Hawaii Martial Arts News & Rumors - Dedicated to Hawaii-Specific Martial Arts News & Rumors

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Us

(All events on Oahu, unless noted)

2010

February

BJJ Tournament

(tba)

2009

12/5/09

Aloha
State Championship

of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

(BJJ & Sub Grappling)

(Kaiser H.S. Gym)

11/21/09

UFC
106

(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas)

11/14/09

UFC
105

(United Kingdom)

11/1/09

Boxing

(Palolo District Park Gym)

10/31/09

H.A.P.A.
Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association

Hit-And-Submit
#4

(Pankration)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

10/30/09

Niko's MMA Event

(MMA)

(Veterans Hall, Keehi Lagoon)

10/24/09

X-1:
Scuffle on Schofield 2: Homebound Heroes

Press conference, autograph signing & picture taking

(Tropics Rec Center, Schofield Air Force Base, Wahiawa)

UFC
104

(Staples Center, Los Angeles)

10/18/09

NAGA
Hawaii

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Pearl City H.S. Gym)

10/17/09

Just Scrap

(MMA)

(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)

10/10/09

Man Up & Stand Up

(Kickboxing)

(Waipahu Filcom)

10/3/09

Destiny Unfinished Business

(MMA)

(Waipahu Filcom)

9/19/09

UFC
103

(American Airlines Center, Dallas)

9/16/09

UFC
Fight Night 19

(Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City)

9/12/09

Hawaiian
Open Championship

of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

(BJJ & Sub Grappling)

(Kaiser H.S. Gym)

Up & Up

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena)

8/29/09

MAUI OPEN 2009

Submission Grappling Challenge

(Sub Grappling)

(Maui War Memorial Gym)

Island Assult

(Boxing)

(Blaisdell Arena)

UF1C
102

(Rose Garden, Portland)

8/22/09

Destiny: Maui vs. Oahu

(MMA)

(War Memorial Gym, Maui)

8/15/09

Mad Skills

(Kickboxing & Triple Threat)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

8/9/09

WEC

(Las Vegas, NV)

8/8/09

UFC
101: Declaration

(BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian)

(Wachovia Center, Philadelphia)

8/1/09

Affliction: Trilogy

Fedor vs. Barnett

(Honda Cetner, Anaheim, CA)

7/25/09

X-1
Scuffle On Schofield

(MMA)

(Tropics Recreation Center, Schofield Barracks)

Amateur Boxing at Palolo

(Boxing)

(Palolo Gym)

Gracie Tournament

(Kalaheo H.S. Gym)

**Cancelled**

7/23/09

JUST SCRAP

(MMA)

(Pipeline Cafe)

7/20/09

Dream 10: Welterweight GP Final

(Japan)

7/11/09

UFC
100: Lesnar vs. Mir

(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV)

7/10/09

Man up and Stand up

(Kickboxing)

(Waipahu Filcom Center)

6/27-28/09

OTM's 2009
Pac Sub

(Gi & No-Gi competition)

(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)

6/20/09

The
Ultimate Fighter 9:

Team US vs Team UK Finale

6/13/09

Destiny

(MMA)

(Waipahu Filcom)

UFC
99: Comeback

Silva vs. Franklin

(Cologne, Germany)

6/7/09

WEC: Brown vs. Faber 2

(Versus)

6/6/09

Quest for Champions 2009 Tournament

(Sport Pankration, Sub Grappling)

(Kalani HS Gym)

Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields

(St. Louis, MO)

6/4/09 - 6/7/09

World
JJ Championships

(BJJ)

(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA)

5/30/09

Event of the Champions

(Triple Threat, Kickboxing, Grappling)

(Elite Auto Group Center)

5/26/09

Dream 9

5/23/09

UFC
98: Evans vs. Machida

(PPV)

5/16/09

KTI's Scrappa Lifestylez

Scrapplers Fest

(BJJ/Submission Grappling)

(Kauai)

5/9/09 - 5/10/09 &

5/16/09 - 5/17/09

Brazilian Nationals JJ Championships

(BJJ)

(Carson, CA)

5/9/09

X-1 Kona

(MMA)

(Kekuaokalani Gym, Kona)

15th Grapplers Quest Las Vegas

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Las Vegas, NV)

5/2/09

Destiny

(MMA)

(Waipahu Filcom)

Uprising MMA

(MMA)

(Maui)

May 2009

Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships

(Sub Grappling)

(Tentative)

4/25/09

MMA Madness Water Park Extravaganza

(MMA)

(Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Kapolei)

4/18/08

Kingdom
MMA

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena)

NY
International JJ Championships

(BJJ)

(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

4/11/09

Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

(BJJ & Sub Grappling)

(Kaiser High)

X-1: Temple of Boom

(Boxing & MMA)

(Palolo Hongwangi)

4/10/09

HFC: Stand Your Ground XII

(MMA, Kickboxing)

(Dole Cannery Ballroom)

4/4/09 - 4/5/09

NAGA
World Championship

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(NJ, Tentative)

3/28/09

Garden Island Cage Match

(MMA)

(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)

3/27/09
- 3/29/09

Pan
Am JJ Championships

(BJJ)

(Carson, CA)

3/27/09

Tiger Muay Thai Competition

(Muay Thai)

(Tiger Muay Thai Gym, Sand Island Road)

3/21/09 - 3/22/09

$30k Grapplers Quest/Fight Expo/Make a Wish Weekend

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Del Mar, CA)

NAGA US Nationals

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Georgia)

3/14/09

Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association: "Hit and Submit"

(Pankration & Muay Thai)

(O-Lounge Night Club, Honolulu)

NAGA Vegas

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

3/7/09

UFC 96

(PPV)

(Columbus, OH)

Grapplers Quest Beast of the East

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Wildwood, New Jersey)

2/27/09

X-1 World Events

NEW BEGINNING"

(MMA)

(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)

2/21/09

Destiny

(MMA)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

UFC
95

(PPV)

(London, England)

2/15/09

X1 World Events

Temple of Boom: Fight Night III

(MMA)

(Palolo Hongwanji)

2/8/09

IWFF
Submission Wrestling Tournament

(No-Gi)

(IWFF Academy, Wailuku, Maui)

2/7/09

4th Annual Clint Shelton Memorial

(Boxing)

(Palolo Gym)

Manup and Standup

(Kickboxing)

(Kapolei Rec Center, Kapolei)

UFC Fight Night

(PPV)

(Tampa, FL)

1/31/09

UFC 93 BJ vs GSP

(PPV)

(MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV)

1/30/09

MMA Event

(MMA)

(Schofield Barracks)

1/24/09

Eddie Bravo Seminar

(BJJ)

1/17/09

UFC
93

(PPV)

(Dublin, Ireland)

1/10/09

MAT ATTACK Jiu-Jitsu & Submission Grappling Tournament

(Sub Wrestling)

(Lihikai School, Kahului, Maui)

1/3/08

Uprising - Maui

(MMA)

(Paukukalo Hawaiian Homes Gym)

Hazardous Warfare - Maui

(MMA)

(Lahaina Civic Center)

News & Rumors

SPONSORED BY WAIPAHU PAWN SHOP

NOVEMBER 1ST, 2009 AT THE PALOLO DISTRICT PARK GYM, 2 P.M.

BOUTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Weigh ins
are Friday evening!

Tentative as of 10/28/09

RED CORNER WEIGHTS BLUE CORNER

CLUB/BIRTHDATE 3 ROUNDS CLUB/BIRTHDATE

1). Lilly Morse 28/170 (1 bout) female170 Gardenia Sims 28/170
(6 bouts)

Kawano B.C. 10/01/81 1 min. 07/23/81 Kawano B.C.

2). Preston Saragosa 15/120 (1) 125 Corey Deguzman 16/130 (0)

Five-O B.C. 1 min. Five-O B.C.

3). Lennon Sullivan 10/55 (1) 60 Kealii Alcos 11/59 (0)

Pearlside B.C. 08/07/99 1 min. 10/05/98 Kauai PAL

4). Nelson Santos 16/120 (0) 125 Nixon Rivera 15/125 (0)

Evolution B.C. 12/04/92 2 min. 04/09/94 Kalakaua B.C.

5). Nathan Akamu adult/175 (0) 175 Lenny Augustine 23/170 (0)

Palolo B.C. 2 min. 04/14/86 Unattached (Kimo)

6). Marco Pagaduan 19/163 (1) 165 Rudy Alvarado 28/163 (0)

Kakaako B.C. 10/25/90 2 min. 11/12/81 Kawano B.C.

7). Daniel Strickland 18/167 (0) 170 Shawn Augustine 20/170 (0)

Palolo B.C. 02/27/91 2 min. 11/05/88 Unattached (Kimo)

8). Bartolo Saragosa 15/165 (0) 170 Mervin Alcala 16/170 (0)

Five-O B.C. 08/16/93 2 min. 11/19/92 Kakaako B.C.

*************10 MINUTE- INTERMISSION- 10 MINUTE*************

9). Jordan Higa 19/108 (1) female 110 Corina Ishikawa 32/108
(1)

Pearlside B.C. 05/01/90 2 min. 03/23/77 Kawano B.C.

10). Carlos Garrido 15/145 (1) 145 Sheldon Crawford 15/141 (1)

Kailua-Kona B.C. 09/08/93 2 min. 11/08/93 Five-O B.C.

11). Sean Hamic 20/205 (0) 200 Paul Timas 24/195 (0)

PearlSide B.C. 03/19/89 2 min. 03/25/86 Kakaako B.C.

12). Mana Myers 20/168 ( 1) 170 Faamanu Siuta 24/170 (2)

Kailua-Kona B.C. 10/10/89 2 min. 01/28/85 Kawano B.C.

13). Nalu Lavea 21/205 (0) 201+ Elliot Edmunds 20/220 (2)

Unattached (Kimo) 06/17/88 2 min. 05/03/79 Kawano B.C.

14). Kaeo Myers 20/170 (4) 170 Tyler Maekawa 25/170 (1)

Kailua-Kona B.C. 11/08/88 2 min. 10/16/84 Unattached (Mike)

In
loving memory of Clinton A.J. Shelton, October 7, 1982 - October
8, 2005

Also, Kenneth Oki from Oki Boxing Club., Kauai August 26, 1941
- October 16, 2008

All boxers will receive gold medals for stepping in the ring,
these athletes are all winners!!

Mahalo for your Support and Thank You Again!!

Source: Bruce Kawano

UFC
104: MACHIDA VS. SHOGUN FIGHTERS SALARIES

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information from the
California State Athletic Commission for UFC 104 featuring the
light heavyweight title bout between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio
“Shogun” Rua, which took place on Saturday, Oct. 24,
at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just
as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed
bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not
disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view
bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included
in the figures below.

In
the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined
as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear
on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take
place before the main card goes on the air, regardless of whether
or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.

MAIN
EVENT FIGHTERS

-Lyoto
Machida $200,000 (no win bonus) def. Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua $155,000

-Cain
Velasquez $70,000 (includes $35,000 win bonus) def. Ben Rothwell
$50,000

MAIN
CARD FIGHTERS

-Gleison
Tibau $38,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus) def. Josh Neer $14,000

-Joe
Stevenson $94,000 (includes $47,000 win bonus) def. Spencer Fisher
$26,000

-Anthony
Johnson $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida
$12,000

*Johnson forfeited 20-percent of his $15,000 show money for missing
weight

PRELIMINARY
CARD FIGHTERS

-Ryan
Bader $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. Eric Schafer
$13,000

-Pat
Barry $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Antoni Hardonk
$16,000

*Barry earned added bonuses for Fight and Knockout of the Night

*Hardonk earned an added bonus for Fight of the Night

-Chael
Sonnen $54,000 (includes $27,000 win bonus) def. Yushin Okami
$18,000

-Jorge
Rivera $36,000 (includes $18,000 win bonus) def. Rob Kimmons
$9,000

-Kyle
Kingsbury $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Razak Al-Hassan
$3,000

-Stefan
Struve $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Chase Gormley
$10,000

*Struve earned an added bonus for Submission of the Night

UFC
104 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $922,000

UFC
104 AWARDS & BONUSES

(Each fighter was awarded $60,000)

Fight
of the Night:

-Pat Barry vs. Antoni Hardonk

Knockout
of the Night:

-Pat Barry

Submission
of the Night:

-Stefan Struve

Source: MMA Weekly

EIGHT
UFC 104 FIGHTERS GET MEDICAL SUSPENSIONS

The California State Athletic Commission released the following
suspension following Saturday’s UFC 104 event in Los Angeles:

–Lyoto
Machida suspended for 60 days for a left upper lip laceration

–Ben
Rothwell suspended for 45 days for TKO and 60 days for right
eyebrow lacertaion

–
Spencer Fish suspended for 45 days for hard bout and 60 days
for right eye laceration

–
Yoshiyuki Yoshida suspended 45 days for knockout

–
Eric Schafer suspended for 60 days or cleared by physician for
right side nose laceration

–
Pat Barry suspended 180 days or cleared by physician for possible
fracture of left wrist

–
Antoni Hardonk suspended for 45 days for knockout

–
Rob Kimmons suspended for 45 days for knockout and 60 days for
laceration on the left side of the forehead

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
104 GENERATES $1.9 MILLION AT THE GATE

The California State Athletic Commission on Tuesday released
the numbers for the final attendance and gross receipts for UFC
104, which took place Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

UFC
104 pulled in a final attendance of 14,892, including complimentary
tickets, for total gross receipts of $1.9 million.

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship held one previous event at the
Staples Center, UFC 60, featuring Matt Hughes versus Royce Gracie,
on May 27, 2006. That event drew a similar attendance of 14,765,
but gross receipts totaled a much larger $2.9 million.

Though
UFC 60 shadowed UFC 104 in gross receipts by a cool $1 million,
it did not in disclosed fighter payroll. The fighter pay reported
to the athletic commission for UFC 60 totaled $740,000, while
UFC 104 weighed in at $922,000. It should be noted that the payroll
figures do not include any types of bonuses, percentages of pay-per-view
revenue, or other sources of income for the fighters.

Source: MMA Weekly

JOSH
KOSCHECK VS. ANTHONY JOHNSON AT UFC 106

Welterweights Anthony Johnson and Josh Koscheck are expected
to co-headline UFC 106 on Nov. 21 in Las Vegas.

Sherdog.com
was the first to report the bout Tuesday night and MMAWeekly.com
subsequently confirmed it from sources close to the bout. Koscheck
confirmed his participation on the fall card earlier via his
official Twitter account.

The
event's original headliner, Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin, was
Monday moved to Jan. 2 at UFC 108 after illness forced Lesnar
to withdraw. Light heavyweights Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin
were subsequently bumped up to main event status.

Mark
Coleman had been scheduled to take on Ortiz before catching the
injury bug.

Johnson
(10-2) is days removed from a devastating knockout of Yoshiyuki
Yoshida at UFC 104, a victory blemished by a 5 lb. weight overage
that cost him 20 percent of his purse and a $65,000 bonus for
"Knockout of the Night." Johnson apologized for his
misstep after the fight and said he struggled with a knee injury
sustained in preparation for a June bout with Matt Brown (the
bout was eventually cancelled when both fighters revealed injuries).

Koscheck
(17-4) was originally scheduled to take on up-and-comer Mike
Pierce on Jan. 11 at UFC Fight Night 20 before the shuffle. In
his last Octagon appearance, the original "Ultimate Fighter"
alum spoiled the return of former welterweight contender Frank
Trigg at UFC 103. He is 11-4 in the UFC.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
104 CONTROVERSY: THE PEOPLE VS. PEOPLES

LOS ANGELES – Referee and judge Cecil Peoples has no doubts
he scored the main event of Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio Rua correctly,
though he admits he struggled with the first round of the fight.

Minutes
after the judges’ decision announced Machida the winner
at UFC 104, boos showered Los Angeles’ Staples Center. Reporters
collectively scratched their heads. On the Wikipedia entry for
the card, someone slipped “fixed fight” beside the
decision for Machida.

UFC
president Dana White thought Rua won and greenlighted an immediate
rematch.

Peoples,
61, has often been the target of fan outcry for his judging,
or perceived lack thereof. He attributes the attacks to his kickboxing
background and a memorable name (which is always announced last,
he claims).

“The
fans and all the naysayers, I don’t worry about,” he
said. “I don’t back down because it’s not popular.”

Peoples
said Tuesday he has not reviewed last Saturday’s fight,
nor the statistics compiled in its wake that overwhelmingly gave
the decision to Rua (he has done so only once, after Georges
St. Pierre at UFC 58). He maintains that in a close fight, quality
of damage is king.

“My
thing is, Rua did hit him more,” said Peoples. “But
Machida hit him harder, especially in the early rounds.”

By
the scorecards, rounds one and four were the only frames where
Peoples and fellow judges Marcos Rosales and Nelson Hamilton
disagreed. Peoples and Rosales gave Machida the first three rounds,
while Hamilton gave him the second, third, and fourth.

Much
of the debate has centered on the opening round, in which Rua
came out aggressively to the counter-striking of Machida. As
for much of the fight, Rua’s attack centered on Machida’s
body and legs, while the champion returned with straight punches,
body kicks, and leaping knees.

Peoples
said the first frame was the closest on his scorecard, but according
to the criteria used to judge a fight, he disagrees with those
who gave it to Rua.

“I’m
really perplexed about how you give (Rua) this round, because
Shogun was kicking (Machida) a lot in the legs, but every time
he kicked him in the legs, he got hit in the face,” he said.
“Shogun would put his hand up, and Machida would go right
through, sweat’s flying off (Rua’s) face. Shogun kicked
(Machida) in the belly – that’s how he got the red
mark.

“But
you gotta remember, Machida is stepping back, so when he gets
kicked, he’s getting brushed. But he counters Shogun with
a hard kick to the belly. Which one counts more for the exchange?
I give it to the (second one), because it was harder. It wasn’t
brushed.”

Equally
important to his decision was the movement of Machida, which
he believes showed more authority.

“Machida
was controlling that round because he was dominant in not getting
beat up in that round,” he said. “He was the general
in that first round.”

Peoples
thinks much of the controversy is based on Machida’s reputation
as a patient and deadly striker, which made him a 6-1 favorite
leading into the fight.

“Everybody
was expecting him to destroy Shogun like he destroyed Rashad
Evans, and he didn’t destroy him,” said Peoples. “It
was a close fight. So people think: (Rua) did good. If he did
that good, he must have won the fight.”

Peoples
concedes that the scoring system is the likely cause for much
of judging controversies, though he says it would take “an
act of Congress” to change them. He would prefer the K-1
system of judging, wherein half points are awarded in 10-point
rounds.

“The
scoring system is a very good scoring system for boxing,”
he said of the current incarnation.

After
the fight, Peoples said he received several text messages from
a “very famous kickboxer” arguing with him about his
decision. He bristled at the thought and said he has never been
challenged in person by a fan.

“So
you in a bar with 200 people that are sloppy drunk, and you’re
gonna argue with me about the decision?” he asked. “How
does that work? Only in America. I give the fight to Machida
in a very, very close fight. Now you’re pissed off because
it’s my fault that you lost your money. No, it’s not.
It’s Machida’s fault.”

For
those who think he should find another profession, he has one
thing to say.

“If
you don’t like it, you can go to hell.”

Source: MMA Weekly

HAPPY
WITH WIN, STEVENSON WANTS HOLIDAY BREAK

Heading
into UFC 104, Joe Stevenson was taken back a little bit when
he heard the news that Spencer Fisher had walked into UFC president
Dana White's office and specifically asked to face the former
"Ultimate Fighter" champion.

Stevenson
was definitely up for the challenge, though. He bludgeoned his
way to a second round TKO victory after getting Fisher caught
in a crucifix, and hammered him with elbows to force the stoppage.

Before
the fight, Stevenson had made a mental note to go out and finish
his opponent, after hearing some nasty rumors about his style
that didn't sit to well with the UFC veteran.

"I
didn't want to go to decision," Stevenson told MMAWeekly
Radio on Monday. "I hate the whole, I don't know how I somehow
got the stereotype of being like a lay and pray fighter. They
can think whatever they want, it's up to me to prove them wrong."

Heading
into the match-up, it didn't seem like a secret that Fisher's
background was as a striker, while Stevenson was known as a grappler,
but the California native wasn't convinced of his opponent's
game plan heading into the bout on Saturday night.

"I
expected him to want to stand, but honestly in the back of my
mind I saw him trying maybe for a takedown, or to try and get
on top and try to pound me out," said Stevenson.

It
took until the second round for Stevenson to truly show his ground
dominance, as he trapped Fisher's arms and unloaded a barrage
of elbows that forced Herb Dean to stop the fight.

"The
crucifix is something I've really, really tried to perfect on
getting my opponents in. It's been working tremendously for me
at practice," commented Stevenson. "To these people
that are just worried about defending my submissions, now they
have to worry about getting hit. I think that makes me more versed,
and makes me way more dangerous.

After
the win, Stevenson made comment about his struggles to get Fisher
down in the first round, saying that his opponent felt somewhat
slippery, but he explained that statement when speaking with
MMAWeekly Radio.

"It
could be in his diet, he could eat a lot of garlic, that can
make your sweat very slippery," he stated. "There's
a number of things that could have resulted in that."

Now
2-0 under MMA guru Greg Jackson, Stevenson believes that making
the move for his fight camps to New Mexico could be the best
move his career has ever, or will ever see.

"I
feel like I can move mountains right now," Stevenson said
about working with Jackson. "I want to get the chance to
continue to grow with Greg. Look at the difference in my first
fight with him and the rest of my fights, and you really hadn't
seen that happiness, and the hard work, and going back to my
roots.

"(Greg's)
like the love child between Chuck Norris and Yoda."

Winning
back to back fights over tough opponents, the Team Jackson fighter
is ready to get back to work and give notice to the lightweight
division that he's back to form, and better than ever... but
not before a little family time around the holidays.

"Honestly
I'm chomping at the bit for another fight, but I want my holidays.
So I'm going to look for three months after January," Stevenson
stated when he expected to fight next.

Source: MMA Weekly

MMAWEEKLY
WORLD MMA RANKINGS UPDATED

The latest MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday,
Oct. 28. This system ranks the Top 10 MMA fighters from all across
the world in each of the seven most widely accepted weight classes.

Taken
into consideration are a fighter's performance in addition to
his win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty
of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most
comprehensive rankings system in the sport.

Fighters
who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible
for Top 10 consideration until they have fought one time after
the completion of their suspension.

Fighters
must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to
be eligible for Top 10 consideration.

Below
are the current MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings, which are up-to-date
as of Oct. 28.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

HEAVYWEIGHT
DIVISION (over 205 pounds)

#1
Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Fedor Emelianenko

2.
Brock Lesnar

3.
Frank Mir

4.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

5.
Cain Velasquez

6.
Randy Couture

7.
Junior Dos Santos

8.
Brett Rogers

9.
Andrei Arlovski

10.
Shane Carwin

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)

#1
Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Lyoto Machida

2.
Rashad Evans

3.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

4.
Quinton Jackson

5.
Anderson Silva

6.
Forrest Griffin

7.
Gegard Mousasi

8.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

9.
Thiago Silva

10.
Luis Cane

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

MIDDLEWEIGHT
DIVISION (185-pound limit)

#1
Middleweight Fighter in the World: Anderson Silva

2.
Nathan Marquardt

3.
Vitor Belfort

4.
Jorge Santiago

5.
Dan Henderson

6.
Robbie Lawler

7.
Kazuo Misaki

8.
Yoshihiro Akiyama

9.
Demian Maia

10.
Chael Sonnen

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

WELTERWEIGHT
DIVISION (170-pound limit)

#1
Welterweight Fighter in the World: Georges St. Pierre

2.
Jon Fitch

3.
Jake Shields

4.
Thiago Alves

5.
Josh Koscheck

6.
Matt Hughes

7.
Paul Daley

8.
Martin Kampmann

9.
Carlos Condit

10.
Mike Swick

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

LIGHTWEIGHT
DIVISION (160-pound limit)

#1
Lightweight Fighter in the World: B.J. Penn

2.
Shinya Aoki

3.
Eddie Alvarez

4.
Tatsuya Kawajiri

5.
Kenny Florian

6.
Joachim Hansen

7.
Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante

8.
Frankie Edgar

9.
Diego Sanchez

10.
Gray Maynard

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

FEATHERWEIGHT
DIVISION (145 pound-limit)

#1
Featherweight Fighter in the World: Mike Brown

2.
Urijah Faber

3.
Hatsu Hioki

4.
Jose Aldo

5.
Raphael Assuncao

6.
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue

7.
Leonard Garcia

8.
Wagnney Fabiano

9.
Bibiano Fernandes

10.
Marlon Sandro

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

BANTAMWEIGHT
DIVISION (135 pounds or less)

#1
Featherweight Fighter in the World: Brian Bowles

2.
Miguel Torres

3.
Masakatsu Ueda

4.
Takeya Mizugaki

5.
Akitoshi Tamura

6.
Dominick Cruz

7.
Damacio Page

8.
Will Ribeiro

9.
Joseph Benavidez

10.
Rani Yahya

Source: MMA Weekly

TOUGHILL
OUT OF STRIKEFORCE BOUT WITH CONEN

A Nov. 7 fight that was bound to determine a contender to Strikeforce
145-pound women’s champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos
is off.

Sources
informed MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday that the showdown between Erin
Toughill (10-2-1) and Marloes Coenen (16-3), scheduled for the
undercard of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, is off the card.

Toughill
had to withdraw due to an undisclosed medical condition.

Santos
won the title in a Strikeforce main event bout with Gina Carano
in August, when she became the first women’s champion for
a major mixed martial arts promotion. Questions about a first
title defense arose immediately following her victory.

She
was originally expected to defend her title against Coenen at
Fedor vs. Rogers, but had to withdraw due to an injury suffered
during a grappling tournament in September.

With
the women’s division still developing, Strikeforce moved
quickly to fill the gap by signing a rematch between two of the
top female fighters in the sport, the winner then challenging
Santos for the belt.

Toughill
won the first pairing with Coenen by knockout in December 2004
at the all-women Japanese MMA promotion Smackgirl (the promotion
has since been renamed Jewels).

Strikeforce:
Fedor vs. Rogers, headlined by a heavyweight showdown between
Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers, is the promotion’s debut
event on CBS Saturday Night Fights.

Source: MMA Weekly

THREE
MORE BOUTS ADDED TO TUF 10 FINALE

It’s only midway through The Ultimate Fighter season, but
the Ultimate Fighting Championship has already started filling
out the fight card for the season’s finale slated for Dec.
5 at The Palms in Las Vegas.

The
promotion on Tuesday confirmed three more bouts in addition to
Matt Hamill versus Jon Jones and Frank Edgar versus Kurt Pellegrino,
which were previously announced.

Former
World Extreme Cagefighting champion Brian Stann (7-2) makes his
third trip to the UFC Octagon to face promotional newcomer Rodney
Wallace (9-0). Stann won his last bout, a rubber match with fellow
former WEC titleholder Steve Cantwell. Wallace enters the Octagon
hot off winning a one night, eight man tournament in Aruba.

Dennis
Hallman (41-12-2) continues his on-again, off-again UFC relationship,
returning to face John Howard (12-4). Hallman is 1-3 when fighting
for the promotion, while Howard is 2-0, both wins via split decision.

Mark
Bocek (7-2) is gaining momentum in the Octagon with back-to-back
wins, and looks to continue the streak against undefeated H.I.T.
Squad fighter Matt Veach (11-0). Bocek is 3-2 in the UFC, while
Veach is 1-0, having defeated Matt Grice in his debut.

The
Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Season Finale will also feature
the final of the elimination tournament featured throughout the
season.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
PRELIMS ON SPIKE CONTINUE AS A STRONG DRAW

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, whether it be via events
or its popular The Ultimate Fighter reality series, continues
to draw strong ratings for Spike TV.

The
network on Tuesday announced that its UFC 104 preliminary bout
broadcast again drew 1.4 million viewers and repeated as number
two in the key advertiser demographics of Men 18-34 and Men 18-49.

This
is the second time that Spike has broadcast UFC preliminary bouts
leading into a pay-per-view. The first time was for UFC 103 when
the network averaged 1.4 million viewers for the broadcast and
was second in its two key demographics. In both instances, Spike
was number two in those demographics behind college football
on ESPN.

There
has been no information revealed whether the broadcasts have
carried over into greater pay-per-view buys from the UFC.

Source: MMA Weekly

10/28/09

Quote
of the Day

“You
can't shake hands with a clenched fist.”

Indira Gandhi

BROCK
LESNAR OUT; TITO VS FORREST HEADS UFC 106

With a win over Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 on Saturday night, Cain
Velasquez appeared poised for a shot at the winner of the heavyweight
title bout at UFC 106 between champion Brock Lesnar and challenger
Shane Carwin. Velasquez may maintain that position, but if so,
he’s going to have to wait awhile.

UFC
president Dana White on Monday told Yahoo! Sports and later confirmed
to MMAWeekly.com that Brock Lesnar had to withdraw from the Nov.
21 title defense due to extreme illness. Apparently, the massive
UFC heavyweight champion has been ill for “more than three-and-a-half
weeks,” leaving him unable to train.

It
came down to the make or break point with the fight just one
month away.

White
told MMAWeekly.com that he was unsure if the illness was the
widely feared H1N1 virus that everyone is worrying about this
flu season, saying, “I’m no doctor.”

He
said that he was made aware of Lesnar’s situation Monday
morning.

“We’re
not sure what we’re gonna do,” he told MMAWeekly.com
reporter Steven Marrocco at The Ultimate Fighter tryouts in Los
Angeles.

With
all of the promotions other champions already scheduled, having
just fought, or healing up from injuries; the promotion later
in the day announced via UFC.com that a rematch between Tito
Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, originally the UFC 106 co-main event,
would be slotted up to headline status.

Ortiz
won their initial meeting, at UFC 59 in April of 2006, via split
decision.

After
speaking with his management, Carwin posted on his official Twitter
account, "Looks like it is postponed till Jan. 2,"
indicating that he and Lesnar could meet at UFC 108 in Las Vegas.

(UPDATED
/ 2:20 p.m. PST, Oct. 26 – UFC announced Tito Ortiz vs.
Forrest Griffin for UFC 106 main event.)

(UPDATED
/ 2:00 p.m. PST, Oct. 26 – With information from Carwin
on new date for bout with Lesnar.)

Source: MMA Weekly

FOR
KIMBO SLICE, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FIGHT

Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson was famous before signing
on for the Spike TV reality show “The Ultimate Fighter.”
He headlined fight cards on CBS and was paid high-end money for
a mixed martial arts athlete. He had little to gain from going
on TUF outside of respect and an opportunity to compete in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

“It
was a good experience,” Kimbo told TapouT Radio about his
reality television experience. “It was an amazing sacrifice
for me.”

With
the addition of Kimbo, The Ultimate Fighter 10 has seen record
ratings. During his bout with Roy Nelson on episode three of
this season 6.1 million viewers tuned in to see Nelson defeat
Ferguson by TKO in the second round. Kimbo attributes his popularity
to fans being able to relate to him.

“There’s
something about me that everyone likes, like two million people,”
said Ferguson. “I look at it like they can probably relate
to me compared to all the other fighters because all the other
fighters aren’t bringing in those numbers, yet Kimbo Slice
is.

“I
just be myself. I don’t try to be like someone that I’m
not. I just be myself and they know what I’m bringing to
the table. They know I’m coming to the table to fight,”
he added. “I’m not coming to roll on the ground. They
know I’m coming to knock a dude out or get knocked out.
I’m coming to knock someone the (expletive) out and people
know that.”

A
controversial figure due to his street fighting background, Kimbo
has been criticized since making his professional mixed martial
arts debut, but the 35-year-old fighter has never claimed to
be a top heavyweight. He only boasts a willingness to fight anyone.

Humbly
comparing himself as a fighter to the competition, Ferguson stated,
“More than half of those guys are way better than me, have
way more skills. They’ve been in the game way longer, and
I respect every last one of the mixed martial arts fighters.
Just the nature of it, and what they have to do and the sacrifices
and commitment that you have to put in just to be on that level.

“Here
I am, a guy with just one dimension, one-dimensional, who out
of respect for the nature of the game tried to learn. I’m
trying to learn this mixed martial arts (expletive). This (expletive)
ain’t easy. It’s hard,” commented the Florida
resident. “It’s hard to become multi-dimensional after
being so used to being one-dimensional all your life. Now you
have to become versatile and learn all these different things
and be prepared for all kinds of different things that’s
coming at you and still try to fight your game. That’s just
the ultimate sport right there, and I’m part of it.”

Rumored
to be fighting in December, presumably on the finale, Ferguson
wouldn’t divulge his opponent.

“I’m
always hearing my name with other people’s names. ‘You’re
going to fight Brock (Lesnar). You’re going to fight Seth
(Petruzelli) again. You’re going to fight Houston Alexander.’
I don’t care who I fight. It’s all up to the matchmakers,”
he said.

“They’re
going to make the matches and match them up well where the crowd
is pleased that came to be entertained. I leave it up to those
guys, but one thing the matchmakers do know is Kimbo Slice is
coming to fight. I’m coming to get knocked the (expletive)
out or knock someone out, and that’s what it’s about
to me.”

Source: MMA Weekly

THIAGO
DRAWS NEWCOMER VOLKMANN AT UFC 106

In an ironic sort of round robin, Paulo Thiago has been removed
from UFC 107 to face newcomer Jacob Volkmann on Nov. 21 at UFC
106.

Initially
reported by Fighters Only, MMAWeekly.com confirmed verbal agreements
to the bout with sources close to the fighters.

Thiago
(11-1) was originally slated to face Thiago Alves at UFC 107,
with Jon Fitch fighting Ricardo Almeida at UFC 106. Almeida had
to withdraw due to a knee injury, at which point UFC officials
moved Fitch into Thiago’s spot to fight Alves at UFC 107,
and now putting Thiago at UFC 106 with Volkmann.

Thiago
is 1-1 in Ultimate Fighting Championship action. His only loss
came in his last bout, ironically enough to Fitch.

Volkmann
(9-0) fights out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy, home
to UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and former lightweight
champion Sean Sherk.

Source: MMA Weekly

MFC
STRIPS & RELEASES CHAMPION TREVOR PRANGLEY

As organizations finalize their last remaining shows of the year
by adding and moving talent around, one of the more surprising
roster moves of the season came Sunday night when Canada’s
Maximum Fighting Championship announced it had stripped light
heavyweight champion Trevor Prangley of his title and cut him
from the organization.

Sunday
night’s press release explained, “The move was required
when Prangley violated his contract by signing with two smaller
organizations while under contract with the MFC. Prangley’s
management was informed of the violation after the first offense,
but Prangley agreed to fight again outside of the MFC in blatant
disregard of his signed exclusive contact.”

When
contacted to give his side of the story, Prangley told MMAWeekly.com,
“I just want people to understand that it wasn’t as
badly (handled) as they make it out to be.

“We
did ask for dates, we did ask for permission, but we just never
got it back from them.”

He
continued, “On the first show, we emailed them, ‘Are
you going to use me around this date?’ and they said, ‘We’ll
get back to you; we’ll get back to you.’ We never got
any solid answers, so I did the fight.”

According
to Prangley, it’s only after bringing up a second fight
outside the promotion that MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich
officially notified him that he had breached his contract.

“I
haven’t even done the second fight yet. It’s scheduled
for the end of next month, but we did call him to see if he needed
me before the second one and he just gave us a short answer back,
(saying) we were in breach on the first one and that’s all
we got.”

In
the MFC press release, Pavelich said of Prangley’s actions,
“It is unacceptable that Trevor Prangley and his management
have gone about business in such an unscrupulous manner. I will
not allow my organization and my title belts to be disrespected
this way.

“Trevor
was treated with the utmost respect when he came to fight in
the MFC, and in turn for him and his management to treat the
MFC this way simply will not be tolerated.”

To
which Prangley replies, “I’m not interested in getting
into an argument or pissing match with the MFC, but what the
MFC fails to understand is this is my main source of income.
I have two kids, and I need to make money.

“I
can’t just sit and take just two fights a year, because
like I said, I have to make money for my family.”

Prangley
then reiterated that he has no ill will towards the promotion
or its course of action. He feels it is best for both sides to
move on and consider the issue closed.

“I
don’t have anything bad to say about the organization,”
he stated. “I enjoyed my fight (for them in May) and enjoyed
my time there. That’s all I have to say.”

Source: MMA Weekly

MACHIDA
REFLECTS ON CONTROVERSIAL UFC 104 WIN

LOS
ANGELES – Lyoto Machida was glassy-eyed and somber at the
post-fight press conference for UFC 104.

He
had defended his light heavyweight belt – the first time
in over two years a 205-pound UFC champ had done so – but
failed to deliver a performance that had brought him past accolades.

In
fact, just about everyone thought he lost to Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua, save for three California State Athletic Commission judges.
When the judges made their call, boos echoed throughout the Staples
Center.

Machida
looked surprised at the decision and tried in vain to turn the
crowd around with apologies. He and Rua were cordial, exchanging
congratulations and a “good fight.”

Afterwards,
Machida’s father Yoshizo and middleweight champion Anderson
Silva lectured him on his mistakes backstage.

“They
came in and told me some of the things I was doing wrong, and
it’s a learning experience,” said Machida.

The
champion declined to say whether he felt he had won the fight
and said the decision was not his call.

“Every
time you go in there, you always want to try and make the fans
happy, and it’s a little depressing when they don’t
cheer for you, when they boo you,” he said.

It
was the first time in Machida’s UFC career that he’d
lost a round, and the first time he’d emerged from a fight
with the marks to prove it. The last time that happened was when
he fought B.J. Penn as a heavyweight in March 2005. That, and
a few dojo battles with his brother Chizo.

Rua
spent the majority of the fight hacking at his legs, taking away
the feints and explosive power that characterized his title grab
over Rashad Evans at UFC 96, and before that, Thiago Silva at
UFC 94.

Adding
to the damage was a set of red lines across his left flank where
Rua’s leg had found its mark.

“I
didn’t really feel too much on the rib cage, but the legs,
I started to feel it on the inside of one of my legs, and it
was bothering me,” he said.

His
vaunted accuracy all but disappeared in the sporadic exchanges
with Rua.

Prior
to the fight, there was some speculation among media members
that Machida may have not been 100-percent – he was seen
nursing a Kleenex in the days prior – but the champion said
he was fine.

It
was just a bad night.

“I
was a hundred percent, but sometimes when you get in there, you’re
strategy doesn’t always work exactly like you planned it
to,” he said. “I would have liked to perform better,
but it happens sometimes.

"I
was looking to finish the fight whenever I could, but it showed
that Shogun came very well prepared for this fight. I was constantly
trying to find openings to finish the fight, but unfortunately,
I didn’t get that."

All
Machida could do was promise a better performance next time.
He said he would go back to Belem and look at the fight again
to begin the process of correcting his mistakes.

“It’s
just going to motivate me to train harder and I can guarantee
you I’m going to put a better performance next time,”
he said.

Don’t
be surprised if Rua is waiting for him when he gets back.

“If
the UFC decides we should have a rematch, then let’s have
a rematch,” said Machida.

Source: MMA Weekly

Comprido
divided on who to root for

Fedor’s Strikeforce debut marks all-Jiu-Jitsu bout

“Hey
gang, I have two pieces of good news and one bad,” writes
Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros to GRACIEMAG.com.

“The
good: Jonatas Novaes (5w, 2l), who is my assistant teacher here
in Chicago and a Jamelao black belt, will fight at Strikeforce,
the same event Fedor will debut at, on November 7, in Illinois.”

“And
on the same card will be Christian “Charopinho” Uflacker
(3w, 0l) who, besides being my friend, trains at my gym from
time to time.”

“The
bad news is they’ll be fighting each other! But I’m
certain it will be the best fight of the night and this event
will be the beginning of a brilliant career for both. May the
best man win!” he says in closing.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Eternal
Sakuraba submits again

Overeem and Maeda triumph in Osaka too

While
the attention of the world was turned to UFC 104, for the battle
between Lyoto and Shogun, Dream 12 packed its stage with the
darlings of Japanese fans. And didn’t disappoint.

Despite
the awkward absence of Paulao Filho, who didn’t make his
plane to Japan (his manager, Ed Soares, limited himself to saying
the fighter is OK, without further elaboration), the event in
Osaka saw Alistair Overeem (31w, 11l) finish off another tough
opponent, and Kazushi Sakuraba show further proof he truly is
forever, making it past the 40-fight mark in MMA. And in grand
style he submitted Croatia’s Zelg Galesic with a kneebar.

The
Japanese warrior now counts 26 wins, 12 losses, 1 draw and 2
NCs.

Dream
12 also saw Eddie Alvarez (19w, 2l) go to war with wrestler Tokimitsu
Ishizawa, a former opponent of Ryan Gracie, and local idol Yoshiro
Maeda show his mettle in submitting former WEC bantamweight champion
Chase Beebe with a rear-naked choke.

Dream
12 – The Cage of the Rising Sun

25 October, 2009

Osaka, Japan

Tomoya
Miyashita Keisuke defeated Fujiwara by unanimous judges’
decision

Kuniyoshi Hironaka defeated Won Sik Park by technical knockout
(eye injury) at 5min of R1

Yoshiro Maeda defeated Chase Beebe by rear-naked choke at 3:36min
of R1

Dong Sik Yoon defeated Tarec Saffiedine by split decision

Katsuyori Shibata defeated Tokimitsu Ishizawa by technical knockout
at 4:52 min of R1

Kazushi Sakuraba submitted Zelg Galesic via kneebar at 1:40 min
of R1

Marius Zaromskis knocked out Myeon Ho Bae at 0.19 min with a
kick to the head

Eddie Alvarez submitted Katsunori Kikuno by arm triangle at 3:42
min of R2

Alistair Overeem submitted James Thompson via guillotine 33 seconds
into the fight

Source: Gracie Magazine

Brett
Cooper: "(Moraes) underestimated me”

On
Jungle Fight’s main event, the Brazilian fans expected a
BJJ show from the world champion Sérgio Moraes. But the
American Brett Cooper, who already fought in events as Affliction,
came to ruin the party.

After
surviving on the ground against the BJJ champion, he saw the
Brazilian put the guard down and call him to hit him in the face.
On the second round, Moraes slowed down and the American hit
a perfect upper, knocking the Brazilian out.

“My
strategy was to fight standing, where I thought I was better,
but he’s really good standing up too. I knocked him out
on the last second, but I know he was winning until then“,Brett
celebrates, commenting Moraes’ provocations during the bout.

“I
think he underestimated me, he mounted me, took my back, but
I was prepared and had heart to leave. He was a great opponent,
I don’t have anything else to say about him“.

About
the future, Cooper expects more fights in Brazil. “The next,
to me, must be Jungle Fight. Me and Wallid (Ismail) will talk,
but I’ll go to where they pay me well“.

Source: Tatame

Anderson
wants more: “I’m crazy to fight”

“My
recovery is good, better than we’ve expected. Now is just
wait for the doctors and be back to training. We’re working
with a doctor from Nike, a great guy, one of the best… He
takes care of football players, Kobe Bryant”, the UFC middleweight
champion explains.

In
an exclusive interview, Anderson talked about being in Lyoto
Machida’s corner for his fight against Silva’s former
team mate, Maurício “Shogun”, talked Vitor Belfort’s
Karate training and much more.

Anderson
Silva

The
elbow surgery was necessary, but Anderson Silva thinks his time
off should end now. “I’m crazy to come back to training,
to fight again, but I have to wait. It’s in doctor’s
hands now… If I had the option, I’d be back to training
tomorrow”, Silva said, commenting the recovery. In an exclusive
interview, Anderson talked about being in Lyoto Machida’s
corner for his fight against Silva’s former team mate, Maurício
“Shogun”, talked Vitor Belfort’s Karate training
and much more.

Are
you in United States or in Brazil?

I’m
in United States. After Minotauro’s fight I went to Bitteti
(Combat) and to Jungle (Fight), then I came here. I went under
surgery on my elbow, let’s see when will the doctor let
me back to training.

How
was the surgery, everything happened as you expected?

Everything
ok, thanks God. My recovery is very good, better than we expected.
I’m recovering very fast, now I have to wait the doctor’s
liberation to see when I’ll be back to train. I’m crazy
to be back to train so I can fight. We have a Nike’s doctor,
he knows the stuff, it’s one of the best doctors, he takes
care of football players, of Kobe Bryant... The recovery is ok,
but I can’t train a lot. I’m doing some cardio, I’m
ready, crazy to get back to train, to kick asses, but I gotta
wait. It’s in doctor’s hands. By me, I’d be back
to training tomorrow.

Did
doctors gave any deadline to the return?

I
had the surgery, took some time, took the stitches off, started
to make physiotherapy and wanted to train, but the doctor doesn’t
liberated me. I needed to use the arm sling for 40 days, but
I couldn’t stand and took it before, because I didn’t
wanted to stand still. Now he liberated me, I’m trying to
convince him to let me get back to training, but it’s okay.

Will
you stay on Lyoto’s corner at UFC 104?

I’m
with Lyoto here, he came the day before yesterday. He’s
well prepared and I on his corner or not won’t make any
difference, because he’s very well trained guy, focused.
He’s with his family, a great advantage that he has over
all his opponents, because who’s in his corner is his family.
No one better than his family to say what he can or can’t
do, because they know him well, they know his strong and weak
points, his limits and potential. Of course I’ll help, but
I’ll be there supporting him, as always, for he can bring
this victory to Brazil. It’s a tough fight, Shogun is a
tough guy too, and will also come well trained and that’s
a great opportunity to him. Let’s see, it’ll be an
historical fight.

How
do you analyze this fight, which weapons each one can bring to
win?

It’s
really hard to talk about this fight, but I had the chance to
train with both... Shogun got much more mature since the time
we use to train together, he has a very good Jiu-Jitsu, just
like Lyoto. It’s hard. Standing up, Shogun is a good athlete,
but near Lyoto... Lyoto is much better with movements, he has
refined reflexes standing up. It’s a tough fight for both.
I believe that there’s a big chance to Shogun win, but the
chances of making mistakes is much bigger to Shogun, but he has
chances. I think that he’ll make much more mistakes than
Lyoto. Shogun is a great fighter, he defeated tough guys on Pride,
but Lyoto, on each fight, put his rhythm in a way that he doesn’t
expose himself, and Shogun will put himself in risk much more.
On this category, I don’t see anyone who can beat Lyoto.

Your
manager, Ed Soares, said that you were interested in this fight
against Belfort at a 195lbs catch weight. Is that your decision?

I
want to fight and, if the doctor lets me to be back to training,
I’ll train and I may fight with Dan Henderson, Vitor, I
don’t choose opponent, dude. I’m here to fight anyone.
If the weight matches, 195, or 205, or 185 pounds, if I have
to fight, I’ll fight. Each one has an opinion and says what
think is better, and I’m training to be back better than
never to keep with my work, whoever my opponent is. I don’t
have to prove anything to anyone. I get there to do my job and
there’s nowhere to run, that our life. Of course I have
my personal opinion about some people attitudes, but it has no
influence on UFC’s decision to make one fight or other.
I want to defend my title and my personal interests, of course,
and you gotta have strategy inside and outside the octagon. I’m
crazy to grab somebody, I’m crazy to kick asses.

Do
you think that Belfort’s Karate training can surprise you?

I
respect it, but I do that for a long time, since I was a kid
I train martial arts, so things that happens to me are not surprise,
are things that I did when I was a kid, a natural thing, I didn’t
have to push anything. When I was five I used to train Capoeira,
when I was 8 I started to train Taekwondo, when I was 13 I started
to train Boxing, when I was 18 I used to train Taekwondo and
Muay Thai and I was always training. Then my friends started
to train Jiu-Jitsu, but I couldn’t because the kimono was
too expensive, so I trained with them on their houses.

I
train martial arts for a long time, a lot of them, I had a lot
o teachers and each one passes something to me. Of course that
you train Karate, Taekwondo, Boxe, it’s from each one...
People have to understand that it’s not Jiu-Jitsu that will
make you win or not... “Oh, I’ll train Gracie’s
Jiu-Jitsu“, it’s not that the difference to who will
start to train now... The difference is your head, what’s
before the fight, the friends behind you, who care about you
and aren’t with you by interest. It’s not Karate that
will change something, or Taekwondo, but the person, the personality,
the nature that will make the difference when you’re in
the octagon. The training is important, but to be happy with
what you’re doing, confident, with no interest from the
others.

It’s
not Karate that’s good, the martial art from the moment...
Machida Karate is the Karate of the moment. Lyoto is different
of the other Karate fighters, it’s not an ordinary Karate,
it’s not anyone that will come on go fast as Lyoto. On my
fight against Roy Jones, it’s not the fact that I train
Boxing with Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson that will make the difference.
He’s an Olympic athlete and I have a few chances to win,
almost none. When I’m in Brazil, in Curitiba, I train Taekwondo
with my old friends that are champions, but it doesn’t make
much difference. The difference is you have people around you
wanting good thing to you. Winning or losing, our friendship
will stay, that what matters to me and makes the difference.

Source: Tatame

Rudimar
Fedrigo

Maurício
Shogun left Chute Boxe team after the loss to Forrest Griffin,
but Chute Boxe’s leader, Rudimar Fedrigo, cheers for the
former pupil in the title fight against Lyoto Machida, at UFC
104. “Something tells me that Shogun will win this fight.
I don’t know how, but I feel he can win the fight. He’ll
go for it and I think that’s gonna make the difference“,
bets Fedrigo. In an exclusive interview, Rudimar also talked
about Alexandre “Cacareco“ on UFC, the fight between
Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort and more.

How
are your plans for Chute Boxe? It seems everything okay, winds
blowing in favor, Cacareco almost signing with the UFC...

The
team is in a very good phase, a good sequence of victories, athletes
joining to the team. We have five international athletes at this
moment outside the country and I liked Cacareco’s performance,
not by the submission, but because he overcame a bad situation.
I wanted to see if he could pass thru a situation like that.
A real champion has to overcome himself, and he did it. He got
knocked down, recovered, went for it and did what he does well.
I like even more his presentation today.

Luiz
Azeredo signed with Shine...

It
was an excellent contract, it surprised me, I got satisfied.
It’s a three fight deal with a good cash, with the possibility
to fight in Japan. I want to see him fighting in Japan and in
the United States.

Who
are the next athletes that are negotiating to fight overseas?

A
very good heavyweight named Vinicius, he’s tall, he has
a bright future. We also have Nelson “Jaca“, who’s
really good, a heavyweight, and we have Thiago Bel, who defeated
(Igor) Chatubinha in Curitiba. He’s only 18 and soon he’ll
be rocking.

When
will we see Cacareco on UFC?

He’s
really close... When he gets in there, you know our goal. He
has all the right to fight for a belt, we’ll focus on that,
prepare him well. He’s close, there’s just some details.

What’s
your bet to the fight between Shogun and Lyoto, that trained
together at Chute Boxe?

Something
tells me that Shogun will win this fight. I don’t know how,
but I feel he can win the fight, it’s a feeling. He’ll
go for it and I think that’s gonna make the difference.

Everybody
is talking now about Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort. What do
you think it’s gonna happen in this fight?

I
think Anderson wins. It’s a dangerous fight, Vitor has fast
hands, a good and heavy punch, a good Jiu-Jitsu too, but I think
that, inside the octagon, Anderson is in a good phase and he
must keep it. I think he wins, and I’ll cheer for Anderson
in this fight.

Source: Tatame

Velasquez
makes case for title shot

LOS
ANGELES – Even though Cain Velasquez had controlled 95 percent
or more of his four previous Ultimate Fighting Championship fights,
there was still a good deal of skepticism about where he stood
in the UFC heavyweight division heading into his match against
Ben Rothwell on Saturday night.

Sure,
he was a very good wrestler and had taken down and controlled
everyone he faced, but at 238 pounds, no larger than some of
the biggest light heavyweights, doubts lingered as to what would
happen when he would face a big striker who had the size to give
him problems.

And
there was also the question of whether he could deliver the kind
of performance that would make people take notice, as opposed
to just grappling his way to victory against the top-level opponents.

After
Velasquez’s performance at Staples Center, the new question
is whether anyone is going to find a way to stop his relentless
onslaught of wrestling to get foes down and the pacing of his
punches on the ground once he gets them there.

Velasquez
took an opponent who cuts to make the 265-pound weight limit
and manhandled him in a manner that had to convince skeptics
that he belongs in the mix with the top heavyweights in the sport,
winning via referee stoppage at 0:58 of the second round.

Rothwell,
making his UFC debut after being the top heavyweight of the International
Fight League, came in with 13 wins in his previous 14 matches
and was considered Velasquez’s biggest test to date. But
he had no answers, spending the entire fight basically in survival
mode before a controversial stoppage by referee Steve Mazzagatti.

Velasquez
(7-0) was controlling Rothwell on the ground early in the second,
and as Rothwell tried to stand, he took six quick punches flush
in the face as he was getting up, so Mazzagatti waved off the
fight.

The
crowd booed the stoppage, but Rothwell had taken a beating from
the opening seconds of the fight by a combination of wrestling
and conditioning the likes of which may have never been seen
in MMA’s heavyweight division.

In
a sense, one could say the stoppage was merciful because there
were times in the first round Mazzagatti could have called it
off with little controversy as Rothwell was eating punch after
punch.

Still,
while praising Velasquez’s performance and labeling him
a legitimate contender, UFC president Dana White did have some
words for Mazzagatti.

“You
know what I think of Mazzagatti,” White said after the show
at the news conference. “I don’t think he should be
allowed to even watch MMA, let alone referee in it.”

The
fight was like a cat-and-mouse game, except the mouse was the
one playing the game. Whenever the 6-foot-5 Rothwell (30-7) seemed
to get out of a relentless barrage of punches on the ground and
get to his feet to where he’d theoretically fare better,
it turned out to be a tease.

Velasquez
would grab him and put him right back where he was. When he would
lock his hands around Rothwell, despite giving up at least 30
pounds, he was not just taking Rothwell down but also physically
launching and slamming him at will.

“When
I was wrestling as a heavyweight, I would face guys who were
285 and 290 pounds,” said Velasquez, who was a two-time
All-American wrestler at Arizona State. “So it’s not
new. This is my weight class and I don’t think about moving
down.”

Most
likely, this was a good test. Because if he wants the UFC heavyweight
championship, there is a good chance he’s going to be in
there with guys who are bigger and stronger than he is. The current
champion, Brock Lesnar, is the physically strongest fighter on
the UFC roster, and a better credentialed wrestler, who, like
Rothwell, cuts to make the 265-pound heavyweight limit. Lesnar’s
next title defense is against Shane Carwin, an NCAA Division
II national champion who is near Lesnar’s size.

Where
Velasquez appears to have the edge on his bigger foes would be
in wrestling technique as well as absolutely freakish conditioning
for a heavyweight.

“I
think he’s awesome,” White said. “Ben Rothwell
came in wanting this fight. He thought being in the UFC was his
destiny. He had a game plan, he had size and he had experience.”

Velasquez
had no problems with Rothwell’s size. When he stood with
him, he moved enough to never take a big shot, closing the major
hole in his game that he had with Cheick Kongo back at UFC 99.
In his previous fight, he was stunned with punches at the beginning
of every round, shook them off, took Kongo down and mauled him
for the remainder of each round.

“I
knew I had to get better,” Velasquez said. “I came
into this sport to be the champion, so I want the shot against
the Lesnar-Carwin winner. It’s up to UFC when that happens.”

Former
PRIDE champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, who won a decision over
Randy Couture on Aug. 29, is the only person in the way of Velasquez
getting the next title shot. Nogueira seemed to be the next in
line, but Velasquez looking so impressive here at least puts
him in the discussion.

Almost
as important is that this seemed to be the fight to solidify
Velasquez as a genuine star. He came into the Staples Center
cage as arguably the most popular fighter on the show, with the
only rival being main eventer and light heavyweight champion
Lyoto Machida.

Velasquez’s
backers, most notably trainer Javier Mendez, for years had pushed
Velasquez’s marketing potential if he made it to the top
because he’s a genuine Mexican heavyweight with championship
potential. That ethnic group has been so important in the success
of boxing.

The
UFC has been attempting to tap into the Mexican audience, both
in the U.S. and in Mexico itself. The first attempt, with lightweight
Roger Huerta, never quite hit. Velasquez is quiet, which can
often work against a fighter in being a star, but ultimately,
if he continues to dominate opponents, that in the long run will
overcome any shyness.

In
the past, Velasquez had been a fighter highly touted by insiders,
largely based on his gym reputation, but most of the fans had
not yet recognized him as someone that was going places.

On
this night, there was a strong Latino presence in the crowd,
with chants of “Mexico, Mexico,” which may have been
a first at a UFC event. But unlike boxing, this was not a heavily
Latino audience, and Velasquez’s appeal crossed over based
on the strength of his performance.

Source: Yahoo Sports

10/27/09

Quote
of the Day

"When
we truly realize that we are all alone is when we need others
the most."

Ronald Anthony

Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!

Channel
52

NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!

If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
the latest news from upcoming events, get to rub elbows with
numerous promoters and fighters, and get to voice your opinion
on any subject you can dream up. Hit the links above to sign
up for a free account and start posting away!

Dream
12 quick results: Sakuraba victorious

Dream 12

Osaka, Japão

Domingo, 25 de outubro de 2009

-
Tomoya Miyashita defeated Keisuke Fujiwara by unanimous decision;

-
Kuniyoshi Hironaka defeated Won Sik Park by TKO (eye injury)
on 1R;

-
Yoshiro Maeda defeated Chase Beebe by submission (rear naked
choke) on 1R;

-
Dong Sik Yoon defeated Tarec Saffiedine by split decision;

-
Katsuyori Shibata defeated Tokimitsu Ishizawa by TKO on 1R;

-
Kazushi Sakuraba defeated Zelg Galesic by submission (knee bar)
on 1R;

-
Marius Zaromskis defeated Myeon Ho Bae by KO on 1R;

-
Eddie Alvarez defeated Katsunori Kikuno by submission (arm triangle
choke) on 1R;

-
Alistair Overeem defeated James Thompson by submission (guillotine
choke) on 1R.

Source: Tatame

VELASQUEZ
DOMINATES ROTHWELL AT UFC 104

Cain Velasquez solidified himself as one of the top contenders
in the UFC heavyweight division after dominating “Big”
Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Rothwell
found himself on his back just 30 seconds into the fight but
was able to quickly get back to his feet. Velasquez continued
with his relentless style taking Rothwell down at will where
he landed a series of big shots nearly finishing the fight. Rothwell
survived the round but was warned by the referee about absorbing
too many blows.

In
the second round Velasquez picked up where he left off, taking
the bigger Rothwell to the canvas and connecting with heavy punches
to the face of the 28-year old Rothwell as he worked on getting
back to his feet. Referee Steve Mazzagatti called a halt to the
action just 58 seconds into the second round in a big of a bizarre
stoppage.

The
stoppage was strange because Rothwell took a lot of punishment
in the first round and was standing up at the time of the stoppage.
Velasquez thought the fight could have gone on longer.

Asked
by Joe Rogan following the bout if he thought the fight could
have continued, Velasquez said, “I think so. I felt him
stand up. I was beginning to take him down again. He did a good
job.”

Velasquez
remains undefeated, 7-0 in his career and 5-0 inside the UFC
Octagon and takes another step up the ladder to a title shot.

Source: MMA Weekly

BARRY
WINS BIG; $60,000 BONUS CHECKS FOR UFC 104

The Ultimate Fighting Championship handed out $60,000 bonus checks
following UFC 104 in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Pat
Barry and Antoni Hardonk took Fight of the Night honors in front
of 16,000 spectators at the Staples Center for their back-and-forth
battle. The fight ended in the second round with Barry winning
by technical knockout.

Pat
Barry also garnered another $60,000 in Knockout of the Night
bonus money.

The
Submission of the Night bonus went to Stefan Struve for his first
round triangle choke submission win over Chase Gormley in the
preliminary fights, but was shown on the UFC 104 Spike TV and
pay-per-view broadcasts.

The
total amount of bonus money handed out after UFC 104 tallied
$240,000.

The
live gate for UFC 104 was 1.6 million dollars.

Source: MMA Weekly

MISSING
WEIGHT COSTS JOHNSON $60,000 BONUS

When the UFC 104 bonuses were handed out following Saturday night’s
event in Los Angeles, some questioned why UFC welterweight Anthony
Johnson didn’t receive the Knockout of the Night award for
his highlight reel finish of Yoshiyuki Yoshida.

The
answer was simple.

“He
should have (won it),” said UFC president Dana White. “He
should have won it, but because he didn’t make weight, he
wasn’t eligible for it, but he would have won.”

Johnson
failed to make the allowed weight limit for the 170-pound division,
forcing the bout to take place at a catchweight. The maximum
weight for a welterweight non-title fight is 171 pounds. Johnson
tipped the scale at 176 pounds, which resulted in him forfeiting
20 percent of his show money and the opportunity to cash in on
a good-sized bonus check.

Dana
White’s comments at the UFC 104 post-fight press conference
were the first time the making weight stipulation and winning
bonuses was made public.

Pat
Barry received the Knockout of the Night honors instead, taking
home an extra $60,000 on top of his Fight of the Night award
money.

Source: MMA Weekly

VELASQUEZ
WANTS WINNER OF LESNAR VS CARWIN

Twenty-seven-year-old
Cain Velasquez proved again that he’s a force to be reckoned
with in the heavyweight division with a dominating TKO victory
over Ben Rothwell Saturday at UFC 104 in Los Angeles.

As
most expected, the undefeated Velasquez opened Rothwell up with
striking and sealed the deal with a fierce brand of ground and
pound.

Velasquez
said referee Steve Mazzagatti’s decision to halt the bout
early in the second was a “short stoppage,” but said
the result would have been the same either way.

As
for his next move, Velasquez says his choice would be the winner
of Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin at UFC 106.

“That’s
going to be the true test of where I’m at,” he said.

Source: MMA Weekly

Pitbull
in for Big Dog

Ricardo Cachorrao out of UFC 106 with injured knee

After
the cancellation of the fight between Jon Fitch and Brazilian
Ricardo Cachorrao, to take place at UFC 106, another Brazilian
came in to face the American welterweight. Cachorrao injured
his knee and in his place goes Thiago “Pitbull” Alves,
who was set to face Brazil’s Paulo Thiago.

According
to MMAJunkie.com, the bout between Fitch and Pitbull will take
place at UFC 107, on December 12, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Fitch
comes of back to back wins, the last against Pitbull’s would-be
adversary, Paulo Thiago, whereas American Top Team fighter Alves
comes in off a loss, when he challenged welterweight champion
Georges St.-Pierre for his belt – precisely the last man
to put the only blemish on Fitch’s 12-fight UFC campaign.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Cro
Cop, Rampage and Liddell’s situation

“I you see me dancing, I’m too drunk,” jokes White

Three
of the main names on the UFC roster where a topic of discussion
at the press conference held by UFC president Dana White, in
Los Angeles: Mirko Cro Cop, Quinton Jackson and Chuck Liddell.

The
first subject to come up was the Croatian’s situation.

“I
haven’t spoken with Mirko since his last fight. He’s
the kind of guy who when he starts thinking about what to do,
he gives me a call,” said the organization’s head man,
referring to Cro Cop’s loss to Junior Cigano at UFC 103.

From
what the director had to say, the doors are still open for Cro
Cop. “I like Mirko, I have a lot of respect for him, especially
the way he delt with the whole situation when we were leaving
Germany. Remember when the Japanese tried to pull some s*#$ on
me again, and he fixed it? I respected him before that, and I
respect him for that," he added.

Quinton
Jackson’s situation is completely different. The American
abandoned his duties as a coach on the current season of the
Ultimate Fighter reality show to dedicate himself to a career
in the cinema, even saying he was retiring from fighting.

We've
got so many problems right now with the Rampage thing. We've
got to let this fight [between Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Shogun
– it is worth noting Shogun took Jackson’s place in
the challenge] happen first, see how it pans out, because there's
more stuff going down with me and Rampage. We've got to figure
this thing out, then we'll go from there," he said.

Finally,
White revealed how he shall soon sit down with Chuck Liddell
to decide what the next steps in the Iceman’s career will
be. But one thing is for sure, he would never be caught doing
what his friend did recently in participated in the Dancing with
the Stars reality show.

“You
will never, ever see me on Dancing with the Stars, If you even
see me dancing, I'm way too drunk. Put me in a cab and send me
home,” joked the UFC top dog.

Source: Gracie Magazine

UFC
109: Ronnys Torres vs. Melvin Guillard

The
Brazilian Ronnys Torres already has a date to debut on UFC. After
eight victories in a row, five of them on the first round, the
Nova União’s athlete will face Melvin Guillard on
UFC 109, which takes place on February 6.

“The
expectations are the best as possible... He’s going back
to trains now and until there he will be 100%“, the coach
André Pederneiras guarantees, telling the news to TATAME.com
at first hand. About the strategy, Ronnys must keep the same
game he did in his last fights. “The strategy is always
the same: take down and try to submit all the time“. In
ten fights in the UFC, Melvin has six victories, the last one
by split decision against Gleison Tibau.

Source: Tatame

10/26/09

Quote
of the Day

"Time
is making fools of us again."

J.K. Rowling

FANS
UNHAPPY AS MACHIDA HANDED DECISION

The legacy that was supposed to begin on Saturday night for UFC
light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida was tarnished somewhat,
as the crowd in attendance thought he lost the fight against
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, but the judges saw it differently
handing him a five-round unanimous decision win.

If
anyone questioned whether Shogun actually belonged in the same
cage as Machida, the answer came swiftly in the first round as
the former Pride Grand Prix champion came after the current 205-pound
king early and often in their UFC 104 main event battle.

Shogun
used controlled aggression to stalk Machida in both rounds one
and two, landing good leg and body kicks and never let the champion
get his timing down to a science. Machida's mid-section showed
the ill effects of the body shots with a severe red streak across
his ribs.

The
third round was running pretty even throughout with Shogun hitting
the body kicks repeatedly, and grabbing a Muay Thai clinch at
one point, almost planting a knee on Machida's chin. Towards
the tail end of the five-minute session, Machida plowed forward
with a flurry of punches and got a great combination off, but
Shogun countered beautifully with a big right that slowed the
champion down again.

As
the fight moved on, Shogun continued to use what could have been
the fight defining move as he pounded away at Machida's legs,
and then following up with body shots. Machida tried to counter,
but Shogun was elusive and accurate when aiming at his opponent.

The
final round saw little desperation out of the champion as Machida
continued to struggle and find his range, while Shogun peppered
his legs with shot after shot. As the fighters tagged each other
moving towards the cage, Shogun again landed the better shot
as he popped Machida with a good left hand with the champion
backing up.

It
seemed clear-cut when the fight ended with Shogun hoisted in
the air by his teammates, and Machida looking tired in his corner
putting on his t-shirt. But when the judges' scorecards were
read, all three came down with a score of 48-47 and in shocking
fashion as Machida was declared the winner.

"It
was my most difficult fight I've had in the UFC," Machida
said after getting the nod from the judges. "All three (judges)
basically gave me a unanimous decision, so that's how the judges
saw it."

With
the crowd in Los Angeles booing in extreme disapproval with the
decision, Machida stepped up when asked if he'd be open to a
rematch with Shogun down the road.

"Whenever
he wants, I'll try again," said the champion.

While
most would disagree that he lost the fight, Shogun still showed
class and sportsmanship when addressing the decision loss.

"I
trained hard for this fight for four months, my partner told
me I was winning all the rounds, I feel like I won this fight,
but a fight is a fight, what can I do," Shogun commented
after the end of the bout.

For
Machida, the fight may go down as a victory, but he also knows
he was in a battle for maybe the first time in his career, and
Shogun likely feels he won the fight. Now the decision for a
rematch lies in the hands of UFC president Dana White.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
PRES SAYS SHOGUN TO GET IMMEDIATE REMATCH

Current Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder
Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida defended his belt for the
first time Saturday in front of 16,000 fans at the Staples Center
in Los Angeles against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

He
got the win, but the fight ended in a somewhat controversial
decision. UFC president Dana White confirmed to MMAWeekly.com
that Rua would get an immediate rematch.

"An
immediate rematch for Shogun," said white. “I think
there will be a rematch in that fight. I talked to both of them
and they both agreed to a rematch.”

Rua
voiced his opinion at the post-fight press conference that he's
welcome to a second bout with the champion.

“Of
course I’m thinking about a rematch ever since the fight,
and if that’s Dana’s wish and Lyoto’s wish, I’ll
fight him anywhere, anytime, wherever. It’s just a matter
of people wanting to put the fight together," said the former
top ranked 205-pounder in the world.

Machida
also expressed that he'd take the immediate rematch. “Of
course if the UFC decides we should have a rematch then let’s
have a rematch," said the champion.

White
feels the rematch will live up to expectations.

“You
never want to hear people booing the main event. It’s unfortunate.
That’s why I truly believe, I think this will be a good
rematch," White told the media following UFC 104.

"I
think they’re both going to come in and not make the same
mistakes they made this first fight. They’re going to come
in and each one is going to try to win decisively.”

“I’m
pretty confident the rematch will be a different fight for both
guys," said the UFC president. “I guarantee the next
fight is going to be much different.

“I
think that the second fight will be the fight we want to see,"
White added. “I love this rematch. I think it’s a great
rematch.

Source: MMA Weekly

SIMPLE
SOLUTION: DON'T LEAVE IT TO THE JUDGES

The
outcry following Saturday night’s Lyoto Machida versus Mauricio
“Shogun” Rua UFC 104 main event came in fast and furious
after Machida was handed what many deemed and “champion’s
decision.”

It
appeared to most onlookers – casual fans, fighters, and
even UFC president Dana White – that Shogun should have
run away with a five-round unanimous decision. The California
State Athletic Commission appointed judges saw it differently,
unanimously keeping the light heavyweight belt around Machida’s
waist.

All
three judges – Nelson “Doc” Hamilton, Cecil Peoples,
and Marcos Rosales – issued scores of 48-47 in the champion’s
favor. Peoples and Rosales both scored the first three rounds
for Machida and the final two for Shogun. Hamilton’s card
had it rounds one and five for Shogun, sandwiching the favor
for Machida in rounds two, three, and four.

Never
one to bury his opinion, White didn’t waver in his assertion
that Shogun won the fight. However, when he offered a detailed
assessment of the scoring, like most who were pressed, he wasn’t
far removed from the commission’s judges.

“The
first round could have gone either way. I gave the second and
third to Machida and then I gave the fourth and fifth to Shogun,”
he revealed. “So assuming that Shogun won the first, fourth,
and fifth, he wins the fight. Was it a close fight? Yeah, it
was a close fight.”

While
fans and fighters alike come down hard on the overall state of
judging in mixed martial arts, White repeated the words he has
uttered often, “You can’t leave it in the hands of
the judges. You just can’t do it.”

Most
fighters that weighed in after the bout vehemently favored Shogun
as the winner, but echoed White’s sentiment.

“I
honestly thought Shogun won and I thought it should have went
to him, but like Dana says, you can’t leave it to the judges,”
said Joe Stevenson, who won earlier in the night.

Anthony
Johnson also fought at UFC 104, assessed it the same, "I
think Shogun won, (but) neither one of them went out there like
they should have."

Fighters
from Kenny Florian to “Razor” Rob McCullough to Efrain
Escudero voiced their opinions that Shogun had earned the belt,
but Joe Lauzon summed it up succinctly on his Twitter account,
“This is why... You NEVER leave it to the judges! When you
finish your opponent, you don’t need to worry about judges!”

White,
at the post fight press conference, said he talked to Machida
and Shogun shortly after the fight and both agreed to a rematch.
No date or location was discussed.

Source: MMA Weekly

‘Shogun’
has no one to blame but himself

LOS
ANGELES – Lyoto Machida, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s
unbeaten light heavyweight champion, had the look of a loser
in the waning moments of Saturday.

His
lip was split, bruises dotted his face and he walked very gingerly
on his right leg. More telling, a frown creased his face throughout
the entire postfight news conference, 45 minutes after his bout
with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua had ended at the Staples
Center.

UFC
president Dana White, who promised a rematch as soon as he could
make it, felt Rua had won. Undercard fighters Joe Stevenson and
Anthony Johnson agreed. The majority of the media scored it for
Rua.

And
though Machida’s body language said he felt the same way,
the three men who were paid to render the decision disagreed.

Judges
Nelson “Doc” Hamilton, Cecil Peoples and Marcos Rosales
each scored the fight 48-47 for Machida, who improved to 16-0
in the most difficult bout of his career. Hamilton gave Machida
Rounds 2, 3 and 4. Peoples and Rosales each gave Machida the
first three rounds.

That
was all he needed to become the first man since Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson in 2007 to successfully defend the UFC’s light heavyweight
belt.

“I
would have liked to have performed better,” Machida said
glumly, “but it’s not always possible.”

But
while the majority opinion seemed to be that Rua deserved to
win the title – Yahoo! Sports also had it 48-47 for Rua,
giving him Rounds 1, 4 and 5 – this verdict was hardly an
outrage.

Many
in the crowd of around 16,000 let Hamilton, Rosales and Peoples
know how they felt. Internet message boards lit up immediately
with howls of protests.

The
men who should be facing the wrath of those who felt Rua had
won should not be Hamilton, Peoples and Rosales, who rendered
their opinions in a very technical, taut affair. Rather, Rua
supporters should be angry at his corner men, who continually
told him he was well ahead.

Rua
said he didn’t press the action in the final two rounds
because his corner had told him he was in control. If that’s
true, it’s that advice that cost him the fight. And it’s
always the worst kind of advice to give a fighter in any match,
but particularly a technical fight like Machida-Rua.

And
while many disagree with the judges, their decision is at least
defensible. White blasted them for their scoring, but he and
many of the angry fans didn’t take time to consider that
the judges weren’t drinking beer and eating popcorn and
slapping five with their friends or doing any of the things that
fans do as they watch a bout. Their concentration was on the
cage and the action inside it for all five minutes of every round.

Fans,
who are distracted by other things, tend to look away from the
action for a split second or two several times in a fight, whether
it be to talk to a friend, grab a snack or gesticulate after
a big blow. When a bout is as close as Machida-Rua was, that’s
often the difference between scoring the round correctly and
getting it wrong.

“It
was a matter of each round being won on maybe one or two little
things,” Hamilton said following the fight. “There
was no sustained action by anybody in that fight. There were
no combinations thrown. It was always one punch, one kick. So
you look at it and say, ‘What was effective in that fight?
What was effective in that round?’ Based on that, somebody
wins the round.”

Those
advocating a Rua victory point to the fact that Machida appeared
to take far more damage in the bout. Rua’s kicks were tenderizing
Machida’s leg and the welts on his face gave away, perhaps
for the first time, what he does for a living.

Hamilton,
though, said it’s hard to judge a fight on damage sustained
in a bout like Machida-Rua.

“They’re
assuming he’s hurt,” Hamilton said. “You don’t
really know, though, do you?”

This
was a fight that was there for Rua to win and he simply didn’t
win it. Had the decision gone Rua’s way, Machida couldn’t
have complained, because there was little to choose from in many
of the rounds. It was a very close fight and a case could be
made for either man in most of the rounds.

Rua
(18-4) was hurting Machida with kicks – Machida said the
large welt on the left side of his midsection wasn’t causing
him pain, but he conceded at the postfight news conference his
right leg was giving him problems – and he seemed to control
the tempo.

Machida
said after the bout he hadn’t been busted up as badly since
his sixth professional mixed martial arts bout. But Rua, who
was trailing on all three scorecards after three rounds, didn’t
pick up the pace because he was told he was in command of the
bout.

“I
feel I was able to use my strategy well in the fight to do a
good fight,” Rua said. “My corner was telling me I
was winning the fight and that is why I didn’t press the
action so much in the final rounds. I felt I was winning. Everyone
who has spoken to me has told me they felt I won the fight.”

He
could have won the fight. And he probably should have won the
fight.

But
he only has himself and his own people to blame. Had they sent
him out with a sense of urgency for the fourth and fifth rounds,
history might have been different on Saturday. Rua managed to
shatter some of the Machida Myth with his performance, but he
didn’t leave with the belt around his waist.

As
outraged as many are at the call, the culprits aren’t Messrs.
Hamilton, Peoples and Rosales.

Rather,
the bad guys in this scenario are Rua’s friends, partners
and coaches who were all too willing to pat him on the back and
cheerlead rather than to encourage him and go and finish a fight
he had within his grasp.

Source: Yahoo Sports

Lyoto
and Shogun analyze fight

‘I’ll fight him again anytime, anywhere,’ says
Mauricio

UFC
president Dana White said during the post-UFC 104 press conference
that there is a great likelihood a rematch between Brazilians
Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Shogun will take place. Without a
set date nor official confirmation of the rematch, the words
of the fighters themselves reinforce the possibility. Check out
what the two had to say after the match.

Mauricio
Shogun:

“At
the end of every round, my corner oriented me and would say I
was winning. In the last round I thought I was winning, that
the result was guaranteed and I became calmer. Truth is, everyone
I spoke to here said I won the fight, and from my point of view
I also thought I won. I thought I won the last three rounds.

“Of
course I’m thinking about a rematch. With Dana and Lyoto
wanting it, I’ll fight anytime, anywhere.

“Everyone
thought I did well in the fight, so I’d do the same thing.
Lyoto’s a tough guy and my team and I have been studying
him for five months. We studied his game, reaching a conclusion
and we worked from there. I think I had the right strategy. Unfortunately
I was happy with my performance, but not with the result. I’m
satisfied with my strategy for the fight.

“I
felt the punch go in (on an attack from Lyoto), but not to the
point of shaking me.”

Lyoto
Machida:

“We
had three judges for the fight, so it’s not me who decides.
The judges watched the fight and that’s how they scored
it.

“I
was 100% for the fight, but he (Shogun) has his game too, so
things don’t always go the way we want it. We can’t
please everybody all the time. That’s what I’m trying
for and I promise I’ll be better next time.

“I’m
going to go home and study the whole fight, everything that happened
and put together another strategy. We’re always learning
and this fight was another lesson. I was already corrected in
the dressing room, my father talked to me, Anderson (Silva) too,
and we’re training to fix it.

“We’re
here subject to anything. Of course we want to please the fans,
all of them. I promise I will train more so next time I will
please everyone.

“Each
fight is unique to me. The bout with Rashad (Evans) is over,
this one is over and it’s hard to compare them. Each has
his style and now I’m going to carry on training for the
next challenge.

“I
didn’t feel the rib much (about a strike from Shogun), just
one of the legs some, but it’s OK. I believed up until the
end of the fight, so I think that comes from the Japanese side
of the family. The strategy, to keep on believing, comes from
that.

“If
the UFC wants a rematch, of course I’m up for it.”

Source: Gracie Magazine

TIBAU
TAKES NEER OUT OF HIS GAME FOR THE WIN

Battling at a catchweight after missing the 155-pound weight
limit, Gleison Tibau and Josh Neer went to war for three rounds,
with the American Top Team fighter by way of Brazil came out
on top with a dominant performance showcasing great takedowns
and slams.

A
monster for 155 pounds, Tibau showed great quickness in the early
part of the fight against Neer as he shot in time after time,
landing powerful takedowns to put his opponent on his back. To
Neer's credit, he was able to pop back up after every takedown,
but he continuously got tossed to the ground by the Brazilian.

Tibau
again showed success with his takedowns in the early part of
the second round, and at one point takes mount and moves to Neer's
back as he rolled away from the bad position. Neer stood up with
Tibau on his back, and as he was slipping away the American Top
Team fighter astutely went for an armbar, but Neer got out and
went back to work on his feet. Neer stepped forward throwing
shots, but never putting Tibau in any real trouble.

While
it looked like his gas tank may be fading a little bit, Tibau
still had enough left to take Neer down a few more times in the
third round as well. It was a battle of attrition on the ground
as Tibau fought for control, as Neer did a good job of getting
up from the bottom, but not landing any real offense.

Feeling
the disappointment from a controversial split decision in his
last fight, Tibau came back strong with a quality win over Josh
Neer, who struggled to deal with takedowns for the second fight
in a row.

Source: MMA Weekly

STEVENSON
FINISHES FISHER AT UFC 104

Joe “Daddy” Stevenson elbowed his way to a TKO victory
over Spencer Fisher at UFC 104 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles
Saturday night.

The
first round was back and forth standing with Fisher stuffing
takedown after takedown attempt from Stevenson, but late in the
round “Daddy” was successful in getting the fight to
the ground where he stole the round from Fisher, who was left
bleeding from his right eye heading back to his corner.

In
the second stanza Fisher came out aggressive, but only 90 seconds
into the round Stevenson took Fisher to the canvas with a double-leg
takedown. He then unleashed a vicious ground and pound attack
punctuated with elbows. Referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop
the action at 4:03 of round two when Fisher was trapped, unable
to defend himself and taking consecutive elbow strikes from the
27-year-old Stevenson.

The
win over Fisher marks Stevenson’s second bout training under
highly regarded Greg Jackson and thus far Stevenson is 2-0 under
Jackson’s direction.

Source: MMA Weekly

JOHNSON
BLASTS YOSHIDA IN UNDER A MINUTE

While his focus going into the next fight camp might be getting
his weight down earlier, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson had
nothing to worry about when it came to his performance at UFC
104 as he knocked out Japanese Judoka Yoshiyuki Yoshida in just
under one minute of their welterweight bout.

It
was a visual mismatch when the two fighters engaged early on
as Johnson towered in both height and weight over Yoshida, and
the Georgia native showed that size advantage when landing a
few shots that staggered the Japanese fighter.

Yoshida
put his arms out in front of his body just trying to reach for
Johnson, which left his head wide open for his opponent's power
shots and he landed them at will.

Hitting
Yoshida with right hand after right hand paid off as Johnson
tagged him with one final right hand that dropped him to the
mat, as referee Steve Mazzagatti rushed in to stop the fight.

"First
thing I want to say is I'm sorry to the UFC, and I'm sorry to
the fans, I tried to make weight," Johnson said following
the fight after making only 176 pounds during his weigh-in on
Friday. "I'll move up in the future, but the reason why
I got so heavy cause I had a knee injury preparing for Matt Brown,
but I can't blame anything on any injuries. I'm a man, I'm a
man of my words, and it's my wrong doing."

Moving
up further in the welterweight division with a dominant win over
a quality fighter like Yoshida will do great things for Johnson's
career, but missing weight again will not be an option if he
wants to face the top ten fighters in the division.

Source: MMA Weekly

BADER
AND BARRY WIN ON SPIKE TV PRELIMS

Another exciting installment of the UFC preliminary bouts on
Spike TV gave an entrance to the UFC 104 pay-per-view with two
great performances including former "Ultimate Fighter"
winner Ryan Bader getting a unanimous decision win, while former
K-1 kickboxer Pat Barry finished off former training partner
Antoni Hardonk by TKO.

It
was apparent early on that Ryan Bader was definitely ready to
show off his stand-up skills in facing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace
Eric "Red" Schafer, as the former Ultimate Fighter
winner opened up early in the fight with big punches trying to
end the fight early. Bader landed a big shot midway through the
first that rocked Schafer, and it looked like the finish was
on its way, but the Milwaukee based fighter persevered and made
in through the first five minutes, while enduring some severe
punishment from the former Arizona State wrestler.

Schafer
looked much stronger in the second round as Bader started to
slow down after going all out in the first. Bader was winding
up time and again looking for the big punch, while Schafer did
a good job hitting jabs and landing the better strikes that snapped
his opponent's head back several times in the round.

Knowing
that he may have dropped the second round, Bader picked up the
pace in the final round, pressuring Schafer with his stand-up.
The former TUF champion uncorked one big shot that landed right
behind Schafer's ear that left him on wobbly legs, and then being
taken to the mat. Bader went for the finish, but again Schafer
did a good job getting back to guard, bringing the fight to a
stalemate on the ground.

As
the fight came to a close, Bader stayed aggressive with his strikes,
and landed a nice takedown to close out the 15-minute session.
The judges saw it much the same way handing Bader the unanimous
decision win, his third official win in the Octagon.

In
a battle of kickboxers and former training partners, Pat Barry
got the best of Antoni Hardonk with a devastating knockout in
the 2nd round of their heavyweight bout on the undercard of UFC
104.

As
the fight began, Barry stretched out his hand in a show of sportsmanship,
but Hardonk wanted none of it and immediately came after his
opponent with his signature leg kicks. The kicks landed with
their regular thud, and Barry soon switched his stance to keep
his lead leg out of trouble.

During
two separate exchanges, Hardonk landed accidental fingers into
Barry's eyes, which caused him to wince a few times in the fight,
and at the end of the first round he had a noticeable mouse under
his right eye. Strangely enough the fight did make it to the
ground in the first five minutes with Barry getting side control,
working for elbows and punches before they got back to the feet.

The
second round saw the true dominance from Barry, who figured out
his range landing huge straight punches that continuously landed
and caused a whiplash effect on Hardonk's head. Barry threw and
popped Hardonk over and over again, and it was actually a glancing
shot that put the Dutch fighter on the mat.

Barry
followed up with another huge punch that made Hardonk roll over
and turtle up as the referee rushed in for the save.

"Me
and my leader, Duke Roufus, said straight punches all the way
against taller guys," Barry told UFC commentator Joe Rogan
following the victory. "Cause everybody keeps saying I'm
too small, that's alright I'm going to keep stretching, get a
little taller."

One
of the most powerful strikers in the heavyweight division, Barry
picks up his second win the Octagon as the New Orleans native
was elated with the victory over his friend and former training
partner.

"Sorry
for being a little emotional, but that meant everything in the
world to me just now," Barry said while the crowd in Los
Angeles cheered loudly for him after the win.

Source: MMA Weekly

10/25/09

Quote
of the Day

"The
value of identity of course is that so often with it comes purpose."

Richard Grant

UFC
104 Results

Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA

October 24, 2009

UFC
light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida defends his belt against
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and heavyweights Cain Velasquez
and Ben Rothwell clash to move up the rankings.

Click
here for live updates.

Pay-Per-View
Bouts:

Lyoto
Machida def. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua via unanimous decision

Cain Velasquez def. Ben Rothwell via TKO (punches) - R2, 0:58

Gleison Tibau def. Josh Neer via unanimous decision

Joe Stevenson def. Spencer Fisher via TKO - R2, 4:03

Anthony Johnson def. Yoshiyuki Yoshida via TKO - R1, 0:41

Preliminary
Bouts:

Ryan
Bader def. Eric "Red" Schafer via unanimous decision

Pat Barry def. Antoni Hardonk via TKO - Round 2, 2:30

Chael Sonnen def. Yushin Okami via unanimous decision

Jorge Rivera def. Rob Kimmons via TKO - R3, 1:53

Kyle Kingsbury def. Razak Al-Hassan via split decision

Stefan Struve def. Chase Gormley via submission (triangle choke)
- R1, 4:04

Source: MMA Fighting

“Fight
Camp 360: Fedor vs. Rogers” to Air Nov. 3rd

By FCF Staff

As Strikeforce’s upcoming November 7th event nears, Showtime
has announced this afternoon that the network will broadcast
the preview show, “Fight Camp 360: Fedor vs. Rogers,”
November 3rd, at 9:30PM. According to a news release sent out
this afternoon by Strikeforce and Showtime, the program will
"feature unrestricted access to one of the most enigmatic
professional athletes of today, Fedor Emelianenko and his next
opponent, the undefeated Brett Rogers, as they prepare to headline
"STRIKEFORCE/M-1 Global Saturday Night Fights"

Fight
Camp 360 will also be made available to CBS affiliated stations,
the network which will broadcast the November 7th event live.
Repeat broadcasts of Fight Camp 360 are scheduled from November
3rd through November 7th, on either Showtime or Showtime 2.

The
preview show’s director, Ron Yassen, was quoted saying in
today’s release:

“Fedor
is beyond captivating as a fighter, and more so, as a man. It's
a pure joy to film him so intimately as he strives for perfection
in life and sport with grace and charm. While training for this
most important match, he kindly opened up his life to us in and
out of the ring, without the ego that often comes with being
the very best at one's craft.”

Source: Full Contact Fighter

DANA
WHITE "THRILLED" WITH TICKET SALES IN L.A.

by Steven
Marrocco

LOS ANGELES – UFC president Dana White didn’t flinch
when asked about ticket sales for UFC 104 on Saturday.

“Dude,
I’m (expletive) thrilled in this economy that we’re
doing what we’re doing,” he said.

UFC
104, slated for the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, is
the second trip to the City of Angeles for the promotion since
May 2006.

White
also didn’t flinch when he told gathered reporters that
he had given away 3,300 tickets to the event. While it was unclear
how many of those tickets were “comps” given away to
local businesses for the event, the number was significant. The
Staples Center holds up to 20,000 fans.

“The
people that couldn’t afford ‘em came and found me,
and I gave ‘em to them.”

The
last time the UFC came to the Staples Center, tickets topped
out at $1,000 apiece. That was at the height of a real estate
bubble that raked in profits for Wall Street and beyond.

Los
Angeles’ current economic outlook lies in stark contrast
to those days. The city is deeply in debt and still wrestling
with employment shortages. The state’s financial problems
are far worse. There's a crunch on expendable income.

Tickets
for UFC 104 start at $50 and top out at $600. As of three days
ago, White said the current take from live gate revenues is north
of $2 million. UFC 60, headlined by stars Matt Hughes and Royce
Gracie, did a reported $2.9 million in total at the box office.

Still,
with walk-up ticket sales, Saturday's show could match, or exceed,
the first take.

White
said his promotion was scaling prices back everywhere to take
the economy into account.

“We’re
conscious of the problems that are going on in this country,
and we try to price them the best we can,” he said. “Still,
(we’ve) got to pay a guy, still have to run a business.
But you can’t crush the fans and price them out of the fights.”

At
UFC 104, Brazilians Lyoto Machida and Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua headline the fight in Machida's second turn as a main draw
(UFC 98, Machida vs. Evans, drew a reported 635,000 pay-per-view
buys). Co-headliners Cain Velasquez and Ben Rothwell are relatively
new to the scene as well, with Velasquez serving once as second
billed attraction.

White,
however, was unconcerned that UFC 104 contained no proven draws.

“I
don’t agree with that,” he said. “I think that
when you have a knockout win the way that Lyoto Machida has his
last couple fights, fight fans know. Fight fans know who they
like and who they want to watch, and Machida has this mystique
about him right now. Shogun just knocked out Chuck Liddell. I
think this is a very sellable fight.

“I
honestly and truly believe, without no promoter (expletive) hype,
that these two are gonna go at it on Saturday night, and I think
people want to see it."

Source: MMA Weekly

Joe
Warren canceled from Vale Tudo Japan show

By Zach
Arnold

Due
to injury (ligament damage in his left knee suffered during training),
so his replacement in the Rumina Sato fight will be Corey “Savage”
Grant from Team Quest. Grant is Warren’s training partner.
He was a good amateur wrestler from the University of Michigan.

Update (10/13) - Here’s the updated fight card:

¦Takanori
Gomi vs. Tony Hervey (King of the Cage Lightweight champion)

¦Shooto World Welterweight championship: Ken’ichiro
Togashi vs. Willamy Chiguerim

¦Shooto Bantamweights: Mamoru vs. Jesse Taitano

¦Tito Jones vs. Tenkei Fujimiya

¦VTJ Rules (65 kg, 5 min 5R): Lion Takeshi vs. Alexandre
Franca Pequeno Nogueira

Also booked: Rumina Sato & Yoichiro Sato

Source: Fight Opinion

Anderson
wants more: “I’m crazy to fight”

By Guilherme
Cruz

“My recovery is good, better than we’ve expected. Now
is just wait for the doctors and be back to training. We’re
working with a doctor from Nike, a great guy, one of the best…
He takes care of football players, Kobe Bryant”, the UFC
middleweight champion explains.

In an exclusive interview, Anderson talked about being in Lyoto
Machida’s corner for his fight against Silva’s former
team mate, Maurício “Shogun”, talked Vitor Belfort’s
Karate training and much more. Click here to read the exclusive
interview.

Source: Tatame

GC
Welterweight Title Up for Grabs on Oct. 24 in Nevada

Gladiator
Challenge (GC), one of the top MMA promotions in California,
is proud to present a world title match at this weekend’s
“Reality Check,” live from the Wendover Nugget Hotel
& Casino in Wendover, NV. The card takes place live this
Saturday, October 24th. 10 action-packed bouts are scheduled,
including a Gladiator Challenge Welterweight title fight between
the man who holds the belt, Jake “The Snake” Paul,
and hungry challenger Brad “Dirty Pop” Johnson. Also
featured will be a heavyweight battle between Cobey Freeman and
Lupe Lara, as well as great young fighters Willis Ferguson and
the Espittia brothers. Gates open at 5:00 p.m., with fights beginning
at 7:00 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets for “Reality Check”
at www.virtualboxoffice.com, or call (888) 826-8858.

Jake
“The Snake” Paul (14-13) has tangled with well-known
veterans of the fight game with UFC, WEC, EliteXC experience,
including Mike Dolce, Mike Pierce, Rick Story, Jaime Jara, Floyd
Sword, and Blas Avena. Nothing Brad Johnson throws at him is
going to faze the grizzled Paul, and he will be looking to finish
his less experienced counterpart.

Brad
“Dirty Pop” Johnson (10-5) is a great wrestler who
utilizes his ground skills in order to submit his opponents.
On the rise in MMA, he is looking to use the GC Welterweight
belt as a springboard to bigger things in the sport. Either way,
this fight has the potential to be an absolute barn-burner.

With
all the exciting bouts scheduled for this card, Wendover fight
fans will be in for a huge treat. “We are very glad to be
back at the Nugget,” exclaimed GC Owner/Promoter Tedd Williams.
“The fans there are great, and we’re excited to bring
the Gladiator Challenge brand of fights back to them!”

For
more information on Gladiator Challenge and all its events, please
visit http://www.gladiatorchallenge.com.

Gladiator
Challenge is a world-class mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion
established in 1999 by Tedd Williams. A former UFC fighter, Williams
is a former national AAU Sambo Champion (1997), a former California
State Judo Champion (4th Degree Black Belt under “Judo”
Gene Lebell) and a former college All-American wrestler (Cerritos
Jr. College, 1988-89). Gladiator Challenge runs 12-18 MMA events
per year, and has featured MMA superstars Uriah “The California
Kid” Faber, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, James Irvin,
Tyson Griffin, Dan “The Beast” Severn, “Sugar”
Rashad Evans, Scott “Hands of Stone” Smith, “The
Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia, Joe “Daddy” Stevenson,
Mac Danzig, Jerry Bohlander, “Krazy Horse” Charles
Bennett, Chris Leben, Chael Sonnen, Jake Shields, “The Secret
Weapon” Pete Spratt, Nate “The Rock” Quarry, Jason
“The Punisher” Lambert, Bobby “The Bad Seed”
Hoffman, and Cal Worsham, among many others. Gladiator Challenge
can be found online at http://www.gladiatorchallenge.com

Source: The Fight Network

Chris
Horodecki Signs WEC Deal

by Ray Hui

Former IFL standout Chris Horodecki has signed a deal to join
the WEC, WEC general manager Reed Harris confirmed Thursday.

The
22-year-old Polish-born Canadian, who was the lightweight star
on the Bas Rutten and Shawn Tompkins-headed Los Angeles Anacondas
squad for the now-defunct IFL, will look to make an impact in
the WEC's 155-pound division currently led by champions Jamie
Varner and Ben Henderson and contenders Donald Cerrone and Ed
Ratcliff.

Horodecki
opened his professional MMA career in 2005, five days past his
18th birthday, and would win four fights for the TKO promotion
in Canada before joining the IFL where he would extend his record
to 11 consecutive victories.

Despite
his name-making run in the IFL, he fell short in capturing the
promotion's lightweight belt in an upset loss to Ryan Schultz
in the finals of the IFL World Grand Prix In December 2007.

After
the collapse of the IFL, Horodecki signed with Affliction but
an injury prevented him from competing in January. Horodecki
fought in June at the "Ultimate Chaos" and picked up
his first career submission win, a rear-naked choke over King
of the Cage veteran William Sriyapai.

Horodecki
trains closely with former Xtreme Couture trainer Tompkins and
one year ago co-founded the Adrenaline Training Center in London,
Ontario with Mark Hominick and Sam Stout to carry on the Team
Tompkins methods.

Horodecki
is expected to make his WEC debut in December.

Source: MMA Fighting

UFC
Counters Strikeforce CBS Broadcast with Special on Spike

By FCF Staff

Spike
TV has announced today that it will air a 2 hour “UFC Main
Events” special, November 7th, at 9:00PM, the same time
that Strikeforce will make its debut on CBS. The news answers
speculation as to whether or not the UFC would attempt to counterprogram
the Strikeforce card, an event which will feature the highly
regarded Fedor Emelianenko, taking on undefeated heavyweight
Brett Rogers.

The
UFC special will reportedly include the previous main event bouts:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria vs. Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort vs.
Rich Franklin, BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian and Forrest Griffin
vs. Anderson Silva.

In
addition to the Emelianenko vs. Rogers bout, the live Strikeforce
broadcast will also feature Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs.
Jake Shields for the promotion’s vacant middleweight title,
Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, and Antonio Silva
vs. Fabricio Werdum.

Source: Full Contact Fighter

DAN
HENDERSON'S REP MEETS WITH STRIKEFORCE

by Steven Marrocco

LOS ANGELES – Dana White had to laugh about his Wednesday
night.

The
UFC president went out to dinner in Beverly Hills only to find
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker dining with Dan Henderson’s
agent/lawyer, Jordan Feagan.

“What
are the (expletive) odds with every restaurant in L.A. that I
go to, these guys are here?” said White Thursday afternoon.

Strikeforce
and broadcast partner CBS were just the latest in a long line
of promotions he was doing battle with, he added.

With
Henderson, a stalemate remains over negotiations to keep the
former two-division Pride champion in the UFC.

In
early August, Henderson became a free agent one month after fulfilling
the final fight on his contract with a knockout over Michael
Bisping at UFC 100. In late September, he met with White and
UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta to bridge a gap in what Henderson
expected to be paid and what the UFC was willing to pay him.

That
meeting produced no results. Last week, White told Yahoo! Sports
that negotiations were over – for now – and Henderson
was free to move on.

At
a gathering of reporters following the UFC 104 press conference,
White said Henderson was asking for too much money.

“The
money that he’s asking for would make him by far the highest-paid
guy in the UFC,” said White.

Henderson
returned to the Octagon in September 2007 after a nine-year absence
and went 3-2 for the promotion in his latest run.

Aaron
Crecy, Henderson’s friend and business partner, on Thursday
afternoon disputed the idea that Henderson was pricing himself
out of the market.

“Based
on conversations we’ve had with other fighters and managers,
we don’t believe that to be the case,” he said.

Crecy
stated it was the second meeting between Fagan and Strikeforce,
the first being an informal coffee meeting two weeks prior.

White
bristled at the idea of Henderson jumping ship to Strikeforce.

“I
guarantee the offer I made him, Strikeforce can’t pay,”
he said.

However,
White stopped short of making any overt attacks against the 39-year-old
veteran. As shown on White’s on-again-off-again video blog,
the two share a relationship filled with adolescent jibes.

Where
White might have issued condemnation to another fighter, he teased
Henderson.

“You’ll
never hear me say a bad thing about Dan Henderson, other than
he’s ugly, and that’s just the truth,” he said.

Source: MMA Weekly

Thomson
Hopeful for December Return

by Greg Savage

LOS ANGELES -- Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson
told Sherdog.com on Wednesday that he is hoping to return to
the cage this year.

Thomson
(16-2), who is in Los Angeles for teammate Cain Velasquez’s
UFC 104 bout against Ben Rothwell, has had a recurring issue
with his left leg, first broken while training for an April rematch
with Gilbert Melendez.

In
August Thomson was again scheduled to face the man he had defeated
to become champion but then reinjured his leg, this time breaking
his tibia at the top of the spot where a surgical plate was screwed
into the bone after the initial injury. A seemingly harmless
kick in training was the culprit, and once again Thomson-Melendez
was put on hold.

Thomson
stated Wednesday that all he was waiting for was a decision from
his orthopedic surgeon on whether he would be cleared in time
to prepare for a tentative Dec. 19 date in his hometown of San
Jose.

“For
me, I feel the chances are great, but … it’s going
to take a little bit of planning with Scott Coker and Showtime
to make sure this happens,” said the 31-year-old champ.
“The last thing we want to do is advertise this fight again,
especially in San Jose.

“Knowing
that I sell tickets and knowing that I have a big fan base there
-- both of us do -- and for us not to follow through with this
fight again, for a third time, we might as well scrap the fight
till the end of next year then. We could go our separate ways,
fight a couple different people, then come back, but I am really
looking forward to hopefully December.”

Source: Sherdog

Cachorrao
out of UFC 106?

That’s
what John Fitch is saying

One
of the most anticipated match-ups for UFC 106, to take place
21 November in Las Vegas, has just taken a considerable setback.
Called up to face John Fitch, Ricardo “Cachorrao” Almeida
suffered a knee injury during training.

The
information was revealed by Fitch himself on his page on social-networking
site Facebook.

Also
according to the American fighter, another opponent should be
named shortly, and that the name will not disappoint fans.

The
bout would have marked Cachorrao’s debut in the welterweight
division. The black belt comes off a win over Kendall Grove at
UFC 101 in August.

Stay
tuned and we’ll be back shortly with further information
on Ricardo “Cachorrao” Almeida’s condition.

Source: Gracie Magazine

What
is going on with Anderson Silva’s camp?

By Zach Arnold

Quotes from Ed Soares on Sherdog today sure seem to be indicators
of some waffling about whether or not they really want to do
the fight against Vitor Belfort on January 2nd. I admit, the
prospects of Belfort/Silva don’t excite me a great deal,
but by going back and forth on this fight Anderson’s camp
is acting a little scared here. I don’t understand it.

Don’t
get me wrong. I’m not buying into Shawn Tompkins’ comments
on Fox News Fight Game last week that Vitor Belfort could be
a Top 10 boxer today. With that said, what’s the hesitancy
here by Silva’s camp in just taking the booking and getting
what needs to get done afterwards?

Source: Fight Opinion

10/24/09

Quote
of the Day

"Happiness
belongs to the self-sufficient."

Aristotle

UFC
10/24 Staples Center (Los Angeles)

Today!

Hawaii Air times: 3-7PM

Channel 701 (Oceanic Digital Cable)

By Zach
Arnold

As
it currently stands:

Dark
matches

Heavyweights:
Stefan Struve vs. Chase Gormley

Light Heavyweights: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Razak Al-Hassan

Light Heavyweights: Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer

Middleweights: Jorge Rivera vs. Rob Kimmons

Middleweights: Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen

Heavyweights: Antoni Hardonk vs. Pat Barry

Main
card

Welterweights:
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Lightweights: Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs. Spencer Fisher

Lightweights: Gleison Tibau vs. Josh Neer

Heavyweights: Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio
Shogun

Source: Fight Opinion

UFC
104: Machida vs. Shogun Preview and Predictions

by Michael David Smith

After five weeks off, the UFC is back on Saturday night with
UFC 104, featuring a light heavyweight title fight between Lyoto
Machida and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. We've got a full
preview and predictions below.

What:
UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun

When:
The undercard starts at 7 PM ET Saturday, Spike TV will show
an hour of fights beginning at 9 and the pay-per-view begins
at 10.

Where:
Staples Center, Los Angeles

How:
You can buy it for $44.95 on UFC.com or from your cable or satellite
provider ($54.95 in HD), or you can just follow along with our
live coverage here at FanHouse.

Predictions
on the five pay-per-view fights:

Lyoto Machida vs. Shogun Rua

I'm a longtime Shogun fan, and I've been a little annoyed at
the way so many UFC fans I hear from are dismissing him as not
even a serious challenge to Machida, as if Shogun is just some
bum who has no business in the Octagon with a world champion.
I don't buy that at all. I think Shogun is a legitimate No. 1
contender and a legitimate threat, and I'm looking forward to
this fight. Having said that, I've long believed Machida was
the best light heavyweight in the world -- I had him No. 1 in
my light heavyweight rankings even before he was the champion
-- and I don't see him losing to anyone at 205 pounds. Pick:
Machida.

Cain
Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell

This heavyweight fight is a way for the UFC to give some exposure
to Velasquez, whom the promotion views as a potential future
heavyweight champion. I actually think Rothwell -- who's bigger,
better on his feet and much more experienced -- is going to give
Velasquez a much tougher time than most people realize, but I
do expect Velasquez to take Rothwell down and keep him there
enough to come away with a close decision. Pick: Velasquez.

Gleison
Tibau vs. Josh Neer

Both of these guys are very good on the ground, but I think Tibau
will show that he's bigger, stronger and has better Brazilian
jiu jitsu and submit Neer. Pick: Tibau.

Anthony
Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Johnson is a great athlete and a great striker who, at age 25,
could be a future welterweight champion of the world -- at least
if he can stay at 170 pounds, a weight limit he has trouble making.
Yoshida has better submission skills and could get Johnson into
trouble on the ground, but I don't think he'll be able to get
him there. Pick: Johnson.

Joe
Stevenson vs. Spencer Fisher

Stevenson came back from a two-fight losing streak with a big
win over Nate Diaz at the UFC Fight Night in June, but I like
Fisher, who's on a three-fight winning streak, to keep this fight
standing and beat Stevenson on his feet. Pick: Fisher.

Source: MMA Fighting

Coach
breaks down Lyoto’s game

Vinicio
Antony, who trains Belfort, has already lost and won to Machida

Carlos Ozorio / Portal das Lutas

Lyoto
Machida faces Mauricio Shogun this Saturday at UFC 104, in California.
Besides defending his unbeaten record of 15 fights, the fighter
is looking to hold on to his light heavyweight belt, which the
last three champions of the division, Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin
and Quinton Jackson, have not managed to successfully defend.
One of the difficulties in beating Machida is the difference
in how he presents himself in the Octagon, with stance and movement
based on karate. To comment on the current champion’s game,
GRACIEMAG.com sister site Portal das Lutas contacted Vinicio
Antony. Vitor Belfort’s current coach, Vinicio is a 14-time
karate champion and, besides having formerly competed against
Lyoto, is one of the fighter’s heroes.

“Lyoto
is my friend and I can tell you I was one of his idols, because
he grew up watching me fight. Often he’d ask me countless
questions at competitions. Ever since then he would see something
in MMA and say to me ‘Shoot, these guys don’t pick
up on my timing.’”

“That’s
really what he applies these days,” the karateka continues.
“He was always really effective in his defensive movement.
He makes the adversary make mistakes, to the point of the guy
losing his own notion of distance.”

“The
guy starts to not understand his distance and moves in to a danger
zone. Truth is the fighter is right, but Lyoto has a different
distance,” he analyzes. “When the guy gets in too close,
Lyoto gets him as he’s coming forward. That’s a karate
strategy we use a lot in competition. We get the guy in timing.
We intercept the opponent’s attack and that’s what
Lyoto does.”

Vinicio
is an authority on the matter because he has felt it first hand.
After eight year’s on the Brazilian national team and 12
on the Rio de Janeiro state team, the fighter bid farewell to
competition after a fight with the very UFC champion.

“I
know this from experience, I’ve fought Lyoto a few times.
Also, my last match was against him, in 1998, my farewell match.
We drew and he won by decision. But I chide him saying he only
won because the judges were his father, uncle and godfather (laughs)!
I joke about that, but he won. But I won in another category
and he took second. I even have the photo to bug him with (more
laughter)!”

Whether
Lyoto’s karate will once prove effective against challenger
Mauricio Shogun or not, we’ll find out Saturday.

Source: Gracie Magazine

UFC
PRES CONFIRMS FITCH VS. ALVES FOR UFC 107

by Ken Pishna (Additional reporting by Steven Marrocco)

What a difference a day makes.

Less
than 24 hours after Jon Fitch revealed via various social networking
avenues that his UFC 106 fight with Ricardo Almeida is off and
that a “huge opponent” would step in to fill the opening,
UFC president Dana White confirmed it.

Following
Thursday’s UFC 104 pre-fight press conference, White told
MMAWeekly.com that Thiago Alves would be pulled form his UFC
107 bout with Paulo Thiago to step in for the injured Almeida.
The bout will, however, take place on the UFC 107 fight card
in Memphis, Tenn.

News
of the possibility of Alves stepping in to face Fitch was first
reported by MMAJunkie.com.

The
change infers a much greater impact on the UFC welterweight division
than the previously scheduled bouts. Fitch is currently the number
two ranked welterweight fighter in the world, while Alves sits
at number four. Thiago and Almeida are unranked in the division.

Failing
to capture the title from welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre
at UFC 87, Fitch (19-3) has since won back-to-back bouts against
Akihiro Gono and Paulo Thiago.

Alves
(16-6), in his most recent action, was also unsuccessful in wresting
the title from St. Pierre. Prior to that, he had racked up seven-straight
victories including wins over Fitch teammate Josh Koscheck and
UFC legend Matt Hughes.

A
UFC lightweight title bout between current champion B.J. Penn
and challenger Diego Sanchez heads UFC 107 on Dec. 12. Fitch
vs. Alves will don the main card.

(UPDATED
/ 3:00 p.m. PT, Oct. 22 – The Fitch vs. Alves bout has been
corrected to reflect scheduling for the UFC 107 fight card.)

Source: MMA Weekly

DREAM
12 (10/25 Osaka Castle Hall)

By Zach
Arnold

The
all cage show using different rules.

Middleweights:
Zelg Galesic vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

Middleweights: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa

Welterweights: Marius Zaromskis vs. Myeon Ho Bae

Featherweights: Keisuke Fujiwara vs. Motoya Miyashita

Middleweights: Paulo Filho vs. Yoon Dong-Sik

Featherweights: Yoshiro Maeda vs. Chase Beebe

Lightweights: Eddie Alvarez vs. Katsunori Kikuno

Lightweights: Kuniyoshi Hironaka vs. “Parky” Won Sik
Park (CMA Korea)

The
curious thing about the ad is that Kiyoshi Tamura, Andrews Nakahara,
and Murilo Ninja were being advertised for the show.

Source: Fight Opinion

Tim
Sylvia at Dynamite!!

American to face giant Hong Man Choi

Former
UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia should make his debut at
a new organization on the last day of 2009. The American is in
the final stages of negotiations with Dream and should be part
of the card for Dynamite!! 2009, the traditional end-of-the-year
event promoted by K-1, Dream’s holding company.

Although
no official statement has yet been made by the organization’s
directors, Sylvia’s agent Monte Cox revealed in an interview
on FanHouse.com the possibility of his athlete facing off against
giant South Korean Hong Man Choi. A fight against Holland’s
Alistair Overeem has be mentioned as well.

“"We're
still trying to make a comeback, so I think he and Choi be the
best match-up," Cox is quoted as saying.

His
departure from the UFC, after submitting to Brazil’s Rodrigo
Minotauro in a historic clash held in February of 2008, was not
a positive one for Sylvia, as in June of 2008 he was overcome
in just 36 seconds by Russian Fedor Emelianenko and last June
was knocked out by Ray Mercer just nine seconds after the opening
bell.

His
return to winning ways came on September 18, when he beat Jason
Rikey by technical knockout at Adrenaline MMA.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Joe
Stevenson Realizes Childhood Goal

by Ray Hui

When Joe Stevenson steps foot inside the Staples Center in Los
Angeles on fight night at UFC 104, it will be somewhat of a longtime
aspiration fulfilled.

"I
was born in Torrance at UCLA Medical Center and I always grew
up living in Lennox, like wanting to go to The Forum to watch
all the big boxing fights and stuff and always thought I was
going to get a chance to fight at The Forum," Stevenson
said. "Now I see today I'm at the modern Forum, which is
the Staples Center, and I'm so excited actually to be able to
fight there, but still in the back of my head I wished that it
was The Forum because as a kid I wanted to fight there."

In
this exclusive interview with FanHouse, Stevenson talks about
his training at Greg Jackson's gym for his fight against Spencer
Fisher, voices his displeasure at being ranked lower than Fisher
and tells us how he intends on changing that.

You'll
have the hometown fans rooting for you. Does the location of
a fight matter to you?

I
think location is important in a fight. Everything. From location,
to altitude, to the time you fight due to the fact of when you've
been training so your body performs well at that time. Everything
as a whole is important, so definitely, having the fans behind
you – they're going to be cheering louder for you. They're
going to be behind you more in the clutch situations and it just
continues to perpetuate from there.

How's
the training been coming along?

Training
camp has been going wonderful. I feel in better shape than my
last training camp here, which is a big thing because I always
push myself harder. Maybe it's because my body is getting used
to the high altitude. More positive. Last time, before my last
fight with Nate [Diaz] over here I got a cut, a laceration over
my right eye and it was detrimental to me. I was scared, nervous,
second-guessing: Would the fight get stopped? Now, it's going
too good. I can fight the fight tomorrow.

Has
the comfort level with Greg Jackson improved now that you're
onto your second fight under him?

To
tell you the truth, I've known Greg since I was 18-19. He's a
great guy and that was one of the easiest things about coming
here. And the people here in Albuquerque make you feel at home.
It's hard being away from the wife and kids. It's not easy whatsoever.
But they still bring the hometown feel. I don't feel too away
from my loved ones because I feel I have a second home here.

How
is your time split between here in Albuquerque, N.M. and home
in Victorville, Calif.?

You
wanna know something that sucks? Everyone wants to talk about
how fighters get ... they get all this cool stuff and they get
to walk past lines and such, but what they negate to tell you
is that we miss holidays. If Christmas is in training camp, guess
what? You don't get Christmas. You can do something small but
most of us are training on that day.

I'm
here [at the gym] more than I am at my physical house. I'm gone
from my house more than half a year because I'm also here to
help my teammates when they have fights themselves.

So
three fights a year, that's six months a year of just for me,
and I don't know, probably another month's worth of coming here
to help my friends because they come here to help me. That's
like seven months out of the year I'm over here and not at home.

Now
that you're developing these new friendships with all these other
fighters, do you find yourself more nervous when it's fight time
for your teammates? You kind of have more people to think about.

Yeah,
that's very much so. As far as before, I didn't really watch
fighting. Fighting to me is something I'm good at and I enjoy
it and it's cool. But everyday when you surround yourself with
different aspect of fighting, sometimes you just want to sit
back and not think about it, or not be involved. There were times
when I wouldn't watch a UFC unless there was a reason to, unless
there was someone like: "Oh I got watch this guy, he's going
to post a threat in the future." Now it's become more of
a, "Oh shoot, my teammate's fighting. I gotta support him.
I gotta watch him." In a little way, you're right there.
You find yourself more involved, even more so because of the
teammates.

But
honestly, it's a lot more ups than downs. And being with a team
like Jackson's. They have the highest percentage in MMA for any
fight team. So there's a lot more ups than downs, and even if
there's a million more downs than there were ups, those one or
two ups will make up for it. Just like marriage, you know, you
might fight a lot with your chick, but it's the one or two times
that's just amazing that you cannot replicate with another person.
That makes it all worth it.

This
is the first opponent in years that isn't taller than you.

Wow.
Yeah. That guy towered over me. I looked at the weigh-ins after
the fight, and I'm like, "Oh man, I'm short – naahh,
he's tall!" (Laughs.) And I'm going to look at this like
a good fight. A very tough opponent in Spencer. Not one ounce
of quit in that guy, but I'm upset at a few things. A lot of
sites have him ranked higher than me. I feel that I need to show
not [just] by winning but by beating him, and by that I mean
finishing him and in an impressive fashion that these people
that run these sites need to get off their couch and get in the
gym, or need to be a little more involved than just looking at
numbers. I think I'm going to have the opportunity to show my
skills

Spencer
is going to want to keep this standing and he said he's been
working extra hard on his takedown defense for you. What are
some of the new things you've been working on to fight a guy
like Spencer?

Closing
the distance. Finishing from being inside. All the normal stuff
that someone would tell you. Nothing super fancy except for the
[training] partners that I get to do it against, which I'm not
just doing it against regular people. I doing it against great
athletes like Keith Jardine, freakin' Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt,
Cub Swanson, Aaron Riley, "Cowboy" Cerrone, Leonard
Garcia, I could really just keep talking and talking about it.

What's
your pick for the main event?

I'm
sorry to say but I consider "Myself" to be the main
event. (Laughs.) But honestly, that fight is going to be sooo
good. I'm excited. I think Shogun can bring a lot to the table.
I think fights are all styles and it's hard to say, "Dude
you're going to be undefeated for a long time," but then
again it's like the 155-pound division. You can also argue why
is Shogun getting a title shot when there are all these other
people? I think Shogun's got a chance more so just because of
styles whereas probably most of the people in the division wouldn't.
I really want to stay away from [making a prediction], but I'm
definitely going to have to lean towards Machida, due to the
fact that you gotta go with the champ.

Source: MMA Fighting

ATT’s
Davis Teaching Kimbo Control, Patience

by Loretta Hunt

In the last two weeks, the arrival of Kevin “Kimbo Slice”
Ferguson has brought an additional shot of picture-seeking fans
to the American Top Team gym in Coconut Creek, Fla.

It’s
the instructors that have to play the bad guy, because Slice,
recently outed as a nice guy in bada-- clothing, has a difficult
time turning anyone away.

However,
time is of the essence.

Under
head instructor Ricardo Liborio’s direction, ATT’s
staff has only eight weeks to coach Slice past the game but technically
overwhelmed fighter that Roy Nelson easily took down and had
his way with on the third episode of this season’s “The
Ultimate Fighter” on Spike TV. Slice, who’s only 3-1,
is expected to make his official UFC debut during the series’
live finale on Dec. 5 in Las Vegas.

Nobody
knows this better than Howard Davis Jr., the team’s boxing
director. Slice, a striker by preference whose pedigree came
from videotaped brawls in Miami backyards, won’t be expected
to harness enough jiu-jitsu or wrestling in eight weeks to take
down or submit his opponent. In reality, it will be Davis’
job to refine what he can of Slice’s standup game and build
on what the novice fighter already knows.

“He
needs a lot of work,” said Davis, “but he’s coming
along, definitely coming along.”

Davis,
a 1976 Olympic boxing gold medalist, is easing the 35-year-old
fighter into the nuisances of control, something Davis believes
Slice lacked in his much-publicized 14-second loss to Seth Petruzelli
in October 2008.

“Because
he hits so hard, he puts a lot of turning and effort and committing
to punching hard, that sometimes, if he misses, he knocks himself
off balance where people can take him down,” said Davis.
“That’s one of the major issues I have with him –-
trying to load up on every shot. You don’t need to.”

If
Slice can make his punches smaller, Davis believes the fighter
will be able to preserve his positioning longer and fire off
more punches in the process.

“We’re
also working on defense, how to slip and parry punches,”
said Davis. “We’re working on a tremendous amount of
blocking.”

Like
any other ATT fighter on the roster, Slice reports for training
five days a week, and usually completes two sessions a day. Slice’s
usual entourage of colorful characters stays home.

Without
knowing yet whom Slice will face in December, Davis and the other
trainers have challenged Slice in small increments, as he acclimates
to the rigors of professional fighting. By his own admission,
the father of six has had little exposure to the schedule a fighter
keeps, except for a couple months of training out in California
with Bas Rutten and Randy Khatami during his EliteXC tenure.

“He
got real tired early,” noted Davis. “Now he’s
starting to adjust. He doesn’t complain.”

Davis,
who works with the gamut of the ATT stable from Mike Thomas Brown
to Thiago Alves to Antonio Silva, said Slice’s education
is only beginning though.

“To
be honest, it takes anywhere from three to nine months to really
digest, chew on, and let it become part of the DNA,” he
said. “It could take almost a year for that to happen.”

Davis,
who calls Slice the “nicest guy you could ever meet,”
said he watched Slice’s escapades on YouTube a few years
ago and was impressed by the fighter’s tenacity.

“I
was pretty amazed that he’d let guys hit him and then kind
of laugh at them,” said Davis. “I was like, ‘wow,
that’s the real deal.’”

Still,
Davis noticed tendencies that won’t translate well in the
cage and will be difficult to tame.

“When
you’re a little older, it’s difficult to be taught
sometimes,” he said. “Once somebody gets into the fire,
they go back to their old ways. A lot of older fighters do that.
They’ve been doing something one way for a very long time
and you have to tell them, ‘Hey, what you’ve been doing
is wrong even though you got away with it for a while. Now you
have to change.’ You have to change their emotions. That’s
what you’re doing. You’re not just watching somebody.
You’re changing how a person feels about what they’re
doing.”

Still,
Davis has found some benefits to his new student’s inexperience.

“Even
though he’s 35 years old, he’s probably like a 25-year-old,”
said Davis. “He hasn’t taken much abuse. He hasn’t
been in the MMA arena long, where you get beat up, taken down,
leglocked, armbarred, choked out. There is something he has that
you can’t teach and that’s ferocity and heart. He’s
very eager to learn.”

Davis
credits Petruzelli’s professional training and accuracy
for his one-punch stunner last October. Petruzelli hit on the
chin, the fighter’s weakest spot, while Slice’s informal
opponents of past didn’t connect with the sweet spot so
readily.

Davis
said it will be his job to prepare Slice for more shots like
those. But will Slice be able to handle them?

“If
he can’t, we’ll soon find out,” said Davis.

Source: Sherdog

Wallid
promises more Jungle Fight in November

By Guilherme Cruz

Wallid
Ismail realized an old dream last Saturday (17): take Jungle
Fight to Maracanãzinho. After the big fights, the promoter
shared the emotion with TATAME. “It’s been a long time
that I wanted Jungle here and I was very happy, these guys are
wonderful. That’s just the beginning, we will have more.
We’ll show the world the power of MMA in Brazil, not just
because we have great athletes, but because we have big events“,
Wallid said, revealing the next event’s date. “We’re
negotiating for November 29 and we’re still seeing where
it’ll be, but it’ll be a huge show, a wonderful event“.
About the fights, Wallid approved the show. “Spectacular,
there’s nothing to say... Just amazing knockouts! I’m
really happy“.

Source: Tatame

iBN
Sports Partners with ProMMA.info

New
deal combines the robust production and broadcast capabilities
of iBN Sports with the comprehensive news content of ProMMA.info

Foothill
Ranch, Calif. – October 22, 2009 – Internet sports
television broadcaster iBN Sports has announced a strategic partnership
with Mixed Martial Arts news site ProMMA.info. By joining forces
the two sites are able to share with each other the best they
have to offer. ProMMA.info can now take advantage of the broadcast
and production capabilities of the iBN Sports television network
and iBN benefits from the vast news coverage, radio, blogs and
market penetration that make ProMMA.info a hub of the online
MMA world.

Jack
Bratcher of ProMMA.info says, “We have such a great team
of talented individuals, each with their own specialty, and to
team up with iBN and what they are doing with ‘MMA H.E.A.T.
The Show,’ I think it's a winning combination. Our focus
has always been on original content and covering MMA from the
local scene to the big show. Sam and the guys from iBN share
a common interest with us in having a genuine love of the sport
and a desire to see it grow. MMA has always been an Internet
driven sport and this partnership is the next evolution in online
MMA coverage."

The
first fruits of this partnership are already coming to bear.
iBN’s newest program, “MMA H.E.A.T. – The Show,”
utilizes the reach and penetration of ProMMA.info with a report
by Fast Eddie Constantine from the 2009 Gracie Open at San Francisco’s
Kezar Pavilion. ProMMA.info’s website benefits from the
iBN productions with select video content playing on their site
through an iBN video player.

“The
result is a symbiotic relationship. We have the content they
want and they have the content that we want. By recognizing this
and coming together we create a trusted news source and provide
MMA fans a complete package that is both informative and entertaining,”
says Sam Strayer, Executive Producer at iBN Sports.

About
iBN Sports

iBN Sports is an internet-based television broadcast network
providing world class coverage of live sports, archived footage
on-demand, news, highlights and other unique programming that
reveals the compelling stories of the sports world. Current and
past programming has included professional and amateur sports
alike from local high schools to international federations. A
sampling of these sports includes: mixed martial arts (MMA),
Independent Baseball, Pro Cycling, boxing, surfing, skateboarding,
snowboarding, motocross and high schoold football, basketball
and baseball. iBN Sports markets and distributes sports content
through its alliance of global media partners, sports channels,
clubs, governing bodies, sponsors, radio, television, print,
restaurant chains, and web partners. Production and content are
driven by an experienced group of Hollywood branding, design,
and media experts. iBN is headquartered in Orange County, California
and operates worldwide through its partnerships and affiliates.

Source: The Fight Network

Report:
UFC Signs Rolles Gracie to Multi-Fight Deal

By FCF Staff

According
to the Rolles Gracie’s official Twitter account, the heavyweight
has signed a multi-fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
If accurate, the 6’4, 250lb. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt
and accomplished grappling competitor, would head to the UFC
with an undefeated MMA record of 3-0.

Gracie’s
Twitter post stated:

Great
news, I just signed a multi fight deal with the UFC! Keep posted
for more info and follow my manager @Dominance_MMA

The
Twitter and Facebook accounts for Gracie's management, Dominance
MMA, also confirmed the signing. No details regarding the fighter's
contract were provided.

The
31 year-old Rolles, the largest competitor of the Gracie clan,
is the son of legendary jiu-jitsu practitioner Rolls Gracie,
who tragically past away in 1982.

Rolles
Gracie made his MMA debut at an International Fight League event
in September, 2007, and submitted Sam Holloway shortly into the
first round. The heavyweight most recently competed on September
26th, at an Art of War event in China, where he tapped out Peter
Graham with a first round arm-triangle-choke.

The
UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

Source: Full Contact Fighter

TUF
10 NESTLES IN AT 2.8 MILLION VIEWERS

Halfway through tht season, “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights”
has settled into a solid ratings niche.

The
series drew a network record 4.1 million viewers for the season
premier, and then topped that with week three’s 5.3 million
viewers (6.1 million viewers during that week’s Kimbo Slice
vs. Roy Nelson bout). Six weeks into the season, the series has
nestled into a comfortable three-week run of 2.8 million viewers
per episode.

The
Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights has also performed strong in its
key demographics of Men 18-34 and Men 18-49, consistently drawing
top ratings in these two demographics. Episode six again put
TUF above Major League Baseball’s National League Championship
Series in these advertiser-coveted groups.

Source: MMA Weekly

Will
Xtreme Couture as a gym survive after losing Shawn Tompkins?

By Zach
Arnold

One of the things I did over the weekend was spend some time
transcribing various media interviews done by people in MMA (Shane
Carwin, Shawn Tompkins), and the two interviews Shawn did with
Fox News Fight Game and Raw Vegas.tv were by far the most intriguing
ones to listen to. If you compared what Shawn said on FNFG and
what he said with Dave Farra, it made for some interesting ‘reading
between the lines’ material.

As
everyone knows, Tompkins was the top trainer at Randy Couture’s
gym and is now heading to Tapout, a gym with strong ties to Zuffa
(UFC). Without Tompkins and without a bunch of Tompkin’s
top fighters, what does it mean for the future of not only Xtreme
Couture but Randy Couture himself? He seems to going through
various ‘divorces’ lately.

Tompkins,
as he always does, plays things safe but said some curious remarks:

“I
resigned from Xtreme Couture yesterday,” Tompkins said to
Farra. “Unfortunately to most people, it was on good terms.
You know, Randy and I just are going in different directions
and you know I have some goals set out for myself and it was
just time for me to move on.”

“Real
excited, I mean this week has been a huge week of transformation
for me, I’m going to back to my old style and really like
you said rebranding myself, Team Tompkins, starting my own team
at the Tapout facility in Las Vegas and you know leaving some
great experiences behind me but I’m excited about having
a lot better ones.”

“Um,
I think just more the fact that you know working for Randy like
I said is a great thing but I’ll always be under Randy Couture,
you know, I could train some fighters for 3 or 4 years and the
fact that they train at Xtreme Couture, it’s always that
kind of looked that they’re trained by Randy or whoever
else might be there, so I want I really want to be able to respect
the work that I put in to these fighters and going to Tapout
is going to give me that opportunity, to become myself and you
know build my own brand, and really focus on really my fighting
style, my fighting system you know and being at Xtreme Couture
you know they have their set and their ways and we tried to blend
but it’s time for me to go out and do my own thing again.”

“I
feel myself as a coach if I really want to get to those goals
that I set for myself, I need to do something on my own.”

With
Couture running out of time in his fighting career, along with
the various divorces he’s had in his life, money is going
to be a big issue for him down the road. Sure, he has his movie
deals, but do they pay him a lot of money? His public feud with
UFC cost him a lot and now that he’s lost Tompkins, will
the Xtreme Couture brand survive and thrive?

Source: Fight Opinion

WEC
44 card defined

Jose Aldo vs Mike Brown as main event

On
November 18 Brazilian Jose Aldo will have the greatest opportunity
of his MMA career until now. That is when Nova Uniao slugger
will clash with WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown, in the
main event at WEC 44, in Las Vegas.

Check
out the official card for WEC 44 and stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com
for further information on the event.

Mike
Brown vs Jose Aldo

Manny Gamburyan vs Leonard Garcia

Karen Darabedyan vs Rob McCullough

Danny Castillo vs Shane Roller

PRELIMINARIES

Alex
Karalexis vs Kamal Shalorus

L.C. Davis vs Diego Nunes

John Franchi vs Cub Swanson

Antonio Banuelos vs Kenji Osawa

James Krause vs Ricardo Lamas

Seth Dikun vs Frank Gomez

Source: Gracie Magazine

McCarthy
Not Assigned to UFC 104

by Jason Probst

Referee “Big” John McCarthy will be conspicuously absent
from UFC 104 this Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The 15-year officiating veteran, who’s logged in nearly
600 fights worldwide dating back to UFC 2 and has a long background
in helping shape the sport’s current rules, was not assigned
by the California State Athletic Commission to work the event.

McCarthy,
a California native, has been re-licensed in the state since
November 2008, after returning from a yearlong retirement to
pursue broadcasting opportunities. McCarthy has refereed and
judged at multiple events in California this year.

McCarthy
was also informed in mid-September that his application to referee
fights in Nevada would be placed in a “pending” file
by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. NSAC Executive Director
Keith Kizer said the state had no space for McCarthy at this
time.

However,
that decision has prompted public comment speculating if McCarthy’s
departure from officiating UFC events in late 2007 to work with
rival promotions like Affliction as a commentator, along with
statements he made while in that position, are being held against
him.

“I
contacted (the CSAC) and told them I was free on Oct. 24,”
McCarthy told Sherdog.com Friday. McCarthy said he was later
informed that he hadn’t been assigned to the event, the
UFC’s first in California since UFC 76 in November 2007.
McCarthy did not comment any further on the development.

Dave
Thornton, interim executive officer of the California State Athletic
Commission, replied to an email request from Sherdog last Thursday
inquiring about criteria for referees to officiate UFCs and how
those officials are selected to work shows.

“McCarthy
is a licensed referee in California and as such is on our regular
rotation list for MMA refs,” Thornton wrote. “McCarthy
is assigned to a Strikeforce show in November in Fresno.”

Follow-up
inquiries were sent Thursday and Monday to the CSAC’s Thornton
asking for more specific criteria about who is assigned to referee
UFCs, if McCarthy met the criteria, as well as which referees
have been assigned to UFC 104. Those inquiries were not answered
as of press time late Tuesday.

Source: Sherdog

Jeff
Curran Signs with Strikeforce

by Ray Hui

Former WEC contender Jeff Curran has signed with Strikeforce
to compete on the undercard of the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett
Rogers event on Nov. 7 in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Curran
(29-12-1) was released after four consecutive losses with the
WEC. But it's also important to note that the losses came against
Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Joseph Benavidez and Takeya Mizugaki
-- arguably four of the toughest assignments for a lighterweight
fighter, all in a 20-month period.

"I
decided to fight in StrikeForce because there is a lot of attention
on this card because of Fedor and it is happening in my hometown,"
Curran told his representation, SuckerPunch Entertainment.

Curran
operates the Curran Martial Arts gym in Crystal Lake, an approximate
40-minute drive from the Sears Centre Arena, and has competed
in the venue before in November 2006 when he won a controversial
decision over current WEC featherweight Raphael Assuncao at XFO
13.

Curran's
opponent is to be announced.

CBS
Bouts:

-
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers

- Jake Shields vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller

- Gegard Mousasi vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

- Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva

Preliminary
Bouts:

-
Erin Toughill vs. Marloes Coenen

- Mark Miller vs. Deray Davis

- Christian Uflacker vs. Jonatas Novaes

- Shamar Bailey vs. John Kolosci

- Louis Taylor vs. Nate Moore

- Jeff Curran vs. TBA

Source: MMA Fighting

10/23/09

Quote
of the Day

"In
times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep
busy,

to plow your anger and your energy into something positive."

Lee Iacocca

UFC
10/24 Staples Center (Los Angeles)

Tomorrow

Hawaii Air times: 3-7PM

Channel 701 (Oceanic Digital Cable)

By Zach
Arnold

As
it currently stands:

Dark
matches

Heavyweights:
Stefan Struve vs. Chase Gormley

Light Heavyweights: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Razak Al-Hassan

Light Heavyweights: Ryan Bader vs. Eric Schafer

Middleweights: Jorge Rivera vs. Rob Kimmons

Middleweights: Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen

Heavyweights: Antoni Hardonk vs. Pat Barry

Main
card

Welterweights:
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

Lightweights: Joe “Daddy” Stevenson vs. Spencer Fisher

Lightweights: Gleison Tibau vs. Josh Neer

Heavyweights: Cain Velasquez vs. Ben Rothwell

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio
Shogun

Source: Fight Opinion

Predictions
for UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun

by Jeff "Wombat" Meszaros

I
miss the days when the UFC used to give every one of their events
a name that sounded like a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie title,
like "No Way Out", "High Impact" or "Bloodsport
4: The Dark Kumite". As much as I relentlessly mocked them
for that, it still gave me something to work with. Now they seem
to be more and more just naming their events after the main-event
fighters, which seems a lot like naming your restaurant "Steak
and Beer" instead of "Wild Uncle Jack's BBQ Pit and
Liquor Fountain." Honestly, there's something to be said
for marketing yourself with some pizazz. Calling it "UFC
104: One Punch, One Kill" would've sold more pay-per-views,
I think, considering that the only people who know, or care,
about either Machida or "Shogun" are MMA nerds such
as myself and the average fight fan, complete with mohawk, god-awful
Affliction shirt, pot-belly and two-pack-a-day smoking habit,
probably would rather see Liddell take on Couture a fourth time
than watch some fight between two guys who look like Mexicans
but have Japanese names.

Lyoto
"The Dragon" Machida Vs. Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua

If
you think "Shogun" stands a chance of winning this
fight, please raise your hand. Ok, now clench that hand into
a fist and please punch yourself wicked hard in the balls because
you are an idiot. Seriously, what are you thinking? Sure, Rua
was able to knock out Liddell, but who hasn't put "The Iceman"
to sleep in the last few years? The man can't even compete on
"Dancing With The Stars" for God's sake, so don't bring
that trash into my house. And do I even need to mention Rua's
fight with Mark Coleman? I'll admit that Coleman still has some
game, but to see "Shogun" gassing out against him made
me want to pry my eyes out with a spoon and throw them at the
television in disgust. Balance that against Machida brutally
KO'ing Rashad Evans, Thiago Silva and a slew of other top-shelf
dudes and you have the makings of the biggest main-event travesty
since Tito Ortiz beat up Ken Shamrock for the third time. Honestly,
if Rua is able to last two rounds, I'll piss my pants in amazement.
Bear that in mind if you are inviting me over to your house to
watch the fights and your house has new carpets. My Guess: Machida
by KO.

Cain
Velasquez Vs. Ben Rothwell

I
honestly don't think it is physically possible for Velasquez
to be knocked out. If it was, it would've happened in his last
fight where Cheick Kongo hit him with 240-pounds of flying man
about a dozen times consecutively right on the jaw. Somehow,
incredibly, Velasquez refused to sign his life over to death;
as most people would've in that same situation, and instead went
through Kongo like he was a plate of tacos. Incidentally, I've
heard that Velasquez seriously plays Mexican mariachi music CDs
while he trains, which is both awesome and bizarre. If I were
him, I would grow a massive bandito-mustache. It would be incredible
and terrifying; and a fine salute to his country. Rothwell reminds
me of the freaky-looking giant dude from "The Goonies"
who befriended the fat kid and saved the day. This time around,
however, things will go differently, as Velasquez will hurl Rothwell
onto his back and proceed to beat the living crap out of him.
I don't mean that in any figurative way either. They will need
to call janitors into the octagon to clean up the crap that Velasquez
beats out of Rothwell. It will be everywhere. Some might even
fly out of the cage and land on the broadcast team, who will
shout in disgust as fresh human feces flies all over their finely
combed hairdos and matching black shirts. My Guess: Velasquez
by decision.

Gleison
Tibau Vs. Josh "The Dentist" Neer

I'm
not sure exactly why, but I just don't care about Tibau's fights.
That's incredible considering I was there when Tibau was robbed
of a victory over Tyson Griffin by a panel of judges who, collectively,
couldn't beat Helen Keller at charades. I think it has something
to do with the fact that I don't know anything about Tibau at
all. Come to think of it, I can't think of any fighter who has
received less support from the UFC marketing machine, which is
odd considering how often Tibau has fought. Perhaps he has just
never achieved a level where the octagon brass have decided to
put some fame to the name; instead leaving him as the anonymous
schmuck who takes on the "big name" fighter for extra
highlight reel footage. Of course, if that is their plan, then
this is a terrible matchup considering that Tibau has deceptively
good takedowns and jiu jitsu; which is precisely what Kurt Pellegrino
used to beat Neer in his last match. On that note, don't let
Neer's nickname fool you. He is not really a dentist, and if
you make an appointment to see him, he will just knock you down
and then kick you hard in the teeth as you struggle to get back
up. That's just the kind of behavior that gets you kicked out
of the American Dental Association. My Guess: Tibau by decision.

Joe
"Daddy" Stevenson Vs. Spencer "King" Fisher

Fisher
might win the battle of the nicknames here, since the best that
a "Daddy" can do is ground you and take away your game
boy. If he steps over that line, he risks running into trouble
with child and family services. This is why kids today are so
spoiled. They know their parents aren't legally allowed to beat
them senseless. The same rule doesn't apply to a "King"
since he makes his own rules. He can even cut off his own wife's
head if he wants and there's not a damn thing anyone can do about
it. Anyone who opens their pie-hole runs the risk of getting
locked in a tower, or thrown into a pit of giant leeches. That's
why being a "King" is much more awesome than being
a "Daddy". But setting that nonsense aside, Stevenson
has the ability to take this fight to the mat, just like Frankie
Edgar did against Fisher a while back. So, unless Fisher can
land a flying knee that caves Stevenson's face in, there's a
good chance that "Daddy" will spend three rounds spanking
the "King". My Guess: Stevenson by decision.

Anthony
"Rumble" Johnson Vs. Yoshiyuki "Zenko" Yoshida

There's
a unique thrill in seeing a super-athletic African American dude
take on a traditional Japanese judo fighter, and it feels slightly
racist to admit it. I'm not sure why. I remember when Kazushi
Sakuraba fought Kevin Randleman years ago, the Japanese press
labelled it a "Real Donkey Kong" match, and Sakuraba
came in dressed as Super Mario, from the video game, complete
with mustache and little hat. I guess that implied that Kevin
Randleman was the barrel-tossing ape; which I guess isn't cool.
Johnson looks like he's midway through a transformation into
a werewolf, and about to start sprouting fangs and freaky body
hair. Yoshida might have some slick throws, but I expect he'll
take the beating of a lifetime while looking desperately for
some kind of purchase on Johnson's wildly thrashing body; reminiscent
of a mad scientist single-handedly trying to subdue his latest
creation-gone-awry. My Guess: Johnson by KO.

Ryan
"Darth" Bader Vs. Eric "Red" Schafer

Being
a better wrestler than your opponent means you have the choice
to keep your fight standing or take it to the ground, depending
on where you feel comfortable and where you know your opponent
feels comfortable. Schafer is a jiu-jitsu guy; and I in fact
faced him in a jiu-jitsu match a long time ago when we were both
blue belts. Due to some insane scoring mistakes, I was denied
points for throwing him and he was then denied points for sweeping
me. In "sudden death" overtime, I shot in and hefted
him for a mighty slam, but my head somehow got caught halfway
in a guillotine and I was afraid that slamming him or even letting
go of him with my head in such a predicament, would break my
neck, so I tapped. In retrospect, I sometimes wish I'd slammed
him anyway. Then again, I am not paralyzed from the neck down,
so maybe I made the right choice after all. My Guess: Bader by
decision.

Antoni
Hardonk Vs. Pat "HD" Barry

Hardonk
and Barry are both top-shelf kickboxers, so a lot of people are
thinking that this match will be one of the most epic striking
battles in the history of the UFC. While that might be true,
the fact is that Barry's jiu jitsu is roughly on the same level
as my understanding of women. Namely, he doesn't know what he's
doing at all. Hardonk, on the other hand, has some jiu jitsu
tricks up his sleeve and has submitted two opponents already.
So why would he bother trading strikes with "HD"? With
this in mind, it's vastly more probably that Hardonk will tackle
Barry the first chance he gets and win by submission. Then, afterwards,
a visibly dejected Barry will comment that he thought they were
going to kickbox; which will be my cue to yell "It's an
MMA fight, you douchebag!" at the TV. My Guess: Hardonk
by submission.

Yushin
"Thunder" Okami Vs. Chael Sonnen

Call
me crazy, but I thought the cool thing about the UFC was the
idea of matching fighters of different styles against one another.
Now, right after a match with two kickboxers, we're seeng Sonnen
fight his long-lost Japanese twin brother. Who is going to win?
It's impossible to guess considering it's essentially a fight
between a man and his Asian reflection. My Guess: Okami by decision.

Jeff
Meszaros welcomes reader feedback at wombat@fcfighter.com and
can be heard as the host of FCF Radio.

Source: Full Contact Fighter

The
Doggy Bag: Judging Submissions

Everyone answers to somebody, and we, the staff at Sherdog.com,
have decided to defer to our readers.

The
Doggy Bag gives you the opportunity to say what’s on your
mind from time to time.

Our
reporters, columnists, radio hosts and editors will chime in
with our answers and thoughts, so keep the e-mails coming.

This
week, topics include how to score submission attempts and the
possibility that the UFC’s current crop of champions could
dominate for a long time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’m
a big fan of the UFC and mixed martial arts, in general, and
I feel the sport is far more entertaining than boxing. I can
respect boxing when it occasionally gets it right; when it finally
matches up Manny Pacquiao with Floyd Mayweather, I’ll buy
that pay-per-view. However, I see a trend forming in all the
divisions of the UFC. B.J. Penn is dominant and will probably
beat Diego Sanchez at UFC 107. Georges St. Pierre, I feel, will
beat any welterweight until they put Jon Fitch in front of him
again, and he will more than likely be a favorite against him.
Anderson Silva is the most dominant middleweight of all-time.
Lyoto Machida seems unbeatable at 205 pounds. And while Brock
Lesnar has weaknesses, I can’t see him losing to any fighter
except Fedor Emelianenko in the foreseeable future. If all the
champions keep winning, will it not become increasingly difficult
for the UFC to market fights? Will what has happened in boxing,
with subpar challengers taking on elite competitors, happen to
MMA? An example of this is Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy for a No.1
contender spot against GSP. That isn’t really a main event
you want. I’ll continue to watch, but with all the champions
in their late 20s or early 30s -- except for Silva, who seems
ageless -- could all the divisions not become monotonous in a
year or two? -- Martin Brennan

Brian
Knapp, associate editor: Dynasties serve as the thread that holds
the sporting world together. They inspire deep love and deeper
hate. Think Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and the New York Yankees
of the 1950s, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and the Boston Celtics
of the 1960s, and Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris and the Pittsburgh
Steelers of the 1970s. Those teams defined generations. If anything,
the topsy-turvy world of mixed martial arts could benefit from
some stability at the top.

With
that said, I’d caution those who believe in sure things
in MMA. Not all that long ago, the incomparable St. Pierre was
on his back inside the cage, tapping out to strikes from Matt
Serra. Invincible he was not. In this sport, upsets are part
of the fabric.

Your
point does carry some weight, however. The current crop of UFC
champions has a better chance to stay at the top than any of
its predecessors, and I think that would ultimately benefit the
sport. Imagine the hype generated by a fighter who holds a UFC
title for, say, five, six or seven years consecutively. Think
about the shockwaves that would result from such a remarkable
run meeting its end.

Not
every title fight can bring us to our feet. Will a St. Pierre-Swick
main event drive people through the turnstiles? Probably not,
but contenders who work hard and climb the ladder in their respective
divisions deserve to see the fruits of their labor. Should Swick
defeat Hardy at UFC 105, it will give him 10 wins in 11 fights,
with the only defeat coming to Yushin Okami, one of the world’s
top middleweights.

Great
as they may be, these champions we hold in such high regard are
always one punch, one head kick, one small mistake away from
getting dumped off their mountaintops.

I watched WEC 43 and was absolutely surprised to see Henderson's
hand raised at the end of the fight.

If
you look at both the first and fifth round, I think what lead
the judges astray was the intricacies of submissions versus submission
escapes. When the audience realizes one of the fighters is caught
in a submission tension immediately begins to rise leading to
a climax resulting in either a tapout or escape. This translates
to a strange dynamic where a fighter can catch guy and almost
submit him yet the fighter who gets caught ends up looking good
because of drama involved in the concept of "escaping."

Should
a submission escape negate or even be worth more than a submission
attempt? Do you think this gray area had any part in "confusing"
the judges, especially considering how well and dramatically
Henderson defended them? -- Conrado Magalhaes

Jordan
Breen, FightFinder Czar: I can't say for sure what the judges
on the night saw in terms of valuing Cerrone's submission game.
As has been well-documented (especially in the blogosphere),
I strongly felt Cerrone won the fight and certainly got shortchanged
in the first round. Based on the reaction and discussion following
the fight, I think we can definitely say that the most defined
issue at stake is whatever value submissions should be offered
in judging.

The
biggest issue is that many people -- some fighters included --
see submissions as an "all or nothing" proposition.
Either your opponent taps, or there is no value in the technique
at all. If that were the case, submissions shouldn't be a part
of MMA at all if the technical application has no inherent value.
Some rogue promoters are starting to run shows that feature both
striking and ground-and-pound, but no submissions -- maybe that
should be our goal.

As
you point out, some readers and listeners outright admitted they
reward a fighter for escaping a submission more than the fighter
attacking, which is illogical on all levels. On top of that,
the judging criteria set forth ages ago, which are supposed to
be adhered to under the Unified Rules, recognize Cerrone's action.
"Repeated threatening attempts at submission and reversal
resulting in continuous defense from the top fighter" ...
sounds like Cerrone-Henderson to me.

The
issue is really about the fundamental value of any submission
attempt. With striking, it is easy to assess whether strikes
are clean, effective and efficient. With submissions, gauging
the value of the technique is much more difficult, especially
with regards to reconciling it against strikes, as is the case
in the first round of Cerrone-Henderson.

I
think in order to have a fair and equitable evaluation of striking
and grappling, essentially apples and oranges, scoring needs
to actually become a bit more abstract. I like to ask myself,
"What fighter is being more dominant or threatening, forcing
his opponent to continuously defend rather than attack, with
emphasis on quality of technique?" I emphasize the "quality
of technique" part, as well; many people lump all submission
effort that don't yield taps together. However, there's a vast
difference between the quality of execution that someone like
Donald Cerrone showed and a fighter aimlessly squeezing a lukewarm
guillotine.

How
to balance striking and grappling is always going to be a central
question in judging MMA. Even FightMetric, which I think is a
brilliant metric asset to MMA, has yet to come up with a great
way to put an objective value on a quality submission attempt
-- it scored the first round of Nogueira-Couture for "The
Natural." However, I think the passing of Cerrone-Henderson,
people dusting off their rulebooks, and reflecting on the unsuitability
of submissions as "all or nothing" will go a long way
to striking a better balance going forward.

Source: Sherdog

Cacareco
submits again; ready for the UFC

By Eduardo
Ferreira

Place where historical fights as Carlson Gracie vs. Waldemar
Santana took place, in the 1950’s, Maracanãzinho
is becoming MMA’s new house. Not even the rain the fell
for all the day on Rio de Janeiro scared the audience, which
were there to see Jungle Fight. After receiving Ricardo Arona,
Paulo Filho and Pedro Rizzo at Bitetti Combat 4, who shone this
time was Alexandre “Cacareco” Ferreira. Almost so fast
as on his last five fights, the Chute Boxe athlete submitted
Walter Mazurkievicz and gets closer to the UFC. Cacareco passed
thru bad moments at the beginning of the bout, with a right cross,
but took the fight to his area and submitted with a kimura with
70 seconds.

“The punch got in, I swing, and I just started to fight
again when I was at the ground. I fought half knocked out. Then
I was on my submission, that even sleeping I can make (laughs).
This time I took time to submit, I think I’m getting older
(laughs)”, Cacareco joked, revealing that he’s almost
signing with the biggest event of the world. “My first goal
is to be on the event, that’s the bigger of the world, where
the better athletes are. Then, my second goal is the belt. The
negotiations are moving, the results are coming”.

To Rudimar Fedrigo, Chute Boxe’s leader, Cacareco is coming
to make some noise in the biggest MMA event in the world. “Cacareco,
efficient as always, showed his champion’s spirit. He was
hit at first, but could recover. Cacareco will bother a lot of
people when he gets in UFC. It’s almost signed“, bets
Rudimar. “He’s going to win, that our focus. As everyone,
he has his right to want to be a champion and we’ll work
for it“.

MORAES LOSES THE INVINCIBILITY

Two times BJJ World champion, Sérgio Moraes was making
a success trail also on MMA. Undefeated, Moraes was confident
to face Brett Cooper and started well, taking the fight to the
ground, passing the guard, taking the back and trying a rear
naked choke, and then an arm lock. But things changed on the
second round. Alliance’s black belt couldn’t take Cooper
down and went to the stand up fight, opening the guard down and
asking the American to hit him. With five minutes, Cooper hit
an upper and knock Serginho out, shutting the Brazilian crowd
in Maracanãzinho. “I think he underestimated me”,
confessed Cooper.

MONDRAGON POUNDS ASSUERIO

With a large international experience, fighting in events like
UFC and Pride, the former Pancrase champion Assuério Silva
was the favorite on the fight against Gerônimo Mondragon.
But it fell down with the bell. Mondragon went for Assuério
with a lot of will and could get a knock down. On the ground,
Mondragon punished Assuério until the judge’s interruption
on 1min01s. The emotion took the fighter and his trainer, Ricardinho,
that started to ask for Brock Lesnar, champion of the heavy weights
of UFC. “No one beats Mondragon. I want Brock Lesnar”,
screamed Ricardinho, Zuluzinho’s former coach. Mondragon
cried and dedicated the victory to his daughter. “When I
left home, my little daughter asked me: ‘daddy, win this
fight for me’”, the fighter said, with more than 220
pounds and almost 6,56 foot, crying inside the octagon.

COMPLETE RESULTS:

Jungle Fight Championship

Maracanãzinho, Rio de Janeiro

Saturday, October 17, 2009

MMA:

- Brett Cooper defeated Sérgio Moraes by KO on 2R;

- Alexandre “Cacareco” defeated Walter Mazurkievicz
by submission on 1R;

- Vanessa Porto defeated Roberta Torno by submission on 1R;

- Geronimo Mondragon defeated Assuério Silva by TKO on
1R;

- Jhonny Eduardo defeated Francisco “Diabo San” Chagas
by TKO on 1R;

- Junior Killer defeated Henrique Negão by unanimous decision;

- Gil Freitas defeated Pedro Manuel by KO on 1R;

Brazilian KickBoxing Title:

-
Washington Luis Santos defeated Fernando Nonato by unanimous
decision.

Source: Tatame

Dan
Henderson’s best choice long term is UFC

By Zach Arnold

So Dana White leaks to Kevin Iole that Dan Henderson wants more
money than UFC is willing to offer. Henderson has shown no inclination
in the past to negotiate with Strikeforce because he wanted to
fight Anderson Silva. Strikeforce is likely not going to overpay
for Henderson, which is ironic given that UFC has boosted Henderson’s
profile into a semi-marketable American draw now (something PRIDE
never could figure out how to do).

The
only possibility I could see of Henderson fighting outside of
UFC is for K-1 on NYE in Japan for a one-shot deal and then returning
back to UFC after the situation between Nathan Marquardt and
Anderson Silva is resolved. It would be a win-win situation for
both Henderson and UFC at this point.

Source: Fight Opinion

CAIN
VELASQUEZ: GETTING THERE IS HALF THE FUN

by Steven
Marrocco

With his victory over Cheick Kongo at UFC 99, 27-year-old Cain
Velasquez went back to the gym with a firm goal: never hesitate.

The
former Arizona State University wrestler said he waited a split-second
too long in front of Kongo and paid dearly. Those punches, which
might have felled other men, were his lesson.

Velasquez,
however, dug deep and clung to his game plan with a decision
won on the mat.

Velasquez’s
next opponent, Ben Rothwell at UFC 104, may be the perfect fighter
to work towards the goal. Rothwell is a year older than him,
but has 10 years of fights under his belt and heavy hands to
boot.

He’s
also more well-rounded, which Velasquez acknowledges as an added
threat.

Velasquez’s
trainer, Javier Mendez, doesn’t believe Rothwell is on the
same level of striking ability as Kongo. But there’s still
danger in getting the fight where Velasquez ultimately wants
it – downstairs.

Getting
there, says Velasquez, is a matter of setting it up correctly.

“I’m
looking to set up a lot of stuff with my striking, just to make
it easier to get the takedown, if it’s there, and if I make
an opening for it,” he said.

Source: MMA Weekly

20
Questions for the Machida Patriarch

by Marcelo
Alonso

Yoshizo Machida is a happy man at 63. After leaving Japan at
the age of 22 and bringing Shotokan karate to Brazil, he never
imagined what his desires would lead to some four decades later.

Machida
fell for a Brazilian woman, Ana Claudia, was married and had
four sons -- Take, Chinzo, Lyoto and Kenzo. A seventh-degree
black belt, he has popularized his art in northern Brazil and
revolutionized the mixed martial arts world. One of his sons,
Lyoto, now wears the UFC light heavyweight championship and remains
unbeaten 15 fights into his professional career. The art his
father taught him has served him well.

A
few months after Lyoto knocked out Rashad Evans to capture the
UFC crown, his father sat down for an exclusive interview with
Sherdog.com in Belem, Brazil.

Sherdog.com:
Did you see Lyoto rescuing the real Karate?

Yoshizo: Yes, because the fight can’t only be about taking
points from the opponent. For example, the guy can score 20 points
in Judo, but if he takes an Ippon, he will loose, just like in
jiu-jitsu. For what reason are the points important? If the guy
is submitted or knocked out, it’s over. I always tell Lyoto
that he has to finish the fight, not just take points. Once it
starts, he has to try to finish as soon as possible. Of course,
sometimes someone who paid to see five rounds will probably be
disappointed to see the fight end in the first round, but the
real fighter wants to see the fight finished as soon as possible.

Sherdog.com:
Can you describe your first trip to Brazil?

Yoshizo: It was a very hard trip, a total of 40 days. The ship
stopped in Hawaii, Argentina, Uruguay, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
and finally in Belem. The ocean was so powerful that I remember
that I spent the first 15 days vomiting. When I was down to 120
pounds, someone gave me whisky. Then I found out that if I got
drunk, I couldn’t feel the ocean shaking the ship. After
that, I got used to it and started to teach karate to everybody
on the ship, and it was really nice.

Sherdog:
What was it like after you arrived?

Yoshizo: When I arrived in Belem, I got a job thanks to Japanese
immigration and a Japanese company that used to build roads.
I worked on that for one year and then went to Rio de Janeiro,
where I spent two weeks with Master Tanaka. Right after that,
I went to Sao Paulo, where I met Inoki’s brother, and I
started to take care of their academy. Later on, I went to Bahia,
where I opened my own academy. Since then, I’ve taught more
than 10,000 students, but only 250 received the black belt. I
arrived here with only two pairs of clothes, nothing else, and
I only knew how to say three things -- good morning, good evening
and hungry. I didn’t sleep in the streets, but in the academies,
without food, I dealt with hard times. After some time, I had
my own academy and students. Today, I can say I’m a happy
man. I believe every man has to do what he really likes in life,
no matter if it’s common or different from other people.
You have to try your best to be different from others. Today,
that’s very difficult.

Sherdog:
How do people in Japan see karate today?

Yoshizo: In the past, karate was just for self-defense and was
used in fighting. Today, it’s much more like a sport and
focused on competitions. I, just like many of my teachers, think
the karate philosophy is being left out. Karate needs to be used
to finish the opponent. Today, the fighters are faster, stronger
and better prepared, but they fight to take points from the opponent.
I think it should return to its origins in self defense.

Sherdog:
How do you feel when Lyoto’s fights go the distance and
people call him a boring fighter?

Yoshizo: The fighters need to work on his defensive positions;
that’s why my son has never been seriously hit. But for
the promoter, sometimes it was not a good show. There are many
strong guys out there, and each fighter needs to have his strategy.
Against Rashad, I told him to forget about the belt and take
him down as fast as he could, and that’s what he did. This
is martial arts. Anyone who practices a martial art knows about
it, no matter which martial art it is. Our son is not making
a show yet because, to make a show, you have to be really superior.
In his last two fights, he has given a great show. Now, he understands
he’s strong. I love Anderson Silva’s fights because
he’s an artist inside the Octagon. A lot of people don’t
like it because they think he wants to play and have fun. I don’t
see it that way. I see him as a showman who’s very strong.
Deep in his heart, he knows he can finish the fight when he wants.
Anderson was born like that. Lyoto is different. He wasn’t
born like that, but as he trains more, trusts his karate and
believes in his style, he’s getting more confident and is
giving a better performance each time out.

Sherdog:
As competitor, were you more like Chinzo or Lyoto?

Yoshizo: Certainly Chinzo, because I was really fast. Between
23 and 36, nobody could touch me. I used my wrists very well.
I’m very small, and I used to fight against guys who were
stronger and heavier; if they touched me, I’d fall down,
so I trained my speed a lot. I’m teaching that to Lyoto
because he’s big, but when compared to some of his UFC opponents,
he’s small.

Sherdog:
You said Lyoto’s defense is very good. Do you think he would
have won as many fights in MMA if he had a style similar to you
and Chinzo?

Yoshizo: No. He would have lost already. Me and Chinzo have a
real offensive style. We attack. Lyoto is more cautious, and
thanks to that, he developed a lot of his defense. One of the
best things about our karate in MMA is that it combines defenses
and attacks. That’s why he’s doing so well in this
sport.

Sherdog:
What’s the difference between Machida karate and Shotokan
karate?

Yoshizo: Shotokan nowadays is pretty much focused on competition.
Machida karate thinks competition is very important -- we have
many champions -- but we separate Machida karate. In the ring,
our goal is to punish and take down an opponent. On the other
side, Shotokan karate, which I also teach, is pretty much an
educational sport.

Sherdog: Did you participate in any karate competitions in Brazil?

Yoshizo: I couldn’t compete in the Brazilian national championships
because I’m Japanese. But in 1970, I was invited to participate
in the Champions of the Champions Cup, where I beat five state
champions from Minas, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Bahia. In
the final, I defeated the Brazilian national champion, Caribe,
who was very famous at that time. Back then, the competition
was much more violent; the goal was to take down the opponent.

Sherdog:
We see a lot of fighters win championships and take 20- or 30-day
vacations. But Lyoto, after nine months of training without break,
could not even take an eight-day vacation. On the second day,
he called his trainer and said he wanted to train.

Yoshizo: Lyoto likes the routine of training. He likes to train
every day. His goal is to always improve, not only to defend
his belt but to test new techniques; that’s very important
in martial arts.

Sherdog:
What about urine therapy. How did you start doing that?

Yoshizo: Actually, this technique was used in China and India
a long time ago. I started doing that after reading a book about
a Japanese doctor who was in World War II. When the medicines
ran out, he told the soldiers to drink their urine, and it worked
as a vaccine. I started doing that three years ago, and it’s
working fine. I never get sick anymore. Lyoto is doing the same,
and he also likes the results.

Sherdog:
Did your master send you to Brazil to make karate popular there?

Yoshizo: No, I wanted to go because I love to train. If I go
two days without karate training, I get mad. When I got here,
I received some support from Japanese friends who helped me financially
so I could take care of the academy. There are other Japanese
masters in Brazil who faced the same situation. Later, I was
able to open my own academy in Belem.

Sherdog:
Is it true that you took care of Conde Koma’s bones?

Yoshizo: About 30 years ago, there was a heavy rain in Belem
that destroyed Mitsuyo Maeda Koma’s grave in the cemetery.
His friend, Sakaeoti, who was about 80 years old at the time,
told me about it. He always told me many stories about Mitsuyo,
about how much he helped Japanese people who came to Brazil.
Sakaeoti and I went to the cemetery, and I collected Koma’s
bones and cleaned them. With the support of Kokushikan University,
which rebuilt Koma’s tomb, we buried his bones again in
a new grave paid for by the university.

Sherdog:
Koma was a great fighter and was the man who taught jiu-jitsu
to the Gracies. If it were not for him, we probably wouldn’t
have MMA or the UFC. Do you believe his Samurai spirit may be
helping Lyoto in the Octagon?

Yoshizo: My family and I believe in spiritualism and reincarnation.
Koma is probably helping Lyoto.

Sherdog:
Having spent 70 days with Satoshi Ishii, do you believe he can
become an MMA champion?

Yoshizo: I can’t tell. He’s an excellent athlete. He
never gets tired. I think he’ll adapt really fast to MMA.
In the beginning, he was getting beaten badly by Lyoto, but after
two months, he improved a lot. I corrected his posture, taught
him how to walk in the ring. Sometimes during training, he cried,
not because he was tired but because of the high humidity near
the Amazon. He has the Samurai spirit and always finished every
exercise I gave to him. I’ve heard he visited and trained
at the Renzo Gracie academy in New York and people liked him.

Sherdog:
What do you expect from Lyoto’s next challenge against Mauricio
“Shogun” Rua at UFC 104? How long do you expect Lyoto
to keep the title?

Yoshizo: I can’t say anything because it depends on him.
He has to train and believe because he’s going to face Shogun,
who’s also strong and well-prepared. Lyoto’s preparation
for this fight will be very important. He needs to be strong,
not only physically and technically; his spirit and his mind
also need to be well-prepared.

Sherdog:
Do you think Shogun will be a tougher opponent than Rashad Evans?

Yoshizo: No, Rashad was much more difficult and not just because
of the technique. Against him, we were also fighting against
the pressure of the crowd. He was the local champion. But, for
sure, Shogun is a very tough opponent who will give us a lot
of work studying his game.

Sherdog:
What was the party like here in Belem when Lyoto returned with
the belt?

Yoshizo: It was a big party. The mayor even invited us to have
breakfast with him. Last week, we were invited by the Japanese
consulate to have dinner with the Japanese community in Belem.
It’s very good to have my son so recognized, as long as
it doesn’t bother his training. If the event doesn’t
bother his training, he will go. I already explained to him that
a lot of people want this belt, so he has to be in great shape
always.

Sherdog:
Besides your son, who do you like to see fight in MMA?

Yoshizo: I like [Antonio Rodrigo] “Minotauro” [Nogueira]
very much, because even when he’s on the ground, he can
solve the situation very calmly. He’s a real fighter. Standing
up, I like Anderson Silva, because he plays with the opponent.
He’s a showman.

Sherdog:
How do you think a fight between Lyoto and Anderson Silva would
play out?

Yoshizo: It’s hard to say. They have a similar style. It
would depend on how well-prepared each one would be. I can’t
say who would win.

Source: Sherdog

Sengoku:
10 bouts announced

Marlon Sandro and Jorge Santiago on November 7 card

The
card for the upcoming Sengoku event has taken shape. Set for
November 7 in Japan, the event has ten fights programmed, one
of which will feature Jorge Santiago in a non-title bout against
Poland’s Mamed Khalidov.

The
main event features local fighters Hatsu Hioki and Michihiro
Omigawa.

Check
out the card:

Hatsu
Hioki vs Michihiro Omigawa

Yuji Hoshino vs Marlon Sandro

Ronnie "Ushiwaka" Mann vs Shigeki Osawa

Eiji Mitsuoka vs Kazunori Yokota

Satoru Kitaoka vs Jorge Masvidal

Dave Herman vs Jim York

Stanislav Nedkov vs Kevin Randleman

Mamed Khalidov vs Jorge Santiago

Akihiro Gono vs Yoon Young Kim

Hirokazu "Bull" Konno vs Tomoaki Ueyama

Source: Gracie Magazine

Robbie
Lawler Set for December Return

by Ariel Helwani

Little has been heard from Robbie Lawler since losing to Jake
Shields at a Strikeforce event in June, but FanHouse has learned
that the former EliteXC middleweight champion has been offered
to return on Strirkeforce's December card. Lawler has verbally
agreed to fight at the end of the year but no opponent has been
finalized.

FanHouse
has also learned that two opponents have been talked about to
face Lawler: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza and Nick Diaz.

Lawler's
agent Monte Cox would not confirm nor deny Lawler's involvement
on the card, but he did tell FanHouse last month that he wasn't
interested in having Lawler fight "Jacare" in the near
future.

"Jacare"
recently signed with Strikeforce, but has yet to fight for the
organization.

Diaz
defeated Lawler via second-round knockout at UFC 47 in April
2004. He hasn't competed since defeating Scott Smith on the same
June card in St. Louis, and was scheduled to fight Jay Hieron
for the vacant welterweight title in August before pulling out
after failing to show up to a pre-fight drug test administered
by the California State Athletic Commission.

MMA
Junkie recently reported that Strikeforce is looking to hold
their December "Arena Series" show in their home base
of San Jose, Calf., but no date or venue has been officially
announced.

Source: MMA Fighting

Will
the Spike TV UFC PPV lead-in TV specials increase buy rates?

By Zach Arnold

Not
as crazy of a question to ask as you might suspect.

UFC
103 in Dallas did an reported 400,000 PPV buys for an event headlined
by Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin. 400,000 PPV buys for that
show is pretty damn good business.

So
why was Spike TV’s 1-hour lead-in event with dark matches
from the PPV site portrayed as a failure in the media?

Because
the show did a 1.4 cable rating, which was labeled by various
writers as ‘disappointing.’ But, wait a second, aren’t
many of those writers the same people that claim that it’s
not how big your cable rating is but how many viewers you convert
into PPV customers?

By
those standards, the Spike TV experiment was a success —
enough of one for the network to continue doing it for future
UFC PPVs, including the October 24th event at the Staples Center
headlined by Machida vs. Shogun.

The
question is — how effective will the lead-in program on
Spike be this time around for the PPV buy rate for UFC 104?

Source: Fight Opinion

BELLATOR
FC UPDATE

Bellator
FC Announces Broadcast Deals With Fox Sports, NBC, Telemundo

By FCF Staff

Bellator
Fighting Championships has announced today that the rising MMA
promotion has signed a broadcasting alliance with Fox Sports
Net, NBC, and Telemundo for its second and third seasons in 2010.
According to a press release this AM, the new broadcasting agreement
includes a weekly, live broadcast of Bellator events Thursday
nights on Fox Sports Net (beginning April 8th), and a weekly
30 minute highlight show which will be aired Saturday nights
on NBC. A one hour highlight show will also be available Saturday
nights in Spanish on Telemundo. Bellator’s debut season
earlier this year was broadcast on ESPN’s Spanish speaking
Deportes network.

“Since
our launch earlier this year, there has been an overwhelming
demand from MMA fans nationwide for us to broadcast our events
live and through a widely available platform,” Bellator
CEO and founder Bjorn Rebney was quoted saying in the release.
“We are thrilled to have signed this groundbreaking agreement
with FOX Sports Net, NBC and Telemundo, which will bring our
unique and exciting brand of tournament-based MMA events to a
dramatically expanded audience of both English- and Spanish-speaking
fans.”

The
second season of Bellator is scheduled to begin April 8th, and
will run for 12 consecutive weeks, while the promotion’s
third campaign will begin August 12.

The
promotion’s first season included tournaments in the featherweight,
lightweight, welterweight and middleweight divisions to determine
Bellator’s first champions, and saw Joe Soto, Eddie Alvarez,
Lyman Good, and Hector Lombard win their respective divisions.
Each tournament winner collected nearly $200,000 for their efforts.

More
information regarding Bellator’s next two seasons will be
released over the coming months.

Source: Full Contact Fighter

Lyoto
firm betting favorite

Check out the complete card for Saturday’s event

GRACIEMAG newsroom

Current
light heavyweight UFC champion and undefeated in MMA, Lyoto Machida
is firmly favoured to win his bout against Mauricio Shogun Saturday
night, at UFC 104. That’s what the latest betting lines
from sport betting website BetUs say, a barometer for gauging
popular preference in the weeks leading up to a big event.

The
same panorama is reflected on Bodog.com and Sportsbook.com.

Although
it is on the main card, the fight between Gleison Tibau and Josh
Neer had no lines released.

For
the second most awaited match-up on the program, Cain Velasquez
is favored to win over Ben Rothwell.

Check
out the complete card with favored athletes in bold face. And
stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for further information on UFC 104.

yoto
Machida vs Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

Ben Rothwell vs Cain Velasquez

Josh Neer vs Gleison Tibau*

Spencer Fisher vs Joe Stevenson

Anthony Johnson vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida

PRELIMINARIES

Ryan
Bader vs Eric Schafer

Patrick Barry vs Antoni Hardonk

Yushin Okami vs Chael Sonnen

Rob Kimmons vs Jorge Rivera*

Razak Al-Hassan vs Kyle Kingsbury*

Stefan Struve vs Chase Gormley*

Source: Gracie Magazine

Alistair
Overeem vs. James Thompson at Dream.12

by Michael David Smith

Alistair Overeem hasn't fought for Strikeforce since winning
its heavyweight championship two years ago. But after winning
an easy fight over the weekend, he'll fight again after just
a week off, stepping into the cage to take on James "The
Collosus" Thompson at Dream 12 on Saturday.

Dream
has not yet announced the fight, but a source with knowledge
of the situation tells FanHouse that it will take place on the
card, which is noteworthy as the first time the Japanese Dream
promotion will use a cage instead of a ring.

This
past Saturday, Overeem needed less than a minute and a half to
finish off Tony Sylvester with a standing guillotine in the first
round, and he'll enter the cage with Thompson a heavy favorite
to finish that fight quickly as well. Overeem is one of the best
strikers in MMA, and Thompson has been beaten by knockout or
TKO five times in the last three years.

Thompson
is well known to fans as the guy who lost to Kimbo Slice on CBS
in 2008, in what is still the most-watched MMA fight in American
history. Overeem is, in addition to being Strikeforce's heavyweight
champion, one of the world's top heavyweight kickboxers. After
he fights Thompson, his next fight will be in the K-1 ring on
Dec. 5, when he faces Ewerton Teixeira in the first round of
the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final.

Source: MMA Fighting

10/22/09

Quote
of the Day

“Our
food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.”

Hippocrates

Fertitta
focuses on international issues

When
Lorenzo Fertitta left his post overseeing Station Casinos 16
months ago to work full-time as CEO of Zuffa LLC, the parent
company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Extreme
Cagefighting, his biggest challenge was international expansion
of the UFC brand.

Almost
since Fertitta made the move, UFC president Dana White, the public
face of the company, told anyone who would listen that in eight
years, UFC would be “bigger on a worldwide basis than the
NFL or soccer.”

“Remember
I said it,” White said, knowing that even accepting the
remarkable strides in popularity the company has made domestically
in the last four years, that’s bucking the massive head
start both sports have.

Mixed
martial arts hasn’t even fully broken through in its home
country, let alone be competitive with the two sports that dominate
worldwide sports interest.

But
as the company makes its plans for 2010, Fertitta is thinking
both short term – such as the company’s Australia debut
on Feb. 21 – and long.

“Asia,
China and India are going to be big markets,” Fertitta said.
“But it might be 10-15 years before we can fully monetize
their potential.”

In
figuring out how the UFC can best implement its international
plans, Fertitta looks back at how the company managed to revive
a failing brand stateside. “People talk about us as an overnight
success, but we struggled early,” noted Fertitta. “When
we first got the company, our thought was that as soon as we
got back on pay-per-view, we’d be a real quick success.”

Eight
year ago, the UFC projected 100,000-150,000 buys per show starting
with UFC 33. Instead, many shows in the early years did 25,000-30,000.
The company’s first television deal, with FOX Sports Net,
didn’t make a dent, but The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV
ended up as the turning point. The lesson learned is that simply
getting on television in and of itself doesn’t matter as
much as having the right deal. Every country is different, as
is every television deal. Some countries only have a few stations,
so getting hours of programming time is difficult, but that programming
can be extremely valuable because viewership is high. Other countries
have so much television fragmentation that they can have supply
endless hours of programming, but only reach a limited audience.

The
number of television viewers in the U.K. is minuscule compared
to other countries, but most of the live events have sold out,
and the Nov. 14 show in Manchester is tracking to sell out, with
only about 1,000 unsold tickets at this point.

There
are other obstacles. The company is getting huge ratings on the
equivalent to a major network in the Philippines. When they brought
Chuck Liddell over for a visit a year ago, more than 4,000 people
came to see him work out at a mall. But at this point, UFC doesn’t
feel the country is a market in which they can turn a profit
on a live show.

“There’s
a reason (Manny) Pacquiao doesn’t fight in the Philippines
where he’s a God,” noted one UFC official.

In
France, the company is doing strong ratings on a station broadcasting
out of Luxembourg that hits the entire country. But UFC is currently
banned in France, so it can’t be broadcast on a station
within the country, nor can it hold live events. Fertitta noted
it’s a dream of his to run a show in Paris.

The
company is also on strong stations and doing well in the ratings
in Mexico and Scandinavian countries like Norway and Finland.
Another strong market is Brazil, home of so many great mixed
martial arts, where the old owners ran a live card in 1998.

Zuffa’s
major revenue stream is pay-per-view, but many countries simply
don’t have the mentality in which people are used to paying
for one-off sporting events on television. PPV was an easy fit
in the U.S. and Canada, because the two things that most closely
are similar in marketing to UFC, boxing and pro wrestling, never
gave away the big events for free. Big boxing matches were televised
around the country on closed-circuit television and wrestling
television always marketed big events at local arenas. When pay-per-view
came along, both sets of fans saw it as a more convenient way
to do what they were used to doing, which was paying to see the
big matches.

But
the UFC product going forward is going to be far more than just
presentation of live events. There is merchandising and video
games that can be marketed worldwide. And there’s an ever
changing world due to the Internet.

Fertitta
noted one of the big surprises was the success of the company’s
video game in Spain.

“In
Spain, we don’t even have a TV deal and we’re the No.
2 grossing sports video game next to FIFA soccer,” he said.
The UFC had a major presence this week at Sportel, the biggest
worldwide convention for television networks looking at purchasing
sports programming.

“Two
years ago, people were looking just to see what we were,”
said Marshall Zelaznik, the UFC’s president, who is working
with Fertitta on global expansion of the brand. “Last year,
people were looking at signing us up. This year sports stations
are saying they need us.”

Zelaznik
noted a big advantage in selling UFC to new markets is the simplistic
nature of the sport that makes it easy to understand across cultural
barriers. He also noted UFC has an advantage over many sports
because much of the programming, whether it be repackaged fights
or seasons of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, is “evergreen,”
meaning it can be shown over and over and still draw an audience,
unlike most sports events where major appeal shows are usually
limited to live events.

UFC
does the strongest pay-per-view numbers of any sports company
in North America, but aside from Australia, hasn’t really
broken through on pay-per-view elsewhere.

Currently
UFC does less than 10 percent of its overall revenue outside
the U.S. and Canada. As a private company, exact figures aren’t
available but the company is expected to gross in excess of $300
million this year. Fertitta figures the percentage of revenue
coming from outside North America to eventually top 50 percent.

Australia
is the next target market for a live show, with a date scheduled
but not finalized on Feb. 21 at the Acer Arena in Sydney. The
belief, because the Australian economy hasn’t been hit as
hard as the rest of the world over the past couple years, and
with the American success of concerts, sports and WWE, that the
UFC can do a sizable live gate.

“We’ve
been doing our research on Australia,” said Fertitta. “We’ve
seen the ticket prices that are charged for concerts, sports
and WWE. Australia’s economy didn’t take as much of
a hit as the rest of the world. So that’s where we think
we can do very well. Plus we like Australia because we can do
a live pay-per-view.” The show is scheduled for a live pay-per-view
in North America, meaning the live event itself will be starting
at between 10 and 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning and main matches
starting at 1 p.m. in Sydney for airing in the usual 10 p.m.
Eastern time slot.

There
is also talk of doing a 2010 card in the Middle East, and there
will be several shows in the United Kingdom and likely one show
in Ireland and Germany this year. There is talk of doing a Fight
Night card on Spike from Scotland, running in a smaller arena
than usual simply because Scotland doesn’t have any huge
arenas, and focusing on using European talent.

Fertitta
expects to run about the same number of live events in 2010 as
the 20 events in 2009. While demand for live events in new markets
remain strong, the supply of available star fighters and demands
on the staff keep the company from further pushing the envelope.

Source:
Yahoo Sports

LYOTO
MACHIDA: NOBODY IS UNBEATABLE

UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida says family is the
key to staying hungry.

The
Machida clan, including father Yoshizo and brothers Chinzo and
Kenzo, insulate Lyoto as he prepares for fights, and his meeting
with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104 has been no different.
With the belt, distractions abound outside the dojo.

"There’s
a lot of distractions, a lot of people coming at you, but thank
God, I have a team around me that protects me from that,"
said Lyoto.

A
heap of hyperbole has followed the champion since his dominating
performances over Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans. Karate traditionalists
have been galvanized by his style. Many of the promotion’s
top fighters have scratched their heads at how to beat him. But
the 31-year-old fighter says he’s still chasing the belt,
accolades aside.

“I
think my biggest worry and the thing that I’m most concerned
with is just staying focused and zoning in on what my goals are,
to keep that belt and keep putting on good performances,”
said Machida.

The
main goal, he says, is to evolve into a better fighter every
time he steps into the Octagon. Were it not for family, he might
lose sight of that goal.

More
than his title grab at UFC 98, Machida said his fight with Tito
Ortiz at UFC 84 was the biggest challenge in maintaining focus.
In the buildup to the fight, he felt like he was being brought
into the middle of a political war between president Dana White
and Ortiz.

“I
feel like I was brought in and had a lot of weight on my shoulders
to beat Tito, for more than just the reason to beat Tito,”
said Machida. “So I definitely started to feel the pressure,
more the mental pressure versus the technical pressure because
of that situation.”

He
seems less stressed about the target on his back as champion,
although he is well aware of it.

Rua
has taken a play from Machida’s book in his approach to
the fight, saying that patience is the key to defeat the undefeated
champion.

Machida
says he has followed Rua’s career and shares a professional
respect for him (“He’s had a lot of fights to make
the whole country of Brazil proud,” said Machida), but will
put it aside when the two meet in Los Angeles on Oct. 24. When
they do battle, it’s just business.

Contrary
to the hype, Machida says he’s very beatable.

“Anybody
can be beat,” he said. “But that’s what motivates
me to keep going out there, training hard, staying focused, and
my goal is that every time I have the opportunity to present
myself in the Octagon... I’m always going to come prepared
and come in the best shape of my life. Thank God I have my family
around and my team, they always expect a lot of me, so they’re
always there to stay on top of me and keep me humble, keep me
focused, and keep me motivated to get in there and represent
my family and my karate well.”

Source:
MMA Weekly

‘Rumble’
draws strength from late grandpa

Morris
Johnson taught his grandson, Anthony, lessons that, more than
20 years later, continue to serve him well.

Do
your best. Never give up. Push yourself.

Anthony
Johnson is one of the rising stars of the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
a welterweight with one-punch knockout power and a killer instinct
second to none.

He’ll
fight Yoshiyuki Yoshida a week from Saturday at UFC 104 at the
Staples Center in Los Angeles, looking for his fifth consecutive
knockout victory.

At
this stage of his career, Johnson is much like Georges St. Pierre,
the UFC’s dynamic welterweight champion, was five years
ago: Extraordinarily gifted, highly regarded but inexperienced
and still learning his way in the game.

He’s
already authored one of the most vicious knockouts in UFC history.
He blew out Tommy Speer in Broomfield, Colo., on April 2, 2008,
in but 51 seconds, the ferocity of which was almost frightening
to watch. Yet, Johnson said that knockout was nothing.

“I’ve
gotten so much better since then,” Johnson said. “If
I fought him today, with what I’ve learned, I’d knock
him out even worse.”

His
pedigree is as a wrestler, but few in mixed martial arts have
hands as good as Johnson’s. He is naturally strong and fast.
Even as a child, his grandfather had to warn him about his own
strength.

“When
I was little, my aunt’s kids used to come over and we would
play together,” Johnson said. “I would push them. To
me, it was just light, but to them, it was like someone tackled
them, slammed them, whatever. My granddad had to warn me about
doing things like that, because I didn’t realize how strong
I really am.

“One
time, he and I were putting together a wagon to carry off the
leaves that had fallen in the yard. I was tightening the bolt
onto the wagon as I was putting it together and I ended up breaking
the bolt in half because I tightened it too tight. He said he’d
never, ever, seen anyone break a bolt in half before, but I wasn’t
trying to do that. I was just trying to do what I was supposed
to do and tighten it.”

Many
significant moments in Johnson’s life involve his grandfather,
who died two years ago.

Morris
Johnson adopted his grandson and raised him from the time he
was 2 years old. “My parents preferred the streets to raising
their child,” Anthony says, softly. “The story of how
my granddad wound up with me is crazy. Nobody would believe it
if I told you.”

He
declines to discuss those circumstances. And at one point during
the telephone interview, it seems as if he may not discuss anything.
Asked about his grandfather, there is suddenly a long pause,
an uncomfortable silence.

The
phone seems as if it may have gone dead. The question is repeated
in the event he’s still on the line.

There’s
a single sound, then another long pause.

The
question is repeated again. There is a sniff and then, voice
quivering and cracking, Anthony Johnson finally begins to speak
through his tears.

“My
granddad was my best friend,” Johnson said. “He adopted
me and he raised me. He taught me so many valuable lessons: Always
do your best. Never give up. Always be humble. So many things.”

Morris
Johnson may be gone, but his influence remains, carried through
a grandson who clearly worships him. He has a patch on his shorts
he wears during his fights about the Bible’s Psalm 23 (“The
Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”).

That
is because when his grandfather collapsed at home, his grandmother
read the 23rd Psalm as they desperately awaited an ambulance.
At the funeral, the preacher read the 23rd Psalm, though no one
but Anthony knew what his grandmother had done.

Johnson
will also hold his arms up, as if he’s flexing, shortly
before a fight in honor of his grandfather. When Anthony was
wrestling in high school and college, he would glance at his
grandfather in the stands, who would always make that gesture.

“He’d
hold his arms up like he was flexing, as if I’d already
won,” Johnson said. “It was our little sign, our connection.
It was his way of telling me to give it my all. I still remember
that to this day.

“I
try to live my life like he lived his. I want to make him as
proud of me as I can every single day. A lot of negative stuff
comes your way in a given day, and there are always negative
people. He would never allow the negative stuff and the negative
people to get in the way of him doing what he thought was right.
That’s really helped me and I try as best I can to live
that same way.”

The
first obstacle is getting down to the welterweight division’s
170-pound weight limit. Johnson, who is a broad-shouldered 6-foot-2,
weighed 220 pounds when he began training for Yoshida.

He’s
down to 190 now and plans to take advantage of the extra pound
allowance fighters are given in non-title bouts and come in at
171 pounds.

“The
only pressure I feel, honestly, is the pressure to make the weight,”
Johnson said. “Once I’m on weight, I know everything
else will take care of itself.”

Johnson
has yet to fight a top 10 opponent, but knows the day is coming.
He’s improving rapidly while training in ex-Strikeforce
middleweight champion Cung Le’s camp and believes he’s
only scratched the surface of his potential.

He’s
hitting harder than he ever has, he said, and is learning to
put his transitions together better.

“I’m
hard on myself and I get upset when I make a mistake, but the
good thing is that I can see the progress I’ve made,”
Johnson said. “And I truly believe I’m nowhere near
my potential. My granddad used to tell me never to settle for
second best and never stop pushing to get better.

“Every
day in the gym, I think of what he used to say and I’m determined
to make myself better. It’s a way to honor him, to take
what he taught me and put it into practice. And that’s what
I try to do. It’s why I work so hard. It’s my way of
thanking him for all he did for me.”

Source:
Yahoo Sports

WC
FITNESS: HOW TO BE A BETTER FIGHTER

(This
is a cross-post of a newsletter I sent out to my email list recently.
I got such a good reaction to it, I thought I'd post it here,
as well.)

What
have you done to make yourself better today?

The
other weekend, the weather was pretty nice (but of course, living
in North Carolina, the weather is never too out of whack the
entire year). I got up early on Saturday morning to get a workout
in.

I
grabbed some dumbbells (DB), and took them outside to my back
yard and got to work. The air was still cool from the night before,
there were few people out and about yet, the sun wasn't even
completely up and the grass was still wet with the early morning
dew.

It
was so beautiful, quiet, and serene - PERFECT for getting a kickass
workout in!

And
a kickass workout it was, too!

Started
off with General Physical Preparedness rounds of jumping jacks,
skier shuffles, and mountain climbers. Then it was onto strength
work of heavy DB snatches, presses, and rows. Conditioning was
done with circuits of bench jumps, burpees, swings, more burpees,
and more bench jumps.

Halfway
through my first conditioning circuit, my nine-year-old daughter
stumbled her way onto the back porch. Having just woken up, she
stood there quietly, rubbing her eyes, still trying to 'wake
up,' watching me jump, burpee, and swing my way around our backyard.

After
my last circuit, I stood there, bent over, hands on my knees,
trying to suck as much oxygen as my lungs would take in.

She
looked at me, and asked me a pretty simple question:

"Daddy,
why are you up so early?"

I
thought this would be a good time for my little girl to learn
a lesson about life.

"Well,"
I said between gasps of air, "I wanna be better than everybody
else. I wanna be bigger, stronger, in better shape, smarter,
a better dad... you know?"

She
nodded.

"That
takes a lot of work, right?"

She
nodded again.

"Take
a look up and down the street. Do you see anybody else up and
around?"

She
shook her head.

"Right.
While everybody else is asleep, and resting, I'm out here working.
Making myself better. It's early in the morning, and I've already
done more than many people will do all day long."

I
asked her if she understood, and she said she did, but I wasn't
sure. I was hoping that this would be a lesson I could reinforce
over time.

The
next morning, I arose to find my little girl had been up for
quite a while already. She was dressed, bed made, room cleaned,
and reading a book about animals.

"Why
are you up so early?" I asked her, not even thinking about
our exchange the day before.

"Because
while you were in there sleeping," she said, "I was
out here getting smarter," and she tapped her book.

That's
my girl. ;-)

As
fighters, it can be tough to find the motivation to keep fighting,
keep training, and keep pushing. The pros are getting so good
these days, that it might seem like you'll never get there. Hell,
even to watch something like The Ultimate Fighter on Spike can
be humbling. These are some of the best guys out there not yet
fighting in the UFC, and even some of them have a long way to
go before they can have real success in the UFC. Take a look
at the difference between a guy like former UFC light heavyweight
champion Forrest Griffin as a fighter now and how he was on the
first season of TUF.

HUGE
difference.

If
a guy like that has progressed that much, how far do *you* have
to go?

A
long freakin' way.

But,
you can get there from here. You just have to put the time in.
Don't slack. Work hard. Be diligent.

When
everybody else is taking time off, that's when you work. When
everybody else is drinking and partying, you keep your diet right.
When everybody else is watching fights, you're in the gym training.

THAT
is how you get better.

So...
with that said... what have you done to make yourself a better
fighter today?

Train
Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.

Source:
MMA Weekly

Dan
Henderson's Camp Says No Deal With Strikeforce Is Imminent

Dan Henderson is currently an MMA free agent considering all
his options, but his camp says he is not close to signing a deal
with Strikeforce or any other promotion after his negotiations
with the UFC stalled.

Responding
to a Yahoo Sports report that Henderson is "on the verge
of signing" with Strikeforce, Henderson's friend and business
partner Aaron Crecy said that wasn't the case, and that no signing
with anyone is imminent.

"We
had a brief get-to-know-you session with (Strikeforce) and met
them for coffee, but to say he's close to signing would be a
gross misrepresentation," Crecy said.

When
reached by FanHouse, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said, "We've
had dialogue with Dan but that's all I'd like to say."

Crecy
said that Henderson wants to take his time and make sure he's
making the right decision before he signs with anyone. He said
Henderson has a hunting trip planned and would not make any decisions
about his future before that. Henderson plans to attend the November
7 Strikeforce show in the Chicago area, but only as a guest who
wants to see how the organization is run, and not as the promotion's
newest fighter.

Henderson,
who's coming off a knockout win over Michael Bisping at UFC 100,
is widely regarded as one of the best fighters in the world at
both 185 pounds and 205 pounds, and he held the Pride championships
in both of those weight classes. Strikeforce doesn't have nearly
the roster depth that the UFC has, but it could put him in the
cage with several good opponents in either of those weight classes:
Jake Shields, Jason Mayhem Miller, Cung Le, Nick Diaz, Robbie
Lawler, Gegard Mousasi and Sokoudjou would all be potential opponents
for Henderson.

Still,
the fight Henderson really wants is a rematch with UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva, and that's why Crecy stressed that Henderson
is in no way closing the door on getting back into the Octagon.

"Until
something is signed," Crecy said. "Nothing is ever
over."

Source:
MMA Fighting

Efrain
Escudero-Nik Lentz Targeted for UFC Fight Night 20

A lightweight bout between Efrain Escudero and Nik Lentz is in
the works for the upcoming UFC Fight Night 20 show in Fairfax,
Va.

The
organization has yet to announce the event, but MMA Junkie reported
on Thursday that the UFC is targeting a date in mid-January as
its debut in the Virginia area. No bouts have been made official
for the card just yet.

Bout
agreements have not been signed for the Escudero-Lentz fight,
but FanHouse has learned from sources close to the fight that
it has been verbally agreed to.

Escudero,
the lightweight winner on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter
is 2-0 in his UFC career, defeating Phillipe Nover in the TUF
Finale last December and Cole Miller at UFC 103 last month.

Lentz
made his Octagon debut at UFC 103, defeating Rafaello Oliveira
via unanimous decision. The MMA veteran has won his last seven
fights in a row.

Source:
MMA Fighting

Josh
Burkman Set to Return on Nov. 20

Former UFC welterweight Josh Burkman will fight for the first
time in nearly 13 months when he headlines a local "Throwdown
Showdown" card on Nov. 20 in Orem, Utah.

FanHouse
confirmed with the promoter earlier this week that Burkman (18-8)
has signed to face another former UFC competitor, The Ultimate
Fighter 5's Brandon Melendez (22-14) in a catchweight bout at
180 pounds.

Beginning
as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 2, Burkman went on to
compete at 10 straight UFC events from November 2005 until October
2008, when he left on three straight losses to Mike Swick, Dustin
Hazelett and Pete Sell. Despite the losing streak, Burkman maintains
a .500 record inside the Octagon.

After
the release, Burkman, 29, was intent on taking at least a year
off to rehabilitate a back and neck injury that had played a
part in his loss to Sell.

Burkman
now trains at the Throwdown Elite Training Center in Utah and
is hoping for a return to the UFC Octagon with a win over Melendez.

Source:
MMA Fighting

10/21/09

Quote
of the Day

"Success
is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

Albert
Schweitzer

Q&A
with UFC president Dana White

Irrepressible
UFC president Dana White paid a visit to Yahoo! Sports recently
and sat down for a talk on a wide range of subjects, from his
opinion on Kimbo Slice to whether he wants his children to become
fighters to which WEC fight he most wants to see. Here’s
a transcript of the conversation:

Dave
Doyle: We heard your video blog was coming back.

Dana
White: I’m the Brett Favre of video blogging. I don’t
know who’s retired and come back more times, me or him.

I
live a pretty crazy lifestyle. You tuned into my video blogs
and there’s jets and there’s cars and I’m making
big-money bets with guys and [expletive] around with my friends
and having fun.

Everyone
loved the video blogs, but some people started writing letters
like, “I’m about to lose my home.” I got letters
like “Me and my daughters are going out on the street, and
you’re betting more money on who can last on a treadmill
for five minutes than I’ll make in two months.” It’s
kind of like, “Whoa,” like a slap to me and slaps me
back to reality, that people are hurting out there. It really
messed me up for awhile. Three years ago, my video blogs would
have been fun because everyone was making money and everything
was great, the unemployment rate was down.

DD:
So why did you bring it back?

DW:
Everyone has been messaging me, everyone wants me to bring the
video blogs back, from fans to [UFC co-owner] Lorenzo [Fertitta],
these things pull a quarter-million hits just on YouTube. My
video blog rates higher than most television shows do.

I’m
just going to be more conscious of what goes up there. I’m
not trying to run around and flaunt my life, “Oh, look at
this and look at that,” I just want it to be fun.

The
reality is, behind the scenes (footage) isn’t all that exciting.
I’m not going around 24 hours a day shooting craps on the
corner with guys. I’m sitting in my car going to the next
[expletive] interview. How much of that can you watch?

There
were times when you’d look on my blogs and there would be
comments, “Hey douchebag, put the fighters on here instead
of you.” At the end of the day, I’m a fight promoter.
My job is to go out, make it interesting and entertaining for
the people, do anything I can to promote the fight. People got
into the blog and there was this awareness that I was going out
and doing all the stuff for the fight on Saturday. But for Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, it’s not like all [expletive] excitement
and I’m doing [expletive] that you want to watch on YouTube.

DD:
You talked a lot of trash about Kimbo Slice. How has your perception
of him changed?

DW:
Here’s the thing: Everything that I said about Kimbo Slice
back then was absolutely true. I don’t take one word of
that back. The difference is, I said, “The only way he ever
gets into the UFC is if he goes through ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’”
I respect the fact that he stepped up and did it, because there’s
a lot of freak-show stuff out there that he could have done for
better money. And it shows me that he really wants to give it
a shot.

Kimbo
Slice the man, you watch the YouTube videos of this guy in backyards,
and they start fighting and you think this guy’s a thug.
You think he’s a bad guy, you have this perception of him
and then you meet him, it isn’t true. It’s the exact
opposite. He’s a really good guy. In the negotiations for
“The Ultimate Fighter,” not once ever did he say, “Man,
you talked some [expletive] about me.” He was all business.

DD:
Do you ever take a day off, just shut off the phone?

DW:
Never. The phone’s never shut off. There’s never a
day you don’t work. Just doesn’t happen. Every day,
when I get out of bed in the morning and my big toe hits the
floor. There’s one thing that’s guaranteed: bad [expletive]
is going to happen. It doesn’t matter if it’s Saturday,
Sunday, Christmas, Chanukah or [expletive] Easter, bad [expletive]
could happen, man. That’s the one guarantee I have in my
life.

DD:
Do your kids understand that what dad does for a living is different
from most fathers?

DW:
Our boys are 7 and 8. When we go to the mall, the kids are always
like, “Dad, people always want to take pictures of you.”
They love the UFC. They get it. My family is really cool with
dealing with it. My wife, we’ll be sitting there at a movie
or whatever, you’re trying to do normal [expletive], you’re
always interrupted, whether it’s people coming up to you
or a phone call you gotta take.

DD:
Are the kids training in martial arts yet?

DW:
My kids have been training since they were 3. They started with
boxing because that’s the easiest thing to grasp. They’re
in Muay Thai now. I won’t put them into jiu-jitsu until
they’re 12 years old. I’m already the John McCarthy
of my house. There’s already fighting going on there. I
don’t need them putting submissions on each other at age
8.

DD:
What if they turned 18 and told you they wanted to be fighters?

DW:
Here’s the thing: I’m in the business, so it’s
not what I would love to see my kids do. But the reality is,
every job sucks, every job has ups and downs. My thing with my
kids is, I want my kids to do something they absolutely love
to do. I swear to God, if my kids, when they’re 18, if they
come to me and say, “Dad, I love pumping gas. I love getting
up in the morning, I love grabbing the handle, I love the smell
of the gas station,” I’d say, “Go for it,”
because if you love it that much at 18, he’s probably going
to end up owning 25 gas stations by the time he’s 30. Anything
you love to do that much, you’re going to be successful
at. And at the end of the day, it’s all about being happy.

I’m
lucky to be in the position I’m in right now. I’m doing
what I want to do. I tried to go to college, I barely got out
of high school. I went to college, and what I saw was all these
kids sitting around that were told they had to go to college.
Talk to a kid and say, “What’s your major?” (They’ll
answer) “My major’s political science right now, but
I’m probably going to finance” – they change major
[expletive] 17 times because they have no clue what to do. So
they walk out with a degree and go, “What am I going to
do with this [expletive] thing?” They don’t know what
they want. You got all these people who sit in traffic every
day and drive to a job where they’re miserable with what
they’re doing. For me, it’s all about doing what you
love to do and being happy.

DD:
Other than marketability, why did you gamble on Brock Lesnar
when he had only one career fight?

DW:
We sat down and talked. He came to an event, his people said,
“We’d like to talk to you tonight.” So we went
into a back room, started talking and he says, “I want to
fight in the UFC.” I said, “Dude, you’re 1-0.
This isn’t the place to learn how to fight. You fight in
the smaller leagues and you work your way up.” He said,
“I just fought in a smaller league (K-1’s 2007 card
in Los Angeles). He said, “It was the worst experience of
my life. Those people had no clue what they’re doing, it
was amateur. I want to be with you guys.”

The
only reason I said yes was because of the athlete he is. He was
one of the best college wrestlers in the country, he was a great
athlete doing the WWE [expletive] he did and he almost made the
Minnesota Vikings – they cut him because of his age, he
was the last guy they cut. A guy who is that good of an athlete,
and he has the star power that he had coming in behind him, I
took a shot. You don’t see me do that too often.

DD:
As a fight fan, is there any fight in the WEC that you personally
want to see?

DW:
I like that kid Brian Bowles. He knocked out Miguel Torres. Wow.
That was impressive. How about if Brian Bowles fought Mike Brown?
That’s an interesting fight.

DD:
Would the WEC fighters lose something if you moved them from
the smaller WEC cage to the bigger UFC Octagon?

DW:
Actually, we’ve been talking about making the Octagon smaller.
We’re considering making it smaller. [UFC matchmaker] Joe
Silva wants it. I think he wants to turn the thing into a [expletive]
bathtub. Have them fight in a little tollbooth.

Question
from reader Eric of Beverly Hills, Calif: If you could fight
one non-MMA personality, who would it be and why?

I
don’t want to [expletive] fight anybody. If I could bring
somebody in and get their ass kicked, who would it be? Let me
think about that one. I would bring in the executives from Showtime.
Those pompous, arrogant jackasses. OK, quote me word for word.
Bring in those pompous, arrogant jackasses from Showtime, and
they can come in, and I’d bring in, who’s our smallest
fighter we have? Bring in a 100-pound fighter and kick the [expletive]
out of all of those dorks.

DD:
Has anything changed between you and Quinton Jackson?

DW:
Nothing’s changed, but he’ll be back. He’ll fight.
“Rampage” is mad right now, he’ll do his movie
things, but we’ll figure it out. He knows this is where
his money is.

DD:
Who is going to win the World Series?

DW:
Oh man, baseball. You know I’m a Red Sox fan. I’m half
a Phillies fan, too, because of (Fertitta family friend) Shane Victorino. While my heart is
obviously with the Red Sox, I’d love to see Shane Victorino
win another World Series.

Source:
Yahoo Sports

MAURICIO
"SHOGUN" RUA'S UFC LEARNING CURVE

When Mauricio “Shogun” Rua made his Ultimate Fighting
Championship debut against Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 in September
of 2007, he was the number one ranked light heavyweight in the
world. He was submitted by Griffin that night, late in the fight,
but has gone on to defeat Mark Coleman and former UFC light heavyweight
titleholder Chuck Liddell since his UFC unwelcoming party.

Coming
into the UFC as the top ranked 205-pounder and the 2005 Pride
Middleweight Grand Prix Champion, Rua had to adapt to the different
round system, rules, and fighting environment. Heading into UFC
104 against light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, Shogun
feels he’s fully adjusted.

Having
fought for Pride USA twice, Shogun was accustomed to the unified
rules used in the United States before making his UFC debut.
His biggest obstacle to overcome was the difference between competing
in a ring and the transition to competing in an octagonal cage.

“My
biggest challenge and the biggest difference I felt coming to
the UFC was the Octagon itself, the size and space it had to
fight in,” Shogun told MMAWeekly.com. “It’s a
completely different game. It’s almost like playing in the
NFL and playing arena football. It’s a totally different
space. That was my biggest challenge.”

It
was difficult for the Brazilian to adapt and find his timing
working inside the Octagon and had to overcome a long layoff
due to a knee injury.

“I
was lacking rhythm because I was sidelined for a long time,”
said 27-year-old fighter. “Now I’m in rhythm again.
I’ve been training a lot and I’m much more adapted
to the space because I have an official sized cage in my academy
where I train.”

Shogun
believes his learning curve is over and feels he’s back
to top form. “I feel better prepared now and much more acquainted
now to the UFC and it’s environment, and I’m at championship
contention level again.”

Source:
MMA Weekly

WANDERLEI
CONFIRMS AKIYAMA BOUT IN AUSTRALIA

Wanderlei Silva, in a video posted to his official YouTube channel
on Thursday night, confirmed his next fight would be at the Ultimate
Fighting Championship’s debut in Australia.

He
will face Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 110 when the promotion lands
at the Acer Arena in Sydney. Akiyama first mentioned the bout
at a recent press conference in Japan touting the UFC’s
new “Undisputed” video game.

“I
am so happy because it is the first event there,” said Silva
with a huge smile across his face. “This is a great honor
for me because I fight in the main event in Cologne, Germany,
in the first event there, and I’m gonna fight in the first
event in Australia.”

Silva
(32-10-1) hasn’t fought since Germany in June, where he
lost a unanimous decision in a 195-pound catchweight to Rich
Franklin. Accruing a 1-3 record since joining the ranks of the
UFC, the bout with Akiyama will be Silva’s first at 185
pounds, a move that will put him on a more level playing field
with his opposition.

Considered
one of the Top 10 fighters in the middleweight division, Akiyama
(13-1; 2 no contests) will be making his second appearance for
the UFC. He debuted in the Octagon at UFC 100 with a split decision
win over Alan Belcher.

Source:
MMA Weekly

YVEL
GRANTED LICENSE IN NEVADA; UFC NEXT STOP?

LAS VEGAS – Dutch heavyweight Gilbert Yvel has been given
another chance to fight in Nevada. After a face-to-face meeting
Friday with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, he was given
a one-fight license to compete in the Silver State.

During
the meeting, he addressed concerns about his controversial past
and made assurances he would behave honorably in competition.

Yvel
was denied a license to fight Sergei Kharitonov for Pride 33
in February 2007 due to several well-publicized incidents involving
disqualification and misconduct towards a referee.

Speaking
exclusively to MMAWeekly.com afterwards, Yvel said today’s
decision was the beginning of a new career.

“It’s
a relief,” he said. “I’m happy that they gave
me a chance and I got treated like all the fighters.”

Yvel’s
manager/trainer, John Lewis, said the news could open the door
for a fight in the UFC, though he offered no timetable for an
appearance.

Source:
MMA Weekly

DEMIAN
MAIA VS DAN MILLER ON TAP FOR UFC 109

A fight between UFC middleweight standouts Demian Maia and Dan
Miller is in the works for UFC 109 on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas. Sources
close to the bout told MMAWeekly.com on Friday that the fight
has been verbally agreed to.

Maia
(11-1) was on the fast track to a title shot against fellow Brazilian
Anderson Silva, racking up 11 straight victories to start his
professional career. That was before he ran smack into the fist
of Nate Marquardt at UFC 102 in August, suffering his first defeat.
With a record of 5-1 in the Octagon, it won’t take long
for Maia to get back on track if he can string some more wins
together.

Miller
maintains a similar resume of 11-2 overall with a 3-1 record
in the Octagon. He is coming off of a loss to former WEC title
contender Chael Sonnen at UFC 98, his first defeat under the
Ultimate Fighting Championship banner. Miller is a former International
Fight League (IFL) middleweight champion.

Few
details have emerged for UFC 109 other than the previously mentioned
date and location. Other participants rumored for the card are
Matt Serra and Matt Hughes, albeit in separate bouts.

(UPDATE
/ 9:15 p.m. PT, Oct. 16, 2009 – The number of the Feb. 6
event corrected to UFC 109.)

Source:
MMA Weekly

CAN
CBS BRING FEDOR TO THE MASSES?

The new CBS commercial featuring Fedor Emelianenko drew a mixed
reaction from the MMA faithful this week – a slick product,
yes, but late in the game.

The
33-year-old Emelianenko, who faces heavyweight hopeful Brett
Rogers Nov. 7 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers on CBS, has been
the people’s champion for legions of fans who live and breathe
the sport.

Most
of them, however, know that those outside their circle will spell
success or failure for the network event.

CBS
had some of both when they promoted three MMA cards last year
under the banner of the now-defunct EliteXC. The first and last
events, bolstered by Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano, were unqualified
ratings triumphs. The second, void of fighters with crossover
appeal, drew poorly.

Advertising
for the Strikeforce event began a little over a month ago, leading
many to question the network’s commitment to the promotion,
and by proxy, the sport.

CBS
Senior Executive Vice President Kelly Kahl said his network will
put its best foot forward in the buildup to Nov. 7, but asked
the faithful to help CBS hit a home run.

“MMA
fans seem to seek a greater acceptance, and nothing helps better
than calling your friends and saying ‘you’ve got to
check this out,’” he said.

The
network ran several 10-second spots for the event during the
past two weekends of NFL coverage, the first salvo in what Kahl
said was the start of a comprehensive campaign. He said the network
was assembling footage for new promotional spots and said the
volume – and scope – of advertising would be increasing
shortly, expanding to cable, radio, and the web.

The
NFL ads, he said, were “pretty valuable.”

“We
do this for most of our shows,” he said. “You tease
a little, and add information and length and frequency as you
get closer to the event.”

Kahl
said future spots would delve deeper into Emelianenko’s
legend, and others featuring Rogers and co-headliners Jason “Mayhem”
Miller and Jake Shields would air as well.

MMAWeekly.com
sources said an in-depth preview show similar to Showtime’s
“Fight Camp 360” was also in the works for the Nov.
7 event.

Only
so much of Emelianenko’s fighting life is in reach. UFC
owners Zuffa, LLC own Emelianenko’s footage from the now-defunct
PRIDE, the promotion that made his legend. Strikeforce Director
of Communications Mike Afromowitz said Emelianenko’s footage
from the shuttered Affliction would be utilized for future spots.

Kahl
was aware that many fans were impatient with the advertising
campaign and said it was a byproduct of CBS’ regular broadcast
schedule.

“That’s
really the bread and butter of our business,” he said. “I
hope to heck that we can get MMA to where it’s a huge drawing
card for CBS, but we’re not quite at that point yet.”

Nevertheless,
Kahl said CBS’ advertising sales department was doing “terrific”
for the Nov. 7 telecast, scheduled for 9 p.m. EST.

The
question now is whether Emelianenko’s rabid fan base qualifies
as crossover appeal, and if not, how the network can create enough
interest to draw viewers.

As
a pay-per-view draw, Emelianenko has never been a star, but stateside,
he has never had the marketing muscle of a television network
behind him.

Kahl
pointed to Kimbo Slice as an example of a star brightened by
the CBS eye. Could Emelianenko be the next?

“Even
if you’re not a hardcore mixed martial arts fan, you’re
still going to get a lot of excitement watching (Emelianenko)
do his thing in the cage,” said Kahl. “It’s a
big task, but we’re up to it.”

Source:
MMA Weekly

UFC'S
FRIDAY FIGHT FEST

When
it rains, it pours... and Friday is no different. With Ultimate
Fighting Championship events already lining up through February
of 2010, a number of potential bouts are coming to light.

Chief
among the bouts that came to light are Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1)
vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1) on Feb. 21 in Australia and Demian
Maia (11-1) vs. Dan Miller (11-2) on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas.

But
that’s just the beginning. On Jan. 2, at UFC 108, is a bout
pitting top lightweight challengers Tyson Griffin (14-2) and
Jim Miller (15-2), Dan’s brother, against one another. First
reported by MMAJunkie.com, sources indicate this one is not a
done deal yet, but is in the works.

Mike
Guymon (10-2-1) and Rory MacDonald (9-0) were confirmed earlier
in the week to face each other at the UFC Fight Night 20 event,
which takes the promotion to Virginia. Other bouts for the Jan.
11 fight card include Efrain Escudero (12-0) vs. Nik Lentz (17-3-1),
first reported by MMAFanhouse.com, and Aaron Simpson (6-0) vs.
Tom Lawlor (6-1), according to MixedMartialArts.com.

Source:
MMA Weekly

JOSH
KOSCHECK VS. MIKE PIERCE AT FIGHT NIGHT 20

A welterweight match-up between Josh Koscheck and Mike Pierce
is planned for UFC Fight Night 20 on Jan. 11 in Northern Virginia.

Sources
close to the fight say bout agreements have yet to be signed,
although verbal agreements are in place. Koscheck confirmed the
fight on his official Twitter account Friday afternoon.

Word
of the Fight Night card first broke on Thursday when the Virginia
Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation confirmed
the UFC's request of the January date, though the office could
not confirm the event or its location.

Koscheck
(17-4) has met mixed success in 2009, having recently defeated
Frank Trigg by TKO at UFC 103 and lost by KO to Paulo Thiago
at UFC 95. Still, the original "Ultimate Fighter" alum
has made a home in the upper tier of the 170-pound division,
with a 12-4 record inside the Octagon.

Pierce
(10-1) recently made a splash in his UFC debut, defeating former
WEC contender Brock Larson by unanimous decision at UFC Fight
Night 19.

Source:
MMA Weekly

HENDERSON
STILL OPEN TO UFC, BUT READY TO GO

Dan Henderson hasn’t closed any doors yet with the UFC,
but he’s ready to move on if necessary.

Henderson,
39, fought the last fight of his latest contract at UFC 100,
knocking out fellow “The Ultimate Fighter” coach Michael
Bisping in the second round.

A
Friday report from Yahoo! Sports said that UFC president Dana
White has been unable to come to terms on a new contract with
Henderson, all but confirming an exit for the former two-division
Pride champion.

Henderson
on Friday laughed at news he’s been shown the door by the
UFC.

“I’m
still hoping to come to terms with the UFC, until I heard this,”
he said. “And I will be exploring other options for sure,
but I definitely need to make sure I get paid.”

Henderson
acknowledged a stalemate with the promotion since he became a
free agent in early August. In late September, he met with White
and UFC co-owner and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta in Las Vegas, but remained
at a distance on the numbers needed to secure his future services.

Henderson,
however, said he hasn’t made a final decision to leave the
UFC and is still open to negotiations. His agent had talked with
the promotion as recently as this week.

The
former Olympic wrestler made his Octagon debut at UFC 17 and
fought overseas for much of his career before returning at UFC
75 after the promotion’s parent company, Zuffa LLC, purchased
Pride in February 2007. He went 3-2 in his recent stint.

Henderson
denied claims that he has been shopping his services to rival
promotion Strikeforce, though he had an informal coffee meeting
with Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker last weekend.

“I’ve
never even seen an offer from them,” he said.

Next
week, Henderson plans to hunt in New Mexico and Utah and assess
the situation when he returns. He remains firm on his terms for
a deal with the UFC.

“UFC’s
got a business to run and I’m not doing charity work with
this,” he said. “I don’t believe that I’m
asking for too much money, and I know for a fact that I’m
taking less money than other fighters.”

On
Nov. 7, Henderson will corner Team Quest teammate Rameau Thierry
Sokoudjou at Strikeforce’s CBS debut. Aaron Crecy, Henderson’s
business partner, said the show would give them a chance to scout
out the promotion, and it was possible that a deal might be reached
down the line.

Still,
both asserted that nothing was set in stone, and Henderson wasn’t
worried about the situation.

“I’m
sure that I’ll find a job somewhere,” he said.

Source:
MMA Weekly

URIJAH
FABER BREAKS DOWN BROWN VS. ALDO

Former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight titleholder "The
California Kid," Urijah Faber, will be watching the WEC
44 main event between current champion Mike Thomas Brown and
challenger Jose Aldo with a keen eye.

Having
lost the belt to Brown at WEC 36 in November 2008 and giving
up a unanimous decision in a rematch, Faber knows Brown well.

"As
far as being well-rounded, I think Mike Brown's the more well-rounded
fighter," Faber told MMAWeekly.com. "He's definitely
the bigger and the stronger."

Sizing
up Aldo, Faber commented, "Jose Aldo has a natural talent
for striking that puts him above a lot of the guys in the WEC.
I would say as far as the striking goes and being dangerous with
kicks and punches, I've got to give the edge to Jose Aldo.

"Both
guys are mentally tough," added the former champion. "Speed
is going to be a factor, but wrestling is always going to be
a factor also. I think it could go either way. It's going to
be speed versus power and experience. It's going to be a great
fight. I'm looking forward to that."

Mike
Brown puts his WEC featherweight title on the line against Jose
Aldo on Nov. 18 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Source:
MMA Weekly

TYSON
GRIFFIN VS. JIM MILLER SET FOR UFC 108

A
rumored bout between Tyson Griffin and Jim Miller is a step away
from finalization. MMAWeekly.com sources indicate the fight has
been verbally agreed to and bout agreements are awaiting signatures.

The
fight, first reported by MMAJunkie.com, will grace the undercard
at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas. The UFC is trying to put a
headline title bout together between current middleweight champion
Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort for the event at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena, as well as a light heavyweight bout between Top
10 fighters Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva.

Griffin
(14-2) has steadily worked his way towards a UFC lightweight
title shot amassing a record of 7-2 in the Octagon. His most
recent slip was an arguable unanimous decision loss to Sean Sherk
at UFC 90 in October 2008. He has since put together back-to-back
wins over Rafael dos Anjos and Hermes Franca this year.

Miller
(15-2) is 4-1 since joining the UFC lightweight ranks, losing
only to an undefeated Gray Maynard at UFC 96 in March. He also
won his next two bouts, defeating Ultimate Fighter Season Six
winner Mac Danzig at UFC 100 and Steve Lopez at UFC 103.

Source:
MMA Weekly

WEC
STAYING HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

World Extreme Cagefighting suffered a bit of a setback when it
had to push its September event back a month, although the delay
allowed WEC to land in another new market in San Antonio, Texas.
The promotion is turning right around a month later, putting
on an explosive featherweight title bout between champion Mike
Brown and Jose Aldo at The Palms, a new venue for the UFC’s
sister promotion, in Las Vegas on Nov. 18.

MMAWeekly.com
has learned from sources close to the promotion that WEC will
keep the momentum going with a Christmas present for Las Vegas
mixed martial arts crowd, a return to The Palms on Dec. 19 for
WEC 45.

The
only participant confirmed at this time is Bart Palaszewski,
who will make his fourth start for the promotion. A near 10-year
veteran of MMA, the Polish fighter has struggled to establish
himself in the WEC’s growing lightweight division. He has
gone 1-2 in fights for the promotion. Palaszewski has been training
hard with coach Jeff Curran, knowing he needs a win to keep his
spot on the roster.

The
WEC has quickly become thee home for lighter weight fighters
in MMA, steadily bulking up its roster with new signees. The
promotion is currently negotiating with several more top fighters,
some of which could debut as soon as December.

It’s
unclear, though, who will headline WEC 45. Healing some bumps
and bruises from the San Antonio event, current No. 1 lightweight
contender and interim champion Ben Henderson isn’t going
to be ready to challenge current titleholder Jamie Varner yet,
Brown is defending in November, the ever-popular Urijah Faber
isn’t anticipating a return from injury until January, and
former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres has business commitments
that are likely to keep him from a December bout.

The
most likely candidate to main event WEC 45 appears to be a title
defense for current 135-pound champion Brian Bowles (8-0). He
took the title from Torres in August at WEC 42. Dominick Cruz
(14-1) defeated top contender Joseph Benavidez on that same card,
placing him as one of the top contenders to the new champ. Don’t
be surprised if that fight materializes on the December card.

Source:
MMA Weekly

Cacareco
wins and eyes UFC

Sergio Moraes knocked out at Jungle Fight

With
a number of knockouts, submissions and surprises, another installment
of Jungle Fight took place this Saturday in the Rio de Janeiro’s
Maracanazinho gymnasium. Among those to stand out, Alexandre
Cacareco won his second fight in a row and is looking for a move
to the UFC. Another was Brett Cooper, who knocked out Jiu-Jitsu
world champion Sergio Moraes.

UFC
bound

Coming
off a 16-second win at Jungle 14, Alexandre Cacareco kept up
his winning ways with another quick win at this latest event
organized by Wallid Ismail. After a scare early on, when he was
knockdown by Argentine Walter Mazurkievicz in the opening exchange,
Cacareco recovered quickly with a takedown. On top, he sunk a
kimura hold and insisted until his opponent desisted, after just
over one minute of combat. Coach Rudimar Fedrigo will only feel
greater joy once Cacareco finally signs with the UFC, which he
says is all but set in stone.

Party
pooper

Sergio
Moraes started out well in the evening’s main event against
Brett Cooper. In the opening round the Jiu-Jitsu world champion
got the takedown, passed guard and mounted and attempted finishes
from the front and back repeatedly, with attempted armbars and
chokes. In the second stanza the Brazilian found it harder to
take the fight to the ground, with Cooper, a former IFL fighter
who moved on to now-defunct Affliction, showing savvy takedown
defense. The American began to get the better of the standup
exchanges and, just as the bell ending the second round sounded,
he landed an upper cut that dropped Moraes unconscious to the
ground.

Other
bouts

Vanessa Porto demonstrated superiority over rookie Roberta Torno.
She got the takedown right off the bat, passed guard, mounted
and finished with an armbar. The other surprise of the night
was Jeronimo Mondragon’s knockout of Assuerio Silva. Mondragon
looked to strike with Assuerio seeing red right from the opening
bell, connecting with solid strikes and dropped the veteran.
On the ground he followed up landing further strikes from within
Silva’s guard. The injured Assuerio did make a convincing
attempt at finishing with an armbar from the bottom but it was
fended off, before Mondragon pounded on him before the referee
brought the bout to a close. Against Francisco Chagas, Johnny
Eduardo saw victory for the ninth time in a row. Johnny got the
better of the standing exchanges, but it was a kick from Francisco
that ended up breaking his own shin and ending the action, in
a shocking scene.

Junior
Killer and Henrique Negao had a lukewarm encounter. Junior managed
more takedowns and worked from the top, earning him a unanimous
decision. In the first bout of the night, Gil Freitas lived up
to his reputation of having heavy hands. Following up after a
straight jab that dropped Pedro Manuel, Freitas pounded out his
opponent until the referee stepped in. There was also an all
striking affair that would decide the Brazilian kickboxing champion,
between Washington Santos and Fernando Nonato that Nonato won
by unanimous decision.

Check
out the results:

-
Brett Cooper knocked Sérgio Moraes out in R2

- Alexandre Cacareco submitted Walter Mazurkievicz with a kimura
in 1st R

- Vanessa Porto submitted Roberta Torno by armbar in 1st r

- Jerônimo Mondragon defeated Assuério Silva by
TKO in R1

- Jhonny Eduardo defeated Francisco “Diabo San” Chagas
by TKO (injury) in R1

- Junior Killer defeated Henrique Negão by unanimous decision

- Gil Freitas knocked out Pedro Manuel in R1

kickboxing

- Washington Luis Santos “Wasshinthai” defeated Fernando
Nonato by unanimous decision

Source:
Gracie Magazine

Wagnney
Fabiano

With
ten years of career dedicated to MMA, Wagney Fabiano is considered
one of the biggest names of the division. Anyway, the BJJ black
belt was surprised on his last fight, being submitted by Mackens
Semerzier. “He got me on the triangle and I don’t know
when was the last time that someone got me on that position in
Jiu-Jitsu and Sumission’s career, even in trainings“,
the Nova União fighter commented. In the exclusive interview,
Wagnney talked about the plans for the future, the life in Canada
and revealed that fight is not priority in his life anymore.

What
do you think was your mistake on this fight?

My
mistake was to fight... I was passing by problems, I didn’t
want to say to don’t keep giving excuses, my mistake. He
got me on the triangle and I don’t know when was the last
time that someone got me on that position in Jiu-Jitsu and Sumission’s
career, even in training. Nobody ever caught me on this position
because I stand up fast. Because of a little injury, my rib cracked
when I was going to stand up and I came back. My mistake was
to fight, but he did his work and I congratulate him.

Even
unconsciously, did you underestimate him because he has only
three fights?

I
never think like this, I don’t underestimate anyone. I remember
when I had three fights I was a really tough, but that’s
the way things are. But he had six fights, and that was his seventh.

What
will you do now?

I’ve
never got so much hurt like this time, it was hard. For you have
an idea, I wasn’t going to fight in September because I
had no conditions, I had a serious injury on the knee and ten
days before the fight my rib cracked. About my next fight, I
might do at bantamweight division, well see. If they want me
to stay at featherweight, there’s no problem for me too.
I have two more fights on the contract, now they’re taking
all the athletes to Las Vegas, there’s gonna be a meeting
with everybody, and suddenly, we’ll have some surprise from
there. They said they’ll talk about the athletes and the
event’s future, they may want to take some athletes to the
UFC, I don’t know. We don’t know anything until November
1. They talked to me that, when I’m better, they want to
put me to fight again, they want me back as soon as possible.

Your
plan is move to bantamweight?

Nowadays,
yes, because Junior (José Aldo) will fight for the belt,
he’s making some noise now, so they can’t promote two
guys that won’t face each other, because of that they got
Junior and putted me on the under card, and this is prejudicial
to me, I have no sponsorship... I think it’s better to go
down, because I think Junior will win. That kid is a phenomenon.

How
do you think it’s gonna be his fight with Mike Brown?

I
think this fight won’t go to the fifth round, I think Junior
will knock him out before that. Besides Brown’s a tough
guy, very good and have the strength to knock anyone out, I think
his game doesn’t match with Junior’s. If he stands
up, he’ll be punched. If he tried to put down, he won’t
gonna make it... It’s gonna be a big fight.

What
are you doing in Canada? Relaxing?

Relaxing?
(laugh). I’m living here. Life in Brazil is too much complicated,
we don’t win millions (of dollars) with WEC (laugh). So,
it’s hard, we have no way to make money, we have bills to
pay, the training are pretty expensive. Unfortunately, I had
to come to keep my life here. I’m giving private classes,
seminaries, studying, making some tests to have a career here...
Life goes on.

What
are your plans now?

I
have two things in my mind that I’m studying to be. The
first one is to be a fireman, the second is to go to Police...
They opened a lot of opportunities here in Canada, so I’m
studying and focusing on that stuff. I won’t be a fighter
for the rest of my life.

Are
you thinking about retirement now?

Honestly,
that’s the main thing to me now, I want to stabilize my
life on that way, get a job and a career. Something that this
last fight made me think a lot... I was passing thru an bad financial
situation, three weeks before the fight I hurt my knee and I
couldn’t fight on September 2. my manager called them warning
that and I stop to think. It’s hard, I have family, wife
and kids, that’s complicated. We don’t make millions
on WEC, we have debts and responsibilities. I was thinking that
I can’t live like this. That’s when this thought came,
to get a job, some career that I can have MMA as a hobby, not
as a profession. It’s less pressure, I know my family will
be good, that would be an extra money, won’t be something
to pay the bills, like nowadays. I’ll make some tests and,
if God wants, everything is gonna be alright.

Source:
Tatame

Fighters'
Club TV Tuesdays!

Channel
52

NEW TIME of 8:00 PM!

Aloha
State Championships of BJJ

12/5/09

Kaiser High School Gym

Upcoming
Boxing Event!

Palolo
District Park Gym

November 1, 2009

Fights start at 2 PM

We're having a amateur boxing match event on Sunday, Nov. 1st
at 2 p.m. If anyone has any athletes they would like to put in,
please let me know. I'll try and match the by age, experience,
and weight.

They could email me by clicking here.

Thanks!

Bruce Kawano

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