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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)
10/24/10
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H.S. Gym)
10/15-17/10
ETERNAL SUBMISSIONS: 1st Annual BJJ GI/NO-GI tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Kauai)
10/16/10
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
9/11/10
Kauai Knockout Championship
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Kauai)
8/28/10
Big
Island Open
(BJJ)
(Hilo Armory, Hilo)
8/14/10
Hawaiian
Open Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
USA Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Lihue Convention Hall, Lihue, Kauai)
8/13/10
Battleground Challenge 2
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
8/7/10
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
8/6/10
Mad Skills
(Triple Threat/Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
7/24/10
The Quest for Champions 2010 Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling & Continuous Sparring)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
7/17/10
Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Maui War Memorial, Wailuku, Maui)
Mad Skillz
(Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(99 Market Shopping Center, Mapunapuna)
7/9/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
7/3/10
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
6/26/10
Kauai Cage Match 9
(MMA)
(Kilohana, Gaylords Mansion, Kauai)
6/25-26/10
50th
State BJJ Championships
(BJJ)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/24/10
Quest for Champions
(Kumite/Grappling)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
6/19/10
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
6/18-19/10
Select
Combat
(Triple Threat)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/12/10
Destiny: Fury
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Center)
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 MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
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)
5/22/10
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waiphau Filcom Center)
5/15/10
Scrappla Fest 2
Relson Gracie KTI Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Island School, Kauai)
X-1 World Events
(MMA)
(Waipahu HS Gym)
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Evolution Training Center, Waipio Industrial Court #110)
5/1/10
Galaxy
MMA: Worlds Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/28/10
Chris Smith BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Hilo)
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)
|
|
August
2010 News Part 1
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi 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! |
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!
|
Want
to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
Click here for pricing and more
information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
|
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 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 Knife & 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
BJJ
Tournament In Hilo on Aug 28th!
Chris Smith, from Charles Gracie school in Hilo, is putting together
a competition on August 28. There should be various belts competing.
It is $40 with early reg istration and $55 for late registration.
Contact information will be released soon.
Source: Troy Souza
|
Just
Scrap
Hilo Civic Center, Hilo, Hawaii
August 7, 2010
by Rick Booth
bjpenn.com put on another amazing event JUST SCRAP, live from
the hilo civic on saturday night aug 7th. tonight marked the
return of two of hilos biggest stars in "IRON"MIKE
AINA, and ROSS"DA BOSS"EBANEZ, after a layoff of 15
mo and 17mo respectively.the crowd as always was electric and
all of the fighters delivered once again.there was definatly
an attendance boost from recent events,this no doubt had to do
with home town boys returning.
in tonights third bout ISAMU LOPEZ took on the always ready to
fight(and very pink) REED AKASHI,fighting for SPIRIT OF THE WHITE
ROBE MUAY THAI.reed got to show of his ever improving muay thai
skills,before getting the fight to the ground and finishing it
with GnP at 4:15 of rd 1. reed tends to stand out at the arena
because of his tendancy to be decked out in pink. when asked
after his fight, why pink? he replied "just to be different,you
know,nobody else does it". dont let his record of 2-3 fool
you.he always brings excitement to his fights.
the only belt on the line this evening was the 155lb JUST SCRAP
amature title,contested between current champ and PENN TRAINING
AND FITTNESS/MMA fighter KEVIN"da monsoon"SOONG, and
TEAM SILVA contender KAWIKA"tips" MARTIN. SOONG showed
why he is the champ by dominating the stand up for a little under
2 min before taking it to the ground and sinking in the rear
naked choke for the victory at 2:15 of the first round.
after an intermission it was the heavyweights turn to slug it
out ,and boy did they.bj penns mma heavyweight CHAD "da
bramah bull" THOMAS was matched up with DYLAN RUSH, in what
turned out to be FIGHT OF THE NIGHT. dylans wrestling pedigree
was out the window as these two were totally content to just
stand and bang. and bang they did the whole 1st rd,and both fighters
were noticablly tired between rounds.the second round was more
of the same but turned up a few notches, with both guys absorbing
an insane amount of punches until RUSH was able to drop THOMAS
at the 2:28 mark of rd.2. the crowd was as loud as i've ever
heard it for these two incredible fighters. after the fight RUSH
was being interviewed and his story was told,and what a story
it is. RUSH was an all state football player for ka'u high school
on the remote south end of the big island,and went to play at
U.C.L.A. until the MMA bug bit him. ucla football would'nt allow
him to compete in mma so he left to attend STANFORD,wher he is
on the wrestling team, with one more year to go until he can
turn pro. when asked why he would give up all that for getting
hit for a living,he simply raised his arms to the cheers of the
fans,and said "this is why".
it was time to get going with the co-main event featuring "MR
INTERNATIONAL PLAYA WITH A PASSPORT" DOMINIC AHNEE and "IRON"
MIKE AINA. ahnee had recently spent some time at the wanderlei
fight team in las vegas and was eager to show his skills.however
iron mike had no intention of loosing tonight. he was able to
dominate anhee for two rounds to earn a unanomous decision. afterwards
he said time away from the ring was a factor in his inability
to finish tonight.
the main event was at last here,with KONA KE squaring off against
ROSS "DA BOSS" EBANEZ. the introductions lasted longer
than the fight as DA BOSS was able to by pass the feeling out
process, take the fight to the ground, and grab a guillotine
choke then pull guard to finish the choke at 1:34 of rd 1. heres
a list of results......
155lb-
Prince Pilgrim Def. Aj Veriato Via Tapout To Guillotine Choke
At 1:12 Rd 1
Heavyweight- Christopher Moniz Def. Jon "The Chosen One"
Estabillio By Tko At 4:56 Rd 1
135lb- Reed Akashi (Spirit Of The White Robe Muay Thai) Def.
Isamu Lopez Via Tko At 4:15 Rd 1
165lb- Ashton "One Crack" Castro (Bj Penn Mma) Def,
Keala Fuerte By Unanimous Decision.
155lb Title Fight- Kevin Soong (Bj Penn Mma) Def. Kawika Martin
(Team Silva) Via Rear Naked Choke At 2:15 Of Rd. 2.
Heavyweight- Dylan Rush Def. Chad "Da Brahma Bull"
Thomas By Knock Out At 2:28 Of Rd.2
160lb- "Iron" Mike Aina (Bj Penns Mma) Def. Dominic
Ahnee By Unanimous Decision.
170lb- Ross "Da Boss" Ebanez (Bj Penns Mma) Def Kona
Ke Via Guillotine Choke At 1:52 Of Rd1
The Next Just Scrap Event Is Saturday October 16th 2010, Hilo
Civic
Source: Onzuka.com Correspondent Rick Booth
|
Anderson’s
first post-fight words and Sonnen’s lament
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
All signs pointed to Anderson not leaving the cage as the winner
for the first time in the UFC, this Saturday, in California.
Not even the well wishes from actor and aikido black belt Steven
Segal before entering the octagon seemed to help.
Like
magic, something that only happens with the great champions,
Anderson managed the winning hold at 3:10 min of the fifth round.
The armbar from the triangle drove the fans – and opponent
Chael Sonnen – wild.
“First
I’d like to thank all of you; Chael is a great fighter,”
said the Spider while still in the octagon, then revealing a
possible explanation for his unexpectedly tame performance:
“I
knew I wasn’t 100%. That’s no excuse, but I injured
my rib in training. The doctor told me not to fight, but for
you, for the show and the UFC I came here to do my job. Thank
you,” he added.
Jiu-Jitsu!”
Anderson Silva
Anderson
had gone on a campaign to erase the memory of his taunting his
opponent Demian Maia in his prior bout, where he criticized his
adversary’s Jiu-Jitsu. This time he entered the scene sporting
a gi and black belt, probably to reinforce his respect for the
gentle art. It ended up that the very art of Jiu-Jitsu was what
saved Anderson for the drubbing he suffered at the hands of Sonnen.
He didn’t forget it when the fight was over and done.
“Thank
you everyone, my friends in Brazil and my trainers. Nogueira
brother Jiu-Jitsu!” he said in jubilation.
This time I came out with the silver medal” Sonnen
Not
happy at all, Sonnen accepted the setback after having suggested
he did not tap when the referee intervened.
“Look,
it was a tough fight, he’s a tough guy. I took seconds,
here’s nothing more I can say. They gave me my chance,”
said Sonnen.
“I’m
only here to be number 1. If I’m not the best, I’ll
move on in life. We’re going to go back to the drawing board,
but for now I have the silver medal,” he lamented.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Stirring
Comeback Win a Career-Defining Moment for Anderson Silva
By Mike
Chiappetta
The
moments were ticking away on Anderson Silva's long reign, and
the Oakland, California crowd was already preparing to crown
Chael Sonnen. To the surprise of millions, the Oregon native
had dominated every minute, virtually every second of their UFC
117 middleweight title fight. The bout was so lopsided, in fact,
that Compustrike sent out press alerts as the fight went on to
quantify the absurdity of what we were witnessing.
Sonnen,
the first notice announced, had outstruck Silva 51-2 in the first
round. The second alert was even more astounding. Through three
rounds, Sonnen had outlanded the champion 218-11. The king is
dead, the announcements seemed to be saying.
By
the end, the numbers were staggering. Mind-blowing, really. Sonnen
set a Compustrike record, landing 289 blows, to only 29 for Silva.
Yet somehow, some way, Silva was the one to get up and walk away
with the belt.
"The
fight that happened tonight is the stuff that makes legends,"
UFC president Dana White said later. "He got roughed up
and beat up, and he found a way to win."
Silva
was on the edge of defeat, so far over the side that it seemed
that any final push would close the show for Sonnen, who put
on the performance of his life. Every time Sonnen put the Spider
on his back, on his back is where he stayed. Silva threw up triangles,
he shifted his hips for arm bars, he tried to scramble free.
None of it was working. Sonnen was always one step ahead, slipping
his arms free and slamming elbows and punches against the champion's
head.
By
the time the fourth round ended, victory for the challenger seemed
a foregone conclusion. Silva could not stop the takedown and
Sonnen wouldn't break his furious pace. All Sonnen had to do
was run out five minutes and he would have the title that had
eluded him for so long.
If
this was the NFL, he would have run the ball into the line three
times and punted it into the corner with a three-touchdown lead
at the two-minute warning. If it was baseball, he'd hand the
ball to his closer up double-digits. If it was basketball, he'd
go into the four corners. Victory would literally be a formality
after such dominance. But this is fighting. There's no way to
coast to the finish, and so he fought on.
Silva
had been thoroughly thrashed, his ribs were hurting from a previously
undisclosed training camp injury, and time was now his enemy.
A lesser fighter would have had his spirit broken by then. If
he could not stay upright, there seemed to be no clear path to
victory, and he could not stay upright.
Silva,
though, was not going to go quietly. The champion who hadn't
faced a test in the cage in ages suddenly had to get past adversity
and a spirited opponent, and somehow he summoned the energy to
do it.
Everything
changed in a flash. Sonnen got lazy for just a blur, a split-second,
but with the fatigue of over four rounds slowing him down, that
blur was much too much to overcome. Suddenly, Silva's legs were
locking into a triangle. Silva had tried the same thing before,
and Sonnen anticipated it, escaping. But this time it was too
late, Sonnen caught in the Spider's web.
Sonnen
tried to escape, throwing his body backward and his leg over
Silva's body. His arm though, was still trapped in an arm bar.
It was here where he realized, there was no escape, and he tapped
with less than two minutes left in the fight.
Twenty-three
minutes had been his, but the last seconds were stolen from him.
For
four years, Silva has dominated his division. He steamrolled
Rich Franklin and Nate Marquardt. He finished Dan Henderson in
two, embarrassed Forrest Griffin and toyed with guys like Patrick
Cote, Thales Leites and Demian Maia. Everyone knew he had incredible
skill, but at least during his UFC run, we've never gotten to
see his heart put to the test.
That's
all this one was. When you're running on fumes in the final moments
of a sure defeat, the only thing fueling your body is willpower
and heart. Other fighters would've been dejected, beaten before
the round even began. Silva was still searching for his path
to victory.
The
champ's come under fire in the past for uninspired performances,
but when he was put to the ultimate test, inspiration struck
under the most trying of conditions and against the most game
of opponents. The gritty comeback elevated the moment to sporting
theater, and should forever be regarded as the defining moment
of Silva's championship reign and Hall of Fame career.
Long
live the king.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
World
titles defined at Shooto
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Beição,
next to André Pederneiras, is the new world champion.
Photo: Jamil Silveira, MMA fighter
On a cold and rainy Rio de Janeiro evening, only action-packed
MMA bouts could heat things up. And that’s just what Shooto
Brazil 17 provided this Friday. Two world title belts and a South
American one jst added importance to the occasion, bringing promoter
André Pederneiras to move the event to the traditional
Hebraica club in the Laranjeiras neighborhood of the city. The
action kicked off at nine and was broadcast live on Brazil’s
fights-only Combat channel.
In
the main event, Afghani fighter living in Holland Siyar Bahadurzada
paid the partisan crowd no heed, knocking out Carlos Índio,
who carried an eight-fight win streak into the bout, in just
38 seconds, thus keeping his Shooto World middleweight title.
The
other world title fight, this one in the lightweight division,
saw two Brazilians facing off. For the third time, Luiz Beição
beat Igor Chatubinha to take the belt. It wasn’t easy, though,
with Beição avoiding his opponent’s attacks
and getting the better of the standup action to tilt the unanimous
decision in his favor.
For
the Shooto South America featherweight title, Johnny Eduardo
extended his win streak to ten and snatched the strap. But his
task wasn’t easy either, as Paulo Guerreiro lived up to
his name (“Guerreiro” means warrior in Portuguese),
hanging on the three rounds but losing the unanimous decision.
Another
highly-anticipated fight saw two kickboxing beasts lock horns,
with Guto Inocente against Vitor Miranda. The two had already
faced off under muay thai rules at Shooto at the same Hebraica
club. This time, though, it was Guto who triumphed, but under
MMA rules. The win came by way of technical knockout after the
younger fighter mounted Miranda and rained down blows.
In
other bouts, Giovanni Diniz defeated Cristian Nogueira by technical
knockout; Hacran Dias knocked out Holland’s Cesário
Di Domenico; and Rodolfo Marques beat Walter Junior by decision.
There was some controversy surrounding Junior Killer’s submission
win over Hernani Perpetuo. Hernani didn’t tap to the fight-ending
straight armbar, but referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight,
alleging Hernani let out a scream, which, after seeing the replay
on TV, seemed to be the right decision.
Check
back for photos of the event later, here on GRACIEMAG.com.
Shooto
Brazil 17
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
August 6, 2010
Siyar
Bahadurzada defeated Carlos Índio via KO in R1
Luiz Beição defeated Igor Chatubinha via unanimous
decision
Johnny Eduardo defeated Paulo Guerreiro via unanimous decision
Guto Inocente defeated Vitor Miranda via TKO in R2
Hacran Dias defeated Cesário Di Dominico via TKO in R2
Junior Killer defeated Hernani Perpetuo via armbar in R1
Giovanni Diniz defeated Cristian Nogueira via TKO in R3
Rodolfo Marques defeated Walter Junior via unanimous decision
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Matt
Hughes will return to UFC action in 2011
By Zach
Arnold
FROM
THE MMAFIGHTING.COM WEB SITE:
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Matt, congratulations on a very impressive win.
Can you talk about how you set up that submission?”
MATT
HUGHES: “I think the submission got set up with the hook,
which you could hear my corner ‘throw the hook,’ they
yelled it for several seconds. So, the hook was there. I threw
the hook. He was dazed, he went down and I got in a front headlock
position and that’s an old wrestling move I used to use
all the time in college wrestling and it’s probably something
that Ricardo’s never seen. I mean, he’s a great grappler,
but that’s just an old wrestling move that you know he was
just unprepared of or he wasn’t thinking right from the
knockdown.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “So, do you think that you submitted him…
it seems as though it was almost an arm-triangle, Anaconda, what
was it that exactly?”
MATT
HUGHES: “We always called it an arm-in front headlock. So,
actually, it’s a blood choke, you know, I’m choking
the blood off. But, I mean, people get very confident with their
arm in there but it’s something where I could put a lot
of power on it and I’ve choked a lot of people out with
it.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “It seemed as though really your strength is what
was able to allow you to finish that and a lot of people know
about Almeida’s submission skills as you said. Did you think
you would be able to submit him?”
MATT
HUGHES: “I’ll be real honest, I knew going into the
fight that that might that, there’s two submissions that
I thought was going to come into play for me. The ol’ tried-and-true
key lock and that front headlock, but I figured it would come
about from him shooting on me to try to take me down. He did
a great job on his feet, covering those inches, those last couple
of inches. Great feints, so I didn’t know if it was a punch,
kick, or a shot coming from him. Did a good job neutralizing
my feet. He just let his guard down with a punch and I was able
to knock him down and then put a submission on him that maybe
he never seen before.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “I notice you have a cut here. How did you get
that?”
MATT
HUGHES: “About five weeks ago training. Pure fluke. It’s
just one of those things that happens.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Was there a chance that you might not be able
to fight? I mean, was it pretty deep?”
MATT
HUGHES: “It was deep. had a good, some good stitches, but
I mean it was five weeks ago, so it wasn’t going to keep
me from stepping in the Octagon.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “All right, so I asked you prior to this fight,
in Abu Dhabi you told me that you were not looking to fight in
the next few months. Now, here you are, you were only in there
for a couple of minutes. Any chance we might see you again this
year?”
MATT
HUGHES: “Not this year. I want to, I’ve got a lot of
hunting to do in the Fall. That’s my passion, so I’m
going to hunt the Fall out and come next year I’ll talk
to the UFC and we’ll figure something out.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “A lot of people like to talk about what is left
for Matt Hughes to do. You were just, you know, put into the
UFC Hall of Fame, which congratulations by the way. But, I mean,
what is there for you to strive for? I mean, you still in the
title chase? Because you continue to look great out there.”
MATT
HUGHES: “I tell you… what’s in it for me is I
have a good time going to the gym every day. I have a good time
doing the training, the time with my partners. I have a good
time in the Octagon, so I mean why would I stop?”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Who would you like to fight next?”
MATT
HUGHES: “I have no idea.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “No one out there?”
MATT
HUGHES: “I’m still celebrating my victory I just had.
So, I’m not worried about who’s next. I’ve got
a lot of things to do this Fall, so I mean whoever’s next
for me is not even on my mind right now.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “But I’m guessing you believe and you’re
fully confident that you have one more title run left in you?
Maybe another?”
MATT
HUGHES: “I’m telling you that I’m not done fighting
in the UFC, yet.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “And I’m sure you’re willing to accept
The Gracie Killer label now at this point? C’mon.”
MATT
HUGHES: “I’m not, just not a big nickname, never had
a nickname, don’t want a nickname, and I don’t want
to be labeled as a guy looking for the Gracies. I’ve never
asked to fight a Gracie, the UFC’s always come to me with
fighting the Gracies. Ricardo came to me. So, I mean, I don’t
want that. I’ve got too much respect for them to be labeled
The Gracie Killer.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Congratulations again, Matt, very impressive stuff.”
MATT
HUGHES: “Thank you.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Next
for Silva: Sonnen Rematch or Belfort?
by Loretta
Hunt
Chael
Sonnen’s near victory over middleweight champion Anderson
Silva at UFC 117 Saturday in Oakland, Calif., has opened the
door for a rematch, though it remains to be seen which road the
promotion will take with its 185-pound titleholder.
In
one of the promotion’s most stunning championship bouts
to date, Sonnen, an Olympic wrestling team alternate, grounded
and dominated the Brazilian striker for a good majority of five
rounds before Silva pulled out a Hail Mary submission with less
than two minutes left on the clock.
UFC
President Dana White acknowledged that Saturday’s sudden
finish could warrant a second go between the two middleweights,
though he wouldn’t commit to making it happen before Vitor
Belfort gets his promised title shot. Belfort was to meet Silva
at UFC 112 in April, but withdrew with a shoulder injury and
has since undergone surgery and successful recovery.
“It’s
definitely a rematch people would want to see,” said White,
referring to a slew of requests to his Twitter account directly
following the five-round barnburner. “We’ll see what
happens. Vitor (Belfort’s) waiting to fight right now, too.
We could do the rematch with Chael. We’ll see what happens.”
Regardless,
White had praise for both headliners.
“I
love the fact that Chael went out and talked the smack that he
did, the way that he talked about this fight, and then went out
and backed it up,” said White. “The fight that happened
tonight is the stuff that makes legends. (Silva) got roughed
up and beat up for almost five full rounds, but finds a way to
win.”
Though
they adopted different approaches with their pre-fight promoting
tactics, Sonnen and Silva both took somewhat somber tones regarding
their performances.
“It’s
devastating. I can’t sugar-coat it. My heart’s broken,”
said Sonnen. “I wrestled for a world championship: I came
in second. I fought in the WEC for a world championship: I came
in second. Now, I fought in the UFC and again, I’m a runner-up
and it hurts really bad.”
Sonnen,
who rode a three-fight win streak into the performance of his
career on Saturday, was unaware that he was 110 seconds away
from claiming the UFC middleweight title just as Silva snagged
the double triangle-armbar submission.
“I
didn’t know how much time was left. I heard someone just
reference that there was about a minute and ten seconds (left).
I didn’t know that,” said Sonnen. “Frankly, you
even get lost in what round it is. He hit me really hard a few
times. You get a little disorientated. You’re just in the
middle of a fistfight on a Saturday night.”
Though
his own worst critic, the 33-year-old Sonnen had momentum on
his side and gave the longstanding champion the fight of his
life in the Octagon. Silva described his thoughts as Sonnen continued
to ground the striker from round to round and pepper him with
shots.
“I
was thinking about my home, my family, my kids and my wife. I
haven’t seen them in three months,” said Silva through
his translator and manager Ed Soares. “I was thinking about
my grandmother who had just passed away a couple of weeks ago.
The whole time I was just thinking about my family and just couldn’t
wait to get back home to see them.”
Silva
said he applied the fight-ending move in honor of his Brazilian
jiu-jitsu mentor Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Like he did in the
Octagon, the 35-year-old champion also mentioned sustaining a
“bad injury” to his rib training with Olympic judo
gold medalist Satoshi Ishii about a week and a half before the
fight.
“The
doctor told me I shouldn’t fight, but I believe the show
must go on,” said Silva. “Again, it’s not an excuse,
but I just wanted to come in here and put it all on the line
and that’s what I did.”
Sonnen
was unapologetic for arguably the most inflammatory pre-fight
hype campaign in the promotion’s history.
“I’m
not backing off my stance and if I did, I’d send myself
a pink slip and move on in life,” said Sonnen. “I have
one goal: it’s to be the world champion and I’m not
backing off that goal because of tonight’s decision…I’m
not Dog the Bounty Hunter and I don’t issue apologies.”
Silva,
who remained silent for much of Sonnen’s vitriol, said he
wasn’t bitter about his opponent’s choice of warfare.
“To
be honest, I really don’t have anything against Chael,”
said Silva. “This is a sport. What happens inside the ring,
it’s a fight. But what happens outside the ring, whatever
this is, it’s in the past…I don’t hold any grudges.”
Even
in defeat, the one-time political candidate continued to deliver
zingers.
“If
it’s Anderson or I have to go up after the guys at 205 or
go on a diet and go after (WEC featherweight champion) Jose Aldo,
it doesn’t matter,” said Sonnen. “If you’ve
got the belt, I’m coming after you.”
Both
athletes were supportive of a rematch.
“I’m
a fighter and I’m here for the UFC and whatever the UFC
decides is fine with me,” said Silva.
Sonnen
was equally receptive to the proposition of meeting Silva again.
“There’s
true camaraderie when you compete against somebody. I don’t
have ill will towards Anderson and I don’t wish him a bad
life,” said Sonnen, “but here’s the truth. If
the commission would sanction it and Dana would move, I’d
fight him right now.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Bellator
unveils card for Season 3 opener
Bellator Fighting Championships has set its local line-up for
this week's Season 3 debut in Hollywood, Fla.:
·
Welterweight (170-pound maximum): Efrain Ruiz vs. Nico Parella
·
Middleweight (185-pound maximum): Moyses Gabin vs. Frank Carrillo
·
Featherweight (145-pound maximum): Eric Luke vs. Chino Duran
·
Bantamweight (145-pound maximum): Brian Eckstein vs. Tulio Quintanilla
Bellator
typically puts together an undercard of fighters from the local
area to warm up the live crowd ahead of the televised main card
for each show.
The
promotion's third season is scheduled to start Thursday (Fox
Sports Net, times vary depending on region). The main card is
slated to include middleweight champion Hector Lombard in a non-title
fight with Herbert Goodman, and first-round tournament bouts
for heavyweights and 115-pound women.
One
of those tourney fights was supposed to be top-ranked Megumi
Fujii vs. Angela Magana, but MMARising.com reports that an Magana
has pulled out because of a foot injury. Carla Esparza, who just
fought on July 16, will step in as a replacement, according to
the report.
Source:
USA Today
|
HUGHES
SUBMITS ALMEIDA AT UFC 117
by Jeff
Cain
UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes continued his reign over the Gracie
family choking Renzo Gracie trained Ricardo Almeida out in the
first round of their UFC 117 welterweight match up.
On
a night that Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves compete for top contender
status in the 170-pound division, the former two-time titleholder
made a statement that he’s not out of the title mix just
yet.
The
first round was all standing with Almeida seemingly getting the
better of it until Hughes landed a left hook to the chin of Almeida,
knocking the Brazilian to the canvas.
From
there, Hughes swooped in sensing the opportunity to finish the
fight. Hughes locked on a modified front triangle choke and wrenched
on the pressure forcing Almeida to go unconscious at the 3:15
mark in the first round.
Discussing
the submission finish, Hughes said it’s an old wrestling
move he learned a long time ago.
“I’m
happy to beat a good Brazilian with a wrestling move,” said
Hughes.
The
36-year old Hughes will be taking the remainder of 2010 off,
but expects to be back early in 2011.
“I’m
going to take the fall off. I’m going to do some hunting
and I’ll talk to the UFC early next year.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
No
broken hand for Junior dos Santos?
By Zach
Arnold
FROM
THE WEB SITE MMAFIGHTING.COM:
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Junior, congratulations on a very, very big win.
Were you happy with what you did out there?”
JUNIOR
DOS SANTOS: “Thank you very much. It was a nice fight. He
surprised me. He’s a very, very tough fighter and I’m
very happy with this victory.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Tougher than you thought he would be?”
JUNIOR
DOS SANTOS: “Yeah. Tougher, tougher. Some guy told me he
is a tough, tough guy but my thoughts about him now is that he’s
tougher than I thought before.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “When you were hitting him with some of those shots,
in your mind were you just thinking, ‘how’s this guy
not going down’?”
JUNIOR
DOS SANTOS: “Yeah, yeah, it’s unbelievable. He’s
got a great defense, too, and man, it was a nice fight.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Were you surprised that he didn’t try to
take you down a couple more times?”
JUNIOR
DOS SANTOS: “Yeah. I have pretty good wrestling and I trained
that a lot, wrestling, all the arts, and my game plan was don’t
let him put me down, you know. My game plan was good. I can do
it. I can do what I trained for this fight, you know.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “You just got stitched up. How did you get that
cut?”
JUNIOR
DOS SANTOS: “He gave me a punch with his left hand, a hard
punch, and cut my face.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Speaking of left hands, I had heard from someone,
I just want to confirm it. Did you break your left hand during
the fight?”
JUNIOR
DOS SANTOS: “In this fight?”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “In this fight, did you injure your left hand at
all?”
JUNIOR
DOS SANTOS: “No, no, no, no, no. It hurts a little bit.
Just hurts a little bit, my thumb. Yeah, right. Just it. It don’t
hurt any more.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “So, now, up next for you, title shot. Have you
thought about that yet or are you still recovering from this
fight?”
JUNIOR
DOS SANTOS: “Yeah, now I’m going to start thinking
about this fight now but I am very happy for this and my dream
is to be a UFC champion and I will.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Have you had a chance to look back at your time
here in the UFC? You’ve come in and you’ve really just
impressed everyone and when you came in and fought Fabricio Werdum,
not a lot of people knew who you were and you just came out on
the scene and every step along the way you’ve just continued
to look good and continue to really, you know, gain more fans.
Have you had a chance to just sit back and go, wow, look what’s
happened in less than two years to me?”
JUNIOR
DOS SANTOS: “Yeah, yeah, very impressive with my fans and
what happened now. Everything is very new in my life and it’s
made me very happy but I think I deserve it because I train hard
every day and I will continue in my career training harder than
now.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
The
Spider takes 120K on bonus money alone
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Besides hanging on to his middleweight belt and unbeaten record
in the UFC, now at 12 fights, Anderson Silva has further reason
to celebrate after beating Chael Sonnen this Saturday, in California.
Of the bonuses handed out after the event, this time worth 60
thousand dollars, the Spider took two, for a total of 120K.
Besides
the submission of the night award, for his armbar from the triangle
at 3:10 min of the fifth round, the Brazilian took the fight
of the night prize, which Sonnen won as well.
A
second best submission prize went to Matt Hughes, who choked
Ricardo Cachorrão out with a, arm-triangle choke.
Now
the knockout of the night award went to Stefan Struve, who overcame
Christian Morecraft in the preliminary card.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
GUIDA
BREAKS DOS ANJOS' JAW TO WIN AT UFC 117
by Damon
Martin
Clay Guida keeps a frantic pace that can break the will of any
fighter, but on Saturday night he actually broke the jaw of Rafael
Dos Anjos to get a submission win at UFC 117 in Oakland.
Since
training with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn in New Mexico,
Guida has paid the coaches the ultimate compliment for his transformation
into what he describes as the best Clay Guida there has ever
been. He showed the work is paying off as he literally cracked
Dos Anjos with a powerful right hook in the first round, that
rattled the Brazilian's head and apparently broke his jaw.
Dos
Anjos didn't show any ill effects of the injury right away when
he started firing back at Guida, and tagging the Chicago native
with good leg kicks and quick punches.
Going
back to what got him to the dance as the fight moved on, Guida
used his wrestling to put Dos Anjos on his back, and started
to use a workman like style to pepper away, and loosen the Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu black belt's grip.
It
was the same strategy in the third round when Guida slammed Dos
Anjos down on the ground, and pushed him against the cage and
working to pass his guard. As Guida put pressure down on Dos
Anjos' head with his shoulder, the Brazilian's head turned and
while trapped against the cage the broken jaw became too much
to take and he tapped out.
Guida
celebrated his second win in a row in the Octagon, but of course
was as classy as ever towards his opponent when realizing that
he likely broke Dos Anjos' jaw.
"I'm
in there to win, I'm not in here to hurt my opponents, so I apologize
about that Raffy, you're a tough son of a gun," Guida said
following the fight.
Believing
that working with Team Greg Jackson will be the difference between
being a good fighter and a great fighter, Guida once again paid
homage to the team in New Mexico for helping him get another
win.
"The
world of difference," Guida said about what it means to
train with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn. "It took me
a while to realize I'm my biggest distraction. Coach is going
to make me a champion. Champions aren't born, they're made, they're
trained."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
“Barbie
Girl” lends strength and sensuality to Strikeforce
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
GRACIEMAG.com called up Carina Damm, one of the four fighters
to see action at the August 13 Strikeforce female GP. But the
one who answered the phone was her black belt brother Rodrigo:
“Hey! Carina’s working right now. Call back in 20.”
After
the stipulated time had passed, we spoke to the fighter, who
explained the reason behind the wait and sent a sample of what
she was working on for GRACIEMAG.com readers’ approval.
“This
was the work of a great photographer, Gerusa Falcão. It
will be on the cover of her company’s portfolio. She wants
to show how even a fighter can be a sex symbol!” explains
Carina laughing.
That’s
right, Gerusa. With a model like that, proving it is easy! But
let’s cut straight to the chase: information on the ballyhooed
female GP.
You,
Miesha Tate, Hitomi Akano and Maiju Kujala will participate in
the GP. When will we find out the matches to be made?
They
haven’t been decided yet. They’ll do that by lottery
on weigh-in day.
So what are you doing to prepare for three possible opponents?
We’re
putting together a strategy for each of them. We’ve been
watching their videos, mostly my brother and me. I’m training
to fight all three; I have to be ready for them all.
What’s
your breakdown on your possible opponents?
Miesha
has a really strong shoot for takedown and I figure she’s
one of the main opponents. I feel it would be a tough fight.
But I also have enormous respect for the Japanese fighter (Akano).
I think in terms of technique she will cause the most trouble,
more than the others. I also noticed she has a huge gas tank,
she never tires. Now I didn’t find much on Kujala, but my
brother saw a video and I think that against her I’ll have
to be ready to strike. She has a really strong kick.
What
are your expectations for this major challenge?
I’m
really happy. I believe and always believed in my career. Unfortunately,
I’ve been out of the international ring for some time, but
I knew I’d be back. I’m coming back strong, with a
lot of desire to be champion. I hope I manage it. I’ve never
been one to think I’ve won before the time comes, but I’m
confident. I ask that people criticize, but don’t denigrate
my image. Make constructive criticism. My work is picking up
and I hope everyone is happy with the result. I’m going
to grab this belt with a number of arms, from my whole family
and friends.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
X-1
Events vs Destiny MMA Results
Waipahu High School Gym
Saturday, August 7, 2010
X-1 Events vs. Destiny MMA
Waipahu High School Gym, Waipahu, Hawaii
August 7, 2010
Since
the MMA laws in Hawaii have taken effect many promotions have
been struggling to survive under the new regulations and continue
the MMA hot bed that Hawaii is, two events that have kept fighters
busy and fans happy have been X-1 and Destiny. Promoter Jay Bolos,
a fighter himself, has fought on X-1 cards before so I am sure
that this led to a smooth transition to partnering up to put
on a joint promotional venture. The card would feature championship
matches for both promotions and allow fighters that compete within
their organization to challenge themselves against different
talent.
The
event kicked off with a series of quick and brutal amateur fights,
the majority ending in TKO, with only a few going to a decision.
The women's fight featuring Jessie Moniz and Monica Franco proved
that the gals put on just as good a fight as the boys. These
two went at it, with Franco taking the striking advantage early
stunning Moniz on a few occasions. Moniz, an accomplished kickboxer,
switched gears and went into grappling mode. Moniz looked to
take the second round with her grappling, making the third round
pivotal. Moniz kept the pressure and after a few reversals, controlled
Franco against on the fence and landed punches, earning enough
points to pull out this grueling fight. The amateur heavyweight
match displayed that these two heavyweight are not just heavy
hitters, but have great technical skill. Dale Sopi had great
head movement and leg kicks along with deceiving set ups for
his strikes. Paongo had good fundamental boxing skills and kept
bringing the fight to Sopi tiring out his opponent. Paongo picked
his punches and tried not to let Sopi rest, which earned him
the title. Another title match that had the crowd excited was
the Maki Pitolo vs Charles Hazelwood. Pitolo displayed technical
striking and accuracy minimizing Hazelwood's devastating leg
kicks.
Johnavan
Visante showed that the work he has been doing concerning his
grappling skills are paying off, by pounding in a passive, L.
John Borgess from his back and then he set up and locked in a
triangle to finish Borges. Duke Saragosa looked impressive, with
quick strikes and perfect timing knocking out a game Bruski Lewis.
I would love to see a Duke Saragosa-Johnavan Visante match up,
both fighters looks sharp quick and have tons of positive momentum.
In the co-main event, Ricky Wallace showed how a hungry young
lion who can take a punch can perform. Wallace capitalized on
a Padilla in the first round by controlling the top position
and opening up with punches for almost the entire round. Padilla
finally worked his way back up and unloaded with a flurry of
power punches with Wallace up against the fence. Wallace took
everything and fired right back ending the round. The fight continued
where Wallace ended up on top and pounded on a tiring Padilla.
There were two instances in the fight where the referee missed
some major rules infractions, from kneeing to the head of Padilla
and Wallace blatantly using the cage to pull himself into the
mount. Padilla landed some powerful punches, but Wallace took
them and continued his controlling the fight and pounding on
a game Padilla until in the third round, Padilla had enough.
The main event pitted Michael Winklespecht, an aggressive wrestler
against the veteran in Ron Jhun. As expected, Winklespecht shot
in and pressed the take down looking to capitalize on some ground
and pound. The fight consisted of some great scrambles and Ron
Jhun pounding on Winklespecht at every opportunity, which mainly
between Jhun stopping a take down and Winklespect either reattempting
or disengaging to regoup. Jhun chipped away at Winklespecht slowing
him down, and allowing him to land more and more punches. Eventually
Jhun was able to put Winklespecht on his back and as Winklespecht
turned to attempt to escape, Jhun slipped in a rear naked choke
for the tap.
140lbs:
Pankration: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Jai Trouche (No Remorse) def. Gerald Castenano (Hustle N Throw,
Maui)
Knock out at 0:22 in Round 2.
205lbs:
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Ridge Blackburn (M-1, Gracie Kailua) def. Anson Amaral
TKO via Referee stoppage at 2:01 in Round 1.
160lbs:
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Evic Lifttee def. Julius Amisone (Team Extreme)
TKO via Referee stoppage at 2:38 in Round 1
125lbs:
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Travis Okano (Hustle N Throw, Maui) def. Manny Charisma
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes at 1:49 in Round 2.
170lbs:
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Justin Konia (HMC) def. Frank Muao
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes at 2:22 in Round 1.
125lbs
(Female match): MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Jessie Moniz (Bulls Pen) def. Monica Franco (HMC)
Decision after 2 rounds and an overtime.
155lbs:
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Nick Pait (freelance) def. Johnny Desroche
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes at 0:20 in Round 1.
145lbs:
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Jason Racamara (808 Alliance) def. Bone Pali (Hustle n Throw,
Maui)
Decision after 2 rounds.
X-1
Hawaii State Heavyweight Amateur Championship Match:
Heavyweight MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Paea Paongo def. Dale Sopi
Decision after 3 rounds.
Paongo becomes the X-1 Hawaii State Heavyweight Amateur Champion.
135lbs:
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Louis Smolka (808 Top Team) def. Zack Close (Boar's Nest)
Submission via arm bar at 1:53 in Round 1.
X-1
Hawaii State 185lbs Amateur Championship Match
185lbs: MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Maki Pitolo (Hakuilua) def. Charles Hazelwood (Combat 50)
Decision after 3 rounds.
Pitolo becomes the X-1 Hawaii State 185lbs Amateur Champion.
X-1
Hawaii State 155lbs Amateur Championship Match
155lbs: MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Nate "Da Great" Quiniola def. Alioune Diop
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes at 1:06 in Round 2
Quinola becomes the X-1 Hawaii State 155lbs Amateur Champion.
165lbs:
XMA Championship Match: MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Michael Brightmon (Gorilla House) def. Chris Kutzen
Decision after 3 rounds.
Brightmon captures the 165lbs XMA Championship title.
170lbs:
MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Johnavan Visante Jr. (Team SYD) def. L. John Borgess (808 Top
Team)
Submission via triangle choke at 2:55 in Round 1.
155lbs:
MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Duke Sarigosa (808 Top Team) def. Bruski Lewis (Bulls Pen)
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes at 0:42 in Round 1.
140lbs:
MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Eddie P. (I & I, Maui) def. Ian Delacuesta (808 Top Team)
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds.
Destiny
Hawaii State 145lbs Championship Match
145lbs: MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Ricky "Real Deal" Wallace (HMC) def. David "Tan
Superman" Padilla (Jesus Is Lord)
Verbal submission at 2:24 in Round 3.
Wallace captures the Destiny Hawaii State 145lbs Championship
title.
X-1
Hawaii State 185lbs Championship Match
185lbs: MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Ronald "Machine Gun" Jhun (808 Top Team) def. Michael
Winklespect
Submission via rear naked choke at 4:06 in Round 2.
Jhun captures the X-1 Hawaii State 185lbs Championship title.
Source:
X-1
|
Silva,
After Getting Dominated, Subs Sonnen
by Brian
Knapp
For the better part of five rounds, Chael Sonnen did exactly
what he said he was going to do to Anderson Silva, but in a split
second, the middleweight king turned the tables.
Stuck
underneath the gritty Sonnen, Silva secured a textbook triangle
choke and submitted the challenger 3:10 into the fifth round
of their UFC 117 main event on Saturday at the Oracle Arena in
Oakland, Calif. Sonnen tapped only once, but it was enough to
get the attention of referee Josh Rosenthal, who moved in and
halted the bout.
“I
don’t have any excuses. Chael had a hell of a fight tonight,”
said Silva, who improved to 12-0 inside the UFC. “I knew
that I was losing the first four rounds, but, you know, not to
make any excuses, about a week and a half ago, I hurt my ribs.
The doctor asked me not to come in and fight, but for you guys
and for the UFC, I came in here and put it all out on the line.”
Sonnen
clearly won the first four rounds and started with a bang, as
he rattled Silva with a straight left hand mere minutes into
the match. From there, he controlled the embattled champion with
stifling top control and wide-ranging strikes on the ground:
punches, hammerfists, elbows and slaps to the ears.
A
collegiate All-American wrestler at the University of Oregon,
Sonnen successfully secured takedowns in three of the five rounds
and wound up in top position in all five. He absorbed his share
of damage, as Silva picked his spots with elbows from the bottom,
one of which cut Sonnen badly above the left eye. As the two
middleweights entered round five, the heavily favored champion
found himself in an unfamiliar state of desperation, needing
a stoppage to retain his title.
With
his foe grinding away on top, Silva deftly slid the choke into
place. Sonnen tried unsuccessfully to counter the hold but, with
no means of escape, surrendered with less than half a round remaining
in the fight.
“It
was a tough fight,” Sonnen said. “He’s a tough
guy. I came in second. There’s nothing I can say. They gave
me my opportunity, and I came up short.”
Fitch
Bests Alves in Rematch
Thiago
Alves wanted revenge. Jon Fitch had other plans.
Fitch
cemented his place as the world’s No. 2 welterweight behind
champion Georges St. Pierre, as he took down Alves eight times
en route to a unanimous decision in the UFC 117 co-main event.
All three judges sided with Fitch by 30-27 counts, as the 32-year-old
American Kickboxing Academy standout won for the 21st time in
22 appearances and improved to a staggering 13-1 inside the UFC.
Perhaps
depleted by another failed weight cut, Alves was never in the
fight. Fitch delivered three takedowns in the first round, four
more in the second and another in the third. In his first appearance
in more than a year, Alves failed in his attempt to avenge a
2006 defeat to the Fort Wayne, Ind., native, who smothered him
with his oppressive top game.
Overheard
in the corner telling his trainers Alves was “weak in the
clinch,” Fitch absorbed almost no damage, as he went the
distance for the eighth consecutive time and secured a second
crack at the UFC welterweight crown.
Dos
Anjos Taps to Guida, Injury
Former
Strikeforce lightweight champion Clay Guida dragged Rafael dos
Anjos into the third round, where the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black
belt submitted to an apparent jaw injury. Dos Anjos, cringing
in visible pain, waved the white flag 1:51 into the third round.
Guida
fell behind early, as dos Anjos peppered him with punches and
inside leg kicks. However, Guida did connect to dos Anjos’
jaw with punches during an exchange, which likely contributed
to the eventual submission.
Guida
turned the tide in round two, as he secured his first takedown,
controlled the last half of the round from top position and neutralized
dos Anjos with ground-and-pound. In between rounds, concern over
the injury became evident in dos Anjos’ corner.
Backed
by the Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts team in Albuquerque,
N.M., Guida again took down dos Anjos in the third round. He
moved to half guard and applied pressure to the Brazilian’s
neck and head, forcing the tapout.
“It
took me a while to realize I’m my biggest distraction,”
said Guida, who has won back-to-back fights. “Coach [Greg
Jackson] is going to make me a champion. Champions aren’t
born; they’re made. They’re trained.”
Hughes
shocked Almeida at UFC 117.Hughes Submits Almeida
UFC
hall of famer Matt Hughes might not be finished as an elite welterweight.
Hughes
knocked down former middleweight King of Pancrase Ricardo Almeida
with a ringing left hook and then rendered him unconscious with
a modified anaconda choke. The end came 3:15 into round one,
as Hughes became the first man to submit the Renzo Gracie-trained
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
“It’s
an old wrestling move,” said Hughes, who posted his record
17th win inside the Octagon. “I’ve been good at it.
I’m happy to beat a good Brazilian with a wrestling move.”
Dos
Santos Outpoints Nelson
Roy
Nelson stood in front of Junior dos Santos for three rounds and
lived to tell the tale, but his dogged determination and truckstop
toughness were not enough to unseat the talented Brazilian.
Dos
Santos scored repeatedly with uppercuts, knees to the head, punches
to the body and even a third-round takedown, as he won a unanimous
decision from the former International Fight League heavyweight
champion. Scores were 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 for dos Santos,
who secured a title shot with his seventh consecutive victory.
“I’ll
be ready,” said dos Santos, who will fight the winner of
the October matchup between champion Brock Lesnar and challenger
Cain Velasquez.
Nelson
needed every ounce of his fortitude to survive the first five
minutes. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 winner went
down twice to uppercuts from dos Santos and appeared close to
being finished more than once. He did not go away, however, and
pressed the Brazilian deeper into the fight. Dos Santos turned
his attention to Nelson’s body late in the match and gradually
wore down the portly heavyweight with strikes. Even so, Nelson
won the admiration of dos Santos in defeat, his first inside
the Octagon.
“This
guy is tough, man,” dos Santos said. “Incredible.”
Ben
Saunders vs. Dennis Hallman
Round 1
Hallman rushes out and clinches with double underhooks. He tries
to throw Saunders to the mat but he is defending well. Hallman
finally gets him off balance and tosses him down a little over
a minute in. Hallman passes right up the middle to half and tries
to ground-and-pound Saunders. Hallman lands a hard right elbow
that bloodies Saunders a bit. Saunders tries to get a little
offense going from the bottom, but Hallman takes the opening
and batters him with punches. Sherdog.com scores the round 10-9
for Hallman.
Round
2
Saunders avoids the early clinch and hammers Hallman with some
hard knees and a kick to the body. Hallman wants no part of the
standup and shoots in for a surprisingly easy takedown. The Oakland
crowd is not a fan of the groundwork; they boo loudly. Saunders
shifts his hips looking for a submission but a savvy Hallman
wriggles free before he gets into trouble. Hallman is back down
on top and tries to pass to mount, but Saunders snares him in
half guard again. Hallman slams a right elbow into Saunders face
and blood starts to pour out around his left eye. Hallman is
in complete control after taking the second round 10-9 on the
Sherdog card.
Round
3
Saunders looks a bit desperate to start the third, perhaps knowing
he needs a finish. He throws a head kick that is partially deflected
and another kick to the body. Hallman catches another kick and
works for a single that Saunders diligently defends. Hallman
switches to double unders, but can't wrangle him to the ground.
Referee Marcos Rosales separates the fighters. Saunders takes
advantage of the situation and launches his most meaningful offensive
attack of the fight. He lands a number of knees and a hard elbow,
but Hallman stands tall and throws right back at him. A tiring
Hallman looks like he tries to pull guard but immediately sweeps
Saunders when they hit the ground. He rides out the rest of the
round on top. Sherdog scores the round 10-9 for Saunders.
Official
scores are 29-28 (twice) and 30-27 for Hallman, the winner of
a unanimous decision.
Stefan
Struve vs. Christian Morecraft
Round 1
Morecraft takes Struve down into side-control and searches for
a submission. The lanky Struve gets his guard and locks up a
triangle. It looks tight but as Struve rolls him over he loses
it. Morecraft settles back into the guard and pounds Struve with
big punches. Struve shifts for a submission but Morecraft slips
past his legs and jumps to mount. Struve bucks and goes for a
leg. Morecraft retreats and locks up a guillotine in the ensuing
scramble. Struve defends and the horn sounds ending the action-packed
round. Sherdog scores it 10-9 for Morecraft.
Round
2
Morecraft charges toward Struve and starts to throw bombs. Struve
stands in and fires back. With his back along the cage Struve
lobs a right-left-right combo that floors Morecraft. He falls
awkwardly with one arm behind his back. Struve stands over and
punches away until referee Herb Dean steps in at the 22-second
mark to halt the bout.
Todd
Brown vs. Tim Boetsch
Round 1
Not a whole lot of action in the first two minutes. Boetsch lands
a couple kicks but nothing damaging. He then pushes Brown up
against the cage and kicks out his leg to send him to the mat.
Brown is right back up, but he is wobbled by a hard punch. Brown
is not hurt badly and he re-engages when Boetsch backs off. The
pace slows down as the fighters begin to tire. Sherdog scores
round one 10-9 for Boetsch.
Round
2
Brown locks in double unders and drives Boetsch into the cage.
Boetsch gets an under-over clinch and pushes Brown off. Brown
scores with a hard low kick. Brown scores again with a right-hand
lead. The crowd is growing restless again. The fight is following
a tedious pace and the boos are flowing. Brown is moving forward,
but that is the only thing distinguishing him from Boetsch over
the past five minutes. Sherdog scores it 10-9 for Brown.
Round
3
Two minutes in and Boetsch finally hits a takedown. He pins brown
against the cage and works for a guillotine. Brown defends and
scrambles for a single of his own. He doesn't get it but he does
get back to his feet. Brown pushes Boetsch against the cage but
can't do anything. After a referee separation, Boetsch hits another
takedown to cement the round and the fight in a lackluster effort.
Sherdog scores it 10-9 for Boetsch.
The
official scores are 29-28 on all three cards for Tim Boetsch,
the winner by unanimous decision.
Johny
Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman
Round 1
Brenneman shoots out after Hendricks and cracks him a couple
times. Hendricks fires back and grabs a front headlock and knees
him to the face. Brenneman comes back again and flurries on Hendricks
with punches. He shoots in and holds Hendricks along the cage.
Referee Josh Rosenthal wants more action and stands the fight
back up. Hendricks clinches, but Brenneman pushes him backward
to the mat at the horn. Sherdog scores the close round 10-9 for
Brenneman.
Round
2
Hendricks puts Brenneman down with a big left in a wild flurry.
Brenneman got back up three times and was floored three more
times, all by left hands. The final one was enough for Rosenthal,
who steped in at 40 seconds giving Johnny Hendricks yet another
UFC win.
Phil
Davis vs. Rodney Wallace
Round 1
Davis lands a head kick that is partially blocked by Wallace.
Wallace grabs a leg and tries to get the takedown. Davis hops
on one leg and throws a huge elbow that misses. He scoots free
and takes Wallace down. Davis butters him up with some elbows
and moves to mount. He is making it look easy. Wallace gets to
his feet for a second but Davis knees him to the face as he holds
a front headlock. Davis takes it back down and elbows Wallace
and then mounts him. Big first round goes to Davis on the Sherdog
card 10-9.
Round
2
Davis circles Wallace looking for an opening early in the second.
Davis looks like he is trying to work on things in the cage while
Wallace looks gassed after taking a beating in the first. Davis
takes him down off of a striking exchange and sets up on top.
Wallace briefly escapes but Davis clinches and knees him, driving
him back to the ground. Davis is outclassing Wallace but the
smaller fighter is showing a ton of heart. Davis ties up Wallace
and looks like he may have an arm isolated, but Wallace fight
free again. His reward is another slew of punches to the face.
The horn sounds and Davis is now up two-zip. Another 10-9 for
Davis on the Sherdog card.
Round
3
Davis is stalking Wallace and it seems like he could end this
whenever he wants. He takes Wallace down and takes side control.
He grabs for a kimura and misses, allowing Wallace back up. Davis
takes him right back down with a body lock. Davis mounts and
tries to pin Wallace's arm behind his back. He can't get it and
stands up. He kicks to Wallace's legs as the horn sounds. Good
job by Wallace to survive. Davis goes a strong 15 to win what
should be a lop-sided decision.
Official
Scores: 30-27 (twice) and 30-26 for Phil Davis, the winner by
unanimous decision.
Dustin
Hazelett vs. Rick Story
Round 1
Story shoots right across the cage and into Hazelett's corner.
He tries to throw but Hazelett jumps guard. Story bides his time
and then shucks Hazelett to the mat. Story tries to engage, but
Hazelett ties him up with his legs. Story works free and lands
some short shots. Story is fighting a very physical bout and
Hazelett is having problems working his finesse game on the ground.
He is looking for subs but story is powering out. Story is back
on top and wailing away. Hazelett gets back up and at the 10
second warning, Story assaults him again with punches. Sherdog
scores the round 10-9 for Story.
Round
2
Story overwhelms Hazelett right off the bat in the second and
drops him along the cage with punches. Hazelett survives, but
referee Josh Rosenthal is right there and looks to be considering
stopping the fight. Story lets Hazelett back up and pounds him
with more punches, forcing Hazelett to shoot. Story sprawls and
hammerers Hazelett with punches until Rosenthal steps in to save
him at 1:15 of the second round.
Roy
Nelson vs. Junior dos Santos
Round 1
Nelson backs dos Santos up and both fighters throw powerful punches
that miss. Dos Santos goes to the body with a straight left and
Nelson shoots a single. Dos Santos defends the takedown and works
with his back against the fencing. Nelson is fighting for underhooks
and the Oakland crowd lets the fighters hear it. Nelson connects
with a knee and gets off the fence. The fighters trade jabs and
dos Santos rocks his opponent’s world with an uppercut.
Nelson stumbles and dos Santos cracks him with another uppercut.
The Brazilian swarms with both hands, but Nelson covers up well
and survives. Dos Santos drops Nelson with another uppercut and
this time he’s more patient in his attack. He goes with
knees from the Thai plum and another hard body shot. Nelson is
hanging in there, and lands a right hand to gain enough space
to escape the cage. Dos Santos lands a hard knee to the body
and Nelson counters with a right hook. Another uppercut scores
for dos Santos. The Team Black House fighter then works the body
with both hands. Both fighters land right hooks in the final
10 seconds but it's dos Santos that gets the better of it.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-8 dos Santos
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 dos Santos
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-8 dos Santos
Round
2
Nelson absorbs a knee and then belts dos Santos with a right
hand that gets a pop from the crowd. Nelson tries to follow up
with a double, but his opponent has none of it. Dos Santos is
mixing in body work with his hands nicely. The effort continues
to pay off with openings for uppercuts. Nelson lands a left hook
and dos Santos rips off several hard hooks to the body. Nelson
shoots a long-range double and dos Santos shows great hips to
stay upright. Dos Santos is now bleeding from a cut below the
right eye. Swelling is present as well. Dos Santos shoots a single
and Nelson sprawls on it. With blood trickling down his face,
dos Santos lands a hard right to the body and defends a shot.
The Brazilian starts to fight off his jab and it pays dividends
on the inside with a blow to the midsection and another uppercut.
Dos Santos swings wildly and then goes back to his technical
boxing. Nelson drops his head and fails on a double at the 10-second
warning.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 dos Santos
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 dos Santos
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 dos Santos
Round
3
Dos Santos lands a right kick to the body and Nelson opens up
with his hands. Nelson scores with a right hook and dos Santos
charges with punches. Nelson eats a few glancing blows and then
a hard uppercut. Dos Santos backs Nelson up with his jab and
then sets up a single-leg with a body shot. He takes Nelson down
and then hits him with an uppercut as they both stand. Dos Santos
continues to put on a bodyshot clinic and Nelson looks for a
one-punch knockout that misses by a foot. Nelson is hit with
a sharp knee to the body. Nelson lands a hard low kick and dos
Santos piles it on with uppercuts and hooks to the body. Dos
Santos has lost some steam on his punches, but his technique
remains true to form late in the final round. Two hooks to the
body buckle Nelson’s knees at the 40-second mark. Nelson
is cracked by a right-hand counter but he continues to swing
for the fences as dos Santos uses head movement to avoid the
blows.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 dos Santos (30-26 dos Santos)
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 dos Santos (30-27 dos Santos)
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 dos Santos (30-26 dos Santos)
Official
scores: 30-27 (twice) and 30-26 for Junior “Cigano”
dos Santos, the winner by unanimous decision.
Matt
Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
Round 1
A feeling-out process extends well past the opening minute and
the crowd lets the fighters hear it. Almeida is circling and
trying to punch from the outside. Hughes lands a hard low kick
and Almeida counters with a sharp right hand. From the clinch,
Almeida lands a short right hand on the temple. The fighters
separate and trade low kicks. Almeida goes to the body with a
straight right and Hughes reaches well beyond the range of his
own left jab. Hughes drops Almeida flat with a left hook. Hughes
swarms and locks up a modified anaconda choke as Alemida tries
to grab a leg. Hughes tightens it and Almeida goes to sleep.
The official time for Hughes’ submission is 3:15 of round
one.
Clay
Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Round 1
The fighters trade wild punches and nothing lands flush. Quida
lands a low kick and a grazing kick to the face. Dos Anjos scores
a low kick of his own and Guida snaps his head back with a right
hook. The Brazilian shoots and Guida defends with underhooks.
Guida turns the tables against the fence and searches for a takedown
of his own. He struggles to complete the takedown as the crowd
boos. Dos Anjos gets space to strike and gets off the cage. Dos
Anjos misses a head kick and connects with a low kick. A hard
left scores for dos Anjos. Guida sprawls on a takedown and blocks
a head kick. Dos Anjos is starting to score with kicks to the
left leg. Dos Anjos lands a hard right hand and gets the first
takedown of the fight with 35 seconds remaining. Guida tries
to hit a switch and then uses his back against the fence to stand.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 dos Anjos
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 dos Anjos
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 dos Anjos
Round
2
In between rounds, Dos Anjos tells his corner he can’t bite
down. His second comforts him, saying “it’s not swollen;
you’re good.” Guida pumps an awkward jab and dos Anjos
continues his assault on the legs. Guida sets up a “Superman”
punch with a front kick, but it falls short. Dos Anjos, a southpaw,
lands another hard low kick and then clinches with his foil against
the cage. Guida gets off the fence and misses hooks with both
hands. Guida lacks confidence on his feet and it’s showing
midway through round two. The wrestler winds up his punches and
doesn’t have a feel for the range required to land. Guida
rushes in with punches and sneaks in a double-leg takedown. Dos
Anjos looks immediately for an omoplata, and Guida pulls his
arm out. Dos Anjos displays more of his offensive guard with
a triangle attempt. Guida passes to half guard and slaps the
body with his right hand. Guida controls with both head and arm.
He lets go to elbow the head and dos Anjos elbows back and gets
the best of it.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 dos Anjos
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 dos Anjos
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 dos Anjos
Round
3
Guida connects with a right hook and then lifts dos Anjos high
into the air and deposits him on the canvas. From half guard,
Guida knees the body with his passed leg. Guida hits the head
and body and then moves to head-and-arm control. Guida presses
dos Anjos up against the fence and then dos Anjos taps out. Dos
Anjos gets up holding his jaw, saying he tapped from injury.
The brazilian complained about his jaw after the first round.
The official time is 1:51 of the third frame.
Jon
Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
Round 1
Alves counters a low kick with a sharp right hand. Fitch catches
a lowkick and throws Alves to the canvas. Fitch is trying to
transition to the back, but Alves is defending the hooks well.
Fitch sneaks in his left hook, and Alves uses the window to stand.
Fitch controls his back while standing, Alves gets to a sitting
position with a whizzer and then uses his back against the fence
to stand before being dragged back down. Alves sweeps and takes
the top position, but does little with the position. Alves lets
Fitch stand and both fighters stay close in the center of the
Octagon. Alves is stalking Fitch around and cutting off the cage.
Fitch lands a right hand to the body and gets stuffed on a takedown
attempt. Fitch trips Alves to the canvas at the 10-second warning
and works again from the back.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Fitch
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Fitch
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Fitch
Round
2
Alves connects with his jab and Fitch wastes no time in tripping
his prey to the floor. Alves attempts a half-hearted guillotine
and Fitch pulls his head free. Alves kicks off and nearly gets
to his feet, but is tripped back down in less than a second.
Fitch is controlling from the top, but doing absolutely nothing
with the position. Alves is defending the control and looking
for an avenue to stand. Alves briefly gets to his feet and Fitch
trips him to the ground. The Oakland crowd boos the action level.
Alves sweeps and the crowd comes to life. Alves throws a glancing
punch and then stands. Fitch follows and blocks a switch kick.
The round ends in the clinch with Alves dropping levels for what
looked to be a takedown attempt of his own.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Fitch
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Fitch
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Fitch
Round
3
Fitch seems willing to trade a little to start round three. The
fighters trade punches and kicks but both defend each other perfectly.
Fitch drops levels for a single and Alves sprawls on it. Alves
stops another shot. Fitch won’t be deterred however, and
sneaks his way to Alves’ back on the floor against the fence.
Fitch has a body triangle from the top with half of Alves’
back. Fitch hits the head while Alves tries to free the leg grip.
Alves rolls over and Fitch has his back with both hooks and then
a body triangle. Fitch looks briefly for a rear-naked choke before
turning to take the mount. He goes to the side while applying
another body triangle. Fitch looks to be setting up an arm triangle,
and Alves sweeps while still in the triangle. Fitch holds the
grip from guard and then lets go to push off the fence with his
right foot. Alves stands and lands glancing punches as Fitch
dives for a leg. Fitch stands but neither fighter throws a punch
before time expires.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Fitch (30-27 Fitch)
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Fitch (30-27 Fitch)
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Fitch (30-27 Fitch)
Fitch
takes the unanimous decision with scores of 30-27 across the
board.
Anderson
Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
Round 1
Sonnen runs right at Silva and the champion catches a leg and
lets it go. Sonnen shoots from a distance and Silva easily stuffs
it. The crowd is chanting for the champion and he reacts by landing
a front kick. Sonnen blasts Silva with a right hand. Silva’s
knees buckle and Sonnen lands another right hand. The crowd goes
crazy. Silva gets a takedown to gain his bearings and then stands.
Sonnen lands punches on Silva’s undefended jaw and scores
a double-leg takedown. Sonnen moves to half guard and traps Silva’s
right arm. Sonnen lands punches to the face as Silva works to
get to his feet. Sonnen stays on him, punching the head ans Silva
gives up his back. Sonnen briefly looks for a rear-naked choke
and Silva gets to half guard. Sonnen tees off from the top and
Silva is just getting punished against the fence. Silva is taking
a beating. Sonnen dives in and blasts Silva with a lunging right
hand. Sonnen moves to side control and then back to guard. Sonnen
continues to tee off for the duration of the round.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-8 Sonnen
Round
2
Silva starts round two strong with a hard low kick. He kicks
Sonnen again and then is taken down as the challenger catches
his leg. From half guard, Sonnen slaps the ears with both hands
in double-chop fashion. Shoulder punches score for Sonnen and
Silva gets back to guard. Sonnen lands a left hand as Silva works
wrist control on the right arm. Sonnen gets too playful and Silva
lands a sharp elbow from the bottom. The crowd is reacting to
each strike from Sonnen, but the punches aren’t scoring
with the force they were in round one. Sonnen stacks and punches
the head. Silva looks for an armbar on the right elbow and Sonnen
has none of it. The pace slows a bit as Sonnen rests from the
top. Silva is doing some nifty defensive-guard work to keep Sonnen
at bay. Silva gives up his back in an attempt to stand and Silva
locks a kimura on the left elbow. Silva transitions to a heel
hook and Sonnen gets free before the horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
Round
3
Silva shows he’s still alive with a left hook in the opening
seconds of round three. Silva lands a spinning-back kick and
Sonnen rushes in to take him down. He scores the single trip
and Silva gives up his back to work a kimura on the left arm.
Sonnen seems content with the position, as he knees the body
and hits the head. Silva gets to guard and is greeted by a right
hand to the body and a left to the temple. Sonnen crossfaces
and advances to side control. The crowd starts to chant for the
challenger. Silva gets back to guard and locks on a body triangle.
Sonnen lands short elbows to the head from the crowded positioning.
Sonnen switches to his hands: lefts to the head and digging rights
to the body. Silva lets go of the triangle to go high with his
hips in search of offense. Sonnen has none of it. Sonnen is choking
Silva with his right forearm from the guard. It’s not dangerous
for the champion, but it forces him to constantly adjust his
guard from the bottom. Silva lands an elbow from the bottom and
the horn sounds.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
Round
4
Sonnen runs right at Silva and pays the price. Silva is all over
the challenger with a left hand and kicks to the body and legs.
Silva misses an upward elbow like he knocked Tony Fryklund out
with, and Sonnen pulls guard to weather the storm. Sonnen plays
the strategy perfect as he sweeps and takes the top position.
From the top in guard, Sonnen puts his left glove over the mouth
and nose of the champion to smother and punches the head with
his right hand. Silva goes to the butterfly guard and Sonnen
continues to land to the head with both hands. Silva lands an
elbow from the bottom and Sonnen is bleeding from a cut above
his left eye. The pace has slowed and referee Josh Rosenthal
looks like he may stand them up, but instead lets time expire.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
Mike Fridley scores the round 10-9 Sonnen
Round
5
Sonnen’s cut is deep and severe. It’s packed with petroleum
jelly and the fighters engage for the final round. Sonnen flops
on a takedown and Silva makes him stand. Silva gets comfortable
and Sonnen knocks him off balance and down to the floor with
a straight left. It was a partial slip, but the crowd and commentators
react as if it is a knockdown. Three hard right hands connect
with the head of Silva from the guard. Sonnen looks to be in
complete control from the top, but Silva slaps on a triangle.
Silva switches to the arm and Sonnen taps. There’s confusion
as to whether the challenger submitted, but replays show he clearly
tapped the leg one time as his arm was extended. The champion
retains his title in incredible fashion at 3:10 of the fifth
round.
Sherdog.com's
UFC 117 play-by-play is brought to you by "Kick Ass."
Source: Sherdog
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The deadline is Sunday, August 8 @ midnight. Register early to
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Weight-ins
start at 8:30 - 9:30 for kids and 9:30 - 11:30 for adults.
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Battleground
Challenge 2
Dole Cannery Ballroom, Honolulu, Hawaii
August 13, 2010
125lb tournament
Lawrence Lucious
Jan Quimoyog
Jason Dumoal
Daniel Asuncsion
155lb Title Competitors
Kekoa Ramelb
Arnold Berdon
Cheyne Todani
Nilo Degeuira
170lb Title competitors:
Danny Lopez
Jacob Chun
Eddie Ohia
James Stanford
145lb vacant belt: Travis Beyer vs. Shane Kahananui
Fight card is subject to change.
|
Shinya
Aoki: I Thought I Might Have Needed to Destroy the Other Foot
Too
By Daniel
Herbertson
"The foot was cracking and making noise and the joint was
already broken, but that was being endured by Kawajiri."
After
his humiliation at the hands of Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce,
Shinya Aoki needed to make a statement. And he did. The DREAM
Lightweight Champion's first successful title defense against
challenger Tatsuya Kawajiri at DREAM.15 was a completely dominating
and almost flawless performance.
Aoki
spoke following his win about the gruesome specifics of the fight
ending achilles lock, becoming his "ideal self", his
much talked about moodiness and his admiration of Gegard Mousasi.
You were successful in defending DREAM Lightweight Championship,
how did you feel about protecting this title?
I
wasn't actually concerned about the title. I just didn't want
a losing streak, and I didn't want to lose against Kawajiri.
I simply did not want to lose. I think people are going to get
angry if I say this, but I'm not really obsessed with the belt,
and I'm also not obsessed with being a champion. But I just don't
want to lose. So in that sense, this fight made me feel cornered
and very sensitive, which I haven't felt in awhile. The loss
I had in April was that big of a deal for me. It may sound weird,
but everyone was my enemy. During the opening ceremony, I felt
that all of the fans were my enemy. I felt that everyone was
Kawajiri's fans. I felt on edge and I kept to myself. I'd never
really been in that kind of state of mind, even though I've been
fighting for a long time.
You
finished with the Achilles lock, you were very fast in taking
the foot.
That
was by chance. I didn't decide on any tactics, my body was moving
automatically when the fight started. This is what we call "Auto
Mode," but it was difficult to finish, Kawajiri endured
a lot.
When
did you know you had it?
The
foot was cracking and making noise, and the joint was already
broken, but that was being endured by Kawajiri. I thought to
myself, "I can't reposition this and twist it again,"
but in the end, I was able to reposition and was able to get
a tap out of him. It was difficult because he didn't tap until
I broke the last remaining part of the joint.
I
actually try to think of this last part of the joint as being
non-existent. For example, you can't move at all if your neck
or your backbone is broken, right? But if I am attacking the
elbow or the ankle, my opponent can still move. If I break that
last remaining part of the joint in the foot and don't get a
tap, my opponent can still move with his other foot then I'd
be in a difficult situation. I thought I might have needed to
destroy the other foot too.
I
was in this situation because it was an achilles lock, I think
that if I had more advanced technique, I could have switched
to a different submission. But it's not that easy to finish like
that unless you're good at it. If this was (Masakazu) Imanari,
he probably would have easily finished from that position. I
thought to myself that it was good that I've been training with
Imanari and learning from him. I never imagined that learning
from him would be save me this way.
But
for most people who watch you fight, they would consider your
grappling extremely advanced.
Oh,
no, no, no! My skills are different from (Kazushi) Sakuraba's
grappling skills, but how should I say this... Grappling is like,
for example, if you talk about doctors, they each have specialties
such as respiratory or heart. For grappling, grappling skills
are divided into small pieces out of the general skills. For
this fight, it was difficult because I'm not a foot specialist.
And my technique itself is not yet refined.
It's
still not refined?
It's
not refined at all. It's not complete. I'm not able to be calm
because I'm like "I have to get this! I have to get this!"
I think my thought processes and the the thought processes of
(Katsunori) Kikuno are quite similar.
Really?
We
don't allow out opponents to use their own weapons. If I say
that that we win "without using power" it sounds like
I'm an expert, but we're both able to finish the opponent by
using the least amount of power. I think those thought processes
are similar for us. Of course though, the method we use is different.
But yes, I feel like I can refine more.
I
truly think it's very deep. I refine a technique more but if
I go too far, I get stuck in the deep end in the middle of the
process. Sometimes because I was attempting to refine my technique
too much, it affects my condition. That's the difficult part,
and I think I was in that condition when I fought JZ Calvin.
MMA
is very difficult but it's interesting. For example, for boxing,
it's just using your hands. There is depth within the technique
of boxing, but MMA has lots of different things. There's wrestling,
striking, grappling, and mixture of different things, so it's
very deep. I think to myself, when is this going to end? But
gradually...gradually, I'm getting closer to my ideal self, I
think I want to be a better fighter by trying different things.
What
is your ideal self?
Ideally,
I would like to be able to fight using all of my weapons. I would
like to be able to control the space between me and my opponent
and strike the opponent, and moreover, able to grapple and knock
him down. My goal is to win against my opponent without being
in any dangerous situations.
The
worst thing is that fights usually end up with there being big
danger or big chance. Those kind of fights are exciting for people
who are watching it, but it makes the quality of MMA lower. My
ideal fight is minimal danger and big chance, but if I were to
fight like that casual fans may not understand it. I think that
casual fans are more impressed when fighters finish by punches
rather than submission. It's not easy to show how great it is
to defeat someone by submission. It's difficult. You want to
go to the extreme, but if you go to the extreme, it's more dangerous.
But
you are following a path that you believe in.
Yes.
If you are too sensitive about what others say it becomes ridiculous.
For example, where one person says "You should kick"
another person will say "You should punch". If I listened
too much I would get confused and think, "So what should
I be doing!?"
This
is like a religion I believe in, and I use the word "religion"
on purpose. I think it's important to believe in your own religion
until the end. If you use the word "religion," that
is the answer or key to everything. I think one should believe
in whatever one thinks until the end.
For
you, do you feel like (the Kawajiri title defense) was a milestone
for you?
Yes.
I felt like I had stalled for a long time. I had to get this
win. I felt relieved. The only unfortunate thing is, I wanted
(Katsunori) Kikuno to win. If Kikuno had won, the story after
that would have been created. If Kikuno won, I wanted to fight
him in September. He is a very appealing fighter, and that it
would have been an appealing story.
What
is so appealing about Katsunori Kikuno as a fighter?
As
I mentioned earlier, I think my thought process for fighting
is close to his, and I also think that he is one of the current
fighters who has mystique. The mystique I'm referring to is karate
or his front kick. What would happen if this mystique and my
mystique of submissions go against each other? He's saying that
he wants to fight me, I also feel the same way. That's why I
wanted him to completely finish JZ Calvin (Gesias Cavalcante).
But, when I saw Calvin win for the first time in years, I thought,
"He won after going through so many obstacles. That's great."
Now, my feelings are complicated, as I'm thinking, "I wanted
both to win...".
You
watch the earlier fights on the card before you fight?
I'm
able to relax if I see other fights. I was thinking, "I
envy (Mitsuhiro) Ishida." By the way, I would like to give
the best bout of DREAM.15 to Ishida. Ishida-san lost two times
in a row last year, and during that tough time, he went down
to featherweight. He has been working really hard and he's very
strong, but he wasn't being fairly evaluated. I thought to myself,
"It's great that he won".
I
was happy that Ishida-san won, Calvin won, but it was unfortunate
that Kikuno lost. That I'm pleased JZ won yet feel sad that Kikuno
lost is contradictory, but I felt that way.
What
did you think of Tatsuya Mizuno's fight against Melvin Manhoef?
I
thought it was great. I was really moved by his fight. I think
he is great for just facing up to Melvin Manhoef.
Just
facing him?
Yes,
don't you think it's impossible? For a regular Japanese person
who was raised in a regular Japanese family, it's impossible.
This macho guy with a fancy consume, coming down jumping up and
down and you have to fight against him? It's impossible.
Nearly
any fighter in the world would be brought down by Melvin's punches.
But Mizuno survived them even though he was dropped at one point.
His spirit was great, it didn't matter whether he won or lost.
I mentioned this earlier, it may or may not be good to have a
fight with big dangers and big chances, but that fight went beyond
that, it was great. It was really a great fight.
That's
quite the compliment for Mizuno. To change the topic in a different
direction, you recently had fights that made you feel mentally
overwhelmed. How are you feeling about that now?
One's
mental condition is quite a serious matter and yes, I have felt
like that recently. When that stress passes though the old problems
seem boring.
So
you're not looking to change your mental position before fights
and you will not be lenient on yourself?
That
will definitely not be the case. I felt strongly about this match
with Kawajiri, I survived through it, and I feel relieved that
I did not get injured. I would like to move on to the next step.
I
found out in April (against Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce)
when I lose, things would do get any easier for me mentally;
it gets more difficult. But it's also difficult when I win. I
cant allow myself to get complacent and lose.
As
long as I am a fighter, and especially because I fight in the
front line, I am always going to feel like "What if I lose?"
or "This might end of my career if I lose." That's
why I want to be like Gegard Mousasi. I think he understands
his own heart, and I would like to be like him. He has no ups
and downs, and he is able to do anything, and he is strong. He's
very straightforward in a good way. He's 25, so he is two years
younger than me, but he's very stable. He's close to how Mirko
CroCop was when he was in good shape, and very close to Fedor
Emelianenko.
This
time around, he wasn't able to make weight, but Mousasi's opponent
Jake O'Brien isn't a weak fighter. In their fight O'Brien looked
like a fish out of water, but normally he's not like that at
all. It's just that his opponent was Mousasi. I think he's great.
I want to be like him.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Glover
Teixeira
By Guilherme Cruz
Considered to be the best light heavyweight in action in Brazil,
Glover Teixeira wants to reach higher flights. Holding a professional
record of 10 wins and only 2 losses, the Brazilian doesn’t
taste the defeat since 2006 and he already won three times this
year. Glover came close to UFC, but he’s having some issues
with his visa for two years. Meanwhile, the tough guy has been
fought in Brazil and debuted with a win by knockout in Australia,
where he confronted Marko Peselj on Impact FC. While he’s
negotiating with the Canadian event MFC, Glover keeps his hard
trainings with Pedro Rizzo, Vitor Miranda, Antonio Jaoude and
Thales Leites, and makes plans for his career.
What
did you think of this win in Australia?
It
was good for me. Any win is a good thing. It was nice to fight
on an international event again and having international recognition
is my biggest dream. I think it’s now time for me to fight
with tougher guys. I’m not despising my last opponents,
but I need to fight with someone of a bigger caliber. I’m
in a good sequence of wins, so I think I have to fight with a
remarkable name of MMA.
You
have a scheduled fight on MFC, in Canada. Did they tell you who
your opponent is?
This
is a thing we’ve been working on. Actually, someone put
that on some website and I don’t know if this website talked
directly with the promoter of the event of me being on the card.
But, for sure, if MFC wants me, I’ll be there. I don’t
know who my opponent will be yet, but I hope they put me against
someone who can bring something to my career.
You’re
coming on an impressive sequence of good results. What needs
to be done so you can join a big event, like UFC?
Man,
actually I just have to have my visa thing solved. We’ve
been talking to these guys, but they won’t give me a date.
I believe that’s the only thing the makes me not fight on
UFC because I’ve been in touch with Dana White, actually
it was with the event. When I came to Brazil I got in touch with
(Chuck) Liddell, because I had this issue with my visa, so we
became close. Since then I didn’t lose any fight, so I have
to be recognized, but what needs to be done in order to join
a great event is to solve this visa thing… That’s all
I need.
What
happened for you to take so long to come back to the United States?
I’m
on a process of getting my green card. I’m married to an
American and my green card is being analyzed. The whole process
may take 27 months. But that’s all I’m waiting for,
to solve this process, and all I can do is wait because there’s
nothing to be done but to wait. The law on the United States
is so complicated. While I have this process going on, I have
to stay here in Brazil.
How
do you analyze a possible entrance in UFC?
It’s
funny to talk about it because it’s hard to speak about
something you don’t know much yet, get it? You see these
guys joining the event and with three or four fight, exactly
what happened to Brock Lesnar, who loss on his debut on the event,
but then got two wins and a chance to fight for the belt. It’s
funny to talk about it, but you have to be there to fight these
guys. I see myself on the top of my division. I’m not saying
I’m ready to challenge the champion or anything like that,
but I can see me winning some fights, getting some experience
on that octagon and I see myself among the tops of my division,
for sure.
Source: Tatame
|
Yet
another interesting lawsuit involving UFC
By Zach
Arnold
Roy
Jones Jr’s Square Ring, Inc. sues Zuffa, Roy Nelson
Zuffa
responds to RJJ lawsuit, seek indemnification against Big Country
To
summarize Robert Joyner’s excellent articles:
Square
Ring, Inc. claims that they signed Roy Nelson to a promotional
contract. RJJ claims the contract gave Square Ring, Inc. first
negotiation rights and matching offer ability to any deal Nelson
got from other promoters. Then, while under contract, Nelson
allegedly appeared at a Nevada event and talked with Marc Ratner
of the UFC. Later on, RJJ claims that Nelson signed an ‘exclusive’
contract with Zuffa and that this violated the SRI contract.
The
second article discusses how Zuffa is seeking to separate itself
from Nelson legally-speaking so that if Nelson loses in court
that he will be the one liable for monetary damages.
Thought:
Now that James Toney is in the UFC, I’d be curious to see
if Roy Jones would ever get a shot. An option? RJJ drops the
suit in exchange for Jones getting a fight against Anderson Silva
in the UFC.
Of
course, that would bank on the thought of Anderson Silva teaching
Chael Sonnen a lesson this Saturday night in Oakland.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Paulão
is upset about his bout in Australia
By Erik
Engelhart
After having the first bad result of his career, against Chael
Sonnen, Paulo Filho had five fights and has not lose any of those,
but his performances are not exciting either. The last bout Paulo
did was against Denis Kang, an opponent he would confront on
Pride’s GP finals in 2006, but the Brazilian got injured
and could not fight. The athletes had the chance to finally do
this fight on July 17, when Impact FC happened in Australia.
The fight was very busy until the end, when the draw was announced.
Paulo did not like his performance and talked about the hard
time he had on losing weight.
“I
really didn’t fight well, I had that difficulty with my
weight, and it’s been a while since I last had that kind
of problem, so it was weird to go for the sauna and I felt pain
on my muscles, but I can’t complain… I’m pretty
upset about my presentation, I know people expect me to be a
fighter to give them a good show, but it isn’t always possible,
I’m already training hard and I’m not impressing anyone
as I’d like to, but I’ll work even harder, said Paulo,
who thinks he is fighting below the average he thinks he should.
“Since
I wasn’t on my best conditioning, I thought it was best
for me to just administrate the first round, otherwise I’d
be tired soon, and he really was better than me on that first
round. But on the second and on the third I could impose my rhythm,
got the mount twice, I passed his guard once, got his back and
fit a punch on his chin and he almost went off. He got my back,
but he used the grid to press me too much and I haven’t
noticed it, but I managed to get rid of it. I won that fight,
for sure, of course that not by a huge score, but I’m sure
I won”, analyzed Filho, who studies proposals. “I have
four good proposals and just waiting to see on which I’ll
earn more money”, concluded Carlson Gracie’s black
belt.
Source: Tatame
|
Guilherme
Mendes and the lesson of a Worlds lost
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Gui
on Gabriel Moraes's back in the final of the 2010 Brazilian Nationals.
Photo: Carlos Ozório
Seen as a shoo in for the world title, 2009’s champion Guilherme
Mendes ended up dropping out of this year’s world championship
earlier than expected, after his very first match. Looking ahead,
Guilherme forges ahead training for his upcoming challenges and
considers competing in the featherweight division alongside his
brother Rafael, the current world champion. Check out what he
had to say in this interview with GRACIEMAG.com.
You
lost prematurely at this year’s World Championship. Did
you learn some lesson or come up with anything positive from
this not-too-pleasant experience?
I
believe that everything we go through, regardless of if it is
good or bad, provides us experience. It certainly was a great
experience. At the time I was really sad because I train a lot
for that to not happen, and, unfortunately, this time it happened.
As much as we don’t like it, losing is a part of the sport,
we’re all subject to it; it happens. But that doesn’t
make me a worse athlete or undermine my confidence. I won the
Worlds five years in a row, and this time this is what happened.
I won all the other events and ended up making a mistake that
cost me at the Worlds. But it certainly gives me strength to
carry on pursuing my objectives. Next year I’ll go after
my sixth world title, my second as a black belt, God willing!
I’ll be more experienced and more mature.
You
had trouble making weight in the light featherweight division.
Are you thinking of moving up?
I
weigh 68 kg and cut weight to make light featherweight. I fought
in this division for a year and it was great for me, I beat great
athletes, was champion of Europe, Brazil and the World as a black
belt. If it were up to me, I’d be in the featherweight division
for the challenges there. We’ll decide that soon, as soon
as the whole Atos competition team is together for training.
The thing that made cutting weight for the Worlds hard was that
I injured my knee in the final at the Brazilian Nationals, which
took place two weeks earlier, where I won but left in a lot of
pain. I had spend two weeks training suffering the effects of
medicine because my knee hurt so much, and that ended up getting
in the way when cutting weight.
But
I’m not one to make excuses. If I lost it was because I
made a mistake, and if I went in to fight it was because I knew
I could win it. So there’s no excuse, now it’s all
about forging ahead and carrying on in training like I’ve
been doing to win, God willing.
What have you and your brother (Rafael) been up to?
We’re
really happy. Right after the Worlds we did a series of seminars
in the USA and Canada. Next month Rafael and I will head to Europe.
We’ll stay there two weeks and do some seminars in Switzerland,
Italy and Turkey. Then we’ll return home to train because
we’ll already be starting into our schedule for 2011. In
October we have a seminar in Panama, in November we’re going
to Asia (probably Japan, Korea and Guam) and Canada. We’re
getting recognition for the work we do, and all we can do is
be thankful for it. We’re getting a lot of praise on our
Facebook page (see here) and that just makes us happier and more
determined. We really like teaching and showing people our style
and our ways of training. Folks are getting more interested in
learning Jiu-Jitsu every day and we’re seeing great academies
and promising athletes outside the country. All that is the fruits
of the demand for the knowledge they have.
Any
competition coming up?
I’m
training a lot with my brother and the gang here in Rio Claro.
We’ve already started our physical conditioning work with
our trainer Thiago Mendes at Octane, but I don’t know when
we’ll compete next. For sure we’ll be in some event
at the end of the year, we just haven’t decided which yet.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Thin
Line Between Love and Hate for Anderson Silva Fans
By Ben
Fowlkes
CONCORD, Calif. – For some of the fans gathered at the UFC
Gym for Wednesday afternoon's UFC 117 open workouts, braving
the midday traffic, the teeming crowd, and the long wait just
to get a glimpse of Anderson Silva was a labor of love.
For
others, it was slightly more complicated.
"I
want to see Anderson Silva get beat really bad," said Fahrudin
Velic, an ardent MMA fan who showed up early along with two friends
to ensure a good view of the afternoon's activities. "He
used to be my favorite fighter. I loved Anderson Silva. Then
he turned into an ass. If you buy his pay-per-views, it gets
you mad because he's not even fighting."
For
Velic, it happened with the Thales Leites fight at UFC 97. That
lackluster display from the middleweight champ was enough to
make him renounce his loyalties on the spot. For others, it took
a little longer.
"I
was [a Silva fan] until the last fight," said Tom Van Tuyl,
a 40-year-old member of the UFC gym who came in here just looking
for a workout during some time off from work, and ended up walking
into the pre-fight festivities in full swing. "Hopefully
he'll get me again with this fight. The [Demian] Maia one pissed
me off really bad, though. It's like, I paid for the fight and
I wanted to see a fight, and then he just toyed with him. I know
how good he is when he wants to display it."
At
least on Wednesday, Silva's talents were on display for all to
see. The lanky champion spent more than forty-five minutes in
the cage hitting pads, doing some light sparring, even occasionally
courting disaster when his effortless knee strikes came just
a little too close to his partner's chin.
While
most of the American fighters settled for a workout that was
more photo op than training session, Silva seemed as though he
might genuinely be using the public gym time as a scheduled practice.
"Why
not kill two birds with one stone?" said Silva's manager
Ed Soares, who enjoyed a brief moment of relaxation as his fighter
entertained the crowd.
Lately,
translating all the questions and the answers for the sport's
most mercurial champion hasn't been an easy gig. The repetition
and the strain begins to show in Soares' agitated tone when you
press him on the fan response to his once wildly popular fighter.
"I
have the same answer that I've always had to that. Would I like
to see him finish the fight? Of course. I'd like to see Anderson
finish the guy in 25 seconds every time, but it doesn't happen
that way all the time. ...I would have liked to see him finish
his last fight, but I think Anderson has spoiled people. He went
out there and put on an incredible performance for the first
three rounds. The guy didn't want to fight. Then he didn't engage
the last two, but at the end of the day, he's the champ. If you
want his belt, come take it."
Soares
insisted that Silva is taking very seriously Dana White's threat
to cut him if he turns in another performance like the one against
Maia. The comments from challenger Chael Sonnen? That's another
story.
"We
don't take that seriously at all," said Soares. "The
guy's just saying, I mean, he's saying stuff about Lance Armstrong.
What does Lance Armstrong have to do with anything? He's calling
Anderson a liar, but I'd say about 80% of the sh-t he's said
is a lie. It's like the pot calling the kettle black."
Sonnen,
who completed his understated workout with longtime friend and
training partner Matt Lindland earlier in the afternoon, also
seemed to be feeling the pressure of fight week. After tossing
Lindland around the cage with a series of Greco-Roman throws,
an animated Sonnen spat more one-liners at reporters while Lindland
enjoyed the view from a distance, somewhat ironically wearing
a borrowed pair of UFC shorts.
"Chael
showed up with white spandex," Lindland explained. "I
gave him my shorts, and then I would have been the guy in white
spandex. I don't think he realized that white spandex are see
through."
Lindland,
who admitted it was somewhat surreal to be surrounded by such
rabid fans in a 38,000 square foot UFC gym after fighting for
the company in the days of meager paychecks and zero mainstream
exposure, said he thinks too much has been made of Sonnen's pre-fight
comments.
"I
don't think Chael's really been doing any trash talk. I think
he's been speaking his mind and being real candid with the fans.
I think he's giving them a real inside look at what's real and
what's not," said Lindland. "Either you're going to
love him or you're going to hate him. He's an honest person.
That's what I love about him. I'd rather have someone tell me
what he really thinks than blow smoke up my ass."
And
yet, even those who are sick of Silva's antics aren't necessarily
banking on a Sonnen victory, nor are they ready to boycott his
fights.
Velic?
The guy who got fed up with Sonnen back in 2009? He still bought
tickets to see him in Oakland this weekend, just like he still
bought the pay-per-view when Silva fought Maia at UFC 112.
"I
buy every one," he shrugged. When asked if Silva's slick
high-kicking display at the open workouts had improved his hopes
for a Silva renaissance on Saturday, he remained non-committal.
"Tell him to write me a check for two fifty-dollar pay-per-views
and then we'll talk."
Van
Tuyl will be there on fight night too, only he's a little more
optimistic.
"I
think this one is going to be different because Dana White's
really pissed off at him," he said. "Hopefully he'll
give us our money's worth this time."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Tyson
on MMA
By Jake Rossen
The biggest box-office fight that never transpired will always
be Mike Tyson in a mixed martial arts contest. Post-1997, the
public perception was that he belonged in a cage anyway. This
is promotion that pretty much writes itself.
It
will never happen, obviously: Tyson told “Center Stage”
on the MSG network a few months ago that someone was about to
hand him $50 million for a return boxing match, but he declined.
How true that is, I don’t know -- Tyson claims he’s
broke, and that kind of money would dry anyone’s tears.
But if he’s not willing to take big money for doing something
he knows, he’d never take less money to do something he
doesn’t.
He’s
a fan, at any rate, going back to at least 1997 when he recognized
Mark Kerr in a gym and told him he admired his knee strikes.
Tyson appeared on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas Monday and dropped
some comments that made it clear he’s not just a casual
celebrity fan.
“Brock
Lesnar is a very exciting fighter,” he said. “Now you
have to count that he has a great deal of intestinal fortitude….you
know his pain threshold is off the roof now.” On James Toney
entering MMA: “It could be detrimental to him.” Unfortunately,
a minute-plus of that talk was steamrolled by Tyson empathizing
with Mel Gibson sound bites.
It’s
been observed that Tyson’s knowledge of the fight game is
substantial, informed by hours of footage screened in the Catskills
while he was being constructed: Showtime enlisted him as commentator
for one or two shows several years ago. I wouldn’t go so
far as to say he belongs in a UFC booth, but getting him on in
some kind of post-fight wrap-up capacity would be interesting.
“MMA Live” might want to consider making a call.
Source: Sherdog
|
SAFETY
TO THE SIDE, HAZELETT READY TO RETURN
by Brian
Lopez-Benchimol
"Fighting another trained professional in a cage is not
the safest thing you can do," said UFC welterweight Dustin
Hazelett
Truer
words have never been spoken. But Mr. Hazelett, who was coming
off of an orbital bone fracture after a knockout loss to UFC
outcast Paul Daley last January at UFC 108, doesn't hesitate
at the chance to step back in the Octagon this Saturday at UFC
117.
"I
feel great. I've been punched in the face hard in training, and
my face didn't hurt or anything... not anymore than getting punched
in the face, normally,” he said recently on MMAWeekly.com
Radio.
The
loss to Daley was only a cap-off to a multitude of dilemmas facing
the 24-year-old submission specialist. Prior to the bout, Hazelett
had been through a year-long layoff, a botched match-up with
then UFC fighter Karo Parisyan, and a number of injuries. But
through it all, he was able to call upon a higher power and know
that through adversity comes reward.
"Even
after the (Josh) Burkman fight, the fight before (Tamdan) McCrory,
I had to have nose surgery after that because my septum was so
badly deviated. So (the injuries) went back even further than
that,” said the jui-jitsu black belt.
"It's
been a real rough patch lately, but I trust in God's plan and
I think those layoffs and stuff definitely tried me, mentally
and physically, more so mentally, and I feel like I've learn
a lot from it. Facing adversity like that always makes you better,
if you survive it, and I think that's what it did for me.
"I've
learned a tremendous amount from every single one of my losses...
I think it makes me a better fighter, overall."
Now
after having gone through his downs, Hazelett is ready to see
the upside in his young mixed martial arts career when he faces
surging welterweight prospect Rick Story on Aug. 8 in Oakland.
While
some might be writing Story off as another flash in the pan,
Hazelett knows better to overlook anyone, because one mistake,
one punch, can change the whole outcome of a fight.
"A
lot of people might underestimate him, but I don't underestimate
him. I know he's very tough,” he said.
"He's
a very tough fighter, very strong. I remember seeing his fight
(at UFC 103) where he arm-triangled Brian Foster, and finished
it from Foster's guard, which is an impressive amount of strength.»
While
a win would be important to gain the momentum Hazelett was riding
towards contender status in the deep 170-pound division in the
UFC, an exciting performance overall is what he is most looking
forward to.
"I
watched all the tapes of his I can get, and in every single fight
he just moves directly straight-forward every single time, and
he's just constantly pushing the action.
"Its going to be a tough one. It's going to be a war. It
should be real fun to watch. I think it's going to be one of
those fights that's going to be real fun to be apart of too."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
X-1
Events vs Destiny MMA
Tonight!
Waipahu High School Gym
Saturday, August 7, 2010
For the 1st tiime here in the 808 State...Hawaii's top 2 MMA
Promotions will come together for a huge FIGHTER SHOWDOWN...
Be
there Saturday, Aug. 7th to see X1 World Events & DESTINY
MMA transform Waipahu HS GYM into a Blaisdell type production
on the Westside of Oahu...You definitely don't want to miss this.
Buy your tickets early.
Gen
Presale: $35
Floor Seating: $50
VIP Front Row: $100
Tickets
available @ Westside Fight Gear, ALL TCA Wireless locations islandwide,
No Fear Outlets, & Razor Concepts
Full
Fight card will be announced shortly...Here are some early matchups:
-185lbs
(state title)
Michael Winklespect vs Ronald "Machine Gun" Jhun (808
Top Team)
-145lbs
(state title)
David "Tan Superman" Padilla (Jesus Is Lord) vs Ricky
"Real Deal" Wallace (HMC)
-140lbs
Ian Delacuesta (808 Top Team) vs Eddie P. (I & I, Maui)
-125lbs
(female match)
Angie Pereira (HMC) vs Vicky Vickers
-170lbs
Ikaika Reinhardt vs Bruski Lewis (Bulls Pen)
-170lbs
L.John Borgess (808 Top Team) vs Johnavan Vistante Jr. (Team
SYD)
-155lbs
Duke Sarigosa (808 Top Team) vs Reno Remigio (HMC)
-145lbs
Chad Pavao (Hakuilua) vs Kurrent Cockett (I & I, Maui)
-155lbs
(amateur title)
Alioune Diop vs Nate "Da Great" Quiniola
-145lbs
(amateur title)
Tobi Misech (BJ Penn MMA) vs Elijah Manners (808 Alliance)
-135lbs
Louis Smolka (808 Top Team) vs Jared Iha (No Remorse)
-Heavyweight
(amateur title)
Paea Paongo vs TBA
-205lbs
Kaimi Wise vs Kimo Tatupu (808 Top Team)
-165lbs
(xma title match)
Chris Kutzen vs Michael Brightmon (Gorilla House)
-155lbs
Ryan Delacruz (808 Top Team) vs Nick Pait (freelance)
-145lbs
Bone Pali (Hustle n Throw,Maui) vs Jason Racamara (808 Alliance)
-155lbs
Ricky Marillo vs Tylor Pavao
-125lbs
Manny Charisma vs Alika Kumukoa (UCS)
-135lbs
Dylan (MMAD) vs Gerald Casteneto (Hustle n Throw, Maui)
-145lbs
Wes Nakano vs Pedro Garcia
|
UFC
117: 8/7 Oakland, California at Oracle Arena (Silva vs. Sonnen)
Today
By Zach
Arnold
Hawaii
Air Times:
3:00 - 4:00 Countdown on Spike Channel 559
4:00 - 7:00 PM Event on Channel 701
Dark
matches
¦Light
Heavyweights: Todd Brown vs. Tim Boetsch
¦Welterweights: Ben Saunders vs. Dennis Hallman
¦Welterweights: Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman
¦Heavyweights: Stefan Struve vs. Christian Morecraft
Spike TV portion
¦Welterweights:
Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story
¦Light Heavyweights: Rodney Wallace vs. Phil “Mr.
Wonderful” Davis
Main card
¦Heavyweights:
Roy Nelson vs. Junior dos Santos
¦Welterweights: Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
¦Lightweights: Clay Guida vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
¦Welterweights: Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
¦UFC Middleweight Title match: Anderson Silva vs. Chael
Sonnen
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
117 Preview: The Main Card
by Tomas Rios
Prepare
your puny brains for a violence exhibition par-excellence come
Saturday, as UFC 117 “Silva vs. Sonnen” airs live on
pay-per-view from the Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
Headlined
by mercurial UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva defending
his strap against the brutally acerbic Chael Sonnen, the main
card is arguably the best slate of fistic entertainment you’ll
get this month -- no small feat considering there are three other
Zuffa-run cards in August.
Such
supreme goodness requires some grown analysis and prognostication.
As per usual I’m here to deliver the knowledge, so stand
up, sit down and repeat while reading. What? I figure some of
you could use a bit of exercise.
Anderson
Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
After
months of enduring Sonnen’s delusional and at times ignorant
rants, it’s finally time to see if he can back up his verbal
assault with a physical one against reigning UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva. Making that happen begins with takedowns.
Then it gets awfully complicated.
Sonnen
is capable of taking down any middleweight alive and Silva’s
defensive wrestling has never been impregnable, so that’s
certainly not the defining aspect of this fight. Everyone from
Dan Henderson to Nate Marquardt managed to get Silva on the floor.
They all lost too, primarily because they could not advance position.
Guard-passing
has never been a part of Sonnen’s tool belt, and it’s
the main reason why he has been submitted from the guard so many
times before. To his credit, he’s absolutely fearless when
it comes to posturing up in his opponent’s guard and dropping
strikes. The tradeoff is that anyone with a competent guard game
is going to tap Sonnen out sooner or later.
Not
only does Silva have a decent offensive guard, his long frame
allows him to quickly secure the body triangle and play a lockdown
defensive guard. An oft-ignored aspect of Silva’s guard
is that he has never been above waiting out a referee restart.
That means Sonnen will be in an ongoing struggle to generate
offense, and he has never been a dominant ground-and-pounder
to begin with.
It
bears noting that Sonnen hasn’t finished an opponent in
nearly three years. A 25-minute fight always favors the fighter
with more ways to end it. Besides the very real possibility that
Sonnen will be too clueless to defend a submission from Silva’s
guard, he still has to navigate the dangers of closing the pocket
on “The Spider.”
One
of the big reasons why Silva has so much success against takedown-minded
opponents is that he makes them come to him. A natural counterpuncher
with that rare combination of timing and knockout power, Silva
excels at catching opponents as they try to get in on him. Since
Sonnen has roughly a 0-percent chance of survival on the feet,
he has no choice but to step inside Silva’s range and risk
the consequences.
It’s
a process that Sonnen will have to repeat several times to have
any chance of winning, and that right there is what puts this
fight beyond his reach. No one is going to ground-and-pound Silva
for 25 minutes because that feat goes hand in hand with shutting
down perhaps the most brilliant offensive fighter in all of MMA.
Even when Silva goes off the rails and turns into Charlie Chaplin,
he still does things 99 percent of fighters could never do on
their best day.
Sonnen’s
best day against Silva would be to win a round or two with uneventful
top control before either getting starched or tapped. Undoubtedly
the greatest testament to Sonnen’s pre-fight verbosity is
the misguided notion amongst some that he has a real chance to
win this fight. To put it simply: A focused Silva puts Sonnen
away in less than 10 minutes, a playful one humiliates him for
the full 25.
Jon
Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
Make
no mistake: This fight is only happening because the UFC wants
to eliminate either Alves or Fitch as a legitimate contender
for a title shot. As distasteful as the machinations that created
this bout may be, it’s still a supreme-quality bout between
the 2A and 2B of the welterweight division.
Fitch
enters the fight with a four-year-old win over Alves that really
has no meaning as far as prognosticating the rematch. In the
years since that loss, Alves’ takedown defense has improved
to the point that he was able to no-sell Josh Koscheck’s
double-leg and batter him for 15 minutes solid. However, Fitch
poses an entirely different challenge than Koscheck.
One
of the few “grinders” to make their way to MMA, Fitch
doesn’t barrel anyone over with supersonic shots or hit
sky-high throws. Instead, he bulls his way into the clinch and
puts every ounce of his ginormous frame to work. It’s a
strategy that leaves his opponents stifled but doesn’t lend
itself to high-level offense. Often it also leaves Fitch running
on fumes from the physical exertion of manhandling monster athletes.
Enacting
that strategy against Alves is a two-fold problem since Alves
excels at controlling distance and can land with fight-ending
power from any range. While Fitch has taken pains to improve
his striking and do a better job of setting up his takedowns,
his overall lack of speed remains a glaring vulnerability. Being
so slow of fist and foot makes Fitch an easy mark for counter-strikes,
a fact that was painfully brought to life in his doomed title
bout with Georges St. Pierre.
Tough
as Fitch may be, he’ll get aced in exchanges by Alves’
vastly superior boxing and would undoubtedly end up hobbled by
leg kicks. Although Alves was hesitant to use his leg kicks against
St. Pierre, that mostly stemmed from St. Pierre’s transitional
wrestling ability, which is something Fitch does not have. It
takes more than a deep single leg to get Alves down, and Fitch
is used to simply digging in on his takedown attempts and forcing
fights to the floor.
For
all the warts in Fitch’s game, however, he’s undeniably
effective. It’s entirely possible that he gets Alves down.
The rub is that if Fitch couldn’t finish Ben Saunders, he’s
not going to finish Alves unless he busts out a one-in-a-million
moment of offense. That lack of offensive dynamism and his cardio-sapping
style makes the second half of fights especially difficult for
him.
Getting
into a war of attrition with Alves just isn’t a good idea,
and the only fighters Fitch ever totally shuts down are ones
who can’t get past his wrestling. Take for example his fight
with Mike Pierce, which saw him dominate up until the very end
when Pierce cracked him. Besides being far more dangerous than
Pierce, Alves has the conditioning to keep his pace for the full
15 minutes as well as the defensive wrestling to impose his pace
on Fitch.
Odds
are this fight does come down to the last round. There is no
reason to think an exhausted Fitch will have the juice to hold
Alves down in the stretch. If anything, a more competitive version
of Alves’ fight with Koscheck is likely what we’ll
end up with. Just as in that fight, Alves’ defensive wrestling
and debilitating leg kicks will win the day come crunch time.
Clay
Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Reclaiming
relevance in a lightweight division full of mutant shark-gorillas
is on Guida’s mind against human origami enthusiast dos
Anjos. A tall task considering the last time Guida tried to take
on some of the division’s premier grapplers -- namely Kenny
Florian and Diego Sanchez -- he lost enough blood to turn the
Octagon red.
The
issue with Guida’s manic ground-and-pound style is that
he seems unsure of what to do against opponents fully capable
of tapping him out. What often happens is that Guida ends up
getting into a predominantly stand-up fight that he is not built
to win. While dos Anjos is hardly some fearsome kill-shot artist,
he is a southpaw with solid boxing and no one in their right
mind wants any part of his leg kicks.
Looking
at Guida’s fight with Florian, it’s obvious he had
trouble dealing with the New Englander’s southpaw stance,
which culminated in him walking right into a two-piece that basically
ended the fight. What really leads to Guida’s troubles on
the feet, though, is his own predictability. Prone to whipping
the occasional leg kick before rushing forward with a 1-2 and
diving for a leg, Guida makes himself an easy target for counters
by using such a rehearsed offensive strategy.
What
Guida does do well is stay tight from top control and keep a
busy enough pace to avoid getting stood up. However, he often
has trouble retaining his base against superior grapplers who
know how to make him uncomfortable. In past bouts dos Anjos has
used the butterfly guard and leg lock attacks quite well to disrupt
the offense of ground-and-pound-minded opponents. He should be
able to replicate that success against “The Carpenter.”
This
is all assuming Guida can get dos Anjos on the mat, which is
far more up for debate than many seem to think. Guida scores
the bulk of his takedowns against opponents who give ground and
end up pressed against the cage. Dos Anjos, however, tends to
stay in the center of the cage and has shown solid wrestling
throughout his UFC run.
Really,
neither fighter is a particularly technical wrestler. They both
rely more on explosive shots than erudite fundamentals. That
leaves a fight where takedowns could be readily exchanged or,
and this is far more likely, a fight where Guida foolishly attempts
to make up for his deficiencies with unvarnished aggression.
That approach only plays into dos Anjos’ hands, as he is
far more capable of ending this fight than Guida.
That
last bit is what should push this fight in the Brazilian’s
favor. Guida doesn’t have the tools to stop elite competition
while dos Anjos’ grappling is a Submission of the Night
award waiting to happen. I’m expecting a more competitive
version of Guida’s bout with Florian, but one that still
ends with the wild-haired wrestler tapping out.
Matt
Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
The
generational clash in MMA is a narrative that went dormant with
the universal acceptance of cross-training. However, some of
the original “modern mixed martial artists” are still
hanging around the sport. Few are as visible as former two-time
UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes.
Being
a face of the UFC and being a contender in the UFC are two very
different things, though, and Hughes’ bout with Almeida
is the final referendum on which category he falls into. If his
bout with Renzo Gracie at UFC 112 was any indication, Hughes
is simply nowhere near the fighter he once was.
It
was flat-out jarring to see Hughes fail on every one of his takedown
attempts against Gracie and then resort to slow-motion leg kicks
for an uninspired win. A sight made all the more jarring by the
fact that Gracie hadn’t fought in three years and was clearly
unprepared to rejoin the fistic fray. Given Hughes’ struggles
with what should have been an easy opponent, it makes his chances
against a legitimate welterweight seem bleak at best.
Almeida
poses a great many problems for Hughes, the most obvious of which
being his vaunted Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. A legitimate world-class
submission wrestler, Almeida has a decent shot and just enough
transitional skills to consistently gain top control -- a nightmare
scenario for Hughes, who has never been much off his back. Although
Hughes was once nearly impossible to take down, the new reality
is that he got real old real fast in the time between his fights
with Matt Serra and Renzo Gracie.
The
possibility of any stand-up exchanges taking place is mitigated
by Almeida’s constant onslaught of takedown attempts. Even
if Hughes can stuff a few of those shots, he is far too flat-footed
and immobile to consistently avoid leg attacks. Whatever stand-up
does take place will be at Almeida’s discretion, and it
won’t favor Hughes anyway, as he simply isn’t the same
kind of athlete he used to be.
Truthfully,
there really isn’t much to break down about this fight.
Almeida is a quality welterweight contender and, regardless of
whether or not the UFC realizes it, an all-too predictable first-round
submission loss awaits Hughes. Here’s hoping a graceful
exit from the sport he helped build isn’t too far behind
it.
Junior dos Santos vs. Roy Nelson
If
you have anything to be thankful for, it should be that the days
of Paul Buentello and Jeff Monson challenging for the UFC heavyweight
title are long gone. Currently in their stead are dos Santos
and Nelson, who will match wits and fists for the right to take
on the winner of the upcoming Brock Lesnar/Cain Velasquez ultra-fight.
Who
earns that potentially dubious prize comes down to who controls
the range. Setting aside Nelson’s back-to-back KO wins,
he does his best work when he gets in the clinch and hits his
trademark outside trip into half-guard. Dos Santos on the other
hand likes to stay mobile on the outside while throwing the occasional
jab or feint before collapsing the pocket with power punches.
Both
at range and in close quarters, Nelson won’t do well at
all against dos Santos’ handspeed and crisp boxing technique.
A fact best illustrated by Nelson’s bout with Andrei Arlovski,
which saw him struggle and ultimately fail to keep up with the
Belarusian’s striking. Dos Santos is a much better counterpuncher
than Arlovski, and his chin isn’t made of talcum powder
either, so he’s much more willing to stay in the pocket
and wait out opportunities.
A
boxing match just isn’t going Nelson’s way. He’s
only effective from just outside mid-range, where his clubbing
punches have their best chance of landing. Even if Nelson could
keep the fight at that range, dos Santos’ two best punches
are the counter left hook and lead uppercut, both of which will
beat Nelson’s parabolic punches to the target every time.
The
only place Nelson has a real chance of winning this fight is
on the mat. However, his skill from top control has been severely
oversold based on his fights on “The Ultimate Fighter”
-- fights that saw him take on mostly hopeless and/or hapless
competition. Nelson is undoubtedly a solid grappler. His Greco-Roman
skills are good enough to get dos Santos down, but he’s
not some instant tapout machine from top control either.
In
his match with Brendan Schaub, Nelson lost the top position when
Schaub literally pushed him off from underneath side control.
While dos Santos is untested on the mat save for a white belt
level submission loss early in his career to Joaquim Ferreira,
it’s still important to be realistic about what kind of
grappler Nelson really is. He’s a methodical top-control
grappler whose best weapon is his guard-passing.
Nelson
has to close the book on dos Santos early because he doesn’t
have the cardio to go 15 hard minutes. Going back to the Arlovski
fight, he was zapped after five minutes and turned into human
target practice for the brief remainder of the bout. Given how
good dos Santos is at controlling distance and picking his spots,
it’s hard to imagine Nelson finishing the job before conditioning
comes into play.
Even
if Nelson comes into the cage with the gas tank of a lightweight,
he still doesn’t have anything to offer dos Santos on the
feet. Unless dos Santos proves to be a total fail on the mat,
he’s going to control the majority of this bout and his
fluid footwork should be enough to minimize Nelson’s bulrush
clinch grabs. Sooner or later Nelson will have to defend against
dos Santos’ own bulrush, and it’s not going to end
well for the Bryant Reeves of MMA.
Source: Sherdog
|
Galaxy
MMA Bad Blood Results
Friday, August 6, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
Galaxy MMA 2: Bad Blood
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
August 6, 2010
Hawaii's
newest MMA promotion made its second appearance in the Blaisdell
arena and continued with the semi-finals of Galaxy's 155lbs tournament.
The card featured just about half amateur bouts and finished
up with the professionals. This was a busy weekend of events
with two events scheduled for tonight and another event scheduled
for the next day. The last few events held at the Blaisdell Arena
have had lackluster attendance and have struggled. Tonight would
be no different. However families and friends definitely came
out to back their fighters. A couple of 125lbers, Jacob Kauwe
and Alika Kumukoa put on a show with Kauwe landing well timed
right hooks and moving to keep Kumukoa guessing. Kumukoa was
getting picked apart until he stepped in and landed a couple
of big punches that kept Kauwe honest. Kumukoa showed that he
could take a punch, but Kauwe's accuracy won him the fight. After
a great initial start by Brayden Kalahiki, Fatu Tuitasi turned
the fight around by landing a couple of hard punches that sent
Kalahiki down at the end of the first round. After hurting Kalahiki
at the end of the second round, Tuitasi pressed the fight, sat
down on his punches and dropped Kalahiki with a solid punch.
Tuitasi jumped onKalahiki causing the Referee to step in and
stop the fight.
In
the women's bout, it featured a second generation fighter, when
Bob-O Ostovich's daughter stepped in to the cage against a game
Vee Vickers. Ostovich used punches to set up the clinch where
she showcased some great wrestling and dominated position. Vickers
landed some exchanges, but Ostovich again capitalized with more
phenomenal throws and ground domination. Very impressive win
for Ostovich and she immediately put herself as one to watch
in the Hawaii's women's MMA scene. Clay Lewis Jr. woke the crowd
up after getting taken down and dominated in the first round
only to come back and viciously knock out Jenzen Espanto Then,
what looked to be a great match up turned out to be short night
when Evan Lowther followed his previous performance and landed
a hook right on the chin of Walter Hao sending down and out for
an impressive victory in his first professional bout.
The
grudge match between Brennan Kamaka and Dirty Curty was shorter
than their entrances when Kamaka took Curty down and pounded
him until the Referee stepped in to stop it. Kamaka was satisfied
with the victory, but Curty shook his head and didn't accept
the defeat and was exchanging words to Kamaka walking out of
the cage. Ron Verdadero rocked the Greg Jackson fighter and went
to the ground to follow up, but Ramirez hung in there and reversed
the position, but Verdadero locked up an arm bar for the submission.
For
the Galaxy MMA 155lbs Tournament semi-finals, Steve Gable took
on 808 Top Team's Kris Kyle. After some cautious circling, Gable
rushed in for the clinch, took Kyle's back and pulled him right
into the back mount. Gable stayed tight and methodically secured
the back mount while locking in a rear naked choke for the submission.
The other semi-final bout pit local boy and veteran, Harris Sarmiento
and Big Country Roy Nelson training partner, Jose Salgado. Salgado
went in for the clinch and take down early and controlled the
ground. Sarmiento had some nice reversals and hammered Salgado,
but Salgado pressed his wrestling and got Sarmiento back down
to the ground. Salgado got Sarmiento's back, but Sarmiento was
able to escape and get back to his feet to end the first round.
Salgado got Sarmiento down, but took a knee to the head. Sarmiento
fought his way back up to his feet and started pounding the body
and thigh. Salgado took the strikes and pressed the fight continuing
to work the take down. For round two, Sarmiento reversed the
first round, ending up on Salgado's back and trying to work in
the rear naked choke. The third round would be the deciding round.
Sarmiento is cautiously pressing and landing hard body shots
and leg kicks, while Salgado looked for his opportunity for the
take down. Salgado finally gets Sarmiento down halfway through
the round, but Sarmiento did a great job of working his way back
up and continuing to pound on a tiring Salgado. Both fighters
end the fight throwing whatever they have left in their gas tanks
to the cheering crowd. Sarmiento's aggression and effective striking
won him the deciding third round and his spot in the tournament
finals.
Amateur MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes: 170lbs:
Chad Puha (Family Affair) def. Jake Yiu Lin (Edwards MMA)
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes at 2:52 in Round 1.
Amateur
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes: 205lbs:
Keala Cristobal (Freelance) def. Cade Phillips (Freelance)
Unanimous decision [(29-28), (29-28), (29-28)] after over time.
Amateur
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes: 145lbs:
Edward Thommes (808 Top Team) def. Shaison Laupola
TKO due to injury (hip) at 2:29 in Round 1.
Amateur
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes: 125lbs:
Jacob Kauwe (Hakuilua) def. Alika Kumukoa (Team Extreme)
Unanimous decision [(20-18), (20-18), (20-18)] after 2 Rounds.
Amateur
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes: 170lbs:
Dwain Pasion (Team CAT) def. Micah Ige (Team Extreme)
Submission via triangle at 2:10 in over time.
Amateur
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes: 155lbs:
Fatu Tuitasi (808 Top Team) def. Brayden Kalahiki (Team Extreme)
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes at 0:19 in Round 2.
Amateur
MMA: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes: 230lbs:
Jake Heffernan (Freelance, Ha'ula) def. Dustin Caulustro (Team
Stand Alone, Waialua)
Unanimous decision [(29-28), (29-28), (29-28)] after over time.
Amateur
MMA: 2 Rounds - 2 Minutes: 130 Women's Pankration Bout:
Rachael Ostovich (Jesus is Lord) def. Vee Vickers (Freelance)
Unanimous decision [(20-18), (20-18), (20-18)] after 2 Rounds.
Professional
MMA: 3 Rounds - 3 Minutes: 145lbs:
George Perry (Freelance) def. Colin Mackenzie (God's Army)
Unanimous decision [(20-18), (20-18), (20-18)] after 2 Rounds.
Professional
MMA: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes: 145lbs:
Justin Wong (HMC) def. Brandon Pieper (808 Top Team)
Unanimous decision [(30-27), (28-29), (29-28)] after 3 Rounds.
Professional
MMA: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes: 155lbs:
Clay Lewis Jr. (4WRD Fitness) def. Jenzen Espanto (Combat 50)
KO at 0:16 in Round 2.
Professional
MMA: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes: 170lbs:
Evan Lowther (M-1, Gracie Kailua) def. Walter Hao (808 Top Team)
KO at 0:53 in Round 1.
Grudge
Match
Professional MMA: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes: 185lbs:
Brennan Kamaka (808 Top Team) def. Dirty Curty (Team Submit)
TKO via Referee stoppage due to strikes at 0:49 in Round 1.
Submission
Grappling Match: 2 Rounds - 3 Minutes
Ian McCall (Team Oyama MMA) drew Russell Doane (808 Top Team)
Professional
MMA: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes: 190lbs:
Ron Verdadero (Jesus Is Lord) def. Rocky Ramirez (Greg Jackson's
MMA)
Submission via arm bar at 2:33 in Round 1.
Lightweight
Grand Prix Championship Semi-Final Matches
Professional MMA: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Steve Gable (Gracie Barra) def. Kris Kyle (808 Top Team)
Submission via rear naked choke at 1:37 in Round 1.
Lightweight
Grand Prix Championship Semi-Final Matches
Professional MMA: 3 Rounds - 5 Minutes:
Harris Sarmiento (808 Top Team) def. Jose Salgado (Roy Nelson's
Gym; The Country Club)
Unanimous decision [(29-28), (29-28), (29-28)] after 3 Rounds.
|
TWO
PROMISING PROSPECTS TO COLLIDE
IN STRIKEFORCE
WOMEN'S WELTERWEIGHT TOURNAMENT 'RESERVE BOUT' IN PHOENIX, ARIZ.,
ON FRIDAY, AUG. 13
Colleen
Schneider Will Face Liz Carmouche in Prelude to Four-Woman, Single-Elimination
135-Pound Tournament To Be Contested
At Dodge Theatre, Live on SHOWTIME®
NEW
YORK (Aug. 3, 2010) - Colleen Schneider and Liz Carmouche will
tangle in the "reserve bout" in the first-ever STRIKEFORCE
women's single-elimination welterweight (135 pounds) tournament
at STRIKEFORCE Challengers on Friday, Aug. 13, from Dodge Theatre
in Phoenix, Ariz., live on SHOWTIME®. The match will take
place during the non-televised undercard.
If a winner of a completed tournament semifinal fight cannot
advance because of an injury or any other reason, they will be
replaced by the Schneider-Carmouche winner.
STRIKEFORCE
women's welterweight contenders Miesha "Takedown" Tate,
Carina "Beauty But The Beast" Damm, Hitomi "Girlfight
Monster" Akano and Maiju Kujala will compete in the tournament.
A draw to determine the semifinal matchups for the two-round
tournament will take place at the Official Weigh-In on Thursday,
Aug. 12. Each of the tournament tussles and the reserve bout
are slated for three, 3-minute rounds.
The
tournament winner will become the official No. 2 challenger in
the STRIKEFORCE women's welterweight division (behind Marloes
Coenen). On July 23 on SHOWTIME, undefeated world champion Sarah
Kaufman impressively retained her STRIKEFORCE crown with a third-round
"power slam" KO over Roxanne Modafferi.
The
winners of each semifinal bout on Aug. 13 will face off in the
tournament final later that night, just before the main event
matchup on SHOWTIME between Joe "Diesel" Riggs (32-12)
and Louis Taylor (6-1) that will be fought at a catch weight
of 182 pounds.
Schneider
(0-1), of Oakland, Calif., by way of Syracuse, N.Y., trains with
STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight (155 pounds) Champion Gilbert "El
Nino" Melendez at his El Nino Training Center in San Francisco.
She moved to the West Coast in 2000 to attend University of California,
Berkeley, where she majored in Physics and Astrophysics. She
graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 2004.
"While
at Cal, I met some people from the Taekwondo team who convinced
me to come and try it, and I loved it,'' Schneider said. "I
did it for a few years there, and things kind of went on from
there.''
After
seven years of Taekwondo, three years of Karate, two years of
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, two years of Muay Thai, several tournaments
and countless unsanctioned fights, Schneider turned to Mixed
Martial Arts (MMA). She compiled a record of 4-0 in the amateurs
before making her MMA pro debut on March 19, 2010.
"I
am very happy to be fighting for STRIKEFORCE, which is the place
to be right now in the women's division,'' said Schneider,''
an aggressive striker known for her unorthodox kicks.
Schneider, Carmouche to Fight "Reserve Match'' in STRIKEFORCE
Women's Welterweight Tournament
Carmouche
(2-0) has triumphed in both her starts inside the distance. After
winning by second-round TKO in her pro debut last May 29, she
registered a second-round submission (armbar) over Margarita
de la Cruz the following June 26.
A
25-year-old of Lebanese descent, Carmouche was born in Okinawa,
Japan, and currently resides in San Diego. She spent seven years
in the Marines in which she spent time fighting in the Middle
East.
Carmouche
currently trains at Undisputed Fitness and Training in San Diego
with Manolo Hernandez and Baret Yoshida, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion.
Tickets
for the STRIKEFORCE Challengers event are on sale at the Dodge
Theatre Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at (800)
745-3000, and online at www.livenation.com and www.strikeforce.com.
Dodge
Theatre doors will open at 5 p.m. local time. The first preliminary
bout will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the first main card bout will
begin at 8.
The
SHOWTIME telecast will begin at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the
West Coast.)
STRIKEFORCE
Challengers is a proving ground for up-and-coming MMA fighters.
The series is designed to provide today's top prospects with
the opportunity to step-up their level of competition and demonstrate
their ability in a nationally televised event.
About
STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial
arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made
history with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event, the first
sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state
history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary
champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt
Cesar Gracie at San Jose's HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out,
record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by
ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming
for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship
kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial
arts (MMA) series with "Shamrock vs. Gracie." In May
2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE,
partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E),
an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects
of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose. In March
2009, STRIKEFORCE signed a multi-year agreement with SHOWTIME®
to stage live events on the premium cable television network.
The promotion has since also produced two live, primetime events
on the CBS Television Network.
Source: Strikeforce
|
ALVES
TO FITCH: WE NEED TO FINISH THIS
by Damon
Martin
To say the fight between Thiago "Pitbull" Alves and
Jon Fitch is a long time coming would be a colossal understatement.
The
two welterweights were originally set to rematch in December
2009, but an injury to Alves just weeks before the fight forced
him to sit the event out. Ready to go again in March 2010 at
UFC 111, Alves arrived in New Jersey with high hopes of settling
the score with Fitch from their 2006 fight in which the American
Kickboxing Academy fighter got the victory by way of TKO.
A
pre-fight CAT scan revealed a brain abnormality that forced Alves
to once again sit on the sidelines, and watch Fitch fight. Some
delays in being cleared following brain surgery pushed Alves
vs. Fitch back from their June date at UFC 115, and finally the
two top 170-pound contenders are ready to throw down at UFC 117
in Oakland on Aug. 7.
Alves
admits that this rematch with Fitch has been hanging over his
head like a bad omen for almost the last year, and it's time
to put this fight to rest.
"I
think we've just got to get over this thing, me and him, so we
can move on with our lives and everything," Alves told MMAWeekly
Radio recently. "I've got a lot of respect for Jon, he's
a really tough guy and everything, but we need to finish this."
Literally
going through four separate training camps for the same fight,
Alves has prepared, prepared, and prepared again for fighting
Fitch. He's played this fight in his head many times, but it
always results in the same ending.
"He
goes down every day, three times a day," Alves said. "Every
time it gets nastier and nastier. Once it's a knee, the other
one's a high kick, the other one's a right hand. Every day I
picture him going down like that. It's going to happen."
The
American Top Team welterweight hasn't been necessarily inactive
since his July 2009 fight against Georges St-Pierre, which was
the last time he fought. Alves has stayed busy and worked with
his team the entire time, but just never actually got the chance
to fight.
Fitch
on the other hand has been extremely active. The former University
of Purdue wrestler remained on both of the cards that he was
supposed to face Alves on, and picked up two unanimous decision
wins along the way.
"He's
been busy, and I haven't, but I don't really care or think about
it," Alves commented about the time off. "I just think
that the time I was off made me a better fighter. I'm going to
show on Aug. 7 that I'm the best."
Time
off is nothing new to Alves. Prior to his fight with St-Pierre
the Brazilian was sidelined for nine months, and had previously
served a suspension than put him out for nine months and he came
back to action like nothing happened.
The
extended training camp has also offered Alves extra time to get
his weight in place for this fight, and add some new tricks to
his arsenal. With 10 knockouts or TKOs on his record, Alves has
already figured out how to land the finishing shot just fine.
The
Brazilian admits that he can't take much of anything away from
the 2006 fight he had with Fitch for the rematch; it's the loss
that haunts him. Alves hopes to rectify that situation at UFC
117.
"Once
I knock him out it's going to be like it never happened for real,"
Alves said about the first fight with Fitch. "We're going
to be even."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Roger
Huerta Caught on Tape in Street Fight
By Ray
Hui
Roger Huerta knocked out an attacker in a street fight outside
of a bar in Austin, Texas early Saturday morning, reports TMZ,
which released footage of the confrontation and aftermath of
the scuffle.
In the video, Huerta confronts
an attacker after watching the attacker knock out a female. A
friend of Huerta's is seen rushing over and yelling, "Roger!"
in an effort to stop Huerta from engaging, but Huerta chases
after the attacker and leaves him laid out on the ground.
Huerta
could presumably be facing potential criminal charges for his
actions, but according to TMZ, no arrests have so far been made.
When
Huerta's manager was reached for comment, he told TMZ, "I
have not spoken to Roger yet about this incident, but I can say
that it's in his nature to be very protective of women."
Looking
at Huerta's childhood past, it shouldn't necessarily come as
a surprise that Huerta would become instantly emotional after
witnessing a violent act towards a woman. Huerta faced abuse
from his mother growing up and was eventually abandoned by his
mother. Huerta didn't begin experiencing positive family life
until high school when a friend's mother took legal custody of
him.
UFC
president Dana White has also commented on the situation, telling
TMZ, "In no way do I condone street fighting, but when a
guy puts his hands on a woman he deserves to be knocked the f*ck
out. Good for Roger."
This
street fight could further cloud his already uncertain fight
career following his surprising loss in May to Pat Curran in
Bellator's lightweight tournament semifinals. After the loss,
Huerta spoke of possibly fighting in Dream or K-1 with Bellator's
permission, but nothing yet has come out of it.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Pitbull
is ready after three months of camps
By Eduardo
Ferreira
Physical
trainner of American Top Team, Stéfane Dias is excited
for the combat of his athlete Thiago Pitbull against the American
John Fitch, in a fight which will happen on UFC 117, event that
will occur this Saturday (7) in Oakland, united States. Ofter
12 weeks of camps, Stéfane said that his athlete is ready
for a rematch with Fitch. “Pitbull is ready. We’ve
set a 12 weeks camp for his fight and he followed a full time
schedule: strengthen training, potency training and MMA circuit.
Master (Ricardo) Libório leaded the MMA training and the
game plan, Hatel Kubis and Fernando Falkenbach took care of his
bang, Kemi Barzini did the Wrestling work, me on the physical
prep, and Roan Jucão on the gorund game and on the specific
trainings too”, revealed Dias.
Facing
a guy with a hard ground game as Fitch, ATT’s coaches are
hoping for a hard combat, but they bet on their training and
on the strategy set for this duel. “It’ll be a war,
but we’re ready to fight three rounds and to break his stuck
game. The physical trainings of Pitbull were done on a specific
way, with gauntlet, wrestling and ground game to simulate how
it’ll be like when the guy tries to hold and get stuck on
a position with Thiago on the ground until the end, exactly what
h did on his 4 last fights on UFC. I think I can say for sure:
with the strength and speed that Pitbull has nowadays, it he
fit a punch or a kick on Fitch, he’ll feel the pressure…
And don’t find it weird in case Pitbull puts Fitch down”,
said Stéfane.
Hernias
put Thiago Silva on the dockyard
UFC
117 had six Brazilians on its card until the left of Thiago Silva,
who suffered an injury and had to stay off the event. According
to Stéfane, three disc hernias were the cause of the bout’s
cancelation. “Thiago Silva was great… One month before
the fight with Rashad (Evans) he started to feel a lot of pain
on his back and couldn’t practice his Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling
or do sparrings until the day of the combat. We’ve only
trained cardio elliptical, airdyne and gauntlet with master Katel
Kubis and still fought three rounds with Evans… Thiago is
a real warrior!”, said ATT’s coach, who explained what
Thiago has been going through.
“After
the fight with Rashad, we went to the best doctors in Florida
and we found out he had three hernias in different spots of his
spine. From then on, we’ve been doing a physiotherapy work
for six months and he was responding quite well, but two weeks
ago the pain came back and it didn’t spot to get stronger
and stronger, until he couldn’t move and we had to start
a treatment in the pool, so we came back to his doctors and he
had eight cortisone injections, but the pain wouldn’t stop
so we were obligated to cancel the fight”, concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
Versus
UFC show from San Diego draws awful ratings
By Zach
Arnold
UFC
on Versus 2 draws 0.86 cable rating
The
Sunday shows are not big draws. Plus it’s on Versus, which
is a channel that is still on many ‘premium tiers’
on cable companies across the States. Combined with a lack of
star power and this is the recipe mixture you end up with.
The
good news is that the show was fun to watch, the production values
were slick (including the split-screen commercial breaks), and
there was some meaningful results to come out of the show.
The
other bad PR news story of the day for UFC is this article: Joe
Stevenson heads to Mexico
It’s
a good article about Joe Stevenson, who has no health insurance
(and would need to pay at least $500 a month for it), heading
to Mexico for a medical tourism trip to get an MRI done in Tijuana.
The issue of medical tourism is nothing new — you hear both
the good (cheaper prescription drug prices and MRI testing) and
the bad (the horror stories about fly-by-night nightmare cosmetic
surgery procedures).
The
public outcry for UFC not paying for insurance will be legitimate.
At the same time, if they start paying for insurance for all
the fighters they have under contract, you’re talking about
150-200 fighters and the costs for insurance would be staggering
given the profession they are involved in. Economically, it would
be difficult to do. (Which is why I would like to hear how Rob
Maysay’s MMAFA, fighter’s association, would tackle
this issue given that insurance premiums will continue to skyrocket
in cost for the foreseeable future.)
Plus,
there’s the whole issue about whether or not UFC paying
for full-time insurance would take their independent contractors
and essentially convert them into the status of ‘employees’
in the eyes of the IRS. Given the debate recently over taxation
on higher-end insurance plans, that could put a bullseye right
on Zuffa if they had to pay out extremely high premiums for fighters.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
The
Stories That Emerged from UFC on Versus 2
by Tomas
Rios
Thank
the camera in the sky for an end to our violence drought and
thank UFC matchmaking for the quality night of fights that was
UFC on Versus 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko.
The
fallout has made for some interesting questions in nearly every
weight class and may be remembered as the night that many a future
contender came into their own (I’m looking at you Matt Riddle
and Charles Oliveira). Take your time and pick through the rubble,
though, and there are three stories that will color the rest
of 2010 and perhaps beyond.
Please
Bones, Continue Hurting ‘Em
It
felt almost perfunctory. Jon Jones tickled Vladimir Matyushenko’s
ribs with a spinning back kick, hit an all-too-easy trip into
top control and promptly cut loose on the Belarusian’s grill,
forcing a stoppage at 1:52 of the first round.
One
of the easiest ways to recognize a truly special prospect is
to see what they do when a major organization picks them up.
Looking at the way the UFC has matched Jones thus far, it’s
clear that they’re desperate to see someone push him even
if it’s for a moment or two.
The
problem with the current version of “Bones” is that
no one can seem to last more than a few minutes with him. It
makes for an altogether unique problem from a matchmaking perspective
and one that puts the UFC on a tight rope narrower than Ann Coulter’s
worldview.
In
the hours since Jones ran over Matyushenko like an invisible
man, I’ve heard MMA media members call for matches with
everyone from Chuck Liddell to Forrest Griffin. After what Jones
did tonight, it’ll be awfully interesting to see who will
step up to the plate against MMA’s wunderkind.
Stay
on Script or Get Ignored
When
Mark Munoz dropped Yushin Okami in the second round of their
fight, Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan reacted like they had just
witnessed Joe Louis lay out Max Schmeling in Yankee Stadium.
In the third round Okami returned the favor, but it took several
moments for the booth to even acknowledge the fact that Munoz
had hit the deck.
Without
a doubt odd, but I was ready to write it off as the usual incompetence
instead of the byproduct of behind the scenes Machiavellianism.
Then came the post-fight replay. Instead of focusing on the perfect
counterpunch that sent Munoz into ballerina mode, Goldberg focused
on the sloppy haymaker that Munoz supposedly “just missed.”
By
now anyone who watches the UFC with any regularity is accustomed
to misinformation from the booth whether it be overstating a
fighter’s credentials or misrepresenting fights that took
place outside the Octagon.
However,
the commentary for this particular fight was insulting to the
intelligence of anyone with even one functioning ear. Obviously
Zuffa could put two monkeys wearing bowler hats in the booth
and they’d still have the best product out there. That still
doesn’t mean fans should be fine with the booth turning
into some modern day “Ministry of Truth.”
The
Fireball Kid Melts Griffin
There
has never been any question about Takanori Gomi’s talent.
He dominated Shooto’s lightweight division with his suffocating
top control and turned into a kill-shot KO machine in Pride Bushido.
What really nuked Gomi’s apple cart was his well-known preference
for Sapporo and nightclubs over water and the gym.
The
sight of an obviously in-shape Gomi peaked the attention of his
ex-bandwagon members, but watching “The Fireball Kid”
rip hooks to Tyson Griffin’s body and draw him further inside
the pocket had me flashing back to late nights spent watching
Bushido’s ace light up his contemporaries.
Just
as my memory was trying to sync up with reality, Gomi absolutely
leveled Griffin with a single punch. Quite the feat considering
none of Griffin’s past opponents -- a murderer’s row
that includes three past or present titleholders in Zuffa promotions
-- had been able to stop him.
Hoping
for a true renaissance from Gomi is a distinctly far-fetched
possibility. I’d give it about the same chances as anyone
outside of Miami ever liking LeBron James again, but at least
now it’s a possibility. Considering this is the same guy
that looked to be headed for the pink-slip chopping block, watching
him flatten a world-class fighter was an altogether unexpected
pleasure and one that could signal the genesis of a comeback
story for the ages.
Source: Sherdog
|
UFC
DEBUTS ULTIMATE INSIDER WEB SHOW
The UFC will debut a new web-based show starting this Thursday
titled "The Ultimate Insider" hosted by UFC commentator
Joe Rogan and ring girl and Maxim cover girl Arianny Celeste.
The
show will begin this August 5 starting at 2pm ET/11am PT on UFC.com.
“Every
week, UFC Ultimate Insider will take fans behind-the-scenes,
to places where only our cameras can go, and show them a side
of the UFC they’ve never seen before,” said UFC President
Dana White on Wednesday.
The
debut show will feature Joe Rogan in an one-on-one interview
with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva as he prepares
for his UFC 117 showdown with Chael Sonnen.
Famed
MMA coach and guru Greg Jackson will take fans on a trip to "Fight
School", while Clay Guida gives a tour of his crib on wheels.
The
show will also feature a segment with UFC heavyweight Cain Velasquez
as he wears a mic during the historic UFC 116 show which featured
Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin for the UFC heavyweight title.
The
new UFC Ultimate Insider show will air every week on UFC.com
and will feature several new segments including a Q&A with
UFC president Dana White, among other things on the program.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
switches black belt matchups
by Carlos Eduardo Ozório
Some
of the Jiu-Jitsu representatives with bouts scheduled in the
UFC will now have to wait, at least for a little while.
Demian
will have to wait to fight. Photo: DemianMaia.com.br
Misfortune struck Alan Belcher, who had to pull out of the fight
and leave Demian Maia opponent-less. The matchup had been set
for UFC Fight Night 22 on September 15. Belcher was in Brazil
to brush up on his ground game with trainers Helio Soneca and
Daniel Moraes, however, he noticed a problem with his vision
that caused him to rush back to the United States, where he was
diagnosed with having a detached retina, and Demian Maia was
left without an opponent.
Things
weren’t so bad for Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares,
who will only have to wait a little while longer to see action.
The bout with Nate Marquardt originally set for August 28 at
UFC 118 will now be postponed to substitute the Demian vs Belcher
match as the main event at UFN 22.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Galaxy
MMA Bad Blood Today!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
Lightweight Grand Prix Championship Semi-Final Matches
Harris
Sarmiento (808 Top Team) VS. Jose Salgado (Roy Nelson's Gym;
The Country Club)
Kris
Kyle (808 Top Team) VS. Steve Gable (Gracie Barra)
135 Pound Bout: Tyson Nam (Team Quest) VS. Ian McCall (Team Oyama
MMA)
190 Pound Bout: Ron Verdadero (808 FF) VS. Rocky Ramirez (Greg
Jackson's MMA)
Grudge Match
185 Pound Bout: Dirty Curty (Team Submit)VS. Brennan Kamaka (808
Top Team)
170 Pound Bout: Walter Hao (808 Top Team) VS. Evan Lowther (M-1,
Gracie Kailua)
Lightweight
Grand Prix Alternate Matches
155
Pound Bout: Kyle Kaahanui (Bulls Pen) VS. Chris Yee (Team Quest)
155 Pound Bout: Clay Lewis Jr. (4WRD Fitness) VS. Jenzen Espanto
(Combat 50)
145 Pound Bout: Justin Wong (HMC) VS. Brandon Pieper (808 Top
Team)
145 Pound Bout: Colin Mackenzie (God's Army) VS. George Perry
(Freelance)
Amateur Match
125 Women's Pankration Bout: Rachael Ostovich (Jesus is Lord)
VS. Vee Vickers (Freelance)
230 Pound Bout: Jake Heffernan (Freelance) VS. Dustin Caulustro
(Team Stand Alone)
125
Pound Bout: Alika Kumukoa (Team Extreme) VS. Jacob Kauwe (Hakuilua)
170 Pound Bout: Dwain Pasion (Team CAT) VS. Micah Ige (Team Extreme)
205 Pound Bout: Keala Cristobal (Freelance) VS. Cade Phillips
(Freelance)
170 Pound Bout: Chad Puha (Family Affair) VS Jake Yiu Lin (Edwards
MMA)
155 Pound Bout: Brayden Kalahiki (Team Extreme) VS. Fatu Tuitasi
(808 Top Team)
|
Mad
Skills Tonight!
Waipahu Filcom, Waipahu, Hawaii
August 6, 2010
|
X-1
Events vs Destiny MMA
Tomorrow
Waipahu High School Gym
Saturday, August 7, 2010
For the 1st tiime here in the 808 State...Hawaii's top 2 MMA
Promotions will come together for a huge FIGHTER SHOWDOWN...
Be
there Saturday, Aug. 7th to see X1 World Events & DESTINY
MMA transform Waipahu HS GYM into a Blaisdell type production
on the Westside of Oahu...You definitely don't want to miss this.
Buy your tickets early.
Gen
Presale: $35
Floor Seating: $50
VIP Front Row: $100
Tickets
available @ Westside Fight Gear, ALL TCA Wireless locations islandwide,
No Fear Outlets, & Razor Concepts
Full
Fight card will be announced shortly...Here are some early matchups:
-185lbs
(state title)
Michael Winklespect vs Ronald "Machine Gun" Jhun (808
Top Team)
-145lbs
(state title)
David "Tan Superman" Padilla (Jesus Is Lord) vs Ricky
"Real Deal" Wallace (HMC)
-140lbs
Ian Delacuesta (808 Top Team) vs Eddie P. (I & I, Maui)
-125lbs
(female match)
Angie Pereira (HMC) vs Vicky Vickers
-170lbs
Ikaika Reinhardt vs Bruski Lewis (Bulls Pen)
-170lbs
L.John Borgess (808 Top Team) vs Johnavan Vistante Jr. (Team
SYD)
-155lbs
Duke Sarigosa (808 Top Team) vs Reno Remigio (HMC)
-145lbs
Chad Pavao (Hakuilua) vs Kurrent Cockett (I & I, Maui)
-155lbs
(amateur title)
Alioune Diop vs Nate "Da Great" Quiniola
-145lbs
(amateur title)
Tobi Misech (BJ Penn MMA) vs Elijah Manners (808 Alliance)
-135lbs
Louis Smolka (808 Top Team) vs Jared Iha (No Remorse)
-Heavyweight
(amateur title)
Paea Paongo vs TBA
-205lbs
Kaimi Wise vs Kimo Tatupu (808 Top Team)
-165lbs
(xma title match)
Chris Kutzen vs Michael Brightmon (Gorilla House)
-155lbs
Ryan Delacruz (808 Top Team) vs Nick Pait (freelance)
-145lbs
Bone Pali (Hustle n Throw,Maui) vs Jason Racamara (808 Alliance)
-155lbs
Ricky Marillo vs Tylor Pavao
-125lbs
Manny Charisma vs Alika Kumukoa (UCS)
-135lbs
Dylan (MMAD) vs Gerald Casteneto (Hustle n Throw, Maui)
-145lbs
Wes Nakano vs Pedro Garcia
|
UFC
117: 8/7 Oakland, California at Oracle Arena (Silva vs. Sonnen)
Tomorrow
By Zach
Arnold
Hawaii
Air Times:
3:00 - 4:00 Countdown on Spike Channel 559
4:00 - 7:00 PM Event on Channel 701
Dark
matches
¦Light
Heavyweights: Todd Brown vs. Tim Boetsch
¦Welterweights: Ben Saunders vs. Dennis Hallman
¦Welterweights: Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman
¦Heavyweights: Stefan Struve vs. Christian Morecraft
Spike TV portion
¦Welterweights:
Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story
¦Light Heavyweights: Rodney Wallace vs. Phil “Mr.
Wonderful” Davis
Main card
¦Heavyweights:
Roy Nelson vs. Junior dos Santos
¦Welterweights: Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo Almeida
¦Lightweights: Clay Guida vs. Rafael Dos Anjos
¦Welterweights: Jon Fitch vs. Thiago Alves
¦UFC Middleweight Title match: Anderson Silva vs. Chael
Sonnen
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
Targeting March 2011 Return to Ireland
By Mike Chiappetta
The UFC is making tentative plans to return to Ireland.
The
promotion, which previously held events in Ireland and Northern
Ireland, is likely to return to the Emerald Isle, perhaps sometime
around St. Patrick's Day, according to UFC UK President Marshall
Zelaznik.
"We
are targeting Dublin for 2011 and working toward March, but St.
Patty's Day may not fit perfectly for us," Zelaznik wrote
in an email to MMA Fighting. "But hope is we will be there
in '11."
Last
month, Zelaznik told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani that the company
was holding four dates in the first quarter of the year for Dublin,
and though a date still seems to be undecided upon, according
to Zelaznik, the UFC has settled on Dublin's 02 Arena as the
stage for the event.
A
return would come about two years since the UFC last visited.
UFC 93 took place at the aforementioned 02 Arena in Dublin in
Jan. 2009, while UFC 72 emanated from Belfast, Northern Ireland
in June 2007.
Before
that happens, however, the UFC will return to the neighboring
UK with UFC 120, which will take place at the 02 Arena in London
and features a main event of Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama.
In
addition, a November event in Oberhausen, Germany is rumored,
though the company has yet to officially announce it. Other European
options are also being considered for the November date, though
Germany clearly remains the company's top choice.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
King
Mo is not happy with fans who are discounting his win over Gegard
Mousasi
By Zach
Arnold
KENNY RICE: “Let’s take a look here coming up, you’re
fighting Rafael Cavalcante, known by everybody else I think as
Feijao and we remember seeing him back in the day when he was
first coming up.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “Same here. Rising star, man. He’s very good
on the ground but he has got a lot of knockouts, only one submission.
So, yeah, this is a fight for Mo that you know, I think undefeated
both guys are going to be the same, about the same. On the ground,
he has the more skill, but the technical skill with the submission
but you’re training with Dean Lister, it’s going to
be a big problem for Feijao with a guy like him on top.”
KING
MO: “Man, you know, even on our feet like I might not be
as technical but I know from my style he has to worry about takedowns
and a lot of the other things and not open my strikes and you
know I got Dan Perez and Melchor Manor and I’ve been working
with Trevor Wittman out in Denver at the Grudge Training Center,
so I’ve been adding new techniques to my stand-up. So I’m
looking to unveil them for this next fight.”
KENNY
RICE: “Yeah, and you’re quickly defending your title.”
KING
MO: “I like fighting a lot.”
KENNY
RICE: “You didn’t get much breathing room there from
the time you put on the belt.”
KING
MO: “I’m always in shape. I’m always training,
I’m always in shape, you know after my fights I usually
I keep on training the week after and then take a few days after
the week has papssed because I like to stay in the gym. That’s
like another home for me.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “Is your belt as big as Sarah’s, by the way?”
KING
MO: “It’s the same size. It’s probably just as
heavy.”
JUDO
GENE LEBELL: “Yeah, but Sarah’s is real gold!”
BAS
RUTTEN: “In the Pancrase days, I wanted a title fight because
now you can’t fight a normal fight, every fight is a title
fight, right? You see in Pancrase it wasn’t. I was the champion
but then you have like two fights in the middle that are just
fights and then you fight for the title again. They do it, it’s
the weirdest thing ever. I wish it would have been all title
fights, I would have had a whole stack of belt. That would have
been great.”
KENNY
RICE: “MMA Junkie poll, where would you rank King Mo right
now? He is certainly in our Top 10 Light Heavyweights. I don’t
see how he could not be. 47% said yeah, he’s Top 10. 6%
put you in the Top 5. I would question everybody in that 47%
that wouldn’t rank you in the Top 10 right now. I think
there needs to be a little more love for the Strikeforce champion.”
KING
MO: “You know how it is. Everyone, Mousasi’s a good
fighter, everyone had Mousasi in the Top 10 pound-for-pound,
everyone said Mousasi’s this, Mousasi’s that. Everybody
said Mousasi would kill King Mo, King Mo has no chance. First
round knockout for Mousasi but after I won, they just discounted,
they discredited Mousasi’s abilities because I was taking
him down and controlling him. Well, people, I wrestled at the
world level, you know, I’ve taken down people considered
some of the best in the world. Mousasi’s not a wrestler
and he never stop my takedowns. And they just don’t understand
that and I’ve worked with great jiu-jitsu guys like Dean
Lister and Fabricio Werdum and they’re teaching me high-level
techniques, plus Nogueira and you know I’m holding my own
with them and Mousasi’s not at level as far as jiu-jitsu.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Strikeforce:
Which is the favorite?
by Carlos Eduardo Ozório
Hitomi Akano, Carina Damm, Miesha Tate and Maiju Kujala dispute
GP. Photos: publicity
Four women in the cage focused on one thing: a shot at the belt.
That’s
what is going on at Strikeforce, presently the promotion investing
the most in women’s MMA and boasting the best female fighters.
The event innovated with a grand prix that will be held August
13 in Phoenix, Arizona. Four fighters strive for a shortcut to
a title fight. The winner of the tournament will be next in line
to challenge the welterweight belt holder, to be decided in the
fight between Sarah Kaufman and Marloes Coenen.
The
task at hand is to win two fights. The candidates are:
Miesha
Tate
With nine wins and two losses, the fighter from the U.S. state
of Washington is a wrestling specialist. In the modality she
trained with the boys team at school and won a slew of different
competitions. Her last loss in MMA came at the hands of current
champion Sarah Kaufman. With heaps of potential and at only 23
years of age, Tate promises to be a handful.
Carina
Damm
Direct from Vila Velha, Brazil, Carina reaches the GP after barely
getting past her first challenge: she cut it close in getting
her United States visa. Sister to also-black belt in Jiu-Jitsu
Rodrigo Damm, the 31-year-old fighter is coming off a ten-fight
win streak. With 15 wins and 3 losses, she got the tapout on
six occasions and the knockout on five. “Barbie Girl”
heads into the tournament at full force.
Hitomi
Akano
Former champion of Japan’s Smackgirl promotion Akano holds
a record of 15 wins and seven losses. She is a grappling specialist,
having won by submission on 12 opportunities. She faced Cris
Cyborg in the weight division of hers and held out valiantly
till the third round, when she fell by knockout. At 35 years
of age, the fighter brings a load of experience to the table.
Maiju
Kujala
The Finn has the least experience of the four with four wins
and one loss. However, she carries in her baggage a triumph in
a two-fight GP in March that was worth a berth in Strikeforce.
She enters the fray as the underdog, but there’s nothing
keeping her from making some noise.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Aldo
and the fight against Gamburyan
By Erik
Engelhart
Champion of WEC, José Aldo will defend the belt of his
division for the second time, on WEC 48, which happens on Semptember
30 on the United States. On his first belt defense, Aldo dominated
the Californian Urijah Faber, who got loss facing so many punches
and bangs of the champion, who kept his reign on the decision
of the judges. The next challenger of José Aldo will be
the American Manny Gamburyan, who is coming from three wins in
a row, being the last by a striking knockout over Mike Brown,
who was defeat by the Brazilian in order to win the belt. Manny
won over 50% of his fights by submission, while José Aldo
knocks out his opponents in almost 70% of his fights. It’ll
be the classic confrontation of a Grappler and a Striker, but
we might not forget the high level Jiu-Jitsu of the Brazilian.
“I’ve
been training a lot of Wrestling since he’s a grappler just
like all my last opponents. Since I’ve confronted so many
grapplers, nowadays I feel more comfortable if the fight goes
to the ground, I’m feeling cool on that area too, even if
he falls on top of me, I’m feeling confident, since we train
it all in Nova União”, analyzed the champion, who
believe he’s experience can be an extra ally”. “The
fact I have eight fights on the event and since I defended my
belt once, it give me the call to work and face it just like
any other fight, with no pressure. I’ll face him like it
was my first belt defense, with the same seriousness, but I’ll
be cool because of the experience I’ve won during my WEC
career”, concluded the champion.
Source: Tatame
|
Sources:
Faber Out Until November
Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber might not grace
the cage again until November.
In
July, Faber, arguably the promotion’s most popular star,
withdrew from his bantamweight debut bout against Takeya Mizugaki,
which was scheduled for WEC 50 “Cruz vs. Benavidez”
on Aug. 18 at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Faber,
suffered a knee injury in training that didn’t require surgery,
said his MMA Inc. manager Mike Roberts.
The
31-year-old California native was tentatively expected back in
September to face Mizugaki in the re-scheduled bout. However,
sources close to both fighters’ camps indicated that the
fight could be pushed to November or even December on account
of Faber’s rehabilitation.
Faber’s
impressive 13-fight win streak was snapped in November 2008,
when he lost the title to durable American Top Team product Mike
Thomas Brown. Faber has gone 2-2 in the WEC cage since then,
and dropped a unanimous decision to featherweight champion Jose
Aldo at WEC 48 last April in Sacramento, Calif.
The
26-year-old Mizugaki waged one of the more notable bouts of 2009
against former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres at WEC 40.
In April, Mizugaki earned a unanimous decision over Brazilian
jiu-jitsu ace Rani Yahya, also at UFC 48.
Source: Sherdog
|
NELSON
DOESN'T WANT A WAR WITH DOS SANTOS
by Damon
Martin
Roy Nelson is gunning for a title shot, and he wants to get there
through whatever fighter happens to be standing in the way. Even
if that fighter is someone he believes should have already been
fighting for the belt.
As
Nelson prepares for his UFC 117 showdown with Junior Dos Santos,
the winner of “The "Ultimate Fighter Season 10”
pays his opponent the highest compliment in saying that not only
should the Brazilian already be fighting for the title, he should
have already had his shot.
"I
think Dos Santos should have probably had a title shot before
(Shane) Carwin," Nelson told MMAWeekly Radio recently. "I
looked at Dos Santos as a guy that should have already been fighting
for the belt a long time ago, like two or three fights ago. So
I think for myself I just want to fight the best in the world,
and he's one of the best guys the UFC has, so I figured it's
a good opportunity."
When
the UFC came calling to offer Nelson a fight with Dos Santos,
it wasn't a matter of whether or not he'd accept the fight. He
says he's there because no one else wanted to face him.
"Pretty
much I didn’t really have a choice, and I think nobody wanted
to fight Dos Santos, so I figured it was a good fight,"
said Nelson.
Stylistically,
Nelson likes the match-up with Dos Santos because he's a fighter
that will come in and try to take him out.
"He's
one of the guys that comes to fight," Nelson commented about
his opponent. "He has probably one of the most well rounded
skill sets that we've seen, as in like quick hits, doesn't get
taken down very much, or doesn’t get taken down at all.
Coming from the Black House camp and he's knocking people out.
He's definitely a dangerous, dangerous guy."
Admitting
that Dos Santos is a professed striker, Nelson doesn't like that
label for himself despite eight career knockouts or TKOs of his
own. He's won his two official fights in the UFC by knockout
as well, finishing both opponents in just over a combined four
minutes.
Still
Nelson sees himself as a grappler looking for the takedown, it's
just sometimes his opponents don't cooperate with that strategy.
"I
just try to hit them, and they just fall down," Nelson joked
about his knockouts. "I look to go for the takedown and
then that just happens."
On
paper, the fight with Nelson and Dos Santos is an evenly matched
contest with both having knockout power and tremendous ground
skills. It could make the heavyweight tilt a candidate for "Fight
of the Night" when it's all over, but Nelson isn't a fighter
who would ever tell you that.
In
fact, Nelson would gladly take a 30-second knockout any day.
"The
guys that say they love wars, you can ask them 4 + 4? (They'll
answer) 9," Nelson said. "If he falls down because
I threw a jab, I'm happy."
No
matter how the win happens Nelson has heard all the talk about
the winner of this fight getting a shot at the UFC heavyweight
title, but he'll wait for the contract before he banks on it.
"I'm
keeping my fingers crossed, that's what I'm hoping," Nelson
said about UFC president Dana White's decree that the winner
gets a crack at the belt. "Yeah, but he's also called me
an idiot more than one time, too."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Do
you really know Joe Scarola?
by Deb Blyth
You
remember Joe Scarola, right? You watched The Ultimate Fighter
6: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra, so you have a pretty good idea
what this guy’s all about. You read the different MMA sites
and news sources about how he left the house, so you definitely
have an opinion on what kind of guy he is.
Joe
received a lot of bad press during and after his short stint
on TUF 6. After he left the show, he got kicked around in the
media. It was clear that most people had their minds made up
about him anyway.
TUF
6 was a long time ago, and Joe wants to leave the past in the
past. It definitely changed his life, but he’s a resilient
guy who, over the years, has redeemed himself in an impressive
and admirable way. So, erase everything in your mind that you
think you know about him, and get to know the real Joe…from
the beginning.
Joe
grew up in East Meadow in Long Island, NY. He started training
martial arts at the age of 5. When he was 16, he saw the first
Ultimate Fighting Championship with Royce Gracie and wanted to
learn Jiu-Jitsu. He related to Royce, who wasn’t a big guy
either, and liked the idea of overcoming bigger guys with technique,
not strength.
Joe
started taking Jiu-Jitsu and stand-up at a local school when
he heard that Matt and Nick Serra, who trained under Renzo Gracie,
were doing “privates” at their home in East Meadow.
Joe contacted Matt and started training with him. “After
a while, Renzo started Jiu-Jitsu classes where I lived,”
Joe says, “Ricardo Almeida, Rodrigo Gracie, and Matt taught
at the school.”
They
called it “The Barn” because there were no windows
or ventilation. “It was like slip and slide in there in
the summer,” Joe laughs. He trained at The Barn for about
three years. “Renzo taught there for the first six months,
then went back to his Manhattan academy. Matt and Rodrigo took
over teaching to keep it going,” Joe says.
Matt and Rodrigo eventually opened their own schools. “I
stayed with Matt and helped teach classes.” Joe says, “I
also trained with Rodrigo at his school.” When Rodrigo moved
to California, Joe kept teaching and competing under Matt and
their friendship continued to grow. Joe also began to build a
name for himself as a respected and knowledgeable instructor
and Jiu-Jitsu artist.
Over
time, Joe became so passionate about the sport, he started traveling
back and forth to Brazil to train. The first time he went, he
stayed with Flavio Almeida. “He was a really good guy,”
Joe says, “He let me stay with him and he showed me all
around Rio.” Joe went to train in Brazil about a half dozen
times. “Jiu-Jitsu was different there,” he says, “Back
then, Renzo was getting into MMA along with a lot of other guys.
I was training more no gi. Their grips were at a different level.
They were better than what I was used to. I learned a lot when
I went there.”
As
Joe’s Jiu-Jitsu developed, he began to progress in his belts
as well. He became Matt’s first black belt when he was 25
years old and the two were inseparable. “I was training
with Matt, and going to his shows. I’d known Dana White
for a long time. I told Matt I wanted to be in the show (TUF
6). He pitched it and they accepted me.”
The Ultimate Fighter 6: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra was shot in
June of 2007. The show was scheduled to run six weeks, but Joe
only lasted two. He says he didn’t realize until it was
too late, that the fighters trained for two hours in the morning
and two in the evening, but the rest of the time they were stuck
in the house with each other.
“The
whole experience…that I left for my girlfriend…that
wasn’t the case,” Joe recalls, “I didn’t
leave for her. At the time, for good or for bad, I just wasn’t
mentally prepared to live in the house.” Joe says he was
ready to fight, but as a private, introverted person, the chaos,
drama, and constant verbal sparring between the guys left him
drained and stressed out. “I just wasn’t prepared to
deal with all that,” he says.
After
Joe left the show, the life he knew completely unraveled. Matt
was true to his word when he said if Joe dropped out, he’d
cut him out of his life. “Matt gave me everything,”
he recalls sadly, “But when I left the house, I had nothing.
I lost my way of life and my best friend. Matt was like a brother
to me. I was the best man in his wedding. It sucked.”
Scarola
was left on his own to try to put his life back together with
what little he had – no job, no money, and no real plans.
He couldn’t teach for Matt at his school anymore and he
had to find a way to make money. Joe had hit the lowest point
in his life. “I had to grow up,” he says, “It
forced me to man-up. It made me tough.”
I
just wasn’t prepared to deal with all that” Joe Scarola
So,
Joe did what Joe does best: Jiu-Jitsu. He called in some old
“privates” and taught them out of his house. Some friends
remained by his side, while others turned their backs on him.
“It was terrible,” he says, “True friends stuck
around through the hard times. They motivated me to do something
big.”
Joe
decided he wanted to open up his own Jiu-Jitsu school, but he
knew he had to start small to make it big. So, in November of
2007, Joe found a place in Queens to teach. Times were tough
and money was sparse, so he did what he could to get by. “I
rented space out of a kitchen cafeteria in an Asian Community
Center in College Point,” Joes laughs, “I brought mats
there and tried to advertise. Through word of mouth, I got students
to train in the kitchen! I thought, ‘Wow! I can actually
do this!’ I had 15 students and I thought, ‘Ok, I gotta
get out of this kitchen!’”
Joe
went back to Long Island with a little more money and confidence
under his belt. He found a place to rent space and once again,
students filled it up quickly. He decided it was time to open
his own school. “Scarola BJJ opened in May of 2008,”
Joe says proudly, “But I was so familiar with Gracie Barra
– I originally trained under Renzo – it just made sense
to change affiliations. When I got my 1st degree stripe on my
black belt, I went to the GB headquarters in California and saw
how well the school was managed, how beautiful the academy was,
and how efficiently their classes were run. It was awesome.”
Joe
decided he wanted to be a part of their team, so he spoke to
the GB Association and changed his school to GB Long Island.
“I took a lot of ‘flak’ after the Ultimate Fighter
show,“ Joe says, “But when I opened up my school, everyone
knew me, partly from that. I got about 100 students in 2 months.”
As the old saying goes, when one door closes, another one always
opens up.
GB
Long Island became so successful, Joe opened GB Long Island,
Commack in August of 2009. “The schools are doing well with
the help of my partner, Tom Muller,” Joe says, “I couldn’t
do this without him. I’m so lucky to be able to live the
Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle. You can’t find better. I get to do
Jiu-Jitsu everyday, teach, and make people’s lives better.
It’s great.”
Although
Joe is hungry to get back into MMA, which he trains in and teaches
regularly, he says it’s not the time in his life to pursue
it. His goals these days are to stay 100% focused on his schools
and to train for Jiu-Jitsu competitions. “I want to do well
with the top guys,” he says.
Recently,
Joe had the opportunity to do just that when he agreed to fight
in a Jiu-Jitsu “superfight” with Hermes Franca, Brazilian
black belt, former UFC lightweight contender, and WEC lightweight
champion. The fight took place at tournament Long Island Pride.
“It was an honor to go against Hermes,” Joe says, “His
Jiu-Jitsu is really good and I wanted to test my skills. It was
a six minute match. He got a take down at the beginning and I
got a sweep. I shot a takedown, and he got on top. He won 4-2.”
Today,
Joe loves his life. Everything’s finally going his way.
Who knew that when he originally accepted the Ultimate Fighter
spot, it would turn his life upside down and he would have to
work so hard to turn it right-side up again? But that’s
exactly what he’s done with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears,
and he’s a better man for it. “Jiu-Jitsu gave me a
purpose in life,” Joe says, “I love teaching and spreading
the art. I get to do something I love every day.”
As
for his relationship with Matt Serra, Joe says he’s seen
him sporadically over the years. They say hello, but that’s
about it. “It’s not the same as it was,” Joe says
resignedly, “It won’t ever be the same. We lead two
different lives now. We’ll always be friendly, but it’s
sad because I was closer to him than anyone.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Galaxy
MMA Bad Blood Tomorrow!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
Lightweight Grand Prix Championship Semi-Final Matches
Harris
Sarmiento (808 Top Team) VS. Jose Salgado (Roy Nelson's Gym;
The Country Club)
Kris
Kyle (808 Top Team) VS. Steve Gable (Gracie Barra)
135 Pound Bout: Tyson Nam (Team Quest) VS. Ian McCall (Team Oyama
MMA)
190 Pound Bout: Ron Verdadero (808 FF) VS. Rocky Ramirez (Greg
Jackson's MMA)
Grudge Match
185 Pound Bout: Dirty Curty (Team Submit)VS. Brennan Kamaka (808
Top Team)
170 Pound Bout: Walter Hao (808 Top Team) VS. Evan Lowther (M-1,
Gracie Kailua)
Lightweight
Grand Prix Alternate Matches
155
Pound Bout: Kyle Kaahanui (Bulls Pen) VS. Chris Yee (Team Quest)
155 Pound Bout: Clay Lewis Jr. (4WRD Fitness) VS. Jenzen Espanto
(Combat 50)
145 Pound Bout: Justin Wong (HMC) VS. Brandon Pieper (808 Top
Team)
145 Pound Bout: Colin Mackenzie (God's Army) VS. George Perry
(Freelance)
Amateur Match
125 Women's Pankration Bout: Rachael Ostovich (Jesus is Lord)
VS. Vee Vickers (Freelance)
230 Pound Bout: Jake Heffernan (Freelance) VS. Dustin Caulustro
(Team Stand Alone)
125
Pound Bout: Alika Kumukoa (Team Extreme) VS. Jacob Kauwe (Hakuilua)
170 Pound Bout: Dwain Pasion (Team CAT) VS. Micah Ige (Team Extreme)
205 Pound Bout: Keala Cristobal (Freelance) VS. Cade Phillips
(Freelance)
170 Pound Bout: Chad Puha (Family Affair) VS Jake Yiu Lin (Edwards
MMA)
155 Pound Bout: Brayden Kalahiki (Team Extreme) VS. Fatu Tuitasi
(808 Top Team)
|
X-1
Events vs Destiny MMA This Saturday!
Waipahu High School Gym
Saturday, August 7, 2010
For the 1st tiime here in the 808 State...Hawaii's top 2 MMA
Promotions will come together for a huge FIGHTER SHOWDOWN...
Be
there Saturday, Aug. 7th to see X1 World Events & DESTINY
MMA transform Waipahu HS GYM into a Blaisdell type production
on the Westside of Oahu...You definitely don't want to miss this.
Buy your tickets early.
Gen
Presale: $35
Floor Seating: $50
VIP Front Row: $100
Tickets
available @ Westside Fight Gear, ALL TCA Wireless locations islandwide,
No Fear Outlets, & Razor Concepts
Full
Fight card will be announced shortly...Here are some early matchups:
-185lbs
(state title)
Michael Winklespect vs Ronald "Machine Gun" Jhun (808
Top Team)
-145lbs
(state title)
David "Tan Superman" Padilla (Jesus Is Lord) vs Ricky
"Real Deal" Wallace (HMC)
-140lbs
Ian Delacuesta (808 Top Team) vs Eddie P. (I & I, Maui)
-125lbs
(female match)
Angie Pereira (HMC) vs Vicky Vickers
-170lbs
Ikaika Reinhardt vs Bruski Lewis (Bulls Pen)
-170lbs
L.John Borgess (808 Top Team) vs Johnavan Vistante Jr. (Team
SYD)
-155lbs
Duke Sarigosa (808 Top Team) vs Reno Remigio (HMC)
-145lbs
Chad Pavao (Hakuilua) vs Kurrent Cockett (I & I, Maui)
-155lbs
(amateur title)
Alioune Diop vs Nate "Da Great" Quiniola
-145lbs
(amateur title)
Tobi Misech (BJ Penn MMA) vs Elijah Manners (808 Alliance)
-135lbs
Louis Smolka (808 Top Team) vs Jared Iha (No Remorse)
-Heavyweight
(amateur title)
Paea Paongo vs TBA
-205lbs
Kaimi Wise vs Kimo Tatupu (808 Top Team)
-165lbs
(xma title match)
Chris Kutzen vs Michael Brightmon (Gorilla House)
-155lbs
Ryan Delacruz (808 Top Team) vs Nick Pait (freelance)
-145lbs
Bone Pali (Hustle n Throw,Maui) vs Jason Racamara (808 Alliance)
-155lbs
Ricky Marillo vs Tylor Pavao
-125lbs
Manny Charisma vs Alika Kumukoa (UCS)
-135lbs
Dylan (MMAD) vs Gerald Casteneto (Hustle n Throw, Maui)
-145lbs
Wes Nakano vs Pedro Garcia
|
Zuffa
sues for alleged theft of trade secrets
LAS
VEGAS – Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting, has filed suit against
Ken Pavia, one of the sport’s most prominent fighter agents,
alleging Pavia passed along trade secrets and confidential Zuffa
documents to rival mixed martial arts promotion Bellator.
The
suit alleges that Bellator used the documents to help run its
business.
Pavia
is the founder of MMA Agents and represents in excess of 50 fighters,
more than 40 of whom are now or have been in the past under contract
to Zuffa.
Bellator,
which is a co-defendant, is a fledgling MMA promotional company
that has earned rave reviews for the entertaining fights it made
during its first two seasons, which were broadcast initially
on ESPN Deportes and then on FOX Sports Net, among other networks.
According
to the suit, filed Wednesday in Clark County District Court,
Pavia delivered confidential contracts, including fighter agreements,
to Bellator after being asked to do so in a July 4 email to him
from Bellator founder Bjorn Rebney.
In
a text message to Yahoo! Sports on Thursday, Pavia wrote “I
want to get a better understanding of this before I comment.”
Rebney referred calls to Bellator attorney Patrick English.
“I’ve
looked at the paperwork, and I understand what’s going on
here, and it is literally much ado about very little,” English
said.
“There
were documents sent by Mr. Pavia to Bellator, but they are not
of a competitive nature and they would give no advantage or disadvantage
to the viewer. The bulk of them in no way, shape or form would
be considered confidential and are not what I consider to be
documents that Zuffa should be concerned about.
“I
did attempt to reach out to Zuffa [Thursday] and, unfortunately,
have not gotten a return call. It happens that Bellator has not
used any of the documents in any case.”
An
email which Zuffa’s lawsuit alleges is from Rebney to Pavia
on July 4 was attached as an exhibit to the 16-page suit. In
it, Rebney writes, ” … You’ve been great about
sending us ‘All’ of the seminal docs from the UFC,
so that we can re-do them and implement them for Bellator.”
Later,
the email Zuffa alleges to have been written by Rebney continues,
“Please list each in terms of what it is for and how the
UFC uses them/implements them. … Then I’m going to
have our team Monday re-type them and we will sufficiently alter
them such that they will appear to be ours and not theirs.”
The
response that is purported to have come from Pavia is brief and
says, in its entirety, “Still I (sic) vegas. May take 24
hours to organize as some forms go to the guys in my office.”
Pavia
was in Las Vegas for UFC 116 on July 3 and the alleged email
is dated July 4. The email addresses that are in the emails Zuffa
included are the email addresses for Rebney and Pavia.
English
said Rebney’s email “was phrased in an unfortunate
way.”
Also
included in the suit are unnamed persons and corporations that
Zuffa alleges participated in breach of contract. According to
the suit, “The improper disclosure of Zuffa’s operations
documents and confidential information by Pavia, MMA Agents,
and the Doe and Roe Defendants constitutes a distinct act of
dominion wrongfully exerted over Zuffa’s personal property.”
It
further states, “The improper use by Bellator of Zuffa’s
operational documents and confidential information in order to
conduct its competing business operations constitutes a distinct
act of dominion wrongfully exerted over Zuffa’s personal
property.”
Zuffa
seeks actual and punitive damages and a permanent injunction
barring Bellator or Pavia from using Zuffa’s assets, including
its intellectual property.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Jon
Jones TKOs Vladimir Matyushenko With Vicious Elbows
Jon
Jones has found a winning formula, and he's sticking with it:
He takes down his opponents and lands vicious elbows on the ground
until the referee has to stop the fight.
That's
what Jones did to Matt Hamill in December (when Jones actually
lost the fight by disqualification because one of the elbows
was ruled illegal), that's what Jones did to Brandon Vera in
March, and that's what Jones did to Vladimir Matyushenko on Sunday
night.
More:
Jones vs. Matyushenko Live Blog | UFC on Versus 2 Results
Matyushenko
was the most experienced, accomplished opponent Jones had faced,
but it wasn't much of a challenge for Jones, who attributed his
impressive victory to his hard work in training with his coach,
Greg Jackson.
"I
trained the hardest I could possibly train," Jones said.
"I knew Vladimir would be the toughest test, so I trained
my butt off."
The
UFC knows it has a bright young star in the 23-year-old Jones,
who's smart and personable in addition to being a tremendous
young talent. Jones is as good as advertised, but he said after
the fight that he still wants to get better.
"My
goal is to become one of the best in the world, if not the best
in my weight class," Jones said.
If
Jones just wants to become "one of the best," he's
already there. But Jones may some day be the very best. With
each fight, he looks more and more like a future champion.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Yushin
Okami Beats Mark Munoz in a Takedown Defense Clinic
Mark
Munoz is a former NCAA wrestling champion, but Yushin Okami showed
in their UFC fight Sunday that a good sprawl can be effective
against even the best wrestlers. Okami simply wouldn't allow
Munoz to take the fight to the ground, and as a result Okami
won a split decision.
The
story of the fight was Munoz trying takedown after takedown,
and Okami responding with sprawl after sprawl. The result was
two judges scoring it 29-28 for Okami, and one scoring it 29-28
for Munoz.
More:
Yushin Okami vs. Mark Munoz Live Blog | UFC on Versus 2 Results
Okami
has often been criticized for putting on boring fights, and the
fans in San Diego were booing toward the end of this one as well.
But Okami deserves credit for having the right game plan and
executing it brilliantly. Okami also appeared to be in great
shape, staying fresh deep into the third round as Munoz was getting
exhausted.
Okami
also got the better end of most of the exchanges on the feet,
and it was something of a surprise that one judge gave the fight
to Munoz.
"I
was surprised, but Munoz is a very good fighter, so I feel good,"
Okami said afterward.
The
win was Okami's ninth in the Octagon and the 25th of his MMA
career. Although Okami's loss to Chael Sonnen last year knocked
him down in the middleweight rankings, Okami ought to be getting
close to the UFC middleweight title shot he has sought for so
long. Okami showed once again on Sunday night that he's one of
the best middleweights in MMA.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Couture
Praises Jones, Laughs Off Toney’s Smack Talk
Former
UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture
was impressed with Jon Jones’ quick win Sunday over Vladimir
Matyushenko in the main event of UFC on Versus 2.
“Vladdy’s
been a solid performer for a long, long time,” Couture explained
on “The Daily Line” program on Versus. “He’s
been in this sport for as long as I have, 13 years. He’s
fought some of the best guys -- Tito Ortiz, to name a few. Jon
showed well tonight.”
Despite
Matyushenko’s experience, Jones forced a ref stoppage 1:52
into the first round. He caught Matyushenko in a crucifix and
pounded his head with elbows.
The
win is Jones’ fifth in the UFC. Couture has been watching
him all along, including his bout against Stephan Bonnar.
“He
did things in that fight where I went back to the gym and was
like, ‘How the heck did he do that?’” Couture
said.
Couture
also praised Jones’ humble attitude. As for what the 23-year-old
needs to do to become a champion, Couture said he just needs
to keep doing what he’s doing.
“He’s
got a great wrestling pedigree,” Couture said. “He’s
put together some tremendous striking. He uses his range well.
He’s very composed. He doesn’t even look like he’s
breaking a sweat out there most of the time. … He’s
going to continue to improve with more experience.”
Couture
also has a bout coming up. He fights boxer James Toney at UFC
118 on Aug. 28. Toney has talked plenty of trash leading up to
the fight, but Couture laughed off his comments Sunday.
“I
think he’s going to be dangerous, especially early in the
fight,” Couture said. “He’s a tremendous boxer.
He’s got great boxing credentials. This is not a boxing
match. It’s a mixed martial arts fight. There’s a lot
of things that can happen and a lot of things you have to be
wary about. Striking changes when you’re in MMA, with takedowns,
knees, elbows, kicking, all the other things that take place
in a mixed martial arts fight. In that cage it’s a lot different,
and I don’t think boxers realize that. James is going to
realize that on the 28th.”
Source: Sherdog
|
UFC
ON VERSUS 2 DRAWS OVER 8,000
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to San Diego, Calif.,
and the Versus sports network on Sunday night, drawing well at
the San Diego Sports Arena.
According
to UFC officials, UFC on Versus 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko pulled
in an unofficial attendance of 8,132 fans, garnering a live gate
of $489,685.
The
promotion’s first event in San Diego was a special UFC Fight
Night for the United States Marines stationed at the Miramar
military base. Diego Sanchez knocked out Joe Riggs in that night’s
main event.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
ON VERSUS 2 LIVE RESULTS & PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the Versus network
tonight from the San Diego Sports Arena in California and MMAWeekly.com
is on location.
Headlined
by fast-rising light heavyweight contender Jon Jones and veteran
Vladimir Matyushenko, the main card also features a middleweight
match up between Mark Munoz and Yushin Okami, welterweight John
Howard puts his seven-fight win streak on the line against Jake
Ellenberger and Tyson Griffin takes on Japanese superstar Takanori
Gomi in lightweight action.
Preliminary
action is expected to begin around 6 p.m. PT/3 p.m. EST. Refresh
your browser often for the latest results and play-by-play.
UFC
ON VERSUS 2 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
-Jon
Jones vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
R1
- Referee Herb Dean gives the pre-fight instructions and the
main event is on. Matyushenko looking to set up his jabs. Jones
with an outside leg kick and then a spinning back kick to the
body. Jones gets the fight to the ground. Jones passes into side
control after landing a few elbows. Jones gets him in a mounted
crucifix position and finishes quickly with repeated elbows.
Jon
Jones def. Vladimir Matyushenko by TKO (strikes) at 1:52, R1
-Mark
Munoz vs. Yushin Okami
R1
- Referee "Big" John McCarthy signals for the start
of the action. They touch gloves and got to work. Munoz misses
with an overhand right. Both being careful. Okami with a right
hand. Left hand by Okami as he walks Munoz down. Munoz fires
off a head kick that misses. Munoz drops down for a takedown
but Okami defends and lets him up. Munoz rushes in with punches
and misses with them all. He shoots in for a double leg and gets
it. Okami works back to his feet but Munoz has him pressed against
the fence. Munoz works for a single leg and Okami peppers the
side of his head with short punches. They separate. Munoz They
clinch before quickly separating. Munoz throws a missing right
hook but connects on the next shot and drops Okami. Okami up
to his feet and Munoz gets aggressive sensing a possible finish.
Munoz with another right hand and shoots for a takedown. Okami
sprawls and peppers Munoz with punches. Munoz gets a takedown
as the round ends.
R3
- Okami comes out swinging and Munoz goes for a takedown but
Okami fends it off. Okami lands a right hand. Munoz drops for
another takedown and again Okami sprawls. Okami and Munoz exchange
along the cage. Okami with a solid body shot. Munoz attempts
another takedown and Okami again defends it. Okami wiht a right
hand on the button as Munoz closed the distance. Munoz hurt and
goes for a leg. Okami defends. Okami with a combination. Munoz
fires back. Okami with a straight left and Munoz drops down for
a takedown and Okami prevents it. Okami landing short punches
as Munoz continues to work for the takedown. Will be interesting
how this one is scored.
Yushin
Okami def. Mark Munoz by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-John
Howard vs. Jake Ellenberger
R1
- Ellenberger pushes forward and eats a counter right hand for
his efforts before clinching with Howard. Ellenberger tries to
get the fight to the ground but Howard keeps his balance. Ellenberger
works knees to the body inside the clinch with Howard pressed
against the cage. Referee Herb Dean separates them. Howard lets
his hands go but Ellenberger clinches. Ellenberger times a double
leg takedown and puts Howard on his back where he works a mix
of elbows and punches but nothing too damaging. Herb Dean stands
them up. A leg kick by Howard and another while Ellenberger lands
a jab. Ellenberger gets a single leg takedown late in the round.
MMAWeekly.com scores it 10-9 for Ellenberger.
R2
- Head kick by Howard stuns Ellenberger. Ellenberger fires back
get gets clipped with a punch and immediately takes Howard down.
Howard had him hurt for a second. Ellenberger in Howard's half
guard. Howard doing a good job of not taking too much damage.
Howard looks to secure an arm and Ellenberger lands a couple
of hammer fists. Howard unable to get off the bottom and Ellenberger
landing soem solid shots on the ground. Howard scrambles to his
feet with 90 seconds left. Howard lands a knee and a punch. Ellenberger
hurt again but gets the takedown with a minute on the clock.
Close round. Howard's left eye is swollen closed.
R3
- Howard's eye swollen badly. Howard goes after Ellenberger but
doesn't connect. Howard goes for a single leg takedown but Ellenberger
fends it off. Pace has slowed dramatically. Ellenberger takes
Howard down. Herb Dean stands them up and has a doctor check
Howard's eye that is swollen over the whole side of his head.
The doctor stops the fight.
Jake
Ellenberger def. John Howard by TKO at 2:21, R3
-Tyson
Griffin vs. Takanori Gomi
R1
- No touch of gloves to kick off the broadcast on Versus. Gomi
with a left hand down the middle and a left to the body. Griffin
responds with a right hand. They exchange and Gomi connects and
Griffin falls flat on his face. He tried to recover but Gomi
finishes him.
Takanori
Gomi def. Tyson Griffin by KO at 1:04, R1
-Paul
Kelly vs. Jacob Volkmann
R1
- Kelly with some quick shots, Volkmann staying very low in his
stance. Volkmann delivering inside leg kicks with success as
Kelly tries to find his range. Volkmann gets the take down moving
to side control. Volkmann with a guillotine attempt but lets
it go. Volkmann with a "back of the head" warning from
big John. Kelly gives up his back to Volkmann. Kelly seems comfortable
for a while but as Volkmann starts to deliver a few punches he
spins around and Volkmann takes full mount. Volkmann ties up
Kelly's arm but with only 10 seconds left in the round it is
too little too late.
R2
- Kelly kicks early but Volkmann grabs his leg and takes Kelly
down. Volkmann takes side control then transitions around and
takes Kelly's back. Volkmann goes for a mounted arm bar as Kelly
bucks like a wild bull trying to get free. Volkmann keeps the
pace of the fight quick. Kelly gets away and delivers a big elbow
to Volkmann's face. Kelly now on top in full guard half way through
the round. Volkmann wraps up Kelly and controls him from the
bottom. Both fighters trading places over and over one on top,
then the other. Kelly stands and drops in with bombs on Volkmann
to end the round.
R3
- The final round starts with both fighters exchanging punches
with Volkmann eventually taking Kelly down. Kelly transitions
to full mount with Volkmann controlling things from the bottom.
Kelly delivering a few elbows but nothing really substantial
as they receive a warning from the ref to "get busy."
The fighters are forced to stand by the ref and Volkmann quickly
takes Kelly down again. Kelly just throws Volkmann off of him
then comes at him with a flying knee that rocks Volkmann to the
ground. Volkmann recovers quickly and dominates for the final
seconds of the round.
Jacob
Volkmann def. Paul Kelly by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27).
-DaMarques
Johnson vs. Matt Riddle
R1
- The fighters come out starting to feel each other out, Johnson
tries to punch Riddle but Riddle blocks it hitting himself in
the eye in the process. Riddle asks the ref for a timeout but
the referee does not allow it. The fighters clinch up and Riddle
ends up with a huge takedown as they go to the ground. Both fighters
back up to their feet but Riddle outright pushes Johnson into
the cage knocking him to the ground. Riddle gets on top and passes
to half guard. Johnson delivers a few elbows from the bottom
but Riddle answers back with several ground and pound strikes
of his own.
R2
- Riddle aggressive early, dripping with sweat takes Johnson
to the ground again. Riddle in full guard. Johnson trying very
hard to make something happen from the ground on his back but
cannot do so. Riddle continues to punish Johnson taking a couple
upkicks in the process. Riddle now in side control pacing the
fight perfectly. Johnson stands now, but still under Riddle's
control. Johnson delivers a huge knee to Riddle but it does not
seem to phase him. Riddle, angered at this point scurries around
takes Johnson's back and starts unloading on Johnson. He grounds
and pounds him to a referee stoppage for the win.
Matt
Riddle def. DaMarques Johnson by TKO (strikes) at 4:29 R2.
-James
Irvin vs. Igor Pokrajac
R1
- The bout starts as Pokrajac clinches Irvin up against the cage.
Pokrajac takes Irvin down as Irvin delivers some elbow blows
from the bottom on the way down. Irvin now on top delivering
some powerful ground and pound. Pokrajac works his way free and
rushes into Irvin stunning him with some quick standing punches,
Pokrajac grabs Irvin taking him to the ground with ease getting
him in side control. Pokrajac takes Irvin's back quickly delivering
the Rear Naked Choke as Irvin taps.
Igor
Pokrajac def. James Irvin by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2:29
R1.
-Brian
Stann vs. Mike Massenzio
R1
- The Marine starts off with a leg kick or two but Massenzio
rushes in to take Stann down. They quickly end up back up on
their feet. Massenzio quickly takes Stann down again. As Stann
tries to get up Massenzio gets Stann in a Guillotine choke but
can't hold it as Stann breaks free. Stann now in full guard delivering
blows to Massenzio's head and body. The fighters eventually end
up back on their
feet. It does not last long as Massenzio rushes Stann taking
him to the ground and then taking his back with 20 seconds left
in the round, the round ends.
R2
- Massenzio clinches with Stann up against the fence. Massenzio
takes Stann around the waist and ends up finishing the takedown.
Massenzio now on top as Stann defends himself with posture control.
Massenzio on his feet now diving back onto Stann looking for
a Guillotine hold but it slips away. Stann on top in half guard
moves to full guard. Stann delivers some huge shots into the
face of Massenzio. Stann working the body of Massenzio with some
big shots to end the round with Stann in solid control of round
2.
R3
- The final 5 minutes of the bout begin to tick away as Stann
delivers a huge right to Massenzio's temple. Stann then rushes
in trying to take Massenzio down. Massenzio makes a transition
to a great triangle hold on Stann from the bottom but cannot
convert. The fighters stand then Stann delivers a damaging blow
to Massenzio, noticeably dazing him but he recovers quickly taking
Stann to the ground. Stann on the bottom gets Massenzio in a
triangle it looks weak at first but it locks in and Massenzio
taps.
Brian
Stann def. Mike Massenzio by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:10
R3.
-Darren
Elkins vs. Charles Oliveira
R1
- Elkins grabs Oliveira's kick and takes Oliveira to the ground.
Oliveira from the ground gets Elkins in a quick triangle as Elkins
taps to end the bout with incredible speed!
Charles
Oliveira def. Darren Elkins by Submission (Triangle choke) at
0:41 R1.
-Rob
Kimmons vs. Steve Steinbeiss
R1
- Kimmons exchanging early, Kimmons closes the distance and puts
Steinbeiss up against the cage. Steinbeiss turns it around and
has Kimmons up against the cage giving Kimmons knee after knee
to his inner thigh. Steinbeiss giving the same knee to Kimmons
liver repeatedly obviously affecting Kimmons now. Steinbeiss
continues to punish Kimmons to the liver with knees with absolutely
no defense from Kimmons. Kimmons finally breaks free exchanging
punches as they separate. Kimmons trying to take Steinbeiss to
the ground to no avail. Steinbeiss locks Kimmons up against the
cage again to finish the round with more knees to Kimmons liver
area.
R2
- Kimmons immediately rushes in with a takedown attempt but Steinbeiss
fends him off. Steinbeiss turns Kimmons around getting him up
against the cage again delivering more knees to Kimmons. Kimmons
squirms away and takes Steinbeiss down to full guard. Kimmons
gets Steinbeiss into a choke but can't hold it. Steinbeiss gets
free and delivers a fantastic head kick to Kimmons dome. Steinbeiss
clinches again pinning Kimmons up against the cage delivering
the same kicks to the liver of Kimmons. Kimmons then swings around
lifting Steinbeiss into the air and slamming him to the ground.
Kimmons quickly get into half guard and delivers elbows but time
is quickly fading away on round 2 as the horn sounds.
R3
- The final round starts quickly as the fighters exchange a few
punches and leg kicks but nothing substantial. Kimmons grabs
Steinbeiss' leg kick and takes Steinbeiss up against the fence.
The referee then separates them. Steinbeiss quickly rushes Kimmons
and gets a standing arm triangle but it does not last. Kimmons
tries for a guillotine but can't hold it. Kimmons noticeably
tired clinching Steinbeiss but nothing happening. Referee separates
them once again. Kimmons gets Steinbeiss in a quick clinch trying
for any hold he can get locking Steinbeiss up in a choke but
time runs out to end the round.
-Rob
Kimmons def. Steve Steinbeiss by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-28)
UFC
ON VERSUS 2 QUICK RESULTS:
Main
Bouts (On Versus):
-Jon Jones def. Vladimir Matyushenko by TKO (strikes) at 1:52,
R1
-Yushin Okami def. Mark Munoz by split decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28)
-Jake Ellenberger def. John Howard by TKO at 2:21, R3
-Takanori Gomi def. Tyson Griffin by KO at 1:04, R1
Preliminary
Bouts (Non-Televised):
-Jacob Volkmann def. Paul Kelly by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27).
-Matt Riddle def. DaMarques Johnson by TKO (strikes) at 4:29
R2.
-Igor Pokrajac def. James Irvin by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
2:29 R1.
-Brian Stann def. Mike Massenzio by Submission (Triangle Choke)
at 3:10 R3.
-Charles Oliveira def. Darren Elkins by Submission (Triangle
Choke) at 0:41 R1.
-Rob Kimmons def. Steve Steinbeiss by unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28).
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DAMM
'WILL FIGHT' SAYS STRIKEFORCE'S AFROMOWITZ
After
speculation that visa issues would keep her of the Aug. 13 Strikeforce
Challengers Series single night women’s 135-pound tournament,
it now appears that Carina Damm will make the show after all.
As
confirmed by a recent message from Strikeforce Director of Communications
Mike Afromowitz, “Carina is going to fight.”
Damm
will now join Miesha Tate, Hitomi Akano, and Maiju Kujala in
Phoenix for a single-elimination tournament designed to find
an opponent for the winner of the upcoming 135-pound women’s
championship fight between challenger Marloes Coenen and titleholder
Sarah Kaufman.
While
unconfirmed by Strikeforce, sources say that Alexis Davis was
contacted to possibly step in for Damm if she was unable to secure
a visa. It is not currently known if Davis may still be brought
in as a replacement should an injury occur during the tournament.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
The
Weekly Wrap: July 24 - July 30
Matchmaking
A
complete list of significant new fights reported. Some may be
repeated from previous sections:
•
Rodney Wallace vs. Phil Davis (replacing injured Stanislav Nedkov).
UFC 117, Aug. 7, Oakland, Calif.
•
Tim Boetsch vs. Todd Brown (replacing injured Thiago Silva).
UFC 117, Aug. 7, Oakland, Calif.
•
Ryan Couture vs. Lucas Stark. Strikeforce Challengers 10, Aug.
13, Phoenix, Ariz.
•
Danny Castillo vs. Dustin Poirier. WEC 50, Aug. 18, Las Vegas.
•
Dan Hornbuckle vs. Brad Blackburn. Bellator Fighting Championships
25, Aug. 19, Chicago, Ill. (MMADieHards.com)
•
Mark Miller vs. Josh Shockley. Bellator Fighting Championships
25, Aug. 19, Chicago, Ill. (MMAJunkie.com)
•
Brian Gassaway vs. Kevin Knabjian. Bellator Fighting Championships
25, Aug. 19, Chicago, Ill. (MMAJunkie.com)
•
Cole Konrad vs. Rogent Lloret. Bellator Fighting Championships
25, Aug. 19, Chicago, Ill.
•
Hatsu Hioki vs. Jeff Lawson. Sengoku Raiden Championship 14,
Aug. 22, Tokyo.
•
Alessio Sakara vs. Gerald Harris (replacing injured Jorge Rivera).
UFC 118, Aug. 28, Boston, Mass.
•
John Salter vs. Dan Miller (replacing injured Phil Baroni). UFC
118, Aug. 28, Boston, Ma. (MMADieHards.com)
•
Rob McCullough vs. Corey Hill. Tachi Palace Fights, Sept. 9,
Lemoore, Calif.
•
Diego Saraiva vs. Micah Miller. Tachi Palace Fights, Sept. 9,
Lemoore, Calif.
•
Doug Marshall vs. Kyacey Uscola. Tachi Palace Fights, Sept. 9,
Lemoore, Calif.
•
Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Alvin Robinson. Bellator Fighting Championships
28, Sept. 9, New Orleans, La. (MMAWeekly.com)
•
Wilson Gouveia vs. Dwayne Lewis. Maximum Fighting Championships
26, Sept. 10, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.
•
Tom Watson vs. Jesse Taylor. Maximum Fighting Championships 26,
Sept. 10, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.
•
Antonio McKee vs. Luciano Azevedo. Maximum Fighting Championships
26, Sept. 10, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada.
•
Joey Villasenor vs. Drew McFedries. Shark Fights 13, Sept. 11,
Amarillo, Texas.
•
Dave Herman vs. Aaron Rosa. Shark Fights 13, Sept. 11, Amarillo,
Texas.
•
Ronnie Mann vs. Douglas Evans. Shark Fights 13, Sept. 11, Amarillo,
Texas.
•
Karen Darabedyan vs. Marcus Hicks. Shark Fights 13, Sept. 11,
Amarillo, Texas.
•
Pete Spratt vs. Eric Davila. Shark Fights 13, Sept. 11, Amarillo,
Texas.
•
Jeremy Horn vs. Bryan Baker. Bellator Fighting Championships
30, Sept. 23, Venue TBD. (MMAJunkie.com)
•
Stanislav Nedkov vs. Steve Cantwell. UFC 120, Oct. 16, London.
(MMAJunkie.com)
Source: Sherdog
|
IMPACT
FC PROMOTERS SPARRING, NOT PAYING (UPDATED)
Impact FC, an Australian mixed martial arts start-up, may be
done almost as quickly as it started.
The
promotions put on two events in an eight-day span, one in Brisbane,
the other in Sydney.
A
report from Cage Potato shed light on the fact that the vast
majority of the promotion’s fighters have yet to be paid.
MMAWeekly.com was also able to verify those claims. Fighters
such as Karo Parisyan, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Jesse Taylor,
Jeff Monson, Brian Ebersole, and Denis Kang are among those that
have yet to receive payment or have only received partial payment.
The
problem appears to be between the two men that head Impact FC
and a disagreement over who was responsible for the finances.
Australian concert promoter Andrew McManus and his Impact FC
partner Tom Huggins are the principle parties sparring over who
owes what.
“[Tom]
Huggins has run back to Brazil and is uncontactable, whilst I
(who never negotiated, contracted or was a party to any deal)
have now been left trying to find funds to pay the men whilst
all the false promises of sponsorships (never happened) and late
gate sales and walk up all turned out to be lies,” McManus
wrote in an email to Cage Potato.
“That
statement is categorically untrue,” Huggins wrote in resonse
to McManus. “I can provide you with the agreement between
Andrew and myself, which clearly demonstrates that my responsibility
was to procure fighters and make matches for the event within
a given budget. The agreement clearly shows that ALL of the financing
for the events, including fighter purses, was the responsibility
of McManus.”
McManus
then responded, saying he never signed such an agreement and
that Huggins was a 50-percent partner in Impact FC.
It
was unclear, at the time of publication, whether or not the fighters
would eventually receive all of the payment due, but it seems
apparent that Impact FC has had it’s day in the sun and
will likely not come through on a planned September event.
UPDATE:
MMAWeekly.com
has also received additional confirmation from Murilo Bustamante,
who fought on the card against Jesse Taylor, that he along with
several other fighters have not received payment for their part
in the show. According to the Brazilian, promoters were set to
wire money to the fighters after leaving Australia, but at this
time many or all of them have yet to receive pay.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ALAN
BELCHER OUT OF UFC FIGHT NIGHT VS. MAIA
Alan Belcher will have to wait to get a shot at Demian Maia due
to a detached retina that has forced the fighter to have surgery,
and out of his scheduled September 15 main event bout against
the Brazilian at UFC Fight Night.
Belcher
made the announcement via his Twitter account, while also posting
a video following the eye surgery that he underwent in Alabama.
Currently
riding a two-fight winning streak, Belcher has looked impressive
over his last several fights including a loss to Yoshihiro Akiyama,
which many argued he won despite a controversial split decision.
According
to Belcher, he lost vision in his eye while traveling in Brazil
and came home to get checked out, and then found out about the
bad news.
"My
friend/surgeon from Biloxi got me an emergency surgery scheduled
in Alabama now just trying to recover," Belcher wrote. "No
contact for 6 weeks. Sorry to my trainers. Sorry to UFC &
Demian Maia, I know he has been training specifically for me.
Sorry to my fans as well. As long as I get released from (the)
doctor, I will try to make UFN 22 to see my fans and watch the
fights."
MMAWeekly
has learned that a search for a replacement for Belcher is on
and the UFC hope to have final confirmation of a new opponent
stepping in to face Maia on the September 15 card as soon as
possible. Stay tuned to MMAWeekly for more information on the
replacement for Alan Belcher as it becomes available.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
PAUL
DALEY SIGNS 6-FIGHT DEAL WITH STRIKEFORCE
Semtex has found a new home.
Paul
Daley, who was let go by the UFC following a post fight punch
on opponent Josh Koscheck, will get a second shot with a major
promotion as he has signed a new 6-fight deal with Strikeforce
that will see the welterweight debut in 2010.
The
news was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the situation
on Sunday, and first reported by MiddleEasy.com.
Daley's
camp was unavailable for comment, but sources have indicated
that the British bomber will still participate in the upcoming
Shark Fights card in September that he was previously announced
for, although an opponent has not been named yet.
A
veteran of several organizations including Elite XC, Daley made
his UFC debut in September 2009 with a devastating win over Martin
Kampmann. He followed that up with another knockout of submission
wizard Dustin Hazelett before being set up in a No. 1 contender's
match with Josh Koscheck in May.
Daley
found himself on the ground over and over again at the hands
of the former NCAA champion wrestler, and when the fight was
over he took a cheap shot at his opponent, and UFC president
Dana White quickly cut him from the roster and vowed he'd never
return.
The
Team Rough House fighter got his first post-UFC action in Australia
in July getting a win over Daniel Acacio, and now is poised to
return to the United States in September for Shark Fights.
There
has been no word on when Daley would make his Strikeforce debut,
but the they are currently putting together a proposed card for
October that may see the Brit in his promotional debut for the
organization.
MMAWeekly.com
will have more information on Paul Daley's Strikeforce debut
in the coming weeks.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Fernando
Lopes
Creator
of World League Pro Jiu-Jitsu, Fernando Lopes, Fepa, is revolutionizing
the gentle art in Brazil. On his second year working with WLPJJ,
the black belt will award the champions of its four editions
of 2010 with over 200 thousand Brazilian reais. After the major
success with SP Cup and Manaus Cup, the league will return to
Sao Paulo on the 21st and 22nd of August, and Fepa is excited
about it. “National Cup will have the same award as World
Cup, which is the biggest championship of WLPJJ, giving 60 (US$
30) thousand Brazilian reais in cash, and World Cup will give
100 (US$ 50) thousand Brazilian reais in cash. That shows we’ve
grow and increased the value of the prizes, and now we can share
our success with those who make it possible”, said, talking
about the work he has been doing and a lot more.
What
did you think of Manaus Cup in general?
Manaus
Cup was a success. We had 450 athletes registered and the people
present could participate of an organized competition, a new
format of tournament for Manaus, with a reward of 30 thousand
Brazilian reais, paid in cash, besides the fruit table for the
athletes and a scheduled which was followed word by word, with
no delays.
You
have organized two events this year. What are you thinking of
WLPJJ’s growth?
I
believe the growth was huge, but we hoped for it, we did our
parts, worshiping the athletes with cash rewards, fruit tables,
and we’re always trying to bring them something to drink,
we have electronic scoreboards, we’re broadcasted by the
channel Combate, and we have full coverage from TATAME, it’s
everything every athlete could wish for. You can see that WLPJJ
revert the success we have having to the athletes, you can notice
that this year’s National Cup will have the same award as
World Cup, which is the biggest championship of WLPJJ, giving
60 thousand Brazilian reais in cash, and World Cup will give
100 thousand Brazilian reais in cash. That shows we’ve grow
and increased the value of the prizes, and now we can share our
success with those who make it possible, which are the athletes
that prestige us.
What
the expectations for National Cup?
It’s
like I said, National Cup will have a 60 thousand Brazilian reais
reward, besides the high quality medals and the belts for adult
black belt absolute champion. The expectations are high, because
we have the goal to have 1200 athletes disputing it… I believe
it’s possible. We’re really working on it, and I’m
sure we’ll be prestigious with great Brazilian teams.
Last
year, names like Bia Mesquita, Michelle Nicolini and Bernardo
Faria, all world champions, fought on National. How do you predict
to be the register of great names on this year’s edition
of the event?
I
believe that World Cup 2009 and SP Cup 2010 showed great names
currently registering themselves on the events. We can count
the names you quote plus the Mendes’s brothers, Delson Pé
de Chumbo, Bruno Malfacine, who fought in all of them, Pablo
Silva, Theodoro Canal, Mário Reis, Lucas Lepri, Gilbert
Durinho, Cláudio Caloquinha, Bruno Frazzato, Eduardo Telles,
Alexandre de Souza, Ceconi, Orlando Zanetti, Murilo Santana,
Thiago Alves, Adriano Silva, Leonardo Nogueira, Daniel Azevedo,
Claudio Godoy, Luis Felipe Big Mac, Roberto Godói, André
Marola, Luanna Alzuguir, Gabrielle Garcia, Michelle Tavares,
Claudinha Gadelha, Rodrigo Cavaca, Marcus Buchecha... Wow, you
can see that the elite of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu have been on these
editions, besides the foringers Mike Fowler and Jonathan Torres…
This year, on the stage of 4 and 5 of December, I hope I can
count on great names that live in all countries where Jiu-Jitsu
is broadcast, because the schedule of calendar of Jiu-Jitsu is
closed and some athletes take December off to stay with their
families in Brazil, and they can win 5 thousand Brazilian reais
on the black belt category and 10 thousand on the absolute dispute.
With this reward it becomes viable for the foreigners to come
and have their shot here too.
How
do you see the importance of this cash reward to Jiu-Jitsu currently?
I
believe that Jiu-Jitsu’s competitions are a way for the
athletes of the sport to have some benefit of it. You can see
that CBJJ makes competitions with no cash reward, but the athlete
who has a title of Mundial of CBJJ starts to have international
visibility, so that can sign MMA contracts with significant scholarships,
besides the seminars around the world. WLPJJ doesn’t have
that tradition yet, but we make our part benefiting the registered
athletes with scholarships which also help them a lot. I believe
that Jiu-Jitsu has become huge around the world and its athletes
and black belt coaches should have their lives stabilized, living
form the sport, giving classes and seminars and competing. If
that happens, I believe that a professional athlete of Jiu-Jitsu
can plan a training knowing he will have a significant financial
support.
What
news does National Cup and World Cup, the next competitions to
come, will bring for this year’s edition?
I
believe that the main attraction will be the awards to be given.
The big news is that the values are higher, it’ll be 60
and 100 thousand Brazilian reais, respectively. And another new
thing is that it’ll be broadcasted on the internet on TATAME
TV, and with that continuing to happen, I believe they can be
even better than they were last year, which I though that was
a great year for the events too, but I think we get better because
we learn things from our mistakes and that takes time.
How
are the registrations going? Can you tell us some confirmed names?
The
registrations are opened and it should be done on the website
www.soucompetidor.com.br. I can’t tell you names yet, but
I’ll know it better when it’s close to the end of the
registration’s period, because the names were sent to a
general verification which happens on the days 11 and 12 of August.
On the check, the athlete himself can change some mistake made
on his register, how many times he feels like. On the 13th, it’s
done. I’d like to take this opportunity to send my invitation
to all athletes of Jiu-Jitsu to be there on August 21 and 22
on Colégio Magno (Magno’s School, which is on Duque
Costa St, 164, Sao Paulo). I’m sure you’ll see an amazing
competition.
Source: Tatame
|
Vinícius
Draculino
Being
almost five years away from the rings, Vinícius Draculino
is now back. At the age of 39, the leader of Gracie Barra BH,
who graduated champions like Rômulo Barral, Rafael Sapo,
Joaquim Mamute, Cristiano Titi, among many others, was chosen
to fight on Strikefore on August 21. “There’s been
a while since I last fought… I went to watch a show in Houston,
they asked me if I was interested, and I thought: “it’s
like if there was going to be the biggest party of the year and
I was invited but choose not to go”, told Draculino. On
a quick trip to Brazil, the black belt, who currently lives on
the United States, gave an exclusive interview to TATAME’s
website, on which he talked about his comeback to the rings,
analyzed his opponent, Rocky Long, and commented the expectations
for the debut of his pupil, Rafael Sapo, on UFC. Check the interview
here below.
For
everybody’s surprise, you were announced by Strikeforce.
How did this opportunity come?
I
went to watch a show in Houston, they asked me if I was interested,
and I thought: “it’s like if there was going to be
the biggest party of the year and I was invited but choose not
to go”. I want to join this big party and let’s see
what will come. I’m training, I believe I can get there
in a good shape in order to do a good presentation.
When
did you last fight?
It’s
been a long time, five years.
And
all of that due to injuries?
My
knee. I was ready to fight in many occasions, but unfortunately
I got hurt in two of them, but now I’m feeling a lot better,
thanks God, doing what I can, but let’s go. I’m training,
I’ve lost some weight, but I still have some extra pounds,
and I’m feeling heavy.
On
which division do you intend to fight?
On
the until 65kg.
You
were away of the competitions for so long that some thought you
have retired…
I
haven’t fought for a while, but I’m not retired. I
competed without kimono in 2008, there were two events: one of
them was the Mundial without kimono, but I was structuring my
gym, so I wasn’t much focused. Now I’m training hard,
I was working on my conditioning without even knowing anything,
just because I was feeling like doing it and when I had the opportunity,
since I was feeling fine, I thought: “Why not?” Let’s
bang a while over there.
After
that you intend to do other fights?
Man,
I’ve learned I should never say ‘never’. I don’t
know, we’ll see. I’m feeling fine. In fact, I’m
feeling great. My conditioning is better than these kids’,
but it’s that same old thing... I’m not doing it for
the money, I’m not doing it for the fame, that’s not
it. I’m doing it because I feel like doing it. It’s
complicated, it’s like an addiction, get it? I feel like
doing it again, i started to feel it on my nerves again and my
wife said: “Do your last one, just to say goodbye”.
I say I don’t know, so let’s see (laughs).
How
old are you now?
I’ll
be 39 next Saturday. It’s not 39, it’s more like 3.9
(laughs).
Do
you know your opponent? What do you know of his game?
I
know him. He’s one of the most MMA famous athletes, he fought
like 40 times. The guy is really experienced, but he hold more
loses than wins, he comes from boxing and his Hispanic- American.
Because he comes from boxing, it’ll be hard to knock him
out. His fights usually goes to the judges round card decision,
he’s hard to be taken down, but his ground game doesn’t
seem to be very good.
What
strategy will you use?
The
tactic is that he’ll thing I’ll grab him, but I’ll
punch him right on his face (laughs). When he thinks we’ll
bang, I’ll bring him to my area, if God helps me.
Your
pupil, Rafael Sapo, signed a contract with UFC. What is your
expectation for his debut?
I
told you, man. Sapo is very dedicated, he’s currently living
in NY, and I go there when he has a fight to adjust few details.
He’s well accessorized over there with Renzo Gracie, (Ricardo)
Cachorrão, so he’s always ready. He’s very dedicated
and focused. UFC is a complicated event because you can never
know the level of your opponent. But I believe he has plenty
conditions to make a good fight, he’s on his best phase
ever. On his last fight, he made a great show and almost killed
Travis (Lutter), he dominated and got a knockout on the first
round. I have other pupils who are about to fight too… There’ll
be Brazil Fight now in Belo Horizonte and six of my pupils will
fight on it: there’s (Cristiano) Titi, Coelho, (Marcelo)
Uirapuru, Thiago… We’ve set a great team, there’re
some great foreigners there too, there’s a lightweight who
has been unbeaten for four fights and maybe we’ll put him
on WEC, so everything’s going just fine, thanks God. It’s
their fault I’m in a good shape.
You
have some MMA athletes and others who are focused on Jiu-Jitsu.
How do you deal with these different trainings?
Man,
my team has always been well structured, thanks God. I was never
the guy who puts obstacles on people’s work. My main worry
is about making a very structured team. I leave it in the hands
of Marcelo, who is the General Coordinator, but there’s
also Sérgio, Coelho, Caloquinha, Mauro… The guys
make the trains perfect for the students. I come here about three
times a year, so that’s great. It’s their merit too
because they’re very dedicated, so it’s cool.
Now
will you go to the United Stated or will you stay in Belo Horizonte
training?
I
came here a week ago and I’m feeling fine. The boys were
impressed with my conditioning, and I’m feeling great. I’ll
go to the United Stated because I have some exams to do for the
Athletic Commission. On Texas, if you’re old, they tell
you to do so many exams that it takes you like three days just
getting examined (laughs). If God helps me, I’ll do it good.
There this thing now, right? I have to pass this test, but I
believe I can.
Source: Tatame
|
He
trains with Guy Ritchie, thinks like Tarantino
“A
true artist doesn’t go about his craft thinking about his
body of work as a whole, the repercussions of his work. To do
something great and genuine, he thinks only of what he’s
working on now. And he goes deep, till the very end, not caring
what the other people say because he’d die for what he believes
in, for what he loves.”
The
above quote could have been uttered by any great fighter, but
it came from the mouth of director, screenplay writer, producer
and actor Quentin Tarantino, 47, on the television program “Iconoclasts”.
“I felt I could die to get ‘Pulp Fiction’ and
“Reservoir Dogs” done, for example,” adds the
American film maker.
The
curious part is that Taratino’s ideas converge with the
ideas of another award-winning artist who has shattered paradigms,
Roger Gracie – a teacher who, as a matter of fact, teaches
another cinematographer, English director (and hard-nosed brown
belt) Guy Ritchie.
As
GRACIEMAG readers learn in this month’s issue, Roger, 28,
isn’t concerned about his career, the set of work as a whole,
nor is he excited about having managed the unprecedented feat
of winning a third absolute world championship last June. Roger,
a fighter who endlessly pursues the truth in his battles, says
there is still deeper to go.
That
is perhaps the main lesson your favorite Jiu-Jitsu magazine has
to offer you this month, besides the exclusive coverage of the
historic World Championship 2010, with all the excitement from
behind the scenes, at times hilarious, inspiring, and at other
times instructive.
Roger
Gracie at 2010 Worlds, in a photo by Ivan Trindade
What
is it that makes Roger think in such a manner? What does the
Gracie Barra teacher living in London have to teach about learning
from defeat versus learning in training? What does Roger Gracie
do differently in training?
In
an exclusive interview brimming with questions from this year’s
other world champions, Roger tells all like never before. Readers
courageous enough to face what the Gracie puts forth will learn,
when all is said and done, why Roger’s record is not outstanding
just for him, or for the Gracie family, or for the world of sport
Jiu-Jitsu. It is, at its base, a lesson for you, the reader,
the common practitioner.
Rush
to the newsstand to get your copy, and check out what more GRACIEMAG
has to offer by clicking here. Get it while you can, and you’ll
even take home an article on getting proper rest, a not-to-miss
Training Program, Ginástica Natural…
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Black
belt gets tapout in Guam
Black
belt Marcus Parrumpinha and American Top Team rep Rafael Dias,
who has fought in the IFL and WEC in the past, each added another
win to their MMA records.
This
July 24 in Guam, Dias submitted Yun Jun Lee with a rear-naked
choke 59 seconds into the second round. In the lead-up to his
bout at Pacific Xtreme Combat the fighter did his training at
Brazilian Top Team, in Brazil. Now Rafael carries on training
in Florida, where he teaches Jiu-Jitsu.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
'The
Fireball Kid' takes out Tyson Griffin at UFC on Versus 2
Takanori
Gomi made quick work of Tyson Griffin at UFC on Versus 2, knocking
out the UFC veteran out in 1:04 of the first round in San Diego.
Gomi,
a former PRIDE champion who lost in his UFC debut to Kenny Florian,
came out throwing the big punches he is known for. One of those
right hands connected with Griffin's chin and flattened him out.
Gomi jumped on Griffin's back to finish the bout, but there was
no need.
Referee
Jason Herzog jumped between Gomi and Griffin to stop the fight.
Though Griffin protested the stoppage, it was a clean end to
the bout considering how Griffin stiffened up. Even as he argued
with Herzog, Griffin was wobbly.
After
the fight ended, Gomi jumped on the top of the cage and yelled
to Dana White, the UFC president.
"I
really consider this my start in the UFC," Gomi said through
a translator after the fight. "In my last fight, I didn't
know how to fight American. You saw what happened today. I think
I got the hang of it."
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Uber-prospect
Jones passes another UFC test
SAN
DIEGO – Few sports offer as much room for a can’t-miss
prospect to actually miss than mixed martial arts.
This
isn’t boxing, where future headliners are coddled in matches
against two dozen or so palookas before they get so much as a
whiff of real competition.
If
a mixed martial artist happens to be lucky enough to get into
the Ultimate Fighting Championship at an early age, and shows
the potential to become a pay-per-view headliner, he’s going
to be tested early and often.
Each
successive opponent will have a different style and experience
level than the previous one. Each victory will mean a higher
spot on the card on your next fight. A string of wins will mean
increased television exposure in order to build a following and
the increased pressure that comes with it.
Few
fighters have run the UFC’s star-making gauntlet like Jon
Jones. The Endicott, N.Y., native just turned 23, but he’s
breezed his way through every test the promotion has given. The
latest came on Sunday night, when the light heavyweight ran over
former IFL champion Vladimir Matyushenko in less than two minutes
in the main event of a UFC Live on Versus card at the San Diego
Sports Arena.
“There’s
a lot of good fighters out there,” Jones (12-1) said. “There’s
some guys that are great at jiu-jitsu, great wrestlers. I’ve
got a lot of work to do, I’m aware I’m still a kid
in this sport.”
Matyushenko
(24-5) entered the evening the winner of 11 of his past 12 fights,
but he never had a chance to get untracked. Jones kept “The
Janitor” backpedaling in the early going and then showed
poise and maturity in attacking Matyushenko at his strength –
wrestling – clinching Matyushenko and scoring a trip.
“A
lot of times, a guy has wrestling credentials, he gets respected
on a level like, ‘Well, I can’t take it there, he’s
got his takedown,’ ” said Jones. “[Trainer] Greg
Jackson said, ‘I see a chance for you to win this fight.
I see you taking him down.’ He’s working on his striking
and his takedowns and he’s probably not working on his takedown
defense, so I saw the opening and I took it.”
Jones’
jiu-jitsu has often looked raw, but on Sunday he showed tremendous
fluidity in his ground work, as he smoothly moved from side control
to a crucifix, from which he launched the devastating series
of elbows that caused referee Herb Dean to call off the fight
at 1:56.
“What
you’re seeing now, is him [being] technical,” said
Jackson. “He’s doing the right things at the right
time with a game plan. You’re seeing the professional side
of him. We work every day on his jiu-jitsu, his ground and pound
is so vicious. There’s so many different places we can go
with him.”
The
win was so swift that Jones never had much of a chance to show
off the dynamic, inventive offense that first brought him attention,
with just a single spinning back kick added to his personal highlight
reel.
“I
had my spinning back kick,” Jones laughed. “My coaches
have done a great job of making sure my foundations are tight.
I still have the room to exercise my creativity, but they have
the right mix. Ever since I’ve been to the Jackson camp,
I’ve had first-round wins. I want to be known as the best
student the camp has ever had.”
So
where does Jones go from here? He’s essentially cleaned
out the B-level of the light heavyweight division. From Stephan
Bonnar to Matt Hamill to Brandon Vera, Jones has rarely been
in trouble. Only a controversial disqualification in a match
he was dominating against Hamill has stained his record. Jones
hasn’t been pushed out of the first round since he left
his local MMA gym in upstate New York and hooked up with Jackson’s
elite camp in Albuquerque, N.M.
Jones
isn’t shy about his intentions.
“Right
now, I’ve passed the tests with flying colors,” Jones
said. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, so I’m
going to be careful how I word this, but I want to fight someone
who is supposedly much better than me. If that needs to be the
champion, or whoever, I want to fight someone who is supposedly
much better than me who will help me challenge myself and evolve
to the next level. Let me fight a top-three guy.”
But
Jackson knows that for every prodigy like Georges St. Pierre,
who matured into a champion and leading pay-per-view draw, there’s
a Robbie Lawler, whose rocket ride to the top was knocked off
course by a Nick Diaz knockout and a successive string of losses.
So he’s cautioning all involved to temper their expectations.
“He’s
young and on top of the world,” said Jackson. “But
believe me, he still has a ways to go. Don’t put too much
pressure on the kid, let him develop. He’s done very well
for himself to get where he is. The problem with falling in love
with someone and putting them on a pedestal is if they mess up,
they fall real hard.”
That’s
the sort of reasoning that keeps Jones’ head on straight.
He comes from a family that had made athletics look easy: His
brother Arthur is a rookie lineman in Baltimore Ravens training
camp and another brother, Chandler, is a defensive lineman at
Syracuse University. But training at a camp like Jackson’s,
surrounded by decorated fighters, has helped him deal with the
burgeoning hype.
“To
be honest with you, it does bother me sometimes,” said Jones.
“I feel the pressure to not just win, but go out and I have
to impress people and look spectacular. I see someone like [WEC
featherweight champion] fight Jose Aldo and he looks he looks
so sweet. I start to give myself that same type of pressure.
So that’s where my coaches say ‘Don’t worry about
it, if you lose, all this hype and this media will fall away,’
so they tell me to do it for myself. That gets me to relax, keep
my focus … we’ve got a bunch of guys in our camp who
are in their early 30s, late 20s, and they’ve been there.
They get me to check myself.”
Clearly,
they’re doing something right.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
JAMES
TONEY: THE GLOVES ARE OFF, ANYTHING GOES
Boxing champion James “Lights Out” Toney makes his
mixed martial arts debut against UFC legend Randy “The Natural”
Couture on Aug. 28 at UFC 118 in Boston.
It’s
a classic match-up of conflicting styles pitting a world-class
boxer against an Olympic lever wrestler, but Toney isn’t
worried about Couture’s takedowns. He thinks Couture should
be more concerned with his punches than he should be about the
possibility of being put on his back.
But
it’s difficult to box off your back.
“Everybody
asks how are you going to defend the takedown. I’m not worried
about that. How are you going to defend these punches? I’m
going from 10-ounce gloves to four-ounce gloves,” Toney
commented to MMAWeekly.com. “If I hit someone with four-ounce
gloves, oh my goodness, me and my crew might go to jail for homicide.”
A
boxing stance in mixed martial arts with an opponent well versed
in wrestling and striking leaves the boxer virtually defenseless
against leg kicks and single leg takedowns, but Toney doesn’t
plan on doing anything different than he would in a boxing match.
“I
haven’t changed a thing. You’ll see. I’m here
to prove a point so people know that boxing is still running
supreme over any discipline out there,” proclaimed the boxer
turned mixed martial artist.
“I
haven’t changed nothing. I only added a few things to my
roster of offensive skills. You’ll see come Aug. 28.”
Toney
respects Couture, but has taken offense to some of “The
Natural’s” statements leading up to the fight.
“He
called me out. He said he wanted to welcome me to the Octagon
and break my leg and all of that,” said Toney. “Hey,
God bless him. I hope he keeps his word.
“When
you say stuff like you’re going to break James’ leg
and all that, you’re talking to a bull. I’m going to
try to hurt you. I’m going to do whatever I have to do to
get you out. I’m going to try to break you up,” stated
the MMA rookie.
“Now
we can‘t be friends. You know what I‘m saying? You
disrespected me by saying something like that. Now all gloves
are off. Anything goes. I hope he comes to fight. Don’t
try to hug me like a little girl like he usually does. When you‘re
scared to get hit, you hug people, you stay close.”
Toney
not only was offended by Couture’s comments, but also takes
issue with Couture being considered a legend.
“A
legend?” questioned the multi-division boxing titleholder.
“I’m a legend. As a matter of fact, I’m a legend
of my time. I’ve been in the game 25 years. I’ve had
84 pro fights. How can he be a legend with 28 fights? Come on
dog.
“Come
on man, give me a break,” he quipped. “It makes me
want to throw up. A legend like Randy Couture? You guys need
to stop talking about the legendary Randy Couture and better
start talking about the legendary James Toney, the greatest fighter
ever put on the planet. Period.”
Toney
feels disrespected by the critics heading into his UFC 118 match-up
with Couture and is determined to prove them wrong.
“They
act like Randy Couture is fighting some bum off the streets.
I tell you what, like I said, everybody pay their $49.95 on Aug.
28. Tune in and don’t be late. And if you are late, the
lights might be out.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
CAN'T
TOUCH THIS: MC HAMMER STARTS MMA FIRM
Publicly, he may be most famous for his 1990 hit song “U
Can’t Touch This” and for his Hammer Pants. But 48-year-old
MC Hammer has launched a new offering, catapulting him onto the
mixed martial arts scene.
Hammer’s
Alchemist Management, based in Los Angeles, is a management,
promotion, marketing, and brand-building firm for MMA fighters.
Hammer is the company’s CEO and has named Lex McMahon as
President and Nima Safapour as Vice President of Business Affairs
and General Counsel.
“I’ve
been a fan of combat sports for years,” said Hammer. “MMA
is the fastest growing sport in the world and this is a great
opportunity for us to launch a full-service management company.
Alchemist Management will leverage its relationships and resources
for the benefit of fighters, the sponsors, and the industry at
large.”
Alchemist
Management will represent athletes who compete in UFC, Strikeforce,
and other top MMA organizations. At launch, the company represents
a variety of MMA talent, including Nate Marquardt, Tim Kennedy,
Vladimir Matyushenko, Jorge Rivera, James McSweeney, Antoni Hardonk,
Jared Hamman, Steve Magdaleno, Luke Stewart, and Alex Soto.
Hammer
brings significant experience in top-tier sports and entertainment
management to Alchemist. Prior to his celebrated musical career,
he began his professional life in sports. Later, after achieving
worldwide fame in the music industry, he returned to the sporting
world and represented professional athletes in contract negotiations.
In the 1990s, he managed Evander Holyfield when he became the
world heavyweight boxing champion.
Hammer
is joined by executives Lex McMahon and Nima Safapour who will
oversee day-to-day operations and fighter management. McMahon
is also the co-founder of Train the Troops MMA, an organization
that facilitates the integration of MMA fighting techniques into
active military units. Safapour previously served as the CEO
of No Limits Media Group (NLMG), a sports management and consultancy
firm.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SHAPING
MMA: FRANK SHAMROCK'S INFLUENCE
Frank
Shamrock announced his retirement from mixed martial arts competition
on June 26 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, ending a mixed martial
arts career that began in 1994 and left an undeniable mark on
the sport.
Shamrock,
in the early years, fought in the shadow of his, at the time,
more famous older adoptive brother Ken, but quickly earned his
own limelight through a style that revolutionized fight preparation
and game planning.
Shamrock
was one of the first truly hybrid fighters, combining several
traditional martial arts into a new more complete style.
“When
I got into it I didn’t know any different. It was a game.
Fighting was like this game, like a sportsman’s game especially
because I was in Pancrase. I just kept studying. To me, because
I had no other martial arts experience, I had no other ideas
about the sport,” Shamrock explained to MMAWeekly.com.
“It
was like whatever they told me I wrote down, processed, and plugged
it in. And I saw all the holes. To me it was obvious that you
needed to do everything and learn everything and complete the
style. I don’t know if I was ahead of the curve or if I
just had a different mindset going into it. I had no expectations
or understanding of what fighting was or wasn’t.”
Shamrock’s
biggest mark on the sport may have been the use of cardiovascular
conditioning as a weapon.
“The
conditioning and ability to move really quickly for long periods
of time became the crux of my style for probably seven or eight
years,” said Shamrock. “It was the beginning of this
new era with the UFC. And the level of athleticism now is just
crazy.”
Even
though he has closed the door on fighting, Shamrock is still
a commentator for Strikeforce and continues to train himself
and others at his gym in San Jose, Calif.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Michael
Langhi may comeback sooner
Obstinate
while on the mat, Michael Langhi has been proving himself to
be dedicated outside them too. After having a shoulder surgery,
due to an injury he suffered last year, the black belt from Alliance
revealed his recovery has surprised the doctors and that his
comeback might happen earlier than they had predicted it initially.
“I had an injury on my shoulder capsule, I broke a part
of it, then it went off all the time. When I did the x-ray exam,
the doctor could tell I had other injuries too, so I did a full
check up and had one big surgery. But everything’s fine
now, I just came from my physiotherapy session and they told
me I may come back sooner than I hoped for. I recovered almost
all the movement, it’s evolving pretty well. The doctor
had said that I’d took four months, but as it’s evolving,
in two months I’ll be back. I hope I still can fight this
year”, said the two-time world champion, who had a shoulder
surgery about a month ago.
Used
to dispute all competitions – and get off them as its champion
– Langhi told that the hardest part has being this non-competing
phase. “I’m addicted to training and fighting, so that’s
the worst part, but there was no other way. At least I could
postpone my surgery and fight on Mundial. Now I’m already
working on my fitness and I go there to watch the trainings.
If I’m ok, I’ll fight in November on the Mundial or
on Brazil No Gi and in December I want to fight on Fepa’s
event (WLPJJ)”, concluded Langhi.
Source: Tatame
|
Jones
Dismantles Matyushenko
Jon Jones continued to justify the hype surrounding his young
career Sunday at UFC on Versus 2.
It
was a short night for the prodigious talent, who barely broke
a sweat in dismantling Vladimir Matyushenko with a salvo of elbows
from top position at just 1:52 of the opening period.
Jones
hit a takedown on his advancing opponent after landing a spinning
back kick. He quickly moved into dominant position -- a mounted
crucifix that tied up both of Matyushenko’s arms. Once set
up on top, Jones hammered the defenseless Matyushenko with no
less than 10 elbows before referee Herb Dean felt it was time
to end the barrage.
“My
goal is to become one of the best in the world, if not the best
in my weight class,” Jones said. “Whoever the UFC decides
to give me, I’ll be ready for it. I’ll train my butt
off, and I just hope that Joe Silva and Dana [White] really kick
it up with me and give me some really, really tough guys.”
Yushin
Okami tossed his hat back into the UFC middleweight mix with
a split decision over former NCAA wrestling champion Mark Munoz
in a grueling battle of attrition.
After
missing out on a shot at champion Anderson Silva due to an injury,
Okami was sent to the back of the line last October and was outpointed
by current No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen. His workmanlike effort
against Munoz is his second win a row.
With
each fighter pocketing clear-cut rounds -- Munoz the second and
Okami the third -- the outcome came down to how the first was
tallied. There was very little action in that period, but Okami
did foil all off Munoz’s takedown attempts and he landed
the only meaningful strikes.
Munoz
banked the second frame on the strength of a big right hand that
knocked Okami to the mat, but he could not capitalize after Okami
regained his wits and clinched up with him.
The
third round was much more lopsided. Okami took advantage of his
fading opponent, who was fatigued after numerous missed takedowns.
Okami flurried, and Munoz covered up and halfheartedly shot for
more takedowns that he was unable to complete.
The
official scorecards read 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 in favor of Okami,
placing him right back into title contention.
“I
was surprised,” Okami said of the judges being split on
the decision, “but Munoz was a really good fighter.”
Jake
Ellenberger took a big step forward in the UFC welterweight division
by finishing John Howard on a third-round doctor’s stoppage.
Howard’s left eye was badly swollen from a slew of elbows
in the second round, and he showed tremendous heart in answering
the bell for the third.
Ellenberger
employed his wrestling ability to speed out to an early lead
on the cards. Meanwhile Howard made the most of the brief time
he spent upright by trying to strike with Ellenberger. He came
close with a nice hook early in the first and a big head kick
to start the second, but he could not stay off his back long
enough to win a round.
Knowing
he needed a finish after dropping the first two frames, Howard
opened the third with a flying knee that missed but followed
it up with punches that put Ellenberger on the defensive. Like
he had done over and over in the bout, Ellenberger simply changed
levels and planted Howard to the canvas, where he had his way
with him.
It
was apparent the swelling was limiting Howard’s vision when
the standup fighter started searching for a takedown in the final
period. He could not get it and ended up on the ground once again.
When Ellenberger began to work him over, referee Herb Dean brought
in the doctor, who stopped the match at the 2:21 mark.
“He
rocked me a few times, but I got some good elbows on him,”
Ellenberger said. “Winning [via doctor’s stoppage]
is not always the best, but I came out with a ‘W.’”
Gomi
Knocks Out Griffin
Takanori
Gomi may have been fighting for his roster spot in the UFC’s
loaded lightweight division, but there were no sign of nerves
for the former Pride FC champ in his bout with Tyson Griffin.
With
a ringing right hook just 64 seconds into the fight, Gomi flattened
Griffin and answered critics who felt his style would not translate
to the Octagon after his loss to Kenny Florian in his March UFC
debut.
Gomi
began the match by digging to the body with heavy punches while
Griffin pushed forward looking for openings of his own. Those
openings never materialized.
Gomi
fired a left hand lead that missed its mark, and Griffin answered
with a leg kick. Undeterred, Gomi crushed his foe with a right
hook to the jaw that sent Griffin crashing to the mat face first.
Referee
Jason Herzog immediately intervened, pulling Gomi off a prone
Griffin to give “The Fireball Kid” his first UFC victory.
“This
is what I consider my start in the UFC,” Gomi said through
an interpreter. “The first time I was here, I really didn’t
know how to fight [in the U.S.]. You saw what happened today.
I think I’ve got the hang of it.”
Source: Sherdog
|
World
titles will be disputed on Shooto Brazil Ferreira
Owner
of the world title of Shooto, the Dutch-Afghan Siyar Bahadurzada
will fight for the second time on Brazilian rings in August 6,
a day on which Shooto Brazil will have its seventeenth edition.
With a show scheduled to happen on Hebraica club, on Laranjeiras
neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro, Siyar will put his title at risk
against Carlos Índio, South-American champion of Shooto.
On the until 76kg division, the Shouth-American champion Luis
Beição will duel with Igor Chatubinha, number 6
of Shooto’s ranking, for the world title, which is vacant.
But these are only the main events of Shooto 17, an event which
just release its complete card.
COMPLETE
CARD (it can be change):
Shooto
Brasil 17
Hebraica,
Laranjeiras, Rio de Janeiro
Friday,
August 6 of 2010
World
title of Shooto Japan:
Middleweight:
- Carlos Índio (south-american champion) confronts Siyar
Bahadurzada (world champion);
Welterweight:
- Luiz Beição (south-american champion) confronts
Igor Chatubinha (#6);
South-american
title:
-
Johnny Eduardo confronts Paulo Guerreiro;
Other
fight:
-
Rodolfo Marques confronts Walter Junior;
-
Giovanni Diniz confronts Cristian Nogueira;
-
Vitor Miranda confronts Guto Inocente;
-
Hacran Dias confronts Cesário Di Dominico's;
-
Hernani Perpetuo confronts Junior Killer.
Source: Tatame
|
ROBERTS
VS. GUYMON ADDED TO UFC 121
An undercard bout has been added to the upcoming UFC 121 show
in Anaheim, CA as Daniel "Ninja" Roberts gets back
in action against former King of the Cage champion Mike "Joker"
Guymon in a welterweight bout on the October 23 card.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Friday and was initially reported by MMAJunkie.com.
Daniel
Roberts (10-1) comes into UFC 121 with a split 1-1 record in
the Octagon, and after losing his debut to John Howard, he bounced
back against late replacement Forrest Petz at UFC 116 with a
split decision win.
The
California based fighter has been training with Gilbert Melendez,
Jake Shields and others at the Cesar Gracie camp in the Bay Area,
while also working with Melendez's team the Scrap Pack as well.
Hope
to improve on his own 1-1 record in the UFC when taking on Roberts
will be Mike "Joker" Guymon (12-3-1) who much like
his opponent had a rocky start in the Octagon, but bounced back
with a win in his second fight.
Defeating
Japanese Judoka Yoshiyuki Yoshida in May, Guymon will try to
keep the momentum going when he faces Roberts in California.
The
bout between Roberts and Guymon will fill part of the undercard
for the show taking place in Anaheim, CA headlined by heavyweight
champion Brock Lesnar defending his belt against Cain Velasquez.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Jon
Jones by annihilation again in UFC
It
was a night loaded with knockouts and submissions in the San
Diego Sports Arena, venue for UFC on Versus 2. It marked a debut,
Japanese jubilation, but, above all, it was further affirmation
of Jon Jones as yet another major force in the organization’s
stacked light heavyweight division.
At
just 23 years of age, Jones notched his fifth win in the UFC.
He made the dangerous Vladimir Matyushenko seem like a rookie,
hardly breaking a sweat. With gangly legs and arms, he gauged
his distance well and shot for an opportune takedown. Once on
the ground, he swiftly passed guard, locked the Belarusian’s
arm in a crucifix and rained down elbows until referee Herb Dean
broke it up. All in only one minute and 52 seconds.
Charles
do Bronx, 20, made his UFC debut on the right foot. Photo: Josh
Hedges
But
Jones’s win only wasn’t the quickest of the night.
That honor went to newcomer from Brazil Charles de Oliveira,
aka Charles do Bronx. Known for his savvy use of Jiu-Jitsu in
MMA, the beast from Guarujá, coastal São Paulo
state, did no differently against Darren Elkins. In 41 seconds,
the brown belt got the finish with an armbar after sinking a
tight triangle.
Another
big result was Japan’s twofold win with Yushin Okami and
Takanori Gomi. While Okami played a mathematical game of avoiding
takedowns and getting the better of the standup with well-measured
strikes, including a knockdown in the third round, Gomi made
quick work of Tyson Griffin with an early knockout.
UFC
on Versus 2
San
Diego, California, United States
August
1, 2010
Jon
Jones defeated Vladimir Matyushenko via TKO in R1
Yushin Okami defeated Mark Munoz via split decision
Jake Ellenberger defeated John Howard via TKO at 2:21 min of
R3
Takanori Gomi defeated Tyson Griffin via KO at 1:04 of R1
Jacob Volkmann defeated Paul Kelly via unanimous decision
Matt Riddle defeated DaMarques Johnson via TKO at 4:29 min of
R2
Igor Pokrajac submitted James Irvin via rear-naked choke at 2:29
min of R1
Brian Stann submitted Mike Massenzio via triangle at 3:10 min
of R3
Charles Oliveira submitted Darren Elkins via triangle at 0.41
min of R1
Rob Kimmons defeated Steve Steinbeiss via unanimous decision
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
THE
HYPE IS REAL: JONES CRUSHES MATYUSHENKO
Some tried to call it hype. Vladimir Matyushenko knows it's a
reality.
Jon
"Bones" Jones is the real deal and he proved it once
again at UFC on Versus 2 as he bludgeoned his Russian opponent
with elbow strikes to earn a TKO victory in less than two minutes
in their main event bout on Sunday night.
Coming
in with a staggering 10.5 inch reach advantage, it was evident
early on that Matyushenko would have to do something special
to get inside on Jones. He never got the chance.
A
quick spinning back kick from Jones put Matyushenko on the defensive,
and the New York native followed up with a nice takedown putting
his opponent on his back. Working from half-guard, Jones transitioned
fluidly to side control, where he trapped Matyushenko's arm and
had him stuck in the crucifix position with no where to go.
Not
wasting any time with the dominant position, Jones unleashed
a flurry of elbows that Matyushenko just had no answer for, and
referee Herb Dean came in to stop the punishment. After the fight
was over, Jones admitted he didn't think it would go so easily,
and he had trained for what he expected to be an impossibly tough
bout.
"Actually
I trained the hardest I could possibly train, I knew Vladimir
would be the toughest test, and I just trained my butt off, and
things went really well," Jones commented following the
fight.
With
his only blemish in the UFC coming by way of a disqualification
in a fight he was clearly controlling, Jon Jones seems poised
for a big jump in the light heavyweight division, but he's not
calling anybody out just yet.
"I
train really hard, and my goal is to become one of the best in
the world, if not the best in my weight class. Whoever the UFC
decides to give me, I'll be ready for it," said Jones. "Not
to be cliché but Joe Silva is a great guy, he does a great
job with his job and I'll just let him do that."
Taking
the opportunity to thank the crowd in attendance, Jon Jones pulled
out his best Will Ferrell impression to close out his victorious
night.
"Hey,
you stay classy San Diego," Jones shouted echoing the comedy
"Anchorman" in his final comment to the crowd.
Jones
will now likely wait for the chance to face an opponent in the
top ten, as the Greg Jackson trained fighter awaits another chance
to prove the hype is for real.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
ON VERSUS 2 FIGHTER BONUSES NET $40,000
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to San Diego on Sunday
night. It was the promotion’s first stop there since a special
show for U.S. Marines at the Miramar military base.
Several
of the evening’s fighters made a splash during the UFC’s
return; chief among them was Takanori Gomi. Once the king of
MMA in Japan, Gomi has gone 3-3 in his last six fights, losing
his UFC debut to Kenny Florian, but making up for it on Sunday
night against Tyson Griffin.
Griffin
is a tough, in your face fighter, but that backfired on him when
Gomi sent him face first to the canvas with a punch combination
and then finished him off with strikes. The win earned “The
Fireball Kid” the Knockout of the Night award and a bonus
check for $40,000.
After
a tough fight with Phil Davis, Brian Stann may have been thinking
“here we go again” when Mike Massenzio repeatedly took
him down on Sunday night. Although he had a difficult time stopping
the takedowns, Stann did show that he now has a counter to the
wrestlers being thrown at him, finishing Massenzio with a triangle
choke late in the fight. Both men’s efforts were enough
to score then Fight of the Night honors, each of them taking
home their own checks for $40,000.
Brazilian
Charles Oliveira made an immediate statement in his Octagon debut,
submitting Darren Elkins in less than a minute. The armbar victory
not only improved Oliveira’s unblemished record to 13-0,
it also scored him the Submission of the Night bonus.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NO
THUNDER, BUT OKAMI SHUTS MUNOZ DOWN
Yushin Okami entered his UFC on Versus 2 bout with Mark Munoz
on Sunday night with the praises of UFC president Dana White
saying he was about due for a title shot ringing in his ears.
He
was unable to use his striking prowess to land a flashy knockout
that would all but ensure a title shot, but Okami did come out
on top, winning a split decision over Munoz.
“I
was surprised, but Munoz was really good fighter,” Okami
said of the eyebrow-raising score.
There
were no surprises out of Munoz, a national champion in collegiate
wrestling at Oklahoma State University, when he worked for the
takedown from the opening bell and throughout the fight. He was
intent on putting Okami on his back to pound him out.
The
problem being that Okami didn’t get the memo.
He
blocked all but one of Munoz’s takedown attempts and used
his striking to pick away at him over the 15-minute duration.
Okami rocked Munoz on a couple of occasions, but never came close
to finishing.
He
did, however, stuff Munoz’s game, and proved that he is
one of the most durable fighters in the UFC middleweight division.
Now
9-2 in the Octagon, his only losses to former middleweight champion
Rich Franklin and possibly incoming champion Chael Sonnen, Okami
has set himself up to make good on White’s words of a title
shot.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
GOMI
IS BACK, ELLENBERGER STOPS HOWARD
"The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi came out blazing on
Sunday night resulting in a vicious knockout of Tyson Griffin,
while Jake Ellenberger left opponent John Howard with a loss
and a baseball-sized lump under his eye to pick up the victory
in their fight at UFC on Versus 2.
It
took Jake Ellenberger a few takedowns, a few more elbows, and
one nasty swollen eye to get a win over John Howard. Doctors
stopped the fight in the third and final round after Howard's
left eye swelled up and closed off his vision, giving Ellenberger
his second win in the UFC.
Ellenberger
moved his camp from Nebraska to Mark Munoz's Reign Training Center
in Southern California to get ready for the test he had at UFC
on Versus 2, and the game plan paid off. Howard went headhunting
early and often in the fight, but Ellenberger reacted appropriately
taking the fight to the ground.
It
was there where Ellenberger opened up his ground attack, peppering
Howard with punches and elbows, the result of which was a gigantic
lump under his opponent's left eye. When the third round started
there was some surprise that Howard was able to continue with
limited vision, but Ellenberger expected nothing less.
"He's
a warrior, he came out, he was there the whole time," said
Ellenberger. "That's what I expected, he rocked me a few
times, I got some good elbows on him."
After
some more action on the ground in the final minutes, referee
Herb Dean paused the action to have the doctor check out John
Howard's damaged eye, and they determined he had lost vision
and could not safely continue. Jake Ellenberger now moves to
2-1 in the UFC, and even offered Howard a rematch down the road
due to the doctor's stoppage.
"Winning
like that it's not always the best, but I came out with the 'W',"
Ellenberger told UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
It
was like the old days of Pride Fighting Championships on Sunday
as "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi returned to form
in devastating fashion with a knockout of Tyson Griffin in the
first round of their match-up at UFC on Versus 2.
Suffering
a loss to Kenny Florian in his UFC debut, Gomi had something
to prove in his return bout to the Octagon, and he didn't waste
any time showing he still belongs among the best lightweights
in the world.
As
the fighters traded shots on the feet, Gomi unleashed a dynamite
right hand that sent Griffin literally crashing face first into
the canvas. The former Pride champion followed up with a few
more strikes before referee Jason Herzog rushed in for the save.
"He's
a good fighter, I knew he was going to be a challenge. I worked
really, really hard hoping this would happen," Gomi said
after the victory. "This is what I consider my start in
the UFC, the first time I was here I didn't really know how to
fight American. You saw what happened today, I think I've got
the hang of it."
Tyson
Griffin had never been stopped before in his professional MMA
career prior to Sunday's fight, and Takanori Gomi just put the
lightweight division on notice that the "Fireball Kid"
is back.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Frankie
Edgar’s grappling against Jiu-Jitsu world champion
This
August 28 in Boston Frankie Edgar will have a second encounter
with BJ
Penn, from
whom he took his UFC lightweight belt the last time they met,
in Abu Dhabi. A savvy striker, Penn is also famous for his outstanding
Jiu-Jitsu. He was the first non-Brazilian to win the world championship
as a black belt. To deal with this facet of his opponent’s
game, Edgar relies on the help of Ricardo “Cachorrão”
Almeida and Renzo Gracie.
In
an interview with our correspondent Nalty Jr, the current champion
comments on the place the gentle art holds in his life, a possible
matchup with José Aldo and, of course, his upcoming challenge.
Check it out:
When
did you start your Jiu-Jitsu training?
I
started training informally four years ago, when I started training
MMA. I practiced basic Jiu-Jitsu for MMA, but I started really
training seriously with Cachorrão a little over two years
ago.
Do
you think about getting your black belt?
For
sure. I need to train a bit more in the gi, but I definitely
want it. I’m going to keep working towards that happening
some day.
What’s
the importance of Jiu-Jitsu in your game?
It’s
extremely important, for the simple fact that it makes me quicker
and it strengthens the different parts of my game, as Jiu-Jitsu
is so good that it lets me fix what I’m doing wrong. A complicated
position can become an even better one than it was before.
What
was it like to beat BJ Penn, when everyone thought it would be
an easy fight for him?
I
didn’t quite get it when everyone was saying that. He’s
an excellent fighter and had been champion for some time. He
beat a lot of good guys, destroyed everyone in the division…
But to me none of that mattered, I always believed in myself,
in my techniques, and I knew I had what it takes to win.
What’s
the secret to beating a champion like BJ?
To
me it was just carrying out my game. To beat him you can’t
get sucked into his game.
Will
you change your strategy or anything in training for the next
fight?
I
definitely have to train hard, but I also have to train smart.
I’m going to watch the fight and see where I made mistakes
and where he made mistakes and adapt my training to that. I feel
it’s really important to improve from one fight to the next.
If I’m better in the next fight, I’ll have done my
job and put to practice what I did in training.
You
took BJ down, which no one had ever done before. Do you feel
the combination of Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling makes the difference
in MMA?
It’s
a great combination. I feel one completes the other. I, personally,
improve in both with every day, both in Jiu-Jitsu and in wrestling,
and the more comfortable I get with that, I get smoother in the
transition between the two or when I use the two together. I
feel my wrestling has improved because of Jiu-Jitsu.
José
Aldo would be a great challenge” Frankie Edgar
The
main theory behind Jiu-Jitsu is that size doesn’t matter.
Against BJ, everyone was saying he had the size advantage. What
do you think of that?
The
truth is that people were saying a lot of things before the fight
and throughout my career. The question of size was one of them.
But I always knew size didn’t mean anything and I always
believed in me. I don’t even pay attention to that talk.
What
do you expect in your next outing with BJ Penn?
I
expect a tough fight, an even tougher BJ. I’m training hard
to be sure next time I’ll have an even better performance
than the last time we fought.
And
what would you think of facing José Aldo, the WEC featherweight
champion?
A
lot of people ask me that. I want to be champion of the lightweight
division for a long time, but it would surely be a great fight
for the fans. José Aldo is a phenomenal fighter. He’s
an Anderson Silva at 66kg, it would be a great challenge for
me.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Aldo
and the fight against Gamburyan
Champion
of WEC, José Aldo will defend the belt of his division
for the second time, on WEC 48, which happens on Semptember 30
on the United States. On his first belt defense, Aldo dominated
the Californian Urijah Faber, who got loss facing so many punches
and bangs of the champion, who kept his reign on the decision
of the judges. The next challenger of José Aldo will be
the American Manny Gamburyan, who is coming from three wins in
a row, being the last by a striking knockout over Mike Brown,
who was defeat by the Brazilian in order to win the belt. Manny
won over 50% of his fights by submission, while José Aldo
knocks out his opponents in almost 70% of his fights. It’ll
be the classic confrontation of a Grappler and a Striker, but
we might not forget the high level Jiu-Jitsu of the Brazilian.
“I’ve
been training a lot of Wrestling since he’s a grappler just
like all my last opponents. Since I’ve confronted so many
grapplers, nowadays I feel more comfortable if the fight goes
to the ground, I’m feeling cool on that area too, even if
he falls on top of me, I’m feeling confident, since we train
it all in Nova União”, analyzed the champion, who
believe he’s experience can be an extra ally”. “The
fact I have eight fights on the event and since I defended my
belt once, it give me the call to work and face it just like
any other fight, with no pressure. I’ll face him like it
was my first belt defense, with the same seriousness, but I’ll
be cool because of the experience I’ve won during my WEC
career”, concluded the champion.
Source: Tatame
|
Demian
analyzes Alan Belcher’s ground game
Traioning
for his next UFC appointment, when he will confront Alan Belcher
on UFC Fight Night 22, scheduled to happen on September 25, Demian
Maia took some time to go to Salvador, where he trains with Luis
Carlos Dórea, Junior Cigano and Rogério Minotouro.
“I’m in Salvador now, but I have been doing some training
here and some in Sao Paulo, I’m not focusing on anything
in particular, I’m training it all equally”.
While
Demian works on his boxing skills, his opponent, worried with
the Brazilian’s ground game, is on Rio de Janeiro, where
he is training his Jiu-Jitsu with the world champion Daniel Moraes.
“I’ve heard that Belcher is in Brazil, and I think
he’s right, everybody tries to keep evolving”, commented
Demian, who analyzed his opponent’s ground game. “People
may surprise me on the ground. Belcher also can, even because
he’s training and he’s a brown belt, has a good Jiu-Jitsu
and is working on it”, commented.
Source: Tatame
|
UFC
on Versus 2 Today
San Diego Sports Arena
The main card will air live at 9 p.m. on Versus and VersusHD.
Hawaii
Air Times:
Versus Channel 210
3:00PM-5:00PM
Main
Card:
Jon Jones vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Mark Munoz vs. Yushin Okami
Jake Ellenberger vs. John Howard
Takanori Gomi vs. Tyson Griffin
Preliminary
Bouts:
Paul Kelly vs. Jacob Volkmann
DaMarques Johnson vs. Matthew Riddle
James Irvin vs. Igor Pokrajac
Brian Stann vs. Mike Massenzio
Darren Elkins vs. Charles Oliveira
Rob Kimmons vs. Steve Steinbeiss
Source: MMAFoReal
|
UFC
‘Jones vs. Matyushenko’ Main Card Preview
by Tomas
Rios
As
the MMA masses slowly rock back and forth in anticipation of
this Sunday’s UFC on Versus 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko event,
it’s time to get back into full-on fight mode.
Besides
stocking up on alcohol and all manner of processed foodstuffs,
that means getting your knowledge squared up proper. So get ready
for another round of grown man analysis. Where exactly you’ll
get it, I don’t know.
Jon
Jones vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
In
a stunning change of pace, the UFC is actually handling one of
their many all-universe prospects with care. Instead of feeding
Jones to the mutant wolf pack waiting at the top of the light
heavyweight division, they’re giving him a quality test
against Matyushenko.
The
test isn’t so much whether or not Jones can beat Matyushenko
-- he clearly can -- but rather just how good Jones is at this
point. It may seem unusual to dismiss Matyushenko, but he doesn’t
have much to offer Jones at this point in their respective careers.
Even at his best, Matyushenko couldn’t out-wrestle Tito
Ortiz and Jones exists in a different fistic universe than Ortiz.
Jones
is a brilliant clinch artist who has a strong fundamental understanding
of clinch wrestling that allows him to execute techniques you
simply don’t see at this level. Once he gets people down,
it has a tendency to turn ugly as his telephone pole limbs allow
him to generate massive downward power from unusual angles. Compare
that to Matyushenko, who has never had much to offer from top
control and has lost much of his physical abilities after well
over a decade of combat sport competition.
No
one has come anywhere close to getting Jones down, and Matyushenko
is going to have major problems with his young counterpart’s
movement. In his bout with Jake O’Brien especially, it was
clear that Jones’ speedy footwork will present major issues
for “The Janitor.” Given Matyushenko’s plodding
footwork and overall lack of athleticism, the supposed wrestling
battle seems to be more of a wrestling massacre in the making.
A
stand-up fight looks even worse for the Belarusian, as the differential
in speed will be most apparent in exchanges. Even assuming anything
resembling an exchange will take place seems like a stretch.
Jones will have an almost unfair reach advantage that will only
further enhance his ability to remain elusive on the feet. This
leaves Matyushenko no choice but to get into risky exchanges
and hope he can ferret out a takedown opportunity.
That’s
the sort of game plan that almost never works out. It surely
isn’t going to work against someone of Jones’ caliber.
Expect something only a few steps removed from a sparring match
as Jones takes the opportunity to test out his ever-evolving
game against a live opponent.
Mark
Munoz vs. Yushin Okami
An
undefeated yet somehow inconsistent middleweight run comes to
a head for Munoz as he takes on his biggest challenge yet in
stalwart contender Okami. What really makes this fight interesting
is the bizarre misconceptions about how exactly these two match
up.
Munoz
was an elite collegiate wrestler, but those skills simply haven’t
translated to MMA yet. He just barely won a glorified wrestling
match with Nick Catone and seems happy to rely on his excess
of punching power to win the day. Not the best combination against
Okami, who is a proven wrestler in his own right and has the
technical striking skills that Munoz desperately needs.
Regardless
of whether or not Okami can consistently get Munoz down, he has
his number on the feet based on the unsightly striking defense
Munoz has shown thus far. In bouts with Kendall Grove and Matt
Hamill, Munoz was rocking the defensive skills of a pillow and
it showed as he got cracked several times over. Okami is no Anderson
Silva, but in his recent match against Lucio Linhares he did
show dramatically improved boxing that complemented his vaunted
Greco-Roman skills quite nicely.
That
sort of natural fluidity is absent from Munoz’s game, and
it shows when he often struggles to get anything going from top
control despite being a human atom smasher. Whipping power punches
at Okami’s head while eating counterpunches and desperately
trying to avoid takedowns is a killer game plan if you’re
looking to lose. Unfortunately Munoz doesn’t have much in
the way of secondary options and has yet to show any sort of
strategic foresight.
Contrast
that with Okami, who has long been an underrated grappler thanks
mostly to his conservative style. Although he doesn’t have
any substantial submission wins, Okami has always been a smooth
guard passer and his stifling base makes him nearly impossible
to budge once he has top control. Munoz prefers to posture up
from the top position, which ends with him wasting takedowns
more often than not.
To
say that Munoz’s success has been fortuitous would be an
understatement. That sort of luck isn’t going to hold up
forever, though, as the holes in his game are becoming a matter
of public record. Okami isn’t going to get out-wrestled,
and Munoz will be too busy eating punches to land any of his
own. Rinse and repeat for three rounds until Okami gets his hand
raised.
John
Howard vs. Jake Ellenberger
Howard
has an undefeated UFC record and is still trying to get some
traction going in the welterweight division. If you’re looking
for an answer why, watch his fights and you’ll see that
he has major issues with consistency and takedown defense. Both
of which will be tested by the furious stylings of Ellenberger.
Unlike
Howard, Ellenberger knows how to put on the pressure without
making himself an easy mark. A great example of that is his bout
with Mike Pyle, a nifty grappler who Ellenberger managed to pound.
More importantly, Ellenberger has the wrestling skills that Howard
is missing.
Scoring
the occasional high-impact slam does not a wrestler make and
Howard struggles when he can’t overwhelm his opponents with
brute physicality. Lacking that polished technique has put Howard
in some dicey situations in the UFC. Ellenberger is definitely
the biggest test “Doomsday” has encountered in the
Octagon. He has the kind of wrestling skill to force Howard into
his least favored position -- the guard.
All
of Howard’s bulldozing power and fast-twitch muscle fibers
don’t do him much good when he has to work off his back,
and Ellenberger has a surprisingly strong base for a relatively
small welterweight. That strong base allows him to work a nasty
ground-and-pound attack without giving up position. Contrast
that with Howard, who often blows top control by trying to land
bombing strikes without having control of his opponent.
It’s
those small differences in skill that make for a big difference
come fight time. Howard has yet to show any inclination toward
closing that gap while Ellenberger’s arrival in the UFC
has produced some of the best performances of his career. That
trend will continue with Ellenberger notching a surprisingly
dominant TKO win.
Takanori Gomi vs. Tyson Griffin
Come
the final bell the loser of this lightweight tilt can likely
kiss his hopes for a lightweight title run goodbye. The stakes
may be even higher for Gomi than for Griffin since his last win
of any real consequence came nearly four years ago against Mitsuhiro
Ishida.
The
Gomi of those days was a fearsome power puncher with the wrestling
and boxing technique to enhance his preternatural prowess for
the sport. Today we have a fighter notorious for his lackadaisical
training regimen who is starting to lose the speed and power
that made him what he used to be. While Griffin does have a long
history of coming up just short in big spots, his style is more
than enough to neutralize Gomi’s diminishing arsenal.
What
Gomi wants to do is keep his fights at medium to close range,
where he can load up on heavy shots. That just isn’t a feasible
strategy against Griffin, who wants nothing more than to be up
close, where his negligible reach is no longer a hindrance. At
that range Griffin is the more fundamentally sound boxer thanks
to his underappreciated elusiveness. He also has an extra weapon
that Gomi can’t match -- namely leg kicks that look like
they could crumple an elephant.
Fighting
Griffin in the pocket is nearly impossible as long as he’s
snapping those leg kicks. Gomi’s telegraphed power punches
leave him especially vulnerable to that attack. What really puts
this fight out of reach for Gomi, however, is his severely diminished
wrestling skills. At one time he was considered amongst the best
wrestlers in the division, but he seems to have lost all interest
in scoring takedowns and his defensive skills have always been
somewhat questionable.
To
put it simply, if Kenny Florian could run over Gomi with a power
single leg, then Griffin will have that option all day. Tempting
as it might be for Gomi’s fans to put stock in his claim
that this training camp has been an all-out affair, one has to
wonder if Gomi has any notion of how hard a modern mixed martial
artist must train to succeed at this level. Regardless of what
shape he is in, the fact remains that he has spent the past several
years relying far too much on landing brain-scrambling power
punches to suddenly change with the times.
The
Gomi of a few years ago would have been a sight to see in the
Octagon, but no one outruns time and he hasn’t even bothered
trying. This will be a more gruesome version of Gomi’s bout
with Florian. Griffin will get in his face and batter him with
punches, leg kicks and anything else handy. A bloodied and hobbled
Gomi goes down on his sword in the third round of a bout that
will give the folks at Compustrike plenty of work.
Source: Sherdog
|
Battleground
Challenge 2
Dole Cannery Ballroom, Honolulu, Hawaii
August 13, 2010
125lb tournament
Lawrence Lucious
Jan Quimoyog
Jason Dumoal
Daniel Asuncsion
155lb Title Competitors
Kekoa Ramelb
Arnold Berdon
Cheyne Todani
Nilo Degeuira
170lb Title competitors:
Danny Lopez
Jacob Chun
Eddie Ohia
James Stanford
145lb vacant belt: Travis Beyer vs. Shane Kahananui
Fight card is subject to change.
|
70-Year-Old
MMA Fighter John Williams Got in the Cage to Feel Alive Again
By Ben
Fowlkes
The first thing John Williams wants you to know about his record-breaking
MMA fight this past weekend is, it wasn't a gimmick. It wasn't
a novelty act, some cheap ploy to sell tickets or attract headlines.
Well,
maybe attracting the headlines was important, but for a good
reason.
The
70-year-old from New Brunswick, Canada became the oldest person
to ever compete in a professional MMA bout when he took on 49-year-old
former pro wrestler Larry Brubaker on July 24 in Moncton. On
paper it sounds like a carnival act, but the fight was serious
business, Williams said, done to prove a serious point.
"I
was trying to bring attention to the fact that when a person
becomes a senior, society kind of pushes them out of the loop.
The attitude toward them is that they're dumb, they can't do
anything, physically they're just vegetables, and they're sort
of shunned by society," Williams told MMA Fighting. "I
wanted to find a way to show that life isn't over at 55 or 60
years old. You're not useless or obsolete. We live in a use-oriented
society, and you get told that enough that even you start to
believe you're useless."
As
someone who prides himself on being a man of action -- if you
want to hear about his many athletic exploits, just ask, but
you might want to put on a pot of coffee first -- useless is
the one thing Williams couldn't stand to be. Certainly, he's
not the only one to ever feel this way. He's just the only one
to combat that feeling by getting into a cage and fighting another
human being.
But
this wasn't simply an idea that popped into Williams' head after
watching too much cable TV. He didn't do this on a whim. It was
a quest five years in the making, and one that hit several roadblocks
along the way.
First,
there was the issue of licensing. Even back when Williams was
a young man of 65, the local athletic commission wasn't exactly
eager to let him fight. Even though he'd been competing in one
form of martial arts or another since he was seven years old,
and even though he'd kept up with the sport during seminars with
Royce Gracie and Georges St. Pierre, all the commission officials
saw when they looked at him was a liability.
Williams submitted to every medical test he could think of in
order to prove his fitness and physical readiness. He took numerous
blood tests, wore a heart monitor for 24 hours straight, did
extensive tests on treadmills. His blood pressure was spot on.
His resting heart rate would have made a distance runner jealous.
Still, no one wanted to put a senior citizen into the cage, so
Williams had to try another route.
"I
went and got information on discrimination towards a person because
of age, and I realized that if I say this is my job and I'm physically
capable of doing the job, there was no way in the world they
could stop me," he said. "This had nothing to do with
risk factors. When you know what you're doing, MMA is safe. I
could have done an amateur thing or an exhibition, but no, I
wanted to do a real fight."
His
discrimination approach worked. The commission realized they
were fighting a losing battle, he said, and they relented. There
was one obstacle out of the way. The next problem was finding
someone willing to fight him.
"Nobody
wanted to take me on because it's a no-win situation for them,"
Williams said. "If they win, people will say all they did
was beat an old man, and if they lose it's embarrassing for them."
Just
when his prospects for finding an opponent were looking hopeless,
a candidate revealed himself the old-fashioned way.
"It
was a strange thing. I went and bought a car – [Brubaker]
owned a car lot – and we had a disagreement over one of
the car payments and I've got a kind of short temper and so does
he, so we almost got into a scuffle right there in the parking
lot. My son had a car from him as well, and when my son saw him
the guy said, 'Your dad thinks he's pretty tough [expletive].
I heard he wants to get someone to fight him in the cage, so
why doesn't he fight me and we'll settle our differences there?'"
This,
as it turned out, was all it took to get two fighters with a
combined age of 119 years (another world record) in the cage
together. Well, that and a few extra meals. Brubaker was considerably
heavier, so Williams put on about twenty pounds to barely squeak
into the heavyweight class. He's still a little upset about it,
because he's sure it hurt his quickness and cardio -- a regrettable,
but necessary consequence in this case.
The
fight itself was a bit of a blur for Williams. He remembers opening
up Brubaker's face in the first round with a series of backfists.
He remembers Brubaker tagging him with a kick to the body when
the two touched gloves to start the second (what Williams describes
as "a desperation move"). He remembers transitioning
from an ankle lock to a twisting knee lock, and back to an ankle
lock for the submission finish in round two.
Mostly,
however, what he remembers is how it made him feel to get in
the cage and mix it up.
"The
point of life is living it. And I tell you, I got in that cage
and I felt alive. I felt human again. You get that thing over
your head, people think you're 70 and you don't know [expletive].
They don't bother to get to know you. I like Eminem. I like rap
music. ...Mentally, I feel the same as I did when I was 30. I
like the same kind of cars and the same kinds of women. Nothing's
changed for me, but there's this stereotype. You don't change,
but they try and make you fit a mold and be something you don't
want to be, which is an old person. Not me. I've been a fighter
all my life."
You only live one time and then you're gone forever. If you're
remembered by people for something, then it's like you're immortal.
-- John Williams
This isn't Williams' first world record. He set one in the 1970's
for doing 13 straight hours of judo throws, he said, then another
for breaking an eleven-inch chunk of ice with a single blow,
which he did to bring awareness to treaty disputes that his Native
American brethren were having with the government.
But
at the same time, he can admit that setting this particular record
was as much for himself as it was for the other seniors he was
trying to inspire. Yes, he wanted to get people up and get them
moving, but he had selfish reasons too. Time is running out now,
and Williams knows it. It feels like it's going much too fast
and there's nothing he can do to stop it.
"A
lot of people just give up and don't do anything," he said.
"You only live one time and then you're gone forever. If
you're remembered by people for something, then it's like you're
immortal. It's like you never really cease to exist. If people
don't remember you, then you're just a little checkmark in a
cemetery somewhere. This is kind of my shot at immortality, I
guess. They'll always talk about the 70-year-old who got in there
and fought."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Kevin
Iole’s Yahoo story about UFC suing Bellator & Ken Pavia
is all about Zuffa sending messages
By Zach
Arnol
When
I read Kevin Iole’s Yahoo Sports article titled Zuffa sues
for alleged theft of trade secrets, I initially laughed when
I saw that the names in the lawsuit were Ken Pavia and Bjorn
Rebney (Bellator). Bellator is fresh coming off a legal controversy
over what to do with fighter Dave Herman, who claims that the
promotion breached his contract with them and is now taking a
booking for the upcoming Shark Fights card in Texas. The story
on Sherdog, in my opinion, made Bellator look awful. Now you
throw this suit by the UFC — filed in Las Vegas — and
Bellator is going to have to be spending resources defending
several legal fronts. None of this is good for a promotion that
is trying to keep as many resources as possible in order to stay
in business.
Alan
Conceicao, a frequent commenter on our site, has long asked when
MMA writers would take the rose-colored glasses off when covering
Bellator and start to ask questions like, say, where the money
is coming from to fund the promotion (given Bjorn Rebney’s
past history in the boxing industry). The media tide seems to
be turning against Bellator here on a few fronts.
The
lawsuit being filed by Zuffa in Las Vegas is key — they
don’t lose on their home turf in court. Just ask Ken Shamrock,
who ended up paying $175,000 in fees to UFC after the company
got a pretty favorable hometown judges’ decision in their
case against Shamrock (who sued the promotion for breach of contract).
Bellator
is the defendant that will get a lot of attention, but Ken Pavia
is the real target here. As we’ve seen with the Jason Genet
case (where he paid a settlement to the SEC), there is going
to be much more scrutiny on agents in MMA who portray themselves
as powerful. One thing we know about UFC and Dana White, in particular,
is that they don’t like dealing with many of the agents
in the business. By going after Pavia, they are laying down a
marker to all agents who do business with them. By having that
message come out through Kevin Iole and Yahoo, it becomes a crystal
clear public message — don’t screw with us.
At
the end of the day, anyone who is in the MMA business has to
realize that UFC will look at them as competition — whether
they are a minor-league independent regional promotion or if
they are a national player. It’s the same way WWE views
the competition in pro-wrestling. You squash anyone who is sloppy
or who is trying to use your name to take advantage for a better
business deal. In this case regarding Zuffa’s lawsuit against
Ken Pavia and Bellator, UFC is trying to portray Pavia and Bellator
as being sloppy in the way they handle their business. When you
are dealing with a company as ruthlessly efficient as UFC in
the MMA marketplace, one moment of carelessness could cost you
very big.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Big
Nog: “Anderson will kick Sonnen's ass”
By Eduardo
Ferreira
Choking
with Chael Sonnen’s provocations, who called him a punching
bag, Rodrigo Minotauro is anxious for Anderson Silva not just
to beat him, but to run over the American on August 7th, when
UFC 117 happens. “I’m travelling to California now
to help Mark Muñoz and Anderson Silva. Anderson will kick
Sonnen’s ass, I’m sure he will”, said Rodrigo
on his Twitter.
Source: Tatame
|
SHAPING
MMA: FRANK SHAMROCK'S INFLUENCE
by Jeff
Cain
Frank Shamrock announced his retirement from mixed martial arts
competition on June 26 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum, ending
a mixed martial arts career that began in 1994 and left an undeniable
mark on the sport.
Shamrock, in the early years, fought in the shadow of his, at
the time, more famous older adoptive brother Ken, but quickly
earned his own limelight through a style that revolutionized
fight preparation and game planning.
Shamrock was one of the first truly hybrid fighters, combining
several traditional martial arts into a new more complete style.
“When I got into it I didn’t know any different. It
was a game. Fighting was like this game, like a sportsman’s
game especially because I was in Pancrase. I just kept studying.
To me, because I had no other martial arts experience, I had
no other ideas about the sport,” Shamrock explained to MMAWeekly.com.
“It was like whatever they told me I wrote down, processed,
and plugged it in. And I saw all the holes. To me it was obvious
that you needed to do everything and learn everything and complete
the style. I don’t know if I was ahead of the curve or if
I just had a different mindset going into it. I had no expectations
or understanding of what fighting was or wasn’t.”
Shamrock’s biggest mark on the sport may have been the use
of cardiovascular conditioning as a weapon.
“The conditioning and ability to move really quickly for
long periods of time became the crux of my style for probably
seven or eight years,” said Shamrock. “It was the beginning
of this new era with the UFC. And the level of athleticism now
is just crazy.”
Even though he has closed the door on fighting, Shamrock is still
a commentator for Strikeforce and continues to train himself
and others at his gym in San Jose, Calif.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
120 WILL AIR ON SPIKE TV IN THE U.S.
Spike TV on Thursday confirmed that it will air UFC 120, which
emanates from the O2 Arena in London, on a tape-delayed basis
at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT in the United States.
UFC
120 features the promotion’s top three British stars, including
Michael Bisping, Dan Hardy, and John Hathaway.
Bisping
(19-3) is riding high after a win over Dan Miller in May. He
squares off with Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-2), who is trying to bounce
back from a recent loss to Chris Leben at UFC 116. Bisping vs.
Akiyama will serve as the evening’s main event.
Hardy
(23-7) is rebounding from a failed attempt to wrest the UFC welterweight
championship from Georges St-Pierre in March. He is still one
of the most popular fighters in Britain and will carry the support
of his country with him into the co-main event against Carlos
Condit.
Condit
(25-5) is a former WEC welterweight champion, holding that belt
until his weight category was merged into the UFC. He stumbled
in his Octagon debut, falling to now-middleweight contender Martin
Kampmann, but is currently on a two-fight winning streak.
Hathaway
(14-0) flew under the radar into the UFC’s lightweight ranks,
emerging into the spotlight with his UFC 114 victory over Diego
Sanchez. Pyle (19-7-1), his opponent, has been on a bumpy path
in the Octagon, going 2-2 since his debut at UFC 98.
The
Spike telecast will open with a welterweight battle between “The
Ultimate Fighter 9” winner James Wilks (8-3) and Canadian
Claude Patrick (12-1). Wilks, who defeated DaMarques Johnson
last June in “The Ultimate Fighter 9” finale, most
recently defeated Peter Sobotta at UFC 115 in June. His opponent,
Patrick, fighting out of Toronto, was victorious in his recent
Octagon debut, defeating Ricardo Funch via submission at UFC
115 in June.
Also
on the fight card, a heavyweight showdown between Paris, France,
native Cheick Kongo (25-6-1) and undefeated Travis Browne (10-0).
Kongo is returning to the arena where he enjoyed his finest moment
in the Octagon, a decision victory over Mirko “Cro Cop”
Filipovic at UFC 75. Kongo recently scored an impressive win
over Paul Buentello in March. A native of Hawaii, the imposing
six-foot-seven-inch Travis Browne won his UFC debut in June over
James McSweeney with a first round TKO.
Other
bouts that might air depending upon available time are Cyrille
Diabate (17-6-3) vs. Alexander Gustafson (9-1) and Stanislav
Nedkov (11-0) vs. Steve Cantwell (7-3).
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Stallone
fights and ends up in hospital
by Marcelo
Dunlop
Check
out the fourth episode of behind-the-scenes of “The Expendables”,
the action movie that has Sylvester Stallone back fighting to
be at the top of the charts in the movie theater. He just didn’t
need to fight that much, to the point of landing himself in the
hospital.
In
the trailer, Stallone gets a rear-naked choke slapped on him
and lashes nimbly lashes back with a crucifix to armbar.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
The
cannibalization of challengers in the UFC Welterweight division
By Zach
Arnold
Initially
when I was listening to this week’s edition of Pro MMA radio,
a top argument being discussed on the show was whether or not
Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampmann should be the co-main event
of the October UFC event in Anaheim (that is headlined by Brock
Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight title). The
conventional wisdom right now is that Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill
will be the semi-main event fight because of Tito’s name
power and the fact that he’s fighting in home territory.
LARRY
PEPE: “What’s the co-main event?”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “Boy, that’s a tough one. I think you have
to make, if you have plans of putting Jake Shields against Georges
St. Pierre and this is their route you’re going to take,
you have to have Kampmann/Shields as your co-main event. And
I understand the draw of Tito Ortiz but at this stage in his
career, it’s time to make way for some of the young guns
and I think, you know, Jake Shields has got to be co-main event
if you want to make him your next superstar.”
LARRY
PEPE: “Yeah, I’m with you 100% and I had this argument
with a friend of mine. He immediately said Tito/Hamill. He’s
like, you know, the drawing power and this and that and the other
and my argument is two-fold: one is, Tito’s drawing power
on this card is irrelevant in my opinion because you have Brock
Lesnar at the top of the card and if you have Brock Lesnar in
the main event, you’re going to do your million-plus anyway.
I don’t know how many more people you’re going to get
because of Tito when you already have Lesnar. So, I don’t
think you need Tito to sell the card, especially with the depth
of this one but you certainly don’t him to sell it. The
second issue, Jesse, not only is there, you know, the intention
to put Shields against GSP, but if Kampmann beats Shields, he
goes to 5-1 in the Welterweight division, he’s got to be
the next contender. So… and neither one of these guys is
that well-known to your broad-base, mainstream fan base. I’d
argue Shields more than Kampmann because of all the cards he
did on CBS and Showtime and either way, you know, when you’re
promoting this event and you’re doing your Countdown show,
I assume it’s going to be a Countdown and not a Primetime,
but whichever you’re doing you need to put some promotional
backing to Shields and Kampmann. What better way to do it than
to make them co-main, to make them a part of the Countdown show,
whatever promotional thing you’re doing, so you can further
introduce them to your audience and to draw everybody in with
Lesnar and Velasquez to highlight these guys? I think to make
anybody else the co-main, to make Tito/Hamill the co-main, would
be a huge mistake.”
Personally,
I’m fine with the promotion picking either fight for the
semi-main event slot.
However,
this initial discussion on the placement of the Shields/Kampmann
fight led to a much more boisterous discussion about the way
the UFC has booked and built up/destroyed challengers for Georges
St. Pierre in their Welterweight division. I think that the Pro
MMA radio team makes some valid points as far as the corner UFC
has trapped themselves into right now with guys like Jon Fitch
and Thiago Alves.
LARRY
PEPE: “And since we’re going to talk mistakes, I’m
not completely on-board with the whole path for Shields to begin
with. I was strongly of the opinion that they should have gotten
the Shields deal done if possible before they were going to film
TUF and put him on TUF against Georges St. Pierre for an immediate
title shot. Here’s my thing, Jesse… Shields has enough
of a history, enough of a pedigree, and in my opinion enough
exposure that an immediate title shot with Georges St. Pierre
would have been warranted. I’m kind of floored by the response
to the Shields signing. Dave Meltzer’s suggested that he
should be on undercards or kind of hidden from the audience,
which I don’t get at all. I mean, people, they’re talking
about Shields like he’s the most boring fighter in the world.
He’s got more finishes and he’s more exciting than
Jon Fitch in my opinion, easily. Yushin Okami for a long time
didn’t have a finish and Shields has finishes. It’s
just his style. But I don’t know how you watch the Henderson
fight and say it’s boring. The (Mayhem) Miller fight might
have not been too exciting. The Robbie Lawler fight, he gets
a great submission early on. The Paul Daley fight, he submits
him. So, for me, to risk Shields losing to Kampmann and losing
all of that promotional value, all that marketing cache that
you have a guy who just beat Dan Henderson at Middleweight. You
have a guy who’s beaten Carlos Condit, Yushin Okami, we
talked about how tough he is. He’s beaten Robbie Lawler,
Paul Daley, he’s beaten a list of guys. He hasn’t loss
in years, he’s got something like 15 straight wins. To me,
you just don’t risk that fight against Georges St. Pierre
that everybody was clamoring for after the Henderson fight on
a potential loss to anybody! And Kampmann is a tough, tough opponent
and he doesn’t match up well for Shields because he’s
got phenomenal stand-up and that’s Jake’s weak point.”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “You know, in a perfect world, Jake Shields would
be opposing coach on this upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.
I understand they didn’t get the deal done on time. Could
they have? Probably because, you know, as you said earlier, there’s
no way that Strikeforce was going to even play the numbers game
with the UFC because they can’t and I think that’s
quite apparent. But if you’re going to bring in Shields
into the UFC, you know, first of all you’re not going to
put him on the undercard. You don’t sign a star of that
magnitude, somebody of his ability and his talent and put them
down there where no one can see him. And he’s got a guy
now, he’s not just coming off a win over Dan Henderson who
used to be your Middleweight #1 contender, he’s coming off
of a dominant win over Dan Henderson on CBS in front of a national
audience and I don’t want to hear about this, you know,
this boring fighter thing. I mean, you know, guys like Frank
Shamrock, the haters, you know who want to ride that horse into
the sunset, go right ahead. But you know you look at his resume,
he had 8 straight finishes. 7 submissions and a technical knockout
heading in the Jason Miller fight last November. So if you go
from 8 straight finishes to 2 decisions, I don’t think that’s
you know so outrageous or so terrible. I mean, you know, look
at Georges St. Pierre. Isn’t this a guy who has got two
back-to-back decisions that I would hardly call exciting? You
bring in Jake Shields into the UFC, you don’t want to give
him Georges St. Pierre, so you give him the next worst possible
match-up, Martin Kampmann, a guy who’s never been submitted.
A guy who’s clearly the superior striker in this contest
at least, I mean, look at Shields’ striking. Is he a competent
striker? Yeah, but I wouldn’t call him anything above average.
His need is on the ground and that’s where he’s at
his best and what we saw out of Shields in Strikeforce, the way
he was able to push guys around, keep them down, hold them to
the ground, smother them, set up his submissions, had a lot to
do with the muscle and the size that he was carrying at Middleweight.
I don’t know if he’s going to have that same advantage
cutting back down to Welterweight. I mean, you cut back down
to Welterweight to face a guy as skilled as Martin Kampmann who,
oh by the way, also took out Paulo Thiago, another very well-versed
in submission fighter, and took him out quite easily actually.
And also, here’s a guy that also fought at Middleweight
and did quite well. He made a mistake against Nate Marquardt,
OK, but he put together some big wins against some big guys in
the Middleweight division. I just think that this is a bad match-up
for Shields. I don’t know if he’ll be able to get Kampmann
to the ground. If he can, I don’t know if he’ll be
able to finish him and let’s not forget, it’s a three
round fight. All Kampmann has to do is take two rounds and just
stay out of the submissions and do enough damage on the feet,
which I think he can, to take the judges’ decision. Not
looking good for Shields, if you ask me.”
LARRY
PEPE: “Yeah, I agree. It’s a tough fight. I mean, I
don’t know if he’s going to pull it out. I think Martin
is a star in his own right. You mentioned the Middleweight division,
he was 4-1 as a Middleweight. He’s now 4-1 as a Welterweight.
This is a top-notch guy. Now I know people could be home screaming,
WELL YOU WANT THE BEST GUYS TO FIGHT THE BEST GUYS. Yes, I agree,
but here’s the problem… the problem is that in this
division, this Welterweight division, we have three guys who
have fought St. Pierre in Koscheck, Fitch, and Alves, who St.
Pierre utterly dominated. Those all three fights went the distance,
so we have 13 rounds of fighting. 65 minutes and I would defy
you to find two or three minutes in those 65 minutes where GSP
did not have the advantage. So, they were dominate, they weren’t
‘oh gee, it’s close, I’m anxious to see them fight
him again,’ and I think at the end of the day fans don’t
really relish re-matches when the first fight was a blowout and
all these fights were blowouts so I think fan interest in Koscheck,
Fitch, and Alves fighting St. Pierre again, on a scale of 1 to
10 is about a 3. OK? On the other hand, you had Anthony Johnson,
off of numerous highlight reel knockouts, and what do you do?
You have him fight Koscheck, one of the guys who fans probably
aren’t clamoring to see fight GSP again, and Koscheck takes
him out of the mix. Then, what do you do? You give Koscheck Paul
Daley, the other guy, two highlight reel knockouts, a trash talker,
brash, you know, two different countries involved, you could
have marketed the hell out of that fight, especially with GSP
beating Hardy and Hardy and Daley being training partners for
8 years and friends and all this other stuff, you had storyline
after storyline. Incredibly marketable fight. What do you do?
You risk that fight by giving Daley to who? Josh Koscheck, who
does what? Predictably, wrestles Daley, grinds him out, said
himself he was playing it safe like GSP, his words. And now you
eliminate another contender. Now I know Daley did what he did
after the fight but you didn’t know any of that before the
fight, you didn’t know any of that before you booked it.
So, now you have burnt two marketable fights that I think fans
would want to see. Now, you take a risk of burning the Shields
fight which is the fight and Jesse, you know, you correct me
if I’m wrong, but on MMAMania the day after the night that
Shields beat Henderson, all anybody wanted to talk about was,
oh my God, this guy might be the legitimate challenger to GSP,
which is everybody’s clamoring for. And now you risk that
maybe you lose that fight. Now, yeah, you get the Kampmann fight
if you lose the Shields fight, but if you did a poll on MMAMania
the day after the Henderson fight and said who do you want to
most see GSP fight, Shields would have won that poll, I would
submit to you that he would win that poll any day, any time that
he’s the one that everybody wants to see fight.”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “Well, we did have that poll and I think it was
999 voted yes and 1 voted no and ironically it was Dave Meltzer
who voted no. Take that for what it’s worth.”
LARRY
PEPE: “Very good. So, here’s my thing, like what I
don’t understand with this division is you have now basically
mowed down an Anthony Johnson fight that I think was marketable,
a Paul Daley fight that I’m sure that was marketable, and
you’re risking a Shields fight that’s ultra-marketable
and instead, you got a Koscheck fight that, yeah, they’ll
market it, they’ll work it with TUF and everything else,
but at the end of the day, I’m sure if you did a poll, Jesse,
and maybe you should, if people said hey, would you rather see
Koscheck fight GSP, Shields, at the time Daley, Fitch, Alves,
I’m willing to bet that the three guys that have fought
him already finish in the three last positions because at the
end of the day, I think we all want to see new challengers for
champions. We’re not that interested in re-matches unless
the first fight was really close or controversial.”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “Well, I’ll tell you, there was… there
was one reaction in the history of in doing this for MMAMania,
there was one reaction that I would say was equal to this and
that was when they announced Liddell/Ortiz III. The fan reaction
to this, nobody was screaming from the roof tops, nobody was
applauding, just a complete and total indifference and we had
the same exact thing when they announced Koscheck/St. Pierre
after the Daley fight. Nobody really cared and nobody was really
interested and you know it’s one of those things… Good
heat is what you want, bad heat is what you don’t but it’s
still OK because it sells fights, no heat at all? Then you’re
in big trouble. I mean you got St. Pierre coming off two straight
decisions. You’ve got a guy in Koscheck who doesn’t
really fight, you know, the kind of fight the fans want to see.
And what happens, you know, after that? And here’s my question
— if Kampmann pulls off the win against Shields, does Kampmann
goes into a GSP fight or does he get the winner of Fitch/Alves?”
LARRY
PEPE: “Yeah, and I’ll tell you what, if he gets the
winner of Fitch/Alves, I’ll scream because then AGAIN you’ll
be taking guys that have already been dominated by GSP and having
them potentially eliminate contenders who GSP hasn’t fought
yet. It’s unreal. I mean, we’ve already seen it with
Koscheck twice, with Johnson and Daley, and if it happens again
with Kampmann and Fitch and Alves, that would be amazing to me.”
Source: Fight Opinion
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K-Swiss
Acquires Form Athletics
By Ray
Hui
Just seven months after its official launch and less than a year
in operation, Form Athletics has been acquired by sneaker giant
K-Swiss.
Form
Athletics is an athletic apparel company based in Laguna Beach,
Calif. co-founded by former WEC featherweight champion Urijah
Faber and is most visible in the MMA scene through Faber's involvement
with the brand.
The
other man behind Form and the brainchild of the company is Mark
Miller, a former DC Shoes Senior Vice President and founder of
the M3 snowboard line, who felt he could tap the MMA market with
his experience in the extreme sports industry.
Form
will continue to operate as a division under the publicly traded
K-Swiss. Previously the CEO, Miller remains on board as president
and will also head K-Swiss's new Orange County division with
a focus towards youth consumers.
Faber
last fought in the main event of WEC's first pay-per-view in
April, losing to champion Jose Aldo by unanimous decision after
five rounds. After the lopsided loss, Faber decided to move down
to bantamweight and was scheduled to face Takeya Mizugaki at
WEC 50 in August until an injury forced him off the card.
Form
Athletics sponsors Faber's teammate Joseph Benavidez, UFC middleweight
Mark Munoz and light heavyweight Jon Jones.
Source: MMA Fighting
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IMPACT
FC PROMOTERS SPARRING,
NOT PAYING (UPDATED)
by Ken Pishna - MMAWeekly.com (Additional reporting - Damon Martin)
Impact FC, an Australian mixed martial arts start-up, may be
done almost as quickly as it started.
The
promotions put on two events in an eight-day span, one in Brisbane,
the other in Sydney.
A
report from Cage Potato shed light on the fact that the vast
majority of the promotion’s fighters have yet to be paid.
MMAWeekly.com was also able to verify those claims. Fighters
such as Karo Parisyan, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Jesse Taylor,
Jeff Monson, Brian Ebersole, and Denis Kang are among those that
have yet to receive payment or have only received partial payment.
The
problem appears to be between the two men that head Impact FC
and a disagreement over who was responsible for the finances.
Australian concert promoter Andrew McManus and his Impact FC
partner Tom Huggins are the principle parties sparring over who
owes what.
“[Tom]
Huggins has run back to Brazil and is uncontactable, whilst I
(who never negotiated, contracted or was a party to any deal)
have now been left trying to find funds to pay the men whilst
all the false promises of sponsorships (never happened) and late
gate sales and walk up all turned out to be lies,” McManus
wrote in an email to Cage Potato.
“That
statement is categorically untrue,” Huggins wrote in resonse
to McManus. “I can provide you with the agreement between
Andrew and myself, which clearly demonstrates that my responsibility
was to procure fighters and make matches for the event within
a given budget. The agreement clearly shows that ALL of the financing
for the events, including fighter purses, was the responsibility
of McManus.”
McManus
then responded, saying he never signed such an agreement and
that Huggins was a 50-percent partner in Impact FC.
It
was unclear, at the time of publication, whether or not the fighters
would eventually receive all of the payment due, but it seems
apparent that Impact FC has had it’s day in the sun and
will likely not come through on a planned September event.
UPDATE:
MMAWeekly.com
has also received additional confirmation from Murilo Bustamante,
who fought on the card against Jesse Taylor, that he along with
several other fighters have not received payment for their part
in the show. According to the Brazilian, promoters were set to
wire money to the fighters after leaving Australia, but at this
time many or all of them have yet to receive pay.
Source: MMA Weekly
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Galaxy
MMA Bad Blood
Friday, August 6, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
Lightweight Grand Prix Championship Semi-Final Matches
Harris
Sarmiento (808 Top Team) VS. Jose Salgado (Roy Nelson's Gym;
The Country Club)
Kris
Kyle (808 Top Team) VS. Steve Gable (Gracie Barra)
Lightweight
Grand Prix Alternate Matches
Clay
Lewis Jr. (4WRD Fitness) VS. Jenzen Espanto (Combat 50)
Kyle
Kaahanui (Bulls Pen) VS. Chris Yee (Team Quest)
Grudge
Match
170
Pound Bout: Dirty Curty (Team Submit)VS. Brennan Kamaka (808
Top Team)
Main
Card
185
Pound Bout: Sale Sproat (Freelance) VS. Rocky Ramirez (Greg Jackson's
MMA)
135
Pound Bout: Tyson Nam (Team Quest) VS. Ian McCall (Team Oyama
MMA)
265
Pound Bout: Fabiano Scherner (Team Quest) VS. Mike Martell (Canada
Top Team)
170
Pound Bout: Walter Hao (808 Top Team) VS. Evan Lowther (M-1,
Gracie Kailua)
145
Pound Bout: Justin Wong (HMC) VS. Brandon Pieper (808 Top Team)
Amateur
Matches
125
Women's Pankration Bout: Rachael Ostovich VS. Falen Fowler (Team
Submit)
145
Pound Bout: Colin Mackenzie (God's Army) VS. George Perry (Freelance)
155
Pound Bout: Aaron Terry (HMC) VS. Fatu Tuitasi (808 Top Team)
205
Pound Bout: Keala Cristobal (Freelance) VS. Cade Phillips (Freelance)
170
Pound Bout: Dwain Pasion (Team CAT) VS. Micah Ige (Team Extreme)
230
Pound Bout: Jake Heffernan (Freelance) VS. Dustin Caulustro (Team
Stand Alone)
205
Pound Bout: Alex Steverson (Team Extreme) VS. Benji Rodrigues
(Hakuilua)
125
Pound Bout: Alika Kumukoa (Team Extreme) VS. Jacob Kauwe (Hakuilua)
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X-1
World Events
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2010
X-1
TO PRESENT BIGGEST TITLE FIGHT IN
HAWAIIAN
MMA HISTORY ON SEPTEMBER 11TH
Second
round of light heavyweight title tourney to commence
Honolulu,
HI (USA): Top Hawaiian fight promotion X-1 World Events prides
itself on bringing the best fighters to the Islands, and putting
on the best fights. On September 11th, they will prove this once
again as X-1 World Middleweight Champion Falaniko Vitale will
put his belt on the line against devastating KO artist Kala “Kolohe”
Hose in the main event of a yet-to-be-named event at the Neal
S. Blaisdell Arena. In addition to this incredible title fight
featuring two of the best Hawaiian fighters on the planet, the
much-anticipated second round of the X-1 World Light Heavyweight
title tournament will take place, as the pairings have been set.
And two other exciting world title fights have been signed as
well. All in all, this is one of the top fight cards to take
place in Hawaii in quite some time.
Falaniko
Vitale (27-9, fifteen submissions) is one of the most respected
Hawaiian combatants fighting today. An experienced athlete who
recently celebrated ten years as a professional fighter, Vitale
proudly represents the 808 Fight Factory, one of the toughest
fight gyms on the Islands, and has fought for some of the most
well-known promotions in the world. Fans of King of the Cage,
Rage in the Cage, SuperBrawl, Icon Sport, the IFL, StrikeForce,
and the UFC have all seen his skill set exhibited. In his most
recent bout, he defended his coveted X-1 strap against former
UFC competitor Kalib Starnes, finishing his controversial opponent
via submission in the process. Niko, as he is known, has taken
on top names in the sport, including “Ruthless” Robbie
Lawler, former StrikeForce Middleweight title challenger Jason
“Mayhem” Miller, MMA pioneer Jeremy Horn, StrikeForce/UFC
veteran Trevor Prangley, and UFC fighter Frank Trigg. He has
beaten notable fighters such as UFC vet Aaron Riley, former UFC
Middleweight Champion Dave Menne, UFC middleweight contender
Yushin Okami, and the aforementioned Lindland.
Kala
“Kolohe” Hose (7-3, seven KO/TKOs) is known for his
devastating knockout power, and has garnered a reputation as
one of the toughest Island fighters today. He claimed the ICON
Middleweight title in August of 2008 with an exciting TKO victory
over current UFC fighter Phil Baroni that was lauded by Island
fight fans for its great action. Also a veteran of Superbrawl
and EliteXC, Hose will look to add the X-1 Middleweight belt
to his list of accomplishments. During his career, he’s
faced UFC veterans such as Baroni, “Mayhem” Miller,
and Reese Andy. He will face what is probably the toughest opponent
of his career in Vitale.
In
addition, the second round of the heralded X-1 World Light Heavyweight
tourney will commence at this event, as former EliteXC headliner
and Hawaii native Poai Suganuma (10-3) will match up with “The
Dancing Russian” Vitaly Shemetov (7-7), who brutalized respected
veteran Shungo Oyama in the first round of the tournament en
route to a KO victory. Suganuma, for his part, defeated Greg
Schmitt via unanimous decision on his way to advancing. The other
semifinal matchup will feature Gracie-trained submission specialist
Roy Boughton (4-0, four submissions), who tapped out Adam Akau
with a first round guillotine choke to garner a place in the
second round of the tournament, as he faces extremely tough South
Korean SpiritMC veteran Sang Soo Lee (14-9). Lee knocked out
Daniel Madrid with a beautiful right hand in order to move on
in the tourney. Also featured will be a 145 lb. World Championship
bout between Dave Moreno and Ricky Wallace, as well as a 135
lb. World Championship fight between Bryson Hanson and Russell
Doane.
“I
am very excited about this incredible card. Having two great
Island fighters like Niko and Kolohe fight for the belt, along
with the second round of the tournament, and throwing in two
other title matches…what a card!” exclaimed Mike Miller,
Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events. “It’s going to
be an amazing night of fights.”
Here
is the fight card as it stands now:
Main
Event: 185 lb. World Championship:
Falaniko
Vitale vs. Kala “Kolohe” Hose
Light
Heavyweight Championship tournament (second round):
Poai Suganuma (HI) vs. Vitaly Shemetov (Russia)
Sang Soo Lee (S. Korea) vs. Roy Boughton (California)
145
lb. World Championship:
Dave
Moreno vs. Ricky Wallace
135
lb. World Championship:
Bryson
Hanson vs. Russell Doane
About
X-1 World Events
Founded
in 2004 by Mike Miller, X-1 World Events is a world-class mixed
martial arts (MMA) promotional company based in Honolulu, HI.
Locally-owned and operated, X-1 delivers exciting live arena-based
entertainment events to fight fans all over the islands. The
events feature some of the MMA world’s most talented fighters,
including UFC, Pride, and Abu-Dhabi veterans such as former UFC
champions Dan “The Beast” Severn and Ricco Rodriguez,
UFC veterans Jeff Monson, Kimo Leopoldo, Chad “The Grinder”
Reiner, “Sugar” Shane Nelson, Brandon Wolff, Wes “The
Project” Sims, Ronald “The Machine Gun” Juhn,
Wesley “Cabbage” Correira, and Falaniko Vitale, as
well as Pride veterans Chris Brennan and Ron “H2O-Man”
Waterman. X-1 World Events can be found online at http://www.x1events.com/
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