we faced wasn’t the one people are used to watching,”
stated the Greg Jackson-trained fighter. “I think I fought
the best Santos that’s shown himself – he’s definitely
worked on his game and performance.
“It
was a good fight to come back to after a year off. I was able
to watch the film, and outside of taking some big leg kicks early
on, I feel I performed really well.”
Now
that he’s back in the swing of things, Villasenor addressed
where he’d like to go next in Strikeforce.
“I
think with my last performance I think that I kind of moved closer
to the top,” he said. “In EliteXC I was the number
one contender, so I didn’t fall that much further down anyway.
“I
think I’ll be talked about in the middleweight division
as one of their top contenders.”
As
pointed out by many of the athletes currently in Strikeforce’s
middleweight division, there’s no shortage of intriguing
match-ups available, and Villasenor agrees.
“Once
Strikeforce calls and gives me a date and an opponent, I’m
down with competing against anybody,” he stated. “I’d
be honored to fight the likes of Cung Le, Frank Shamrock, Scott
Smith, and Robbie Lawler – that’s another fight I’d
love to have.
“We
have a great group of guys to pool from, with a lot of exciting
bouts, and I’m just really excited to be a part of it.”
Hoping
to get a couple more fights in by the end of the year, Villasenor
is genuinely happy to be back to fighting, and can’t wait
to see where the road leads to.
“I’ve
definitely got to thank the sponsors that I’ve had since
the beginning. Tapout and Fairtex, and I’d like to give
a shout out to Tokyo Five Jeans,” he closed out. “Thanks
to all my coaches, teammates, family and friends, and the fans
– I appreciate you guys, and keep on supporting us.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Lyoto:
“You do a good fight and are the man”
While
celebrated the conquest of the UFC belt, Lyoto Machida talked
with TATAME.com to share the happiest moment of his career. In
the exclusive report with the champion, which you check on the
TATAME Magazine #160, Machida spoke about the emotion of the
title and how does he faces the fact of being appointed as the
best of the category.
"I’m
happy, glad, because I never imagined this, but I think it’s
still too early to talk. People are very immediate, you make
a good fight and already are the guy, but it isn’t like
that. This is a very good moment, but I’m not impressed,
I don’t think I’m the best, I have a lot to improve",
said the fighter, revealing his routine of preparation before
the fights. "Before the fight, I stay breathing, concentrating,
imagining how the fight would be, and my father sings a samurai
song to me, and it helps me a lot", revealed the champion.
Source: Tatame
|
Thiago
cheering for Shogun against Lyoto
Ex-partner
of Maurício "Shogun" at Chute Boxe academy,
Thiago Silva, who now represents the American Top Team, is cheering
for Shogun in his next challenge, which will be against Lyoto
Machida for the UFC's belt. Knowing very well both fighters,
having trained with Shogun and faced Lyoto, Thiago talked about
the title fight. "I think they are both very good athletes,
Shogun is very well physically and technically, but I already
fought with Lyoto and know how it is", said Thiago, pointing
the secrets of the Karate fighter.
"His
(Lyoto’s) differential is psychological, the patience...
He knows the time to go. The secret is there. If Shogun knows
how to administrate the patience, he can get it, but Lyoto is
in a great time", says Silva. After the fight against Lyoto,
Thiago revealed that, with only a minute of fight, “was
already pulling out the hairs". And he gives the tone for
his friend: " Lyoto doesn’t change the strategy, is
always the same, fighting in the opponent's mistake, then the
patience is the key. If Shogun has patience, he may surprise",
said the fighter, betting on Rua. "I put (my money) in Shogun…
He’s my friend, I cheer a lot for him", finished.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"Never
be a cynic, even a gentle one. Never help out a sneer, even at
the devil."
Vachel Lindsay
|
Pac
Sub No-Gi Tournament Today!
For Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu and/or No-Gi Submission Grappling Divisions
Morning of the event before your divisions scheduled deadline
time at the tournament location. See schedule below for deadline
times. (Anyone arriving after deadline will be penalized an additional
$20 if the division has not started yet.)
*Note: This is the earliest a division will be called. It does
not necessarily reflect the actual fight time.
Schedule
For No-Gi Submission Grappling Divisions on Sunday:
Kids all divisions (5-10 & 11-14): Weigh in before 9am -
Compete at 10am
Juniors all divisions (15-17): Weigh in before 9:30am - Compete
at 11:30am
Beginner Executive & Masters: Weigh-in before 9am - Compete
at 10am
Beginner Adult: Weigh-in before 9:30am - Compete at 11:30am
Advanced Executives & Masters: Weigh-in before 11am - Compete
at 1:30pm
Advanced Adult: Weigh-in before 11:30am - Compete at 2pm
Women all divisions: Weigh-in before 1pm - Compete at 2:30pm
Intermediate Executives and Masters: Weigh-in before 1pm - Compete
at 3pm
Intermediate Adult: Weigh-in before 1:30pm - Compete at 3:30pm
www.pjjf.net
Mahalo,
PJJF
& Pac Sub Staff
|
X-1
Scuffle On Schofield
|
Affliction
finished with Andrei Arlovski
Two first-round knockout losses later and Affliction has no intention
of signing a new deal with former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei
Arlovski.
"His contract has expired and right now we have so many
fighters under contract that we are just concentrating on working
with them," Affliction VP Tom Atencio told Fighters Only
Magazine.
Arlovski
(15-7)'s last fight under his three-fight Affliction contract
was a loss earlier this month in eleven seconds to Brett Rogers
at Strikeforce "Lawler vs. Shields" in St. Louis. He
was fighting for Strikeforce under his Affliction deal and has
also fought for EliteXC during his stint with Affliction but
the fight versus Roy Nelson was under a separate agreement. In
his two Affliction fights, Arlovski knocked out Ben Rothwell
and was knocked out by Fedor Emelianenko.
With
his two straight knockout losses, it's not worth it for Affliction
to pay his high price tag (he was paid $1,500,000 for his Fedor
fight and $750,000 for his Nelson fight).
When
asked if he'd pursue Arlovski, Atencio flat out told Fighters
Only Magazine: "No, we are not looking at that right now."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Report:
Satoshi Ishii debut postponed
By Zach Arnold
So sayeth Daily Sports newspaper, which says that Ishii’s
MMA debut will likely happen on November 7th in Tokyo at Ryogoku
Kokugikan.
Ishii
reportedly had a minor hernia-related surgical procedure and
had moved back a trip to Holland to train.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Atencio:
Vitor Belfort-Anderson Silva would be a great fight
 
Affliction VP Tom Atencio agrees with UFC president Dana White
that a middleweight encounter between Vitor Belfort and Anderson
Silva would make for a great fight.
In a recent interview on the "Gross Point Blank" podcast
on SI.com, Atencio commented on White's interest in promoting
Belfort, who is currently under contract with Affliction, against
the UFC middleweight champion.
"I
would assume [the UFC] have been talking to [Belfort],"
Atencio said. "I don't know where [White] came up with that,
but he did, I saw myself, and that's fine. If we get into a bidding
war, then we'll get into a bidding war, if I decide I don't want
to pay him, then I'll let him go, but I'll talk to his managers
and we'll figure that out."
White
disclosed his interest in Belfort on a taped segment on this
past Saturday's "The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale." White
simply stated that he would like to see Belfort fight Silva but
his surprising talk of a fighter under contract with a competitor
has generated excitement for the fight.
But
first, if there will actually be a megafight between Belfort
and Silva all depends on if Belfort can get past Sengoku middleweight
champion Jorge Santiago at Affliction 3 on August 1. While there
is no shame in losing to a fighter like Santiago, who is on a
nine-fight win streak since separating from the UFC in 2006,
the Silva fight would not be as marketable if Silva's challenger
is coming off a loss.
"I
think that would be a great fight if he fought against Anderson
Silva," Atencio continued. "But is it going to happen?
I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see what happens after
our contracts up and if he beats Jorge Santiago."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Ringside
MMA Announces Events
for Aug. 22, Sept. 26
Press Release
Ringside
is proud to announce their recent agreement with Alex Caporicci
who will act as match-maker for their next events. With his numerous
years of experience with the MMA he will surely be able to produce
a card filled with high level fighters.
M.
Caporicci is already working on the August 22 and September 26th
events. We will soon be able to inform you on who will take top
billing of our next event.
Ringside
is also happy to announce the conclusion of an agreement with
RDS for the broadcasting of the Rage Fighting Series. The «
RINGSIDE THE COMBACK » event that was held last April 30th
will be aired on July 21st and August the 6th. The names of the
announcer and analyst will be revealed soon.
On
July 4th, the fans will also be able to view the entire May 30th
event on the Fight Network.
The
RINGSIDE magazine is back. The fans present will be able to lay
their hands on the first copy before the magazine hits the Quebec
news stands.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Minotauro
talks training for Randy Couture
By Guilherme Cruz
One
of the most expected fights of the UFC history is confirmed to
the UFC 102 main event. Former UFC and Pride champion, Rodrigo
“Minotauro” Nogueira enters the octagon to face Randy
Couture, at August 29th in Portland, United States. In exclusive
interview to TATAME Magazine’s June’s issue, the Brazilian
spoke about the fight.
“He’s
a very expert and tactical fighter, will try to take me down
and work on the ground and pound, I think he’s gonna believe
in his striking, but my striking is better, I’m doing a
lot of boxing. He’s an athlete. In the stand up, we’ll
have a lot of things to show, I think it’s gonna be a great
fight”, commented the Brazilian. Besides the heavyweight
clash, other five Brazilian may fight in the UFC 102 octagon,
like Demian Maia, Thiago Silva, Junior dos Santos, Wilson Gouveia
and Gabriel Gonzaga.
Source: Tatame
|
Demian
talks Wanderlei’s loss to Franklin
By Guilherme Cruz
Every time that Demian Maia goes to the United States, he chooses
Las Vegas as his destiny, to train with Wanderlei Silva. Earlier
this month, the Axe Murderer faced his third loss in the UFC
octagon, against Rich Franklin at UFC 99. After Wanderlei recognizes
the overtraining for the bout, Demian, who also trains with Rafael
Alejarra, commented the fight.
“Alejarra
spoke with me that he was trying to hold him, but he probably
overtrained a little. It’s bad, of course. The fight has
many factors and, if you change it, it puts you in a bad situation”,
commented the black belt, commenting, also, the polemical result
of the fight. “It’s hard for the UFC to set a draw,
but they could have make (Silva vs. Franklin) a draw. Maybe Franklin’s
knockdown on Wanderlei decided it, but I think it could have
been a draw. It was a great fight, I think Wanderlei was better
technically, all closed. Now is time to adapt to the weight”.
Source: Tatame
|
Time
for Change with Judges, Referees
by Tomas Rios
Until recently, UFC President Dana White had done an admirable
job of observing the unwritten rule that someone in his position
is not supposed to criticize referees and judges.
After
allowing Mustapha al Turk to take a sadistic beating from Cheick
Kongo at UFC 92, referee Steve Mazzagatti was in the crosshairs
of fans the world over for his consistently inconsistent work.
All the notoriously venomous White could say was, “He’s
a nice guy, but he’s not a referee.”
Hardly
the work you’d expect from a guy known to flesh out his
vocabulary with George Carlin’s seven words you can’t
say on television. Yet the reaction showed that White knows full
well that, for all his power, he can hardly afford getting under
the skin of the sanctioning bodies responsible for appointing
judges and referees.
It’s
an understandably difficult situation, but we’ve reached
a tipping point as the level of incompetence displayed by both
judges and referees now goes far beyond what we should expect
or tolerate.
Just
look at this past weekend’s TUF 9 finale card. Both Gleison
Tibau and Edgar Garcia fell victim to the not altogether shocking
ineptitude of supposedly professional judges. Throw in a rash
of bad calls made by big-name referees and relative unknowns
alike, and we’re at a crossroads where the UFC has to choose
between letting this go on unabated or using its connections
to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to fix this and fix it
now. After all, having former NSAC Executive Director Marc Ratner
working for the UFC should only help to effect change with the
sanctioning bodies.
This
is not a problem that will go away on its own. Consider that
boxing remains the domain of flat-out biased judging despite
multiple attempts at reform by boxers, promoters and even politicians.
There will be those who go to the grave saying that the system
is fine, that the occasional bad call boils down to basic human
error and that a bad decision is the fault of the fighters for
not finishing the fight.
Such
statements ignore the responsibility of all involved to refine
the system as best they can. When you’ve got multimillion-dollar
contracts flying around and the sport’s still tenuous foothold
in the American mainstream’s consciousness at stake, taking
a hands-off approach to a broken system is just one of many ways
the sport can send itself headfirst into a pile-up.
Of
course, all the rhetoric in the world means nothing without solutions.
Thankfully the solution is patently obvious and I’m hardly
the first to suggest it: The UFC, being the only promotion with
the stateside pull to get things done, needs to sit down with
the sanctioning bodies and work out a rigorous certification
program for both judges and referees.
Being
a “nice guy” won’t cut it. Having some well-placed
connections won’t cut it. Spending your weekends rolling
on the mats won’t cut it. Becoming a licensed judge or referee
needs to be a process that carries with it a resolute commitment
to excellence.
For
example, prospective referees should go through an extensive
training camp with the sport’s best existing referees in
order to prove they have the skills necessary to get the job
done. Beyond that, all new referees should go through a probationary
period during which they officiate only small-scale sanctioned
events before being considered for full licensing and the opportunity
to preside over the sport’s biggest fights. That would give
the sanctioning bodies the opportunity to separate the wheat
from the chaff, limiting the current crop of subpar officials
from making more big-stakes bad calls and potentially ruining
someone’s career.
Beyond
that, a review system must be implemented to ensure that the
referees who are licensed are kept fully accountable. In the
current system, even the worst calls net only an apology and
some public humiliation for whoever is responsible.
Keep
the same criteria for judges, and the system will become a well-oiled
machine capable of handling the split-second decision-making
demanded of referees and the reasoned analysis judges must make
within moments of the closing bell. This is the only option for
staving off the gradual decline we’ve seen from the sport’s
officials.
Sanctioning
was advertised as a magical cure-all but has proven to be just
one step of many on the road to making MMA a legitimate enterprise.
The decline in judging and refereeing looks to be getting worse,
and it’s only a matter of time before a major main event
is ruined by a bad call. Once that happens, more errors will
inevitably follow and many of the hard-earned fans that the sport
has gained these past few years will lose interest.
Legitimacy
is the lifeblood of modern sports. Without it everything else
falls apart, and after an excruciatingly slow journey, MMA is
knocking at the door of the public goodwill it needs to sustain
itself. Losing that opportunity because of bureaucratic red tape
and sheer laziness means never getting that opportunity again.
Source: Sherdog
|
UFC’s
latest targets for sponsorship bans
By Zach Arnold
UFC
is now reportedly asking for $100,000 rights fees just for a
company to even be ‘eligible’ to sponsor fighters.
A company generating strong PPV revenue is this hard up for cash?
Hardly. This comes off, in my opinion, more like petty politics
every day in terms of controlling what fighters can make with
sponsorships and also going after anyone they don’t have
great relations with (think about past dealings with groups like
American Kickboxing Academy) by going after their sponsors instead
of going after the fighters directly.
One
of the companies reportedly on the banned list is One More Round,
which happens to the clothing company associated with Jacob “Stitch”
Duran. Why is Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, and others going
after a cut man?
I
know and understand that sports leagues like MLB and the NFL
have certain sponsorship deals with companies for uniforms and
so forth. However, athletes in these sports are paid full time,
have benefits, insurance, etc. By going after so many sponsors
in the manner that UFC is doing, this is pure divide-and-conquer
politics at its worst in terms of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Josh
Stein further elaborates:
It
would be unfair to accuse the UFC of intentionally damaging our
access to an improving quality of MMA, but it is not entirely
unfair to assert that they are depriving fighters of their right
to negotiate personal contracts with sponsoring companies. Whether
the fighters choose to address this with open complaints, or
whether it is simply fans discussing the issue, it is important
to recognize that Zuffa LLC may be toeing the line, if they have
not already stepped well over, with respect to their privledge
as broadcasters.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
terminates agreement with Setanta Sports
UFC 99 "The Comeback" was the final UFC event for Setanta
Sports.
The UFC terminated on Tuesday its agreement with the financially-troubled
European channel, the same day Setanta went off the air in the
UK.
"It
was with great regret that the UFC ended its relationship with
Setanta," said UFC UK president Marshall Zelaznik said in
a statement. "Over the last two years, Setanta has helped
the UFC become the biggest indoor sporting event in the British
Isles. They were the right partner for us at the right time as
we continued to build the sport of mixed martial arts and our
brand."
Zelaznik
said the decision was to ensure that UK fans would not miss any
upcoming UFC events. The next big UFC show is UFC 100 on July
11. The UFC will announce soon a new television partner.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Boxing
coach excited for Nogueira x Couture
\By Guilherme Cruz
Considered
a lucky charm by Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, Luiz
Alves will be back to the heavyweight’s corner in August
28th, when the Brazilian faces Randy Couture at UFC 102. And
the coach is excited with the bout. “I always said that
this would be a good fight for Minotauro, because he has great
chances to submit. Randy doesn’t know a lot about the ground
fight, and if he tries to strike, he’ll lose. He’ll
grab at the fence and try to go to the ground, where I believe
Minotauro submits”, bets Alves, who’ll meet Nogueira
next month, in the US.
“The
boss is there. I have to go there early July and stay there for
a couple of months with him. We’ll wait the definition of
Rogério (“Minotoro” Nogueira)’s fight at
Affliction, which is 90% confirmed, but still have no opponent,
and then we’ll all train with Minotauro in the mountains”,
reveals the coach, who was out of Rodrigo’s corner in the
Frank Mir fight, when the Brazilian was knocked out for the first
time in the career. “I have a lot of things to do here in
Brazil, but when he calls me I’ll be there. He’s training
at San Diego and I couldn’t talk with him yet, but Anderson
Silva called me asking when I’ll be there”, finished
the Luiz.
Source: Tatame
|
Top
Ten Euro Prospects
by Tim Leidecker
For the first time in nine seasons, “The Ultimate Fighter”
featured a country versus country theme between the United States
and the United Kingdom. Even though critics were quick to point
out that Team U.S.A might not have been the strongest this time
around, two Brits won their weight divisions, proving that MMA
has arrived in the Old World as well.
The
U.K. is, without a doubt, the most advanced territory in Europe
when it comes to mixed martial arts fighting at this time. However,
there are tons of very promising talent from the other 47 European
countries as well.
Sherdog.com
has compiled a list of the top ten Euro prospects to look out
for. Qualification criteria was a maximum age of 23 years and
no contract with a major promotion yet.
10.
Marcin Held -- Age: 17, Country: Poland
Teenager
Marcin Held is considered the prodigy of Polish MMA. Already
a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu despite his tender age,
experts expect him to become the country’s youngest black
belt of all time. In addition to winning pretty much every domestic
BJJ and grappling competition there is, the young Silesian has
also amassed a perfect MMA record. Held usually fights at 155
pounds, but has stated that he will cut down to 145 pounds if
a tough challenge in the ring came around.
9.
Stav Economou -- Age: 22, Country: Cyprus
The
lone heavyweight on the list is Southend-on-Sea, England’s
slugger Stav Economou. The 250-pound “Crazy Bear,”
as he’s called, is training under Dan Burzotta at Sure Grip
Vale Tudo and has been almost exclusively fighting for the UWC
promotion, where he also is the heavyweight champion. Only two
of his eight fights have made it out of the first round with
88 percent of his opponents kissing the canvas before the final
bell.
8.
Magomed Shikshabekov -- Age: 23, Country: Russia
This
versatile welterweight is another product out of Russia’s
seemingly endless Sambo forge. A multi-time cup winner in Pankration
in his home country, the Legion team standout has since exploded
onto the M-1 Challenge stage, snatching a trio of first-round
victories. Announcer nightmare Shikshabekov is equally strong
fighting from the top and the bottom positions and has an excellent
reach for his weight class.
7.
Alan Omer -- Age: 20, Country: Germany
Stuttgart
stallion Alan Omer is one of the biggest talents to come out
of Germany in years. Despite listing submission wrestling as
his backbone, there hasn’t been anyone who can hold a candle
to Omer’s explosive striking either. Amazingly well-rounded
for his young age, this German of Iraqi origin is equally comfortable
finishing by KO or submission. With several promotions hunting
his signature, expect this kid to make his debut on the big stage
in early 2010.
6.
Dragan Tesanovic -- Age: 23, Country: Serbia
Even
though Serbian middleweight Dragan Tesanovic has only been training
in MMA for four years, he is already considered a very good all-round
fighter with solid standup, great ground work and a dangerous
clinch game. “Gagi” boasts five first-place finishes
in Serbian submission fighting competitions and a 5-1 amateur
ledger in addition to his undefeated pro record. A big win over
Polish judo ace Antoni Chmielewski last year raised a lot of
eyebrows as well.
Sass
has a bright future.5. Paul Sass -- Age: 20, Country: England
Scouser
Paul Sass has an amazing run going for him: dating back to his
amateur days, this BJJ purple belt has finished each of his last
ten fights by triangle choke. It has made him one of the main
attractions for Liverpool-based promotion Cage Gladiators, of
which the 22-year-old has headlined the last two shows. At six-foot-one,
the Next Generation U.K. fighter is one of the tallest lightweights
in all of mixed martial arts.
4.
Gunnar Nelson -- Age: 20, Country: Iceland
Originally
from a Karate background, Icelandic youngster Gunnar Nelson has
been setting the mats on fire since focusing on BJJ three years
ago. The John Kavanagh brown belt has trained extensively with
B.J. Penn and Renzo Gracie in the past. His big breakthrough
came when he took gold at this year’s Pan-American BJJ Championship
and silver at the World Championship. Next to that, his perfect
MMA record seems just a side note, but it is further evidence
of his excellence.
3.
Alexander Gustafsson -- Age: 22, Country: Sweden
If
MMA promotions held fighter drafts, Gustafsson would be a clear
No. 1 pick. The giant light heavyweight has rightfully earned
his nickname “The Mauler” after totally thrashing all
of his opponents thus far. This Stockholm Shooter combines good
wrestling as well as takedown and submission defense with scary
knockout power. His composure inside the ring is exceptional
for a young fighter. Gustafsson has the makings of a future champion.
2.
Hans Stringer -- Age: 21, Country: Holland
The
Dutch are a real threat in fight sports. Not only has the small
country between France and Germany produced a glut of new K-1
stars in Badr Hari, Gökhan Saki and Tyrone Spong; the Netherlands
are now also starting to churn out excellent ground fighters
like Stefan Struve or Hans Stringer. “Beast of the East”
fighter Stringer is a multi-time Dutch champion in BJJ, who receives
extensive training in muay Thai as well. At 21 years old, the
sky is the limit for this kid.
1.
Karl Amoussou -- Age: 23, Country: France
Promoters
are always looking for something special in fighters, whether
it be their ability to promote fights well or a spectacular fighting
style. “Psycho” Karl Amoussou brings both to the table.
The younger brother of Pride veteran Bertrand Amoussou has already
fought all over the world and beaten a couple of tough opponents
on foreign turf. In both 2008 and 2009, he has started off with
bouts considered strong contenders for “Knockout of the
Year.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
"Give
no decision till both sides thou'st heard."
Phocylides
|
Pac
Sub Gi Tournament Today!
For Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu and/or No-Gi Submission Grappling Divisions
Morning of the event before your divisions scheduled deadline
time at the tournament location. See schedule below for deadline
times. (Anyone arriving after deadline will be penalized an additional
$20 if the division has not started yet.)
*Note: This is the earliest a division will be called. It does
not necessarily reflect the actual fight time.
Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu Divisions run on Saturday
*(Must be weighed in and ready to compete by listed weigh-in
times)*
Kids all divisions (5-10 & 11-14): Weigh-in before 10am -
Compete at 11am
Juniors all divisions (15-17): Weigh-in before 11am - Compete
at 12pm
White Belt Executive & Masters: Weigh-in before 10am - Compete
at 11am
White Belt Adult: Weigh-in before 11am - Compete at 12pm
Blue Belt Executives & Masters: Weigh-in before 11am. Compete
at 12pm
Blue Belt Adult: Weigh-in before 12pm - Compete at 1pm
Women all divisions: Weigh-in before 1pm - Compete at 2pm
Purple Belt Executive & Masters: Weigh-in before 2pm. Compete
at 4pm
Purple Belt Adult: Weigh-in before 2pm - Compete at 3pm
Brown & Black Belt: Weigh-in before 2pm - Compete at 3pm
www.pjjf.net
Mahalo,
PJJF
& Pac Sub Staff
|
Gonzaga
vs. Tuchscherer Confirmed for UFC 102
By FCF Staff
A
heavyweight bout between veteran Gabriel Gonzaga and prospect
Chris Tuchscherer, has been added to the UFC 102 card on the
promotion’s official website, an event that will take place
August 29th, at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon. The
bout is scheduled for the preliminary portion of the card.
Gonzaga
(10-4) has not competed since March, when the former title contender
was stopped by Shane Carwin in the first round at UFC 96. Prior
to that, Gonzaga had won two straight, at UFC 86 the Brazilian
tapped out Justin McCully with a first round Kimura, and then
at UFC 91 last November, he KO’d Josh Hendricks in the opening
round.
Tuchscherer
(17-1), who is a former 2 time, NCAA Division II All American
wrestler, has lost just once since transitioning into MMA in
2004. At YAMMA Pit Fighting’s inaugural event last April,
the heavyweight lost to by Unanimous Decision to Travis Wiuff.
The Minnesota fighter has defeated veteran fighters like Krzysztof
Soszynski, Travis Fulton, Alexey Oleinik, and Branden Lee Hinkle
during his MMA career.
UFC
102 will be headlined by a heavyweight bout between former UFC
light-heavyweight and heavyweight champ Randy Couture, and former
Pride and UFC interim champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Some
of other more notable clashes scheduled for the card include
Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva, Deimian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt
and Brandon Vera vs. Matt Hamill.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Sengoku
8/2 Saitama Super Arena
By Zach Arnold
Heavyweights: Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Choi Mu Bae
Heavyweights: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Blagoi Ivanov
Lightweights: Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Clay French
Sengoku Lightweight Championship: Satoru Kitaoka vs. Kazunori
Yokota
Sengoku Middleweight Championship - #1 contender’s match:
Kazuo Misaki vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Featherweight GP Semi-finals: Hatsu Hioki vs. Masanori Kanehara
Featherweight GP Semi-finals: Michihiro Omigawa vs. Marlon Sandro
Featherweight GP finals
Also participating: Akihiro Gono, Satoshi Ishii
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
calendar set till November
End-of-year show still without date
The
world’s premier MMA organization, the Ultimate Fighting
Championship, is known for planning its events well in advance,
as well as the bouts to make up the events’ programs. Thus,
based on reservations the organizers made along with the athletic
commissions from the states the events are to be held in and
sources close to the UFC, the calendar for the next few months
can be discerned.
Check
out the likely UFC calendar up to the 106th event. It is worth
noting that the much-anticipated end-of-the-year event does not
yet have its date and location defined.
Provisory
UFC calendar
UFC
100 – July 11 - Mandalay Bay Events Center - Las Vegas
UFC 101 – August 8 - Wachovia Center - Philadelphia
UFC 102 – August 29 - Rose Garden - Portland
UFC Fight Night 19 – September 16 - Cox Convention Center
- Oklahoma City
UFC 103 – September 19 - American Airlines Center - Dallas
UFC 104 – October 24 - Staples Center - Los Angeles
UFC 105 – November 14 – United Kingdom
UFC 106 – November 21 - Mandalay Bay Events Center - Las
Vegas
TUF 10 Finale - The Palms Casino Resort - Las Vegas
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
DUFFEE
VS. RUSSOW CONFIRMED FOR UFC 102
A rumored heavyweight match-up between heavyweights Todd Duffee
and Mike Russow is a done deal for UFC 102 in August.
Sources
close to the fight Wednesday confirmed the news to MMAWeekly.com,
stating that bout agreements had been finalized. The bout will
highlight the Portland, Ore., event's undercard.
Russow,
32, is making his UFC debut after a successful run in manager
Monte Cox's Adrenaline MMA last year. An officer with the Chicago
Police Department, he brings a strong wrestling and submission
background to the game, having notched all but two of his eleven
victories by tapout. His sole loss came by submission to then
top-ranked heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov at Pride 33 in 2007.
Duffee,
23, was set to make his UFC debut in Germany at UFC 99, but was
bumped from the card when Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
was added to face opponent Mustapha Al-Turk. Duffee also carries
a strong wrestling background and trains with powerhouse crew
American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla. He is undefeated in
four professional appearances.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ben
Saunders: I never called out Anderson Silva
UFC welterweight Ben Saunders wants you to know that he has never
called out middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
A made-up interview was passed around prior to Saunders' fight
at UFC 99 "The Comeback" against Mike Swick that had
Saunders stating that he wanted to move up to middleweight and
challenge Silva to determine who has the best Muay Thai skills
in the UFC.
Saunders
before the fight denounced the interview as a fake but the false
challenge resurfaced when Joe Rogan mentioned it during his fight
on the UFC 99 pay-per-view.
Saunders
spoke out again today against the fake interview in a post on
MixedMartialArts.com.
"I
appreciate all the support from my fans and to be honest I don't
know if the fake interview was made by a fan or a critic,"
Saunders wrote. "I was actually blown away to hear Joe say
that during my walk out when I watched the replay.
"I
just thought I needed to clear this up. I don't know where this
interview of me came from, but it was a fake interview. The entire
article is fake. I never called out Anderson Silva. Sure, I eventually
want to fight against the best in the world. Eventually. But
I never called out anyone, I know what it means to work your
ass off to get to where you wanna go. I am very happy with how
my career and skills are playing out."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
TapOut
Center Sets New Standard for MMA Fitness, Training
Press Release
Fitness
and mixed martial arts training fans met the new standard in
equipment and training techniques this weekend when the new TapouT
Research & Development Training Center held the grand opening
of its new 18,000-square-foot facility on Friday, June 19 and
Saturday, June 20. The schedule also included the U.S. debut
of the Professional Arm Wrestling League. In that competition,
John Brzenk, the world's number one ranked arm wrestler, retained
his title with a 5-1 victory over Denis Cyplenkov, the world's
number two ranked arm wrestler.
The
two-day event included autograph sessions both days with TapouT's
leading crew, "Punkass" and "Skyskrape,"
training exhibitions by Ultimate Fighting Championship top contender
Stephan Bonner and exhibitions of kickboxing, judo, arm wrestling,
boxing, mma fighting and jiu jitsu. The Professional Arm Wrestling
League competition was fought Friday, June 19 and was streamed
live on its web site, www.armpower.net.
The
TapouT R&D Training Center in Las Vegas is the first of its
kind to be built by the company whose brand has become synonymous
with the attitude and prominence of mixed martial arts. It already
bears the nickname, "The Mad Laboratory," because of
its capability of creating innovations in MMA products and training
techniques. On display is the cutting edge equipment produced
by 7Base Consulting, for TapouT its exclusive licensed partner,
including a 32-foot Octagon Cage, 24-foot steel rope ring, custom
built training and cantilever bag racks and custom cage Barrier
Walls. The Training Center also will market the latest fight
gear and apparel created by TapouT.
The
TapouT R&D Training Center not only offers MMA training programs
but also a variety of fitness classes that are geared for families,
including children, boys and girls, starting at age five. "As
mixed martial arts continues its phenomenal growth, TapouT recognized
the need for a fitness facility that could offer the dual functionality
of MMA and fitness training," said Dan "Punkass"
Caldwell, TapouT co-chief executive officer and co-founder. "The
Las Vegas center is the first full-scale training facility of
many that we plan to build nationwide with 7Base, our exclusive
licensed partner.
7Base
is the world's largest mixed martial arts consulting agency that
provides support for all fight sport needs. With over 30 years
of combined expertise in both the national and international
business communities, 7Base is the premier source of event planning
and execution, training center design and build-out, private-label
equipment manufacturing, effective business plan development
and unique graphic design solutions.
7Base
has an exclusive agreement with TapouT to roll out training centers,
plus a worldwide agreement to manufacture TapouT's own line of
cage barriers, training, gym and event cages, gym and event MMA/boxing
rings and bag racks.
About
TapouT
TapouT
is the world's leading mixed-martial arts apparel, gear and lifestyle
brand on the market today. TapouT started as a vision by Co-Founder
Charles "Mask" Lewis Jr., and has since become a pioneer
of the MMA movement and a $100 million empire. Representing some
of the biggest MMA superstars including Chuck Liddell, Frank
Shamrock, Thiago Alves and Anthony Johnson, TapouT produces the
hottest apparel for men, women and children. Their distinctive,
authentic logo graces everything from clothing, accessories,
and gear, to nutrition products and a magazine. TapouT is also
the exclusive apparel sponsor for Spike TV's "The Ultimate
Fighter" through 2011.
For
millions of fans worldwide, the TapouT lifestyle inspires those
to reach their goals and know that anything is possible if they
"Simply Believe."
Source: The Fight Network
|
Arona
excited for MMA debut in Brazil
By Guilherme Cruz
One
of the greatest representatives of the Brazilian MMA, Ricardo
Arona made his debut in the professional rings in 2000, but never
fought in Brazil. Nine years later, Arona will do, on Bitetti
Combat 4, his first fight "at home", and is excited
for the challenge at returning to the rings. "I'm training
every day, dedicated, concerned about the return... I’m
just waiting for Amaury Bitetti to give me the details, present
the opponent", said the fighter. "It’s very exciting
to fight for our public for the first time... It’s a great
honor to represent the country in Brazil, which is something
I didn’t do yet".
In
an exclusive interview, which you check tomorrow at TATAME.com,
the ex-fighter of Pride talked about the trainings and the possibility
to prepare for the fight at the team of Rodrigo Minotauro. "I'm
training at home and I'm receiving important people to train
with me, good coaches. And I also have free access to train at
the Minotauro Team, with Minotauro. I was there twice this month.
We are united to train together, the doors are open between us,
we have direct links in training", said the fighter, who
spoke about the expectation to fight weight and open class in
ADCC in 2009, which happens 15 days after the Bitetti Combat,
analyzed the next battles in the UFC, the Wanderlei Silva’s
decision to drop to middleweight division and more.
Source: Tatame
|
Time
for Change with Judges, Referees
by Tomas Rios
Until recently, UFC President Dana White had done an admirable
job of observing the unwritten rule that someone in his position
is not supposed to criticize referees and judges.
After
allowing Mustapha al Turk to take a sadistic beating from Cheick
Kongo at UFC 92, referee Steve Mazzagatti was in the crosshairs
of fans the world over for his consistently inconsistent work.
All the notoriously venomous White could say was, “He’s
a nice guy, but he’s not a referee.”
Hardly
the work you’d expect from a guy known to flesh out his
vocabulary with George Carlin’s seven words you can’t
say on television. Yet the reaction showed that White knows full
well that, for all his power, he can hardly afford getting under
the skin of the sanctioning bodies responsible for appointing
judges and referees.
It’s
an understandably difficult situation, but we’ve reached
a tipping point as the level of incompetence displayed by both
judges and referees now goes far beyond what we should expect
or tolerate.
Just
look at this past weekend’s TUF 9 finale card. Both Gleison
Tibau and Edgar Garcia fell victim to the not altogether shocking
ineptitude of supposedly professional judges. Throw in a rash
of bad calls made by big-name referees and relative unknowns
alike, and we’re at a crossroads where the UFC has to choose
between letting this go on unabated or using its connections
to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to fix this and fix it
now. After all, having former NSAC Executive Director Marc Ratner
working for the UFC should only help to effect change with the
sanctioning bodies.
This
is not a problem that will go away on its own. Consider that
boxing remains the domain of flat-out biased judging despite
multiple attempts at reform by boxers, promoters and even politicians.
There will be those who go to the grave saying that the system
is fine, that the occasional bad call boils down to basic human
error and that a bad decision is the fault of the fighters for
not finishing the fight.
Such
statements ignore the responsibility of all involved to refine
the system as best they can. When you’ve got multimillion-dollar
contracts flying around and the sport’s still tenuous foothold
in the American mainstream’s consciousness at stake, taking
a hands-off approach to a broken system is just one of many ways
the sport can send itself headfirst into a pile-up.
Of
course, all the rhetoric in the world means nothing without solutions.
Thankfully the solution is patently obvious and I’m hardly
the first to suggest it: The UFC, being the only promotion with
the stateside pull to get things done, needs to sit down with
the sanctioning bodies and work out a rigorous certification
program for both judges and referees.
Being
a “nice guy” won’t cut it. Having some well-placed
connections won’t cut it. Spending your weekends rolling
on the mats won’t cut it. Becoming a licensed judge or referee
needs to be a process that carries with it a resolute commitment
to excellence.
For
example, prospective referees should go through an extensive
training camp with the sport’s best existing referees in
order to prove they have the skills necessary to get the job
done. Beyond that, all new referees should go through a probationary
period during which they officiate only small-scale sanctioned
events before being considered for full licensing and the opportunity
to preside over the sport’s biggest fights. That would give
the sanctioning bodies the opportunity to separate the wheat
from the chaff, limiting the current crop of subpar officials
from making more big-stakes bad calls and potentially ruining
someone’s career.
Beyond
that, a review system must be implemented to ensure that the
referees who are licensed are kept fully accountable. In the
current system, even the worst calls net only an apology and
some public humiliation for whoever is responsible.
Keep
the same criteria for judges, and the system will become a well-oiled
machine capable of handling the split-second decision-making
demanded of referees and the reasoned analysis judges must make
within moments of the closing bell. This is the only option for
staving off the gradual decline we’ve seen from the sport’s
officials.
Sanctioning
was advertised as a magical cure-all but has proven to be just
one step of many on the road to making MMA a legitimate enterprise.
The decline in judging and refereeing looks to be getting worse,
and it’s only a matter of time before a major main event
is ruined by a bad call. Once that happens, more errors will
inevitably follow and many of the hard-earned fans that the sport
has gained these past few years will lose interest.
Legitimacy
is the lifeblood of modern sports. Without it everything else
falls apart, and after an excruciatingly slow journey, MMA is
knocking at the door of the public goodwill it needs to sustain
itself. Losing that opportunity because of bureaucratic red tape
and sheer laziness means never getting that opportunity again.
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
"Creativity
can solve almost any problem.
The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes
everything."
George Lois
|
The
2009 International
Hawaii MMA Sports & Fitness Expo
Friday, June 26 at 5:00pm
Event:
The 2009 International-Hawaii Mma Sports & Fitness Expo
"Hawaii's 2nd Annual MMA Sports & Fitness Expo"
What: Sporting Event
Host: WWW.HAWAIIMMAEXPO.COM
Start Time: Friday, June 26 at 5:00pm
End Time: Sunday, June 28 at 5:00pm
Where: NEAL S. BLAISDELL EXHIBITION HALL
|
Kang
Hoping to Fight Next in the Fall
By Kelsey Mowatt
After competing at two UFC events in a four month span, it appears
as though it could be a while before Denis Kang heads to the
Octagon for the third time. The Pride veteran, who lost to Alan
Belcher in his UFC debut in January before working his way to
a Unanimous Decision victory over Xavier Foupa-Pokam in April,
has decided to spend his summer training in Brazil.
“I
told them I would be available anytime after the summer,”
said Kang, when asked about when he’s hoping to fight again.
“I told them I’m taking the summer off basically. I’m
going to Brazil to do a little jiu-jitsu training for 4 weeks,
and I think I’ll be ready by mid to late September. It really
depends on when they call me.”
Unfortunately
for Kang, getting the 32-11-1 fighter another bout is rather
complicated, due to the fact that he continues to have problems
with his visa. The American Top Team fighter has not only been
unable to head back to Florida where he resided for years, as
it stands now, he is precluded from competing on U.S. cards.
“It’s
ridiculous,” Kang told FCF. “Someone start a parade
or something ‘free Denis Kang.’ I want to fight for
the UFC. It’s a U.S. entity; it’s good for the economy.”
“I
don’t know what the hold-up is,” Kang said, when asked
as to why he continues to have visa issues. “The lawyer
that I have now is the same lawyer that the UFC uses. I have
the Nevada state senator on my case. He doesn’t know what’s
going on. It’s weird. He thinks maybe there was some kind
of clerical mistake. He’s waiting you know?”
Further
compounding Kang’s problem is the fact that the UFC’s
schedule for 2009 is being filled out quickly, and through October,
the promotion’s events are all set to take place in the
U.S.
“Basically
whatever is the next foreign card after this summer, I don’t
know,” Kang added. “Unless the UFC can pull off some
kind of miracle; which I doubt.”
Of
course UFC President Dana White has frequently discussed the
fact that the promotion will be heading to various different
countries over the coming years. With the signing of fighters
like Yoshihiro Akiyama and Kang, who have Korean ancestry, or
with Korean fighters like Dong Hyun Kim making an impact in the
promotion, a UFC event in the Asian nation at some point; remains
a possibility.
“In
my opinion, it would be in their best interests to go to South
Korea,” Kang told FCF. “The UFC is huge over there.
If it does well in Korea then it will go well in China and Japan.
Right now in Japan, Korean culture is really big. Korean movies,
actors, things like that, Korean music is really popular. It
could be the UFC’s launching pad for Asia.”
Of
course, Akiyama is scheduled to fight Alan Belcher at the upcoming
July 11th, UFC 100 event; two men that have defeated Kang in
the past.
“I
think that it’s definitely not an easy fight for Akiyama,
but it’s also a tough fight for Belcher,” Kang said.
“I think if Akiyama comes and fights smart, he can win this.
He’s tough, but Belcher’s no slouch either. Belcher’s
not a very dominant fighter but he hangs in there. He seems to
be durable. If he can pace it he might be able to catch Akiyama
in the later rounds.”
The
topic of who Anderson Silva will defend his 185lb. title against
next has been a hot topic as of late, especially due to the fact
that White stated this past weekend, that the UFC is interested
in bringing Vitor Belfort back into the fold.
“I
don’t think so at all,” said Kang, when asked if he
agrees with the notion that Silva has ‘cleared’ out
the division of challengers, and thus, the UFC has to look elsewhere.
“There’s a bunch of guys. Nate Marquardt is already
in there; Demian Maia is climbing the ranks, he’ll be there
if he diversifies his weapons, right he’s kind of one dimensional.
If he improves his takedowns and stand-up he could be a threat
to Anderson Silva.”
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Bob
Sapp, Bobby Lashley, and Satoshi Ishii
By Zach Arnold
 
Lot of star power there, right? Well, Sapp and Lashley square
off next weekend and I haven’t much heard much discussion
at all. If all things are equal, Lashley should win that fight
and relatively easily.
As
for Mr. Ishii, Sengoku recently held a fan poll to gauge interest
on who Ishii’s debut opponent should be on August 2nd at
Saitama Super Arena. If you guessed that Hidehiko Yoshida won
the poll, you’re wrong. The winner? Kazuyuki Fujita, which
would be a horrible first-match opponent for Ishii.
Ishii
held a press photo-op today at Takada Dojo. This is fascinating
on many levels. Notice the Hustle logo on the backdrop there?
Plus, Takada and the “Takada dojo” which was once aligned
in the PRIDE world? Funny how many people are associated or trying
to get themselves associated with Ishii. Ishii, of course, has
been affiliated with the Inoki side of things for a while A match
against Fujita would make sense on that level, but that’s
about it. Sengoku, Hustle, lots of bizarreness these days in
Japan.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Ninja:
‘My brother’s more talented than Lyoto’
Curitiban optimistic about Shogun’s title challenge
Carlos Eduardo Ozorio / Portal das Lutas
Mauricio
Shogun had already spoken to PORTAL DAS LUTAS about a possible
bout with Lyoto Machida, but, this week, UFC president Dana White
made official the title challenge. The match will take place
October 24, in Los Angeles. Shogun’s brother, Murilo Ninja,
praised the current UFC light heavyweight champion.
“Lyoto’s
a tough athlete and has shown it. It’ll be a great fight,”
he forecast.
Nevertheless,
as one might imagine, Ninja bets it all on his bro, a former
Pride champion. The fighter from Curitiba points out Shogun’s
strengths.
“I
think my brother’s stronger and more talented. Shogun has
an aggressive ground game, muay thai game and hits like a heavyweight.
I think he has the advantage, but of course Lyoto’s really
tough and must be respected, for sure,” he declared to Portal
das Lutas, GRACIEMAG.com partner site.
Coming
off a setback at Dream, Murilo, besides helping his brother in
training, is awaiting another chance in the Japanese organization.
“For
now nothing’s set in stone. I have a few fights left on
my Dream contract and I’ll be ready for when they call on
me again,” he finished.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
ERIN
TOUGHILL ON TIME WARP, STRIKEFORCE SIGNING
by Mick Hammond
It’s not uncommon to see MMA fighters appearing on myriad
of television networks, doing a multitude of things.
One
of the more unique opportunities outside the sport that has presented
itself to athletes was an opportunity to showcase techniques
at up to 10,000 times slower than their normal speed on the Discovery
Channel’s popular Time Warp series.
Not
only did UFC star Kenny Florian help launch the show on its pilot
episode, but he recently returned with Dan and Dave Camarillo
along with female sensation and American Gladiators star Erin
Toughill for the most recent episode, premiering Wednesday night
at 8 p.m. Eastern/Pacific.
MMAWeekly.com
caught up with Toughill to talk about her experience on Time
Warp, as well as what’s next for her in her fighting career.
“Apparently
one of the producers on the show, Rudy (Fischmann), trains and
is a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, and is pretty knowledgeable about
the sport,” said Toughill on how she got involved with the
series. “They wanted a handful of people that represented
each discipline to the best of their abilities, and I know he
wanted to pick one woman in particular.
“I
guess he was a fan of mine and requested I be in there. He picked
me specifically for the striking element – the punches and
elbows – so that was a big honor and pretty awesome.”
Toughill,
along with the Camarillo brothers, traveled to Boston and met
up with Florian for a day’s worth of taping that included
Florian working Muay Thai, the brothers demonstrating judo and
jiu-jitsu, and Toughill the aforementioned striking game.
“They
wanted me to hit this guy in the stomach, and it was the craziest
thing seeing all the (impact energy) flow,” stated Toughill.
“Kenny and I did this one part where he was holding a watermelon
and I hit it, they caught it in slow motion and it just exploded,
that was pretty awesome.”
When
MMAWeekly.com spoke to Time Warp host Jeff Lieberman in May,
he specifically mentioned being hit by Toughill, and how he wouldn’t
want to do it again any time in the near future.
“I
think sometimes it still freaks people out who don’t know
the sport that a woman can do that stuff,” commented Toughill.
“I didn’t even hit him hard, but they had a very visceral
reaction to it.
“I
think I did a little punch on the other host and he had the same
reaction. It was just so strange to them that they had a female
do that to them, and they were a little shocked.”
Getting
a chance to see her moves slowed down thousands of times slower
than normal reiterated to Toughill just how devastating fight
techniques truly are.
“It
shows that a male or female can do that stuff and generate the
same intensity and force if you do it correctly,” she stated.
“It just shows how powerful the sport is itself.
“It’s
not male or female based when it comes down to technique. It
shows that anybody can do it if they are trained properly and
execute it properly, and the outcome will be the same.”
Not
only was Toughill eager to speak about her experience on Time
Warp, but she’s excited to announce that she’s lined
up her next fight.
“I
don’t know who my opponent is yet, because they’re
talking to a couple of people, but I’m fighting August 15
on the undercard for the Strikeforce show,” said Toughill.
“It’s pretty amazing that they’re having two female
fights on that show, and is a huge thing for our sport.
“I’m
really looking forward to Gina (Carano) and Cyborg (Cris Santos)
fighting. I think that’s going to be an amazing fight that’s
really going to represent MMA at one of the highest levels possible.
I don’t look past this fight, I really want to focus on
it, but if it goes the way I plan – to win – then I
get to fight the winner of the Gina versus Cyborg fight.”
It’s
an exciting time for Toughill both inside and outside the cage,
and she intends to keep the excitement level up when she gets
back to action this fall.
“I
want to thank Cage Fighter and remind everyone to check out my
website at ErinToughill.com,” she concluded. “Obviously
I want fans to check out Time Warp, but I also want them to come
check out my next fight as well.
“When
I hit that watermelon it flew across the ring, so if I get to
smash somebody’s face like that it will be a happy day.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Diego
Sanchez has 'tremendous respect' for Clay Guida
Diego Sanchez gained himself a "blood brother" in Clay
Guida Saturday night following their intense three-round battle
as headliners of "The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale" in
Las Vegas.
On his way to a split decision win, Sanchez dominated Guida in
the opening round, which included a near-finish with a head kick.
"I
just got tremendous respect after tonight for Clay because I
haven't been in a blood barnburner since Nick Diaz." Sanchez
said. "I hit him with some knees, some kicks, some uppercuts
that were right on the button and he just kept on coming."
While
Sanchez did indulge in a trade with Guida of criticisms regarding
predictability in fighting styles, Sanchez admitted post-fight
that he was amazed with Guida's fighting spirit.
"I
was surprised," Sanchez said. "The guy has got heart.
He's got a couple hearts in there because he kept coming in striking
knowing that I was landing the more effective striking and I
was picking my shots off. He's a little Tasmanian Devil."
Guida
survived on heart -- and a tough chin, enough to say that while
he may not be ready for a title shot, he can certainly hang with
the UFC's best in the lightweight division. But for Sanchez,
who improved his UFC record to 13-2, (including his "TUF"
exhibition bouts), the recent brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
believes he has already proved himself worthy of a title shot.
"If
[Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White and the UFC] feel that I bring
the exciting and entertaining fight that they want for a title
shot, that they can put me in there," Sanchez said. "That's
their decision, that's their call and I respect their judgment."
Sanchez
then added with a smile, after an extended pause: "But I
do definitely feel that I'm the number one contender. Always
have."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Challenge
of a Lifetime - Facing Fedor in the Ring
Press Release
SEAL BEACH, California (June 23, 2009)—Watching Fedor Emelianenko
“made me nervous tonight,” said Josh Barnett about
Fedor’s bout with Andrei Arlovski at Afflictions “Day
of Reckoning”. Barnett will face Fedor on August 1st at
Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy.” He is probably
wondering, like all fight fans and fighters on earth: can Fedor
be beaten or is he invincible? The single loss on Fedor’s
record is often disregarded as evidence of his vulnerability,
since it was due to a cut resulting from an accidental (and illegal)
elbow by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Even with this one debatable blemish
on his record (he went on to later beat Kohsaka in a follow-up
match), Fedor is the most revered heavyweight in the world by
fighters and fans alike.
Fedor
is one of those rare fighters that has staying power who consistently
outperforms his competition. One of the things that makes Fedor
a legend is his resilience. Fedor takes a beating and keeps on
beating his opponents—he has been dazed by Kazuyuki Fujita's
right hook, broken his hand on Gary Goodridge’s head, been
suplexed by Kevin Randleman, fought off the impressive ground
skills of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, recovered from Mirko
Filipovic’s brutal lefts to the face, endured Mark Hunt’s
keylock, reversed Matt Lindland’s attempted bodylock takedown,
overcome the giant Tim Sylvia, and survived the boxing skills
of Andrei Arlovski. In the end, whether or not he has taken some
blows, Fedor prevails over his opponents and deals out the final
punishment.
Fedor
always has the better game plan, and more importantly, he sticks
to it. Besides great strategizing and level-headedness in the
ring, what makes him such an effective fighter? The heavyweight
doesn’t seem to have any discernible weaknesses to exploit.
He offers equal parts of technique, adaptability, calmness under
pressure, toughness, resilience, stamina, aggressiveness, patience,
and commitment. Perhaps more than anything, Fedor is a master
of capitalizing on his opponents’ lapses in judgment, finding
a sliver of an opening and blowing it up into defeat. But Fedor
does not stop there; he tends to stop challengers where they
are most dangerous.
A
favorite pastime for fight fans is to engage in long conversations
(or message threads) contemplating this question: just what would
it take to take this guy down? Many who have had to face the
champion have found this pursuit futile. No one has been able
to break Fedor’s complete control in the ring. According
to his friend and up-coming opponent, Josh Barnett, “Fedor
is a great thinker in the ring. And he always keeps control of
the other fighter. It is all within his control. If he wants
to take a break he can. If he wants to push the pace he can.
He is in complete control.”
The
Affliction M-1 Global “Trilogy” card, promoted by Golden
Boy Promotions and presented by Affliction and M-1 Global, in
association with Donald J. Trump, has been 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 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).
Affliction
Already a mainstay for the most elite athletes, heaviest bands,
A-listers and the fashion conscious, Affliction Clothing's ability
to set the bar high in fashion is evident in its collection's
indulgence of style and design, focus on quality, and its trademark
series of divinely executed, dark and powerful themes. (www.afflictionclothing.com)
M-1
Global and M-1 Challenge
M-1 Global has been one of the leading mixed martial arts (MMA)
organizations in the world for over a decade. International MMA
stars who have fought under the M-1 banner have included Fedor
Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Keith Jardine,
Alistair Overeem, Yushin Okami, Ben Rothwell, Mike Pyle, Melvin
Manhoef, Roman Zenstov, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, 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
|
Heavy
Duty
by Jake Rossen
Deduct a few organs, some body fat and a knee pad or two, and
there will probably be upwards of 400 pounds of solid muscle
occupying the ring during the Fight Force International “Ultimate
Chaos” pay-per-view event from Biloxi, Miss., on Saturday.
Clearly, Bobby Lashley and Bob Sapp like to lift weights.
Those
are numbers that fit in with the world of engorged performers
in professional wrestling, strong man competitions or hot dog
eating contests. Rarely outside of Japan do martial artists require
a reinforced scale. Super heavyweights -- any athlete over 265
pounds -- are a legitimate party under the Unified Rules, but
the UFC does not recognize them. And that means they barely exist.
In
the days leading up to their bout, it’s predictable that
both Sapp and Lashley will be the focus of derision. The fight
really has no consequences beyond weekend bragging rights, and
it’s doubtful Lashley’s pro wrestling fans will order
the bout in any significant numbers. Brock Lesnar is a huge star
in UFC, but his fighting debut in K-1 Dynamite! -- exclamation
point theirs -- sank like a rock. One could make the case that
any male combatant who can’t make the 265-pound weight limit
is subject to more condescension than female fighters.
“No
gas, no skills,” they say. In Sapp’s case, they’re
usually proven right. Preoccupied with his massive celebrity
in Japan, Sapp did not train consistently, and his mammoth 375-pound
frame required so much oxygen that spectators would complain
of feeling winded. If he can’t overwhelm opponents in the
first 60 seconds, he’s likely to teeter. As the unofficial
mascot of the division, he’s not exactly leading by example.
Sapp
is likely to teeter.The irony is that some of the sport’s
most effective athletes fit in Sapp’s weight category, but
sport logic dictates they skip a few meals and come in under
the 265-pound limit in order to maximize their chances -- and
profits. Lesnar is a silverback gorilla, often climbing into
the cage at 280 pounds. Former UFC champion Tim Sylvia has seen
the wrong side of 300 pounds. Mark Hunt is shaped like a bell
but poses a threat to anyone standing. And Semmy Schilt is probably
the biggest nightmare outside of Lesnar at that weight.
Is
it time to consider paying attention to the class? With a little
organization, why not?
The
biggest problem to date with the division has been the diluted
athleticism. Any big man who moves fast, has good reflexes and
hits hard should be drawing a good salary in the NFL, but there
are plenty of guys who wind up flirting with that option -- like
Sapp or Lesnar -- but lack a required component. Now that mixed
martial arts salary structure is improving, we’re already
seeing football hopefuls adapt their physical skills for fighting.
Next season’s “The Ultimate Fighter” is reputed
to have four ex-league players on the roster. Wes Shivers was
once 290 pounds; Marcus Jones has seen 260.
Clearly,
a field is opening up. Paving road for super heavies would also
alleviate a growing problem in the sport’s heavyweight division
-- a serious weight disparity that becomes problematic when the
big man has skills equal to the smaller man’s.
Lesnar
is due credit for defeating Randy Couture, but he weighed nearly
280 pounds to Couture’s 220 on fight night. Couture is a
strong, capable athlete, but depositing a 60-pound block on your
opponent’s chest is not necessarily a triumph of the highest
order.
The
super heavyweight era already exists; it’s just being shoehorned
into another division. With the advent of physical mismatches
and a deepening talent pool, it may be time to consider lightening
the load a little.
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
“Seize
the moment of excited curiosity on any subject to solve your
doubts; for if you let it pass, the desire may never return,
and you may remain in ignorance.”
William Wirt
|
Murray's
release surprised him, lawyers
Lee
Murray, the MMA star accused of masterminding the biggest cash
robbery in history, has been released from a Moroccan prison
cell to freedom, his lawyers in Morocco and London said Wednesday.
The
surprise move came after a hearing before the Moroccan Supreme
Court in which a panel of judges upheld Murray's claim that he
is a citizen of the North African nation. British prosecutors
were trying to extradite the fighter on charges that he masterminded
the Feb. 22, 2006 robbery of a cash warehouse on the outskirts
of London, making off with a record $92 million in cash.
Abdellah
Benlamhidi, Murray's Moroccan-based attorney, told ESPN that
his assistant visited the maximum security Sale prison in Morocco's
capital city of Rabat on Wednesday afternoon and was told Murray
was gone.
"Lee
was freed," he wrote in an e-mail.
Seven
masked men with automatic weapons were involved in the 2006 heist,
which began when two of the robbers abducted the bank's manager.
After the assailants forced their way into the high-security
warehouse, they loaded the cash into three waiting trucks. Much
of the loot was recovered, but approximately $40 million is still
missing.
Five
of the assailants were captured and convicted at trial in London
last year. Another alleged accomplice, close Murray friend Paul
"The Enfoircer" Allen, is currently in custody. But
British prosecutors consider Murray, a former UFC star known
as "Lightning Lee", the prize.
Calls
to Kent police were not returned Wednesday. It is unclear what
the next step for British authorities will be.
After
the robbery, Murray fled to Morocco and claimed citizenship because
his father was born there. (His mother is English.) The 31-year-old
lived lavishly until he was arrested by a swarm of 50 polic officers
in a Rabat mall. After police found cocaine in his upscale villa,
he was charged with local drug crimes. In February 2007, a court
convicted him and sentenced the fighter to eight months in lockup.
Since then, he has been held at the Sale prison while the Supreme
Court weighed his request for asylum.
According
to his UK attorney, Derek Parker, the decision caught Murray
completely by surprise.
"I
spoke to him last night and he didn't even know that he was going
for a hearing on the extradition," Parker told The Magazine
on Wednesday. "It was a complete surprise. When he arrived
to court, they told him, 'You're a Moroccan citizen. You can
go.' "
Parker
said Murray thought he was being called to testify as a witness
in an unrelated case involving inmate violence.
Elated
friends of the fighter who were reached in London on Wednesday
evening were still trying to track him down. "All I can
tell you is his messages are going straight to voicemail,"
said close friend Mark "The Beast" Epstein. "I
want to fly to Rabat to see my mate."
Murray's
professional height came in January 2004, when he fought at UFC
46 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas dressed in a Silence of the
Lambs mask and an orange jumpsuit. He prevailed over the veteran
Jorge Rivera in 1:45, sparking talk that he could be the promotion's
next big star. But legal troubles in the UK prevented him from
entering the U.S. after that.
A
stabbing outside a London nightclub raised questions about whether
he would fight again.
Parker
said Murray has been training while in prison and that "he
has every intention of fighting again." But, he said, it
would probably have to be in Rabat.
"I
don't think he'll be going back to the UK in our lifetime,"
Parker said. "And the U.S. isn't high on his list of vacation
destinations either."
Murray's
prison tenure has been as colorful as his history in the ring.
Last month, the Wrestling Observer newsletter reported that the
fighter tried to break out of his cell by using tiny saws that
were hidden in his food. According to the publication, was thwarted
when another prisoner broke into his cell, found the saws and
informed prison officials.
At
the time, he was reportedly serving time in a different cell
as punishment for being caught with a laptop computer and five
kilos of drugs. He also allegedly had access to expensive clothes
and fine foods, making him a target. The prisoner who found the
saws had reportedly entered his cell to steal his belongings.
Parker
called the reports "completely untrue." Still, he said
one reason for Murray release may have been that Moroccan authorities
"had enough of Mr. Murray being kept in custody."
Source: ESPN
|
PITTSBURGH
WELCOMES MMA ON JUNE 27
While the UFC is set to descend on Philadelphia in August, the
city of champions, Pittsburgh, Penn., will officially welcome
mixed martial arts to town on June 27. The Ultimate Cage Fighting
Championship makes its Keystone State debut bringing the "Rumble
on the Rivers" to the Mellon Arena featuring a number of
top fighters including the main event pitting Rich Clementi against
Kyle Jensen.
Heading
into Pittsburgh for the first time, promotion owner Tiffany Porter-Holtzman
is excited to build MMA in the city with a series of events starting
with the show in June, to be followed up with more shows as 2009
continues on.
“MMA
is a tough sport at times. You have to be educated about the
sport. These guys train hard, they have to know various styles,
and they love what they do," Holtzman said about the inaugural
event.
The
show will feature a number of local and national stars including
former UFC and WEC veterans with a lightweight bout pitting Rich
"No Love" Clementi against former WEC fighter Kyle
Jensen.
One
oddity that the show will endure is a number of the fights being
contested at catchweights, which is a result of the state of
Pennsylvania originally setting the fighters up for same-day
weigh-ins.
Just
over a week ago, the state commission decided to make the change
to allow weigh-ins the day before the event, but bout agreements
had already been issued for the fights, so catchweights will
be the norm on June 27.
Also
on the card will be former WEC and Dream featherweight Micah
Miller, along with former "Ultimate Fighter" contender
Paul Bradley, who was undefeated up until his most recent bout,
which resulted in a decision loss in late April.
The
"Rumble on the Rivers" will also welcome a few special
guests to the show including former UFC champion "The Huntington
Beach Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz, and WEC lightweight champion
Jamie "C4" Varner.
Tickets
are available through Ticketmaster now, and the show will take
place on June 27 starting at 7:30pm.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ULTIMATE
FIGHTER 9 FIGHTER SALARIES; DIEGO TOPS
MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information from the
Nevada State Athletic Commission for The Ultimate Fighter Season
9 Finale featuring the lightweight battle between Diego Sanchez
and Clay Guida, which took place on Saturday, June 20, at the
Palms in Las Vegas.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just
as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed
bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not
disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view
bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included
in the figures below.
In
the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined
as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear
on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take
place before the main card goes on the air, regardless of whether
or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.
MAIN
EVENT FIGHTERS
-Diego
Sanchez $90,000 (includes $45,000 win bonus) def. Clay Guida
$23,000 (win bonus would have been $23,000)
*Sanchez and Guida each earned an additional $25,000 for Fight
of the Night
MAIN
CARD FIGHTERS
-James
Wilks $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. DaMarques Johnson
$8,000 (win bonus would have been $8,000)
-Chris
Lytle $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus) def. Kevin Burns $9,000
(win bonus would have been $9,000)
*Lytle and Burns each earned an additional $25,000 for Fight
of the Night
-Ross
Pearson $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Andre Winner
$8,000 (win bonus would have been $8,000)
-Joe
Stevenson $70,000 (includes $35,000 win bonus) def. Nate Diaz
$20,000 (win bonus would have been $20,000)
*Stevenson and Diaz each earned an additional $25,000 for Fight
of the Night
PRELIMINARY
CARD FIGHTERS
-Melvin
Guillard $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Gleison Tibau
$17,000 (win bonus would have been $17,000)
-Brad
Blackburn $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus) def. Edgar Garcia
$5,000 (win bonus would have been $5,000)
-Tomasz
Drwal $15,600 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Mike Ciesnoleviscz
$6,400 (win bonus would have been $8,000)
*Ciesnoleviscz had to give 20% of his show money or $1,600 to
Drwal for failing to make weight, which is reflected in the amounts
here.
-Nick
Osipczak $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Frank Lester
$8,000 (win bonus would have been $8,000)
-Jason
Dent $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Cameron Dollar
$8,000 (win bonus would have been $8,000)
ULTIMATE
FIGHTER 9 FINALE DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $430,000
*Disclosed Payroll Does Not Include Bonuses
ULTIMATE
FIGHTER 9 FINALE AWARDS & BONUSES
(Each fighter was awarded $25,000)
Fights
of the Night (first time that three bonuses were awarded):
-Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida
-Chris Lytle and Kevin Burns
-Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz
Knockout
of the Night:
-Tomasz Drwal
Submission
of the Night:
-Jason Dent
TUF 9 FINALE
DRAWS 2.2 MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS
The live finale of the ninth season of “The Ultimate Fighter,”
airing Saturday June 20 (9:00pm-12:00am), drew more men in the
advertiser-coveted demographic of Men 18-34 (663,000) than MLB
baseball on FOX (184,000) and coverage of U.S. Open golf on NBC
(384,000) which ran earlier that day.
The
live UFC fight card, which peaked at 2.8 million viewers for
the main event featuring Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida, was the
most watched-program in all of television in Men 18-34 and Men
18-49.
Also,
bucking the trend of most reality series, “The Ultimate
Fighter” finale ratings for season nine were the highest
since season six and the full season of 13 episodes were the
highest in Men 18-34 since season five.
Overall,
the “The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. Team U.K.” delivered
a 1.5 household rating, a 2.1 in Men 18-49 (1.2 million), a 2.3
in M18-34 (663,000), a 2.8 in M25-34 (468,000) and 2.2 million
total viewers.
Many
had hyped Guida vs. Sanchez as a possible “Fight of the
Year” candidate, and the two warriors more than lived up
to the hype in a three-round war that left the sold out crowd
at The Palms Casino Resort clamoring for more, as Sanchez won
via split decision in a fifteen minute instant UFC classic. The
fight drew an impressive 3.1 rating in Men 18-34 and 3.3 in Men
25-34.
The
card also featured the welterweight and lightweight finals from
“The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom,”
and colonial rule reigned supreme, as British competitors took
home the title in both divisions. Team U.K.’s James Wilks
submitted Team U.S.’s DaMarques Johnson in the first round
to take home the welterweight crown, and Team U.K.’s Ross
Pearson defeated teammate Andre Winner to become the lightweight
division champion.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
CARANO
ON COUTURE: HE'S A MASTER GAME PLANNER
When it came time for Gina Carano to assemble a fight camp that
would prepare her for her toughest career challenge, Randy Couture
was a no-brainer.
“There’s
not a lot of people that can put it straight and organize you
like Randy,” she said during a Thursday teleconference promoting
her headlining fight with Cris “Cyborg” Santos on Aug.
15 at Strikeforce.
It
only took two sentences to draw her to Couture in the first place.
It was February 2007, as she readied herself for a role in the
premium cable debut of women’s MMA at EliteXC’s “Destiny,”
sitting backstage in a Southhaven, Miss., arena. She was a bundle
of nerves.
“I’d
never met him before,” Carano recalled. “I think he
was just making rounds and being supportive. He sat down, and
my head was wound up a little bit too tight. He looked at me
and said, ‘you know why we do this?’ And I looked at
him, like, ‘no, why am I doing this?’ And he said,
‘because we love it, right?’
“His
presence and his calmness, it just completely took any anxiety
that I was feeling into passion and I was just ready to go from
there. I said after that fight, if somebody can affect me that
strongly, I want to go and train (with him). And he only said
a couple of sentences, and I was completely motivated in there.”
Carano
won against Julie Kedzie that night, and was soon anointed the
“face of women’s MMA.” From then on, she called
Xtreme Couture home.
Of
course, it wasn’t as simple as just moving into Couture’s
Las Vegas gym and training with the legend. There were schedules
to contend with, hers and his.
“I
haven’t really gotten to work with him for the last two
years that I’ve been a part of Xtreme Couture,” explained
Carano. “Cause either he’s been going, or I’ve
been going somewhere. We’ve both had different things going
on.”
But
when Carano found out Couture would be bound to his gym during
preparations for his UFC 102 fight with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira,
the time was right. She asked, and he accepted, but only after
she agreed to a strict schedule.
“I
thought it might be important for me to not try to manage all
this high level of intensity, because this is such an important
fight, and such a big deal with me,” said Carano. “I
just didn’t want to have to deal with that all by myself,
like I’ve had to do in the past.”
She
doesn’t fault previous trainers for past camps. She’s
been successful so far, despite having repeated trouble making
her contracted weight. On the contrary, it was about tapping
into Couture’s reputation for meticulous strategy.
“He’s
had experience since the beginning of this sport, so I just felt
like it would be good for me not to have to do this all by myself,
and have somebody who’s been there before,” she continued.
“Somebody who can help me game plan, somebody who can teach
me what I’m doing wrong. He’s a master game planner.”
Santos
commends Carano on her commitment, though it won’t slow
her down.
“I
believe she is looking for him because she knows that this fight
is the fight of her life, just like I know,” Santos said
through translator Ivan Canello. “Couture is one of the
best MMA coaches in the world, he knows how to put a strategy
together. It was a very smart move, but in the end of the day
it won’t change for me. I will be there seeking the K.O.
anyway.”
Couture
has a little over a week before he wraps action movie “The
Expendables”; camp begins afterwards.
“I’m
really looking forward to working with him,” said Carano.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WHITE
BACKS OFF ON LIDDELL RETIREMENT... SORT OF
Although he all but handed Chuck Liddell a gold watch following
the former UFC light heavyweight champion's devastating TKO loss
at the hands of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, UFC president
Dana White took a step back from the retirement talk on Saturday
night... sort of.
At
the UFC 97 post-fight press conference, following the Liddell's
loss to Shogun, White stated, "At the end of the day, I
care about these guys. I don't want to see anybody stick around
too long. You're never going to see Chuck Liddell on the canvas
again."
The
loss was Liddell's fourth in his last five starts, three of those
losses by way of knockout or TKO, after all.
During
the telecast for The Ultimate Fighter Team U.S.A. vs. Team U.K.
Finale, White was asked about Liddell's pending retirement, to
which he answered, "I'm not his father, he can do whatever
the hell he wants to do. I'm his friend and I care about him
a lot, and I'd never like to see him fight again."
Much
more subdued than his seemingly definitive statement after UFC
97.
For
his part, Liddell has never fully committed to the idea of retiring.
At the same post-fight press conference where White might his
initial statements, he answered questions of retirement, saying,
"That's probably safe to say, but I'm not gonna make any
decisions until I go home and talk to everybody, talk to all
my people, my friends."
And
now, two months later, there still has been no official statement
from Liddell on whether he will or won't retire. It's obvious,
without any public comment, that it hasn't been any easy decision
for the former champion, whichever direction he ultimately chooses.
If
he does decide to continue fighting, he is still under contract
with the UFC, and it's unlikely that he will ever adorn the fight
card of a competing promotion.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MMA
IN N.Y. ON THE ROPES FOR 2009; NOT LIKELY
A two-week deadlock in the New York senate has put MMA on the
ropes.
The
last day of the legislative body’s 2009 session ended Monday,
stranding several bills under consideration including one to
legalize MMA in the Empire State.
Governor
David Patterson on Sunday called a special session for the Senate
to break a stalemate brought by a shift in party lines. Democrats
have refused to participate in session since two members of its
party sided with Republicans in a leadership vote, giving the
GOP control of the Senate. Last week, one Democrat returned to
the fold, leaving the chamber in a tie.
Lawmakers
are due to vote on a budget for New York City, same-sex marriage,
and a sales tax hike, among others.
Senate
bill S2165A, proposed as a law to amend the state’s current
regulation of boxing, sparring, and wrestling, remains in the
Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation committee where
it was first referred in April. The bill was scheduled for a
vote the day after the legislative turmoil broke out on June
8.
Sarah
Crean, a staffer with Cultural Affairs chair Sen. Jose M. Serrano,
said the current legislative environment made the prospect of
the MMA bill’s passage grim.
“Given
what’s going on, probably all they’re going to be looking
at is financing and very urgent bills,” said Crean. “What
looks like is going to happen (to the MMA bill) is it’s
going to have to go through the process again in our committee
next year when session starts again.”
The
next legislative session begins in January 2010.
Even
if the bill passes the Cultural committee during the emergency
session, it will then have to go to the Ways and Means and Rules
committees before receiving a vote on the Senate floor.
UFC
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner declined comment
until he received more information from Global Strategy Group,
the lobbying firm that represents the promotion’s interests
in New York. Senator Joe Griffo, the bill's sponsor, was unavailable
for comment.
END OF
SESSION DASHES HOPES OF N.Y. MMA IN 2009
The New York State Assembly’s 2009 session expired Tuesday
at 2 a.m., stranding bill 2009-B, the House version of MMA legislation,
in the Ways and Means Committee. It will not be seen by the Governor
David Patterson in 2009, dashing any hopes of its passage this
year.
The
Senate goes into an emergency session on Tuesday by order of
Patterson, but it is highly unlikely that the bill for MMA would
come up for a vote, as they are dealing with more pressing matters,
such as budget issues. Even if the MMA bill did come up for a
vote in the Senate, without passage of the House version, MMA
legislation would still be dead in the water for passage in 2009.
The
news is a blow to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The promotion
had put much effort into getting MMA legislation passed in New
York this year with hopes of running an event there in early
2010.
The
bill will now have to go back through the process in 2010, and
even if it does pass next year, the soonest the UFC, or any other
promotion, would be able to hold an event in New York would be
late in the year or early 2011.
“Essentially,
we just ran out of time,” said a representative from the
office of Assemblyman Steve Englebright, who sponsored the bill
in the House.
The
bill will now go back to the Tourism, Arts, and Sports Committee
in January 2010.
“If
a bill passes on the floor, it would just go back onto the floor
calendar next year,” continued the representative. “But
since this bill didn’t make it to the floor yet, it has
to automatically go back to the committee of origin, which really
kind of stinks.”
Senator
Joe Griffo, the Senate sponsor of MMA legislation, was unaware
of the developments in the house, but said the current leadership
dispute would place emphasis on bills that were expiring or had
urgent fiscal implications.
“We
want to be careful too, because we want to win support for the
bill in order to make it successful,” said Griffo. “But
at this point in time, with all the other things taking place,
there are members that may vote in the negative because they
don’t have enough information, and we don’t want that
to happen either.
“I
feel very frustrated right now.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
SYLVIA
WILL STILL FIGHT; ADRENALINE WILL RETURN
Adrenaline MMA promoter Monte Cox says in the fight business,
things can go either way.
Things
like your choice of fights, venue, and production budget. It
can take very little to change a proposed MMA show. Just like
the fights, the margin for error is slim – especially when
you’re in a foreign territory.
“Anytime
you go somewhere for the first time, you’re always going
to encounter resistance,” said Cox. “You have hometown
promoters that don’t want you there; you don’t really
know who the local fighters are that draw; you don’t know
where to go to get the best sponsors. And you’re not always
treated fairly because you’re the out of town guy.”
At
one point or another, Cox faced challenges with all the above
elements when he promoted Adrenaline 3 in Birmingham, Ala., last
week. The one that made headlines was tough enough: New Jersey
and The Association of Boxing Commissions saying a collective
“no” to a boxing bout between main eventers Tim Sylvia
and Ray Mercer. Until the day of the weigh-ins, there was no
fight. At the last minute, it was changed to an MMA event, favoring
Sylvia.
There
were other struggles that remained off the record.
When
all was said and done, Sylvia and Mercer delivered, even if the
result was exactly the opposite of what Cox, also Sylvia’s
manager, expected or wanted. Sylvia showed up at 300-plus pounds
wanting to trade with the former heavyweight boxing champion
and got knocked senseless in nine seconds, prompting calls for
early retirement.
Cox,
however, is positive about the overall experience and wants to
do it again in September.
“I
think there’s a need for it, not just for that level of
fighter, but there are lots of guys trying to either make a name
or start their comeback,” he said.
While
there were more front-end costs that took from profits, Cox is
confident he can turn that around next time.
“We’ll
be way more successful,” he said. “I feel like I know
what needs to be done in Birmingham now.”
Meanwhile,
longtime properties Extreme Challenge and ICE will go on, local
shows with reliable margins and loyal customers.
Cox
says Sylvia won’t retire.
“He’s
an MMA fighter, that’s what he does for a living,”
said the big man's manager. “He’s got to keep fighting
– he’s too young to quit.”
Cox
says he learned plenty from his short involvement with M-1 Global,
his first foray into national promotion. The company made big
promises, many contrary to Cox’s business instincts, and
eventually fractured before putting on an event. The plan for
Adrenaline is to stay regional and build slowly.
“We’re
a company,” he said. “We can lose on one, and we make
it up on the next one. When you’re doing 60 shows a year,
all that really counts is the bottom line at the end of the year.
“I’m
not trying to do anything with Adrenaline, other than try to
find a place that I can run a show that’s profitable.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
VARNER
VS CERRONE 2 SUFFERS ANOTHER SETBACK
Three weeks removed from a verbal acceptance of a rematch with
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, it appears that WEC lightweight
champion Jamie Varner still may not be physically able to make
that fight a reality anytime soon.
Having
stated that he suffered a broken hand, a broken foot, and a broken
blood vessel in his eye, in their first fight; Varner, who had
been on the mend and appeared nearly ready to get back to training,
on Wednesday suffered another setback.
"I
just got out of the Doc's and (my) hand is still fractured. I'm
really upset," he posted on his Twitter account Wednesday
afternoon. "I thought I was ready, my hand doesn't even
hurt, but the doc pulled the rug out from (under) my feet."
Following
WEC 41 in early June, WEC general manager Reed Harris said that
with Cerrone's win at the June 7 event, Varner had verbally agreed
to a rematch, although it was premature to set a timetable since
Varner's injuries had yet to be fully cleared by a doctor.
At
the time, the WEC champion had been hopeful of a return to the
cage in September.
"September's
when I'm looking to get back in there," Varner told MMAWeekly.com
just prior to WEC 41. "I'm thinking the WEC will have me
headline the card in September, and I'm hoping for that."
Given
Wednesday's events, however, it appears that September would
now be an unlikely target, and will likely add more fuel to the
fire of controversy that has sparked up between Varner and Cerrone
since their first meeting.
"I
think he's taking a lot away from me saying I don't deserve to
fight him, I don't belong in the same ring with him. You're a
tough guy behind the computers and the cell phone, so we'll see,"
Cerrone said after his victory over James Krause at WEC 41, addressing
Varner. "Hopefully, Jamie will get out of the intensive
care unit and be able to fight."
Just
when he will be able to return remains uncertain. Dave Sholler,
the WEC's Director of Public Relations, told MMAWeekly.com on
Wednesday, "We got word this morning that Jamie is still
gonna be sidelined with that hand injury. There is no immediate
timetable for his return."
There
have been rumblings of an interim lightweight title in Varner's
absence. Sholler confirmed the possibility, saying, "We
have a deep pool of talented fighters at lightweight and it is
something we've discussed. Our general manager, Reed Harris,
and matchmaker, Sean Shelby, will determine what the best direction
is for us to go in regards to that." He added, however,
that it is not something that has been determined.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NEW
CAMP GIVES JOE STEVENSON NEW LIFE
First bursting on to the mainstream MMA scene due to his stint
on “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, former King
of the Cage champion Joe Stevenson quickly made a name for himself
in his new home with the UFC. Winning the second season's welterweight
title against Luke Cummo in what Dana White described as "...in
my opinion, ladies and gentlemen, that was Stephan Bonnar and
Forrest Griffin, only on the ground,” a remark that speaks
volumes of Stevenson’s character and ability.
While
an eventual drop to the lightweight division was eminent once
the UFC re-introduced the forgotten weight class, Stevenson originally
took the opportunity by storm. Going 4-0 at 155 – racking
up wins over veteran Yves Edwards, Melvin Guillard, and Kurt
Pellegrino – had cemented his spot at the time as the clear
number one contender for the than vacant title.
Though
he fought valiantly, it wasn’t meant to be as B.J. Penn went on to win their
bout at UFC 81 in New Castle, England, to capture the title.
Since
then, Stevenson has had his share of bad luck, sandwiching a
win over Gleison Tibau between the loss to Penn and two more
consecutive losses to top flight competition in Kenny Florian
and Diego Sanchez, respectively.
Coming
on the heels of two losses, the former title challenger was in
dire straits. A man who once adorned the rank of a top ten fighter
in his weight class, he was looking to recapture some of the
luster that had been missing from his career as of late.
Not
only was the move from his Las Vegas surroundings to Greg Jackson's
camp down in Albuquerque, N.M., a necessity, but it proved to
be the difference in his most recent performance (picking up
a unanimous decision victory over fellow TUF winner Nate Diaz
this past weekend at the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter
Season 9).
“It
was pretty much everything,” Stevenson stated of the difference
made in his performance with his time spent with Jackson's camp.
“Everything
that I had was already there; it was just putting it together
and understanding myself better. I thought I had a pretty good
understanding of myself but evidently I didn’t.”
Singing
Jackson's praises now, Stevenson admitted that the idea of traveling
to New Mexico and staying there for an extended amount of time
was a bit taxing. Without the persuasion of good friend and fellow
TUF 2 winner Rashad Evans, the move may not have ever happened.
“Rashad
had called me and we were talking and he was like ‘you should
come check it out’ and I was kind of like ‘yeah, yeah.
Sounds cool; I’ll think about it.’ Then a week later
he was like ‘hey I thought you were gonna think about it,
what's up?’ ‘I mean I think it’s a good idea;
I don’t know.’”
Eventually
Joe “Daddy” warmed up to the idea and made Albuquerque
his home away from home for a good two months, which allowed
him to focus solely on the fight without any outside distractions,
perfecting his game day-by-day under the tutelage and watchful
eye of Jackson and his stock of fellow top-level fighters, which
is what Stevenson believes was the biggest asset earned.
“The
strategy, the game plan, implementing, perfecting our styles
a little bit, doing all those things and being relaxed from all
the distractions, and I mean it showed in the fight, I had fun.
It looked like I was tired when I was doing the interview in
that third round, but it was more emotion, like trying not to
get emotional.
“It
came off as fatigue. But honestly, I could have done 10 rounds
at that pace.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NOONS
BACK TO MMA IN 2009, STRIKEFORCE LIKELY
The last time MMA fans saw K.J. Noons he was blasting his way
through his firs title defense as the EliteXC lightweight champion,
but lately the native Hawaiian has gone back to his first love,
which is the sport of boxing. While no deal has been made yet,
Noons says MMA fans shouldn't forget about him, because he'll
be back, and it will be before the end of 2009.
Rumors
circled earlier this year that Noons was set to sign on with
the UFC, and then just recently the news started to swirl that
the last ever EliteXC lightweight champion would end up with
Strikeforce. According to Noons, all of the news about him signing
is pre-mature at this point and he's still focused on boxing…
for now.
"I'm
for sure getting (an MMA) fight in before the year is out,"
Noons told MMAWeekly Radio recently. "I've got the Aug.
22 boxing, and then I might have one in September. I don't know.
I don't want to look past Aug. 22. And then I'm going to gear
up and get ready for MMA for a couple months and fight somebody
by the end of the year. I'm ready."
With
nothing official yet, Noons is in talks with Strikeforce about
a return to action in MMA, and owner Scott Coker seems willing
to allow the young fighter a chance to continue his pursuit of
excellence in boxing, as well.
"I'm
in talks with Scott (Coker) at Strikeforce and we're just talking
and just trying to see, and he's real flexible and he's willing
to work with me," Noons commented.
"I
told him that's just my passion, boxing; so he's willing to work
with that and work around that. We're just picking some dates
and trying to figure out what would be the best for myself and
him as far as his promotion and a fight for me in MMA coming
up later in the year."
Since
his exit from EliteXC, Noons has stopped working with former
manager Mark Dion, and is now concentrating on working for himself
and finding the best deal possible.
"I
told Mark straight up how I felt and on a business level and
he respected that, and we just split. We went our separate ways,"
stated Noons.
When
he does make his comeback to MMA, the list of possible opponents
reaches far and wide, but no fight may be bigger than a rematch
with newly crowned Strikeforce bad boy Nick Diaz.
"Even
though he’s moved up a weight class, I’ve been exploring
that too with Scott from Strikeforce, to do a catchweight,"
Noons said about a second fight with Diaz. "So I’ve
never turned down the fight, it was just turning down getting
paid three times less money than him. So if that’s something
that people want to see, I’m just looking to fight good
fights that people want to watch. That’s definitely one
of the fights that’s out there for me. "
According
to Noons, his problems with Diaz have nothing to do with his
fighting skill, only his personality.
"Before
that fight, I never took anything away from him. I knew he was
a good athlete going into it. I just can’t stand the guy
personally; I think he’s a dumbass," said Noons. "But
fighter-wise, he’s pretty good. I think that’s a great
style for me."
The
future for the former 160-pound champion may actually be at a
higher weight class in MMA, as he admits the bigger weight cuts
make a big difference for his performance.
"I
fought three weeks ago at 156 and if I don’t stay in the
gym, two weeks later, I’m already almost at 180, so I fluctuate
really hard," Noons commented. "That’s why I’m
exploring some options for MMA. Boxing’s a little bit different;
there’s so many weight classes, but MMA, there’s such
a big difference in weight. I don’t have a problem with
fighting at 55 or 170 for MMA."
For
the immediate future, K.J. Noons will still be the boxer, but
look for him to make his presence known once again in MMA before
the year is out.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Arona
excited for MMA debut in Brazil
One
of the greatest representatives of the Brazilian MMA, Ricardo
Arona made his debut in the professional rings in 2000, but never
fought in Brazil. Nine years later, Arona will do, on Bitetti
Combat 4, his first fight "at home", and is excited
for the challenge at returning to the rings. "I'm training
every day, dedicated, concerned about the return... I’m
just waiting for Amaury Bitetti to give me the details, present
the opponent", said the fighter. "It’s very exciting
to fight for our public for the first time... It’s a great
honor to represent the country in Brazil, which is something
I didn’t do yet".
In
an exclusive interview, which you check tomorrow at TATAME.com,
the ex-fighter of Pride talked about the trainings and the possibility
to prepare for the fight at the team of Rodrigo Minotauro. "I'm
training at home and I'm receiving important people to train
with me, good coaches. And I also have free access to train at
the Minotauro Team, with Minotauro. I was there twice this month.
We are united to train together, the doors are open between us,
we have direct links in training", said the fighter, who
spoke about the expectation to fight weight and open class in
ADCC in 2009, which happens 15 days after the Bitetti Combat,
analyzed the next battles in the UFC, the Wanderlei Silva’s
decision to drop to middleweight division and more.
Source: Tatame
|
Gleison
Tibau and the loss at TUF 9 Finale
Scheduled
at the last minute to TUF 9 Finale, the Brazilian Gleison Tibau
was defeated by Melvin Guillard. For the athlete of the American
Top Team, the problem was the less training for the bout. "I
believe that if had a longer time of preparation, the result
would have been different. Two more months of training would
weigh much more", said Tibau, who ended losing in controversial
decision.
"The
result strengthens my theory that could have been different,
because he didn’t get a good advantage at any time",
says the Brazilian, who made his third fight in only six months,
after beating Rich Clementi and Jeremy Stephens. "It has
its good and bad sides. The good thing is that I’m being
much requested and I can, increasingly, score points to win the
belt. But if fight a lot a it’s a problem at the end of
the day. But the season is being very good, mainly because of
the victory over Jeremy Stephens, who is idol in the United States".
Ready
to return to Brazil, the lightweight wants rest in Rio Grande
do Norte. "I’ll finally take some time to do what I
like, there in Brazil. I don’t know if I’m still going
to fight this year as I completed three fights, which is usually
the number that the athletes do in the season. Therefore, I want
to take this time to help develop the sport in my state",
concluded the fighter.
Source: Tatame
|
Boxing
coach excited for Nogueira x Couture
Considered
a lucky charm by Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, Luiz
Alves will be back to the heavyweight’s corner in August
28th, when the Brazilian faces Randy Couture at UFC 102. And
the coach is excited with the bout. “I always said that
this would be a good fight for Minotauro, because he has great
chances to submit. Randy doesn’t know a lot about the ground
fight, and if he tries to strike, he’ll lose. He’ll
grab at the fence and try to go to the ground, where I believe
Minotauro submits”, bets Alves, who’ll meet Nogueira
next month, in the US.
“The
boss is there. I have to go there early July and stay there for
a couple of months with him. We’ll wait the definition of
Rogério (“Minotoro” Nogueira)’s fight at
Affliction, which is 90% confirmed, but still have no opponent,
and then we’ll all train with Minotauro in the mountains”,
reveals the coach, who was out of Rodrigo’s corner in the
Frank Mir fight, when the Brazilian was knocked out for the first
time in the career. “I have a lot of things to do here in
Brazil, but when he calls me I’ll be there. He’s training
at San Diego and I couldn’t talk with him yet, but Anderson
Silva called me asking when I’ll be there”, finished
the Luiz.
Source: Tatame
|
Anderson
not thinking about Belfort
The Spider’s focus is Griffin
After breaking the record for title defenses and winning streaks
in the Ultimate Fighting Championship with his win over Thales
Leites, Anderson Silva is already busying himself with his next
engagement. On August 8, in Philadelphia, the Brazilian will
be moving up a category to face former light heavyweight champion
Forrest Griffin.
“I’m
still just light training, but I’m training. I’m in
Curitiba, doing my adaptation training and taking it slow,”
he said to Portal das Lutas, GRACIEMAG.com partner site.
However,
there was some news that shook up the MMA world this week. UFC
president Dana White leaked the possibility of bringing Vitor
Belfort back into the organization. “I’m working on
another middleweight name, Vitor Belfort. He has great hands,
a good ground game and, if his head’s in the right place,
he can be a really dangerous guy. I think it would be a great
fight,” stated the top man at the UFC, suggesting Vitor
as a possible future opponent for Silva.
On
the subject, Anderson guarantees his thoughts are entirely on
Forrest Griffin.
“Everyone
talks and everyone wants to beat the champion. The thing is to
keep training and just waiting to see what happens. Regardless
of any decision made, I’m ready to fight and defend my title.
But let’s wait and see. I didn’t know about those comments,
this is news to me. Let’s wait and see. I’m not worried
about it. Right now I’m just thinking about my fight with
Forrest,” he finished.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
“Believe
in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but
reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful
or happy.”
Norman Vincent Peale
|
Pac
Sub Registration Ends
Today!
Pre-Registration
ends Wednesday. Late registration will still be available online
& at either weigh-in location (OTM Fight Shop or Blaisdell).
All gi competition will run on Saturday, No-Gi will run on Sunday.
Kids & teens please begin checking in at 9am, Juniors by
10am, and Adults by 11am.
Agenda is just an estimated time according to last years schedule
however, we may start running divisions well before or even after
the noted start times.
All coaches please submit your list no later than Thursday -
2 per academy. Any questions please call Dane (808) 349-9581
or email director@pjjf.net
Please
visit the website to register or if any corrections need to be
made for a competitor:
www.pjjf.net
Mahalo,
PJJF
& Pac Sub Staff
|
Palolo
Gym Boxing is Back!
Our next
boxing event will be on Sat. July 25th at the Palolo District
Park Gym at 6 p.m.
One bout that is scheduled is Palolo Boxing Clubs Head Coach
Joel Kim against Kalakaua Boxing Club Coach Phil Ramirez in a
masters over 35 yrs old bout.
If you know anybody who wants to compete, please email me by
clicking here. I'll try and match
them by experience, weight, and age.
Thanks Always for Your Support!!
I'll get back more to you in a couple of weeks.
Bruce Kawano |
FIRST
TIME: 3 FIGHT OF NIGHT BONUSES AT TUF 9!
Following a monumental night of fights at the "Ultimate
Fighter" finale on Saturday night, the UFC handed down a
total of five bonuses, including an unprecedented three "Fight
of the Night" awards netting $25,000 each.
Diego
Sanchez and Clay Guida earned an obvious nod for one of the Fight
of the Night bonuses after their classic battle that had the
crowd on their feet showing respect to two of the most exciting
fighters in the world.
Chris
Lytle picked up another Fight of the Night bonus for his efforts,
as did his opponent, Kevin Burns; while Joe "Daddy"
Stevenson and Nate Diaz also got the bonus for their battle to
open the telecast.
The
undercard produced the other bonus winners as Tomasz Drwal got
the Knockout of the Night for his performance against Mike Ciesnolevscz
with his TKO win.
Ultimate
Fighter season nine lightweight semi-finalist Jason Dent picked
up $25,000 for his anaconda choke win over former housemate Cameron
Dollar to get the Submission of the Night.
The
bonuses for The Ultimate Fighter season nine finale totaled out
at $200,000, after an unbelievable show put on by all the fighters.
ULTIMATE
FIGHTER 9 FINALE AWARDS & BONUSES
(Each fighter was awarded $25,000)
Fights
of the Night:
-Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida
-Chris Lytle and Kevin Burns
-Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz
Knockout
of the Night:
-Tomasz Drwal
Submission
of the Night:
-Jason Dent
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MACHIDA
VS SHOGUN HEADS UFC 104 IN L.A.
UFC president Dana White on Saturday night, during the Ultimate
Fighter Team U.S.A. vs. Team U.K. Finale telecast, announced
that UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida would make
the first defense of his new belt against Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua.
"The
next title shot is going to be Machida vs. Shogun and the fight
is going to be at the Staples Center (in Los Angeles), Oct. 24,"
stated White, announcing the UFC 104 main event.
Machida
became the current champion by knocking out Rashad Evans at UFC
98 in May. The win bumped up his record to a perfect 15-0 (seven
straight in the Octagon), and the knockout helped to knock the
monkey off his back. He had long been labeled as a "boring"
fighter, but now has back-to-back knockouts – over Evans
and Thiago Silva – and a second round submission of Rameau
Thierry Sokoudjou.
"Chuck
Liddell was no barn burner, Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, none
of those guys were knocking people out and having exciting fights
when they first came in," commented White about the stigma
attached to Machida's style. "I knew that it would be a
little bit of a process before Machida felt at home."
Shogun,
once ruling the roost in the light heavyweight division, quickly
fell from grace when he made the move to the UFC. His first time
in the Octagon, he lost to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76, then was
heavily criticized for a lackluster effort in his TKO victory
over an aging Mark Coleman at UFC 93. His last time out, however,
Shogun may have sent former champ Chuck Liddell sprawling into
retirement with a stunning first round TKO.
"A
year and a half ago, people were saying this guy is the best
light heavyweight in the world. He's still the same guy. What
you have to understand is, he had a long layoff. He had a couple
of knee surgeries," said White, explaining Shogun's struggles.
"He looked good in the Liddell fight. The key to Shogun
is keeping him busy."
UFC
104 marks the promotion's first time back at the Staples Center
since Matt Hughes and Royce Gracie headlined UFC 60 on May 27,
2006.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
GUIDA
REFLECTS, STILL CONFIDENT IN TITLE RUN
Nearly
three years into his UFC tenure, Clay Guida finds himself with
a 5-4 record in the Octagon coming off of a razor thin split
decision loss to Diego Sanchez on Saturday night, a couple more
rungs growing on the ladder he climbs in a well-stocked division.
With
a roster that is bursting at the seams, many fighters coming
off of a loss, especially with a record just above .500, would
start to worry about their position within the promotion. But
not Guida. Yeah, he's now a couple of steps further back in the
line to a title shot, but he doesn't even entertain the thought
of being deemed irrelevant to the championship picture.
"I
still feel I'm the best out here in the lightweights. It might
take me another year to get that title shot," Guida told
MMAWeekly.com after the fight.
That's
what happens when you put on the heart-filled, thrilling performances
that he is known for. How quickly will fans forget his epic battles
with Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta, Mac Danzig, Nate Diaz, and
now, Diego Sanchez?
That
kind of effort, even a losing effort, earns Guida a roster exemption.
In
fact, he thought maybe he won the fight that the judges didn't,
although he didn't take anything away from Sanchez either.
"I
gotta give him credit. He's one of the first guys to take me
down in the cage. He didn't really do much with it, but he still
scored some points," said Guida. "He brought a little
bit of everything, kicks, punches, takedown, takedown defense."
Even
in the face of a loss – a painful loss putting an end to
a three-fight winning streak that had him racing towards a title
shot – he never wavers from his affable demeanor.
"It's
gonna set me back a little bit, but I'm already thinking about
getting back in the gym and really taking this seriously."
The
fight with Sanchez was one of an unprecedented three that shared
honors as Fights of the Night – each fighter involved receiving
a $25,000 bonus for the designation – but it did leave Guida
with something to work on.
Looking
back on the fight, asked what he would change if given the opportunity,
he declared, "Knock him out instead... win!"
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DIEGO
SANCHEZ STAKES HIS CLAIM FOR UFC GOLD
Only
two fights into his newfound home at lightweight, Diego Sanchez,
when you do the math, is ready for a shot at the UFC championship.
He's
not demanding it. "That's up to (UFC brass Dana White and
Lorenzo Fertitta)," he told MMAWeekly.com on Saturday night.
No
matter who wins the title bout between current champ B.J. Penn
and challenger Kenny Florian at UFC 101 in August, MMA math or
not, Sanchez holds true to his claims of being the division's
number one contender.
"Now,
going in and beating two of the top contenders at 155 (Clay Guida
and Joe Stevenson), I think I'm the number one guy," he
stated. "The only other person is Gray Maynard and Gray
Maynard has a win over Frankie Edgar, who has a win over Sean
Sherk, but also, people don't forget, Nate Diaz has a win over
Gray Maynard on The Ultimate Fighter and Guida has a win over
Nate Diaz. So, if you really do the math, it puts me as number
one contender."
That
might be a little tough to follow, but it all adds up to the
winner of Penn and Florian. And if it shakes out that way for
UFC officials, he's got motivation to fight whichever fighter
holds the belt.
"Of
course, if Kenny Florian pulled off a victory, that's a big fight
for UFC, match-up the original Ultimate (Fighter) season one
finale," Sanchez relates. "That's the reason I dropped
down to lightweight because watching Kenny Florian get his second
title shot and that's a guy that I went in the ring and dominated,
that's some motivation for me to come down to 155."
His
eyes light up and the inflection in his voice changes as he talks
about the other possibility, B.J. Penn. Although he believes
he has a key edge over the Hawaiian.
"I
think a fight with B.J. would be awesome. B.J.'s gonna stand
and go to war with me, the way I did with Clay Guida, except
the question mark with a fight with me and B.J. is, hey, is he
gonna get more tired than me?"
It's
obvious what Sanchez believes, "I think he's gonna get more
tired than me. B.J.'s not a Clay Guida gas tank and we all know
that. So that obviously is gonna make for a very interesting
fight.
"I
just now went in there and fought probably the most well-conditioned
fighter in the UFC, Clay Guida. He's a fireball. I also am one
of the most well-conditioned athletes in the UFC. My pace has
always been one of the top paces."
It's
not clear yet if he'll get the call to face the winner of that
Aug. 8 fight in Philadelphia, but Sanchez will be ready, waiting
in the wings, willing to vacate his position as the number one
contender believing he will walk away with UFC gold around his
waste.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Bob
Sapp, Bobby Lashley, and Satoshi Ishii
Lot
of star power there, right? Well, Sapp and Lashley square off
next weekend and I haven’t much heard much discussion at
all. If all things are equal, Lashley should win that fight and
relatively easily.
As
for Mr. Ishii, Sengoku recently held a fan poll to gauge interest
on who Ishii’s debut opponent should be on August 2nd at
Saitama Super Arena. If you guessed that Hidehiko Yoshida won
the poll, you’re wrong. The winner? Kazuyuki Fujita, which
would be a horrible first-match opponent for Ishii.
Ishii
held a press photo-op today at Takada Dojo. This is fascinating
on many levels. Notice the Hustle logo on the backdrop there?
Plus, Takada and the “Takada dojo” which was once aligned
in the PRIDE world? Funny how many people are associated or trying
to get themselves associated with Ishii. Ishii, of course, has
been affiliated with the Inoki side of things for a while A match
against Fujita would make sense on that level, but that’s
about it. Sengoku, Hustle, lots of bizarreness these days in
Japan.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
TUF
9 Notebook: Sanchez Rattles Saber
Before he moves on to a challenge of far greater significance
-- perhaps a crack at B.J. Penn or Kenny Florian for the UFC
lightweight championship -- Diego Sanchez paused to credit one
of the few man who can match his relentlessness in the cage.
Sanchez
was quick to credit Clay Guida after he eked out a split decision
against the former Strikeforce titleholder in “The Ultimate
Fighter 9” Finale main event on Saturday at the Palms Casino
Resort in Las Vegas.
“Guy’s
got two hearts in there,” Sanchez said. “He’s
a little Tasmanian Devil.”
Sanchez
nearly finished Guida twice in the first round, as he battered
him against the cage with uppercuts, short punches and flying
knees and later landed a brutal head kick that dropped the hyper,
hairy Chicagoan where he stood. Guida, however, did no go away,
much to Sanchez’s astonishment.
“I’ve
just got tremendous respect after tonight for Clay,” he
said. “I haven’t been in a blood barnburner like that
since Nick Diaz. I hit him with some knees, some kicks, some
uppercuts that were right on the button, and he just kept on
coming.”
Two
of the three cage-side judges sided with Sanchez by 29-27 and
29-28 scores. A third gave Guida, a bloody mess by the time the
fight ended, a 29-28 nod. A high-energy wrestler feared for his
suffocating top game, Guida kept Sanchez on his back for much
of the second round. In response, the eccentric New Mexican --
who now trains under Brazilian jiu-jitsu aces Saulo and Alexandre
Ribeiro -- stayed active and drew blood with sharp elbows from
the bottom. He used the top of Guida’s head for target practice.
“I
learned that technique by watching Kenny Florian in the Joe Lauzon
fight [at UFC Fight Night 13],” Sanchez said. “They
let it go in that fight, so I’m, like, ‘Hey, man, Kenny
can do it. I can do it, too.’ Guida, in all his fights,
he lays down on top of guys like that, so I’m, like, ‘Hey,
you’re going to lay down on top of me like that. I’m
going to throw those hard elbows at his face.’”
Sanchez,
who turns 28 in December, has reeled off four consecutive wins
and put himself in contention for the 155-pound crown. His drop
from welterweight to lightweight has gone smoothly, with back-to-back
victories against Guida and Joe Stevenson. He has made no secret
about his desire to fight for the title. “I do feel like
I’m the number one contender,” Sanchez said.
Let
the saber rattling begin.
Jim
Page/Sherdog.com
Pearson
improved his odds.
Wilks, Pearson Improve Odds
James
Wilks and Ross Pearson breathed collective sighs of relief after
they improved their odds of holding down jobs in the world’s
top mixed martial arts promotions.
The
two Englishmen completed their reality television runs by winning
their respective finals at “The Ultimate Fighter 9”
Finale. The 11 other men -- outside of Season 4 retread winners
Travis Lutter and Matt Serra -- who have done so remain employed
with the UFC, and two of them, Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans,
have become champions.
Wilks
thrashed Damarques Johnson in the welterweight final, as he submitted
the Jeremy Horn protégé with a rear-naked choke
late in the first round.
“That’s
what I strive for in every fight,” Wilks said. “I’m
always looking to finish. Obviously, you want to win, but it’s
much better to win by submission or knockout. I try to finish
it as soon as I can.”
Unlike
Wilks, Pearson left his fate in the hands of the judges, as he
posted a unanimous decision victory against former FX3 champion
Andre Winner in the lightweight final. The two Team UK stablemates
spent much of their battle in the clinch, though Pearson got
the better of the stand-up exchanges when they did separate.
“I
don’t like to leave it in the judges’ hands, but I
definitely feel that I won that fight,” said Pearson, who
has won eight of his last nine bouts. “I think it was an
exciting fight for people who know about fighting. I didn’t
think it was a boring fight. Everybody’s got their own opinion.”
This
& That
Nearly
half of Guida’s nine UFC appearances have ended in split
decisions. He has lost to Tyson Griffin and Sanchez by split
verdicts, and he has beaten Nate Diaz and Marcus Aurelio …
Jason Dent has won each of his last four fights by submission.
He coaxed a tapout from Cameron Dollar with an anaconda choke
and secured his first victory in three UFC appearances …
If the UFC has plans for Polish expansion, Tomasz Drwal could
serve as the point man. The brutish light heavyweight has finished
two opponents in a row -- International Fight League veteran
Mike Ciesnolevicz succumbed to his strikes at “The Ultimate
Fighter 9” Finale -- since he made a failed promotional
debut against Thiago Silva at UFC 75 two years ago. The 27-year-old
Pole has delivered 10 of his 16 wins by knockout or technical
knockout, four more by submission … Chris Lytle has dropped
15 of his 20 fights that have gone the distance, though he bucked
that trend with a unanimous decision victory against Kevin Burns
… Once considered one of Europe’s top prospects, Winner
has now gone one year, six months and 27 days between wins …
Past history does not favor Johnson or Winner. The 11 runners-up
from previous seasons on the Spike TV reality series -- Season
4 participants not included -- have combined for a mediocre 25-19
record inside the Octagon following their appearances in respective
finales. Six of the 11 are no longer under contract with the
UFC … UFC officials awarded $200,000 in post-fight bonuses.
Six $25,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses went to Lytle
and Burns, Stevenson and Diaz and Sanchez and Guida. Drwal pocketed
a $25,000 “Knockout of the Night” prize, and Dent banked
a $25,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus.
Source: Sherdog
|
Bargaining
for Belfort?
By Loretta Hunt (lhunt@sherdog.com)
Saturday, June 20 10:46 pm PT: UFC President Dana White threw
a curveball to home plate Saturday when he announced the promotion
is eying Brazilian Vitor Belfort to return to the fold to face
middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the future.
A
19-year-old Belfort became one of the promotion’s first
bona fide stars under Semaphore Entertainment Group’s reign
between 1997-1998. Belfort (18-8) was also the UFC’s light
heavyweight champion for a short spell in 2004, but has since
jumped between Pride Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, and Affliction
in recent years.
In
one big way, the announcement is not a surprise. The UFC needs
capable opponents to match against Silva, who has steamrolled
through the entire 185-pound division in the last two years.
Actually, capable isn’t good enough anymore. It has to be
an adversary the promotion can really get behind,
Source: Sherdog
|
Quote
of the Day
“Courage
is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway.”
John Wayne
|
New
Fighters' Club TV Episode Tonight!
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!)
|
JOE
DADDY BACK ON TRACK, LYTLE WINS IN A WAR
Coming in off of two straight losses, Joe "Daddy" Stevenson,
needed a statement fight, and he accomplished just that with
a unanimous decision win over fellow "Ultimate Fighter"
winner Nate Diaz on Saturday night.
Picking
up and moving to New Mexico for six weeks to work with MMA guru
Greg Jackson paid off for Stevenson, who was able to go back
to his roots and outwrestle, and out power a very game opponent.
With
both fighters having long standing ties in the jiu-jitsu world,
submission attempts came fast and furiously during the fight,
and Stevenson actually locked on his patented guillotine choke
early in the bout and it appeared he could get the finish. Diaz
was able to battle out, and after the fight, Stevenson said he
wasn't surprised at all that his opponent persevered in that
tough moment.
"That
guy's a stud. He makes his opponent's tired by going for the
kill and then takes advantage. At the beginning of the second
round my arms were definitely fatigued and I could feel the difference."
The
remainder of the fight saw several scrambles on the ground between
the two competitors, but Stevenson was able to do a better job
of using his power and wrestling to control the action.
The
third round saw the fighters engage in a battle of words as well,
as microphones picked up a little in-cage trash talking, but
after the fight, Diaz and Stevenson hugged and seemed to leave
it all in the Octagon.
When
it was all over, Stevenson got back in the win column and he
paid a major compliment to his coaches at Jackson's Fight Team
for the work they did to get him ready for the fight.
"It's
like having Chuck Norris in your corner. It's just unfair,"
Stevenson commented about Greg Jackson. "With your back
to the wall with two losses, I was afraid to get that third.
That's not what I came in here scared about. I was scared about
Nate Diaz, he's an awesome fighter."
Stevenson
appears to have found a new permanent training camp with Jackson
and his team, and he will now look to climb back up the ranks
of the lightweight division.
For
as smart as Chris Lytle actually is, he apparently does not understand
the meaning of the word "boring," as he once again
put on a show for the fans in Las Vegas, picking up a unanimous
decision win over Kevin Burns in a welterweight slugfest.
Early
on it looked like Burns might get the best of Lytle as he landed
a big right uppercut that put the Indiana native on wobbly legs,
scrambling for a recovery plan. As always with Lytle, though,
he is next to impossible to put away, and he kept close to Burns
as the round came to a close.
"I
didn't see it. I ducked my head down like my coaches tell me
not to, and he caught me with one," Lytle commented about
the punch in the first round. "I was like whoa I'm almost
on the ground, I've got to stand back up. I'm an experienced
fighter. I knew the onslaught was coming, that's why I was trying
to weather the storm. I was able to do that and I cleared my
head between the first and second rounds."
The
second and third rounds told a different story as Lytle's striking
and superior conditioning took over, as he continued to move
forward on his opponent, landing punches to the body and head
of Burns.
The
body punches could have played a major part in the fight as Burns
started to fade later in the bout, gasping for air and slowing
down as time ran down.
Lytle
stalked Burns around the cage throwing big punch after big punch
trying to put him away, and even opened a huge cut in the third
round that resulted in his opponent being covered in blood for
the last few minutes of the bout.
"Me
and Kevin really came out and that's exactly why I wanted this
fight, he was going to try to take me out. I want somebody who's
going to try to take me out, and I feel like I'm going to get
them in the end," Lytle said after the victory.
It
appeared after the match-up that Lytle and Burns were all but
sealed as the selection for "Fight of the Night" after
a three-round crowd pleaser.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WILKS
& PEARSON MAKE IT CLEAN SWEEP FOR U.K.
If anybody viewed the British fighters as underdogs going into
the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter, James Wilks and Ross
Pearson made a statement for the United Kingdom on Saturday night,
as they became the latest winners in the Ultimate Fighter lineage.
DaMarques
Johnson may not like James Wilks, but he absolutely respects
him following Saturday night's Ultimate Fighter Finale, as the
British born fighter put on a clinic resulting in a rear naked
choke submission to win the welterweight final in Las Vegas.
Wilks
came out strong early in the fight tagging Johnson with some
strong stand-up, including a series of big knee strikes from
the Muay Thai clinch that immediately put the Utah based fighter
on the defensive.
The
fight soon hit the mat and Wilks showed his superior jiu-jitsu,
as he immediately started going for submission after submission,
starting with a strong heel hook that looked deep, but Johnson
battled out.
Battling
from his back, Wilks then started another onslaught as he trapped
Johnson's head and arm in a triangle choke, transitioning to
an omo plata, while punishing his opponent with punches and elbows
to keep the pressure on.
Wilks
took the opportunity with Johnson turtled up to take the back
and start working for the fight ending rear naked choke.
"I
was trying to put my right hand around his neck and he was defending
with the chin down. I was able to slip my left hand through,
trap that arm, and I was able to finish," Wilks said about
the submission.
Now
the Ultimate Fighter season nine welterweight champion, Wilks
made an impressive showing for himself, as he steps into possibly
the deepest weight class in the organization.
"This
is the best moment of my life for sure," Wilks commented.
"I really appreciate the opportunity the UFC, Dana White,
and Lorenzo Fertitta (have) given me."
It
was clear early on during the finale between the two British
lightweights that Pearson and Winner knew each other very well,
as they spent a majority of the fight battling in the clinch,
trying to get the better of each other against the cage.
Back
and forth action saw Pearson pushing Winner against the cage,
working for knees and takedowns, and then the reversal from his
opponent, with Winner hitting punches and knees of his own.
UFC
commentator Joe Rogan noted during the bout the similarity in
this fight to the battle between Ultimate Fighter season four
finalists Matt Serra and Chris Lytle, when the two fighters knew
each other so well that it negated any major action in the bout.
An
extremely close fight through two rounds saw Pearson come out
and try to gun for Winner a little bit more in the final five
minutes, but again they always ended back in the clinch. A few
exchanges lit some fireworks throughout the third round, but
again mutual respect ruled the day and the fight went to the
judges' scorecards.
After
a hard fought battle between the two Brits, the judges gave the
nod to Ross Pearson, who used his strength and aggressiveness
to outwork his fellow countryman, and get the title of Ultimate
Fighter winner.
"Andre,
he's one tough fighter. I trained with him. I knew this wasn't
going to be an easy fight. I trained me butt off for this fight,"
Pearson stated about his opponent following the win.
Obviously
working together for several weeks on the show, Pearson knew
Winner very well, but he put friendship aside for the chance
to become the champion of season nine of the Ultimate Fighter.
"To
me it was easy," Pearson said about fighting Winner. "You
could have put anyone in front of me and I would have trained
for that person correctly, and I would have fought them. Stepping
in here it could have been anyone."
Pearson
and Wilks will now proudly represent the United Kingdom, as both
move into the UFC as the newest Ultimate Fighter champions.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SANCHEZ
EDGES GUIDA IN AN INSTANT CLASSIC
He
may have earned a title shot on Saturday night, but not without
an absolute war, as Diego Sanchez got a split decision win over
Clay Guida in an instant classic during the main event of The
Ultimate Fighter Finale at the Palms in Las Vegas.
Sanchez
came out like a ball of fire, blasting Guida with a barrage of
punches, flying knees, and virtually everything in his striking
arsenal. Punch after punch, Guida appeared to be in trouble as
blood started to flow from his nose, but the tough Illinois native
recovered and took Sanchez to the ground.
Guida
did a good job of controlling Sanchez, but the Ultimate Fighter
season one winner got back to his feet, and then uncorked a thunderous
head kick that sent Guida crashing to the mat. Tough as nails,
Guida recovered again and made it to the end of the round.
"The
guy has a tremendous chin, there's a reason he ain't never been
knocked out," Sanchez said about the striking attack in
the first. "I hit him with that kick right there and I thought
for sure he was done. He's a machine, he's an animal."
The
second round swung to Guida's favor as he took Sanchez down early
and didn't let him back up. He stifled his jiu-jitsu game, keeping
the pressure on for the full five minutes. To Sanchez's credit,
he unleashed a crazy series of elbows from the bottom that stunned
Guida, and opened a cut that started to rain down blood onto
both fighters.
Guida
started to land some big punches of his own in the third round,
only attempting one takedown early on, and then deciding to strike
with Sanchez instead. "The Carpenter" hit a big overhand
right that popped Sanchez on top of the head, as the crowd in
attendance reacted to the big shot.
Late
in the round, Sanchez took a chance to take Guida's back, but
he slipped out and again ended up on top, working for punches.
With the seconds counting down, Sanchez went for a kimura, but
Guida withstood the pressure and started to wing wild punches
as the final horn sounded in a classic fight between the two
lightweight contenders.
When
the judges' scorecards were read, two saw the fight going for
Sanchez, while one gave the fight to Guida, causing a split decision
win for the original Ultimate Fighter winner.
Sanchez
admitted after the fight that Guida was a very game opponent,
and as the fight wore on, the blood and the sweat made the win
that much sweeter.
"It
got really, really bloody. I think I caught him with an elbow
or something, it was just so slippery after that and he was on
top. As I said before, I love it when the guy's bleeding on top
of me. Call me weird, but it means a battle, it means a war,
and that's what the UFC is all about," Sanchez stated. "Good
battles and wars like this in the Octagon."
Even
though he didn't get the win, Guida couldn't stop moving after
the fight was over, and he paid respect to Sanchez after another
contender for "Fight of the Year" was created following
this lightweight war.
"You
can't hurt this guy, I'm here for days," Guida said about
his chin. "Diego, I've got to give him a lot of credit,
he's a tough dude, a very tough dude. I've got to give him that
much, it was a very close fight. I took him down; he cut me up.
It was an awesome fight."
Diego
Sanchez may have just secured his place as the No. 1 contender
to the winner of the upcoming UFC 101 fight between champion
B.J. Penn and Kenny Florian, while Clay Guida has nothing to
be ashamed about after another eye-popping performance.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Wanderlei:
“Nobody will make me give up”
Back
to Las Vegas after the loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 99, Wanderlei
Silva denied any rumor about retirement. In an video interview
published in his website, the Axe Murderer confessed he trained
too much, some tomes hided from his coach Rafael Alejarra, and
spoke about the loss, that he guarantees won’t be the last
fight of his career. “Nothing, nobody will make me give
up. The secret of the victory is keep trying, and I’m a
guy who tries until the end, I never gave up about anything”,
says Wanderlei.
Source: Tatame
|
Sanchez,
Guida both winners after epic fight
LAS
VEGAS – It didn’t take long for Diego Sanchez to establish
himself as a legitimate threat for the Ultimate Fighting Championship
lightweight title after beating Clay Guida in one of the most
dramatic fights in company history at the Palms on Saturday night.
Sanchez
noted that Kenny Florian, who faces B.J. Penn for the title on
Aug. 8 in Philadelphia was the same fighter he defeated easily
in 2005, in the finals of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter,
at a time when both competed as middleweights.
“He’s
had two title shots and I owned him,” said Sanchez (23-2),
who won his second fight in a row after dropping down from welterweight.
“If he wins, it’s a natural rematch. The only other
top contender for the winner would be Gray Maynard. And Nate
Diaz beat Gray in the Ultimate Fighter, and Clay Guida beat Diaz
and I just beat Guida.”
Sanchez
was at the time primarily a grappler, known for using his conditioning
and relentless style to compensate for so-so striking.
But
he’s a completely different fighter today, mixing punches,
kicks and knees with his already strong submission game. He bloodied
Guida badly from the first exchange, rocked him several times,
and put him down with a kick, all in a frenetic first round.
The
onslaught would have finished most fighters. But Guida (25-10)
is not most fighters.
Guida,
the human Energizer Bunny, barely got out of the first round,
yet came back to win the second round, and came close to taking
the third, leaving Sanchez with a split-decision win on scores
of 29-27, 28-29, and 29-28.
About
an hour after the fight concluded, when Guida came to the press
conference after being stitched up, Sanchez went up to him and
told him how much he respected him.
“We’re
blood brothers now,” Sanchez said.
“I
just got tremendous respect after tonight for Clay Guida,”
said Sanchez. “I hit him with punches, kicks and knees right
on the button and he kept coming. He’s known for his conditioning
and he came prepared. I was prepared, but I wasn’t prepared
for him to survive the onslaught I gave him.”
“If
you can’t go 15 to 25 minutes, you’re in the wrong
line of work,” said Guida. “I never felt tired. I was
ready to go two more rounds.”
Guida,
smiling, despite having a fat lip, a bloody nose and stitches
above the right eye, didn’t seem down in the slightest over
losing a split decision in what would have been the biggest victory
of his career had he pulled out the fight.
The
match drew natural comparisons to his Dec. 2007 showdown with
Roger Huerta, a fight-of-the-year caliber affair that Guida lost
in the third round. That match was also the main event of an
Ultimate Fight Night card at the same venue. “This will
be a learning experience just like the fight with Huerta,”
said Guida.
“It
was similar,” said Guida. “It was in Las Vegas. It
was a night with some great fights. And he got a bloody nose
on the third punch. This time I got a bloody nose on the third
punch. The Roger Huerta fight taught me about the fine line between
relentless and reckless. And I’ll learn from this. I still
feel I’m the top fighter in the division and I want to win
the strap.”
Guida,
one of the most popular fighters in the company despite having
only a 5-4 record, saw the crowd explode as he opened the second
round with a takedown and kept Sanchez on his back, winning the
round on all three judges’ cards.
Sanchez
said he learned from watching last year’s Kenny Florian-Joe
Lauzon match where Florian was able to open up Lauzon with elbows
from the bottom en route to victory. While on his back, Sanchez
threw elbow after elbow at Guida’s face, trying to open
him up, to the point his right elbow was hurting after the fight.
Guida responded with punches and elbows from the top.
The
third round saw Guida connect with some good punches, although
Sanchez still had the advantage. Sanchez’s best offense
was working for a choke, as well as a Kimura, although the latter
never came close. The fight ended with Guida on top throwing
down blows, but Sanchez had done enough earlier in the round
to win it on two of the three judges cards.
Even
though Guida was the favorite to the majority of the crowd, the
crowd seemed to accept Sanchez winning as the right decision.
“I
don’t know how many stitches I got,” said Guida. “I
don’t think it was that many, but when I asked the doctor,
he said he lost count. I don’t like the blood. It’s
the first time I’ve been cut since I was 18 and I graduated
high school.”
For
the first time in UFC history, company officials decided to give
three best match of the night bonuses. Along with Sanchez and
Guida, also getting $25,000 bonuses were Joe Stevenson, Nate
Diaz, Kevin Burns and Chris Lytle.
Lytle
(37-17-4) survived being knocked down in the first round and
being in trouble to win rounds two and three over Burns (8-3).
In the third round, Lytle threw a punch that left a huge gash
over Burns’ right eye. He targeted the cut and won the decision
on straight 29-28 scores.
Stevenson
vs. Diaz was more a grappling match. Stevenson used his superior
wrestling to take the first two rounds, but was unable to finish
the elusive Diaz with his pet move, the guillotine, sunk in tight
in the first round. Stevenson kept control for most of the second
round to clinch the decision provided Diaz couldn’t finish
him in the third. Stevenson (35-10) survived both a choke attempt
and a guillotine by Diaz (10-4) and took the decision on straight
29-28 scores.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
TUF
reality show still fighting on
LAS
VEGAS – “The Ultimate Fighter 9” finale Saturday
at The Palms was a microcosm of what the reality show has been
since its debut on Spike TV in 2005.
There
was drama and unforgettable moments, but there was also some
moments that were hard to take and difficult to understand.
The
10th season of the show that essentially saved the Ultimate Fighting
Championship from extinction is almost guaranteed to be a ratings
bonanza, largely because of the presence on the cast of one-time
street fighter Kimbo Slice.
Ratings,
though, have stagnated and while both Spike and UFC officials
insist they’re pleased, they don’t mirror the UFC’s
pay-per-view growth. Pay-per-view sales have skyrocketed since
2005, but the reality series hasn’t come close to matching
the 1.67 household rating from Season 1 or the 1.77 from Season
3.
Beginning
in Season 6, the ratings have gone 1.29, 1.20, 1.25 and 1.19.
While that’s a solid figure and almost unheard of for a
cable reality series in its ninth season, the numbers would suggest
that some have had their fill of it.
The
median age of the show’s viewers was 30 in Season 1. In
Season 9, it was 33, suggesting the viewers have aged with the
show and have remained loyal to it.
The
show has been an unqualified success for the UFC. Several of
its biggest stars – Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Diego
Sanchez, Kenny Florian, Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick, among many
others – are alumni.
And
the show has helped introduce fans to the sport who otherwise
would have no clue about mixed martial arts.
But
the UFC and Spike have to find a way to reinvigorate the series
to prevent it from becoming stale, if it already hasn’t.
The
UFC and Spike came under criticism in recent seasons for focusing
so much on the lunacy in the house, making stars out of men like
Junie Browning and Jesse Taylor for their drunken tirades.
That
changed dramatically in Season 9, when producers made the conscious
decision to show more of the training sessions.
“We
were hearing that the fans wanted to see more of the interaction
between the coaches and the fighters and what they do when they’re
training,” said Brian Diamond, Spike’s senior vice
president for sports and specials. “But we don’t tell
them to do anything. What happens in that house is what you see
on television. It’s reality TV.
“When
you put 16 guys in one house, it’s not going to take long
for them to start climbing the walls. In Season 1, Forrest was
jumping like an orangutan by Week 5. It’s always going to
be about the fights, but the personalities are a big part of
it as well and that’s something you can never predict.”
The
show is, in essence, an infomercial for the pay-per-view fight
between the coaches that will take place following the finale.
And
while former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson took some heat for turning down a shot at new champion
Lyoto Machida to coach on Season 10 and then fight Evans, to
Jackson, it was a no-brainer.
Jackson,
who coached opposite Griffin in Season 7, said he’ll be
a more well-known personality by the time Season 10 concludes
and his fight with Evans takes place.
“I
make most of my money off of pay-per-view,” Jackson said.
“When you do ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ it’s
going to help your pay-per-view numbers. Me coaching ‘The
Ultimate Fighter’ show will be good revenue in the future.
Being champion or fighting Machida, that’s good. A lot of
people would tune into to see that. … I think a lot more
people watch ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ You get bigger
pay-per-view numbers [following the show].”
And
as long as the pay-per-view fights following the season sell,
everyone connected with the show will be happy and not much is
going to change.
The
stream of top-echelon talent seems to have slowed, as no one
of the caliber of the Season 1 or Season 3 fighters have emerged
in recent years.
But
Bisping, who won the light heavyweight title on Season 3 and
coached on Season 9, said it takes time.
He
said confidence is often a factor for fighters who aren’t
in the UFC. Competing on TUF and winning at that level often
significantly improves a fighter’s performance down the
line.
Fighters
go from thinking they can win to knowing they can.
“You
go on the show and you believe in yourself as a fighter, but
you haven’t fought in the UFC and there’s always that
little bit of a question,” Bisping said. “Until you
do something, you always wonder if you can. When you get through
something like the show, it makes a tremendous difference.”
The
show itself has made a tremendous difference in the perception
of MMA and it’s showcased it as a real sport.
The
challenge for the future is to make it compelling enough that
viewers keep tuning in. Spike and the UFC have signed an extension
to keep the show on the air through 2014.
That
could take it through Season 20.
It’s
going to be a massive challenge, but given the show’s significance
to both companies, they’ll spare no expense to find a way
to keep it relevant.
“I
can’t overestimate how important that show is to this company,”
UFC president Dana White said. “It’s huge for us and
it’s going to continue to be. I guarantee you that.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Team
U.K. sweeps TUF 9
LAS
VEGAS – Michael Bisping can officially be declared the winner
of the coaching end of his two-part battle with Dan Henderson,
as Team U.K. members Ross Pearson and James Wilks became the
Season 9 winners of The Ultimate Fighter reality show on Saturday
night
Lightweight
Pearson, who beat his Team U.K. teammate and training partner,
Andre Winner, had a close call in a match fought mostly in the
clinch.
Middleweight
Wilks, a transplanted Brit who just opened up a gym in Laguna
Hills, Calif., giving his win a double business purpose, finished
Team U.S. member DaMarques Johnson of Salt Lake City, Utah, with
a choke at 4:54 of the first round, in a surprisingly one-sided
match.
Team
U.K. coach Bisping, who stayed low-key at the show, hopes winning
the first battle will be a good omen for his match with Team
U.S. coach Henderson at UFC 100 on July 11, where he is an underdog,
just as Pearson and Wilks were.
Pearson
(8-3) noted that after spending six weeks training with Winner
(10-3-1), he tried to come into the fight bringing something
new, and was also surprised with Winner’s strategy.
“I
was really surprised he wanted it to be a clinch fight,”
said Pearson, 24, who worked full-time as a bricklayer in Sunderland,
England, before being selected for the show. “I wasn’t
expecting that.”
Although
the matches on the reality show aired in both countries over
the past three months, they were actually taped over a six-week
period in January and February. With three members of Team U.K.
in the finals, the live show was expected to draw a large audience
in Pearson’s native country, where the series this year
had its greatest television exposure to date.
“Three
fights in a six-week period takes a lot out of your body,”
noted Pearson. “I was really tired. Then I had to train
really hard for the final. I recuperated and rested and I didn’t
pick up any new injuries.”
Little
happened in the first round that Winner seemed to win on a final
flurry. The second round was also close, with Pearson connecting
more from the long clinches.
The
Las Vegas crowd was more patient than most, and aside from one
catcall early with a few fans trying to mockingly start a “USA”
chant, they didn’t react negatively to a slower paced fight
than the numerous wars up and down the show.
Pearson
again connected with more punches and knees from the clinch,
including hurting Winner with a late punch, which spelled the
difference.
Pearson
and Wilks each received a three-year contract with UFC, which
covers nine fights.
Pearson
said the odds being against him didn’t bother him because
he didn’t even know until right before the fight.
Winner,
who was born in Grenada, had finished all three opponents on
the reality show in the first round.
“I
beat Jason Dent and Richie Whitson, and I thought they were the
two best on the American team in the weight class,” said
Pearson about his own performance on the reality show.
Wilks,
on the other hand, admitted to not being happy he was a 3½-to-1
underdog to Johnson.
“I
was a little upset,” said Wilks (7-2), who was never in
trouble in the fight. “I saw the odds at the sports book
yesterday. They really didn’t affect me at all. They didn’t
see enough of me to fairly judge my skill level.”
“He
[Johnson] came in with emotion and anger and I think that was
part of the difference,” said Wilks, who admitted not being
ready for the top-tier contenders in the welterweight division.
“I
think it’ll take me a year or two to get to where I’m
ready to fight the top fighters,” he said.
Wilks
dominated both the striking and grappling aspects of the fight,
and had Johnson (14-7) in trouble with a triangle, and while
holding Johnson in place, delivered a series of elbows. Johnson
escaped, but was bleeding from the nose. Wilks tried a choke,
which Johnson defended, but wasn’t as lucky with a second
choke attempt. Johnson tapped out just six seconds before the
end of the first round.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Quote
of the Day
“The
aim of life is self-development. To realize one's nature perfectly
- that is what each of us is here for.”
Oscar Wilde
|
SMOKIN
JOE BESTS CYBORG AT STRIKEFORCE
The main event of Friday night's Strikeforce Challengers Series
from Kent, Wash., took a little different tact than most expected,
but was none-the-less exciting for it.
Joey
Villasenor and Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos were expected
to have a slugfest in their bout. There surely was no lack of
striking, but it proved to be a lot more technical than most
believed it would be.
Cyborg
surprised with a more tactical boxing style than he is known
for, hanging back, countering Villasenor's attacks. That edge
lasted all of the opening round, however, as Villasenor and his
cornerman, Mike Winklejohn, picked up on it between rounds and
adjusted.
"I
was really surprised at his countering. He did a really good
job countering me when he needed to," Villasenor later commented.
For
most of the second on third rounds, the two went toe-to-toe.
But as time wore on, Villasenor established more ring generalship,
adjusting to Cyborg's tactics, becoming the busier fighter. By
the end of the third round, Villasenor was taking advantage of
a depleted Cyborg, but couldn't quite find the detrimental blow,
as he was losing steam as well.
It
was enough to earn him a split decision on the judges' scorecards.
Caught
in the contractual quagmire that was EliteXC, Villasenor was
appreciative of his return bout. "I haven't fought in over
a year, that was a great fight to come back to."
And,
of course, any successful middleweight in Strikeforce right now
has to face the obligatory questions about facing current middleweight
champion Cung Le, who has been MIA ever since taking the belt
from Frank Shamrock in March of 2008.
"I
think Cung Le is sitting back watching all these fighters get
better and shaking in his boots," hypothesized Villasenor.
"I would really like the opportunity to fight Cung Le and
see where I stand."
It
took him until midway through the second round, but U.S. Army
Ranger Tim Kennedy shook off nearly two years of inactivity since
his last fight by finishing off a tough Nick Thompson. In fact,
Kennedy never skipped a beat.
He
and Thompson put on a grappling clinic in the opening round,
Thompson attempting several submissions, while Kennedy dominated
position and accumulated points with his ground and pound game.
Midway
through the second round, Kennedy, working from side control,
landed some hard shots that caused Thompson to turn to his stomach.
At that point, Kennedy unleashed three or four more hard right
hands and Thompson tapped out.
Although
Thompson was complaining after the fight that he was taking shots
to the back of the head, the replay showed that any shots across
the back of his skull appeared to be more from him turning his
head away in defense than anything intentional on Kennedy's behalf.
"If
one of them hit the back of his head, I'm real sorry, totally
unintentional, but that's a clean fight all the way through,"
concurred Kennedy after the fight.
No
word on what's next for Kennedy, but one thing is for sure, he's
ready to go.
"I'm
back! I want to fight every month. Let's go!"
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ALVAREZ
AND LOMBARD GRAB GOLD AT BELLATOR XII
Bellator Fighting Championships closed out its inaugural season
on Friday night in Hollywood, Fla., crowning champions both at
lightweight and middleweight.
Already
ranked No. 2 in the world in his class, Eddie Alvarez added Bellator
gold to his resume, capturing the lightweight championship. He
battled submission wizard Toby Imada through a back-and-forth
opening round, but didn't waste any time in the second stanza.
Following
the bell, Alvarez immediately floored Imada with a right cross,
pounced on him and started to drop down punches. Imada turned
to avoid the blows, Alvarez secured his neck, and that was all
she wrote, 38 seconds into the round.
Hector
Lombard had to put in a lot more time to earn his middleweight
belt. He had to punish Jared Hess into the fourth round.
Lombard
defended most of Hess' takedown attempts, and used his strength
to overpower and brutalize him with strikes, opening a cut over
Hess' right eye. The gash was bad enough for the doctor to check
it on three separate occasions in the third round before finally
stopping the fight in the fourth.
After
several false starts, Rosi Sexton finally stepped into the Bellator
cage for the first time, ending a nearly year long layoff. She
wasted no time, submitting Valerie Coolbaugh via an armbar in
the opening round.
Bellator
XII Results
-Eddie Alvarez def. Toby Imada by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 0:38, R2
-Hector Lombard def. Jared Hess by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 1:45,
R4
-Fabio Mello def. Sami Aziz by Submission (Armbar) at 1:58, R3
-Jorge Masvidal def. Eric Reynolds by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 3:33, R3
-Sergio Moraes def. Josh Martin by Submission (Triangle Choke)
at 4:21, R1
-Rosi Sexton def. Valerie Coolbaugh by Submission (Armbar) at
3:40, R1
-Luis Palomino def. Troy Gerhart by Unanimous Decision, R1
-Stefanie Guimaraes def. Yvonne Reis by TKO at 0:49, R1
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TUF
9 FINALE: CAN CHRIS LYTLE SECURE HIS SPOT?
The boom in popularity for MMA resulted in the UFC’s roster
growing at an exponential rate.
With
numbers swelled to maximum capacity, shows began to book at such
a rate that fighters have now found themselves with an abundance
of shows, but a lack of spots available due to the promotion’s
roster being so full.
So
the inevitable cuts have begun. Fighters not performing up to
expectations have found themselves out of the promotion, making
each fight now a potential last gasp for young talent and veterans
alike.
One
of the longtime UFC fighters who is looking to continue his time
with the company is welterweight Chris “Lights Out”
Lytle.
After
five years of near consistency with the promotion, Lytle has
alternated wins and losses of late, and at the age of 34 could
be facing his last run with the company. In typical Lytle fashion,
however, if this is the last run, he intends to go out swinging.
“I
feel like I’ve been a split-decision away – a bad break
away – from being really in a better position than I’m
at,” Lytle told MMAWeekly heading into this Saturday’s
TUF 9 Finale.
“I’ve
been training too long and too hard to just worry about beating
somebody on a decision – that’s never my goal. I’m
going to go out there and fight my ass off, give (everyone) a
good show, and definitely try to knock this guy’s head off
or submit him or whatever.”
Due
to the UFC’s hectic schedule, Lytle has been out of action
for five months, and in the interim has begun new training routines,
such as CrossFit, to increase his endurance, hoping it will propel
him further in match-ups.
“In
my fights I tend to go all out and that tends to make you die
at the end of a fight, so I’m hoping this time (by) the
third round I’m still ready to go,” he stated. “That
can make all the difference in a fight sometimes.”
At
The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale, Lytle will take on up and comer
Kevin Burns in a bout that he feels both fighters are tailor-made
for each other.
“I
think the UFC put us together because they expect us to put on
a great fight,” he said. “I see him as being one of
those guys who’s not going to try to beat me by decision
I don’t think – and that’s the kind of guy I want
to fight.
“I’m
excited to go in and trade punches with him, go to the ground
a little bit and see where we go with this fight.”
Having
switched up his training a little and gotten some time off to
heal, Lytle sounds like a fighter rejuvenated and expecting to
continue his MMA ride for the foreseeable future, regardless
of fight results.
“I’m
just looking to go in, put on good fights and win most of the
fights I’m doing,” he commented. “Trust me; if
there’s a time that I feel like I’m not going to be
able to do something on a large scale, I’ll be done, but
I haven’t felt that yet.”
Having
served as the barometer for many fighters on their way up, Lytle
is looking to stay in the UFC and make his own way back to the
top of the standings.
“As
usual, I want to thank the Tapout guys, all my training partners
and the guys who’ve been taking care of me,” he concluded.
“To the fans, with my next fight coming up here, they’re
going to get a show.
“I’m
never going to try to beat somebody by a decision – I’m
always going to try to take them out.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ULTIMATE
FIGHTER 9 LIVE RESULTS & PLAY-BY-PLAY
Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida battle it out in a lightweight showdown
to head The Ultimate Fighter season nine finale. DaMarques Johnson,
the lone American in the finals, squares off with James Wilks
for the welterweight contract; while Ross Pearson and Andre Winner
fight for the lightweight honors in an all-Britain final.
MMAWeekly
provides full play-by-play of the main card and quick results
from the preliminary bouts.
Please
refresh your browser frequently for the latest results and play-by-play...
ULTIAMTE
FIGHTER 9 FINALE PLAY-BY-PLAY:
-Diego
Sanchez vs. Clay Guida
R1
– No waiting, no feeling out. They go toe-to-toe immediately,
throwing punches at each other with Sanchez rocking Guida then
launching a flying knee. Guida hanging in, trying to recover,
but Sanchez keeping the pressure on. Sanchez moves in, but Guida
times a double-leg takedown and puts Sanchez on his back, full
guard on. Guida starts throwing heavy forearms across the face
of Sanchez. Sanchez pushes Guida off and they go back to their
feet. Sanchez lands a stunning left kick to the head, dropping
Guida, but somehow Guida is back up and fighting. Sanchez lands
flying knee, following with a fury of uppercuts, snapping Guida's
head back. Sanchez has him backed to the cage, picks Guida up
and slams him down, Sanchez on top from half guard. Guida gets
back up for the last 10 seconds, swinging as the bell sounds.
(MMAWeekly scores the round 10-8 for Sanchez)
R2
– Guida starts off with another takedown, working from Sanchez'
full guard. Guida working ground and pound, Sanchez firing back
with elbows to the top of the head. Guida keeps control from
top position, working his ground and pound, dropping forearms
to the face of Sanchez, while Sanchez keeps looking for submissions.
Guida starts a flurry of fists and Sanchez fires back with the
elbows to the top of the head again. They are a bloody mess.
Hard to tell if Sanchez is cut or if Guida is bleeding all over
him. (MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Guida)
R3
– Sanchez scores the first significant blow about 1:30 into
the round, an uppercut. Guida soon fires back with a straight
right that snaps Sanchez's head back. Godd single shots by both,
but no flurries midway through the round, but Guida lands an
overhand right, and then a right hook. Sanchez fires back with
solid body shot. Guida shoots, misses, and Sanchez secures an
arm triangle, but Guida slips out and is on top working from
Sanchez's full guard again. Sanchez working for Kimura, Guida
defending well. Sanchez then transitions to armbar, but Guida
slips out. (MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 and the fight 29-27
for Sanchez)
Diego
Sanchez def. Clay Guida by Split Decision (28-29, 29-27, 29-28),
R
-TUF
9 Welterweight Finals: DaMarques Johnson vs. James Wilks
R1
– Wilks scores early with a solid left-right combo. He later
follows with a neck clinch and several knees to the body. Johnson
fires back. They end up on the ground, Johnson on his back, Wilks
working ground and pound from guard. He then falls back into
a heel hook attempt, but Johnson gets out. Scrambling on the
ground, he goes for the heel again, eats a few punches, but then
tangles Johnson's leg up for an odd leg lock. But Johnson gets
out and up into Wilks' guard. Wilks works into a triangle choke,
but Johnson slips out, nearly getting caught in an omo plata.
They work back up to the feet, Wilks clinching from behind, dragging
Johnson down to the mat. Wilks takes Johnson's back, attempting
a rear naked choke, causing Johnson to tap out just seconds before
the end of the round.
James
Wilks def. DaMarques Johnson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 4:54, R1
-Kevin
Burns vs. Chris Lytle
R1
– They start exchanging blows right away, Lytle a little
more aggressive, and landing more early. Lytle trying to find
an opening for his boxing, Burns using his kicks quite a bit.
Good body shot by Lytle. Burns lands a good body kick followed
by an inside leg kick. Lytle with the overhand right, but eats
a knee from Burns. Lytle lands a good body kick, but Burns drops
him with a strong right hand and follows him to the ground, landing
a few shots on the ground. But they scramble back up and clinch.
Burns separates and unleashes a strong flurry of boxing combinations
and ends with a couple good knees to the body. (MMAWeekly scores
the round 10-9 for Burns)
R2
– Good overhand right, left kick, overhand right combo from
Lytle. But Burns comes back and lands solid knee to the body.
Lytle works a couple solid shots to the body. Burns scores the
takedown, but they quickly scramble up to the feet and start
trading punches again. Lytle pointedly going to the body now
with continuous right hooks. Lytle rocks Burns with an overhand
right that has him staggering back, but Burns recovers quickly,
then lands a low kick to the groin. Lytle throwing overhand right,
body kick combos, over and over. Really looks like he's picking
Burns apart by working the body. Burns really slowing down; Lytle
is landing nearly everything. Burns lands another kick to the
groin. (MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Lytle)
R3
– Lytle catches a kick from Burns and lands counter right,
Burns cut open over left eye and bleeding badly. Lytle again
goes right back to the body. Lytle lands two solid right hands
to the area of the cut. Burns has a little spark to start the
round, but Lytle is landing with accuracy and power. Lytle continues
to mix it up, going to the head and then working over the body,
but rocks Burns with an overhand right. Burns slowing down again
midway through the round, pedaling back away from Lytle. Lytle
punishes Burns with a boxing flurry. Buns doesn't give up, but
is really starting to drag. Lytle landing the left-right combo
nearly at will. Burns gets fired up at the end of the round and
fires back, giving everything left in his tank, but not likely
enough. (MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 and the fight 29-28
for Lytle)
Chris
Lytle def. Kevin Burns by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28),
R3
-TUF
9 Lightweight Finals: Ross Pearson vs. Andre Winner
R1
– A few brief exchanges on the feet then they clinch on
the cage. They trade a few knees; Winner lands a solid elbow.
But they remain clinched, grappling along the fence. They exchange
knees, but Pearson takes a shot to the groin and is given a moment
to recover. They then start right back up with a neck clinch
and exchange dirty boxing. Good knees by Winner, as they're clinched
on the fence again. Winner finishes strong with a boxing flurry
and a knee to the body. Close, close round. (MMAWeekly scores
the round 10-9 for Winner)
R2
– Pearson starts with a couple good leg kicks, follows with
a strong boxing combo, then a knee to the body. Good start for
Pearson this round. Clinched on the fence, they start trading
knees. Pearson tries for takedown, but is stuffed, and they're
clinched on the fence again. Back against the cage, Pearson works
some good boxing shots to the body. Separated and in center cage,
Pearson edging ahead with good boxing combos and sparing kicks.
Solid overhand right from Pearson before they clinch along the
cage again. (MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Pearson)
R3
– They clinch on the fence again, and Pearson does a good
job with several short uppercuts and knees to the body. They
separate and go back to center cage. Pearson lands a good right
hook, but they again clinch on the fence. Good body shot and
uppercut from Pearson, and follows with a knee to the chin. They
separate, good strong leg kick from Pearson, but Winner counters
with the straight right, then they clinch. Pearson again doing
a good job with short body shots and uppercuts. They separate
and have good boxing exchange in the middle of the Octagon, but
then clinch again on the cage. Winer lands a strong combo, but
Pearson fires back with a couple knees to the body and uppercuts,
and then another knee. (MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 and the
fight 29-28 for Pearson)
Ross
Pearson def. Andre Winner by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-28), R3
-Joe
Stevenson vs. Nate Diaz
R1
– Stevenson scores early takedown, but gets caught in a
tight guillotine choke by Diaz, but Stevenson slips out. Stevenson,
standing in guard, is dropping down punches, and passes to half
guard. Hard right hand punches from Stevenson to the head of
Diaz, who is in a crucifix-type position. Diaz, being patient,
reverses into Stevenson's guard, but gets caught in a guillotine
choke... and it's deep. Diaz rolls and amazingly slips out of
the choke. They work their way to the feet, clinch, and then
Stevenson takes Diaz down again. Back up to their feet and clinched,
Stevenson landing knees to the head of Diaz, who takes knee,
but eats more knees to the body. (MMAWeekly scores the round
10-9 for Stevenson)
R2
– Stevenson shoots the takedown, again gets caught in a
guillotine, but gets out and they're back up to the feet. Stevenson
clinched, driving knees to the ribs and thighs of Diaz. Stevenson
gets the takedown again, this time working ground and pound from
standing in guard. They scramble and get back to their feet,
Stevenson controlling the clinch and again drilling knees to
the thighs. Stevenson goes for the single-leg, Diaz tries to
switch, but Stevenson ends up on top. They scramble, but Stevenson
controls position. (MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Stevenson)
R3
– Stevenson scores the takedown, but Diaz is quickly up,
and then taken right back down. They get up again, clinched,
but this time Diaz scores the takedown. Excellent grappling by
both. Diaz starts working ground and pound from inside Stevenson's
full guard. Diaz stands and starts dropping punches, but then
drops down and they scramble back up to the feet, clinched on
the fence. Stevenson again scores the takedown. Stevenson standing,
Diaz on one knee, Stevenson driving knees to the ribs and thigh
again. Back to the feet and they separate. The round closes with
Stevenson shooting and Diaz defending. (MMAWeekly scores the
round 10-9 and the fight 30-27 for Stevenson)
Joe
Stevenson def. Nate Diaz by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-28), R3
-Brad
Blackburn def. Edgar Garcia by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28), R3
Note: After a war and a great display from both fighters, the
crowd felt that Edgar Garcia won and rained down a steady stream
of boos when Blackburn was announced as the winner.
ULTIAMTE
FIGHTER 9 FINALE QUICK RESULTS:
Main
Bouts (on SpikeTV):
-Diego Sanchez def. Clay Guida by Split Decision (28-29, 29-27,
29-28), R3
-TUF 9 Welterweight Finals:
James Wilks def. DaMarques Johnson by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 4:54, R1
-Chris Lytle def. Kevin Burns by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-28), R3
-TUF 9 Lightweight Finals:
Ross Pearson def. Andre Winner by Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28), R3
-Joe Stevenson def. Nate Diaz by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-28), R3
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Melvin Guillard def. Gleison Tibau by Split Decision, R3
-Brad Blackburn def. Edgar Garcia by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28), R3
-Tomasz Drwal def. Mike Ciesnoleviscz by TKO (Strikes) at 4:48,
R1
-Nick Osipczak def. Frank Lester by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 3:40, R1
-Jason Dent def. Cameron Dollar by Submission (Anaconda Choke)
at 4:46, R1
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Demian
doesn’t know if he’ll be at ADCC ‘09
One
of the greatest names in ADCC 2009’s list, Demian Maia also
became one of the biggest stars of the UFC. E thanks to the MMA
event, the Brazilian black belt doesn’t know if he’ll
be able to go to Barcelona, Spain, to defend his title in the
submission tournament, that happens in September. Set to face
Nate Marquardt at UFC 102, Maia eyes a possible title fight by
the ed of the year, and focuses on that to make his dream come
true.
“I
haven’t decided yet, because I’ll fight and, if I win,
I have chances to fight for the title by the end of the year.
I don’t know what to do, I really would like to fight (in
ADCC)”, says Demian, believing he wouldn’t have problems
with UFC’s organization if he decides to fight. “When
I signed with them, I asked if I could, and they said I could,
but I don’t know if I will make it,“ regrets. “I
love the Abu Dhabi, I really want to fight, but it’s too
close to my other fights, I can’t sacrifice myself”.
Source: Tatame
|
Wagnney
eyes WEC return in september
When
Wagnney Fabiano arrived in WEC’s octagon, he was considered
one of the top fighters of the division, and the IFL champion
showed why with two victories in the American octagon. But, with
a hand injury in the fight against Frédson Paixão,
the Brazilian saw his third fight be postponed. “I did a
surgery, put platinum and some screws, and I’m doing physiotherapy
now, but I’m a lot better. I’m 90% recovered”,
tells the Nova União athlete, back to training and eying
a possible return in September.
“This
is my perspective for the next fight. I want to fight in September.
They haven’t said anything yet, but I think it’ll be
by then”, says, without any opponent on target. “I
think they’ll put me against Leonard Garcia, because he
doesn’t fight since a long time and won’t fight in
August. I don’t know, because August’s card is not
finalized yet, so…”. Back to the octagon with a victory,
Fabiano could put WEC’s promoter and matchmakers into a
dilemma. With five straight wins by knockout in the event, José
Also, Wagnney’s team mate, is also close to a title shot
in the same division.
Guaranteeing
that a fight between them is simply impossible, Wagnney recognizes
that Aldo is closer to the title now. “I think Junior (Aldo)
will have his chance before me, because he deserves it. A lot
of guys ask me if I’m worried with that, but no. Junior
is a brother, I saw this guy sleeping in the gym and with his
determination he is where he is now. I believe in God and in
my potential and, he gets his chance before me, I’ll be
cheering for him and be happy too, because his victory will come.
He’ll win this title”, bets Fabiano, analyzing another
solution if his friend wins the title. “If it happens, I’ll
think that I’ll do, maybe go down to the bantamweights”,
finished the Brazilian.
Source: Tatame
|
Sérgio
Moraes victorious at Bellator debut
Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu world champion, Sérgio Moraes debuted in Bellator
FC successfully. With Marcelo Garcia and Fabio Gurgel in his
corner, Moraes only needed 4min30s to submit Josh Martin. After
taking down, pass the guard and mounting, the black belt from
Alliance team got the American in a tight triangle choke, forcing
the tap. “Mark my words, Serginho will be the best pound
for pound of the world very soon”, celebrated Wallid Ismail,
promoter and Moraes’ manager.
After
the victory, Serginho celebrated with TATAME.com. “It was
perfect, I submitted in the first round. I exchanged a little,
passed the guard and submitted with a triangle. The guys here
loved it, praised me a lot. I loved fighting in the event, it
was cool. Now, I wanna rest a little, see my family and eat at
McDonald’s (laughs)”, jokes Moraes. The event also
had two more Brazilian victories, with Luis Palomino beating
Troy Gerhart by decision and Fábio Mello submitting Sami
Aziz.
Source: Tatame
|
Gesias
promises return to top
ATT fighter ready to turn things around
Two-time
K-1 Hero’s GP champion and considered by many to be one
of the best lightweights in the world, Gesias Cavalcante has
been going through one of the roughest times in his career. After
a no-contest against Shinya Aoki, the fighter was overcome by
the very same adversary. Next, he was left out of the ring for
over a year, dealing with a knee injury. On his return against
Tatsuya Kawajiri, at Dream, on May 26, he ended up dropping a
unanimous decision once again.
Accustomed
to winning, Gesias recognizes things have gotten complicated.
However, he sees it all as a learning experience that will lead
him to overcome his hardships.
“I
promise that in defeat or victory I will always work the same
way, with great devotion, dedication and love for the sport.
That’s something I think about a lot. I think my worst loss
would be if I were to enter the ring and think that I hadn’t
done everything I should have, I didn’t do my work properly.
Thank God that has not happened to me. I’ve entered the
ring without being 100% physically, but even so I believed I
could win,” he said to Portal das Lutas, GRACIEMAG.com partner
site.
In
getting back on his feet, the American Top Team representative
is thankful for the support from his family, friends and fans.
“The
sport is really cool and when your career is over what’s
most important remains, which is what you go through in the gym
and the friends you make. So the folks who have been supporting
me will be with me for the rest of my life, that’s my legacy.
They can root for me knowing I’ll always be looking to do
my best. I’ll always be battling, I love what I do,”
promised the champion.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
mulls Belfort vs Anderson
Dana White aired the possibility
The
UFC president himself, during one of Saturday night’s UFN
9 commercial breaks. Dana White revealed he is working on setting
up a match between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.
“While
Anderson is getting ready for Forrest Griffin, I’m working
on another middleweight name, Vitor Belfort, a former heavyweight
who dropped to light heavyweight. Now he’s a middleweight.
He has great hands, a good ground game, and if his head’s
in the right place, he can be a dangerous guy. I think it would
be a great fight,” declared the UFC boss.
Currently
one of the headliners at Affliction, now one of the UFC’s
biggest competitors in the American market, Belfort has not fought
in the octagon since May of 2005. Since then he has appeared
in Cage Rage, Strikeforce, Pride and Affliction.
Vitor’s
next challenge will be August 1, when he faces off against Jorge
Santiago at the third Affliction event.
Source: Gracie Magazine |
|
6/21/09
Happy Father's Day! |
Quote
of the Day
"Associate
with well-mannered persons and your manners will improve.
Run around with decent folk and your own decent instincts will
be strengthened."
Stanley Walker
|
The
Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale Live Play-By-Play Results
Live results of The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale at the Palms in
Las Vegas.
UNDERCARD RESULTS:
Jason
Dent def. Cameron Dollar via submission (anaconda choke) - R1
(4:46)
Nick Osipczak def. Frank Lester via submission (RNC) - R1 (3:40)
Tomasz Drwal def. Mike Ciesnolevicz via TKO (strikes) - R1 (4:48)
Brad Blackburn def. Edgar Garcia via split decision
Melvin Guillard def. Gleison Tibau via split decision
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT
#1 - Joe Stevenson (155) vs Nate Diaz (156)
R1: Diaz refuses to touch gloves. Stevenson takes Diaz down but
is caught in a guillotine. Diaz releases the hold and Stevenson
stands up to launch punchces. Stevenson steps into halfguard.
Stevenson continues to drop right punches. Diaz rolls to his
knees. Stevenson locks up Diaz's right arm, crucifix-style. Diaz
stands and Stevenson rolls Diaz over for more punches. Diaz escapes
into Stevenson's guard. Stevenson attempts the guillotine choke.
Diaz manages to escape Stevenson's bread and butter move. They
stand up and Stevenson rolls Diaz to his back. Stevenson steps
out and clinches to land left and right knees. 10-9 for Stevenson.
R2:
Diaz reluctantly touch gloves this time. Stevenson shoots and
takes Diaz down. Diaz attempts the guillotine again and gives
it up for possible side control. Stevenson quickly gets to his
knees and Diaz tries another guillotine. Stevenson spins away
and gets to his feet. Stevenson clinches and punishes Diaz with
knees. Diaz rolls and Stevenson is in side mount. Diaz escapes
to half guard and then full guard. Stevenson stands and Diaz
throws up his legs for a triangle choke. They stand and Stevenson
presses Diaz against the fence. Stevenson switches to a single
leg and Diaz defends but Stevenson lands on top. Diaz throws
up another triangle choke but his legs are too high up. Stevenson
grabs a leg and the bell sounds. 10-9 for Stevenson.
R3:
No touch of gloves. Stevenson goes for the takedown and floats
over for the finish. Diaz stands and Stevenson rolls him over.
They stand up and Diaz tosses Stevenson down. Diaz, in Stevenson's
guard, moves him towards the cage. Stevenson moves forward and
Diaz attempts another guillotine, and then attempts a rear-naked
choke but Stevenson escapes the submissions. Stevenson controls
Diaz while landing knees. Diaz trash talks. They grapple in clinch
and release with 47 seconds left. Diaz misses a takedown. Stevenson
shoots and misses. Diaz swings punches and Stevenson goes for
a takedown. Diaz defends. Stevenson shoots twice more to run
the clock. 10-9 for Stevenson.
MMAFighting.com
scores the fight 30-27 for Stevenson.
All
three judges score the fight 29-28 for Stevenson.
Joe
Stevenson wins via unanimous decision
Quote
of the night: "Like having Chuck Norris in your corner.
It's almost not fair," Stevenson on his trainer Greg Jackson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT
#2 - Ross Pearson (156) vs Andre Winner (155)
R1:
Winner throws a punch to the body. They measure. Pearson comes
in with a combo and Winner defends. Winner lands a leg kick and
Pearson responds. Pearson with another punch combo. Pearson fakes
a jab and connects on a leg kick. They clinch and battle for
position. Winner lands knees in clinch. Pearson lowers for a
takedown but goes back up to look for double underhooks. Winner
lands more knees. Unintentional low blow and Pearson is given
time to rest. They exchange punches and Pearson attempts a takedown
but Winner defends and they are back in clinch. Winner closes
the round firing punches and throwing a knee. A very close round
and Winner should win it for scoring with knees in the clinch.
10-9 for Winner.
R2:
Pearson misses on a kick to the body and lands with a leg kick.
Pearson lands another leg kick and follows with punches. They
clinch. Pearson drives for the teakedown but Winner defends.
Winner with knee and punches to the body in clinch. Pearson answers
with knees to the thigh. Winner does the same. Pearson with a
knee to the body and sneaks in an uppercut. They trade short
punches in clinch. They finally separate with 1:30 left. Pearson
throws a kick. Perason lands a nice right. Perason lands short
right elbows and reaches for the takedown. They battle in clinch.
They trade knees and Winner with a punch combo the finish the
round. 10-9 for Pearson. Another close round, the fight will
likely be decided by who scores most while dirty boxing.
R3:
They clinch shortly into round three. Pearson separates with
an elbow. A nice exchange and they both land punches. Winner
grabs a leg in clinch and lets go. Pearson lands shots to the
body. Pearson with knee. Pearson is bleeding from his forehead.
A small punch exchange and they clinch again. Pearson attempts
a takedown and almost gets it but they are back in clinch. Pearson
connects on uppercuts. Winner misses a combo and Pearson lands
a nice left. Winner with a punch combo. Pearson lands a knee
to the body. They trade in clinch. The last exchange leaves Winner
bleeding from his nose. 10-9 for Pearson.
MMAFighting.com
scores the fight 29-28 for Pearson.
All
three judges give the fight to Pearson 29-28.
Ross
Pearson wins via unanimous decision to become the TUF 9 Lightweight
Winner
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT
#3 - Chris Lytle (170) vs Kevin Burns (171)
R1:
Lytle with a right and a left. Burns chooses to counter and to
answer whatever Lytle throws. At the three minute mark Burns
counters with a solid right. Lytle connects to the body. Burns
lands leg kicks. Lytle swings heavy punches but his big shots
are largely dodged. Burns counters a combo with a knee. Burns
kicks Lytle directly below the belt and a brief pause to the
bout. Lytle lands a jab and a body kick. Lytle enters but eats
an uppercut that drops him to his knees. Burns rushes in to finish.
Lytle grabs Burns' leg and gets to his feet. Burns fires away
at a phased Lytle to end the round. 10-9 for Burns.
R2:
Burns with jab, kick and another kick. Lytle swings wildly but
connects. Burns is rocked but he recovers to launch a flurry
of punches. Lytle continues to swing away. Burns gets the takedown.
Lytle scrambles to his feet and releases a punch that is blocked.
Lytle attacks Burns' body. Lytle continues to sledge away as
Burns keeps a distance. Another kick by Burns to Lytle's groin.
Brief break for Lytle. Lytle mixing in kicks to the body. Burns
appears tired as Lytle continues to attack. Another low blow
but no point deduction. Lytle lands a front kick. Burns moves
forward. Lytle was more active and landed more punches against
Burns, who was slow to engage in the second. 10-9 for Lytle.
R3:Lytle
catches a leg kick and lands a right. Burns is bleeding big time
from that punch to the left of his head. His entire body is quickly
covered with blood. It's a nasty, nasty, cut. Lytle with more
punches that finish with a shot to the body. Burns comes forward
but Lytle counters with a right. Lytle is picking at Burns. Burns
lands a leg kick but Lytle chases him down with punches. Lytle
has great cardio, especially for someone who is throwing non
stop. Lytle continues to work over Burns with jabs and big rights.
Burns has no answer for Burns at this point. They slug to end
the fight. 10-9 for Lytle. Lytle pulled away in the final two
rounds with his unorthodox boxing.
MMAFighting.com
scores the fight 29-28 for Lytle.
All
three judges score the fight 29-28 for Lytle.
Chris
Lytle wins via unanimous decision
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT
#4 - DaMarques Johnson (170) vs James Wilks (171)
R1:
They touch gloves. Johnson sticks out his jabs. Wilks catches
Johnson with a jab-cross and they clinch. Wilks lands a leg kick.
Johnson swings and Wilks counters with a right. They clinch and
Wilks throws knees. Wilks in Johnson's guard. Wilks stands up
and lands punches. Wilks drops back for a heel hook but Johnson
escapes. Johnson lands elbows on top of Wilks. Wilks attempts
the heel hook and Johnson throws rights form behind. Wilks compresses
Johnson's left leg as Johnson calmly drops lefts. Johnson escapes
to inside Wilks' guard. Wilks throws up an omoplata then a triangle
choke. Wilks hits left elbows. Wilks switches to the omoplata,
but Johnson pulls his arm out. They stand up with Wilks controlling
Johnson's back. Wilks shoves Johnson to the ground. Wilks begins
climbing for Johnson's back with less than a minute left. He
gets both hooks in and applies a choke. Johnson desperately pushes
Wilks' arm off. Wilks keeps working for it and Johnson taps with
6 seconds left.
James
Wilks wins via submission (rear-naked choke) - R1 (4:54)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIGHT
#5 - Diego Sanchez (156) vs Clay Guida (155)
R1:
Awesome staredown. Sanchez rushes in and they trade wildly. Sanchez
is winning the exchange. Sanchez continues to unload at a furious
pace. Flying knee by Sanchez. Sanchez moves in with more combos.
Sanchez with uppercuts. Another flying knee by Sanchez. Guida
ducks punches and scores the takedown at 3:52. Guida peppers
in punches. Sanchez utilizes rubber guard and Guida stands up.
Sanchez lands a left kick to the face and drops Guida. Guida
fights right back and drives Sanchez back. They separate. Sanchez
rushes with a flying knee. Sanchez diggs with uppercuts. Guida
drives Sanchez to the fence to rest. Sanchez takes Guida down
into side control. Guida pulls halfguard. They stand up and exchange.
This round, although one-sided, will go down as one of the best
of the year. 10-8 for Sanchez.
R2:
Sanchez kicks. Sanchez moves forward with punches and Guida circles.
Guida gets the takedown 30 seconds in. Sanchez lands elbows from
his back. Diego grabs Guida's left arm looking for a kimura.
He gives it up and Guida drops punches and elbows. The fans are
behind Guida. Guida drops lefts. Sanchez responds with right
elbows. It's an ugly battle on the ground: Sanchez with elbows
and Guida with punches and both fighters are covered in blood.
Close round. 10-9 for Guida.
R3:
Sanchez leaps with punches and Guida respond. Guida backs away
from a Sanchez high kick. The pace slows. They are picking their
shots. Guida lands and so does Sanchez. Sanchez tags Guida.Guida
shoots and Sanchez takes his back. Guida turns into Sanchez.
Sanchez has a choke but Guida pulls out and in in Sanchez's guard.
Sanchez looks for the kimura again. Sanchez grabs it but Guida
defends. Sanchez turns to an armbar but Guida slips away. Guida
with a flurry of punches on the ground. Draw.
MMAFighting.com
scores the fight 29-28 for Sanchez
Judges
score it for Sanchez 28-29, 29-27, 29-28
Diego
Sanchez wins via split decision
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Bellator
Crowns Alvarez, Lombard
by Rodolfo Roman
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Two champions -- lightweight Eddie Alvarez
and middleweight Hector Lombard -- were crowned on Friday in
the final event of Bellator Fighting Championships’ first
season at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
In
the main event, Alvarez continued to impress mixed martial arts
fans, as he defeated journeyman Toby Imada by rear-naked choke
38 seconds into the second round.
The
Philadelphia native came out the aggressor in the first round,
as more than 4,000 fans looked on. Much of the period was spent
in the clinch, with Imada landing some good knees to the body.
Shortly after the start of round two, the world’s third-ranked
lightweight landed a devastating right hook that sent Imada crashing
to the canvas. Alvarez jumped on his fallen foe, took his back
and sank the rear-naked choke for the tapout.
Imada
entered the bout with plenty of momentum after he pulled off
an incredible inverted triangle submission against Jorge Masvidal
in the lightweight tournament semi-finals last month. In the
end, the crafty veteran was no match for the ultra-talented Alvarez.
Alvarez
(18-2), who had the crowd behind him throughout the fight, won
all three of his tournament matches by submission. His loss to
Shinya Aoki late last year now a distant memory, the charismatic
24-year-old plans to spend some time with his family and admits
tournament fighting is not for everyone.
“You
truly have to love fighting to do it,” he said. “You
can’t be half-hearted. Your heart has to be in fighting.”
Alvarez,
considered a cornerstone for the fledgling organization, earned
the championship belt and a $100,000 paycheck at the end of the
lightweight final; he pocketed a total of $175,000 for competing
in the tournament. Imada (22-13), meanwhile, confirmed plans
to return for Bellator’s second season. The defeat snapped
his eight-fight winning streak.
Hess
was a bloody mess.Lombard (21-2-1, 1 NC) dominated the co-main
event, as he zipped past the previously unbeaten Jared Hess and
stopped him on a cut 1:41 into the fourth round.
In
round one, Lombard took down Hess, but the fighters soon returned
to their feet. Towards the end of the period, the Cuban judoka
connected with a vicious right, which rocked Hess and caused
his left eye to swell. Hess recovered, but his legs remained
wobbly for the rest of the round.
Hess
walked into the second round with his left eye nearly swollen
shut. Unable to take down the Cuban judo national champion, Hess
resorted to pulling guard -- a ploy which allowed Lombard to
wear down his opponent with ground-and-pound.
Lombard
-- who fed off “Hector!” chants from the crowd -- later
picked up Hess, slammed him on the canvas and pounded on him,
leaving a nasty gash in the middle of his forehead. The referee
stopped the fight twice to check Hess’ cut, but the doctor
allowed the fight to continue since the blood was not affecting
his vision.
Hess
(9-1-1) entered round four covered in blood. Lombard immediately
took him down and connected with several punches that prompted
the doctor to stop the fight; the bleeding was only getting worse.
Unbeaten
in 15 fights, Lombard -- also a titleholder in Australia’s
Cage Fighting Championships -- defeated James Damien Stelly and
Virgil Lozano en route to the middleweight final. Like Alvarez,
he banked $100,000 for defeating Hess and a total of $175,000
for the tournament.
In
non-tournament action, Masvidal rebounded from his stunning defeat
to Imada and outclassed Eric Reynolds on the undercard.
The
American Top Team standout displayed his superior striking, as
he picked apart Reynolds (10-3). Masvidal (18-4) finished the
fight when he secured a double-leg takedown, captured his opponent’s
back and locked in a rear-naked choke 3:33 into the third round.
Finally,
EliteXC veteran Rosi Sexton needed just 3:40 to dispatch Valerie
Coolbaugh. The one-time Bodog Fight and Cage Warriors champion
posted her fourth consecutive victory in her Bellator debut,
as she coaxed a tapout from Coolbaugh (1-3) in the first round.
Sexton (10-1) has delivered seven of her 10 career wins by submission.
Other
Bouts
Fabio Mello def. Sami Aziz -- Submission (Armbar) 1:58 R3
Sergio Moraes def. Josh Martin -- Submission (Triangle Choke)
4:21 R1
Luis Palomino def. Troy Gerhart -- Unanimous Decision
Stephanie Guimaraes def. Yvonne Reis -- KO (Knee) 0:49 R1
Source: Sherdog
|
Strikeforce
Challengers 2 Live Play-By-Play Results
Join MMAFighting tonight (11 pm ET) for live results of Strikeforce
Challengers at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington.
Fight #1 - Cory Devela (184) vs. Luke Rockhold (183.5)
R1:
Devela moves in with a jab, cross and Rockhold counters with
straight right that drops Devela. Rockhold hops on Devela's back
and lands repeated rights punches and hammerfists. The referee
allows the fight to continue so Rockhold takes the rear-naked
choke for the win.
The
fans are upset as Rockhold just submitted the hometown fighter.
Luke
Rockhold wins via submission (RNC) - R1 (0:30)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fight
#2 - Sarah Kaufman (134) vs. Shayna Baszler (134.5)
R1:
They exchange punches. Baszler, whose specialty is grappling,
does not look as comfortable standing up. They clinch at 4:23
and Baszler takes Kaufman down. Baszler stands up and passes
to north-south. Baszler grabs a choke (an unsual north-south
with a knee on the neck) but Kaufman rolls her over and Bazler
releases the hold. Kaufman lands short shots sitting in Baszler's
halfguard. Basler closes her guard and grabs her left leg to
utilize the rubberguard. The referee stands them up, perhaps
too soon, as Baszler was working in her rubberguard. Baszler
has the whizzer and attempts a throw. Kaufman press Baszler against
the cage with a minute left. The referee separates them with
17 seconds left. Kaufman aggressively throws but misses. 10-9
for Baszler.
R2:
Baszler lands a kick to the body. The trade and clinch. Kaufman
connects with a right and Baszler turns around. Kaufman does
not follow though. Kaufman tries another big combo and Baszler
bobs and weaves her way out. Kaufman lands more punches. Baszler
appears content to prove her standup. Kaufman lands and Basler
is bleeding from the mouth. Kaufman lands a nice kick to the
leg. Kaufman unloads with seconds left. The bell sounds. Round
two was all Kaufman. 10-9 for Kaufman.
R3:
Kaufman enters with left and rights and Baszler shoots and pulls
halfguard. Baszler gets full guard. Kaufman passes to side and
Baszler gives up her back rather than side. Kaufman stands up
to bring the fight to their feet. Kaufman lands more punches
and they clinch. Kaufman reverses a takedown attempt and almost
takes full mount. Kaufman stands to allow the referee to bring
Baszler back up. Kaufman picks at Baszler. Kaufman unloads again
with a minute left. A left-right has Baszler smiling. They clinch.
In a last-ditch effort, Baszler attempts a rolling kneebar but
Kaufman defends. 10-9 for Kaufman
MMAFighting.com
scores the fight 29-28 for Kaufman.
The
judges all score it for Kaufman 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 .
Sarah
Kaufman wins via unanimous decision
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fight
#3 - Conor Huen (158.5) vs. Jorge Gurgel (157.5)
R1:
The box and both tag each other. Gurgel lands a leg kick. They
tie up and trade body shots. They tie up and trade again. Gurgel
rocks Huen again. Gurgel lands in a combo. Gurgel lands leg kicks.
Huen throws a right and Gurgel counters. Huen flies back on his
butt and Gurgel signals for him to stand up. Gurgel lands another
leg kick. For once, Gurgel's striking game is actually benefiting
him. They exchange and both get shots in. Gurgel continues to
land leg kicks. Huen lands a leg kick that trips up Gurgel and
Huen follows up with a nice right. They tie up and clinch. Gurgel
is bleeding. Huen lands consecutive punches. 10-9 for Gurgel
even though Gurgel's face looks worse.
R2:
They tie-up and exchange punches. These guys are not afraid to
get hit. And it's already very obvious Gurgel still does not
like grappling. Gurgel lands a head kick that Huen partially
blocks. Gurgel lands a punch combo and Huen is a little dazed.
Gurgel with a kick-punch combo. Gurgel misses a high kick. Huen
fights back with body shots. Huen swings a head kick. Huen stalks
Gurgel. Huen enjoys punching with the Thai clinch. Gurgel is
bleeding heavily from his right eye and mouth. Huen mounts his
comeback. Gurgel unloads with punches. Gurgel unloads again with
less than 20 seconds left. An incredible brawl. 10-9 for Gurgel.
One
guy loves the rubber guard and the other is a BJJ black belt
and neither shows any intention to take the fight to the floor.
R3:
Gurgel circles away. He keeps Huen at bay with leg kicks. They
trade. Gurgel circles more. Huen catches a kick and drops Gurgel.
Gurgel looks for a leglock and Huen spins out. Back up, Huen
almost catches a kick. Huen counters a kick with a right and
drops Gurgel. Huen drops punches. Gurgel sweeps Huen into Huen's
halfguard. Huen attempts the rubber guard, but Gurgel climbs
to side. A scramble and they're back up. More kicks from Gurgel
and Huen counters. Gurgel, knowing he has the fight won, strikes
and circles. 10-9 for Huen.
MMAFighting.com
scores the very entertaining slugfest 29-28 for Gurgel.
The
judges score the fight 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 for Gurgel, who
absolutely looks the worse of the two. Gurgel has a nasty deep
cut above his right eye and he has little nips on his cheek and
chin.
Jorge
Gurgel wins via unanimous decision
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fight
#4 - Nick "The Goat" Thompson (185) vs. Tim Kennedy
(184)
R1:
Kennedy lands leg kicks. Thompson answers with kick. Kennedy
shoots and Thompson attempts a kimura, which gives up his back
to Kennedy. Thompson lets go of the arm and Kennedy is riding
to secure Thompson's back. Thompson rolls and escapes to halfguard.
Thompson stands up and Kennedy is on his back. Thompson spins
out. Kennedy grabs control of Thompson's back and lands punches.
They stand up and Kennedy pushes Thompson down to take side mount.
Kennedy secures full mount and Thompson quickly pushes Kennedy
away. Kennedy hops over to side. Thompson bucks Kennedy. Thompson
gives up his back and rolls back to halfguard. Kennedy stands
up to drop left and rights. Kennedy pushes Thompson's legs away
and takes side control. Thompson puts Kennedy in halfguard. 10-9
for Kennedy.
R2:
Thompson throws a jab and Kennedy goes over the punch with a
right. Kennedy takes Thompson down. Thompson attempts a keylock
from the bottom. Kennedy passes to side. Kennedy lands two right
punches and a left. Thompson gives up his back and Kennedy lands
repeated shots to the back of the head.
Thompson
is complaining to his corner about getting punched in the back
of the head.
Tim
Kennedy wins via submission (strikes) - R2 (2:37)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fight
#5 - Joe Villasenor (184.5) vs. Evangelista Cyborg (185)
R1:
Cyborg lands a leg kick. Villasenor misses a big right. Cyborg
taps leg kicks. Cyborg lands an uppercut. Cyborg lands a kick
the body and Villasenor counters with a right. Villasenor with
an inside leg kick. Cyborg lands a leg kick. Cyborg misses on
a punch combo. Cyborg dodges a left and lands a leg kick. Cyborg
dodges a right and they clinch. Villasenor trips Cyborg into
side. Cyborg goes to guard. Villasenor passes to halfguard. The
refs have been horrible all night, unnecessarily calling for
more action. Villasenor goes the other side and takes side control.
They stand up and separate with 30 seconds left. Cyborg lands
a leg kick. They collide on kicks. Villasenor misses a two-punch
combo. 10-9 for Cyborg. Close though, Villasenor could have won
this round as well.
R2:
Cyborg misses a leg kick. Villasenor sneaks in a punch. They
trade and clinch and quickly separate. Cyborg lands leg kicks.
Villasenor counters with rights but Cyborg is still landing a
lot of leg kicks. Villesenor is beginning to mix it up and connect
on punches. Villasenor with an uppercut. Cyborg with more leg
kicks. Cyborg is backpedaling but throwing hard. Villasenor presses
the action and Cyborg responds. 10-9 for Cyborg.
R3:
In clinch, Cyborg trips Villasenor down into guard. Cyborg drops
rights. Villasenor scrambles up. They eat jabs. Villasenor's
jabs are getting through. The pace slows. They exchange. Villasenor
lands short shots. Villasenor looking to finish with hard shots.
Cyborg is tired and in survival mode. An exchange to end the
fight. 10-9 Villasenor.
MMAFighting.com
scores the fight 29-28 for Cyborg. Depending on how the first
round is scored, the fight could easily belong to Villasenor.
The
judges score it 29-28 for Villasenor, 29-28 for Cyborg and 29-28
for Villasenor.
Joe
Villasenor wins via split decision
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Affliction
3 'Trilogy' card close to completion
Affliction confirmed additional bouts today to boost the August
1 "Trilogy" card in Anaheim, California to eleven scheduled
bouts.
Headlined by Fedor Emelianenko's WAMMA heavyweight title defense
against Josh Barnett, there are five bouts total on the pay-per-view.
Rounding out the card are Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato "Babalu"
Sobral, Jorge Santiago vs. Vitor Belfort, Paul "Semtex"
Daley vs. Jay Hieron and Paul Buentello taking on a opponent
to be determined. Buentello would have faced Tim Sylvia but Sylvia
was removed from teh card after his loss to Ray Mercer last Saturday
.
The
HDNet-televised undercard will feature former IFL fighters Chris
Horodecki, Ben Rothwell and Deividas Taurosevicius.
In
the two opening untelevised bouts, Affliction will showcase four
M-1 Challenge competitors, Rob Broughton vs. Jessie Gibbs and
Lucio Linhares vs. Mikhail Zayats.
FIGHT
CARD:
Pay-Per-View
Bouts (9:00 p.m. ET):
Fedor
Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett (WAMMA Heavyweight Title)
Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago
Paul Buentello vs. TBA
Paul "Semtex" Daley vs. Jay Hieron
HDNet Bouts (7:30 p.m. ET):
Chris
Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Ben Rothwell vs. Chase Gormley
Deividas Taurosevicius vs. TBA
Brett Cooper vs. TBA
Untelevised Bouts:
Rob Broughton vs. Jessie Gibbs
Lucio Linhares vs. Mikhail Zayats
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Will
Fedor ever join the UFC, what happened with 'Cro Cop,' and more
Story Highlights
For now,
the UFC doesn't need top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko
All signs point toward Cro Cop ending his career in Japan
Don't read too much into Norifumi Yamamoto's loss at Dream 9
Right now, the UFC doesn't have a good enough reason to sign
Fedor Emelianenko (top).
Darryl Dennis/Icon SMI
Josh Gross's Mailbag
No matter who wins, who loses and who leaves the UFC, most of
us are still stuck on one scenerio: Fedor Emelianenko signing
with the leading organization.
It
only seems fitting that the sport's top heavyweight would ink
a deal with it's top promotion. Right? Well, don't be so sure.
And
while we're on the topic of breaking down the possible futures
of fighters, we might as well touch on "Cro Cop," Tim
Sylvia and one Dream star that seems to be falling.
You
had questions. I have answers.
How
likely is the UFC to negotiate a deal with Fedor, especially
since it's rumored that his management wants a one-fight deal?
If he does sign a one-fight deal and Mir is the champ, will that
be seen as a mega-fight, like Fedor-Lesnar would be?
-- Benjamin Sterner, Tucson, Ariz.
Even
before UFC 99 last Saturday in Cologne, Germany, I thought it
was unlikely that the UFC would agree with Fedor Emelianenko
on a one-and-done appearance. The promotion isn't interested
in risking the relevancy of a title by giving Emelianenko an
opportunity to defeat their champion without the safety net of
a long-term contract -- though it could be argued that the UFC
heavyweight title's stature is already minimized because Fedor
hasn't fought for the belt.
As
much as Dana White says he'd love to promote Fedor, the UFC president
can't seem to find a good enough reason to change the way he
does business to get it done. Why? Well, it's not as if the Russian
is a major pay-per-view attraction. Even in Japan, industry insiders
question how much Emelianenko drives ratings. Sure, there's a
certain prestige that comes with having him on a card, but in
terms of pure business, results have been more miss than hit
thus far. I imagine that would change if Fedor ever joined forces
with the UFC. It will take concessions on both fronts for the
best heavyweight in MMA to fight in the Octagon -- and a one-fight
demand is probably something Fedor and his M-1 team will need
to forget if they're serious.
At
this point, Emelianenko has enough opponents outside the UFC
to get away with not joining the organization. If he defeats
Josh Barnett at Affliction's "Trilogy" on Aug. 1, then
we're looking at the likes of Alistair Overeem, Brett Rogers
and a few others that Fedor's camp could justify fighting.
No
one, of course, would help make for a bigger bout than UFC champ
Brock Lesnar. A win over Frank Mir would vault Lesnar into the
top five heavyweights in MMA, perhaps as high as No. 2 depending
on what happens between Fedor and Barnett. The same is true of
Mir, though he doesn't possess the promotional heft that Lesnar
brings into fights. Still, an Emelianenko-Mir fight in the UFC
would sell just fine.
Either
way, the Lesnar-Mir winner will likely get Shane Carwin next.
Another six months to a year and Cain Velasquez could be ready.
The UFC can feature promotable fights in the division without
Fedor, and for now, that's all that seems to matter. Until the
public and media get so amped up over seeing the UFC champion
fight Fedor that White feels real pressure to get it done, don't
expect it.
Gross
Point Blank
Listen to this week's episode of Josh's new podcast. Eddie Alvarez,
UFC 99 recap, Cro Cop leaving UFC analysis, Bellator and "Ultimate
Fighter" pre-event talk.
Is "Cro
Cop" really leaving the UFC? What happened?
-- Ryan Samson, New York
Seems
so.
According
to several sources I spoke with, Mirko Filipovic is close to
finalizing a three-fight deal with Real Entertainment, the production
company that runs Dream events for FEG. We can get deep into
the weeds with this stuff, but the bottom line is the Croatian
is more valuable to Japanese promoters than he is to anyone else.
Cro Cop's agent, Ken Imai, has longstanding ties to the old Pride
executives who populate Real Entertainment, and all signs point
toward Filipovic ending his career in front of the large, quiet
crowds in Saitama, Japan.
Did
Monte Cox ruin Tim Sylvia's career? He just got knocked out by
an old man in nine seconds!
-- John, Merced, Calif.
No,
I don't think so. Cox, a veteran manager/promoter, helped the
former UFC heavyweight champion get the biggest fight of his
life against Emelianenko. And both he and his fighter made a
lot of money. Yes, Sylvia lost badly and things haven't gone
right since. But at least he took a risk to fight the best in
the world, and you have to give him credit for that.
Should
he have taken the fight against Ray Mercer? Well, obviously not,
considering the result. But fighters rise and fall all the time.
Give him a couple wins -- assuming he's interested in getting
in shape -- and it wouldn't surprise me to see Sylvia in big
fights again before he walks away from the game.
I
want to call what I saw from Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto
"ring rust" because I still saw those explosive ingredients.
I'm also wondering what the fallout will be for Dream now that
it has a tournament without its superstar or a top-10-ranked
fighter (arguably).
-- Tony, San Diego
Kid
did look rusty at Dream 9 on May 26, but credit goes to Joe Warren.
That's one cocky dude, whose inexperience is actually a benefit.
He doesn't know what it's like to get hurt, and he walks in the
ring without fear. I'm most impressed with his will and ability
to put together combinations in the clinch.
I
think Kid has plenty left, and this loss can go a long way towards
revitalizing his career, assuming he stays healthy. His departure
will probably weaken the tournament semis and finals, though
his fight with Warren brought in very strong ratings and energized
executives inside Tokyo Broadcasting Systems to remain supportive
of MMA. (The message was amplified when Hideo Tokoro's exciting
clash against Abel Cullum drew the second-highest rating on the
card while a "fight" between Hong Man Choi and Jose
Canseco did next to nothing.) If that trend holds, the semis
and finals should do nice business for Dream, even without Kid
to carry the card.
Do
you see a day when MMA rises to the prominence of, say, basketball
or hockey? What do you think of the idea of having individual
cities sponsor MMA fighters to go up against fighters in other
cities, like having the Broncos of Denver take on the Cowboys
of Dallas? Is that doable?
-- Bryan Hiett, Fort Worth, Texas
By
its very nature, MMA is a niche sport. It will always be. And
while the public's tastes may ebb and flow, I don't see MMA competing
on a long-term basis with more traditional sports. Fighters who
can captivate the public will emerge, and the sport will rise
and fall based on their popularity.
As
far as cities sponsoring fighters, I guess you didn't catch the
IFL.
I
do think you have a point, though. I was struck by the reception
Georges St. Pierre received in Montreal. I think a kid like Eddie
Alvarez could consistently carry cards in Philadelphia. B.J.
Penn is probably the only fighter who can sell tickets in Hawaii.
We've seen what Urijah Faber does in Sacramento. So, yes, certain
fighters will always be associated with the cities, states and
countries from which they hail. Promoters are smart to take advantage
of that.
Source: SI.com
|
Independent
World MMA Rankings - June 19, 2009
By Zach Arnold
From the office of the Independent World MMA Rankings
June
19, 2009: We are proud to announce the launch of the Independent
World MMA Rankings. Some of the best and most knowledgeable MMA
writers from across the MMA media landscape have come together
to form one independent voting panel.
These
voting panel members are, in alphabetical order: Zach Arnold
(FightOpinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings); Jared Barnes (Houston
Chronicle); Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter,
MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania);
Robert Joyner (MMA Payout); Todd Martin (CBS Sportsline); Zac
Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA; Michael David Smith (AOL
Fanhouse); Jonathan Snowden (Author of “Total MMA: Inside
Ultimate Fighting”); Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion), Ivan Trembow
(Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Total MMA).
These
rankings are independent of any single MMA media outlet or sanctioning
body, and are published on multiple web sites.
The
rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis in each of the top
seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight to bantamweight,
with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place vote, nine
points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The
rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the
voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody
else’s vote, and no computerized voting.
The
voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’
actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition
that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective
perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy
match-ups.
Special
thanks to Eric Kamander, Zach Arnold, and Joshua Stein for their
invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett
Bailey for designing our logo.
Inactivity:
Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible
to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time
they fight.
Disciplinary
Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary
suspensions are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing
Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one
weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter
is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he
has his first fight in the new weight class.
Catch
Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are
in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are
considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits
for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for
each weight class.
June
2009 Independent World MMA Rankings
Heavyweight
Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.)
Fedor
Emelianenko (30-1, 1 No Contest)
Frank Mir (12-3)
Josh Barnett (24-5)
Brock Lesnar (3-1)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1, 1 No Contest)
Randy Couture (16-9)
Alistair Overeem (29-11, 1 No Contest)
Shane Carwin (11-0)
Brett Rogers (10-0)
Andrei Arlovski (15-7)
Light Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.)
Lyoto
Machida (15-0)
Rashad Evans (13-1-1)
Quinton Jackson (30-7)
Forrest Griffin (16-5)
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-3)
Rich Franklin (25-4, 1 No Contest)
Keith Jardine (14-5-1)
Dan Henderson (24-7)
Renato “Babalu” Sobral (32-8)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (17-3)
Middleweight Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.)
Anderson
Silva (24-4)
Yushin Okami 23-4)
Nathan Marquardt (28-8-2)
Demian Maia (10-0)
Dan Henderson (24-7)
Jorge Santiago (21-7)
Gegard Mousasi (25-2-1)
Robbie Lawler (16-5, 1 No Contest)
Vitor Belfort (18-8)
Thales Leites (14-2)
Welterweight Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.)
Georges
St. Pierre (18-2)
Thiago Alves (16-3)
Jon Fitch (18-3, 1 No Contest)
Jake Shields (23-4-1)
Matt Hughes (43-7)
Josh Koscheck (12-4)
Martin Kampmann (15-2)
Mike Swick (14-2)
Carlos Condit (22-5)
Paulo Thiago (11-0)
Lightweight Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.)
B.J.
Penn (13-5-1)
Kenny Florian (11-3)
Shinya Aoki (20-4, 1 No Contest)
Eddie Alvarez (17-2)
Joachim Hansen (19-7-1)
Tatsuya Kawajiri (24-5-2)
Frankie Edgar (10-1)
Josh Thomson (16-2)
Satoru Kitaoka (25-8-9)
Gray Maynard (7-0, 1 No Contest)
Featherweight Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
Mike
Brown (22-4)
Urijah Faber (22-3)
Wagnney Fabiano (12-1)
Jose Aldo (15-1)
Hatsu Hioki (19-3-2)
Leonard Garcia (12-4)
“Lion” Takeshi Inoue (16-3)
Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto (17-2)
Dokonjonosuke Mishima (19-6-2)
Raphael Assuncao (13-1)
Bantamweight Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
Miguel
Torres (37-1)
Brian Bowles (7-0)
Takeya Mizugaki (11-3-2)
Masakatsu Ueda (9-0-2)
Joseph Benavidez (10-0)
Akitoshi Tamura (14-7-2)
Will Ribeiro (10-2)
Rani Yahya (14-4)
Damacio Page (11-4)
Manny Tapia (10-2-1)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Cain
Will Take a Title Fight If It’s Offered
by Greg Savage
Cain Velasquez put a terrible beating on Cheick Kongo at UFC
99 in Cologne, Germany, this past weekend, but he is wholly unsatisfied
by his performance, according to trainer Bob Cook.
“Cain
is his own harshest critic,” said Cook of his heavyweight
charge. “He expects so much from himself and he was not
happy with his performance.”
Cook
sees it a little differently. The American Kickboxing trainer
saw the bout as a positive for both fighters.
“A
lot of guys would have found a way to turn their back and lift
up their chin when they figured out they weren’t going to
be able to get back up and it was going to be a 15-minute beating,”
said Cook, showing respect for the toughness Kongo displayed.
“And Cain showed a good chin, heart and that he can compete
with better competition.”
Cook’s
fellow trainer, Javier Mendez, has been trumpeting the fact that
Velasquez is still a bit green and needs time to develop. Kongo
may have highlighted that fact more lucidly than Mendez has to
date by dropping the former PAC-10 wrestler of the year to open
each of the first two rounds of their three-round scrap.
“Cain
is working hard on his standup, and that is something that he
will continue to improve on,” Cook said. “We know what
he can do well and what he has to keep improving on.”
As
for who may be next for the bruising heavyweight, Cook seemed
hopeful that fellow prospect Shane Carwin might be next on the
docket but said they would be more than happy to fight for the
title if the UFC were so inclined to offer a shot.
“We
are going to fight whoever [the UFC] puts in front of us,”
Cook said. “Would it be better to get some more fights?
Sure, but we understand this is a business.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Thompson
Hopes Win at 185 Will Bring Title Shot at 170
by Matt Kaplan
For Nick “The Goat” Thompson, Friday’s Strikeforce
Challengers event in Kent, WA is big. Literally. The talent on
the card is big, fighting live on Showtime is big, the opportunities
after a win promise to be big, and Thompson’s opponent is,
well, big. Thompson, usually a welterweight, is set to take on
Tim Kennedy, a ferocious middleweight and decorated Army Ranger.
FCF caught up with the always candid Thompson and got the low
down on him moving up to middleweight, dropping right back down
to welterweight, and preparing to take on a real-life G.I. Joe.
Widely
regarded as one of the top welterweights in all of MMA, Thompson
(38-10-1) wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to go up to
185 lbs.
“I
really did not want to fight at middleweight,” Thompson
admits, “but that’s what they offered.”
Despite
his initial hesitation, the fight was signed, and Thompson called
upon his training partners at Minnesota Martial Arts Academy
for what they offer in abundance: size and strength.
“In
order to prepare (for Kennedy), I went and trained with Brock
Lesnar and heavyweights more often than I would have normally.
I figure, if I can do something against them, 185 shouldn’t
be a problem.”
In
Kennedy (9-2), Thompson faces what he acknowledges as “a
top caliber fighter,” but is by no means awe-struck by the
exciting, young fan favorite.
“I’ve
seen things I’m not very impressed with; I think the technical
aspects of his game are not where they need to be to fight at
this level,” Thompson said. “He comes at you 100%,
and he’s not coming to outpoint you. He’s going to
throw everything at you that he can, including the kitchen sink.”
He
added, “He’s not an A-level fighter. He’s a solid
B-level, but a large part of MMA is aggression and going for
it, and he’s as aggressive as anyone I’ve ever seen.”
Kennedy’s
fearsome aggression in the ring is perhaps due in part to having
the crowd behind him, something that Thompson welcomes.
“I
kinda feed off of that,” Thompson explains. “I appreciate
why everyone’s rooting for him, but I’m going to show
why they should be rooting for me instead.”
A
win over Kennedy at middleweight means one thing for Thompson:
more opportunities back down at welterweight, where he feels
he belongs.
“I
want to be the best fighter I can be, the number one guy in the
world, and that’s at welterweight. Ultimately, win or lose,
this fight is going to affect where I’m at in the pecking
order at 170.”
Mike
Afromowitz, Strikeforce’s Director of Communications, disagrees.
He sees the fight with Kennedy as “a win-win situation”
for Thompson.
“If he wins, it’s another notch on his belt; it’s
definitely an accomplishment. If he loses, he hasn’t really
fought at that weight too much, so really the pressure’s
not on him. It won’t affect his standing.”
Still,
Thompson sees this not as a win-win, but as a must-win: “People
don’t want a guy coming of a loss and then fighting for
a title.”
That’s
right, title. If Thompson should get past Kennedy - in what will
be the last fight on his current Strikeforce contract –
he hopes to make a run at the welterweight belt.
“If
I resign, I really want to earn my way to a rematch with Jake
Shields. I think the Paul Daley win was a huge step in that direction,
and with one more solid win, I think I can earn a rematch with
Jake Shields.”
Source: Full Contact Fighter
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Mitsuharu
Misawa Dead Following In-Ring Accident
Ariel Shnerer
Japanese
pro wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa, the owner and biggest
star of Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH, died tragically following
an in-ring accident on Saturday in Hiroshima, Japan.
He
landed hard on his head, rendering him unconscious, following
a backdrop suplex performed by Akitoshi Saito.
2,300
fans watched on as EMT's worked on one of the greatest performers
in the history of professional wrestling. He was rushed to hospital
where he was announced dead shortly after.
Misawa
was 46.
R.I.P. MITSUAHRU MISAWA (JUNE 18, 1962 - JUNE 13, 2009)
Source: The Fight Network
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The
Legacy of Mitsuharu Misawa
John Pollock
June
13th 2009 is a date that will unfortunately always be remembered
in pro wrestling history as the date that one of the legendary
wrestlers of any era - Mitsuharu Misawa - passed away in tragic
fashion at the age of 46.
For
those that missed the news today, Misawa took a routine suplex
today from Akitoshi Saito in a match where Misawa was teaming
with Go Shiosaki against Saito and Bison Smith. During the landing,
Misawa hit his head and was immediately knocked out cold and
officials began to attempt to revive Misawa with the crowd completely
hushed and the entire locker room coming out from the back area.
Misawa was turning purple in the ring and there are varying reports
of whether Misawa died in the ring or at the local hospital.
In Japan it is being reported that he died at the hospital at
10:10pm in Japan but that may be inaccurate.
For
those unfamiliar with the legacy of Misawa and had only heard
his name as a talent out of Japan than no amount of words typed
here could possibly do justice to what he meant for Japanese
puroresu style professional wrestling.
Misawa
debuted on August 21st 1981 after transitioning from amateur
wrestling and was trained by Dick ‘The Destroyer' Beyer
(one of the most popular foreign stars in Japanese history) and
Dory Funk Jr. He was positioned strongly right from the start
as All Japan Pro Wrestling gave him the ‘Tiger Mask' gimmick,
succeeding Satoru Sayama with the gimmick becoming ‘Tiger
Mask II' and would compete under the hood until 1990. It was
at this time that the company decided to make a huge change with
the declining health of Tomomi ‘Jumbo' Tsuruta and had Misawa
defeat Tsuruta in a passing of the torch style of match. This
coincided with a major philosophical change for All Japan Pro
Wrestling promoter Shohei ‘Giant' Baba who focused on all
clean finishes from this point onwards and credible main events
with Misawa being one of, if not the, focal point of the heavyweight
division. For any wrestling fan the golden period of AJPW was
during this 90's period where Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta
Kobashi, Genichiro Tenryu and Jun Akiyama took what professional
wrestling was known in Japan to another level with some of the
most fantastic matches in the history of the industry, albeit
with a very taxing style.
After
the death of Baba on January 31st 1999, Misawa became the president
of AJPW and ran the company with Baba's widow, Motoko. Out of
respect to the death of Baba and how it would look to the Japanese
public, Misawa worked with Motoko despite major differences in
philosophy when it came to running the business. In August 2000
Misawa left AJPW and took 23 other performers from the promotion
along with the promotion's NTV deal and formed Pro Wrestling
NOAH in a landscape changing deal in Japan. The closest comparison
to this deal would be when Konnan and Antonio Pena left CMLL
to form AAA in the early 90's in Mexico.
Pro
Wrestling NOAH prospered in the climate and really stood on it
own feet after the March 2003 match between Misawa and longtime
rival Kenta Kobashi, which won that year's ‘Wrestling Observer
Newsletter Match of the Year' (1 of 24 of Misawa's five star
matches in the newsletter).
Misawa
held NOAH's GHC championship three times with his latest reign
lasting 16-months and ending in March 2008 where he lost to Takeshi
Morishima and goes along with five reigns as Triple Crown champion
in AJPW, 2 Champion Carnival tournament wins and numerous other
championships.
Misawa
shall be remembered as a performer that revolutionized the style
of professional wrestling in Japan, whose ripple effects carried
over to North America and the world over as evidenced by myriad
workers today in promotions across the world. He created a third
major league promotion in Japan that created tons of jobs and
was able to sustain the promotion in a crowded market place through
booking that he learned directly from Giant Baba and held onto
a disenchanted wrestling audience that other promotions were
having a difficult time appealing to. His keen sense of moving
the business forward always meant a focus on younger talent and
there was a strong push to elevate talent such as Morishima,
KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji to a main event level.
The
future of Pro Wrestling NOAH is very much in question following
this tragedy and months after the loss of their NTV television
deal and remaining on satellite television in Japan.
The
future of NOAH can be discussed on another day because today
is simply about remembering a legend in every sense of the word
and someone who advanced pro wrestling far beyond the means most
average men could possibly envision and the industry is a stronger
one because of the contributions of Mitsuharu Misawa.
Source: The Fight Network
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Belfort
interviews Stallone at TATAME #160
By Guilherme Cruz
One
of the major responsible for the popularization of Boxing, through
the Rocky movies, Sylvester Stallone came to Brazil to shoot
the scenes of his next movie, and had dozens of MMA fighters
in the cast. With Randy Couture, the Nogueira brothers and names
like André Chatuba participating of the movie, Stallone
spent about a month in Rio de Janeiro. Always reserved and giving
few interviews, the actor accepted the invitation of the TATAME.com
and gave an exclusive interview to a very special reporter: Vitor
Belfort.
In
the chat, which you check in the TATAME Magazine #160, Stallone
spoke about his inspiration to create one of the most famous
characters in the history of the cinema, the secret of Rocky
Balboa’s success, if he has plans to produce a film that
looks like that, with MMA as theme, and what was his favorite
fight in MMA. "The fight between Rampage and Forrest Griffin
(UFC 86), and I liked, also, of Shogun defeating Liddell. What
I like in this sport is that the level is so high that you never
know who will win", said Stallone, who examined the growth
of the Mixed Martial Arts around the world and gave advice to
the fighters.
Source: Tatame
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German
Media Reacts to UFC 99
by Tim Leidecker
Much of the media coverage in Germany prior to UFC 99 on Saturday
was reminiscent of Sen. John McCain’s attack on mixed martial
arts in the 1990s.
Spurred
by local politicians in the midst of their election campaigns
and polemic members of Deutschland’s still powerful and
influential boxing lobby, the age-old prejudices of “human
cockfighting” and “unrestrained brawls” returned
to the surface.
But
what was the postfight coverage like? Sherdog.com followed Germany’s
most important newspapers, magazines and television segments
for the following overview of the state of German MMA following
Zuffa’s first expedition into central Europe.
‘Blood
and Circuses’
Editors
were texting headlines like “Blood and Circuses” (Berliner
Morgenpost), “Cologne Cage Fight Pleases International Mob”
(Die Welt) and “Bloodstain on the Canvas” (Süddeutsche
Zeitung), and while the majority of coverage surrounding UFC
99 was rather negative, there were a couple of surprisingly well-researched
articles written within the past 48 hours.
Spearheading
the negative campaign, however, were two television segments
by Germany’s biggest private television station, RTL --
home of the Klitschko brothers and IBF middleweight champion
Arthur Abraham -- and the largest broadcast authority of the
public sector, WDR.
They
listed and focused on the various injuries the fighters allegedly
sustained at UFC 99, including facial fractures, cuts and bruised
ears. The WDR narrator criticized the supposed lone intention
of fighters to beat opponents to a bloody pulp or choke them
unconscious and concluded that “the only purpose of this
violent show is to generate revenue.”
RTL
went even further and stated that the applause from the audience
at the arena was the loudest when the fighting was most brutal
and that MMA has just enough rules to pass as a sport and still
look like a street fight. It also speculated that mixed martial
arts might be banned in Germany next year.
The
Berliner Morgenpost, the most widely read newspaper in the nation’s
capital, and the Kölnische Rundschau, the biggest daily
newspaper in Cologne, took the similar lines. The Berliner Morgenpost
claimed the fights resembled schoolyard brawls and called the
quality of wrestling was second-rate -- two of the arguments
the boxing lobby has used in the past.
The
Kölnische Rundschau, meanwhile, focused on Stefan Struve’s
bloody war with Denis Stojnic, as did probably 95 percent of
all media outlets. It also quoted Carolin Krause, the head of
Cologne’s youth welfare center, who said, “Those things
[that happen inside the cage] can quickly be imitated by unstable
teen-agers, with fatal consequences.”
The
“Express,” one of the main tabloids in North Rhine
Westfalia, had quotes from Cologne mayoral candidates Jürgen
Roters and Peter Kurth, who demanded “no more cage fighting
in Cologne ever again.”
Lieberberg:
UFC Could Return in 2010
More
moderate was the coverage from other outlets like the Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung, the best-read German newspaper outside of
Deutschland. The publication titled a story “We are No Savages”
in reference to a quote made by UFC President Dana White. The
article focused on the work of ringside doctor Peter Nelles,
noted the big ovation Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic received
and stated UFC parent company Zuffa LLC was “sitting out”
the disapproval it faces in Germany.
Die
Welt, one of the large daily national newspapers, compared the
event to a meeting of Roman gladiators at the coliseum. It also
emphasized the internationality of the fan base and criticized
Cro Cop’s eye poke against Mustapha al Turk. Finally, it
quoted co-promoter Marek Lieberberg: “I’m positive
that the UFC will return to Germany in April of 2010, as the
[König-Pilsener] Arena in Oberhausen has expressed their
interest in hosting a show.”
Weekly
magazine Stern, which has a circulation of close to one million,
called the UFC “a big show for men with too much testosterone.”
It also noted that fighters are not brainless thugs who beat
up each other but mostly well-educated men. It described fans
as “people looking for the blood of the fighters, the tits
of the ring girls and a new beer for themselves.”
Thumbs
Up
There
were at least three positive articles, which stood out of the
media fallout like a green hat with an orange bill.
The
first came courtesy of the Berliner Zeitung, the most subscribed
newspaper in Berlin and Brandenburg. Author Susanne Rohlfing
caught up with famed cutman Jacob “Stich” Duran, who
addressed the bloody side of the sport. “Injuries sustained
in a fight are looking worse than they actually are most of the
time,” Duran told her. Rohlfing also touted the event for
what she viewed as perfect production and called it a “colorful
mega show made in Las Vegas.”
Meanwhile,
the Tageszeitung, one of the most important mouthpieces of the
left wing political spectrum, published a well-researched article
that focused mainly on the fans who attended the show. Author
Bernd Pickert asserted that the majority of the audience did
not consist of curious people looking for a new thrill. Most,
he wrote, were MMA experts from all over Europe. He called the
sport “a demonstration of toughness and tactics” and
praised the even matchups as a far cry from what people are used
to in professional boxing in Germany.
Finally,
arguably the most positive article coming out of UFC 99 hit the
Sunday edition of Bild -- Europe’s biggest tabloid, with
a reach of more than 11 million readers. Albert Link hyped German
prospect Peter Sobotta as a genuine star in the making despite
his decision loss to Paul Taylor. He described the 22-year-old
as a fearless young super athlete with a strict training regimen
and concluded that, even though he lost the bout, he held his
own.
Source: Shedog
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WEC
NEWS: Benavidez vs. Cruz
added to WEC 42 in August
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Another
bout has been officially added to the August 9th WEC 42 event,
as Joseph Benavidez and Dominick Cruz will clash in what is essentially
a number one contender's bout in the bantamweight division.
Benavidez
is a perfect 10-0 in his MMA career, and has picked up two of
those victories by decision in the WEC, most recently over Jeff
Curran at WEC 40.
Cruz
is a 13-1 fighter on a four fight win streak, three of which
have come in the WEC. His one loss was at WEC 26 in a Featherweight
Title bout against Urijah Faber. He also competed at WEC 40,
winning a decision over Ivan Lopez.
WEC
42 airs live on Versus on August 9th from The Joint at the Hard
Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV, headlined by the Bantamweight
Title bout between Miguel Torres and Brian Bowles.
Penick's
Analysis: This should be a very good bantamweight bout and a
great card for the bantamweight division in general. Torres vs.
Bowles is an awesome match up, as is Jeff Curran against Takeya
Mizugaki, and one of these two may get their shot at Torres after
this event.
Source: MMA Torch
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