Upcoming
Events
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2009
10/10/09
NAGA Hawaii
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Hawaii, Tentative)
6/28-29/09
2009 Pac Sub
(Gi & No-Gi competition)
6/4/09 - 6/7/09
World JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(California)
5/16/09
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)4/18/08
NY International JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
5/9/09
15th Grapplers Quest Las Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Las Vegas, NV)
5/2/09
Uprising MMA
(MMA)
(Maui)
May 2009
Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships
(Sub Grappling)
(Tentative)
4/11/09
Hawaiian Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ)
(Kaiser High)
4/4/09 - 4/5/09
NAGA World Championship
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(NJ, Tentative)
3/29/09
Kingdom MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/28/09
Garden Island Cage Match
(MMA)
(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)
3/27/09
- 3/29/09
Pan Am JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)
3/27/09
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)
|
|
March
2009 News Part 1
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday and Thursday with
Kaleo Kwan & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
In
Memory of Lars Chase
Rest in peace my brother
March 10, 1979 - April 2, 2008 |
Looking
for a hotel room on Oahu?
Check out this reasonably priced, quality hotel in Waikiki!
For
the special Onzuka.com price, click banner above! |
 |
Fighters'
Club TV
The Toughest Show
On Teleivision
Tuesdays
at 8:00PM
***NEW TIME***
Olelo Channel 52 on Oahu
Also on Akaku on Maui
Check
out the FCTV website! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
|
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to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
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1 million hits and counting!
|
O2
Martial Arts Academy Day Classes Start May 2!
Women & Kids Kickboxing Class starts May 4!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2MAA Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Day Classes will be held on Monday,
Wednesday, and Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm and will be taught
by one of Relson Gracie's first black belts, Sam Mahi!
We will be starting a Womens and Kids kickboxing class on Sunday
afternoons from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The class will be taught
by none other than O2's Kaleo Kwan! It will be a non-competitive,
fun atmosphere and allow the ladies and kids to get in a quick
workout and learn some legitimate kickboxing technique before
the long work week starts.
New
O2MAA Kid's Jiu-Jitsu Class Starts Friday, December 5 from 5:30
to 6:30 PM!
Adult Wrestling Class Starts Starts Friday, December 5 from 8:30
to 9:30 PM!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Quote
of the Day
“You
may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment
if you do not trust enough.”
Frank Crane
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel
52
NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!
Don't miss
another exciting, or at least semi-exciting episode of Fighters'
Club TV.
Please
spread the word!
|
GROVE AND MCCRORY IMPRESS
AT UFC 96 PRELIMS
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The UFC opened its third show in Ohio's
capitol with a mix of veterans and up and comers on the preliminary
card, including "Ultimate Fighter" season 3 winner
Kendall
Grove and
welterweight Tamdan McCrory both picking up decisive wins in
each of their respective bouts.
Tamdan
McCrory looked to rebound after a submission loss to Dustin Hazelett,
and he did so by way of Ohio native Ryan Madigan, who was making
his UFC debut.
Knowing
that his opponent was a former kickboxing champion, McCrory quickly
took the fight to the ground where he proceeded to overwhelm
Madigan at every move. Eventually, McCrory got the mount where
he reigned down elbows and punches, forcing the referee to stop
the punishment in the first round.
"After
that last loss to Dustin (Hazelett), I hit the gym hard, did
the right things," McCrory stated after the win. "I
had everything go wrong during training camp, but I rode in here
on my thunder horse and handled business."
If
Kendall Grove had any question if his job was safe, he solidified
his place with a devastating knockout performance over Jason
Day at UFC 96. Day started out solid on the feet early, pressing
Grove with his punches and making the Hawaiian work for position.
It
was then Grove's tremendous reach advantage that came into play
as he threw a straight right hand down the middle that sent Day
crashing to the mat. Grove followed up with a few more elbows
before the referee stopped the fight, and the "Ultimate
Fighter" season 3 winner paid tribute to his friend and
former coach Tito Ortiz with his after fight "gravedigger"
routine.
"I'm
very happy," Grove told UFC commentator Joe Rogan. "I
thought I was going to lose my job. I guess not."
Jason
Brilz did a good job of recovering from a rough first round against
Tim Boetsch to get a unanimous decision win in his second UFC
fight. Boetsch opened up a strong stand-up attack early, bloodying
his opponent's nose and punishing him with a series of good uppercuts.
Brilz
battled back in the 2nd and 3rd rounds by taking Boetsch to the
ground, moving to side control and keeping the Pennsylvania based
fighter on his back, left only to defend. As the fight wore on,
Brilz landed his takedowns flawlessly as Boetsch started to fade.
For a part-time fighter, Jason Brilz now stands 2-0 in the UFC.
"That
(getting the takedown) is what we've been working on," Brilz
commented. "I've got a great corner."
Brandon
Vera got back on track in the light heavyweight division after
a series of uninspired fights. The Californian came out aggressive
in his fight against home state opponent Mike Patt, who could
not stop Vera's leg kicks all night.
After
a first round where Vera fed Patt a steady diet of leg shots,
he opened the second round with the exact same game plan. Patt
had no answer and after two consecutive knockdowns at the hands
of Vera's brutal attack, the fight was stopped.
"I
was taking for granted that I could get by without training hard,"
Vera admitted after the win. "But now I'm back."
Shane
Nelson and
Aaron Riley kicked the night off, but unfortunately when the
fight was finished it left a lot to be desired with the crowd
at the Nationwide Arena. Riley opened with some nice leg kicks
early and tripped Nelson up early in the round, but the fighters
decided to keep it standing instead.
As
both fighters threw punches, it was Nelson who clipped Riley
with a right hand that sent him down to the canvas. Nelson followed
up with a few more shots and as Riley rolled, he began to pull
guard, but referee Rick Fike stepped in and waived off the fight,
stopping the action. The crowd in Columbus then booed heavily
at the highly questionable stoppage.
"It
wasn't my call," said Nelson after the stoppage. "It
was out of my hands if the ref stopped it. We can do it again."
Source: MMA Weekly |
MIR
VS LESNAR AT UFC 100; RASHAD HEADS UFC 98
Following a whirlwind 24 hours of change, misinformation, and
misdirection, the fog surrounding Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar's
UFC heavyweight unification bout – originally scheduled
for UFC 98 on May 23 – has cleared.
After
various statements that he was in contrasting others that he
was out, Mir appeared on the UFC 96 pay-per-view broadcast to
clear the air.
Mir
confirmed the knee injury first reported by MMAWeekly.com, saying,
"My knee finally just went. It's an injury I've always just
sucked up and went with. A week ago they scoped my knee and took
out... bone fragments and some scar tissue."
And
with that, Mir versus Lesnar will now be pushed back to July
11 at UFC 100 in Las Vegas.
It's
not a move the Mir wanted to make, but he didn't want any doubts
cast on him when he faces Lesnar to unify the heavyweight championship.
"I don't want to go out there and have any excuses."
With
Mir versus Lesnar moved to UFC 100, Rashad Evans announced that
he will step into the UFC 98 main event against one of two possible
opponents, depending upon how Saturday night's UFC 96 main event
ends for Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine.
If
Jackson wins, Evans will face him in the UFC 98 main event. If
Jardine wins, then No. 2 ranked light heavyweight Lyoto Machida
will step in and face Evans, since Jardine is the champ's teammate
and training partner.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Abu
Dhabi Pro takes shape
Guto Campos, Alexandre Souza and Rafael Mendes signed up
The
South American Abu Dhabi Pro tryouts, to take place on the 21st
and 22nd of March, in Porto Alegre, have taken shape. GRACIEMAG.com
had access to the first batch of names signed up.
Among
them, Jiu-Jitsu stars like Alexandre Souza, Gustavo Campos, Charles
Cachoeira, Marcelino Freitas, Michel Maia, Rafael Mendes and
Guilherme Mendes, Bruno Bastos, Otavio Souza, and others are
on the list. The South American tryouts will define who will
compete at the Professional Jiu-Jitsu World Championship (from
April 30th to May 2nd) with all expenses paid by the organization.
It is worth noting that although prize money is paid out to competitors,
the Abu Dhabi Pro is open to all.
Check
out the list of top black belts signed up:
Under
65kg
Rafael Mendes
Bruno
Frazato
Marcelino
de Freitas
Guilherme
Mendes
Under
75 Kg
Cláudio
Calasans
Michel
Maia
Felipe
Vidal
Augusto
Mendes
Eduardo
Pessoa
Gilbert
Durinho
Matheus
Bernardi
Under
85 kg
Adriano Silva
Otavio de Souza
Eduardo
Santoro
Gustavo
Campos
Under
95 kg
Francisco
Santouro
Joao
Possato
Alexandre
Ceconi
Zumbi
Larara
Lucas
Sachs
Over
95Kg
Gustavo
Dias
Alexandre
de Souza
Bruno
Bastos
Charles
Cachoeira
Denis
Gomes
Alexandre
Pereira
Source: Gracie Magzaine |
Distak
on Anderson’s training
Trainer comments on what the “Spider” is doing to prepare
for Thales
Known
for his work with stars like Vitor Belfort, Josuel Distak is
currently working with some of the biggest names in the MMA world.
At XGYM, in Rio de Janeiro, beasts like Anderson Silva, Rafael
Feijao, Andre Galvao and Ronaldo Jacare are training hard for
their respective upcoming challenges. Another to have joined
the “battle” is Paulo Filho, who is striving to return
to the form he once knew in the rings and cages of the world.
In a chat with Portal das Lutas, Distak commented on how Anderson
Silva’s preparations for defending his title against Thales
Leites are going as well as other gems he is working on.
How
is Anderson’s training for his fight against Thales, on
April 18, at the UFC going?
Truth is the project is going really well. We ironing out the
details with great help from Ronaldo Jacare and Andre Galvo to
fine tune Anderson’s ground game, along with Sylvio Behring
and Rafael Feijao so as to make no mistakes. If it goes to the
ground we’ll defend and if it stays standing we’ll
be in our house.
The
biggest worry against Thales is his strong ground game, as you
yourself have said. So is this partnership with Jacare and Galvao
paying off?
Jacare and Galvao are our athletes and we’re preparing Jacare
to fight in Dream and Andre for the Dream GP. We merged the useful
with the pleasant. Anderson helps them standing and they held
him defend against Thales’ weapons on the ground. You can’t
get better than Jacare, Andre Galvao and Rafael Feijao to swap
info with.
I
heard Anderson has been suffering some pains during training.
How is he now?
The truth is that he felt some back pain, in the lumbar region,
but now he’s 100 percent again. It was a normal tear, but
it’s all good now. We have till April 18 to be better than
100 percent.
Paulao
is practicing Jiu-Jitsu to get back in shape. Is he practicing
MMA with you too?
Paulao is already back in battle. This week his adrenaline came
back and he will now help Anderson with the final details for
the fight. This year will be one of many stories to tell in MMA
and many conquests. Paulao is back in training and full of adrenaline.
Anderson Silva, Paulao, Rafael Feijao, Andre Galvao and Jacare
together is unprecedented in the fight world and we managed to
do it here at XGYM.
You
tend to work with the big names in MMA and always have a full
schedule. Tell us about that.
The reality is that we have work till December. This year we
will see many conquests, God willing. We’re on the right
path and will defend the title with Anderson and conquer belts
with Ronaldo Jacare, Rafael Feijao and Andre Galvao. It’s
a lot of work and it’s not easy to work with superstars.
To work with them you have to have the capacity to do so and,
for this mission, I have great support in Sylvio Behring, Rogerio
Camoes, Cezario and Daniel. It’s not just me who is responsible
for this success.
Source: Gracie Magzaine |
Rafael
Feijão: “I’m ready to fight Babalu”
One
of the best light heavyweight fighters in the world, Rafael “Feijão”
Cavalcante impressed the world with three huge knockout victories
at EliteXC, but now seeks other events to work. In an exclusive
interview to TATAME.com, the Brazilian spoke about a possible
upcoming fight against Renato “Babalu” Sobral, for
the Strikeforce title, his relationship with Anderson Silva,
pointed Lyoto Machida as the next UFC champion, Rodrigo Nogueira’s
loss to Frank Mir and his pre-fight injuries and much more. Click
here and check the exclusive interview with Feijão.
Source: Tatame
|
Xande
Ribeiro trains with Dida on Canada
Current
world openweight champion of Jiu-Jitsu, Xande Ribeiro is getting
ready for his second MMA fight at Sengoku. After the debut with
victory by TKO, in 2008, the fighter went to Canada to train
with Andre "Dida" Amade. "The team is training
hard, after all everybody is getting ready to fight. Xande is
waiting an opponent and the definition of when he’ll fight
at Sengoku, and Dida is training hard to fight with Buakaw, at
K-1. I fight today, it would be against Saad Awaad, but he got
hurt. I should fight against Emilio Chavez, therefore won’t
be for the title, but come on, work is work", said Jorge
Britto.
With
reinforcement on the trainings of Muay Thai, Dida is focused
to the fight in K-1. "Who is giving a great strength here
at the trainings is Cosmo Alexandre, especially for Dida. I don’t
even need to say anything, right? High level", said Britto,
advancing. "Cosmo will fight next week in Italy, under Muay
Thai rules". Brother of Dida, Mauricio Véio is also
training at Canada. "Veio is doing a great job here too,
helping in everything. We’re exchanging experiences and
the technical level is wonderful. Besides all of us, four athletes
here will fight in two weeks at events in Canada", said
Britto. "Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu are 100% together here",
celebrates.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
“All
truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point
is to discover them.”
Galileo Galilei
|
2009
Triple Crown of BJJ
The date
for the first crown of the 2009 Triple Crown of BJJ has been
set!
Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Kaiser High School, Honolulu, Hawaii
April 11, 2009 |
UFC
96 RESULTS: FINISHES ABOUND ON PRELIM CARD
It was a night of quick finishes and some controversy as the
preliminary bouts kicked off UFC 96 on Saturday night at the
Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Fans
in attendance were especially upset with the razor quick stop
of the night's opening bout between Shane Nelson and Aaron Riley.
Jason
Brilz extended his streak to 13 fights without a loss –
12 wins and 1 draw. Kendall Grove defeated Jason Day for his
first win since defeating the late Evan Tanner nine months ago.
Tamdan McCrory and Brandon Vera each walked out of the Octagon
with TKO finishes to get back on the winning track.
UFC
96 Preliminary Bouts Quick Results:
- Tamdan McCrory def. Ryan Madigan by TKO (strikes on the ground)
at 3:35, R1
- Kendall
Grove def.
Jason Day by TKO (strikes on the ground) at 1:32, R1
- Jason Brilz def. Tim Boetsch by unanimous decision (29-28 on
all scorecards) R3
- Brandon Vera def. Mike Patt by TKO (leg kicks) at 1:27, R2
- Shane
Nelson
def. Aaron Riley by TKO (strikes on the ground) at 0:44, R1
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DREAM.7
Results: Six advance in Featherweight GP
Fernandes Bibiano, Joe Warren, Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura,
Yoshiro Maeda, Hiroyuki Takaya and Masakazu Imanari all advanced
Sunday in the DREAM.7 Featherweight Grand Prix at the Saitama
Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Norifumi
"KID" Yamamoto was the only fighter to receive a bye
and will be in action at DREAM.8. The final spot will be determined
by Hideo Tokoro vs. Daika "DJ Taiki" Hata at DREAM.8.
In
non-tournament bouts, Mitsuhiro Ishida won a unanimous decision
over Daisuke Nakamura, Shinya Aoki submitted David Gardner with
a rear-naked choke and Tatsuya Kawajiri also won via rear-naked
choke, against Ross
Ebanez.
Aoki
was fighting at lightweight for one more time before he moves
up to welterweight to enter the DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix.
Kawajiri
called out Gesias "JZ Calvan" Calvancante for a number
one contender bout to determine lightweight champ Joachim Hansen's
first title challenger.
DREAM
7 was dedicated to Helio Gracie. Kazushi Sakuraba and Yuki Sasaki
stood inside the ring for a moment of silence during the opening
ceremony.
1.
Bibiano Fernandes def. Takafumi Otsuka via unanimous decision
2. Joe Warren def. Chase Beebe via TKO (cut) - After R1
3. Abel Cullum def. Akiyo Nishiura via unanimous decision
4. Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Daisuke Nakamura via unanimous decision
5. Shinya Aoki def. David Gardner via submission (RNC) - R1 (5:58)
6. Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Ross Ebanez via submission (RNC) - R1 (4:03)
7. Yoshiro Maeda def. Micah Miller via unanimous decision
8. Hiroyuki Takaya def. Jong Won Kim via TKO (punches) - R2 (0:40)
9. Masakazu Imanari def. Atsushi Yamamoto via split decision
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
96 bonuses, attendance and gate
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Keith Jardine and Matt Hamill
won performance awards Saturday at UFC 96 "Jackson vs. Jardine"
in Columbus, Ohio.
Jackson
and Jardine won for Fight of the Night and Hamill won Knockout
of the Night for his first-round head kick over Mark Munoz. No
fights ended in a submission.
Each
fighter earned a $60,000 bonus, an increase of $20,000 from UFC
95 but $5,000 less than UFC 94.
UFC
96, the UFC's third straight trip to Ohio to coincide with the
Arnolds Sports Expo, drew a gate of $1.8 million with 17,033
in attendance at the Nationwide Arena.
Source: MMA Fighting |
FRANK
MIR SAYS MAY 23 DATE WITH LESNAR NO GO
After
a day of conflicting reports, it appears that the May 23 date
for Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar to unify the UFC heavyweight championship
will indeed be postponed. The latest confirmation comes from
Mir himself at the Arnold Fitness Expo in Columbus, Ohio, on
the eve of UFC 96.
The
two were scheduled to collide at UFC 98 in Las Vegas. Friday
afternoon, however, FiveOuncesOfPain.com reported that Mir was
forced to withdraw from the bout due to a back injury.
MMAWeekly.com
sources later indicated that it was in fact a knee injury that
forced Mir to withdraw. He had surgery a week ago to repair damage
to his meniscus in the same leg that was injured in a prior motorcycle
accident that kept him out of action for more than a year.
Following
the UFC 96 weigh-ins at Nationwide Arena, UFC president Dana
White told Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole, " If that were the
situation, I’d know about it. I honestly don’t know
right now. I haven’t talked to Frank and I haven’t
talked to Lesnar and if that’s the situation, I’m not
going to make any statements until I talk to everybody."
Later
on Friday, however, Mir himself confirmed the knee injury and
that he is not planning on facing Lesnar on May 23. Speaking
with The Fit Show on Bodybuilding.com, Mir proposed a new possibility
for the fight. "Hopefully (we can fight in) the summertime.
It was May 23, but I needed to get a scope done to my knee, so
I got it done immediately last week. It would be rushing it to
try and fight that soon because I can’t really train for
four to six weeks as far as sparring and wrestling and the real
forms of training. Obviously I can hit the treadmill, but that’s
usually not a good idea to be getting in shape for a fight on
a treadmill.”
Sources
told MMAWeekly.com late in the day on Friday that Mir had been
debating whether or not to try and push through the fight with
a drastically reduced amount of time for training, but it appears
that he has opted out.
The
UFC has not had any official comment as of the time of publication.
It is unknown what the plans are for the UFC 98 main event at
this time.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DAN
HARDY INKS THE DEAL TO FACE MARCUS DAVIS
Hot
on the heels of the announcement that Marcus Davis had signed
to fight in Germany at UFC 99 we have confirmation that UK Welterweight
standout Dan Hardy has returned his signed bout agreement, making
this one of the most anticipated fights of the card and potential
contender for a bonus on the night.
Talking
from his adopted home in the U.S., Hardy was excited about the
prospect of fighting overseas and being part of the bigger plan
held by the UFC to continue its international expansion. “It’s
really exciting to be on the first UFC show in Germany. I’m
grateful to be a part of the growth of the UFC in Europe.”
Ever
since the UFC 95 fight club session with Davis at the helm, there
appears to have been an escalating tension between the two in
any form of media possible. Davis for his part appeared to be
in good spirits about wearing Hardy’s trademark bandana
and was in conflict about whom he was rooting for the following
night.
“I
really don’t know who to pull for in this one. I know Rory
(Markham) very well and on one hand I would like him to win,
but on the other hand I hear good things about Dan (Hardy) and
would love to fight him at some point,” he explained at
the time. Ever since then fans and media have jumped on the comments
and things have escalated.
“I
said a couple of things at the post- fight press conference after
my last fight. I meant them to be a little tongue-in-cheek, but
it seems to have really upset him. I thought it would be a little
more difficult to upset someone of his age, but evidently not,”
offers Hardy as a rebuttal to comments made by Davis recently.
However,
despite the impact these comments have had on his Maine counterpart,
Hardy appears to have a thicker skin. “I respect him as
a fighter and he seemed like a decent guy when I met him, but
he is awfully sensitive and that could be a problem in a sport
like MMA. Let’s just hope he can take punches better than
he can take criticism.”
Ultimately,
in a situation where two fighters have a passion to square off
against each other, irrespective of how it started, the winners
will be the fight fans in Germany when the referee let’s
them go. “I think that this has all the makings of a Fight
of the Night and the fans will be able to feel that in the atmosphere.
I’m already really excited about this fight and I know Marcus
(Davis) is up for it too,” offers Hardy.
“His
time as the Brit-Killer has come to an end.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
2009
Pan-Ams: Alliance aims the top again
Gurgel in action at the Pan-Ams last year.
Fabio Gurgel promises strong team in Carson
The
Pan-American Jiu-Jitsu championship, to be held next March 27th
-March 29th, at the Dominguez Hills University, in Carson California,
is the most traditional Jiu-Jitsu event in the USA, once it is
held since 1995. It is also very traditional the clash between
teams for the overall trophy.
Last
year, the Alliance team won the adult category and the Masters
& Seniors as well. This year, leader Fabio Gurgel wants to
repeat the performance, but he knows how hard it should be. “We
will be bringing up to seven black belts to the event. But we
are very strong also in the lower belts. To repeat last years
result should be hard but we will try very hard,” said Gurgel.
He will be in California alongside with Romero "Jacare"
Cavalcanti.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"Hide
not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sun-dial in
the shade?"
Benjamin Franklin
|
UFC
96 Results!
UFC 96
'Jackson vs. Jardine' Play-By-Play Results
Live results of UFC 96 "Jackson vs. Jardine" from the
UFC's third consecutive trip to Columbus, Ohio for the Arnolds
Sports Expo.
Fight
#1 - Jim Miller (154.5) vs. Gray Maynard (155)
R1:
They feel each other out. They clinch 35 seconds in, with Miller
pressing Maynard against the cage. Miller throws high knees.
They separate at 3:52. Maynard comes in with punches and Miller
dodges. Maynard lands a nice straight right and another to the
body. Miller connects with a kick to the body. Miller shoots
and aggressively goes for the finish but Maynard defends. Miller
continues working for the single-leg. They end up in clinch at
1:39 and quickly separate. Maynard tags Miller. Maynard wins
the first round with his boxing.
MMAFighting.com
scores the round 10-9 for Maynard.
R2:
Miller lands a leg kick and is warned by referee Dan Miragliotta.
Maynard lands punches to the body. Miller lands an inside leg
kick and he's warned again. One more close call under the belt
and he's going to get a point taken away. Maynard continues his
attack on Miller's body. Miller shoots and pulls guard. Yep,
Maynard doesn't want the fight on the ground. And with good reason,
he's winning the fight on his feet. They're back up. Miller's
right eye is busted. The fighters exchange missed punches.
MMAFighting.com
scores the round 10-9 for Maynard.
R3:
Maynard and Miller throw punches that are blocked. Miller shoots
at 3:10 and is quickly stuffed. Maynard jabs and attempts his
first takedown. He finishes it, picking Miller up for the big
takedown. Miller goes for a kneebar and Maynard escapes with
2:30 left in the fight. Miller shoots and Maynard sprawls. Miller
keeps working and eventually falls to his back with a minute
left. Miller is unable to close the guard and receives left punches.
Maynard exits from top position with 23 seconds left. Maynard
throws one more straight right.
MMAFighting.com
scores the round 10-9 and the fight 30-27 for Maynard.
Maynard
wins via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Fight
#2 - Mark Munoz (204.5) vs. Matt Hammil (205)
R1:
Hamill with a punch combo. Munoz shoots and is stopped. Hamill
comes in with more jabs. Munoz shoots for the single and Hamill
turns him over. Hamill lands a short inside leg kick and tags
Munoz some more with punches. Munoz goes for right hooks, and
lands one. Munoz shoots and Hamill immediately sprawls. Hamill
knocks out Munoz with a right head kick! Munoz is asleep. Who
knew Hamill had a little Mirko "Cro Cop" in him?
Hamill
wins via KO - R1 (3:53)
Fight
#3 - Matt Brown (170.5) vs. Pete Sell (170)
R1:
No touch of gloves, Brown throws a kick. Brown lands a head kick.
Brown with a left hook and right and Sell is down. The referee
appears to have stopped the fight but says they can continue.
Brown rains down punches on Sell who is desperately looking for
the takedown.Brown with knees to the body and head. Brown is
destroying Sell. Brown looks at the referee to stop the fight.
The ref doesn't and Brown drops Sell. Brown with more punches
on the ground and the ref stops the fight.
Brown
wins via TKO (punches) - R1 (1:32)
Fight
#4 - Shane Carwin (259.5) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (257.5)
R1:
Carwin charges with punches. Gonzaga lands two consecutive straight
rights. Carwin's eyes roll back but he recovers. Gonzaga takes
Carwin down. Back up, they exchange punches and Carwin knocks
out Gonzaga with a left and a right! Nice comeback and Carwin
puts himself in the running for the UFC title. Gonzaga is sitting
unconscious against the cage.
Carwin
wins via KO (punch) - R1 (1:09)
Fight
#5 - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (205) vs. Keith Jardine
(204)
R1:
No touch of gloves. They go right into clinch. Jackson taps knees
into Jardine's thigh. The referee separates them at 4:15 for
lack of action. Jardine lands a leg kick. Jardine goes for another
and is blocked. Jardine keeping his distance, lands leg kick.
Jardine goes in and they quickly separate. They clinch again.
Jardine pops out with a left hook. Jardine misses a right. Jackson
swings and misses. Jackson lands a right and Jardine counters
before stepping away. Jackson catches a leg kick. Jackson moves
forward and lands several punches. Jardine backs away. Jardine
pushes Jackson off with a front kick with 30 seconds left. Jackson
throws more bombs.
MMAFighting.com
scores the round 10-9 for Jardine.
R2:
Jackson glances a straight right. Jackson connects on a leg kick.
Jardine throws kick to the body that is blocked. Jardine lands
a leg kick. Jardine with more leg kicks. Jackson throws a heavy
punches, and more. Jackson lands a left and knocks down Jardine!
Jardine recovers and clinches with 2:48 left. Jackson surprises
Jardine with a takedown. Jardine fights back with his barrage
of punches. Jackson looks to be in trouble but he's covering
up. Jardine lands an uppercut in the flurry. Jackson lands a
right. They end the round in clinch.
MMAFighting.com
scores the round 10-9 for Jackson.
R3:
Jackson is looking for the knockout. They box. Jackson throws
a leg kick and Jardine sneaks in a straight right. Jackson takes
down Jardine at 3:42. Jardine stands up into clinch. They separate.
Jardine lands a leg kick, and three more. Jackson with more heavy
shots that miss. Jackson lands another leg kick. Jackson connects
with a left. Jardine goes for the takedown but doesn't get it.
The referee breaks them and they restart with51 seconds left
in the fight. Jackson looking to finish. They exchange with Jackson
getting the better of Jardine. Jardine's high kick is blocked.
Jackson drops Jardine with right followed by a left hook, and
that will seal the win. The fight ends with Jardine hugging Jackson's
right leg.
MMAFighting.com
scores the round 10-9 for Jackson and the fight 29-28 for Jackson.
The
judges score it 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Jackson.
Jackson
wins via unanimous decision
Jackson
will fight Rashad Evans for the light-heavyweight title at UFC
98 on May 23 in Las Vegas.
COMPLETE
UFC 96 RESULTS:
Preliminary
Bouts:
1.
Shane Nelson (155) def. Aaron Riley (155) via TKO (punch) - R1
(1:44)
2. Brandon Vera (205) def. Mike Patt (204.5) via TKO (leg kick)
- R2 (1:27)
3. Jason Brilz (204) def. Tim Boetsch (205) via unanimous decision
4. Kendall Grove (185) def. Jason Day (184.5) via TKO (elbows)
- R1 (1:32)
5. Tamdan McCrory (170) def. Ryan Madigan (169) via TKO (punches)
- R1 (3:35)
Televised
Bouts:
6.
Gray Maynard (155) def. Jim Miller (154.5) via unanimous decision
7. Matt Hammil (205) def. Mark Munoz (204.5) via KO (head kick)
- R1 (3:53)
8. Matt Brown (170.5) def. Pete Sell (170) via TKO (punches)
- R1 (1:32)
9. Shane Carwin (259.5) def. Gabriel Gonzaga (257.5) via KO (punch)
- R1 (1:09)
10. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (205) def. Keith Jardine
(204) via unanimous decision
Source: MMA Fighting
|
DA
BOSS TO FACE KAWAJIRI AT DREAM 7
Hilo boy Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez (19-6) has agreed to
fight the #10 ranked lightweight in the world Tatsuya "Crusher"
Kawajiri (22-5-2) at Dream 7 on March 8th. The event will take
place in Japan at the Saitama Super Arena and will be broadcast
in the States the following Friday on HDNet. This will be Ebanez's
first fight at lightweight after a solid run at welterweight.
Despite the short notice, "Da Boss" is confident and
ready. "This is a huge opportunity and even though it's
on a weeks notice I will be ready. It's a drastic cut for me
but I was already in the gym training, when the call came I jumped
on it" said Ebanez.
Dream
7 will also feature the following bouts:
First
Round of Dream Featherweight Tournament
-Atsushi
Yamamoto vs. Masakazu Imanari
-Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kim Jong Won
-Yoshiro Maeda vs. Micah Miller
-Chase Beebe vs. Joe Warren
-Takafumi Otsuka vs. Bibiano Fernandes
-Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura vs. Abel Cullum
Non-Tournament
Bouts:
-Shinya Aoki vs. David Gardner
-Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Source: Rich
|
Franklin
vs. Silva Bout Confirmed for UFC 99
By FCF Staff
Just
one day removed from officially announcing that Frank Mir will
face Brock Lesnar for the promotion's undisputed heavyweight
championship on May 23rd, the UFC has confirmed today that its
former middleweight champion Rich Franklin, will square off with
former Pride champ Wanderlei Silva, June 13th. The main event
tilt for UFC 99 will headline the promotion's first card ever
in Germany and will take place at the Lanxess Arena, in Cologne.
The
bout will be fought at a catch weight of 195lbs, which clearly
was in the interest of both fighters, as Franklin has competed
in both the light-heavyweight and middleweight divisions over
the last couple of years, while Silva has publicly declared his
wishes to compete at 185lbs. in the future.
Franklin
(24-4) will head into the bout coming off a hard fought, Split
Decision loss, to Dan Henderson at UFC 93 in January. The 34
year-old Franklin had won back-to-back bouts prior to the defeat,
having stopped both Travis Lutter and Matt Hamill, after failing
to defeat current middleweight champion Anderson Silva for the
second time, at UFC 77 in October, 2007.
Although
Wanderlei Silva (32-9-1) is still clearly one of the sport's
biggest stars, the 32 year-old fighter has struggled mightily
over the last couple of years, and is 1-4 in his last five fights.
Of course the renowned fighter has fought the world's elite during
that time, losing to notable opponents like Chuck Liddell, Dan
Henderson, Mirko Filipovic and Quinton Jackson. Silva's only
win in the Octagon, since returning to the UFC in 2007, came
last May, when he put away Keith Jardine with strikes in 36 seconds
at UFC 84.
UFC
99 will be a landmark occasion for the Zuffa organization as
it aims to entrench its presence in mainland Europe. Having held
several cards now in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and with UFC
97 marking the promotion's return to Canada, Germany could be
just the first nation in a series of new destinations for the
UFC.
No
other bouts have been confirmed yet for the June 13th card.
Source:
Full Contact Fighter
|
Joe
Lauzon to undergo knee surgery Friday
by Bob Trieger
UFC lightweight prospect Joe "J-Lau" Lauzon (18-4,
5 KOs, 13 submissions) will undergo knee surgery this Friday,
sidelining the 24-year-old Brazilian Jui-Jitsu specialist until
next year, at Sullivan Orthopedic Care.
Lauzon has had problems in the past including arthroscopic surgery
on the meniscectomies of both knees. This time, however, Lauzon
needs ACL surgery on his right knee, in addition to having his
meniscus repaired.
The ACL caused Joe's knee to slightly shift, effectively destroying
his meniscus. "The doctor could stop operating after repairing
the meniscus," Lauzon explained, "but it would just
happen again. ACL surgery should fix it, but I'm in for a very
long rehab, and my knee may never be the same again."
Lauzon, star of The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality show,
will be off of his feet for a month to a month-and-a-half. He
will not be allowed to do even the simplest training for 4-5
months, more intense in nine months, and projected back fighting
between 12-14 months.
"Every time you fight," Joe added, "you are taking
a gamble with your body. During my fight with Jeremy Stephens,
I didn't notice it so much during my fight, but afterwards I
was limping pretty good. I chalked it up to normal soreness and
took a week off training because of the stitches in my head.
When I tried to go back to training, just warming-up, my knee
locked-up and I couldn't move it at all. An x-ray and MRI later
revealed I had a badly torn meniscus and a likely torn ACL. I
go this Friday for very serious surgery and then I face a long
rehab. I am super confident, though, that I will return better
than ever. I'm only 24 and have a lot more to accomplish in this
sport. This is just a bump in the road."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
FILA
Grappling second world
committee meeting notes
By Zach Arnold
Press release
The second World Grappling Committee (WGC) annual meeting took
place at the FILA headquarters in Corsier-sur-Vevey (Switzerland)
on February 28th, 2009. The members of the newly structured WGC
were brought together to discuss and establish the standards
that will guide the sport of Grappling and its organization for
the next four years. Attended the meeting Mr. Raphael Martinetti
(FILA President), Mr. Jean-François Court (WGC Coordinator),
Mr. Jason Towsend (Head of Grappling Pan-America), Mr. Rafael
Perlungher (Head of Grappling Europe), Mr. Lazaros Papadopoulos
(Head of Grappling Oceania), Mr. Hideo Kamaga (Head of Grappling
Asia), and Mr. Willem Putter (Head of Grappling Africa). Under
the new WGC structure, the continental representatives will be
responsible for supporting the growth and development of the
sport in the countries within their respective continents, as
well as promoting the organization of FILA sanctioned events
and Continental Championships. Contact details of all Committee
members are available on the FILA website under "Grappling".
After conducting an analysis of the first World Grappling Championship
that took place in Lucerne (SUI) on 20-21 December 2008, the
Committee decided to bring some modifications to the International
Grappling Regulations. The following changes are in effect as
of February 2009 and will remain in force until the end of 2012:
" New weight classes for males: 60, 66, 74, 84, 96, 120
kg and Absolute (open weight category).
" New weight classes for females: 55, 59, 63, 67 kg and
Absolute (open weight category).
" The referees will no longer be able to declare a technical
submission ("catch") for senior competitions.
" The duration of senior matches will be 5 minutes with
1 minute overtime.
" The half guard restart position will no longer be used
and half mount will no longer be considered a dominant position
" 1 point will be awarded for takedowns (if there is top
control for 3 seconds).
" 1 point will be awarded to disadvantaged grapplers if
they manage to escape and go to neutral or top position.
" In overtime, the choice of position, either top or bottom,
will be given to the grappler who received the most passivity
infractions, and if there is a tie in this criterion, to the
grappler who scored the lowest value of points. If no grappler
can be decided between by these two criteria, the red grappler
will get the right to choose the position.
" Sweeps shall now be considered escapes and will be awarded
points as so.
Other minor changes were made and can be consulted by downloading
the complete International Grappling Regulations here.
Another major decision made in this meeting was to held the second
World Grappling Championships in the United States, the American
National Grappling Committee will soon announce more details
of the competition which will be held in the second semester
of 2009.
Tiago Okamura
For the World Grappling Committee
www.fila-grappling.com
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Demian
Maia: "I deserve the titleshot"
By Guilherme Cruz
Five fights in the UFC, five submission victories. This time
(UFC 95), the victim was Chael Sonnen, who came from victory
over Paulo Filho, at WEC. With less than three minutes of fight,
the Brazilian got the takedown and has already locked Sonnen
in a triangle choke, and was just a matter of time for the tap.
"I always enter without expectation for the fight, but I'll
find a way to submit", said Demian, to TATAME.com.
Getting more thousands of dollar because of the submission of
the night, the Brazilian wants, now, his chance for the title.
"I have to fight for the title. I've won five fights by
submission and there were people that won less and... I've won
three fights in the first round, I deserve the titleshot",
defends the black belt, who sees himself in an advantage in the
competition for the UFC extra bonuses. "My fights were by
submission and the majority ends by knockout in the UFC, then
I have great chances to make the submission of the night".
Waiting for a chance for the title, the Brazilian was smart to
avoid a direct question: if you had to bet the $40 thousand that
you've gain for the submission of the night, would it be on Anderson
Silva or Thales Leites? "I would put $20.000 on Anderson
and $20.000 on Thales (laughs)... I don't know who will win,
this fight is very difficult", he avoided. As for his future
in the event, the fighter doesn't know when he'll return. "We're
starting to see that now, but I have nothing closed yet",
ended.
Source:
Tatame
|
Hughes-Serra
Set; Other UFC 98 Bouts Announced
Matt Hughes and Matt Serra will meet May 23 at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the UFC announced Wednesday.
The
welterweight grudge match will be featured on a UFC 98 card headlined
by the Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir heavyweight title fight.
The
UFC also announced that middleweight title contender Yushin Okami
will fight Dan Miller. Okami, the last man to get a win over
Anderson Silva (it came via disqualification), is 7-1 in the
UFC. Miller is 3-0 in the Octagon and most recently scored an
impressive submission of Jake Rosholt in February.
Former
lightweight champion Sean Sherk will battle Frankie Edgar in
another main card bout.
In
light heavyweight prelim action, James Irvin will fight Drew
McFedries, and Houston Alexander will fight Andre Gusmao. Patrick
Barry, a dangerous kickboxing crossover who easily chopped down
Dan Evensen in December, will take on Tim Hague in a heavyweight
bout.
Yoshiyuki
Yoshida will look to bounce back from his knockout loss to Josh
Koscheck when he meets Brandon Wolff at 170 pounds. At 155, "The
Ultimate Fighter" finalist Phillipe Nover will fight Kyle
Bradley, and David Kaplan will tangle with George Roop."
Source: Sherdog
|
The
UFC Officially Announces
UFC 99: "The Comeback"
By Jacob Camargo
UFC
officials today officially announced the organization's June
13 show at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. This is the
UFC's first ever trip to Germany and the next step in UFC's global
expansion.
"June 13, 2009, is a huge day in the history of the UFC
," stated UFC president Dana White. "It has been a
long time coming, but the best fighters on the planet are finally
heading to Germany for our first event ever in mainland Europe."
Former UFC middleweight champion Rich "Ace" Franklin
will headline UFC 99: "The Comeback" opposite ex-PRIDE
superstar Wanderlei Silva in a special 195-pound catch-weight
bout.
UFC President Dana White further explains the main event: "We
are coming with a stacked card and a unique main event. Rich
Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva is another of those DREAM fights
fans never thought they'd get to see - but we are making it happen
in Germany…. Everyone knows Rich moved up to light heavyweight
a couple of fights ago while Wanderlei is planning on fighting
at 185 pounds from now on, but this fight is too exciting a match
not to happen and both these guys deserve a ton of credit for
taking this fight at 195 pounds."
UFC 99 was originally expected to feature a main event between
UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn and top contender Kenny Florian.
Penn recently decided he needed more time off from fighting so
therefore the lightweight title bout will no longer take place
at UFC 99.
UFC 99 has some very interesting rumored match-ups. In his UFC
return, Caol Uno will take on hard hitting UFC veteran Spencer
Fsher and heavyweights Heath Herring and Cain Velasquez have
agreed to a bout. Welterweight contenders Marcus Davis and Dan
Hardy are also rumored to fight at UFC 99.
Source:
Fight Line
|
A
new Shogun against Chuck Liddell
By Guilherme Cruz
In a recent interview, Chuck Liddell said that, if Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua comes to the fight against him like he faced Mark Coleman
(UFC 93), the Brazilian will be defeated. Without waste of time,
Shogun come back to Brazil work for the tough fight, that happens
at UFC 97, in Montreal, Canada. In exclusive interview with TATAME.com,
Shogun said that he went to Las Vegas, where he met his friend
Wanderlei Silva, who has also faced Liddell.
"I have to be well trained and focused to face him, and
that is what I'm doing. Wanderlei is a great friend. I was in
Las Vegas for a week and we spoke a lot. He said that Liddell
is a good fighter, beats heavy, but said that, if I go to the
fight focused and with gas, I will win this fight", said
Shogun, who also spoke about his preparation for the battle,
the fight between Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin and his victory
over Mark Coleman. Stay tuned and check, tomorrow, the exclusive
interview with the fighter at TATAME.com.
Source:
Tatame
|
Nasal
spray led to positive steroid test for 'Baby Fedor'?
M-1 Global believes Kirill "Baby Fedor" Sidelnikov's
positive steroid test was a result of a nasal spray.
According to the Russian heavyweight's management, Sidelnikov
was bothered by a broken nose during his training for his Jan.
24 fight against Paul Buentello.
"Not wanting to miss any training time leading up to 'Day
of Reckoning,'" M-1 Global says. "Kirill followed the
advice of a coach not affiliated with M-1 who gave him a nose
spray commonly used in Russia to help treat some of his symptoms.
It is M-1's belief that the nose spray is what contained the
Stanozol.
"For those that are skeptical of this explanation, we believe
Kirill's account is true based in large part to his physique.
If he had been using large amounts of Stanozol on a regular basis,
we believe that the frame of his upper body would have contained
leaner muscle that had more definition."
M-1 Global will not appeal the suspension and fine handed down
by the California State Athletic Commission. Sidelnikov was fined
$2,500 and will be suspended until Jan. 18, 2010.
"Even though it was only a common nose spray that he used
to treat an injury, an athlete must take full responsibility
for what he puts into his system at all times," M-1 Global
says.
Sidelnikov lost to Buentello via stoppage due to strikes in the
third round.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"Nothing
is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely."
Rodin
|
UFC
96 (3/7 Columbus, Ohio) card line-up
By Zach Arnold
Hawaii
Air Times 5PM
Oceanic Cable Channel 701
As it currently stands:
Dark matches
" 170 pounds (Welterweights): Tamdan McCrory vs. Ryan Madigan
" 185 pounds (Middleweights): Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day
" 205 pounds (Light Heavyweights): Tim Boetsch vs. Jason
Britz
" 205 pounds (Light Heavyweights): Brandon Vera vs. Michael
Patt
" 155 pounds (Lightweights): Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson
Main card
" 155 pounds (Lightweights): Gray Maynard vs. Jim Miller
" Heavyweights: Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Carwin
" 170 pounds (Welterweights): Pete Sell vs. Matt Brown
" 205 pounds (Light Heavyweights): Matt Hamill vs. Mark
Munoz
" 205 pounds (Light Heavyweights): Quinton Jackson vs. Keith
Jardine
Source: Fight Opinion
|
GOT
SKILLZ TODAY!
FILCOM CENTER, WAIPAHU, HAWAII
MARCH 7, 2009
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30
UPDATED FIGHT CARD BELOW
JAMEN 130 AJ PANG
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 125 ISRAEL ALVAREZ
LAA KAHOOKELE 150 SAGE YOSHIDA
DAVIN CUMMINGS 185 JACOB RAUSCHENBURG
ACE 110 THEODORE BROWN
PAKI K. 260 MARCUS PAALUHI
JOSH AFAFALA 130 RODNEY DEGUZMAN
JORDAN FONTEZ 140 MITCHELL GARCIA
KEA DEMELLO 175 DANIEL
RUSTY RIVERA 125 MARK CABERTO
JOE ENAENA 155 ROB CAROLYN
JOEY SCHIPPER 130 EMERSON SOUERIA
JUSTIN HELEMANO 170 KEVIN GRACE
ALEX 140 NAOMI OWENS
EZRA BRIGHT 85 DANNY HO
NELSON KUKAHIKO 110 WILLIAM GARCIA
KALAHIKI DEDELY 170 BRANDON KEPA
all matches & participants are subject to change.
Source: Event Promoter
|
Royler
Gracie Seminar in Lihue
Hi! I just wanted to annouce a open Royler Gracie seminar that's
going to be happening on March 7th, 2009 in Lihue. Breath of
Life has graciously allowed us to use their Dojo again for another
great seminar, this one hosted by Royler Gracie. Proceeds will
again go to help Kauai Boy Kela Alapai, as he fights cancer.
It is from 12pm - 2pm. Cost is $85 at the door. Breath of Life
is located in the Rice Shopping Center, next to the bowlong alley
and Rob's Good Time Grill. Here's a flyer,thanks! Any questions
you can call Bruno at 645-1265
Source: Shauna Castle
|
WOMBAT'S
WORLD OF COMBAT
Predictions for UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine
By Jeff "Wombat" Meszaros
As I am so fond of saying, it wasn't long ago when the UFC was
only doing a few events each year. Now, that has changed and
they are doing a few events per month; sometimes even a few per
week. I am no wizard of math but by my estimation, at this rate
of expansion, the UFC will soon be doing upwards of three events
every hour, and it will be virtually impossible to watch them
all unless you have ten televisions and fourteen eyes. The funny
thing is, as their kingdom expands, it seems to make each event
less special somehow and, maybe, a UFC will soon be no more nut-lifting
to MMA fans than the Superbowl would be to football fans if one
was held every day. When the ice-cream truck drives through your
hood but once a year, everyone and their dog buys a snow-cone
but when he does endless laps of your house, the novelty wears
off, and even the most gluttonous soft-serve hound grows weary
of hearing the slightly off-tune music that beckoned him from
his filthy couch like an enormous Pavlovian dog, answering the
bell of his master with plentiful saliva.
Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson vs. Keith Jardine
In
addition to very-loosely strung metaphors, I am also a big fan
of what I call "Beat Down Math" wherein you conclude
that, since fighter A beat fighter B and fighter B beat fighter
C, than you can safely conclude that fighter A will beat fighter
C as well. Truthfully, it almost never works out that way because
MMA fights are just a lot more complicated than that. Otherwise,
any 10-year old kid with a pocket calculator would be draining
Las Vegas casinos dry. In this particular case, "Rampage"
put Wanderlei Silva in man-diapers while Jardine nearly had his
little beard knocked off by that same opponent. Of course, Jardine
put Forrest Griffin to sleep a while back, while Griffin took
the belt from Jackson, before promptly losing it to Rashad Evans.
Why do I feel like I should be playing the theme to a soap opera
right now? Anyway, with the beat-down math working out more or
less equally, anyone's guess could be right. The only real test
would be to see which fighter can take more blows to the chin
with a shovel, and I don't think either guy would sign the waiver
to let that happen. My guess: Jackson by TKO
Gabriel
Gonzaga vs. Shane Carwin
Gonzaga
was the favorite to win the UFC heavyweight title a short while
back, but Randy Couture and Fabricio Werdum undid all his fine
work and sent him back into the "may not be broadcast"
dark matches that only hard-core fans watch later online the
next day, often while still reeling from the binge-drinking and
unbridled chicken-wing consumption of the night before. Now,
having beaten two opponents in the minor leagues, he is back
to face Carwin; who is sort of like Brock Lesnar but without
the hype, the Minnesota accent or that absolutely stellar brush
cut. Also, and I am going out on a limb here, Carwin is likely
a better fighter than Lesnar. We might see that theory tested
too, since the winner of this fight might fight the winner of
the Mir and Lesnar rematch; as the UFC heavyweight division seems
nearly as empty as a tourist hostel in crime-ridden, traffic-clogged
Sao Paulo. My Guess: Carwin by decision.
Pete
Sell vs. Matt Brown
I
find Brown's nickname "The Immortal" a bit presumptuous.
I would be interested to hear if there is any evidence to back
up his claims. Has he been alive for a hundred years? Did he
once survive a full decapitation? I am guessing he hasn't. Of
course, he does have "Immortal" tattooed across his
belly, but if that is all you need for ever-lasting life, I will
be surprised. Honestly, the ringside physician should stab him
in the neck, just to check. Also, am I the only person who thinks
that Sell's head is shaped exactly like a light-bulb? Seriously.
He looks a bit like the super-villain "The Leader"
who I am nearly sure is going to be in the next Hulk movie. My
Guess: Brown by decision
Matt
Hamill vs. Mark Munoz
Munoz
calls himself "The Phillipine Wrecking Machine" which
I am only now realizing actually rhymes. Essentially, he is exactly
the same as Hamill except he is Filipino instead of deaf. Since
both guys here are strong wrestlers, this match will likely dissolve
into a boxing contest, since whenever two experts of the same
discipline meet in MMA, they resort to what they are worst at
for some reason. Of course, that always makes for a wildly more
entertaining fight. After all, who wants to see someone defend
a single-leg takedown for fifteen minutes? My Guess: Hamill by
decision.
Gray
Maynard vs. Jim MIller
Gray
Maynard forever scarred his reputation in my mind when, during
his UFC debut, he insisted he hadn't been knocked out despite
watching footage on the big screen showing him quite clearly
fish-eyed and immobile. If I'd been in charge of the UFC that
day, I would've immediately instituted a policy of poking any
unconscious-looking fighter in the eye with a sharp stick to
make sure they are out before stopping a fight. Since that fight,
two years ago, Maynard has gone unbeaten, using his wrestling
to bully people around the man-cage. I'm nearly sure that Jim
Miller is the brother of Dan Miller, who just beat superstar
wrestler Jake Roshalt by guillotine, so maybe Jim has the choke-gene
in his blood too. If Maynard gets knocked out this time, they
should pour a big jar of live spiders on him to see if he reacts
before they wake him up; just to avoid controversy of course.
My Guess: Miller by submission.
Kendall
Grove vs. Jason Day
Grove
is one of those fighters who look like they've just stepped out
of a funhouse mirror. At 6-foot, 6-inches tall, he is like an
experiment by evolution. To be sure, he can more easily reach
fruit hanging in high branches but he hasn't put his albatross-like
wingspan to use in the octagon yet. He will have an especially
hard time keeping Day on the end of his punches since, as we
saw in Day's match against Alan Belcher, he loves nothing more
than to stick to you like gum in a bushy mustache, and then beat
the ever-loving tar out of you while you roll around trying to
get him out of your shorts. My Guess: Day by TKO.
Tim
Boetsch vs. Jason Brilz
Boetsch
wins the award for "most awesome entrance music" for
coming into the octagon to the theme from "Conan the Barbarian".
I don't care what 50-cent tune Rampage uses, you can't beat that,
by Crom. Brilz is 16-1-1, but in his photo on the UFC website
he looks like he's just been arrested for hoofing glue fumes
behind a corner store. He's actually beaten some good guys in
his career, but Boetsch has that "Do not mess with me"
thing going on, and it freaks me out. My Guess: Boetsch by decision.
Brandon
Vera vs. Mike Patt
Vera
has eaten a double-helping of humble-pie lately going 1-3 in
his last four bouts, with even the sole victory being a snore-fest
decision. This is the guy who once said he would win the UFC
heavyweight belt, then drop down and take the light-heavyweight
belt too. Now "The Truth" is fighting to save his spot
in the octagon. If he loses to Patt, he will officially win the
award for "poorest walking the walk after biggest talking
the talk". My Guess: Vera by TKO.
Jeff Meszaros welcomes reader feedback at wombat@fcfighter.com
and can be heard as the host of FCF Radio.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Fight
card released for Bellator 1 on ESPN Deportes
Bellator
released today the fight card for its inaugural event on April
3 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
The fights will air on tape-delay the following night at 10 p.m.
ET on ESPN Deportes.
The series will crown four champions through a tournament format
over a three month period in the featherweight, lightweight,
welterweight and middleweight divisions.
The grand prize for each champion is a $175,000 payday. The final,
semifinal and opening round winners will be awarded $100,000,
$50,000 and $25,000, respectively
TOURNAMENT BOUTS:
155 lbs.: Eddie Alvarez (16-2) vs. Daniel Morales (5-1)
155 lbs.: Jorge Masvidal (16-3) vs. Diego Garijo (3-1)
145 lbs.: Nick Gonzalez (14-6) vs. Yahir Reyes (12-5)
145 lbs.: Estevan Payan (6-1) vs. Luis Palomino (9-4)
145 lbs.: Joe Soto (4-0) vs. Ben Greer (11-4)
155 lbs.: Toby Imada (20-11) vs. Israel Giron (7-1)
A non-tournament bout featuring American Top Team's Jessica Aguilar
(5-2) will be added to the card.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Bloody
Elbow:
Expect Ken Shamrock vs. Bobby Lashley
By Zach Arnold
On paper, it sounds like a great fight to market.
But consider the following - WWE had a hard time generating fan
interest for Lashley until they put him in the Donald Trump angle
against Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania a couple of years ago.
What you are essentially banking on with putting Lashley in a
high-profile fight like this is that he will be able to show
more charisma than he ever did in WWE (think what happened to
Brock Lesnar in UFC).
The big question going into this fight is what size Lashley will
be when he faces Shamrock. Ken's fighting at around 205 or 210,
so if Lashley is 250 or more this could be big trouble for Ken.
Then again, he could pull a Frank Mir and submit the big guy
while taking a beating in the process.
It is an interesting fight on paper to market.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Dos
Santos surprised with the fast TKO
By Guilherme Cruz
Stepping in the octagon two times, Junior "Cigano"
dos Santos needed less than 90 seconds to knock two opponents
out. At UFC 90, Fabricio Werdum was the victim, and now (UFC
95), Stefan Struve couldn't handle his striking. "Tanks
God everything did right again," said Junior. "I went
to that fight to knock him out, it was what we've trained, but
I didn't believe it would happen so fast. He let me stay close
to him and I could work".
After the judge stop the fight, Struve protested. "He said
he was ok, he could continue fighting," revealed dos Santos.
"But he watched the video and saw he felt my punches and
felt, unconscious, and then came back. He suffered two knockdowns.
The judge did right". About his next challenge, the Brazilian
doesn't know who can step in against him.
"They didn't said anything to me," told the Brazilian.
"I heard I could face Heath Herring, but then I heard he
was going to Bellator event. Maybe I can fight Chick Kongo now…
I hope they put some guy with a good name against me. I think
it'd be an interesting fight against him (Kongo), he's very strong,
but doesn't know a thing on the ground, he's pretty weak. I think
we'd do a great fight standing, very aggressive, and I'd be better
than him on the ground, easily".
Source:
Tatame
|
Munoz
Vows to Test His Wrestling Against Hamill's
by Jason Probst
For every fighter, there's that moment when you hit the crossroads
in a real match and get formally initiated into the ranks. For
Mark Munoz, the gut check came in the opening moments of his
June 2008 WEC bout with Chuck Grigsby, when the 6-foot-6 slugger
nailed him with a potent right uppercut.
Munoz's
head snapped back, he wobbled ever so slightly, then resumed
circling.
"It
was right on the chin. It was good. I thought he was far away
from me, and I was circling away, and he had such a long reach.
You know, when he hit me with it, I thought, 'We're in a fight
now,'" said Munoz, 5-0, of the toughest moment of his career.
"'OK. I've really got to move my head, close the gap and
get to where I want to be.' It put a sense of urgency in me."
Munoz
did just that, taking Grigsby down, where he delivered a series
of right hands while standing, tossed Grigsby's legs aside and
smashed him into defeat for a jolting finish.
Munoz's
WEC career consisted of the Grigsby fight and a first-round stoppage
of Ricardo Barros before the division was scrapped by the organization.
But now he is set to debut on another big stage, against Matt
Hamill this Saturday at UFC 96.
A
state champion who grew up in Vallejo (a few miles east of San
Francisco), Munoz now lives in Mission Viejo, conveniently located
between San Diego and Los Angeles, where he shuttles around meeting
the prescribed training regimen for each particular day.
"I
go to wherever I need go," said Munoz, who is a married
father of four. "Jokers Wild Fighting Academy at Lake Forest,
Babalu (Sobral's) gym in Cerritos. I'll go down to San Diego
and train with Brandon Vera, and the Gracie gym in Torrance."
He
also has sessions with Jake Shields.
"Jake
is awesome, a wizard on the ground," Munoz said of the last
and only EliteXC welterweight champ. "He teaches me a lot
as far as interweaving wrestling with jiu-jitsu. He's a vital
asset to me and a great training partner."
Munoz
went from a virtual unknown to another promising blip on the
sport's radar with the nationally televised win over Grigsby,
but his tales of gym prowess are quickly developing him a name
among fighters and those close to the sport. Urijah Faber, who
pestered him for months to turn pro, calls him "an animal."
Fellow
northern California high school wrestler Rick Randolph was three
years ahead of Munoz in high school, took seventh in state and
knows the name from way back. Randolph, who is gunning for the
Gladiator Challenge heavyweight belt the same night Munoz battles
Hamill, had high praise for the 2001 NCAA champ as well. He believes
the much-hyped "wrestler versus wrestler" angle of
the Hamill-Munoz matchup won't turn out to be as competitive
as many think.
"He's
just a dominant, dominant guy," Randolph said. "Mark
Munoz is an NCAA national champion. That's not good (for Hamill).
Mark Munoz is a ridiculous wrestler. It's not even in the same
category. That's essentially where he's at. Hamill's good, but
the wrestling is not gonna be an issue. The wrestling will be
dominated by Munoz. When you go with a guy at that level, it's
like, 'How did you dominate me?'"
Or
there's James Irvin's summation of grappling with Munoz, offered
up in a January 2007 conversation with this writer before Munoz
turned pro and was still prepping for his debut.
"It's
bad," Irvin said, shaking his head. "Really, really
bad."
Manager
Mike Roberts said that Munoz's standup has improved since the
Grigsby fight.
"A
lot of people are going to be surprised when they see him out-strike
Hamill," Roberts said. "He's been working on everything
to become the total package. And the grappling will be dominated
by Mark."
Munoz
is excited to get the chance to tangle with Hamill, whose improvement
since his appearance on "The Ultimate Fighter" has
been considerable.
Once
strictly relegated to a wrestling-based approach, Hamill has
developed some striking and seems to have the kind of natural
aggression and will to carry him through rough spots. He lost
a disputed decision to Michael Bisping, bounced back with a quality
win over Tim Boetsch, was stopped by Rich Franklin and rebounded
again to pound out Reese Andy. He's a pretty tough opponent to
take on during your first appearance under the UFC banner. Welcome
to the neighborhood, kid.
"It's
a great matchup for me. Wrestler versus wrestler. But it's not
gonna be a wrestling match," Munoz said. "It's gonna
be, I feel like, whomever has adjusted to MMA better. That's
going to win the fight. All the in-between techniques. The transitions
between wrestling and other disciplines. It's going to be an
interesting fight. I'd like it to be exciting. I know Matt Hamill's
gonna want to stand. In a lot of fights, he uses his wrestling
sporadically. I like to use wrestling to set up other things.
"I
think obviously his strength is his takedowns. But I haven't
seen much ground game from him. I've seen a lot of front headlock
punches, and once he gets guys tired and worn down, he's like
a juggernaut. He keeps coming forward. He wears them out with
those front headlock punches, dirty boxing punches. Uses wrestling
to tire the guys out, but I haven't really seen him doing ground-and-pound
when he's in guard or half-guard."
Nonetheless,
Munoz still has a big challenge in front of him. But he's used
to making his own breaks.
A
high school state champion at 189 pounds, Munoz was asked to
cut to 167 by the legendary John Smith after joining the Oklahoma
State University wrestling squad. He complied for the first two
years, torturing himself to make a weight that simply wasn't
right for him. He'd argue back and forth with Smith, citing declining
performance as the season went on as evidence he wasn't suited
to wrestle that light. Finally, one summer, determined to force
the issue, Munoz lifted like a maniac and came into the first
practice of the season at 236 pounds. He proceeded to beat up
on a blue-chip recruit Smith had pegged for the 197-pound slot.
The point had been made -- and he made NCAA All-American his
junior year and took the championship in his final season.
Munoz
still says he wants to move like a boxer, kick like a muay Thai
expert when necessary and embrace the realm when the moment is
right. It's not just about wrestling, but rather the mix of disciplines
that excites him. But at the end of the day, he figures he can
always take it to the ground, and he wants more finishes like
the Grigsby one that fans will notice.
"I
kind of want that to be my signature," Munoz said. "Once
it's on the ground, I feel so comfortable. Because I love the
ground. That's my home. I feel that if they try to submit me,
I have great knowledge as far as submission defense that I can
scramble out of them."
And
after mixing in the new skills he's been working on, Munoz figures
he and Hamill will eventually settle the wrestling question en
route to the finish.
"I
haven't seen much ground (work) from him. Obviously, his standup's
gotten a lot better," he said. "His weaknesses are,
I believe, in his ground game on his back. Nobody's ever put
him there. So yeah, I'm looking to put him on his back."
Source:
Sherdog
|
Fabricio
Werdum May Sign With Strikeforce; May Fight Kimbo
It looks like top heavyweight contender and recently minted free
agent, Fabricio Werdum, may have found a home. According to Werdum,
he's currently negotiating with Strikeforce to participate in
an upcoming card in May.
"I'm in negotiations," Werdum told World of MMA. "Maybe
next fight in May for Strikeforce."
As for an opponent. Werdum could be looking at the prospects
of a match up against the infamous Kimbo Slice.
"It's possible, maybe Kimbo," Werdum said. "You
know, I want the best in my category. I would take him down and
use submissions."
Werdum was jettisoned from the UFC after dropping a first round
TKO at the hands of young up-and-comer Junior dos Santos. He
more than held his own during his time spent with the organization
however, besting Gabriel Gonzaga and Brandon Vera and fighting
Andrei Arlovski to a close decision loss.
Kimbo Slice rode an unprecedented wave of grassroots support
fueled by internet fight clips all the way to brief superstardom,
including being featured on ESPN and The Rolling Stone and headlining
two prime time fight cards on CBS. His bubble eventually burst
however, when the former internet street brawler was exposed
by mid-level former UFC competitor Seth Petruzelli. Petruzelli
disposed of Slice with one punch a mere 14 seconds into their
fight, at once demolishing a facade of a fighter and an organization.
Source: Fight Line
|
Johnny
Eduardo signs with Bellator FC
By Guilherme Cruz and Eduardo Ferreira
With six straight wins, four by knockout, Johnny Eduardo (20-8)
signed a contract with Bellator Fighting Championship, which
debuts on April 3rd at United States, live on ESPN. Johnny will
make the alternate fight on the tournament, that will have another
Brazilian, Wilson Reis, EliteXC champion, and Luis Palomino,
black belt under Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira. Who
can also be on the card is the 2008 world Jiu-Jitsu champion,
Sérgio Moraes.
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"You
always pass failure on the way to success."
Mickey Rooney
|
Relson
Gracie Kauai Association, Kauai Technical Institute (KTI) Tournament
May 16th
Relson Gracie Kauai Association, Kauai Technical Institute (KTI)
is hosting a BJJ & submission grappling tournament on Kauai
on May 16th. Please mark your calendars and get your team ready
to make the trek to the Garden Isle.
Scrappa Lifestylez
Scrapplers Fest
submission grappling/gi tournament
May 16, 2009
Kauai
|
Garden
Island Cage Match 8: Way of the Warrior
March 28th!
Tickets
will be sold tomorrow at the following outlets:
Pono
Market- Kapaa
City Liquor -Lihue
Deli and Bread- Kukui Grove
Meyvn- Kukui Grove
Skapa - Hanamaulu
Kauai Harley- Puhi
Sweet and Sassy- Eleele
Wongs Rest- Hanapepe
Aloha Rainbow Screening- Waimea
Hair Razors- Lihue- VIP tickets
Be
apart of the Largest MMA show in Hawaii per Captia
Source:
Event Promoter
|
BJ
Penn Autograph Signing at Ala Moana March 14!
March 14, 2009
12pm to 2pm
Ala Moana Nordstroms
|
GOT
SKILLZ Tomorrow!
FILCOM CENTER, WAIPAHU, HAWAII
MARCH 7, 2009
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30
WEIGH IN
TODAY
WESSIDE FIGHT GEAR
(ACROSS WAIPAHU MCDONALDS)
FRIDAY MARCH 6, 2009
6:30 PM
PARENTS MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY FIGHTERS 17 AND UNDER
ALL FIGHTERS MUST BRING A VALID ID.
UPDATED FIGHT CARD BELOW
JAMEN 130 AJ PANG
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 125 ISRAEL ALVAREZ
LAA KAHOOKELE 150 SAGE YOSHIDA
DAVIN CUMMINGS 185 JACOB RAUSCHENBURG
ACE 110 THEODORE BROWN
PAKI K. 260 MARCUS PAALUHI
JOSH AFAFALA 130 RODNEY DEGUZMAN
JORDAN FONTEZ 140 MITCHELL GARCIA
KEA DEMELLO 175 DANIEL
RUSTY RIVERA 125 MARK CABERTO
JOE ENAENA 155 ROB CAROLYN
JOEY SCHIPPER 130 EMERSON SOUERIA
JUSTIN HELEMANO 170 KEVIN GRACE
ALEX 140 NAOMI OWENS
EZRA BRIGHT 85 DANNY HO
NELSON KUKAHIKO 110 WILLIAM GARCIA
KALAHIKI DEDELY 170 BRANDON KEPA
all matches & participants are subject to change.
Source: Event Promoter
|
Royler
Gracie Seminar in Lihue Tomorrow
Hi! I just wanted to annouce a open Royler Gracie seminar that's
going to be happening on March 7th, 2009 in Lihue. Breath of
Life has graciously allowed us to use their Dojo again for another
great seminar, this one hosted by Royler Gracie. Proceeds will
again go to help Kauai Boy Kela Alapai, as he fights cancer.
It is from 12pm - 2pm. Cost is $85 at the door. Breath of Life
is located in the Rice Shopping Center, next to the bowlong alley
and Rob's Good Time Grill. Here's a flyer,thanks! Any questions
you can call Bruno at 645-1265
Source: Shauna Castle
|
READY
FOR JARDINE, NO EASY FIGHTS FOR RAMPAGE
by Damon Martin
When former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Rampage Jackson
decided to make his move to the United Kingdom and become a full
time member of the Wolfslair Gym, many wonder what the end result
would be. The answer came in the form of an emphatic knockout
of longtime rival Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 in December 2008.
Since
that time Jackson has continued to train abroad in England with
training partners like Michael Bisping and Cheick Kongo, while
staying focused on getting his title back. The next step towards
that goal comes by way of Keith Jardine, who opposes the Tennessee
native this Saturday night at UFC 96 in Columbus, Ohio.
Speaking
about Jardine, Rampage had nothing but compliments for his opponent,
and he understands the skill level of the "Dean of Mean."
"I
think he's an excellent fighter," Jackson said about Jardine
recently. "So you know he got big wins. He got big losses
just like us all. You know what I'm saying? That don't make a
fighter, how many losses, how many wins you got, what type of
fighter. Anything can happen on any given day. I like Keith's
style. He's got a good little style. He stands up and he likes
to bang. He's a good fighter."
Coming
into this fight, much like the third bout with Silva in December,
Jackson draws upon a loss to gain motivation to hit the gym and
train harder than he ever had before.
"After
my performance with Forrest I've been so ashamed of myself, so
every fight I'm motivated. I'm motivated to go out there and
look good and win because I know what type of fighter I am,"
he stated. "And I was really disappointed in myself for
letting myself take it to that point where I'm not motivated
and I get it in my head that all of these guys are easy.
"There's
no more easy fights. I'm motivated to train hard every time."
That
motivation to train has pushed Jackson that much harder when
working with his new team at the Wolfslair. He gives them credit
for helping him get to where he's going for this fight, and beyond.
"I
chose to train at Wolf's Lair because I see the way they train.
The guys train really hard there, no non-sense, and they've got
really good coaches there," commented Rampage. "And
a lot of people would be surprised if they came and saw how the
training is there. It's not like the best looking gym you ever
want to see. They don't care about that type of thing. All they
care about is putting in hard work. And there's a lot of guys
that are training. It's a good training environment. Everybody
at the gym is a fighter. It's the type of place where I like
to train at."
Jackson
also commented on the differences that a nutritional plan has
made in his career, something he had never done before working
with the Wolfslair.
"Actually
it did make training camp better," he said about eating
better before his fights. "It's doing its job. I never ate
really good. I never took supplements and stuff before. So now
I'm doing it. I'm 30 years old now and so it makes a big difference."
The
former light heavyweight champion says as long as he's healthy
and ready he wants to keep competing this year. While he is in
no way looking past Jardine, if given the choice for his next
match of another shot at Forrest Griffin or a title bout against
Rashad Evans, he has an answer.
"I
guess I'd probably go for the title shot," Jackson said.
While
a title shot seems almost virtually guaranteed with a win, Jackson
remains focused on Keith Jardine at UFC 96, and everything else
stays in the background.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Ken
Shamrock vs. Bobby Lashley at 'March Badness'
UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock will take on former WWE superstar
Bobby Lashley on March 21 at the "March Badness" MMA/boxing
event headlined by Roy Jones Jr. vs. Omar Sheika.
Bloody Elbow first reported this matchup, which will be taking
place from the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, Florida.
Lashley (1-0) is a two-time National Association of Intercollegiate
Athletics (NAIA) wrestling champion and trains with the American
Top Team. In his only MMA fight, Lashley won in 41 seconds via
doctor stoppage due to a cut from ground and pound strikes.
Shamrock (27-13-2) two weeks ago won for the first time since
June 2004, submitting 350-plus-pounder Ross Clifton with an armbar.
FIGHT CARD (MMA):
" Seth Petruzelli vs. Doug Marshall
" Roy Nelson vs. Jeff Monson
" Ken Shamrock vs. Bobby Lashley
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
99 Confirmed for June in Cologne, Germany
Press Release
COLOGNE, Germany -- The Ultimate Fighting Championship organization
announced Tuesday that, this summer, it will bring the world's
fastest growing sport to Germany for the first time.
At
a packed press conference in Cologne, UFC president Dana White,
UFC chairman Lorenzo Fertitta and MLK CEO Marek Lieberberg confirmed
UFC 99: THE COMEBACK will take place at the LANXESS Arena, Cologne,
on Saturday, June 13.
The
main event will be a unique catchweight showdown between elite
former world champions Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva. The
former UFC middleweight champion and Pride 205lbs champion collide
at 195lbs, a catchweight between the middleweight and light heavyweight
divisions.
White
said: "June 13, 2009, is a huge day in the history of the
UFC. It has been a long time coming, but the best fighters on
the planet are finally heading to Germany for our first event
ever in mainland Europe.
"We
are coming with a stacked card and a unique main event. Rich
Franklin v Wanderlei Silva is another of those dream fights fans
never thought they'd get to see - but we are making it happen
in Germany.
White
continued, "Everyone knows Rich moved up to light heavyweight
a couple of fights ago while Wanderlei is planning on fighting
at 185lbs from now on, but this fight is too exciting a match
not to happen and both these guys deserve a ton of credit for
taking this fight at 195lbs."
Source: The Fight Network
|
CSAC
Suspends Sidelnikov
By FCF Staff
According to a news release sent out by the California State
Athletic Commission, Kirill Sidelnikov has been suspended for
one year and fined $2,500 for allegedly testing positive for
the steroid Stanozolol. No other specific information regarding
the positive test result was given.
The suspension of Sidelnikov comes in the wake of the Red Devil
fighter's TKO loss to Paul Buentello, at Affliction's "Day
of Reckoning" card on January 24th, in Anaheim, California.
Although the bout was one of the card's more memorable, Buentello
increasingly outstruck Sidelnikov throughout, eventually stopping
the Russian in the third round.
Nicknaked "Baby Fedor" for being touted one of the
Red Devil team's top prospects, the 20 year-old Sidelnikov has
put together a record of 5-3 since he started fighting professionally
in 2007. The January 24th Affliction bout was the first time
the Russian heavyweight had fought for another organization outside
of M-1. Prior to his loss at "Day of Reckoning", Sidelnikov
stopped Kim Jong Wang at a M-1 event last November, to give him
his 5th career victory via TKO or KO.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Teddy
Atlas Talks Upcoming Title Bout
by Michael David Smith
Boxing's decline in popularity has come in large part because
all the biggest fights are on pay-per-view or premium cable.
But that will change this month, when, for the first time ever,
ESPN will broadcast a heavyweight title fight live.
Having
the promotional muscle of ESPN behind that heavyweight title
fight, featuring WBC heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko defending
his belt against Juan Carlos Gomez, will undoubtedly be good
for the sport. But when I talked to ESPN boxing commentator Teddy
Atlas this week, he cautioned that boxing has problems that the
Klitschko vs. Gomez fight can't come close to solving. My interview
with Atlas is below.
Michael
David Smith: How much promotion do you think ESPN will give the
Klitschko fight?
Teddy Atlas: That's up to them. They have the ability to give
it as much promotion as they want to give it, and I would hope
that they give it a good amount, because they made the decision
to pursue the fight. This isn't normally something we'd be doing.
We usually do our Friday shows, and this is veering off that.
It's taking an opportunity to give our audience something extra,
a heavyweight title fight, which I think the audience will appreciate,
and I appreciate that ESPN decided to do it. They didn't have
to do it. This was something that became and opportunity and
they made the decision that it was something they were prepared
to pursue, and I would hope they would give it the special promotion
to go with that.
How
important is it to boxing that a heavyweight title fight will
be on ESPN?
I think it's important because when you look at the situation
in this country, boxing has almost gotten to the point where
it's a cult sport, and that's not how I've always seen it, my
whole life. It's gotten put on the sidelines, and it's become
an event-driven sport. When it's a big fight, when it's De La
Hoya -- and hopefully he's finished -- but if it's De La Hoya
vs. Pacquiao or Mayweather, it gets its proper attention. But
other than that, you go through the year and there aren't many
fights that get the attention of the public the way the sport
used to on a regular basis.
Now
we don't have what we had in the 80s, with the best fighters
fighting the best fighters. Now there's no managers anymore,
there's basically just promoters, and the concentration of the
promoters is to bulld up a fighter's record so he can fight on
HBO or Showtime and make as much money as possible. And it's
more about developing the record than it is about developing
the fighter or even developing legitimacy with the fan base.
Now the only place where the fans can get their fix of boxing
is on ESPN. You've got HBO doing their fights, but they only
pick their spots for the bigger fights here and there. Same with
Showtime. ESPN, for the last 11 years, has really been the lifeblood
of the boxing fan. They're the only real network that a boxing
fan, week to week, can say, "I'm going to get my fix of
boxing, and I'm going to follow the guys who are coming up, and
see the next stars."
If
the same thing happened in any other sport, you'd have a problem.
If you could only see baseball or basketball or football once
a month, you'd lose that connection with your fan base. ESPN
is the only place, week in and week out, where fans can stay
connected to their sport. We've stayed connected through the
Friday show, and now we've got this Saturday show coming up with
a heavyweight title fight that isn't on pay-per-view, that doesn't
cost $50 or $60.
How
good a fight is Vitali Klitschko against Juan Carlos Gomez?
Look, I don't think it's gonna be the Thrilla in Manila. I don't
think you have too many Thrillas in Manilas anymore. You don't
have those kinds of athletes, those kinds of fighters, those
kinds of people anymore. I don't think you have that anymore.
You have spoiled athletes in most of the sports and boxing is
no different. Boxers get paid a lot of money and to a certain
extent they treat it like it's a business and they get away with
things that the fighters of the past wouldn't have gotten away
with.
Klitschko's
been away for a long time and he's back now. He's tall, he's
long, he has the kind of style where he controls range, he controls
distance. He's not a "go get you guy," he's not a "seek
and destroy guy." He tries to control his opponent with
his long arms, and he's fighting a southpaw, so that brings an
interesting dimension into it. He's fighting a guy in Gomez who's
also up there in age, not a spring chicken. Klitschko is 37 and
Gomez is 35. I think there's going to be a tactical element to
it, but I think the physical dimensions of Klitschko -- size,
height reach -- at the end of the day I think that's what will
lead the way for them.
I'll
be interested to see how well ESPN promotes this heavyweight
title fight because In my opinion, ESPN doesn't do a good enough
job of promoting its boxing properties. It seems like when ESPN
has a good football, baseball or basketball game, they beat you
over the head with it. But sometimes I'll see a good boxing match
on Friday Night Fights and it doesn't even get mentioned on SportsCenter.
I appreciate you saying that. I appreciate the truth and I appreciate
you saying the truth. We can promote our sport more. I understand
ESPN has a lot of properties. They have responsibilities, financially,
to different leagues that bring in bigger fan bases than boxing
does. I understand and appreciate that. But we are one of the
entities. We've had a good fan base for a long time. The more
you promote it, the more you're going to grow it. If you have
a plant and you water it a little more, you feed it a little
more, it's going to grow a little more.
Maybe
boxing is never going to be football or baseball, but we have
a fan base out there. A great fan base. And if we promote it,
the fans will come to it. I'm not complaining, I'm just making,
I think, a fair statement. Boxing fans have been around for centuries.
If you tell them about it, they'll come out.
Do
you think boxing will ever be as popular again as it was in the
80s?
To do that, there would have to be somebody in charge, leading
the sport in a definitive direction. We need a change in philosophy
-- there would have to be somebody at home. What I mean by that
is we're the only sport without a national commission. That's
what I mean by nobody home. There's nobody promoting the sport.
Nobody who says, "My responsibility is to make the sport
better."
What
we have is power brokers and promoters who only care about their
little piece of land. They don't care about the overall growth
of the sport. They just care about what they're getting. That's
not the case in football. They care about the sport from A to
Z, and they care about the small-market teams, too. They look
at the sport as a whole. Boxing doesn't have that. And until
it has that, I don't know if there's ever going to be a solution
to these issues.
We
need the best fighters fighting the best fighters. We need to
do something about these corrupt alphabet organizations, that
put guys in title fights because of their relationships with
promoters, rather than the merit of the fighters. The best promotion
for the business would be the best guys fighting each other.
That's what we need, because the fighters are noble. It's the
administrators who aren't noble. The fighters are noble, and
the fans, for centuries, have recognizedthat. And if you give
it to them they're going to come out.
Do
you think the rise of mixed martial arts has anything to do with
the decline of boxing?
Not at all. A lot of people say that. I think people who say
that are ignorant. They just say that because it seems like the
thing to say. One of the healthiest things in our society is
competition. That's always been good for our American way of
life and business as a whole. So competition should be good for
boxing. Mixed martial arts is a different entity than boxing.
And if there's competition it should be healthy, because it should
push one of the businesses -- really both businesses, but just
talking about boxing -- it should push boxing to get its own
house in order.
Mixed
martial arts does a better job of marketing their sport. You
hear more about mixed martial arts because they market it better.
Boxing doesn't market its sport. The perception is, 'Wow, this
stuff has kicked the s**t out of boxing." That's not true.
It's just that they talk about the sport.
You
brought up a good point about us -- we don't even talk about
it enough. The sport does not market itself. There's no one there
to do that. So you get the perception that mixed martial arts
is really climbing. The reality is, when you see a big fight,
whether it's De La Hoya-Pacquiao or De La Hoya-Mayweather, or
whatever, you realize -- and I'm not knocking mixed martial arts,
I think that sport's good and the participants are tough guys
-- but Ultimate Fighting's not a pimple on the ass of boxing.
When
you see boxing, with those pay-per-view buys, and one fighter
making $40 million and the other fighter making $20 million,
you say, "Are you kidding me? You think (the UFC is) making
inroads into boxing? No, no, no. They don't come close. Not when
it comes to the big fights. But the problem is, that's what boxing
has come to, where you only get that one big fight a year or
one every two years.That's the problem. You don't have the public
talking about all the other fights in between.
Do
you think having the Klitschko-Gomez fight on ESPN has the potential
to give boxing a shot in the arm, as one of those fights in between
that people will talk about?
I don't think those fighters deserve to be in that position.
I'm a purist, and I'm not going to give you the bulls**t that
someone else is going to give you. I don't think these particular
fighters really deserve that status. I don't think any heavyweights
today really do, to be quite frank with you. But they are what
they are, and they are what we have. So to have a heavyweight
title fight on ESPN is a good thing. And it's good that, like
the 80s, when great fights were on network TV, you're getting
a free fight -- as long as you have the basic cable package --
and that's a good thing. That's bringing you back to when people
were connected to boxing more, and they could watch a heavyweight
title fight without having to worry about whether they could
afford it.
I
think it's a good step for us and it's a good step for boxing.
But ultimately it's going to come down to how good a fight it
is. If it's a good fight, that's a big step. If it's not a good
fight, it's still good for the sport to get the exposure, but
it's not as big a step. I'm a lifer. I've been in boxing my whole
life. Anything that's good for the sport, I get hopeful about.
Hopefully, thisis a step toward the sport going where it needs
to go.
Source:
Fan House
|
Wanderlei:
"I'll be ready for Rich Franklin"
By Guilherme Cruz
With one victory in three fights at UFC's octagon, Wanderlei
Silva decided to drop to middleweight division, where he faces
one of the best fighters of the category. Former champion, Rich
Franklin was the last man to hold the belt before the beginning
of Anderson Silva's domain in the octagon, but comes from recent
defeat to Dan Henderson. With the next fight confirmed, Wanderlei
is excited for a new victory.
"Fighting with him is incredible, because he was the last
champion before Anderson. He is a great fighter, a complete guy
and it's a good fight for me in this new category. He has a good
ground, good striking, good takedowns and I think it'll be a
good fight for me. I'm bringing many guy from Brazil to train
with me that are also complete fighters, I'll be ready for him",
says the Brazilian, in an interview for the Fighters Only Magazine
site. The catchweight (195lbs) fight is scheduled for UFC 99,
on June 13th, in Germany.
Source:
Tatame
|
Faber
Doubts Brown Rematch Will Launch WEC PPV
by Lotfi Sariahmed
Not long after Mike Thomas Brown successfully defended his featherweight
title from Leonard Garcia at WEC 39 last Sunday, the TV cameras
turned to Urijah Faber. Faber wore a confident smile, knowing
he'd have the opportunity to face the man who stole the title
from him last November.
Just
where fans will have to go to watch the rematch is the question
of the moment. Recent speculation points to a pay-per-view event,
the very first for the promotion, which was bought by Zuffa LLC.,
who also own the UFC, in December 2006. Faber isn't so sure.
"I
don't know if they would do a pay-per-view for this one,"
Faber told the Sherdog Radio Network's "Beatdown" show
on Monday. "Probably not. I think they're going to do some
build-up. Maybe toward the end of the year they would do a pay-per-view,
but I don't think this is going to be a pay-per-view."
Arguably
the promotion's brightest star alongside bantamweight champ Miguel
Torres, Faber has flourished as an MMA spokesman on the Versus
Network, which has broadcasted live WEC events since mid 2007.
Faber seemed partial to his second go with Brown (21-4) there.
"Versus
is putting a lot of investment in this as well and they're having
big fights. [The WEC] kind of owe it to them to have it on there,
so it is what it is," said the 28-year-old Faber. "It's
a fight that's going to draw a lot of viewers and it'll be for
free I'm thinking."
If
pay-per-view not be the platform though, Faber (22-2) still expects
a big push to be made for the headlining bout, which he anticipates
could happen in June.
"I
definitely think it needs to happen," said Faber. "They
need to put money behind it if they want this organization to
grow, which they're all talking like they do. They need to put
money behind it. Zuffa needs to put money behind it. Versus needs
to put money behind it. Everyone else needs to do their part.
I'm going to do my part and make exciting fights. I'm going to
do everything I can to promote the fight."
Faber
hardly knew what hit him when Brown countered an ill-timed back
elbow from Faber and sent him flying to the canvas in their first
brief encounter at WEC 36. On Sunday, Faber had a better angle
sitting cageside to watch Brown, an American Top Team standout,
move through his first title defense. "The California Kid"
took a lot of mental notes.
"I've
seen his wrestling and it's pretty good for the sport, but my
wrestling overall is a lot better," said Faber. "He's
got strong jiu-jitsu but I'm more elusive and I think I could
come out on top in that battle as well. I think I can beat him
in the standup as well. Last time I got caught with a big punch
after I was throwing a crazy elbow and that was the big difference.
I saw [Sunday] that was no fluke. He's got power and poise. He's
someone to be reckoned with."
Still,
Faber saw potential openings.
"The
big thing I saw is Mike Brown likes to be stationary," Faber
said. "He's a big strong powerful guy for the weight. When
his feet are planted, I wouldn't say he's a counter-puncher;
he's about counter movement. He waits for someone to come toward
him and he swings those big heavy punches and tries to catch
guys. They're slow."
Faber
had others to keep an eye on last Sunday as well. If Brown-Faber
II fails to make the pay-per-view rounds, Jose Aldo (14-1) waits
in the wings for either fighter. The Nova Uniao standout has
blazed through four consecutive opponents in the WEC cage, including
his last victim Chris Mickle, who Aldo iced in 99 seconds last
Sunday.
"He's
really talented standing up and he seems pretty talented on the
ground as well," said Faber, "but I think they need
to test him a little bit more. His last fight was almost like
a joke. They put that guy in there at the last minute. I heard
he cut a lot of weight. It didn't look like he was the most well
rounded guy on the planet. So not discrediting Jose, he's making
all these guys look bad because he's extremely talented. I think
when I get this title shot with Brown there will be a title shot
for Aldo in the near future."
Faber
will first seize the opportunity that not all fighters get: the
chance to avenge a particular stinging defeat.
"I
imagine they'll make [Brown-Faber II] a huge deal because it
is a huge deal -- the best fighters in the world at 145 pounds
and the most exciting fighters in the world," said Faber.
"So I can't wait to do it and be a part of it and get my
belt back and watch it and drink a beer when I'm done."
Source: Sherdog
|
ALBERTO
CRANE ROLLING, WANTS BACK IN UFC
by Mick Hammond
Lightweight Alberto Crane will be the first to tell you that
his initial Ultimate Fighting Championship run was a disappointment
on many levels.
After
a stellar start to his career, which saw him win his first eight
fights en route to the King of the Cage 155-pound title, Crane
lost back-to-back fights in the UFC to Roger Huerta and Kurt
Pellegrino.
Just
as quickly as he had arrived, six months after his UFC debut,
he was released from the company.
After
losing his first fight outside of the promotion, he has managed
to find himself once again on solid ground, winning four fights
in a row, including this past weekend's first round submission
victory over Eric Regan for Rage in the Cage.
"For
this last fight I felt the most comfortable I've ever felt,"
admitted Crane of his win over Regan. "I finally feel like
a seasoned mixed martial arts fighter.
"I
feel great and I want to get back to the UFC, get back up into
the big show and keep fighting and winning."
Crane's
hopeful return to the promotion he has always strived to be a
part of will go much differently than his first run, as he feels
he is a far superior fighter today compared to just one year
ago.
"When
I fought in the UFC I was coming off a long break and really
didn't have a team to train with," he stated. "That's
different now. I have my team that I'm training with, and combined
with me fighting consistently, I'm100-percent (different) mentally,
physically, everything."
Developing
areas such as his striking has allowed Crane to evolve into a
more complete mixed martial artist.
"I
feel like I'm a lot better taking the fight to where I need to
take it to win it," he commented. "I'm not one-dimensional."
His
hard work shows through, especially so in his recent performance
against Eric Regan where, after a brief exchange, Crane took
the fight to the mat and used a combination of effective ground-and-pound
and his exceptional submission game to quickly finish off his
veteran opponent.
"It
was a perfect fight," he exclaimed. "I didn't take
any damage at all, and that makes it easy. I'm definitely ready
for bigger challenges, and I'm excited to do that this year."
As
Crane puts it, it's time to step back up to the highest level
of MMA this year after a year away.
"I've
always wanted to fight in the UFC, and that was always my goal,"
he stated. "If it doesn't happen, I'll have to keep my options
open.
"I'd
like to fight here locally in California, but I'd like to get
back in the big show. Whatever happens I want to stay active
and see what happens."
With
four wins in a row, it would be hard to imagine that Crane would
have to wait much longer to get his shot at the top, a shot he
intends to make go much differently the second time around.
"I
want to thank Adam Roseman with ARC Investment Partners, Barmarq
Manfoorian with Forza Silicon, Clinch Gear and Legacy Mixed Martial
Arts," he concluded.
"People
didn't see the real Alberto Crane when I fought in the UFC. I'm
going to show them the real Alberto Crane coming this year."
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Although
the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming
of it. "
Helen Keller
|
Frank
Mir vs. Brock Lesnar Official for UFC 98
Press Release
Las Vegas, NV (USA) - Long considered the most prestigious title
in mixed martial arts, the UFC Heavyweight Championship currently
rests in the hands of two men - Champion Brock Lesnar and interim
belt holder Frank Mir. On Saturday, May 23rd, at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lesnar and Mir will meet to
not only determine an Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion, but
to settle some very personal business they began in this same
city over a year ago.
"Brock
Lesnar and Frank Mir put on one of the most intense one round
fights I've ever seen at UFC 81," said UFC President Dana
White, referring to Mir's submission victory over Lesnar in February
of 2008. "But when it was over, both guys saw things very
differently. Lesnar blamed his loss on inexperience and being
too aggressive, while Mir saw his win as a triumph of his technique,
something he says will happen every time they fight. On May 23rd,
each fighter has his chance to prove his point, and while a lot
has happened for these two since that first fight, I know the
rematch is going to be just as intense as the first one, especially
considering that the winner walks away as the UFC Heavyweight
Champion."
Tickets
for UFC 98: LESNAR VS. MIR 2 priced at $800, $600, $400, $250,
$125 and $75, not including applicable service charges, go on
sale Saturday, March 7 at 10 a.m. at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster
locations (select Smith's Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino).
Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by
phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.
Tickets also are available for purchase at www.ufc.com, www.mgmgrand.com
or www.ticketmaster.com.
UFC®
Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase
tickets to this event Thursday, March 5 at 10 a.m. PT via the
website ufc.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available
to UFC newsletter subscribers Friday, March 6 starting at 10
a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the
UFC newsletter through ufc.com.
UFC
98: LESNAR vs. MIR 2 will be available live on pay-per-view on
iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications
and Viewer's Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95
for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where
available).
A
gifted athlete with the size, speed, and power to impose his
will on any opponent, 6-3 ½, 265 pound Brock Lesnar (3-1)
made an immediate impact in the UFC when he debuted in February
of 2008. A four-time All-American, two-time Big Ten Champion,
and 2000 NCAA Division I National Champion in wrestling, Lesnar
made a name for himself internationally after college as a professional
wrestler, but he soon found his calling in mixed martial arts
in 2006. After a 69 second win in his pro debut a year later,
Lesnar entered the UFC in 2008 and was seconds away from victory
against former heavyweight champ before a stoppage in the action
for a point deduction allowed Mir to come back and submit the
newcomer moments afterwards. But at UFC 87 in August of 2008,
Lesnar showed why he was a force to be reckoned with by dominating
Heath Herring, and by November 15, the ever improving Minnesotan
shocked the world when he TKOd one of the greatest heavyweights
of all time, Randy "The Natural" Couture. Now firmly
entrenched on the top of the heavyweight division, Lesnar wants
to even the score with Mir.
"I'm
delighted to have a rematch against Frank Mir," said Lesnar.
"I can't wait to get my revenge and finish this fight on
the ground the way it should have been finished last time."
Many
believe that 29-year old Las Vegan Frank Mir (12-3) was destined
for stardom the moment he stepped in the UFC Octagon, and he
lived up to all expectations when he submitted Tim Sylvia in
50 seconds in 2004 to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately,
Mir's career ground to a halt when a serious motorcycle accident
later that year forced him to the sidelines for almost two years.
His eagerness to return forced him into some spotty performances
when he stepped back into the Octagon in 2006, but at UFC 74
in August of 2007, Mir was back in top notch form as he submitted
Antoni Hardonk in just 77 seconds. He followed that pivotal win
with a come-from-behind victory over Brock Lesnar at UFC 81 in
February of 2008, but it wasn't until UFC 92 on December 27,
2008 that Mir came all the way back, as he became the first man
to stop the legendary Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira
at UFC 92, en route to regaining the interim portion of the championship
he never lost in the Octagon. On May 23rd, the 6-3, 240 pound
Mir has the opportunity to once again reign as the undisputed
title holder.
"Brock
Lesnar has been calling for a rematch with me ever since I beat
him the first time," said Mir. "All I can say to Brock
is be careful what you wish for because I'm a better, smarter,
stronger, and faster fighter than I was the last time. He won't
be able to push me around like he's done smaller opponents, and
I'm looking forward to becoming undisputed champion again."
Source: The Fight Network
|
Interview
with Strikeforce's Scott Coker
By Steven Marrocco
FCF
recently spoke to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, who was trying
to finish the gargantuan task of booking shows in April and May,
in addition to lining up dates, venues, and broadcast details
with new partner Showtime Networks. Strikeforce's first joint
effort with Showtime is "Shamrock vs. Diaz" on April
11 in San Jose, headlined by proven draw Frank Shamrock and Nick
Diaz. Lightweight champion Josh Thomson is also scheduled to
face Gilbert Melendez in a rematch of their June 2008 fight.
As you can imagine, Coker's voice sounded a little bit tired,
but maybe that was because the interview took place shortly after
midnight.
FCF:
Any news or headway with Gina Carano?
Coker:
It looks like Gina Carano will make her debut in May. That's
what it's looking like right now, but until we finish this deal
with her…I need to find out what weight she wants to fight
at, and when is she going to be ready. I think we've made some
headway. She's a great fighter and we definitely want to put
her on our roster.
FCF:
Have you talked any more with Kimbo or his people?
Coker:
There's dialogue between us and his lawyer, and I think it's
going to be a face to face meeting in the near future. I think
we'll finalize everything then. What it comes down to is a lot
of these fighters are in situations-some, but not all of them-where
we're going to need to come to an understanding in order to fulfill
the agreement in time. We have to either escalate their fighting
frequency, or extend the contracts 3 or 4 months to make sure
we can fulfill the number of fights we're promising them. Everyone's
different, we're taking it case by case.
FCF:
I heard Joachim Hansen was one of the fighters you were eyeing
to come into Strikeforce. Have there been any efforts to make
that happen?
Coker:
The issue with Joachim Hansen, I heard, is that he's having a
hard time passing his neurological tests. So I don't even think
he's scheduled to fight right now. We have some very good friends
at [Dream], and we're going to continue the relationship.
FCF:
A lot of overseas fighters get paid differently than US based
fighters, via wire transfers sent from other countries. Do you
have that option?
Coker:
Yeah, we're not going to be able to do that. We're an American
company based out of California, so all the rules of California
law and US law apply to us. We do business the way we're supposed
to do business.
FCF: Any news on Christiane "Cyborg" Santos' opponent?
Coker:
She will be fighting. Her opponent is TBA right now.
FCF:
It's been a crazy couple of weeks, hasn't it?
Coker:
I've never done anything like this before, and I don't want to
go through this again.
FCF:
Looking at the scope of your deal, 10 cards in 2009, and another
6 in a calendar year, it sounds like a crazy pace.
Coker:
You know what I tell everybody? I've got a real job now. I felt
like the last few years of promoting MMA, we've done a good job
a promoting some great fights, and going through this thing with
Pro Elite was an experience, and at the time, it seemed like
when's this thing going to end? But really, now is the time when
all the work begins. There's going to be some months where we
promote two fights a month, and ramp it up and deliver the fights
that we're obligated to do. It's going to be an amazing experience.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
CYBORG
BOUT SET FOR APRIL 11 STRIKEFORCE
by Tom Hamlin
Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos finally has an opponent set
in her sights.
On
Wednesday, Strikeforce executive Mike Afromowitz confirmed that
the Brazilian sensation faces veteran Hitomi Akano at Strikeforce's
first Showtime televised effort, "Shamrock vs. Diaz,"
on April 11 in San Jose.
Afromowitz
said the bout's placement on the main card had yet to be determined.
It is scheduled for three, three-minute rounds at a weight limit
of 145lbs.
Last
month, Strikeforce acquired Santos' contract in a buyout of troubled
ProElite assets. She was widely expected to take on women's MMA
star Gina Carano before ProElite's flagship MMA promotion, Elite
XC, was forced to cease operations.
Carano
is reportedly still in negotiations with Strikeforce, though
CEO Scott Coker recently said if a deal is made, she will likely
fight on a yet to be announced card in May.
Santos
withdrew from a scheduled appearance against Marloes Coenen at
last weekend's XMMA 7 in Montreal, Canada due to a shoulder injury.
The
23 year-old native of Curitiba has won all but one of her seven
professional appearances, most by TKO.
Akano,
34, is a BodogFight veteran with a professional record of 14-5.
She currently trains with standout Megumi Fujii at the Ani Abe
Combat Club in Tokyo, Japan. A submission specialist, ten out
of her fourteen victories come from armbars.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Mike
Brown now considers himself the WEC champ
Mike
Brown finally feels that he is the WEC featherweight champion
now that he has successfully defended the belt.
"I didn't feel like the champion after I beat Urijah,"
Brown (21-4) said at the post-fight conference. "It was
a great fight for me and it was the best night of my career,
but I still didn't feel like the champ. I didn't want to be a
one-hit wonder, easy-come-easy-goes."
There was also no talk of a lucky punch in the win against Leonard
Garcia (12-4) at WEC 39 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Brown was definitively
the better fighter on Sunday, sending Garcia to the mat with
a beautiful overhand right, attempting a rear-naked choke, ground
and pounding Garcia and then submitting the hometown hero with
an arm-triangle choke from mount.
"It was night so I'm happy that I established myself as
champ," Brown said.
Brown's next step appears to be cementing himself as the number
one featherweight in the world -- which means giving a rematch
to Urijah Faber (22-2). That's the fight fans are talking about
and Brown wants to deliver.
"I would fight anybody," Brown said. "I think
there are a lot of guys deserving of a shot but I think fans
want to see me and Urijah the most."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Affliction's
Tom Atencio on Fedor, Dana White, Tito Ortiz and More
by Michael David Smith
MMA
fans are eagerly awaiting Fedor Emelianenko's next fight, but
will that fight be against Josh Barnett at Affliction's third
show? For that matter, will Affliction even have a third show?
In
an interview with Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio, I asked
him about the promotion's future, what's next for Fedor, whether
he'll sign Tito Ortiz and what he thinks of Dana White saying,
"I hope they put on another show because I want them to
lose more money." The interview is below.
Michael
David Smith: Will there be a third Affliction show?
Tom Atencio: I'm working on it right now. I just don't have dates.
I've always said I take it one fight at a time, and that's how
I've done it. I just don't have dates. I'm trying to work on
everything and make sure everyone's on board.
So
there's a chance you won't have a third show?
No, I'm just trying to figure out what we're doing, that's all.
I'm kind of between a rock and a hard place. The fans and the
media treat me like I'm on my 10th show. I'm on my third show,
and I'm just trying to make sure I don't make the same mistakes
that I made in the other events. If there's things I've made
mistakes on I try to fix them. I'm trying to be methodical about
everything. I'm just trying to make sure that whatever we do,
we're doing it right. And then on the other hand, sponsors and
everybody else are treating it like it is my second show and
trying to make me prove myself, and that's what I'm doing. So
I'm kind of between a rock and a hard place. It's only my third
show. It's not like I've done this before. It's not like we come
from another organization of smaller fights. This is right out
of the gate, we showed up, we did a huge show, we did a second
huge show, now I'm just trying to figure out how we do our third
show.
What
have you learned from the first two?
A lot. The production, making sure everybody's there on time,
making sure everyone flies in on time. There's just a lot of
stuff that -- not that I didn't know, it's just that there was
definitely a learning curve. Not to mention fighters' purses.
Pay-per-view. Not that I didn't think about it, it's just very
involved.
You
mentioned fighters' purses. You guys had a total disclosed payroll
of a little more than $3.3 million for Day of Reckoning. UFC
had a total disclosed payroll of a little less than $1.1 million
for UFC 94. Can you keep up if you're spending three times as
much money as they are and not getting close to what they're
getting in pay-per-view buys?
I think these are the things that I need to change up and these
are the things that I'm trying to remedy. It's completely different,
but they've also been in the industry for what, 13, 15 years?
I didn't come out to compete with the UFC, but a lot of people
have put me in that position. I'm doing what I can because I
love this industry.
Don't
you think the UFC will always view you as a competitor, even
if you didn't come out to compete with them?
I think you'd have to ask Dana White. He's the big dog, and if
that's the way they view it, they have every right. I've always
had a lot of respect for Dana White and (UFC co-owners Frank
and Lorenzo Fertitta).
I
talked to Dana White a few weeks ago. Let me read you something
he told me: "I would be f--ing shocked if Affliction put
on another show. They got murdered. I dislike these guys so much
that I hope they put on another show because I want them to lose
more money. But I don't see it happening." What do you think
when you hear something like that?
I read that, and he's said that from the beginning. He also said
we wouldn't be here in 2009. I can't change his point of view
and frankly, I don't blame the guy. He's the big dog, and it's
good for him if companies go under.
There
have been rumors that Fedor Emelianenko might talk with the UFC
this summer. Do you think there's any truth to those rumors?
It's never been a secret that Fedor and his camp have spoken
with the UFC. They just haven't come to an agreement. Part of
that is because they're our partners and the UFC would have to
do a co-promotion with us, and I don't think they'll ever do
a co-promotion with M-1 Global, who is Fedor's camp. In this
industry there are rumors about everything.
I
think Dana has said the people around Fedor are "crazy Russians."
How have you found the people around Fedor to work with?
He has said that before. I have a great relationship with them.
Whatever he says, I haven't seen it personally. They're great
partners and hopefully we'll keep moving forward.
Do
you think Fedor will fight in Japan this year?
His contract is open. He is able to fight in Japan if he wants
to.
And
you think it's possible his next fight could be in Japan?
It's quite possible, but I know for a fact they'll talk to me
first, and we haven't had any discussions about it. If that's
the case I'll definitely know.
There's
a picture I've seen of you playfully putting Dana in a rear-naked
choke. Were the two of you once friends?
Oh, we still are. I talk to Dana and I have no problems with
Dana. I know even in interviews he has spoken about me and said
he doesn't have a problem with me. He has a problem with my partners
and some of the other guys involved here. I've always had a lot
of respect for him and the Fertittas We were actually out one
night at Tryst, I was at one table and he was at another table.
I bought him a drink, he came over, we had a couple drinks together,
and that's what it was. But of course, people are going to blow
that out of proportion and say whatever they want to.
I've
always had a lot of respect for him, and for me not to would
be arrogant, stupid and ridiculous. The bottom line is, he built
this industry, him and the Fertittas. For me to come in and act
like I know everything, and disrespect him, it would be stupid.
It would be ridiculous. They are the Q-Tip of this industry.
He gave me the opportunity to do what I'm doing. I'm not that
guy.
What
do you think of Strikeforce acquiring most of the EliteXC fighters?
I think it's great. Scott Coker is a great guy. He's a great
businessman. It's good for the industry. I like Scott a lot and
I hope nothing but success for him.
What
role did Showtime play in your last show, and will you have any
type of relationship with them going forward?
Basically, Golden Boy has a relationship with Showtime, and through
their relationship, Showtime handled the pay-per-view side of
it. That was pretty much it. We haven't really sat down and talked
about the future.
Tito
Ortiz was doing the commentary on the last show. In the next
show will he be in the ring?
He's still with the UFC. He's got a contract with them, so I
haven't talked to him about fighting. If we can get him to fight
after he's through with his contract, then yeah, great. He's
coming off back surgery, I think he'll be 100 percent in July,
and yeah, I would love to see Tito fight for us. That's completely
up to him and up to whatever negotiations we have. I have no
clue, to be honest with you.
I
understand you just signed Din Thomas?
I believe so. I've been working on it. I don't know if he's signed
the final paperwork, but we have definitely been working on Din.
I think he's a great fighter.
It's
a little weird to me that you're signing fighters when you're
not ready to say you're going to have a third show.
It's not that I'm not ready, it's just that we don't have dates.
We're moving ahead. It's just a matter of finalizing the dates.
I've learned a lot in this industry, and one thing is not talking
before I have contracts finalized. The fight in Las Vegas, we
had the date and the venue but nothing was finalized, and toward
the end we decided it wasn't a good choice. To me, I just want
to make sure we're done before we start giving anybody information.
I
haven't heard you say, explicitly, "Yes, we're definitely
doing a third show."
I don't think it's a matter of that, I think it's just, like
I said, I'm just trying to take it one fight at a time. ... You
want me to give you a definite answer, and the definite answer
I can give you right now is I do not have dates or a venue as
of today.
Will
you guys promote any women's fights?
Quite honestly, I don't see it happening. I think, really, the
only fight that would make sense right now is Cris Cyborg and
Gina Carano. Aside from that, there are some great female fighters,
I have a lot of respect for them, but I just don't see a big
draw right now, other than that fight. I think that's the one
big fight, and then the question is, Where do you go from there?
What
is your relationship with Golden Boy? Are you still working with
them?
Yes, we're still working with them and it's a great relationship.
We've only had one fight with them, so we're just trying to move
forward and see where everything goes.
What
do you think of hybrid boxing/MMA cards?
I think it could work. I'm not really sure. You always get flack
for anything you do, and I think that was one thing that the
boxers didn't want and the MMA fighters didn't want. The biggest
problem you're going to have with boxing is it can go 12 rounds,
and MMA fans who are used to three or five rounds don't want
to see that. I'm a big fan and I would love to see the crossover,
but will it happen? I don't know.
The
numbers I've heard put the Day of Reckoning pay-per-view buys
around 100,000. Is that accurate?
I can honestly tell you we did 50 percent better than the first
event. So we did increase. As far as numbers, I'm not going to
go into numbers.
To
what extent does Affliction view promoting MMA as a way to advertise
its clothing line, and to what extent does Affliction view promoting
MMA as a profitable enterprise in and of itself?
It's definitely increased our sales and our business as a whole.
... MMA has definitely helped us.
Will
Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski be back in the Affliction ring?
Yeah, that's absolutely my plan. But this is only my third show.
For me to bring back Tim Sylvia in our second show, Ben Rothwell
in our second show, Mike Whitehead in our second show, any of
the guys who lost, why would I do that? Why would anybody come
to the second show if it's all the same fighters in the first
show? People are acting like this is my 10th, 12th show. I'm
only going on my third show.
You
sound like you're a little frustrated with criticism Affliction
has gotten.
No, not at all. I went into this knowing that no matter what
you do, you're going to be criticized. I'm very passionate about
this industry. ... I just want people to hear it directly from
me. It's kind of the rumors that get to me, more than the criticism.
The criticism is what it is.
So
what's the message you want fans to hear directly from you?
First and foremost, that I'm a fan. I love this industry 100
percent. This is a dream come true for me. I couldn't be happier,
because of what MMA has done for me and also the clothing industry.
I hope I can continue to support this and I hope that the brand
continues to be involved in this industry. I'm not saying that
we're pulling out, I just don't want to get ahead of myself.
I love this sport and want people to know that I'm a fan just
like they are.
Source:
Fan House
|
Rafael
Mendes
By Marcelo Alonso
One
of the best Jiu-Jitsu fighters in Brazil of the new generation,
Rafael Mendes has gotten the black belt just a year ago, and
won almost all tournaments he disputed. After the second place
in 2007, Mendes won the Brazilian selective for the 2009 ADCC,
and will fight at the 66kg division in the best Submission tournament
in the world. In an exclusive interview to TATAME.com, the athlete
spoke about ADCC, his idols in Jiu-Jitsu and MMA and Helio Gracie's
death.
How was the emotion of winning a spot in ADCC?
It was great, I was blessed by God and was able to win the event.
I almost got there in 2007 and this time I could put my game,
I submitted all the fights until the end, just couldn't finish
in the final, but I tried a leg lock, key locks, always looking
to finish it and I ended winning by points. It was a tough final,
because he (Raoni Barcellos) was using the anti-game, trying
to take the fight to the extra time and win by points, with a
takedown, but I knew I couldn't do that, then I always looked
for to finish and was able to be the champion.
How old did you started in Jiu-Jitsu?
At 12 years old. Since I started I saw that it was what I wanted,
I started to train the whole day, three times a day, and when
I finish the studies I started to train four times a day. Thank
God, today I managed to reap the fruits of that work.
What do you expect of the ADCC? If happens, how would it be the
fight with Rani (Yahya), who is the current champion?
I have been training hard and looking to focus on each fight.
So, I'll get there and try to win the first, second, and if I
happen to fall with Rani, or any other athlete, I'll come with
the same focus, which is trying to submit and put my game in
practice, forget about whom I'm fighting and try to do my best.
Who is the responsible for your technical changes so fast, besides
your talent?
I think this evolution isn't just talent, because if the person
only has talent and isn't determined, it will reach a place,
but not the highest. If you have determination and talent, then
you can reach the highest place of the podium. The most important
isn't the talent, but will, determination, overcoming, training
every day, maintaining an intense training and the union of my
team that is essential.
Do you have any idol in Jiu-Jitsu or MMA?
I always admired Leozinho Vieira, and admire until today. I think
he has a very intelligent Jiu-Jitsu, he can do amazing things
in a fight. I always admired Fernando Augusto "Tererê"
too. They were great fighters, which will never be forgotten.
In MMA, I admire BJ Penn, because I think he's very technical.
What you have to say about the death of Master Helio Gracie?
It was sad, everyone felt a lot with Helio's death, and I have
no doubts that he was very important for Jiu-Jitsu. If it weren't
for him, maybe we weren't here today, so I would like to thank
him for everything he did for the Jiu-Jitsu and wish that he
rest in peace.
Source:
Tatame
|
10
March Tussles Worth Watching
by Tim Leidecker
Despite a lack of star power, February was a solid month for
mixed martial arts. The Nate Marquardt-Wilson Gouveia and Nick
Thompson-Paul Daley fights -- Sherdog.com's top-ranked bouts
for the month -- delivered the goods as far as all-out action
between evenly matched opponents was concerned.
The
signs for March are similar. Most of the sport's top pound-for-pound
talent will not return until summer, so guys like Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson and Aleksander Emelianenko will get their chance to shine.
With tough opponents like Keith Jardine and Ibragim Magomedov
in their way, fans are guaranteed competitive matchups.
March
got off to a strong start. German judo ace Gregor Herb celebrated
his coming out party in MMA with a second-round submission of
Swiss master grappler Marcelo Lopez, and World Extreme Cagefighting
featherweight champion Mike Thomas Brown coaxed a tapout from
Leonard Garcia and retained his belt at WEC 39.
Here
are 10 more March tussles from around the globe that fans should
not miss. As always, this list does not focus only on the major
bouts you already know to watch but rather on fights from all
over the planet that are worth seeing.
10.
Carlos Newton vs. Nabil Khatib
Warrior-1 MMA "Inception," March 28 -- Gatineau, Quebec,
Canada
Although
easily five years removed from his prime, Newton remains a big
draw in his home country. The 32-year-old submission specialist
was once considered one of the premier ground fighters in the
game and briefly held the UFC welterweight championship in 2001.
Newton (13-13) will try to snap a three-fight losing streak when
he takes on countryman Khatib (8-4) in the main event of Warrior-1's
debut show in Quebec.
9. Ryo Kawamura vs. Muhammed Lawal
Sengoku "Seventh Battle," March 20 -- Tokyo
Following
the demise of its original aces, Hidehiko Yoshida, Takanori Gomi
and Kazuo Misaki, fledgling Japanese promotion Sengoku has just
one fighter -- Lawal -- left who possesses the star power, charisma
and athletic ability to captivate the fight fans in the Land
of the Rising Sun. Lawal (3-0) will take on reigning King of
Pancrase Kawamura in only his fourth appearance inside the squared
circle. Kawamura (9-3-2) has beaten some tough opponents but
was also knocked out by Fabio Silva -- a man Lawal later victimized.
8.
Victor Valimaki vs. Jordan Radev
Fight Festival 25, March 14 -- Helsinki, Finland
Two
UFC veterans will lock horns in Finland's capital city. Since
being released by Zuffa, Valimaki (13-5) has won four straight.
The Edmonton, Alberta, native holds some big wins over Jason
Day, Vernon White and Rodney Glunder. Radev (17-3), a stocky
Bulgarian wrestler, will try to decode the "Matrix"
with excellent top control and a dangerous submission game.
7.
Branden Lee Hinkle vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Beatdown at 4 Bears "Hinkle vs. Tuchscherer," March
21 -- New Town, N.D.
Midwestern
fight fans should consider the trip to the tiny college city
in North Dakota if they want to see some decent heavyweight action
in their area. Three-time UFC veteran Hinkle will return from
a 20-month hiatus to take on the once defeated Tuchscherer (15-1)
-- one of Brock Lesnar's sparring partners at the Minnesota Martial
Arts Academy. Tuchscherer raised more than a few eyebrows with
his strong performance in the ill-conceived Yamma Pit Fighting
tournament. A convincing victory over the experienced Hinkle
(14-9) could put him one step closer to the big leagues.
6.
Stav Economou vs. Oli Thompson
UWC 9 "Unstoppable," March 21 -- Southend on Sea, England
Blessed
with a physique like former International Fight League heavyweight
champion Roy Nelson, Greek banger Economou (8-0) has emerged
as Ultimate Warrior Challenge's shingle fighter following the
departure of former star Ivan Serati to the UFC. Despite being
just 22 years of age, "Crazy Bear" has been in the
game for a while and has polished off all but one of his opponents
by knockout or technical knockout. Thompson (0-0), Britain's
Strongest Man in 2006, will stand across the cage from him at
UWC 9. The 29-year-old powerhouse from East Sussex, England,
has been training in MMA for some time and wants to test himself
against Economou.
5.
Masakazu Imanari vs. Atsushi Yamamoto
Dream 7, March 8 -- Saitama, Japan
On
credentials alone, it does not get much better than this, as
Sherdog.com's ninth-ranked featherweight Imanari takes on fourth-ranked
bantamweight Yamamoto. Imanari (15-6-1), who currently holds
the 137-pound belt in Deep, has become notorious for his heel
hooks and leg locks. A win over Yamamoto* (12-5-1) could set
up a bout with Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto in the second
round of the Dream featherweight tournament in May.
4.
Moise Rimbon vs. Denis Komkin
Hell Cage 3, March 29 -- Prague, Czech Republic
This
bout serves a true delicacy for fans of the European circuit.
French Muay Thai stylist Rimbon (13-8-3) has been around since
the turn of the millennium and has tested himself against fighters
like Roman Zentsov and Alistair Overeem. Most recently, he went
the distance with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in Japan. Judging
by his build and raw KO power, Komkin (11-3) -- a teammate of
Sergey Golyaev -- could be the second coming of the legendary
Igor Vovchanchyn. The ground game, which Komkin needs to improve
upon, separates him from the former Pride star at this point
in his career.
3. Shinichi Kojima vs. Yuki Shoujou
Shooto "Tradition 6," March 20 -- Tokyo
There
are times in a fighter's career when he has to prove his greatness.
Up until a year and a half ago, Shooto bantamweight champion
Kojima (9-3-5) was considered to be among the top 10 pound-for-pound
fighters in the world. Two embarrassing losses followed in his
quest to conquer the promotion's featherweight division, and
his stock plummeted. Against dangerous submission stylist Shoujou
(8-4-2), more than his 123-pound title will be on the line. Many
critics see this as a fight in which Kojima must defend his legacy.
2.
Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Ibragim Magomedov
ProFC "Russia vs. Europe," March 29 -- Rostov-on-Don,
Russia
With
his unresolved medical situation blocking possibly lucrative
fights in Japan and the United States, Fedor Emelianenko's younger
but bigger brother has to look to local organizations to keep
his career alive. Southwestern Russian promotion ProFC has gladly
obliged and booked the heavily-tattooed Emelianenko (14-3) into
a compelling bout with former training partner Magomedov (20-5-1).
The 33-year-old Magomedov will come in off a first-round stoppage
of Finland's Jarno Nurminen and is enjoying an undefeated run
of nine fights over the past two years.
1.
Quinton Jackson vs. Keith Jardine
UFC 96 "Jackson vs. Jardine," March 7 -- Columbus,
Ohio
Set
apart from the meaning and the consequences of this fight --
i.e. the fact that it can be a title eliminator for Jackson (29-7)
-- fight fans in Ohio are in for a scrap that promises to be
brutal. Both fighters have won big fights in the past two years.
"Rampage" has knocked out Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei
Silva, while Jardine (14-4-1) stopped Forrest Griffin and outworked
the "Iceman." Can Jackson relegate the "Dean of
Mean" to gatekeeper status, or will Jardine spoil the run
of another top contender?
*
Editor's note:
This article was updated at 10:34 p.m. EST to correct an error
stating Atsushi Yamamoto was Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto's
brother. In fact, there is no relation.
Source:
Sherdog
|
SENGOKU
FEATHERWEIGHT PAIRINGS ANNOUNCED
World
Victory Road on Wednesday announced the initial pairings for
its March 20 Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix at the Yoyogi National
Gymnasium in Tokyo.
The
opening round bouts feature No. 4 ranked featherweight Hatsu
Hioki facing off with Chris Manuel, and No. 7 ranked Hideki Kadowaki
against popular California-based Nam Phan.
Two
non-tournament bouts pit Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal against
Ryo Kawamura, as well as James Thompson versus Jim York.
The
main card is scheduled to air on television in the United States
on HDNet.
First
round of Sengoku Featherweight Grand Prix:
-Hatsu Hioki (#4 Featherweight in the World)* vs. Chris Manuel
-Hideki Kadowaki (#7 Featherweight in the World)* vs. Nam Phan
-Marlon Sandro vs. Matt Jaggers
-L.C. Davis vs. Michihiro Omigawa
-Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Jung Chan Sung
-Masanori Kanehara vs. Kim Jong Man
-Seiya Kawahara vs. Nick Denis
-Tetsuya Yamada vs. Ronnie Mann
Non-Tournament
Bout:
-Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal vs. Ryo Kawamura
-James Thompson vs. Jim York
*
Based on MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Yoshihiro
Akiyama wants to fight Wanderlei Silva
by Suki
Newly signed UFC middleweight Yoshihiro Akiyama would like to
meet Wanderlei Silva inside the Octagon.
Nikkansports caught up with Akiyama at the Cage Force "EX-
Eastern Bound" show on Saturday at the Tokorozawa Shimin
Taiikukan in Saitama, Japan.
When asked who he'd like to fight in the UFC, Akiyama answered
Wanderlei Silva, who is expected to move down to middleweight
after his 195-pound catchweight fight against Rich Franklin at
UFC 99.
Akiyama currently trains with fellow UFC fighters Yushin Okami
and Caol Uno at Wajutsu Keishukai in Tokyo. Okami will likely
receive a UFC middleweight title shot in 2009 and Uno will return
to the UFC at UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany.
"The UFC is such a big event," Akiyama said, according
to Nikkansports. "I have many things to do before debuting
and will learn a lot from Yushin Okami."
Okami added, "Akiyama is physically very strong. He is good
at keeping his distance and I supposed he is suited for fighitng
in the Octagon."
The
Korean-born-Japanese Akiyama will hold press conferences in Tokyo
on March 3 and in Korea on March 4.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Quote
of the Day
"Better
to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and
remove all doubt."
Abraham Lincoln
|
Source: MMA Fighting
|
WEC
39 Results - Brown Overwhelms Garcia
Ariel Shnerer
Any doubts of Mike Thomas Brown's credibility as World Extreme
Cagefighting's featherweight champion were put to rest Sunday
at WEC 39 in Chorpus Christi, Texas.
The American Top Team product emphatically stopped top contender
Leonard Garcia in the opening round of the main event championship
fight. Brown connected with a precise overhand right to drop
Texas' own Garcia to the mat. Showing the same killer instinct
that won him the featherweight title from Urijah Faber, Brown
lunged forward and punished Garcia with a vicious assault of
elbows and punches on the ground.
Showcasing his all-around MMA skills once Garcia was bloody and
battered, Brown moved to a head-and-arm choke. Garcia resisted
tapping for as long as he could, but he ended up submitting at
the 1:57 mark of the opening stanza. The triumph marked Brown's
ninth straight win as Garcia suffered his first loss under the
WEC banner.
Post-fight, Garcia apologized to the fans for his performance.
But he remained confident that he will rebound from the disheartening
loss. "I will be back again, and I will be challenging Mike
(Brown) pretty soon," he said.
Meanwhile, the victorious champion put Garcia over. "Leonard's
a world-class fighter," said Brown. "It's unfortunate
because he's a great guy."
Brown then shifted his focus to popular ex-titleholder Urijah
Faber, who was seated in the crowd at the American Bank Center.
"Let's do it again," said Brown, who appears adamant
on proving that he is undoubtedly the top featherweight in the
world.
In other action, unbeaten Ricardo Lamas made his mark in his
promotional debut as he won a unanimous decision over IFL veteran
Bart Palaszewski. Lamas took the opportunity to compete in the
co-feature against a veteran of 42 fights and he is sure to become
a permanent fixture in WEC as he outworked Palaszewki over the
course of three rounds.
In featherweight action, 22-year-old Brazilian up-and-comer Jose
Aldo imposed his dominance on debuting Chris Mickle. Aldo exploded
onto his opponent with a flying knee, followed up with a series
of heavy punches. Mickle could not defend intelligently as the
referee stepped in at 1:39 of the first round.
The opening bout of the VERSUS telecast featured a lightweight
battle between Rob McCullough and Marcus Hicks. While some flurries
were exchanged over the course of the three-round bout, most
of the action was dull as both men were reserved with their offense.
McCullough ended up winning a lackluster majority decision over
the self-proclaimed "Wrecking Ball" in a forgettable
fight for both men. The win is McCullough's first since a loss
to Donald Cerrone in November 2008 in what was one of the year's
most exciting fights. The hesitation on the parts of McCullough
and Cerrone left much to be desired in what was expected to be
a hot television opener.
WEC 39 took place on Mar. 2 at the American Bank Center in Corpus
Christi, Texas.
Here are the full results:
Main Card:
-Mike Brown def. Leonard Garcia via Submission (head-and-arm
choke), R1, 1:57
-Ricardo Lamas def. Bart Palaszewski via Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
-Jose Aldo def. Chris Mickle via TKO (strikes), R1, 1:39
-Rob McCullough def. Marcus Hicks via Majority Decision (29-29,
30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card:
-Danny Castillo def. Phil Cardella via Split Decision (30-27,
28-29, 29-28)
-Damacio Page def. Marcos Galvao via Knockout, R1, 0:18
-Johny Hendricks dex. Alex Serdyukov via Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
-Kenji Osawa def. Rafael Rebello via Split Decision (29-28, 29-28,
27-30)
-Alex Karalexis def. Greg McIntyre via TKO (punches), R1, 4:19
-John Franchi def. Mike Budnik via Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28)
-Mike Pierce def. Justin Haskins via TKO (punches), R3, 3:39
Source: The Fight Network
|
MATT
LINDLAND
"The Law" Eyeing Spring / Summer Return
By Kelsey Mowatt
Matt "The Law" Lindland is hoping to return to action
sometime this spring or early summer; the accomplished middleweight
recently told FCF. The veteran fighter is coming off a disappointing,
knock out, loss, at the hands of Vitor Belfort at Affliction's
"Day of Reckoning" card on January 24th. Lindland's
return to competition will apparently not be delayed extensively,
as he suffered no long term ill effects during his loss to Belfort,
a violent first round stoppage, which appeared to leave the veteran
unconscious for several minutes.
"I
just had a little memory loss," said Lindland when asked
about whether or not he had any lingering effects from the knockout.
"Probably about 20 seconds before I got knocked out to 20
minutes after. That stuff comes back eventually and that's probably
something I'd rather not remember anyways. I'm fine. I was in
the gym training helping some of my guys get ready for fights
and I just started working out again this week myself. They recommended
30 days off so that I could rest my brain so I wanted to rest
that. I'm back to training and I want to get back in there as
soon as I can."
According
to Lindland the 38 year-old-middleweight has another fight on
his contract with Affliction, which will make it his third competing
for the promotion. At Affliction's debut card last July, Lindland
worked his way to a Unanimous Decision victory over Fabio Nascimento,
to earn his 21st career victory.
"I
would like to fight Vitor again," said Lindland when asked
about a possible opponent. "You always want to get back
those losses. I didn't even get a chance to fight him. I got
hit with a great shot and he put me out. That would be a fight,
if I was picking my own fights; I'd want to do over right away.
I'm up for fighting whoever."
In
light of Elite XC's recent demise, and despite the fact the two
are separate organizations, speculation has now turned to whether
or not Affliction's days promoting MMA are here to stay.
"The
first two shows have been great," said Lindland. "They
bring in good fighters. The production was decent; this was only
their second show. They could improve some stuff on the production
side but the quality of athletes that they're brining in is phenomenal.
I'm not a fortune teller so it's hard to say, but I believe with
names like Oscar De La Hoya and Donald Trump, you've got the
right kind of partners with you. You should be able to make some
inroads."
Lindland
competed several times throughout 2006 and 2007, earning wins
over Fabio Leopoldo, Mike Van Arsdale, Jeremy Horn, Carlos Newton
and the aforementioned Nascimento, with his losses coming to
world class competition in Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
and Fedor Emelianenko. Lindland competed just once in 2008, however,
as the fighter's hectic schedule got even busier with other concerns.
Lindland ran as the Republican candidate for the Oregon State
House of Representatives last fall, but failed in his bid to
entrench a political career, losing to the Democrat Suzanna Vanorman.
"No,
priority wise, fighting is at the top of my priorities,"
said the UFC veteran. "For as long as I can do it, that's
all I want to do."
Source:
Full Contact Fighter
|
Four
WEC fighters win $7,500 bonuses
Mike
Brown, Damacio Page, Johny Hendricks and Alex Serdyukov each
earned a $7,500 bonus for winning performance awards at WEC 39
last night in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Hendricks and Serdyukov's fight was declared the Fight of the
Night.
Page won for Knockout of the Night for punching out Marcus Galvao.
Brown retained his belt and won the Submission of the Night with
his arm-triangle choke over Leonard Garcia.
According to the WEC, the attendance was 6,100 for a live gate
of $297,990.
The next WEC will take place Sunday, April 5 at the UIC Pavilion
in Chicago, Illinois.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
The
economics of MMA media coverage
By Zach Arnold
On Sunday, Fightlinker announced that they are going to do a
subscription-based format for their web site. Naturally, since
everyone on the Internet reading a web site is inclined to want
things for free, I'm not sure how this news will play out.
What I am sure, however, is that the economic realities of being
an 'independent' news source in MMA are coming home to roost.
I wrote about this topic a couple of weeks ago (along with thoughts
on what people who go to MMA web sites are interested in reading
about):
I don't think that a pure 100% MMA-only news-oriented site will
ever truly make enough money to survive as a full-time career.
I just don't see how the numbers add up. The reality is that
unless you have a money mark backing you (like Yahoo Sports backs
Steve Cofield and crew, like Ariel Helwani and MMARated are backed
by the Wasserman Group - this according to Fightlinker - which
is the power source for agent Matt Walker who represents Carano,
Couture, and others), you're going to go nowhere as far as trying
to survive in the MMA media landscape. It is very, very difficult.
I say this as someone who has been a long-time survivor in the
fight media game. It is really tough and I think only going to
get tougher. While UFC and MMA continues to grow at a time when
most other sports are contracting, the media landscape that covers
UFC and MMA in general is not growing at the same proportional
level. In other words, UFC may be blowing up but the money is
not blowing up in media landscapes.
As far as MMA sites and media outlets are concerned, unless you
have a large audience from another sport or another entertainment
entity that you can market your content to, it is very difficult
to survive (let alone thrive) right now in making this your career.
Do not let my words keep you from ever pursuing a writing career
in MMA if you want to do it, but learn quickly that you need
to partner up with one of the big players to get a jump start
or else you will not last long or consistently without support
both financially and traffic-wise.
My belief is that there is good support for MMA amongst mainstream
sports fans, but that MMA is not considered a primary interest.
Rather, I think a good cross-section of younger sports fans look
at MMA as a secondary or tertiary sport that they like. In other
words, something that supplements a staple sport they already
like (football & MMA, baseball & MMA, hockey & MMA,
etc.)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Wilson
Reis ready for Bellator and Strikeforce
By Eduardo Ferreira
Training three times a day, Wilson Reis is getting ready for
his debut at Bellator Fighting Championships, new MMA organization
that happens at April 4th and will show live at ESPN. At the
65kg GP, the EliteXC champion faces Henry Marrtinez, who has
six wins and only one loss in the MMA career. "The training
is great and I'm working all MMA aspects: boxing, muay thai,
wrestling, the physical part and a lot of Jiu-Jitsu for the GP.
I'm train even more now and try to find something about my opponent
to set a strategy", said the black belt, who lives in Philadelphia
for five years.
"I've been in Brazil by the end of the year and trained
with (Roberto) Godói, but I came back here in January
and I'm keeping the preparation for my first fight. Godói
will with the Jiu-Jitsu Pan-American Championship and then he
meets me at Florida, when the event will take place", commented
Wilson, excited for the first GP of his career: "I'm very
excited with Bellator, because it'll be my first GP and I have
one month between the fights. I think it'll be great, because
the show will broadcast at ESPN Spots, a channel that everybody
watches here in US".
EliteXC featherweight champion, the Brazilian saw the event shut
down just after he conquered the title, last September. After
signing with Bellator, the EliteXC made a deal with Strikeforce,
and Wilson Reis can also fight in the event. "I'll start
this year with Bellator and my old contract with EliteXC has
been sold to Strikeforce. Maybe I'll fight for them too, after
Bellator", revealed Wilson, who also has plans to the Jiu-Jitsu
and Submission competitions. "I really wanna fight the Jiu-Jitsu
World Championship and no-gi events. I'll have a busy year and
I'm getting ready to win all my challenges".
Source:
Tatame
|
Vera
Became What He Never Liked, Then Changed
by Lotfi Sariahmed
He rode into the UFC on a horse called hype and backed it up
with four straight wins, including a brutal first-round battering
of current interim heavyweight champ Frank Mir. But strained
contract negotiations have topped a list of problems for Brandon
Vera over the last two years, which saw him fight only four more
times. The 31-year-old fighter lost three of his last four bouts,
but Vera goes into his heavyweight tilt against Mike Patt this
Saturday at UFC 96 in Columbus, Ohio, a changed fighter.
"The
reason why everyone knew about me before I even came onto the
scene was because of my hard work ethic and my willingness to
compete and go do everything, Grapplers Quest, Pan-American Games,
muay Thai tournaments," Vera told the Sherdog Radio Network's
"Savage Dog Show" on Monday. "If it was anything
related to fighting, I was in and I was there. That's why I had
such a strong grassroots fan base and everybody knew who I was."
As
his following continued to grow with his early UFC success, Vera
lost sight of how he got there.
"Somewhere
along the lines I became one of those guys I used to talk s---
about," said Vera. "I stopped training and doing the
things that got me here in the first place. I don't know when
it happened or why it happened or how it happened. But it happened.
'08 definitely was not great. I'm sad to say that it went that
way."
Vera,
who came up on the short end of a split decision to Keith Jardine
at UFC 89 in Birmingham, England last October, admits he was
going through the motions.
"I
just wasn't into it," said Vera. "I was training and
doing my thing. I would be the hardest working guy in the gym.
But my mind wasn't into it. I wasn't excited to go back to the
gym or do my second training session or my third training session.
It all changed now though. I found some new coaches and I had
some guys kick me in the butt."
The
jolt didn't include having a say in who his next opponent would
be.
"They
didn't ask me what I thought about Mike Patt," said Vera.
"They said you're fighting Mike Patt. That was pretty much
it. I do (like it that way). I got lost last year among a whole
bunch of BS. My head got a little bit swollen… actually
a lot a bit swollen. I started not doing the things I was supposed
to be doing and still fighting some of the best guys in the world.
Even though I was losing, I wasn't losing bad so I figured I
was doing OK. It's kind of a good thing my managing group is
telling me who I'm fighting now instead of asking me who I want
to fight."
Vera
knows he needs to get back on track, even if that means making
some very painful changes to his daily routine. The once-feared
striker hopes the changes will keep Patt the wrestler at bay.
"Everything
has changed," said Vera. "It's retarded. My diet, my
work ethic, everything. I don't eat bad stuff. If you were with
me last year and seen what I'm doing now you would think something's
wrong with me. That's how much things have changed. I can't remember
the last time I had a donut. It's bad. I don't eat ice cream
anymore. That was my favorite thing in the world. Now I eat frozen
yogurt if I need to get a fix. Non-fat frozen yogurt. Come on
man… I'm going to eat real well on Sunday, I'll tell you
that much."
Source: Sherdog
|
XMMA
7 'Inferno' Results - War Machine Triumphant
Ariel Shnerer
MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada - Jon "War Machine" Koppenhaver
ended the unbeaten streak of Nordic Fight Club standout Guillaume
"Il Toro" de Lorenzi in his Canadian debut Friday night
at XMMA 7: Inferno, which emanated from the CEPSUM Arena in Montreal,
Quebec, Canada.
The 13-fight event featured many of Canada's promising young
fighters and marked XMMA's most successful card to date. XMMA
7 provided an entertaining night of action with improved pyrotechnics,
lighting, graphics and fight features. The state of Canadian
MMA is auspicious as Xtreme MMA has become Eastern-Canada's premier
fight promotion, while the Maximum Fighting Championships continues
to showcase top talent over on the West Coast in Alberta.
War Machine, who has gained notoriety for a controversial stint
on The Ultimate Fighter and a public plea for the assassination
of U.S. President Barack Obama, weighed in at 175 pounds for
the match-up. Come fight time, he was significantly bigger. De
Lorenzi accepted the 175-pound catch-weight despite usually fighting
at welterweight.
"I don't cut weight," said De Lorenzi before the fight.
"I eat breakfast before the weigh-ins."
De Lorenzi put up a good effort against the relentless Xtreme
Couture fighter, but he was forced to tap to a rear naked choke
near the end of the opening stanza.
Koppenhaver filled a spot as a co-headliner of the card on short
notice when UFC, Pride F.C. and EliteXC veteran Phil Baroni pulled
out of the bout to fulfill contractual obligations with the California-based
Strikeforce promotion. Baroni's contract was recently purchased
by Strikeforce with the ProElite acquisition and Baroni is tentatively
scheduled to compete on Showtime in May.
Also scheduled to be in action on Friday night's card was Cristiane
"Cyborg" Santos, who pulled out on short notice. "Cyborg"
is now rumored to compete for Strikeforce on the Apr. 11 Showtime
telecast headlined by Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz.
In the co-feature, Martin Desilets successfully defended his
XMMA light heavyweight championship with a first-round TKO stoppage
of Todd Gouwenberg.
Gouwenberg had Desilets' number until he got caught in a triangle
choke midway through round one. Desilets transitioned into a
dominant position where he cut off the circulation of air to
Gouwenberg's head with his legs. From there, he reigned down
blows, which seemed to leave Gouwenberg limp and subsequently
led to a referee stoppage.
"I want to fight anyone," said an elated Desilets following
an impressive victory over a reputable veteran.
But Desilets' training partner, Team Legion leader and French-Canadian
favorite Steve "The Snake" Claveau, did not fare as
well.
In their first go-around at XMMA 4 in May 2008, Claveau and lightweight
titlist "Ragin" Kajan Johnson fought to a highly competitive
draw.
"I think it was a good decision," said Claveau before
the rematch. But Johnson, a product of Revolution MMA, was not
as quick to dismiss the decision. "I should have won the
fight," he said.
With a chance to prove that he is the undisputed 155-pound king
of XMMA, Johnson utilized exceptional jiu-jitsu en route to a
second-round armbar submission win over Claveau, who had UFC
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in his corner.
Johnson was able to secure takedowns at will throughout the fight
and he transitioned into submission attempts on the mat. Claveau
showcased some jiu-jitsu of his own by defending intelligently
and looking for submissions from the guard, but Johnson proved
too much on this night.
Also on the card, Tristar fighter Thierry Quenneville moved one
step closer to securing a spot in World Extreme Cagefighting's
featherweight division. In his first fight since losing to top
featherweight Hatsu Hioki at TKO's final event, Quenneville recovered
from an early barrage to submit tough UFC veteran Douglas Evans
in the second round of their 145-pound affair.
The back and fourth battle was arguably the evening's top match-up
with extra credit deserved by veteran official Yves Lavigne.
The French-Canadian referee showcased his credibility and experience
by not stopping the fight even when heavy flurries were landed
by both men over the course of the grueling duel.
Quenneville was staggered early with a flurry that included a
picture-perfect head kick, but the Tristar featherweight standout
persevered. Quenneville put his Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt
to use as he secured a beautiful triangle choke for the submission
win in the second frame.
According to Quenneville, who is cornered by G.S.P.'s head trainer
Firas Zahabi, he is working with Greg Jackson to secure a spot
in WEC's highly competitive featherweight division that currently
includes the likes of Urijah Faber, Leonard Garcia, Mike Thomas
Brown and Wagnney Fabiano.
Other notable winners on the card include XMMA regular Dan Grandmaison;
Tristar Gym products John Makdessi, Valerie Letourneau, Daylin
Logan; as well as Derek Gauthier and Tim Wadsworth, BTT Canada
members under Fabio Holanda.
The preliminary portion of the card was called by The Fight Network's
own MMA analyst John Ramdeen along with UFC middleweight sensation
Patrick Cote. The main card, which was broadcast across Canada
on pay-per-view, was called by Cote and The Fight Network's anchor
and former voice of PRIDE Fighting Championships and EliteXC,
Mauro Ranallo. The event will be aired on The Fight Network in
the near future. Stay tuned.
Here are the full results for XMMA 7: Inferno:
-War Machine def. Guillaume De Lorenzi via Submission (rear naked
choke), R1
-Martin Desilets def. Todd Gouwenber gvia TKO (strikes), R1
-Kajan Johnson def. Steve Claveau via Submission (armbar), R2
-Thierry Quenneville def. Douglas Evans via Submission (triangle
choke), R2
-Daniel Grandmaison def. Markhaile Wedderburn via TKO (strikes),
R1
-Tim Wadsworth def. Johan Croes via Submission (armbar), R1
-Eddie Fyvie def. Stephane Lamarche via Submission (armbar),
R3
-Dereck Gauthier def. Dave Pariseau via Submission (triangle
choke), R1
-William Romero def. Mitch Gagnon via Unanimous Decision
-Daylin Logan def. Dominic Poissant via TKO (strikes), R1
-Valerie Letourneau def. Kate Roy via Submission (armbar), R1
-John Makdessi def. Amir Uddin via TKO (strikes), R2
-Jeff Royer def. Sebastian Deroy via TKO (strikes), R1
Source: The Fight Network
|
Josh
Koscheck vs. Chris Wilson at UFC 98
UFC
welterweight Josh Kosheck's opponent at UFC 98 will be Team Quest's
Chris Wilson. The fight will likely make the main card of the
May 23 event in Las Vegas headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Frank
Mir.
Koscheck said on Tuesday that he'll continue his furious fighting
pace despite his surprising loss to Paulo Thiago at UFC 95 on
Feb. 21. Koscheck was knocked out with an uppercut at 3:29 of
the opening stanza.
Wilson was setback at UFC 94 when he lost a split decision to
John Howard. The IFL veteran holds wins over Rory Markham and
Jay Hieron.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
SHANE
CARWIN'S FINAL UFC 96 PRE-FIGHT BLOG
by Shane Carwin
This will be my final blog before the big fight against Gabriel
Gonzaga at UFC 96 on Saturday. I had hoped to do four of these,
but the fact is, I am running out of time and I do not want to
bore the readers of MMAWeekly.com.
Training is absolutely amazing, I feel like I can go 10 rounds
and still have reserves. The tempo at our gym is just on another
level and I freaking love it.
I just found out they were editing out the work part (my engineering)
of the UFC Countdown show; it sounds like they are going to focus
on my training and family. I am interested to see how they will
be portraying me, and what they took from the days they spent
with me, my family, and training partners.
Everyone in this industry always asks about my job and I guess
the best way to explain it is I have been there done that. When
I was talking with the NFL and agents in that world, I was told
of so many luxuries and perks that would blow your mind. I could
hardly keep track of all the promises made and who made them.
Then the injury came and the phone stopped - as did all the "perks."
It was always my mom's main goal to see all three of her boys
receive their college degrees. Now I have a son and a wife, my
family's future is at stake. I knew from the beginning that attaining
my degree would require a lot of work, but it was important to
me and important for my life, I needed to build a platform my
family could be proud of. At that time it was a lot easier to
focus on the job because playing ball just was not an option.
I have worked really hard to get where I am, and I am so incredibly
grateful for my employer. At my company, they are very understanding
and supportive of my training and competing - this is not the
National Guard, so they are not obligated to oblige.
There is one more factor: I never planned on being here. Life
has a way of sending you down roads you didn't even know existed.
The last few years have been a whirlwind, and one that I wouldn't
trade for anything. I have so much passion for this sport that
every day I train and compete is a blessing. There isn't another
organization better than the UFC. I love fighting for them. To
work with a company (UFC) that is so professional and upstanding
makes me proud, they have treated me amazingly well. I am very
grateful for that.
I have read the comments about me needing to focus on one or
the other, but my entire athletic career I was a dual sport athlete
and sometimes in football I would play both sides of the ball.
I have spent a lifetime multi-tasking at the highest levels.
I have a wonderful support team and family, and they allow me
to live my dream and at the same time make sure my family is
stable and taken care of.
I will be back with the fourth installment of this blog after
the fight. I wanted to get you all four before, but after thinking
about it, I think it will be interesting to share with you my
own post fight perspective, without sound bites or quotes. I
am ready to go: these tests are what prove the merit of a fighter.
Anyone can have fights that make them look good. I am looking
for wars with warriors and Gabe Gonzaga is a true warrior.
You guys are the best, and if you get a chance visit my website
at www.shane-carwin.com. Thanks to Warrior Wear, Grudge Fight
Wear, Zappos, Muscle Pharm, FullTilt.net, Max Muscle, Vandal
Eyewear, Xyience, MTX Audio, my wife, son and my trainers. Lastly
big thanks to Jason Genet from Magnetic Marketing Associates.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Success
usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it."
Henry David Thoreau
|
WEC
39: Brown vs. Garcia Today!
The WEC featherweight belt is on the line this Sunday, March
1 when champion Mike Brown makes his first title defense at WEC
39 in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Standing in Brown's way is Leonard Garcia (16-3), who is undefeated
in the WEC with wins over Jens Pulver and Hiroyuki Takaya.
Listen
to Brown and Garcia on Between Rounds Radio.
FIGHT
CARD:
Mike
Brown vs. Leonard Garcia
Bart Palaszewski vs. Ricardo Lamas
Jose Aldo vs. Chris Mickle
Rob "Razor" McCullough vs. Marcus Hicks
Danny Castillo vs. Phil Cardella
Marcos Galvao vs. Damacio Page
Johny Hendricks vs. Alex Serdyukov
Kenji Osawa vs. Rafael Rebello
Alex Karalexis vs. Greg McIntyre
Mike Budnik vs. John Franchi
Justin Haskins vs. Mike Pierce
Source: MMA Fighting
|
X-1
WORLD EVENTS "NEW BEGINNING"
Results!
X-1 "New Beginning"
Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Hawaii
February 27, 2009
By Chris Onzuka - Chris@Onzuka.com
X-1
returned to Maui with a stacked card, but whoever says that they
can make a few calls, set up a couple of matches to put together
an event and call them self a promoter has never been involved
in an event. Promoter, Mike Miller had a hard week leading up
to the event when two marquee matches fell apart. Jon Kirk, who
is Niko Vitale's second opponent that was scheduled, had some
problems at the airport with his corner man and long story short,
Kirk did not want to leave Houston without a corner man, even
if the corner man would be on a later flight. So scratch Niko
Vitale's match. Then one of Hawaii's top 145lbers and Maui native,
Brandon Visher would not return any calls, so a match that I
was definitely personally looking forward to was dropped, but
Jason Dacquel's corner man "Bino" Gregory stepped up
to take the fight right at the last moment as an exhibition.
Another match up that had people buzzing about was rising star
Koa Ramos taking on the quick hands of Jason Dacquel.
Three
great kickboxing matches and a grappling match started off the
night. The first match pitted two young ladies that showed great
technique and very good exchanges. The final kickboxing match
ended with a bang as Duane Torres caught John Cabael with a short
punch that dropped him and he was out on his feet and the Referee
had to step in to put a halt to the bout. Highlights of the event
were, as predicted, Ramos showed that he is a multifaceted fighter
by taking the fight to the ground and pounding on Dacquel while
looking for a submission. Ramos secured an arm bar after a reversal.
Team MMAD continued to steadily produce new talent and Brysen
Hansen displayed solid wrestling that the team is known for,
while Mike Pedro showed true heart by getting pounded into a
bloody mess, but kept attempting submissions to try and take
the fight. In the second round, Brysen picked up and slammed
Pedro with a suplex and knocked him out cold to win the X-1 State
Featherweight title. For the 155lbs X-1 Lightweight Title Michael
Brightmon, dropped a tremendous amount of weight, pitted his
wrestling against Jiu-Jitsu whiz Dominic Ahnee. Ahnee had Brightmon
in trouble early by taking his back and working in a choke. Ahnee's
corner states that Brightmon tapped in the first round, but the
Referee was not in the position to see it. After reviewing the
tape after the event, the Referee stated that Brightmon did not
tap out. Ahnee continued to take down Brightmon, but Brightmon
would reverse him and score with punches, which added up and
earned him the judge's nod and the title.
The
main event squeezed in over 500lbs of fighters vying for number
one contender spot to Ron Waterman's X-1 Heavyweight title. Scott
Junk took on the hard hitting Lolohea Mahe. Junk tried to work
the odds and immediately went in for the clinch and worked to
take Mahe down. Mahe combined some heavy hips along with a lot
of strategic rope grabbing to prevent Junk from taking him down,
and more importantly, tiring out Junk. The Referee finally deducted
a point from Mahe for that. When Junk did get Mahe down, Mahe
quickly fought his way back up to his feet. Mahe landed hard
punches in the clinch and got the better of the exchanges. Junk
was tired after the first round, but showed heart by continuing
to follow the game plan and pressing Mahe. Mahe was warned in
the second round for hitting Junk behind the head, but also pounded
his body with hard punches and in the third round a series of
hard knees to the body. The fight was an official's nightmare
that ended in a draw, primarily due to the deducted point and
there was immediate talk about a rematch. Junk asked for it to
be on his home turf, Oahu, and in a cage to prevent the rope
grabbing. Mahe welcomed the rematch, but I think the promoter
would be hard pressed not to allow the rematch to happen in Maui
due to the huge following that Mahe had in the event.
Amateur
Kickboxing: 115lbs: 3 Rounds - 2 Minutes
Hailey Theil (Southside Boxing) def. Nasha Poipoi (Central Maui
Boxing)
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds.
Amateur
Kickboxing: 160lbs: 3 Rounds - 2 Minutes
Josh Nakagawa (Southside Boxing) def. Steven Yoshida (Central
Maui Boxing)
Split decision after 3 rounds.
Exhibition
Grappling: 1 Round - 5 Minutes
Javin Santos (Bang Inc.) def. Jason Emmsley (Team Issues)
Submission via triangle in Round 1.
Kickboxing:
3 Rounds - 2 Minutes
Duane Torres (Southside Boxing) def. John Cabael (Wailuku Boxing)
TKO via Referee stoppage in Round 2.
Professional
MMA: 170lbs: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Koa Ramos (808 Fight Factory) def. Jason Dacquel (Mix Breed)
Submission via arm bar at 1:44 in Round 1.
Exhibition
MMA: 145lbs: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Justin Mercado (Team MMAD) def. Gene "Bino" Gregory
(Mix Breed)
Submission via arm bar at 2:47 in Round 1.
X1
State Featherweight Match
Professional MMA: 145lbs: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Brysen Hansen (Team MMAD) def. Mike Pedro (Bang Inc.)
KO via slam at 0:21 in Round 2.
Brysen Hansen becomes X1 State Featherweight Champion.
X1
State Lightweight Match
Professional MMA: 155lbs: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Michael Brightmon (Gorilla House) def. Dominic Ahnee (Wailuku
Boxing)
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds.
Michael Brightmon becomes X1 State Lightweight Champion.
Professional
MMA: Heavyweight: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes
Scott Junk (Team MMAD) vs. Lolohea Mahe (Maui Mulisha)
Draw after 3 rounds.
|
Hawaii
Amateur Pankration Association
"Hit and Submit"
O-Lounge
Night Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
March 14, 2008
Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association "Hit and Submit"
At the O-lounge Saturday March 14, 2009
Fight
card subject to change Please Contact Arick at 599.4448 for more
information. Pre-Sale Tickets at $20 and $30
Kalae
Palimoo Team Up and Up
(160) Muay Thai
Johnny Tuimaseve Bullspen
Jeremy
Borges Bullspen
(145) Pankration
Dustin Letreta Freelance
Angie
Perriera HMC Wahiawa
(130) Pankration
Pua Nunies Bullspen
Ryne
Yoshimura HMC Team Chinaman
(140) Muay Thai
Tommy James Ismael Freelance
Sasa'e
Paogofie Outcast
(205) Pankration
Kcade Phillips Freelance
Keo
Palimoo Team Up and Up
(185) Pankration
Kimo Galon Bullspen
Kelii
Ross HMC Team Chinaman
(175) Pankration
Keoki Silva Kaos Fight Crew
Keo
Sylva Outcast Fight Club
(175) Pankration
Brandon Lorenzana Freelance
Rowell
Tano Freelance
(150) Pankration
Arick Adriano HMC Team Chinaman
Eugene
Kostron Freelance
(230) Pankration
Keoni Gandi Combat 50
Ikaika
Sylva Outcast
(185) Pankration
Steven Lopes Knuckle Up
Joshua
Bersalona Freelance
(125) Pankration
Sam Rompon Freelance
Frankie
Tano Freelance
(155) Pankration
Sebastian Mariconda HMC Team Chinaman
|
Penn
Wants Late Summer Return
by Loretta Hunt
It's family time for B.J. Penn, which means the UFC lightweight
champion might not be back in the cage as soon as others would
like.
UFC
President Dana White told multiple press outlets last week that
Penn's next title defense against No. 1 contender Kenny Florian
was a possibility for UFC 99 on June 13 in Cologne, Germany.
However, Penn's older brother and manager J.D. told Sherdog.com
on Monday that the date is not feasible for his celebrated sibling.
"No,
it's too close to BJ's last fight," the elder Penn wrote
in a text message. "He wants to spend time with his baby."
Penn,
30, welcomed his first child, daughter Aeva, to the growing Hilo
clan in October 2008. However, the new father spent a substantial
amount of time thereafter promoting and training for his Jan.
31 mega-fight against UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre
at UFC 94 in Las Vegas.
St.
Pierre pummeled Penn (13-5-1) for the majority of four rounds
in their 170-pound contest until the Hawaiian's cornermen called
it quits before the last stanza. The bout's outcome has been
hotly contested by allegations that St. Pierre's corner used
Vaseline to grease the Canadian and keep him out of the Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt's grasp. Now Penn's camp wants their fighter
to receive all the time he needs to re-group for his bout with
Florian.
"We
are still negotiating the fight," the elder Penn said. "No
date [is] scheduled, but we are thinking late July or early August."
The
UFC might be anxious for their talented lightweight champion
to return to the division where he's had the most success, but
Penn has always moved to the beat of his own drum. Penn, who
comes from a wealthy background, has been unhindered by the usual
financial burdens other fighters have had to bare. In fact, the
shortest time Penn has paused between fights since his return
to the Octagon in 2006 has been four months, though he's averaged
closer to half-year hiatuses in all other cases.
Florian,
who earned his shot at the vaunted lightweight with a tour de
force first-round submission over Joe Stevenson at UFC 91 last
November, said the UFC had voiced tentative plans for a June
13 showdown.
"I
talked to my manager Joe Cavallaro today and [UFC matchmaker]
Joe Silva told him June 13," Florian said to Sherdog.com
on Monday. "That was the date they wanted because they wanted
it to be the main event and the only main event. That's what
fight made the most amount of sense for June 13. July [11, UFC
100] apparently is backed up, so July's probably out of the question,
and August…"
Though
it's far from finalized and the promotion will have the final
say in determining the bout's date, an even-handed Florian (11-3)
said he'd be willing to wait if he had to, especially if it meant
it would produce Penn at his best.
"For
me, it's the fight that I want and it's the fight he wants and
we both need to come to terms on it, so if that's what I need
to do to make it happen, if I have to wait, then I have no choice,"
he said.
Florian,
32, said he could adjust his training as needed. Still, a postponed
date would effect the Boston native in a way the affluent Penn
family never has to worry about.
"Schedule-wise
it makes it a little difficult because money-wise, you expect
a certain amount to come in and I've been trying to budget things
accordingly," said Florian, who earned $80,000 for his last
win. "It might be a little tougher now."
Still,
the would-be challenger kept his chin up.
"Maybe
they'll say it's in Boston," he laughed.
Tim
Leidecker contributed to this report.
Source:
Sherdog
|
NICK
THOMPSON SIGNS WITH STRIKEFORCE
by Damon Martin
The list of fighters moving from EliteXC to Strikeforce continues
to grow. MMAWeekly Radio on Tuesday night confirmed that Top
10 welterweight Nick Thompson has signed on with the promotion
and could fight as early as their April 11 event on Showtime.
"They
just called me today and they're going to pick me up," Thompson
said about Strikeforce. "So I am now with Sengoku and Strikeforce."
The
San Jose, Calif., based promotion is filling up the April card
quickly for its Showtime debut, but they are also expected to
field a show in May in Washington that could feature names like
Robbie Lawler and Phil Baroni. Thompson said following a recent
win over Paul Daley, he's ready for whatever.
"They asked me how soon I would want to fight, and I said
throw me in the frying pan, let's go," he commented.
Since
the purchase of many of EliteXC's fighter contracts and video
library, numerous fighters have gone on record speaking about
working with Strikeforce, an organization that has held the esteem
of just about everyone involved in the industry, including UFC
president Dana White.
"I
think Strikeforce is a really good promotion, I've heard good
things about them," stated Thompson. "The guys who
I've spoke to in the organization seem to treat it like a business,
and that's really the type of guys I enjoy working with."
Not
to forget his other contractual obligation, Thompson is also
hoping for a return to Japan's Sengoku organization later this
year, but as he's found out in the past, he may not get an opponent
until it's almost fight time. Still, the Minnesota native has
heard about a tournament the promotion will put on and has every
intention of participating.
"I
know they're planning on doing a welterweight tournament sometime
this year and I'm planning on winning it," he said about
Sengoku.
For
now, Thompson will wait for Strikeforce to give him a call for
a fight date and opponent, while he waits on the birth of his
child, due in July.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Miller
Ready for Next Challenge in Maynard
By Kelsey Mowatt
In
one of the more compelling bouts from the upcoming March 7th,
UFC 96 card, in Columbus, Ohio, Jim Miller will look to extend
his 8 fight winning streak against undefeated lightweight Gray
Maynard. Since coming to the UFC, Miller has been impressive,
putting together back-to-back wins over David Baron and Matt
Wiman to run his overall record to 13-1. Maynard could very well
be Miller's toughest test to date, as the Extreme Couture fighter
has gone 4-0 with 1 No Contest, since exiting from the promotion's
"Ultimate Fighter" television show. If Miller could
become the first man to halt Maynard's rapid ascension up the
lightweight ranks, it would speak volumes about the International
Fight League vet's own status as a legitimate contender.
"They
came to me after the Wiman fight and offered up Gray," Miller
told FCF. "He's a tough guy and I've always known he's a
tough guy. It's a fight that I've wanted for a while actually.
I'm really excited about it."
There
are some interesting sidelines to the upcoming tilt, as Maynard
is the only man to defeat Frankie Edgar, who in turn, is the
only fighter to have defeated Miller. Maynard is yet another
accomplished collegiate wrestler to transition into MMA, a resume
quite similar to Jake Rosholt, who Jim's older brother Dan recently
submitted at UFC Fight Night 17 on February 2nd.
"We
were trying to get Dan ready for the wrestling and dealing with
that," said Miller, while commenting on the fact that he
too will soon face a top level wrestler in Maynard. "Gray's
specialty is his wrestling and using his size. Helping Dan train
helped me train as everyone was in that same wrestling mode."
"Jake
is the best collegiate wrestler in the UFC there's no doubt about
that, and Gray is a great wrestler too, but I think he's more
well rounded," Miller added. "Gray's got pretty good
hands and he's fought in the UFC quite a few times. He's fought
a lot of tough guys."
Like
Dan, Jim has also demonstrated top notch jiu-jitsu skills thus
far in the Octagon, and it will be interesting to see whether
or not Maynard looks to keep the bout standing, or if he attempts
taking it to the ground.
"I
really don't try to make a game-plan for anybody," Miller
said. "I just go in there and try to make my opponent fight
my fight. I just keep putting pressure on him and keep the pace
high. I'm comfortable wherever it goes. With regards to his wrestling
it's really not that hard to take someone down when they're trying
to punch you in the face. There's some guys that are really good
at transitioning their wrestling into submission defense, like
Frankie Edgar, he went and fought Hermes Franca, who is an exceptional
black belt, took him down repeatedly and only got into trouble
once with submission attempts. I don't think Gray has translated
his wrestling into great sub defense. If I'm on my back I'm going
to put that to the test."
Miller
is coming off an aforementioned victory over Wiman, as the Renzo
Gracie trained fighter worked his way to a Unanimous Decision
victory over the former TUF competitor, at the promotion's "Fight
for the Troops" card in December.
"I
think I did pretty well with what I had," said Miller, who
stepped up on short notice to face Wiman. "I watched it
right after but didn't pay too much attention to it. I actually
watched it just a couple of days ago and I think I looked pretty
sloppy. I knew I could fight that fight and keep pushing even
after I got tired, but I really wanted to finish that kid. So
I wish I could have gone for my subs, but my arms went after
the first two minutes, so what are you going to do."
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Interview:
MMAWarehouse Discusses MMA Business, Fighter Sponsorship
by Michael Hatamoto
As the sport of mixed martial arts continues to grow, companies
looking for brand exposure are entering the scene by advertising
with fight organizations and fighters. Although dozens of new
advertisers are working with fighters these days, MMAWarehouse.com,
an MMA clothing and accessory supplier, has been one of the most
ardent supporters of the sport.
"MMAWarehouse was created to fulfill a need I saw in the
marketplace for a customer friendly store which offered the best
selection of both mixed martial arts gear and apparel,"
MMAWarehouse CEO Mika Casey recently told MMA Opinion.
MMA's explosion in popularity has led to many new clothing manufacturers
and retailers trying to get their piece of the pie, and MMAWarehouse
is no different. The company was originally founded in 2004,
and has seen significant business growth since then.
"We have grown nearly 100% year over year every year since
then and due to the economy, this will probably be the first
year that we grow a little less than that - but we'll still grow
and we're thankful to be in such a resilient industry,"
Casey said. MMAWarehouse first started in Casey's house, then
moved into a warehouse, into a bigger warehouse, and the company
is ready to move into a bigger warehouse one more time.
Even though the payscale of MMA fighters continues to increase,
most fighters heavily rely on sponsorships to help make money
to cover training expenses, managers, and all of the other
"Fighters train their butts off and make a lot of sacrifices
physically and emotionally to be able to put on an entertaining
fight for fans like myself. Without them, there is no sport and
there is no MMAWarehouse," MMA Opinion was told.
Although MMAWarehouse sponsors a large number of fighters, the
company no longer deals directly with fighters - mainly due to
"inconsistency" with the look and placement of the
ad. "Now, with rare exception, we work solely with Dean
Albrecht," we learned. "He always delivers 110% on
the sponsorship side which leaves his fighters to focus no what's
most important: winning their fights. We both like fighters that
are stand up people, hard workers, and highly skilled - guys
like Joe Lauzon, Demian Maia, Frank Mir, Joe Stevenson, and Miguel
Torres just to name a few."
It's difficult for companies to grow, especially in this economy,
if they don't offer products at good prices and solid customer
satisfaction, which MMAWarehouse says it takes very seriously.
"One of our values is 'treating our customers the way we
would want to be treated' and another is 'doing the right thing.'
In part, that means getting orders shipped when promised, responding
in detail to customer inquires, and handling customer issues
with care when they do arise. I know what I expect when I shop
online and I expect our business to deliver the same."
I also gave Casey the opportunity to pitch MMAWarehouse to MMA
fans who haven't shopped with the site before: "For fans
of the sport, we work tirelessly to carry all the latest and
most demanded fight apparel from all the top vendors with something
for every style. We ship same day, offer door to door tracking
on your order, and we'll be there should you have any issues
after your order arrives."
Although there are several large MMA clothing retailers, my latest
shopping transaction with MMAWarehouse went well, though I'm
going to discuss that in a different post.
Casey closed out the interview with the following statement to
MMA fans who have supported MMAWarehouse: "Thanks to everyone
who has helped us get where we are today and we're very excited
about what's ahead!"
Source: MMA Opinion
|
Report:
New Mexico politician wants to ban MMA in his state
By Zach Arnold
KRQE in Albuquerque is reporting that State Senator Tim Jennings
(D-Roswell) introduced a bill last week in New Mexico's state
legislature to ban MMA activity.
Here is how local station KOB introduces their news piece on
the story:
New Mexico already has a ban on dog fighting and cockfighting.
Now, one state lawmaker wants to outlaw cage fighting.
Senator Tim Jennings is calling out the cage fighting culture,
saying the sport is just as violent as pitting animals against
each other.
State Senator Jennings was/is a bigwig politician in New Mexico.
He's not yet age 60 and has spent about 30 years in state politics.
On a seperate note, it appears there are some MMA-related politics
happening in Fresno.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Josh
Koscheck to fight at UFC 98 "Lesnar vs. Mir 2'
UFC welterweight Josh Koscheck's next fight will be at UFC 98
on May 23 in Las Vegas.
Koscheck wrote Tuesday in his blog that his 13-week training
camp for his next fight begins Monday. He'll be looking to bounce
back from last Saturday's loss at UFC 95 against little-known
Brazilian Paulo Thiago.
"The game has it's ups and downs and I have had my fair
share of both," Koscheck wrote. "I only know to do
one thing and it's what I have been doing from day one in competitions
since I was a kid... Refocus my life and training and go back
to the drawing board and train for my next fight."
While Koscheck has come to terms with the upset loss, he still
believes the fight should have gone longer.
"YES, I would have liked to see the ref let the fight go
on a little bit more because we are all fighters and we fight
until the end," Koscheck wrote. "Yes, I got hit hard,
but felt as though I could have recovered if I had the chance.
As for next time, my message to all the ref's would be to, please
let the fight go until I'm put out to sleep... Just so I don't
have the thought of what if, going through my mind and probably
the minds of all of you, my fans."
The loss to Koscheck was a huge setback as he was arguably the
next in line for the UFC welterweight title after Georges St-Pierre
vs. Thiago Alves.
Koscheck doesn't have an opponent yet but says he hopes that
his opponent will be tough and top-ranked.
Source: MMA Fighting.com
|
Urijah
Faber Would Move Up And Down In Weight For Superfights
By Tim Ngo
Former WEC featherweight champion, Urijah Faber, wants to get
a re-match against Mike Brown but he also wants to be put into
a couple of superfights as well. Faber recently spoke to The
Sun UK and said, "I'll probably move up to 155lbs and I'll
probably also move down to 135lbs and try to maintain my consistency
at 145lbs too."
The fight that he would want most at 155lbs. would be against
the current UFC lightweight champion in BJ Penn but Faber admits
that it wouldn't be anytime soon saying, "I don't foresee
that in the immediate future."
Other fights that Faber would be interested in would be a bantamweight
fight with Miguel Torres and a featherweight fight with Kid Yamamoto
but a Yamamoto fight may mean that he would have to leave the
WEC.
All of this is just talk because Faber would first have to earn
his featherweight title back.
Source: Fight Line
|
Thomson-Melendez
2 Added to Strikeforce
by Loretta Hunt
Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson will face the man
he wrested the title from, Gilbert Melendez, in a five-round
rematch at Strikeforce "Shamrock vs. Diaz" on April
11 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
Strikeforce
Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz confirmed the matchup
to Sherdog.com on Tuesday. The bout was first reported as a possibility
by FiveOuncesofPain.com on Monday.
Thomson's
five-round shutout decision over Melendez last June is considered
one of the high points of the San Jose fighter's career.
As
a 3-to-1 underdog, the American Kickboxing Academy product established
confidence with the Pride Bushido star early, and actively used
lateral movement to keep Melendez at bay throughout the 25 minutes.
The loss marked only the second in the highly touted Melendez's
career, and solidified what many suspected of the 29-year-old
Thomson's potential in the lightweight division.
Thomson
(16-2) made quick work out of an overmatched Ashe Bowman in a
non-title bout last September, cutting down the Lion's Den prospect
in only 74 seconds at Strikeforce's second event at the Playboy
Mansion. He told Sherdog.com that he had "mixed emotions"
about the rematch with Melendez.
"All
those people who saw the first fight -- don't expect the same
thing from either fighter," Thomson wrote via text message,
"[but] it's gonna be fight of the year."
Melendez
(14-2) hasn't stepped back into the cage since his loss to Thomson.
The voracious 26-year-old wrestler holds key victories over standouts
Clay Guida and Tatsuya Kawajiri.
"Not
too many (fighters) get this opportunity," Melendez wrote
via text message to Sherdog.com on Tuesday. "I feel very
lucky and now all that's left is to take advantage of it."
Though
it's a well-matched lightweight tilt comprised of two top-10
entries, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker hasn't hidden the fact that
the pairing wasn't the first one he had in mind for Thomson's
first title defense. The promotion offered the fight to former
EliteXC 155-pound champ K.J. Noons in early February, but Noons
turned down the opportunity to honor previous commitments to
his pro boxing career.
Former
UFC lightweight Jorge Gurgel and Japanese star Caol Uno were
also rumored to have been under consideration for the slot.
Thomson-Melendez
2 joins a previously announced roster that includes a featured
welterweight non-title matchup between EliteXC 170-pound champion
Jake Shields and heavy-hitter Joe Riggs. In the main event, former
UFC middleweight champion Frank Shamrock will take on the equally
outspoken Nick Diaz at a 179-pound catch-weight.
Strikeforce
"Shamrock vs. Diaz" will be broadcast live on Showtime.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Sera's
Kajukenbo Open Tournament
 |
|
Hawaii
Amateur Pankration Association
"Hit and Submit"
O-Lounge
Night Club, Honolulu, Hawaii
March 14, 2008
Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association "Hit and Submit"
At the O-lounge Saturday March 14, 2009
Fight
card subject to change Please Contact Arick at 599.4448 for more
information. Pre-Sale Tickets at $20 and $30
Kalae
Palimoo Team Up and Up
(160) Muay Thai
Johnny Tuimaseve Bullspen
Jeremy
Borges Bullspen
(145) Pankration
Dustin Letreta Freelance
Angie
Perriera HMC Wahiawa
(130) Pankration
Pua Nunies Bullspen
Ryne
Yoshimura HMC Team Chinaman
(140) Muay Thai
Tommy James Ismael Freelance
Sasa'e
Paogofie Outcast
(205) Pankration
Kcade Phillips Freelance
Keo
Palimoo Team Up and Up
(185) Pankration
Kimo Galon Bullspen
Kelii
Ross HMC Team Chinaman
(175) Pankration
Keoki Silva Kaos Fight Crew
Keo
Sylva Outcast Fight Club
(175) Pankration
Brandon Lorenzana Freelance
Rowell
Tano Freelance
(150) Pankration
Arick Adriano HMC Team Chinaman
Eugene
Kostron Freelance
(230) Pankration
Keoni Gandi Combat 50
Ikaika
Sylva Outcast
(185) Pankration
Steven Lopes Knuckle Up
Joshua
Bersalona Freelance
(125) Pankration
Sam Rompon Freelance
Frankie
Tano Freelance
(155) Pankration
Sebastian Mariconda HMC Team Chinaman
|
DA
BOSS TO FACE KAWAJIRI AT DREAM 7
Hilo boy Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez (19-6) has agreed to
fight the #10 ranked lightweight in the world Tatsuya "Crusher"
Kawajiri (22-5-2) at Dream 7 on March 8th. The event will take
place in Japan at the Saitama Super Arena and will be broadcast
in the States the following Friday on HDNet. This will be Ebanez's
first fight at lightweight after a solid run at welterweight.
Despite the short notice, "Da Boss" is confident and
ready. "This is a huge opportunity and even though it's
on a weeks notice I will be ready. It's a drastic cut for me
but I was already in the gym training, when the call came I jumped
on it" said Ebanez.
Dream
7 will also feature the following bouts:
First
Round of Dream Featherweight Tournament
-Atsushi
Yamamoto vs. Masakazu Imanari
-Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Kim Jong Won
-Yoshiro Maeda vs. Micah Miller
-Chase Beebe vs. Joe Warren
-Takafumi Otsuka vs. Bibiano Fernandes
-Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura vs. Abel Cullum
Non-Tournament
Bouts:
-Shinya Aoki vs. David Gardner
-Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. Daisuke Nakamura
Source: Rich
|
GOT
SKILLZ IS BACK!
FILCOM CENTER, WAIPAHU, HAWAII
MARCH 7, 2009
DOORS OPEN AT 6:30
JAMEN 130 AJ PANG
JUSTIN KAHALEWAI 120 ISRAEL ALVAREZ
LAA KAHOOKELE 150 SAGE YOSHIDA
DAVIN CUMMINGS 185 JACOB RAUSHENBURG
MATT SAMUELS 220 RONSON NELSON
ACE 110 THEODORE BROWN
MIKE CUBAN 170 SHAISON LAUPOLA
JOSHUA 170 LAWRENCE HINOJOSA
PAKI 260 JAMES
JOSH AFAFALA 130 DEGUZMAN
JORDAN FONTEZ 140 CLEM HALLOWAY
WALLY HAINA 150 JOE ENAENA
JAN QUIMOYOG 125 MARK CABERTO
KEA DEMELLO 175 DANIEL
ANTHONY 170 KEVIN GRACE
TBA 155 ROB CARLYON
JOEY 130 EMERSON SOUERIA
ROLAND SEFO 220 KEONI GANDY
all matches & participants are subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
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