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

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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)

2010

February

BJJ Tournament

(tba)

1/30/10

Destiny

(Level 4, Royal HI Shopping Ctr)

(MMA)

Quest for Champions

(Pankration/Sub Grappling)

(Kalani HS)

1/23/10

Kauai MMA & Kickboxing

(MMA & Kickboxing)

(Kauai War Memorial Convention Center, Lihue, Kauai)

1/17/10

X1 World Events

(Boxing)

(Waipahu H.S. Gym)

2009

12/19/09

MMA at Level 4

(MMA)

(Level 4 RHSC)

12/17/09

Scrap MMA Event

(MMA)

(Pipeline Cafe)

12/5/09

Aloha
State Championship

of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

(BJJ & Sub Grappling)

(Kaiser H.S. Gym)

12/4/09

Man Up & Stand Up

(Kickboxing)

(Waipahu Filcom)

11/21/09

X-1 LIGHTS OUT

(MMA)

(Kekuaokalani Gym, Kona)

UFC
106

(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas)

11/14/09

UFC
105

(United Kingdom)

11/8/09

X-1 Scuffle at Schofield

(MMA)

(Tropics, Schofield Barracks)

11/7/09

Mad Skills

(Kickboxing/Triple Threat)

(Waiphu Filcom)

11/6/09

Up & Up

(MMA)

(Kapolei High School)

11/1/09

Boxing

(Palolo District Park Gym)

10/31/09

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

Hit-And-Submit
#4

(Pankration)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

10/30/09

Niko's MMA Event

(MMA)

(Veterans Hall, Keehi Lagoon)

10/24/09

X-1:
Scuffle on Schofield 2: Homebound Heroes

Press conference, autograph signing & picture taking

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

UFC
104

(Staples Center, Los Angeles)

10/18/09

NAGA
Hawaii

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Pearl City H.S. Gym)

10/17/09

Just Scrap

(MMA)

(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)

10/10/09

Man Up & Stand Up

(Kickboxing)

(Waipahu Filcom)

10/3/09

Destiny Unfinished Business

(MMA)

(Waipahu Filcom)

9/19/09

UFC
103

(American Airlines Center, Dallas)

9/16/09

UFC
Fight Night 19

(Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City)

9/12/09

Hawaiian
Open Championship

of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

(BJJ & Sub Grappling)

(Kaiser H.S. Gym)

Up & Up

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena)

8/29/09

MAUI OPEN 2009

Submission Grappling Challenge

(Sub Grappling)

(Maui War Memorial Gym)

Island Assult

(Boxing)

(Blaisdell Arena)

UF1C
102

(Rose Garden, Portland)

8/22/09

Destiny: Maui vs. Oahu

(MMA)

(War Memorial Gym, Maui)

8/15/09

Mad Skills

(Kickboxing & Triple Threat)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

8/9/09

WEC

(Las Vegas, NV)

8/8/09

UFC
101: Declaration

(BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian)

(Wachovia Center, Philadelphia)

8/1/09

Affliction: Trilogy

Fedor vs. Barnett

(Honda Cetner, Anaheim, CA)

7/25/09

X-1
Scuffle On Schofield

(MMA)

(Tropics Recreation Center, Schofield Barracks)

Amateur Boxing at Palolo

(Boxing)

(Palolo Gym)

Gracie Tournament

(Kalaheo H.S. Gym)

**Cancelled**

7/23/09

JUST SCRAP

(MMA)

(Pipeline Cafe)

7/20/09

Dream 10: Welterweight GP Final

(Japan)

7/11/09

UFC
100: Lesnar vs. Mir

(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV)

7/10/09

Man up and Stand up

(Kickboxing)

(Waipahu Filcom Center)

6/27-28/09

OTM's 2009
Pac Sub

(Gi & No-Gi competition)

(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)

6/20/09

The
Ultimate Fighter 9:

Team US vs Team UK Finale

6/13/09

Destiny

(MMA)

(Waipahu Filcom)

UFC
99: Comeback

Silva vs. Franklin

(Cologne, Germany)

6/7/09

WEC: Brown vs. Faber 2

(Versus)

6/6/09

Quest for Champions 2009 Tournament

(Sport Pankration, Sub Grappling)

(Kalani HS Gym)

Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields

(St. Louis, MO)

6/4/09 - 6/7/09

World
JJ Championships

(BJJ)

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

5/30/09

Event of the Champions

(Triple Threat, Kickboxing, Grappling)

(Elite Auto Group Center)

5/26/09

Dream 9

5/23/09

UFC
98: Evans vs. Machida

(PPV)

5/16/09

KTI's Scrappa Lifestylez

Scrapplers Fest

(BJJ/Submission Grappling)

(Kauai)

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

5/16/09 - 5/17/09

Brazilian Nationals JJ Championships

(BJJ)

(Carson, CA)

5/9/09

X-1 Kona

(MMA)

(Kekuaokalani Gym, Kona)

15th Grapplers Quest Las Vegas

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Las Vegas, NV)

5/2/09

Destiny

(MMA)

(Waipahu Filcom)

Uprising MMA

(MMA)

(Maui)

May 2009

Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships

(Sub Grappling)

(Tentative)

4/25/09

MMA Madness Water Park Extravaganza

(MMA)

(Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Kapolei)

4/18/08

Kingdom
MMA

(MMA)

(Blaisdell Arena)

NY
International JJ Championships

(BJJ)

(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

4/11/09

Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

(BJJ & Sub Grappling)

(Kaiser High)

X-1: Temple of Boom

(Boxing & MMA)

(Palolo Hongwangi)

4/10/09

HFC: Stand Your Ground XII

(MMA, Kickboxing)

(Dole Cannery Ballroom)

4/4/09 - 4/5/09

NAGA
World Championship

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(NJ, Tentative)

3/28/09

Garden Island Cage Match

(MMA)

(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)

3/27/09
- 3/29/09

Pan
Am JJ Championships

(BJJ)

(Carson, CA)

3/27/09

Tiger Muay Thai Competition

(Muay Thai)

(Tiger Muay Thai Gym, Sand Island Road)

3/21/09 - 3/22/09

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

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Del Mar, CA)

NAGA US Nationals

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Georgia)

3/14/09

Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association: "Hit and Submit"

(Pankration & Muay Thai)

(O-Lounge Night Club, Honolulu)

NAGA Vegas

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

3/7/09

UFC 96

(PPV)

(Columbus, OH)

Grapplers Quest Beast of the East

(BJJ/Sub Grappling)

(Wildwood, New Jersey)

2/27/09

X-1 World Events

NEW BEGINNING"

(MMA)

(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)

2/21/09

Destiny

(MMA)

(Filcom Center, Waipahu)

UFC
95

(PPV)

(London, England)

2/15/09

X1 World Events

Temple of Boom: Fight Night III

(MMA)

(Palolo Hongwanji)

2/8/09

IWFF
Submission Wrestling Tournament

(No-Gi)

(IWFF Academy, Wailuku, Maui)

2/7/09

4th Annual Clint Shelton Memorial

(Boxing)

(Palolo Gym)

Manup and Standup

(Kickboxing)

(Kapolei Rec Center, Kapolei)

UFC Fight Night

(PPV)

(Tampa, FL)

1/31/09

UFC 93 BJ vs GSP

(PPV)

(MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV)

1/30/09

MMA Event

(MMA)

(Schofield Barracks)

1/24/09

Eddie Bravo Seminar

(BJJ)

1/17/09

UFC
93

(PPV)

(Dublin, Ireland)

1/10/09

MAT ATTACK Jiu-Jitsu & Submission Grappling Tournament

(Sub Wrestling)

(Lihikai School, Kahului, Maui)

1/3/08

Uprising - Maui

(MMA)

(Paukukalo Hawaiian Homes Gym)

Hazardous Warfare - Maui

(MMA)

(Lahaina Civic Center)

News & Rumors

Read
more at graciebarrabirmingham.com.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Mousasi:
“I don’t think I’m one of the best"

By Guilherme
Cruz

Strikeforce
light heavyweight champion, Gegard Mousasi seems to be unbeatable.
Without losses since 2006, the Armenian has victories in three
different weight categories, and wants more in 2010. In an exclusive
story, published on this month's TATAME Magazine, Mousasi talked
about how he started on fights, since the amateur boxing to MMA
rings until his relation with Fedor Emelianenko.

On
the interview, Mousasi revealed the interest of testing himself
against the number one of the category, the Brazilain Lyoto Machida,
or even against Anderson Silva. "He (Lyoto) has na unique
style that’s working for him. Until now it’s okay.
They’re very good. I don’t know how it would be, if
I would fight with him, I believe in my skills", guarantees
the fighter, who doesn’t consider himself the best of the
world. "I don’t think I’m one of the best, and
I like it that way. This way I can concentrate only on winning
my fights".

Source: Tatame

10
January Tussles Worth Watching

by Tim Leidecker

We say goodbye to 2009 and welcome 2010. Our resolution for the
New Year: keep the good and get rid of the rest as it relates
to the “10 Tussles” series. In that spirit, the decision
was made to exclude main card bouts from major promotions, which
turns this feature into even more of a drop-in center for hardcore
fans.

Stick
around in 2010, as your mixed martial arts tour guide gets even
more funky, exotic, offbeat and diversified.

10.
Mariusz Abramiuk vs. Artur Sowinski

Bushido 6 “Martial Arts Gala,” Jan. 8 -- Pila, Poland

Polish
fans just love their tournaments. From the major draws put on
by their flagship event, KSW, to those at small amateur shows,
having fighters compete in more than one bout in a single night
somehow seems to strike a nerve with the Poles. Within the framework
of the Bushido 6 tournament -- promoted by black belts turned
promoters Mariusz Linke and Tomasz Jopek -- two talented young
Brazilian jiu-jitsu players, Abramiuk and Sowinski, will clash.
Sowinski, a Silesian Cage Club fighter who boasts UK experience,
stands as the pre-tournament favorite entering the event.

9.
Rodrigo Melquisedec da Silva vs. Janailson Kevin

Nitro Fighting Championship, Jan. 30 -- Joao Pessoa, Brazil

Some
heated rivalries in Brazil always raise tempers, Brazilian Top
Team versus Chute Boxe Academy chief among them. A flame that
burned continually during Pride Fighting Championships’
heyday, the rivalry between the two camps has cooled but has
not gone out. In the main event of the first Brazilian show of
2010, Melquisedec da Silva, a Chute Boxe-based Jean Silva disciple,
will take on Janailson, who just turned 24 and represents the
next generation of fighters coming out of BTT.

8.
Corey Hill vs. Mike Dizak

Raging Wolf 6, Jan. 23 -- Niagara Falls, N.Y.

It
was the snap, crackle and pop heard ’round the world and
a sight that made even the most hardboiled fans cringe -- Hill’s
lower leg twisting 90 degrees after he kicked Dale Hartt in the
shin at UFC “Fight for the Troops” in December 2008.
Now, more than a year later, MMA’s tallest lightweight appears
ready to get back into the mix. At Raging Wolf 6, which takes
place on Seneca Indian territory, Hill faces Dizak, a journeyman
fighter who has become a regular on the East Central Canada circuit.

7.
Atsushi Takeuchi vs. Hiroyuki Abe

Shooto “The Way of Shooto 1: Like a Tiger, Like a Dragon,”
Jan. 23 -- Toyko

In
the preeminent flyweight matchup of the month, Shooto’s
number one-ranked 114-pounder, Takeuchi, will take on the ninth-ranked
Abe. Takeuchi, 36, has rattled off three straight wins, including
significant victories over fourth-ranked Katsuya Murofushi in
November 2008 and sixth-ranked Takeshi Sato in July. He has designs
on positioning himself for a shot at Rambaa Somdet’s flyweight
title. Abe, not to be confused with his more prominent namesake,
has other plans.

*
6. Luke Zachrich vs. Byron Sutton

MMA Big Show “A New Dawn,” Jan. 9 -- Florence, Ind.

The
Hoosier State’s MMA Big Show has been busy, with a total
of seven events last year, and it will carry that momentum into
the New Year. While the promotion’s latest main event pits
heavyweights Gary Goodridge and Ron Sparks against one another,
the true gem on the Jan. 9 card pairs Zachrich, a veteran of
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 7, with Sutton, an undefeated
Indianapolis prospect. Their respective game plans are no secret,
as Zachrich will look for submissions, while Sutton has revealed
himself as an advocate of good ole ground-and-pound.

*Sherdog.com
learned Thursday that both the Goodridge-Sparks and Zachrich-Sutton
matchups, along with a third professional bout, were pulled from
Saturday’s event.

Indiana
State Athletic Commission Director Wade Lowhorn said the regulatory
body would not allow Goodridge to compete in the state due to
his Dec. 31 technical knockout loss to Gegard Mousasi in Japan.
In addition, Lowhorn said the commission and the promotion are
working together to satisfy new deadline requirements instituted
on Dec. 1 for licensing and medical paperwork.

“The
timing just wasn’t there over the holidays,” said Lowhorn.

Saturday’s
MMA Big Show will proceed as an amateur-only event. The promotion
said it would also return on Feb. 20 with its pro-amateur “Triple
Threat” event.

S.
Ikemoto will take on Y. Shirai5. Seichi Ikemoto vs. Yuya Shirai

Deep “45 Impact”, Jan. 24 -- Osaka, Japan

Two
men who did not have much luck in last year’s Dream welterweight
grand prix will meet when Deep champion Ikemoto squares off with
Shirai, an M-1 Challenge veteran. Despite first-round exits in
the Dream tournament, the added exposure was a boost for their
careers; they will now face each other for Ikemoto’s welterweight
championship. It will mark the second defense for the 34-year-old
freestyle fighter and a particularly tricky one, as he looks
to rebound from two straight losses. Meanwhile, Shirai has won
a pair of fights since his submission loss to Jason High.

4.
Jeremy Horn vs. Victor Moreno

5150 Combat League “New Year’s Revolution,” Jan.
16 -- Tulsa, Okla.

He
just keeps going and going and going. Entering the 15th year
of his remarkable career -- and 107th documented professional
fight -- Horn shows no signs of slowing down. A true pioneer
and student of the game, the 34-year-old submission specialist
has tested himself against the Shamrocks, Liddells and Coutures
of the MMA world. When his fourth run in the UFC ended in January
2008, he returned to the business of painting regional events
red with the blood of his foes. Moreno has already faced a dozen
UFC veterans, so he certainly will not be star struck when he
challenges Horn.

3.
Tony Hervey vs. Kotetsu Boku

King of the Cage “Toryumon”, Jan. 30 -- Okinawa, Japan

How
can King of the Cage run an event in Japan when the UFC cannot?
Well, KOTC front man Terry Trebilcock and company have teamed
up with San Diego-based Japanese media company Ronin Productions,
and a nice, tight card at the Okinawa Convention Center has resulted
from the partnership. In the co-headliner, former KOTC lightweight
champion Hervey, fresh off his five-round war with Takanori Gomi,
will take on Boku, a 2007 Cage Force tournament finalist and
Dream veteran.

2.
Alberto Crane vs. Albert Rios

Called Out MMA 2, Jan. 24 -- Ontario, Calif.

Called
Out MMA’s sophomore effort, originally slated for Nov. 14,
was set to feature Crane, a UFC veteran, against the once-beaten
Wander Braga. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has since been
replaced by Affliction veteran Albert Rios, who figures to pose
an equally adequate challenge for Crane. Both men come from submission
backgrounds, but Rios has used a more controlled approach in
the past. Their clash will be contested at a catchweight of 150
pounds.

1.
Robert Jocz vs. Karl Amoussou

Beast of the East “Chahbari vs. Souwer,” Jan. 30 --
Zutphen, Holland

Co-promoted
by Dutch organizations Beast of the East and M-1 Global, this
matchup holds up to any fights that were made last year. Jocz,
universally recognized as one of the top three middleweights
in Poland (Mamed Khalidov and Tomasz Drwal are the other two),
will lock horns with Amoussou, long championed as one of Europe’s
brightest prospects. It figures to end in a tapout or knockout,
as a master grappler takes on an explosive kickboxer.

Source: Sherdog

Sengoku
demands punishment for Aoki

By Zach
Arnold

A
formal letter was sent out to determine what punishment K-1/DREAM
would impose on Shin’ya Aoki for his taunting after breaking
the humerus bone of Mizuto Hirota. The letter said that they
want a punishment so severe that a similar type incident won’t
occur in the future.

Regarding
the future of Sengoku, the promotion plans to have 6 or 7 events
in the Kanto (Tokyo) area in 2010. The first big show will happen
on 3/7 in Tokyo at Ryogoku Kokugikan. According to the promotion,
there isn’t a strong tie currently with the Yoshida dojo
(Yoshida, Nakamura, etc.) but that they are open to negotiations.
This should be no surprise given that Kokuho, the boss of J-ROCK
(who managed Yoshida’s career in PRIDE), left Sengoku as
the company’s top boss.

Satoshi
Ishii reportedly wants to have his second MMA fight soon.

Source: Fight Opinion

WEC
46 Could Be Biggest Fight of Urijah Faber's Career

By Michael
David Smith

Michael David Smith is FanHouse's Lead Blogger

Urijah Faber's fight on Sunday night is, in some ways, the biggest
of his career.

At
first that might sound crazy: Most of the fights in Faber's mixed
martial arts career have been for one championship belt or another,
but his bout with Raphael Assuncao is a non-title fight. And
Faber vs. Assuncao isn't even technically the main event on Sunday
night, although it is surely the bout that is drawing the most
fans to Sacramento's Arco Arena.

But
Faber is, more than at any other point in his MMA career, at
a crossroads as he prepares to battle the dangerous Assuncao:
If he wins, his next fight will be for a shot at the featherweight
belt which he once owned but which is now possessed by Jose Aldo.
If Faber loses, however, it will be fair to ask whether he is,
at age 30, on the down side of his career.

WEC
General Manager Reed Harris said he'd prefer to wait until after
the Faber-Assuncao fight before he says what's next for the winner,
but he sounds excited about the possibility of getting Faber
back in a title fight.

"We've
definitely had that discussion," Harris said. "We always
like to wait until after the fights, but we had that discussion
last week, and I think that's something we look forward to doing.
Depending on who wins this fight, I think we'll try to make that
fight."

After
spending six months recovering from hand injuries suffered in
his loss to former champion Mike Brown, Faber said he's excited
at the prospect of getting a new shot at a new champion.

"I'm
ranked number three in the world and Raphael is ranked number
five, so I would assume this is the spot for the number one ranking,"
Faber said. "I'd love to have that shot, but it's up to
the guys in the WEC."

Faber
has already lost twice to Brown, and it would have been tough
for the WEC to sell fans on a third Faber-Brown battle. But when
Aldo defeated Brown in November, that opened the door to Faber
returning to title contention. Faber said he saw Aldo's victory
coming.

"I
thought that Jose Aldo was going to win," Faber said. "I
thought Aldo was going to win and I thought I was pretty close
to a title fight, but I'm just happy that we've defined who the
best guys are right now. Jose Aldo, without a doubt, has proven
that he's the champ right now, so that's the guy I want to beat.
Before then, I've got a very difficult opponent in Raphael. I
don't want to get too excited about fighting Aldo yet because
I've got another hard-headed Brazilian to try to throw around."

Assuncao,
of course, would love nothing more than to get a title shot of
his own, and he thinks that if he can prove himself on Sunday
night, he'll be the one fighting Aldo later this year.

"I
think that a good performance would solidify that number one
spot," Assuncao said. "I just want my breakthrough.
Urijah has those credentials, and if I beat him it would solidify
my credentials as the number one challenger for the belt."

From
a business perspective, the WEC would certainly prefer to see
Faber back in title contention. Faber is a charismatic, likable
guy who has long been the promotion's biggest star, and any title
fight involving Faber would be a major event for the WEC. But
Harris says the WEC doesn't play favorites with Faber.

"Urijah
has earned that spot," Harris said. "It's not us trying
to get him into big fights. Urijah is considered one of the top
guys in the world, his fight with Mike Brown was a war, he broke
both of his hands, and it's hard to keep a guy like that out
of big fights. Urijah Faber is one of the top three guys in the
world and we're giving him a really, really tough fight. Urijah
is coming right back in there after a hand injury and fighting
one of the top guys in the world."

Faber
wants 2010 to be the year he shows again that he is one of the
top guys in the world -- and the best in the world in MMA's featherweight
division.

"I'm
expecting a game performance," Faber said. "And hopefully
I'll have the belt midway through 2010.

Source: MMA Fighting

JAMES
IRVIN AIMING FOR UFC RETURN IN MARCH

by Damon
Martin

Injuries and a suspension kept James Irvin out of action for
all of 2009, but the heavy handed striker is looking to finally
make his middleweight debut as he returns to action in the UFC
this March.

Irvin's
return was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Thursday by sources
close to the fighter, who indicated "The Sandman" would
fight on either the March 21 card set for Versus, or at UFC 111
in Newark, NJ.

Since
losing by knockout to middleweight champion Anderson Silva in
a 205-pound contest, Irvin has been looking to make the move
to 185 pounds, but several knee injuries kept him sidelined.

He
was scheduled to face Drew McFedries at UFC 98 before suffering
a meniscus tear, and then a re-aggravation of that injury kept
him out of his UFC 102 fight against Wilson Gouveia as well.

With
the health issues behind him, Irvin is excited to make 2010 a
memorable year.

Now
the California based fighter is re-engergized and ready for action
and a March return to the Octagon. Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com
for more information on Irvin's return as it becomes available.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
Sues Bar Owner

By Josh Stein

As
they said they would, the UFC brass are going to court over an
illegal video stream of UFC 104 at a bar in Allston, Massachusetts.
The promotion’s leadership is accusing Derek Brady, a bar
owner, of evading the cost of “illegally [procuring a] pay-per-view
signal without purchasing it through exclusive closed circuit
providers.”

The
UFC is suing Brady for $640,000 plus the cost of legal fees.
The report has been verified by an eyewitness and the UFC seems
to be taking the piracy crackdown seriously. Apparently, the
bar owner streamed UFC 104.

Source: MMA Opinion

Charlie
Valencia – The Bantamweights’ Mike Brown?

By Thomas
Gerbasi

Stop
me if you’ve heard this one before. Hard working fighter
comes up the hard way, pays his dues on the local circuit, taking
on opponents much bigger than he is simply because there are
few if any opportunities here in the States for fighters his
size. Finally, he finds hope in the form of the WEC, puts a few
wins together, and all of a sudden, as a 30-something prize fighter,
he is on the verge of becoming a world champion.

That’s
the story of former WEC featherweight champ Mike Brown, who shocked
the mixed martial arts world in 2008 with his upset win over
Urijah Faber - a victory that propelled him into the spotlight
and towards two successful title defenses before he lost the
belt last November to Jose Aldo. And strangely enough, it’s
also turning into the story of bantamweight Charlie Valencia,
who, at 35, is finally within shouting distance of a championship
fight.

“Mike
Brown and me pretty much have the same character,” agrees
Valencia. “We came from backgrounds where we had to work
hard, there wasn’t that much fame or money, and we did this
because we loved the sport.”

Valencia
isn’t just saying that for the sake of a good sound bite
– he means it. How else would you explain a decade of service
in a sport that has seen him fight for free in the early days
before the WEC came to prominence and gave the bantamweights
a place to showcase their skills? Or why he keeps doing this
when the bonus for a night’s work didn’t come via check,
but in the form of a torn ACL, broken cheekbone, broken orbital
bone, or pinched nerve? Again, his answer is unchanged.

“I
love this sport, I’ve done it for free, I’ve fought
up to 170 at one point in the beginning, and I wouldn’t
change anything,” he said. “I love to compete and I
like to try to prove to myself that I can handle these guys that
are the best in the world, and the WEC provides that. I’m
just a hard worker, and whatever comes from me working hard is
just great. I love what I do.”

As
for the rough times, Valencia just shrugs them off.

“It’s
part of the sport and everybody goes through this,” he said.
“It’s difficult on you, but you’ve got to accept
it. You’re gonna get knocked down, you’re gonna get
cut, but you’ve got to deal with that. If you don’t
accept that, then you shouldn’t be fighting.”

If
that type of hard-nosed, blue collar attitude makes you instantly
like Valencia, it’s for good reason, because the native
of East LA is one of the game’s good guys even before he
steps into the cage. And once the bell does ring, you’ll
probably like him even more simply because he always shows up
to fight. If you want an example of what he brings to the table,
all you need to do is look up the finishing sequence of his 2007
bout with Ian McCall, a 30 second flurry of striking, wrestling,
and jiu-jitsu that captured the essence of mixed martial arts.
To this day, Valencia gets comments on the bout, and he recently
called it the most memorable of his career.

“I
get a lot of compliments on that one, and it was a fun fight,”
said Valencia.

Unfortunately
for him, he wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum of
the bout, as he lost both of his 2008 bouts, to Yoshiro Maeda
and Dominick Cruz. No shame there, but Valencia needed to turn
things around in 2009 if he wanted to make a serious run at the
135-pound belt.

So
he did, scoring decision wins over Seth Dikun and Coty “Ox”
Wheeler last year to up his pro record to 11-5. It was the jolt
his career needed.

“If
you lose, it can take you out, but that’s the nature of
this business, and I understand that,” he said. “You
have to win in order to make money and I would love to stick
around more.”

On
Sunday night, Valencia is back for his first bout of 2010 and
it’s a pivotal one as he takes on Japanese contender Akitoshi
Tamura.

“He’s
a tough guy, top ten in the world, and he’s fought some
pretty good guys,” said Valencia. “Overall, he’s
gonna be the toughest guy I ever fought besides Urijah Faber,
but I think I can beat him.”

If
he does, that’s three wins in a row, and he can start making
his case for a bout against the winner of March’s championship
bout between champion Brian Bowles and challenger Cruz, both
of whom he has a little history with. That’s good stuff
right there, but Valencia – who walks around at only a few
pounds over the bantamweight limit – has even bigger (actually
smaller) hopes – the chance to help stamp the flyweight
division on the WEC map.

“The
one thing I am looking forward to is if they open up this 125-pound
weight class,” said Valencia, who wrestled at 118 pounds
in high school and college. “I’m generally the smallest
guy out there at 135, and I’m looking forward to that (the
flyweight division) because it’s more of my natural weight
and I can perform a lot better. I want to give myself every opportunity
I can to compete.”

For
now though, it’s the bantamweights for Charlie Valencia,
and he’s just fine with that.

“The
bantamweights are tough,” he said. “Everybody that
you fight at 135 is gonna be tough and that’s just the way
that this sport has evolved, and it just feels great to be part
of it. That’s the most important thing for me right now,
to be a part of something that is moving in the right direction.
The WEC is doing a great job of promoting us and taking care
of us, and there’s no promotion I would rather be with.
I appreciate every moment I get to represent the WEC and I want
to represent them with hard work, great fights, and by being
entertaining.”

Source: WEC

Strikeforce
Won't Be Risking Bobby Lashley Against Shane del Rosario

by Kid
Nate

Zach Krantz is disappointed that Bobby Lashley won't be making
his Strikeforce debut against up and comer Shane del Rosario:

When
this fight was first reported I credited Strikeforce for putting
together solid fight where they had a lot to gain and something
to lose as well. It was a risky endeavor as they were facing
off a marketing tool (Lashley) against a legitimate opponent.
If it is Strikeforce that pulled this fight off the table then
it perpetuates what many people already believe. The common
critique of Strikeforce and many of their shows is they cake
walk their top fighters with weak competition and the reason
fans are provided with exciting finishes is due to lack of competitiveness
if the cage.

The
other possibility is Lashley's camp agreed to the fight not knowing
who Rosario was and after further insight they realized it might
be too risky for Bobby at this point in his career.

I
have to disagree with Zach here. Strikeforce was guilty of very
poor match-making by throwing the very green and untested, but
high profile Bobby Lashley in against del Rosario who is a very
dangerous undefeated fighter.

Lashley
is no Brock Lesnar (as I've blogged before) and if he's going
to reach his commercial and athletic potential in MMA, he needs
to be brought along slowly and fed a series of beatable, but
increasingly formidable challengers. Lashley vs del Rosario wasn't
a good match for either fighter and I'm glad it's not happening.

If
del Rosario had beaten Lashley, most fans would just write off
Lashley rather than giving Shane credit for beating a tough opponent.

Source: Bloody Elbow

Gracies
return to the Octagon; Rolles talks UFC 109

A Q&A with Rolles Gracie who is the first of the family to
appear in the UFC's Octagon for four years.

By Jay Furness

Interview

At a strapping 6'4" and 240lbs, Rolles Gracie couldn't be
much further in stature to his relative Royce; the 170lb phenomenon
that first introduced Gracie Jiu Jitsu to the world at the inaugural
UFC. Royce showed just how a person with the right technique
and leverage can overcome a larger or stronger adversary.

Now
though, Rolles makes his way in to the world's largest fighting
organisation and one that his family were a major part in setting
up: The UFC. He has the BJJ, he has the physical attributes and
he has the desire to learn all aspects of the fight game in order
to become the most complete fighter he can.

What
makes it so special is that, despite the history and their help
in the formation of the organisation back in 1993, the Gracie
name hasn't graced the Octagon for four years since Royce's return
against then welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

Rolles
is ready to kickstart a resurgence as he and Renzo both make
their way back to the UFC's cage and aim to show the world that
the Gracie's are still some of the greatest fighters out there.

We
caught up with him to get his take on the resurgence and his
fight against Mostapha Al Turk at UFC 109.

Hey
Rolles, thanks for taking the time out to answer some questions
for us.

First
up, I understand you split your time between Greg Jackson’s
camp and your cousin Renzo’s BJJ school in New York. How
important is it for you to develop your whole MMA game as well
as expand your Jiu Jitsu?

I
think the camps compliment each other. The guys I train with
in New Mexico [Jackson's Submission Fighting] have a style more
similar to the guys I'm going to fight in the Octagon. In NYC
we have great talent as well, but our strength there is in jiu-jitsu
which keeps my ground game sharp. I believe jiu-jitsu is the
back bone of MMA. This combination of these training camps helps
me to be a complete fighter.

Do
you find that you take to the striking aspect as well as the
grappling or does it take added effort in order to progress your
standup?

I
love learning new things and I'm dedicating myself to my training
in many different aspects of the game. I wish I could clone myself
so I have more time to learn everything I want to learn.

You
haven’t really encountered many problems in your MMA career
so far, even against good strikers such as Peter Graham. Is that
a testament to your ongoing all-round improvement?

That's
the result of hard work and many hours of training. I'm learning
other styles of fighting to help bring the fight to where I feel
most comfortable.

Onto
your signing for the UFC; it makes you the first Gracie in the
Octagon since Royce lost to Matt Hughes back in 2006. Why do
you think the most famous fighting family in the world has spent
so long outside of the organization?

To
be honest, I'm not really sure. I think everybody had different
things going on and different projects. But what matters now
is that we're back for good. I'm not planning on going anywhere.

How
does it feel to start somewhat of a Gracie resurgence in the
Octagon (with Renzo also returning to face Hughes)?

I'm
loving this feeling. I have so much support from my family, students
and fans and this motivates me to train even harder to represent
the family and bring an exciting show.

You’re
scheduled to face Mostapha Al Turk who is primarily a grappler
himself. Do you think his style plays into your hands? What are
you expecting from the fight?

We
both have a grappling background, and in my opinion the key factor
of this fight is going to be who is able to keep the fight in
their own comfort zone. Al Turk is well rounded guy and he's
going to bring it. So I'm training hard and not taking this fight
lightly.

Al
Turk has had a rough ride in the UFC, being in there with highly
ranked guys in Kongo and Mirko 'Cro Cop' for his first two fights.
Could you gauge anything from these performances that may help
you in your fight?

Yeah,
I think those were bad match-ups for him and he wasn't able to
really use his game. Any footage is good to study your opponent
and of course my coaches are studying him to put together a good
game plan.

Do
you think another defeat would send him out of the UFC?

Maybe,
and that makes him an even more dangerous opponent.

As
for yourself, many have stated that you will be the best grappler
in the heavyweight division. Would you say this is the case?
How do you take this compliment?

Thanks
for this compliment. I've been practicing jiu-jitsu for such
a long time now, and that's how I've received my recognition.
Of course there are other guys who have strong jiu-jitsu in the
heavyweight division as well, but I'm confident in my skills.

What
fights would you like style-wise with other UFC heavyweights
in the future?

I'm
not in a position to choose fights. I'm going to take whoever
they send my way. Right now all my focus is on Al Turk but there
are definitely some exciting possibilities for me in this division.

What
are your ultimate goals from the sport?

Definitely
the belt, but one thing at a time.

Any
last words to your fans/the readers?

I
really appreciate all the support I've been getting from the
fans on Twitter and Facebook and through my website. I'm happy
that they are so excited to see a Gracie return to the Octagon
and I promise not to disappoint.

A
humble and focused Rolles Gracie, a man that is looking to bring
his skills to bear in the Octagon and quite possibly the most
exciting new fighter in the UFC's heavyweight division.

Keep
an eye out for Rolles as he makes his UFC debut on February 6th,
2010 at UFC 109.

Source: MMA Unlimited

The
danger of the post training pains

By Rafael Alejarra

It’s
common to see athletes complaining about muscular pains after
or even before some trainings. But what do cause these pains?
Maybe be physical or technical, and we’ll talk about that
on a little article about the Muscular Pain with Delay.

After
a while without training, after a exhaustive exercise or a new
physical activity, it may appear that pain considered normal.
But it isn’t. Pain is never normal! To this pain we call
Muscular Pain with Delay.

It
happens because of really small muscular injuries that may happen
after exercises of muscular contraction or strenghtning. The
exercises that provoke MPD are unusual and provoke mechanical
overcharge. To say that MPD is related to accumulation of lactic
acid is unfounded.

MPD
is not related to get tired too. It appears after a few hours
and gets intensive between 24 and 48 hours after the physical
activity. Meanwhile, the muscle lose his capacity to stand tensions
and the exercise charge must be smaller. That’s why is so
important to rest, because we can’t forget that a good rest,
most of times, is better than a bad training.

Rafael
Alejarra is Demian Maia's and Cris Cyborg's physical coach, among
others. Follow Alejarra on his twitter @alejarramma.

Source: Tatame

1/8/10

Quote
of the Day

"Sandwich
every bit of criticism between two thick layers of praise."

Mary Kay Ash

Mediation
fails in setting up Pacquiao/Mayweather fight

By Zach
Arnold

Chris
Mannix of Sports Illustrated reports that it is likely we will
see Manny Pacquiao vs. Yuri Foreman on March 20th in Las Vegas.

Mayweather
will fight the week before (on 3/13) in Las Vegas against an
opponent to be determined.

The
Sporting News has more details on the failed negotiations. The
LA Times reports that blood testing was a sticking point.

Source: Fight Opinion

Arum:
Pacquiao-Mayweather Fight Is Off

ON-AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN FIGHT IS OFF. AGAIN.

The much-anticipated showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd
Mayweather, tentatively scheduled for March 13 at the MGM Grand
in Las Vegas, isn't happening, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told
ESPN.com on Wednesday night. "The fight's off," Bob
Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, said from Las Vegas.

Read
what Pacquiao had to say, and who he'll likely fight instead,
after the jump.

The
fight died after a last-ditch attempt at mediation failed. Arum
said Pacquiao would move on and likely fight junior middleweight
titlist Yuri Foreman on March 13 or March 20. Pacquiao had agreed
to move off his hard-line stance of refusing a blood test inside
30 days before the fight, but Mayweather wouldn't budge off his
desire for random testing all the way until the fight, Arum said.
Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Golden Boy and the point person
for the company on the negotiations, did not return multiple
messages.

Manny
Pacquiao released the following statement: "I am very disappointed
that we could not make this fight for the fans and I am angered
because of the false accusations from Golden Boy and the Mayweather
camp that I used some type of drugs, and that is why I have instructed
our American lawyers to proceed with the lawsuit to clear my
name," Pacquiao said in a statement. Mayweather has not
released a statement at this time.

Source:
ESPN

AOKI'S
ARM BREAKING FIGHT; WVR CALLS FOR ACTION

Japanese
fight promotions Dream and Sengoku combined to close out 2009
in Japan on New Year’s Eve with Dynamite!! 2009 at Saitama
Super Arena. The event featured several impressive performances,
more than a couple gut checks, and some remarkable finishes.
But an unseemly display by one of the top lightweight fighters
in the world stole much of the event’s luster.

In
a battle of lightweight champions, Dream’s Shinya Aoki immediately
put Sengoku’s Mizuto Hirota on the mat and took mount with
Hirota’s arm wrapped up and behind his own back. Aoki then
proceeded to, quite literally, break Hirota’s arm in an
odd sort of twisting armbar. The maneuver popped Hirota’s
elbow out of place, leaving his forearm flaccid.

Following
the finish, Aoki put himself up for non-sportsman of the year
by screaming at Hirota and shoving his middle finger in the Sengoku
champion’s face.

Promoters
of Sengoku, World Victory Road, on Thursday condemned Aoki’s
actions and called on Dream officials to reprimand their champion.

Others
took Aoki’s antics a little more in stride. Jason “Mayhem”
Miller, who was a guest commentator alongside Michael Schiavello
and Guy Mezger on the HDNet telecast of the fight, said, “Hey,
that’s the business. We’re not figure skaters.”

Even
UFC president Dana White weighed in on the incident, pretty much
agreeing with Miller.

“This
isn’t (expletive) baseball or one of these other sports,”
White said at a gathering of reporters after Saturday’s
UFC 108. “Sometimes these guys hate each other. When you
break a guy’s arm that you hate, flip him off, and let him
know you’re glad you broke his arm, I guess, it happens
sometimes.

“It’s
not the greatest sportsmanship, but, ‘oh, that guy is terrible,
he’s a horrible man and he shouldn’t fight anymore,’
this is the fight business, man. Crazy stuff happens in the fight
business sometimes.”

Source: MMA Weekly

Gegard
Mousasi’s schedule packed with challenges

by Marcelo
Dunlop

Riding a 14-fight winning streak, Gegard Mousasi has beaten such
top-flight opponents as Melvin Manhoef, Ronaldo Jacaré,
Renato Babalu and Rameau Sokoudjou, among others. Owner of the
Strikeforce light heavyweight and Dream middleweight GP belts,
the Armenian just keeps earning more and more respect in the
world of MMA. At only 24 years of age, he has amassed 27 victories,
just two losses and one draw.

And
there is no end to the number of challenges being thrown the
fighter’s way. As confirmed by the organizers of Dynamite!!,
to take place on the 31st of this month, Mousasi will enter the
ring to face Gary Goodridge in a K-1 rules bout. Beyond his New
Year’s fight, he has a plateful of challenges coming up
in 2010.

According
to his manager, Apy Echteld, in an interview with MMAJunkie,
Mousasi should fight in both Strikeforce and Dream during the
first semester of the year. The former, probably to take place
in April, the card will probably feature Fedor Emelianenko, while
the event in Japan to take place May 30 will feature the organization’s
light heavyweight GP. The fighter also had a boxing match scheduled
for January, but plans changed upon confirmation of the Goodridge
fight.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Silva:
Nate will be the next middleweight king

By Guilherme
Cruz

There are few fights left on Anderson Silva’s contract on
UFC and, according to him, the retirement is closer. Talking
to TATAME Magazine, the UFC middleweight champion revealed his
bet to the next champion of the category.

“I think that the next champion of this category will be
Nate Marquardt”, Anderson said, complementing the American,
who comes from victory over Demian Maia. “If I don’t
have the belt anymore, I think that Nate will be the next champion,
the next guy to win it for a long, long time this title”.

With eight victories on UFC, Nate Marquardt lost only two times
on the event, to the Brazilians Thales Leites and Anderson Silva.
Although, Silva thinks Marquardt’s evolution was big since
the defeat to him, in 2007.

“I’ve
been following all of his fights and he’s better since the
last time that we fought. He’s tough, has a good characteristic
for a fighter, develop a lot while the fight. I believe that
he will be the next champion of this category”, finished
Anderson.

Source: Tatame

Toby
Imada vs. Jorge Masvidal Rematch

Planned for April

Ray Hui

The combatants in the unanimous winner for Submission of the
Year in 2009, Toby Imada and Jorge Masvidal will likely square
off again in April when Bellator returns for its second season.

Imada
told MMAjunkie.com Wednesday that the rematch will happen on
April 8 and MMAFighting.com has confirmed with Bellator that
the fight is being planned to happen sometime in the first three
weeks of the season.

The
two would meet in the first round of the lightweight tournament
for a chance to challenge champion Eddie Alvarez for the belt.

Imada
and Alvarez first met in the semifinals and after losing the
majority of the fight, Imada secured an inverted triangle choke
on a standing Masvidal for the win.

Source: MMA Fighting

8
Questions for Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua

by Gleidson Venga

The Oct. 24 UFC light heavyweight title bout between challenger
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and champion Lyoto Machida ended
in a much-debated decision for Machida. Both men will look to
settle the controversy May 1 in Montreal, where their rematch
is expected to headline UFC 113 at the Bell Centre.

Sherdog.com
recently spoke with Rua, who reviewed his year and discussed
the upcoming rematch.

Sherdog.com:
In 2009 you came back to fighting after a year and a half recovering
from an injury, and you fought for the UFC title. How do you
rate this year in your career?

Rua: I think it was a good year. I achieved my goals. Unfortunately
I didn’t win the belt, but I was happy with my performance,
and besides, I have a new chance for the title in 2010. So I'm
tranquil and I'm done with the goals that I outlined in 2009.

Sherdog.com:
If you compare your fight against Mark Coleman, your first after
the surgery, and the fight against Lyoto Machida, your third
fight in the year, how do you see your evolution?

Rua: I went back to my rhythm. Another difference is that today
I am a guy ready to fight in the Octagon. Against Coleman I was
not. I didn’t have an Octagon in my gym; I trained in a
ring. Today I am more ready to fight in an Octagon than a ring.

Sherdog.com:
What is your expectation for the rematch with Machida?

Rua: I am confident. My expectations are good. I'm happy to fight
again with him, not because I think I won the first match but
to have a new opportunity to fight for the belt. My big dream
is to win the belt, so I want that fight again because it is
a fight for the belt.

Sherdog.com:
Before the fight with Machida, much was said about his game,
Machida Karate, which was very difficult to nullify. Who helped
you with your strategy?

Rua: The whole team. There were about eight people, and all got
together and each one gave his opinion, then we discussed it
to achieve the best possible strategy. There were many people
engaged in this work.

Sherdog.com:
You changed a lot of your game and your training for that fight?

Rua: We did in fact devise a strategy, but I can’t change
a lot of my game because I’ve fought this way for 10 years,
so I cannot totally change my game just because of Machida. Thank
God I could annul his game, but unfortunately I could not win
the belt. Now I have a new battle ahead, and I will make a new
strategy.

Sherdog.com:
When do you begin to train for the rematch?

Rua: I have been training lightly, but I'll start training hard
about three months before the fight. I'm in very basic training,
but in February I’ll already be training harder. We have
a very solid team to get ready to fight.

Sherdog.com:
You fight in a very tough weight division. How do you assess
the challenges you will have to face?

Rua: I believe that this category is the most competitive in
the world. It always was. I know you will never have a breeze,
and as I fight in the UFC, which is the biggest event in the
world, I know I'll always face tough guys and can’t expect
to have easy bouts. I know that and I will always expect to face
the top fighters of the division.

Sherdog.com:
You've always been a big star in Brazil and Japan. What is the
reception of the American public since you were hired by the
UFC?

Rua: For us fighters, nothing is better than having our work
recognized and having the affection of fans. In the U.S., Japan,
Canada, etc., people have a greater commitment to the fighters,
and I'm happy for that. That affection of the fans is another
motivation for us to train hard and fight.

Source: Sherdog

UFC
NEWS: Frankie Edgar could get next shot at B.J. Penn in Abu Dhabi

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

While
lightweight contender Gray Maynard is main eventing Monday's
Fight Night 20 event on Spike TV against Nate Diaz, a fighter
he defeated 21 months ago may be getting a crack at division
Champion B.J. Penn first.

According
to a couple of tweets from Sports Illustrated's Josh Gross, Frankie
Edgar is in line for a bout with Penn at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi.
Penn announced on his main site Wednesday that he was likely
to fight on that card, though no opponent had been determined.

While
Gross makes mention of the fact that Maynard's performance against
Diaz on Monday could ultimately be the determining factor in
who becomes the next challenger, he does mention that he is being
told the plan is Edgar regardless of what happens.

The
Abu Dhabi event is set to take place on April 10th, and is also
expected to play host to the Middleweight Title bout between
Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

Link
to Gross' Twitter

Penick's
Analysis: Considering Maynard did beat him when the two faced
off in April of 2008, it would seem a bit unjust if Edgar still
gets the shot if Maynard comes out of Fight Night 20 the victor.
If Maynard gets beat by Diaz, however, then Edgar would be the
next in line after that so there would be no issue with him getting
the Title fight in April. While Edgar did pick up a huge win
last May in a systematic decision victory over former Champ Sean
Sherk, it may be a stretch to consider him much of a challenge
to the Champion with the way Penn has looked in the last few
years at 155 lbs. Edgar's boxing may allow him more success on
the feet than others have accomplished against B.J., but then
he'll have to contend with Penn's much more advanced ground game.
He's one of a few fighters left for Penn to clear out of the
division to solidify his status as the greatest lightweight the
UFC has ever seen, so it's a fight that will happen at some point
one way or another, but if Maynard gets out of Monday's fight
relatively unscathed and able to turnaround for an April bout
then he should get that shot first over Edgar.

Source: MMA Torch

Bellator
prepares for upcoming season starting in March/April 2010

By Zach
Arnold

The
organization is getting ready for their multi-pronged television
plan where their will be programming on Fox Sports Net, NBC,
and Telemundo. This replaces their deal from last season on ESPN
Deportes.

Bjorn
Rebney, Bellator CEO, said the following yesterday publicly:

“Coming
up next 145 lbs. We have four signed fighters so far who are
a combined 38-2. First one will be announced tomorrow.”

In
addition to the Featherweight division, the company will have
tournaments to determine #1 challengers across multiple weight
classes. In a recent interview on the Versus web site, Rebney
laid out the company’s upcoming plans.

“There’s
a long road for us to go on and the next 10 months with 24 events
on FSN and NBC and Telemundo are going to tell a lot about how
our tournament format plays out and where we’re going to
next. My hope is it goes to great places.”

He
defended the company’s use of a tournament format.

“Absolutely.
You know, I think that’s… that was what was in my head
five years ago. I used to watch the fighting sports and I used
to say what it needs is objectivity, it needs a fighting organization
where guys control their own destiny and that’s what I wanted
to put into motion. That’s what makes us different from
the UFC, Strikeforce, and WEC. It’s not fighters walking
out of the mouth of the dragon or girls dancing on the pole or
anything kind of a team concept. It’s exactly the same thing
you see in all your favorite organizations but it’s up to
the fighters.”

Expectations
in 2010: “Spectacular match-ups, probably across, not probably,
for sure across all weight divisions, very-evenly matched, a
lot of great fighters. I don’t know if you’ve seen
what’s been going on with our Welterweight division but
Jacob McClintock, Ben Askren, Dan Hornbuckle, Jim Wallhead, we’re
trying to put in the best of the best fighters out there in the
world and put them all together and let them go at it. So, I
mean, great fights every single night for 12 straight weeks and
a #1 ranked challenger at the very end of the bout.”

Source: Fight Opinion

Melvin
Manhoef to be Unleashed Upon Strikeforce

by D.W.

With recent news of Melvin Manhoef making his Strikeforce debut
against Robbie Lawler, now is as good of a time as any to help
introduce fans to the beast that is Melvin Manhoef.

There
are very few men in the world of combat sports who can go through
most of their career fighting top heavyweights without ever being
knocked out. If anything it would be an act of superhuman strength,
endurance and will to do this. To walk through a barrage of Mirko
Cro Cop head kicks, to take everything Fedor Emelianenko has
to offer with his deadly hooks, to not fall victim to Wanderlei
Silva's precision Muay Thai strikes that made everybody look
bad in 2004 would seem impossible. Mark Hunt did just that. Mark
Hunt got through a boxing, kickboxing and MMA career without
once being knocked out, and it seemed impossible that it ever
would happen. The 280lbs Samoan monster was renowned as one of
the top 5 heavyweights in the world when PRIDE Fighting Championships
was still up and running, but things change. Much like anybody
who has spent a night out drinking will tell you, you hold it
in for as long as you can, because after that first trip to the
bathroom, you'll never stop, the show will be over, the seal
will be broken.

Fans
had been waiting for somebody to break Mark Hunt's chin and send
him on a downward spiral, but nobody expected it to be a 5'8"
Middleweight who was a last minute replacement, never mind in
18 seconds. Those people didn't know what Melvin Manhoef was
capable of. Melvin Manhoef's Strikeforce contract has the ink
still drying on it and the speculation over which fighter he
will take on first is at a fever pitch. If you don't know Melvin
Manhoef yet it is OK, because it won't be that way for long,
with Manhoef set to make his debut on Jan. 30th against Robbie
Lawler. If it sounds like short notice, it is, but Manhoef's
pro fighting career has featured quite a few short notice bouts,
much like the Mark Hunt one, and that has never bothered Manhoef
in his kickboxing career of 37-8 (with 27 knockouts!) and his
MMA career of 23-6-1 (with 22 knockouts!).

Manhoef
might be small in stature at 5'8", but the Dutch kickboxer
has fought at Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight
and has seen success in every division he has fought in. The
reason? Raw power. Manhoef has more power behind his strikes
than most heavyweights could even imagine, as proven by a career
of highlight reel KO's, including Mark Hunt, Kazushi Sakuraba,
Yosuke Nishijima, Chris Cyborg Santos's husband, Evangelista,
and why not toss in a member of the Gracie Clan, Crosley Gracie
for good luck? Melvin Manhoef is a destroyer; a knockout artist
unlike any other.

Melvin
Manhoef's kickboxing career might appear to be spotty of late
to the untrained eye, with four losses since 2006 out of ten
fights, but those losses all come to some of the absolute elite
heavyweight kickboxers the world has to offer, with Manhoef's
natural weight being around 210lbs and him giving up around 20lbs
per fight. Manhoef's absence in last year's World Grand Prix
comes only after a loss to the then current champion, Remy Bonjasky.
Even giving up size and strength, Manhoef was able to take the
man known as the Flying Dutchman to a tough decision and made
sure the champion was battered and bruised.

In
a tournament earlier in 2009, the K-1 Final 16 Qualifying Grand
Prix, Manhoef had to bow out after the first round of a tournament
he looked sure to win. Why? Because he kicked his opponent so
hard that he opened up a nasty cut on his shin and the doctors
wouldn't allow him to keep fighting. That is how hard he hits.
His crazy brawling style has led to him face down on the canvas
more than a few times, but has led to an endlessly entertaining
career. Fights like the Evangelista Santos fight have put Manhoef
on the map as a fighter to watch; after throwing precision leg
kicks unlike you'll ever see in MMA and some crazy haymakers,
then being pummeled by Santos, Manhoef simply brushes all the
damage off and comes back when it looked like he had nothing
left and knocked Santos out. Wild brawls like this have always
been big fan favorites, which makes this signing by Strikeforce
a no brainer.

What
is clear is that no matter when Manhoef makes his Strikeforce
debut, watch for the man in the Gladiator shorts with the dog
collar on his neck being led to the ring by renowned trainer
Mike Passenier and be prepared to see somebody get hurt, bad.

Source: Head Kick Legend

WEC
Lightweight Champ Jamie Varner: BJ Penn Is The Ultimate Test
for Me

By Bryan
Levick

WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner is nothing if not confident.
He carries around a certain brashness that has allowed him to
rise to the top of a stacked lightweight division.

Varner
wants to be respected inside and outside of the cage and from
fans, journalists and most importantly the organization he has
gave his heart and soul to over the past two years.

Out
of action for nearly a year, Varner returns this Sunday as he
faces interim lightweight champion Ben Henderson in a bout that
will crown a unified lightweight king.

While
Varner says he likes to avoid the spotlight and stay out of the
news, that has hardly been the case ever since he defeated Donald
Cerrone last January.

The
fight was ended two minutes prematurely due to an illegal knee
strike from Cerrone. Many fans and fellow fighters questioned
Varner’s toughness and commitment after that incident.

A
war of words quickly ensued between Cowboy and the man known
as C-4. The heat was real, very personal and can only be squashed
when they finally square off once again.

I
had a chance to speak with Varner yesterday as he prepared to
board a flight to Sacramento. This was one of the best interviews
I have ever conducted!

Bryan
Levick: How are you feeling as you prepare for your bout with
Ben Henderson? Are your injuries completely healed?

Jamie
Varner: Yeah everything is completely healed, there’s nothing
left for me to do now other than to cut some weight, the hay
is in the barn. My training camp has been pretty long and I have
had a few bumps along the way. I feel very good, very confident
and I am ready to get in there and get it on.

Bryan
Levick: What is your weight at now?

Jamie
Varner: I was down to 166lbs last night, but I woke up this morning
at 167lbs. I’ll try and cut a few pounds each day and then
come fight night I will weigh around 174lbs.

Bryan
Levick: Did you have a preference in who you fought? Were you
pulling for a rematch with Donald Cerrone or did you prefer to
fight Ben Henderson?

Jamie
Varner: I don’t really give a f**k dude to be honest with
you. The WEC wants to see me and Cerrone go at it again. More
than likely after I win on Sunday night, I will fight him next.

Bryan
Levick: Can you tell me how the war of words started between
you and Cerrone?

Jamie
Varner: Once he got around all of his ghetto homies in New Mexico
they somehow convinced him that the fight went differently than
it really did. Shortly after the fight he did an interview on
HDNET and said if we were ever to meet up again he would run
through me. He said I don’t have anything, I don’t
bring nothing and I gave him all I got.

He’s
right I did give him all I had with one hand and one foot. I
broke my hand in the first round and broke my foot in the third
or fourth round. If I had not broken my hand in the first round
I would have finished him. If the fight didn’t end with
the illegal knee, if it went the extra two minutes he still would
have lost. Even though he wasn’t winning the fifth round
I will give it to him. I won the first four rounds, the only
round that was even close was the fourth round but I still managed
to secure three or four takedowns in that round. I had twenty-one
takedowns in that fight, I think you’d be hard pressed to
find another fight where someone has twenty-one takedowns and
loses.

Bryan
Levick: Cerrone spoke of an incident that he said took place
at UFC 101 in which he confronted you and you backed down from
him. Is there any truth to that?

Jamie
Varner: He is so full of s**t, I’ve heard that story too.
Supposedly we were in the back in some room, it was me, Cerrone
and Leonard Garicia. That never happened, he is just trying to
stir up more s**t. He’s such a hillbilly, I don’t even
know what else to say! To be honest with you he doesn’t
deserve the attention that he is getting.

Bryan
Levick: I had read something yesterday in which you stated that
Cerrone is a better match-up for you. Can you explain why?

Jamie
Varner: Cerrone is an easier fight, don’t get me wrong they
are both tough fighters, but they are tough in different ways.
They are polar opposites. When I’m fighting Cerrone I know
the fight is going to take place standing, I don’t have
to worry about him shooting in for a takedown. As far as Henderson
is concerned, he is constantly looking for the takedown, so I
have to look out for that at all times. It’s easier not
having to worry about someone shooting in and having a stand-up
war. When I am in there with Cerrone I can dictate where the
fight goes.

Bryan
Levick: I also heard that Henderson was criticizing you for taking
the easy way out of your battle with Cerrone. That you wanted
the fight stopped. He also said when you are in the cage with
him, there is no where to run and no where to hide, no timeouts,
no breaks and no mouthpieces falling out. How do you respond
to accusations like that?

Jamie
Varner: I heard about that, I saw that on the WEC website. He
can talk all the s**t that he wants on camera but when we are
face to face or on the conference call yesterday he has been
nothing but respectful. He has to say what he has to say to promote
the fight, he can do all the talking he wants, I will do all
mine inside the cage.

Bryan
Levick: What area do you feel Henderson is most dangerous in?

Jamie
Varner: I would say his wrestling is his biggest strength.

Bryan
Levick: You have been very vocal about the WEC’s constant
push of Urijah Faber and how they don’t get behind any of
the other fighters the way they do Faber. Are there any instances
in particular of the WEC giving Faber more opportunities than
they do other fighters:

Jamie
Varner: It should be called The Urijah Faber show instead of
World Extreme Cagefighting. They keep giving Faber all of the
big promotional deals, in fact they just hooked him up with Amp
Energy Drink. Amp just became the official energy drink of the
WEC. I called the WEC regarding Amp about two months ago because
a buddy of mine who works with Pepsi told me about it. I asked
the WEC to get me on board with them and they said they would
see what they could do. Lo and behold Faber got the deal.

Bryan
Levick: I can almost understand getting behind Faber because
he is so well known, but they are only hurting themselves as
an organization when they put all their eggs in one basket, would
you agree?

Jamie
Varner: If you take a look at Mike Brown, he is a fighter, he’s
not a talker. He’s not trying to be anything he’s not
and neither am I, but I want the respect for all the hard work
I’ve put into the sport. I’ve put a whole lot of blood,
sweat and tears, hours and hours in the gym to help build this
company up. When it’s all said and done it’s for pennies,
it would be nice to get some of those deals, to get some respect
from the organization. They choose to constantly pump up Faber
and they make it hard for any of the other guys to make a living.
The only other guy that got a decent deal was Miguel Torres and
that was with Bud Light, he got that because he is Mexican.

Bryan
Levick: What do you think of Jose Aldo?

Jamie
Varner: No one is going to beat him in the featherweight division
for a long time, he is a stud. He is the Anderson Silva of the
145lb division. Eventually someone will come along and be able
to figure him out. No one can match his athleticism in the WEC.
From 135lbs to 155lbs, he is one of the most athletic fighters
in the game. He fights to survive, he grew up in the jungles
in Brazil. He lived in the gym at Pedro Rizzo’s school,
then he lived in the gym at Nova Uniao. He was so poor, he cleaned
the mats just so he would have a roof over his head and get some
food in his stomach. He fought for pennies just to survive. He
is one of the most incredible success stories and I couldn’t
be happier for the guy. He’s the nicest guy on the planet.

Bryan
Levick: Back to what matters most, how anxious are you to get
back in the cage? Is this the longest you have ever had between
fights?

Jamie
Varner: The longest I had ever been out of action was about nine
months. That was when I would only fight in the summers while
I wrestled all year long. I feel really good, the year off is
something that I really needed. I had begun to take fighting
for granted, there was too much pressure and too much stress.
I had so many things that I wanted to do. I started a gym in
Centereach, NY called Varner’s Combat Academy . I plan on
opening two more Combat Academy’s in Arizona. It was some
much needed time off, I only like to fight two to three times
a year. I get so stressed out, it’s so hard on my body and
everyone around me. I’d like to fight every four to five
months.

Bryan
Levick: How is the Combat Academy doing? Is there any fighters
there we should look out for?

Jamie
Varner: It’s going great. I partnered up with Frank Ruggiero
and he has seen an increase in memberships and interest in the
gym. I plan on going out there for a few weeks after the fight
and help guys train. I want to get the gym rolling and show my
face around there. I’ve been thinking about relocating to
NY for awhile now. I’d say within a year or two I’ll
split my time between the Combat Academy and Arizona Combat Sports.
I want to build up the fight team there, the amount of talent
in that gym is incredible. There are about ten amateur fighters,
one in particular, Noah Faubce is about to turn pro. Lennox Chance
is already pro and is extremely talented. When I am out there
I add a new element to the competitiveness in the gym. I think
the guys get a chance to see how to really train and what it
takes to make it to the next level.

Bryan
Levick: How do you stack up against the lightweights in the UFC?

Jamie
Varner: I’d say I am top three or four. There’s some
tough fights for me there. BJ Penn is ultimately the toughest
fight for me. I’d say another tough fight for me would be
with Grey Maynard. He’s such a strong wrestler, I’ve
been the dominant wrestler in all of my fights, Henderson will
be the first fighter that I have faced that is as good a wrestler
as I am. I’d have really good fights with Kenny Florian,
Diego Sanchez and Joe Stevenson. I think I match up really well
with them. Frankie Edgar is a good fighter but he should be fighting
at 145lbs, I am bigger and more athletic than him.

Bryan
Levick: I interviewed Edgar and asked him about dropping down
to the feather weight division, he had no desire to do so. Do
you think it’s because he makes more money fighting in the
UFC?

Jamie
Varner: No that can’t be it, I make more money than Frankie
Edgar does. My contract that I have now is pretty decent. He’s
probably happy not cutting weight and he’s been pretty successful,
the only guy he lost to is Grey Maynard. Once he starts fighting
the upper echelon fighters he won’t have as much success.

Bryan
Levick: What did you think about them bringing Takanori Gomi
in to the UFC?

Jamie
Varner: Gomi is not going to be the same animal fighting over
here as he was in Japan. The one fight he had in the states he
got destroyed by Nick Diaz. The Japanese fighters do too many
drugs, they don’t test for steroids over in Japan. The only
fighter from Pride that has really been successful is Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira. There are all those Japanese nuthuggers giving
these guys way too much respect. When a fighter is on steroids
they are a completely different animal.

Bryan
Levick: How would you compare the WEC lightweights as a group
to those in the UFC?

Jamie
Varner: I think the WEC has all the best lightweights that you
have never heard of. I believe there are five or six of us who
could make an impact in the UFC. You have me, Donald Cerrone,
Ben Henderson, Shane Roller, Anthony Njokuani, Dave Jansen, Richard
Crunkilton and even Ed Ratcliff would make a direct impact over
there.

Bryan
Levick: Do you have a desire to compete in the UFC or are you
happy in the UFC?

Jamie
Varner: I just want to fight the best fighters in the world.I
want to continously challenge myself.

Bryan
Levick: On to a question I ask everyone. How do you feel about
teammates fighting one another?

Jamie
Varner: I actually trained with Henderson a few times, he helped
me train for my bout with Marcus Hicks. That is one of the reasons
I am so confident going into this bout with him, I had a lot
of success against him. I was getting round robined by him and
Efrain Escudero and I did really really well. I’d rather
not fight him but business is business, it’s not like I
train with him every day. If it was someone I trained with all
the time, I wouldn’t do it.

Bryan
Levick: Is there anyone you would like to thank?

Jamie
Varner: I’d like to thank ArizonaPain.com who helped me
battle through all of my injuries. I’d like to thank my
teammates at Arizona Combat Sports as well as the guys at Varner’s
Combat Academy . One sponsore I’d like to thank is Throwdown
. I’d also like to thank you for the interview.

Source: MMA Opinion

1/7/10

Quote
of the Day

“Be
sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”

Abraham Lincoln

B.J.
PENN EXPECTS TO FIGHT APRIL 10 IN ABU DHABI

UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn on Wednesday gave a little
glimpse into his fighting future, saying that he is likely to
next defend his title on April 10 in an as yet announced event
in Abu Dhabi.

“We
talked to Dana White. We were trying to get on the March 27 card
(UFC 111 in New Jersey),” said Penn in his video blog on
BJPenn.com. “That card already had two title fights on it
(Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy and Frank Mir vs. Shane Carwin).

“It
looks like we’ll be fighting April 10 in Abu Dhabi. Nothing
is signed, so tentative date, April 10. We’ll see how everything
goes. Hope everything goes well,” he closed.

Penn
didn’t give any indication as to who his next opponent would
be, but MMAWeekly.com sources are pointing towards to leading
candidates, Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar. Edgar would appear
to make more sense given the timetable with Maynard fighting
Monday night against Nate Diaz at UFC Fight Night 20 in Virginia.
It is possible, however, that he could be ready for a title challenge
in April if he emerges unscathed.

The
UFC hasn’t officially announced the Abu Dhabi event yet,
but when asked about the potential event, UFC president Dana
White recently said, “It’s on. I mean, we haven’t
announced it, but I’m very confident it’s going to
happen, very confident.”

Penn
(15-5-1) last fought at UFC 107 on Dec. 12, when he dominated
Diego Sanchez en route to a fifth round TKO stoppage. He has
stumbled only at welterweight since returning to the UFC in early
2006. He is 5-0 at lightweight in the Octagon since that time,
defending his belt three times. His only loss at lightweight
was a decision to Jens Pulver in 2002, a loss he has since avenged.

No
bouts have been confirmed for Abu Dhabi, but MMAWeekly.com sources
indicated that, if he is healed up in time, UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva could defend his title against Vitor
Belfort on April 10, and former welterweight champion Matt Hughes
could return to face Renzo Gracie in his Octagon debut.

Source: MMA Weekly

Exclusive:
Anderson vs. Belfort in Abu Dhabi

The
fight between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort is in works to
take place at UFC 112, on April 10, at Abu Dhabi. Carlos Santos,
leader of Emirates Team, revealed to TATAME.com that both fighters
called him to train at his training center in Abu Dhabi in the
days before the fight. This will be the first UFC event in Abu
Dhabi, and will also have the UFC debut of the legend Renzo Gracie,
against the five times welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

What’s
the expectation to the first UFC in Abu Dhabi?

The
best as possible. It’s going to be one of the best of the
world, because Abu Dhabi’s government is giving total support
to this event, because it’s gonna be week of fight in Abu
Dhabi... Abu Dhabi Fight Week (laughs). Besides UFC on April
10, it’s going to happen, four days before, the national
championship of team from government schools, and five days after
the World Pro Cup (Jiu-Jitsu) 2010.

Are
you helping on the event’s organization?

At
this moment, no, but the same company that will take care of
the marketing here on the World Pro will do UFC’s. But we’re
here to help everyone, including the visitors that come to see
the event.

What
fights is UFC preparing to this edition?

Vitor
called me and Anderson’s guys too, wanting to know how is
the country’s weather, where is it going to happen and how
easy is to them to train here. I said that are the best as possible
and the doors of Emirates Team ADCC Club are open to everyone,
not just the facilities as our athletes to train with them. Besides
them, there’s Renzo, who’s always here with us and
maybe come a month before to be here training with us.

Are
you going to help both?

We
know all of them and, as I said, they have open doors. There’s
space to all of them. We’re here to help everyone, especially
if they are our friends and Brazilians. The Club is pretty big
and we can share hours and spaces to both, with no problem at
all.

Renzo,
a legend of ADCC, will also be on the card. What’s the Sheikh’s
expectation to his debut on UFC?

Not
only Sheikh’s, everyone here is very excited and waiting
this events, not only on UFC, but also the World Pro. I think
Sheikh will be present in all events.

How
do you analyze the growing of the fights in Abu Dhabi?

Great.
Besides the population is not very big, with all this projects,
fight is becoming a reality inside the country, and Jiu-Jitsu
being the base of everything and becoming a national sport, because
the gold is until 2015 to be in 200 public schools with close
to 100 thousand children training Jiu-Jitsu. And it’s good
to remember that UFC is going to be in an open place, so it’s
good that fighters come early to adapt to the weather here, that
must be around 77°F on this date. A big hug to everyone,
we’re here in Abu Dhabi waiting all the fight lovers.

Source: Tatame

HIERON
GETS RIGGS; LAWLER VS MANHOEF OFFICIAL

Chuck Liddell had to do it while he waited for a shot at the
UFC light heavyweight title, and it looks like Jay Hieron will
do the same thing as the perennial contender will take another
fight while waiting for a shot at the Strikeforce welterweight
title. Hieron will step in to face Joe Riggs at Strikeforce:
Miami on Jan. 30 in Sunrise, Fla.

Strikeforce
executive Mike Afromowitz confirmed the bout, and several others,
to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday.

MMAWeekly.com
on Tuesday reported former EliteXC champion Robbie Lawler would
step in to face Melvin Manhoef on the Jan. 30 Showtime telecast.
Afromowitz on Tuesday also made that bout official.

Undeterred
in his goal of winning a title, Hieron made his Strikeforce debut
in August in what was supposed to be a fight for the 170-pound
divisional title against Nick Diaz. Days before the event, Diaz
dropped out of the fight and Hieron instead took on and defeated
former "Ultimate Fighter" alum Jesse Taylor.

Since
that time, Diaz has been named as the No. 1 contender for the
welterweight crown. He will square off against Dream champion
Marius Zaromskis in the main event of Strikeforce: Miami in a
battle for the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title. Hieron
is left to do battle with Riggs.

A
mainstay in Strikeforce over the last few years, Riggs has made
a new home for himself in the welterweight division, winning
his last four fights in a row, including wins over Luke Stewart
and Phil Baroni.

With
Diaz vs. Zaromskis, Lawler vs. Manhoef, a title fight between
Cris “Cyborg” Santos and Marloes Coenen, the promotional
debut of former WWE star Bobby Lashley, and the MMA debut of
NFL veteran Herschel Walker, the fight between Hieron and Riggs
isn’t expected to make it to television.

Three
preliminary bouts added to the card, according to Afromowitz,
include Craig Oxley vs. David Gomez, Sabah Homasi vs. John Kelly,
and Pablo Alfonso vs. Marcos Da Matta.

The
Strikeforce: Miami main card airs Jan. 30 on Showtime at 10 p.m.
ET/PT.

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
PRES STILL NOT KEEN ON LIDDELL FIGHTING

UFC president Dana White’s stance on former UFC light heavyweight
titleholder Chuck Liddell fighting again hasn’t changed.
He still does not want to see his longtime friend competing in
the Octagon again.

“The
thing that everyone loves about Chuck Liddell was he’s a
fighter. That guys loves to fight. And when you’re walking
out in that arena and 16,000 people are going crazy and yelling
your name and (expletive), it’s hard to walk away from.
I get it, but you know, he doesn’t have to do it anymore.
He doesn’t,” said White to the media following UFC
108 on Jan. 2.

Liddell
will fight again despite White’s opposition, being named
a coach on the eleventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter”
pitted against his arch nemesis Tito Ortiz. But White would rather
provide a position within the organization for Liddell that doesn’t
entail fighting.

“He’s
made a lot of money and I’ll pay him more money to (expletive)
not fight. He can come in and be the Director of Fun or something.
I don’t know, a (expletive) job that he doesn’t have
to fight,” commented the UFC president.

“I
love him. I respect him. I think he helped us build this business.
He’s been an incredibly loyal guy to me, an incredible friend
to me, and he doesn’t have to fight anymore. I respect him
for wanting to, but I don’t want him to.

“Chuck
Liddell’s still a huge legend and a star and he’ll
always be with us,” added White. “I’m talking
him out of fighting. I’m trying to make him not fight.”

Source: MMA Weekly

RAPHAEL
ASSUNCAO: FIGHTING HIS WAY INTO THE LIGHT

He may be the most underrated Top 10 featherweight in the sport
right now, but Raphael Assuncao knows that everything he's done
up till now has earned him the shot against Urijah Faber this
Sunday night at WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson in Sacramento, Calif.
He also knows with one more win he will get a shot against champion
Jose Aldo and the WEC 145-pound divisional title.

Going
2-0 since making his move to the WEC, Assuncao has finally gotten
the big fight he was gunning for since moving to the promotion.
It's an opportunity he doesn't intend on wasting.

"It's
all about the challenge," Assuncao told MMAWeekly Radio
about the opportunity to face Faber. "I won my first fight
over a solid guy, then they offered me my second fight against
Jabouin, one of St. Pierre's kids. Every fight has to be a challenge,
you push yourself and you challenge yourself, and I felt good
right when they offered it."

Assuncao
has nothing but respect for his opponent this Sunday night, but
he also understands that he can only respect him so much before
he has to throw down the gauntlet and make his presence be known.

"He
deserves his status because he works hard and he's a great fighter,"
Assuncao commented. "I respect the guy so much and I think
he has respect for me too, but the business that we're in, we're
going to go in there to fight. We're going to try to break each
other's game and come out on top."

Of
course the stylistic match-up is a tough one to pick apart as
both Assuncao and Faber are extremely well rounded, but the Brazilian
born fighter refuses to believe the "California Kid"
can take him out of his game in their fight.

"I'm
not going to let anybody take me out of my game," he stated.
"Regardless of how fast he moves, I'm not going to be taken
out of my game. I'm going to maintain my pace. I'm going to maintain
my game."

The
path to the top has to go through the best fighters, and Assuncao
is ready to test himself against Faber, and then against Aldo.

"I've
put in the work. I'm getting experience," said Assuncao.
"I fought to be where I'm at. I fought my way through. I’m
still fighting my way through."

Source: MMA Weekly

Will
Faber earn his franchise tag?

There
may be no fighter as closely tied to the business ups and downs
of a mixed martial arts organization as World Extreme Cagefighting’s
top star, Urijah Faber.

When
“The California Kid” returns to action on Sunday night
after injuries to both hands, the charismatic former WEC featherweight
champion will be one win away from arguably the biggest fight
in company history. He also will be just one loss away from likely
being out of the title picture for some time to come.

Standing
in the way in Faber’s hometown Arco Arena in Sacramento
is Brazilian foe Raphael Assuncao (14-1), who in no way is a
setup-level opponent being handed to him in a match where the
winner is slated to face current champion Jose Aldo Jr.

“I’ve
got a great opponent in Raphael,” Faber said. “He’s
always in good shape and I think it’s going to be a coming-out
party. I think there will be a lot of eyes on me on my return.
He’s No. 5 in the world, and I expect both of us to put
on a great show – and I expect to win.”

But
at 31, Faber is in the most danger of losing his status as the
WEC’s marquee star since the company’s relationship
with Versus started. He’s 22-3 but has lost two of his past
three fights, both to former champion Mike Brown.

A
win would lead to what could be promoted as the biggest event
in company history – perhaps even the WEC’s first pay-per-view
main event, as has been discussed internally. A loss would for
the first time remove him from title contention. Assuncao is
a submission expert, having submitted eight opponents, and is
particularly dangerous with the armbar.

“He
deserves to be where he’s at,” Assuncao said of Faber.
“He’s worked hard to be where he’s at, and I’m
just coming up. Obviously, I didn’t just get this opportunity.
I fought my way up to co-main event status and fighting Urijah.
I didn’t just get lucky getting it.”

“I
just hope we don’t take it to a decision,” Assuncao
added. “I just hope, if it does go to a decision, that everything
is fair. I’m not worried about being in his backyard and
if it goes to a decision, I’ll lose; I just hope that it’s
fair and that the judges and the commission are fair and that’s
it.”

Big
matches aren’t unfamiliar territory for Faber, who held
the title for two years and eight months before losing it in
an upset at the end of 2008 to Brown in their first meeting.

Faber’s
big fights of the past two years – a 2008 match with Jens
Pulver and June’s featherweight title rematch with Brown
– were the two biggest money fights in WEC history. He retained
his title by winning a decision over Pulver in the former. In
the latter, Faber lost a decision in a match high on most lists
as match of the year in a match where Faber injured both his
hands, which had been sore for a long time coming off the Pulver
fight.

The
Pulver match drew 1.6 million viewers and the Brown fight on
June 7 drew 1.3 million. Those numbers on Versus are even more
impressive when you consider that no fight without Faber has
done more than 700,000 viewers, and the most recent WEC show
on Dec. 19 (featuring Donald Cerrone vs. Ed Ratcliffe) did 333,000.

Faber
has the home-court advantage of fighting at Arco, the same site
as the first Pulver and second Brown fights. Both events drew
in excess of 12,000 fans, easily the two biggest numbers in WEC
history, and numbers rarely reached in North American MMA without
a UFC banner attached. While Faber doesn’t have the same
general-public name recognition of the biggest UFC fighters,
among MMA fans Faber gets cheered as loudly as Georges St. Pierre
and Chuck Liddell – who get the strongest crowd reactions
in the sport.

“Every
sport has its stars that shine above the others,” noted
Marc Fein, Versus’ executive vice president. “When
Faber fights, ratings tend to be up. We’d love to be able
to get other fighters to that level. … In every sport –
basketball, golf – you have the guys that the public wants
to watch.”

Faber’s
popularity is the result of a combination of factors. He’s
got a look that stands out in a crowd, and his personality comes
across well, giving the vibe of a cool California surfer type.
He’s worked tirelessly with WEC over the past three years
in promoting himself and the brand. All that work can get you
to a certain level of popularity, but to stay at the top you
have to win fights. Faber has been able to deliver not only wins
but memorable fights as well.

“Being
in fights of the year, that comes down to having to face adversity,”
said Faber, a former college wrestling star at Cal-Davis who
now runs a stable of fighters called Team Alpha Male based in
Sacramento. “You need a back-and-forth battle, and that’s
the case when I fought Brown. In that case, I had to fight with
people knowing both my hands were broken. That’s the same
with Ben Henderson and [Donald] Cerrone [in their October fight,
considered by many the match of the year]. Cerrone was getting
his butt kicked. Henderson was almost submitted a couple of times.
Those are the fights that are classic and go down in history.
Not everyone has that kind of heart and people appreciate it.”

Fighting
on Sunday will end months of frustration, as Faber fought competitively
with Brown for five rounds, losing a decision after being unable
to punch with either hand in the later rounds. And his quickness
on the stand-up was probably his best weapon against a strong
opponent who was able to negate much of Faber’s wrestling.

“The
first round, I had a break in the fourth and fifth metacarpal
in the left hand,” he said. “One shattered. I needed
two metal plates put in and eight screws. In the third round,
I dislocated my thumb [in the right hand]. They had to be casted.
But it’s good now. My recovery time ended up being cut in
half. They told me I couldn’t hit a bag for six months.
I was hitting a bag in three months and fighting in six. But
it sucked; the whole process was frustrating, the fight was frustrating.
That sucked.”

With
Faber on the shelf, Brown dropped the title to Aldo on Nov. 18
in Las Vegas. With six straight knockouts, people are starting
to peg the 23-year-old Aldo as someone who could be the next
dominant champion in the sport, like a new-generation Anderson
Silva.

“I
thought Aldo was going to win,” Faber said. “I’ve
been in there with Brown. I lost to him, but I feel I have the
tools to get it done with him. I think the way both of my fights
with Brown went down, I thought I should be close to a title
shot. I’m happy we’re going to find out who the best
guys are right now. Aldo, right now, without a doubt, he’s
the one I have to beat, but I have a tough opponent first in
Raphael. I don’t want to get excited about Aldo because
I’ve got another hardheaded Brazilian. I’d like too
have a great performance and hopefully I’ll have the belt
midway through 2010.”

Source: Yahoo Sports

UFC
108 PRELIMS LIVE PULLS IN 1.5 MILLION VIEWERS

Spike TV aired an hour-long preliminary bout broadcast before
three UFC pay-per-view events in 2009. Averaging 1.4 million
viewers for the three “UFC Prelims” telecasts, the
network has agreed to at least 10 such live telecasts in 2010.

The
first event of the year was the preliminary bouts for UFC 108
on Jan. 2. With many of the fights ending quickly, Spike TV aired
four of the five preliminary bouts instead of the scheduled two,
and still had time left for commentator Joe Rogan to interview
UFC president Dana White.

“UFC
108 Prelims Live,” according to Spike TV’s David Schwarz,
drew 1.5 million overall viewers, just enough to make it the
largest average audience since the network began airing UFC prelims
late last year.

As
is most mixed martial arts programming, “UFC 108 Prelims
Live” again did well in the key advertising demographics
of Men 18-49 and Men 18-34.

Source: MMA Weekly

WEC
46 GETS EXTENDED TIME SLOT ON VERSUS

World Extreme Cagefighting returns to Sacramento on Jan. 10 with
WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson. It will air live on Versus, and
the network has extended the timeslot to two and a half hours.

“We’ve
been able to move to a two and a half hour show with this event
on Versus. Versus has given us more time and we are really, really
happy about that," said WEC General Manager Reed Harris
on a media conference call promoting the event. “We’re
going to be able to get all five of our main event fights on
TV as well as possibly some other prelim fights depending on
the time.”

Harris
would like to show every fight on the card, but is thrilled with
the commitment from Versus and the added half hour of television
time.

“If
I had my way I’d start with the first prelim and go all
the way through to the main event because all of these guys are
fighting for a reason. They’re either trying to be a contender
or fight for the belt,” said Harris.

“Versus
has been a great partner of ours and the fact that they’re
giving us some more time on this event and hopefully on future
events really means a lot of us at WEC.”

WEC
46 is headlined by lightweight champion Jamie Varner and interim
titleholder Ben Henderson, with Urijah Faber versus Raphael Assuncao
in a featherweight bout that will determine the next contender
for a shot at Jose Aldo’s crown.

“I
look forward to another stellar event,” added Harris. “Our
card is stacked, and we’re really looking forward to a great
turnout in Sacramento.”

Source: MMA Weekly

WEC
MOVING FOWARD WITH FLYWEIGHT DIVISION

In early 2009, World Extreme Cagefighting announced its intentions
of adding a flyweight division. On a media conference call on
Tuesday, WEC General Manager Reed Harris said to expect further
announcements this year on the 125-pound weight class being incorporated
into the organization.

“We’re
working on it,” said Harris. “The thing that we focus
on in WEC is making sure that all of our fights are meaningful
and making sure our divisions are deep. Part of that is making
sure your guys get fights. So right now we’re focusing on
the divisions we have, getting those guys plenty of fights, keeping
them busy.

“We’re
working on the flyweight division and sometime, I’m sure,
in 2010, we’ll announce that we’re going to be forming
that and get that moving.”

In
February 2009, Peter Dropick, WEC Vice President of Operations
and Production, stated, “With the addition of the flyweight
division, the WEC has cemented its status as the home of the
greatest lighter weight fighters in the world. We are excited
to launch the 125-pound championship division, and look forward
to giving our fans the best and most action-packed flyweight
fights in the sport.”

The
WEC showcases the lighter weight classes ranging from lightweight
(155 pounds) to bantamweight (135 pounds). The addition of the
flyweight division expands its weight classes to four.

The
organization cut their light heavyweight, middleweight and welterweight
divisions in 2009 to focus solely on the lighter weight classes.

Source: MMA Weekly

Urijah
Faber: “I hope for the belt back in 2010”

José
Aldo earned the feather belt of the WEC in November of 2009.
Less than two months later, on January 9th, the champion will
already know who his next opponent will be, against whom he will
play his title for the first time. This because on that date,
former-champion Urijah Faber and the up-and-coming fighter Raphael
Assunção will be in action in California.

Urijah Faber vs Brown, in photo by Josh Hedges.

Faber in the second fight against Mike Brown. Photo: Josh Hedges.

The
winner of the match at WEC 46 will be the next challenger. Faber,
former-champion of the category, lost his title to Mike Brown.
After beating Jens Pulver, the “California Kid” tried
to recover the belt, but was again defeated by Brown. On the
other side will be Raphael, brother of the former-UFC Junior
Asunção. The fighter lost only once in 15 matches
and has already won two fights at WEC.

On
the possibility of facing Aldo for the title, Faber keeps his
feet on the ground:

“I don’t want to get too excited about a fight with
Aldo. I have another Brazilian blockhead to try to knock down.
We’ll see how it goes. I hope for an excellent performance
and for the big belt back in 2010,” says Faber to MMAWeekly.

WEC
46

January 9th, 2009

Champ
Jamie Varner vs Benson Henderson

Raphael Assuncao vs Urijah Faber

Dave Jansen vs Kamal Shalorus

Mike Brown vs Anthony Morrison

Mackens Semerzier vs Deividas Taurosevicius

Akitoshi
Tamura vs Charlie Valencia

Bryan Caraway vs Mark Hominick

Wagnney Fabiano vs Clint Godfrey

George Roop vs Eddie Wineland

Will Campuzano vs Coty Wheeler

Source: Gracie Magazine

Thiago
Silva: “I thought it would be worst”

After
the loss, Thiago talked to TATAME about the difficulties on fight,
said why he didn’t attacked Rashad on the last round, when
he needed to go to all or nothing, and why he decided to fight
even not being 100%. “I thought it would be worst than it
was. I could put the rhythm and did what I could. I went to my
limit. It’s not right, but I went, I did what I could and
tried my best”, Silva said, in the exclusive interview you’ll
check today at TATAME.com.

Thiago
Silva

Not
everything went as Thiago Silva planed. Promoted to the main
fight of UFC 108, he had planned to beat Rashad Evans to win
a chance of revenge against Lyoto Machida, his only butcher until
then. Although, the favorable decision to the ex champion frustrated
the Brazilian, who got farther of a chance to the title. After
the defeat, Thiago talked to TATAME about the difficulties on
fight, said why he didn’t attacked Rashad on the last round,
when he needed to go to all or nothing, and why he decided to
fight even not being 100%.

What
did you think about the fight?

The
fight was good, besides I have lost. It was hard to defend the
takedown and I lost by point. I took a lot of takedowns, didn’t
I?

Did
you expected that he would work that much on takedowns?

I
expected, but I didn’t thought that he was going to insist
that much on the game. I thought he would exchange a little bit
more, but he escaped from the exchanging and he went on takedowns.

How
much did the injury muddled you?

At
some point, it did muddled a little... I’ve hurt my back
four weeks left to the fight and I got almost three weeks and
a half without training at all, just doing strengthening and
physiotherapy. I lost a little bit of timing and strength, I
don’t know if the trust too…

Did
you thought that you would have more difficulty on the fight
because you lost a month of training?

I
thought it would be worst than it was. I could put the rhythm
and did what I could. I went to my limit. It’s not right,
but I went, I did what I could and tried my best.

On
the third round you started to provoke him and almost knocked
him out. On that moment, did you think you were winning the fight?

I
knew I was losing. I wasn’t that good on the energy and
I tried to provoke him to see if he comes over me, but he didn’t
bought it. I knew I was losing, I lost the two rounds.

When
you hit him, don’t you think that you needed to keep hitting
him more?

To
be tired make a difference, man… I started to provoke him
because he was with the low energy, getting tired… Wanting
or not, he has a heavy hand, there’s some time that we don’t
know what’s going on anymore… I think the energy made
the difference, I was pretty tired.

What
did UFC guys told about the fight?

They
said it was a good fight, but we have to recover the waist time.

Your
aim was to win to have a rematch against Lyoto. How do you see
yourself inside UFC now?

Now
is to wait... Probably they will match me with a good fight,
Dana White told that, and I’m here to fight with the best.
I want to fight with the best and I think I’m on the way.
I’ll keep training, there’s nothing to do. To lose
happens.

Will
you stand still now for a while?

Things
are bad, man… I’m inside home, lie down, just came
back from the doctor, I’m with a strong compression on the
muscle, on the vertebra… I’ll have to make a treatment,
there’s no scheduled date yet… I’ll pass through
three doctors and then I’ll start the physiotherapy again.

Is
this injury the same that forced you to postpone the fight against
Lyoto?

It’s
the same injury, even a little worse, but this time I didn’t
wanted to cancel the fight. I don’t think it’s nice
you schedule an event and have to cancel the fight, so I went
as I were. Now, I’ll stop to take care of myself.

Do
you regret to have fought without being 100%?

I
don’t regret because I like to fight. To cancel to fight
wouldn’t have been good. When was missing a month to the
fight I was with a very good training… I wasn’t 100%,
but I did what I could. We never fight 100%, it’s very hard.

Source: Tatame

‘Cigano’
says he’s not the best striker

Getting
in UFC’s octagon for the fourth time last Saturday (2),
Junior “Cigano” dos Santos finished the fight with
only 2 minutes and 7 seconds. Dropping Gilbert Yvel, the heavyweight
shone once again, putting his name between the best nowadays.
In exclusive interview to TATAME.com, Cigano talked about the
knockout, the complements made by Dana White and guaranteed that
he doesn’t consider himself as the best striker nowadays.
“I trained to fight three rounds with him, but I knew that,
if the hand fit, he would feel… I believe a lot in my hands,
I think they’re pretty heavy”, Dos Santos said, in
the exclusive interview you can read clicking here.

Junior
dos Santos

What
did you think about the fight? Did you expected to win that fast?

Thanks
God it ended the best way as possible to us. I’m very happy
with the good result. I didn’t expected to win that fast,
we never do. I trained to fight three rounds with him, but I
knew that, if the hand fit, he would feel, even being experient
on exchanging. I knew I could put good blows and that he’d
feel, because I believe a lot in my hands, I think they’re
pretty heavy.

Do
you think that he felt the debut?

I
don’t know, he’s very experienced, He has a lot of
fights on his career. Maybe a new event to him, but I think I
was well prepared and I could do a good work, debuting on UFC
or not. I had conditions to have this result.

Dana
White said that he was very excited for this fight, and when
you got off the octagon he said he loves you. How do you feel
about this complements?

I’m
glad, he got really happy. He said he was feeling something weird
because of this fight and he congratulated me, said that I did
a great job. You can’t not to be happy with a complement
like this from the boss. I’m glad that everything is working.

Do
you consider yourself the best striker in the heavyweights division
nowadays?

I
think that maybe not the best… I’m not the best in
anything, but I train hard and can keep a good level to be good
in front of big fighters, as UFC’s tops.

Who
do you think it’s gonna be your next opponent?

It’s
hard to say who they will put against me. I think they’ll
wait for some results, but to me is that thing: I don’t
choose opponent. Whoever it is, I’ll be prepared to make
a good fight and, if it’s God’s willing, to give a
show.

You
have won your fourth victory on the event, beating one more Pride’s
veteran and is growing a lot on category. Do you think that you’re
close to fight for the belt?

I
don’t know, but I think that I’m between the tops.
I don’t know if I’m close or far, but with these good
results are the way to get there and fight for this dreamy belt
of UFC.

If
Minotauro beats Cain Velasquez, do you intend to slow down to
don’t keep winning and force UFC to match a fight between
you two?

I
think my managers made that point clear to UFC. Even that they
want it, it’s clear. It’s not because we train together,
Rodrigo is my master, he taught me everything since the beginning,
I owe my career to him. He put me there, made me believe in myself.
It’s a different situation, he’s my master, besides
being a big friend. Fight between me and him won’t happen.
I don’t think I need to slow down, it’s his turn to
fight for the belt because he will have this positive result
against Velasquez. He will fight for the belt and I’m glad
to be between the tops, making good fights and facing big names
of UFC.

Source: Tatame

1/6/10

Quote
of the Day

“If
there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to
get the other person's point of view and see things from that
person's angle as well as from your own.”

Henry Ford

Destiny
at Level 4!

Saturday,
January 30, 2009

Level 4 Nightclub at Royal Hawaiian Shopping Ctr

Prelim Fights start at 4:00 pm (main card at 7:30 pm)

DESTINY Entertainment opens up the New Year with a BANG. DESTINY:
Fireworks Saturday, Jan 30th @ Hawaii's Premier and Largest Night
Club LEVEL 4.

Full
night of action. 28 fights...ALL MMA. Pre-lim fights start @
4pm for all u hardcore mma fans. Feature bouts start @ 7:30pm
for those who want to just see the main card. THIS IS AN ALL
AGES WELCOME EVENT!

Purchase
of ticket gets you into huge after party to celebrate my B-day
:) which begins @ 11pm and will run to 4am...come party with
the fighters!

Fight
Card:

-170lbs

Zane Kamaka (Guts n Glory) vs Dereck Stadler

-170
Amateur Title

Johnavan "the immortal warrior" Vistante (Team SYD)
vs Koa Giddens (Combat 50)

-145
Amateur Title

Elijah Manners (808 Alliance) vs Keoni Farm (Team 323, Maui)

-145lbs

Dustin Kimura (Gracie Technics) vs Colin Mackenzie (Gods Army)

-185lbs

Danny Lopez (Bulls Pen) vs Charles Hazlewood (Combat 50)

-145lbs

Toby "2quick" Misech (Penn Fitness & Training,
Hilo) vs Max "lil evil" Holloway (Gods Army)

-135lbs
FEMALE MATCH

Racquel Paaluhi (Team Hakuilua) vs Kristen Jackobson (Pain Train)

-205lbs

Matt Eaton (Bulls Pen) vs Wilmer Cruz (Pain Train)

-155lbs

Treston Rebaliza (ICG) vs Shaison Laupola (Gods Army)

-145lbs

Daniel Bachman (Boars Nest) vs Van Shiroma (HMC)

-185lbs

Robert Eaton (Bulls Pen) vs Nate Kolii (High Intensity)

-125lbs

Skyler Close (Boars Nest) vs Ernest Keuma (freelance)

-145lbs

Lucky Rosario (Bulls Pen) vs Clayson Kealoha (Bad Intentions)

-160lbs

Tyrone Oneil (Pain Train) vs Ryan Delacruz (808 FF)

-125lbs

Alika Kumukoa (Bulls Pen) vs Jason Dumol (808 FF)

-210lbs

Kimo Tatupu (94 Block) vs Lyle Guerzon (New Era MMA)

-140lbs

Zach Close (Boars Nest) vs Gavin Ramos (808 Fight Factory)

-155lbs

Gary (Bulls Pen) vs Justin Burgess (Gods Army)

-125lbs

Josh Kolii (freelance) vs Brandon Pai (Gods Army)

-145lbs

Julius Fajotina (Bulls Pen) vs Mark Reynon (808 FF)

-170lbs

Eddie Manu (High Intensity) vs Jason Morinaga (New Era MMA)

-155lbs

Francis Aona (freelance) vs Carlos Oso (808 FF)

-175lbs

Lloyd Saltiban vs Jon Cruz (freelance)

-155lbs

Alex Miller (Guts n Glory) vs Justin Adkins (Pain Train)

-170lbs

Wilfred Balon (Bulls Pen) vs Mike Eli (Gods Army)

-Heavyweights
(206-260)

Terrance Taanoa (High Intensity) vs Scooter Butan (Pain Train)

-155lbs

Layton Pacheco (freelance) vs Micah Ige

-180lbs

Philip Akui vs Dwaine Uyeda (Team Outlaw)

-130lbs

Jai Troche (No Remorse/UFS) vs Wai P. (Team Outlaw)

Source: Jay Bolos

St.
Pierre ponders Olympic bid

LAS
VEGAS – UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre said
he’s seriously thinking about taking a hiatus from mixed
martial arts to chase a dream of winning an Olympic medal in
freestyle wrestling.

“I
really think about it, I think about it always, every day,”
said St. Pierre at a press conference on Saturday afternoon before
UFC 108.

The
Montreal-area native said that he hasn’t made his final
decision, but that he feels he would need 18 months of concentrated
wrestling training to compete at the level he wants to reach.
That means he’d have to make the decision shortly after
his next title defense, on March 27 in Newark, N.J. against England’s
Dan Hardy.

“I’ll
do it if I think I have a good chance to make it,” he said.
“I’m not doing it just to try. If I’m doing it,
I’m doing it 100 percent.

St.
Pierre first said he didn’t want to give odds on which way
he’s leaning, saying it’s a decision he’s yet
to make, but when pressed, said he’s 50/50 on whether to
make the jump.

Several
MMA fighters over the years have attempted to make the Olympics
in wrestling, but all were wrestlers who grew up in the sport
and were near or already Olympic level before getting into MMA.
In most cases, it was also during a period where MMA wasn’t
anywhere close to the level it is today in terms of public interest
and money-earning potential.

Before
the 2000 Olympics, Dan Henderson, Randy Couture and Matt Lindland
were all training at MMA and used the sport as a way to help
fund their Olympic team quest. Neither Henderson, who had made
the Olympic team in 1992 and 1996, nor Couture, who had been
an alternate for every Olympic team from 1988-1996, ended up
qualifying. Lindland, on the other hand, made the Olympic team
and won a silver medal in Greco-Roman competition.

At
the time, their efforts had no effect on the sport of MMA since
MMA was such a low-profile sport at the time, and Lindland wasn’t
well-known as a fighter.

St.
Pierre noted that if he does well at high-level wrestling, he
feels it will elevate the sport of MMA on a worldwide basis,
and that even more, it will bring attention to the sport of wrestling
in Canada, where it gets very little coverage.

He
noted that he has not discussed this issue with UFC president
Dana White, who would likely have a strong opinion about the
loss of one of his biggest stars.

St.
Pierre said that he would wrestle at 185 pounds instead of the
170 pounds he fights at. Right now he walks around at 193 pounds
before cutting weight for his fights, so he would be very small
for the weight class, where most wrestlers he’d be facing
would walk around between 205-215.

The
problem is the next lowest weight class for the Olympics is 163,
and St. Pierre made it clear he is not willing to go to the extreme
measures to make that weight.

“I’m
not going to risk my health and put that kind of stress on my
kidneys,” he said when it comes to extreme weight cutting,
which exists in both MMA and Olympic-level wrestling. “I
train with guys a lot bigger them myself and I do very well against
them. I train with Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, even Shane Carwin
(a heavyweight who trains at close to 280 pounds). I’m in
there with big guys and I’m not afraid of fighting big guys
because I train with guys like that every day.”

“I
have to talk with all my trainers, my sponsors, all the people
who help me I want to take care of,” he said. “This
will be much harder than mixed martial arts. With mixed martial
arts, I’m the champion so I only have to beat one opponent.
With wrestling, I would first have to qualify for the Olympic
team. But just being on the Canadian Olympic team doesn’t
mean you would go to the Olympics, so I would have to win tournaments
with the Americans, and Cubans. And then, at the Olympics, it’s
a completely different level.”

St.
Pierre clearly admitted that today, he is not a wrestler of that
caliber, but he wants to see if he devoted full-time to the sport
if he could improve to being that level.

Realistically,
the odds are very long that someone without a competitive history
in the sport could become a medal contender in a short period
of time. For St. Pierre, with his popularity, particularly in
Canada where he was voted by fans as the country’s athlete
of the year for the second straight year (the Canadian Press
writers poll had him in second place behind hockey star Sidney
Crosby), his quest would give exposure to a sport that isn’t
big in the country.

It
would create an interesting potential story if he qualified for
the Games and if he was successful, his personal marketability
level, probably the highest of any fighter in the sport already,
would explode like no MMA fighter in history.

But
the risks are high. Chasing the Olympic dream would mean he would
take two of his prime earning years and competitive years away
from a sport that rapidly evolves, in favor of a sport that has
little in the way of monetary upside.

Source: Yahoo Sports

Evans
win sets up ‘Rampage’ showdown

LAS
VEGAS – Rashad Evans spent the first two rounds in his UFC
108 main event with Thiago Silva implementing a specific game
plan. He’d move forward, throw a few punches to get Silva
off balance, and explode with a takedown.

While
he was unable to finish Silva, who was coming off a knockout
win over one of Evans’ best friends and training partner
Keith Jardine, he largely shut Silva’s offense down completely
for two rounds and seemed on the verge of an easy decision.

Then,
in a split second, things changed. Evans was caught with a punch
and put down. Silva had him in trouble, but then held up and
Evans had a chance to recover.

It
became a battle, both with a clock ticking away and with both
men’s conditioning as Evans tried to hold on. But Evans,
in his first match back since dropping the UFC light heavyweight
title to Lyoto Machida, survived the third round to win the unanimous
decision by straight 29-28 scores on Saturday night at the MGM
Grand Garden Arena.

“I
said to myself, `No, this isn’t going to happen again,’”
said Evans (14-1-1). “I was thinking, `Keep your composure,’
and I was talking myself through it. When I get rocked with a
good shot, I talk with myself. My legs felt a little loose so
I was going to try and tie him up.”

He
blamed the knockdown and the period when he was in danger of
losing to getting tired after pushing the pace heavily, as well
as a mental lapse causing him to do exactly what he had been
drilled in training not to do.

“I
know he’s a pretty good striker but I didn’t think
he had the power, the one-punch power, even though he knocked
out Jardine (Evans’ good friend and training partner),”
said Evans after the fight. “I wasn’t too afraid of
his power.

I
would go to implement my game and break him down with pressure.
In the third round, I got a little bit tired. I don’t know
if I got lazy, and he got me with a shot.”

“My
coaches told me, `Don’t fade away after somebody throws
a jab,’ and that’s exactly what I did,” Evans
continued. “He slipped a right hand in there and it caught
me. It landed, and I thought I rolled with the punch. I tried
to move my legs. But my legs were gone, so I grabbed him and
tried to recover.”

The
key moment where Silva (14-2) let Evans off the hook was when,
a moment after his big shot, he started playing to the crowd,
which fired up the crowd, but gave Evans a chance to recover.

Silva
had been taunting Evans, putting his hands down and inviting
Evans to throw, and waved to get the crowd to react, but Evans
ignored getting shown up.

“He
was giving himself a chance to recover,” he said. “I
felt him breathing. After we got done with that exchange he was
breathing really hard and he was doing everything he can to motivate
himself.”

“It
didn’t affect me at all. He was trying to excite himself
and he was trying to rest a little bit. It’s not my first
fight. I’m not going to get goaded into somebody waving
his hands and saying ‘come get me.’

“A
fight is a strategy,” he continued. “He was trying
to get me to lose my head. There’s a saying, if you lose
your head, your ass goes with it. You can’t fault him for
trying to get me out of my element and to open up so he can catch
me.”

The
score was obvious, as there was little question Evans won the
first two rounds, that Silva won the third, and that Silva didn’t
follow up his advantage and do enough damage to earn a 10-8 third
which would have made the fight a draw. Still, most of the crowd
announced at 13,255 fans, heavily pro-Silva from the start, booed
the decision heavily.

The
win will lead to a much-anticipated match with Evans and Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson, which UFC president Dana White said
he’s hoping to put together on the scheduled May 1 show
in Montreal.

The
match has been the source of a lot of controversy. The two were
opposite coaches on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter reality
show, which ended early last month, which featured a number of
confrontations ending with Evans vs. Jackson being one of the
most anticipated matches in company history.

But
Jackson pulled out of the original Dec. 12 fight date in his
hometown of Memphis to take a lead role as the B.A. Baracus character
in “The A-Team” movie. At one point, mad at White being
critical of him for taking the movie role, he said he was quitting
the UFC. Most recently he said that he didn’t want the fight
if Evans were to lose to Silva.

“I
don’t have any messages for Rampage,” said White. “This
fight should have happened a few weeks ago. I’m over it,
I’m past it. It’s time to do this fight when he’s
done with the movie.”

Evans
noted that his coaches wanted him to implement a new fighting
strategy and feels he needs another fight to get it down before
facing Machida.

“Sticking
to a game plan is always hard, especially when your opponent
is trying to stop you,” said Evans. “I said it time
and time again before the fight, I said that I was going back
to wrestling. I wanted to throw hands but my corner warned me
against it. They told me not to get into a battle where it’s
Russian Roulette and whoever gets the punch wins.”

Still,
Evans admitted disappointment, even though he beat one of the
top names in the division, and avenged the loss of his teammate.
“Overall, yeah, I was happy to get the win, but I really
wanted to go out there and be really impressive,” he said.
“I worked really hard and I integrated stuff that I really
don’t do. I was moving forward and I usually stay on the
outside.

Moving
forward with Thiago you put yourself in the line of fire. It’s
hard to stick to the game plan when you’re used to doing
things one way. But I’m disappointed I got tired in the
third round.”

Source: Yahoo Sports

UFC
108: EVANS GOES OLD SCHOOL TO BEAT SILVA

Going back to his roots, Rashad Evans found the winning formula
on Saturday night at UFC 108 using his superior wrestling and
clinch game to win a unanimous decision over Thiago Silva. In
the process, he vaulted himself back to contender's status in
the light heavyweight division.

Like
KRS-One remembering Boogie Down Productions, Evans went back
to what got him to the game in the first place as he used his
years on the Michigan State wrestling squad to show what made
him a dangerously versatile fighter.

Using
excellent head movement, Evans shot in often on Silva, who struggled
to get away from the quick double leg and clinch of the Jackson's
MMA fighter. As the fight wore on, it was obvious that Evans'
takedowns were on the mind of Silva, who wanted to avoid the
clinch, so his aggression took a step back.

For
almost the entirety of the fight, Evans used his striking to
set up the clinch and takedowns, instead of looking for the big
punch, which seemed to get him in trouble in his last fight against
Lyoto Machida.

The
third round probably brought the closest finish to the fight,
but it was Silva who took the upper hand. He clubbed Evans with
a straight right that rattled the former light heavyweight champion.
With Evans on wobbly legs, Silva engaged and tried to throw big
shot after big shot, attempting to land the perfect combination
to put him away.

Surprisingly,
with Evans still on the ropes, Silva backed away and let his
opponent recover long enough to let the time wind down on the
final round. Evans slipped away from some serious danger late
in the fight to pick up the unanimous decision win on all the
judges' scorecards.

"I
didn't realize how hard it was until I tried to take a step back
and then I was like where's my legs at?" Evans admitted
about the hard shot he took in the third.

Coming
back from the loss to Machida and a lengthy absence due to filming
the tenth season of the "Ultimate Fighter," Evans bounced
back strong and used his basic tools to get the win.

"It's
a strategy I got away from for a long time because I've been
having success doing other things," Evans commented about
using his wrestling once again. "I got back to it, it was
difficult, but I stuck with the game plan."

With
the win now behind him, all signs point to an Evans vs. Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson fight later this year, possibly as
soon as March, and it didn't take the former light heavyweight
champion very long to serve notice to the "A-Team"
star.

"I
hear there's an actor who came back to the fight game and the
UFC," said Evans. "Rampage, I know you watching, so
come back, let's get it on."

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
108 BONUSES: DALEY, MILLER, STOUT, & LAUZON

With UFC post-fight bonuses consistently hitting the high five
figures, the promotion’s athletes are constantly gunning
for the honors... and the bonus check. Saturday’s UFC 108
roster was no different, and they didn’t make it easy on
UFC brass. Seven of the night’s 10 bouts ended via submission
or knockout.

After
entertaining 13,255 fans at the MGM Grand Arena, pulling in a
$2 million gate, according to UFC officials, the award winners
at UFC 108 took home bonus checks of $50,000 each.

Paul
“Semtex” Daley kept blazing up the UFC welterweight
trail on Saturday night, and he did it in stunning fashion. Dustin
Hazelett, whose forte is grappling, showed admirable stand-up
abilities, but he stood just a split second too long, eating
a left hook from Daley that sent him crashing to the mat, lights
out. It was another highlight reel finish for Daley that also
earned him the Knockout of the Night.

Cole
Miller found a way to survive after being dropped by a Dan Lauzon
overhand left, but he didn’t stop there. In a tremendous
display of jiu-jitsu, he locked on an inverted triangle then
finished Lauzon with a Kimura shoulder lock for the Submission
of the Night.

Sam
Stout was cut open and nearly submitted in the opening round,
but somehow escaped Joe Lauzon’s submission attempts to
come back and batter him. They fought on through rounds two and
three, Lauzon searching for a way to catch Stout in a submission,
but Stout continually staying a step ahead, outstriking the elder
Lauzon brother. For their efforts, both Stout and Lauzon went
home with an extra $50,000 and Fight of the Night honors.

Source: MMA Weekly

DALEY
VS KOSCHECK VS FITCH VS ALVES

Two fights in and two knockouts to his credit.

Paul
"Semtex" Daley has definitely lived up to his explosive
nickname, while dispatching of two top welterweight contenders
in Martin Kampmann and Dustin Hazelett, but how far away from
a title shot is the brash Brit?

At
the UFC 108 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White
responded to that very question and pointed towards a future
fight between Daley and one of the top two contenders.

"He
burst onto the scene here obviously and has taken out two very
tough guys. You know who we're talking about at the top of that
division," White said about Daley's next challenge. "He's
going to have to fight one of the top two contenders before we
think about him fighting GSP."

White
admitted the problems of having two of the top 170-pounders coming
out of the same camp and getting them in the Octagon together.
With Jon Fitch already set to face Thiago Alves in March, his
teammate Josh Koscheck might have a contract with Paul Daley's
name on it in the near future.

"My
big problem in this division right now is the two best guys out
there are probably Koscheck and Fitch and trying to get them
to fight each other is a nightmare. I'd really like to see that
fight," White commented. "We’ll put Paul Daley
against one of them and see what happens."

Koscheck
was just recently forced out of his February rematch with Paulo
Thiago, and after healing up, a fight against Daley may be just
what the doctor ordered to get him back into a title fight against
St. Pierre later this year. Daley, as always, invited all challengers,
but was quick to point out there is another contender still waiting
in the shadows.

"I'd
like to fight a Fitch or a Koscheck just to prove that I've got
improved takedown defense, and I have a ground game and this
is stuff I'm continually working on. I just haven't had a chance
to display it because I keep knocking people out standing up.
Fitch would be great or a Koscheck," said Daley.

"Again,
there's a (Thiago) Alves fight. I've been fighting and knocking
guys out standing up, but I really haven't displayed my full
array of stand-up skills and I think a fight with Alves would
be entertaining for the fans."

Whoever
Daley fights next, fans will ultimately be the real winners,
as the British fighter has proven to be a major commodity to
the ever-expanding welterweight division.

Source: MMA Weekly

EVANS
VS RAMPAGE LIKELY FOR MAY FIGHT CARD

It was March 2009 when Rashad Evans and Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson first stared each other down in the Octagon. Each said
in not so friendly words how they would finish the other when
they finally met in the center of the cage.

Fast-forward
to nearly one year later as Rashad Evans celebrates a win over
Thiago Silva. It appears the long-standing rivalry will finally
come to a head, most likely at a scheduled May 1 event in Montreal.

At
least according to UFC president Dana White, speaking to the
media at the UFC 108 post-fight press conference.

"We're
thinking maybe, probably May," White said when asked about
the proposed match-up between Evans and Jackson. "Probably
May, it may make sense. That's going to be a sick card up there."

White
went on to say that he's done talking about the fight between
Evans and Rampage that was supposed to close out the tenth season
of the "Ultimate Fighter" and culminate at UFC 107
just a few weeks back in Memphis, Tenn.

"This
fight should have happened a few weeks ago, it didn't, but I'm
over it," White commented. "I'm past it, I think Rashad
is too, and now it's time to do that fight as soon as he's done
with his movie."

For
Evans’ part, he stayed fairly quiet about the situation
with Rampage, and even admitted that it was probably a good step
for him to take that fight before getting another shot at the
UFC light heavyweight title currently wrapped around Lyoto Machida’s
waist.

"If
I get the opportunity to fight him it will be a good opportunity
to say the least," Evans said about taking on Rampage. "Getting
the chance to get back in there, getting on the winning track
was very important for me tonight."

If
the bout between Evans and Rampage goes down as planned, it would
likely serve as the co-main event on the UFC's third trip to
Montreal. The headliner is expected to showcase Machida defending
his 205-pound divisional title against Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua in a rematch to settle the score between the two Brazilians.

Source: MMA Weekly

Ring
rust sets up Lauzon for a beating at the hands of Stout

Sam
Stout is a great striker but he's always struggled against great
submission fighters. Joe Lauzon is exactly that, but this didn't
look like a 100-percent Lauzon. The 25-year-old from Bridgewater,
Mass. was off for the last 10 months recovering from ACL surgery.
Stout took advantange of Lauzon's inability to get the fight
to the ground and scored a unanimous decision victory, 30-26,
30-27, 30-27.

It
took just 14 seconds from the start of the fight for Lauzon (14
submission wins) to get it to the ground. Once down there, Lauzon
quickly passed to half guard and worked Stout for a kimura attempt.
The Canadian rolled several times and extricated himself from
the predicament. After that, it was all Stout on the feet. Lauzon
attempted 12 takedown more times but only delivered twice. In
between those attempts, he was just covering up and walking straight
forward. It allowed Stout to get off four and five strike combinations.
It looked like a K-1 fight with only one fighter throwing shots.

This
was a good win for Stout (15-5, 4-4 UFC), who always delivers
action fights. It has to be in the lead for the fight of the
night bonus. It's only the second fight of the night to go the
distance.

UPDATE:
Lauzon and Stout did receive fight of night and a $50,000 bonus.
For Stout it was the third times in eight fights he's received
an award. The same goes for Lauzon.

Source: Yahoo Sports

1/5/10

Quote
of the Day

“I
always try to believe the best of everybody -- it saves so much
trouble.”

Rudyard Kipling

Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!

Channel
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8:00 PM!

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Quest
for Champions

UFC
108 delivers despite doubts

LAS
VEGAS – One of the greats of the Ultimate Fighting Championship
had yet another superb night Saturday at UFC 108 at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena.

He
was on top of his game, though the critics were out in full force
beforehand, predicting his decline.

He
came up with a superstar performance on a night when many were
expecting little more than yawns.

Joe
Silva, the UFC’s frequently badgered matchmaker, proved
Saturday that he’s one of the company’s most valuable
assets by putting together a sensational card of fights that
frequently left the crowd of 13,255 delirious with excitement.

UFC
108 was decimated by nearly a dozen fighter injuries and illnesses,
forcing Silva to rework the card multiple times. Enough guys
dropped off the card to field a football team, there were replacements
for the replacements and many critics were howling, predicting
a disastrous card and calling for a cut in the pay-per-view price.

The
critics would have been correct if the card ended after the first
fight, a lightweight match between Rafaello Oliveira and John
Gunderson that was a dull, desultory affair that Oliveira won
by decision.

After
the opener, though, fight after fight was a jaw-dropper, making
it clear that Silva is still pretty good at what he does.

The
main event, in which Rashad Evans defeated Thiago Silva on a
unanimous decision, was a quality fight but seemed like a letdown
after the series of other A-quality bouts.

“The
show speaks for itself,” said Sam Stout, whose lightweight
war with Joe Lauzon will be among the contenders for 2010 Fight
of the Year some 363 days after it occurred. “Everyone who
fought put on an impressive performance.”

Prior
to the card, UFC president Dana White vigorously defended the
quality of the show and went on the offensive against those who
were critical of the matches.

Much
is made on Internet bulletin boards of a perceived lack of respect
that White shows fighters, but White got the last laugh Saturday.
He wound up turning the critics’ words against them.

“All
these guys (on the Internet) are always talking about respecting
fighters,” White said. “But more disrespect was thrown
at the fighters than ever. Listen, I think they were trying to
take shots at the UFC, but what they’re doing is taking
shots at the fighters.

“I
go out and we put together the best fights we can and we go promote
it. Saying that this card sucked, or that it was lackluster,
or that it didn’t live up to being a New Year’s Eve
card, well, I said it at the (pre-fight) press conference: These
guys always deliver.”

Well,
not always, but Silva comes through more often than not. On Saturday,
there were at least a half-dozen mind-blowing moments.

The
submission that Cole Miller slipped on Dan Lauzon in their lightweight
fight was so incredible and came from out of nowhere that the
UFC ought to consider adding it to the highlight reel they play
in arenas before each show.

Stout
and Joe Lauzon put on a battle for the ages, highlighted by a
sequence in the first round in which they rolled across the cage
as Stout attempted to work his way out of a kimura attempt by
Lauzon.

Jim
Miller also pulled off a brilliant submission, but he did so
after playing Duane Ludwig’s game. He knocked down Ludwig,
who seemed to have a striking advantage, with a clean shot and
then immediately went about pulling off his submission.

Paul
Daley bragged for weeks that he would knock out Dustin Hazelett,
then he went out and did just that.

Heavyweight
Junior dos Santos continued his ascent toward stardom, blowing
away Gilbert Yvel.

There
were many such moments throughout the night.

One
of the reasons that cards that are panned turn out to be good
is that the ones that are being ripped are generally the ones
without the biggest stars.

When
the big names fight, the matchups usually dictate themselves.
In that instance, Silva doesn’t have the ability to influence
the card.

But
on cards like Saturday’s, where there are more mid-tier
fighters, Silva can play with the matchups and arrange the bouts
so the styles produce the most fireworks.

“He’s
the best in the business,” White said of Silva. “…
Joe Silva is awesome and he does a fantastic job. He’s the
best.”

Jim
Miller said he wasn’t surprised the card turned out the
way it did. He was irked, as were many of the fighters on the
show, by the constant flood of Internet whining about the quality
of the show.

He
had two other opponents who fell out before Ludwig took the bout.
He said he was geared for a prime performance, believing an impressive
win could vault him into the top 10.

“Everybody
stepped up and it was a great night of fights,” he said.
“People don’t understand that injuries happen in this
sport. If they don’t believe it, they ought to get on the
mat and train. We train harder than any other athletes on the
planet. Guys are going to get hurt.”

And
yet, there is always something going on. On Saturday, former
heavyweight boxing champion James Toney was hanging around the
press room, begging White for a fight, which White said he’d
consider.

There
were smiles all around, as White obviously was pleased by what
he’d seen after what he’d heard for months.

“At
the end of the day, if you’re a fight fan, you put your
money down because you want to see great fights,” he said.
“Sometimes, we have a card filled with our big names, like
UFC 100, and they put on a show. And sometimes, we have guys
who get hurt or have something go on in their lives and they
can’t make it. But we are fight promoters and this is what
we do. This is why we have so many guys under contract. We’re
in the fight business and at the end of the day, if you come
to one of our shows, you’re going to get a kick-ass night
of fights.”

Source: Yahoo Sports

UFC
108: DOS SANTOS TKO'S YVEL TO STAY IN HUNT

Junior Dos Santos defeated Gilbert Yvel by TKO to kick off the
UFC 108 pay-per-view on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

The
two hard-hitting heavyweights wasted no time exchanging. Dos
Santos worked the body and then went upstairs, landing a left
hand that sent Yvel crashing to the canvas.

The
Brazilian followed Yvel to the ground and finished him off with
strikes. Referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the action at 2:07
in the first round.

“I
noticed when he was coming in he was trying to counter attack
with a punch, so what I did was I came in low and knew I would
come up with a high hook and that’s exactly what I did.
We trained that,” said Dos Santos after the fight.

Dos
Santos is on a five-fight winning streak and is undefeated in
the UFC. The 25-year-old believes the win over Yvel puts him
at the top of the division and in line for a title shot, a notion
that UFC president Dana White also backed at the pre-fight press
conference on Wednesday.

Asked
where he feels the UFC 108 victory puts him in the heavyweight
division, Dos Santos answered, “At the top.”

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
108: STOUT & MILLER STIR UP CROWD WITH WINS

Sometimes it's the cards that aren't always the best on paper
that end up putting on the best shows. That seemed to be the
case at UFC 108 on Saturday night as all of the fighters came
out with something to prove, including Sam Stout and Joe Lauzon,
who led the way with a stellar battle.

After
a long layoff with a knee injury, Lauzon didn't appear to miss
a step in the opening of his fight against Stout. He took the
Canadian to the ground and proceeded to wrap up a Kimura that
looked extremely deep. To his credit, Stout stayed composed,
never panicked, and worked his way out of the hold.

"I
was like damn, he's got my arm!" Stout explained. "I
just started rolling and twisting and turning, and luckily I
got out of it."

As
the fight progressed, MMA legend Bas Rutten was somewhere smiling
as Stout opened up a barrage of deadly liver punches that bruised
and battered Lauzon's mid-section. The stand-up didn't stop Stout,
who used the better part of the last two rounds to work his opponent
over like a heavy bag, landing punches, elbows, and kicks.

All
three judges gave the nod to Stout, who gave one of the best
performances of his career on Saturday night. The Canadian born
fighter was quick to give thanks to the man responsible for the
outstanding striking game that helped him earn the win.

"I've
got one man to thank for that, that's Shawn Tompkins," Stout
said shouting out to his long time coach.

Three
different opponent changes inside of a month didn't seem to rattle
New Jersey native Jim Miller, as he ran a clinic on the feet
and on the ground to secure a submission win by armbar over Duane
"Bang" Ludwig.

Much
to Ludwig's surprise, Miller came out willing to stand with the
kickboxing champion, and landed a few big shots of his own, none
bigger than a counter strike that put the Colorado fighter on
the ground midway through the first round.

Smelling
blood, Miller pounced on Ludwig, taking the mount. As his opponent
rolled, he grabbed an arm with the intention of carrying it back
home to New Jersey with him. Ludwig fought valiantly, but Miller's
positioning was perfect and he forced the submission.

"I
just try to train and get better everyday," Miller commented
after the win. "I had a lot of opponents for this fight,
and that's my trick, I just train to get better."

Knowing
what an injury riddled card that UFC 108 became, Miller acknowledged
his opponent for stepping up on short notice, along with all
the fans that continued to support the show.

"I
want to thank Duane for stepping up and everybody else on this
card that stepped up on short notice cause we had a lot of injuries,"
Miller said. "I want to thank all the fans for showing up
tonight. There were a lot of crap talkers saying (expletive)
about this card. We're here to fight."

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
108: PAUL DALEY GETS ANOTHER BIG FINISH

Paul Daley continued his impressive UFC performances with a knockout
win over Dustin Hazelett in the UFC 108 co-main event on Saturday
night, improving his UFC record to 2-0.

The
pace was slow to start with each exchanging leg kicks and each
trying to land high kicks along the way.

Hazelett
appeared comfortable on his feet with the British striker, but
at the 2:24 mark of the first round, Daley landed a left hand
that put Hazelett down. He pounced on the Kentuckian and finished
with strikes on the ground.

Asked
if he was surprised at Hazelett’s decision to stand with
him, Daley said, “No I wasn’t surprised at all that
he chose to stand with me. Dustin’s a great guy, a great
fighter, and he knew he had to stand with me. All fights start
standing, so I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Following
the stoppage, Daley pointed as if he had a gun and pulled the
trigger as Hazelett was being tended to, but the 26-year-old
was classy in his post-fight comments.

“He’s
been in there with the best, he’s got great submission skills.
I wish him all the best for the future. I apologize for my antics
after the fight,” said Daley. “You know, when the adrenaline
is flowing, and after the knockout, you do stupid things, so
I apologize."

Source: MMA Weekly

Aoki
gives the finger during the 40-year-old Yoshida’s night

Lightweight
Dream champion, Shinya Aoki, shocked 45,606 fans in the classic
Saitama Super Arena by snapping the Sengoku champion’s arm,
Mizuto Hirota, in the K-1 “Dynamite: The Power of Courage
2009” on New Year’s Eve in Japan.

The
stage for memorable Prides, the stadium that established Fedor
Emelianenko, Rodrigo Minotauro, and Wanderlei Silva was true
to its history with a solid and breathtaking card, and saw the
crowned Hidehiko Yoshida dominate the rookie Satoshi Ishii, also
a judo star, and astonished everyone with knockouts from the
all-powerful Alistair Overeem, Gegard Mousasi, and Melvin Manhoef.

After
a quick fall in the corner of the ring and the bench, Aoki took
Hirota’s right arm to his back, twisting him in a bizarre
police lock.

With
this, Aoki left his opponent defenseless and released several
punches until tiring of the game and finishing the job on his
arm. The problem was that Hirota had no desire to tap, and his
arm was bent, forcing Judge Yuji Shimada to stop the fight at
1min17s.

Like
a lankier Brock Lesnar, Aoki raised his middle finger in Hirota’s
thuggish face and repeated the gesture for the audience in an
extravagant run on the canvas.

The
main fight of the night was between two fighters of the Olympic
pantheon. A gold-medalist in Beijing 2008, Satoshi Ishii debuted
against the gold-medalist in Barcelona 1992, Yoshida. Without
a gi, the 40-year old fighter didn’t give his potential
successor – a 23 year old – a chance, dominating the
fight on his feet in the first attack – which included kneeing
Ishii in the face.

The
young judo fighter was better in the second attack, and punished
Yoshida’s legs by making him limp heavily. But, at the end
of the third attack, the jurors chose Yoshida.

Another
highlight of the night was the Sengoku featherweight champ, Masanori
Kanehara, who took Norifumi Yamamoto to his third defeat in 20
fights – the second in a row, however. Another who appears
to have acquired a taste for defeat was the fierce Rameau Sokoudjou.
The beast from Camaroon lost this time to the MMA employee Minowa,
a figure who is always fighting during the Japanese New Year
celebration.

K-1
– Dynamite!! Power of Courage 2009

December 31, 2009

Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan

Ikuhisa
Minowa defeated Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou by TKO, 3min29s 3R

Hiroshi Izumi defeated Katsuyori Shibata by unanimous decision

Michihiro Omigawa defeated Hiroyuki Takaya by TKO, 2min54s 1R

Akihiro Gono submitted Hayato Sakurai, 3min56s 1R

Melvin Manhoef defeated Kazuo Misaki by TKO, 1min49s 1R

Hideo Tokoro defeated Jong Man Kim by unanimous decision

Tatsuya Kawajiri defeated Kazunori Yokota by unanimous decision

Masanori Kanehara defeated Norifumi Yamamoto by unanimous decision

Alistair Overeem KOed Kazuyuki Fujita, 1min15s 1R

Gegard Mousasi defeated Gary Goodridge by TKO, 1min34s 1R

Shinya Aoki submitted Mizuto Hirota, 1min17s 1R

Hidehiko Yoshida defeated Satoshi Ishii by unanimous decision

Source: Gracie Magazine

“Jacaré”
wants Shields: “he has the belt”

Ronaldo
Jacaré’s debut at Strikeforce couldn’t have
been better. After fitting an arm lock, the black belt finished
the fight against Matt Lindland with a tight arm triangle choke.
After the victory, Jacaré talked to TATAME about expectations
to the future, the dream to win his first belt on MMA and a lot
more.

Source: Tatame

1/4/10

Quote
of the Day

“The
smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”

Oscar Wilde

BJ
vs Gomi II in Hawaii!

With Takanori
Gomi back in the UFC, Onzuka.com's (well Mike's) prediction is
that the UFC that debuts in Hawaii's Aloha Stadium will be BJ
Penn vs Takanori Gomi 2. The UFC needs BJ to headline an event
in Hawaii, Dana White stated that they wanted to do a UFC in
Hawaii in 2010, and there are no real legitimate number 1 contenders
right now. Also, one of the last MMA sell outs (or close to sell
outs) was the BJ/Gomi fight as well as it was an incredibly dominating
fight for BJ that I am sure Gomi would like to try to get revenge.
All good marketing points for an epic fight card.

Let's
see if my prediction comes true. You heard it here first!

IT'S
OFFICIAL: TAKANORI GOMI IS A UFC FIGHTER

It’s been more than two and a half years since Frank and
Lorenzo Fertitta, the controlling interest in the Ultimate Fighting
Championship and World Extreme Cagefighting, purchased Japan’s
Pride Fighting Championships from Dream Stage Entertainment,
but former Pride lightweight champion Takanori Gomi has finally
made his way to the Octagon.

AOL’s
Ariel Helwani first reported the signing from anonymous sources
on Friday night, but UFC president Dana White made it official
Saturday morning in his latest UFC 108 video blog on YouTube.

“Takanori
Gomi, nobody knows yet, but we signed him,” said White,
obviously not anticipating that word would leak out. “He
fights with the UFC now.”

The
new owners closed Pride’s doors following a tumultuous time
trying to keep the brand viable in Japan, but Gomi (31-5) has
remained busy. He fought four bouts for World Victory Road’s
Sengoku; an anniversary bout for Shooto, where he got his start;
and most recently for Vale Tudo Japan.

Gomi,
whose record totaled 4-2 during that time, slipped out of the
Top 10 lightweight rankings that he once ruled. He is currently
on a two-fight winning streak.

Gomi
joins the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson, Rodrigo and Rogerio Nogueira, Mirko “Cro Cop”
Filipovic, Gilbert Yvel, and other Pride refugees under the UFC’s
dominant brand.

The
presence of so many prominent former Pride fighters now on the
UFC roster, the company brass has inked a deal to begin showing
its new stars’ past Pride fights on Spike TV. Expected to
be similar in format to “UFC Unleashed,” “Best
of Pride” will focus primarily on former Pride fighters,
like Gomi, who are now in competing in the Octagon.

“We
signed him and he’s here, get ready,” said an excited
UFC president. “Gomi’s back!”

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
108 PLAY-BY-PLAY AND RESULTS

The Ultimate Fighting Championship kicks off the New Year without
hesitation on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in
Las Vegas. A card cursed with casualties and more than a few
false starts, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans
and Thiago Silva headline UFC 108 in a bout that will help shape
the title picture in the 205-pound division.

MMAWeekly.com
will have live UFC 108 results and play-by-play of the full fight
card. The preliminary bouts are scheduled to begin at approximately
4:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. ET. The main card is scheduled for 7
p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET and is also available on pay-per-view. At
least two preliminary bouts will air live on Spike TV at 6 p.m.
PT / 9 p.m. ET.

Be
sure to refresh you browser frequently for all the latest results
and play-by-play from the event...

UFC
108 PLAY-BY-PLAY:

Rashad
Evans vs. Thiago Silva

R1-
Yves Lavigne calls the action. Evans charges in with a few punches
and ties the action up at the cage. Silva works to trip but can’t
get leverage. Silva peels off and works for a plumb, prompting
Evans to dump up. Silva’s up in a second, but Evans scoops
him up and dumps him harder. In side guard, Evans easily passes
to mount and Silva escapes in transition, returning up with a
couple of knees. Silva looking for space but Evans offers none.
Evans with a few punches as the two break off. The two trade
punches. Evans eats a jumping knee as he charges in and gets
a takedown. The two scrambles for position, and again, it’s
Evans pressuring. This time tought Evans breaks off and the two
are on their feet. Silva with inside leg kick. Evans nearly catches
an uppercut. Evans comes in with a cross but eats a counter hook.
The former champ charges in again and clinches at the cage. Evans
breaks off with an uppercut. He swarms back in with a couple
of nice body shots and dumps Silva again. He can’t keep
the Brazilian down and the two end the round sparring on the
feet.

R2-
Evans punches in again and ties up at the cage. Silva knees his
legs but can’t break off long enough to unload with his
hands. Silva locks the plump but Evans breaks off. Silva eats
a kick on his way in and takes it down. Silva seems to have little
takedown defense, relying on escapes over sprawls. He pops up,
and again, Evans closes and dumps him. Predictable pattern emerging.
Silva waves him in. Evans throws a right hand and drives in,
but can’t complete a double leg. Silva lands a right hand,
but Evans is using distance to his advantage. Evans barrels in
and does what he does. Silva sits at the cage’s edge. Audience
boos. Silva rights himself and lands a knee at the bell.

R3-
Silva hints at a striking attack, but ends up in the same position,
fighting off a trip to the mat. Evans catches him with a left
hook as he breaks off the clinch. Silva lands a jab. Silva plants
on a right hand and goes down, but is so slippery, Evans can
hardly keep him there. Silva cutting off the cage looking for
a right uppercut. He waves Evans in again. He’s growing
increasingly agitated that he can’t have a slugfest. He
begs the audience. Evans catches him with a right hand, and he
offers his chin. Now, he’s baiting Evans with his chin up
and his hands down, bobbing and weaving . He throws a one-two
that floors Evans, and suddenly he’s got legs. Evans is
cornered against the cage and fighting for his life. Evans checks
the clock. Silva lands a right uppercut, it seems a matter of
time. He’s waving frenetically, swinging for the fences
in between. He backs off and stands with his hands at his side.
Audience is on its feet. Action stalls. Silva kicks as Evans
shoots in for a takedown, prompting a stream of boos from the
fans. Evans ducks under but doesn’t have the strength to
complete the takedown. Just as Silva wrenches the former champ
off him, the round ends. All judges give Evans the fight at 29-28.

Paul
Daley vs. Dustin Hazelett

R1-
Herb Dean calls the action. Dustin backs up, then does a somersault
forward, spanning the length of the cage. Daley isn’t even
touching that. Hazelett fakes with front kick then wings a high
kick. Daley repays him with a leg kick. They trade body kicks.
Hazelett defends a couple of hard punches. He’s moving like
molasses, but there seems to be design in his attack. He lands
a front kick. And another that sends Daley backward. Daley swarms
in and counters a straight right from with a crushing left hook
that knocks Hazelett out cold. Scratch design. The Brit stands
overhead and delivers another left hand that further removes
the Kentuckian from consciousness. The official time is 2:24.

Joe
Lauzon vs. Sam Stout

R1-
Steve Mazagatti calls the fight. Joe Lauzon shoots on the first
exchange and it’s mat time for the two. Lauzon working to
pass from half guard, postures up in the meantime and fires down
a few elbows, but Stout wants up, and Lauzon is forced to follow
him to the cage. Lauzon grabs a quick kimura and rolls Stout
over, but Stout expertly avoid the hold and returns to his feet
to the audience’s delight. Stout’s forehead is bleeding.
Lauzon shoots again and drags Stout down by a leg. Stout’s
up quick, though, and this time, Lauzon pulls guard. Stout makes
him pay with elbows and punches. Lauzon works for a sweep and
Stout stands out of it. Lauzon catches a left hand that forces
him to shoot, and on the way up, he catches another punches.
Lauzon’s head is down and he’s eating uppercut’s
as he closes the distance. Stout digs a body shot: he’s
getting his rhythm together in a big way. Combination followed
by spinning backfist for Stout, Lauzon throws a shot to end the
round.

R2-
Stout throws Lauzon off when the inevitable shot attempt comes.
Lauzon covering as Stout throws a combo ending with a body shot.
Lauzon takes a heavy kick as he scrambles in and somehow manages
to wrench the action down. Stout scoots to the cage’s edge
as Lauzon clings on. He can’t keep the Canadian down. Stout
works the body and leg of Lauzon. Stout gets a body kick but
doesn’t get taken down this time. Lauzon with a right hand.
Stout returns with a body head combo. Stout pulling out all his
weapons for the stand-up attack, mixing punches, body shots,
leg kicks, and elbows. The body shots, though, are clearly taking
their toll on Lauzon. “J-Lau” pulls guard again, but
Stout stands up after a brief respite. Stout with a body kick.
Stout stuffs another shot and winds up in Lauzon’s guard.
Lauzon hoists his legs up but can’t angle for a submission.
Round ends with Stout in Lauzon’s guard.

R3-
After a touch of gloves Lauzon goes for dirty boxing and lands
a few short shots before Stout breaks off and lands another right
hand. Stout’s punching power is overwhelming Lauzon. Out
of the blue, Stout almost eats a right high kick. But he keeps
going, putting on a Muay Thai clinic for the floundering Lauzon,
who’s reduced to diving for takedowns. Digging body shot
lands for Stout. Even when Lauzon ducks under the shots, Stout
shrugs him off. It’s batting practice for the Canadian.
Stout gets a little too liberal with his kicks and winds up on
his back. Lauzon passes to half guard and as Stout attempts to
escape, Lauzon grabs a guillotine. It’s a tense few seconds,
but Stout escapes and gets big love from the audience. On the
feet, fight isn’t really competitive anymore. A big uppercut
rocks Lauzon, but he keeps going. Stout charges forward with
a frenetic flurry but can’t seal the deal as the fight ends.

All
three judges give Stout the fight by 30-26, 30-27, 30-27 scores.

Duane
Ludwig vs. Jim Miller

R1-
Southpaw Miller jabs his way in and eats a straight right. Undeterred,
Miller comes in again and lands an inside leg kick. Ludwig nearly
catches a high kick as Miller advances with punches. Ludwig fires
his own high kick, but gets nothing. Miller with a shot to the
body. Miller with a nice counter right hook. Ludwig catches a
right hook in a stutter-step transition and ends up on his butt.
Miller rushes in and Ludwig rushes to defend on the ground. Miller,
however, is all over him in a flash, mounting and transitioning
to an armbar as Ludwig tries to escape. Ludwig fights the hold
briefly, but succumbs as Miller rolls him over. The official
time is 2:31.

Gilbert
Yvel vs. Junior Dos Santos

R1-
Herb Dean calls the debut of “The Hurricane.” Dos Santos
enters to the Rocky theme. Yvel leads with left hook. Yvel misses
with a punch and catches a couple of hooks. Yvel with spinning
back kick. Yvel with a left hook as Dos Santos advances. Dos
Santos returns with an overhand right. Dos Santos pursues and
lands another couple of punches before retreating. Yvel counters
leg kick with a lunging punch. Dos Santos with a body jab. Dos
Santos smiles at an Yvel lead high kick. Dos Santos drops Yvel
with a left hook and pours on the punches as Yvel turtles and
takes more punches as he rolls to his knees. After several punches,
Herb Dean steps in to call the bout. 2:07 is the official time.

Martin
Kampmann vs. Jacob Volkmann

R1-
Yves Lavigne calls the action. Southpaw Volkmann gallops in slung
low, jabbing away. Kampmann returns with a jab that backs him
off briefly. Vokkmann comes forward again and eats another straight
right. The two trade with Kampmann landing another short right
hand before breaking off. Volkmann lands a Hail Mary right hand
but Kampmann drops him with a counter as he storms in with punches.
After regaining his wits, Volkmann storms back in and lands a
left hand. Kampmann disengages and puts together a one-two combo.
Volkmann lands another right hand in a charge, but again, walks
straight into a right hand that drops him. Kampmann follows into
guard, postures up with an elbow. Kampmann stands overhead and
fires down a right hand before diving into half-guard. Martin
stand over head again and shurgs off a leglock attempt before
landing several right hands that daze Volkmann. As Volkmann rights
himself and pitches upwards, Kampmann sinks in a power guillotine
that gets a quick tapout. The official time is 4:03.

Dan
Lauzon vs. Jim Miller

R1-
Steve Mazagatti calls the fight. Southpaw Lauzon Leads with a
straight left hand, and the two trade punches. Miller pursues
with a clinch and a series of kicks. Lauzon catches Miller with
a left hook that flashes Miller. Lauzon follows him to the canvas
but can’t seal the deal. Miller rights himself, but he’s
on wobbly legs as Lauzon tries to connect with that final punch.
Miller locks up a plumb and fires away with knees, with Lauzon
working the body. Miller, with a lazy leg kick, almost gets his
head taken off but comes back with more punches. A big hook misses
for Miller and Lauzon ducks under and takes his back. The two
scramble for position and Miller grabs Lauzon’s left arm
for a kimura, cinching an inverted triangle at the same time
that forces a tapout from “The Upgrade.” 3:05 is the
official time.

Mark
Munoz vs. Ryan Jensen

R1-
Mario Yamasaki calls the action. Munoz punches in but nothing
doing. Jensen retorts with a high kick, same. Jensen scores with
two leg kicks an d punch. Jense leaps forward with a knee and
grabs a guillotine as Munoz takes him down. Munoz passes and
Jensen scrambles to his back, working to control Munoz’s
hand and stand up. As Jensen does, he fires off a series of punches
that bring Munoz to the cage, where they tie up briefly. Munoz
takes the fight down and postures up with hammerfists. He stands
over and dives down with a right hand. More right hands follow
as Jensen turns to his stomach and goes into survival mode. Jensen
signals a tap, but Yamasaki doesn’t see it and Munoz continues
to pound away. Finally, Yamasaki gets the message after Jensen
flops to both sides and flattens out again. Official time is
2:30. Bruce Buffer calls it a tapout due to strikes.

Jake
Ellenberger vs. Mike Pyle

R1-
Yves Lavigne calls the action. Ellenberger brushes Pyle with
a nic right hand, then bulrushes in with punches before taking
the action down. Pyle works butterfly guard and trips Ellenberger’s
left arm, looking for a sweep, no dice. Pyle traps the other
arm and postures up. Ellenberger does not take the bait. Ellenberger
with a right elbow over the top. Other than that, though, not
much doing. Pyle with a crafty little upkick. This is mostly
a posture battle. Ellenberger starts to work his right elbow
as Pyle angles for an armbar. Ellenberger pulls out of it and
stands overhead briefly before Lavigne stands them up. Again,
the Nebraskan charges in with punches, ignoring a plumb, and
the two hurtle downward. Pyle snakes a kimura with Ellenberger’s
right arm and cranks away. He’s got it for a second before
Ellenberger protects it and takes half guard. Ellenberger postures
up and delivers several hard right hands as Pyle rolls to his
back. Pyle looks to be complaining about his midsection as he
gets back to his feet, but shakes it off when examined in his
chair.

R2-
This time, Pyle dives for a takedown, but Ellenberger shakes
it off and delivers a right hand that floors Pyle. In a flash,
Ellenberger follows Pyle to the mat, pounding away until Lavigne
steps in to rescue Pyle. 22 seconds is the official TKO time
for Ellenberger.

-Rafaello
Oliveira vs. John Gunderson

R1
– Action underway with Herb Dean calling action. Oliveira
leads with leg kick. Oliveira connects with glancing left hook.
Oliveira with another leg kick. The two are trading but not much
is landing. Oliveira shoots in for a takedown and gets caught
right away in a guillotine. He attempts to stand out of it and
wrestles himself free after slamming back to the mat. He scrambles
quickly into side mount and full mount, briefly trapping Gunderson’s
arm before taking his back and pounding away with punches. Gunderson
attempts to escape out the back door and winds up defending an
arm triangle. It’s deep, but he manages to get back to this
stomach, briefly escaping to side mount before being mounted
again. Oliviera is all over him: Gunderson is floundering between
back control and mount. Then, “Guns” manages to right
himself by walking up off his stomach. Oliveira takes him down
and shrugs off a guillotine attempt. The two are back on their
feet and wrestling for close control as round ends.

R2-
A little less sting on both men’s punches with all the grappling.
Gunderson looking for left hook but gets caught planting and
winds up on his back again, this time working for a kimura from
the bottom. He works his way up again, but isn’t there for
a second before he’s fending off the clinch. Against the
cage, he’s on a knee as Oliveira presses him back down.
It isn’t long before Oliveira has mount again and Guns is
forced to roll to his stomach. There, Oliveira finally snakes
his arm around John’s neck, but can’t finish before
Gunderson scrambles to his back. He’s there for a moment
before giving up his back again. This time, Oliveira grabs his
right arm and works for a kimura. Gunderson waits patiently before
pulling out of the hold and standing over with a few kicks to
end the frame.

R3-
Gunderson comes forward this round after getting a tongue lashing
from coach Sean Thompkins, and briefly shrugs off Oliveira’s
advances before finding himself defending the rear naked choke
again. He stands briefly to buck Oliveira off, but can’t
get the Brazilian off him for any length of time. Both men are
tiring. The order of the day for Gunderson is to guillotine when
Oliveira scoops him up, but it’s a futile pursuit—he
just ends up ceding position. After threatening with another
kimura, Guns fends off an arm triangle set-up and is mounted
again. Total ground domination from Oliveira. Gunderson can’t
escape….after he nearly gets choked out, Oliveira makes
a quick transition to an armbar and fights for dear life to get
it. He triangles the limb, but can’t get Gunderson to give
it up before the bell sounds.

All
judges give Rafael Oliveira the fight with 30-27 scores.

UFC
108 RESULTS:

Main
Bouts (On Pay-Per-View):

-Rashad Evans def. Thiago Silva by Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28), R3

-Paul Daley def. Dustin Hazelett by TKO (Strikes) at 2:24, R1

-Sam Stout def. Joe Lauzon by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27,
30-27), R3

-Jim Miller def. Duane Ludwig by Submission (Armbar) at 2:31,
R1

-Junior Dos Santos def. Gilbert Yvel by TKO (Strikes) at 2:07,
R1

Preliminary
Bouts (On Spike TV):

-Martin Kampmann def. Jacob Volkmann by Submission (Guillotine
Choke) at 4:03, R1

-Cole Miller def. Dan Lauzon by Submission (Kimura/Inverted Triangle)
at 3:05, R1

Preliminary
Bouts (Non-Televised):

-Mark Munoz def. Ryan Jensen by Submission (Strikes) at 2:30,
R1

- Jake Ellenberger def. Mike Pyle by TKO (Strikes) at :22, R2

-Rafaello Oliveira def. John Gunderson by Unanimous Decision
(30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Source: MMA Weekly

UFC
108: KAMPMANN & MILLER SCORE QUICK SUBS

The normally untelevised fights have found a perfect home on
Spike TV. Yet another round of preliminary bouts brought the
excitement early and often as Martin Kampmann and Cole Miller
both put their names in the hat for submission of the night with
each getting the tapout for the first round win.

The
holiday season is officially over and it ended just as quickly
for the fighter nicknamed "Christmas," as Martin "The
Hitman" Kampmann locked on a guillotine choke to finish
off Jacob Volkmann in the first round of their welterweight match-up
at UFC 108.

Much
to his surprise, Volkmann came out to trade punches with Kampmann
early, landing a few good shots as he established his stand-up.

"He
caught me with way too many punches. I was expecting him to shoot
right for that takedown," Kampmann admitted when speaking
after the fight. "I was looking for the takedown, instead
he comes throwing punches at me."

The
only flaw in Volkmann's aggression was leaving himself wide open
for counter strikes from Kampmann. The Danish fighter took full
advantage, landing two big punches that put his opponent on the
mat.

The
second of those punches put Volkmann on the mat for the last
time as Kampmann came in like a ball of fire, landing shots.
Just as the scramble started to bring the fighters to the feet,
the Xtreme Couture trained fighter locked on a perfectly timed
guillotine choke. It didn't take long for Volkmann to realize
he was in serious trouble and he gave in to the submission.

"I
was a little cautious to start off with and he caught me with
some good shots. I'm happy I got the win, maybe that's submission
of the night," Kampmann stated, celebrating the win.

It
was a crazy pace early, but Cole Miller kept up until the end
when he submitted Dan Lauzon by Kimura midway through the first
round.

The
two lightweights came out swinging with each one connecting with
a few good shots, but the best punch was landed by Lauzon who
caught Miller with a left hand square on the jaw that sent him
to the canvas.

"I
don't even remember getting dropped," Miller said about
the punch that put him down.

Miller
recovered well and got back to his feet where the two continued
to battle with punches and knees back and forth. After a few
scrambles, Lauzon got the fight to the ground, but soon found
him on the bad end of Miller's superior jiu-jitsu. A reverse
triangle from the bottom held Lauzon in the perfect position
for Miller to grab an arm and wrench up for the tap from the
Kimura.

Giving
all the credit to his team, Miller picked up his fifth win in
the UFC against only two losses.

"I
can attribute all of my success to my family here at American
Top Team," Miller commented after his win. "I don't
come in here and promise to win every fight, but I promise to
fight every fight, and I'll never make it a boring one. I'm not
afraid to take risks, I'm not afraid to lose, I'm not afraid
to die, and I gladly do all three for the fans here in the UFC."

Source: MMA Weekly

The
biggest Jiu-Jitsu academy in the world?

Tangling
with a Jiu-Jitsu black belt is like fighting a human tarantula:
there’s no escape.

The
statement was made by Reuters reporter Peter Rutherford, after
witnessing up close the venom of the “new” gentle art
that arrived in Singapore to stay.

The
reporter’s training session with Rafael “Gordinho”
Correa took place during a press conference for the new Evolve
MMA academy.

Labeled
the biggest MMA academy in Asia and designed by a renowned Singaporean
architectural firm, the academy headed by Gordinho and his partner
Chatri Sityodtong promises more: to open a branch of the same
standard in Rio de Janeiro, in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood.

“Evolve
Far East is our third gym, and I believe it’s the biggest
Jiu-Jitsu academy in the world. We’ve already got 180 students
and can’t be happier”, said Gordinho to GRACIEMAG.com.

Affiliated
with Renzo Gracie (Jiu-Jitsu) and Sitydtong Gym (muay thai) academies,
the academy seems to have been born a giant, in scale and quality.
Check more: www.evolve-mma.com.

Source: Gracie Magazine

GSP
goes on vacation training in Abu Dhabi

Although
historically there have been great MMA editions at the end of
the year, the season leads us to a time of rest for the work
accomplished, to reflect on the year gone by and plans for the
upcoming year.

How
would a victorious fighter like the Canadian Georges Saint-Pierre
spend a time like this? TRAINING.

The
holder of the UFC belt up to 77kg spent the week between Christmas
and New Years in the historic temple of grappling, the headquarters
of the ADCC at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Invited
by fellow Canadians who live in the region to give a quick wrestling
seminar, GSP took advantage of the trip to sharpen up the Jiu-Jitsu
at the headquarters of the Emirates Team. And he also chatted
with the countless fighters of the various modes of fighting
that are trained at the ADCC.

One
of them was the black-belt Michel Maia, now residing in the UAE.
According to Michel, St-Pierre has a good range of Jiu-Jitsu
positions, very fast reasoning when fighting on the floor, and
incredible muscular explosion.

“To
have had the opportunity to be beside him was very good for me.
The man is an example of determination and willpower. What I
learned most from him was that we have to train all the time,
intensively,” said Maia.

And
there’s a good tip for the holidays: visit Abu Dhabi and
“rest” by training.

Source: Gracie Magazine

Aoki
breaks Hirota’s arm at Dynamite!! 2009

COMPLETE
RESULTS:

K-1
Dynamite!! 2009

Saitama,
Japan

Thursday,
December 31, 2009

-
Andy Souwer def. Masato by unanimous decision;

-
Masaki Noiri def. Hiroya by unanimous decision;

-
Shota Shimada def. Katsuki Ishida by decision;

-
Minowaman def. Sokoudjou by TKO at R3;

-
Ray Sefo def. Yosuke Nishijima by unanimous decision;

-
Masaaki Noiri def. Shota Shimada by unanimous decision;

-
Hiroshi Izumi def. Katsuyori Shibata by unanimous decision;

-
Michihiro Omigawa def. Hiroyuki Takaya by TKO at R1;

-
Akihiro Gono def. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai by submission
at R2;

-
Melvin Manhoef def. Kazuo Misaki by TKO at R1;

-
Hideo Tokoro def. Jong-Man Kim by unanimous decision;

-
Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Kazunori Yokota by unanimous decision;

-
Masanori Kanehara def. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto by unanimous
decision;

-
Hidehiko Yoshida def. Satoshi Ishii by unanimous decision;

-
Alistair Overeem def. Kazuyuki Fujita by KO at R1;

-
Shinya Aoki def. Mizuto Hirota by submission at R1;

-
Gegard Mousasi def. Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge by TKO
at R1.

Source: Tatame

Anderson:
“I don’t like to fight with Brazilians”

Since
he won the middleweight belt on UFC, Anderson Silva just put
it against a compatriot once, and defeated the black belt Thales
Leites. In interview to December’s TATAME Magazine, the
biggest pound for pound fighter revealed his dissatisfaction
on facing compatriots in international events.

“I
don’t like to fight against Brazilian, mainly for world’s
title... It’s not world’s title fight like that, it’s
Brazilian title”, decrees Anderson, who’ll probably
fight Vitor Belfort in 2010, without an official confirmation
of Ultimate. “Brazilians are harder to be beaten, but is
part of our work and we fight with whoever UFC put us to”.

Source: Tatame

1/3/10

Quote
of the Day

"A
truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his
hands are empty. "

Source Unknown

UFC
108 REVIEW

Evan’s Wins Decision, Dos Santos and Daley Score KO’s

By Dustin Lee DePue

Las
Vegas, NV—Mired by injuries, freak accidents and several
dissolved main events, UFC 108 may have been a cursed event,
however, fans at the MGM Grand and those watching on Pay-Per-View
were treated with a dark horse card that exceeded expectations
and provided several thrilling finishes and gave boosts to several
rising stars. Most notable were Junior Dos Santos and Paul Daley,
both of whom added to their respective highlight reels with explosive
first round finishes. In the main event, former light-heavyweight
champion Rashad Evans got back on track with a win over fellow
contender Thiago Silva, setting in motion the much anticipated
grudge match with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Leading
up to the fight, Evans was vocal about going back to his wrestling
and he made good on those intentions, taking Silva down early
in the first round. He worked to mount but Silva was able to
work back to his feet, an act that would be repeated throughout
the fight. Evan’s was insistent on pressuring Silva, using
punches to close the distance and clinching before slamming Silva
to the mat. Though unable to hold the Brazilian down, Evans controlled
the fight and wore Silva down with the constant pressure.

Not
one to give up easily, Silva rallied in the third round. He stood
in the center of the ring and taunted Evans, trying to get him
to stand in the pocket and trade punches. Evan’s didn’t
take the bait, but he did lose focus and was caught backing up
by a hard right hook from Silva that buckled Evans’s legs
and had him fighting for survival. Silva pressed the attack but
after failing to stop Evans in the seconds after hurting him,
Silva let the opportunity slip away as he was too exhausted to
continue going for the kill. Though Silva easily won the round,
it was a clear two rounds to one in favor of Evans who was awarded
the unanimous decision. With the win, Evans will now face fellow
TUF 10 coach and rival Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Paul
“Semtex” Daley proved again that his is one of the
most apt nicknames in the sport as he scored a brutal KO over
Dustin Hazelett. It was not secret that Hazelett wanted the fight
on the ground and Daley wanted to stay on his feet, merely a
matter of who could score first from their preferred position.
Daley scored first, following a series of hard low kicks with
an explosive left hook that dropped Hazelett. Daley followed
up with several hard left hands that left Hazelett unconscious
at 2:24 of the first round.

Junior
Dos Santos propelled himself further up the heavyweight ladder
with a brutal stoppage of Pride veteran Gilbert Yvel. The fireworks
expected from these two dangerous striker went off as planned
as both fighters sized each other up for power shots early in
the fight. Yvel showed one of his many weapons with a spinning
back kick early but it was Dos Santos who took control with a
pair of combinations that had Yvel backing up and struggling
to find his rhythm. Moments later, both fighters threw left hooks
but it was Dos Santos’s highly torqued punch that landed
first and dropped Yvel. Dos Santos moved in for kill, dropping
a series of heavy punches before referee Herb Dean stepped in
for the TKO stoppage at 2:07 of the opening round.

Martin
Kampmann got back in the winner’s circle with a submission
over Jason Volkman. Volkman pressed recklessly forward with looping
punches while Kampmann looked to counter. It didn’t take
long as Kampmann buckled Volkman with a right hand. Volkman answered
with a hard right hand of his own but was immediately dropped
by a right hook from Kampmann, who dropped into Volkmann’s
guard and caught Volkman in the scramble with a modified guillotine
choke that ended the fight at 4:03 of the first round.

Sam
Stout showed an impressive mix of striking and wrestling in beating
tough lightweight Joe Lauzon by unanimous decision. Lauzon struck
early with a quick takedown and a kimura attempt that signaled
a potential early night for his opponent, however, Stout fought
his way back to his feet where he was the better fighter, landing
a left hook to the head and several hard shots to the body as
he stole the momentum for the second half of the round.

In
the second round Lauzon had a hard time getting Stout down and
a harder time keeping him down as Stout would post against the
cage and pop up to his feet. Stout continued to put together
punch combinations, sneaking in hard shots to the midsection
that took the steam from Lauzon’s attack.

Though
tired and out-gunned, Lauzon never stopped coming forward; he
was simply out-classed on the feet and outwrestled in the clinch.
Stout threw everything at him in the final round, landing combos
at will and continually ripping Lauzon’s midsection with
punches and kicks. Lauzon finally managed a takedown late in
the fight after catching a kick and worked his way to mount,
where he looked to sink an inverted guillotine but Stout escaped
and resumed his stand-up attack, clearly earning the unanimous
decision.

Jim
Miller took the harder route in his victory over accomplished
striker Duane Ludwig, opting to stand and trade with the K-1
level kick boxer before taking the fight to the ground where
Miller’s superior grappling aided in his submission victory.
Miller showed further improvement in his stand-up game, landing
a right hand early and following with a head kick that showed
he was not afraid to bang with one of the most technical strikers
in the game.

Taking
the fight on two weeks’ notice and having dropped thirty
pounds in that time, Ludwig did not look as sharp as normal and
was dropped with a right hand as he side-stepped. Miller quickly
jumped on his downed opponent, working to mount and slapping
on an armbar as Ludwig rolled for the tapout at 2:31 of the first
round.

Cole
Miller came back from a dangerous situation to submit Dan Lauzon
in a fast and furious lightweight fight. Miller came out aggressive
and Lauzon obliged as both fighters went back and forth with
punches before Lauzon caught Miller with a left hand and dropped
him. Miller recovered and the fighters went back and forth with
both scoring with strikes before ending up on the mat with Lauzon
on Miller’s back. After an exciting series of counters,
Miller locked in an inverted triangle and a kimura that forced
Lauzon to tap at 3:05 of the first round

Jake
Ellenberger scored his first UFC win with a stoppage over crafty
grappler Mike Pyle. After spending the first round tied up in
Pyle’s guard, Ellenberger exploded in the second round,
following a hard knee to the body with a right hook that dropped
Pyle and finishing with a furious assault of punches that forced
a referee stoppage just twenty-two seconds into the second round.

Mark
Munoz used his top notch wrestling to overwhelm Ryan Jensen and
score an early submission. Munoz scored a pair of takedowns in
the fight, using his second opportunity on the ground to drop
a series of hard hammerfists that forced Jensen to give up his
back, prompting Munoz to drop a series of hard punches that compelled
Jensen to tap two and a half minutes into the opening round.

UFC
108 Results

Rashad Evans def Thiago Silva by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-29)

Paul Daley def Dustin Hazelett by KO 2:24 Rd 1

Junior Dos Santos def Gilbert Yvel by TKO (Strikes) 2:07 Rd 1

Sam Stout def Joe Lauzon by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27,
30-27)

Jim Miller def Duane Ludwig by Armbar 2:31 Rd 1

Martin Kampmann def Jason Volkmann by Guillotine Choke 4:03 Rd
1

Cole Miller def Dan Lauzon by Kimura 3:05 Rd 1

Mark Munoz def Ryan Jensen by Submission to Strikes 2:30 Rd 1

Rafaello Oliveira def John Gunderson by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)

Source Full Contact Fighter

TORRES
RETURNS AGAINST BENAVIDEZ MARCH 6

by Damon
Martin

As the Buckeye state readies for a Rose Bowl on Friday, they
will soon welcome World Extreme Cagefighting to the city of Columbus
for the first time in March. A stellar bantamweight match-up
was confirmed for the card, as former 135-pound champion Miguel
Torres faces off against Joseph Benavidez in a potential No.
1 contender's match.

The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Thursday.

Rumors
had circled ever since the last WEC event that Benavidez or his
friend and training partner Scott Jorgensen could end up being
the match-up for Torres with both coming out on top with spectacular
wins that night.

With
Torres sitting cageside for commentary duties during the Benavidez
vs. Rani Yahya match-up, the winner seemed likely to end up in
the former champion's crosshairs. That is exactly what ended
up happening.

With
a 3-1 record overall in the WEC, Benavidez gets the shot coming
off of his first round knockout over Yahya. He faces a very determined
Miguel Torres, who returns after the first loss on his record
in almost six years after dropping his title to current champion
Brian Bowles.

The
bout will likely serve as the co-main event of the night behind
Bowles who makes his first title defense that night against Dominick
Cruz. Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming WEC 47
card as it becomes available.

Source:
MMA Weekly

Ronaldo
Jacare

By Guilherme Cruz

Ronaldo Jacares debut at Strikeforce couldnt have been better.
After fitting an arm lock, the black belt finished the fight
against Matt Lindland with a tight arm triangle choke. After
the victory, Jacare talked to TATAME about expectations to the
future, the dream to win his first belt on MMA and a lot more.

What did you think about the fight?

It was a good fight. We made a strategy and I could make it.
I thank to X-Gym team for supporting me with (Josuel) Distak,
my MMA trainer,

(Rogirio) Camues, physical preparing,

Cesario, Boxe trainer, Tonico, from Muay thai, and all my train
partners.

Did you imagine that it would end so fast?

I didnt, but I was calm and I knew I was in great shape.

You had faced before (on ADCC) and you submitted him too...

I believe a lot in my Jiu-Jitsu and it made the difference again.

What did Strikeforce guys thought about your fight? Did they
say something on the backstage?

They said I made a beautiful fight and I was strong.

Did someone said something about your return?

Not yet, but I think that this week they must say something.
I dont know if its gonna be for the belt but on the right time
theyll put me to fight for the belt.

Dan Henderson, Jake Shields or Jason Miller: if you could choose,
with who would you like to fight and how do you think that the
fight would be?

Jake Shields... He has the belt.

Gegard Mousasi has the belt of the category above. Do you think
about changing category to have this revenge? What would you
make different?

Im a professional athlete and I dont keep remembering the defeats.

Whats your expectations to 2010?

To make three fights and that one or two have five rounds with
five minutes.

Send your message to people who supported you...

I thank God for taking care of me and to all the fans for supporting.
Ill always be ready to be on the cage and make great fights.

Source:
Tatame

Lauzon
Ready to Return vs. Stout at UFC 108

LAS
VEGAS (Dec. 31, 2009) Exciting UFC lightweight contender Joe
J-Lau Lauzon (18-4, 5 [T]KOs, 13 submissions), only 10 months
after undergoing knee surgery to repair his ACL, enters the Octagon
once again Saturday night to fight Canadian veteran Sam Hands
of Stone Stout (14-5-1, 8 [T]KOs, 1 submission) on the UFC 108
pay-per-view show, live from MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Lauzon
(5-1 in UFC), star of The Ultimate Fighter 5 television reality
show, is a 25-year-old from Massachusetts, who has a computer
networking degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.
He is pumped to be fighting again, especially in Las Vegas, where
hes fought once but at a much smaller venue than the famed MGM
Grand.

I
fought in Las Vegas in the TUF finale at The Palms, Lauzon explained.
Vegas is good; Ive been there a bunch of times. Its awesome how
the casinos are all along the strip, crowded with people at all
hours. The Palms was smaller than MGM Grand. The only comparable
place Ive ever fought, size-wise, was the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Im
just so excited to be fighting again, especially on such a big
PPV show. It caps off the UFC year and always is a real good
show. And its great to be fighting on the same card as my brother,
Danny (first time in UFC history that brothers have fought on
the same card). My knee feels awesome and it has come around
like I hoped it would.

Styles
make fights and Lauzon-Stout is a classic match-up of contrasting
disciplined fighters. Both are well-rounded MMA fighters, but
Lauzons a noted Brazilian Jui-Jitsu specialist, while Stout prefers
to strike and kick.

Im
ready, Lauzon said. Fans are going to watch two aggressive guys
coming forward. Its going to be fast paced and I think somebodys
going to get hurt in the first round.

For
more information about Joe J-Lau Lauzon go online and visit www.joelauzon.com

Source:
Fight Network

Fighters
to Watch in the Next Decade

by Tomas Rios

The
past decade saw a karate master take over the light heavyweight
division, a professional wrestler rise to the top of the UFC
and a once scrawny welterweight transform into greatest middleweight
the sport has ever seen. If those are any indications, then trying
to predict which fighters will rule the decade to come could
be more pointless than trying to take down Vegas.

What
follows is a rundown of the six fighters on whom I'm banking
to become the faces of the sport -- a heady mix of established
stars, some elite prospects and a few dark horses that could
surprise everyone.

Jose
Aldo

Age: 23

Promotion: World Extreme Cagefighting

Class: Featherweight

With
just 17 professional fights under his belt, Aldo is already universally
recognized as the best featherweight on the planet. During his
ascent, he has accumulated a highlight reel that could fill an
entire episode of SportsCenter. Age really makes Aldo the fighter
to keep an eye on. At just 23, Junior finds himself in a unique
position to become the first truly great featherweight of the
modern mixed martial arts era.

Already
a dynamic striker with bulletproof takedown defense and a Brazilian
jiu-jitsu black belt from the vaunted Nova Uniao camp, Aldos
talents are borderline preposterous, and he may not reach his
physical peak until the midway point of this decade. Consider
it an especially interesting possibility since Aldos praying
mantis frame already has fans wondering about a potential future
in the lightweight division.

His
path seems like something out of a cheap Lifetime movie, considering
Aldo grew up as one of the millions of Brazilians living in abject
poverty -- poverty so crushing that his teammates would buy him
food just to make sure their friend would not starving to death.
Despite those horrific circumstances, Aldo has grown into an
exceptionally personable and respectful fighter who approaches
his craft with a calm that seems more suited to a professional
assassin. That incredible life story, everyman charm and singular
athletic talent make Aldo the favorite to become the fighter
who defines the upcoming decade come and makes featherweight
fights must-see TV.

Jon
Jones

Age: 22

Promotion: UFC

Class: Light Heavyweight

Imagine
a video game character come to life, and you have a good idea
of what its like to watch Jones compete inside the cage. Known
for a repertoire of incredible throws and sweeps, backed by a
striking game that features moves like spinning back elbows,
he seems the kind of fighter who could redefine the modern mixed
martial artist.

While
Jones synthesis of technique and talent made him a highlight
reel regular long ago, his decision to train with Greg Jackson
and Firas Zahabi may be remembered as the move that made him
a superstar. With two of the sports best trainers by his side,
the decade to come could be the one in which Jones makes the
transition from exceptional talent to unforgettable fighter.

Current
light heavyweight juggernauts like champion Lyoto Machida and
Mauricio Rua will undoubtedly have something to say about how
far Jones goes, but that day remains a bit further down the road.
For the time being, fans will have to be content with watching
Jones do his thing in spectacular fashion -- not a bad consolation
prize.

Muhammed
Lawal

Age: 28

Promotion: Strikeforce

Class: Light Heavyweight

Everyone
recognizes Lawals considerable skills, inside and outside the
cage. Just listen to him talk long enough, and he invariably
delivers a monologue on his own greatness thats equal parts Muhammad
Ali and Allen Iverson. From his royal court of honeys to a penchant
for gaudy gold accessories, everything about King Mo screams
towering monument to self-promotion.

While
everyone from Shonie Carter to Phil Baroni has gone the Ric Flair
route, Lawal has the talent to back up his oversized ego, which
seems more of a carefully calculated ploy than an actual reflection
of his character. Already a big part of Strikeforces future plans,
Lawal has been nothing short of dominant in every one of his
six professional bouts despite consistently facing far more experienced
fighters.

The
natural inclination is to give credit to Lawals stellar collegiate
and international wrestling credentials, but, in reality, Lawal
has shown a preternatural inclination for this sport. That, more
than anything else, makes him a superstar in the making. Let
us hope his management team can convince him to compete at his
more natural weight of 205 pounds, rather than risking unnecessary
misadventures against the behemoths populating the heavyweight
class.

Gegard
Mousasi

Age: 24

Promotion: Strikeforce

Class: Light Heavyweight

The
beauty of a sport as dynamic as MMA is that charisma is better
expressed inside the cage than on the microphone. There can be
no better example of this axiom than Mousasi, who, despite having
the personality of drying paint, has become a fan favorite thanks
to a unique fighting style and a flair for the exotic.

Hitting
leg sweeps off ones back as easily as one uncorks a high kick
will secure one plenty of followers, and Mousasis ability to
keep his opponents perpetually off guard while staying remarkably
composed sets him apart from so many of his contemporaries. That
trend looks like it will continue in the decade to come, as Mousasi
has only now started to find his groove at light heavyweight
and has made no secret of his plans to move to the heavyweight
class someday.

Those
are bold aspirations for a 24-year-old, but you will scarcely
find one more equipped to fulfill them. Watching how this once
unknown Armenian handles the Herculean task he has assigned himself
will be one of the definitive stories of the next 10 years.

Ben
Askren

Age: 25

Promotion: Bellator Fighting Championships

Class: Welterweight

A
few years back, the forum masses were sent into hysterics when
a video surfaced of Askren, then a Div. I collegiate wrestling
champion, training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The more level-headed
among us thought the idea of Askren competing in MMA was intriguing
but not worth starting a fan club, considering he was already
regarded as a shoo-in for the 2008 United States Olympic wrestling
team.

While
Askrens Olympic dreams ended on a bitter note when he failed
to medal at the 2008 Summer Games, his MMA career has only just
started to bloom; his decision to train with American Top team
has clearly paid dividends. Considered by his trainers to be
a natural on the mats, Askrens unorthodox wrestling style transitions
beautifully to MMA, as the newfound freedom to use submissions
seems to have created a synergy absent from the game of most
any wrestling convert.

The
idea of a truly world-class wrestler rapidly absorbing the intricacies
of Brazilian jiu-jitsu has remained little more than a pipe dream,
but Askren might be the man who brings that archetype to life.
If nothing else, it will be fun to watch him bust out moves that
leave opponents wondering how in the world some white kid with
an afro can throw them around like ragdolls.

Cain
Velasquez

Age: 27

Promotion: UFC

Class: Heavyweight

Legitimate
heavyweight prospects have become the Holy Grail, fountain of
youth and universal solvent all rolled into one. Those reasons
alone are enough to land Velasquez on this list, as he backs
his 6-foot-1, 245-pound frame with dominant wrestling skills
and a thirst to learn that has made him far more polished than
most mortal up-and-comers.

In
a division where fighters mostly rely on a single skill set or
pure brute force to win, Velasquez represents a welcome breath
of fresh air, as he utilizes actual technique and strategy to
defeat foes. Considering the American Kickboxing Academys strong
history of converting collegiate wrestlers into elite mixed martial
artists, it seems like everything has been perfectly aligned
for Velasquez to be the heavyweight who takes over once the 30-plus
crowd currently ruling the division loses steam.

Only
one worry exists about Velasquezs future. Because his management
team simply could not convince anyone to fight him on the local
circuit, he was thrust into the UFC early in his development
and has already launched himself into title contention. One sure-fire
way to ruin a prospect is to throw him into the deep end of the
pool before hes ready, and no one can be sure if Velasquez will
be ready to make that quantum leap. The MMA world will find out
soon enough when he takes on heavyweight legend Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira at UFC 110 in February.

Source:
Sherdog

Junior
dos Santos

By Guilherme Cruz

After
defeating three tough fighters in the UFC, Junior Cigano dos
Santos doesnt want to rest in the end of the year and he is going
over Gilbert Yvel, on January 2, by UFC 108. Christmas was simple
this time, tells the fighter, laughing, in interview to TATAME.
On the chat, the heavyweight talked about the expectations to
the combat and made his bets to the fight between Frank Mir and
Shane Carwin, set for the interim heavyweight title.

Hows the preparation to the fight?

Very tough. I made the first part of the training with Rogirio
(Minotouro Nogueira) to his fight and then I came here to Bahias
heat, is very hot here (laugh). We trained here with Champions
Team and Nordeste Jiu-Jitsu, that supported me this time.

Whats the expectation to your fourth fight on UFC?

Its a tough fight, but Im very focused on Gilbert Yvel, hes a
very tough guy. Ive been watching his fights a lot and I want
to understand what he does best and prepare myself fort hat.
Im well prepared. Saturday was my last sparring and Im ready
to give a show and, if its Gods will, to win.

Do you think that the whole fight will be standing?

I think itll be standing. As I always say, I like to fight standing,
develop my boxing. I think Im good standing. We dont know how
the fight is gonna be, but Im prepared to everything. Ive trained
a lot the takedowns, I can surprise in all the areas.

You were set to face Gabriel Gonzaga, but he got hurt and they
changed your opponent to Yvel, who hasnt a contract with UFC.
Were you surprised?

I was a little surprised, I was training to fight with Napco,
but, when he had the problem, UFC had the heavyweights sick or
with fights set. UFC wanted to hire him, so they put him against
me. It surprised me, but I never mind about the opponent, but
with what I can do, to be worried about my development. As in
every fight, Ill give my best.

With Brock Lesnar away for a while, UFC must create the interim
title on a fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin. Do you think
its fair?

I think it isnt fair, I think Rodrigo was closer to fight for
the belt and that he should dispute, but as MMA dont follow a
ranking we have to move on according to UFCs decisions.

How do you think this fight is gonna be?

Its gonna be good, two contenders, tops on category, and its
always good for we to analyze and know the opponents better.
Its gonna be a good fight.

Do you have any bets?

Its hard... I think its gonna bet he same with Frank Mir against

(Cheick) Kongo. If the fights stands up, Carwin has more chances.
I dont have a favorite.

Source:
Tatame

JENS
PULVER VS. JAVIER VAZQUEZ AT WEC 47

by Ken
Pishna

While many people whether or not Jens Pulver should continue
his career following a fourth straight loss, to Josh Grispi at
WEC 41 in June, the former UFC lightweight champion will return
on March 6 to face Javier Vazquez.

The
bout was first reported by Sherdog.com, and later confirmed to
MMAWeekly.com by multiple sources.

Following
the loss to Grispi, Pulver (22-12-1) was among those contemplating
his place in the sport that he helped pioneer.

I
think I just ended in the same place I started," Pulver
told the crowd in Sacramento, Calif., chalk full of emotion.
"I'm not saying I'm done yet, but it's been incredible.
Thank you for making an old man feel good. I love you guys very
much."

Always
a very passionate individual, Pulver has since stated that the
fire to compete still burns inside. But as popular as he is,
Pulver likely needs a win at WEC 47 in Columbus, Ohio to remain
with the promotion he has called home the past two years.

The
same could be said for Vazquez (13-4), who has lost both of his
fights since making his promotional debut late last year. Both
losses were via split decision, to L.C. Davis at WEC 42 and Deividas
Taurosevicius at WEC 43.

Brian
Bowles will defend his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz
in the main event at the Nationwide Arena.

Source:
MMA Weekly

UFC
108 Preview:

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Matchmakers

by Jim
Genia

It
was supposed to be a grand affair, as these UFC New Year’s
extravaganzas often are, and it was at various times to feature
heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar defending his belt against the
dangerous Shane Carwin, Anderson Silva defending his belt against
Vitor Belfort, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira taking on Cain Velasquez
for number one contender status, plus there was to be an undercard
stacked with the likes of Gabriel Gonzaga, Tyson Griffin, Carlos
Condit, Rory Markham and Sean Sherk. Yes, it was marvelous. But
it’s all gone now, those match-ups most intriguing torn
asunder by a heretofore unseen amount of injury and illness,
those match-ups still intact for UFC 108 more akin to leftover
turkey than must-see TV. To paraphrase John Steinbeck, such are
the best laid plans of mice and matchmakers.

In
lieu of any epic title bout, UFC 108 will instead give us a light-heavyweight
pairing between ex-champ Evans against Brazilian striker Thiago
Silva – two men who fell to current champ Lyoto Machida
in such convincing fashion, one can only wonder about their futures
as long as Machida competes. Yet their respective crushing knockout
losses notwithstanding, they’re still tough, hearty badasses
who cut a swath through the division, and more than capable of
putting on a show. A show worthy of the main event for the UFC’s
New Year’s purported extravaganza? Sure, why not. Silva
can, of course, throw punches with deadly precision, and Evans
has made the ever-evolving-wrestler motif into an art form. Based
on the strength of his past opponents alone, Evans should emerge
victorious with a brutal ground-and-pound stoppage. But the question
lingers: so what?

Brit
face-puncher extraordinaire Paul Daley would’ve likely given
Condit fits in the cage, yet thanks to a cut hand that later
became infected, the well-rounded former WEC champ was replaced
with the one-dimensional grappler (but exceedingly good at that
one dimension!) Dustin Hazelett. And where Condit would have
foolishly stood and maybe traded with Daley, Hazelett will instead
do what he does best and what Daley does worst, which is take
the fight to the canvas and wage war there. Unless the Brit can
stay on his feet, he’s getting tied into some very creative,
very painful knots.

With
Gonzaga sidelined with a staph infection, the powers that be
dug deep into their Rolodex to find an opponent for up-and-comer
Junior dos Santos. The result is ultimate blast-from-the-past
Gilbert Yvel, an ace Dutch striker whose prime was about ten
years ago and who was notorious for breaking rules. But of all
the leftovers that have been cobbled together for this UFC 108
plate, this pairing is the most intriguing. For while Yvel is
lost on the ground, as long as he’s standing he’s dangerous
– very dangerous – and if dos Santos makes a mistake,
the storied Pride veteran won’t waste any time feeding him
a shin. Expect dos Santos to take the decision… unless he
gets knocked out.

Grappling
stud Jim Miller would’ve had a thrilling battle with Griffin
if that bout had held together. He would’ve also had a thriller
with Sherk if that bout had held together. Now on his third proposed
opponent, an aging striker in Duane Ludwig, Miller will instead
have a walk in the park. Yes, Ludwig is more than able to land
KO strikes on nearly anyone. But Miller’s career is headed
in one direction and Ludwig’s is headed in another for a
reason; watch for Miller to get his opponent down with ease and
tap him out.

Joe
Lauzon and Sam Stout were set to fight each other from the start,
and remarkably, their lightweight pairing – which pits a
submission specialist who can throw the occasional strike against
the striker who can avoid the occasional submission – has
held. As both are veterans, and very skilled and talented at
what they do, this one is a toss up that could likely go the
distance.

Source: MMA Memories

Herschel
Walker, Nick Diaz, Cris Cyborg In Strikeforce Action Jan 30

NEW YORK (December 4, 2009) – Just months after the stunning
announcement that he would try his hand at mixed martial arts
(MMA), NFL and NCAA football legend, Herschel Walker, will make
his highly-anticipated STRIKEFORCE MMA debut at BankAtlantic
Center in Sunrise, Florida on Saturday, January 30. Superstar
Nick Diaz and STRIKEFORCE world 145-pound women’s champion
Cris Cyborg will co-headline a stacked fight card during STRIKEFORCE’s
historic first visit to the state of Florida.

A
special pre-sale ticket purchase opportunity will take place
for “STRIKEFORCE Insider” e-newsletter subscribers
(http://strikeforce.com/insider.html) beginning at 10:00 AM,
ET Monday, Dec. 7, and ending at 10 PM, ET on Thursday, Dec.
10. “STRIKEFORCE Insiders” will receive a special e-newsletter
Friday, Dec. 4 with the pre-sale code.

Tickets
officially go on-sale next Friday, Dec. 11 at the BankAtlantic
Center ticket office as well as online at www.Ticketmaster.com
or by phone at (800)745-3000.

Walker,
the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and two-time Pro Bowl competitor,
will face an opponent to be announced in one of as many as five
live, SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast)
televised bouts on the STRIKEFORCE card.

The
6 foot 1 inch, 220 pound former running back, who already holds
a fifth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and boasts additional
training in the combat disciplines of Muay Thai and Kenpo, recently
entered a 12 week MMA training camp at San Jose, California’s
American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), which plays home to a host
of the world’s greatest fighters, including STRIKEFORCE
Lightweight Champion Josh “The Punk” Thomson and undefeated
middleweight superstar Cung Le.

Walker,
a 1999 College Hall of Fame inductee who was also selected to
Sports Illustrated’s NCAA All-Century Team that year, has
never been one to shy away from the road less traveled.

Following
his junior year at the University of Georgia where he had set
the NCAA freshman rushing record en route to an undefeated season
and Sugar Bowl championship victory over Notre Dame,

Walker,
a born-again Christian, astonished the sports world by withdrawing
from school to play professional ball in the newly formed United
States Football League (USFL) rather than wait to enter the NFL
draft after the graduation of his collegiate class, a rule maintained
by the world’s largest professional football league at the
time.

While
the vast majority of football players typically follow an intensive
weight room regimen, Walker relied on bodyweight exercise, conditioning,
and calisthenics while maintaining very little body fat.

Walker
was eventually drafted in 1985 by The Dallas Cowboys and established
himself as a premiere running back in the league. In 1986, he
was the driving force behind a historic trade

that
sent in to The Minnesota Vikings in exchange for five players
and six draft picks.

In
12 NFL seasons with four different teams, he became the only
player to gain 4,000 yards three different ways – rushing,
receiving, and kickoff returns. He is one of six players to exceed
60 touchdowns rushing and 20 touchdowns receiving and is the
only player in NFL history to register a 90 plus yard reception,
a 90 plus yard run, and a 90 plus yard kickoff return, all in
one season (1994).

Off
the gridiron, Walker has achieved a handful of feats, including
a seventh place finish in the 1992 Winter Olympics two-man bobsled
competition. Now 47 years of age, the native of Wrightsville,
Georgia will look to conquer a whole new world.

Diaz
will make his first start since he submitted hard-hitting Scott
“Hands of Steel” Smith with a rear naked choke in the
third round (1:41) of their STRIKEFORCE: Lawler vs. Shields matchup
at St. Louis, Missouri’s Scottrade Center on June 6, 2009.
The 26 year old Diaz, a native of Stockton, California, will
put a five fight win streak on the line.

Cyborg
made history on August 15, 2009 when the 24-year-old native of
Brazil stopped superstar Gina Carano with a punishing barrage
of strikes in the first round (4:59) of their meeting to become
the first-ever STRIKEFORCE women’s champion. The long-awaited
showdown between Carano and Cyborg also marked the first women’s
main event in the history of any major MMA promotion.

Doors
at BankAtlantic Center open at 7 p.m. The first non-televised,
preliminary card fight will begin at 8 p.m.

STRIKEFORCE
in March 2009 signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA
events on the premium cable television network. The promotion
made its live, primetime debut on CBS with the “Fedor vs.
Rogers” mega-fight that it co-promoted with M-1 Global on
Saturday, November 7 and generated 5.46 million viewers for the
main event between the world’s number one heavyweight, Fedor
Emelianenko, and superstar Brett “The Grim” Rogers.

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 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 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.

Source: MMA Online

MMA
then and now: A lot can change in a Decade

In the MMA world ten years is a whole lot of time. Considering
that the modern rendition of the sport is just over 16 years
old it means this last decade accounted for about 63% of its
modern history.

Numerous
lists have been put out regarding the best fights, best KO’s,
most notable moments, etc, in MMA over the decade. I decided
to do something a little different. Here’s a look at MMA
ten years ago and MMA today:

*UFC
23 had just been completed and the UFC had entered the “Dark
Ages” when a handful of events would not see home video
release – Fighters Only Magazine is holding its second annual
red carpet awards show in Las Vegas with numerous MMA stars,
celebrities, and media on hand.

*Kevin
Randleman had just beat Pete Williams to become the UFC’s
heavyweight champ – Randleman is now 17-14 and hasn’t
won two fights in a row since December 23, 2003

*Nobody
knew this Dana White guy as he was teaching boxing in Las Vegas
and managing Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz – UFC President
Dana White is probably the most recognized figure in the sport
and a lightning rod for controversy

*Spike
TV was called The Nashville Network and it sure as hell wasn’t
showing any Mixed Martial Arts – Spike’s most popular
programming is the UFC

*B.J.
Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and
Brock Lesnar had a total of zero professional fights – They
are currently the UFC’s five champions and amongst the most
popular fighters on the planet

*The
UFC was still over two years away from an event in Europe –
It is a matter of months away from an event in The United Arab
Emirates

*Kazushi
Sakuraba was on the verge of star status with his submission
of Royler Gracie at PRIDE 8 – “The Gracie Hunter”
went on to beat, Royce, Renzo, and Ryan Gracie and is now a legend
in the sport

*Evan
Tanner had a 20-2 record but he had not sunk his boat, attempted
to open a house for fighters, become the UFC’s middleweight
champ, or written thought-provoking words – Evan Tanner
is no longer with us after his fateful trip into the desert but
now we can all Believe in the Power of One

*TapouT
was just a fledgling company, a dream in the eyes of Charles
Lewis, Dan Caldwell, and Timothy Katz – TapouT is a multi-million
dollar business, but tragically Charles “Mask” Lewis
is no longer with us thanks to a drunk driver.

*Lee
Murray was a promising fighter with a 1-0 record – A movie
is being made about Lee Murray, not because of his fighting career
(although he could fight), but because of his alleged involvement
in the infamous bank robbery that netted over 50 million pounds.

*PRIDE
was just hitting its stride and Mark Coleman was months away
from winning the Open Weight Grand Prix – PRIDE is no more,
but Mark Coleman continues to fight.

*Fedor
Emelianenko had yet to have a professional MMA fight – Fedor
is considered by many to be the best fighter in the world

These
offer just a glimpse into how the landscape of MMA has changed,
good or bad, over the course of the last ten years. The next
decade is sure to hold a lot of excitement and surprises as well
and we aren’t going to have to wait long for it to begin
with UFC 108 just days away.

Source: By The Numbers

1/2/10

Quote
of the Day

"Leadership
is the capacity to translate vision into reality."

Warren G. Bennis

Rutten:
Kimbo Shouldnt Cut Weight

by Loretta Hunt

Kimbo Slices one-time trainer Bas Rutten had a single critique
after watching the fighters Dec. 5 victory against Houston Alexander:
stay at heavyweight.

Slice,
whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, dipped below his usual 230-pound-plus
frame to make a 215-pound catch-weight against Alexander at The
Ultimate Fighter 10 finale in Las Vegas. Slice won the bout by
unanimous decision.

I
think the biggest problem for him, and I called Mike, his manager,
and I said dont let him fight anymore under his normal weight,
like 218, or whatever he was, Rutten told host Bruce Buffer on
the Sherdog Radio Networks Its Time show on Tuesday. Thats not
him. Youll take too much power away from him. Let him fight at
the weight that he walks around with. Thats the happy weight
because you feel the best.

Slice,
who voiced his disdain for the cut in the days leading up to
the bout, said hed be willing to compete again at 215 pounds
and above in a recent exclusive video interview with Sherdog.com.

Ill
bang with anybody that wants to bang at 215, that wants to see
me in that division, said Slice. 205, I wont get, but you come
in at 215, man, and we can do this, you know what Im saying?
We can talk.

Rutten
also dismissed past reports that hed spoken ill of his former
students work ethic after the coach and fighter parted ways late
last year. Slice trained at Ruttens California gym for his EliteXC
bouts against James Thompson and Seth Petruzelli. The 35-year-old
fighter began training again in September at American Top Team,
not far from Slices Miami-based home.

No,
I didnt say that, but thats something (some of the media) came
up with, said Rutten. I want to see that interview. If they say,
Oh, Bas said that, OK, well, then show me that interview, you
know? But nobody can come up with that interview.

Source:
Sherdog

Report:
John McCain asked by HBO to mediate Pacquiao/Mayweather drug-testing
dispute

By Zach Arnold

The Canadian Press says that Manny Pacquiao is going to file
a defamation lawsuit against Floyd Mayweather and Golden Boy
over performance-enhancing drug usage allegations. This lawsuit
is something Ricky Hattons father allegedly supports. But the
whopper of the day, on Christmas no-less, is the report that
HBO asked John McCain to mediate between both the Pacquiao and
Mayweather camps regarding the kind of drug testing procedures
that both parties would find acceptable. The report says that
Pacquiao later backed out of having McCain as a negotiator.

First
observation you want to talk about making a total mockery of
the Nevada State Athletic Commission? Holy $&%! Even HBO
is approaching someone else other than Keith Kizer on how to
handle the drug testing situation.

Second
observation you want to talk about making UFC look great in public
in terms of matchmaking and being able to put matches together?
Yowzers. Dana Whites got to be sitting there laughing his ass
off at this development.

Source:
Fight Opinion

DOS
SANTOS MUST WEATHER HURRICANE TO GET TO TITLE

by Steven
Marrocco

They speak different languages, but heavyweight Junior Dos Santos
is reading Gilbert Yvels message loud and clear.

Yvel, a Dutch fighter whos made a career of knocking opponents
senseless in the Netherlands and Japan, told MMAWeekly.com he
felt Dos Santos wasnt on his level in the striking department.

Dos Santos, a Brazilian up-and-comer who burst on the scene with
wins over Fabricio Werdum and Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic, begs to
differ and plans to prove Yvel wrong on Saturday at UFC 108.

He's
got a message of his own for Yvel.

I feel that hes opening his mouth a lot, Dos Santos told MMAWeekly.com.
Hes talking a lot for this fight, and I feel very confident that
after this fight, Im going to shut him up, that he wont be opening
his mouth until 2011.

According to UFC president Dana White, the stakes are high in
silencing Yvel. A win would likely put him on the short list
of belt contenders.

With his quick rise, Dos Santos feels Yvel is just another step
on the right path to his ultimate goal of the heavyweight title.

Source:
MMA Weekly

Parrumpinha
vs. Afonso set for Strikeforce

By Guilherme
Cruz

Undefeated in seven fights, Marcos Parrumpinha da Mata, one of
the BJJ trainers of American Top Team, is getting ready to start
2010 in great style. With an excellent card, with five victories
on the first round, Parrumpinha signed with Strikeforce and he
has date to debut. He will face Pablo Afonso, on January 30,
on 135 pounds category, said his manager, Alex Davis, telling
the news to TATAME in first hand. With six fights on career,
Pablo has five victories, four by submission.

Source:
Tatame

The
Fight Opinion Five:

The Regulators and The Drug Cheats

By Zach Arnold

Throughout
the past decade, we have looked through our site archives and
all of the various notes written during the time period to come
up with five of the most interesting and important stories that
Zach Arnold and the Fight Opinion team have covered. This is
an arbitrary list of themes, but each theme carries historical
importance and also emotional importance to not only the fans
but also the authors, too. This is not an article series meant
to cover everything that happened over the past decade, but rather
to highlight what were some of the most fascinating stories to
cover. The Zuffa Myth. Those words wont ring a bell to the casual
MMA fan, but they became a bane to my existence in life this
past decade. For the smarter, veteran MMA fans who understood
how the Unified Rules came about in Mixed Martial Arts, watching
UFC and favorable media cohorts push the storyline that it was
Zuffa that cleaned up the sport of MMA and implemented a rule
structure was one of the most irritating things imaginable. Why
was it so irritating? Because Zuffa, through sheer market force,
has done a wonderful job of getting many States and countries
to sanction and regular Mixed Martial Arts. The company had no
reason to push the myth that they were the ones who invented
regulation the sport, but yet they did and it has been a great
disservice to the people who were actually involved in the initial
regulatory process.

We
know about the origins of the rules in Quebec (a sports commission
that would ironically surface years later in controversy in relation
to a major UFC event at the Bell Centre) and how New Jersey under
the leadership of Nick Lembo and Larry Hazzard was the first
state to cement the Unified Rules into place. (California originally
had meetings but NJ got it done before the Golden State did.)
What you see today in terms of rules is largely in part due to
the work of the New Jersey commission. The commission has been
a leader and not a follower when it comes to Mixed Martial Arts.
They recently brought replay to the forefront for referees to
use in certain instances during fights. Nevada would soon adopt
New Jerseys replay rule.

The
push for regulation of Mixed Martial Arts was critical for the
success of the sport in the Western world. Japan has no regulation
and never will have regulation of MMA. They can say drug testing
exists, but whens the last time anyone got suspended over there
for taking HGH or steroids? Each promotion in Japan used and
still uses different rules (there were PRIDE rules, there were
K-1 MMA rules, there were Shooto rules). Uniformity didnt exist.
Open-weight freak shows were all the norm and still are in Japan.
UFC made sure to push the Unified rules and used the best people
possible to put their cause forward including the signing of
former Nevada State Athletic Commission head Marc Ratner. The
move to hire Ratner stunned the boxing world and served to put
states on notice that he and lobbyists would be ready to come
and present Zuffas case to regulate MMA. Simply making theres
money to be made! sales pitches wasnt going to cut it. The move
for regulation of MMA in many States and countries has been such
a success that the public focus has shifted more towards the
efficiency of the many state athletic commissions to manage MMA
regulation. It will be a dominant storyline for the Mixed Martial
Arts industry heading into the next decade. The proper training
of officials and judges, upgrading drug testing of fighters,
and accurate enforcement of the rules are major issues that will
put many of the top commissioners in the spotlight.

So
far, the spotlight hasnt been pretty. I have always been a proponent
for regulation of Mixed Martial Arts, but my biggest fear has
been the people in charge. Nothing irritates people more than
to see complete and total inefficiency, cronyism, and corporatism
in action at such regulatory levels.

Larry
Hazzard ended up losing his job due to a political war and the
fight game was left poorer because of it. For every Larry Hazzard,
we ended up with someone like Armando Garcia whose antics became
such fodder that people all but celebrated his departure from
being head of the California State Athletic Commission. The ultimate
irony? There are media reports claiming that hes working for
the Fertitta empire in Las Vegas now. However, the damage of
Garcias tenure has been noticeable the amount of MMA events in
California now versus two or three years ago has dropped off
significantly. Garcia promised that MMA activity would boom in
the state, but the way the CSAC managed to run shows combined
with the heavy financial costs of taxes and production costs
of running shows has all but limited MMAs growth in the state.
Garcia left California due to scandal.

Keith
Kizer stepped into Marc Ratners role in Nevada and the results
so far have been nothing short of business as usual. Its been
one issue after another with Kizer. Despite the fact that a lot
of the fight media has given Nevada a mostly-free pass, people
are waking up and seeing whats going on.

Even
when Kizer and the NSAC have been on the right side of an issue,
there has been nothing but controversy. Think about the greasing
scandal between Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn. Penn, to this
day, says he wont fight in Nevada. After the initial estimates
of over 600,000 PPV buys at UFC 107 involving Penn vs. Diego
Sanchez, I bet UFC and the NSAC are hoping Penn fights in the
state again.

Three
glaring examples of the NSAC at work

Strike
one: When Antonio Margarito got busted by Shane Mosleys

trainer Nazim Richardson for using a plaster-like substance on
the hand wraps for their fight at the Staples Center last January
in California. Why was it a problem for Nevada? Because the obvious
questions were asked about Nevadas inspectors and whether or
not they did a good enough job inspecting Margaritos hand wraps
in past fights for the state, including a bout where he beat
Miguel Cotto. The LA Times provided Cottos camp with a photograph
of Margaritos hand wrap during the fight showing what appears
to be some discoloration. After Margarito was busted in California,
Kizer found himself on the defensive and broadly proclaimed that
Margarito was clean in the fight.

Strike
two: After Forrest Griffin fought Tito Ortiz at UFC 106 on

November 21st, 2009 in Las Vegas, Griffin admitted in a post-fight
interview that he fought with a broken foot. It was revealed
after the show that what he had in fact said was true. Tito Ortiz
claimed he had a cracked skull but that was not listed in the
post-fight medicals. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. The fact that
Griffin was allowed to even fight with a broken foot casts a
terrible light on the pre-fight medical examinations that the
Nevada commission does with fighters. Under no circumstances
should fighters with seriously injuries be allowed to compete,
no matter how much money is on the line. Despite this obvious
and glaring example of fecklessness, few people in the media
called out Kizer and the inspectors for what happened with Griffin.
The excuses made by those online ranged from fighters are responsible
for their own behavior to its no big deal to it happens all the
time. Well, then, whats the point of medical examinations and
regulation of the sport then?

Strike
three: Nevada, under Kizers tenure, promised us an

out-of-competition drug policy that would have some teeth. Sounds
great, right? Well, after a couple of times of enforcing the
policy, suddenly it wasnt being publicly discussed. Why did it
stop happening? Money is not a good excuse, especially considering
the fact that UFC runs many events in the state and pays its
fair share of event taxes. So, an inconsistent drug testing policy
became a red flag.

How
much credibility has been shot for the NSAC on the issue of drug
testing? Floyd Mayweathers camp asked Manny Pacquiaos camp in
late December of 2009 to do USADA-level blood testing for doping.
Pacquiaos camp denied Mayweathers initial requests. Floyd Mayweather
Sr. has made allegations that Pacquiao is on the gas and wanted
the boxing mega-star drug tested for blood early and often to
ensure that no doping is going on. Why was Mayweathers request
such a big deal? It was a total slap in the face of the Nevada
State Athletic Commission in terms of their standard urine-sample
drug testing policy and how fighters really feel about the effectiveness
of it. Even normally silent members of the fight media put 2
and 2 together and came up with the conclusion that Mayweathers
camp doesnt think the NSAC drug testing policy is a good enough
standard for catching drug cheats. Of course, Bob Arum disagrees
with that and agreed to have the NSAC do the drug testing for
the mega-fight.

Which
brings us to some of the drug scandals that have happened over
the past decade in Mixed Martial Arts.

If
drug tests are nothing more than IQ tests, then weve had some
spectacular failures in Mixed Martial Arts. However, its fascinating
to see both the insider and the public reaction to the guys who
have failed tests. Josh Barnetts failed drug test last Summer
killed a mega-money fight with Fedor for the third Affliction
show. Barnett not being able to fight Fedor ended up giving Affliction
an opening to negotiate a settlement with UFC, which has now
resulted in M-1 filing a lawsuit and Affliction fighting back
against M-1 in court. Sean Sherk and Hermes Franca both failed
drug tests for their UFC 73 fight. Sherk has struggled to get
back into MMA action and is largely booed by fans. Franca, not
so much. The ultimate in drug test failures was Royce Gracie
getting busted for nandrolone. As soon as he got busted, everyones
first thought was, Nobodys going to care. Hes Royce. People will
forget. Sure enough, the drug test failure is rarely ever brought
up when Royces name is mentioned in public.

The
selective outrage that has accomplished those who failed drug
tests (including your garden variety Boldenone suspensions for
Kit Cope and Stephan Bonnar) is predictable in terms of the behavior
of the average American sports fan. If the star isnt a heel or
isnt perceived to be a big name, then the test failure really
doesnt mean much. However, if the fighter is one most crowds
hate or is perceived to be a big name ready to be taken down
a peg or two, then theres outrage.

Which
brings us to why regulation is a good thing for Mixed Martial
Arts and why the proper, credible enforcement of such regulation
is key for the sports long-term credibility. Ive spent my life
covering the Japanese fight scene and most fans of the Japanese
scene know that guys who fight there understand that its like
fighting in the Wild West. You didnt know how many guys were
on something and what that something was, but you knew something
was going on. When PRIDE collapsed and UFC attempted to bring
in top fighters from that promotion, a big question asked by
a lot of the fans was which guys would take the plunge and which
guys wouldnt do it because of the commission-appointed drug testing
policies (as weak as they may be). When drug testing happened,
we saw that a lot of the good, but not main-event level fighters
like Dan Henderson and Rampage Jackson became the most successful
cross-over stars in UFC. There are still big-name fighters from
PRIDE who never fought in the UFC and the cynicism about drug
usage will forever haunt PRIDEs legacy.

Lets
hope that in the coming decade that there isnt a same level of
cynicism about the performance of the regulatory bodies that
are in charge of governing Mixed Martial Arts. If there is, the
health of the industry will be in big trouble.

Source:
Fight Opinion

UFC
programming airing on Spike TV

Telecasts Saturday, January 2 (7:00 – 8:00 PM, ET/PT).

Tyson
Griffin takes on Hermes France and Junior Dos Santos battles
it out with Mirko Crop Cop. Plus, Thiago Silva faces Keith Jardine
in the

light
heavyweight division.

*
UFC UNLEASHED

Telecasts
Saturday, January 2 (8:00 – 9:00 PM, ET/PT).

Wilson
Gouveia vs. Goran Reljic (UFC 84)

Demian Maia vs. Ed Herman (UFC 83)

Rashad Evans vs. Chuck Liddell (UFC 88)

*
UFC 108 PRELIMS LIVE

Premieres
LIVE Saturday, January 2 (9:00 – 10:00 PM, ET/PT).

Live
from Las Vegas, UFC 108 Prelims Live features lightweights Dan
Lauzon and Cole Miller battling it out, plus Jacob Volkmann faces
off against Martin Kampmann in the welterweight division.

Source: MMA Online

A
Renewed Silva Arrives in 2010

By Debbie
Lee

Jamais
desistir. Translation: Never quit. The Portuguese phrase is inked
handsomely across the underside of Thiago Silva’s right
forearm in black. It’s one of many tattoos that blanket
the 27-year-old’s body, but this one serves a specific purpose,
reminding him to always press on in the face of adversity.

“It’s
the philosophy responsible for the success I’ve had in my
career so far,” he recently said. “And it will continue
to keep me on top of any opponent inside of the Octagon.”

Phsaw!
I call bull, but for all the right reasons. Watch any of the
nine first-round finishes in his last eleven fights, and you
would be hard-pressed to believe that Silva has ever had a real
chance to test this motto. If he can go the distance or survive
any perilous situation, we wouldn’t know it, as he’s
rarely had his back against the wall. For now, we’ll just
have to take his word for it.

“What
I believe is that a fight is a fight,” he said via his translator.
“I’ve got to be ready to fight three rounds, whatever
it comes down to… To finish in the first round is just a
bonus – a plus, but I’m ready for three.”

But
hey, why prove you have heart or stamina when you can crush the
majority of your opponents in a matter of minutes?

The
most recent case in point: his 95-second victory over Keith Jardine
at UFC 102 last August. “Devastating” and “brutal”
are among the most common adjectives thrown around when describing
his winning performance, but as any Silva fan knows, there’s
something far more frightening about the Brazilian than his left
hook on that particular night – the fact that he’s
had three faster finishes before it.

That
said, there’s one person who’s not buying all this
hype and praise, and that’s Silva. Remind him of his accomplishments
and he responds in a blasé manner. It’s an intentional
strategy. Drowning out the chatter and staying focused on his
game is all part of a New Year’s resolution – one that
he’ll immediately put into practice on January 2, when he
faces Rashad Evans at UFC 108.

“One
of my resolutions is to be less emotional as I can be,”
said Silva. “I am going in there to do a job, do my best,
and get the win.” He later reiterated, “Be more intelligent…
that’s the new game.”

It’s
not as if the original game was that terrible. Rushing straight
out of the Octagon gates with a first-round TKO over James Irvin
at UFC 71, Silva has rarely disappointed since his 2007 debut.
One opponent after the other, he continued to maintain a perfect
record; three consecutive victories later – over Tomasz
Drawl, Houston Alexander, and Antonio Mendes – he was cruising
on the fast track to a potential title shot against then-light-heavyweight
champ Evans.

But
first he would have to slay The Dragon. Though Silva felt up
to the task of facing fellow undefeated Brazilian Lyoto Machida
at UFC 94, he fell short at the tail end of the first round.

“It
was painful,” he said of the knock out loss – the first
on his record (now 14-1). “It's nasty to lose to somebody.
But you learn from your mistakes and learn from your losses.”

Specifically,
Silva learned about the holes in his mental game; hence the New
Year’s resolution.

“Definitely,
[I was nervous or tentative],” he said. “That was a
big stage. I think I can correct the mistakes from that fight.
I’m not overlooking anything else right now, but I just
want to get the chance to fight him again.”

Now
claiming to have renewed his style, Silva has taken his first
steps towards redemption with a win over Jardine. Fans cheered
as he made his signature throat slashing gesture at the end of
the fight, but one person wasn’t very amused: The Dean of
Mean’s teammate, Evans. Make what you will of either man’s
reaction that night, but Silva is careful to avoid selling his
next fight as a grudge match.

“The
win boosted my confidence after the loss to Lyoto,” he said.
“[The gesture] wasn't related directly to Jardine. I just
came back from a big loss and I was just making a point to say,
‘Okay, I'm back.’” As for facing one Jardine’s
best friend, “There is no bad blood at all on my part. Like
I said before, this is my job… I want to fight the best,
and Rashad is one of the best in the world. And coming from a
camp like Greg Jackson’s, I have a lot of respect for him.”

Evans
(18-1-1), whose only loss is also at the hands of Machida, is
the heavy favorite to take the win; at the very least, he’s
expected to take his opponent into rare territory – a second
round. But Silva doesn’t mind playing the underdog in this
pending light heavyweight battle.

“I’m
trying not to get emotionally involved anymore,” he insisted.
“So it doesn’t really bother me at all.” Instead
of worrying about the odds, he’s concentrating on the game
plan, which is to “go in there and fight my best. I’m
a complete fighter that will fight on the ground or stand up.
Whatever shows up, I’ve got to be ready for it. What I want
is to be the champion, and the win against Rashad would put me
on track [back to] Lyoto.”

However
vague or generic that might sound, this new, low-key attitude
is here to stay, at least for however long Silva can stick to
his resolution of staying emotionally detached. True, New Year’s
resolution statistics are notoriously grim, but surely he can
hang in there until the second.

However,
should he waver and let Evans get the advantage at any point
on Saturday, at least the world will finally see whether or not
that tattoo actually comes in handy.

Source: UFC

Blood,
Sweat, Tears Bring Smile to Caraway

By Frank
Curreri

There
was an epiphany, nearly three years ago, when Bryan Caraway discovered
his true potential as a mixed martial artist. He had journeyed
to Albuquerque, New Mexico to test his mettle at Greg Jackson’s
gym for a week-and-a-half. The former college wrestler sparred
and rolled with standouts Diego Sanchez, Damacio Page and Leonard
Garcia, who was preparing for a UFC collision with Roger Huerta.

That’s
when it happened – the compliment of a lifetime.

“After
that Greg Jackson pulled me aside and told me I had exponential
talent and that I could be a world champion,” Caraway said.
“He wanted me to move there and he would take care of whatever
I needed.”

Caraway,
who had a 5-2 pro MMA record at the time and had only recently
started taking his training seriously, contemplated the invite.
Then, while other fighters were tripping over each other to relocate
to New Mexico in the hopes that some of Jackson’s genius
would rub off on them, Caraway declined the chance for higher
education at what is arguably the Harvard of MMA academies.

His
reasoning: “I just never wanted to move to New Mexico.”

Home
Sweat Home

Instead, Caraway stayed closer to home in Washington state under
the tutelage of Dennis Hallman, a veteran of 50-plus pro fights
who has competed in the UFC and holds the distinction of having
submitted former UFC welterweight champ Matt Hughes not once,
but twice. For Caraway, the affiliation with Hallman’s Victory
Athletics gym keeps him close to his small town roots in Goldendale,
Wash., not far from breathtaking mountain views of the Columbia
River Gorge.

In
Goldendale, a ranching and farming hotbed where the population
is less than 4,000, and there are only three stoplights, Caraway
excelled as a three-sport athlete. His unofficial motto seemed
to be: Weed out the wimps. This is perhaps fitting for a young
man whose father was in the Army Special Forces and served two
tours in war-torn Nicaragua.

Grueling
sports that effectively expose the courageous and expel the cowardly
appeal to Bryan Caraway, who craves competitions where physical
punishment is a consequence and revealer of character. The 25-year-old
Washingtonian knows how exhilarating it feels to clear a 70-foot-long
jump during a Motocross dirt bike race; the misery of cutting
large amounts of weight and then lose a state championship final
in wrestling; and the natural high that comes with winning 10
of his past 11 pro fights.

He
points to Motocross as a particularly demanding sport where rider
heart rates often climb to 180 and 190 and stay there for 30
seconds while straining to control a 200-pound bike at 35 miles
per hour around a winding course.

“It
beats your body up,” he said. “The landings and the
vibrations of the body are tough. It’s constant beating,
beating, beating (on your body). Once I finished a race I could
barely get off the motorcycle. I couldn’t even close my
hands all the way and I could barely stand up because my lower
body had taken a pounding. It was harder on my body then almost
else I’ve done.

“I
actually won the Pacific Northwest championship series in Motocross.
I went unbeaten for a season and won like 22 moto races in a
row without losing. I raced dirt bikes all through high school
and I won a lot of championships and trophies in the northwest.”

Cheating
Death

Caraway said he had a model childhood, with one exception. When
he was 15 years old, five people in his town under the age of
21 committed suicide. That means the small town of Goldendale
in 1999 experienced a suicide rate that was more than 10 times
the national average. Compounding the tragedies, three others
peers died in car wrecks.

“It
was crazy,” Caraway said. “That’s a huge deal
when you’re in a small country town where there’s only
500 kids in the whole school and everybody knows everybody. It
was a huge shock to the entire town.”

After
graduating from high school, Caraway earned a wrestling scholarship
to North Idaho College, a junior college powerhouse. Motocross
had become too expensive and risky, so he concentrated exclusively
on wrestling, and transferred to Central Washington University,
but the Division II wrestling program was later axed due to budget
cuts.

“It
was like a stab in my heart,” Caraway said. “I didn’t
know who I was. I didn’t know what to do. I was pretty much
lost and that’s what led me to MMA.”

Fast-Forward
to Fighting

Five years later, after earning his bachelor’s degree in
Exercise Physiology, the fast-fisted featherweight they call
“Kid Lightning” is eager to make a splash at WEC 46
against explosive Canadian striker Mark “The Machine”
Hominick. Caraway feels privileged to face a well-known fighter
who owns wins over Yves Edwards and Jorge Gurgel, among others.
The Sacramento showdown will mark Caraway’s WEC debut and
Hominick’s return to the organization after an 11-month
absence.

“Mark
Hominick is a UFC veteran and he’s been around forever,”
Caraway said. “He trains under Shawn Tompkins, who is arguably
one of the best striking coaches in the world, so Hominick is
a world-class striker. His jiu-jitsu is OK and I think wrestling
is where he’s lacking the most. But I have a lot of respect
for him. I think he’s a good person and very respectful.”

Twelve
of Caraway’s 14 wins have come by submission, and he hasn’t
been stopped by punches since his pro debut in 2005, when the
fight was halted due to a cut.

“Fighting
is one of the hardest sports in the world,” he said. “It
really tells you who you are as a person, what kind of character
you have. You never really know who you are until you’ve
been in a fight. It’s about pushing yourself to the limit
mentally and physically. I love the challenge and I love that
other people can’t do it at a high level or can’t endure
the pain, the suffering or cutting weight.”

Source: WEC

Las
Vegas Thanks UFC (and it should)

Posted by Chris Shanks: an aspiring MMA writer from Belfast N.
Ireland who has been following the UFC and MMA for almost five
years. He loves the sport and believes that Don Frye's mustache
could destroy Jean Claude Van Damme.

-----

Las
Vegas, is thanking the UFC for a very productive year ahead of
UFC 108 this weekend.

Although
there is still people coming Sin City despite the economic recession
that has gripped the world for the best part of 18 long and very
painful months. It seems as a result they are spending less.
Which you might logically deduce is hurting the Vegas purse.

You
may be right, but there is one source of income that is going
from strength to strength and seems to be recession proof. In
the last year 91,000 people attended UFC events in Las Vegas
alone. Along with this, the events generated a total of 86 million
dollars of non gaming revenue.

The
average non-gambling expensive of a UFC fan is somewhere in the
region of $15oo, almost double that of a normal visitor to Vegas
and 90 percent of UFC fans come only for the UFC event. This
is rare considering that your dreams can come true in Vegas,
with the amount of things that are available.

On
a side note, 400 random fans, in town for the UFC 108 event this
Saturday were asked to complete a survey. One of the most interesting
outcomes showed that 42 percent had a household income of 100,000
dollars or over. This is compared to 24 percent of the overall
visitors to Vegas.

This
can tell you two things. UFC fans on the whole are a wealthy
set of people and with an income like that, it’s probably
the reason why the UFC are consistently averaging, 500,000 PPV
buys.

These
stats are from an article at Lasvegasnow.com.

Why
does the UFC make so much money from PPV buys? Well we now know
the top 3 draws for this year.

Brock
Lesnar - This is really not surprising considering the amount
of hype that surround Lesnar's entry into the UFC and the fact
that he is a very dominant Heavyweight champion. It is thought
that Brock pulled 112 million dollars for the UFC. He has featured
on UFC 81, 87, 91 and 100.

BJ
Penn - The Lightweight Champion was brought in 105 million dollars
to help out Zuffa in the same time period the events that the
Champion was featured in UFC 80, 84, 94, 102 and is coming off
a victory over Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez.

Frank
Mir - Frank Mir is a former interim Heavyweight Champion and
comes in as the third highest draw for the UFC this year. Mir
has featured at UFC 81, 92, 100 and is coming off a flash knock
out victory over Kongo at 107. This made the UFC a nice 98 million
dollars.

Even
if these figures make good reading for any MMA fan there is a
problem. As we all know Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is
out of the sport for the foreseeable future. That is 112 million
dollars that the UFC need to find elsewhere. Where there is a
will there is a way. GSP is coming back to the octagon at UFC
111 in New Jersey. I believe that he is one of many fighters
that can pick up the slack left by Lesnar until his return.

Source: By The Numbers

1/1/10
Happy New Years!

Quote
of the Day

"Time
and money spent in helping men to do more for themselves is far
better than mere giving."

Henry Ford

Aoki
Dominates Hirota;

Post Fight Antics Overshadow Win

By Kelsey
Mowatt

Over 45,000 fans packed into the Saitama Super Arena for Dream
and Sengokus collaborative Dynamite effort today; a card that
featured notable MMA competitors from around the world, as well
as, several renowned K-1 vets. In the end, it was likely Dream
Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki who stole the show, not only
for his dominating win over Sengoku champ Mizuto Hirota, but
for his unfortunate post fight celebration.

Only
moments after the opening bell sounded, Aoki quickly took Hirota
to the mat and began working from the top position in the corner
of the ring. The renowned submission artist quickly bent Hirotas
left arm up behind his back, and as the Sengoku fighter attempted
to work his way free, Aoki isolated the arm and popped Hirotas
elbow out of place. As Hirota writhed in pain, Aoki stood over
the injured champion and extended his middle finger. The gesture
was then repeated to the audience, or whomever, before Aoki eventually
ran out of the ring area.

The
cards other feature MMA attraction was a heavyweight showdown
between former Judo Olympic Gold Medalists Hidehiko Yoshida and
Satoshi Ishii. Early on it appeared as though Yoshida was going
to make Ishiis MMA debut a rather short affair, as the veteran
fighter blasted Ishii with right hands. Ishii weathered the storm
and came back in the second round, closing the distance on Yoshida
and scoring strikes from the clinch. At one juncture in the second
round the bout again appeared to be in doubt, as after Ishii
kneed Yoshida hard to the groin, the accomplished judo practitioner
needed several minutes to recover. The foul cost Ishii a point.

In
the third Ishii was once again the busier fighter, however, he
never appeared to threaten his much older opponent considerably,
and in the end, the judges scored it as a Unanimous Decision
for Yoshida.

As
expected, Gegard Mousasi made short work of the veteran Gary
Goodridge, as the Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight Champion quickly
took the UFC vet to the ground and pounded out a TKO win. Although
Goodridge protested the stoppage, the heavyweight appeared to
have no answers for Mousasis offense.

In
another bout that unfolded in the manner that likely many predicted,
Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem blasted Kazuyuki
Fujita with a knee along the ropes, which instantly floored the
Pride vet. Fujita was eventually removed on a stretcher but appeared
to be conscious.

In
what was one of nights more entertaining bouts, Sengoku Featherweight
Champion Masanori Kanehara was awarded the UD victory over Norifumi
Kid Yamamoto. After a competitive first round, Kanehara took
the second, by taking Yamamoto to the mat and controlling the
top position. Yamamoto was eventually able to avenge getting
dropped by Kanehara earlier in the bout, as with the fight nearing
its conclusion, Kid sent the Sengoku champ to the mat with a
hard left. In the end, the judges evidently saw it as too little
too late, and awarded Kanehara the UD win.

In
the finals for Dreams Super Hulk Finale, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
survived several leg lock attempts from Ikuhisa Minowa earlier
on, and went ahead on the scorecards by controlling more of the
fight from the top position. The pace slowed to an unbearable
halt in the third, and each man was awarded not one, but two
yellow cards for a lack of activity. Then, seemingly out of nowhere,
Minowa caught Sokoudjou with a hard left hook that sent the UFC
vet to the mat. The referee immediately jumped in to stop the
bout.

Another
bout that may have been a premature stoppage was the middleweight
clash between Kazuko Misaki and Melvin Manhoef. The feared Dutch
striker sent Misaki crashing to the mat with a left earlier on
in the bout, but as the ref immediately intervened, Misaki was
already in the process of actively defending himself and appeared
to be okay.

After
coping somewhat well with the striking game of Hayato Mach Sakurai
in round one, Akihiro Gono elected to the take the fight to the
mat in the second, and worked his way into the crucifix position.
After landing several hard shots, Gono transitioned into a beautifully
timed armbar to bring the bout to a halt.

Michihiro
Omigawa demonstrated that he continues to improve on his striking
game, as he blasted the resilient Hiroyuki Takaya with a nice
combination to earn the first round TKO.

Tatsuya
Kawajiri showed once again why he remains a consistent presence
in the lightweight division, as he frequently took Kazunori Yakota
to the mat and dominated the Sengoku fighter from the top for
the UD win.

Dynamite
also featured several K-1 kickboxing matches; Masato made his
retirement bout a victorious one as he worked his way to a UD
win over Andy Souwer, and Ray Sefo also earned the decision nod
over Yosuke Nishjima. Masaaki Noiri won two bouts by decision
to win K-1s High School tourney.

Dynamite
Quick Results

Hidehiko Yoshida def. Satoshi Ishii by Unanimous Decision, R3

Shinya Aoki def. Mizuto Hirota by Technical Submission (Armbar),
R1

Gegard Mousasi def. Gary Goodridge by TKO (Strikes), R1

Alistair Overeem def. Kazuyuki Fujita by KO (Knee), R1

Masanori Kanehara def. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto by Unanimous
Decision

Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Kazunori Yokota by Unanimous Decision

Melvin Manhoef def. Kazuo Misaki by TKO (Strikes), R1

Akihiro Gono def. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai by Submission
(Armbar), R2

Hideo Tokoro def. Jong Man Kim by Unanimous Decision

Michihiro Omigawa def. Hiroyuki Takaya by TKO (Strikes), R1

Hiroshi Izumi def. Katsuyori Shibata by Unanimous Decision

Super
Hulk Openweight Tournament Final:

Ikuhisa Minowa def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou by TKO, R3

K-1Bouts

Masato def. Andy Souwer by Decision, R5

Ray Sefo def. Yosuke Nishijima by Decision

High
School Tournament Final

Masaaki Noiri def. Shota Shimada by Decision

High
School Tourney Semi-Finals:

Shota Shimada def. Katsuki Ishida by Decision

Masaaki Noiri def. Hiroya by Decision, R3

Source:
Full Contact Fighter

AOKI'S
ANTICS MAR EXCITING NIGHT AT DYNAMITE!!

by Ken
Pishna

Japanese fight promotions Dream and Sengoku combined to close
out the year in Japan on Thursday with Dynamite!! 2009 at Saitama
Super Arena. The event featured several impressive performances,
more than a couple gut checks, and some remarkable finishes.
But an unseemly display by one of the top lightweight fighters
in the world stole much of the events luster.

In
a battle of lightweight champions, Dreams Shinya Aoki immediately
put Sengokus Mizuto Hirota on the mat and took mount with Hirotas
arm wrapped up and behind his own back. Aoki then proceeded to,
quite literally, break Hirotas arm in an odd sort of twisting
armbar. The maneuver popped Hirotas elbow out of place, leaving
his forearm flaccid.

Following
the finish, Aoki put himself up for non-sportsman of the year
by screaming at Hirota and shoving his middle finger in the Sengoku
champions face.

Just
prior to Aokis tasteless display, Hidehiko Yoshida welcomed fellow
Olympic Gold Medalist Satoshi Ishii to mixed martial arts. Yoshida
unleashed a fury of uppercuts, overhand rights, and knees that
all but put Ishii out in the opening round. Somehow, the younger
Judoka managed to fight back and fought well through rounds two
and three. A knee to Yoshidas groin in round two cost Ishii an
unspecified deduction in points and likely the fight. Yoshida
walked away with a unanimous decision in his favor.

In
the Dynamite!! main event, Japanese kickboxing legend Masato
finally earned a victory over Andy Souwer, a fighter he hadnt
been able to beat in two previous tries. The bout was Masatos
retirement match. The two went toe-to-toe for the full five rounds
of the K-1 rules bout, but Masato sealed the victory with a hard
right hand in the fourth round that put Souwer on his backside.

Following
the announcement of the decision in Masatos favor, Souwer did
an anti-Aoki move, lifting the fabled kickboxer up on his shoulders
and parading him around the ring.

Strikeforce
light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi kept his winning streak
intact with a quick finish of Gary Goodridge at Saitama Super
Arena. He wasted no time taking Goodridge down and unleashing
a ground and pound flurry. He made a brief attempt at an armbar
before switching back to ground and pound, finishing with a barrage
of hammerfists.

Alistair
Overeem made good on his promise to finish Kazuyuki Fujita in
under three minutes. Stalking the much shorter fighter from the
onset, Overeem drove home a left knee little more than a minute
into the opening round, laying Fujita out for the knockout win.

Fujita
left the ring on a stretcher. There was no immediate word on
his condition.

Popular
Japanese fighter Norifumi Kid Yamamoto did all he could in the
final round to salvage a win, but he just couldnt overcome the
reach advantage of Sengoku featherweight champion Masanori Kanehara.
Each fighter dropped the other at one point in the fight, but
Kanehara seemed to edge ahead in rounds one and two to secure
a unanimous decision, handing Yamamoto his second-straight defeat
for the first time in his career.

Despite
numerous submission attempts, including a nearly arm-breaking
armbar at the end of round three, and heavy doses of ground and
pound throughout, Tatsuya Kawajiri couldnt find the key to putting
Kazunori Yokota away. He instead had to settle for a unanimous
decision.

Hideo
Tokoro dominated last minute replacement Jong Man Kim, but it
wasnt without Kims amazing display of heart to make it a fight
of the night candidate. Kim most amazingly survived a stunning
series that included brutal striking, a flying triangle choke,
and multiple armbar attempts in the opening round. Kim hung tough,
trading blows, but Tokoro was always a step ahead. Kim survived
more armbar attempts in round three, but Tokoro took home the
unanimous decision victory.

It
took a couple minutes for the fight between Melvin Manhoef and
Kazuo Misaki to get started, but once it did, the end came swiftly,
perhaps too swiftly. After a feeling out process, Manhoef charged
with a succession of punches, landing three left hooks, the final
one sending Misaki down to the canvas. Before Manhoef could pounce
and unleash his brutal version of ground and pound, the referee
stepped in to wave off the fight. Though he went down hard, Misaki
didnt appear to be out from the blow that sent him down and complained
in vain after the fight was stopped. Regardless, Manhoef scored
a victory for Dream.

Sengoku
fighter Akihiro Gono won a battle of two elder statesmen of Japanese
MMA. He bested Hayato Mach Sakurai, ground and pounding the Dream
fighter in a crucifix hold before making a textbook transition
to an armbar for the finish.

Michihiro
Omigawa, representing Sengoku against Dreams Hiroyuki Takaya,
showed much improved boxing skills in the fight. The two slugged
it out for the opening minutes, but it was Omigawa that kept
finding his mark. He eventually dropped Takaya with a flurry
and followed him down to get the TKO stoppage.

Deep
into the third round, The Super Hulk tournament final seemed
to be slipping away into obscurity. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
and Ikuhisa Minowa each received two yellow cards for stalling
by the midway point of the round. Then, out of nowhere, Minowa
flurried, catching and dropping Sokoudjou with a crushing left
hand that put the Cameroonian on his backside. Minowa scored
the knockout win to capture the Super Hulk openweight title.

-Hidehiko
Yoshida def. Satoshi Ishii by Unanimous Decision, R3 -Shinya
Aoki def. Mizuto Hirota by Submission (Armbar), R1 -Gegard Mousasi
def. Gary Goodridge by TKO (Strikes), R1 -Alistair Overeem def.
Kazuyuki Fujita by KO (Knee), R1 -Masanori Kanehara def. Norifumi
"Kid" Yamamoto by Unanimous Decision, R3 -Tatsuya Kawajiri
def. Kazunori Yokota by Unanimous Decision, R3 -Hideo Tokoro
def. Jong Man Kim by Unanimous Decision, R3 -Melvin Manhoef def.
Kazuo Misaki by TKO (Strikes), R1 -Akihiro Gono def. Hayato "Mach"
Sakurai by Submission (Armbar), R2 -Michihiro Omigawa def. Hiroyuki
Takaya by TKO (Strikes), R1 -Hiroshi Izumi def. Katsuyori Shibata
by Unanimous Decision, R3

Super
Hulk Openweight Tournament Final:

-Ikuhisa Minowa def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou by KO, R3

K-1
Rules Bouts:

-Masato def. Andy Souwer by Decision, R5

-Ray Sefo def. Yosuke Nishijima by Decision, R3

K-1
Koshien (High School) Tournament Finals:

-Masaaki Noiri def. Shota Shimada by Decision, R3

K-1
Koshien (High School) Tournament Semi-Finals:

-Shota Shimada def. Katsuki Ishida by Decision, R3

-Masaaki Noiri def. Hiroya by Decision, R3

Source:
MMA Weekly

Shinya
Aoki's Post-Fight Behavior After Breaking Hirota's Arm Crosses
Line

By Mike
Chiappetta

When
you're a professional athlete and you hear a competitor's bone
snap, that should be enough to draw you out of whatever testosterone-
or adrenaline-feuled action you're engaged in.

That
disgusting, unmistakable sound serves as a reality check that
the sport you're participating in has real-world consequences
that extend far beyond the arena or stadium.

When
that sound doesn't give way to the humanity in you, there's a
problem. During the Dynamite 2009 card held in Saitama, Japan,
submission ace Shinya Aoki won his bout with Mizuto Hirota when
he clearly broke Hirota's arm with a hammerlock. That should
have been enough for him. But he was hardly done.

Instead,
Aoki stood over his fallen opponent, extended his middle finger
at him and taunted him. Then, he ran around the ring excitedly
and flipped off the fans, jumped up to the second rope to bathe
in the fans' reaction -- which incredibly was cheers -- before
running back up the ramp and finally, thankfully, disappearing.

At
no point did he go check on Hirota or exhibit any type of sportsmanship
whatsoever.

His
defenders will say, "Hey, it's the same thing Brock Lesnar
did to Frank Mir after beating him at UFC 100."

First
of all, Lesnar was soundly booed by the fans for his classless
action after taunting Mir. Second, Mir hadn't suffered an obvious
major injury in the fight. Third, Lesnar apologized in the post-fight
press conference. Regardless, both Lesnar's and Aoki's actions
were wrong.

What
Aoki did is similar, but not the same. He knew his opponent had
been badly hurt, but chose to take the lowest road possible in
literally adding insult to injury.

We
try to explain to people that what we're watching is a sport,
that its participants are well trained, that they respect each
other and can separate the personal from the professional. Sometimes,
as in the case of Mir checking on Cheick Kongo after his grudge
match victory earlier this month at UFC 107, we're proven right.
The two had ripped each other in the media for days leading up
to the fight, but after the final bell, Mir had the common decency
to make sure he was OK.

And
then they see things like Aoki's actions, and we look like idiots.

The
arm break, I can live with, because Hirota did not tap or verbally
submit. Aoki has every right to work the hold until either one
of those actions happens or, as eventually occurred, a limb breaks.
That's just the reality of our sport, and Hirota is just as responsible
for the broken limb as Aoki, as he could have tapped out and
saved himself.

But
the actions afterward are all on Aoki.

Regardless
of what trash talk went on before the fight, you should have
enough basic human compassion to realize that the unnatural sound
that just came from your opponent's arm signifies something horrific
has happened. At that point, you've won. You're the Alpha male
in the fight. Your opponent is literally lying in submission
at your feet. What does the middle finger prove? You can't kill
someone twice, you know?

People
say, "It's fighting, not chess." Once the bell rings,
it ceases to be fighting. Then, whether it's orchestrated for
effect or an immature reaction, it's just you acting like a jerk.

Maybe
that's OK with Aoki. At 23-4 and as the DREAM lightweight champion,
he has spoken of wanting a higher profile in the MMA world. A
77-second win over the Sengoku champion was impressive enough,
but maybe this was his way of getting it for himself. Well, he
got it. Everyone's writing and talking about him now. But there's
a right way and a wrong way to do it.

You
want your higher profile? Here it is: talent of a mature champion,
behavior of a cranky toddler. You may be a great athlete, but
you're no sportsman.

Source:
MMA Fighting

Shogun
sorrows Brazilian wars at Pride

After a misunderstanding at Prides backstage, the teams Chute
Boxe and Brazilian Top Team became rivals. For years, things
went ugly when athletes from these teams got face to face on
the Japanese ring, and who won was the fan of big fights.

Maurmcio Shogun, Prides GP champion, revealed in interview to
TATAME Magazine Decembers edition that he sorrows the rivalries
of the past, when he faced Brazilian athletes in Japanese rings.

There was a great rivalry between Chute Boxe and BTT, but, if
I could choose, today, Id choose to fight with a foreigner, Shogun
guarantees, who faced the compatriot Lyoto Machida at the UFC.
Brazil is Brazil, the guy pass by bad moments to get there...
Id prefer to face a foreigner.

To read the complete story, that analyze all this change on Ricardo
Arona, Murilo Ninja, Anderson Silva, Paulco Filhos opinion and
a lot more, guarantee yours TATAME Magazine #166

Source:
Tatame

Rashad
Evans and Thiago Silva face off with Machida in mind

by Gabriel
Menezes

Lyoto
Machida was a decisive figure in the careers of both Rashad Evans
and Thiago Silva. Thats what could be discerned from statements
made by the fighters at the press conference held in the build
up to UFC 108, to take place January 2 in Las Vegas.

Responsible
for the lone blemishes on the records of Brazils Thiago Silva
and former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, Lyoto provoked
a change of perspective in both fighters. Thiago Silva said hes
more objective and less emotive now, and the difference was apparent
in his recent win over Keith Jardine.

Without
a doubt after the Lyoto fight I learned to be a less emotive
fighter. I have to agree with Rashad when he says my style changed
for the Keith Jardine fight. Its a new, more objective and less
emotional game, stated the Brazilian. Rashad Evans, Thiago Silvas
opponent on January 2, also sees changes in the way he carries
himself in the octagon since facing The Dragon Machida.

The
loss to Lyoto made me more humble. I learned to listen more to
what people have to say, he remarked. The American, though, isnt
thinking about Lyoto nor his rivalry with Rampage. His primary
focus now is called Thiago Silva.

There
isnt a bit of me thats concerned with fighting Quinton Rampage,
he said. Im 100% focused on Thiago. This fight is everything
to me and I dont need to project what will come afterwards.

Thiago
Silva, though, was straight to the point and didnt hide his wish
to pass Rashad and go into a rematch with Lyoto. I have no resentment
whatsoever for Rashad. Its just my job. Beating Rashad would
put me in line to fight Lyoto and thats what I want, said Thiago
in finishing.

The
year 2010 starts off a heated one for fans of a good bout of
MMA. And GRACIEMAG.com will be tuned in to keep you up to date
on all the goings-on at UFC 108.

UFC
108

MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada

January 2nd 2010

Rashad Evans vs Thiago Silva

Paul Daley vs Dustin Hazelett

Joe Lauzon vs Sam Stout

Duane Ludwig vs Jim Miller

Junior Dos Santos vs Gilbert Yvel

Martin Kampmann vs Jacob Volkmann

Dan Lauzon vs Cole Miller

Mark Munoz vs Ryan Jensen

Mike Pyle vs Jake Ellenberge

Rafaello Oliveira vs John Gunderson

Source:
Gracie Magazine

Herschel
Walker One on One

Herschel Walker will be making his mixed martial arts debut at
the tender age of 47. Most fans remember the former Georgia Bulldog
for winning the Heisman Trophy in 1982 before going on to star
on the professional gridiron. What many dont remember were his
accomplishments on the track as a collegian and his Olympic run
as a bobsledder.

The
eclectic athlete sat down with Sherdog.com at his San Jose training
camp to discuss his love for martial arts and his long history
of competition. The Pro Bowler talks about how his MMA baptism
has gone at the heralded American Kickboxing Academy as well
as his reasoning behind deciding to fight.

Source:
Sherdog

RAMPAGE
HANGS IN THE BALANCE FOR RASHAD

by Jeff
Cain

The Ultimate Fighting Championship put a lot of effort into building
a bout between former UFC light heavyweight titleholders Rashad
Evans and Quinton Rampage Jackson. The bout could, however, be
on the line when Evans steps in the Octagon with Thiago Silva
at UFC 108.

I
think hes going to have to beat Thiago on Saturday to get that
shot with Rampage, UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 108
pre-fight press conference on Wednesday.

The
saga began on March 7 at UFC 96 following Jacksons win over Evans
training partner Keith Jardine. Evans, the champion at the time,
was a guest commentator for the bout and entered the Octagon
after the fight where the two had a heated exchange.

Opposing
coaches on the tenth season of the Spike TV reality show The
Ultimate Fighter, Jacksons hometown of Memphis was slated to
host the showdown, originally scheduled to headline UFC 107 on
Dec. 12. Jackson instead opted out of the fight to star in the
upcoming movie version of the popular 80s television series The
A-Team.

The
choice left Jackson outside the Octagon looking in and on the
receiving end of harsh criticisms from White.

On
Sept. 22, Jackson posted what sounded like a retirement on his
official website, saying, Im done fighting. Part of his reason
was the criticism from the UFC president.

On
Dec. 4, Jackson released a statement that revealed his plans
to return to the UFC.

I
wanted to let my fans know that I'm going to come back to the
UFC and finish my contract. Not because the haters are talking
(expletive) about me being scared of Rashad or Titties or anybody
else. I'm coming back for my fans and to shut Rashad's mouth
up and shut Dana's mouth up. Then after that I'm going back to
doing movies and I might do a boxing match once a year just to
stay in shape.

While
Jackson was busy filming, a match between Evans and Silva was
put together, headlining UFC 108 this Saturday.

Asked
if needing a win over Silva to get to Rampage changes his perspective
on the UFC 108 main event, Evans said, When I took the fight
with Thiago, Rampage wasnt even on the horizon. It was very uncertain
whether he was going to come back or not, so I took this fight
with just the intentions of fighting Thiago.

As
far as Dana saying that and it being possible to fight him if
I win this fight, it doesnt change anything or add extra motivation.
Im going to go and fight this fight the way I was going to fight
it before if he had not said those words. Having Rampage at the
end for a little dessert provided I do win this fight is irrelevant
to me. It doesnt even matter.

Source:
MMA Weekly

Jake
Rossen feels the wrath of UFC President

by Chris Shanks

An aspiring MMA writer from Belfast N. Ireland who has been following
the UFC and MMA for almost five years. He loves the sport and
believes that Don Frye's mustache could destroy Jean Claude Van
Damme.

-----

Does anyone remember the legendary battle between former UFC
Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and UFC top dog Dana White?
Now Ortiz is back and everyone is playing happy families, White
has to focus on a different victim. Jake Rossen, prominent MMA
blogger for ESPN and sherdog.com, is that very person.

White's
attack on Rossen

I
have my personal opinions about this situation but i am going
to try and give opinions from both sides.

Dana
White is undoubtedly the main reason why the sport of MMA is
as big as it is right now, it is only going to grow under his
leadership. There is a section of MMA fans that believe that
the sport is going too mainstream. I ask you, if it doesn't go
mainstream then where is it to go?

I
understand that there are the fans out there that respect the
sport for the technical abilities of the athletes. It would be
fair to say that the more casual fans that begin to follow the
sport, there is the risk that the this appreciation could be
lost.

However
for the sport to develop and as a result, the fighters being
better rewarded for their efforts. There needs to be growth.
We can no longer argue about if the sport is going to grow or
not, we as MMA fans need to be united and encourage growth. It
seems that Dana White has a problem with Rossen's approach to
this sentiment.

This
episode doesn't help White, for the last 13 years Zuffa has tried
to re-brand the UFC and MMA in general. They have been hugely
successful but they have been hindered by the negative media
coverage that follows White. It doesn't paint the professional
image that Zuffa has tried to create in other ways.

Some
may argue that it is important to have White as the head of the
UFC because he will defend the core values of the sport and is
focused on the development of the sport. This may not happen
with a different figurehead.

Now,
the mistake that White made happens to be a major one. Not only
does he attack one of the most influential MMA bloggers in Rossen,
he went on to comment on one of the biggest MMA news sites in
Sherdog.com. Why would you attack something that can influence
your fans and for that matter gain you new support? That is a
question that only White can answer. It seems to me that White
is abusing his power as head of the UFC. His comments on the
video give the impression that White considers sites like sherdog.com
as an extension of the UFC's marketing department.

It
is important for sites like sherdog.com to take an objective
look at the sport from time to time because it stimulates opinions
from the fans that read the articles. The fans of the sports
are central to its success.

Regardless
of your opinions, it is important to remember that both White
and the media are vital for MMA and should work together instead
of locking horns. More as the story develops.

Source: By The Numbers

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