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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2010
November
Aloha
State BJJ
Championships: Final Conflict
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
10/15-17/10
ETERNAL SUBMISSIONS: 1st Annual BJJ GI/NO-GI tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Kauai)
August
Hawaiian
Open Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
6/26/10
Kauai Cage Match 9
(MMA)
(Kilohana, Gaylords Mansion, Kauai)
6/11-13/10
MMA Hawaii Expo
(Blaisdell Ballroom)
6/11-12/10
3rd
Annual Pacific Submission Championships
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/11/10
Legacy Combat 1
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Ballroom)
6/4/10
X-1:
Nations Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/3-6/10
World
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach, Long Beach,
CA)
5/15/10
Scrappla Fest 2
Relson Gracie KTI Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kauai)
5/1/10
Galaxy MMA: Worlds Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/23/10
2010 Hawaii State/Regional Junior Olympic Boxing Championships
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
4/17/10
Hawaiian
Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser
H.S. Gym)
Strikeforce: Shields vs Henderson
(CBS)
4/16/10
808 Battleground
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
4/8-11/10
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(University California Irvine, Irvine, CA)
4/3/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Amateur Boxing Smoker
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
3/27/10
DESTINY: No Ka Oi 2: Oahu vs Maui
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
3/20/10
X-1: Champions 2
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/20/10
Hawaiian Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
3/14/10
Hawaiian Kimono Combat
(BJJ)
(PCHS Gym)
3/10/10
Sera's Kajukenbo Tournament
(Kumite, Katas, Grappling)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
3/6/10
Destiny Fast N Furious
(MMA)
(Level 4 RHSC)
2/19/10
808 Battleground
(MMA)
(Filcom, Waipahu)
2/6/10
UpNUp 6: Unstoppable
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
2/5/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
1/30/10
Destiny
(Level 4,
Royal HI Shopping Ctr)
(MMA)
Quest for Champions
(Pankration/Sub Grappling)
(Kalani HS)
1/23/10
Kauai Knockout Championship Total Domination
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Kauai War Memorial Convention Center, Lihue, Kauai)
1/17/10
X1: Showdown In Waipahu
(Boxing, Kickboxing, MMA)
(Waipahu H.S. Gym)
|
|
April
2010 News Part 3
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ Dean, & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
 |
Fighters'
Club TV
The Toughest Show
On Teleivision
Tuesdays
at 8:00PM
Olelo Channel 52 on Oahu
Also on Akaku on Maui
Check
out the FCTV website! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
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O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer a Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Stickfighting) who were directly trained under
the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
UC
Davis Wrestling Needs Your Help!
Onzuka.com
readers!
Please forward this
link to everyone you know. We need help to raise money to help
get Brandon's wrestling program reinstated. Please help support!
http://www.saveucdaviswrestling.com/Site_2/Home.html
OR......
Make checks payable to:
Save UC Davis Wrestling
2201 Francisco Drive, Suite 140-200
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
Please take a little time out of your busy schedules and email
the following people below to see if they can re-instate wrestling
at UC Davis. Two local boys Brandon Low and Michael Nakagawa
both attend UC Davis and are on the wrestling team and will be
immediately impacted by the shutdown of the program.
Dear Wrestling Supporters,
It
is with great regret that I write to inform you that UC Davis
Athletic Director Greg Warzecka has announced the discontinuation
of wrestling at UC Davis. This came as a shock to our student-athletes,
staff, and especially myself.
I
was told last fall that no matter what may come to be, football
and wrestling were safe at UC Davis. As a program, we have had
the second highest fund-raising numbers (behind football) the
last three years, (averaging $65,000/year), the highest alumni/donor
support, and one of the most profitable per contest gate of any
sports. Each of these criteria were suppose to be examined when
determining which programs to retain.
The
problem is both a monetary issue and a Title IX issue. Since
the official announcement, I have had numerous calls from people
that are adamant about combatting both ends. Financially, several
key UC Davis Wrestling supporters are already inquiring about
the dollar amount needed to reinstate the program. On the political
front, National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) President
Mike Moyer has already stated that the NWCA will not allow this
decision to stand. These are both encouraging thoughts, but alone
they will not be able to reverse the decision.
I
expect there to be quite a backlash from the California wrestling
community, as well as the national wrestling community, in the
weeks to come. If you would like your voice to be heard, please
take the time to mail, phone and e-mail the individuals listed
below. Thanks again for your ongoing support.
Coach
Zalesky
Cindy
Spiro - Senior Associate Athletics Director
264 Hickey Gym
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616
530-752-5096
ccspiro@ucdavis.edu
Greg
Warzecka - Athletics Director
264 Hickey Gym
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616
530-752-4557
gwarzecka@ucdavis.edu
Fred
Wood - Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs
4th Floor Mrak Hall
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616
530-752-6866
fewood@ucdavis.edu
Linda
Katehi - Chancellor
One Shields Ave.
Davis, CA 95616
530-752-2065
chancellor@ucdavis.edu
Arnold
Schwarzenegger - California Governor
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-2841
http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email |
Galaxy
MMA: Worlds Collide
Tomorrow
Upper level of Blaisdell Arena now open! $10 & $20 seats
available! Hurry and get them now!
Ticket Purchase
Locations: Blaisdell Box Office, Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone
1-800-745-3000, Ticketmaster.com, Sports Gear in the Windward
Mall 808-234-7463
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Doors open at 5:00PM
Show starts at 6:00PM
Main Event:
Heavyweight
Scott Junk (MMAD/The Country Club) vs Fabiano Scherner (Team
Quest)
Co-Main
Event:
Bantamweight 135 lbs
Tyson Nam (Team Quest) vs Keola Silva (Team HMC)
Welterweight 170 lbs
Brennan Kamaka (808 Fight Factory) vs Preston 'Bruski' Louis
(Bulls Pen)
Middleweight 185 lbs
Roderick 'RJ' Richter (The Country Club) vs Eldon 'Sale' Sproat
(Freelance)
Lightweight
155 lbs Grand Prix Tournament:
Jenzen Espanto (Combat 50) vs Kristopher Kyle (808 Fight Factory)
Steve Gable (Gracie Barra Escondido) vs Clay Lewis Jr. (4WRD
Fitness)
Kyle Ka`ahanui (Bulls Pen) vs Jose Salgado (The Country Club)
Harris Sarmiento (808 Fight Factory) vs Chris Yee (Team Quest)
The
Amateur card will feature 3 3-minute rounds.
Amateur Bouts:
Light Heavyweight 205 lbs
Zack Pang (Team HK) vs Kimo Sanders (Freelance)
Welterweight 170 lbs
Markus Kindblad (Ultimate Fight School) vs Evan Lowther (Kailua
Gracie Jiu Jitsu)
Catchweight 160 lbs
Ryan Clay(HMC) vs Chris Templo (Team HK)
For online ticket availability and information visit the following
sites:
www.GalaxyMMA.com
www.ticketmaster.com
www.facebook.com/GalaxyMMA www.twitter.com/GalaxyMMA
Source: Event Promoter
|
Bellator
16 Weigh-In Results
By FCF
Staff
The
Kansas City Power and Light District will host Bellator Fighting
Championship’s latest event tonight; a card that will feature
the opening round of the promotion’s second season, middleweight
tournament. The event will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net
and will see Bryan “The Beast” Baker (11-1) take on
Sean “The Destroyer” Loeffler (14-3) in the main event.
Here
are the official weigh-in results for Bellator 16:
Tournament
Card:
Bryan
Baker (185.5) versus Sean Loeffler (186)
Alexander Shlemenko (184.5) versus Matt Major (185.25)
Jared Hess (185.25) versus Ryan McGivern (185.25)
Eric Schambari (184) versus Luke Zachrich (183.5)
Local
Feature Fight Card:
Rudy
Bears (173*) versus Brent Weedman (170)
Danny Tims (135) versus Brian Davidson (136)
Eric Marriott (161.5) versus Demi Deeds (161.25) – at 162
lbs.
Drew Dober (169.75) versus Nick Nolte (170.75)
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
STRIKEFORCE
FEATURES LAWLER, LASHLEY, & NOONS
Strikeforce
on Wednesday officially announced its first ever mid-week event,
set for Wednesday, June 16 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE.
The
fight card features former EliteXC and ICON Sport middleweight
champion Robbie Lawler, former WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley, and
former EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons, although no opponents
have been announced yet.
This
mid-week event is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles coinciding
with the E3 Expo, the premier trade show for computer and video
games. During E3 Expo 2010 at the L.A. Convention Center, EA
Sports will exhibit EA Sports MMA, in which Strikeforce is featured
as a premier league.
Doors
at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE will open for the event at 5:15 p.m.
PT. The first non-televised preliminary bout will begin at 6
p.m. and the first main card fight will begin at 8 p.m.
The
event will be televised live on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed
on the West Coast).
Source: MMA Weelky
|
The
future of WEC and Urijah Faber remains very uncertain
By Zach
Arnold
Here’s
what we do know coming out of this weekend’s event at Arco
Arena in Sacramento:
¦Dana
White would be interested in seeing Jose Aldo fight at Bantamweight,
Featherweight, and Lightweight. He even indicated that he would
like to see Aldo fight at 155 in UFC. Read the linked article
to also get quotes from the UFC President about the future of
WEC’s Lightweight division.
¦People are starting to turn on Urijah Faber, including
The Sacramento Bee which advises Faber to retire. Smarter advice
— drop down to Bantamweight and fight at 135 pounds. A fight
against Miguel Torres would be great. Both men are coming off
of losses and it would be a fight people would pay to see. Mr.
Faber is in no mood to retire. In watching his interview with
CBS13 in Sacramento, it was painful to see him walking around
in crutches. One listen to the CBS interview and you can see
why Faber is not going to lose any fans any time soon. (I’ll
see if I can transcribe his full interview later tonight or early
tomorrow.)
Looking ahead to what UFC is up to next…
¦MMA’s
legitimacy could be placed in Randy Couture’s hands. That’s
the headline of an ESPN UK article talking about all the rumors
swirling regarding a bout between James Toney and Randy Couture
being discussed for UFC’s first Boston event.
Nick Diaz claims that UFC wants to bring him in again. Shields,
Diaz, perhaps Melendez… that CBS brawl really hurt their
stock…
¦Jon Jones says he wants a highly risky fight for his
next bout. I understand he dismantled Brandon Vera, but he should
relax and take a slower build instead of letting the UFC matchmaking
machine grind him up and spit him out.
¦Phil Davis returned back to Penn State country over the
weekend for an MMA seminar and reflected upon his career so far
in the UFC.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Shogun
Working on New Strategy for Machida
by Loretta
Hunt
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is well past his unanimous decision
defeat to UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida six months
ago. Now he’s focusing on a new strategy to implement in
their awaited rematch at UFC 113 on May 8 at the Bell Centre
in Montreal.
Rua
and Machida appeared on a conference call Tuesday discussing
the second match and how this next one will differ from their
UFC 104 encounter. On that night, Machida was awarded the unanimous
decision over five, grueling rounds against Rua, who stacked
his offense with leg kicks. The discrepancy between the judges’
scorecards and those of others who watched the fight encouraged
UFC President Dana White to secure an immediate rematch.
“I
don’t feel any pressure at all (to finish this next fight),”
said Rua through his manager Eduardo Alonso’s translation.
“My goal whenever I fight is to give my best performance.
That’s the pressure I put on myself and the only pressure
I put on myself. I don’t think about controversy or any
thoughts on what happened, because I think this can only hinder
an athlete.”
Machida
said after having six months to reflect on and review the bout,
he still felt that the decision was correct. Accordingly, he
said he wouldn’t veer too far from what he’d done the
first time.
“My
strategy is to come in and be prepared to take the fight wherever
it goes,” said Machida through his manager and translator
Ed Soares. “There’s not too much that’s going
to change. I’ve worked on certain areas of my game to improve,
but for the most part, I’m going to come in and apply my
strategy.
Rua,
who was lauded for his calculated attacks against Machida, said
he’s been planning and drilling alternative strategies but
doesn’t forget that he’s facing an unorthodox striker.
“Many
people think that taking the fight to the ground and working
the ground with Machida would be a good way to win the fight,
but that’s a very hard thing to (do) because Lyoto is a
very good player on the ground and he’s trained a lot of
sumo and wrestling, so he has a very good base,” said Rua.
“Sometimes it’s very hard to get him down to the ground.
“When
you prepare (for) a fight, you have to focus on the worst situation
you can go through in a fight,” he continued. “Fighting
Machida, the toughest situation you can find is fighting him
standing up.”
Machida,
undefeated in 16 career fights, has not been an easy opponent
to crack. The 31-year-old Japanese-Brazilian fighter’s striking,
based on the teachings and technique of Shotokan karate, presents
itself at odd angles and has a counter-aggressive pacing that
confuses opponents. Rua, a 2005 Pride grand prix champion, has
been the only one to push Machida through five rounds, a recent
development that has actually given Machida some solace.
“I
believe that one of the main things about a championship bout
is that you go five rounds, and we’ve trained that a lot,”
he said. “I’m always confident, but it does make me
(more) confident that I went in there and fought for five rounds.”
Another
benefit of their extended first affair, said Machida, was that
it gave the fighters the opportunity to study each other.
“Being
in there for 25 minutes, I’m sure that he noticed some things
about me and I noticed some things about him,” said Machida.
“That’s what the great thing about the rematch is,
is that we’re both a lot more familiar with each other than
the first time we met.”
More
from Machida and Rua:
•
Asked if he might have underestimated Rua in their first match,
Machida stated that he never undersells an opponent: “I
never underestimated Shogun. I knew he was a tough fighter, and
as you can see, it was a very tough fight. I never underestimate
anybody and I didn’t underestimate Shogun. A fight’s
a fight and you never know what’s going to happen until
you get up there and start fighting.”
•
Rua on the scoring value allotted (or not allotted) for his leg-kick
attack in the first bout: “I think there should be some
better guidelines for scoring and a way to put weight in each
kind of striking and way of fighting.”
•
When asked if he could someday become complacent with fighting,
like Anderson Silva has been described of late, Machida answered:
“I find it very difficult for me to act that way in the
ring. Everybody’s different. I think Anderson has a little
bit more of that style. He’s a little more at ease in the
ring. He likes to play around. It’s just more of his style.
I have a different style in fighting, so I don’t think I’ll
have that type of situation happen to me.”
•
Rua said one of his biggest mistakes upon entering the UFC was
not procuring himself a cage to train in right away: “When
I fought Mark Coleman (at UFC 93 in January 2009), I was in good
shape. I was well trained, but some things were lacking. I didn’t
really have a good notion of space inside the Octagon because
I’d never trained in the cage before. That was the biggest
difference that affected my performance in the fight.” Rua
said he now has an Octagon-size cage in his Universidade da Luta
gym in Curitiba, Brazil.
Source: Sherdog
|
Urijah
Faber: Jose Aldo is a great champion, respectable guy, and #3
on pound-for-pound best MMA fighter list
By Zach Arnold
A day after losing to Jose Aldo in a WEC Featherweight title
match at Arco Arena in Sacramento, Urijah Faber sat down with
CBS13 in Sacramento for a 12-minute interview to discuss his
future in Mixed Martial Arts. We have transcribed that interview
for everyone here.
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “Tell me what’s going with the leg
right now.”
URIJAH
FABER: “Well I just, basically was, a ton of repeated blows
so it’s just a giant hematoma, you know, from like right
here to my hip all the way down to my knee and so it’s about
three times the size of my other leg, so you can’t really
bend it or walk very well.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “Have you ever experienced something
like that before?”
URIJAH
FABER: “Not to this degree. I mean, of course training for
this fight I trained a lot of defense, leg kicks but I was usually
using, you know, the guys had shin pads and if you got caught
with a heavy kick, you know, you let it ease up and you know
not repeatedly hit it. So, this is the first time I’ve had
it something this severe to where it really stopped me from having
motion.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “So you went to the hospital after the
fight and what did they say?”
URIJAH
FABER: “They were checking for, what do you call it, some
sort of composite, like a blood composite, which can be something
that permanently damages your foot so there were just doing a
lot of tests for that, making sure there’s no break in the
leg and stuff like that and they just came to the conclusion
that it’s a serious contusion and a deep you know bruise
that’s going to be a couple of weeks here.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “Do you have to wait until the swelling
goes down to check out if there’s anything else going on?”
URIJAH
FABER: “No, they took a ton of photos of with the CT scan
and stuff like that and all different angles to make sure that
there was nothing permanent damage in there. It’s just,
you know, it’s going to be a painful couple of days at least
and we’ll see what happens. I mean, it should be, I can
hobble pretty well around on crutches at this point but…
yeah, it was frustrating.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “Any fear that this is like a long term,
something like that will effect you long term?”
URIJAH
FABER: “No, I don’t think so, not at all. I mean…
I had more fear with my hands than that because there’s
bone involved but just is this, if anything maybe make it less
likely to happen next time.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “Anything else? You got hit a lot in
the fourth round, your face is everything and good?”
URIJAH
FABER: “Yeah, I was deflecting some of those and I was bringing
up my head into them so there was less space… and I just,
you know, I don’t want to quit in there, I wanted to you
know finish it out. I was having trouble in the third round with
this leg, it was really bothering me and you know, it was a lot
of pain. When I did the after-the-fight interview, I felt like
I was going to pass out and I don’t know what that was from.
I’ve never really felt that way before I was having trouble
like, you know, concentrating and when I was talking I really
like I was going to pass out. I think probably because of the
pain in the leg, maybe, it was extremely painful.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “Tell me about, you know, the one thing
you know I admire about you but a lot of people admire you is
the fact that you grit it out, man, I mean because that fourth
round was tough and your leg was I think from the first round
on and you know you look back to the Brown fight where you busted
both of your hands and you still worked through it I think it
was for five rounds. Last night you busted through it for five
rounds. I mean, tell me about how that defines you and getting
through it because you really have the grit to suck it up even
when you know after three rounds your guy took you off, he almost
carried you off.”
URIJAH
FABER: “You know it basically comes down to that grit has
won a lot of fights for me, you know I’ve had 27 fights
now and I’m 23-4, so you know having that grit is something
that’s important about you know in our sport, it’s
something that’s important to be a champion and unfortunately
when you’re facing some adversity against another guy who
has the same kind of grit, you know, sometimes you don’t
come out on top and Jose Aldo’s very tough. He’s a
you know considered one of the best in the world, probably #3
pound-for-pound and you know he has my respect, so I felt I like
was doing well in there. I was executing my game plan pretty
well in the first round. I wanted to make sure that he respected
my stand-up so that he knew that you know he just couldn’t
dictate all the time on the feet and then try to push the takedowns
in the second but midway through the second he already started
to disable my mobility, took out my leg, and just really changed
the whole fight from that point on, so… the guy’s very
good, very technical, he had a good game plan, he slowed me down
and that’s what won him the fight.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “One word you used a couple of minutes
ago is frustration. Tell me about that.”
URIJAH
FABER: “Yeah, it was very frustrating, you know I mean…
you know, this is such a cool sport and there’s so many
different ways to win and you know the little things count and
being able to dictate the pace is one thing and he was the one
who was able to do that by disabling my leg he was able to slow
the fight down and to really make sure that it was a stand-up
war for him so a lot of the takedowns that I worked on for that
fight were explosive takedowns that involved trips and things
like that but with the bum leg it was just, it wasn’t happening
for me so… again, it was a rough fight. That’s what
happens when you fight championship fights, you know, these are
the best guys in the world. This isn’t like boxing where
you got guys padding their records. I’m fighting the best
guys all the time and that’s why I’m in this sport,
so… It was a frustrating fight, but you know much respect
to Aldo and I’m glad that I could finish it out.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “What’s the last few weeks been
like? It has been a whirlwind doing all these interviews and
hearing you on Jim Rome and you know of course locally doing
all sorts of stuff and now you know all the support that you’ve
gotten from people around Sacramento. Tell me what was like that
and now where you are here in the almost 24 hours after the fight.”
URIJAH
FABER: “You know, it was a whirlwind. This whole last three
plus years has been a whirlwind for me and it’s been a ton
of hard work, not just in the gym but you know through you know
my businesses and through the PR side of things and just being
focused and just I’ve kind of had the blinders on and just
been in my own little world and I mean I really appreciate the
support. It’s something that means a lot to me and I loved
to have gotten that win for everyone but again we’re fighting,
these are the best guys in the world. You know, go all the way
around the world to Japan, Europe, you know Brazil, you know
anywhere in the world and you’re looking at the top guys
and I’m fighting them so to get out there and do that is
a really cool experience for me and to be the guy who’s
been on top and the guy who’s right there at the top is
awesome and I’ll obviously look back and have fought some
of the best guys and have a camaraderie with them so it’s
neat, man, it’s a good life and I’m really appreciative.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “There’s so much support and so
many people talking about this fight, building you up and what
do you think is a word that kind of describes last night? Is
it disappointment? Is it just another you know fight on your
record because like you said you have fought so many great fighters?”
URIJAH
FABER: “It was a disappointment, I mean that was the first
time that anyone’s gone five rounds with Jose Aldo and you
know been able to push the pace and I really was just hanging
in there the last couple of rounds and he wasn’t you know
coming after me for the kill I think he was a little fatigued
probably, not used to having someone go you know the same pace
that he can, so it was a little disheartening. I would have liked
it to have been a little more exciting of a fight but like I
said I can only do so much with my leg and I’m always looking
to win but you know I didn’t get the win last night so it’s
definitely disappointing, a little frustrating, but it is what
it is man, I’m fighting and I’m fighting to the end
and that’s the way it is, you know… I’m barely
walking today but everything else is fine, so, I got to say that
I’m pretty positive.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “You come into the arena, you get into
the cage…. probably the loudest thing I’ve ever heard,
you know, I mean it was unbelievable how much everybody’s
behind you and tell me what that’s like just to have Sacramento.
I was talking to Tyreke Evans last night and I talked to Mayor
Johnson like, you three have to be the top three sports stars
in Sacramento you know. But you know what’s that like? You
get into the cage and everybody in this town that you grew up
with is all behind you in the biggest night of your career.”
URIJAH
FABER: “It meant a lot, you know, and it’s really cool
you know it’s good to have a community and it’s good
to have people that get behind you. I think it brings everyone
together, win lose or draw you know having people together cheering
and putting you know differences aside and getting behind one
thing is an awesome spectacle and to see it last night was great,
you know. Sacramento is a unique town, there’s a ton of
great fans. California is I think the best place in the planet
and I’m lucky to be a US citizen and you know it was all
coming to a head right there and understanding why when I walked
out in that arena and you know fighting is what I love to do
but being out there and feeling the crowd was pretty awesome.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “As high as that moment was, talk to
me real quick about how different it felt at the end of the fight.
You know, it was quiet, people, you know all of your fans obviously
disappointed but you know upset that you got injured and that
it went the way that it did. You had to go out to leave and to
have you know what happened to your leg and so on and so forth,
in that case, what was the feeling on the other end?”
URIJAH
FABER: “Well, truly the feeling was exhaustion. I felt like
I said when I doing my you know talking to the microphone at
the end of the fight, I really felt like I was going to pass
out. I’ve never felt like that before and I think it had
something to do with the pain in the leg, I’m not real sure,
but I was completely exhausted and I could feel that you know
the fans are disappointed, you know, and probably just sad in
general, so that was unfortunate but it was a great night of
fights. Jose Aldo is a very great champion, he’s a respectable
guy, you know not only in his skill level but the way he presents
himself, you know, it’s great to have a guy like that as
our champion instead of some of these meatheads that are out
there so…”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “I saw a few of those guys last night.”
URIJAH
FABER: “On a bright note, you know, at least the title is
with someone that you know we can all cheer for and you know
I’ll be back from the road to get my stuff straight and
get back out there.”
ANDREW
LURIA (CBS13.COM): “What’s next for you. You’re
30, how long can you go? How long do you plan to go? Is a championship
a couple of fights away again or what’s next for you? I
know you got a few months you’re obviously to try to get
your leg back.”
URIJAH
FABER: “You know, I haven’t really thought about it.
I mean I’ve said it time and time again, I’m a terrible
planner. I just kind of follow my heart so at this time I feel
like laying down and resting my leg but you know I’ve got
fights in me still for sure. I can go down to 135 pounds (bantamweight),
I can work my way back up to a title. There’s a lot of exciting
fights out there for me but for right now I’m just going
to enjoy my friends and my family and heal up and then go from
there. It’s Summertime so I love Summertime especially in
Sacramento, probably take some trips and cruise around a little
bit and enjoy life.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
3
More Bouts Confirmed for TUF 11 Finale
By FCF
Staff
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has confirmed three more bouts
for the upcoming June 19th, “Ultimate Fighter” Finale,
which will be hosted by The Pearl at the Palms Resort and Casino
in Las Vegas. The fights added to the card include Chris Leben
vs. Aaron Simpson, Spencer Fisher vs. Denis Siver and James McSweeney
vs. Travis Browne.
Earlier
this week the promotion announced that a light-heavyweight bout
between Matt Hamill and Keith Jardine will headline the event,
which will also feature the middleweight finals from the eleventh
season of TUF.
The
undefeated Simpson (7-0) is coming off a tightly contested Split
Decision victory over Tom Lawlor in January, while the middleweight
veteran Leben (19-6) was also victorious that month, earning
a UD victory over Jay Silva.
Fisher
(23-5) hasn’t competed since October when he was stopped
by Joe Stevenson in the second round at UFC 104. The lightweight
Siver is also coming off a loss, as the German fighter lost by
Unanimous Decision to Ross Pearson at Fight Night 21 in March.
McSweeney
(4-4) is coming off a win in his first official UFC bout, as
the British fighter stopped Darrill Schoonover in the third round
at the TUF 10 Finale in December. The undefeated heavyweight
Browne (7-0) will be making his Octagon debut, and most recently
knocked out Aaron Brink, at a Gladiator Challenge event in February.
The
June 19th, TUF 11 Finale will be broadcast on Spike.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Silva’s
coach: Chael not a dangerous fighter
By Guilherme Cruz
Josuel Distak is having double shifts on X-Gym. Waiting for Anderson
Silva’s comeback to trainings, Distak talked to TATAME about
his expectations for the fight against the champion Chael Sonnen.
Until the fight is settled, the man (Sonnen) can say whatever
he wants, saying doesn’t change things... I don’t see
Chael Sonnen as a dangerous fighter”, said the trainer,
who talked about the preparations of athletes such as Ronaldo
Jacaré, Paulão Filho and Rafael Feijão for
their next challenges on the US.
Has Anderson returned to the trainings yet?
Anderson is off, helping out here and soon he’ll come back
to trainings. He’ll spend time in Thailand and then back
to hard training. Until the fight is settled, the man (Sonnen)
can say whatever he wants, but when is signed, we’ll make
a work strategy to combat him.
Sonnen says bad things about Anderson for a long time...
We don’t have anything to say about him, he can say whatever
he wants... Paulão was going through a lot of problems
when he fought Sonnen (on WEC) and everyone could say so during
the fight, but I don’t see Chael Sonnen as a dangerous fighter.
How are the trainings of Ronaldo Jacaré for his fight
against Joey Villasenor?
We’re doing the last training part, working hard. Our goal
is the belt; we have to take advantage now that the champion
is leaving, in negotiation with UFC, and go for it. We’ll
do our best, it’s important. Jacaré is a really strong
guy in this Strikeforce’s category; it’s all depending
on this fight because we aspire to fight for the belt. Strikeforce
needs a big name and it is Ronaldo Jacaré.
Are you coaching Paulo Filho for his Hector Lombard’s fight
on Bellator?
Paulão is training with Master Oswasldo at Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays so that he can improve his Jiu-Jitsu, and he trains
with me on Thuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Paulão
will go back being what he was. He’ll be where he belongs.
What do you think about Lombard, who didn’t lose any of
his last 18 fights?
He’s a tough guy, but Paulão likes challenges. It’s
an important debut fight, to make a good comeback. He has to
be prepared, because Paulão is. If it’s God’s
will, everything will be ok, Paulão deserves this victory.
And Feijão, how is he for the fight against Antwain Britt?
Feijão needs a good fight, because (Gerard) Mousasi lost
his majesty, do it’s depending on this fight. If Feijão
does a good fight, with incisiveness, he’ll be the next
to try to reach the belt.
What do you know about Britt?
He’s got a really heavy hand, but Feijão is working
really hard, Anderson has been giving a lot of support during
the trainings so that he can go there strong for the exchange.
We wish that Feijão does the right game and bring Britt
to the ground, which is Feijão’s comfort area.
Did André Galvão come back to the trainings?
He’s
coming back to the trainings today. We’ll wait the Strikeforce
to announce his next fight. It’s not an excuse, but he was
injured for his fight, had a serious problem of fall of immunity,
but has recovered and fought well. He deserves a fight for the
belt, and if it’s God wish, we’ll conquer André’s
category as well as Jacaré’s and Feijão’s.
We will rule Strikeforce, if God helps us.
Source: Tatame
|
Astra
Notebook: Promotion’s Future Still Undecided
by Tony
Loiseleur
TOKYO -- Addressing MMA fans for the last time Sunday evening,
the newly retired Hidehiko Yoshida made an interesting request
of top pupil Kazuhiro Nakamura: that Nakamura essentially lead
Astra forward as its new star. The implication was that Astra
-- previously announced as a one-time event meant to give Yoshida
a fond send-off into retirement -- would in fact become a new
ongoing promotion in Japan.
However,
in the post-event question and answer session, Yoshida’s
manager and J-Rock president Takahiro Kokuho soon tempered these
expectations.
“I
haven’t given it any thought yet,” said Kokuho. “To
be honest, it’s been quite difficult even bringing today’s
event together. Three days before, I was still consulting on
who should make appearances at the event, two days earlier we
were still making changes on the production side, and all the
way up until showtime, things were looking very last minute and
shaky. In focusing on this event, I haven’t even had the
time to think about a ‘next event.’”
Still,
Kokuho asserted that he and the J-Rock staff would continue to
support Yoshida and his Yoshida Dojo, particularly as the newly
retired fighter makes his return to the judo world and his remaining
stable continue their MMA careers.
Yoshida
Returning to Judo
Owing
to the strict regulations of the All Japan Judo Federation, no
judo athlete is allowed to receive compensation for competition.
With Yoshida now retired from professional prizefighting and
prohibitions on athletes returning to judo loosening, he will
be allowed to return as a competitor and/or instructor after
a brief probationary period.
“Until
now, it used to be that if a judo athlete transfers to professional
sports, they could not return to judo. It’s slowly changed
from being impossible to the point that recently, judo athletes
can return to judo in about one year’s time,” said
Yoshida. “Being a professional athlete is about having freedom
of choice in your job selection. I’d like to work on lowering
the barriers (like in judo) one at a time in order to accommodate
that.”
As
such, Yoshida is in the unique position of once again bridging
the two realms of judo and professional prizefighting -- this
time acting on behalf of professional athletics as an emissary
to the judo world.
“I
feel good. It’s all done, all finished. I have no regrets,”
said a smiling Yoshida, after his unanimous decision loss to
his student Nakamura. “The fight felt like it was really
long. It was different from all my previous fights, but I enjoyed
it.”
Teacher,
Student Reflect on Bout
Apparently
still wrestling with the mixed emotions that plagued him before
the fight, Yoshida’s final opponent and student, Nakamura,
admitted that he was happy with the outcome of the bout, particularly
given their brief toe-to-toe exchange in the third round.
“In
all of my fights, I never seem to push myself to the limit like
I should. But, when Yoshida called me out (in the third round),
he helped to pull me out there and fight my hardest. I think
it looked good. I thought we were great out there, just going
for it,” said Nakamura.
“I
kind of felt as if he wasn’t coming toward me at first,
but his punches really hurt. There were several times where Nakamura
had me, but he didn’t try and finish me, so I decided to
take off my gi top and just fight,” said Yoshida.
While
Yoshida’s future puts him back in the Japanese judo world,
Nakamura assumes the title of Yoshida Dojo’s next marquee
fighter. As such, he stated his intent to stay with MMA for perpetuity,
and requested Yoshida’s continued support of his fighting
career.
“Although
Yoshida is returning to judo, I want to fight in MMA until the
day I die,” he said. “I’m relieved that he’s
returning to judo however, and hope that he’ll continue
to lend me his strength in the future.”
“Yoshida’s
(and Nakamura’s) fight was moving. It was strange for me
to watch because I’ve shared meals with these guys, I’ve
fought alongside them, and I’ve shared a lot of experiences
together with them,” said stablemate Michihiro Omigawa.
Omigawa
Sets Sights on WEC
Omigawa
defeated WEC and Dream veteran Micah Miller by unanimous decision
and remains one of Yoshida Dojo’s notable roster staying
behind in the MMA realm. Omigawa said that he only has eyes for
the WEC and the fighters that compete there.
“I
want to fight in the same ring as the strongest in the world.
Right now in America’s WEC, Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber are
fighting, right? Chan Sung Jung also just had a great fight there,
so it’s there that I must fight as well. I need to clash
with the strongest in the world,” he said.
Source: Sherdog
|
Jenna
Jameson Now Withdrawing Accusations Against Tito Ortiz?
By Ben
Fowlkes
If the Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson saga were a daytime TV drama,
this might be the point where we'd say it's jumped the shark.
Just three days after the former UFC light heavyweight champ
was arrested for domestic assault on his ex-porn star girlfriend,
Jameson now tells TMZ that she wants to withdraw the abuse allegations
against Ortiz.
"What
actually happened has now been dramatically distorted and misinterpreted
and remarks that both Tito and I made after the police arrived
reflect the state of shock that we were both in."
If
you're wondering who's responsible for those dramatic distortions,
you're not alone.
Most
of what the public knows about the incident comes from what Jameson
told reporters and photographers after Ortiz's arrest, as well
as from what Ortiz's attorney, Chip Matthews, told the media
during a press conference following Ortiz's release from jail.
After initially denying the charges and explaining the incident
as a result of Jameson's addiction to OxyContin, Matthews now
describes it as "a big misunderstanding."
Whatever
the source of that misunderstanding, reactions from Ortiz and
Jameson seem to be changing by the hour. Earlier today Jameson
and her attorney, Ronald Richards, touted a clean drug test that
Jameson reportedly took one day after the incident as proof that
she was not "under the influence of any opiates or controlled
substances."
Call
it a case of 'he said/she said/lab results said.'
And
now, after the story has occupied headlines in and out of the
sports world for the better part of the week, Jameson and Ortiz
seem as though they'd like for it to come quietly to an end.
According to California law, however, it may not be that simple.
The
California State Bar Association website describes domestic violence
as "a crime against the state – not just a crime against
[the victim]." That means Ortiz could, at least in theory,
still be prosecuted even if Jameson decides not to press charges,
as she originally insisted she would.
But
even if Ortiz never sees the inside of a courtroom over this
incident, it's hard to imagine that the stain of the accusation
will ever completely disappear. The couple may very well reconcile
and chalk the whole thing up to hasty overreactions, but the
public isn't apt to forget the image of Ortiz being lead away
in handcuffs or a tearful Jameson crying to paparazzi. Some things,
once said, aren't so easy to take back.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
From
prison to Strikeforce
by Carlos Eduardo Ozório
Lyle Beerborm, the opponent of Jiu-Jitsu black belt Vitor Shaolin
at the May 15 Strikeforce show, has a different story from most.
A former drug addict, his start in MMA came the day he got out
of prison, in Washington.
As
soon as he was out of jail, Beerbohm enrolled at a Jiu-Jitsu
academy and, eight days later, had his first amateur fight. He
now counts 13 MMA wins, with seven knockouts and five submissions.
His Strikeforce debut came in June of 2009. Through the martial
arts, Beerbohm found the discipline and determination missing
in his life.
“If
I hadn’t gone to prison, I might not be alive today. I wouldn’t
be clean and rehabilitated, off drugs. I swapped crystal meth
for MMA,” says Beerbohm.
“After
watching MMA on TV, I knew deep down that was what I was going
to do,” he adds.
Beerbohm,
who had been a good wrestler during high school, will face off
against Vitor Shaolin, one of sport Jiu-Jitsu’s greatest
champions, with a 20-win and three- loss MMA record. But that
doesn’t shake his confidence.
“This
is my goal. I want to be champion; I want a five-round fight,”
he says in finishing.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
KOSCHECK
SAYS HE'D ACCEPT TUF 12 COACHING JOB
by Damon
Martin
Going home again. That could be the theme of “The "Ultimate
Fighter Season 12” for Josh Koscheck if he is indeed chosen
as a coach for the next season of the popular Spike TV reality
show.
The
American Kickboxing Academy welterweight got his start on the
show five years ago, and if rumors stand true, the winner of
the upcoming fight between Koscheck and British fighter Paul
Daley could determine who will coach opposite UFC welterweight
champion Georges St-Pierre.
Koscheck
admits that if the UFC comes calling to ask him to coach the
show, he'd definitely accept and would be happy to be back on
“The Ultimate Fighter."
"It
definitely would be fun. I think it would be a great opportunity,
and I would definitely take the UFC up on it," said Koscheck
in a recent interview with MMAWeekly Radio.
Make
no mistake about it, Koscheck only has one thing on his mind
right now and that's Paul Daley. He says that Daley is the only
thing that motivates him right now, and he doesn't want anyone
to think he's looking past him and to a future match-up with
St. Pierre.
"Right
now I'm focused on just winning May 8. That's all I care about.
That's the most important thing for me, and I've sacrificed a
lot to get here and I'm going to continue to sacrifice and grow
as a fighter, and grow as a person. I can tell you this, I'm
in a great place right now and I'm happy, and I'm just ready
to throw down. I'm ready to go at it," Koscheck stated.
Featured
as the co-main event for the UFC 113, Koscheck looks to take
care of business against Daley, but if all goes well he's more
than happy to start talking about a shot at St-Pierre, the welterweight
title, and a stint as coach on “The Ultimate Fighter."
"I'm
focused on that right now, and once we get past May 8, then we'll
party and let everybody start talking about how I'm going to
kick St-Pierre's ass," said Koscheck.
Josh
Koscheck will close out camp this week in San Jose, Calif., before
traveling to Montreal for his fight with Paul Daley, and a possible
shot at TUF and GSP on the line.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MMA
Bullies
by Matt Beardmore
Just nursing a beer and chillin’ with a buddy in this bar
in Salem, Ore., Nate Quarry wasn’t looking for trouble.
And he damn sure wasn’t expecting to revisit his tortured
past on this night nearly 10 years ago.
But
when “Rock” was pushed a little too far, he couldn’t
help but strike some fear into one of the bullies that had made
his life a living hell.
Long
before Quarry decided to make a career of kicking ass inside
of a steel cage, he was the one getting harassed and bullied.
Being a scrawny, four-eyed kid raised in a Jehovah’s Witness
household didn’t give him much hope of just being one of
the guys.
“I
had teachers that couldn’t stand me because I couldn’t
celebrate the holidays,” Quarry says. “I couldn’t
compete in athletics and I couldn’t go to birthday parties.
I really stood out. I had one teacher that hated me, and he had
a son in my year that would torture me and make fun of me. I
remember being spit on.”
Nobody
with any amount of common sense would dare disrespect Quarry
now, but his former bully had downed a few too many ounces of
liquid courage prior to this barroom encounter.
“The
guy asked me what I had been up to, but then he started asking
some disrespectful questions,” Quarry says. “I’m
standing there staring at the ground and I said, ‘You know,
I remember being picked on a lot in school, and I think it was
you.’”
Deciding
to entertain his buddy and have a little fun at his former tormenter’s
expense, the stern-faced Quarry slowly looked up and delivered
a sobering message: “I don’t think I care for what
you did.”
Jaw
dropped and white as a ghost, the former bully retreated to the
far side of the bar.
“My
friend was just laughing!” Quarry says.
Knocked
down
Quarry
and other MMA stars can joke about their hurtful bullying experiences,
but the growing pains of being victimized are always just a vivid
memory away. It’s hard to imagine former Olympian and current
Strikeforce heavyweight Daniel Cormier ever getting picked on,
but that’s exactly what he endured thanks to two of his
former classmates.
“I
don’t know what it was and I don’t know why they wanted
to fight with me,” Cormier says. “My mom was a substitute
teacher, and they would make fun of her until I would say something.”
Before
he worked his ass off to become one of MMA’s top submission
artists, welterweight Dustin Hazelett was also a favorite target
of his classmates’ verbal and physical assaults.
“I
got bullied a lot and made fun of up until my sophomore year
in high school,” Hazelett says. “I was always really
small and weak for my age, especially in middle school and early
high school. When I was in middle school it was the worst. I
tried out for the football team to change that around, but I
ended up getting my head stuffed in the toilet twice. Obviously
I quit football and didn’t try to play any sports.”
As
a refugee from South Vietnam, Cung Le was not welcomed to the
United States with open arms. From first through sixth grade,
Le got his ass kicked on a fairly regular basis.
“I
was an easy target,” he says. “My mom told me that
I had to stand up for myself. That’s what made me get into
martial arts.”
Fighting
back
Tired
of the suicidal thoughts and the verbal and physical beatdowns,
Hazelett, then 16, took up his cousin’s offer and started
training jujitsu. The decision not only set his life down an
exciting new path, it provided him with a much-needed jolt of
confidence.
“I
wasn’t even training for two or three weeks and everyone
stopped picking on me,” Hazelett says. “They didn’t
know what martial arts was -- they were afraid of it.”
Martial
arts provided Le the same sense of freedom from the nonstop bullying.
“The
team had my back, and I didn’t have to deal with the bullies,”
he says. “The better I did, the less I got bullied.”
Wrestling
was Cormier’s escape from bullying, but even the two-time
Olympian admits it often takes more than sports to fight back.
While in Chicago last November with Strikeforce stars Jason “Mayhem”
Miller and Scott Smith, Cormier tried to help adolescents and
young adults fight back as one of the spokesmen for a national
anti-bullying campaign.
“Kids
need to seek help from an adult,” Cormier says. “You
can find guys like me that have dealt with these situations and
overcome.”
Facing
their past
With
so much time passed and plenty of personal and professional accomplishments
on their respective resumes, Quarry, Hazelett, Cormier and Le
have learned to forgive and move beyond their painful experiences.
Recent encounters with their former bullies have proven how much
they’ve left their past in the past.
“As
I got older, one of the guys wanted to become my friend,”
Cormier says. “He was ready to make a change, so I didn’t
turn on the kid. I really just embraced him to help him go in
the right direction. I forgave the guy, and he actually came
to my wedding.”
Le
ran into one of his former bullies about six or seven years ago,
but he didn’t even need to say a word in retaliation.
“I
looked at him and looked at who I was, and it felt good,”
Le says. “I didn’t want to do anything to him.”
As
much pain as he felt as a kid, Quarry had no desire to fight
back during his barroom face-off.
“I’ve
been able to let the past go,” he says. “I’m not
that scared little kid anymore. Now I can stand up for myself.”
Quarry’s
former bully can vouch for that.
Source: Sherdog
|
Dana
White: I'm 'Very Confident' That Jake Shields Will Be With UFC
SACRAMENTO,
Calif. -- It's arguably the worst kept secret in MMA today, and
that's Jake Shields' likely future with the UFC.
UFC
president Dana White appeared during the WEC 48 pay-per-view
with his arms around the Strikeforce middleweight champion and
mouthing to the camera, "he's mine." Well, not exactly
right now, but most likely in the future.
"The
deal with Shields, is that there's some discrepancy as to whether
it's 45 or 60 days he has left on his contract," White told
a group of reporters after the press conference. "So he
can work that out with the knuckleheads (Strikeforce), and when
he does, we'll jump in there."
Shields
is coming off an impressive win over Dan Henderson in the main
event of last week's Strikeforce on CBS event. Although Shields
is Strikeforce's champion at 185 pounds, he's more naturally
a welterweight, and that's where there's the potential for a
superfight against welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
"Shields
is amazing," St-Pierre recently told sportsnet.ca. "He's
of course the guy to beat right now. He's fighting at 185 pounds
right now, and he's dominating and beating everyone at 185, and
he's a 170-pound fighter. He's not only an amazing fighter, he's
an amazing jiu-jitsu fighter."
There's
also a rumor floating around that Shields would coach The Ultimate
Fighter next season opposite St-Pierre, but that would be impossible,
White said, considering that filming will begin in around five
weeks.
With
St-Pierre short on legitimate challengers, Shields would be a
welcome addition to the UFC roster. And unless Shields is pulling
a Tito Ortiz (who during his free agency period appeared on an
EliteXC event on CBS) by appearing on the competition's program
to drive up his own price, all signs are pointing to Shields
taking a step next inside the Octagon.
"I'm
very confident that he's going to be with the UFC," White
said Saturday.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Could
Jose Aldo Be First Fighter to Win Three Titles?
SACRAMENTO,
Calif. -- If anyone could win three major titles in three different
divisions, it's Jose Aldo, UFC president Dana White suggests.
"I
had heard that he wants to move down a weight class, win that
belt and then go to 155 to fight BJ in the UFC. If he can do
that, I don't know if he can cut that weight and make that light
a weight division, but he'd be the first guy to win three titles
in three different weight divisions," White brought up to
reporters late Saturday after WEC 48.
Aldo
could make bantamweight, though it would be a difficult cut.
Aldo, who previously fought at the weight during his early years
with Shooto, last year considered moving down to challenge the
then-dominant Miguel Torres. But Torres would fall into a slump
while Aldo continued to tear through the competition.
Aldo,
who retained the 145-pound WEC championship over Urijah Faber
at WEC 48, would be contending at 135 pounds with the likes of
champion Dominick Cruz and contenders Brian Bowles and Joseph
Benavidez.
It's
a rarity if Aldo could pull it off, but if he is indeed interested,
he's got the support of the UFC and the WEC "pay-per-view"
boss.
"I
think it'd be pretty interesting. I love stuff like that,"
White continued. "I think if a guy proves himself at a certain
weight class it's time to move on and try something new and I
like that. but it's so hard to do in this sport because there's
such a gap between weight classes. You can't be like [Manny]
Pacquiao [jumping] seven different weight classes."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Jake
Shields Visits WEC 48; Dana White Says 'He's Mine'
It
was just a week ago that Jake Shields stunned most of the MMA
world when he upset Dan Henderson to retain his Strikeforce middleweight
title at Strikeforce: Nashville. The win put Shields in a fantastic
position in his career; a free agent in the midst of a 14-fight
win streak, and with a major promotional championship around
his waist.
On
Saturday night, Shields was in Sacramento, Calif., for WEC 48,
and in a probable bit of foreshadowing, the broadcast showed
him sitting at ringside next to UFC President Dana White, who
clearly voiced his belief that Shields was on his way to join
him in the UFC.
"He's
mine," White mouthed to the cameras, with his arm around
a smiling Shields.
Shields
was a member of Chuck Liddell's coaching staff during season
11 of The Ultimate Fighter, and has voiced a desire to face the
best fighters in the world. In recent weeks, White said he had
an interest in Shields and said even if he didn't sign him, he'd
drive up the price for Strikeforce to keep him in the fold.
Shields
(25-4-1) was a major underdog against Henderson despite being
the champion, and overcame a nearly catastrophic first round
at Strikeforce: Nashville before asserting himself with takedowns
and ground position. There have been rumors that Shields could
be inserted directly into a title match with UFC welterweight
champion Georges St. Pierre, though White has repeatedly stated
he'd wait for Shields deal with Strikeforce to run out before
officially courting him.
According
to sources, Shields has a 60-day matching period for any offers,
though most insiders believe that the UFC could structure a deal
in a way that makes it very difficult to match.
With
Saturday's display, White appears to have his mind made up on
making a big offer to Shields.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Paulo
Thiago
One
of the Brazilian promises in the UFC welterweight division, Paulo
Thiago is training hard for his fifth fight on the event, this
time against the really tough Martin Kampmann. In a chat with
TATAME, the BOPE policeman revealed he’ll spend 15 days
training with Anderson Silva in Rio de Janeiro, commented his
wish to fight for the belt on his category, against George St.
Pierre, and analyzed his category.
How
are the trainings for UFC 115?
I’m
doing my preparation here in Brasília, but this weekend
I’ll go to Rio de Janeiro and stay there for two weeks of
trainings.
Do
you intend to train with Anderson Silva, people from Nova União
and X-Gym?
The
training in Rio is pretty good, a tough one. The gym is full
of high-level athletes, international level, so is a tough train.
I went there and learned a lot with them, did the physical part
with Rogerão (Camões) and did good.
What
do you expect of this fight?
Martin
Kampmann is a really good fighter, the standing part is good,
has a nice Jiu-Jitsu. I have to go there prepared to confront
him both standing and on the ground, be pretty sharp.
With
a victory over one of the top 10 athletes on your category, in
which position do you think it’d put you on?
Beating
him I will definitely move up in the rankings. He is among the
10 too. I'm going in search of my opportunity. Everybody is running
behind, I'm being patient, I'm not pushing myself too much. I
go slowly, step by step to get an opportunity at the right time.
Do
you believe St. Pierre will still be the champion when you get
there or will someone has taken it off him before that?
I
think everyone can win, at least the top 10 of the category,
is a matter of opportunity. He’s a really tough guy, but
everyone has conditions. If he’s going to be the champion
until I get the I don’t know.
St.
Pierre will confront the winner between Josh Koscheck and Paul
Daley on the next season of the UFC reality show. Who do you
think is winning this fight?
Well,
Daley has a hard pulse, but I think Koscheck is more complete,
besides having a good strike, knocks down very well, is good
with the submissions... I think Koscheck’s game is more
complete, despite Daley is more dangerous standing. I’d
bet on Koscheck.
In
your opinion, does Koscheck have any chance of beating St. Pierre?
Yes,
he does. But the thing is, I don’t bet on anyone, is 50-50.
Both are really good on the ground, Wrestling... It’s not
an easy victory for St. Pierre, it’ll be a tough fight.
Source: Tatame
|
Aldo
proceeds down path to greatness
SACRAMENTO,
Calif. – Jose Aldo’s string of consecutive knockouts
ended at six on Saturday night. And yet, the World Extreme Cagefighting
featherweight champion answered nearly every question about potential
weaknesses by making challenger Urijah Faber look out of his
league in a five-round domination Saturday night at Arco Arena.
Aldo’s
striking game has long been established as one of the best of
any fighter in any weight class. When he won the featherweight
title from Mike Brown on Nov. 18, he erased doubts about his
takedown defense as Brown, a powerful wrestler, couldn’t
do anything.
That
left these questions about Aldo going into Saturday’s fight:
What would happen if he was on the ground with a top-level grappler?
What would happen if, due to his young age (23), he were to encounter
big-fight pressure? And what would happen if he had to go 25
minutes?
He
answered all of those against Faber without any problems, and
right now the question is whether anyone can even give Aldo (17-1)
a good challenge to stop what appears to be his destiny –
becoming one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen.
While
that tag may seem premature, Aldo’s performance was such
that it would be hard to envision anyone at 145 pounds giving
him trouble. In fact, Zuffa president Dana White talked Saturday
night about Aldo potentially wanting to become the first triple
champion in the sport’s history.
White
talked about Aldo possibly dropping to bantamweight to challenge
Dominick Cruz and then moving up to lightweight to challenge
the champion in that division, whether it be the UFC or WEC title
holder. White even brought up the name B.J. Penn as an intriguing
match down the line for Aldo, and noted that there are no legal
barriers to keep a WEC fighter from facing someone like Penn
in the UFC.
The
first WEC pay-per-view was a resounding success as a live event,
even if you needed a microscope in Arco Arena to find even the
slightest trace of the letters W-E-C. The only visible evidence
was the lettering on the two championship belts that were successfully
defended Saturday, and maybe some mentions in the event program.
The
show was simply promoted as “Aldo vs. Faber” with no
organization listed. White said it was a marketing decision to
maximize pay-per-view buys, and by not using the WEC brand name,
which is associated with the Versus network, he was able to get
far more promotion for the show, including the “Countdown”
preview show airing on SpikeTV and MTV2 and a one-hour live special
of preliminary matches airing on SpikeTV.
The
UFC broadcast team of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan handled the
event, and UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer was also brought in.
Aldo was introduced as world featherweight champion as opposed
to WEC featherweight champion.
Aldo
played the part, scoring a one-sided decision on scores of 49-45,
49-45 and 50-45. Quite frankly, the judges’ scores, if anything,
were too lenient on Faber (23-4), who took a bad beating in Round
3 and an even worse beating in Round 4. In that round, Faber
was crucifixed on the ground with Aldo hurting him with punches
and elbows to the head.
Faber
tried without any success to buck Aldo off him and, if the match
had been stopped, it would have been without any controversy.
But the referee let it go and there was a gigantic reaction when
the round ended by the highly partisan Faber crowd.
Even
under adverse circumstances, neither Faber nor the Arco Arena
crowd had any quit in them. Right up until the final seconds
of the fight, they were intensely behind Faber, the native of
Sacramento. The city’s mayor, former NBA star Kevin Johnson,
was in attendance and had declared “Urijah Faber Day”
in the city earlier in the week. Faber himself survived, taking
a level of punishment that would have mentally broken most fighters.
At the end, he was attempting takedowns and trying to block out
the pain in his damaged left leg.
“In
every fight, I’m always going for a finish,” said Aldo
through interpreter Ed Soares. “It just didn’t happen
this time.”
Aldo’s
main weapon was a kick to Faber’s lead left leg, and he
had Faber in serious trouble by the second round. The kicks slowed
down Faber’s wrestling, and most of his takedown attempts
went nowhere. The champion also beat up Faber’s body with
kicks. When the fight did to go the ground, Aldo was on top delivering
punishment and Faber never found the opening for a submission.
At fight’s end, Faber had to be carried to his stool. He
praised Aldo afterward before he was taken to the hospital to
get his leg checked out.
“I
trained a lot on defense of leg kicks but he’s very effective
with them,” Faber said. “He really took away my legs
and it was impossible to get something going.”
Getting
Aldo to the ground seemed to be Faber’s best shot at winning,
and he tried to do so in the later rounds. However, Aldo dominated
there as well.
“I
think it [not going for takedowns] had a lot to do with the leg,”
Faber said. “I was losing mobility. He’s very good
and very fast. I tried my best.”
A
crowd of 14,144 fans paid a gate of $1 million, both records
for WEC on its biggest night. As with every major event in the
company’s history, Faber, either as the defending champion
or title challenger, was the draw. But despite the event being
a major success, the promotion took one step back due to the
lopsided defeat of Faber, who is no longer in the mix as either
champion or challenger in that weight class.
It’s
possible that Faber, having lost three of his last five fights,
could drop to bantamweight. He has noted many times that he could
make 135 pounds with little problem. He wrestled at a lower weight
at UC Davis and he’s naturally small for the 145-pound class.
Faber fought the past several years at featherweight because,
at first, there was no bantamweight class. Once there was, he
was already featherweight champion and beating everyone in his
path.
For
Aldo, his most likely next opponent will be Manvel Gamburyan
(13-5), who knocked out former champion Mike Brown with a right
to the jaw in 2:22 on Saturday. Gamburyan, the former star of
“The Ultimate Fighter” reality show, would go in as
a heavy underdog, but so would anyone else who steps into the
cage with Aldo right now.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Notes:
Henderson cleans up; Garcia thrills
SACRAMENTO,
Calif. – Ben Henderson, like most fighters under the Zuffa
umbrella, is a good company man. So when the World Extreme Cagefighting
lightweight champion was asked who he’d like to face next
in a division that he has all but cleaned out, he gave the stock
answer.
“Ask
my bosses,” said Henderson (12-1). “They say ‘jump’
and I say ‘how high?’ ”
But
it’s unclear who in the WEC’s 155-pound ranks can give
Henderson a challenge after his swift victory over Donald Cerrone
on Saturday night.
The
fight at Arco Arena was a rematch of one of 2009’s best
matches. Henderson took the first bout by unanimous decision
in a fight close enough that many felt Cerrone won.
But
Henderson left nothing to chance Saturday, finishing Cerrone
in just 1:57 with a textbook guillotine choke.
“To
be completely honest, to be frank, I definitely went in there
expecting another five-round, knock-down, drag-out war,”
said Henderson, who earned a $65,000 submission-of-the-night
bonus for his efforts. “I had a game plan. I wanted to get
a feel for him in the first round, work him up against cage,
hurt him with knees to the head and body. It came about quicker
than I was expecting.”
Zuffa
president Dana White has said that the WEC’s lightweight
division eventually will merge with the UFC’s 155-pound
class. Until then, fans are left to wonder where Henderson would
stack up against the UFC’s lightweight fighters.
Henderson,
after all, has won all five of his WEC fights, four of them by
finish. He has beaten Cerrone twice, stopped Jamie Varner for
the title and he already owns a first-round stoppage over another
top contender, Shane Roller.
The
champ, for his part, has made it clear that he doesn’t find
much appeal in fights against opponents he already has finished.
“I’m
not really looking to rematch someone I fought before,”
said Henderson, who earned a $65,000 fight of the night bonus
for his efforts. “If I fought someone and I knocked them
out already, do I want to fight them again? Not so much. But
if they say to do it, I’ll do it.”
White,
when asked how Henderson would fare against the better UFC lightweights,
instead went on a bit of a rant about how fighters outside the
UFC are, in his opinion, overrated.
“Henderson,
where is he ranked right now? If he was in [expletive] Japan,
or some other place, you’d have him ranked No. 2. What I
need to do is send them somewhere else so they can become ranked
No. 2 and then bring them back.”
So
until Henderson’s next move is plotted, the champ will take
satisfaction in knowing that any remaining doubt from the first
Cerrone fight has been erased.
“I
heard all of the talk about how the last fight was scored, how
to score my submission defenses and what-not. This time, if I
had to run through a brick wall to finish the fight, I was going
to do it,” he said. “I thought that I won that one,
me personally, but I’m a little biased. … This time
I wanted to leave no doubt whatsoever.”
Garcia,
Jung deliver barnburner
White
couldn’t possibly have been any happier with the undercard
match between Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung. The featherweight
fight was the final match on the one-hour SpikeTV preliminary
broadcast designed to pump last-minute buys for the pay-per-view
event.
“That
was incredible. That was one of the best fights I’ve ever
seen,” White said. “I can put Abu Dhabi behind me now.”
Garcia
and Chan delivered with a wild brawl that evoked memories of
Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar’s legendary fight, and
it had the crowd of 14,144 roaring throughout. While the match
certainly won’t be remembered for its technical mastery,
it was the sort of 15-minute display of heart and fighting spirit
that made fans remember why they were drawn to the sport.
Garcia
took a split-decision victory, winning on scores of 29-28, 28-29
and 29-28. This reporter and Yahoo! Sports’ Dave Meltzer
both scored it 29-28 Garcia, giving Jung the first round and
Garcia the last two. Both men earned $65,000 fight-of-the-night
bonuses for their efforts.
“These
guys both fought their hearts out. I don’t think these guys
lost any fans. Everyone who saw that fight was a winner tonight,”
said White.
“I
think Leonard Garcia is an incredible athlete,” said Chan
(10-2), a native of Gyeongju, Korea, who fought in America for
the first time. “In the end, I lost. Right after the fight
I felt like I won. The decision is made. You can’t turn
back time so I accept the decision.”
Garcia
took the fight as an injury replacement on three weeks notice
and broke his right hand throwing a punch in the first round.
“The Korean Zombie” nearly finished Garcia, but the
latter willed his way through the round. Garcia was in trouble
at several other points in the fight, but he managed to score
enough offense in each round of the last two rounds to edge out
a decision.
“He’s
one of the first guys to come in and go toe to toe with me and
I respect him for that,” said Garcia (14-5-1). “I’d
love to have a fight like that every month, if my body could
take it. I knew everything about him; I’ve watched him fight
several times. I felt like it was my responsibility to get people
to buy the pay-per-view. I had to fight. There’s no quit
inside me.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Garcia
pulls out split decision over Jung in 'fight of the decade'
Leonard
Garcia won a split decision 29-28, 28-29,29-28 over Chan Sung
Jung in a fight that is easily in contention for fight of the
year. Garcia, a WEC vet, and Jung, who was making his WEC debut,
engaged in nonstop action for three rounds.
The
first round started out with both fighters swinging away for
a straight minute and a half. Jung knocked Garcia down and looked
close to finishing him off, but Garcia survived. He got back
to his feet, but the damage was clear.
The
second round had more explosive action. As the raucous crowd
at Arco Arena chanted, "GAR-CI-A!" Jung started out
with a head kick and big punches. Garcia followed up with big
punches of his own and appeared to rock Jung, but the "Korean
Zombie" fought through it, and then hopped on Garcia's back
and took him to the ground, attempting a rear naked choke. Jung
couldn't sink in his hooks, and again, Garcia got back to his
feet. In the final minute and a half of the round, Jung threw
some punishing knees and punches, but then Garcia followed up
with his own knees and punches.
Neither
fighter appeared to have lost any gas in the final round, continuing
to throw more and more punishing punches throughout the bout.
After the final horn sounded, the two fighters smiled broadly
at each other and hugged, both aware of the special fight they
had just created.
Before
the scores were read, Garcia told the camera that he broke his
hand, and his corner had to cut his gloves off his hand. Jung
may have lost his WEC debut, but he clearly made his mark on
American MMA in what commentator Joe Rogan called "the fight
of the decade."
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Stevenson
vs Gomi at “UFC on Versus” 2
Joe
“Daddy” Stevenson and Takanori Gomi will both be looking
for redemption in Salt Lake City on Aug. 2 when they meet at
UFC on Versus 2 in a lightweight contest.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Thursday by sources close
to the fight, with verbal agreements in place at this time. The
fight was initially reported as a possibility by Heavy.com.
It’s
been a rocky road over the past couple of years for Joe Stevenson
(31-11) who, after winning “The Ultimate Fighter Season
2,” has seen more success than failures, but is still looking
for solid footing in what is one of the toughest divisions in
the sport.
Going
3-3 in his last six fights, Stevenson traveled to Australia for
his last fight and found a home country kid in George Sotiropoulos
waiting for him, and maybe catching him by surprise. Sotiropoulos
dominated en route to a three-round decision victory, and Stevenson
is now battling back from the loss.
Opposing
Stevenson in Utah will be former Pride champion Takanori Gomi
(31-6), as he tries to bring back some of the “Fireball
Kid” that ruled Japan for so many years. Making his UFC
debut in March, Gomi ran into Kenny Florian, one of the top lightweights
in the sport, and he was systematically dismantled for the better
part of three rounds before succumbing to a rear naked choke
in the final five minutes.
Gomi
hopes to make more out of his second appearance in the Octagon
when he faces Stevenson in August.
More
fights for the upcoming UFC on Versus 2 card are expected to
be announced in the coming weeks.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
IS
A UFC CHANNEL WHERE IT'S ALL HEADED?
Last weekend when Strikeforce took to the airwaves on CBS, it
was no surprise that the talk about the sport’s biggest
promotion ending up on network television would come up again.
UFC
president Dana White has long been of the opinion that the promotion
would do a network TV deal if it made sense, but at this point
they aren't actively pursuing a network television deal. They
are content with the TV partners they have.
Saying
that 2009 was the strongest year yet for the UFC, White commented
about the networks. While there are no harsh feelings, it's not
something he's spending that much time working on at this point.
"I
don't dislike any of them or have any problems, obviously you
guys have heard me talk about Showtime. Showtime blew that whole
deal between us and CBS, but I wouldn’t do a deal with CBS,"
said White on Saturday.
"We're
doing just fine where we're at, and we have a game plan. We're
happy with the plan that we have right now, and I think it's
great and I think we're going to do big things over the next
couple of years."
Some
of those big things could include a UFC or Zuffa specific network
or channel. The conversation about that possibility has come
up before, and White didn't exactly discount the idea when pressed
if it could happen.
"If
you can't join 'em, beat 'em," he joked.
One
goal that the UFC has been adamant about over the last few years
is global expansion, which CEO Lorenzo Fertitta has been spearheading.
With the global plan comes more programming, and White has said
the Internet is the future of television in a worldwide market.
While
that plan is still set in motion, the UFC's relationship with
Spike TV is one that will continue to flourish. Currently the
UFC accounts for 55 percent of the network's primetime programming,
and more is sure to come with live shows, preliminary bouts airing
on the network, and several more seasons of “The Ultimate
Fighter" reality show already planned.
"I
am happy as a pig in (expletive) with Spike TV. I love it on
Spike TV," said White. "They've been great partners
to us, we've been great partners to them, and I'm not one of
these the grass is greener over on network. It's not.
"The
grass is very (expletive) green on Spike TV."
It
looks like for the immediate future the UFC will stay with all
of their current partners, and Internet expansion will be the
wave of the future. But never count out a motivated UFC president
and owners who still have a goal of turning mixed martial arts
into the biggest sport in the world.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MMAWeekly’s
divisional rankings
The
latest MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday,
April 21. This system ranks the Top 10 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.
HEAVYWEIGHT
(over 205 pounds)
1.
Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Shane Carwin
4. Cain Velasquez
5. Junior Dos Santos
6. Frank Mir
7. Brett Rogers
8. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Fabricio Werdum
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT (205-pound limit)
1.
Lyoto Machida
2. Rashad Evans
3. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
4. Quinton Jackson
5. Anderson Silva
6. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
7. Forrest Griffin
8. Jon Jones
9. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal
10. Gegard Mousasi
MIDDLEWEIGHT
(185-pound limit)
1.
Anderson Silva
2. Vitor Belfort
3. Chael Sonnen
4. Jake Shields
5. Nathan Marquardt
6. Demian Maia
7. Dan Henderson
8. Robbie Lawler
9. Jorge Santiago
10. Yoshihiro Akiyama
WELTERWEIGHT
(170-pound limit)
1.
Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Thiago Alves
4. Josh Koscheck
5. Paul Daley
6. Paulo Thiago
7. Matt Hughes
8. Dan Hardy
9. Nick Diaz
10. Martin Kampmann
LIGHTWEIGHT
(160-pound limit)
1.
Frankie Edgar
2. B.J.
Penn
3. Gilbert Melendez
4. Shinya Aoki
5. Kenny Florian
6. Eddie Alvarez
7. Tatsuya Kawajiri
8. Gray Maynard
9. Jim Miller
10. Ben Henderson
FEATHERWEIGHT
(145 pound-limit)
1.
Jose Aldo
2. Mike Brown
3. Urijah Faber
4. Raphael Assuncao
5. Hatsu Hioki
6. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue
7. Manny Gamburyan
8. Leonard Garcia
9. Bibiano Fernandes
10. Josh Grispi
BANTAMWEIGHT
(135 pounds or less)
1.
Dominick Cruz
2. Brian Bowles
3. Joseph Benavidez
4. Miguel Torres
5. Damacio Page
6. Scott Jorgensen
7. Masakatsu Ueda
8. Takeya Mizugaki
9. Brad Pickett
10. Charlie Valencia
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Galaxy
MMA: Worlds Collide This
Saturday!
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
May 1, 2010
Doors open at 5:00PM
Show starts at 6:00PM
Scott Junk vs. Fabiano Scherner
Tyson
Nam vs. Keola Silva
Preston
Louis vs. Koa Giddens
Zack
Pang vs. Chivas Antoque
Fight card subject to change.
Also
featuring the Galaxy MMA Lightweight Grand Prix Tournament featuring
fighters from the Bulls Pen, Combat 50, Team Quest, 808 Fight
Factory, Arena MMA, Gracie Barra & More.
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact:
Galaxy MMA Marketing
galaxymma@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/galaxymma
www.twitter.com/galaxymma
Galaxy MMA Launches its Premiere Event at Blaisdell Arena, May
1, 2010
Honolulu, HI March 10, 2010 – Galaxy MMA will present its
premiere mixed martial arts events at the Blaisdell Arena on
May 1, 2010.
Mark Pang, President of Galaxy MMA, and his creative team are
dedicated to bringing exciting live events to the MMA fans of
Hawaii. Galaxy MMA’s first event, Worlds Collide, is scheduled
for Saturday, May 1, 2010 and will feature two UFC veterans.
K-1 veteran, cast member on The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 reality
show, and MFC Heavyweight Champion Scott Junk from Kailua, Hawaii
will headline the main event against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black
Belt and UFC veteran Fabiano Scherner from Team Quest of Oregon.
Prior to these two explosive heavyweights locking horns, the
co-main event will feature the return of popular local boy Tyson
Nam (Team Quest) against HMC wrestling stand out Keola Silva.
The fight card will also launch a Grand Prix 155lb light weight
tournament to establish a hierarchy for the top 155lb fighter
in Hawaii with fighters from the following schools: 808 Fight
Factory, Arena MMA, Bulls Pen, Combat 50, HMC, Team Quest, and
more. As a Grand Prix fighter wins, he will advance rounds culminating
in the crowning of the top 155lb light weight in Hawaii.
The Galaxy MMA team’s mission is to produce top level talent
in Hawaii and to give their fighters branding, marketability,
and exposure to fight fans around the world. While doing so,
Galaxy MMA will also give a portion of their proceeds from each
of their events to local charities and non-profits.
Tickets are on sale at the Blaisdell Box Office & all Ticketmaster
Outlets, 1-800-745-3000.
For online ticket availability and information visit the following
sites:
www.GalaxyMMA.com
www.ticketmaster.com
www.facebook.com/GalaxyMMA www.twitter.com/GalaxyMMA
Source: Event Promoter
|
MMA:
Tito Ortiz arrested, accuses partner of drug use
AP Sports Writer
LOS
ANGELES — Mixed martial arts star Tito Ortiz claims his
ex-porn star girlfriend is addicted to Oxycontin, and he blames
Jenna Jameson's drug use for his arrest Monday on suspicion of
domestic violence.
Ortiz
was arrested in Huntington Beach at the home he shares with Jameson
and their twin sons. Several hours after posting bail, Ortiz
and his attorney accused Jameson of drug addiction and claimed
Ortiz never struck her.
"Jenna
Jameson has been fighting an ugly battle with an addiction to
Oxycontin for well over a year, and this morning, she had a relapse,"
attorney Chip Matthews said. "We're here because Tito was
trying to help her. Tito Ortiz never laid a hand on Jenna."
Ortiz
wept openly at the hastily arranged news conference at an Italian
restaurant in North Hollywood, saying the support of his family
and Jameson's father "just means the world to me."
"My
parents have gone through an addiction, and I'm seeing a mirror
of that," Ortiz said. "I hold everything dear to my
heart that Jenna will be OK."
Ortiz
is a former UFC light heavyweight champion whose celebrity has
eclipsed his MMA accomplishments since he began a relationship
in 2006 with Jameson, perhaps the world's most famous adult film
actress. Jameson, who crossed into the mainstream after publishing
a popular autobiography in 2004, gave birth to the couple's twin
sons, Jesse and Journey, in March 2009.
Matthews
said the 35-year-old Ortiz found drugs in their home Monday morning,
leading to the confrontation that ended with Ortiz's arrest.
Matthews also claimed the 36-year-old Jameson has made 911 calls
threatening suicide over the past year, but Ortiz stuck with
his partner of four years in hopes of salvaging their relationship.
A
call to Jameson's representatives went unanswered late Monday
night. Jameson posted one message on her Twitter account Monday,
saying she planned to quit Twitter.
"I
cant take any more abuse from ANYONE.. To my sweet fans...thank
you," the message read.
Jameson
and her father, Larry, spoke to TMZ.com and other reporters outside
the home earlier Monday. Wearing a wrap on her right elbow, Jameson
described herself as "completely shocked" by the incident,
saying Ortiz had "lashed out" at her, leaving her feeling
"betrayed."
Matthews
said Jameson's father initially called 911 after the couple's
argument, but provided support to Ortiz after learning of his
daughter's drug abuse, even bringing clothes to Ortiz after he
made bail. Matthews said a restraining order is keeping Ortiz
away from Jameson.
Police
Lt. Mike Reynolds said Ortiz was taken to the Huntington Beach
jail and released after posting $25,000 bail. Reynolds said police
can't make an arrest on suspicion of domestic violence unless
there's a "visible injury," and the unnamed victim's
injuries met that standard.
Matthews
said Jameson has "a scratch on her elbow, and oftentimes
when people are on Oxycontin, they don't have the best balance."
Although
his career has waned, Ortiz is among the most decorated and popular
fighters in MMA history. Ortiz, whose nickname is the Huntington
Beach Bad Boy, is a former collegiate wrestler and has been competing
in the growing sport since 1997.
He
was the UFC's light heavyweight champion from 2000 to 2003 during
the formative years of the sport's dominant promotion, making
five title defenses before losing his belt to Randy Couture.
After his career declined amid several injury problems, including
major back surgery, Ortiz left the UFC in 2008 in a bitter dispute
with president Dana White, his former manager.
Ortiz
re-signed with the UFC last year, losing a split decision to
Forrest Griffin in his return fight last November. Despite his
celebrity and business ventures, including a clothing line, Ortiz
is winless in his last four UFC fights since October 2006.
Ortiz
served as a coach on the most recent season of "The Ultimate
Fighter," the UFC's popular reality television show currently
airing on Spike. Yet he apparently was forced to drop out of
the show during its taping earlier this year, and the UFC already
has announced it will replace him with Rich Franklin for the
show's traditional season-ending bout with fellow coach Chuck
Liddell.
Source:
Honolulu Advertiser
|
James
Toney vs. Randy Couture in the Works for UFC 118
SACRAMENTO,
Calif. -- James Toney's MMA debut against Randy Couture is in
the works for UFC 118, UFC president Dana White confirmed Saturday.
"It's
good to hear Randy is Twittering stuff we haven't announced yet,
but yeah, we're working on it," White said.
Although
it's not a "done deal," White said it would happen
in Boston, which would make it the UFC 118 event on Aug. 28 at
the TD Garden.
More
Coverage: Chael Sonnen Dismisses Anderson Silva, James Toney
As 'Bums'
The
Toney-Couture has been the matchup of discussion for Toney ever
since the boxing champion inked a contract with the UFC early
last month.
Hours
after the signing was announced Couture campaigned for the fight
via Twitter by saying "I hope I'm the first guy they call
to fight Toney!" and minutes later, "I hope they set
me up with Toney!"
Toney
expressed the same sentiment a week after when he pointed MMAFighting.com
to Couture as a fighter he would most like to face in his first
MMA bout.
"Randy
Couture is a legend," Toney said. "He's a great dude.
If we fight I'd have to take my time and pick him apart. If that's
my first fight, it'll be a huge fight."
Toney
is training with the controversial Juanito Ibarra, a boxing and
MMA trainer notably responsible for not only guiding Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson to the UFC light heavyweight championship,
but at the same time, an involvement in a messy split that culminated
with Jackson's high-speed car chase.
Currently
slated for UFC 118 is a pair of compelling lightweight bouts,
the BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar title rematch and a Kenny Florian
vs. Gray Maynard top contender contest.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
The
Comedy Stylings of Chael Sonnen
SACRAMENTO,
Calif. -- Anderson Silva's track record of entertaining fights
has taken a hit with his recent middleweight title defenses.
But regardless of how his next fight actually plays out, it's
safe to say that the publicity leading up to the fight will certainly
be a crowd-pleaser.
During
the WEC 48 fan Q&A Friday at the Arco Arena, host Mike Goldberg
was not standing alongside Joe Rogan, but with a different man
possessing comedic ability, Silva's next challenger Chael Sonnen,
whom Silva will meet at UFC 117 on Aug. 7 in Oakland, Calif.
Ignoring
at first Goldberg's first question to him, the man who brought
you "I have a moral obligation to society to beat [Silva]
up," Sonnen, began poking fun at the fact that there were
no chairs on stage for him and the other special guest Jamie
Varner.
"It
looks like an IFL setup here or something. Where's the chairs
at for me and Jamie?" the well-traveled Sonnen asked. "Am
I supposed to stand up here and sweat the whole time or something?
... I thought I was back on BodogFight or something around here
standing up this stage.
"I
feel like Joe Rogan in front of one his comedy routines or something,"
Sonnen continued, before asking fans for a ride from his hotel
to Rogan's show.
Sonnen
confirmed details of the UFC 117 fight, but not without presenting
one scenario in which the fight were to possibly not take place.
"That
is true [of the Silva fight happening], on one condition, that
is, if diplomacy fails," Sonnen said. "I am giving
Anderson Silva the fair chance to back out and back out now.
But as sure as night follows day if he does not heed my warning
I will declare war and on Aug. 7 at 7PM his 15 minutes of fame
will come to an abrupt halt."
Here
are a couple of other gems from the Q&A session.
--
"Have we all had it with this 'I got a staph infection?'
That's like the new thing -- I would be embarrassed if I didn't
have a staph infection. You know what a staph infection is? It
means you've been working out on a mat. For goodness sake you
should always want to have a staph infection. But I tell you
what, when Aug. 7 rolls around, I may have one of these mysterious
staph infections,I will have something on me will hurt, I will
not feel good, but when my music hits those speakers, I'll make
that walk and I'll answer for everything I've ever said."
--
"James Toney I think without question is the best striker
we got in this company. I think James Toney can outstrike anybody
including Anderson Silva and I think everyone here would probably
agree with me. Though everybody's dismissing James Toney, but
they're accepting Anderson's skills. I dismiss both of those
bums. That's what I think about them. I dismiss them both."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
WEC
48 FIGHTER BONUSES; $65,000 CHECKS
World Extreme Cagefighting cut $65,000 fight bonus checks for
in-cage performances at WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber, the promotion’s
first pay-per-view endeavor. The bonuses went to Leonard Garcia,
Chan Sung Jung, Manny Gamburyan and Ben Henderson.
Leonard
Garcia and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung went
to war on the preliminary card on Spike TV and earned Fight of
the Night honors. Garcia won a split decision in a Fight of the
Year candidate bout.
Manny
Gamburyan stunned the world with his first round knockout of
former WEC featherweight titleholder Mike Brown to take home
the Knockout of the Night award. Gamburyan landed a counter right
hand that dropped Brown where Gamburyan finished with strikes
on the ground to the defenseless former champion.
Submission
of the Night bonus money went to Ben Henderson for his guillotine
choke title defense win over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone
early in the co-main event.
The
eleven-fight card featured two knockout and four submission finishes.
Total amount of bonus money distributed at WEC 48 was $260,000.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ROY
NELSON VS CHEICK KONGO AT UFC 116
Never one to back down from a challenge, Roy Nelson will once
again take on a tall order in his next fight as the "Ultimate
Fighter" winner will square off against French striker Cheick
Kongo at UFC 116 in July.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Saturday, and Nelson also confirmed the fight on his personal
Facebook and Twitter pages as well.
Since
winning season 10 of the "Ultimate Fighter", Roy Nelson
(15-4) has made no bones about the fact that he wants to face
the toughest fighters the heavyweight division has to offer,
and wants to get a title shot sooner rather than later.
After
knocking out Brendan Schaub to win the reality show, Nelson was
given a tall order, literally, in his first fight following the
show facing 6'11" Dutch fighter Stefan Struve. Despite the
obvious reach disadvantage, Nelson blasted through Struve in
less than a minute when the two fought in March.
Opposing
Nelson in July will be Frenchman Cheick Kongo (15-6-1) coming
off a win over Paul Buentello in March, in which he controlled
the fight from start to finish, before submitting his opponent
with elbows to the body.
It's
been an up and down ride for Kongo in the heavyweight division
as he's come close to title shots a few times, but runs into
obstacles along the way. He just recently signed a new 6-fight
deal with the UFC, so he's in this division for the long haul
and wants to make his mark by facing Nelson in July.
There
has been no official announcement about the July 3 card, but
it's likely to be headlined by the return of UFC heavyweight
champion Brock Lesnar taking on interim champion Shane Carwin.
Nelson vs. Kongo will more than likely end up on the pay-per-view
main card as well.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NEGOTIATIONS
ONGOING FOR COUTURE VS. TONEY
It's been rumored over the past few days that UFC legend Randy
Couture could be the first test for boxer-turned-MMA-fighter
James Toney. On Saturday night, UFC president Dana White confirmed
negotiations are ongoing.
The
UFC signed Toney, a former boxing world champion, to a multi-fight
contract a few months ago. White admitted that he wasn't 100-percent
sure what they were going to do with him for his first fight.
Now
it appears he'll go toe-to-toe with a legend of the Octagon in
former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture.
"Yeah
I'm working on that, that's what I'm working on," said White
about the potential fight.
Nothing
has been locked down or signed at this point, White went as far
as to say "it's not a done deal," but did confirm that
they are targeting the UFC card in Boston on Aug. 28 as a date
for the fight if it does happen. That card is also expected to
feature a rematch between Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn for Edgar’s
lightweight title.
Couture
last fought in February when he took on former UFC heavyweight
champion and Hall of Famer Mark Coleman. Following that win,
it was rumored that Couture would face former middleweight champion
Rich Franklin, but with his involvement in the upcoming main
event for June against Chuck Liddell that pulled the Cincinnati
fighter out of any potential bout with Couture.
Now
Couture could be lined up for one of the biggest draws in MMA
history as he may face off against the first former world champion
boxer to sign with the UFC. MMAWeekly.com will have more information
on the potential bout between Couture and Toney as details become
available.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nogueira:
“I have to be ready for everything”
Back
to the UFC after a great debut with a knockout, Rogerio “Minotouro”
Nogueira is working hard for his fight against the former champion
Forrest Griffin, on May 29 in Las Vegas (UFC 114).
"We
are mixing a lot of Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, a bit of takedown
defense, leg attacks... Griffin is a very complete guy, when
you think he'll exchange he can take you to the ground, he varies
widely, so I have to be ready for everything," said the
tough guy to TATAME.
Training
in Rio de Janeiro, Minotouro expects to grow even more in this
category, which already has big names in MMA nationwide. "I'm
there by merit. I’ve been in the fight’s world for
a while now, I want to be among the best. The goal is to win,
but without disregarding Griffin. I know he has the potential
to lead this fight, but I'm pretty confident and I want to keep
improving," says Rogério, believing that he must
overcome many challenges to reach the belt.
"Brazil
is well represented (on this category), but there are good American
fighter in the same category, such as Rashad (Evans), Quinton
Jackson ... There are many good people to fight with ... You
cannot predict what will happen, but what I want is to be undefeated
in the event and remain on top”, he concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
Cigano:
“I was hoping to fight Velasquez”
Fabrício
Werdum, Stefan Struve, Mirko Cro Cop, Gilbert Yvel and Gabriel
Napão. Five fights, five wins, five knockouts. Junior
Cigano’s career on UFC is overwhelming and the tough heavyweight
dreams with his chance of fighting for the category belt. Despite
having the UFC’s president as his fan, Dos Santos will have
to wait.
With
the fight for the belt between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin,
the American Cain Velasquez, Rodrigo Minotauro’s tormentor
on his last fight *UFC 110), should be the next on the line for
this opportunity, for Cigano’s mischance, who was waiting
for a chance to revenge his master and get a little closer from
his dream.
“They
don’t want to set a fight with Velasquez, for now it’s
not interest for them. I was hoping for this fight because it
makes total sense, but they don’t want it now... let’s
wait and see, said Cigano, with no clue of the date of his comeback
on UFC.
“There
are a lot of names I could confront, but I really don’t
have a clue of who will it be my next opponent,” says the
heavyweight, who has become the new target of the category. Roy
Nelson, last edition of The Ultimate Fighter’s champion,
has shown his interest for this fight.
“He
has shown he’s a very embattled fighter, is in a good moment
on UFC and actually said he wanted to fight me... If it’s
him or not, I don’t care.. I’ll be prepared to fight
with whoever my opponent is and make it a good fight”, said,
dreaming with the chance of winning. “I’m in a very
good position and in a very special time on my career and, if
that’s what God wants, I’ll have this opportunity to
fight for the belt”.
Source: Tatame
|
Pellegrino
hopes to tap to Marcelo Garcia a thousand times
Winning
10 of his last 16 MMA outings by submission, Kurt Pellegrino
gave further proof his Jiu-Jitsu is up to par when he submitted
black belt Fabricio Morango with a rear-naked choke at UFC 111.
To many Gentle Art lovers, mainly for the way he won the bout,
it was a surprise.
Speaking
of surprises, Pellegrino’s next opponent is George Sotiropoulos.
For those who don’t remember, Sotiropoulos is the Australian
who put on a Jiu-Jitsu clinic in beating favored to win Joe Stevenson
at UFC 110.
To
keep his ground game up to speed and win his fifth fight in a
row for the promotion, only July 3 in Las Vegas, Pellegrino headed
for New York, where he will do his prep work with Jiu-Jitsu world
champion Marcelo Garcia. The two have faced off before in the
past, in the quarterfinals of the 2007 ADCC.
“He
was a good grappler, but he took me down, took my back and choked
me. With him I’ll be the best prepared guy in the world,”
he told MMAJunkie.com, with the certainty he will tap out at
least a thousand times to Garcia.
Nevertheless,
the lightweight won’t skip training with his old training
partners Keith and Kenny Florian.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Kazuhiro
Nakamura Decisions Hidehiko Yoshida at ASTRA
TOKYO,
Japan -- Hidehiko Yoshida handed the torch to his student, Kazuhiro
Nakamura at ASTRA, dropping a unanimous decision in his final
fight in front of over 10,000 fans at the Nippon Budokan.
Michihiro
Omigawa got a win in the books for Yoshida's sake, surprisingly
getting out struck by a game Micah Miller and having to revert
back to his judo to take the unanimous decision.
And
as Yoshida bid us all farewell, Enson Inoue successfully returned
after six years away, armbarring New Zealand native Antz Nansen
at 2:10 of the first round.
More
results and a breakdown of the fights after the jump.
While
he was slow to start, Kazuhiro Nakamura chased down his mentor,
Hidehiko Yoshida with superior speed and boxing, actually managing
to take down the 1992 Olympic judo gold medalist. Heavy strikes
landed by both fighters effectively threw out any speculation
that this may turn into a glorified pro-wrestling match between
the stablemates.
Round
one saw Nakamura attempting to use his distinct speed advantage,
darting in and out with lunging jabs to the body and head of
a noticeably larger Yoshida. The 1992 Olympic judo gold medalist
used the 38-pound weight difference to his advantage however,
clinching with his student wherever possible to minimize his
speed and striking disadvantage and effectively drawing the round.
The
action was kicked up a gear in the second with both fighters
taunting the other and Yoshida classically winging right hands
while Nakamura brought low kicks and solid straight rights. Nakamura's
crisper jab proved the superior weapon, forcing the larger man
to resort to clinching again, but Yoshida found no more comfort
there. In a move that surprised all in attendance, Nakamura landed
an easy inside trip on the retiring judoka, bringing him to his
knees where Nakamura landed elbows to the body and punches before
being foiled by the ropes and bell.
In
the final round of the legend's career, Yoshida chose to remove
his trademark judo gi and to leave everything he had in the ring.
As they had promised they would, both fighters walked straight
to the center of the ring and clearly tried to finish the other
with looping punches until again Yoshida is forced to clinch.
Nakamura again took his teacher down and attempted to work some
strikes on the ground. The 40-year-old's body was clearly starting
to fail him towards the end of the third round, getting taken
down multiple times but proving tough enough to survive a poetically
dramatic armbar attempt in the last thirty seconds of his fighting
career.
All
three judges saw it 30-28 for the student, Kazuhiro Nakamura
who know takes over the leading position in Yoshida Dojo.
Also,
Nakamura may also become the leader of the ASTRA banner which,
as Yoshida revealed, is set to continue and will now join Dream
and Sengoku Raiden Championship at the top tier of Japanese events.
Fedor
Emelianenko, Kazushi Sakuraba, Kazuyuki Fujita and Ikuhisa "Minowaman"
Minowa were all present to deliver well wishes to Yoshida in
retirement and Japan said farewell to a true legend with a teary
final 10 count.
Another
Yoshida Dojo judoka, Michihiro Omigawa appropriately went back
to what he knows best in his decision win over Micah Miller.
The American Top Team product utilized his height and reach advantage
to out strike Omigawa, forcing him to use his judo to gain control
of the fight. While Miller threatened with submissions from the
bottom he was never able to secure anything too troubling for
Omigawa who ground out a tough unanimous decision.
Omigawa
is now 6-1 at featherweight, all against quality opposition and
in only a year has turned his career around entirely.
Enson
Inoue returned to the ring to show his appreciation after receiving
over 9000 letters of support from fans while going through legal
difficulties the past two years. His return was successful, as
he quickly submitted a fighter he once cornered, Antz Nansen.
A
week after his 43rd birthday, and on the day of his grandmother's
funeral, Inoue landed a spinning backfist and then shot a takedown
on the noted kickboxer. From the mount Inoue pounded away, missed
with one armbar and then secured another from guard for the tap
at 2:10 in the first round.
Jung
Hwan Cha shocked UFC veteran Ryo Chonan? with a second-round
knockout.
The
Korean landed a hard superman punch and then stood over his felled
opponent and wailed on him with hard, straight punches to bring
a finish to the bout at only 1:16 in the second. Chonan was coming
into this fight with only four weeks rest after a hard fought
decision win over Andrews Nakahara at Dream.13 but requested
to be on the card, regardless of his lack of preparation due
to his respect for Yoshida.
While
victorious over Naoyuki Kotani, Jorge Masvidal looked noticeably
slower than usual in his split decision win. Both fighters had
missed weight the day before but Masivdal, fighting out of American
Top Team, clearly struggled badly with the cut. While his weight
problems must have affected his performance, his striking gave
him a slight edge which was enough for the win.
In
the other bouts, Kiyoshi Tamura protégé, Daisuke
Nakamura easily bested Ganjo Tentsuku over three rounds with
his lightning quick jab and of course his flying armbar attempts,
Deep Welterweight Champ Yuya Shirai disposed of former Cage Rage
Champ, Che Mills with an easy first round armbar at 3:59 and
Akihiko Mori derailed hot Yoshida Dojo prospect Tatsunao Nagakura
with a left hook at 1:04 of the first round.
Astra
- Yoshida's Farewell Results
Kazuhiro Nakamura def. Hidehiko Yoshida by Unanimous Decision.
Michihiro Omigawa def. Micah Miller by Unanimous Decision.
Enson Inoue def. Antz Nansen by
Submission (Armbar), Round 1, 2:10.
Jung Hwan Cha def. Ryo Chonan by KO (Punches), Round 2, 1:16.
Jorge Masvidal def. Naoyuki Kotani by Split Decision.
Daisuke Nakamura def. Ganjo Tentsuku by Unanimous Decision.
Yuya Shirai def. Che Mills by Submission (Armbar), Round 1, 3:59.
Akihiko Mori def. Tatsunao Nagakura by TKO (Punches), Round 1,
1:04.
Opening
Fights
Baru
Harn def. Seigo Mizuguchi by Unanimous Decision.
Yusuke Sakashita def. Kenji Nagai by TKO (Punches), Round 1,
2:04.
Takumi Murata def. Ryosuke Komori by Unanimous Decision.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
GAMBURYAN,
JORGENSEN & ROLLER IMPRESS IN WEC PPV
It was a trio of possible No. 1 contender fights as Manny Gamburyan,
Shane Roller and Scott Jorgensen all made strong cases to be
next in line as they impressed with wins at the WEC pay-per-view
in Sacramento.
The
WEC crowned their next contender for the featherweight title
as former "Ultimate Fighter" finalist Manny Gamburyan
knocked out Mike Brown in the first round of their fight on Saturday
night.
Showing
much improved stand-up, Gamburyan stood in the pocket with Brown
and threw shots while keeping his hands up to avoid any damage
inside. During a quick exchange, Brown threw a 1-2 combination
and actually caught Gamburyan with a right hand, but ducked his
head down at exactly the wrong moment.
Gamburyan
timed a perfect right hand to counter Brown and the former featherweight
champion dropped to the mat. The Armenian followed up with a
few more furious punches as Brown was clearly out on the canvas,
and Gamburyan picks up his third win in a row.
Now
the clear cut top contender, Gamburyan will watch the main event
between Aldo and Faber with an interest in challenging the winner
for the featherweight belt.
Fighting
to your strengths and your opponent's weaknesses is a staple
of a great mixed martial artist, and Shane Roller worked that
strategy to perfection as he took Anthony Njokuani to the ground
within seconds and applied a fight ending rear naked choke just
minutes later.
Knowing
Njokuani's knockout power, Roller used his All-American wrestling
skills to quickly work the fight to the ground, and from there
it was only a matter of time. Taking Njokuani's back quickly,
Roller got his hooks in, and then transitioned to a body triangle
and just kept moving until he finally slipped his forearm under
his opponent's chin.
It
didn't take long once the rear naked choke landed for Roller
to force the tap from Njokuani, and it was a gameplan executed
just the way it was planned.
"It's
fun when you get in a training camp and you train something the
whole time, and you get out here and it executes, it feels good,"
said Roller who now positions himself closer to a title shot
at well.
Two
of the top contenders in the bantamweight division went to war
on Saturday night in a rematch from a controversial split decision
they had in 2009, but this time Scott Jorgensen wanted to leave
no doubt as he battered Antonio Banuelos on his way to a unanimous
decision win.
Banuelos
looked to establish his left hand early, as he found his range
and Jorgensen's defense left an opening. A quick left hook found
its home on Jorgensen's chin, and the Idaho fighter was on his
back fighting for air. Survival mode kicked in and Jorgensen
fought his way back, and between rounds he got the perfect strategy
to win the fight.
Within
moments of the start of the second round, Jorgensen starting
cracking Banuelos with a picture perfect jab, that soon left
him with a broken nose. Jorgensen continued his attack and twice
dropped Banuelos, and while he wasn't able to finish, he left
no doubt in the end that he was the winner.
As
a stacked bantamweight class jockeys for position, Jorgensen
might have just earned a shot at champion Dominic Cruz with his
win over Antonio Banuelos on Saturday night.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
HENDERSON
PUTS COWBOY AWAY EARLY TO DEFEND TITLE
Their first fight was arguably the best fight of 2009. The second
go round was much shorter, and in the end there was no question
about the winner as Ben Henderson defended his title in resounding
fashion, locking up a guillotine choke in the first round to
put Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone away.
When
the first fight ended, question after question came in about
the decision and whether Ben Henderson had done enough to get
a win over Donald Cerrone. Henderson decided this time around,
he wanted to leave no doubt.
It
didn't take long for Henderson to get his range and shoot in
on Cerrone, and while "Cowboy" fought off the takedown,
the champion started to unload shots to the head of the challenger.
The clinch against the cage didn't last long as Henderson worked
the fight to the ground and immediately went to work, while Cerrone
started to scramble away.
As
Cerrone tried to escape away from Henderson's grasp, the champion
saw an opening and attacked the challenger's neck like a pitbull.
With a fierce guillotine choke that has become his signature
move, Henderson locked onto Cerrone's neck and he was either
going to tap or go unconscious.
"I
like the guillotine, what can I say?" Henderson said.
Henderson
continued to wrench up on the hold, and Cerrone had no choice
but to tap out from the guillotine choke. Picking up his 5th
win in the WEC, Henderson solidified himself as one of the top
lightweights in the sport with another big victory.
Having
defeated every challenger in the WEC's lightweight division,
it seems only natural that Henderson could transition to the
UFC's 155lb weight class, although UFC president Dana White has
been hesitant to put a timeline on when that could happen.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ALDO
BUZZSAWS FABER'S LEG TO RETAIN THE TITLE
It was billed as the biggest fight in WEC history, and in the
end Jose Aldo proved to be the most dominant fighter the promotion
has ever seen as he pounded Urijah Faber for five consecutive
rounds to defend the featherweight title in Sacramento.
Aldo
entered the Arco Arena to Jay-Z's "Run This Town" and
it was almost like he knew by the end of the night that he would
do away with Sacramento's hometown hero, and show who truly is
the best 145lb fighter in the world.
While
the fighters found their footing in the first round, Aldo saw
Faber planting his left foot forward and decided to chop him
down like a tree. The Brazilian threw leg kick after leg kick
throughout the fight that went like a buzzsaw through Faber's
lead leg.
The
Californian didn't give up, and showed tremendous heart by switching
stances, and still trying to faint and throw strikes, but Aldo's
leg kicks were so punishing he could barely stand as the fight
moved on. Noticeably limping in the fight, in between rounds
Faber's corner man actually carried him back to the stool to
avoid any more pressure being put on the leg than totally necessary.
With
each thunderous clap, Aldo's confidence soared, while Faber's
leg would seem to wobble just a little bit more. In the fourth
round, the fight made its way to the ground where Aldo used his
grappling to trap Faber in a crucifix position, and started to
reign down punches and forearm strikes.
Referee
Josh Rosenthal gave Faber the opportunity to continue, and the
fight moved into a largely uneventful fifth round. The bout was
already secured at this point, and Aldo went mostly into a defensive
mode to avoid giving up any kind of haymaker Faber might have
thrown at him, and with that the fight was over.
"We
were planning for it to be a really tough fight, with Urijah
being the tough competitor that he is, the great champion that
he is," said Aldo. "I was just waiting for the right
time, and try to finish. Every time I step in the Octagon, I
always try to finish and unfortunately I wasn't able to tonight."
The
crowd voiced their displeasure towards the end of the fight,
as the pace slowed down, but the judges saw the fight just like
it happened, and Aldo defended his title in a lopsided decision.
Regardless of fighting in Faber's hometown, Aldo thanked Sacramento
and hoped to be their new hometown hero after the win.
"I
hope that you guys can adopt me as one of the next champions
from this city also, this is my home away from home," said
Aldo.
Sacramento
was firmly behind Urijah Faber all night, and in the end he simply
didn't have an answer for Aldo's vicious attack on his leg.
"I
trained a lot of defense for those leg kicks, but he's just very
effective with them," said Faber after the fight.
Aldo
now secures his place as not only the top featherweight in the
sport, but will surely gain mentions in the pound-for-pound rankings
in MMA as well. As impressive as his performance was, it seemed
Aldo didn't pull the trigger tonight to put Faber away, but he
still dominated for the first decision of his WEC career.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Tavares
on national revenge against Guillard
After
lunch, Thiago Tavares takes some time to rest before the afternoon’s
training. The movie from the afternoon session on TV was so good
that the UFC lightweight nearly took a nap, but TATAME’s
call disrupted the tough guy. After a few yawns, Thiago was ready
to talk about his next fight in the octagon against Melvin Guillard
at UFC 114.
“The
expectations for my comeback are really high, it’ll be a
great fight. He’s coming from a victory and I want to lead
a Brazilian revenge”, said the athlete from Santa Catarina,
who’ll face the tormentor of his countrymen Gleison Tibau
and Ronys Torres, victims of Guillard on his lasts fights on
UFC. “I’ve watched a lot of his fights... Tibau was
harmed by the arbitration and he beat Ronys by points. It’s
going to be a good fight. He’s very aggressive and I’m
sure he’ll try to fight standing, it’ll be a fight
of a striker against the grappler. He’s trying to keep it
in the up base and I’ll try to bring it to the ground, let’s
see who’s got the best strategy”, tells.
In
his eight defeats among his 34 fights, Melvin was submitted seven
times, but the American has been dedicating in the Jiu-Jitsu
trainings. “In each of his fights he gets more complete,
let’s make the Jiu-Jitsu work”, said Thiago, who’s
coming from a draw with Nik Lentz. “They’ve said it
was a draw, but I thing I’ve never hit anyone as much as
I hit that guy... He created that kick”, reminds the Brazilian,
who had his points deduced because of his low blows. “The
first one got him, but the second didn’t... He had a broken
nose, bleeding a lot, so he invented that so he could take a
breath and take me off a point”, complains, ready to make
a comeback. “I’m always seeking a victory”.
Source: Tatame
|
Ninja
Rua fights for victory, title and UFC
Former
EliteXC’s champion, Murilo Ninja is closer to the US title.
With his debut on the Shine Fights scheduled for May 15, against
Travis Galbraith, the guy from Curitiba has an eye on the belt.
“If
I get off this fight with a victory, my next fight will be on
Shine and it’ll be for the belt”, revealed Ninja, who
dreams even higher. “Maybe in a close future I can be fighting
on UFC along with my brother, right? But I think I’d be
in the middleweight, a very disputed category... But there’s
no easy one”, said the Pride’s former fighter, who
keeps his focus on his next opponent so he avoids any surprises.
“He’s
a fighter who seeks more the physical contact part, the clinch,
but I’ll try to play my game. I’m prepared for any
kind of situation and I’ll try to beat him all the time”,
analyzes, betting on the ground game with a way out for victory.
“I think I’ve got a sharper Jiu-Jitsu than he... I
don’t know where the fighting will take us to, but I’m
Sharp both standing and on the ground part”, guarantees.
Source: Tatame
|
Aldo
effective in strikes and words
As
he entered to defend his title for the first time at WEC 48 this
Saturday, Jose Aldo was received with thunderous boos. His adversary,
Urijah Faber, is a a native of Sacramento, where the bout was
held. Once the showdown was over, after dominating the action
and frustrating the fans of the “California Kid”, Aldo
pursued his applause.
“Urijah’s
a great champion. I know Sacramento’s his town and everyone
loves him, but I too have great affection for Sacramento. When
they told me the fight could be here, I asked that it would.
It was here where I fought for the first time in the WEC and
I would like for the public in the city to adopt me too,”
he said, content with his unanimous decision win.
“I
expected a great fight and to me it was.”
In
the break before the fifth round, Aldo’s trainer, Andre
Pederneiras, was explicit: “No ground. Aim for his legs
and go for them.”
The
champion explained, in the end, why he had to drop the leg kicks,
the strategy tried and true:
“I
felt I was dominating the fight. It’s just that he saw that
was what I was going for and hid the leg. I wasn’t going
to expose myself to his right hook, which is really strong. I
sought to play it safe. He switched base when I was going to
kick and that made things harder.”
In
seven WEC fights, this was the first time the Brazilian didn’t
get the knockout. Regardless, he promised his next outing will
be better.
“Every
time I’m here, I fight to finish as quickly as possible.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Tapped
everyone out at the Pan and got his black belt from the man
Even
though he’s been involved in martial arts for the last 25
years, Brandon Hetzler will cherish the memory of the Pan 2010
as a special moment in his career and his life.
The
Sacramento, California, native returned home from Irvine having
fought thrice, with three finishes and recognition from Rickson
Gracie, who promoted him to black belt right then and there,
after taking gold in the medium heavyweight brown belt senior
1 division, after seven years studying Jiu-Jitsu.
Brandon
shared his joy with Jiu-Jitsu fans in an interesting video, which
you will find below. But there are other secrets to Brandon’s
success, beyond class at Rickson’s: “I’m also
a loyal GRACIEMAG reader, and I have an annual subscription.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Aldo
vs. Faber Event Shows Zuffa Values Fighters Over WEC Brand
For
years, the WEC has been the go-to promotion for can't-miss excitement
in the MMA world. What the little guys lacked in power, they
made up in speed and stamina. Rare was the time when you would
tune in to a WEC event and not see a three-round classic. Saturday
night was no different. As usual, the smaller-weight fighters
showed a little bit of everything. They threw bombs, they showed
submission artistry, they went bell-to-bell. They delivered.
The only thing missing was the three letters that brought us
all here: WEC.
You
may not have noticed, or you may not have cared, but the WEC
logo and name was nowhere to be found on Saturday. It never came
from the lips of Joe Rogan, Mike Goldberg or Bruce Buffer, who
not coincidentally, are not the usual WEC announce team. In fact,
Zuffa did everything it could to blur the lines of this event
and persuade casual fans that what they were seeing was a "UFC"
production.
The
plan was alternately brilliant and head-scratching.
The
positive? Maximum exposure; White and the UFC brand receives
plenty more attention than the WEC, and they milked it for all
it was worth. The negative? Confusion; some casual fans weren't
quite sure what they were seeing. Case in point: Ben Henderson
was not the WEC lightweight champion, but "the lightweight
champion of the world," which of course would be news to
Frankie Edgar, or Gilbert Melendez for that matter.
Some
people might wonder why any of this is a big deal. After all,
we tune in to see the fights, not a brand, but, it makes you
wonder what the WEC fighters have been fighting for all along.
Yes, they got the opportunity to fight on pay-per-view, but not
under the brand they've been trying to build for years. Zuffa
President Dana White said earlier this week that it was a "strategic"
decision, but was the strategy simply selling as many pay-per-views
as possible, or is there something more long-term in mind?
"At
the end of the day, it's about the fights that night," White
said. "I just wanted to make sure we could expose these
fights to as many people as possible. A, B, D, E, F, G. It doesn't
mean s--- to me. We just want to sell some pay-per-views."
The
WEC has never done numbers that approached those of the UFC,
and that clearly played a big role in the decision. White and
the Zuffa braintrust know that there is a baseline number that
all UFC pay-per-view events do, almost regardless of what fight
is filling the main event slot. So blurring the lines and pushing
the fight with White as the carnival-barker made perfect sense.
If people tuned in to Spike at 9 pm ET and watched Anthony Pettis
submit Alex Karalexis or Leonard Garcia outlast "The Korean
Zombie" Chan Sung Jung in an epic, they might have been
confused into thinking they were watching a UFC undercard and
purchased the ensuing pay-per-vew.
That
was no accident; Zuffa decided the undercard fights airing on
Spike would give them maximum exposure and essentially function
as a one-hour commercial for what was to follow on pay-per-view.
The reason no "WEC" logos were allowed was because
Spike wouldn't allow them; after all, the WEC's true home --
Versus -- is a competitor.
If
some fans got hoodwinked into buying the event, they probably
wouldn't be too upset with the $44.95 cable bill that's going
to follow. While none of the fights on the PPV portion of the
card were classics (Garcia vs. Jung was the definitive show-stealer),
you couldn't walk away feeling upset about watching Antonio Banuelos
and Scott Jorgensen go to battle, you had to be shocked about
Mike Brown falling prey to Manny Gamburyan's striking, and Henderson's
guillotine win over Donald Cerrone was pretty stunning.
The
main event may have lacked a finish, but it's impossible to deny
Jose Aldo his place among the world's pound-for-pound elite after
essentially dismantling Urijah Faber.
There's
no question the WEC fighters delivered as they seemingly always
have, but the question I keep coming back to is, What is the
long-term benefit of this pay-per-view aside from cash? Since
there was no mention at all of the WEC, fans who were watching
for the first time have no idea how to watch these guys again.
Zuffa
has always kept the big picture in mind with what they were doing.
Years ago they realized they needed a reality show audience to
grow the product, and The Ultimate Fighter became their Trojan
Horse to mainstream interest. But this decision almost seems
to be the reverse, because it doesn't build to anything other
than the moment. They sold the card as "Aldo vs. Faber,"
which means something for those two guys but doesn't necessarily
help the rest of the WEC roster beyond this particular event.
So
the question becomes, What is WEC's future fate? Will they be
rolled into the UFC? This event essentially was an extension
of the UFC brand. I've always maintained that fighters like Aldo,
Faber and Miguel Torres would be worth more by simply placing
them behind a UFC logo. Zuffa didn't go quite that far on Saturday;
they did everything but. Because Zuffa's been so strategic in
the past, it has to make you think that consolidation is the
future. If they plan to promote every WEC pay-per-view card like
this, it's almost worthless to have a second brand.
By
its omission from the night's proceedings, it seems clear that
the WEC name doesn't have significant value to Zuffa. Even if
that's the case, that's OK, because it's obvious that the fighters
do.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
WEC
48: ALDO VS. FABER LIVE RESULTS & PHOTOS
World Extreme Cagefighting makes its first foray on pay-per-view
on Saturday night pitting two of the sport’s best featherweight
fighters against each other. WEC 145-pound champion Jose Aldo
attempts to defend his belt from former champion Urijah Faber
at WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif.
Lightweight
champion Ben Henderson will try to defend his belt as well, facing
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, a fighter he bested via decision
last October.
WEC
48: Aldo vs. Faber airs live on pay-per-view at 7 p.m. PT / 10
p.m. ET, with two preliminary bouts airing live on Spike TV at
6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET. MMAWeekly.com will be providing live coverage
of Saturday’s event, starting with the preliminary bouts,
which are expected to start at approximately 4 p.m. PT / 7 p.m.
ET.
Refresh
this page frequently for the latest results and play-by-play...
WEC
48 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
JOSE
ALDO VS. URIJAH FABER
R1
– Faber testing the water with punches and kicks, trying
to find his range. Solid leg kick by Aldo, and a second one lakes
out Faber’s legs, but he bounces right back to his feet.
Faber telegraphs a takedown and Aldo just backs away from it.
Faber seems fairly content to stand with Aldo, those he’s
being very careful about his timing, mostly throwing single punches,
as is Aldo. Faber landing the overhand right a couple times,
but then eats a jumping knee from Aldo and goes down, but again
pops right back up.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Faber
R2
– Lots of single punches by both fighters, neither landing
much damage. But then Aldo lands a nice 1-2 uppercut. Follows
with a hard leg kick. Not a lot of action yet, but Aldo’s
strikes carrying much more authority in this round. Lands another
solid leg kick. Much more aggressive Aldo this round. A couple
more leg kicks from Aldo and they look to be taking their toll
on Faber’s lead leg.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Aldo
R3
– Faber feints a takedown, but doesn’t commit to it.
Aldo lands another crushing leg kick and Faber is now limping
on it. Faber is frequently switching stances now, trying to protect
his left leg. Aldo bobbing and weaving to avoid most of Faber’s
punches now, and again attacks with the low kicks. Aldo goes
high and rocks Faber with a head kick and then lands several
punches to the body. Faber’s mobility looks severely hampered
right now. He’s having a difficult time avoiding Aldo’s
low kicks. Another good body punch from Aldo and then he drops
Faber with a low kick.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Aldo
R4
– Aldo lands another low kick and Faber has to turn and
retreat. He goes for a takedown. Aldo goes down, but quickly
takes Faber’s back, both hooks in. Faber reverses and just
misses a guillotine choke. Both fighters back to their feet.
Aldo kicks Faber’s leg out again and drops into his half
guard. Aldo easily passes to side control and puts Faber in a
crucifix position, pummeling his face with punches and elbows.
Somehow Faber survives to the bell.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-8 for Aldo
R5
– Faber is searching for any kind of opening, Aldo is just
waiting. Faber dives for a leg, but Aldo pulls out of his grasp.
Faber’s back on his feet still looking for an opening. Aldo
is hanging back, seemingly waiting for some sort of counter.
Faber takes a couple shots, but Aldo easily defends. Aldo land
a hard left hook to the body, but doesn’t follow up. Faber
shoots and misses the takedown, Aldo standing at his feet just
throwing a few punches, but doesn’t really land much.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Aldo, the fight 49-45 for Aldo
Jose
Aldo def. Urijah Faber by Unanimous Decision (49-45, 49-45, 50-45),
R3
BEN
HENDERSON VS. DONALD CERRONE
R1
– Cerrone opens with a low kick and Henderson shoots, but
can’t get it. They end up clinched on the cage, Henderson
landing knees to the legs and body. Henderson gets Cerrone down.
Cerrone tries to scramble out, but gets caught in a guillotine
choke and submits.
Ben
Henderson def. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone by Submission
(Guillotine Choke) at 1:57, R1
MIKE
BROWN VS. MANNY GAMBURYAN
R1
– Both fighters looking to strike, Brown getting the better
part of the punching for the first minutes then Gamburyan drops
him with a short right hook and follows him down, dropping punches.
The referee quickly steps in and stops it.
Manny
Gamburyan def. Mike Brown by KO (Strikes) at 2:22, R1
SHANE
ROLLER VS. ANTHONY NJOKUANI
R1
– Roller immediately goes for the takedown and lands it
after considerable effort, quickly moving to mount. Njokuani
escapes the mount, but Roller takes his back, locking on a body
triangle and a rear naked choke. Njokuani defends, but Roller
maintains his back. Roller again goes for the choke, finally
forcing Njokuani to submit.
Shane
Roller def. Anthony Njokuani by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 3:07, R1
SCOTT
JORGENSEN VS. ANTONIO BANUELOS
R1
– Both guys go head hunting with punches, but Jorgensen
quickly goes for the shot. Banuelos sprawls and they end up in
a clinch, Jorgensen landing knees to the body. Jorgensen landing
some solid punches, but Banuelos kicks his leg out. Jorgensen
right back up and they start trading, Jorgensen using his reach
to effect. Banuelos drops Jorgensen with a left hand midway through
the round, but Jorgensen quickly gets his guard as Banuelos follows
him down. Jorgensen misses a quick submission attempt and they’re
back to their feet in the clinch. They separate and finish out
the round landing mostly single strikes, Banuelos landing a spinning
back kick to the midsection.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Banuelos
R2
– Jorgensen landing some strong kicks to the body to start
round two. They trade some punches, Jorgensen finding his range,
landing a couple hard shots, bloodying Banuelos’ nose. Good
punch-kick combination by Banuelos midway through the round.
Both fighters are finding their mark, but Jorgensen is busier
this round, landing with greater quantity. Jorgensen lands a
couple stiff jabs then drops Banuelos with a right hand and follows
him down. He’s on Banuelos’ back, throwing punches
to the head and body and knees to the thigh. They get up, clinched,
and Jorgensen lands a knee to the face as the round ends.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Jorgensen
R3
– Jorgensen starts off gunning for the knockout, lands a
hard straight right that rocks Banuelos. He’s definitely
more aggressive this round, stalking Banuelos, punching harder,
with more authority that the first two rounds. Good low kick
by Jorgensen, but he takes a left hand on the chin for it. Jorgensen
drops Banuelos with a straight right and follows him to the mat,
again taking his back, unloading with strikes. He cinches in
the rear naked choke, but gives it up, still on Banuelos’
back. Jorgensen works a hook in and starts hammerfisting and
elbowing the side of Banuelos’ head. He goes for the rear
naked choke again and has it locked on tight, Banuelos desperately
punching back at Jorgensen. He slips out of the choke, but Jorgensen
goes for an armbar as the round ends.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 and the fight 29-28 for Jorgensen
Scott
Jorgensen def. Antonio Banuelos by Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28), R3
LEONARD
GARCIA VS. CHAN SUNG JUNG
R1
– Jung starts with a sharp low kick as the two try to gauge
their striking distance. A furious exchange ensues with both
fighters swinging for the fences and exchanging knees, but Jung
getting a little bit better of the deal with his longer limbs.
Garcia clinches and pushes Jung to the fence. Another heavy exchange
with Jung landing the heavier punches and scoring with some strong
knees to the body, Garcia looking a little shaky. Jung drops
Garcia with a left-right punch combination and follows him to
the mat, dropping punches. Garcia locks on an omo plata attempt,
but can’t finish. Jung escapes and starts more ground and
pound from half guard. Jung stands and Garcia kicks him off and
gets back to his feet where they exchange knees to the body and
wild punches before Jung lands a head kick. The Korean unleashes
a furious onslaught of punches and knees, but Garcia somehow
manages to stay on his feet to the end of the round.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-8 for Jung
R2
– Garcia smiles and waves his arms to start the round, unfazed
by the round one punishment. But he eats a head kick to start
the round, then he clips Jung with a wild right hand that drops
the Korean Zombie. Jung gets up, but Garcia keeps firing, leaving
Jung on wobbly legs. The pace slows and they start trading single
punches and kicks. Garcia lands a spinning back kick, but eats
some hard punches before Jung takes him down and takes his back.
Garcia turns and escapes to his feet. The crowd is thundering
with approval. They go back to single strikes, Garcia landing
a couple hard overhand rights, Jung a knee to the body. They
clinch and Jung lnads a couple hard knees to the body and a flurry
of combinations. They separate and Garcia unloads with a flurry
of his own, punches to the head and body, and knees to the body.
They separate and Garcia lands a kick to the head just before
the round ends. The crowd is going insane with approval!
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Garcia
R3
– Garcia comes out hands up, throwing punches, mixing in
some low kicks that are landing. Jung is hanging back a bit,
a little more calculated. Garcia is still head hunting, or Zombie
hunting. He lands a solid left-right punch combination and follows
with a high kick that lands. Garcia is doing a good job mixing
things up until Jung lands a spinning backfist that rocks Garcia.
A minute and ahlf left in the round and the two get into a wild
exchange, both landing hard shots, Garcia egging Jung on. Garcia
lands a knee to the face before backing away. They end in a wild
exchange with neither being able to shut the other down.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Garcia; the fight a draw 28-28
Leonard
Garcia def. Chang Sung Jung by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28), R3
ALEX
KARALEXIS VS. ANTHONY PETTIS
R1
– Brief feeling out period and out of nowhere, Pettis lands
a jump front snap kick... yes, the tae kwon do kind. Karalexis
clinches, recovers, and regains his faculties. Pettis tries and
round kick and Karalexis catches it and takes him down, ground
and pounding Pettis. Pettis manages to get back to his feet.
They clinch briefly then move out to center cage, trading mostly
individual strikes for the next minute or so. Pettis starts chopping
at Karalexis’ legs with several thunderous low kicks. Karalexis
finally manages to clinch Pettis as the round closes.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Pettis
R2
– Pettis strats with a couple punches, but Karalexis quickly
takes him down, landing some ground and pound before Pettis regains
his feet. Pettis lands a low kick, but Karalexis again takes
him down, landing in guard. Pettis lands the triangle and starts
hammerfisting Karalexis’ face. Pettis keeps the choke on
and Karalexis taps out.
Anthony
Pettis def. Alex Karalexis by Submission (Triangle Choke) at
1:35, R2
BRAD
PICKETT VS. DEMETRIOUS JOHNSON
R1
– Pickett scores early with some crisp punching, but Johnson
fires back with a strong low kick and a high kick that gets Pickett’s
attention. Pickett catches a couple of kicks, doesn’t do
much with the first, but lands a couple hard right hands on the
second. Johnson moves in to strike, but Pickett shoots the double-leg
and takes him down. Johnson manages to get up, but eats some
hard shots getting there. Pickett puts him right back down on
the mat and starts ground and pounding from half guard. Johnson
does a good job scrambling out and up and peppers Pickett with
a couples punches and a knee. Pickett fires back with punches.
Johnson connects with a jumping knee to the chin, but Pickett
catches him and slams him down, immediately going to side control
and ground and pounding. They finish in a flurry.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Pickett
R2
– Lots of jockeying for position to start the round, but
Pickett manages a takedown a couple minutes in, landing in side
control. Johnson gets back to his feet, lands a solid punch combination
and follows with a head kick, then a few more strikes before
Pickett again scores the double-leg takedown, working from half
guard. Johnson stays patient and works his way back to his feet,
again going head hunting with a kick, but having it blocked.
Pickett scoops Johnson up and slams him down, starts in side
control and quickly gains full mount, raining down punches until
the bell. Another good close round.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Pickett.
R3
– Johnson goes right back to striking and Pickett again
gets the takedown and starts ground and pound from full guard.
He moves to half guard, but Johnson gets up and escapes, he fires
with some good punches and a knee to the body then takes Pickett
down, landing in the Brit’s full guard. He passes to side,
but Pickett gets up. He goes right back to the takedown, however,
and lands the double-leg. Pickett is in side control and easily
slides into full mount with just over a minute left. Johnson
manages half guard, and then an escape to his feet. Pickett clinches
and lands a couple of knees to the body, but misses on the submission
attempt.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 and the fight 30-27 for Pickett.
Brad
Pickett def. Demetrious Johnson by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 29-28), R3
CHAD
MENDES VS. ANTHONY MORRISON
R1
– They test the waters a bit before Mendes unleashes a nice
boxing combination followed by a knee to the body. Morrison retaliates
with a good punching combo of his own. Mendes shoots and takes
Morrison down, landing in half guard before moving to north-south
and locking on a fight-ending guillotine choke... Mendes’
hometown Sacramento crowd erupts!
Chad
Mendes def. Anthony Morrison by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 2:13, R1
TAKEYA
MIZUGAKI VS. RANI YAHYA
R1
– Mizugaki comes out firing, keeping a low stance, trying
to avoid Yahya’s takedowns. Yahya goes for the takedown,
but Mizugaki lands and top and drops a couple of shots before
returning to his feet. Yahya manages several takedowns, but Mizugaki
is quick to return to his feet each time. Mizugaki is back on
his feet, again staying low, but landing some hard punches that
rock Yahya. Yahya swinging back, but missing most of his shots
while Mizugaki continues to connect. They clinch and Mizugaki
takes Yahya down, landing in his full guard, who finishes the
round with a few ground and pound shots.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Mizugaki
R2
– Round two starts off with a more calculated striking game
from both, Mizugaki again landing the more accurate and harder
shots. Yahya gets in trouble and clinches, working really hard
for the takedown, but manages to pull Mizugaki into his butterfly
guard. They clinch up on the ground and get stood up. Mizugaki
is stalking now, Yahya hanging back. Mizugaki lands several shots
in combination as they two flurry. Yahya is starting to look
tired. Mizugaki moves in and Yahya pulls him down into guard
to end the round.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Mizugaki
R3
– Mizugaki lands a few single punches before Yahya takes
him down, but once on the mat, Mizugaki fires some backward elbows
to Yahya’s head as he gut wrenches Mizugaki. Yahya manages
the takedown and gets Mizugaki’s back, working for the rear
naked choke. Mizugaki fends of the choke attempts and reverses
into Yahya’s full guard. Mizugaki is unable to mount much
offense though as Yahya ties him up to the end of the round.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Yahya, the fight 29-28 for Mizugaki.
Takeya
Mizugaki def. Rani Yahya by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27,
29-28), R3
BRANDON
VISHER VS. TYLER TONER
R1
– Toner starts out early going for leg kicks, landing several,
chopping at Visher’s lead leg. Visher is trying to find
his range with his punches. Visher storms in with his hands,
but eats a straight right from Toner that rocks him, which is
followed by a knee to the face from Toner before they separate.
Toner lands a head kick following by a short left punch to the
jaw that drops Visher. He follows Visher down and drives home
several point of elbow strikes to the side of the head and the
fight is stopped.
Tyler
Toner def. Brandon Visher by TKO (Strikes) at 2:36, R1
WEC
48 QUICK RESULTS:
Main
Bouts (On Pay-Per-View):
-Jose Aldo def. Urijah Faber by Unanimous Decision (49-45, 49-45,
50-45), R3
-Ben Henderson def. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone by Submission
(Guillotine Choke) at 1:57, R1
-Manny Gamburyan def. Mike Brown by KO (Strikes) at 2:22, R1
-Shane Roller def. Anthony Njokuani by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 3:07, R1
-Scott Jorgensen def. Antonio Banuelos by Unanimous Decision
(29-28, 29-28, 29-28), R3
Preliminary
Bouts (On Spike TV):
-Leonard Garcia def. Chang Sung Jung by Split Decision (29-28,
28-29, 29-28), R3
-Anthony Pettis def. Alex Karalexis by Submission (Triangle Choke)
at 1:35, R2
Preliminary
Bouts (Non-Televised):
-Brad Pickett def. Demetrious Johnson by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 29-28), R3
-Chad Mendes def. Anthony Morrison by Submission (Guillotine
Choke) at 2:13, R1
-Takeya Mizugaki def. Rani Yahya by Unanimous Decision (29-28,
30-27, 29-28), R3
-Tyler Toner def. Brandon
Visher
by TKO (Strikes) at 2:36, R1
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
48 PRELIM FIGHTERS START THE NIGHT STRONG
The non-televised preliminary fights at WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber
presented a tremendous opening to the promotion’s first
foray onto pay-per-view. Of the four bouts, there were easily
candidates for each of the post-fight awards that will see fighters
receiving $65,000 bonus checks.
The
final fight of the prelims featured Brad Pickett and Demetrious
Johnson in a back and forth battle that was much closer, and
definitely more exciting than the judges’ scorecards would
seem to indicate.
Johnson
was firing with a wide array of punches, kicks, and knees all
fight long, but as soon as he seemed to get things going Pickett
would shoot in and ground him. Pickett fought a smart fight coming
on especially strong in the waning moments of each round, putting
exclamation points on his numerous takedowns.
In
the end, Pickett walked out of the cage with a unanimous decision,
and what he thought was a likely broken collarbone.
Hometown
favorite Chad Mendes wasted no time on Anthony “Cheesesteak”
Morrison. After a brief feeling out process, he shot in and took
Morrison down, quickly moved to north-south position and locked
up a guillotine choke. Morrison tried to hold on, but the choke
was deep and he had no choice but to tapout.
Takeya
Mizugaki tried to stay low to avoid Rani Yahya’s takedowns
and fire off some crisp punches in the second bout of the event.
Yahya still managed several takedowns throughout the bout, but
Mizugaki was quick to return to his feet on nearly every occasion,
firing off punches that stung Yahya all fight long.
It
took him three rounds, but Mizugaki outworked Yahya, scoring
more damage than the Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert and earning a
unanimous decision victory.
Toner
kicked off the show at the arena with an impressive debut. He
started with an early strategy of chopping away at Brandon Visher’s lead leg, but saw
an opening and went for broke.
Toner
clipped Visher with a head kick then dropped him with a short
left punch. He followed Visher down, unleashing several point
of elbow strikes to the temple. Referee Herb Dean stepped in
to stop the bout midway through the opening round.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
GARCIA
AND JUNG INSTANT CLASSIC AT WEC PPV
Some fighters warm up by hitting pads before a fight. Others
do some quick cardio. Apparently, Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung
Jung got ready for their fight on Saturday night by watching
Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar, as the two featherweights
put on an absolute classic on Spike TV Saturday night.
It
might not have been the most technical battle ever, but both
Garcia and Jung paid attention to Dana White's decree on Friday
saying that "Fight of the Night" would garner $65,000
bonuses, and they put on arguable the best fight in WEC history.
The
slugfest ensued almost moments into the first round with both
fighters winging heavy punches, knees and kicks. Jung landed
the first big shot of the fight, putting Garcia down with a punch,
and he followed up on the ground trying for the finish. Known
for his unbelievable ability to fight back, Garcia worked his
way back to the feet and started his comeback, round by round.
When
the fight was over, it was revealed that Garcia actually broke
his right hand in the first round, but to watch the action no
one would ever know that he was injured in the least.
"I
broke my hand in the very first round, and I told coach my hand
was broken, and he was like 'yeah that's fine you've got to keep
on fighting," Garcia commented.
The
next two rounds saw a furious pace that words simply cannot do
justice for, as Garcia and Jung pulled out everything in their
gas tanks to relentlessly pound on each other for the final ten
minutes. When the fight was over, Leonard Garcia got the nod
by split decision, but no one is a loser after an instant classic
that will surely be remembered when awards are handed down tonight,
and for the best fight of all 2010.
"My
job is to come out here and give you guys the best show that
I know," Garcia said. "That's what I do every time
I come out."
Showtime
showcased the submission skills on Saturday night, as Anthony
Pettis made the most of the ground game putting Alex Karalexis
away in the second round with a textbook triangle choke.
Pettis
did get the chance to show off some of his striking early as
he tagged Karalexis with a beautiful switch kick that landed
flush on his opponent's chin, and he followed up quickly looking
for the finish. Karalexis was able to persevere and get the clinch,
but once they separated Pettis decided to punish him with leg
kicks instead.
As
the fight wore on, it was quite clear that Karalexis wanted nothing
to do with Pettis on the feet, so he decided to take the fight
to the ground. It didn't go much better for him there.
He
may be known for the stand-up he's learned from Duke Roufus and
Pat Barry, but Pettis has been hitting the mats with Eric "Red"
Schafer as well. Pettis did a great job of landing a high guard,
and then transitioning to a triangle choke. A few hammer fists
and his legs tightening up, and Karalexis had no choice but to
tap out.
"I've
got excellent jiu-jitsu up in Milwaukee, it shows in the fights,"
Pettis said after the victory.
His
second win in a row, Pettis is now poised for a run in the lightweight
division, and has proven he can hang with the best the 155lb
class has to offer.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Cyborg
Santos: “Someone will go down”
First
woman who become a champion on Strikeforce, Cristiane “Cyborg”
Santos, who is preparing herself to defend the belt once again,
accepted the invitation from TATAME and answered the questions
from our subscribers. On the exclusive chat, which you can check
by clicking here, the tough girl talked about the prize she won
on the end of last year, when she was elected the best fight
of the year of 2009, her long and full of difficulties way until
she got on the top of the world, her physical preparation and
the confidence on her fights and a lot more.
Cris Cyborg
First
woman who become a champion on Strikeforce, Cristiane “Cyborg”
Santos, who is preparing herself to defend the belt once again,
accepted the invitation from TATAME and answered the questions
from our subscribers. On the exclusive chat, which you can check
by clicking here, the tough girl talked about the prize she won
on the end of last year, when she was elected the best fight
of the year of 2009, her long and full of difficulties way until
she got on the top of the world, her physical preparation and
the confidence on her fights and a lot more. Check below the
interview made by TATAME’s subscribers.
How
did you feel being elected the best fighter of 2009? (Pablo Alves
de Araujo Santos Rosa)
I
was really happy, I realized it was a consequence of my hard
work, a lot of thing I’ve been through and never gave up.
I kept on going even without fighting. Everybody said my turn
would come, and it did.
What
do you think of the growth of female MMA? Do you think it will
be equal to the male level? (Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira e Diego
Hallysson Alves de Oliveira)
They’ve
tried before me, but now that people are paying more attention
to female MMA it’ll keep on growing. They can count on me.
I’ll always try to help it to come true.
In
your opinion, why UFC didn’t opened space for the female
MMA? Whould you think it can happen someday? (Pablo Alves de
Araujo Santos Rosa)
I
think it still lacks fighters. There are good fights, but there
are some that are not and I think it has to please more people,
draw more attention. It depends on people to create an opportunity.
What
went through your head when you beat Gina Carano? (Rodrigo Gomes
de Oliveira)
We
both were pretty tense, but I think I was more prepared. It was
my opportunity; I trained so much to have the belt. When I started
fighting, I could never imagine I’d have a belt on my hands,
but when I saw Gina, I said I would train so that I could face
the best that was out there and she was the one. It was a dream
coming true, now I have to keep my focus and keep on practicing.
Every athlete dreams about the belt.
During
the fight how did you managed the techniques, strategy and adrenalin?
(Álvaro Constâncio)
I’m
always on my nerves before the fight, but when I get there it’s
only me and her, so I just have to keep me calm. Before I’m
anxious, but I get calm inside the ring. Someone will go down…
I try to make her go down and it’s been working for me.
How
do you feel being the reference on the female MMA on Brazil?
(Fabio Lopes Badine)
I’m
pretty glad. When I see the young girls coming talk to me, there’re
some that even cry, I get really emotional. I hadn’t realized
I make a difference for them, they use me as an example and it’s
really rewarding. That gives me the strength to work harder and
harder so I make it look like a good show and a technical. I’m
not there just by me, I’m also because of my fans. The fans
make the athlete.
How
was your routine so you could become the MMA’s champion?
(Fabio Lopes Badine)
I’ve
spend two years without any fights on Brazil, I didn’t have
an opponent, but I kept on training all day long without knowing
when I would fight, but I was there every day. Since I didn’t
have any opponents, I started competing on the Wrestling and
did pretty good. Every athlete goes through some difficulties
and uses it as a motivation. Fighting is difficult, but then
you remember everything you’ve been through and it’s
rewarding. When I got here I didn’t even know how to speak
English…
How
was your training with Rafael Cordeiro, former Chute Boxe, knowing
he was the one who trained you? (Luís André Boher)
From
the moment he left Chute Boxe I stopped training with him. In
fact, what really happened was that we no longer trained together
and it was a Chute Boxe’s philosophy, which he preached.
I started looking for another trainings, but our friendship continued.
We are not together only on the training part.
How
much time do you spend training on a day, near and far from fight?
(Leonardo Martins)
When
there’s no fight coming, we practice more the technical
part, maintenance and bodybuilding. Near the fight, we turn it
down on the trainings, since we’ll be too excited, but we
work on the technical part, trying to predict what can happen
on the fight. On the middle, with about 30 days for the fight,
the training is about explosion and actual fight.
Do
you think we can reach an hegemony on the female MMA as we did
on the male? (Egidia de Andrade Morais)
I
believe it’s going to take a while, but the women have the
potential to do this, they just have to be willing to. The MMA’s
been growing with patronage, support, but life is hard.
There’s
some difficulty in finding sparring women like you, what occasionally
makes you train with men. For that reason, do you fell more prepared
than the other women fighters? Would this be a differential of
yours for the winning against Gina Carano? (Benedicto Nogueira
de Holanda Lima Neto)
I
like to train along men, I’ve always done it and got used
to it. I’m not very comfortable when practicing with women,
I think I got used to train with men. That was really important
for me and I’ll keep it that way. I prefer it that way.
Even
being a tough girl, have you ever feared an opponent? (Leonardo
Lopes Salviano)
Everyone
gets anxious and tense before the fight, but I wouldn’t
call it fear. Everytime I enter the ring I believe I can win.
If I go in there afraid, I’m caring a defeat with me. I
always go there believing that I can make it a good fight and
the victory will be just a consequence. I can’t be afraid,
that would only brings the defeats closer.
Source: Tatame
|
Romero
Jacaré
In
the age of 57, being over 45 dedicated to the soft art, Romero
Jacaré went through an emotion season this week. Leader
of the Alliance in the United States, Jacaré received
the seventh degree black belt. "They want to make me feel
old (laughs)," joked Romero in a conversation with TATAME.
In an exclusive chat, Jacaré spoke about the growth of
the soft art since his first contact with the Jiu-Jitsu and showed
confidence for the next World CBJJ. "Everything indicates
that we will win again ... If they chill out a bit, we'll get
a hundred points ahead," said the teacher, dedicating the
victory to his father, Hermano Cavalcanti, who died a month ago.
"He was my man," says touched.
How
did you feel when you received the seventh degree black belt?
For
me it doesn’t change anything... I’m flattered. Here
in the US there’s only Francisco Mansor who is ninth degree
for the Federation’s rules, which I respect, and there are
Carlinhos (Gracie) and Sérgio Penha. To be equated to
these masters is a great honor for me.
What
do you think the changes and the growth of Jiu-Jitsu since you
started practicing?
I
see it as a sport which has evolved a lot since I started practicing
it. I fought at Melo Tênis Clube, on Montanha, didn’t
get too fought on Tijuca and the championships were too small
and nowadays it’s an explosion. The last Pan Am on California
had three thousand athletes in a spectacular gym, with a very
reasonable audience. I see it as a sport that has already evolved
a lot and is continuously evolving.
How
do you see the future of the soft art?
I
predict a wonderful future, with a more Professional Jiu-Jitsu,
as it’s already happening in Abu Dhabi. There’s a big
evolution, but there’s a lot to evolve yet. The Worlds and
Pan Ams will grow a lot more and the organizations has been great.
I hope they keep on giving awards to the Jiu-Jitsu athlete so
that stay only in it and give up on the MMA.
What
do you think about the current results of Alliance?
Alliance
is in a great moment. After a few years we managed to put things
on their respective places, Fábio (Gurgel) is doing an
amazing work back in Brazil and I’m doing a very good work
here on the US. I brought (Rubens) Cobrinha here so that he would
help me and we have a very strong team. On the last Pan Am we
did, just with the Atlanta’s athlete, 55 points, without
counting Cobrinha. With him it’d be 64... That’s more
than all of Barra Gracie that, with all of their organization,
scored 44 points and Gracie Humaitá 21. Alliance did 146.
We’re in a great moment, we’re working very hard to
be this good. Right now this weekend I will give a seminar on
a new association that I founded here. We are restructuring.
Fabio has just given a course of teachers in Brazil, we'll shoot
the second module of the DVD for the teacher’s course when
he comes here for the World ... The work does not stop.
What
is Alliance’s secret?
The
Alliance’s secret is hard work, in our team there are no
stars. We’re always thinking of helping each other.
What’s
the expectation for this year’s World to grab the team title
once again?
The
expectations are high as they can get, the two main camps, of
São Paulo and Atlanta, are already working really hard.
Fábio will take thirty from Brazil and from California
I’ll bring about thirty well prepared athletes as well.
Everything indicates that we will win again ... If they chill
out a bit, we'll get a hundred points ahead.
Source: Tatame
|
WEC
4/24 Arco Arena in Sacramento (PPV)
Today
By Zach Arnold
Hawaii
air times:
Oceanic Cable Channel 701
3:00 - 7:00PM
TV
portion: Spike TV (preliminary fights from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM
EST)
PPV portion: 10 PM EST – 1 AM EST
Dark
matches
¦Featherweights:
Brandon
Visher
vs. Tyler Toner
¦Bantamweights: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Rani Yahya
¦Featherweights: Chad Mendes vs. Anthony Morrison
¦Bantamweights: Brad Pickett vs. Demetrious Johnson
¦Lightweights: Alex Karalexis vs. Anthony Pettis
¦Featherweights: Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung
Main card
¦Bantamweights:
Antonio Banuelos vs. Scott Jorgensen
¦Lightweights: Anthony Njokuani vs. Shane Roller
¦Featherweights: Mike Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan
¦WEC Lightweight title match: Ben Henderson vs. Donald
Cerrone
¦WEC Featherweight title match: Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber
Source: Fight Opinion
|
2010
Hawaii State/Regional Junior Olympic Boxing Championships
Boxing matches will be the 2010 Hawaii State/Regional Junior
Olympic Boxing Championships at the Palolo District Park Gym.
Match bouts and, if needed, quarterfinals on Friday, April 23
at 6 p.m., match bouts with semi-finals on Saturday, April 24th
at 6 p.m., and Finals on Sunday April 25th at 1 p.m.
15/16 year old Champions advance to the USA National Junior Olympics
in Camp Lejune, North Carolina June 13- 19, 2010.
Thank You for Your Support!!
Bruce Kawano
Source: Bruce Kawano
|
GroundWarz
|
WEC
48 Preview: The Main Card
by Tomas
Rios
April hasn’t been a good month for MMA fans to say the least.
UFC
112 managed to avoid any weather-related problems only to have
Anderson Silva turn into Charlie Chaplin, and Strikeforce “Nashville”
ended with a post-fight brawl and ratings that have many wondering
if MMA will ever find its way back to major network television.
This
is why the WEC exists and why WEC 48 will revive what has been
a moribund month for the sport. The main card alone features
two title bouts backed up by three fights that could determine
the future challengers for every one of the WEC’s titles
-- that is some high-potency violence.
Hitting
our brain stems live from the Arco Arena in Sacramento, Calif.,
this card marks the WEC’s first foray into pay-per-view
since Zuffa annexed the organization more than three years ago.
The fights themselves live up to the lofty expectations of pay-per-view,
as pound-for-pound ace Jose Aldo will make his first defense
of the featherweight title against former WEC golden child Urijah
Faber and Benson Henderson puts his lightweight title on the
line against Donald Cerrone in a rematch of 2009’s fight
of the year.
Throw
in MMA’s answer to Christian Okoye, the hysterical screaming
of Marc Laimon from Shane Roller’s corner and a rematch
of an epic bantamweight brawl and you better have your Saturday
night plans set in stone. To tide you over until then, get your
knowledge fix with another round of in-depth and hate-generating
analysis.
Jose
Aldo vs. Urijah Faber
The
Breakdown: Reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo has been
nothing short of dominant throughout his WEC run, but the one
thing that has eluded him is the mainstream popularity of his
opponent and former champion Urijah Faber. This could be Aldo’s
one and only chance to become the man who leads the featherweight
division to true prominence in MMA. It may also be the last chance
Faber gets to regain the crown that was once synonymous with
his name.
To
beat Aldo, Faber needs to bypass the striking game altogether
and go for takedowns. There is an argument to be made for Aldo
being the best striker in the sport. He is especially dangerous
from a distance, where his reach, speed and power synch up beautifully.
Compare that to Faber, who is mostly effective from up close
and who was soundly out-boxed by Mike Thomas Brown, the same
guy Aldo picked apart for the title.
While
Aldo is no free takedown and Faber is an undersized featherweight,
Faber’s acceleration on the single leg is tremendous and
he is one of the best scramblers in the sport. It is in the scramble
that Faber is at his most effective since he can rip off rapid
ground-and-pound bursts and quickly transition to either submission
holds or dominant positions. The first step is the longest one,
though, as Faber’s minuscule reach means he’ll have
to cover a lot of ground to get in deep on a takedown.
Being
unable to effectively set up a takedown with strikes means Faber’s
timing will have to be perfect or he could end up running headlong
into a counter-knee. Really any strike that Aldo lands cleanly
on Faber is likely to rock him, and Aldo’s finishing ability
has been proven several times over. This leads back to the same
point, which is Faber needs to not only score takedowns but also
take calculated risks in order to finish Aldo because the five-round
format does limited game plans no favors.
The
limitations imposed on Faber by this style clash are really what
hold him back, as his inability to compete physically with Brown
is a bad omen for this fight. Aldo’s superior striking technique
and ability to dictate distance is something Faber doesn’t
have the tools to overcome, and his own hyper-aggressive approach
can lead to foolish mistakes. Mistakes are not something you
get away with against Aldo.
The
Bottom Line: He may not have hair like Farrah Fawcett or the
surfer dude mannerisms of Jeff Spicoli, but Aldo will put the
world on notice that he runs the show at featherweight by beating
Faber. The same patience and precision that befuddled Brown at
WEC 44 will await Faber as Aldo gradually tightens his grip on
the fight before putting him down and out. With the scalps of
two former champions under his belt at just 23, the future of
featherweight MMA will be largely in the hands of Aldo.
Benson
Henderson vs. Donald Cerrone
The
Breakdown: The rematch of 2009’s fight of the year finally
comes to fruition with the added stakes of the undisputed lightweight
title being on the line when incumbent champion Benson Henderson
takes on the favorite fighting son of Colorado, Donald Cerrone.
Everyone remembers the contentious unanimous decision that went
Henderson’s way in their first encounter. The rematch appears
set to head down the same wildly competitive path.
The
fight still comes down to the same basic variables, foremost
among them being Cerrone’s lacking takedown defense and
how it balances out with his spectacular submission skills. In
the first go-round Cerrone was able to catch Henderson coming
in with all manner of guillotine chokes and transition to every
submission in the book off his back. The only thing that kept
Henderson in one piece was his seeming immunity to pain and ability
to work solid ground-and-pound once he got past the guard.
Gaining
positional dominance will be key for Henderson. He can’t
bank on surviving another half-dozen fully cinched-in submissions.
Just as important will be Henderson’s conditioning, considering
he dropped the last two rounds to Cerrone mostly because he no
longer had the gas to generate any power on his single leg. That
single leg consistently befuddled Cerrone, and it remains Henderson’s
best weapon in this fight.
Cerrone’s
best weapon is the one he used the least in that first bout:
his striking. For all of Henderson’s success, he remains
a developing fighter and his striking just doesn’t measure
up against Cerrone’s reach and versatility. Attacking the
lead leg early and backing off Henderson with the jab and 1-2
could easily save Cerrone the hassles of the first fight, but
that would require a level of strategic savvy that can’t
be assumed.
This
could be the rare example of a rematch that doesn’t boil
down to one fighter adapting better to the other, but simply
the same scenarios playing out all over again. If that’s
the case, it would be hard to imagine Henderson surviving the
same gauntlet of submissions again. Of course Cerrone could just
as easily lose a lopsided decision if Henderson has the gas tank
to go 25 hard minutes.
The
Bottom Line: If nothing else, both fighters can expect to take
home “Fight of the Night” bonuses, as this remains
an incredibly compelling style clash. Henderson will likely control
the early going with his wrestling, but in a five-round fight,
the fighter with more ways to win has to be favored. Cerrone
will prove that Henderson has a breaking point by choking him
out late in the second step of what we can only hope will be
a trilogy.
Mike Thomas Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan
The
Breakdown: Whoever walks away with the featherweight strap in
the main event likely has the winner of this bout to look forward
to. The fight itself hinges largely on Gamburyan’s ability
to get Brown on his back and keep him there.
Not
to be too reductive with a world-class fight, but Gamburyan can
only win by out-wrestling Brown and he needs to start doing a
much better job of looking for the finish. While Gamburyan never
has trouble flashing his front headlock and leglock game against
mediocre competition, he struggles to find the same openings
against quality competition. Even more worrying is just how sloppy
he looked trying to take down anti-wrestler Leonard Garcia at
WEC 44.
Not
only is Brown every bit as massive a featherweight as Garcia,
he’s a far better wrestler and striker as well. Considering
how often Garcia was able to stuff Gamburyan’s takedowns,
it’s hard to imagine Gamburyan getting past the same Great
Wall takedown defense that has frustrated the likes of Jeff Curran
and Urijah Faber.
The
real problem comes in once Brown stuffs the takedown. Gamburyan’s
limited striking skills and T-Rex arms make him an easy mark
for a power puncher like Brown. While Gamburyan usually evades
the striking game by crowding his opponents, Brown excels at
landing power punches from up close and his clinch game is flat-out
suffocating.
It’s
hard to overstate just how powerful Brown is from close quarters.
If Gamburyan sells out for the takedown, he’ll likely end
up getting reversed and his guard game is bare bones. Moreover,
Brown’s ground-and-pound has been overwhelming ever since
he dropped to the featherweight ranks. This is just one of those
fights where one guy needs everything to go perfectly for 15
minutes while the other needs maybe 10 seconds to snatch a W.
The
Bottom Line: Gamburyan is two-dimensional, and his options are
even more limited against Brown. There is just no way Gamburyan
is going to out-wrestle Brown, and his odds of hitting a submission
are virtually nil. It’ll be a matter of time before Gamburyan
has to stand his ground on the feet, and he won’t stand
it long.
Source: Sherdog
|
FABER'S
BIG WEAPON: HE KNOWS ALDO IS BEATABLE
by Damon
Martin
It's been the rare instance for Urijah Faber to come into a fight
as an underdog, and not carrying the WEC featherweight title.
The "California Kid" will look to remedy all that when
he faces Jose Aldo on Saturday night at WEC 48, while trying
to reclaim his spot as the best featherweight in the sport.
Heading
into the first ever WEC pay-per-view, Faber has been the media
hound for the promotion, handling a slew of interviews and press
commitments, but the Sacramento, Calif., based fighter says that's
nothing new and it didn't take anything away from his preparation
for Aldo.
"It's
been pretty steady for me the last couple years. There's been
a lot of PR, and a lot of different stuff that didn’t always
pertain to the fight 100 percent, so I'm kind of used to it by
now, and it's in my hometown so that cuts down the stress a little
bit. I don't have to travel anywhere," said Faber when speaking
to MMAWeekly Radio.
Prior
to his first loss to Mike Brown, it was Faber who was in a similar
position that Jose Aldo currently sits: a champion with an almost
unbeatable aura around him, and a shield of invincibility only
seen in comic books.
Faber
knows that Aldo is tough, and he's a great fighter, but also
knows the one thing he's not is unbeatable.
"Had
I not lost those two fights to Mike Brown, I'd be the guy that's
invincible, and so on and so forth. So it's just a couple small
mistakes that made that difference. In my head I'm still invincible,
he's going to have to get in there and prove me wrong,"
Faber stated.
If
there's one thing that's certain heading into Saturday night's
main event, Faber simply will not bow to Aldo just because he's
knocked out every opponent he's faced in the WEC. He won't back
down, and he won't be afraid, and Faber hopes that it's Aldo
who knows what he's in for when they step in the cage together.
"In
my head I'm going to beat him up," said Faber. "It
wasn't that intimidating watching him fight Brown. Brown didn't
look very tough. It was a close first round, and Brown did some
horrible stuff on the ground. He kind of got shoved down, off
like half of a double, and then turned over to his belly. Thos
punches didn’t even look that deadly on top of him, he just
had the legs in, so that's not that intimidating to me."
Facing
adversity is nothing new to the former WEC champion. He fought
Mike Brown the second time around with two broken hands for the
majority of the fight, and when he couldn't throw punches, he
decided to throw elbow strikes standing.
Faber
has decided that this is the fight where he takes a stand, and
it's Jose Aldo who is going to have to put him down to win, because
he won't tap. He won't give up. He simply will not quit.
"I'm
going to need to be unconscious for this fight to end,"
said Faber. "I think everyone at home knows that. You could
cut off a leg or do whatever you're going to do, and I'm going
to keep hobbling after the guy, and try to take him out. And
I've got a lot of ways to win."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Fabiano
vs. Gomez Added to June 20th WEC
By FCF
Staff
World
Extreme Cagefighting continues to confirm bouts for the promotion’s
first venture in Canada, as a fight between Frankie Gomez and
Wagnney Fabiano, has been officially added to the organization’s
upcoming June 20th card. WEC 49 will take place on that date
at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, and will be headlined by
a lightweight bout between former champion Jamie Varner and Kamal
Shalorus.
Fabiano
(13-2) is coming off a successful debut at bantamweight; at WEC
46 in January, the Brazilian worked his way to a Unanimous Decision
victory over Clinton Godfrey. Prior to that, Fabiano was submitted
by featherweight Mackens Semerzier at WEC 43 in October, marking
his only loss in 4 WEC appearances.
Gomez
(8-1) is coming off back-to-back victories over Noah Thomas and
most recently Seth Dikun, after being submitted by Scott Jorgensen
in his WEC debut last January. Gomez had won 6 straight before
joining the WEC.
Other
bouts that have been confirmed for the Edmonton WEC card include
Mark Hominick vs. Yves Jabouin, Chris Horodecki vs. Ed Ratcliff,
Eddie Wineland vs. Charlie Valencia and Josh Grispi vs.LC Davis.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
BJ
to rematch Edgar
by Carlos Eduardo Ozório
 
Lyoto Machida defeated Maurício Shogun at UFC 104. The
outcome brought about a lot of discussion, and all that was left
for the UFC to do was set up another light heavyweight-title
showdown, which will take place May 2.
A
similar story plays out between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar. The
only difference is that, in this case, the lightweight belt did
in fact change hands.
In
a very evenly-matched fight, Edgar overcame Penn by unanimous
decision at UFC 112. The result of the fight, as with the Lyoto
vs Shogun matchup, stirred up some questions. There are those
who feel Frankie deserved it, and those who feel Penn should
have kept the title.
That
being the case, the UFC had no choice but to pit the two against
each other yet again. At least that is what Fighters Only Magazine
is saying. The rematch will be at UFC 118, on August 28 in Boston.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Tererê
wants to go back to Alliance
By Erik Engelhart
After spending four months in a rehab clinic in São Paulo,
Fernando Tererê gives signs of his improvement. Currently,
the Black-belt is living in the house of his cousin Leandro Martins
on Ibiúna, São Paulo, and has been training a lot,
as confirmed to TATAME.
“I’m feeling well, I’ve been training three times
a Day. The first one starts at 10a.m and I’ve been doing
weight training... Soon I’ll be back in the tournaments”,
tells the Black-belt. For the ones Who missed the two-times champion
on the big fight events, He reveals he’s working hard to
come back for the high level fight and to go for the World Jiu-Jitsu.
"I want to solve the problems with my passport," says
the athlete, thinking of the competition in California. For his
comeback, the athlete says he wants to lose a few pounds and
train in a great team. "I am losing weight; now I'm 83kg
and lose three more ... I plan to stay here in São Paulo.
Fabio Gurgel and I are talking and I believe that soon I'll be
training at the Alliance."
“I want to give up on crack”
In
an interview to TATAME on the end of March, Tererê openly
spoke about his problems with drugs, showing his willpower to
quit the addiction. “It’s not life, especially for
an athlete like me. I got to the point I had to sleep on the
street and spent days without going home. I’m not lying,
I smoke a pack of cigarettes per day, because sometimes I feel
like using drugs again and the cigarette makes me not do it again.
But that doesn’t make me any good and I want to quit it”,
revealed the athlete.
Source: Tatame
|
Josh
Barnett not scheduled for Tuesday's CSAC meeting, drug-test appeal
still unresolved
by Steven
Marrocco
Josh Barnett may wait this one out.
The top-tier heavyweight is not on the agenda for a California
State Athletic Commission's Tuesday meeting in Los Angeles, which
means his long-delayed appeal of a fight-license denial this
past July may not be heard before he is cleared to reapply.
According
to George Dodd, executive director of the CSAC, Barnett is free
to reapply for a license on June 25, when he said the denial's
term ends. However, Barnett may still be asked to appear at a
commission meeting before that license is approved or denied.
"That's
up to the commissioners, not myself or my office," Dodd
told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today. "If they wish
to have him appear, they can still deny his license."
The
CSAC denied Barnett a license this past July for a fight with
Fedor Emelianenko at "Affliction: Trilogy." The fight
was slated for Aug. 1, but Barnett tested positive for a designer
steroid following a pre-fight drug test on June 25. Barnett immediately
declared his innocence and informed the commission of his intent
to appeal the decision.
Fighters
who test positive for steroids are not allowed to reapply for
a license for one year, Dodd said.
In
an interview with MMAjunkie.com four days prior to a CSAC deadline
for agenda items on the April 20 meeting, Barnett said he was
unsure whether he would request to have his appeal heard at the
meeting.
"I
will talk to my legal team before I make any decisions,"
he said. "I'll let them help me make that decision."
Meanwhile,
Barnett said he is focusing on his acting and pro wrestling career.
Last
week, Shannon Hooper, Barnett's manager, told MMAjunkie.com the
fighter was still undecided on whether to appeal. She did not
respond to a request today for comment on Barnett's intentions.
Dodd
said Barnett and his representatives haven't requested a new
appeal date since Feb. 22, the most recent date the fighter's
case was due to be heard.
Barnett
no-showed the Feb. 22 CSAC meeting and Barnett's lawyer, Michael
DiMaggio, was not allowed to present his case.
Hooper
said the fighter was unaware his presence was required and was
overseas participating in a pro-wrestling match at the time of
the Feb. 22 meeting. However, Dodd said the CSAC sent a letter
informing Barnett that he needed to be at the meeting. Barnett
denies he received the letter.
"They
certainly never called or emailed as well, [and] they have that
information," Barnett said. "The delays were based
on the fact that we requested information and didn't receive
it. The delays are only a course of their own actions."
Barnett
and DiMaggio postponed appeal dates on Aug. 24 and Oct. 26 of
last year when they said they didn't receive requested case information
on the license denial from the commission. A third appeal date
on Dec. 8 was rescheduled when the New York-based DiMaggio was
unable to make a commission meeting due to bad weather on the
East Coast.
Barnett
said he is unsure whether DiMaggio now has the case materials
needed to present his case. DiMaggio did not respond to repeated
requests for comment.
"[The
commission] is doing what they want, however they want, when
they want," Barnett said. "They weren't all that compliant
to begin with, and it wouldn't surprise me if they continued
to be not entirely compliant – for whatever reason –
at this point.
"But
I know that we've tried our best to meet their schedules, deadlines,
standards, and present ourselves within the regulation that they
lay forth."
Asked
whether the CSAC hasn't given him a fair shake, Barnett said,
"I don't know. Only time will tell on that."
Barnett
(24-5), a former UFC heavyweight champion who's long been ranked
among the division's top 10, recently returned from an MMA layoff
that begin in January 2009, when he defeated Gilbert Yvel via
submission at "Affliction: Day of Reckoning." He recently
returned at DREAM.13 in March and defeated Siala-Mou "Mighty
Mo" Siligia in Japan.
Steven
Marrocco is a staff reporter for MMAjunkie.com and an MMA contributor
for The Vancouver Sun.
Source: MMA Junkie
|
Hard
to put a positive spin on Strikeforce and CBS relationship
By Zach
Arnold
I
figured I would quote Dave Meltzer here from his radio show today
since he tries to give a fair take on what is happening right
now and what the company mindset is within Strikeforce.
“Strikeforce,
it was a 1.8 rating… and… it’s… you know,
I mean… it wasn’t, you know, after talking to a lot
of people today including people there (at the show), it was
certainly disappointing. It was not disastrous. They have done
worse, you know when they did the show from Stockton and it did
come back from that… Will they do it? You know… CBS
is going to have to make the call. I mean there’s, it’s
not a sure thing either way. It’s not like, ‘Oh my
God, they’re dead for sure!’ They haven’t informed,
certainly no one in Strikeforce knows that they’re dead.
And they haven’t been, I mean just based on talking to people
and everything like that today, they’re not acting like
it’s a dead thing. There are signs that are positive that
they’ll probably do another show in the fall. You know one
of the things that you know was brought up to me was that you
know realistically in another day or two, no one’s going
to talk about that brawl again and certainly by Saturday you
know it’ll be a dead subject.
Now
the rating, you know, again, the rating was more important thing
than the brawl and the rating wasn’t good, but it’s
also the learning thing in the sense that we know that with the
right match, we can do a good demo play with MMA. We also now
know for sure that with you know that Dan Henderson is not the
right and Jake Shields was not the right match and that unless
we have the right match, you really don’t want to do this
show. You can’t just do the show and go like, ‘We got
this card with all these guys that are like ranked and this and
that or this match is you look on paper and go on paper we got
a good show so we’ll have exciting fights and people will
tune in.’ It’s not that. There’s no, all you got
is star power and the problem of course with Strikeforce is there’s
not a lot of that star power there. I mean, maybe Herschel Walker?
And that’s not a lock. Gina Carano? Probably, probably…
Fedor for sure, but God knows what you know… Fedor and Strikeforce
do not have a deal for another fight right now and it’s
you know the situation is what the situation is, it’s um…
it’s impossible to do deals with those guys you know and
so you’re kind of being held under a barrel by that thing.
Stealing someone from UFC is probably not going to happen, I
don’t see anyone from UFC at this point in time going, “Yeah,
I want to jump on CBS, I want to jump on bandwagon.” If
anything, people right now would be scared to make that move.
Arlovski’s not the guy, you know, no matter, you know, he’s
just not that guy. So, um, I suppose they could do a Cyborg/Carano
re-match? And that actually would work but the problem is there
then, you know, you’re going to have the same massacre more
likely than not.”
1.
The truth is that Herschel Walker is their biggest drawing card.
Say of it what you will, but it’s reality. He got the biggest
pop of anyone in Nashville. His fight against tomato can Greg
Nagy drew more attention in the sports world than anything on
the Strikeforce show in Nashville did.
2.
It seems almost inevitable that Fedor will end up fighting in
Japan again, likely against Barnett on New Year’s Eve. As
for fighting in UFC… I say 50/50. Which makes Strikeforce
pushing Fedor vs. Brett Rogers on CBS last Fall dumb. Fedor’s
not a cornerstone guy of any promotion. Note the emphasis.
3.
Can the light switch be turned on and off for Gina Carano’s
star power?
4.
How is Strikeforce going to make new stars?
5.
Should Strikeforce ditch some weight classes (like Heavyweight)
and adopt some smaller weight classes (Featherweight) in order
to try to gain a competitive advantage?
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Cris
Cyborg
By Guilherme Cruz
First woman who become a champion on Strikeforce, Cristiane “Cyborg”
Santos, who is preparing herself to defend the belt once again,
accepted the invitation from TATAME and answered the questions
from our subscribers. On the exclusive chat, which you can check
by clicking here, the tough girl talked about the prize she won
on the end of last year, when she was elected the best fight
of the year of 2009, her long and full of difficulties way until
she got on the top of the world, her physical preparation and
the confidence on her fights and a lot more. Check below the
interview made by TATAME’s subscribers.
How did you feel being elected the best fighter of 2009? (Pablo
Alves de Araujo Santos Rosa)
I was really happy, I realized it was a consequence of my hard
work, a lot of thing I’ve been through and never gave up.
I kept on going even without fighting. Everybody said my turn
would come, and it did.
What do you think of the growth of female MMA? Do you think it
will be equal to the male level? (Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira e
Diego Hallysson Alves de Oliveira)
They’ve tried before me, but now that people are paying
more attention to female MMA it’ll keep on growing. They
can count on me. I’ll always try to help it to come true.
In your opinion, why UFC didn’t opened space for the female
MMA? Whould you think it can happen someday? (Pablo Alves de
Araujo Santos Rosa)
I think it still lacks fighters. There are good fights, but there
are some that are not and I think it has to please more people,
draw more attention. It depends on people to create an opportunity.
What went through your head when you beat Gina Carano? (Rodrigo
Gomes de Oliveira)
We both were pretty tense, but I think I was more prepared. It
was my opportunity; I trained so much to have the belt. When
I started fighting, I could never imagine I’d have a belt
on my hands, but when I saw Gina, I said I would train so that
I could face the best that was out there and she was the one.
It was a dream coming true, now I have to keep my focus and keep
on practicing. Every athlete dreams about the belt.
During the fight how did you managed the techniques, strategy
and adrenalin? (Álvaro Constâncio)
I’m always on my nerves before the fight, but when I get
there it’s only me and her, so I just have to keep me calm.
Before I’m anxious, but I get calm inside the ring. Someone
will go down… I try to make her go down and it’s been
working for me.
How do you feel being the reference on the female MMA on Brazil?
(Fabio Lopes Badine)
I’m pretty glad. When I see the young girls coming talk
to me, there’re some that even cry, I get really emotional.
I hadn’t realized I make a difference for them, they use
me as an example and it’s really rewarding. That gives me
the strength to work harder and harder so I make it look like
a good show and a technical. I’m not there just by me, I’m
also because of my fans. The fans make the athlete.
How was your routine so you could become the MMA’s champion?
(Fabio Lopes Badine)
I’ve spend two years without any fights on Brazil, I didn’t
have an opponent, but I kept on training all day long without
knowing when I would fight, but I was there every day. Since
I didn’t have any opponents, I started competing on the
Wrestling and did pretty good. Every athlete goes through some
difficulties and uses it as a motivation. Fighting is difficult,
but then you remember everything you’ve been through and
it’s rewarding. When I got here I didn’t even know
how to speak English…
How was your training with Rafael Cordeiro, former Chute Boxe,
knowing he was the one who trained you? (Luís André
Boher)
From the moment he left Chute Boxe I stopped training with him.
In fact, what really happened was that we no longer trained together
and it was a Chute Boxe’s philosophy, which he preached.
I started looking for another trainings, but our friendship continued.
We are not together only on the training part.
How much time do you spend training on a day, near and far from
fight? (Leonardo Martins)
When there’s no fight coming, we practice more the technical
part, maintenance and bodybuilding. Near the fight, we turn it
down on the trainings, since we’ll be too excited, but we
work on the technical part, trying to predict what can happen
on the fight. On the middle, with about 30 days for the fight,
the training is about explosion and actual fight.
Do you think we can reach an hegemony on the female MMA as we
did on the male? (Egidia de Andrade Morais)
I believe it’s going to take a while, but the women have
the potential to do this, they just have to be willing to. The
MMA’s been growing with patronage, support, but life is
hard.
There’s some difficulty in finding sparring women like you,
what occasionally makes you train with men. For that reason,
do you fell more prepared than the other women fighters? Would
this be a differential of yours for the winning against Gina
Carano? (Benedicto Nogueira de Holanda Lima Neto)
I like to train along men, I’ve always done it and got used
to it. I’m not very comfortable when practicing with women,
I think I got used to train with men. That was really important
for me and I’ll keep it that way. I prefer it that way.
Even being a tough girl, have you ever feared an opponent? (Leonardo
Lopes Salviano)
Everyone
gets anxious and tense before the fight, but I wouldn’t
call it fear. Everytime I enter the ring I believe I can win.
If I go in there afraid, I’m caring a defeat with me. I
always go there believing that I can make it a good fight and
the victory will be just a consequence. I can’t be afraid,
that would only brings the defeats closer.
Source: Tatame
|
Will
Zuffa's WEC Gamble Pay Off This Weekend?
By Ben
Fowlkes
It's
not easy to get people to pay for something that used to be free.
Ask any airline that recently started charging for checked luggage
– it's the kind of thing that brings out the angry mob in
consumers who already feel like they're one more fee or rate
hike away from reaching for the torches and pitchforks.
But
risks be damned, this Saturday UFC president Dana White is going
to give it a shot with the first ever WEC pay-per-view event.
After airing regularly on Versus (and yes, I know cable isn't
free, but you're going to pay for it anyway because you'd rather
die than miss an episode of Cats 101 on Animal Planet) for the
last three years, now Zuffa wants you to pay for the privilege
of seeing their little guys duke it out.
The
$45 question is, are you going to do it?
White
thinks you will. At least, he thinks you will if you're "a
real fight fan." If you're not, you won't, in which case
he doesn't care about you anyway. So he says.
This
is more or less the company line at Zuffa, the parent company
of both the UFC and WEC, when it comes to pay-per-views. It's
the reasoning White uses whenever anyone asks why a particular
card is worth $44.95. It's worth it because you're a fight fan
and you'd hate yourself for missing it. End of discussion.
This
is identity politics, only with money instead of votes. You'll
pay because of the person you are, and the way we know you are
that person is because you'll pay.
Of
course, it still doesn't explain why this specific card –
WEC 48, headlined by the legitimately intriguing featherweight
title bout between Jose Aldo and Urijah Faber – is worth
paying UFC prices for when previous installments weren't. It's
got a great title fight, but so have plenty of the WEC events
that aired on Versus. It's also got Ben Henderson taking on Donald
Cerrone, which we saw once already. It was an outstanding fight.
It was also free.
Assuming
your insatiable need to identify yourself as a fight fan doesn't
convince you to part with your money, what's part two of this
sales pitch? And what happens if not enough people pony up the
dough?
These
are questions that the non-independently wealthy among us are
likely asking heading into this weekend. White won't say exactly
how many pay-per-view buys the event needs in order to be considered
a success, though he did say that it would be "terrible"
if Aldo and Faber didn't at least double the numbers from the
Roy Jones Jr.-Bernard Hopkins fight (which pay-per-view whisperer
Dave Meltzer estimates did around 90,000 buys).
White
also says that this isn't an experiment, but rather a "long-term
strategy." Then again, he admits that "if we put on
this event and we lose money, yeah, we're going to be a little
deterred" when it comes to planning future shows.
In
other words, he isn't saying that he's taking a wait-and-see
approach to the WEC's grand pay-per-view plan, but he is going
to wait for the numbers and then see when/if he wants to do it
again.
The
best thing to come out of this costly new development is that
WEC fighters (at least the ones on this card) will finally see
a sorely needed and undoubtedly earned pay increase. That's the
kind of news fans like to hear, until they stop and realize that
it's their own money that is driving the salary bump. Then it
becomes like the pay for teachers and police officers –
in theory we'd all like to see it go up, but we're not all that
excited about paying the extra taxes to make it happen.
For
hardcore fight fans, WEC 48 marks the second time this month
they're being asked to cough up forty-five bucks to feed their
vice. When you factor in last weekend's Strikeforce event (and
say what you will about it, at least it was free), it's the third
Saturday in a row where MMA has penciled itself into the social
calendars of its fans.
White
says you can never have too much MMA when there are great fights
on the docket. But how much money can fans spend on it per year
before they start to feel like it would be cheaper to develop
a heroin habit instead? And how many consecutive Saturday nights
are they willing to spend on the couch, surrounded only by the
other serious fight fans in their lives, and perhaps a supportive
but increasingly annoyed girlfriend or two?
The
truth is, we don't know the answers to these questions yet. Neither
does White. There's only one sure way to find out, and the knowledge
isn't free. Someone is going to wake up with a lighter wallet
on Sunday morning. Whether it's Zuffa or MMA fans, we'll know
soon enough.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
WINNING
BIG, SHIELDS READY TO NEGOTIATE FUTURE
by Damon
Martin
Jake Shields was betting big going into his fight with Dan Henderson.
Instead
of renegotiating his contract with Strikeforce prior to the bout,
Shields believed in himself and the ability to beat the former
two weight class champion, thus giving himself the power to control
the market for whatever promotion secured his services next.
Guess
what? It paid off big time... or rather, it will.
Following
a five-round unanimous decision that saw Shields dominate Dan
Henderson, he is in the proverbial catbird's seat, and has several
options for his fight future.
"I'm
not going to jump to any conclusions. My manager, he's still
out in Tennessee, so he gets back and (we'll) talk. I'm not trying
to jump to any conclusions, but I'm a big fan of both,"
Shields said about the UFC and Strikeforce, the leading suitors
for his services.
One
particular fan of Shields did call him on Monday to wish him
well on the big victory.
"Dana
White called to congratulate me this morning, that was really
nice of him," said Shields when appearing on MMAWeekly Radio.
Following
the win, Shields has a window of exclusivity to negotiate with
Strikeforce that lasts upwards of 60 days, and then he's able
to sign with whomever he wants. Shields admits that he's not
ruling out going back to Strikeforce, but also knows there are
several big challenges that await him in the UFC.
"I'm
certainly not ruling that out. We're definitely going to talk
to them," Shields said about Strikeforce. "I really
do want to fight guys like Anderson (Silva) and GSP as well."
Now
that he's put on extra weight and muscle to fight at 185 pounds,
Shields is willing to fight at either weight class if the UFC
comes calling, though he says a fight with Georges St-Pierre
still sits at the top of the list of fights he'd love to have.
"That's
a fight I've wanted for a while. So definitely something we'll
be figuring out in the next few weeks probably," Shields
commented.
Of
course money is going to come into play when negotiating any
new contract, but Shields admits that won't be the biggest factor
in his decision. He says that for him the challenge is what gives
him the charge to fight, not the size of the paycheck.
"To
me the challenges come before money. Obviously I want to make
money. Everyone wants to make money. I've finally started getting
some money in my life, but I've been doing this sport for like
11 years and I certainly didn't get in it to make money. I think
the most you could possibly make when I got in it was like 10
to 12 thousand (dollars) a fight, maybe like 15/20 for the top,
top guys. So I wasn't looking at this like I'm going to get rich,"
he said.
The
risk that Shields took paid off, and now he's the most coveted
free agent since Fedor Emelianenko, and he will be the one to
decide what's next.
"I
took the risk of this fight, going in there and not re-signing.
I had faith in myself, and now I think it puts me in a good situation,"
said Shields.
“Definitely
enjoying life right now."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Wagnney
in pursuit of belt
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
After making a successful bantamweight debut against Clint Godfrey
in the WEC, Wagnney Fabiano already has an opponent and date
for his next outing in the cage. On June 20 in Canada, the Nova
Uniao black belt faces Frank Gomez at WEC 49.
Wagnney
had an impressive tenure in the IFL, where he was champion, with
five submission wins and one knockout. In the WEC, after suffering
his first loss in the promotion, he departed from the featherweight
division, as his teammate Jose Aldo was, at the time, about to
have a shot at the title.
Now
the fighter is one of those in pursuit of the bantamweight belt,
now held by Dominick Cruz. To get his shot at the belt, beating
Gomez, who has just one loss in nine fights, is fundamental.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
2010
Hawaii State/Regional Junior Olympic Boxing Championships
Boxing matches will be the 2010 Hawaii State/Regional Junior
Olympic Boxing Championships at the Palolo District Park Gym.
Match bouts and, if needed, quarterfinals on Friday, April 23
at 6 p.m., match bouts with semi-finals on Saturday, April 24th
at 6 p.m., and Finals on Sunday April 25th at 1 p.m.
15/16 year old Champions advance to the USA National Junior Olympics
in Camp Lejune, North Carolina June 13- 19, 2010.
2010 AMATEUR BOXING OF HAWAII JUNIOR OLYMPIC STATE & REGIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS
PALOLO DISTRICT PARK GYM, FRIDAY, APRIL 23RD, 2010
Non-Tournament Bouts. Subject to change.
RED CORNER WEIGHTS BLUE CORNER
CLUB/BIRTHDATE 3 ROUNDS CLUB/BIRTHDATE
). Daly Tipoti 27/298 (7) 201+ Ponce Wheeler 27/222 (3)
Kawano B.C. 11/10/82 1 min. 06/22/82 Kawano B.C.
). Jonah Lopes Carter 8/50 (0) 50 Josiah Monderen-Wofford 8/47
(0)
Pearlside B.C. 02/15/02 1 min. 08/28/01 Waipahu B.C.
). Dayton Fukunaga 9/50 (6) 55 Isaac Ignacio 8/55 (0)
Yeshua B.C. 07/03/00 1 min. 10/13/01 Waipahu B.C.
). Joseph Lopes Carter 15/138 (0) 135 David Matthew Walsh 16/132
(0)
Pearlside B.C. 04/16/95 2 min. 06/01/93 636 B.C.
). Sheldon Young 12/62 (0) 65 Kelii Alcos 11/65 (4)
Wailuku Maui B.C. 12/02/97 1 min. 10/05/98 Kauai PAL
). Shannon Kalawaia 29/138 (0) 135 Jennalyn Ganaban 17/132 (2)
Yeshua B.C. 07/30/80 2 min. 11/04/92 Unattached
). Micah Lovell Gonsalves 11/70 (1) 75 Diamond-Vala Uti Jr. 11/75
(0)
Unattached Kauai 03/22/98 1 min. 02/07/99 Waipahu B.C.
). Nichole Dye 20/122 (4) 119 Corina Ishikawa 33/115 (3) Kawano
B.C. 08/11/89 1 min. 03/23/77 Kawano B.C.
). Dedric Ke'a Jr. 14/132 (0) 132 Kristian Pascua 15/128 (0)
Pearlside B.C. 09/18/95 1 ½ min. 05/20/94 Waipahu B.C.
------------ 10 min.-Intermission -10 min----------10 min.- Intermission-
10 min.-----------
?). Andrew Walsh??? 15/125 (1) 125 Preston Saragosa 15/125 (2)
636 B.C. 11/27/94 2 min. 10/23/94 Hamma House B.C.
). Brandon Fernandez 15/113 (1) 125 John Barayuga-Balulut 15/119
(1)
Wailuku Maui B.C. 08/29/94 1 ½ min. 06/24/94 636 B.C.
). John Sager 19/155 (0) 155 David Kaluna Vasconcellos 18/152
(1)
Pearlside B.C. 12/04/90 2 min. 12/08/91 Kailua B. C.
). Mike Kurita 23/152 (2) 152 Travis Ito 20/150 (1)
Pearlside B.C. 12/31/85 2 min. 07/29/89 Palolo B.C.
All
tournament boxers must weigh-in tomorrow (sat.) morning 11 a.m.
Thank You to all our Volunteers, boxers, coaches, officials,
announcer, glove table workers, concession workers, door workers,
boxing commissioners- chair Herbert Minn, Officers Al Dela Cruz,
Ron Richardson, and Tony Meecham, Dr. Myles Suehiro, Dr. Carrie
Marshall and Dr. Kanani Texeira, Chief of Officials Eiichi Jumawan
and Robyn Jumawan, and "YOU" our Boxing fans and Supporters.
Special Thanks to our Trophies and Medal Sponsors: Waipahu Pawn
Shop- Owner Lloyd McKee- 671-6555, Pearlside B.C., M.A.A.C. Center
Palolo Gym, Perry Harada from Perry's Boxing Club on the Big
Island, Hawaiian Fight Gear, and Rock Bottom Sports Bar and Grill
Next Boxing Matches: May 15, 2010 hosted by Evolution Boxing
Club in Waipio, info at cvaldez7@hawaii.rr.com
15/16 Year old Senior Division Champions will represent Hawaii
at the 2010 USA National Junior Olympics held at Camp Lejune,
North Carolina on June 13- 19, 2010. Proceeds of the door money
will help fund the boxers to this event.
Thank You for Your Support!!
Bruce Kawano
Source: Bruce Kawano
|
WEC
4/24 Arco Arena in Sacramento (PPV)
Tomorrow
By Zach Arnold
Hawaii
air times:
Oceanic Cable Channel 701
3:00 - 7:00PM
TV portion: Spike TV (preliminary fights from 9:00 PM to 10:00
PM EST)
PPV portion: 10 PM EST – 1 AM EST
Dark
matches
¦Featherweights:
Brandon Visher vs. Tyler Toner
¦Bantamweights: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Rani Yahya
¦Featherweights: Chad Mendes vs. Anthony Morrison
¦Bantamweights: Brad Pickett vs. Demetrious Johnson
¦Lightweights: Alex Karalexis vs. Anthony Pettis
¦Featherweights: Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung
Main card
¦Bantamweights:
Antonio Banuelos vs. Scott Jorgensen
¦Lightweights: Anthony Njokuani vs. Shane Roller
¦Featherweights: Mike Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan
¦WEC Lightweight title match: Ben Henderson vs. Donald
Cerrone
¦WEC Featherweight title match: Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber
Source: Fight Opinion
|
MMA
Top 10 Middleweights: Jake Shields Is No. 2
By Michael
David Smith
When Jake Shields, the reigning EliteXC welterweight champion,
moved up to 182 pounds to fight Robbie Lawler in Strikeforce
last year, I thought he was too small to handle a middleweight
striker with Lawler's power. It took Shields two minutes to prove
me wrong and force Lawler to tap with a guillotine choke.
But
even though I had Shields as the fourth-best middleweight in
MMA the last time I did these rankings, I guess I still wasn't
completely sold on him as anything more than a beefed-up welterweight
fighting above his natural weight class because middleweight
is Strikeforce's marquee division.
Now
that he has dominated Dan Henderson, however, I'm done underestimating
Jake Shields, who takes a big step up the middleweight ladder.
My latest rankings are below.
(Editor's
note: The individual fighter's ranking the last time we did middleweights
are in parentheses.)
Top
10 Middleweights in MMA
1.
Anderson Silva (1): I know Dana White and plenty of fans and
members of the MMA media are angry at Silva over his performance
at UFC 112, but the reason I can't get too worked up about Silva
is that his real problem is he's just too good. He's so much
better than the rest of the middleweight division that he's bored
fighting in it. I personally believe it's time for him to move
up in weight class and give up his middleweight belt, but as
long as he's fighting at 185, I'll keep him at the top of these
rankings.
2.
Jake Shields (4): The thing I like best about Shields is that
he moved up to 185 pounds the right way, taking his strength
and conditioning very seriously and adding powerful, explosive
muscle. No, he wouldn't stand much of a chance against Silva,
but I would absolutely pick him to beat either Chael Sonnen or
Vitor Belfort, who are likely to be Silva's next two middleweight
opponents. If Shields signs with the UFC, it will be interesting
to see whetherhe moves back down to welterweight or stays at
middleweight. He's an elite fighter in either class.
3.
Vitor Belfort (4): He's still recuperating from an injury and
it's not clear when we'll see him again. I think he'd be a more
interesting opponent for Silva than Silva has had at middleweight
for the last couple of years, and if Silva is going to stay at
185 pounds, I'd like to see Belfort get his shot at the belt.
4.
Chael Sonnen (5): White says Sonnen is next for Silva, and he
says Sonnen is the kind of opponent to take the fight to Silva.
I'm not so sure I agree, although I do know Sonnen will engage
in plenty of trash talk to hype the fight, and maybe get under
Silva's skin just enough to make Silva knock him out in the first
round.
5.
Demian Maia (6): He has a submission victory over Sonnen on his
record and is still the best grappler in the division, but he's
never going to be able to hang with the best middleweight strikers.
6.
Nate Marquardt (7): I probably have Marquardt ranked a little
too high, but he does have that first-round knockout of Maia
on his record. Maybe the two of them should have a rematch.
7.
Dan Henderson (2): Strikeforce thought Hendo would be its big
star, but after Shields manhandled him it's hard to see where
he goes next. Maybe a move up to light heavyweight and a fight
with Gegard Mousasi would be in order. Come to think of it, that's
the fight Strikeforce should have done all along.
8.
Robbie Lawler (8): He's supposed to fight Jason "Mayhem"
Miller next, although Miller's part in the ugly post-fight brawl
at the end of the Strikeforce Nashville show calls that into
question.
9.
Yushin Okami (9): The UFC just keeps burying Okami, who beat
Lucio Linares last month in a fight no one saw. It'd be nice
to see this guy fight on TV some time.
10.
Jorge Santiago (NR): No word yet on when we'll see the Sengoku
champ again. I'd love to see him return to the UFC; he's a far
better fighter now than he was in 2006 when the UFC cut him after
back-to-back losses against Chris Leben and Alan Belcher.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Jacaré
back to Strikeforce on May
After submitting Matt Lindland on his Strikeforce’s debut,
the black belt Ronaldo Jacare should return to the octagon against
Joey Villasenor on May 15. Former Pride fighter, Joey has defeated
names such as Jorge Santiago, Evangelista Cyborg, and Phil Baroni.
The information was given by the Strikeforce president Scott
Coker, during a press conference, yesterday. In the same event,
the Japanese superstar Kid Yamamoto should make his debut, possibly
against Federico Lopez.
During
the conference, Coker has revealed his plans to hold an event
on June 26 in California, US. Although no fighting yet has been
disclosed, he slipped unwittingly he’s planning on the champion
Cris “Cyborg” participation on the card, besides the
duel between Fabricio Werdum and Fedor Emelianenko. If the barriers
of the event with M-1 has not been resolved until then, Werdum
can be scaled against another opponent. Stay tuned on TATAME
for more news about the Strikeforce.
Source: Tatame
|
Anderson
Silva
By Guilherme Cruz
Back to Brazil after defending the UFC belt for the sixth time
(a record on the event), Anderson Silva talked to TATAME about
the duel with Demian Maia and his expectation and the training
on his return on the octagon which has consecrated him, against
the American Chael Sonnen. On the chat, the champion talked about
the MMA growth on the grand media, with his participation on
Domingão do Faustão and the cover article on the
newspaper O Globo, besides the meeting with Demian on TV Globo’s
backstage.
What did you think about the fight?
It was nice, I liked it. Thank God everything went my way and
now I’m focusing on my next opponent, Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen likes to talk a lot before the fights. How are you dealing
with it?
Our thing is to train, get there and do our job. Mission given
is a mission accomplished, there’s not much to talk about.
We’re going to work.
How do you intend to do this preparation? Will you train here
in Rio and then sharp your boxing in the US?
I’m beginning my training in Thailand, I’ll stay there
two week for practicing, then I’ll go for America. Stay
there for two months and finish my trainings here on Brazil.
I’ll go there and train with a good friend of mine, Rodrigo
(Minotauro), then I’ll come back here.
What did you think of Sonnen’s last fight against Nate Marquardt?
It was a tied fight until some point, but it was nice, a tough
fight for both of them. Chael Sonnen is a great champion, a tough
guy, who has fought with great Brazilian fighters and now it
all about keeping the focus.
Did the UFC say anything about the date of the fight?
Not yet, bet we’re training and we’ll wait to see what
will happen.
What do you think about the growth of the MMA coverage, with
your interview being the cover of the sports piece of O Globo
on the gay of the grand finale of a soccer championship?
It was really, really nice. We’re trying to show our work.
One way or another we keep trying to make a difference so people
star to follow our sport. We have great champions here in Brazil,
so we try to do our part to keep on having this kind of return
from the local media.
What did you thing of being on Domingão do Faustão?
It was a huge step that the sport was giving. Our great champions
as Pedro Rizzo, Minotauro, Minotouro, Wanderlei, Shogun, Ninja…
Our great champions, the Gracie’s family… Is good to
continue the process, keeping the Brazilian hegemony outside
the country and to show it in front of the cameras and to the
public, to have the media support… Fausto is a nice person,
he supports the sport, shows he knows a bit about it and is following
the trajectory of the Brazilian’s champions that are taking
the sport abroad. It’s pretty cool, we are a reference for
the youth that is starting their journey on the fight’s
world. It has been really rewarding, I’m really happy I
went to Fausto’s TV program.
How was your meeting with Demian on the backstage?
Cool, man. Inside the ring we have to act that way, the finale
of the World, so it’s like “sink or swim”. Inside
there that’s a natural rivalry, healthy, but when it’s
over, it’s over. Each one lead it’s particular way,
has an own family and goals. Outside the ring we respect each
other, inside is we showing our work. Each make a strategy, an
own game. He had the opportunity to fight for the belt, was a
real warrior, a valiant man who showed why he was there. There’s
not much to say, now we have to think about the future. I’m
sure he will have other opportunities to fight for the belt and
I believe that, in the future, he can be the champion on this
category. He has conditions and skills to do so.
What can the fans expect from this fight of yours against Sonnen?
Man,
I’ll keep doing my work as always. How it’s going to
be, when and in what way I can’t say because I do not know,
but I’ll train so I can keep the belt. That’s my goal,
to keep the belt and to keep myself victorious. We’re working
on it.
Source: Tatame
|
Dana
White explains why UFC’s production team will run the WEC
PPV in Sacramento
By Zach
Arnold
From
our friends at USA Today:
“The
way I look at it is, it’s a Zuffa promotion, and this is
the team for pay-per-view. Obviously when the WEC is on Versus,
they have their team and everything else, but this is the pay-per-view
team.”
The
USA Today interview is a fascinating one in regards to how the
UFC President views UFC’s non-stop schedule. He doesn’t
believe the amount of PPVs the company is doing is too many.
In this Yahoo Sports article, Mr. White has some interesting
comments about Gus Johnson. Steve Cofield says that a “real”
sports league like the NFL or the NBA would have fined Nate Diaz
for his role in the post-match Strikeforce melee last Saturday
night.
The
Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that UFC has booked EnergySolutions
Arena on 8/1 for a Versus show. UFC 117 will reportedly happen
in Northern California. That’s the PPV event with Anderson
Silva vs. Chael Sonnen. Oracle Arena in Oakland is a good venue
candidate for the show. Regarding the Utah event, DaMarques Johnson
wants to fight on that show.
Anderson
Silva a week after the Abu Dhabi debacle? “I think I fought
well.”
George
Sotiropoulos was underestimated going into his Australia fight
against Joe Stevenson. I expect the same reaction when he fights
Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 116. Don’t count out George here.
I like both guys a lot, so it will tough to root against either
man.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Huerta
vs. Curran, Imada vs. Varnier Confirmed for Semis
By FCF
Staff
Bellator FC has confirmed the semi-final match-ups for the promotion’s
lightweight tournament, which will take place May 6th at the
Wang Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. In one of the semi-final
bouts, UFC veteran Roger Huerta will face Pat Curran, while in
the other; Toby Imada will square off with Carey Varnier.
Huerta
(21-3-1) made his Bellator debut in the tourney’s opening
round a successful one, by tapping out Chad Hinton with a third
round knee bar on April 8th. Curran (10-3) bombed his way into
the semi-finals last Thursday, by knocking out Mike Ricci in
the first round.
For
the second season in a row Imada (24-13) earned his place in
the semis, as on April 15th, the Bellator veteran submitted James
Krause with a second round armbar. Varnier (8-2) made his promotional
debut on April 8th, and stopped Joe Duarte in the third round
with strikes.
The
May 6th event will also feature a “Super Fight”, non
title bout, between Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez
(19-2) and UFC veteran, Josh Neer (27-9-1).
“As
a fan, I can’t wait for our May 6th show in Boston,”
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney was quoted saying in the release. “Alvarez
vs. Neer should be explosive, with Eddie making his first appearance
in the U.S. since he won our lightweight title last summer. Huerta
vs. Curran just got really interesting coming off of Pat’s
one punch KO of previously undefeated Mike Ricci. Toby’s
world class submission wrestling vs. Carey’s world class
wresting should be a great fight as well.”
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Melee
takes shine off Strikeforce
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Strikeforce
has been investing in big-name fighters, is being broadcast live
on major US TV network CBS, and is now one of the world’s
main promotions. Nevertheless, in the final moments of the event
in Nashville, Tennessee, what was meant to be challenge turned
into a fiasco.
Jason
Miller, who had won one of his fights on the early card, entered
the cage to request a rematch against current champion Jake Shields,
who had just defeated Dan Henderson. That was when the confusion
began. The live broadcast tried to cut the images, but there
was no way (see video below).
Jason
Miller has a history of tumult. Against Ronaldo Jacaré,
at the Japanese Dream promotion, he landed an illegal kick. The
bout ended up as a no contest and the fighter argued with the
Brazilian, while still in the ring.
Strikeforce
president Scott Coker disapproved of the occurrence.
“There
is no room in Strikeforce for this kind of behavior nor to forgive
or reward this type of attitude. For a fighter at the highest
level, fighting on CBS, Showtime and in Strikeforce there is
no room for this kind of behavior,” he said.
“I
have no idea why Miller did that. I can tell you no one from
my team put him in there. I’ll watch the video to see what
happened. It’s not good for our sport, which is just getting
started,” added the promoter, who tried to minimize the
problem.
“It
was an incredible night.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
MELENDEZ
TAKING TIME OFF,
WANTS ALVAREZ FIGHT
by Damon
Martin
It's been a long, hard road for Gilbert Melendez, but after defeating
Shinya Aoki last Saturday night he's back where he's wanted to
be for so long.
Sitting
among the elite lightweights in the world, currently ranked No.
3 according to the MMAWeekly.com World Rankings, he's now ready
to take some time off.
Fighting
four times over the last year, Melendez has defeated some top
competition including Aoki, Josh Thomson, and Mitsuhiro Ishida.
He's avenged both of his previous losses, and he's once again
the Strikeforce lightweight champion. With a baby on the way,
Melendez wants to take some time for family and then return to
fighting.
"I
want my baby to come, I want to be able to take care of her,
and spend some time with her, and help my girl out as well. So
maybe towards the end of the year I'm thinking about fighting,"
Melendez told MMAWeekly Radio on Tuesday. "I'm going to
have to talk to Scott Coker, see what he thinks, but yeah I want
to spend some time with my family, get rested up.
"I've
been banged up. For me fighting four times in 12 months, I get
banged up, I train hard so I wouldn't mind recovering and getting
100-percent healthy."
Melendez
admits that right now, following the big win over Aoki, his attention
isn't on fighting, it's on his family. He is, however, targeting
a specific date for his return later this year.
"I'm
not even thinking about my fights, I'm thinking about taking
some time off. I think you might see me maybe New Year's Eve,"
said Melendez.
When
he does return to defend his belt, Melendez knows that at this
point it's all about going forward and not taking a step back.
The Strikeforce lightweight champion is all about challenges
and facing Top 10 competition that forces him to get better is
what it's all about right now.
"I
want to make a statement, I want to be No. 1," said Melendez.
"I'm back on track, and I'm almost there, I want to prove
it. I'd love to fight someone like Eddie Alvarez. Eddie Alvarez
is a guy I'd really like to fight."
A
fight with Top 10 ranked Alvarez would definitely be a big fight
in the division, and when Melendez returns that's what he's set
as a goal. And he's already proven that when he has a goal in
mind, there's not much that's going to stop him.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
King
Mo gives Plano East a champion to call its own
BY Kevin
Hageland
No,
none of the varsity teams were in action, but a prominent Panther
alum was making waves of an international nature.
It
went a little something like this: The winner of the bout by
unanimous decision and NEW Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion
… wait for it … Mo Lawal.
The
Lawal in question is better known to those at East as Muhammed
Lawal … and better known to those in the mixed martial arts
world as King Mo.
Lawal
won his first MMA championship Saturday night, but the progression
to his nationally televised victory has been a long time in the
making.
Lawal
won a UIL State Championship at East in 1999 as he was crowned
the top 171-pounder in the state. Crowned … hhhmmm …
perhaps that’s where the King Mo persona stemmed from.
That
was quite a bit before I joined up with this company, so the
first time I actually learned about Lawal was from Tom Inman.
The former Plano Senior, and soon-to-be Grand Prairie, boys basketball
coach told me about Lawal at a baseball game.
Yes,
I know, weird scenario … I learned about an East wrestler
going into MMA from the Plano coach at a baseball game that I’m
pretty sure involved Plano West.
Anyway,
Lawal was just getting started into MMA after a storied high
school and collegiate grappling career and I am a fan of the
sport, so I figured … why not follow him?
That
decision, which was frowned upon somewhat at the time by at least
one person above me, has proven to be the correct one.
Sports
writer Matt Welch has developed a good relationship with Lawal
… I think they even text each other sometimes … and
the former Panther has gained more visibility with each victory.
That visibility spiked Saturday as Lawal was proclaimed champion
live on CBS … A victory which, if you look at Friday’s
Plano Star Courier, Lawal said he was going to accomplish for
Plano.
So
there you go people of Plano, particularly those from East.
The
Panthers may still be waiting for that elusive UIL team title
… I’m looking in your direction softball team …
but East has plenty of champions. The Panthers have produced
numerous Olympians and professional athletes, the boys bowling
club just won another team title and who knows how many state
gold medals Jennifer Madu is going to have when her varsity career
is all said and done … that girl is only a sophomore!
East
has plenty of champions … and on Saturday, Lawal put his
name on that list once again.
Source: Star Local Sports
|
What
can Strikeforce do for better ratings?
I
railed on the Strikeforce brawl because it potentially endangered
the promotion’s CBS deal. But did CBS really give a shit
about the brawl? More and more signs point to no. First off,
they have the whole thing available as a video on CBS.com. And
here’s what ‘in the know’ type guy Dave Meltzer
had to say about the situation, and of course it’s the ratings
which are the real problem:
There
are signs that are positive that they’ll probably do another
show in the fall. You know one of the things that you know was
brought up to me was that you know realistically in another day
or two, no one’s going to talk about that brawl again and
certainly by Saturday you know it’ll be a dead subject.
Now
the rating, you know, again, the rating was more important thing
than the brawl and the rating wasn’t good, but it’s
also the learning thing in the sense that we know that with the
right match, we can do a good demo play with MMA. We also now
know for sure that with you know that Dan Henderson is not the
right and Jake Shields was not the right match and that unless
we have the right match, you really don’t want to do this
show. You can’t just do the show and go like, ‘We got
this card with all these guys that are like ranked and this and
that or this match is you look on paper and go on paper we got
a good show so we’ll have exciting fights and people will
tune in.’ It’s not that. There’s no, all you got
is star power and the problem of course with Strikeforce is there’s
not a lot of that star power there.
He
goes on to list Strikeforce’s only remaining aces: Fedor
(who’s being difficult), Gina (who’s gone Hollywood),
and Herschel Walker (who says he’s got one more fight in
him). Other than that, they have no one they can call who can
pull a better rating than the godawful one they got for this
last show. It’s a pretty grim situation and I have to imagine
it causes Scott Coker to spend many a sleepless night eating
out of a large tub of ice cream wondering whaaaat theeee fuuuuuck
he’s gonna do next. If those crazy Russians don’t get
sorted out in time, Herschel Walker vs Jose Canseco might start
looking pretty tempting…
Source: Fight Linker
|
Urijah
Faber Isn't Intimidated by Jose Aldo:
"Had I not lost those two fights to Mike Brown, I'd be the
guy that's invincible, and so on and so forth. So it's just a
couple small mistakes that made that difference. In my head I'm
still invincible, he's going to have to get in there and prove
me wrong,"
"In my head I'm going to beat him up. It wasn't that intimidating
watching him fight Brown. Brown didn't look very tough. It was
a close first round, and Brown did some horrible stuff on the
ground. He kind of got shoved down, off like half of a double,
and then turned over to his belly. Thos punches didn’t even
look that deadly on top of him, he just had the legs in, so that's
not that intimidating to me."
"I'm going to need to be unconscious for this fight to end.
I think everyone at home knows that. You could cut off a leg
or do whatever you're going to do, and I'm going to keep hobbling
after the guy, and try to take him out. And I've got a lot of
ways to win."
Source: SB Nation
|
Likely
date for Anderson vs Sonnen
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
The Ultimate Fighting Championship confirmed the date and location
for two more installments of the event. On August 1st the second
UFC on Versus event takes place in Salt Lake City. However, what’s
of greater interest to the public is the one that follows shortly
thereafter, UFC 117, on the 7th.
According
to MMAJunkie.com, Anderson Silva will defend his middleweight
belt yet again on this date. His opponent this time is Chael
Sonnen, who is coming off a win over Nate Marquardt and is responsible
for the lone blemish on Paulo Filho’s MMA record.
UFC
117 is set to take place in Oakland, California. Besides Anderson
vs Sonnen, no other bouts were mentioned.
But
stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for more news.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Ceconi
fights until the end and make it worth
Alexandre
Ceconi reached the top and won the World Pro title and leaves
Abu Dhabi with his pocket full. On the grand finale, against
the world champion Rômulo Barral, the black belt did a
spetacular recovery. After being losing by two point, Ceconi
passed Barral’s guard with only 10 seconds left and got
the title (3x2).
“There’s
no secret, my Jiu-Jitsu is getting better now and one good thing
is that I’ve always has a lot of disposal and I believe
in God... While the fight is not over, I’ll do my best”,
said Ceconi after a victory, celebrating his triumph.
Alexandre
regrets the fight on the absolute for the vice champ, Bráulio
Estima. “Unfortunately I didn’t do it, but I’m
getting there. I should have believed more, but I need to know
that there’s a level of fighters above mine. I have to train
enough to beat them”, finished the humble tough guy, who
will flight to Miami, where will prepares himself to world of
California.
Source: Tatame |
Guilherme
Mendes on his true mano a mano match
Of
the teams represented, Atos was the big standout at the Abu Dhabi
World Pro. And so being, there was one particular match between
Atos representatives that grabbed the most attention. It wasn’t
because of the quality the fighters possessed or the importance
of the title, it was due to the fact that two brothers were the
ones going at it on the mat: Rafael and Guilherme Mendes. Gui
spoke to GRACIEMAG.com about the experience and much more, as
you will find in the following interview.
What
was it like to fight your brother, Rafael? Was it really a full-on
match?
Let’s
just say it was a true training session, a match without strategy
where we flowed through positions for the public to see. It was
on Abu Dhabi TV, so we couldn’t forsake fighting, if just
because the event pays those big-money prizes and didn’t
deserve to be left without one of the finals. We did the match
because they hold an event that values the athletes.
Will
that, in some way or another, put an end to the idea that athletes
from the same team don’t face off in the final? After all,
besides being from the same gym, you guys are brothers and fought.
We’re
brothers and everyone knows there won’t be that rivalry
they would expect in a final. We wanted to do a match for the
folks there to see and understand why we were the ones who made
it to the final, so it wouldn’t be a conclusionless division.
We decided to do a training session, like we’ve been doing
together since we were white belts, and my brother trained better
than I did. Now, fighting with that rivalry, that desire to win,
was impossible for us to do. The title and the prize are already
back at home. The event was first rate, like nothing we’d
ever seen, with fireworks, punctual timetable, local television,
the press, hotel accommodations, meals, press conferences…
In the end, they provided all the backing needed to make it as
perfect as it was, not to mention the rewards that, besides the
money, provided the athletes with clothes and watches.
What
do you expect at the IBJJF Worlds? You going in as a light featherweight?
Yes.
I’ll be in that division by Worlds time. I’m going
for my second title at light featherweight and then will join
Rafael at featherweight. I wanted to go in as a featherweight
already, but the team wants me to continue at light featherweight
till the Worlds to have athletes in different divisions at black
belt.
And
what about the Brazilian Nationals, you in?
Yes.
I’ll be there.
Calasans
was a surprise, but only to those who don’t train with him”
Guilherme Mendes
Atos
made it onto the winners’ podium in several divisions at
the World Pro. Tell us about the gang’s performance.
The
whole team fought really well and even those who didn’t
win displayed really great and efficient Jiu-Jitsu. But, sometimes,
details cost you the result. One needs to keep training and correcting
themselves to get better. The difference is that we’re united
and focused, everyone training together, living together, and
with the same objective. I feel that makes our training all the
more productive. I’ll speak about the ones who were champions.
Rafael is getting better with every day. At just 20, he’s
a second-year black belt and has accrued titles like the ADCC,
the World Pro twice over. To me he is, without a doubt, the best
light grappler around these days and he will be much more. He’s
the prodigy at Atos. Durinho has been coming up with good results
for some time, has aggressive Jiu-Jitsu and is improving with
every competition. And that made his more confident. He won everything
he was in this year and promises much more. Now, Calasans was
a surprise, but only to those who don’t train with him because
all of us who are around him knew of his potential. We knew he
would be champion. He’s very confident and, if last year
he made it to the semifinal of the absolute at the Worlds, getting
the takedown on Roger Gracie, this year he’ll provide a
lot more to talk about.
You
invested a lot in physical conditioning. Tell us about what you
do that gave everyone such a gas tank.
We’ve
been working for a good while with Thiago Mendes, at the physical
conditioning gym Octane. He’s been helping us out on the
physical conditioning side of things and we’ve been seeing
great results. We’re stronger and have more wind. These
days physical conditioning needs to go hand in hand with Jiu-Jitsu
training. Of course the most important thing is the mat work,
which is what polishes your game up and gets your timing of positions
up to speed. But physical conditioning makes it so you can put
your technique to practice in a match. If you tire or lack strength,
it’s unlikely you’ll be able to impose your pace.
You
and your brother both fought in the absolute and did well. What
was it like facing the big guys? Does technique overcome strength,
or not?
It
was great! Since we had already made it to the final and our
“mission” was accomplished, we figured we would help
the guys out in the absolute. We’re a team, and we went
in to help the heavier guys by getting some opponents out of
the way. And it all worked out. I won my first match with a choke
and in the second I faced Gabriel Vella. It was a good match.
He spent the whole time trying to pass my guard and scored two
advantages. Vella is a great athlete and really was better than
me in that match. Rafael beat a big guy right off the bat; the
guy weighed about 100 kg and Rafa submitted him with an armbar.
In his second match, he submitted a heavy purple belt and in
the third beat on advantage points Big Mac, who had just beaten
Romulo Barral. He fought really well. It was unbelievable!
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Pan
2010: figures and emotions of a festive Sunday
Before
the black belt finals began, Tony, the official announcer, reminded
everyone, with his powerful voice: – In 1995, The Jiu-Jitsu
Pan-American gathered 150 athletes in this very location to begin
an odyssey. Fifteen years thereafter, here we are again and 2,800
athletes stepped onto the ten match areas set up in 2010. Jiu-Jitsu
is here to stay! A solid stream of applause followed, each applauding
the other and themselves, since each of us (including you) is
a part of the bewildering growth of the Gentle Art.
Alliance,
winning adult team with 100 points over runner-up
In
all four days were devoted totally to Jiu-Jitsu. Each of the
nearly 3 thousand competitors deserves thanks for their love
for the sport. But, as space is limited, we will highlight some
who embody the spirit of the most popular championship of the
year. Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller, leader of Paragon
BJJ, made his debut in the Senior 2 division in grand style.
He won his weight class and the absolute: – And didn’t
suffer a single point scored against me! – he celebrated.
Abmar
Barbosa, of Drysdale BJJ, was a welcome surprise. He scored 11
to 0 over Kron Gracie with authority in the second round of the
middleweight category and had a riveting bout with another member
of the family, Kayron.
Indeed,
the recently-promoted black belt was the second big name of the
Pan 2010. – He fought like a veteran! Put that in the article!
– “decreed” a renowned teacher. We put it in not
because of the decree, but because he deserves it. Kayron was
brilliant. With a rubber back, the “kid”, as he is
known by friends at Gracie Barra, knew how to control his matches
and annul his opponents’ strength, among them world champion
Sergio Moraes.
-
I have a lot of experienced people helping me in training. –
said Kayron, sharing the credit. If Kayron was the second big
name, the greatest personality of Pan 2010 was, without a doubt,
Bernardo Faria.
Gracie's
first major title at black belt
-
Who? The less attentive would ask. Minas Gerais native Bernardo
Faria has been a black belt since September of 2008. – I
consider myself to still be a first-year black belt. – he
says. Good the guard, Faria had already had a good showing at
the European Championship, when he closed out the heavyweight
division with General Gurgel, but a loss to Cavaca took him out
of the running in the absolute in Lisbon. In Irvine, the boy
with a degree in business administration, but who makes his living
in Jiu-Jitsu, was on a roll. In the open class, he beat Gabriel
Vella and managed to exact revenge over Rodrigo Cavaca on Saturday.
On Sunday he was unflinching against world champion (2008) Antonio
Braga Neto and trailing on the scorecards the whole match managed
a omoplata in the final minute, persisted and took two points
as reward for the sweep. Also champion of the heavyweight division,
Faria was so vibrantly overjoyed with his second gold that he
brought his teammates from Alliance and the crowd in general
to tears. – To be champion at black belt was a dream I just
had to fulfill – he summarized. From now on, no longer will
“who?” be uttered when speaking of Bernardo Faria,
absolute champion of the Pan-American 2010. But that was not
all. Gabriel Vella reappeared on the scene, now at Ryan Gracie
academy, to win.
Cobrinha
kicked off his farewell to competition year on the attack and
winning, becoming the first five-time champion of the Pan at
black belt. Lucas Lepri and Michael Langhi closed out the lightweight
division again. Luanna Alzuguir got the submission in all her
matches. Gabrielle Garcia, once again with the crowd against
her (how can she be blamed for being bigger than her opponents?)
took her weight class and the absolute. At brown Zak Maxwell,
the boy who never cracks a smile, put on a show in the absolute
final. The Regis Lebre student submitted a game Lucas Rocha,
from Ze Radiola’s talent factory. Hillary Williams nearly
had her arm yanked out by Gabrielle’s arm on Saturday, but
returned Sunday to win the middleweight division with two submissions.
– My arm hurts a lot, but I’m happy with the medals!
– gushed the blond, who heads to Abu Dhabi for the World
Pro JJ Cup. There was more, much more, but room is scarce.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
SAM
HOGER WANTS TO EARN HIS WAY BACK TO UFC
It's been a few years since UFC fans have seen former "Ultimate
Fighter Season 1” competitor Sam Hoger in the big show.
He's hoping to change all that as he attempts to rejuvenate his
career in the heavyweight division.
While
competing on the reality show's inaugural season, Hoger, unbeknownst
to most fans and competitors, was cutting extreme amounts of
weight to get down to light heavyweight. In the end it cost him
being able to put on better performances.
No
one would argue that Hoger wasn't competitive in any of the fights
he lost in the UFC. Losing by decision to current UFC champion
Lyoto Machida and former champion Rashad Evans is nothing to
be ashamed of, but Hoger knows that he had no business cutting
to 205 pounds to begin with.
"I
was still able to hang with the last three title holding champs
in the UFC, which is the biggest and greatest organization in
the world," Hoger said in an interview with MMAWeekly.com
"I've been able to do that when I've had no strength and
no power, and now that I'm back at my natural weight, I've been
doing really well."
Hoger's
natural weight class is heavyweight, where he is undefeated.
It’s a place he intends on staying.
"As
a heavyweight I'm undefeated, I've never lost," said Hoger.
"My losses have only come when I've had to suck a whole
bunch of weight and get down to a weight division where I have
no muscle, no strength. I'm naturally a 250, 260-pound guy, and
whenever I cut down to 205 it taxes my body because I lose so
much water and so much muscle. I'm just dehydrated with no water
and no strength."
A
winner of three fights in a row, including a 27-second knockout
last weekend over Patrick Miller, Hoger is hopeful to prove himself
to the UFC or whoever wants to give him a shot. He knows it’s
not something that will just be handed over, but he's ready to
prove himself all over again.
"The
UFC was great, some of the best times I had in my life over there
fighting for them. I thank Dana (White), Lorenzo (Fertitta),
Joe Silva, all those guys, but before I get there I'm actually
showing what I can do, and I'm working my way back step by step,"
said Hoger.
"I
don't want to be given an offer because of what I've done in
the past, in reference to you know I was on the TV show, or I
helped blow the sport up into what it was. If the opportunity
comes, I'll be grateful if it comes, but I want to earn it."
Moving
on from “The Ultimate Fighter" and his past experiences
at 205 pounds, Hoger wants to blaze a new trail, and he's hoping
to get the chance to prove it.
"I
want to fight the best, I want to make it back to the big shows,"
he said. "I want to give it a shot, fight at a weight that's
much more natural to me, much more comfortable."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
HENDERSON
KNEW HE'D HAVE TO REMATCH COWBOY
Something classic isn’t often duplicated.
Hollywood
has tried to remake classic films, with mostly disastrous results,
while cover songs are a mainstay of musical pop culture.
In
mixed martial arts, the rematch is a part of the sport, but rarely
is a great fight ever duplicated. When Ben Henderson tries to
defend his WEC lightweight title for the first time, against
Donald Cerrone at WEC 48 on Saturday night, fans might be expecting
a similar tilt to the barnburner the two fighters put on late
last year in a fight that many called the best of 2009.
Immediately
after Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar put on their classic
battle back in 2005, fans were itching for another showdown between
the two, but when they finally did meet again in August 2006,
the results were the same, the fight wasn't.
Henderson
admits that when the WEC came calling for a rematch between he
and Cerrone, that there was some worry about what fans might
expect after such a classic first fight, but he knows both of
them will be bringing the fire on the 24th.
"That
was one thing I was a little bit fearful of how this second fight
is going to play out," said Henderson on MMAWeekly Radio.
"Because the first fight was so hyped, and so much a fan
favorite. I know I’m going to bring my best, I know he's
going to bring his best, so we'll see how it plays out."
The
first fight was a very close decision that originally gave Henderson
the interim lightweight title. After defeating Jamie Varner in
January to claim the undisputed WEC championship, he had a feeling
that the Cowboy would be coming back around for a second shot
sooner or later.
"I
knew after the first fight we had, Cerrone and I, that there
was going to be talks of a rematch. I knew it was a matter of
time, we were going to fight again," Henderson said. "Cerrone's
a great guy, and he's more than deserving, so let's do it again.
Give me a chance to end it."
Henderson
admits that he can't simply rely on the same tools that led him
to victory in the first fight because both of them have been
there and done that, but he also won't throw away the original
war they had because it can serve a purpose as they prepare for
the rematch.
"We
definitely still use the first fight as a guidebook. We still
use it to break down some film on stuff that he does and whatnot,"
said Henderson. "I don't think it's necessary to throw the
whole fight away or anything like that. No one changes that much
from one fight to another fight."
Henderson
worked alongside former "Ultimate Fighter" cast member
Gabe Ruediger and his camp in Arizona to get ready for the rematch,
and he's ready to make the first defense of his title when he
faces Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in the co-main event
of the WEC 48 pay-per-view on April 24 in Sacramento, Calif.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
VOLCANO
KNOCKS WALLHEAD OUT, THOMAS BACK IN
Ryan Thomas, whose controversial loss to former U.S. Olympian
Ben Askren generated substantial comment in the MMA world following
Bellator 14 in Chicago last week, has been announced as a last-minute
replacement for Jim Wallhead at Bellator 15 in Connecticut this
Thursday.
Wallhead
(18-5), who was anticipating making his U.S. debut with Bellator,
is unable to travel from his native England due to the volcanic
ash cloud that has halted air travel across Europe over the last
several days.
Instead,
Thomas (12-4) will get the call versus Arizona Combat Sports
product Jacob McClintock (6-0), who has won each of his first
six pro fights via first round stoppage.
The
fight is one of four Bellator fights from this Thursday night’s
event at The Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., that will be televised
live on FOX Sports Net and in special highlight shows this Saturday
night on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.
“While
I am very disappointed that Jim won’t be able to make it
to the U.S. this week, at least some good comes out of this situation
as Ryan will get the opportunity to step back into our welterweight
tournament,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney.
“After
the fight last Thursday, I promised Ryan that he would be our
first alternate for the tournament and, based on a natural disaster,
his opportunity came much sooner than anyone would have guessed.
Ryan and Ben Askren were locked in a tough fight last week that
was ended, somewhat controversially, by the referee. While I
respect that decision, I am pleased that this opportunity has
presented itself for Ryan.”
Thomas,
a veteran of the UFC, fell to Askren via technical submission
just 2:40 into Round 1 at last Thursday’s event.
Controversy
erupted almost immediately after the stoppage, though, as Thomas,
his corner and a vocal fan contingent in the theatre’s balcony
protested that he gave no indication that he wanted the fight
to be stopped.
“It’s
a bad call by the referee,” Thomas said afterwards. “It’s
just a shame that the fans got cheated and Ben got cheated out
of some more cage time. I was fine – it wasn’t like
the world was closing in on me. I was totally fine.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TYLER
TONER ENVISIONS VICTORY IN WEC DEBUT
December was supposed to cap off a banner year for Colorado 145-pound
up and comer Tyler Toner.
After
a no contest in January, he won two straight fights in Ring of
Fire, capturing the eye of the WEC in the process, leading to
what was going to be his debut for the promotion in December.
That’s
where things derailed.
As
Toner recalled to MMAWeekly.com, “I had just finished all
my medicals and it was a week before the day of the fight. I
got a call from the athletic commission that said they weren’t
going to clear me to fight because my eyesight was too poor.”
Ironically
the issue had been something Toner was going to address after
his WEC debut, but fate intervened, and after finally having
corrective PRK surgery on his eyes, he’s ready to finally
step into the WEC cage on April 24.
“I
was a little nervous after that last one, a little worried that
something might happen or it might not go through, but I’m
glad that it’s back on and I’m definitely excited for
the opportunity,” commented Toner.
“I
learned to not take it for granted if the fight will go through
or not. So far, so good; I’m assuming everything’s
100-percent and ready to go.”
Toner’s
opponent in Sacramento, Calif., will be the same fighter he was
supposed to face in December, Brandon Visher.
“In
December he fought my replacement, Courtney Buck, and looked
good,” said Toner. “He looks like the same thing I’ve
said all along: he’s got quick hands, powerful hands, and
is pretty athletic. But I think he’s one-dimensional, so
hopefully I can expose that.”
For
Toner, his game plan remains the same as it would have been in
December and nearly every fight prior.
“I
feel very comfortable standing or on the ground,” he stated.
“I’ve finished almost all my fights. I’m always
looking to end it. That will definitely make it exciting on April
24.”
Recent
WEC history has seen fighters such as Ben Henderson, Leonard
Garcia, and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone make fast strides
with impressive performances.
When
asked if he feels he could follow in their fast-tracked footsteps,
Toner replied, “It’s always a possibility, depending
on how I perform.
“I
think the WEC’s roster at 145 is so deep that it’s
going to be harder to work my way up to a title shot (so quickly).
I doubt anybody’s going to be impressive enough to come
in, have one or two fights and get a shot. But we’ll see;
there’s always a possibility.”
After
sitting out the last four months, Toner is eager to prove himself.
“I
definitely want to fight a lot,” he stated. “Hopefully
this fight goes well and I come out of it without any injuries
and I can jump right back in there.
“I’ll
fight whoever they tell me to fight. I feel I’m still definitely
growing as a fighter and have a lot of room to improve. I just
want to keep getting better, work my way up, and end up the champ
some day.”
With
his vision corrected, Toner can now focus on making the strides
necessary to earn a coveted title shot in one of MMA’s premier
divisions.
“Big
thanks to my coaches, teammates, MTX Audio, Icon Lasik, Rupture
Fight Wear, and Performance MMA,” he said in closing. “Hopefully
I win and get everybody’s support. I’m hoping to make
some new fans on April 24.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
No
gray area when it comes to White’s reaction
LAS
VEGAS – UFC president Dana White called the brawl at the
end of a Strikeforce card that was broadcast nationally on CBS
on Saturday an embarrassment to mixed martial arts and placed
the blame for it on executives at Showtime.
The
outspoken Ultimate Fighting Championship promoter has long had
a feud with Showtime executives, particularly with Ken Hershman,
its executive vice president and general manager of sports and
event programming. White never specifically refers to Hershman
by name in public, but does not hide his distaste for him.
On
Saturday, at the conclusion of Jake Shields’ upset victory
over ex-UFC star Dan Henderson in a Strikeforce middleweight
title fight, Jason “Mayhem” Miller entered the cage
and confronted Shields, demanding a rematch. Shields defeated
Miller in November on CBS.
Shields
eventually shoved Miller and a melee ensued, with several of
Shields’ teammates, including Strikeforce welterweight champion
Nick Diaz, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez
and UFC fighter Nathan Diaz, pummeling Miller. White said he
had spoken to Nathan Diaz about Diaz’s role in the incident.
He wouldn’t reveal what was said, but said he would not
punish Nathan Diaz in any way.
“Have
you ever seen him do that at one of my shows?” White asked
of Nathan Diaz. White said he believes the incident occurred
because CBS didn’t align itself with the UFC. He said he
had a tentative deal with CBS, but said that Showtime executives
talked CBS into buying into the now-defunct Elite XC instead
of agreeing to broadcast UFC fights.
The
result, White said, was that an inferior product was put on national
television. “Of course, everyone thinks I’m anti-competition,
but I’m not,” White said. “But everyone knows
that they didn’t belong on CBS. Even if you’re the
biggest UFC hater out there, you know that. Shame on CBS for
this. They knew they should have been with us, but they went
out and let those Showtime idiots talk them into going with Elite
XC.
“Now,
they’re stuck with a bush league, C-level promotion that
will probably be out of business next month,” he added.
“And what you saw on Saturday is the kind of thing that
happens when you put a product like that on national television.”
Showtime
did not respond to a request for comment on White’s allegations.
White
was pressed on whether what happened in the cage after the fight
on Saturday hurt the sport more than UFC middleweight champion
Anderson Silva’s performance just two weeks earlier in a
title fight on pay-per-view against Demian Maia in Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates.
Silva
spent much of the final three rounds mocking Maia and not fighting.
After the fight, White called Silva’s performance “a
disgrace” and “an embarrassment.” Anyone who saw
Silva’s fight could not have been impressed, but White said
he sees a big difference between the two events.
“I
can’t guarantee that every time you see a UFC pay-per-view
it will be the best fight card you’ve ever seen,” White
said. “But what I can say is that for (nearly) 10 years,
we’ve consistently delivered great fights and great fight
cards. That’s why this sport has grown so much and become
as popular as it has.
“On
any given night, you may catch a bad fight,” he added. “In
Anderson’s case, it wasn’t a bad night. It was the
third time he’s done something like that, which is why I
was so angry. I take seriously delivering the kind of product
my fans want to see. But what you saw on CBS is an example of
what you don’t want to see on national television. No one
had control and that’s what happens.”
White
also had harsh words for CBS play-by-player announcer Gus Johnson.
Johnson said brawls happen in MMA when there is a lot of testosterone
in the cage. White was also angered by Johnson’s commentary
because he said he’s spent his career building his company
to make sure that such incidents do not occur.
“When
have you seen anything remotely close to that happen at a UFC
event?” White said. “What kind of ridiculous commentary
was that? That was an idiotic thing to say. And then he was yelling
at them to stop, telling them they are on national television.
That was just another example of how bush league they are.”
White
said he is interested in signing Shields, who has two more months
on his Strikeforce contract, but is not bound to the company
beyond that despite holding its championship. He said Strikeforce
“gambled on (the outcome) of fights” and put themselves
in the position of having one of its champions bolt the promotion.
White said it’s not the first time Strikeforce has done
that.
“You
never should gamble on fights,” White said. “They bet
on (Melvin) Manhoef, (that he would beat Robbie) Lawler. Lawler
was very unhappy and they wanted to get rid of him, but it backfired
because he knocked Manhoef out. Then they treated Shields like
(expletive), let his contract expire and they put all their money
on Dan Henderson. “Now, Shields destroys Henderson and look
where they’re at. That’s not how you do business.”
Jeff
Mullen, the director of the Tennessee Athletic Commission, said
on Monday he could not comment on the incident until his investigation
is complete. He said he is already working on the investigation.
On
Monday, Miller released a statement apologizing for his actions.
“I
would like to formally apologize to CBS, Strikeforce, and all
fans of mixed martial arts for my role in the events following
the Strikeforce: Nashville event,” Miller wrote. “In
retrospect, my timing could not have been worse to ask for my
rematch with Jake Shields, and I take full responsibility for
entering the cage and setting off a chain of events that cast
a dark shadow on the sport. I’ve been a fighter and a fan
of MMA for over 12 years, and would never do anything to intentionally
tarnish the sport I’ve given my life to. In the excitement
of the moment I let my emotions run high and made a bad choice
that resulted in a debacle; for that, I sincerely apologize.”
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker could not be reached for comment on Monday to
react to White’s statements. However, Coker said at the
post-fight news conference “There is no room for something
like that in this sport and we are not going to reward that kind
of behavior.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Brawl-marred
night leaves many questions
NASHVILLE,
Tenn. – Jake Shields scored far and away the biggest victory
of his career Saturday night as he overcame nearly being finished
in the first round to outwrestle two-time Olympian Dan Henderson
for the next four rounds and retain his Strikeforce middleweight
title.
But
what happened next turned out to be the highlight of the evening
to the crowd at Bridgestone Arena, and the lowlight to everyone
else involved with the show: a brawl in the cage in which Shields’
teammates beat down Jason “Mayhem” Miller.
Miller,
who won a preliminary fight earlier in the evening, showed up
uninvited during Shields’ post-fight interview. He demanded
a rematch from Shields, who convincingly beat him to win the
Strikeforce title in November.
At
that point, Shields shoved Miller. Gilbert Melendez, Shields’
former roommate and best friend, then jumped on Miller. Then
the whole Cesar Gracie team jumped in, with Nate Diaz in particular
throwing punches and Nick Diaz also getting involved. CBS announcer
Gus Johnson cut the interview to go to a commercial as officials
tried to get everyone out of the cage.
Moments
later, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker was apologetic about the brawl
that ended the nearly three-hour live broadcast.
“There
is no room for something like that in this sport and we are not
going to reward that kind of behavior,” said Coker, who,
when talking about a potential next opponent for Shields, brought
up Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, and avoided mentioning Miller.
Coker,
who said he didn’t see the brawl as he was backstage getting
ready to set up the press conference, said he would have to review
the tape before deciding what action to take, including possible
fines or suspensions. But he blamed Miller for trying to steal
the spotlight that Shields had earned in the biggest win of his
career.
The
question now becomes how Saturday’s events affect MMA’s
future on CBS. The card featured three championship fights featuring
men ranked near the top of their respective weight classes –
Henderson, Shinya Aoki and Gegard Mousasi. All three lost their
respective fights, but none of the three title fights –
Melendez over Aoki for the lightweight title, “King Mo”
Lawal beating Mousasi to win the light heavyweight title or Shields
vs. Henderson – were particularly crowd-pleasing. Combine
that with the show going 45 minutes long, pushing back the evening
newscasts, and the brawl, and there’s a question of how
CBS will react to a sport not yet fully established on network
television.
“I
don’t think [the brawl is] going to be an issue because
I don’t think it’s going to happen again, or at least
I hope it’s not,” said CBS programming vice president
Kelly Kahl. “It’s not what the sport needs. Things
get out of control at times in every sport.”
If
Miller was trying to create his own scenario to get a title rematch,
it may have backfired, at least for now.
“He
came into the cage and got in my face,” Shields said about
Miller, the host of the MTV show “Bully Beatdown.”
“I felt disrespected. I wasn’t surprised because that’s
how he is. He’s a disrespectful guy.”
Shields
said he’d be willing to give Miller a rematch if he earned
it.
“I’m
over it [the brawl],” said Shields. “I think if Miller
wants a rematch, he needs to beat a tough opponent, not the guy
he beat tonight [Tim Stout, who came in with a 12-8 record].
I beat Dan Henderson and who did he beat? Let him beat Jacare
Souza or Dan Henderson. I expect Miller to be disrespectful.
Isn’t he always disrespectful to everyone? It’s his
personality. We’ve been friends in the past and enemies
in the past.”
Shields
(25-4-1) extended his winning streak to 14 straight fights in
beating Henderson (25-8), who came into the fight as a 4-to-1
favorite and as one of Strikeforce’s two biggest attractions
on its roster with heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko.
The
heavily pro-Henderson crowd of 8,196 booed the match frequently,
and even booed the decision though there was no doubt that Shields
completely dominated the final four rounds.
He
survived a first round in which Henderson knocked him down on
the first punch and had him so woozy that Shields said he remembers
almost nothing that happened until late in the round. A few moments
later, Henderson was on the verge of finishing Shields with punches
on the ground, and the best you could say was that Shields survived
the round.
But
things turned in the second round. Henderson said he couldn’t
explain it other than he got tired, saying he had a tougher weight
cut than he expected. Henderson was frustrated with his performance,
because not only did Shields take him down six times over the
next four rounds, but Henderson couldn’t get off his back.
Henderson’s strategy was turning to his stomach and giving
up his back to escape, because he respected Shields’ ability
to finish with a choke.
Shields’
ability to constantly not just take Henderson down but keep him
there and get mount positions begged questions about if Henderson’s
age (39) became the difference.
Shields
won the last four rounds to take the match 49-46, 49-45 (based
on a 10-8 second round) and 48-45 (with Henderson getting a 10-8
first and Shields a 10-8 second). Yahoo! Sports had the score
49-45 Shields.
The
win puts Shields in a unique position. When Elite XC went down,
with Shields as its welterweight champion, he had his contract
renegotiated with Strikeforce, which didn’t include a champion’s
clause that would bind him for the duration of his title reign.
His contract is running out and he will soon be a free agent.
Despite
criticism that Shields isn’t an exciting fighter or that
he has questionable stand-up, his winning streak that dates back
more than five years includes names like Henderson, Miller, Robbie
Lawler, Paul Daley, Yushin Okami and Carlos Condit. The win over
Henderson would validate him to where if he were to sign with
the UFC, he could viably be put into a fight right away with
Georges St. Pierre.
When
asked about his future, Shields said that all he wanted to do
after three hard months of training for this fight was to get
out of the country and go to the beach for a week. He said his
manager (his father, Jack Shields) and Coker could discuss things
and he’ll worry about it when he gets back.
Source: Yahoo Sports
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Wand:
Belfort ‘injured’ with upset Anderson
One
of the biggest idols of the MMA world, Wanderlei Silva washed
his soul with the victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 110 in
Australia. In an exclusive chat with TATAME Magazine during his
visit to Curitiba, the former champion of Pride told us secrets
about his recovery and when we asked him about the awaited fight
between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei mocked.
“I
really wanted to watch this fight between him and Anderson, I
think it would be great, but it seems that he saw Anderson upset
and got injured, I don’t know... A big black guy upset,
I think I would get hurt too (laughs)”, mocks Silva, dreaming
about a rematch. In an exclusive chat, published in this month
edition of TATAME Magazine, Wanderlei talked about his adaptation
to the new weight, his next UFC fight against Yoshihiro Akiyama,
commented Minotauro’s loss and revealed: “I think the
elbows should be banned (from MMA), but not the stomp”.
Source: Tatame
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Gesias:
“I want to do three fights this year”
Two
times champion of the Hero’s GP, the lightweight Gesias
Cavalcante accepted the invitation and answered the questions
from subscribers of TATAME Magazine. On the chat, published exclusively
for subscribers of the best fight magazine of Brazil, the lightweight
showed a willingness to return to the ring as soon as possible.
"My main goal is to fight, no matter against whom. I want
to do at least three fights this year, get back to my rhythm.
My focus is this, to get three victories for gear this year,
start to climb the mountain again," said Gesias, commenting
on his dreams, which involve the UFC and Rio de Janeiro, talked
about religion, training and success.
Source: Tatame
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Demian
Maia
Demian
Maia is back from Abu Dhabi without what his most wanted: the
UFC middleweight title. The fight against Anderson Silva on UFC
112 didn’t go his way as well, but, besides the loss, the
black belt has his head up. On the chat, that you can read below,
Demian talked about the complains made by Rafael Cavalcante,
who said Demian "offended Anderson as a man”, talked
about his comeback to octagon and analyzed the next dispute for
the belt of his category, which should be between Anderson and
Chael Sonnen, who was submitted by Demian on UFC.
What
did you think about the fight?
Man,
it was a warm fight in the beginning, it took me a while to get
into the fight, but I got better in the end. I expected to win,
but I will train to the next one.
What
is your opinion towards Anderson’s posture, provoking you
during the fight?
Everybody
knows what happened, I don’t have to explain it. Everybody
makes mistakes and I think they are thinking about theirs.
Did
you get bothered by the insults?
Not
at all. I think it’s bad for the sport and the show a little,
but I got there focused and ready to fight, not for anything
else.
He
said he acted this way in response “towards yours provocations
before the fight”, and Rafael Cavalcante told us you has
not been respectful with him as a person. What really happened?
Those
who know me knows that I never disrespect anyone, especially
with someone who is friends with several of my friends, like
Anderson. In fact, they were wrong and want to find a justification.
No need to justify, just assume "I was wrong". Everyone
does mistakes, we're there to learn. There's some jokes to promote
the fight, that is very light compared to boxing and other sports.
The problem is when you think you are so good that nobody can
joke with you, then you have to review the path and size that
your ego is taking you to. Regarding the lack of respect, I don’t
disrespect anyone, especially one who is brave enough to go into
the octagon, which is not for everyone. I'm a martial artist,
a Jiu-Jitsu fighter, I learned it since my childhood.
Did
Dana White say something to you after the fight?
I
haven’t have time, because I went straight to do a MRI too
know if there was something serious, but it was nothing. My flight
was early in the morning. I talked to the people in my room and
went straight to the airport.
When
will you come back to UFC? What are the expectations?
I’ll
wait for them, let’s see what they’ll say about it.
I’ll go back to my trainings as fast as I can.
How
do you face this comeback? Thales lost a battle after fighting
for the belt and got fired… Do you worry about that too?
No,
not at all. I think my fight was different.
Anderson
may confront Chael Sonnen, who you submitted. What do you think
about this fight?
He’s
got a chance, he has good takedowns... He can take Anderson down
and fight with him there. I’m not saying Anderson doesn’t
have the tools to fight on his guard, but Chael is a high level
athlete and has the chance to be the champion.
Source: Tatame
|
Sherdog
Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings
Favorites?
What favorites?
The
last two weeks in MMA have seen a host of highly accomplished
favorites go down the tubes. First came B.J. Penn’s shocking
unanimous decision loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi,
United Arab Emirates, which reshaped the face of the lightweight
rankings. Then, on April 17, Dan Henderson and Gegard Mousasi
entered their respective bouts in Nashville, Tenn., as favorites,
and, yet, neither of them walked out as a Strikeforce champion.
Henderson
looked the part for five minutes before incumbent Strikeforce
middleweight ace Jake Shields put him on the floor and dominated
him for the remaining 20 minutes, staking his claim as one of
the sport’s elite fighters, regardless of weight. Meanwhile,
Mousasi had no answer for the potent power wrestling of unbeaten
prospect and budding star Muhammed Lawal, who stuck him to the
floor, pounded on him for 25 minutes and took the Strikeforce
205-pound crown.
However,
there was some stability. Strikeforce lightweight king Gilbert
Melendez scored the biggest win of his career -- a lopsided beating
of Japan’s top fighting product, Shinya Aoki -- as he retained
his title and proved himself among the sport’s 155-pound
elite in the Music City.
Source: Sherdog
|
Thiago
Silva: “I’m not fighting Ryan Bader”
Several
websites around the world reported at the beginning of the week
that Thiago Silva would face Ryan Bader on UFC 116. TATAME.com
called Silva today, but the tough guy from American Top Team
denied the bout.
According
to the reports, the Brazillian would have published on his Facebook
that his next opponent would be Ryan, TUF champion. “I don’t
even have a Facebook account, someone is doing that for me. I’m
not fighting Ryan Bader, UFC hasn’t said anything. I talked
to my new manager today, Dan Lambert, and he’s trying to
get this off the web”, told Silva.
As
for his return to the octagon, Thiago still doesn’t know
who he will confront, but soon he must have an answer. “There’s
nothings settled. UFC called my manager wondering if I could
fight on July, I’m ready, but they didn’t said who
I’m fighting against”, tells Thiago, warning that every
single profile with his name in the web is fake.
“It’s
all fake, I don’t use these things. I only have my own website.
There’s it, exactly because it can cause you a lot of problems,
this kinds of unnecessary headache”, complains the fighter.
Stay tuned on TATAME to know more about Thiago’s comeback
to UFC.
Source: Tatame
|
2010
Hawaii State/Regional Junior Olympic Boxing Championships
Boxing matches will be the 2010 Hawaii State/Regional Junior
Olympic Boxing Championships at the Palolo District Park Gym.
Match bouts and, if needed, quarterfinals on Friday, April 23
at 6 p.m., match bouts with semi-finals on Saturday, April 24th
at 6 p.m., and Finals on Sunday April 25th at 1 p.m.
15/16 year old Champions advance to the USA National Junior Olympics
in Camp Lejune, North Carolina June 13- 19, 2010.
Thank You for Your Support!!
Bruce Kawano
Source: Bruce Kawano
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Galaxy
MMA: Worlds Collide
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
May 1, 2010
Doors open at 5:00PM
Show starts at 6:00PM
Scott Junk vs. Fabiano Scherner
Tyson
Nam vs. Keola Silva
Preston
Louis vs. Koa Giddens
Zack
Pang vs. Chivas Antoque
Fight card subject to change.
Also
featuring the Galaxy MMA Lightweight Grand Prix Tournament featuring
fighters from the Bulls Pen, Combat 50, Team Quest, 808 Fight
Factory, Arena MMA, Gracie Barra & More.
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact:
Galaxy MMA Marketing
galaxymma@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/galaxymma
www.twitter.com/galaxymma
Galaxy MMA Launches its Premiere Event at Blaisdell Arena, May
1, 2010
Honolulu, HI March 10, 2010 – Galaxy MMA will present its
premiere mixed martial arts events at the Blaisdell Arena on
May 1, 2010.
Mark Pang, President of Galaxy MMA, and his creative team are
dedicated to bringing exciting live events to the MMA fans of
Hawaii. Galaxy MMA’s first event, Worlds Collide, is scheduled
for Saturday, May 1, 2010 and will feature two UFC veterans.
K-1 veteran, cast member on The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 reality
show, and MFC Heavyweight Champion Scott Junk from Kailua, Hawaii
will headline the main event against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black
Belt and UFC veteran Fabiano Scherner from Team Quest of Oregon.
Prior to these two explosive heavyweights locking horns, the
co-main event will feature the return of popular local boy Tyson
Nam (Team Quest) against HMC wrestling stand out Keola Silva.
The fight card will also launch a Grand Prix 155lb light weight
tournament to establish a hierarchy for the top 155lb fighter
in Hawaii with fighters from the following schools: 808 Fight
Factory, Arena MMA, Bulls Pen, Combat 50, HMC, Team Quest, and
more. As a Grand Prix fighter wins, he will advance rounds culminating
in the crowning of the top 155lb light weight in Hawaii.
The Galaxy MMA team’s mission is to produce top level talent
in Hawaii and to give their fighters branding, marketability,
and exposure to fight fans around the world. While doing so,
Galaxy MMA will also give a portion of their proceeds from each
of their events to local charities and non-profits.
Tickets are on sale at the Blaisdell Box Office & all Ticketmaster
Outlets, 1-800-745-3000.
For online ticket availability and information visit the following
sites:
www.GalaxyMMA.com
www.ticketmaster.com
www.facebook.com/GalaxyMMA www.twitter.com/GalaxyMMA
Source: Event Promoter
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Scrappla
Fest 2
Kauai's
Scrappla Fest 2
Gi & No Gi Tournament
May 15, 2010
$50 entry fee
Tentative
times:
Kids Rules 930am.
Kids Gi Start 10am.
Kids No Gi Start 11am.
Adult
Rules 12:30pm.
Adults Gi Start 1pm.
Adults No Gi Start 3:45pm.
We
will be running 4-6 matches at the same time to keep the tournament
running smoothly. More info to come about weights and weigh ins.
kids ages-weight divisions will be made on sight
5-below
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
women
125-below
126-140
141-above
menbeginner
white , blue
131-below
132-145
146-159
160-173
174-187
188-201
202-215
216-above
men
advanced, purple and above
159-below
160-180
181-201
202-above
Thank
you,
Pono
Pananganan
Kauai Technical Institute
ktirelson_gracie@hotmail.com
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X-1:
Nations Collide
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
June 4, 2010
7:30PM
www.x1events.com
(808) 591-2211
170lbs X-1 World Championship Bout
Brandon Wolff (Champion) vs. Dylan Clay (#1 Contender)
8-Man
Heavyweight Tournament
Bracket A
Maui Wolfgram (Hawaii) vs. Ricky Shivers (Alaska)
Adam Akau (Hawaii) vs. Hae Joon Yang (Korea)
Bracket B
Poai
Suganuma (Hawaii) vs. Vitaly Shemetov (Russia)
Tasi Edwards (Samoa) vs. Daniel Madrid
|
Legacy
Combat MMA Event at the MMA Expo!
We are holding an MMA event in conjuction with the MMAHAWAII
Expo on June 11th in the Blaisdell Ballroom called Legacy Combat
which will feature amateur fighters.
If
you do have fighters that would like to participate please contact
us with the following information:
-Fighter's Name
-Weight Class
-Contact #
We look forward to working with you in the future. Please contact
us by clicking here.
Thank you,
Legacy Combat |
Garden
Island Cage Match 9: Mayhem at the Mansion Sponsorship
Hi All,
I am excited to let you all know we have the date set for our
next show :
"
Mayhem at the Mansion", June 26th 2010 - Kilohana Carriage
House
Since
this venue is a little smaller than the Stadium the tickets will
sell out twice as fast so be sure to get on board quickly! This
an exclusive venue for us and very please to have acquired this
merger.
Sponsorship
packages now available! Please contact me for further information!
Looking
forward to working with you all again!
Mahalo!
Vance Pascua
808-634-0404
Source: Event Promoter
|
In
October 2010, Eternal Fight Wear proudly presents...
ETERNAL SUBMISSIONS! 1st Annual BJJ GI/NO-GI tournament on Kauai
Kauai Beach Resort, Kauai
This will be a 3 Day Event.
Friday, October 15th. beginning at 5pm will be weigh-ins with
Live local entertainment, Exhibitions, Door Prizes & more.
Saturday Oct. 16th we will host the GI portion of the event starting
with kids at 10am.
Sunday we will finish off our tournament with the NO-GI portion.
Outer island competitors will be allowed to weigh in on Saturday.
Kauai residents must weigh in on Friday.
NO same day registrations will be allowed.
Cut of for pre-registration is October 7th (for free tshirt)
all other registrations must be in by October 13th (if mailing
registration, it must be postmarked by the 11th) We have locked
in the dates and will be offering special discounted rates at
the hotel. There will be food/beg. for sale at the event. We
will be having superfights as well (TBA). All pre-reg competitiors
will receive a free competitor tshirt. There will be door prizes
each day too! Winners of the matches will receive very nice medals,
we will be awarding team trophies and best -of awards. Absolute
and Superfights winners will be awarded championship belts.
We will be hosted a first ever in Hawaii 'kids absolute' and
as well!!!!
This will be an event Hawaii does not want to miss!!!!
Pre-Reg is be up shortly and we will be notifying you as soon
as it is or updated info add us on facebook: ETERNAL FIGHT WEAR
Any questions you can call me (Shauna) at 808.652.6849 or email
me shauna@hawaiilink.net
Source: Event Promoter
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