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2010
November
Aloha
State BJJ
Championships: Final Conflict
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
10/15-17/10
ETERNAL SUBMISSIONS: 1st Annual BJJ GI/NO-GI tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Kauai)
8/14/10
Hawaiian
Open Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
7/24/10
The Quest for Champions 2010 Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling & Continuous Sparring)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
7/17/10
Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Maui War Memorial, Wailuku, Maui)
Mad Skillz
(Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
7/9/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
7/3/10
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
6/26/10
Kauai Cage Match 9
(MMA)
(Kilohana, Gaylords Mansion, Kauai)
6/25-26/10
50th
State BJJ Championships
(BJJ)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/24/10
Quest for Champions
(Kumite/Grappling)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
6/19/10
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
6/18-19/10
Select
Combat
(Triple Threat)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/12/10
Destiny: Fury
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Center)
6/11-13/10
MMA Hawaii Expo
(Blaisdell Ballroom)
6/11-12/10
3rd
Annual Pacific Submission Championships
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/11/10
Legacy Combat MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/4/10
X-1:
Nations Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/3-6/10
World
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach, Long Beach,
CA)
5/22/10
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waiphau Filcom Center)
5/15/10
Scrappla Fest 2
Relson Gracie KTI Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Island School, Kauai)
X-1 World Events
(MMA)
(Waipahu HS Gym)
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Evolution Training Center, Waipio Industrial Court #110)
5/1/10
Galaxy
MMA: Worlds Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/23/10
2010 Hawaii State/Regional Junior Olympic Boxing Championships
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
4/17/10
Hawaiian
Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser
H.S. Gym)
Strikeforce:
Shields vs Henderson
(CBS)
4/16/10
808 Battleground
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
4/8-11/10
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(University California Irvine, Irvine, CA)
4/3/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Amateur Boxing Smoker
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
3/27/10
DESTINY: No Ka Oi 2: Oahu vs Maui
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
3/20/10
X-1: Champions 2
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/20/10
Hawaiian Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
3/14/10
Hawaiian Kimono Combat
(BJJ)
(PCHS Gym)
3/10/10
Sera's Kajukenbo Tournament
(Kumite, Katas, Grappling)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
3/6/10
Destiny Fast N Furious
(MMA)
(Level 4 RHSC)
2/19/10
808 Battleground
(MMA)
(Filcom, Waipahu)
2/6/10
UpNUp 6: Unstoppable
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
2/5/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
1/30/10
Destiny
(Level 4,
Royal HI Shopping Ctr)
(MMA)
Quest for Champions
(Pankration/Sub Grappling)
(Kalani HS)
1/23/10
Kauai Knockout Championship Total Domination
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Kauai War Memorial Convention Center, Lihue, Kauai)
1/17/10
X1: Showdown In Waipahu
(Boxing, Kickboxing, MMA)
(Waipahu H.S. Gym)
|
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July
2010 News Part 1
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is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
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Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
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O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer a Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Stickfighting) who were directly trained under
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Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
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Dream
15 Preview
by Tomas Rios
This
Saturday marks the latest offering from the fine folks at Dream,
and while it may be short on hype, it’s long on quality
fisticuffs in the making.
The
card, which airs live at 3 a.m. ET on HDNet, is headlined by
an epic lightweight title bout between national rivals Tatsuya
Kawajiri and Shinya Aoki. After the recent binge of UFC and Strikeforce
mega-shows, Dream 15 is a worthwhile chaser. For more on this
slate of across-the-Pacific bouts, read on and get your knowledge
right.
Shinya
Aoki vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
A
disastrous stateside debut against Gilbert Melendez as well as
a sub-Little League grasp of sportsmanship has made 2010 a trying
year for Aoki. His hotly anticipated Dream lightweight title
defense against Kawajiri may be the fight that Aoki’s dream
of leading a Japanese MMA renaissance lives or dies on.
As
with any fight involving Aoki, it comes down to whether or not
he can flash his stellar grappling skills before his laundry
list of flaws come to light. Making that happen against Kawajiri
is a task fraught with concussion potential, as “Crusher”
has the rare combination of cinderblock fists and erudite submission
defense that gives Aoki fits. Further complicating matters is
Kawajiri’s superior wrestling, particularly his gyroscopic
takedown defense, which will make gaining top position a nightmarish
proposition for Aoki.
Normally
working from the guard is no big deal for Aoki. His tentacle-like
limbs and all-universe technique are simply too much even for
well-respected grapplers like Joachim Hansen and Gesias Cavalcante.
Where Kawajiri differs is that he has near impregnable submission
defense and the ground striking to make life hard on Aoki. Melendez
proved that Aoki can be vulnerable to ground-and-pound as long
as you avoid getting sucked into his closed guard, and that game
plan is one Kawajiri can easily replicate.
Obviously
any deviation from a disciplined approach could easily end with
the “Tobikan Judan” entrapping Kawajiri in some horrifically
painful contortion or compression. That scenario is an unlikely
one, however, as Kawajiri has never been some brain-dead slugger,
especially against opponents who pose a serious threat to him
on the mat. When he knows that discretion is the better part
of valor, Kawajiri stays on his toes and rocks a steady 1-2 while
leaning on his wrestling to avoid the ground game.
That
is exactly what Melendez did for 25 minutes against Aoki, and
it left the precocious grappling ingénue in tears. Kawajiri
has the added advantage of being the kind of heavy-hitter that
can expose his national rival’s notoriously fragile chin
and questionable fighting spirit. A well-known drama queen come
fight time, Aoki’s habit of conjuring imaginary fouls could
easily mar this bout and lead to a scenario where the battle
for Japanese lightweight supremacy ends with the Yuki Nakai protégé
writhing on the mat like a drive-by victim.
For
all his foibles, it’s still hard to pick against Aoki because
he is one of the very best submission artists this sport has
ever seen. However, Kawajiri has all the tools that have given
Aoki problems throughout his career. This just isn’t a fun
stylistic matchup for the master limb manipulator and will end
with the crown of Japan’s lightweight monarch resting on
Kawajiri’s head.
Gesias
Cavalcante vs. Katsunori Kikuno
From
2006-2007, Cavalcante had seven fights and finished six of them
in the first round. It was an unbelievably dominant run for the
chiseled Brazilian that saw him take the inside lane in the race
for lightweight preeminence. Injuries and disappointing performances
have short-circuited his career since then, and this bout with
Kikuno could be the one that ends any hope for a return to form.
An
altogether unique presence in the sport’s landscape, Kikuno
is a hardcore Kyokushin disciple who has unexpectedly managed
to integrate the traditional aspects of that style into MMA.
In a battle of technique, there are few who can beat Kikuno.
However, Cavalcante’s off-the-charts speed and power is
something that Kikuno lacks. Just watch Cavalcante’s 2009
bout with Tatsuya Kawajiri and you’ll see how his striking
forced “Crusher” to switch gears and pursue a ground-and-pound
strategy.
That
second dimension is something Kikuno lacks. He doesn’t yet
have the mat skills to survive on the floor with Cavalcante nor
does he have the takedown defense to win a wrestling match. This
leaves him hoping for two things: first that Cavalcante obliges
him on the feet and second that he can catch him clean before
“JZ” overwhelms him with brute physicality. His best
hope of clipping the Brazilian jiu-jitsu convert lies with his
stomach-turning crescent kick to the body, but Cavalcante’s
swarming style will make creating the space he needs to execute
it a trying exercise in frustration.
Generally
Kikuno does his best work at range, where he can measure his
kicks and time punch combinations. Cavalcante likes to attack
in short bursts from close quarters. Keeping Cavalcante at bay
on the feet is a key to defeating him, and Kikuno lacks the jab
and movement to make that happen. Standing still with your hands
low in front of Cavalcante is a sure way to taste his power,
and there may not be a lightweight alive who can eat a clean
shot from him.
There
just aren’t many ways for Kikuno to win this fight, and
they all hinge on Cavalcante not turning him into a grappling
dummy on the mat. An even battle on the feet shouldn’t surprise
anyone, but Cavalcante isn’t going to let that continue
for the entirety of the fight. Sooner or later Kikuno will land
on his back and find out why there was a time when no one had
much interest in fighting “JZ.”
Melvin
Manhoef vs. Tatsuya Mizuno
Manhoef
is one of the most devastating strikers in the sport today. Nothing
Mizuno does would ever be considered devastating. To say this
first-round matchup in Dream’s light heavyweight grand prix
is something of a mismatch is an insult to mismatches.
Even
factoring in Manhoef’s notoriously poor mat skills does
little to even the score, as Mizuno isn’t a particularly
adept wrestler. Prone to simply bending over and diving forward
instead of timing his shots, Mizuno makes himself an easy target
on the feet for headhunters like Manhoef. Just lining up a takedown
attempt will be difficult, as Manhoef’s movement and active
striking style make it difficult for opponents to get their hands
on him long enough to finish a takedown.
The
simple truth is that any time spent on the feet with Manhoef
is far too much for Mizuno. Even if the U-File camp product manages
a takedown, he’s not the otherworldly sort of grappler that
usually knots up Manhoef. That more than anything is what really
has Mizuno in such a deep stylistic hole, and it’s not one
I can see him crawling out of in one piece.
Of
course no one should be surprised if Manhoef lands on his back
at some point. What would be surprising is Mizuno finishing the
job before he has to go back to fending off the mad Dutchman’s
relentless offensive onslaught. Whenever Manhoef starts putting
his strikes together, it’s just a matter of time before
his opponents get a head start on naptime and Mizuno will be
no exception.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Jake O’Brien
For
whatever reason, O’Brien has become a chic pick in some
circles to derail Mousasi’s bid to win a second Dream grand
prix. It’s just one more proof that being cool often comes
at the expense of sanity.
Yes,
Mousasi did get completely wrestle-pasted by Muhammad Lawal,
but O’Brien isn’t that kind of wrestler or fighter.
He’s actually quite one-dimensional. While he will have
a considerable size advantage, it won’t mean much when weighed
against Mousasi’s vastly superior offensive arsenal. A natural
on the feet and on the mat, the versatility and dynamism of Mousasi’s
offense is something O’Brien doesn’t have the game
to suffocate.
It
took careful game planning and flawless top control for Lawal
to survive Mousasi’s guard unscathed, and O’Brien has
never shown that level of discipline or ability. While O’Brien
certainly has the wrestling to get Mousasi horizontal, he doesn’t
have anything else to offer him beyond takedowns. Once Mousasi
starts stringing together submission attempts and disrupting
O’Brien’s base, it will become obvious why this fight
is so severely stacked in favor of “The Dreamcatcher.”
Anywhere
this fight goes, it’s in Mousasi’s favor while O’Brien
has no choice but to pursue a predictable one-dimensional strategy.
I just can’t see O’Brien doing what Lawal had to dig
down deep to pull off. A few minutes of uneventful top control
for O’Brien ends with him tapping out and the MMA talkosphere
being reminded why Mousasi was once the darling of fan and analyst
alike.
Mitsuhiro
Ishida vs. Daiki Hata
It’s
been nearly a year since Ishida fought, and it hasn’t been
because of injuries or contract negotiations. The culprit is
Dream, which has left Ishida waiting on the sidelines for no
apparent reason. Thankfully Ishida’s return comes accompanied
with his long-awaited debut in the featherweight division.
Awaiting
the “Endless Fighter” is veteran featherweight gatekeeper
Hata, who is tenuously clinging to relevance in the uber-competitive
division. That grip will likely get a little looser once Ishida
is done with him. Don’t get me wrong: Hata is a solid fighter,
but Ishida’s wrestling alone makes this an impossible matchup
for him.
Thoughout
his career, Hata has been vulnerable against superior wrestlers
and Ishida is a true master of the top-control special. There
will be no qualms on his end about grinding out an uneventful
decision, and Hata won’t be able to do much of anything
about it. It takes either killer takedown defense or some off-the-charts
grappling skills to keep Ishida out of his zone, and Hata has
neither.
I
don’t think Rickson Gracie armed with the ultimate nullifier
could get much going off his back against Ishida. Not exactly
a comforting fact for Hata considering he’ll be stuck underneath
Ishida for practically every second of this fight. A mostly uneventful
bout will end with Ishida taking home a standard issue top control-fueled
win.
Kazuhiro
Nakamura vs. Karl Amoussou
It
may not be the most high-profile bout on the card, but at least
it’s a reasonably even matchup. Amoussou’s stiff starch
striking style and Nakamura’s judo game make for an interesting
little fight in Dream’s still nascent middleweight division.
What
puts the fight in Nakamura’s favor is his vastly underrated
boxing, which will make Amoussou’s attempts at striking
dominance much more difficult than expected. Even then Nakamura
still won’t be outclassing Amoussou on the feet unless he
suddenly finds some previously unseen power in his low-density
fists. Considering Nakamura’s willingness to mix it up standing,
we could easily be in for a game of cat and mouse on the feet.
Willing
as Nakamura may be to go blow for blow, it’s hard to imagine
him ignoring the marked advantage he has on the mat against Amoussou.
He may not be an all-timer on the ground, but Nakamura does have
solid top control and enough offense to give Amoussou serious
problems. Whether it be ground-and-pound or submission attempts,
Amoussou won’t have much in the way of an answer.
Expect
an evenly matched tilt on the feet and a decidedly less even
affair on the mat with Nakamura being the one calling all the
shots. It won’t be a blowout, but it will be a solid win
for Nakamura in his ongoing quest to step out from behind the
long shadow cast by his mentor Hidehiko Yoshida.
Michihiro
Omigawa vs. Young Sam Jung
When
athletic commissions are an ocean away, this is the kind of matchmaking
promotions can get away with. That is the only explanation for
why Omigawa, at bare minimum a top 10 featherweight, is being
matched against Jung, who has an 0-2 record and roughly the same
chance of winning this fight as a corpse would.
If
Jung were to win it, he would join such improbable occurrences
as the birth of the universe and Danny Lafever making Benji Radach
go night night. However, the fact is that Omigawa has grown into
an excellent fighter while Jung couldn’t even cut it on
the Korean MMA circuit. It’s hard to imagine what awaits
him against a serious world-class mixed martial artist, but it
will almost certainly be painful to watch for anyone who counts
Jung as a friend.
This
may not be the most thorough breakdown ever, but such despicable
matchmaking doesn’t deserve the usual consideration. The
only thing to be grateful for in this bout is that Omigawa isn’t
some monster one-hitter-quitter like Marlon Sandro, so the odds
of Jung taking some horrific beating are decidedly marginal.
Source: Sherdog
|
MIR
VS. NOGUEIRA 2 HEADLINES UFC 119
by Damon
Martin
First the co-main event, now the main event has been confirmed
for UFC 119.
The
Nogueira brothers will compete on the same card in September,
as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has agreed to meet Frank Mir in the
main event fight for the Sept 25 card expected to take place
in Indianapolis at the Conseco Fieldhouse.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight.
UFC president Dana White also confirmed the fight when speaking
with MMAFighting.com on Thursday.
Frank
Mir (13-5) last fought in March when he suffered a TKO to Shane
Carwin at UFC 111, while also losing his bid for a rematch with
nemesis Brock Lesnar. Following the fight, Mir was rumored in
several fights, and also discussed the possibility of cutting
weight all the way down to 205lbs.
It
looks like those plans have been put on hold and Mir will instead
face the man he TKO'd in December 2008 in fellow "Ultimate
Fighter" coach Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
The
former Pride heavyweight champion, Nogueira (32-6-1) moved to
the UFC in 2007, and went on to become the interim heavyweight
champion before losing the belt to Mir.
The
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt has had some ups and downs of
late. After a dominant performance over Randy Couture at UFC
102, Nogueira looked like he was on the fast track back to the
top before running into Cain Velasquez at UFC 110 in Australia.
Velasquez
was just too fast on his feet, and too accurate with his strikes,
and Nogueira suffered his second TKO loss in his last three fights.
Hoping to rebound in Indianapolis, Nogueira will face an old
foe in Mir in the night's main event.
The
bout between Nogueira and Mir will head the UFC 119 card, while
Nogueira's twin brother Antonio Rogerio Nogueira faces Ryan Bader
in the night's co-main event as first announced on MMAWeekly.com
on Thursday.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce
booking Fedor vs. Overeem makes no sense at all and yet makes
all the sense in the world
By Zach Arnold
To set the scene here, a passage from Wednesday’s Observer
radio show:
DAVE
MELTZER: “Well, I mean, you know, I guess the new idea is
that they want Fedor against Overeem for the championship and
have Fedor sign the champion’s clause, which means if he
wins then you know he’s going to be champion, he’s
going to stay and defend the championship.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “So the exact same clause that he refused when
they were negotiating with UFC because he didn’t want to
be tied down supposedly forever?”
DAVE
MELTZER: “Yes.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Just checking.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “So, but this also could be, I mean, you know you
don’t know what chess games are being played here. It could
be that… you know, he’s holding that because the idea
is if they really want Werdum, I mean the worst thing they could
do is put Fedor against Werdum. Actually there’s one even
worse. But one of the worst things they could do is put Fedor
against Werdum in a rematch, Fedor wins so you got no contender
for the championship and then Fedor goes and doesn’t re-sign
and he leaves. That’s a complete disaster. So there’s
no upside to that. If Fedor agrees to this, to Fedor/Overeem.
You know, it is an interesting fighting in the sense if Overeem
wins, Fedor’s got two losses in a row and you can ditch
him, you know really, you can just say OK I don’t need to
deal with M-1 and you know I’ve made my champion because
Overeem will have beaten Fedor, you know, and Overeem will be
established in this country as somebody, so I mean I can see
that upside. Fedor beats Overeem, well, you know, Fedor’s
back in the hunt, you know, so that’s a positive because
you know no one’s going to go undefeated forever. As long
as Fedor wins his next, he’ll replenish a lot of what he
lost and what he’s losing right now and Fedor does need
a win real, real bad right now. So, I mean I can see all this
making sense from Coker’s side even though the idea of a
guy losing by submission in 1 minute and 9 seconds in a championship
elimination match and then getting the title match is completely
absurd under normal circumstances but this isn’t normal,
so but yeah, you know the thing is with M-1 and everything, I
mean, they are not dealing from power right now for the first
time. So, they, you know, we’ll see how this all goes down.
But it’s an interesting game. I wasn’t expecting Coker
to go with the Fedor/Overeem fight, but I see why he’s doing
it.”
Remember
that these comments are being made from someone who, right after
the San Jose event, was totally blasting anyone who said that
SF should book an immediately Fedor/Werdum re-match. Now, all
of a sudden, Fedor vs. Overeem “makes sense.”
This
passage sets up a longer passage from Pro MMA Radio with Larry
Pepe yesterday, who talked with Jesse Holland of MMA Mania about
the chaos happening in Strikeforce and how this promotion turns
something simple into the biggest disorganized mess you can possibly
find. If you haven’t caught up on the latest happenings
in Strikeforce, read my article from last week on how the Middleweight
tournament on paper is being twisted and mangled.
After
a Pro MMA radio passage on this subject, I’ll give you an
answer in regards to why this article has the title that it does.
LARRY
PEPE: “Strikeforce is like the gift that keeps giving if
you’re doing a talk show. NOW, Scott Coker is out there
saying that they may do Fedor/Overeem and Werdum gets the winner,
which I guess proves that you lose to get a title shot in Strikeforce,
which must make Pat Healy chomping at the bit for his (Gilbert)
Melendez title fight for the Lightweight strap.”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “It really makes no sense whatsoever other than
I don’t know who’s behind this or if… you almost
want to blame M-1 but you can’t because, well maybe you
can because Brett Rogers got that shot against Overeem. Who knows
what’s going on over in San Jose and it’s a shame,
too, because Strikeforce is a good promotion. They put on great
cards, the fighters always deliver, but some of the matchmaking
really makes you scratch your head. I mean, you know, if you
want to put Fedor against Overeem when Werdum clearly has won
that spot, there’s already a story behind it, he has a win
over Overeem in PRIDE, you know, there’s history there and
it’s a very intriguing match-up. You know if you want to
get Fedor in for his last fight, I’m sure there’s plenty
of other people you can match him up against but coming into
Overeem on the loss? I don’t know, I don’t like it.”
LARRY
PEPE: “But Jess, why not this, this is what I wrote the
night of the fight, like why not Werdum/Overeem for the title
and then let Fedor fight the winner in his final fight under
that Strikeforce contract? I just can’t understand how you
can lose and get the title shot. Now some people can say, yeah,
but he’s going to get the title shot off the loss because
you’re going to match him up, Overeem and Werdum. Well at
least the winner of the fight is getting the first shot at the
title and then if Werdum beats Overeem, he’s clearly established
himself as the guy which puts even more meaning towards the Fedor
win and if Overeem wins, now you have Overeem/Fedor which is
the fight you always wanted anyways. I just don’t get it.”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “Yeah, it’s a strange situation, but in the
end we’re talking about a guy who wants to sign Batista
to possibly fight Bobby Lashley so I guess in the end nothing
makes sense.”
LARRY
PEPE: “Well, and Jess, in the end you know you said they
are a good promotion. I agree with you about the fights, I agree
with you about the fighters, they have some talented guys. They
put on some great cards. The Strikeforce cards usually deliver.
So, I give them credit for all that, but my God, the way that
they’re running things, the lack of any divisional integrity.
Now it comes out that a Middleweight tournament that was going
to start at 8 now it might down to 4, then it might not be for
the title because they might do a title fight and do the other
guys to establish a contender, and then I look on the list of
who’s potentially in the tournament and who’s sitting
there BUT NICK DIAZ! He’s their Welterweight champion! Why
would he be in a Middleweight tournament, unless he’s going
to vacate the belt because they haven’t hooked him up in
a title fight since he beat Zaromskis for the title. I mean,
I just sit there and when these things come out, I think c’mon
man is this like, you know you ever see when some of those sites
on April Fool’s, they do [expletive] and put all these goofy
stories and then hahahaha, oh yeah, I forgot it’s April
1st? That’s what I think I’m reading sometimes!”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “Well, here’s the problem with Diaz. They
were going to match him up with Jay Hieron but Hieron’s
coming off a win, but that pretty much stops those two from fighting.”
If
you’re looking for an answer as to why Fedor vs. Overeem
is being discussed now by Scott Coker, let me frame the discussion
in this manner.
Strikeforce
counted on Fedor winning the fight against Werdum and, in essence,
they are proceeding with their booking as if that result actually
happened. In other words, the result of Werdum pulling off the
upset is being ignored in favor of long-term plans. Say what
you will, but this was their plan all along and they wanted to
have Fedor vs. Overeem on CBS or on PPV. So, win or lose, the
fight seems destined to happen.
However,
there’s a problem with this long-term plan. Strikeforce
never actually thought about the fact that Fedor went into the
Werdum fight with two fights left on the contract. Every fight
Fedor has in SF, Scott Cokers tells the media that he has to
sit down with Fedor to figure out what’s next. Fedor’s
camp wants an immediate re-match with Werdum to avenge the loss.
Coker, meanwhile, is stuck with the prospects of having a ‘hot’
re-match with Fedor and Werdum, but he can’t book it because
if Fedor wins he will likely leave for the UFC. Rather than tear
up the contract with two fights left in the deal and get a five-fight
deal in a manner UFC likes to do with some of their bigger names,
Strikeforce proceeded as if Fedor would beat Werdum and then
face Overeem, win the belt, and get stuck with the promotion
under the champion’s clause until he lost and then his value
would be shot.
Now,
they’re stuck with a guy who they still like but he has
a loss on his record and his aura is largely damaged. They have
a fighter who could bail on them to the UFC. On top of that,
they have a fighter in Alistair Overeem who may be involved in
this year’s K-1 tournament and that could take him out of
action for a while if he gets injured in a tournament match.
Throw in Strikeforce’s plans for getting back on CBS and
getting on PPV with Fedor vs. Overeem and Batista vs. Bobby Lashley
as the original plan and all of a sudden they are forced to go
ahead with their initial “long-term plans” by ignoring
Fedor’s loss and basically having to admit that their title
belt means nothing.
It’s
hard to find any sort of comparison in the MMA world to what
Strikeforce is doing, but I can give a recent example and how
another promoter handled the situation differently. Bellator
had booked a “showcase” fight between Rosi Sexton and
Zoila Frausto in Louisville, KY. The purpose was to highlight
Rosi for their upcoming 115-pound tournament… by putting
her against someone who normally fights at 120 or a little higher.
Red flag there. On top of it, Bellator admitted that on paper
they did not have Zoila ranked in their top 10 at 115 pounds
nor was it believed that she could make the weight cut for it.
The end result? She knocked out Rosi Sexton and all of a sudden,
Rosi was medically suspended and could not be involved in the
115-pound tournament.
Instead
of Bjorn Rebney saying that he would delay the August tournament
in order to get Rosi booked in the event (ala the way Coker said
he might modify an 8-man tournament in order to get the suspended
Nick Diaz booked in September), he made the proper call and put
Zoila in Rosi’s place in said tournament because he actually
respected the match result. He didn’t think it would end
up the way it did, but he faced the reality of the situation
and gave Zoila her props.
(By
the way, Jorge Gurgel says that he and Zoila are an item. And
Josh Grispi is single, ladies. I feel like Chuck Woolery all
of a sudden here.)
Bottom
line: If the reports are true that Strikeforce & Showtime
are trying to keep Fedor under control via a champion’s
clause in a contract, then they have literally done the one thing
that nobody thought was possible after Fedor lost and that is
give him business leverage. Any time you negotiation from a position
of weakness as opposed to a position of strength, you are asking
to get run over. Somehow and someway, Strikeforce has set themselves
up and flipped the script by allowing Fedor more business leverage
because they afraid that he will more likely consider going to
UFC because he lost a fight. You can’t make this up.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Spider’s
manager responds to Sonnen
by Carlos Eduardo Ozório
This coming August 7 at UFC 117 Anderson Silva will again defend
his middleweight belt. This time around his challenger is Chael
Sonnen, who, as usual, spares no harsh words in addressing his
opponent. GRACIEMAG.com has spoken with “The Spider”
about it in the past, but Anderson prefers to keep quiet. The
one doing the responding to Sonnen is the current champion’s
manager, Ed Soares.
“Before
he started talking about Anderson, no one paid any attention
to Chael. Now that he’s talking about Anderson, people have
started paying attention to him. God bless him. Good, keep talking,”
Soares told MMAJunkie.com.
“A
lot of people talk about Anderson Silva. A lot of people talk
about what they’re going to do to him. It’s not the
first time and I’ll bet it won’t be the last. That’s
great. Before the fight, everyone has a mouth and can say what
they want. But for some strange reason, when the octagon door
closes, and they’re standing across from Anderson, everything
they say goes out the door,” he says.
The
rivalry is in place. Now all that’s left to do is wait and
see who’s right, Sonnen or Soares.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Final
Two Quarterfinal Bouts Set for Sengoku Welterweight Grand Prix
By Ray
Hui
The opening round of Sengoku's Welterweight Grand Prix will conclude
at Sengoku 14 on Aug. 22 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
The
promotion announced Thursday that Nick "The Goat" Thompson
will face Taisuke Okuno, and Kenta Takagi will meet Yasubey Enomoto
to determine the two remaining semifinalists. Already slotted
are Keita Nakamura and Takuya Wada, who advanced with with wins
over Omar de la Cruz and Jae Sun Lee, respectively, at Sengoku
13 last month.
The
winner of the Grand Prix will be crowned the first-ever Sengoku
welterweight champion.
The
main event of the card will feature Jorge Santiago defending
his middleweight strap against Kazuo Misaki. In their first encounter,
Santiago submitted Misaki with a rear-naked choke to win the
belt at Sengoku no Ran 2009.
Current
Fight Card:
Sengoku
Middleweight Title
Jorge Santiago vs. Kazuo Misaki
Welterweight
GP
Taisuke Okuno vs. Nick Thompson
Kenta Takagi vs. Yasubey Enomoto
Asia
Bantamweight Tournament
Jae Hyun So vs. Hirokazu Nishimura
Wataru Takahashi vs. Tatsuya So
Shoko Sato vs. Takuya Eizumi
Shintaro Ishiwatari vs. Kil Woo Lee
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Jose
Aldo: “I’ll go there and make it happen”
By Guilherme
Cruz
A little more than two months after defending his title on WEC
for the first time, José Aldo is training harder again.
Despite the official announcement has not being done yet, the
expectation of Nova União’s athlete is to face Manny
Gamburyan on WEC 51.
“I know nothing yet, it’s up to Dedé (Andre
Pederneiras), but I’m not worried about that fight yet.
There’s nothing set yet, but it can be him (Gamburyan).
Joinha and Ed (Soares) are dealing with this stuff, and when
they close the deal, they’ll tell me”, tells Aldo,
commenting his win over the Armenian Mike Brown, by a knockout
at two minutes and a few seconds of the very first round on WEC
48.
“It didn’t surprise me that much; a fight is a fight…
But the fact I knocked him out was surprisingly. Mike Brow was
among the tops for a long time, but he (Manny) managed to fit
the hand and knocked him out… I’d thought that Brown
would win by decision”, the Brazilian said.
A BJJ black belt, Aldo showed a different side of him on his
WEC fights. With a sharp Muay Thai, the tough guy knocked out
his six first opponents on the American event until dominating
Urijah Faber, considered one of the best fighters of the division
in all times, in 25 minutes of fight.
With
the impressive knockout of Gamburyan on his last fight, Aldo
reveals he still does not know what strategy he will use on this
duel. “I think that (Manny) would not go for the striking,
but he fit a good punch and the guy felt. The two of them have
the same kind of game plan, but Dedé will set my strategy
and I’ll go there and I’ll make it happens”, concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
Mission
Impossible: What If James Toney Beats Randy Couture?
by Jake
Rossen
James Toney, mouth full of Novocaine, made the media rounds at
UFC 116 this past weekend displaying a confidence completely
disproportionate to his MMA ability. (See: toting a Randy Couture
doll in a dress, the complete apathy for MMA, etc.) Toney has
the kind of self-delusion practiced by the kung fu and savate
bodies of the early days, only worse: at least those guys had
no idea what they were really getting themselves into. He has
17 years of videotape to watch.
Toney’s
ambitions are no secret. His paydays have dried up in boxing
and the only other venue aside from bouncing or loan-sharking
where his skills are even semi-applicable is another combat sport.
He tweaked Dana White into thinking he could grab ratings in
Strikeforce and strong-armed him into what will probably be a
six-figure payday for a co-main against Randy Couture.
In
his favor? The fight starts on the feet. Not in his favor? Everything
else.
Toney
against virtually anyone with takedown or clinching ability in
MMA would be assisted suicide. There’s potential for a slip,
but nine times out of 10, he gets tapped or pounded out. Against
a solid kickboxer, a brain wired to avoid two threats -- the
left and the right -- is eventually going to freeze when that
number is multiplied by four. Want more? He’s far past his
prime and his power isn’t even particularly troubling: he’s
got one KO win in the last seven years. A young and rabid Mike
Tyson against an undersized grappler would be a fight. This is
just a lesson.
That’s
one line. The other line is that Couture just turned 47 years
old. He’s in his fifth decade on the planet and his third
in fighting. Chuck Liddell cracked his chin twice. Brandon Vera,
Antonio Nogueira, and Brock Lesnar all knocked him down. When
your will exceeds what your flesh can tolerate, your body will
eventually start dropping hints.
Toney
only has a marginal chance, but it’s a chance. And if Couture
stands still for a second too long -- if that brain that just
wants to hang out on a porch somewhere sabotages him -- it’s
really not such a good thing for the UFC.
Toney,
for one, has a mouth that doesn’t need a megaphone. Humility
isn’t a character trait. And since it’s obvious he
considers himself a boxer trespassing (he will continue boxing
even through a UFC deal), he’s going to float the “boxing
vs. MMA” angle until he gets a better money deal from either
sport. Toney may sound punched out, but he is far from stupid.
A
win would also delight Bob Arum and boxing’s other pallbearers,
who can count only on biannual fights that briefly ignite interest
in that sport before they find new ways to extinguish it. Boxing
as an institution relies on the idea that it’s a cleaner,
more mature activity. Having a past-prime Toney clock Couture
-- one of the names most commonly circulated in mass media --
would be a gift. And unlike the Tim Sylvia/Ray Mercer debacle,
it’ll be taking place on a show people are actually watching.
The
UFC’s appeal in part is that it represents advancement in
combat sports. You would not expect a Selectric to outperform
a Mac. If it does, the cache that goes along with following the
hot product dwindles. Brock Lesnar, by virtue of being the UFC’s
heavyweight champion, has been labeled the “baddest man
on the planet.” If Toney wins, will some people now expect
that title is invalid until he fights one of the Klitschkos?
Couture’s
age means the UFC is playing a dangerous game of Russian roulette
with their own reputation. His name sells, but there’s more
security in having a younger, faster takedown artist deal with
Toney. If the number one rule of fighting is not to take unnecessary
chances, they’ve scheduled a pretty reckless round.
Source: Sherdog
|
HOMINICK
VS. GARCIA ON DECK FOR WEC 51
by Damon
Martin
A featherweight bout with explosive written all over it has been
added to the upcoming WEC 51 card in September as Canadian Mark
Hominick returns to action to face Leonard Garcia in a main card
fight for the Colorado bound show.
The
fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the
bout on Thursday, stating the fighters have verbally agreed to
the match-up.
Coming
off of one of the most exciting fights in 2010, Mark Hominick
(18-8) is staking his claim to become a contender in the WEC's
featherweight division.
A
winner of three fights in a row, Hominick dispatched of fellow
Canadian Yves Jabouin at WEC 49 in June, and promptly called
for a fight with Garcia afterwards. It looks like Hominick got
his wish.
Involved
in what could be the greatest fight in WEC history, Leonard Garcia
(14-5-1) got the nod in a split decision over "The Korean
Zombie" Chan Sung Jung in his last trip to the cage in April.
The New Mexico based fighter has a tendency to be involved in
some of the best bouts on any card he's involved in, and this
fight should be no different.
Garcia
was dealing with a few injuries following the fight with Jung,
including a broken hand, but he's healed and ready to get back
in the cage again in September.
The
bout between Garcia and Hominick is expected to be part of the
televised card, headlined by featherweight champion Jose Aldo
defending his belt against Manny Gamburyan.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Trainer
Bloodworth Believes Tua Will Be Heavyweight Champ
NEW YORK (July 7, 2010) – Veteran boxing trainer Roger Bloodworth,
who has known Samoan strongman David “Tuamanator” Tua
for nearly 20 years, training him exclusively for the last five
years, believes Tua will soon shed the label as the best contemporary
heavyweight never to be world champion.
Tua and Bloodworth have been at training camp in Jersey City,
New Jersey, preparing for David’s 12-round main event fight
July 17 headlining “T-N-T at the Tropicana” presented
by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, against former world title
challenger Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett,at Tropicana Casino
and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“David is a more confident fighter today,” Bloodworth
said. “He’s a very experienced fighter who is now moving
a lot defensively and is no longer a one-handed fighter. He still
has that one big hand, but he’s punching well with both
hands and, surprisingly, even throwing a good jab.
“The heavyweight division is wide open but, at the same
time, closed. There are top contenders like David but these champions
seem to pick-and-choose their opponents. We’d love to fight
(David) Haye or the Klitschkos. The Klitschkos brothers (Wladimir
and Viltali) are both big and have talent, but they also have
Achilles heals, and David can take advantage of that. They (Hayemaker
Promotions and K2 Promotions) all have Cedric’s (Tua’s
promoter Cedric Kushner, Gotham Boxing) phone number but nobody’s
called. The only way to get a world title shot, it seems, is
to become the mandatory challenger.”
Tua (51-3-1, 43 KOs), rated No. 2 by the World Boxing Organization,
hasn’t fought in Atlantic City in eight years, however,
he’s undefeated fighting there in 13 fights with 12 knockouts.
Wladimir Klitschko is the WBO champion, Alexander Povetkin its
No. 1 contender.
Tua, the reigning WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental heavyweight
champion, has defeated former world champions John Ruiz (KO1),
Michael Moorer (KO1) and Oleg Maskaev (KO11) in Atlantic City,
in addition to Hasim Rahman (KO10), during his explosive career.
“David is a young 37-year-old heavyweight because he hasn’t
been in any wars or been knocked out,” Bloodworth added.
“It is what it is and I think David has a very good chance
of becoming world champion.”
Tua, of course, isn’t looking past Barrett (34-9, 20 KOs),
now fighting out of New Jersey, who is also unbeaten in Atlantic
City, sporting a perfect 7-0 (5 KOs) record there.
New Zealand’s national indigenous broadcaster, Maori Television,
will present exclusive, live and free-to-air coverage of Tua’s
July 17th fight.
T-N-T at the Tropicana is being promoted by Joe DeGuardia's Star
Boxing and will be shown live at 8 PM/ET - 5 PM/PT on both cable
and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, Avail-TVN
and DISH Network in the United States and Puerto Rico for a suggested
retail price of only $24.95. You can also catch the PPV telecast
in France, New Zealand, Australia, and via tape delayed in numerous
other countries throughout the World. The exciting undercard
will go live on PPV at 8 PM/ET - 5 PM/PT with the Tua vs. Barrett
main event scheduled to go on air at approximately 10 PM/ET -
7 PM/PT.
Tickets may be purchased by calling the Star Boxing office at
(718) 823-2000 or visiting www.starboxing.com. Tickets are priced
at $100 (ringside), $50 and $30. Star Boxing is currently holding
exclusive $200 VIP Packages, call for more information. Tickets
may also be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, or by going
online to Ticketmaster.com. Tickets may also be purchased at
the Tropicana North Tower Box Office. The Tropicana Casino and
Resort is located at 2831 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ and can
be contacted by calling (609) 340-4000.
Go to www.GothamBoxing.com for additional information about Tua,
his July 17th fight or Gotham Boxing.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Bob
Reilly using dead fighter as a crutch in his anti-MMA debate
By Steve Cofield
It's
not enough for Bob Reilly to spread this silly anti-MMA argument
around his budget-crunched state of New York. Now Reilly is being
leaned on as some sort of voice of reason worldwide. The New
York Assemblyman joined The Telegraph's Gareth A. Davies in a
spirited debate on BBC radio. Not surprisingly, Reilly is now
shamelessly throwing the recent death of MMA rookie Michael Kirkham
into his argument.
"Violence
begets violence. To us, we can't imagine putting people in a
cage, sometimes literally fighting to the death," said Reilly.
"Because a fighter was tragically killed a week ago in South
Carolina. To put two men in a cage or two women in a cage and
let them fight until one is dead, is not something for a civilized
society."
Davies
promptly fired back pointing out that it's just the second death
in the history of MMA and added that Kirkham's parents spoke
recently, and the last thing they want is their son used as a
pawn in Reilly's publicity stunt.
"'He
was following his dream. We hope that this doesn't become an
argument for trying to ban a sport that Michael loved,'"
said Davies, relaying the Kirkham's message. "'He would
not have wanted his name used for that purpose."
Reilly
pins an uptick in violence amongst youth on the rise of MMA.
"What
is omitted, by almost everyone, is that this is a brutal sport,"
said Reilly. "In the U.S., we are trying to combat brutality
in our schools. We have a huge problem of domestic violence.
We have a huge problem with inner city kids with guns and violence."
Pretty
outrageous stuff. But Reilly has the ear of way too many folks
in the state of New York and maybe many worldwide. It would seem
to me that MMA, a sport fighting with rules and requiring strict
discipline and dedication, is the least of the problems to address
for folks who are trying to battle rising crime rates.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Palhares
focused on himself, Marquardt later
By Guilherme Cruz
With three consecutive victories inside the UFC octagon, Rousimar
Palhares is looking for some space in the biggest MMA event on
earth. Up against the tough Nate Marquardt, his opponent on UFC
118, the Brazilian from the city of Dores do Indaiá talked
to TATAME and, with his usual humility, revealed that his main
goal is his evolution.
“I’m not thinking about his game yet, I’m focused
on my weak points. Let’s work with him in mind nearer the
fight, then we’ll see what are his good points and weakness.
Now I’m concerned about my evolution”, Palhares said,
commenting his trainings on Brazilian Top Team. “The work
is doing great, I’m training really hard. I’m doing
what I’m used to, training my Jiu-Jitsu, Wresling, Boxing,
Muay Thai… I’m improving on the best possible way”,
tells.
With Murilo Bustamante back to Brazil after a season on the United
States, the middleweight has a high level training partner and
a great example to follow, once Murilo was the first Brazilian
to become a champion on Rousimar’s division on UFC. “It’s
being great, he’s following and training along with me,
since he’ll fight (on Impact FC). We’ve been training
a lot together… He’s doing great flights, he’ll
do a great comeback”, predicts, getting excited when it
comes to the possible comeback of Murilo to UFC: “It’d
be awesome (laughs)”.
HIM WHO SAYS TOO MUCH…
Being the next challenger for the title, Chael Sonnen won the
right to face Anderson Silva after beating Nate Marquardt, and
a win over the American can mean a huge step for Rousimar in
his road for making his dream come true. But the Brazilian is
not worried about that. “I don’t know, maybe... It
can be, but it’s all up to the boss (laughs)”, jokes,
predicting the parity on the bout between Silva and Sonnen. “It’s
50-50. When you’re up there, anything can happen”.
On
Rousimar’s opinion, the provocations of the polemic Chael
Sonnen can an overturn on the bout against Anderson on UFC 117.
“Everybody talks, but the speech changes when you’re
in there (laughs). He’s been saying too much before proving
anything. When he’ll get there, he’ll gas because he
spent too much energy on speaking (laughs)”, jokes Rousimar,
who faces Marquard on UFC 118 pay-per-view card, in Massachusetts,
USA.
Source: Tatame
|
Batista’s
a ‘Natural Athlete,’ Says Gracie
by Jack
Encarnacao
Former World Wrestling Entertainment star Dave Batista started
a two-day training stint with the Cesar Gracie camp Wednesday
after Strikeforce helped facilitate the connection with the potential
signee and the noted California gym.
Gracie
told Sherdog.com that Batista arrived this afternoon and worked
out with former Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields
and rolled with welterweight champion Nick Diaz at the Cesar
Gracie gym in Lodi, Calif.
Gracie
said that his initial read of the 41-year-old pro wrestler was
that he is a “natural athlete.”
“He’s
got a lot to learn but his strength alone is impressive,”
Gracie told Sherdog.com Wednesday evening. “Obviously he’s
a beginner at jiu-jitsu but we can take a guy like that that’s
already a strong athlete like that and teach him what to not
get caught in.”
Gracie
said Batista, who grew up in Washington D.C., wrestled in high
school and has some background in traditional martial arts standup
fighting.
“He’s
a pretty good kicker,” said Gracie. “He hits very hard.”
Gracie
said he, Batista, training partner Imani Lee and Strikeforce
matchmaker Rich Chou were to meet Wednesday evening to discuss
a game plan to get Batista ready for a pro MMA fight.
Strikeforce
is negotiating with the multi-time Wrestlemania headliner to
try his hand in MMA. A long-time fan of the sport, who has reportedly
trained at the Affliction training facility in Los Angeles, Batista
began talks with Strikeforce last month after ending a lucrative
eight-year run with the WWE. Batista said in interviews that
he had become disillusioned with the industry and has recently
pursued film acting.
“I
did discuss it with him and he told me he was definitely interested
in doing an MMA fight, so that’s the game plan and I think
what we’re going to discuss is a training schedule and some
serious hardcore training,” said Gracie. “I think they
realized when they were training with my guys today, they were
amazed.”
Gracie
said the connection started with Lee, who fought on the same
Dream 14 card as Nick Diaz in May.
“Nick
and Imani, they started working, talking and working technique
and then Imani expressed his desire to come up,” Gracie
said.
Batista
and Lee tried to contact Diaz for several days after the event,
Gracie said, but were unsuccessful. They went to Strikeforce
for help reaching Gracie, and the promotion facilitated the connection.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker has said he would be interested to see Batista
tested in the MMA cage, and is particularly interested in matching
him with another WWE alumnus in Bobby Lashley.
Gracie
said he can see where promoters would be interested in Batista
because he is “very charismatic, very self confident . .
. definitely a presence.”
Asked
when he thinks Batista would be ready for a pro fight, Gracie
said it would depend on who his opponent is.
“You’re
talking about a guy who is very powerful, very strong and an
extremely hard worker, and if he can put it all together he could
be a very formidable force,” he said. “And he’s
at the right camp for that… Our camp is known for bringing
people with nothing and making them into something. We like to
make champs.”
Source: Sherdog
|
ROGERIO
NOGUEIRA VS. RYAN BADER AT UFC 119
by Damon
Martin
Indianapolis has at least one piece of their main event fights
for UFC 119.
Light
heavyweights Antonio Rogeiro Nogueira and former "Ultimate
Fighter" winner Ryan Bader have verbally agreed to meet
on Sept 25 as a part of UFC 119, and they are expected to serve
as the co-main event of the evening.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Thursday, stating bout fighters have agreed to the fight,
and bout agreements should be issued shortly.
Rumors
surfaced prior to UFC 116 that Nogueira was going to face former
champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, but UFC president
told reporters following the event that they had not put that
fight together as Jackson was still fulfilling commitments for
the "A-Team" movie overseas, and had not been in the
mix yet.
Nogueira
will indeed be on the card, but against a different opponent.
At
19-3 overall, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is one of the top fighters
in the light heavyweight division looking to get into title contention.
An impressive UFC debut saw him knock out Luis Cane in under
two minutes, but the Brazilian struggled in his second fight
against late replacement Jason Brilz.
Nogueira
will face another extremely tough wrestler this time around as
well, but also one with knockout power as shown in his last fight.
Ryan
Bader (11-0) comes into UFC 119 with a flawless record, and a
desire to take the next step up in competition. Defeating Team
Jackson fighter Keith Jardine at UFC 110 in Australia by knockout,
Bader has shown marked improvement in his striking, and has vicious
power in his hands and knees.
Since
leaving the "Ultimate Fighter" season 8 finale, Bader
has gone 3-0 and now hopes to get into title contention with
his next fight against Nogueira.
As
previously stated, the bout between Nogeuira and Bader will serve
as the co-main event of the evening, while the work to fill another
main event fight continues. MMAWeekly.com will have more information
on that fight when it becomes available.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
'Korean
Zombie' Chan Sung Jung to Return, Face George Roop at WEC 51
By Mike
Chiappetta
After co-authoring one of the most memorable matches of 2010,
the "Korean Zombie" is back.
Chan
Sung Jung, who endeared himself to the worldwide MMA audience
following a three-round battle of attrition with Leonard Garcia
in April, will return in September to face George Roop at WEC
51, a source close to the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting.
The
bout was first reported as a possibility by MMA Weekly.
Jung and Garcia went toe-to-toe for a 15-minute epic with an
incredible pace that saw the Zombie out-land Garcia 123-102,
though the judges eventually scored the bout for Garcia in a
split decision.
Still,
the 23-year-old Jung (10-2) earned an entirely new legion of
fans for his amazing effort and granite chin. Afterward, he had
surgeries on his nose and wrist, but now appears ready to return
to the aggressive style that made him an overnight sensation
in the U.S.
Roop,
meanwhile, has been something of an MMA journeyman during his
career, advancing into the UFC after his participation on season
eight of the Ultimate Fighter. After a 1-2 mark in the UFC as
a lightweight, he was released, but was quickly resigned by Zuffa
when he decided to drop to the featherweight division.
In
two bouts as a featherweight, he's lost a unanimous decision
to Eddie Wineland before most recently losing a split decision
to Garcia at WEC 47. The 28-year-old is 10-6-1 in his career.
WEC
51, which has yet to be officially announced, is likely to take
place in Broomfield, Colorado on Sept. 30.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Ken
Shamrock says his comments about legalizing steroids were taken
out of context
By Zach
Arnold
Ken Shamrock is back to clarify remarks he made during an interview
on HDNet about steroids.
First,
to setup his new comments about the California State Athletic
Commission, his usage of steroids, and what he wants to see happen
with steroid usage in MMA, he spent the first couple of minutes
of the interview talking about his upcoming fight with Pedro
Rizzo in Australia. While he was vague about his game plan against
Rizzo, Shamrock did say this:
“He’s
got to respect my stand-up in order for me to have anything else
work. … My stand-up definitely at times has been questionable,
so I’ve really practiced and really, really, really studied
that stand-up and footwork and angles and punch combinations
and kicks and stuff, so that way my takedowns become easier,
my submissions become easier because now they have to respect
me when I’m on the feet.
Shamrock
said that Rizzo is the same fighter that he’s always been
and has not improved his overall game.
And
with that, we get into his suspension from California over a
failed drug test, what his future is, and the push-back he’s
received from the interview with Mike Straka on HDNet.
MATTHEW
KAPLOWITZ: “In your last fight, the California State Athletic
Commission fined and suspended you for a year after they discovered
three banned substances in your system, which you said were from
legal products. Now, California has had issues before with other
fighters including Sean Sherk, so what do you think is going
on with the CSAC that they seem to be constantly having these
issues while other commissions don’t?”
KEN
SHAMROCK: “Well, it just seems to me like they need to clean
house. It seems like they’re always changing commissions.
Their office is in the scramble right now, no one knows who’s
running what. The tests and their organization, I guess, is definitely
up in the air. You know, you don’t know sometimes, like
for instance on my test didn’t come back until 3 1/2 weeks
after the event. I’ve been fighting in MMA since the beginning
of this and I’ve never in my entire career ever heard of
a test coming back 3 1/2 weeks later and it was right after I
signed the fight to fight at an event in Miami against Bobby
Lashley did I not find out that my test at that time was dirty.
I never knew anything until after that contract was signed and
then all of a sudden I get this notice two days later that I
was dirty and I was like, you’ve got to be kidding me. And
to this day, I’ve never had a court date.”
MATTHEW
KAPLOWITZ: “Nothing at all? They haven’t sent you any
response in regards to appealing it?”
KEN
SHAMROCK: “No, nothing.”
MATTHEW
KAPLOWITZ: “All right now you recently went on Fighting
Words with Mike Straka on HDNet where you admitted to previous
steroid use and talked about the usage of it in Mixed Martial
Arts and you stated that fans are part of the problem. Now I
wanted to ask, at the end of the day, you’re the fighter
in the cage and the fans are the ones watching from home, so
do you think it’s right to point fingers at the fans or
is it more so the responsibility of the fighter to have a greater
mindset to overcome things like that?”
KEN
SHAMROCK: “You know, I’m sorry if that’s the way
it came off to point fingers at fans because that’s not
what I was doing. What I was doing was make an awareness of people
understanding their sports. When you get into a situation like
baseball or basketball or football, boxing, and you see a guy
come out of college and you see how much he grows and how big
he gets and I’m not saying the average fan, you know, I’m
not talking about the person who sits home and watches the game
because they really, they’re just watching it and being
entertained. I’m talking about from the media, I’m
talking about from the sportswriters, I’m talking about
from the hardcore fans who hear all the rumbles behind the scenes,
who know all the stuff that’s going on, and they stick their
heads in the stand like and then they’re shocked when this
stuff comes out. I’m not saying that it’s not the athlete’s
responsibility at all, no way. But what I’m saying is when
something like that comes out and then you have people going,
‘oh my God, I can’t believe he was doing that!’…
that to me is wrong because to me most likely and I’m not
saying in all cases, but most likely people know what’s
going on.”
MATTHEW
KAPLOWITZ: “So it’s more so that people are just turning
a blind eye to it than suddenly pointing fingers afterwards?”
KEN
SHAMROCK: “Yeah, I mean I’m not saying it’s the
responsibility of the fans because it’s not, I mean they’re
watching the game and they’re having fun and they’re
all enjoying it and there’s absolutely no responsibi8lity
on them. The athlete and the reporters, they don’t even
have a responsibility on this at all. But by no means do when
somebody comes up dirty, you have an idea about what’s going
on and you never step up and said anything do you jump on the
bandwagon and be a part of that program. Because that’s
what happens is guys who don’t want to take a stand on it
because they’re afraid that they might piss somebody off
but then once somebody else takes a stand on it and goes, you
know what’s that’s wrong, we’re going to test,
they start testing, they catch a few people, they start going
after them, then these other people who knew all along what was
going on start jumping on that side because now it’s politically
correct.”
MATTHEW
KAPLOWITZ: “Now, you also mentioned how you think steroids
should be legalized. Now, um,…”
KEN
SHAMROCK: “No, that was taken out of context. I do not and
absolutely do not believe that steroids should be legal. My intention
on that whole conversation was I thought that steroids should
be CONTROLLED. CONTROLLED, not legalized, because I said even
in the statement that if you allow it to be legal people are
going to get bigger, faster, stronger, and somebody’s going
to get hurt.”
MATTHEW
KAPLOWITZ: “OK, and how do you propose to control steroids
then in sports?”
KEN
SHAMROCK: “The same way they do it now. They test levels
in the body. There’s levels that are extremely high, that
are very unsafe for an athlete and there’s levels in the
body that are extremely safe and that help recovery in injuries.
So, if you’re going to go ahead and test the levels in an
athlete’s body, then you can go ahead and test the levels
in a athlete’s body which is safe, which is good for recovery,
which is good for their health, which is good for their living.
They’re not going to be coming out of the sport all beat
up and not being able to walk or not being able to think, you
know they’re going to be able to recover and be healthy,
be rejuvenated, a thing called age-management. Which is a big
thing in society right now, which helps your test levels in your
body and your hCs levels in your body and your HGH levels in
your body to come back up to a healthy level so your body can
recover, you can feel alive again, your body feels good. These
are things that are safe, medically proven that are safe to help
you have a healthier and a better life after the age of 50 or
60.”
MATTHEW
KAPLOWITZ: “I guess a lot of fans just don’t really
understand the term steroid and how many different uses it has,
you know it’s not just necessarily the kind of thing that
makes your muscles get huge, right?”
KEN
SHAMROCK: “No, and you know, and that’s… that’s
why when I talk about you know it being controlled, in an controlled
environment, there’s certain things that you do not allow
into the sports because it’s not healthy and a lot of these
kids who are coming in and they’re hearing about these guys
who are playing baseball and the guys who are playing football
and basketball and boxing and in MMA and they see these guys
and they’re having success, then once they get to a certain
point where they feel like you know what I need that extra oomph
and they start going out and doing it but they’re uneducated
about what it is they’re getting.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
MAN
UP AND STAND UP
Today!!!
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER
FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2010
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
ISAAC
HOOPS 145 DEREK MINN
CHEVEZ
ANTOQUE 185 MAKANA VERTIDO
RONNIE
VILLAHMOSA 155 ROBERT BANIS
DENNIS
MONTERA 115 DONOVAN CALLURUDA
RICKY
FAJARDO 120 ISRAEL LOVELACE
KALAI
MCSHANE 125 THEODORE BROWN
JUSTIN
DULAY 160 JESSIE PURGANON
ALBERT
NAPOLEON 185 CHARLES HAZELWOOD
JASON
ARAGON 150 PELETI FAUMUINA
FRED
RAMAYLA 145 RYNE YOSHIMURA
PONO
140 MARK YARCIA
BOBBY
BARTELL 140 MELDRIC GOES
CHRIS
185 JARED FERREIRA
DANIEL
HEVEKIA 140 ADOR MALONG
TYSON
MEDRANO 135 JOSE ESCOSIO
NICK
RIVERA 185 MIKE ELI
PATRICK
ARICE 130 NEVADA HARRISON
SCOTT
ENDO 170
JAMEN
TABAYA 125 JULIO MORENO
JUSTIN
AQUINO 160 JON BURGESS
THOMAS
MATHIAS 140 JONAH VISTANTE
NICK
CHING 125 PAUL GARCIA
CONNER
TORREA 110 COLT DANTE
MIKE
PANG 155 BRYSON BAYUDAN
TRENTON
OSHIRO 145 JAYMEL PAGARAGAN
BRYSON
LUM 145 MIKE YARCIA
JORDAN
CALLAHAN 140 JUMAR ESCOSIO
And
more matches to come
All
participants and matches are subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
Hawaii
Regional Boxing Team Delegation
Hi!!
Our Hawaii Regional Boxing Team Delegation to the U.S.A. Championships
on July 10 - 18 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado
Springs, Colorado will consists of:
Males:
108lbs- Keola McKee - Wailuku B.C. (Maui)
123- Anthony Ibanez - Wailuku B.C.
132- Danson Rellez -Yeshua B.C. (Big Island)
141- Anthony Parker- Pearlside B.C. (Oahu)
152- Gaylord Balasi - Kawano B.C. (Oahu)
165- Antone Pereira- Waianae B.C. (Oahu)
178- Jesse Jones- Pearlside B.C.
201+- Noa Suiaunoa- Waianae B.C.
Females:
106- Corina Ishikawa- Kawano B.C.
165- Gardenia Sims- Kawano B.C.
178- Fallon Farrar- Kawano B.C.
Top 4 finishers of the Male division will make the U.S.A. National
Team for International Competition.
Female National Champion will go to the 2010 AIBA World Championships
in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sept. 6- 20. A training camp at the
Olympic Training Center will be from August 20- Sept. 5th.
Thanks for Your Support.
Any questions email me at bkawano@aol.com
Thanks Again!!
Bruce Kawano
|
JAMES
TONEY: I'LL MAKE AN EXAMPLE OUT OF DANA
by Damon
Martin
"We're going to make an example of James Toney."
The
upcoming fight between former UFC champion Randy Couture and
current IBA heavyweight champion James Toney, according to UFC
president Dana White, is being set-up as a freak show, to see
what happens when a boxer steps in with a mixed martial artist.
James
Toney was a guest on MMAWeekly Radio on Wednesday night and heard
about White's comments for the first time. Not surprisingly,
he had a few words on the subject.
"Give
him the message, tell Dana White to excuse these nuts,"
said Toney. "I'm going to make an example out of him and
his fighters."
Toney
admitted that he believes he's representing the entire sport
of boxing when stepping into the Octagon for the first time on
Aug. 28, and even invited White to a bout when he's done fighting
Couture.
"After
I knock out Couture, if he wants he can get in there too. Dana
White say he want to make an example out of me, I make an example
out of everybody else," he stated.
"Dana
White, I don't care what he say, he can say whatever he want
to say, but his ass too scared to get in the cage. That boy don't
fight in a cage."
As
far as business goes, Toney says he has a lot of respect for
White and the UFC, but he believes that the fighting should be
left to the fighters.
"I
ain't got no problem with Dana outside of fighting; me and Dana
are cool. Two peas in a pod, but other than that when it comes
to this fighting thing, Dana better stay behind a desk and push
a pen, and don't predict nothing cause he'll lose his company
doing that," said Toney.
The
multi-time, multi-weight boxing champion is currently training
in California, preparing for his UFC debut, which will take place
in Boston at UFC 118.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Brock
Lesnar’s mouthpiece, Paul Heyman, explains what motivates
the UFC Heavyweight champion to be the very best
By Zach
Arnold
If Paul Heyman is positioning himself as MMA’s first pro-wrestling
style manager, then he did a damn good job of it this week in
the media. I’ve seen several media interviews that he has
done and he has been absolutely electric in each one. The way
he works the media over and the way he gets his point across
without trashing Brock’s opponents but rather by building
them up is the kind of thing you don’t often see done so
well from top MMA personalities.
The
transcript is a must read.
One
of the interesting items that Dave Meltzer relayed on his show
late last night was how the perception of the UFC fans towards
Brock Lesnar is changing. The idea that he was viewed as the
outsider that was invading the company and making a mockery of
the sport to now being the champion who is a legitimate, terrorizing
monster, therefore being not as disliked as he was in the past.
PAUL
HEYMAN: “I’m crying, man, I mean, you know, my best
friend just got off his, he was on his deathbed nine months ago
and he… I thought it was over in the first round and I think
Josh Rosenthal deserves just a ton of credit for good officiating
because you know he asked Brock once, you know, do you want to
stop, and he asked him a second time, Brock says no I’m
not stopping. Brock kept moving and you know if it was Steve
Mazzagatti the fight would have been stopped, you know, and it
wasn’t stopped. It was good officiating and then Brock showed
WHO HE IS, you know, and he showed who he has evolved into being
as a Mixed Martial Artist and you know it has everything that
he says, believe me, is understated because he’s not going
to give you all of his emotion and… he’s come back
from his deathbed and his wife is pregnant and they’re going
to have a baby in two weeks, so imagine how he’s feeling
right now and that first round was the scariest moment of my
life and you know and he comes back and he chokes Carwin out.
I mean, my God. I couldn’t be more proud of my friend than
if I was doing it myself, and I’m not man enough to do it
myself so I’m sure glad it was him doing it!”
DANNY
ACOSTA: “And having gone through that experience with Brock,
with him being on his deathbed, when you were watching him in
trouble in the cage, did you know there’s no way that he
will quit?”
PAUL
HEYMAN: “Oh, he wasn’t going quit! Oh, no, no! I mean,
I thought he could have been pounded into unconsciousness, but
he wasn’t tapping. There was no way that he was going to
tap and there was no way that he was going to make it easy for
Carwin to knock him into unconsciousness. He was going to keep
fighting and keep fighting until Carwin knocked him into unconsciousness
and Carwin was going to have to blast through Brock’s defense
to get him into unconsciousness.
Listen,
you know, they said he doesn’t have a chin. Those people
can shut the [expletive] now. They said he can’t take punishment.
Those people can shut the [expletive] up now. He took the best
that Carwin out and THEN HE CHOKE HIM OUT. And I’ll give
Carwin, MY GOD, I mean you talk about credit, he held his own
wrestling Brock. I mean, he was out striking in the first round.
I mean, Carwin, MY GOD, what an animal and I look forward to
seeing his next fight but not quite as much as I look seeing
to Brock Lesnar’s next fight.”
DANNY
ACOSTA: “Can you tell us about what it was like last night?
Brock mentioned, here at the post-fight press conference, you
guys watched his last match with Bill Goldberg and the other
side of Brock Lesnar, you know the guy who just hangs out and
you know isn’t that stern figure that we all figure.”
PAUL
HEYMAN: “Oh, no, no, he’s that stern figure but he’s
a… he’s everything that you see inside that cage and
he is a drive, focused, obsessive athlete and he wants to be
the best in the world. His motivation for being the best in the
world is to feed his family, it’s not ego-driven because
now he goes home and now he becomes a husband and a father and
he’s not going to be sitting there and watching himself
in all his glory because his glory is going to be to play with
his son Turk and to watch his wife give birth to his new son
in a couple of weeks. So, what was it like last night? We just
keep it real loose around him. I mean, when you’re somebody’s
friend and I learned this from my friends, the best way to be
someone’s friend to say, listen, if you need me to just
get out of your way, I’m out of your way. You want me to
be with you, I’m with you, you know, I’ll give you
as much space as you want and I’ll be here as close as you
want me to be and he just wanted to be surrounded by people who
cared about him and he cared about and Bill Goldberg came over
with WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL wife Wanda and we all had dinner and
you know the whole team was there and we just watched some TV
and you know kept it real loose and then he just did some stretching
and went to bed. You know, it’s been that whole way this
week. What he did this week more than any other week was that
he paced his energy, you know, you’re usually a couple of
days before the fight I’ll talk to him on the phone and
he’ll be like, YEEEEEEAAAAH HHHHHHHOW YOU DOING?!?! you
know and this week he was loose up until about, uh, about 10
minutes before we got to the arena when we hit traffic and you
know you started to hear him clear his throat, he’s ready
to clear his throat, and you know, OK, it’s kicking in?
YEEEAH, YOU KNOW, HOPE THEY GET OUT OF OUR WAY SOON! OK, you
know… but that’s him as an athlete, you know, he’s
a game day player and more so than any other time in his life
this week he was a game day player.”
DANNY
ACOSTA: “Brock Lesnar versus Cain Velasquez is the next
fight for Brock. Give us your thoughts.”
PAUL
HEYMAN: “My thoughts are Cain Velasquez is a different type
of fighter than Shane Carwin. I mean, he is every bit the wrestler
that anybody else in the UFC is. And he’s an interesting,
he’s a very interesting guy. He brings a different dynamic
to the Octagon. And so Brock’s training will be different
for Cain Velasquez than it was for Shane Carwin. You know, Shane
Carwin looked to me like he was 280 pounds. And obviously the
strategy behind that was for him to not get muscled around by
Brock and to push Brock up against the cage and I’ll give
Shane Carwin and his team all the credit in the world. That’s
exactly what they did! He defended himself well against Brock
in the first round and he was going with Brock muscle-for-muscle
and he got him up against the cage and I mean, you got to give
him all the credit in the world for that. You have to give Brock
all the credit in the world for surviving it and coming back
and choking him out. Velaquez is different. Velasquez is much
faster than Shane Carwin and he’s a much more dangerous
wrestler in certain ways than Shane Carwin and his defense is
different than Shane Carwin, so… I think the thing that
has happened here with Brock is that he has the best team in
the world. Marty Morgan is the best coach. As much as you know
you talk about in football, it would be Bill Parcells or you
know all the legendary coaches in baseball, yeah yeah, you know.
I think Marty’s there because Marty has taken his NCAA Heavyweight
champion and that’s his star athlete and he’s a head
coach. Comprido… I mean, where do you think that choke came
from? It came from Comprido. Where do you think the half-crucifix
against Frank Mir came from? It came from Comprido. Peter Welch
has made all the difference in the world. I mean, Peter Welch
has just, you know, added speed and a stance and everything else
to Brock’s game. And you know there are so many members
of that team and they all deserve just a ton of credit because
each one of them plays a pivotal part and that’s also a
lot of credit to Brock because he put together, I mean he spends
more money on his team than any fighter in the world and there’s
no boxer that has this many people around him. He has a Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu coach. he has a strength & conditioning coach.
He has a boxing coach in Peter Welch. He has Marty running the
whole show. I mean, my God, I mean how many people does this
guy have on payroll, you know?”
DANNY
ACOSTA: “Any last word for fans?”
PAUL
HEYMAN: “Which fans are we talking about? Are we talking
about wrestling fans or are we talking about UFC fans? Well,
it seems all the wrestling fans are coming over to the UFC, so
and with Brock Lesnar here, who can really blame them?”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Lesnar
takes home 475K dollars
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Brock
added a bunch more of this to his bank account
The Nevada State Athletic Commission released the salaries for
UFC 116. The biggest earner was heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
On top of his 400k purse, the giant also received a bonus for
submission of the night, an arm-triangle on Shane Carwin, worth
an extra 75 grand. It’s worth noting that some of fighters
on the card receive cuts of the pay-per-view broadcast revenues,
which doesn’t figure into the sums released by the athletic
commission.
Here’s
a list of the payouts for UFC 116:
Brock
Lesnar: US$400,000 + US$75,000 (best submission)
Shane Carwin: US$40,000
Chris
Leben: US$86,000 + US$75,000 (fight of the night)
Yoshihiro Akiyama: US$45,000 + US$75,000 (fight of the night)
Chris
Lytle: US$52,000
Matt Brown: US$10,000
Stephan
Bonnar: US$50,000 + US$75,000 (fight of the night)
Krzysztof Soszynski: US$10,000 + US$75,000 (fight of the night)
George
Sotiropoulos: US$24,000
Kurt Pellegrino: US $25,000
Brendan
Schuab: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
Chris Tuchscherer: $12,000
Ricardo
Romero: US $16,000
Seth Petruzelli: US $10,000
Kendall
Grove: US $50,000
Goran Reljic: US $5,000
Gerald
Harris: US $20,000 + US$75,000 (best knockout nocaute)
David Branch: US $6,000
Daniel
Roberts: US $12,000
Forrest Petz: US $6,000
Jon
Madsen: US $16,000
Karlos Vemola: US $8,000
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Keiichi
Sasahara Explains Alistair Overeem's Absence
By Daniel
Herbertson
DREAM Executive Producer Keiichi Sasahara met with the press
Thursday to attempt to clarify the on-again, off-again situation
regarding Alistair Overeem's participation at DREAM.15. Well,
clarify is probably the wrong word.
"Towards
the end of the negotiations, because of reasons that I am not
able to tell you, although the two fighters agreed to fight,
it happened that these fighters could not fight. It's not because
of money, but if the reasons are something that I cannot tell
you then you might be able to guess what they would be. Because
of that, we are not able to have these two fighters fight."
Ricco
Rodriguez was at no point mentioned by Sasahara as Overeem's
opponent. Instead, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski
was planned.
Sasahara's
full statement after the break.
"We
really wanted Alistair [Overeem] to fight. Today, unfortunately
it is not happening so we will only have seven fights. I have
to apologize to the fans who have been looking forward to seeing
Alistair fight in Japan. I'm sorry.
"I
just want to you explain to you the background of this. Alistair
was supposed to fight Andrei Arlovski and they actually both
agreed, we were ready to make an official announcement and then
of course then the contractual agreement needed to be signed
by both fighters. However towards the end of the negotiations,
because of reasons that I am not able to tell you, although the
two fighters agreed to fight, it happened that these fighters
could not fight. It's not because of money, but if the reasons
are something that I cannot tell you then you might be able to
guess what they would be. Because of that, we are not able to
have these two fighters fight.
"So
Alistair was supposed to fight at DREAM.15 and we were trying
to find new fighters or other fighters for Alistair. We offered
the Alistair fight to many different fighters, but Alistair was
motivated to Arlovski. Arlovski is not an easy fighter to find
a replacement for. And again, we were not able to find a replacement.
"Alistair
was supposed to fight Arlovski and we didn't know who was going
to be the winner. The winner was then supposed to fight at DREAM.16
in September for the heavyweight championship. But that scenario
is now gone. We need to think about whether we will have the
championships anyway. Maybe we will move to plan B. In any case,
we would like to plan some other fighters for Alistair in the
future.
"I
think there is a possibility [that the fight will happen in the
future]. You know, these two fighters, personally agreed [to
fight]. But that didn't happen. Of course we want these two fighters
to fight in the future, it would be a great fight. However when
we think about fighter's feelings, they might not want to think
about it for a while so maybe we should give them some time."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Nogueira
on Sonnen: He’s Not a ‘Real Challenger’ to Anderson
by Gleidson
Venga
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira doesn’t care for Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen
challenges Anderson Silva for the UFC middleweight title Aug.
7 at UFC 117 in Oakland, Calif. Silva is a training partner of
Nogueira and his brother, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and that
fact seems to have brought the twins into Sonnen’s unique
ability for hyping fights.
“He’s
got a black belt under the Nogueiras,” Sonnen said of Silva
during a June UFC Fight Club Q&A. “I think a black belt
under the Nogueiras is saying, like, ‘I got a free toy in
my Happy Meal.’ I don’t really understand what the
big deal is. One of ’em’s a punching bag, and the other
one I just ignore; he’s really irrelevant.”
Of
course, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is a former UFC and Pride heavyweight
champion, and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is the No. 6-ranked light
heavyweight in the world.
“I
think he's just talking nonsense,” Rogerio said in an interview
conducted in June. “He is not even a real challenger to
Anderson. I think other fighters have done much more in the division,
such as Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt, whom he won against, Demian
Maia, who played with him like a child, and Vitor Belfort. He
is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. He will take a beating from
Anderson, who will beat him like a child, will beat his ass and
will shut his mouth.”
Rogerio
believes that Sonnen is just trying to get inside Silva’s
head.
“He
knows Anderson will beat him and he is enjoying his 15 minutes
of fame, knowing that it will end,” Rogerio said. “He
has no qualifications to compete for the belt -- that's the truth.
He doesn’t have good boxing or ground, only good wrestling.”
If
Sonnen is trying to throw Silva off his game, Rogerio doesn’t
believe it will work.
“Anderson
is on another level,” Rogerio said. “He is not worried.
He knows that the guy is doing it for attention. He hopes that
Anderson will lose his control and blow up. It’s the only
chance he has since Anderson is technically much better than
him.”
Source: Sherdog
|
BJ
Penn’s Jiu-Jitsu coach talks training
By Guilherme
Cruz
Responsible for Jiu-Jitsu trainings of BJ Penn since 1999, Renato
“Charuto” Veríssimo is confident for the next
fight of the Hawaiian, trying to recover his lightweight belt
of UFC against his tormentor Fankie Edgar, on UFC 118. “When
the athlete looses, he always brings an extra willingness to
make a good comeback… Everything makes us believe the result
will be better this time”, predicts the black belt, who
commented about the reinforcement brought by Bibiano Fernandes
and Robinho Moura on BJ trainings and a lot more.
How are BJ Penn trainings going?
Fine, he’s healthy now. On his last fight, he had some healthy
issues, but now he’s cool. He’s training a lot and
there are some guys like Bibiano (Fernandes) and Robinho (Róbson
Moura) coming to stay here for a while and help his training.
He’s fine, cool and, like I said, healthy. Everything makes
us believe the result will be better this time.
BJ has always defended his belt and now he gets in this fight
as the challenger. How is his motivation for this new combat?
When the athlete looses, he always brings an extra willingness
to make a good comeback. Usually when you have the belts and
only has to defend it, you lose you excitement because there’s
no bigger goal, so now he’s fine. As I said, he’s healthy
now, has a good state of mind, is doing a lot of ground training,
and it’ll be very important for his fight, so let’s
see. Everything is going just fine.
The ground training is very hard now with Bibiano and Robinho,
right?
The guys are enjoying coming here and do this training here in
Hawaii, the place is the best on earth to train, in my opinion.
The trainings are great, is very good to have people from their
caliber training here, that was what he needed and there are
other guys coming two weeks from now, so, if that what God wants,
he’ll be ready for this fight not only on the Jiu-Jitsu,
but in all areas of MMA.
What are your expectations for this second fight between him
and Frankie Edgar?
Let’s
see. If he catches the guy on the third round with a rear naked
choke, don’t be surprised (laughs).
Source: Tatame
|
Benson
Henderson: Who’s Next?
By Frank
Curreri
Benson
Henderson can only guess who his next opponent will be, yet the
WEC lightweight champ isn’t sweating the suspense. He presumes
his next challenger will emerge from a formidable quartet of
foes: either Shane Roller, Anthony Pettis, Kamal Shalorus or
Jamie Varner will likely get the nod.
The
26-year-old Arizonan might not be so in the dark about his second
title defense had the outcome of the recent Jamie Varner-Kamal
Shalorus clash been more definitive. Though Henderson adjudicated
Varner the winner of the riveting, back-and-forth affair –
by a two rounds to one margin – he professed that there
was “no disappointment on my end” that the bout was
ruled a draw.
“I
know that Sean Shelby (the WEC matchmaker) will give me the best
guy available, the guy who has separated himself from the pack,”
said the champ, who won the title from Varner in January and
defended it three months later with a first-round submission
over Donald Cerrone.
So
let’s be honest, Ben, which of the four men would pose the
toughest stylistic matchup for you?
“They
all present special difficulties for myself,” he said, proceeding
to break each fighter down:
“Anthony
Pettis, he would be tough because he’s a little bit wild,
you don’t know what he’s bringing – it could be
a low kick, could be a high kick, it could be a flying triangle
and he has good submissions.”
“Shane
Roller would be a tough fight because his boxing has been improving.
His standup and hands have been getting better. And you can watch
the tape of our fight, he did hit me and hurt me in our fight,
he actually dropped me before I came back and turned the tables.
And his wrestling is top-notch and he’s a great grappler
who has beaten Gomi and other high-level jiu-jitsu guys.
“Jamie
Varner is a great wrestler with good, clean crisp boxing that
you’ve got to be aware of.”
“Kamal
Shalorus would be a great fight because that guy is tough as
nails. Jamie Varner wound up breaking his hand on Kamal’s
face, so that’s a tough cat right there. He has one-punch
knockout ability and swings for the fences. If he touches you,
you’re probably going to sleep. He’s perhaps one of
the best wrestlers in all of MMA.”
But
are Shalorus and Varner deserving of a title shot, coming off
a draw?
“That’s
a tough, very tricky question,” Henderson said, seeming
to choose his words carefully. “It would be tough to argue
that Jamie and Kamal are not deserving … but let’s
see how good Anthony Pettis and Shane Roller look and what they
bring to the table in their next fights.”
Incidentally,
what does Henderson think of Varner’s recent comments that
equated Henderson dethroning him with hitting the lottery?
“I
wasn’t aware of that,” he said. “I try not to
pay attention to what another fighter says. It’s completely
understandable; he’s a fighter. He should think that he’s
the best on the planet. It got proved otherwise when we danced
together, but he’s entitled to his own opinion and I’m
not going to have any ill will against him. If I got lucky, and
hit the lottery…isn’t that the American Dream, to hit
the lottery?”
Henderson
and his fiancée are slated to get married in August in
Hawaii and he doesn’t expect to return to the Octagon until
September or later. In the meantime, he has been refining his
techniques at the gym and is looking forward to two summer matchups
in particular: BJ Penn’s rematch vs. Frankie Edgar and Kenny
Florian vs. Gray Maynard. Henderson has sparred and trained with
both Penn and Florian in the past.
“Frankie
Edgar is a great fighter and he did what he had to do to win
the first fight in the judges’ eyes but I’m taking
BJ by (thrashing) in the rematch. I’m taking my boy Kenny
– both he and BJ are my boys -- so I’m a bit biased.
Kenny vs. Gray is an interesting match. I see it as a super-technical
fight boxing and standup-wise. I think Kenny will have a few
tricks up his sleeve that he will unveil in that fight."
Source: WEC
|
The
MMA athlete's foot in mouth disease
By Jake Rossen
Darryl Dennis/Icon SMI
Does Josh Barnett look like a man who thinks before he speaks?
It's
not worth repeating, but a quick Internet search will get you
a highly sketchy fight prediction from Josh Barnett for his upcoming,
utterly worthless bout against Geronimo dos Santos in Australia.
(Don't worry: I've never heard of him, either.)
Barnett
is not a dumb guy, but his investment into the swagger and theatrics
of pro wrestling is as processed and sterile as a Twinkie. The
suggestion that he'll give an unsolicited proctology exam to
dos Santos is not offensive so much as boring to hear, especially
from someone who hasn't had a fight relevant to his skills or
to the state of the heavyweight division since 2006. Speaking
as someone who will not be embarrassed to be first in line for
"Jackass 3-D," that kind of method for hyping fights
is composed entirely of bile.
Barnett
isn't alone. Either because of the advent of social networking
-- where personalities can send messages out to the world without
stopping to audit them -- or because they feel that having a
chip on their shoulder sells, there's been a steady supply of
regrettable talk. Marcus Davis skipped the HIV preamble and wished
full-blown AIDS on Dan Hardy in a Twitter message; Frank Mir
seemed to be publicly plotting the homicide of Brock Lesnar in
meticulous detail; Ken Shamrock suggested steroids be legalized
and accused fans of coercing athletes into using. (He later said
his comments were taken out of context. He was also popped for
steroids in 2009. Choose your own take on that one.)
I
don't subscribe to the idea that MMA is as all-American and carries
as much gee-whiz integrity as other sports institutions. The
goal is to beat someone up, and that attracts a particular kind
of personality. (Even if a fighter doesn't start out unhinged,
a few hundred shots to the brain tend to skew your perspective.)
But being a public personality in a sanctioned activity does
carry a minimum expectation that you won't become that much of
an eye- or ear-sore on society.
Like
it or not, an increasing number of young adults are becoming
infatuated with fighters and fighting. If their culture is shaped
by athletes either committing felonies or threatening to do so,
we're really flirting with a generation that isn't going to be
a party to live with.
Source: ESPN
|
War
Machine Replaces Blackburn Against Alessio
Lemoore, Calif. - John Alessio didn't stress too much over his
opponent change for Friday, July 9's Tachi Palace Fights "Stars
and Strikes" mixed martial arts show at the Tachi Palace
Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif.
"I
definitely want to first just say that I hope (Brad) Blackburn
heals up soon and that I was really looking forward to that fight.
I'm very happy that Tachi Palace Fights didn't have me sitting
around waiting for an opponent and they didn't just cut the fight.
They had some one right away and I really appreciate that,"
said Alessio, who will take on War Machine in the co-main event
at the Palace.
War
Machine (11-3) will replace Blackburn, who had to withdraw from
the bout because of a cut.
"War
Machine has a good record at 11-3 and won six of his last seven
fights. I will be ready, but I don't see any problems for me
in this fight. I don't see any aspect of the game that he is
better than me at. He is a tough dude and probably come in swinging
to take my head off."
This
will be War Machine's final fight before he is scheduled to spend
a year in a San Diego jail, according to his Twitter account.
War Machine was a cast member on "The Ultimate Fighter 6"
and previously was known as Jon Koppenhaver before a legal name
change.
He
was arrested May 30 outside Thruster's Lounge in San Diego under
suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
"I'm
glad I got this fight. I need to make some money to leave with
my wife while I'm locked up. Took this fight on very short notice,
but a man's got to do what a man's got to do. Jail is going to
suck and be so boring can't wait to get out and fight again,"
said War Machine, who last saw action May 15 when he submitted
Zach Light.
"I
actually trained with Alessio all last year at Xtreme Couture.
He's a well-seasoned vet, real tough with great skills. We had
many good sparring sessions the last year. I remember back when
I was a youngster; before I ever started fighting I saw him fight
in the UFC. John was young, but did great. I thought wow this
dude is going to be good," War Machine added.
Tickets
can be purchased at www.tachipalace.com or charge by phone at
1-800-225-2277. Tickets may also be purchased at the Tachi Palace
Gift Shop and start at a low price of just $30 for general admission
seating.
If
you can't attend the fights you can watch them live on GoFightLive.tv
at 6 p.m. PST. Cost of the stream is just $9.99.
In
the main event, "Razor" Rob McCullough returns to his
roots at the Palace in a catch weight bout with fast-rising star
Isaac DeJesus of Fresno, Calif. DeJesus (9-1). DeJesus is the
Tachi Palace Fights Featherweight champ and makes the jump up
in weight to take on Huntington Beach, Calif.'s McCullough (17-6)
at 160 pounds.
"I
see this fight being great. Lots of face punching and submission
scrambles. I'm looking for an early KO, so I can grab a beer
and get back to eating all the junk food I can find before going
away," War Machine said.
This
fight is a lot more pivotal in the career of Alessio (28-13),
who carries a 4-fight win streak into the contest.
"I'm
more ready than ever to fight. I've really worked a lot harder
than I ever have this last year and trying to get back to the
UFC. I'm putting everything into this and been working so hard,"
Alessio said. "This is the type of fight that I feel can
really put me back in the UFC."
The
9-bout card is also packed with three title fights, as welterweight
champ David Mitchell (10-0) of Santa Rosa, Calif. defends his
belt against Lemoore, Calif.'s Poppies Martinez (18-6) and bantamweight
title holder Cole Escovedo (16-4) of Fresno, Calif. defends against
Oakdale, Calif.'s Michael McDonald (9-1). Also, Rancho Cucamonga
Calif.'s Gabe Ruediger (16-5) and Albuquerque, N.M.'s Lenny Lovato
(8-0) battle for the Tachi Palace Fights vacant lightweight strap.
Also,
UFC veteran David Kaplan (2-3) of Las Vegas, Nev. takes on Oakland,
Calif.'s Dominique Robinson (4-4) in a lightweight tilt; Olympic
Silver Medalist Stephen Abas (1-0) of Fresno, Calif. makes his
return to the Palace in a bantamweight bout with Lemoore, Calif.'s
Joey DeLaCruz (1-0); Las Vegas, Nev. lightweight David Bollea
(2-0), who is the nephew of wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan, takes
on Visalia, Calif.'s Cody Gibson (3-0); and Coalinga, Calif.
bantamweight Francisco Loredo (4-5) fights Soledad, Calif.'s
Drew Bittner (3-0).
Source: The Fight Network
|
STRIKEFORCE
OUTLINES MIDDLEWEIGHT TOURNAMENT
by Damon
Martin
Now that the last Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields
is officially a free agent, but headed to the UFC, Strikeforce
has already started to outline a few different ways in which
they will crown a new 185-pound champion.
Most
such plans center on a tournament, whether it be a tournament
to crown a new champion or possibly crown a new champion with
a single bout first and then hold a tournament with the winner
gaining top contender status.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker spoke to MMAWeekly.com Radio recently and said
the company has already had some pretty in-depth conversations
about where they will go next now that Shields is gone.
"We
spent about three or four hours on it today, mapping out is this
a 16-man tournament? Is it an eight-man tournament? Is it a four-man
tournament? I just don't think a four-man tournament, it wouldn't
be a good representative of the talent base that we have. So
I think we'd have to go to an eight-man, maybe even a 16-man
tournament," said Coker.
"It
hasn't been decided yet, we're still trying to work out the kinks
and walk through each process, but it will probably end up being
an eight-man tournament."
Some
of the names Coker mentioned that could fill slots in the tournament
bracket include Robbie Lawler, Jason "Mayhem" Miller,
Nick Diaz, Tim Kennedy, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Benji
Radach, and Luke Rockhold.
"The
other thing too is maybe we have a fight between now and when
the tournament starts to crown a new champion, and then the tournament
champion would fight the current champion," Coker commented.
If
that's the case then a rumored fight between Ronaldo "Jacare"
Souza and Tim Kennedy for the upcoming Aug. 21 Strikeforce card
could end up being a middleweight title fight.
Coker
did say that former middleweight champion Cung Le would not be
a part of the tournament, adding that Dan Henderson also would
not participate.
The
announcement about the tournament and possible title fight are
expected to be forthcoming from Strikeforce in the next few days.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Sherk-Dunham
Agreed for UFC 119
by Loretta Hunt
Evan Dunham and Sean Sherk have verbally agreed to face off in
a lightweight contest at the yet-to-be-announced UFC 119 on Sept.
25 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Sherdog.com has learned
from multiple sources.
The
28-year-old Dunham eked past Tyson Griffin with a split decision
nod at UFC 115 on June 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The undefeated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has collected four
straight wins in the Octagon, including turns against “TUF
9” winner Efrain Escudero and Marcus Aurelio.
UFC
119 will mark Sherk’s return to the Octagon following a
16-month absence. The former UFC lightweight champion withdrew
from a scheduled bout against Jim Miller at UFC 108 last January,
after sustaining a forehead cut that required multiple stitches.
Prior
to that, the 36-year-old Minnesotan was forced to pull out of
a bout against Gleison Tibau at UFC 104 last October when he
suffered a “Grade II AC separation” in his right shoulder
while rolling with a training partner.
UFC
119 is tentatively slated to include a heavyweight bout between
Joey Beltran and “Ultimate Fighter 10” veteran Matt
Mitrione, and a lightweight bout between Jeremy Stephens and
Melvin Guillard.
The
promotion has not yet announced a headlining bout for UFC 119.
Source: Sherdog
|
Jacare–Kennedy
likely for Strikeforce title
By Guilherme
Cruz
Two years ago, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza faced Gegard
Mousasi at Dream’s middleweight tournament final, but couldn’t
take the title back to Brazil. At August 21, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
black belt will have the opportunity to win Strikeforce middleweight
belt against Tim Kennedy. Jacaré didn’t confirmed
to TATAME that the bout will be for the middleweight championship,
but sources close to the fighter informed TATAME that it’ll
be a five rounds fight for the 185lbs title. On the same night,
Rafael “Feijão” Cavalcante faces King Mo Lawal
for the light heavyweight title.
Source: Tatame
|
Chuck
Liddell's Retirement Struggle Understandable, but Won't Get Easier
By Ben
Fowlkes
If there's anybody who should understand what Chuck Liddell is
going through these days, it's Dana White. The UFC president
said this weekend that the 40 year-old Liddell remains undecided
about retirement, and apparently attending all these live MMA
events as a spectator isn't exactly helping him let it go.
"He
told me tonight the show open messed him up, watching [UFC 116]
open," White said. "This guy's in this longer than
me. He's been around forever and loves the sport. All I'm hoping
is that he makes the right decision."
Reading
those words, your heart has to break a little for the former
champion. Imagine him sitting there on fight night -- the music
blaring through the arena, the UFC highlight reel bringing the
crowd to a boil, the entire cocktail of emotions he used to live
for -- only now he's watching from the outside, struggling to
stay in his seat.
The
spirit, as they say, is willing. The body is 40 years old, and
so is the chin.
White wants him to retire because he genuinely cares about Liddell's
health. Savor that situation while you can. Promoters turning
away fighters who they could still make money off of is like
the Halley's Comet of the fight world: if you miss it once, you're
not likely to see it again in your lifetime.
But
White should be able to understand why Liddell can't hear the
UFC theme music without feeling that old familiar urge to punch
someone. In many ways, he's addicted to the same drug.
Much
like Liddell, White doesn't need the money anymore. He passed
rich a while ago and is now rounding the bend toward wealthy.
He could leave the job to someone else, spend more time with
his family and less time stressing over each day's new crisis.
He and Liddell could travel the country in an RV if they wanted
to. They'd be the rare retirees who get to enjoy their leisure
while they're still young enough to stay up past the nightly
news.
So
why don't they do it? Because they love it too much. The lights
go down and the music comes up and some chemical switch in their
brains that neither can control tells them that yes, this is
where they're supposed to be.
The
difference is, White can keep doing his job for decades to come.
Liddell's job – while more thrilling – has an expiration
date that's much harder to ignore.
We
can all understand why he finds that so hard to accept. In moving
from the cage to his cageside seats he may have only gone about
15 feet, but the emotional and psychological payoffs are miles
apart. He wouldn't be normal if he didn't feel like he's lost
something important in his life. In a way, he's lost a major
part of his identity.
The
question he has to ask himself is, what would make the transition
easier? If he won one more fight, would that do it? If he won
the title just one last time, would he then be able to relax
on fight night without feeling that urge? Is there anything more
he could really do in his career that would make him finally
feel complete enough to walk away?
Probably
not. The truth is there's no magic button you can hit to turn
those reflexes off. Maybe you never completely get rid of them.
Maybe you just learn, little by little, to ignore them. Maybe
you do it because you have no other choice. Eventually the lights
go down and the music comes up, and you have to accept that it
no longer has anything to do with you.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Comprido
and his work with Brock:
“I’ll bet my job on him!”
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
In his fight against Shane Carwin at UFC 116 it was clear Brock
Lesnar’s ground game had gone through an evolution. Lesnar
applied a tight arm-and-neck choke to submit his opponent and
remain the organization’s heavyweight champion. The giant’s
coach, Brasa black belt Rodrigo Comprido, spoke with GRACIEMAG.com
about his famous student. Check it out:
What
do you think of Lesnar winning using Jiu-Jitsu?
You
can’t succeed in MMA without knowing Jiu-Jitsu. Brock has
been training with me for two years and has evolved a lot. I
feel that was clear in his fight against Mir. In this fight he
used the right position at the right time. It was a simple position,
but we practiced it a lot, since we figured that’s where
the finish could come from. It was a great night for everybody.
Brock proved once again that he’s the best heavyweight in
the world. It was a great night for Jiu-Jitsu and for Brasa,
since in the end Ratinho and I worked with the best heavyweights
in the world (Ratinho helped Fabrício Werdum train to
face Fedor) and they won by submission.
I
read an interview where Lesnar said he was grateful for your
work. How does being recognized in this way make you feel?
Who
wouldn’t want recognition for their work? I felt great,
really happy. It made up for not having competed at the Worlds
because I opted to work and couldn’t prepare myself to compete.
I received messages of congratulations from a lot of people,
but I was especially touched by the recognition from friends
of mine like Murilo Bustamante, Pedro Rizzo, Demian Maia, Gabriel
Napão, some of Brazil’s greatest representatives
in MMA. Not to mention so many other friends and family members
I can’t even name them all.
Do you feel Lesnar will evolve in Jiu-Jitsu even more? Does he
like ground training?
Like
I said, Brock is every coach’s dream. He doesn’t complain,
he always pays attention to what we’re teaching and he’s
a born athlete. He has abnormal strength and speed. The sky’s
the limit with him, and he’ll continue to evolve for a long
time. He’s a grappler, so he loves training on the ground,
likes training as a whole a lot. And one thing you haven’t
seen yet is how he has an aggressive guard. He’ll surprise
a lot of people.
Jiu-Jitsu
had fallen out of favor with a lot of people, who said the public
likes seeing knockouts. What do you think of that?
I
think it’s stupid; what the public likes is a lively fight.
There isn’t a sport out there where the public likes seeing
apathy. Jiu-Jitsu is the most complete martial art, but it needs
to be complemented with boxing and wrestling. I don’t feel
a boxer should turn into a guard player, but it’s important
to know other martial arts. A good example of broadening one’s
knowledge is the final round between Demian and Anderson Silva,
where Demian, unable to use his Jiu-Jitsu, won the round by boxing.
What
do you think of Lesnar’s next opponent, Cain Velasquez?
Velasquez
is really tough, quick and technical. It will be a really tough,
these days there are no easy opponents. The guy beat Minotauro,
there are no better credentials than that. It will be a great
bout, everyone will see. But I’ll bet my job on Brock! (Laughs)
Anyone
wishing to get in contact, I teach class daily at Flomma here
in Chicago (www.flomma.com), and I’ll be in Brazil in August
for our BBB camp (www.compridobjj.com)
Best
regards!
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
The
pro-wrestling fraternity celebrates Brock Lesnar’s win in
the UFC
By Zach
Arnold
ARIEL
HELWANI: “What did you think about what happened just there?
Brock Lesnar defeating Shane Carwin via submission.”
JIM
ROSS: “Well, I tell ya, I was worried in the first round
but I know Brock’s got great guts and determination. He’s
got a renewed spirit about his life and we saw that. I don’t
know of any other heavyweight in MMA that would have endured
the first round against a great fighter like Shane Carwin other
than Brock Lesnar. So, I’m really proud of Brock.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “How about everything he had to go through this
past year, to see him go out there so happy and humble. How does
that make you feel?”
JIM
ROSS: “Well, he’s a changed man. He’s still the
baddest S.O.B. on the planet. He’s right about that until
somebody changes it, but he’s got a different outlook and
it’s a healthier outlook for him. And now that everything
is on the same page, he’s quite the specimen.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Can anyone stop him?”
JIM
ROSS: “No one’s unbeatable and he realizes that. And
that’s why he’ll continue to train. No one is unbeatable,
especially in the UFC Heavyweight division. But Brock Lesnar
is an animal and he is a rare breed, I’ll tell you.”
If
you get a chance, watch the entire video. Watching the respect
that Steve Austin and Bill Goldberg pay Brock Lesnar here is
surreal, especially if you remember the match the three men were
involved at MSG for Wrestlemania. Jim Ross was fired up. All
of these guys were fired up, especially Paul Heyman.
I
thought the message Paul Heyman had at the end of the video for
the people currently running the ship in the American pro-wrestling
scene was a message that a lot of fans would love to say to someone
like Vince McMahon. (Heyman also buried Steve Mazzagatti during
the interview.)
What’s
fascinating to watch is just how into UFC and MMA in general
these guys are. You see that passion and it’s not a feeling
you see in pro-wrestling any more.
On
a side note, I wonder who will give Jim Ross a chance to do play-by-play
for an MMA show…
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Lesnar-Carwin
a fitting finish to a special night
LAS
VEGAS – It was already an epic night, long before Brock
Lesnar and Shane Carwin made the short trek from the locker room
to the cage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for their heavyweight
championship match in the main event of UFC 116.
Brock Lesnar recovered after taking a beating in the first round.
(Eric Jamison/AP)
A
sellout crowd of more than 16,000 and a pay-per-view audience
that Ultimate Fighting Championship officials expect to soar
well past 1 million purchases watched a night of jaw-dropping
fights, one seemingly surpassing the other.
And
then into the cage walked Lesnar, off for 51 weeks following
an intestinal ailment that nearly ended his career and which
had the potential to end or significantly alter his life.
Lesnar
retained his championship with an improbable second-round submission,
forcing a winded Carwin to tap to an arm triangle choke, sending
a crowd that included his one-time WWE pals such as Dwayne “The
Rock” Johnson, Paul Heyman and “Stone Cold” Steve
Austin into a frenzy.
The
crowd had been at a fever pitch for most of the night as the
fighters seemed to be playing a game of “Can you top this?”
UFC president Dana White was emotionally spent by the time the
main event ended and, after presenting Lesnar with his belt,
retreated to his dressing room backstage.
“This
show nearly gave me a heart attack,” White said. “I
went to the back. I walked right out of the Octagon into my back
room back there and sat down. I thought they were going to have
to bring a defibrillator back there. Seriously, that’s how
messed up I was after the show. I was blown away. I needed a
nap.”
Fights
between Chris Lytle and Matt Brown, Stephan Bonnar and Krzysztof
Soszynski, and Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama had made it
a special night long before it was time for the main event.
But
when Lesnar walked to the cage, it was deafening inside the MGM
Grand. As the champion soaked in the scene, thoughts of what
he’d been through in the past six months swirled through
his head.
“The
last year, this has been a roller-coaster ride all over the place,”
Lesnar said.
In
Carwin, he faced a man with enormous punching power who had won
all 12 of the bouts he’d had by knockout, none going longer
than the three minutes and 49 seconds it took to dispose of former
champion Frank Mir at UFC 111 on March 27 in Newark, N.J.
Within
seconds on Saturday, however, it was nearly over. Carwin hit
Lesnar with a left hook and the 265-pound behemoth, who’d
looked practically invincible in thrashing Mir a year earlier,
staggered back to the cage, clearly in desperate trouble.
“Hurricane
Katrina,” said Lesnar, describing the sequence in which
he nearly lost his belt. “He hit me pretty good and I ended
up on the ground. I had to go into survival mode and stay busy.
I really have to thank the referee [Josh Rosenthal] for allowing
that thing to go on.”
For
a while, it seemed a dubious decision as Carwin rained punches
and elbows upon Lesnar, who just tried to keep moving to prove
to Rosenthal that he was still intelligently defending himself.
White
was angry when he saw Rosenthal in the cage before the main event
and asked UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta how Rosenthal got the fight
instead of Herb Dean, who he regards as the best referee in the
history of mixed martial arts.
But
Rosenthal showed good judgment and didn’t overreact, as
many young referees might have in such a high pressure, high-profile
situation. He was proven correct when Lesnar survived and then
came back to choke out Carwin at 2:19 of the second round.
“Josh
Rosenthal was fantastic and I want to apologize for badmouthing
him before he did anything wrong,” White said.
It
would have only put a small damper on the night if Rosenthal
had stopped it early, because Carwin is arguably the sport’s
hardest puncher and he was hammering Lesnar.
More
than that, though, it came on a night when the fights were stellar
and more than delivered on White’s pre-fight promise of
“a sick night of fights.” Leben, fighting just two
weeks after a victory over Aaron Simpson across town at the Palms
on “The Ultimate Fighter 11” finale, upset Akiyama
by forcing him to tap to a triangle choke with just 20 seconds
left in a dead-even fight as the fans in the crowd stood on their
feet and roared.
Leben’s
career was foundering prior to the Simpson fight. He’d lost
two of his last three and his job would have been in jeopardy
if he had lost to Simpson.
Instead,
he stopped Simpson impressively, then accepted a spot that opened
on UFC 116 when Wanderlei Silva had to pull out of the Akiyama
fight with knee and rib injuries.
After
beating Akiyama, he’s now in the mix in the middleweight
division. Winning was significant to him, but he was just as
interested in pleasing the crowd.
“I
hate to say this, but in my mind, we’re entertainers,”
Leben said. “That’s really what we’re here for.
This is to put on a show. Actually, Akiyama, when I was doing
the double punch, I looked up and he was smiling at me. I know
he knew it, too. He was like, ‘Yeah, we’re in a fight.
This is good. We’re going to get Fight of the Night.’
“I
do think about it. I want people to say Chris Leben always comes
out to fight.”
On
this night, after the first couple matches – which were
exceptionally dull – things picked up and nearly everyone
came into the cage with Leben’s attitude.
Carwin
came to fight and seemed as if he was about to do to Lesnar what
he had done to so many others: overwhelm him with punching power.
Lesnar,
though, had other ideas.
“It’s
been a crazy year, but I wasn’t going home without this
thing,” Lesnar said, patting his championship belt.
It
was a crazy and entertaining night up until the very end. Lesnar,
a powerhouse wrestler, wound up submitting Carwin, defying White’s
pre-fight words when he guaranteed the match wouldn’t end
in submission.
That
he saw the opening for the submission showed his growth as a
fighter in just his sixth fight. He credited his jiu-jitsu coach,
Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros, for helping him to evolve
as a fighter.
“I’m
not even sure how to pronounce it,” Lesnar said of the hold’s
technical name.
No
one cared, not after a night in which there were numerous candidates
for the $75,000 bonuses that the UFC gave out for Fight of the
Night (Leben-Akiyama), Knockout of the Night (Gerald Harris)
and Submission of the Night (Lesnar).
White,
who loves to hit the Las Vegas night clubs after the cards, was
worn out from cheering and begged off a night on the town, choosing
instead to go home and hit the sack early.
“After
the weigh-ins, we get all the guys in a back room and I talk
to them about being exciting,” White said. “But in
10 years of being in this business, I’ve never seen guys
deliver like they did tonight. Tonight was incredible.”
Lesnar
and Carwin simply finished a memorable night with yet another
memorable fight.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
White:
Liddell will never fight in UFC again
There’s
going to be an interesting discussion at the dinner table in
Las Vegas tonight.
Former
UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell, depending on his
position, may be in for the most difficult fight of his career
when he sits down to chat with friend and UFC president Dana
White.
The
topic of conversation is a subject that has been at the forefront
of the mixed martial arts world since Liddell suffered a first-round
knockout loss at the hands of former middleweight champion Rich
Franklin last month in Vancouver: Should Chuck Liddell unlace
his gloves for the final time?
The
loss to Franklin was the 40-year-old former champion’s fifth
in his last six fights. And four of those losses were by way
of knockout.
The
consensus? Chuck’s chin ain’t what it used to be.
“Anybody
who has been in this sport long enough remembers you used to
be able to hit him in the face with a crow bar. You couldn’t
even wobble him. That’s not the case anymore,” commented
White.
Still,
as recently as Thursday morning at the unveiling of a wax figure
of Liddell at the Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Las Vegas,
Liddell told MMAWeekly.com he was undecided on his future.
“We’ll
talk to Dana today and go in there and try to make some more
ideas about what I want to do. I’m not sure. Isn’t
anything decided yet. I’m gonna have to talk to him about
it,” said Liddell.
It’s
hard for any athlete that has competed at the highest levels
to call it a day, and Liddell has defied White’s pleas for
retirement before, talking his boss into what became the Franklin
fight at UFC 115.
“He
won’t do it again. He cannot do it again,” stated White
after the UFC 116 pre-fight press conference on Thursday. “He
said, ‘Listen, I didn’t take it serious. I didn’t
this and that. I’m gonna train for this one.’ We had
that conversation.
“He
kept his word and he did everything like he said he would do.
He looked phenomenal (against Franklin). My problem isn’t
with Chuck Liddell getting in shape or any of that other stuff.
My problem is Chuck’s chin.”
But
in a sport overflowing with testosterone, it can be the most
difficult decision of a fighter’s life to know when its
time to take off the gloves, lay them in the center of the cage,
and walk away.
Liddell
is no different. He has recently made public comments that he’s
just not sure that he can do that yet. If that’s the tact
he takes in talking with White, it could be a fiery conversation.
It’s
not that Liddell isn’t a viable commodity, far from it.
He’s one of the hottest properties ever in the sport.
“Can
Chuck Liddell still make money? Could I make money off Chuck
Liddell? Yes,” White said, before declaring, “I don’t
want that money. I don’t want to make that kind of money.
I’m not interested in that.”
White
even went so far as to say that if push came to shove, and Liddell
was adamant about fighting again… somewhere… anywhere…
he’d probably let it happen.
“I
guess if he asked me to release him… I’d release him.”
Unless
Liddell has the magic in him to sway White one more time, the
UFC president was definitive in his position on the Iceman’s
fight career.
“He’ll
never fight in the UFC again.”
Source: Yahoo Sports |
LESNAR:
FROM THE NEXT BIG THING TO JUST THE BEST
He was once known during his days with World Wrestling Entertainment
as the "Next Big Thing". Now, Brock Lesnar is known
as the best heavyweight fighter in all of mixed martial arts.
Lesnar
may have fought the toughest battle of his life before he ever
stepped foot in the Octagon on Saturday night. A severe case
of diverticulitis almost cost the UFC heavyweight champion his
career, and could have cost him his life.
Months
of recovery time, followed by months of training and Lesnar was
back in action at UFC 116, pulling off his most impressive victory
yet submitting Shane Carwin in the 2nd round of their epic fight
at UFC 116.
It
was billed as the biggest heavyweight title bout in UFC history,
and it absolutely lived up to all the hype.
The
best finisher of the big boys in the UFC, Shane Carwin came out
firing at Lesnar, and cracked the champion with a big uppercut
that sent him reeling backwards against the cage. The Colorado
born fighter followed up with more strikes, and Lesnar soon found
himself in very unfamiliar territory.
On
his back eating punches from an opponent.
Throwing
punch after punch, and mixing in with some vicious elbow strikes,
Carwin smelled blood in the water, and tried to get the finish.
To his credit, Lesnar stayed composed, and admitted after the
fight that with each punch he felt Carwin's power fading.
"I
just had to weather the storm. He's got some heavy shots. I just
had to hang back, I knew he was getting tired, each shot was
less dramatic than the other, and I thought I'll just let him
go," Lesnar commented about the first round.
Lesnar
did weather the storm, and for the first time in his career Shane
Carwin saw the second round.
Like
turning the page to a new chapter in a book, Lesnar had a different
idea for the fight this time, and immediately shot in on Carwin,
putting the mammoth heavyweight on his back. Showing off his
ground skills, Lesnar quickly moved to mount, and made a fluid
transition to an arm triangle choke.
It
looked like Carwin was okay at first, but Lesnar wasn't giving
up that easily. The behemoth South Dakota native tightened his
grip like a python around Carwin's head and arm, and a few seconds
later the tap came, and the fight was over.
After
a year away from the sport, after almost having to give up everything
he had worked for because of an illness, Brock Lesnar showed
what grit, determination and sheer will can do for someone.
"This
isn't about me tonight," said Lesnar following the victory.
"This is about my family, this is about my doctors, this
is about my training partners, my training staff. I am blessed
by god. Ladies and gentlemen I stand before you a humble champion,
and I'm still the toughest SOB around."
While
Lesnar celebrated the biggest win of his career, Shane Carwin
sat in disappointment falling to 12-1 and tasting defeat for
the first time ever.
"Brock's
a tough son of a bitch man. He took that ground and pound like
nobody else," Carwin stated. "I fell down a mountain,
but I'll climb back up."
Lesnar's
comeback is nothing short of awe inspiring, and he proved once
again that he is the best of the best. The celebration of his
win at UFC 116 will carry all the way from Las Vegas back to
his home in Minnesota, but then he turns his attention to another
undefeated beast waiting in the wings by the name of Cain Velasquez.
Source: MMA Weekly |
CARWIN
TAKEN TO HOSPITAL FOR PRECAUTION
Following the biggest fight in the history of the UFC's heavyweight
division, champion Brock Lesnar had to stop and get some stitches
over his eye from a cut opened by opponent Shane Carwin, while
Carwin had to make a trip to the hospital.
The
Colorado fighter was taken to a local hospital in Las Vegas for
precautionary reasons following the fight at UFC 116, but UFC
president Dana White says he doesn't believe it was anything
serious.
"He
went back there, and I think he was more fatigued and upset,
was hyperventilating and they were going to take him to the hospital,"
said White following the show.
"I
don't think there's anything seriously wrong with him."
Carwin
was seconds away from winning the fight with Lesnar after he
rocked him with a big uppercut in the first round, and went to
the ground looking for the finish. Somehow, Lesnar survived and
battled back in the second round to snatch an arm triangle choke
to get the win.
While
at the hospital, Carwin took to his Twitter account to let everyone
know he was doing okay, and he's already plotting his return.
"I
am fine just getting checked out at the hospital," said
Carwin. "I'll be back."
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
HIRES LEADERSHIP TO OPEN CHINA OFFICE
The UFC’s global expansion has become a business in and
of itself lately, and the next stop for the promotion will be
in China.
Just
weeks after the UFC opened an office in Canada – with former
CFL commissioner Tom Wright leading the charge – the company
hired a leader for a new office in China, which should open in
the next few weeks.
"I'll
make that announcement soon. We just hired somebody today, literally
today," White said on Saturday night.
The
office will be on mainland China, but no other details were revealed.
The
plan came together pretty quickly though according to White,
and they plan on being aggressive expanding into the Chinese
market.
"We're
working on China right now. We're opening an office there immediately,"
he stated. "We're moving fast in China."
A
big part of the promotion’s move into China has been facilitated
by its new partnership with Flash Entertainment in Abu Dhabi.
Flash is a company owned by the Abu Dhabi government, which already
has strong ties in China, including in the mixed martial arts
world.
The
possibilities of business in China are limitless. The National
Basketball Association, in conjunction with Disney/ESPN and The
Bank of China, recently invested $253 million to launch NBA China.
Nike currently has a $400 million dollar business in China that
has expanded at 12 to 15 percent annually.
The
UFC has plans to move into China first, and then expand into
India and South Korea.
Ironically,
Nike targeted India after China for its global expansion as well.
India currently has the fastest population growth rate, even
more so than China.
The
UFC has been successful in every other area they've expanded
to, and in sheer numbers, the 1.3 billion people currently residing
in China indicate that this could be the biggest expansion the
promotion has made yet.
Source: MMA Weekly |
JAKE
SHIELDS CONTRACT ON THE UFC FAST TRACK
Welcome to the UFC Jake Shields.
It
appears we are only days away from making that statement a reality.
Shields is likely just a few contract points away from officially
moving to the UFC.
After
being released from the remaining restrictions under his contract
with Strikeforce on Wednesday, Shields and his manager have begun
negotiations with the MMA juggernaut. UFC president Dana White
confirmed talks and hopes to have a deal done very soon.
"We're
working it out. Yeah, we'll get it done," said White when
talking about Shields. "I don't see why it doesn't get done
quickly."
Word
from sources close to the fighter's camp is that final contract
signings could take place as early as next week after the UFC
wraps up its event in Las Vegas this weekend.
As
for Shields' debut in the Octagon, White believes that while
he was the best of the best at 185 pounds for Strikeforce, he'd
be best served to return to his more natural welterweight division
in the UFC.
"I
think he should come in at 170 pounds. Our 185-pound division
is nasty," White stated.
"Why
would you want to come into that (middleweight) division? I know
Anderson dominates so much, but you've got Nate Marquardt in
there, there's some tough guys in that division, and he's not
a big 85-pounder. The real 85-pounders are cutting down from
215 to make that weight, so I would say 170."
Still,
White gave Shields a lot of credit for a dominant win over Dan
Henderson, who was a top contender at 185 pounds when he fought
in the UFC.
"On
the flipside you've got to give the guy his credit, he beat Dan
Henderson," said White. "Dan Henderson fought at 185
and 205, so if he told me he wanted to go to 85, I wouldn't argue
with him."
Shields
has expressed interest in fighting at both weight divisions,
but the first order of business is to close the deal with the
UFC.
Source: MMA Weekly |
"WE'RE
GOING TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF JAMES TONEY"
Throughout his history as UFC president, Dana White has always
been a fan of putting on the best fights, the most competitive
fights, trying to stay away from putting on a fight simply for
the spectacle of it.
Now
with former boxing champion James Toney's debut just under two
months away, he admits that he's hoping to expose the boxer who
has been just itching for a chance to get in the Octagon and
prove he's better than the best mixed martial artists.
As
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar joked with White at the
UFC 116 post-fight press conference about how he was brought
into the promotion simply to be made an example of, White flipped
the script.
"No,
we're going to make an example of James Toney," he said
with a laugh.
White
knows that Toney is stepping into deep waters, facing Randy Couture
for his first MMA fight. A multi-time champion of the UFC, Couture
is a legend and UFC Hall of Famer, but the UFC president knows
that it's a fight, and in a fight anything can happen.
"James
Toney's been an accomplished fighter for many years, and he's
training in mixed martial arts now. James Toney's a real fighter,"
White stated.
"Listen,
James and I go back and forth, and he's mad at me right now,
and he's going to be even more pissed off after what I just said.
The reality is, I am not so delusional that I don't think anything
can happen when two big guys get in there and start throwing
punches. I'm sure many of you that have been in the fight business
for a long time, have seen some crazy things happen."
Toney
was in attendance at UFC 116, and met with reporters Saturday
morning. Working full time to become a mixed martial artist,
White says that Toney is training right, has his weight down,
and will be prepared for Aug. 28.
"He's
going to try to knock out Randy Couture that night," White
said. "It's become this whole UFC vs. boxing thing. I said
it before, and I'll say it again, always yapping about people
who do ‘freak shows,’ I'm doing one."
James
Toney will face Randy Couture at UFC 118 in Boston. The former
boxing champion will also be a special guest on MMAWeekly Radio
this Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Source: MMA Weekly |
HENDERSON
BACK TO 205, BABALU REMATCH LIKELY
Dan Henderson's Strikeforce debut didn't go quite the way the
former UFC and Pride fighter had hoped. After nearly knocking
out Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields in the opening
round, Henderson faded late, worn down by Shields’ takedowns
and ground and pound over the remaining rounds.
Looking
for a return to action, Henderson plans to move back to 205 pounds
after a rough weight cut made the fight against Shields that
much harder. He could be staring down a rematch with Renato "Babalu"
Sobral this fall.
The
move to light heavyweight also virtually guarantees Henderson
won't be a part of a possible Strikeforce middleweight tournament
to crown a new champion now that Jake Shields has officially
exited the promotion.
"Dan
I believe when I talked to him over the weekend, I talked to
Jordan, his manager, and they said they probably want to fight
at 205 instead of 185," said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker
when appearing on MMAWeekly.com Radio. "(They) felt that
the weight cut was too much, and Dan would welcome to fight Babalu
again, Gegard Mousasi, for a 205-pound contender's bout.
"I
don't think you'll see Dan in the 185-pound tournament, although
stranger things have happened in MMA, right?"
Mousasi
is more than likely out of the running for a possible bout with
Henderson due to his addition to the upcoming Dream Light Heavyweight
Grand Prix that kicks off on July 10. He’ll face Jake O'Brien
in the first round of that tournament.
As
far as the timing for the fight, the Aug. 21 event seems off
the table for Henderson's return, but a show in the fall would
be a likely fit for a bout between Henderson and Babalu.
"We
haven't finalized it, but I would think the top two guys, Babalu
and Gegard, depends on what happens with Gegard, but I think
a fight between Babalu and Dan is something we might pursue in
the very near future," Coker stated.
"I
don't want to disrespect, but I would like to fight (Henderson).
It's going to be 11 years since I fought him. It's a long time,
and please, it would be an honor to fight him again, to have
the chance to fight Dan Henderson," said Sobral after his
recent win over Robbie Lawler in Los Angeles.
Henderson
and Sobral met for the first time in 2000 in the Rings "King
of Kings" tournament. They fought to a decision, with Henderson
getting the nod, but this was after both fighters had already
fought two times earlier in the night.
The
rematch between Henderson and Sobral could determine a No. 1
contender for the light heavyweight title as well.
Source: MMA Weekly |
LEBEN
SUBMITS AKIYAMA, CALLS OUT WANDERLEI
Chris Leben fought just two weeks ago but didn’t hesitate
to accept a bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama on short notice when
Wanderlei Silva was forced out of the match due to injury.
Akiyama
wasn’t thrilled that Chris Leben was named as his UFC 116
replacement, let down that he wasn’t getting the opportunity
to face the legend Silva, but Leben gave the Japanese fighter
the fight of his life in the UFC 116 co-main event, winning by
submission in the waning moments of what turned out to be a war.
The
opening round was competitive with Akiyama using trip takedowns
to give him the early edge.
The
second round was and epic display of granite chins as the two
slugged it out, toe-to-toe. At one point Leben appeared to be
out on his feet, but in classic Chris Leben fashion he quickly
recovered and finished the round strong.
After
a mutual display of respect to begin the final stanza, Akiyama
wasted no time getting the fight to the ground, briefly mounting
“The Ultimate Fighter” season one alumnus. Leben worked
his way back to full guard and applied a triangle choke in the
closing moments. With 20 seconds remaining on the clock, Akiyama
was forced to tap to the submission.
Following
the fight, Leben called out the man he replaced, Wanderlei Silva.
“I
want Wanderlei,” said Leben following the fight. “Wanderlei
was supposed to have this fight. I want him next.
“I’ll
take you out too Wanderlei.”
In
his in-Octagon post-fight interview, Joe Rogan said Leben had
to be happy with the submission win over the “highly respected
ground fighter.” Leben responded, “I’m a highly
respected fighter as well. If it’s on my feet, if it’s
on the ground - When I get in here I get the job done.”
Chris
Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama earned a $75,000 Fight of the Night
bonus check for their UFC 116 performance.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Galaxy
MMA Bad Blood
Friday, August 6, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
Lightweight Grand Prix Championship Semi-Final Matches
Harris
Sarmiento (808 Top Team) VS. Jose Salgado (Roy Nelson's Gym;
The Country Club)
Kris
Kyle (808 Top Team) VS. Steve Gable (Gracie Barra)
Lightweight
Grand Prix Alternate Matches
Clay
Lewis Jr. (4WRD Fitness) VS. Jenzen Espanto (Combat 50)
Kyle
Kaahanui (Bulls Pen) VS. Chris Yee (Team Quest)
Grudge
Match
170
Pound Bout: Dirty Curty (Team Submit)VS. Brennan Kamaka (808
Top Team)
Main
Card
185
Pound Bout: Sale Sproat (Freelance) VS. Rocky Ramirez (Greg Jackson's
MMA)
135
Pound Bout: Tyson Nam (Team Quest) VS. Ian McCall (Team Oyama
MMA)
265
Pound Bout: Fabiano Scherner (Team Quest) VS. Mike Martell (Canada
Top Team)
170
Pound Bout: Walter Hao (808 Top Team) VS. Evan Lowther (M-1,
Gracie Kailua)
145
Pound Bout: Justin Wong (HMC) VS. Brandon Pieper (808 Top Team)
Amateur
Matches
125
Women's Pankration Bout: Rachael Ostovich VS. Falen Fowler (Team
Submit)
145
Pound Bout: Colin Mackenzie (God's Army) VS. George Perry (Freelance)
155
Pound Bout: Aaron Terry (HMC) VS. Fatu Tuitasi (808 Top Team)
205
Pound Bout: Keala Cristobal (Freelance) VS. Cade Phillips (Freelance)
170
Pound Bout: Dwain Pasion (Team CAT) VS. Micah Ige (Team Extreme)
230
Pound Bout: Jake Heffernan (Freelance) VS. Dustin Caulustro (Team
Stand Alone)
205
Pound Bout: Alex Steverson (Team Extreme) VS. Benji Rodrigues
(Hakuilua)
125
Pound Bout: Alika Kumukoa (Team Extreme) VS. Jacob Kauwe (Hakuilua)
|
Looking
ahead after Lesnar’s big win
LAS
VEGAS – Brock Lesnar’s journey back from a life-threatening
illness was capped with his stirring comeback victory over Shane
Carwin on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“Honest
to god, from what I’ve been though since Nov. 6 [when he
was diagnosed with diverticulitis], it feels like it’s been
10 years,” said Lesnar. “It’s been a grueling,
grueling road.”
In Brock Lesnar's next fight, his opponent's cardio won't be
a problem.
But
his journey as the UFC heavyweight champion is far from over.
In Lesnar’s next fight, he will hook it up with a very different
type of contender, undefeated Cain Velasquez (8-0).
What
worked for Lesnar on Saturday was surviving Carwin’s first-round
onslaught. As Lesnar withstood Carwin’s attack, he knew
that as long as the fight wasn’t stopped, he had four rounds
left against a tired opponent.
Velasquez
doesn’t have Carwin’s punching power, or his ability
to finish as brutally fast. But what he does have is amazing
cardiovascular conditioning. NFL legend Herschel Walker, who
has trained with Velasquez over the past year, has called Velasquez
the best conditioned athlete he’s ever seen.
Velasquez
and his trainer, Javier Mendez, were very interested spectators
at the arena on Saturday night. Mendez said he felt Lesnar proved
he was the real champion, and that he answered any questions
about his chin and resilience.
“But
I think Cain’s better in every category,” Mendez said.
“He’s got better stand-up. He’s got better conditioning.
He’s got more skill on the ground.”
And
Lesnar’s size advantage may not be all it is cracked up
to be when he meets Velasquez, at a date and time yet to be determined.
“What
people don’t realize about the size difference is that Cain
is used to facing guys the size of Lesnar [Velasquez, who fights
at 235-240 pounds, was usually the smaller man as a college heavyweight
wrestler]. I think he even has the slight edge in wrestling because
he’s younger [Velasquez turns 28 this month; Lesnar 33 next
week] and he’s never stopped competing.”
Mendez
notes that Lesnar is more explosive, and he’ll probably
have a 25-30 pound size advantage and an edge in physical power.
Dana
White said he’d have to sit down with Lesnar to plan when
the match would take place.
An
interesting aspect of a Lesnar vs. Velasquez match is its potential
effect on the UFC growth in a new market: Mexico.
White
spoke of wanting to do a show in Mexico City, but he doesn’t
know if the timing would work out for a Lesnar-Carwin fight.
The UFC has exploded in popularity on Mexican television over
the past year, but it remains well behind the boxing and pro
wrestling that have long been staples in the culture for decades.
Lesnar
is already a star in Mexico from his tenure with World Wrestling
Entertainment, not to mention the phenomenal ratings his match
with Frank Mir did on national television last summer.
The
UFC has attempted to market Velasquez as a Latino hero. Velasquez
was born in the U.S., the son of an undocumented immigrant.
Even
before Velasquez had his first UFC fight, Mendez raved about
Velasquez as the best prospect who ever walked through the doors
of the American Kickboxing Academy, one of the premier MMA gyms
in the country.
He
would note that not only did Velasquez have the physical skills
to be a champion, but that there was huge marketing potential
because there has never been a world champion heavyweight of
Mexican ancestry in a major combat sport.
“You’re
going to see Cain improving with every fight,” Mendez said.
“He is still two or three years from his peak.”
Lesnar,
though nearly 33, also hasn’t hit his peak. On Saturday,
he showed submission skills that he had never shown in the past,
and while he said he was embarrassed a little about his boxing
in the fight, he noted how hard he’s worked and how much
he’s improved on it since the last fight.
“Each
win, you’ve got to move forward,” Lesnar said. “We’ll
train and keep doing the right things. Let’s face it, I’m
a wrestler. I’m trying to evolve. It’s pretty remarkable
that I have only six fights and I’m UFC heavyweight champion.
I’ve got a lot of room to grow. I’ll be the first one
to tell you.”
When
things looked bad for Lesnar on Saturday night, he said the beating
he took was nothing worse than he’s endured in camp. But
he was scared referee Josh Rosenthal would stop it.
“There
was a time I was worried, but he [Rosenthal] came to me [before
the fight] and said if the fight gets ugly and somebody is in
a bad situation, you have to show me you’re still staying
alive,” said Lesnar. “It kept going through my mind.
Every punch felt less and less.”
“I’m
a human being,” said Lesnar. “My training partners
get me down and they beat on me. They get me down, they get me
really tired. I’ve been in those spots. The hardest part
is the training. This stuff tonight is what we live for. This
is the most awesome stuff. I don’t know if it’s better
than sex, but it’s right up there. It’s great. I enjoy
it.”
Source: Yahoo Sports |
5
Matches to Make After UFC 116
Like
many of you, UFC 116 left me needing a smoke break and a cold
shower.
Now
that we’re removed from that epic night of fights, it’s
time to start thinking about what’s next for some of the
evening’s big winners and losers.
Shane
Carwin vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic
Regardless
of his loss, Carwin did something that had come to be regarded
as impossible: He got in Brock Lesnar’s face and gave him
the big brother treatment.
Perhaps
even more importantly, Carwin gained a massive following in the
build-up to this fight and is officially a bankable commodity.
Matching him against the equally uber-popular Filipovic would
not only be money in the bank but also a true test of where these
two stand in the division.
Faded
as he may be, “Cro Cop” proved in his bout with Pat
Barry that he still has a thing or two to teach these young bucks.
Besides, there isn’t a fight fan alive who doesn’t
want to see what would happen if Carwin’s grave-digging
right hand met Filipovic’s legendary left high kick.
Chris
Leben vs. Alan Belcher
Against
all odds Leben and Belcher have transformed themselves into legitimate
middleweight contenders. The other thing they have in common
is a willingness to bite down on the mouthpiece and jump into
the fray regardless of what abyss it leads into.
There
really is no better usage for these two than to match them against
each other and let them put on some major league violence. Better
yet, the winner would be in perfect position to be slotted into
a future title eliminator.
Brendan
Schaub vs. Jon Madsen
After
three consecutive insomnia-curing wins in the UFC, it’s
becoming clear that Madsen isn’t going to get much of a
push in the increasingly dynamic heavyweight class. On the opposite
end of that spectrum is Schaub, who has been flipping the light
switch on his opponents lately.
If
Schaub is going to keep doing that against UFC-caliber competition,
he has to prove he can do it against tough, disciplined fighters
like Madsen. It may not be the most exciting match on paper,
but should Schaub ace this test, you’d be witnessing the
coming-out party for the next member of the UFC’s monster
heavyweight stable.
Gerald
Harris vs. Michael Bisping
In
fight sport you get what you earn, and Harris has earned a main
card bout against a name fighter like Bisping. Stopping three
of the best middleweight prospects in MMA all in a row is a nearly
Sisyphean feat that Harris handled with aplomb. It would be an
injustice if he doesn’t get a significant main card bout
for the work he has put in thus far.
Pitting
him against Bisping would be a fun style clash. Harris may not
have the technique to out-box the slick Brit, but his heavy hands
and explosive wrestling game make for the perfect counter.
Stick
this fight on a card in England or make it the headliner of a
Fight Night event and you’re guaranteed to walk away with
a serious title contender.
Yoshihiro
Akiyama vs. Kendall
Grove
In
all honesty, the first thing Akiyama should fight is a treadmill
-- preferably for a few months, given the dreadful conditioning
that has dogged his UFC run.
After
he learns how to keep his blood oxygenated for three rounds,
he then needs to prove that he deserves to be in the Octagon.
It’s no secret that the UFC would love for Akiyama to lead
their charge into the potentially lucrative Asian market, but
they can’t bank on him to do that at this point in time.
That’s
where Grove comes in -- a skilled and rugged gatekeeper with
just enough flaws to keep him from being a total mismatch for
Akiyama. Putting their Asian golden goose at risk yet again may
be a bitter pill to swallow for the UFC, but rebuilding the Asian
MMA market comes with a razor-thin margin for error that Akiyama
needs to prove he can handle.
Source: Sherdog |
White
on Lesnar-Velasquez, Bonnar’s Redemption, Liddell’s
Future
UFC
President Dana White has already started pushing the promotion’s
next big heavyweight attraction following Brock Lesnar’s
second-round submission victory against Shane Carwin at UFC 116
last Saturday in Las Vegas.
Lesnar,
who unified the division’s two titles after returning from
a yearlong layoff to a severe intestinal disorder, will meet
Cain Velasquez next. American Kickboxing Academy’s Velasquez
has been quietly waiting in the wings for a title shot since
he dismantled former UFC and Pride Fighting Championships champion
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110 last February in Sydney,
Australia.
White
said the bout’s date would be determinant on Lesnar, who’s
expecting another child with his wife in a couple of weeks.
“Cain
Velasquez doesn’t have that many fights either. Him and
Brock are in the same boat. That’s going to be a fun one,”
said White. “Both are good wrestlers and a lot of Cain’s
game is wrestling. Cain Velasquez is a powerhouse.”
The
outspoken UFC president said he was impressed with Lesnar’s
daring to try an arm-triangle choke on Carwin in the second round
of their bout, which eventually coaxed the Jackson-Wittman trained
fighter to tap out.
“Your
arms are smoked after (holding that move),” said White.
“It was a risky move, but he pulled it off, and it was a
ballsy move. Brock showed tonight that he’s evolving and
he’s willing to take some chances and to try out some of
the s--t he’s learning in the gym.”
White
also said that the winner of the Junior dos Santos-Roy Nelson
bout, scheduled for UFC 117 on Aug. 7 in Oakland, Calif., would
determine the division’s next title challenger following
the Lesnar-Velasquez tilt.
In
other notes:
•
White said he wasn’t convinced that UFC mainstay Chuck Liddell
has embraced a move to retirement. White reiterated that he wanted
the former light heavyweight champion, who sat cageside on Saturday,
to hang up his gloves.
“Chuck’s
having a hard time with this thing…You have to understand
this guy’s been in this thing longer than me and he loves
the sport,” said White.
The
UFC president also apologized to Liddell’s camp for accusing
them of misadvising him to continue on with a career that has
seen three straight knockout losses since September 2008. White
said Liddell’s team is looking out for the fighter’s
best interests.
•
White said “Ultimate Fighter” finalist Stephan Bonnar
redeemed himself with a gutsy performance against Krzysztof Soszynski
on Saturday.
“I
was getting worried that Stephan Bonnar was getting soft there
because he knew ‘Uncle Dana’ would always take care
of him,” said White.
The
UFC president reiterated that Bonnar and “TUF 1” cohort
Forrest Griffin would always be taken care of by the promotion,
but that either could still get cut as an active fighter after
poor showings.
•
Ecstatic with UFC 116 as a whole, White said the promotion planned
to compensate some of the night’s roster more than their
announced performance bonuses: “We’re writing checks,
more than what you heard of here tonight.” said White. “Guys
are going to get well taken care of. Tonight was the greatest
night of fights I’ve ever seen.”
•
The UFC said it would return to Australia in 2010, and has its
sights set on China, South Korea and India.
•
White announced plans to set up a UFC office in mainland China
in the coming weeks. White said the company had hired the person
to head up the new office on Saturday and that an announcement
was forthcoming. The UFC opened an office last May in Toronto
and has an existing U.K branch in London, which opened in 2006.
Source: Sherdog |
SOTIROPOULOS
WINS AGAIN, DOMINATES PELLEGRINO
The chant goes Aussie Aussie Aussie Oye Oye Oye.
Fans
will need to remember that for Australian born George Sotiropoulos
who appears here to stay, as he climbs the lightweight divisional
ranks with another big victory on Saturday, winning in a route
over Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 116.
Still
undefeated in his UFC career, Sotiropoulos has been steadily
improving with every fight, culminating with his coming out party
at UFC 110 in his home country of Australia as he dominated Joe
Stevenson. Many wondered if it was all the energy built up from
fighting in Australia, but Sotiropoulos proved he's not a flash
in the pan.
Dropping
Pellegrino early in the first round, the Aussie born fighter
showed that his stand-up has progressed just as much as his ground
game has courtesy of Eddie Bravo.
"We
had some scrambles on the ground, on the bottom, I could see
he was open, I was catching him with a lot of punches, jabs,
a lot of hooks and crosses, and when I dropped him in the first
I thought I'd be able to finish him," Sotiropoulos said
after the fight. "I could tell he was dizzy, I saw his eyes
roll back a couple times."
Sotiropoulos
stayed aggressive, but Pellegrino battled back well to stay out
of any further trouble at that moment. Unfortunately, it was
much of the same for the rest of the fight with Sotiropoulos
winning the exchanges on the feet, and using his rubber guard
to negate any of Pellegrino's attack on the ground.
With
just seconds left in the fight, Pellegrino had his best moment,
catching Sotiropoulos with a big knee that dropped the Aussie,
but the clock expired before he could unload any more damage.
The win, his seventh in a row, puts Sotiropoulos right in the
mix of the top contenders of the UFC's 155lb weight class.
"All
I've got to say is who's next?" said a confident George
Sotiropoulos after the win.
Sotiropoulos
will likely move on to a top ten fight in his next match-up as
he tries to move closer to the peak of the lightweight division.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Palhares
focused on himself, Marquardt later
With
three consecutive victories inside the UFC octagon, Rousimar
Palhares is looking for some space in the biggest MMA event on
earth. Up against the tough Nate Marquardt, his opponent on UFC
118, the Brazilian from the city of Dores do Indaiá talked
to TATAME and, with his usual humility, revealed that his main
goal is his evolution.
“I’m
not thinking about his game yet, I’m focused on my weak
points. Let’s work with him in mind nearer the fight, then
we’ll see what are his good points and weakness. Now I’m
concerned about my evolution”, Palhares said, commenting
his trainings on Brazilian Top Team. “The work is doing
great, I’m training really hard. I’m doing what I’m
used to, training my Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Boxing, Muay Thai…
I’m improving on the best possible way”, tells.
With
Murilo Bustamante back to Brazil after a season on the United
States, the middleweight has a high level training partner and
a great example to follow, once Murilo was the first Brazilian
to become a champion on Rousimar’s division on UFC. “It’s
being great, he’s following and training along with me,
since he’ll fight (on Impact FC). We’ve been training
a lot together… He’s doing great fights, he’ll
do a great comeback”, predicts, getting excited when it
comes to the possible comeback of Murilo to UFC: “It’d
be awesome (laughs)”.
HIM
WHO SAYS TOO MUCH…
Being
the next challenger for the title, Chael Sonnen won the right
to face Anderson Silva after beating Nate Marquardt, and a win
over the American can mean a huge step for Rousimar in his road
for making his dream come true. But the Brazilian is not worried
about that. “I don’t know, maybe... It can be, but
it’s all up to the boss (laughs)”, jokes, predicting
the parity on the bout between Silva and Sonnen. “It’s
50-50. When you’re up there, anything can happen”.
On
Rousimar’s opinion, the provocations of the polemic Chael
Sonnen can an overturn on the bout against Anderson on UFC 117.
“Everybody talks, but the speech changes when you’re
in there (laughs). He’s been saying too much before proving
anything. When he’ll get there, he’ll gas because he
spent too much energy on speaking (laughs)”, jokes Rousimar,
who faces Marquard on UFC 118 pay-per-view card, in Massachusetts,
USA.
Source: Tatame |
LYTLE
& BONNAR BOTH GET 2ND ROUND FINISHES
Chris Lytle is a fan of the post fight bonus checks, and he once
again made a case for that with his 2nd round submission over
Matt Brown, using a beautiful inverted triangle with an armbar
to finish the fight.
The
Indianapolis fire fighter actually fought Brown in 2007 in a
fight outside of the UFC, and finished him with a guillotine
choke in the 2nd round. It took until the second round again
this time, but Lytle was in some serious trouble in the opening
five minutes.
Scrambling
on the ground, Brown caught Lytle's head and arm in just the
right place, and he locked on a vice like grip with a D'arce
choke. The hold looked next to impossible to get out of, but
Lytle, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, showed infinite patience
and eventually forced Brown to let go.
"It
was real tight, I knew I couldn’t get out of it," said
Lytle about the choke. "I was just going to sit there, try
to keep my base, and make him wear himself out. That's what happened."
Lytle
got into familiar water in the second round as he trapped Brown
in an inverted triangle choke, moving from side control, similar
to a previous fight he had in the UFC against Jason Gilliam.
Controlling
Brown with the triangle, Lytle moved and concentrated on the
arm. A few seconds later with his arm hyperextended by Lytle's
pressure, Brown had no choice but to verbally submit or fall
prey to further injury.
The
winner of the most post fight bonuses in UFC history, Chris Lytle
let Dana White and the powers that be at the UFC that he's ready
for one more.
"I
call that the submission of the night," Lytle commented.
"That's what I call that."
It
was do or die for Stephan Bonnar at UFC 116, and he wasn't going
down without a fight.
The
former "Ultimate Fighter" season 1 finalist had his
back against the wall with three losses in a row, but came out
firing in his rematch with Krzysztof Soszynski, and ended up
getting the TKO win in the 2nd round.
It
looked bad early on for Bonnar as Soszynski caught him with a
slew of big punches, one of which opened a cut over the Las Vegas
based fighter's eye. Like a wounded dog, Bonnar took the punishment,
but came back firing with some devastating strikes of his own.
The
2nd round saw Bonnar throw a huge knee strike right up the middle
that clobbered Soszynski, dropping the Canadian to the mat with
no other option but to turtle up and try to survive. Bonnar had
none of that, and told himself that this was his moment.
"I
know I hurt him, and I just kept throwing punches," said
Bonnar. "I just say to myself 'they're not going to take
this fight from me, no one's going to take this fight from me
this time' and I knew I needed to finish it."
Like
a machine gun, Bonnar just kept firing and firing until the referee
stepped in to stop the fight. The "American Psycho"
gets back on track, but not without a few cuts and scrapes, which
is completely okay with him.
"You
know me I like winning ugly, and boy do I look ugly right now,"
Bonnar said following the win.
Source: MMA Weekly |
SCHAUB
& ROMERO WIN ON UFC 116 SPIKE TV PRELIMS
Ricardo Romero’s UFC debut wasn’t flawless, but he
was able to pull out a decisive finish over “The Ultimate
Fighter 2” participant Seth Petruzelli in the second round
by straight arm bar.
Seth
Petruzelli, who returned to the Octagon after three years of
working his way back to the UFC, had Romero in trouble on their
feet several times in the first round, wobbling him and dropping
him late with a left hand uppercut. But Romero weathered the
striking assault and was able to find success on the ground,
mounting Petruzelli and was working for a rear naked choke as
the first round expired.
Petruzelli’s
pace slowed as the fight went on and Romero’s grappling
and submission skills came alive. At 3:05 of the second round,
Romero applied an armbar that forced Petruzelli to tap out. The
replay of the finishing move showed Petruzelli’s arm pop
at the eblow.
“I’m
a little disappointed,” Romero said following the fight.
“I stuck with it, but we’ve got a lot of work…
I knew I was losing on the cards.”
“The
Ultimate Fighter 10” finalist and Shane Carwin training
partner Brendan Schaub made quick work of Brock Lesnar teammate
Chris Tuchscherer, finishing by technical knockout at the 1:07
mark of the first round.
Schaub
landed a right hand to the temple that sent Tuchscherer to the
canvas where he ended the fight with strikes on the ground improving
his professional record to 6-1.
“I
was really surprised I was able to hurt him and knock him out
because he’s a really tough guy. He’s 18-2. It wasn’t
something I planned on it being a quick fight," said Shaub
in his post-fight interview.
“I
come from a really good gym and I’m always getting better.
I’m open to all challenges.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
The
next big Gracie; Felipe Couto’s unexpected march to final
Ronis
Gracie, a lightweight purple belt from Gracie Barra, came into
the Worlds last June with the will to win. He felt his Jiu-Jitsu
was the “complete package.” He had trained hard on
both his top and bottom games and worked on every flaw he could
find. By the time he stepped onto the mats in Long Beach to face
his competitors, he was confident he had the “right stuff”
to be a champion.
Gracie
fought in his division and the absolute. In his division he picked
off each opponent one by one, strategically and systematically
working his way to the final. By the time he got there he’d
already won six fights. His final match was with Jordon Schultz
from Alliance. Schultz, who won the 2010 Pan, was also working
his way through the division, showing his technical expertise
and proving his worth to the world, yet again.
Gracie
had heard about Schultz and was looking forward to having an
opportunity to fight him. His wish was granted. As the two faced
off in the divisional final, it was apparent that this was not
only going to be a battle of skill and expertise, but one of
will as well.
The
match began with Gracie pulling guard. He was able to sweep Schultz
and go to mount. Schultz escaped, but Gracie took his back and
got a choke on him. What came next was completely unexpected.
“I don’t know how it happened,” Gracie said, “But
I lost the grip on his collar. He turned and came into my guard
again.”
Dismayed,
Gracie said, “I was six points ahead. I had the fight in
my hands. I guess I slowed my speed down. He tried to pass, so
I turned, but I left my arm out and he got it.” Schultz
locked in the arm bar and submitted a surprised and very disappointed
Gracie with a little over a minute left in the match. As he walked
off the mats with his head down, the only words heard were, “I
can’t believe it.”
Although
he’d just won silver, it was evident that this hard-core
competitor felt like he had just let the gold slip through his
fingers and he wasn’t happy about it. In reflection Gracie
said, “I know now that even if I’m winning, I can never
relax. Not even for a second. I was winning 6-0 with under two
minutes left in the match. I thought I was the champion too early.
I feel like he (Schultz) didn’t beat me. I feel like I beat
myself.”
Ronis
didn’t have too much time to ponder the situation before
he had to get ready for the absolute. He needed to pull it together
and get his head back in the game. His first two matches went
as planned, winning one by submission and one by points. In his
third match he faced Alec Baulding of Alliance. Gracie knew he
was a tough competitor and that he had to play a flawless game.
At
the start of the match, Gracie pulled guard, just like he did
with Schultz. This time, though, he says he made the mistake
of letting Baulding put him in a bad position. Gracie says he
couldn’t move much and time was passing. “I had to
do something,” he said, “And right then he passed my
guard. When he tried to mount, I recovered.” Gracie swept
Baulding, but he was still losing on points. He only had 40 seconds
left in the match and tried to set up a choke, but the match
ended, giving Gracie a bronze medal for his efforts.
Gracie
said that Baulding had a very good top game. “He didn’t
make any mistakes,” Gracie said, “And I let him have
positions I shouldn’t have. I would like to fight him again.”
Gracie says he’s going to keep training hard all year, so
next year he doesn’t make any mistakes.
Gracie
says that his overall experience was very good. “I fought
a lot of tough competitors and I fought a lot of fights, so I’m
happy.” Gracie has a will of steel and perseverance to match
it, so he says his new goal this year is “to fight the guys
who are the toughest opponents. In my division, Jordon (Schultz)
is that guy. Whenever I see him registered for a tournament,
I am going to sign up and go there, no matter where it is, just
so I can fight him again.”
Getting
over the hump
Felipe
Couto was not having a good year. The GB featherweight purple
belt had a disappointing showing at the 2010 Pan. His expectations
high, he lost in his first match to Eric Sherman of Serra JJ.
That was a difficult loss to get over. Now, to make matters worse,
he was coming into the Worlds injured.
Couto
had a hurt shoulder and rib, and a huge contusion on his knee,
so he was unable to train for this world-class event. Surprisingly,
he was feeling upbeat and happy. He came to the tournament with
no expectations of winning, so he felt no stress or pressure.
His frame of mind was very relaxed. “I don’t have to
win,” he said, “I’m just here to have some fun.”
Couto
won his first match quickly with a submission. A little surprised,
he walked off the mats smiling and said, “I may be hurt,
but my mind is strong and I feel confident.” His second
match he won by points. “I still feel good,” he said,
a fleeting look of confusion crossing his face…then he laughed,
“I guess I still have four more matches to go (to win gold)!”
As
he rested in between matches, Couto said that he felt better
at this tournament than any other before. As he tried to piece
it all together, he said, “Before, I just focused on training
and technique. I always forgot my mind. So, this time that’s
what I worked on. I’m thinking now that it’s the best
work out you can have!”
Couto
then walked onto the mats for his 3rd match, which ended faster
than the two prior. He pulled half-guard and took his opponent’s
back. Next thing to happen: submission by Ezekiel (forearm) choke.
Couto walked off the mats smiling, obviously in disbelief over
his good fortune thus far. “I’m still having fun,”
he said, “My mom’s a psychologist and I’ve been
talking to her a lot. It’s taken all the pressure away.”
Couto joked, “It’s working so well, I think it’s
going to be my secret training from now on!”
Couto’s
good humor lasted through two more wins. Then, he found himself
in a place he never thought he’d be: the Finals, with Adnris
Brunovskeis of Lloyd Irvin. As he prepared himself for the match,
he began to transform into someone other than the fun-loving
guy he’d been all day. The “fun” began to drain
from his face, leaving a look of competitiveness, and desire.
“I’ve never medaled in the Worlds before,” he
said, “Today’s my day.”
As
the match began, they both tried to pull guard. It became a grip
war and slowly Brunovskeis started racking up the points. Couto’s
face displayed a look of panic…he tried to pass Brunovskeis’
guard. At one point he left his arm exposed; Brunovskeis took
advantage, locked in the arm bar and submitted Couto, leaving
him second in the World.
After
losing the match, Couto sat on the mats looking sad and deject,
as if he knew he’d almost had it all, but somehow lost it.
When he walked off the mats, he said it just dawned on him that
this was a tournament he attended, armed with only a strong mind
and a desire to have fun. It was his light-heartedness that brought
him to this place, and a good place it was.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
TWO
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT BONUSES AT UFC 116, $75,000 CHECKS
The Ultimate Fighting Championship handed out two Fight of the
Night awards for first time at UFC 116 for in-Octagon performances
with bonus checks worth $75,000.
The
UFC 116 bonus awards went to Gerald Harris, Brock Lesnar, Chris
Leben, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Stephan Bonnar and Krzysztof Soszynski.
For
the first time in UFC history two Fight of the Night awards were
handed down, going to Chris Leben and Yoshihiro Akiyama for their
UFC 116 war that ended with Leben securing a triangle choke in
the waning seconds of the bout to pull out the short notice win
over the Japanese star.
The
second Fight of the Night bonus check was given to Stephan Bonnar
and Krzysztof Soszynski for their rematch that out did their
first meeting at UFC 110 in February.
“The
Ultimate Fighter” season one finalist, Bonnar, pulled out
a technical knockout win follow a well-place knee in the second
round, pulling out a much needed victory coming off a three-fight
losing streak.
Knockout
of the Night honors went to Gerald Harris for his third-round
knockout slam victory over David Branch.
Submission
of the Night bonus money was awarded to Brock Lesnar for his
second round submission over Shane Carwin in the main event via
arm triangle choke.
Total
bonus money awarded following UFC 116 was $450,000.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Fedor:
“I don't consider myself the best”
Considered
by many the best heavyweight of all times, Fedor Emelianenko
suffered his first (real) loss in the end of June, when he tapped
in a tight triangle armbar applied by Brazilian fighter Fabricio
Werdum on Strikeforce.
In
exclusive interview to TATAME Magazine’s July edition, the
Russian heavyweight commented the actual picture of the MMA,
with names as Junior dos Santos and Maurício Shogun, and
revealed: “I don't consider myself the best fighter”.
Fedor
also answered Dana White, who keeps talking that Fedor doesn’t
want to sign with the UFC. “If Dana White really wanted
me in UFC, I would have been in UFC by now. Dana is the guy who
speaks more than he actually does”, said the former Pride
heavyweight champion.
Source: Tatame |
A
bit more about Brock Lesnar
He
grew up on a farm in South Dakota and prefers country living.
He’s someone who doesn’t trade family for fanfare and,
when he’s not training, he loves swilling beer with his
friends. But when he gets in the octagon he transforms. Like
a freight train, he pounces on his opponents looking to exterminate
them. This is Brock Lesnar, the current heavyweight champion
of the UFC. Brock recently spoke with NOCAUTE magazine’s
Nalty Jr.
After
losing to you Randy Couture said MMA was entering a new era,
one of athletes combining strength, speed and technique. Do you
agree with that?
Yes,
but there aren’t a lot of guys out there matching that description.
What
most impresses you about Jiu-Jitsu training?
Jiu-Jitsu
is an important part of any fighter’s game. It doesn’t
matter how good you are in the other styles if you don’t
know Jiu-Jitsu. Sooner or later you’ll get caught. But nothing
has really surprised me. One thing that is tough is that, as
a wrestler, instinct tells me certain things. And when I started
learning Jiu-Jitsu I realized how some things that work in wrestling
can get you in trouble.
So
you approve of the work you’re doing with Rodrigo Comprido?
Comprido
helps me a lot. It’s great to have him around, he challenges
me. Because of him and Erik Paulson I’m managing to adapt
my wrestling to defend against submissions.
I
want to be the greatest champion of all times” Brock Lesnar
What’s
your goal in MMA?
My
goal is to hold on to my UFC heavyweight title for as long as
possible. I want to beat everyone the UFC puts in my way. I don’t
care about rankings or any of that stuff. That’s a waste
of time. I want to be the greatest heavyweight champion of all
times.
You
were a pro-wrestler. Does it bother you when people belittle
the style as a sport?
No,
because it’s not a sport. It’s entertainment. But that
doesn’t mean those who do it aren’t athletes. They
work just as hard as professional athletes, without rest. It’s
really hard work.
What
do you think of Fedor Emelianenko?
Who’s
Fedor?
Tell
us a bit about yourself outside the octagon.
There’s
nothing more valuable in the world than family. I’m a normal
guy. I spend a lot of time with my family, work on my land and
I love drinking beer with my friends, but only when I’m
not training.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Octagon
observations: Lesnar’s a beast
LAS
VEGAS – An Octagon’s worth of observations after a
UFC 116 that will be long remembered:
1.
Brock Lesnar is the world’s best heavyweight: The UFC champion’s
detractors have been on his case from the moment he entered the
company. First, he was “just a pro wrestler,” despite
his pedigree as an NCAA wrestling champion. When he won the title
from Randy Couture in just his fourth pro fight, all of the sudden
Couture was “too old.” When Lesnar beat Frank Mir and
avenged his only loss, all of the sudden Mir was “overrated.”
Lesnar’s five pro wins now include two over former UFC champs
and a comeback victory for the ages over the sport’s heaviest
hitter. Fedor Emelianenko tapped away the No. 1 heavyweight slot
last week. Cain Velasquez, Lesnar’s next opponent, is impressive
and boasts a solid record, but he does not have Lesnar’s
quality of opposition to his credit. So until someone takes the
belt off his waist, Lesnar is the world’s undisputed best
at 265.
2.
Questions answered: Before Saturday night, we knew Lesnar could
get the job done as a front-runner. But we didn’t know whether
he’d sink or swim when he hit deep waters. Lesnar conclusively
answered the question of whether he has a chin by taking all
the sledgehammer-throwing Carwin could dish out. Then he kept
his composure while Carwin punched his way into fatigue. And
the relative smoothness with which he transitioned into position
after taking Carwin down in the second round and applied the
arm triangle suggests that he’s a fast learner and that
he’ll likely keep getting better. Add that all up and you’ve
got not only a statement performance, but the most memorable
come-from-behind victory in a UFC title fight since Matt Hughes
took out Frank Trigg at UFC 52.
3.
Back to the drawing board: Let’s not write off Shane Carwin.
His first-round onslaught would have finished nearly anyone in
the game. Carwin now knows that to get to the top, he’s
going to have to find a way to come up with a Plan B when his
strikes alone don’t get the job done. The great ones find
a way to rebound from adversity, and while it’s too soon
to call Carwin “great,” don’t rule out the idea
that he can still get there. A fight with the loser of the upcoming
Junior dos Santos-Roy Nelson fight might make sense as a next
foe.
4.
Double play: Speaking of going back to the drawing board, Carwin
needs to look no further than Chris Leben as an example of how
a fighter can grow and improve. Leben has long been labeled a
head case, a wild middleweight with knockout power and not much
else. But Leben won Saturday for the second time in two weeks
– the fastest turnaround since the days of the UFC’s
one-night tournaments – in a victory over Yoshihiro Akiyama
that was as much due to poise, skill and smarts as it was heart.
Leben might have actually been winning the third round regardless
of his submission, as he scored early and often from the bottom
position after an Akiyama takedown. But judges rarely see ground
fighting that way, so Leben left nothing to chance and seized
the opening for a finish. It’s a testament to just how far
he’s come along as a mixed martial artist.
5.
Bonnar’s big win: Stephan Bonnar will always be a pivotal
figure in the history of the UFC, simply for his valiant effort
in losing to Forrest Griffin in the finals of the first “The
Ultimate Fighter” tournament in 2005, the match that put
the modern UFC on the map. It made him both a fan favorite and
a favorite of UFC president Dana White, who has given him a longer
leash than others who go through trouble in the Octagon. On Saturday
night, Bonnar added a signature victory to his legacy. Bonnar
showed heart and resilience in his second-round TKO of Krzysztof
Soszynski, and in the process he demonstrated why White was right
to let him keep his job as long as he wants it.
6.
Aussie with upside: Some guys get put on the fast track to stardom,
like Jon Jones. Some force their way into the picture by starting
at the bottom and beating everyone until they can no longer be
ignored, like Jon Fitch. George Sotiropoulos falls into the latter
category. The former TUF 6 contestant has won six straight fights
since leaving the show, the latest his convincing decision over
Kurt Pellegrino. That victory comes on the heels of winning one
of 2010’s best fights over Joe Stevenson in February. A
step up in competition is in order for the Australian.
7.
Like a hurricane: Gerald “Hurricane” Harris, meanwhile,
deserves a step up in spotlight. His wins have been primarily
for the benefit of the paid live spectators, as he’s worked
the preliminary cards in his three UFC fights. But all three
have been spectacular finishes, none better than his win over
Dave Branch at UFC 116. Harris stopped Branch with the most impressive
knockout slam since Quinton Jackson’s PRIDE win over Ricardo
Arona. And he earned bonus points for sportsmanship in recognizing
Branch was out and not following up before referee Herb Dean
was able to step in. A slot on a live SpikeTV main card seems
a next logical spot in Harris’ progression.
8.
And finally … Remember Sept. 19? That was the night that
Floyd Mayweather returned from his retirement and crushed the
UFC’s head-to-head Rich Franklin-Vitor Belfort fight. Boxing’s
press corps, in its eternal attempt to pretend the calendar still
reads 1971, rushed to declare boxing’s comeback and the
UFC’s downfall based on one night’s results. Does anyone
care to revisit? Since then, the one boxing match needed to build
momentum fell apart. Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao could still
get made and will still be a monster fight if it does, but it
lost that special “once in a generation” vibe it had
a year ago. The UFC, for its part, went through a rough stretch
filled with headliner injuries and issues. But it has rebounded
with back-to-back months with fights that captured the general
public’s attention – Lesnar-Carwin followed Jackson
vs. Rashad Evans – in the manner in which boxing used to.
This isn’t meant to disparage boxing, but simply to note
that it’s time to bury, once and for all, the foolish notion
that mixed martial arts is some sort of fad that is going away.
Not only that, but given how the UFC continues to thrive on a
month-in, month-out basis on pay-per-view while boxing has largely
retrenched except for the biggest fights, it is also fair to
say MMA is no longer boxing’s kid brother in the combat
sports business.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
GERALD
HARRIS LIGHTS UP UFC 116 PRELIMS
On a preliminary fight card that was littered with decisions,
Gerald Harris stood alone in the spotlight with his brutal knockout
of David Branch on the untelevised portion of the UFC 116 fight
card on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Jon
Madsen and Daniel Roberts both won decisions in each of the first
two fights on the card, predominately due to their wrestling
takedowns and superior positioning, controlling their respective
opponents, Karlos Vemola and Forrest Petz.
Kendall
Grove also earned the nod from the judges in his bout, demoted
from the Spike TV telecast, by outstriking Goran Reljic on the
feet and off of his back on the ground.
But
it was Harris that earned the early honors for his performance.
He and Branch battled back and forth for 12-and-a-half minutes,
neither gaining a huge advantage. Just as Branch seemed to get
some momentum by landing a jumping knee, Harris dropped down,
scooped him up, and drove him nearly through the mat.
Branch
went unconscious from the brutal impact. Harris had every opportunity
to throw one last punch to his sleeping foe, but showed his sportsmanship
by holding up and allowing the referee to step in and call a
halt to the fight.
Source: MMA Weekly |
DIABATE
VS. GUSTAFSSON ADDED TO UFC 120
A light heavyweight bout has been added to the upcoming UFC 120
card in London, England as striker extraordinare Cyril Diabate
returns for his second appearance in the Octagon to take on Swedish
born fighter Alexander Gustafsson.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Saturday, stating the fighters have verbally accepted, but
bout agreements have not been issued yet. MMAFighting.com first
reported the fight on Saturday.
For
his first fight in the UFC, Cyril Diabate (16-6-1) got no easy
task facing Brazilian fighter Luis Cane. Diabate stepped up to
the task after being hurt early, tagging Cane with strikes and
finishing the fight with punches to get the TKO win.
Returning
to the Octagon in October to square off against Diabate is Alexander
Gustafsson (9-1) who tasted defeat for the first time in his
career in his last fight, being submitted by former NCAA wrestling
champion Phil Davis. Prior to that fight, Gustafsson was 9-0,
with his lone other fight in the UFC being a lightning quick
knockout over Jared Hamman.
The
bout between Diabate and Gustafsson is expected to be a part
of the untelevised undercard for the London show set to go down
October 16 at London's O2 Arena.
Source: MMA Weekly |
KHARITONOV'S
DEBUT LIKELY AGAINST ANTONIO SILVA
Newly signed Strikeforce heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov could
make his debut for the organization as early as August against
American Top Team heavyweight Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.
The
news of Kharitonov's first Strikeforce appearance comes from
CEO Scott Coker, who says they've already talked about that fight,
and it could happen on the promotion’s Aug. 21 card slated
for Houston.
"I
think (Kharitonov) and Bigfoot would be a fantastic match-up.
That might be as early as August. It's a fight that we definitely
talked about," said Coker.
While
nothing is set in stone, Coker alluded to the fight happening
regardless of the timing, if not in August then at some point
down the road.
"It's
not confirmed, but if it doesn't happen in August, it could happen
in September or October," he said.
Kharitonov
comes to Strikeforce after a successful career fighting in Pride
and Dream, and holds wins over current Strikeforce heavyweight
champion Alistair Overeem and the man who just recently defeated
Fedor Emelianenko, Fabricio Werdum.
The
Russian is 16-4 overall, having fought some of the top fighters
the heavyweight division has to offer.
Antonio
"Bigfoot" Silva bounced back from his second career
loss, at the hands of Fabricio Werdum, to pick up a unanimous
decision win over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski
in his last fight in May.
If
the bout between Silva and Kharitonov comes to fruition for the
August card, it would join a list that is also likely to include
a light heavyweight title fight between Muhammed "King Mo"
Lawal and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, and a lightweight
fight with K.J. Noons taking on Jorge Gurgel.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
116 Results
1 Jon Madsen def Karlos Vemola Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00
2 Daniel Roberts def Forrest Petz Decision (Split) 3 5:00
3 Gerald Harris def Dave Branch KO (Slam) 3 2:35
4 Kendall Grove def Goran Reljic Decision (Split) 3 5:00
5 Ricardo Romero def Seth Petruzelli Submission (Straight Armbar)
2 3:05
6 Brendan Schaub def Chris Tuchscherer TKO (Punches) 1 1:07
7 George Sotiropoulos def Kurt Pellegrino Decision (Unanimous)
3 5:00
8 Stephan Bonnar def Krzysztof Soszynski TKO (Punches) 2 3:08
9 Chris Lytle def Matt Brown Submission (Straight Armbar) 2 2:02
10 Chris Leben def Yoshihiro Akiyama Submission (Triangle Choke)
3 4:40
11 Brock Lesnar def Shane Carwin Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke)
2 2:19
UFC 116 Results & Live Play-by-Play
Jon
Madsen vs. Karlos Vemola
Round 1
Vemola comes out swinging for the fences and misses three wild,
loopy right and left hooks. Vemola shoots in but is stuffed.
Madsen pushes him away and lands a decent right cross. Vemola
shoots in again and is stuffed. Madsen tosses the Czech fighter
to the ground and tries to seize side control, but Vemola springs
up. They quickly clinch. Madsen presses his foe into the cage.
They switch positions but Madsen is having nothing of it and
forces his will and walks Vemola across the Octagon. Vemola loses
his mouthpiece and Yamasaki has it replaced. They clinch again
and Madsen looks like the much stronger of the two. Madsen pins
Vemola into the cage again. After no action, Yamasaki restarts
them. Madsen scores a takedown and lands in Vemola's half guard.
Vemola is controlling his opponent's neck from his back. Very
little action. The round ends with Madsen on top. 10-9 Madsen.
Round
2
They circle. Madsen misses a loopy right cross and then shoots
in. He forces his will and scores a takedown. Again Madsen lands
in half guard. 90 seconds in and very little has happened. The
sparse crowd is growing restless. Madsen has Vemola pinned against
the cage and lands two decent right hands. The Czech fighter
cannot buck him off. Yamasaki finally restarts them with just
under two minutes remaining. Madsen lands a right/left but Vemola
shrugs it off. Madsen closes the gap and forces his foe into
the cage. Madsen lands a knee to the thigh and then separates.
They circle and Madsen digs a right hook into the chest of Vemola
while eating a hard kick to the leg. they clinch again. The round
ends and the crowd is beginning to moan. 10-9 Madsen.
Round
3
Vemola comes out swing wildly. Every bomb misses it's mark by
a foot. Madsen ducks under and then scores a quick takedown.
Vemola pulls Madsen into his full guard. Again, very little action.
Madsen is doing a great job preventing Vemola from getting up.
Vemola locks on a kimura with 2:17 left, but it's not tight.
The crowd is now booing restlessly. Madsen switches over to side
control after a scramble. He moves to north-south. Finally Yamasaki
restarts them with a minute left. They clinch. Vemola locks on
a standing guillotine but loses it when he drops to guard. They
stand. Fight over. 10-9 Madsen.
Official
scores: 30-27 across the board for Madsen, the winner by unanimous
decision.
Daniel
Roberts vs. Forrest Petz
Round 1
They both come out swinging but nothing lands. Roberts tries
a single leg but Petz defends. Roberts won't relent with the
takedown and Petz' sprawl is superb. They separate. They circle
each other and play it safe. Low kick by Petz. Roberts again
shoots in, but he's stuffed. Roberts presses Petz against the
fence. Not much going on now. Petz reverses position and then
separates. Roberts shoots in for another single and gets it.
He lands in Petz' half guard and quickly locks in an arm triangle,
but Petz rolls out of it. However, Roberts seizes his back and
tries a rear-naked choke. It's not tight. Roberts locks on a
body triangle but still he can't sink the choke. Round ends.
10-9 Roberts.
Round
2
Leg kick by Roberts right away. They circle. Roberts misses a
single leg. They separate and circle again. Two minutes in and
Roberts scores a single. Petz pulls guard. During a scramble,
Roberts takes Petz' back, but like in the first round, he can't
sink the rear-naked choke. Petz's defense is superb. Petz spins
out and scrambles, taking Roberts' back. They scramble again
and stand. Roberts swings wildly and then scores a single leg.
He doesn't hold Petz down long as another scramble switches position.
Roberts quickly locks on a guillotine but runs out of time. 10-9
Roberts.
Round
3
They look a bit tired in the final round but still are pressing
each other. Petz throws a perfect left and right but he just
misses them both. Roberts counters with a stiff low kick. Petz
stuffs a single leg attempt a minute in. Roberts is not as aggressive
as he was in the first two rounds. Roberts is starting to lunge
with his punches; a dangerous move. Petz can't counter those
lunges and winds up being forced into the fence. Roberts drags
him down and lands in his opponent's half guard. Very little
action. Roberts is keeping him down. Finally, Roberts lands the
full mount but there is only 35 seconds left. Petz covers up
and holds on until the horn. 10-9 Roberts.
Official
scores: 29-28 Petz and 29-28 Roberts (twice). Daniel Roberts
takes the split decision.
Gerald
Harris vs. Dave Branch
Round 1
They circle cautiously. Harris lands a left hook 45 seconds in.
Branch counters with a leg kick. Harris just misses with a huge
left/right to the head. Branch has his head kick blocked. Harris
misses a wild left hook and then a right cross. Harris is a wild
man, winging bombs from several feet out. Branch dodges them
all easily. Harris regroups. Harris rattles Branch with a loopy
right hand on top of the head and then is quickly grabbed. Harris
presses his opponent into the cage and tries a single leg. Branch
pushes down on Harris' head and then escapes. Harris inches again
and then scoops up Branch and slams him down hard. Round ends
with Harris in Branch's full guard. 10-9 Harris.
Round
2
Branch quickly fires a roundhouse kick and misses. They circle
again. Harris darts in again and misses a wild combo of punches.
He quickly closes the gap and scores a double leg against the
fence. Branch pulls to full guard. Harris delivers a hard right
hand from up top. Branch scrambles out to his feet. Harris is
all over him and keeps him pinned against the cage. Branch reverses
position. Harris switches and then lowers his level. He scores
an awkward scoop/single leg and lands in Branch's full guard.
Branch scrambles up and is clipped by a right uppercut but he
shrugs it off. They circle. Hard right jab by Harris with 12
left on the clock. 10-9 Harris.
Round
3
They come out firing wildly. They miss their targets but Branch
launches a flying triangle. He has it and drops to sink it. Harris
breaks the hold and scrambles to his feet. They clinch and Branch
presses his foe into the cage. They stall and the crowd boos
restlessly. Dean finally restarts them. Harris misses a flying
knee. They clinch and Branch again tries a flying triangle but
misses. Branch drops to guard while Harris slams him and Branch
is out cold! 2:35 of round three is the official time of the
KO.
Kendall
Grove vs. Goran Reljic
Round 1
Reljic misses a head kick and a left/right. Grove misses a right
head kick. They circle cautiously. Very little action. They trade
low kicks. Goran scores a takedown and Grove pulls guard. They
scramble after an up kick by Grove lands. Reljic presses the
Hawaiian into the cage. They trade meager knees into the body.
They separate. 10-9 Reljic.
Round
2
Reljic misses a right/left. Grove scores a takedown but Reljic
pulls guard. They scramble up and the Grove slips. He's on his
back and Reljic stands over him. Reljic dives into Grove's full
guard. Grove switches to butterfly guard but can't work anything.
Goran is working feverishly from up top but nothing hard or clean
is getting through. Very little action with 90 seconds left and
the crowd has grown restless with boos. Yamasaki finally stands
them. Hard low kick stumbles Grove late. Not much happens by
the horn. 10-9 Reljic.
Round
3
Grove pursues Reljic off a right hand. Reljic shoots for the
takedown. Grove sprawls and it stays on its feet. Grove latches
on a guillotine choke when Reljic moves in, and follows up with
a knee. They separate and Grove lands an inside leg kick. Reljic
returns fire, then goes for another takedown. Grove defends and
throws knees, as Reljic drives the Hawaiian against the fence.
Reljic completes the takedown and lands in half guard. Reljic
passes to side control, then North-South, but Grove fights to
his feet to end the round. Grove 10-9.
Official
scores: 28-29, 30-27, 29-28 for Grove, the winner by split decision.
Seth
Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero
Round 1
Petruzelli peppers Romero with short punches and stuffs a double-leg
attempt. Petruzelli lands more short, hard punches from both
hands and Romero is reeling. Petruzelli lands a head kick, but
slips in the process, giving his opponent time to clear the cobwebs.
Petruzelli lands a series of right hands and then a spinning-back
kick. Romero catches the leg and pulls him to the canvas. Romero
attempts to set up a choke from the top and Petruzelli sweeps.
Right hands score from the top for Petruzelli. The EliteXC veteran
is beating Romero down. Romero gains his bearings and takes the
top position. Romero moves to the mount and works for a keylock.
Petruzelli turns his back and referee Steve Mazzagatti warns
Romero for punching the back of the head. Romero transitions
to an armbar and Petruzelli easily escapes. Petruzelli pounds
the head with dual-fisted hammerstrikes.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Petruzelli
Jack Encarnacao scores the round 10-9 Petruzelli
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Petruzelli
Round
2
Petruzelli lands a hard knee early in the round and Romero is
limping along the cage. Romero shoots and Petruzelli uses wrist
control to transition to the back. Petruzelli works for an armbar
and a heavily-bleeding Romero escapes. Romero moves to the top,
where he hits the body with his right hand from the guard. Petruzelli
goes high with his hips in search of a triangle, but Romero escapes.
Romero passes to half guard and Petruzelli elbows the face from
the bottom. Romero locks up an Americana and then a straight
armbar to force Petruzelli to tap at the 3:05 mark of round two.
Brendan
Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Round 1
Tuchscherer is showing lots of feints early, but neither fighter
wants to pull the trigger through the bout’s first 20 seconds.
Schaub lights Tuchscherer up with a punching flurry and then
backs off. Schaub then clips Tuchscherer on the temple with a
right hand and he falls. Schaub pounces with punches until referee
Herb Dean pulls him off at 1:07 of the first. Schaub takes home
the win in impressive fashion.
George
Sotiropoulos vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Round 1
Sotiropoulos is firing his straight-right hand early, keeping
Pellegrino at bay. Pellegrino goes inside to work the body and
is clipped by a short right that puts him on the floor. Sotiropoulos
tries to move fully to the back, but Pellegrino scrambles to
his feet. Sotiropoulos lands another straight right and a left-hand
counter. Sotiropoulos jabs and goes to the body. Sotiropoulos
connects with a clean left hook and Pellegrino is hurt. Pellegrino
stumbles and secures a much-needed takedown. Pellegrino stands
over his opponent and Sotiropoulos uses a single to stand. Pellegrino
lands an uppercut and Sotiropoulos connects with a knee on exit.
Sotiropoulos continues to jab, but Pellegrino is doing a better
job of moving laterally. Pellegrino is smacked with another left
hook and shoots for a successful takedown. Sotiropoulos secures
“mission control” and lands elbows to the head from
the bottom. Pellegrino moves to half guard before the bell.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Sotiropoulos
Jack Encarnacao scores the round 10-9 Sotiropoulos
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Sotiropoulos
Round
2
Pellegrino sneaks in a left hook and two low kicks. He then gets
too aggressive and Sotiropoulos snatches up a single leg. Pellegrino
peppers the face with punches as he defends the takedown while
hopping on one foot, but he ends up on the floor. Sotiropoulos
defends elbows from the top in the open guard. Sotiropoulos stands
and passes to half guard. Sotiropoulos has a high half guard,
and he’s able to tee off with elbows to the forehead. Pellegrino
turns his head to seek the advice of his cornermen, and Sotiropoulos
stays busy with punches to the body and elbows to the head. Pellegrino
scrambles and uses the cage against his back to stand, but he
is trapped. Sotiropoulos pulls him away from the fencing and
transitions to half of the back before Pellegrino is able to
stand. The fighters clinch until referee Josh Rosenthal calls
for action. Now back in the center of the cage, Pellegrino blocks
a head kick and lands a jumping knee to the body.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Sotiropoulos
Jack Encarnacao scores the round 10-9 Sotiropoulos
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Sotiropoulos
Round
3
Sotiropoulos jabs and Pellegrino answers with jabs of his own.
Sotiropoulos pieces together a clean punching combo to establish
the tempo he set in the first two frames. Sotiropoulos connects
with a right and a left that hurt his foe. Just as in previous
rounds, Pellegrino has no trouble getting the takedown when he’s
hurt. Sotiropoulos elbows the head from his back in the guard.
Pellegrino punches the body and throws short right hands to the
chin. Pellegrino postures and fails on a high-guard pass. Pellegrino
sneaks in two elbows from the guard. Sotiropoulos locks on “mission
control,” but he can’t do anything with the offensive
position. Pellegrino stands and frees himself. Sotiropoulos follows
to the feet. 45 seconds remain. Sotiropoulos clinches and pushes
his opponent into the fencing. Pellegrino punches the left thigh
and Sotiropoulos hits the body and stomps the feet. Sotiropoulos
backs up and Pellegrino drops him to the canvas with a well-placed
knee. Sotiropoulos is hurt and Pellegrino pounces, but runs out
of time.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Pellegrino (29-28 Sotiropoulos)
Jack Encarnacao scores the round 10-9 Pellegrino (29-28 Sotiropoulos)
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Pellegrino (29-28 Sotiropoulos)
Official
scores: 30-27 (twice) and 29-28 for the winner by unanimous decision,
George Sotiropoulos.
Krzysztof
Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar
Round 1
Bonnar kicks the body and Soszynski unloads with both hands to
the face. Bonnar is knocked off balace, but escapes the flurry
no worse for the wear. Soszynski kicks the leg hard twice before
Bonner sweeps him off the feet and to the canvas. Bonnar works
from the top in guard until Soszynski uses an armbar attempt
to stand. Sszynski again throws caution to the wind with a hands-down
punching flurry against the cage. Bonnar covers and gets off
the fence without damage. Bonnar pushes his opponent into the
cage and gets in some nice work with standing elbows and a hard
knee. Bonnar has a spinning-back kick blocked and Soszynski chases
him around the cage. Bonnar lands a snapping kick to the body
hat gets a rise out of the crowd. Bonnar drops levels for a single
and Soszynski defends. Soszynski again opens up with his hands,
but this time he connects clean and Bonnar is bleeding from a
cut above his right eye. The round ends and Bonnar is bleeding
from cuts near both eyes.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Soszynski
Jack Encarnacao scores the round 10-9 Soszynski
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Soszynski
Round
2
Bonnar lands a hard right and Soszynski is all over him with
haymakers. Bonnar turns his back, but is able to square off.
Bonnar opens up with his hands and beats Sosynski up against
the fence, but Soszynski lands a right-hook counter that buckles
Bonnar’s knees. Bonnar recovers and continues to get the
best of Soszynski in round two exchanges. A hard knee from Bonnar
slams into Soszynski’s chin. Bonnar follows up with a strong
double-leg takedown directly into side control. Soszynski stands
and Bonnar drops him with a flush knee to the chin. Soszynski
turtles on the floor and Bonnar swarms with punches. Soszynski
defends well and Bonnar moves to the back, where he punches with
his left hand until referee Mario Yamasaki steps in at 3:08 of
round two, giving Bonnar the TKO win.
Chris
Lytle vs. Matt Brown
Round 1
Brown comes out gunning with a kick to the body and Lytle returns
fire with a wild right hand. The fighters trade winging punches,
but nothing gets through clean. Lytle presses Brown against the
fencing, where the Cincinnati native connects with a knee to
the thigh. Brown grazes a head kick off the melon of Lytle and
the Hoosier goes right back to the clinch. Brown trips Lytle
to the canvas. Lytle works immediately for an omaplata, but Brown
has none of it. Brown locks up a brabo choke and both fighters
move in a clockwise manner. Lytle is on top in side control,
so he’s able to defend the choke. Lytle frees his neck and
both fighters are on their feet. Brown works the leg with a low
kick and Lytle swings for the fences. Lytle blocks a head kick
misses a three-punch combo before landing a hard right to the
body. Lytle slips with 10 seconds remaining and works a kimura
and armbar attempt at the bell.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Brown
Jack Encarnacao scores the round 10-9 Brown
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Brown
Round
2
Brown lands two low kicks to start round two. To the body goes
Brown with hooks from both hands. Brown lands a left hook and
Lytle connects with a short uppercut that hurts his opponent.
A hurt Brown tries to pull guard and Lytle moves to the mount
with a guillotine. Lytle transitions to a mounted triangle while
working a straight armbar on the right arm. Brown tries to fight
off the technique but verbally submits to referee Steve Mazzagatti
at 2:02 of round two.
Chris
Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Round 1
Akiyama catches a low kick and trips Leben to the floor in the
bout’s opening seconds. Leben gets back to his feet and
blocks a knee attempt. Leben rushes forward and Akiyama grazes
a left-hook counter off the top of the head. Leben kicks the
body and leg and absorbs Akiyama’s right foot on the cup.
Referee Herb Dean calls time and the bout is restarted shortly
after. Akiyama throws a spinning-back fist and then trips Leben
to the floor with a judo throw. From the guard, Leben attempt
an armbar on the right arm. Akiyama pulls his arm free and then
defends the same technique again. Akiyama escapes and works for
an armbar of his own from the top in side control. The judoka
has a near triangle at the same time, but Leben gets free. Akiyama,
back in half guard, punches the head with his right hand. Leben
scrambles to his feet. Leben lands a left ahnd and Akiyama gets
another judo throw at the horn.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Akiyama
Jack Encarnacao scores the round 10-9 Akiyama
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Akiyama
Round
2
Leben lands a head kick and then slips. Leben stands and lands
a left-hook counter following an Akiyama body shot. Akiyama lands
a spinning-back fist and Leben sneaks in a hard right-hand counter.
A slugfest unfolds as both men land clean power shots to the
chin. Leben is hurt and Akiyama is going for the finish. With
both hands down, Leben absorbs several punches but he’s
getting as good as he’s taking. Akiyama is forced to one
knee by a hard left hand, but he quickly stands to throw Leben
to the canvas. Leben gets to his feet, but Akiyama stays tight
and will not let him off the canvas. Leben attempts a standing
guillotine and Akiyama has none of it. A hard left hand scores
for Akiyama. And another. Leben Comes back and lands two hard
left hands of his own and Akiyama is hurt. Both fighters are
fatigued as time expires.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-9 Akiyama
Jack Encarnacao scores the round 10-9 Akiyama
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-9 Akiyama
Round
3
The fighters embrace to start the final period and here we go.
Leben lands a stiff kick to the body and a head kick. Leben works
the leg with a low kick and Akiyama catches it before dragging
him to the canvas. From the guard, Akiyama attempts a rare can
opener. Leben punches his way out and then looks for an armbar.
Leben gives it his all and the judoka escapes after a few tense
moments. Akiyama moves to half guard after a brief stint in the
mount, where Leben stomps downward on the left leg, which is
trapped between his legs. Leben uses good legwork to get back
to closed guard. Leben elbows the head from his back and Akiyama
returns fire with punches. With one minute remaining, Leben is
clearly the fresher fighter, working from his back as Akiyama
rests in the guard. Leben goes for broke and locks on a triangle
choke. Leben elbows the head before switching position and securing
a tapout of the judo black belt. Chris Leben wins his second
fight in 14 days at 4:40 of the final round.
Brock
Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
Round 1
Both fighters start tentitve and paw out jabs. Carwin clips Lesnar
with a left hook and uses a whizzer to defend a powerful shot.
The fighters stand and Carwin connects with a knee. Carwin is
bullying Lesnar around the cage with punches, bullrushing him
against the fence. Lesnar slips and Carwin pours it on with punches
as referee Josh Rosenthal watches on closely. Carwin continues
to tee off with both hands as Lesnar does nothing but defend
from the bottom. Lesnar is bleeding from a cut above his left
eye. Carwin lights him up with two hard elbows. Carwin stands
in the guard and continues his assault as Lesnar just takes a
beating. Carwin backs away for a moment to catch his breath and
Lesnar kicks the left leg from his back. Carwin jumps back into
half guard and seems to rest. Lesnar gets space to get to his
feet and it appears the champion has survived a serious onslaught.
Lesnar presses Carwin against the cage and knees the thigh. Lesnar
attempts a single at the bell.
Jordan
Breen scores the round 10-8 Carwin
Jack Encarnacao scores the round 10-8 Carwin
Mike Fridley scores the round: 10-8 Carwin
Round
2
For the first time in his career Carwin comes out for a second
round. Carwin looks fatigued as he breaths with an open mouth.
Lesnar loads up for a right hand and Carwin counters it with
a short right hand. Lesnar drops levels and scores his first
takedown of the fight. Lesnar punches the head with his left
hand from the top in half guard. Lesnar moves to the mount and
locks on an arm-triangle choke. Carwin moves to side control
to finish the technique. Carwin looks to be in a safe position,
but Lesnar’s strength is too much. Carwin taps at the 2:19
mark of round two.
Sherdog.com's
UFC 116 play-by-play is brought to you by “The Other Guys"
-- in theaters August 6
Source: Sherdog
|
Strikeforce
Releases Shields;
Shields Wants Shot at Anderson Silva
by Loretta
Hunt
Strikeforce released its middleweight champion, Jake Shields,
from his contract with the organization on Wednesday, according
to an industry source with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
The
31-year-old Shields had been in a final-phase “matching
period” of his recently completed contract with the San
Jose, Calif.-based promotion, which allowed him to receive bids
from other organizations, including the UFC, that Strikeforce
could review and match in order to keep his services. However,
the source said Strikeforce waived that contractual right in
its final 2-3 weeks and opted to release the Cesar Gracie fighter
altogether before the period expired.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker confirmed to Sherdog.com that the promotion informed
Jack Shields, the fighter’s manager and father, of the release
on Wednesday. Coker would not comment further on the decision.
“In
the conversation we had today, they said they felt that Jake
was leaning towards the UFC. Honestly, we were talking to them
with an open mind, though Jake wants to fight the best,”
said the elder Shields. “Between Strikeforce and EliteXC,
Jake had the chance to fight on Showtime and CBS four or five
times against some top fighters like Dan Henderson and Robbie
Lawler. Strikeforce gave him great opportunities and exposure.
They’ve been nothing but great for Jake.”
Shields,
who successfully defended his title against former Pride Fighting
Championships champion and UFC middleweight Henderson on April
17 in Nashville, Tenn., opted to not negotiate a renewal contract
with Strikeforce prior to the bout. The fighter’s contract,
which was originally drawn up by Pro Elite and purchased by Strikeforce
after the short-lived fight organization went bankrupt in October
2008, also did not contain a standard “champion’s clause,”
which could have placed stipulations on Shields’ renegotiations
while he remained a titleholder.
Prior
to news of the release, Jack Shields told Sherdog.com that he
submitted the fighter’s asking price to the UFC on Wednesday
and was awaiting an initial bid from the rival promotion to pass
onto Strikeforce for review. The elder Shields said he submitted
figures for a series of bouts he thought requisite if his son
fought the top contenders in both the UFC’s welterweight
and middleweight divisions.
Shields
said his son would like to debut as a UFC middleweight, possibly
against champion Anderson Silva, as welterweight champion Georges
St. Pierre will be tied up with “The Ultimate Fighter”
reality TV series and a pending bout with rival coach Josh Koscheck
later this year.
“We
didn’t come to agreement with Strikeforce, but Jake’s
excited to challenge himself against the likes of Anderson Silva
and others in the UFC,” said Shields.
In
recent weeks, Strikeforce’s Coker had said the promotion
had initial plans to hold a four-, eight-, or even 16-man tournament
to crown a new champion if Shields vacated.
Source:
Sherdog
|
ROGERIO
NOGUEIRA VS. RAMPAGE JUST TALK... SO FAR
by Damon Martin
Reports
surfaced earlier this week that a match-up was being considered
for the upcoming UFC 119 show in Indianapolis between former
UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
UFC
president Dana White on Thursday said rumors about the fight
were false, and the promotion was still trying to figure things
out in the light heavyweight division.
"That's
not true, we don't have anything set up yet," said White.
"With that division right now Little Nog could fight Rampage,
Rampage could fight Machida; there's a lot of fights we could
make. We haven't made any decisions."
Jackson
is currently traveling and promoting the "A-Team" movie
that opened nationwide last month in the United States, and is
showing around the world in theaters now. White wants to wait
until Jackson is finished with his film commitments and then
sit down and make some decisions.
"Rampage
is still promoting the movie overseas and everything, so we're
trying to figure out what the next fight will be," White
stated.
For
his part, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is currently training in Brazil
with his brother, but his manager, Ed Soares, admitted that a
fight between "Little Nog" and Rampage holds a lot
of interest.
"That
would be a great fight I think," Soares said. "I think
that would be a phenomenal fight, two ex-Pride stars that have
had some great fights in the UFC. If they're able to make that
fight happen, I think that could be a great fight."
The
UFC 119 card is currently sitting with only a few fights confirmed
and no main event or co-main event stars on board, so a match
between Nogueira and Rampage could definitely fill one of those
slots if it does end up happening.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
MMA
TOP 10 UPDATE: HEAVYWEIGHT SHAKE-UP
The latest MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday,
June 30. This system ranks the Top 10 MMA fighters from all across
the world in each of the seven most widely accepted weight classes.
Taken
into consideration are a fighter's performance in addition to
his win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty
of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most
comprehensive rankings system in the sport.
Fighters
who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible
for Top 10 consideration until they have fought one time after
the completion of their suspension.
Fighters
must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to
be eligible for Top 10 consideration unless they have a bout
scheduled within a reasonable time frame.
Below
are the current MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings, which are up-to-date
as of June 30.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
HEAVYWEIGHT
DIVISION (over 205 pounds)
#1
Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Brock Lesnar
2.
Fabricio Werdum
3.
Fedor Emelianenko
4.
Shane Carwin
5.
Cain Velasquez
6.
Junior Dos Santos
7.
Alistair Overeem
8.
Frank Mir
9.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
10.
Brett Rogers
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)
#1
Light Heavyweight Fighter in the World: Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua
2.
Lyoto Machida
3.
Rashad Evans
4.
Quinton Jackson
5.
Anderson Silva
6.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
7.
Forrest Griffin
8.
Jon Jones
9.
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal
10.
Gegard Mousasi
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
MIDDLEWEIGHT
DIVISION (185-pound limit)
#1
Middleweight Fighter in the World: Anderson Silva
2.
Chael Sonnen
3.
Jake Shields
4.
Nathan Marquardt
5.
Demian Maia
6.
Dan Henderson
7.
Robbie Lawler
8.
Jorge Santiago
9.
Yoshihiro Akiyama
10.
Yushin Okami
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
WELTERWEIGHT
DIVISION (170-pound limit)
#1
Welterweight Fighter in the World: Georges St. Pierre
2.
Jon Fitch
3.
Thiago Alves
4.
Josh Koscheck
5.
Paul Daley
6.
Nick Diaz
7.
Martin Kampmann
8.
Paulo Thiago
9.
Matt Hughes
10.
Dan Hardy
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
LIGHTWEIGHT
DIVISION (160-pound limit)
#1
Lightweight Fighter in the World: Frankie Edgar
2.
B.J. Penn
3.
Gilbert Melendez
4.
Shinya Aoki
5.
Kenny Florian
6.
Eddie Alvarez
7.
Tatsuya Kawajiri
8.
Gray Maynard
9.
Ben Henderson
10.
Jim Miller
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
FEATHERWEIGHT
DIVISION (145 pound-limit)
#1
Featherweight Fighter in the World: Jose Aldo
2.
Manny Gamburyan
3.
Mike Brown
4.
Urijah Faber
5.
Josh Grispi
6.
Marlon Sandro
7.
Diego Nunes
8.
Raphael Assuncao
9.
Hatsu Hioki
10.
"Lion" Takeshi Inoue
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
BANTAMWEIGHT
DIVISION (135 pounds or less)
#1
Featherweight Fighter in the World: Dominick Cruz
2.
Brian Bowles
3.
Joseph Benavidez
4.
Miguel Torres
5.
Scott Jorgensen
6.
Damacio Page
7.
Takeya Mizugaki
8.
Brad Pickett
9.
Masakatsu Ueda
10.
Charlie Valencia
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Your
Guide to Coping With Fedor Fans After Shocking Loss
By Ben
Fowlkes
The way some MMA fans have reacted to Fedor Emelianenko's upset
loss to Fabricio Werdum, you'd think he was kin. You know who
these people are. They're the ones still moping around the house
wearing the Fedor t-shirt they made themselves at the mall. Maybe
they're even staying up all night drinking Mountain Dew and re-watching
the fight over and over again on YouTube while writing in their
journals.
In
short, they're taking the loss a lot harder than Fedor probably
is, which is weird and a little pathetic.
What
it's not, however, is terribly unusual for MMA's passionate fan
base. When people identify so intensely with a particular fighter,
it's normal for them to feel almost as if their own fates are
bound up in that fighter's victories and defeats. Maybe it's
not terribly healthy, but neither is all that Mountain Dew.
If
you know one of these Fedor depressives – or if you're one
yourself – it might be helpful for you to know a little
about the grieving process MMA fans go through when their favorite
fighter goes down. Think of it as where the Kübler-Ross
model meets the cage. Be prepared for the intensity of each stage
to be magnified at least five times over for every year the fighter
in question has gone undefeated. In the case of Fedor fans, that
means we're talking about some serious anguish here:
1)
Shock
This stage sets in immediately, but doesn't last long. It's that
feeling the fan gets as he sees Werdum sinking the triangle choke
and finds himself thinking, 'Surely, Fedor will get out of this.
Any second now. It's not like he's going to submit.' Then he
does and the fan's mouth drops open, he can't speak a word, and
he looks around for some signal from the referee that this was
just a practice round. This can't be reality, the fan thinks.
It's far too absurd.
2)
Bitterness
This one gets ugly. Here the fan is likely to say some things
that he will later regret about the fighter who defeated his
idol. If he's Brazilian, as in the case of Werdum, a vitriolic
condemnation of everything from jiu-jitsu to samba music is likely
to follow. If the opponent has a distinctive physical characteristic,
such as the diminutive stature of Matt Serra, who downed Georges
St. Pierre in a similar upset, expect some shameful remarks about
midgets. Lots of swearing in this stage.
3)
Excuse-making
Fedor only lost because he brought his wife to the U.S. with
him for this fight. Or because he got that weird tan, which sapped
his strength. Or because he skipped out on "The MMA Hour"
and angered the MMA gods. Or because Werdum somehow cheated.
This is the stage where steroid/greasing/illegal maneuver allegations
usually come in. The fan feels that there must be an explanation
for the loss, and it must be something dastardly. Conspiracy
theories abound.
4)
Despair
This is the stage most Fedor fans are in right now, three days
after the bout. Everything sucks. Nothing brings them joy anymore.
Life itself has been rendered a hopeless and meaningless exercise
in futility. If Fedor can be beaten, and by someone like Werdum,
then there's nothing worth believing in. This is the most dangerous
stage, and the one in which fans are most likely to renounce
their religions, abandon their marriages, and burn their Pride
DVD collections.
5)
Doubt
Was Fedor ever really as good as we thought he was? Could he
have been overrated after all? Is it possible that all these
years of apparent greatness were an illusion? This stage lasts
approximately fifteen seconds before being locked away in one
the hidden rooms of the mind that the fan vows never again to
enter.
6)
Acceptance
So Fedor lost. Big deal. All it means is that he's human. Everyone
loses, and in the end it will only make him more dominant. He
will rise up stronger and better due to this motivating, humbling
experience, and there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth
among the infidels who questioned his greatness. This stage lasts
approximately twenty years, or until the next loss. Whichever
comes first.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Ricardo
Arona plans another “visit” to UFC
By Guilherme Cruz
Behind the scenes on UFC 114, TATAME TV watched the meeting between
Dana White, president of the American organization, and Ricardo
Arona, former fighter of Pride. One month later we got in touch
with the athlete to know how the negotiation was going with the
American boss.
“I
told him I wanted to fight on his event I and wanted to know
what the odds of fighting on UFC were. He was pretty cool, told
me he liked me and it could be a good idea, but that he would
have to check it with UFC’s matchmaker, Joe Silva”,
reminds the black belt, who plans a new trip to Las Vegas, United
States. “My idea is to get back there, watch another event
and talk to him again. There were no promises made, what happened
was a nice talk about something that could happen in the future”.
Focused
on his knee recovery, injured on his last fight on Bitetti Combat,
Arona is not in a rush to sign the contract with Ultimate. “Due
to my knee injury, I’ll only be able to fight on the end
of the year”, explains, revealing the possibility to do
another fight before signing with the biggest MMA event of the
world. “He (Dana White) commented something about me doing
a fight before joining UFC’s crew, but there was no promise”,
highlights.
ARONA
COMPLIMENTS WERDUM’S WIN
Being
the first Brazilian to confront Fedor Emelianenko, the guy from
Niteroi (a city in Rio de Janeiro) complimented Fabrício
Werdum’s performance against the Russian on Strikeforce.
“Everytime people asked me about Fedor I said the same thing,
that for you to beat him, the road to follow would lead you to
Jiu-Jitsu, even though I believed that this fight would go in
a different direction. I thought he would start the Jiu-Jitsu
strategy being on top of him”, analyzes Arona, surprised
with the fact that the victory came with only 69 seconds of combat.
“It was too quick, for me that was the surprise, but I knew
Jiu-Jitsu was the way to beat him”.
Source:
Tatame
|
Fighters,
Trainers React to Fedor Loss
Fedor
Emelianenko had not lost since December 2000, and that defeat
wasn’t considered a “real” one by some. The Russian’s
submission Saturday to Fabricio Werdum was undeniable, though.
In
this article, Tito Ortiz, Pat Miletich, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
and others offer their views on Werdum’s win and Fedor’s
loss.
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira: It was a great victory for Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
As a great representative of jiu-jitsu, Werdum showed the power
of sport. Fedor was the favorite, but Werdum has shown that against
Brazilian jiu-jitsu, favorites before the fight don’t matter.
He gave a show.
Greg
Nelson: Fedor is a great fighter and has been one of the most
successful fighters in recent history. Everyone can get caught,
especially if you fight at the higher levels. He hurt Werdum
early, went in for the kill and got over aggressive and got caught
in a tight triangle. People who like Fedor will always like him.
Those who don’t will say, “See? He’s been exposed.”
Therefore, everyone has been exposed.
Marco
Ruas: Two days before the fight, I gave a statement to Portal
do Vale Tudo saying that Werdum would beat Fedor. Werdum is explosive,
improved a lot on his standup skills and has one of the best
ground techniques in the MMA world. So I truly believed it would
happen.
Shane
Carwin (from Twitter): That is what MMA is all about. Expect
the unexpected.
Tito
Ortiz: Fedor finally fought somebody on a great level, and it
just showed the mistakes that Fedor makes on the ground. Werdum
is somebody that I actually know, and I did an interview in Dallas
for ESPN Radio and I called it. I knew he was going to beat him.
I just felt that once Fedor fought someone with great talent,
he would finally get his loss. You can’t believe the hype,
as they say.
Has
he ever been tested? Maybe once or twice? You can’t say
you’re the best in the world if you haven’t competed
against everybody in the world, and he hasn’t. And I think
by him not coming to the UFC put a big (stain) on his record.
You can have a company back you and say you’re the best
guy in the world, but until you compete against the best guys
in the world, you’re not that guy. There’s a lot more
things going on behind the scenes, and it’s not just Fedor
making those decisions. Fedor is fighting for his country. But
it is what it is, and it just proves that he’s not invincible
and that he’s not one of the top heavyweights in the world.
I think he’s a decent fighter overall, but I was very proud
of Werdum, though. That’s what comes with hard work.
I
didn’t think he’d submit him that quickly, but once
Fedor gets on top of you, he gets kind of messy and (throws)
looping punches, and a lot of triangles and arm locks come into
position. Werdum’s a big guy and he’s got some great
triangles. When I rolled with him, he got me in a triangle, too.
He’s a big guy who moves well and his jiu-jitsu game just
shows how good he really is. He’s a former Abu Dhabi submission
champ.
(Fedor’s
wins over “Cro Cop” and Nogueira) were a long time
ago. That was when he was in his prime, I guess you can say.
He hasn’t fought anybody on the UFC’s level, and the
best guys are in the UFC. Werdum was in the UFC. They let him
go, and he signed with Strikeforce and I think it’s kind
of bad, you know, because Werdum is still a young guy who’s
coming up and still getting better and better by the month.
Johnny
Eduardo: I found it amazing. I really liked the fight. Even after
taking the knockdown, Werdum sought the submission, fell into
a good position and got the win. It was sensational.
Kenny
Florian (from Twitter): Fedor is all class & will be back.
He is an amazing athlete. He needs to update his training. If
he does this, he will be back on top. Fedor is still the greatest
heavyweight of all time, but the sport is so new & changing
so fast. So easy to get left behind in MMA. No such thing as
"just got caught." It was a technical error. He didn't
slip & fall into the triangle. Got caught (twice).
Ricardo
Liborio: (Werdum’s win) was a great display of the efficiency
of jiu-jitsu but also of how unpredictable MMA is. Werdum is
the man.
Thales
Leites: I was too happy, very excited. Werdum is a very good
person, hard working and he deserved this victory. After he lost
to Junior dos Santos, a lot of people thought that this was his
end because he left the UFC, but he came back better than ever.
Not many people believed, but he gave a show and submitted Fedor.
Congratulations to him!
Pedro
Rizzo: It was a great victory. Werdum was very motivated and
had had an excellent fight against Antonio Silva. I expected
his victory, but not so fast. This victory was good also because
it stirred up the heavyweight rankings, and it has been very
important for Brazil.
Cristiano
Marcello: I was very happy. I admire Werdum as a person because
I worked with him. He was not the favorite, but I knew that the
path to victory was jiu-jitsu. He has history in jiu-jitsu and
is a great grappler. All the numbers favored Fedor, but Werdum
proved that mathematics do not win the fight. He showed superiority
with his ground game, was offensive and deserved the victory.
Everyone on my team watched the fight together and was rooting
for him.
Pat
Miletich: I watched in amazement as Fedor was submitted by Fabricio
Werdum. My heart sank not for Fedor but for the reality of perfection
that is not attainable in the sport of MMA. All experienced fighters
know you’re going to lose if you’re fighting world-class
opponents, but Fedor was different.
I
remember when he came on the scene in the Rings organization.
My fighters and I were competing there during the dark years
of the UFC. Nobody even noticed Fedor at first, but that soon
changed. He was wrecking name fighters standing up and on the
ground. I found it puzzling how this guy, short and average looking,
was able to beat guys like Ricardo Arona.
We
all know what followed, as Fedor would go on to mow through great
fighters in their prime in the Pride organization.
Today
on all the forums, Twitter and Facebook, people are saying they
knew he wasn't the best fighter in the world. Really? All I can
say is, he wasn't (Saturday) night.
Fabricio
Werdum was insistent in his interview that Fedor is the best
in the world. I respect Fabricio for saying this. This shows
true class from a true world-class fighter, and Werdum is a true
fighter. What Fedor said was something only a man like he could
say. Fedor said, "A man that does not fall, does not stand
up.”
I
just wonder who out of all those who are so critical of this
man will stand in front of him when he stands back up?
Mike
Sloan, Gleidson Venga and Marcelo Alonso contributed reporting
to this story.
Source: Sherdog
|
FEDOR
WHO? UFC NO LONGER INTERESTED
by Jeff Cain
Before
losing to Fabricio Werdum on June 26 in Strikeforce, Fedor Emelianenko
was one of the most sought after fighters in mixed martial arts
history, but when the winning streak ended with his first loss
in a decade, so did the Russian’s negotiating power with
the UFC.
“I’m
not interested,“ UFC president Dana White told MMAWeekly.com
on Thursday.
“How
many times have you seen us sign a guy when he just loses in
another promotion? The guy just lost in Strikeforce, let’s
sign him,” White added with a laugh.
Despite
offering Emelianenko a lucrative deal before, White has never
been sold on the former Pride titleholder’s top status in
the heavyweight division.
“To
be honest with you, without joking around, no (expletive). I
honestly and truly have not believed that Fedor is this great
heavyweight that everybody thinks he is. Yes, back in the day
in 2005 and before that he was beating some great guys who were
in their prime and was nasty. But to prove you’re the best
in the world you have to fight the best consistently. You have
to consistently fight the best,” said White.
“It
would be like calling the Lakers the world champions that are
playing some college team. You know what I mean? It’s not
the same. I can’t believe... I know that everybody can see
the sense in that, but people just love to, because he’s
not here (in the UFC) they want to say, oh this guy could do
this and that. It’s all mythology and (expletive).
“There’s
only one way to find out who can beat who and that’s fight.
And these guys aren’t willing to do it. So you don’t
get the honor of being called the best fighter in the world when
you won’t fight the best guys in the world,” added
the UFC president.
White
has not talked to Emelianenko’s handlers or M-1 Global following
the loss to Werdum, and it didn’t sound like he has any
intention to.
“I’m
done playing the games,” stated White. “If we could
have come to a deal with Fedor, yeah, we could have put on a
big promotion and found out.
“It
would have been a lot better if he had came over here and lost
to Shane Carwin, Brock Lesnar, Cain Velasquez, than losing to
Werdum.
“The
media guys keep playing the whole Fedor thing. ‘Yeah, but
it’s Fedor.’ I don’t care who it is. He’
a (expletive) man who hasn’t proved himself in five years
in my opinion.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Impact
Fighting Championship 2: The Uprising
Sydney
Entertainment Centre, Sydney, Australia
July 18, 2010
-Ken
Shamrock vs. Pedro Rizzo
-Paul Daley vs. Daniel Acacio
-Bob Sapp vs. Soa Palelei
-Paulo Filho vs. Denis Kang
-Murilo Rua vs. Jeremy May
-Murilo Bustamante vs. Jesse Taylor
-Peter Graham vs. Jim York
-Glover Teixeira vs. Marko Peseli
-Richard Vaculik vs. Luke Hume
-Shane Nix vs. Manuel Rodriguez
Source: The Fight Network
|
Michael
Kirkham's Fight to Be Reviewed By Commission
By Ray
Hui
The South Carolina Athletic Commission announced Tuesday that
it will conduct an internal review of Michael Kirkham's fight
on Saturday in which Kirkham suffered injuries leading to his
death two days later.
Also,
Kirkham's death is currently under investigation by the Aiken
County Coroner's Office as a standard procedure for any death
within the county. Coroner Tim Carlton confirmed to MMAFighting.com
Monday that Kirkham was transported to the Aiken Regional Medical
Center and was pronounced dead of a brain hemorrhage Monday morning.
An official autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.
Mixed
martial arts was regulated in the state of South Carolina on
July 1, 2009. All MMA fighters -- and boxers -- wishing to compete
on a fight card must submit an original or certified lab report
indicating that the competitor is HIV, Hepatitis B and C negative.
Also, the fighter must complete an ophthalmologic (eye) exam
as well as a physical by a doctor.
Kirkham
competed on a Dash Entertainment and King MMA co-promoted "Confrontation
at the Convocation Center" event at the USC Aiken Convocation
Center. In the fight, Kirkham was taken down early and stopped
by ground and pound punches. Kirkham would not regain consciousness
and was attended to by doctors inside the ring before being transferred
to the hospital.
The
card was sanctioned by the International Sport Karate Association.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Jacaré:
“Now I’ll use my BJJ techniques”
By Guilherme Cruz
Holding two great wins on Strikeforce, Ronaldo Jacaré
gets closer and closer to the event’s belt, which must be
vacant with the left of Jake Shields. On a chat with TATAME,
the black belt athlete revealed he will return to the octagon
on August 21, yet with no opponent chosen, but the possibility
of the event to make a GP excites him. “For me it doesn’t
matter, but I admit that a GP is a really cool thing”, said,
analyzing the opponents. “Everybody has potential to become
a champion, but I can say that Dan Henderson, Jorge Santiago,
Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler are great opponents”, affirmed,
on the below interview:
What
did you think about your fight against Joey Villasenor?
I
believe I did a good job, it was a dynamic and busy fight. Now
I’ll train a lot more so I can keep improving.
Were
you upset by the fact you could not submit him?
I
wasn’t upset because I didn’t submit him, i learn a
lot from this fight. Now I’ll dose my gas and use my Jiu-Jitsu
techniques.
Scott
Coker (Strikeforce’s president) complimented you a lot after
this win. How did you feel receiving compliments from your boss?
I’m
glad, and that proves I’m doing a great job. It was not
only him who complimented me, the audience went crazy during
the fight.
Strikeforce
told you when you would fight again? Will be your next fight
for the belt?
The
boss told me I’d fight on August 21, but he didn’t
say who I’d confront and neither if I would be for the belt
or not.
There
is a rumor about a probable middleweight GP, once the belt must
be vacant. Besides you, other participants could be Robbie Lawler,
Dan Henderson, Nick Diaz, Jason Miller, Cung Le and the winner
of this bout between Jorge Santiago and Kazuo Misaki, on Sendoku.
What do you think about this possibility?
What
matters to me is to fight, and if that happens and if it’s
good for the audience, who likes this kind of tournament, and
for me because it’s a great opportunity of confronting all
these guys.
You
fought on Dream’s GP and got to the finale. Do you like
best fighting on a GP?
For
me it doesn’t matter, but I can tell you that a GP is a
very cool thing.
Among
these guys, who would you point out as the favorite?
All
of them have the potential to become a champion, but I can say
that Dan Henderson, Jorge Santiago, Nick Diaz and Robbie Lawler
are great opponents.
Source:
Tatame
|
Eyewitnesses
Speak on Fighter’s Death; Commission Launches Investigation
by Mike
Sloan
The
South Carolina Athletic Commission and Aiken County Coroner’s
Office have both launched separate investigations into the death
of Michael Kirkham, who was injured in his first pro bout last
Saturday at the the USC Aiken Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C.,
and was pronounced dead at nearby Aiken Regional Medical Center
two days later.
An
autopsy report released Tuesday said that Kirkham had died from
“a subarachnoid hemorrhage of the brain due to injuries
and blows to the head that he received” during the bout,
acccording to WLTX.com.
The
event, co-promoted by King MMA and Dash Entertainment, was sanctioned
by the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA). Mixed martial
arts became a regulated sport in South Carolina last summer.
Fighters are required to submit to pre-fight physicals, eye exams
and blood before bouts, said a statement released by the athletic
commission on Tuesday.
Eyewitnesses
told Sherdog.com that the lightweight bout, which pitted the
6-foot-9 Kirkham against Carlos Irabura, looked to be nothing
out of the ordinary.
“It
was the co-main event and it was the beginning of the first round,”
said trainer and former World Combat League fighter Steve Dement,
who was at the fight. “I think it was the first real exchange
when Carlos landed four or five head punches while standing.
Michael went down and Carlos went after him, in true MMA fashion,
and probably landed three or four more punches from either side
control or full mount. The ref stopped the fight then.”
However,
the 30-year-old Kirkham, who carried a 3-3 amateur record into
his first pro bout, did not respond to attempts to revive him.
“I
thought it was a good stoppage and to be honest there was nothing
unusual until that point,” said Dement. “The EMTs went
in and evaluated him and were assisting his breathing. It wasn't
good.”
Kirkham’s
opponent, Irabura, was devastated by the turn of events, said
his trainer Mark Greubel, of Greubel’s Mixed Martial Arts.
“The
fight was real short,” said Greubel. “Carlos took Michael
down and maintained mount, but Michael was trying to wall-walk
up the cage. When he did so, he put his right hand on the ground
to help push himself up and when he did, it left an opening for
Carlos to throw a couple of shots. Carlos hit him with four or
five shots and Michael was knocked out. After that, he laid there
for a while and we just expected him to get back up like we’ve
seen a thousand times before, but he just never did.
“Carlos
was immediately concerned for Michael after he didn’t move
for a few moments,” continued Greubel. “He was just
pacing back and forth saying, ‘Oh man, I hope I didn’t
hurt this guy, maybe I should have submitted him.’”
Greubel
said that after a few moments, he leaned over the cage to check
on the downed fighter, still motionless on the canvas and surrounded
by medical personnel.
“I
realized that Michael was having a real hard time breathing,”
said Greubel. “It was several seconds between breaths and
he was taking short gasps of breath. After a while I didn’t
see his chest move at all. They put him on a stretcher and took
him to the hospital.”
Greubel
said his student Irabura is being consoled by family and friends,
and received a call from former UFC champion Randy Couture, who
lent his support.
“I’ve
talked to Michael’s father and brother and they both said
to me that they want Carlos to know that they don’t hold
him liable at all and that Michael loved MMA and he’d never
want to see the sport banned in any way,” said Greubel.
“He knew the inherent risks of the fight and Michael’s
dad was saying that he in no way wants Carlos to not fight again.”
The
trainer said there were no signs that the promotion, commission,
or sanctioning body couldn’t have done any more to try and
assist Kirkham.
“I
didn’t see any foul play whatsoever. I didn’t see any
wrongdoing by the commission, the sanctioning body,” he
said. “Everything I saw there was legit. It was in a great
venue. We were all treated very well and in fact, it was the
best venue I’ve ever taken my guys to.”
Kirkham
reportedly has five kids and was about to get married. A fund
to assist Kirkham’s family has been set up at www.MichaelKirkhamMemorialFund.viviti.com
Source:
Sherdog
|
DANA
WHITE ON WOMEN'S MMA AND IT'S FUTURE
by Jeff
Cain
UFC president Dana White’s stance on female mixed martial
arts has softened over the years.
It
wasn’t long ago that the brash company figurehead proclaimed
women would never fight in his organization, but White has backed
off those comments recently.
“Here’s
my thing with girls fighting. Right now the place that it’s
in is much like female boxing at one time. You probably have
three or four girls that are really good and a lot of girls that
aren’t, so it makes for some real bad mismatches,”
said White. “But I think as the sport continues to grow
around the world and more and more kids start getting involved
in mixed martial arts I think that’s going to change.”
The
defunct EliteXC and Strikeforce have had moderate success putting
on female fights, some even headlining fight cards. Gina Carano
became on overnight sensation in EliteXC, and Cristiane “Cyborg”
Santos and Sarah Kaufman have gained notoriety. Bellator Fighting
Championships has recently begun showcasing female bouts, as
well.
Zuffa,
parent company to the UFC and WEC, kicked around the thought
of having females in the WEC at one point. There was a time when
the UFC was looking into going back to Japan and considered having
a women’s bout on the card, but they’ve yet to return
to Japan and yet to have females compete. But all of that could
change in the coming years.
“I
went to this fight one time in Northern California. It was a
small show and these two girls were fighting on the card. One
girl fought just like Randy Couture and looked just like Randy
Couture. And this other girl was beautiful and looked like she
took about four Tae Bo classes. It was one of the worst fights
I’ve seen in my life and you can imagine what the outcome
was. And it really left a bad taste in my mouth, but that was
a while ago.
“This
sport has grown so much and there’s so many more girls training,”
said White. “I’m sure they’re going to change
women’s MMA over the next five or six years.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
116 Today!
July 3, 2010
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Hawaii
Air Times:
Preliminaries on SPIKE Channel 559
3:00 - 4:00PM
UFC 116 main card
Channel 701
4:00 - 7:00PM
Main
Card:
-Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin (heavyweight title)
-Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben
-Kurt Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropoulos
-Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar
-Matt Brown vs. Chris Lytle
Spike
TV Preliminary Card:
-Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer
-Seth Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero
Preliminary
Card:
-Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic
-Karlos Vemola vs. Jon Madsen
-Daniel Roberts vs. Forrest Petz
-Gerald Harris vs. Dave Branch
|
Amateur
Boxing Show Today!
Wanted to inform you our next Amateur Boxing Show will be on
Saturday, July 3rd, at the Palolo District Park Gym 6 p.m.
Boxers from Oahu, Kauai and the Kaneohe Marines scheduled to
compete.
Admission is $12.
AMATEUR BOXING OF HAWAII, KAWANO B.C. & PALOLO B.C.
PRESENTS A
MATCH EVENT/SMOKER AT THE PALOLO DISTRICT PARK GYM,
SATURDAY JULY 3, 2010
Tentative, subject to change
RED CORNER WEIGHTS BLUE CORNER
CLUB/BIRTHDATE 3 ROUNDS CLUB/BIRTHDATE
). Isaiah Bright 9/62 (0) 60 9/60 (0) Kekoa Cyrus
Unattached 1 min. Waipahu B.C.
). Chaves Justly Galdones 9/70 (9) 70 10/73 (3) Nicholas Siordia
Flipside B.C. 09/29/00 1 min. 06/18/99 TNT B.C.
). Rolando Valioto 24/190 (0) 180 180 (0) Corky Sponcey
636 B.C. 09/24/85 1 min. Unattached (Marine)
). Devena Samuelu 14/138 (0) 135 14/132 (2) Shannon Paaaina
Pearlside B.C. 04/21/97 1 ½ min. 01/16/96 Five-O B.C.
). Kaleohano Tolentino 20/180 (0) 185 176 (0) Brenton Franklin
636 B.C. 04/03/90 1 min. 01/12/89 Unattached (Marine)
). Eric Galdones 8/55 lbs (5) 60 9/58 (6) Vincent Siordia
Flipside B.C. 08/09/01 1 minute 08/16/00 TNT B.C.
). Bronson Panui 20/152 (0) 155 160 (0) Said Costelan
Five-0 B.C. 1 min. Unattached (Marines)
). Richard Ceredon 26/141 (0) 145 18/145 (2) David Vasconcellos
Jr.
636 B.C. 10/14/83 1 min. 12/08/91 Unattached
-------------10 MINUTES-------------INTERMISSION--------------10
MINUTES-------------------
). Nainoa Messiona 16/125 (1) 130 16/128 (1) Kristian Pascua
Five-O B.C. 12/10/93 2 min. 05/20/92 Waipahu B.C.
). Leohlyd Agustin 27/214 201+ 200 (0) Francisco Irizzary
636 B.C. 10/25/82 1 min. Unattached (Marine)
). Mikuni Munsayac 18/159 (1) 155 19/152 (3) Marco Pagaduan
Unattached 09/27/91 2 min. 10/25/90 Kakaako B.C.
). Kawika Tautala-Kupukaa 21/200 (1) 201+ 210 (0) Richard Barton
Five-O B.C. 05/01/89 1 min. Unattached (Marine)
). Nathan Umeda 130 (6) 130 127 (4) Phil Kapu
Palolo B.C. 12/30/88 2 min. 01/17/90 Kakaako B.C.
). Jaybrio PeBenito 14/90 (4) 90 12/87 (24) Keoni Adric Jr.
Unattached 06/16/96 1 min. 09/01/97 Waipahu B.C.
Looking
for match for:
Lennon Sullivan 10 55 4 Pearlside
*Micah Giron 10 65 0 Pearlside
Wilson Savedra 10 81 10+ 08/10/99 TNT
Ezra Bright 11 84 0 01/15/99 Richard Garcia
Bryer Nagahama 11 119 2 Pearlside
Kawela Alcos 12 68 0 01/19/98 Evolution
Tristen Kamaka 12 103 2-0 Five-O
Kekoa Balasi 12 110 14 Waipahu
Jameson Pasigan 13 95 3 bouts 03/27/97 TNT
Lexus Maduli-Pagampao 13 135 0 bouts 11/12/96 Kawano
Maui Leitu Taua 14 140 0 bouts 09/23/95 Kalihi B.C.
Elmer Bolibol 16 115 1-2 03/28/94 Unattached
Adults:
Kalai McShane 17 125 10+ bouts Five-O
Robinson Villaver 25 143.6 1 bout 11/26/84 Kalihi B.C.
Joshua Dupree 150-155 3 bouts Fighters Unlimited
Andres Barajas 165 0 bouts Fighters Unlimited
Mike Plunkett 19 185 1-0 Five-O
Females
Kairey Bermoy 11 90 1 or 2 bouts 07/21/98 Up and Up
Mahina Melandish 13 93.2 1 bout 08/21/96 Up and Up
Lisa Ha 25 118 1 bout, 2 KB 06/16/85 Kalihi B.C.
Jasmine Padeken-Pasigan 13 120 3 bouts 03/03/95 TNT
Haley Pasion 17 120 0 Waipahu
Jennalyn Ganaban 17 125 3 bouts 11/04/92 Boxfit808
Masters-
Joe Solima 38 140 1
Thanks For Your Support!!
Bruce Kawano
|
Where
Does Werdum's Stunner Over Fedor Fall on All-Time Upsets List?
By Matt
Erickson
Any time a monumental upset takes place in mixed martial arts,
it's pretty much mandatory to start up the discussion about where
the fight falls on the list of biggest upsets of all time.
With
Fabricio Werdum's Strikeforce win over Fedor Emelianenko on Saturday,
the debate began as soon as the shock of seeing Fedor tapping
out wore off: Was this the biggest upset in the history of the
sport?
This
is just one Top 10 list. Yours will likely differ in inclusions,
snubs and placement. There have, of course, been plenty of other
notable upsets beyond this set, some of which are listed here
as Honorable Mentions. But like unofficial pound-for-pound lists,
big upsets like Werdum over Fedor are a part of what keeps MMA
fans debating. So let the discussion begin.
10.
Seth Petruzelli over Kimbo Slice
There will be plenty of critics who say this fight has no business
being on a Top 10 MMA upsets list. It was marred in controversy,
accusations and official investigations both before and after
the fight. And especially after Kimbo's recent release from the
UFC, most still consider him more freak show than true mixed
martial artist. Say what you will, but Petruzelli still took
the fight on literally hours notice after Ken Shamrock was cut
warming up and couldn't go on as planned. The bout was the main
event on a nationally televised CBS card, putting it front of
plenty of watchful eyes, and Kimbo was already one of the most
recognizable names in the sport. He had demolished his first
two EliteXC opponents, Bo Cantrell and Tank Abbott, and left
James Thompson a horrifically bloody mess after exploding his
cauliflower ear. The consensus was that Petruzelli was a proverbial
lamb to the slaughter. Kimbo came out quickly, looking to maul.
But Petruzelli stunned him with a jab, dropped him to his knees,
then finished the fight by pounding Kimbo out in front of his
South Florida home crowd – in just 14 seconds. EliteXC filed
for bankruptcy less than a month later, and Petruzelli's upset
of the promotion's poster boy is widely attributed to that downfall.
9.
Randy Couture over Tim Sylvia
UFC 68: The Uprising | March 3, 2007
Couture retired after losing to Chuck Liddell for the second
straight time, completing the pair's famous trilogy at UFC 57.
But that retirement would last just 13 months. At 43, Couture
returned to the UFC to face Sylvia for the heavyweight title
he had defended twice already with wins over Andrei Arlovski
and Jeff Monson. A year away from the cage, a significant age
difference and, most importantly, a significant size difference
against the 6-foot-8 Sylvia made Couture an underdog on many
levels. But just eight seconds in, Couture dropped Slyvia and
cruised the rest of the way, dominating the champion in every
facet of the game en route to a unanimous 50-45 sweep, furthering
his Hall of Fame legend status.
8.
Joe Lauzon over Jens Pulver
UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn | Sept. 23, 2006
After leaving the UFC more than four and a half years earlier,
Pulver, the organization's first lightweight champion, returned
after going 9-4 outside the Octagon. The UFC had brought back
the lightweight division and Pulver was expected to be a top
contender for a run at the title. But Lauzon, who was little
known outside his native Massachusetts, had something to say
about that. He had been busy, fighting 16 times in 26 months
when he got the call from the UFC to face Pulver. And he came
in as a 7 to 1 underdog. A submission specialist, 11 of Lauzon's
13 wins going into the fight were from tapouts. Lauzon shot early
for a successful takedown, giving an indication that he might
not want to stand and trade with Pulver. But back on the feet,
he threw a knee to the chin that was followed by a vicious left
that put Pulver out in just 47 seconds. The loss was the first
of seven for Pulver in his next eight fights.
7.
Daiju Takase over Anderson Silva
Pride 26: Bad to the Bone | June 8, 2003
Silva had breezed through nine straight fights, including three
straight in Pride, when he was matched up with the 4-7-1 Takase.
Silva was an 8 to 1 favorite in the bout and was expected to
essentially win in a walk-through. But a minute in, Takase got
the fight to the ground, where he could avoid Silva's precision
striking. Working from the top, Takase went for several submissions,
including armbars and side chokes. When Silva finally worked
back to his feet after more than seven minutes on his back, Takase
pulled off a triangle choke that forced Silva to tap. Silva has
gone 17-2 since that loss (with a loss to Yushin Okami from a
DQ), including an amazing 11 straight in the UFC. Takase returned
to mediocrity, losing two straight and six of his next eight.
6.
BJ Penn over Matt Hughes
UFC 46: Supernatural | Jan. 31, 2004
With 13 straight wins and five straight defenses of the UFC welterweight
title, Hughes had already positioned himself as an all-time great.
The fact that Penn was moving up from lightweight to fight Hughes
at welterweight seemed to put him at even more of a disadvantage.
And Hughes had more than four times as many fights as the 7-1-1
Penn. But short of an opening left jab, Hughes was in defensive
mode the entire fight on his back after working for an early
takedown that he couldn't secure. Four minutes into the fight,
Penn postured up and landed a big right. Soon after, he had Hughes
mounted, then took his back to lock in a fight-ending rear-naked
choke. Before the fight, Hughes said he believed it was a sign
of disrespect that Penn was moving up a class to fight him. But
after the loss, he told Penn, "I never underestimated you."
Penn was on his way to becoming one of the best in the sport
before the fight with Hughes, but his dominant win made him a
permanent fixture in the discussion from there on out.
5.
Gabriel Gonzaga over Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
UFC 70: Nations Collide | April 21, 2007
Cro Cop was the UFC's highest profile signee from Pride and had
built a reputation for finishing fights with thundering kicks
to the head. At 22-4, his losses were to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira,
Kevin Randleman, Fedor and Mark Hunt – not too shabby. He
breezed through his UFC debut against Eddie Sanchez, and most
expected the same thing against Gonzaga, which would lead to
a title shot against Randy Couture. He entered a 5 to 1 favorite.
But in the very definition of irony, it was Gonzaga who delivered
a kick to Cro Cop's head, knocking him out instantly late in
the first round. The knockout would become a highlight reel moment
for the ages, and most believe Cro Cop has not been the same
fighter since the loss.
4.
Forrest Griffin over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
UFC 76: Knockout | Sept. 22, 2007
In Shogun's UFC debut after Zuffa's purchase of Pride, he came
in a -500 favorite. Most had him ranked as the top light heavyweight
in the world. Griffin was 4-2 after winning Season 1 of "The
Ultimate Fighter," but with losses to Tito Ortiz and Keith
Jardine, he hadn't yet proved he could win against top-shelf
competition. He was relentless, though, against Rua, who appeared
gassed almost from the get-go – widely attributed to an
inability to properly train following surgery. Griffin dominated
the entire fight before locking in a rear-naked choke late in
the third that Rua was too fatigued to fight off.
3.
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Pride 33: The Second Coming | Feb. 24, 2007
Nogueira, twin brother to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, came in with
a 7-1 Pride record; Sokoudjou was making his Pride debut and
was just 2-1. Sokoudjou was a massive underdog, as much as 16
to 1. "Little Nog" was highly touted for his boxing
skills – he was a Brazilian national amateur champ who would
go on to win a bronze at the Pan Am Games later in 2007. But
ironically, it was vintage boxing that sent him to the canvas.
After working head kicks, Sokoudjou dropped Nogueira with a stiff
left uppercut to the jaw. He landed another shot on the ground
before the ref could stop it after just 23 seconds. Sokoudjou's
career has been up and down since then, going 5-5 and bouncing
between Pride, the UFC, Affliction, Dream and Strikeforce, among
others. Little Nog, on the other hand, hasn't lost since then
(though many say his split decision win over Jason Brilz at UFC
114 should have gone the other way).
2.
Fabricio Werdum over Fedor Emelianenko
Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum | June 26, 2010
There are very few superlatives that haven't been bestowed upon
Fedor. By the vast majority of accounts, he was either the best
heavyweight of all time, the best pound-for-pound fighter of
all time or both. And by many accounts, he still will be after
his shocking loss on Saturday. Fedor's only career loss was against
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in a Rings event nearly 10 years ago –
and it was only a loss because of a cut caused by an illegal
elbow. Because the fight was in a tournament, there was no choice
but to rule it a loss and not a no contest. It was the one giant
asterisk that Fedor brought with him, and most fans and analysts
acknowledged he had never truly lost a fight. He entered a -625
favorite to Werdum's +425 on Saturday. Most believed Werdum's
one shot at victory was on the ground, where he could put his
BJJ skills to work. After Fedor opened with the heavy hands he's
known for 25 seconds in, he followed Werdum to the canvas and
into his guard – and that mistake would be his downfall.
Werdum immediately began working for an armbar. And though Fedor
squirmed out initially, Werdum kept the pressure on, quickly
securing a triangle choke to go along with a straight armbar.
After just 1:09, Fedor was tapping for the first time in his
legendary career.
1.
Matt Serra over Georges St-Pierre
UFC 69: Shootout | April 7, 2007
While Fedor's loss on Saturday comes close to No. 1, Serra over
GSP still reigns supreme. St-Pierre came into the fight a massive
-1300 favorite. Serra was only getting a shot at the welterweight
title because he won Season 4 of "The Ultimate Fighter,"
which many fans and reporters chalked up to little more than
a gimmick considering all the contestants that season had their
shots at the UFC previously, but hadn't cut the mustard to stick
around. Serra had gone 4-4 in the UFC before winning "The
Comeback" season of TUF, but his victory in the finals was
a split decision win over Chris Lytle – nothing special,
to be certain. GSP was expected to walk right through Serra,
a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Serra had none of it, keeping
a consistent barrage of GSP kicks at bay before staggering him
with a left – and he never gave the champ a chance to recover,
connecting with strikes that took St-Pierre's legs out from under
him. He pounced and finished with ground-and-pound, doing what
perhaps just he and his camp thought possible – winning
the UFC welterweight title. After the fight, Serra said the win
might be the biggest upset in UFC history. But many consider
it the biggest upset of all time. St-Pierre regrouped from the
loss and has never looked back, winning seven straight in dominating
fashion, including his rematch with Serra.
Honorable
Mention
• Frankie Edgar over BJ Penn | UFC 112: Invincible | April
10, 2010
• Scott Smith over Cung Le | Strikeforce: Evolution | Dec.
19, 2009
• Mackens Semerzier over Wagnney Fabiano | WEC 43: Cerrone
vs. Henderson | Oct. 10, 2009
• Brian Bowles over Miguel Torres | WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles
| Aug. 9, 2009
• Ray Mercer over Tim Sylvia | Adrenaline MMA 3: Bragging
Rights | June 13, 2009
• Joe Warren over Kid Yamamoto | Dream 9: Featherweight
Grand Prix | May 26, 2009
• Frank Mir over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira | UFC 92: The
Ultimate 2008 | Dec. 27, 2008
• Junior dos Santos over Fabricio Werdum | UFC 90: Silva
vs. Cote | Oct. 25, 2008
• Houston Alexander over Keith Jardine | UFC 71: Liddell
vs. Jackson | May 26, 2007
• Jason Lambert over Renato "Babalu" Sobral |
UFC 68: The Uprising | March 3, 2007
• Nick Diaz over Takanori Gomi | Pride 33: The Second Coming
| Feb. 24, 2007
• Marcio Cruz over Frank Mir | UFC 57: Liddell vs. Couture
3 | Feb. 4, 2006
• Kevin Randleman over Mirko Filipovic | Pride Total Elimination
2004 | April 25, 2004
• Randy Couture over Chuck Liddell | UFC 43: Meltdown |
June 6, 2003
• Jake Shields over Dan Henderson | Strikeforce: Nashville
| April 17, 2010
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Freddie
Roach Likes What He Sees of Julaton
TORONTO,
ON – (Saturday, June 26, 2010) World-renowned trainer, and
future Hall-of-Famer, Freddy Roach recently shared his thoughts
on his protégé, Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton
(6-2-1, 1 KO), as they prepare for Rumble at Rama XII on June
30th, and a showdown with Maria Elena Villalobos (6-3, 3 KO’s)
for the vacant WBO Super Bantamweight world title.
To
see the fightfan.com interview with Roach, click on the link
below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PqoRPeOjD4&feature=player_embedded
In
the main event at Rumble at Rama XII, Neven “No Surrender”
Pajkic (12-0, 5 KO’s) puts his Canadian Heavyweight title
up for grabs against the man he dethroned this past March, “The
Steel Pole” Greg Kielsa (11-1, 5 KO’s), in perhaps
the most eagerly anticipated rematch in Canadian Heavyweight
history.
Both
fights will be televised live from coast-to-coast in Canada by
TSN, in HD, at 9:00 PM Eastern.
ABOUT: Orion Sports Management is an Ontario based promotional
company known for staging first class boxing events. Run by former
Canadian Airline executive Allan Tremblay, Orion is the force
behind Ontario ’s biggest match ups, from their launch event
at The Air Canada Centre ("The Night Of The Hurricane")
to a series of televised events in the Niagara region featuring
"Baby Joe" Mesi, Razor Ruddock, Egerton Marcus, Chad
Brisson, and Steve Molitor.
Source: The Fight Network
|
VELASQUEZ
ON TAP FOR UFC 116 WINNER ASAP
by Damon Martin
Beyond the UFC heavyweight title and likely recognition as the
top heavyweight, the winner of Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin
have another prize waiting after they fight, but it's not nearly
as nice as a gold belt or worldwide adulation.
It's
8-0 wrecking machine Cain Velasquez, who will get the next title
shot after Lesnar and Carwin battle it out, and the fight will
happen sooner rather than later.
Velasquez's
status as the next contender has been known for some time, but
now it appears that if the winner of Lesnar and Carwin is healthy
after their fight Saturday night, a second heavyweight title
fight could happen in the coming months.
"Probably
as soon as possible," UFC President Dana White said about
the timing for Velasquez's title shot. "Cain's been waiting
a long time. As long as one of these guys comes out healthy."
It's
no easy road after Velasquez either as White has also said that
the upcoming fight in August between Junior Dos Santos and Roy
Nelson will also hold title implications. The winner of that
fight will be the next contender to the throne.
"Realistically,
the heavyweight division's never been more stacked. This is a
great fight between two real heavyweights on Saturday night,
and whoever wins, Cain Velasquez is waiting in the wings to fight
the winner," said White.
"Then
whoever wins that fight, we've got (Junior) Dos Santos and ‘Big
Country’ (Roy Nelson) fighting, the winner of that fight's
waiting for the next guy."
Dos
Santos has been a rising star ever since his first-round flattening
of Fabricio Werdum in his UFC debut and Nelson was the winner
of “The Ultimate Fighter" reality show with several
big wins prior to his UFC tenure. Both have become viable contenders.
Velasquez
will be in attendance at the fights on Saturday night, and will
watch with great interest, ready to take on the winner as soon
as possible.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Report:
Tapout deal with Fedor was worth $360,000
By Zach
Arnold
From
Observer radio on Saturday night:
DAVE
MELTZER: “What happened was Tapout had inked a deal to market
Fedor Emelianenko Tapout shirts and they were going to pay him,
I think the downside of $360,000 a year plus you know a cut of
the shirts and somebody told them that if they did this and they
did not cancel the deal that they would be banned from sponsoring
at UFC and since that’s where your best exposure is with
UFC, they canceled their deal with Fedor.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Does that shock anyone, though?”
DAVE
MELTZER: “See, here’s the thing. It absolutely, you
know, tonight when that word was getting around, I mean and it
kind of got around earlier even before the show, but you know
I mean I have a different experience than a lot of these reporters
here at MMA going through you know all those years with Vince
(McMahon) and you know when I see like things like that it’s
like, well, I mean, it is what it is and it’s like would
Vince do the same thing? Well, he did, over and over and over
again, you know, so it’s like it’s not that big of
a deal to me. But, if you look at it and you didn’t go through
the thing with Vince and if you look at it in a different way,
it appears you know really bad that they’re screwing with
guys and stuff like that but that’s… you know, I mean
that’s the deal. And in this case, you know they did the
same thing with, the t-shirt that Fedor had a couple of months
ago, they did the exact same thing, I mean the exact same scenario
happened so there’s a precedent for it. Tapout thought that
they were so big that… you know and in so good with UFC,
I mean UFC and Tapout are very very close, that they would be
able to do this without any repercussions, that UFC wouldn’t
come down on them but they were wrong.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “That’s not how things work.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “That’s how things work. I mean, I don’t
particularly like it, but that’s Dana and you know I mean
that’s what it is. He’s going to do that, I mean the
same reason that UFC 113 was on television tonight on Spike.
You know, I mean, it’s… that’s how he fights and
he’s a tough guy to go fight and until he you know walks
into quicksand or something it’s going to be like this and
even after it’s going to be like this, this is the way you
know he’s going to do it unless he’s, there’s
something so bad that gets him you know out of that position.
And you know again, it could happen. Absolute power creates a
feeling of invincibility and the invincibility, when you believe
you’re invincible, that is when you are going to be slapped
around by someone, somehow because you’re going to do something
stupid and I mean I’ve seen it over and over again and Dana
needs to be careful because I hope he doesn’t walk into
it. I mean, that Loretta Hunt thing you know could have been
worse and it wasn’t good but… I mean, you know, I give
him credit. Since then he has toned down, he hasn’t done
anything anywhere that silly.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Unlike TNA he has learned lessons from his failures.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “Yeah. I mean, he learned lessons period. He learned
about drawing money. It’s like…”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “He learned from his successes. That’s correct.
Yes.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “He’s learned from his successes and his failures.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
5
Matches to Make After ‘Fedor vs. Werdum’
by Tomas Rios
Everyone
take a deep breath and relax: Fedor losing does not mean the
Mayans are right about 2012. Instead of watching Roland Emmerich
movies in search of answers, get yourself a raving crackpot opinion
on what Strikeforce should do after the Fedor-ocalypse.
Fabricio
Werdum vs. Fedor Emelianenko II
Let’s
be honest here: Emelianenko’s management team makes Scott
Boras look like a pushover.
With
that in mind, Strikeforce’s best bet is to give Emelianenko
a rematch with Werdum rather than jump through hoops for a few
months trying to make a bout with Strikeforce heavyweight champion
Alistair Overeem a reality. The other issue is that pitting either
Emelianenko or Werdum against Overeem lacks the cache at this
moment to generate the hype and revenue Strikeforce needs it
to.
Besides,
after more than seven years as the sport’s pre-eminent heavyweight,
Emelianenko at least deserves the opportunity to avenge his first
loss in nearly a decade.
The
Winner vs. Alistair Overeem
Werdum
didn’t just tip over the apple cart. He went at it with
an adamantium axe and shot the pieces through a particle accelerator.
This
leaves Overeem in a difficult position: A fight with Werdum won’t
pack seats like a bout with Emelianenko would, but a bout with
Emelianenko makes no sense right now. Painful as it may sound,
the best move for Strikeforce is to get two high-profile heavyweight
bouts out of this disaster instead of just one.
Cung
Le vs. Anyone in the Middleweight Tournament
Now
that Le can happily scarf down pizza and chocolate chip cookies
again, the question becomes whether or not he’ll ever make
his way back to the cage. Cashing checks for bit parts in Kung-Fu
flicks is much easier than making it through a MMA training camp,
and Le can eat all the trans fats he wants as long as his fights
remain choreographed.
This
is a huge if, but if Le wants to keep on fighting, he needs to
go all in now and make it clear he wants in on the inevitable
middleweight title tournament. This would run counter to everything
Le has said about the tournament thus far, which is probably
the best explanation for why he should be regarded as an afterthought
rather than a serious contender.
Cristiane
"Cyborg" Santos vs. Erin Toughill
It’s
no secret that the relationship between Toughill and Strikeforce
makes the Manson family look like the Brady Bunch.
It’s
also no secret that a match between Toughill and Santos is the
most compelling and competitive bout Strikeforce could put together
on the female side of the ledger. Dominant as Santos has been,
her striking defense remains a glaring weakness and no one is
better equipped than Toughill to take advantage of that flaw.
Getting
through contentious negotiations is always a challenging process,
but if Strikeforce could handle M-1 Global, it can certainly
make this fight happen.
Josh
Thomson vs. Lyle Beerbohm
This
might be the best action fight Strikeforce can put on right now.
It needs to happen before Beerbohm gets even more fed up with
Strikeforce’s mismanagement of his career.
One
of the only homegrown names in the organization, Beerbohm has
gained a considerable following despite being inexplicably kept
off live broadcasts. His scrambling, madcap style lends itself
to entertaining fights, and Thomson is glad to keep a speed-freak
pace.
With
Gilbert Melendez awaiting a challenger to his lightweight crown,
Strikeforce would do well putting this fight on a big card and
hyping up a title shot for the winner. If they’re not careful,
Strikeforce just might end up with a compelling storyline.
Source: Sherdog
|
Murilo
Bustamante open to UFC return
By Guilherme Cruz
UFC former champion on the middleweight division, Murilo Bustamante
left Ultimate while he still was the champion, but never hide
his regret. With a comeback scheduled for July 18, in Australia,
BTT’s leader believes that a good performance against Jesse
Taylor can put him back on the big events. “Since I don’t
fight for a while, my performance will be crucial. This fight
will be important for me”, said, on the chat below, commenting
the expectations for the fight and revealing the possibility
to change for a lighter division.
What
are your expectations for this comeback?
Man,
I’m thrilled, I’m hoping that my projects work out
fine. I’m here cheering, happy to be back on the rings.
I’m training hard, I’m in a good shape and I believe
everything will work out just fine for me… I’m trying
to reach the point I want to be.
What
has been the main focus on this training for this fight?
I’ve
trained it all. I trained a lot of Boxing, Wrestling and a lot
of ground game and I’m ready for anything.
What
are your expectations for after this fight? Do you have any other
proposal from other event?
My
plan is to fight more, but since I don’t fight for a while,
my performance will be crucial. This fight will be very important
for me. What I want to do is to fight, and nothing else matters…
I want to keep fighting, I’m responding well to my trainings,
I’m doing a hard training for a while now, and I’m
doing fine. I’m confident for this fight.
You
have never hidden your regret for leaving UFC while you still
were a champion. Do you believe that is a possibility for you
to come back to the event, in case you win this and other fights?
Do you still have this wish?
I
do. I’d be a pleasure for me. I had a proposal from them
on the end of 2007 and I didn’t accept it, because I had
a fight in Japan coming and, in the end, the result of this fight
didn’t come like I was expecting… I believe I deserved
that win. From this moment I didn’t fight anymore. UFC doesn’t
take anybody who’s coming from a loss, it’s very hard.
It’s a thing that, if I have a chance, it’ll be a great
thing for me. I have the wish to return to the octagon, but let’s
see… Even if it’s not UFC, it can be Strikeforce or
an event in Japan or I can stay here in Australia, where this
event will turn out to be a great success. I’ll be very
comfortable staying there.
Do
you intend to fight as a middleweight?
Man,
I really don’t know. I believe I’ll be on this division,
but I’m thinking about changing for a lighter division too…
The future will tell us. I’m more concerned about this fight
now, which will be on the middleweight division, I already am
on the right weight, I’m skinny, in shape and I have two
weeks left for trainings hard. I’m satisfied with my physical
training, very confident, so let’s see… Let’s
see what happens.
Source:
Tatame
|
Gegard
Mousasi vs. Jake O'Brien on Tap for DREAM.15
By Ariel
Helwani
A light heavyweight bout between Gegard Mousasi and UFC veteran
Jake O'Brien is close to being finalized for DREAM.15, MMA Fighting
has learned has learned from sources close to the event.
Both
sides have verbally agreed to the fight, and barring any setbacks,
contracts are expected to be signed shortly.
The
fight is expected to be a part of the upcoming DREAM light heavyweight
tournament, which will also feature an opening round bout between
Melvin Manhoef and Tatsuya Mizuno.
DREAM.15
takes place July 10 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama,
Japan, and will be headlined by Shinya Aoki vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri
for the DREAM lightweight title.
Mousasi is coming off a Strikeforce light heavyweight title loss
to Muhammed Lawal in April. The loss marked his first since August
2006, a stretch which saw him win 15 straight fights. His current
MMA record is 28-3-1.
O'Brien
has won his last two fights in a row since being released by
the UFC following his UFC 100 loss to Jon Jones last July. The
13-3 veteran's most notable win is a UFN 8 win over Heath Herring
in January 2007.
Gesias
"JZ" Cavalcante vs. Katsunori Kikuno has also been
officially announced for the card.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
SHOGUN
OUT UNTIL MARCH 2011
by Damon Martin
The
next fight for the light heavyweight title in the UFC will pit
champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua against top contender
Rashad Evans, but it looks like that fight will have to wait
until 2011.
UFC
president Dana White, who said after Shogun's fight with Lyoto
Machida that he was undergoing knee surgery, says that the champion
is recovering well, but is likely out until next year.
"Shogun's
great, his knee's coming along great, it's all good," said
White. "He probably won't fight till next March."
Putting
the fight back until March also puts Evans on the shelf for the
rest of 2010, assuming the UFC wants to leave him as the top
contender, while the rest of the division sorts itself out.
A
rumored match-up between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira was reported on Wednesday, but White
put water on that fire saying they've made no decisions regarding
the next round of fights for those involved.
The
UFC president alluded to Jackson's continued work with promoting
the "A-Team" movie overseas. Decisions will be made
after he returns .
Other
contenders like Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin, and Rich Franklin
will continue to battle it out and by the time Rua and Evans
do go to battle, a new top dog in the division should be sorted
out.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Coach
Who Gave Him His Black Belt Says Werdum Always Wanted Fedor
by Gleidson
Veng
Fabricio Werdum shocked the world last Saturday when he submitted
Fedor Emelianenko.
The
Russian heavyweight had long been one of the most feared fighters
in the game, but Sylvio Behring, the jiu-jitsu instructor who
gave Werdum his black belt, says Werdum always dreamed of fighting
Fedor.
“In
2005, I went with him to help Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ (train)
to fight against Fedor,” Behring said. “I remember
that Werdum talked all the time about his will to fight (Fedor).
First he beat his brother Aleksander and then had his chance
and also submitted Fedor.”
One
of the most respected jiu-jitsu teachers in the world, Behring
believes Werdum was born to be a champion.
“Few
bet on it, but we knew that Werdum was able to submit Fedor on
the ground,” he said. “Fedor committed a very serious
mistake in the beginning of the fight. He landed a blow to the
chest of Werdum, who rocked a little, and Werdum intelligently
dropped and pretended to be hurt. Then Fedor made the big mistake
against a great ground fighter -- punching while leaving one
arm out and the other (in the guard). Werdum was very well trained.
He did not hesitate even a second and made the attack with great
accuracy and great technique, with pure jiu-jitsu. The triangle
choke is Werdum’s strongest technique. It made him a world
champion of jiu-jitsu. Fedor tried to get out by turning his
shoulder, but Werdum was very good with a lot of physical strength.”
Behring
does not credit jiu-jitsu alone for the victory. He said moving
to the U.S. was critical for the Brazilian heavyweight.
“I
have spoken with Rafael Cordeiro, who is his muay Thai coach
and is always beside him, and Werdum’s move to the U.S.A.
was the turning point in his career,” he said. “He
is more regimented, with a more disciplined (training) routine,
so he is further enhancing his qualities as a warrior.”
Behring
called his student’s win a victory for Brazil, for jiu-jitsu
and for humility.
“It
means that every athlete who has come to MMA with jiu-jitsu as
his great feature, it follows that they must emphasize it in
their training and not miss opportunities,” he said. “The
fighter has to be complete. Since the time of master Helio Gracie,
with professor Santa Rosa, they taught boxing to learn the distance.
Then the jiu-jitsu fighter has to learn boxing, muay Thai or
savate. Not to strike but to get the distance, to not be afraid
to take a hit and come in at the right time. Because the goal
must always be to go to the ground and submit (the opponent).
Werdum’s victory showed those who fell into this error of
neutering their game. This is a moment for reflection, for re-emphasis
on the ground game because the best fighter in the world was
submitted by one of the simplest moves of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.”
Even
so, Behring still considers Fedor the best.
“I
do not think, and Werdum also said this with great humility,
that (Werdum) is the world's No. 1 now,” Behring said. “He
won against the number one, with this great opportunity he had,
but Fedor is still number one. He made a mistake that cost him,
but he is still the best at the weight. Everyone has a time to
fall, and that was Fedor’s moment.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Jordan
Breen: Referee Kim Winslow did not act irresponsibly during the
Cris Cyborg/Jan Finney fight
By Zach Arnold
From
Sherdog radio last night, this right here is the passage that
will probably send a lot of people crazy one way or the other.
The
start of the passage deals with why people are finding it easier
to make fun of Strikeforce. Then it transitions into whether
or not round one of Cris Cyborg vs. Jan Finney should have been
scored 9-8, 9-7, or even a 9-6 round.
Here’s
the start:
JORDAN
BREEN: “Strikeforce events, for whatever reason now, I think
Strikeforce for a lot of people has used up the goodwill of fans
so people are really willing to be smarmy and snarky about it
and it seems like everyone from fans to media to other fighters,
they turn into real comedians when Strikeforce cards are on in
a really gregarious and amusing way.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Not that hard, though, I mean the material’s
very easy.”
JORDAN
BREEN: “Oh, the material’s easy but it’s still
homerun, it’s stuff that you can slam out of the park 600
feet. The hardest I’ve laughed during an MMA event in quite
some time and largely because of the Tweeting therein though
I will say I found the most annoying Tweets people who acted
as though Kim Winslow’s some kind of sadist and acted as
though she was irresponsible in acting this way.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Well, I don’t think…”
JORDAN
BREEN: “Part of it’s a build because of the James McSweeney
incident last weekend but here you know I don’t know what
people want. Fighters are supposed to fight until they can no
longer fight. Jan Finney… she was still going for take downs,
feebly so, but still going for takedowns and in the second round
she came out after being completely destroyed for the first five
minutes and landed the best punch of the fight for her, so clearly
she still had a little something left up until Cris Cyborg’s
knee collided with her torso.”
And
now, for the rest of the story…
TJ
DE SANTIS: “I was the only one of our panel of judges between
you and Mike Fridley that gave the first round to Cyborg 9-8
instead of being 9-7. A point deducted from Cyborg due to strikes
in the back of the head. Really, the only reason I think I didn’t
give it a 9-7, Jordan, is because I still thought Finney had
some fight in her and yeah, I mean, her offense was nonexistent
and she was getting it taken to her. I was very, very close to
going 9-7. I gave it 9-8 still because I thought that she was
somewhat game. Clarify, tell me why I’m an idiot for not
going 9-7 because I mean… having some fight left in you
probably shouldn’t be a judging criteria, correct?”
JORDAN
BREEN: “No, I mean, if you almost get finished like three
times, I don’t know. I thought about calling it a 9-6 round.
Like she was almost finished like three or four times. She got
her ass kicked and in an extraordinary way.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Yeah. Before we even go onto your next point,
why was Cyborg not able to finish Finney in the first? Was it
because she was just not landing enough strikes? Because she
was clearly putting it on her but she was lacking that final
finishing blow and we’ve seen Cyborg in the past almost
really get excited, she senses the end is near and she doesn’t
really pick her punches. Do you think she needs to slow down
a little bit when she tastes teh blood and smells the end coming
that she needs to try to load up for that one final devastating
you know head shot that ends it or is she just getting overexcited
or was it a case in Jan Finney being you know good enough to
just cover up and not have the fight stopped and still you know
take a pretty good beating?”
JORDAN
BREEN: “Well, Finney was definitely tough, no questions
there. But one reason that I find it so ridiculous that people
act as though Finney was about to die in the cage and Kim Winslow
acted irresponsibility is she would get dropped with something,
she would cover up, and Cyborg was just standing there throwing
arm hammer fists like no body rotation, nothing, just literally
just hitting her with the most kind of perfunctory hammer fists
and that’s nice of someone to already completely you just
trying to flurry for a stoppage but if you’re really trying
to do damage to someone and get them out of there, that’s
not going to cut it and so I do think it’s what you mentioned,
a lot of times Cris Cyborg will drop someone and flurry on them
but it’s just kind of arm punches where she’s moving
her hands as quickly as she can. Not a whole lot of intense power
to polish people off and that’s’ one reasons that I
thought Kim Winslow acted appropriately. She stood there, she
watched the hammer fists, she was acute enough the first time
around to realize that the punches were going to Jan Finney’s,
the back of her head, and therefore call for and took the point
away from Cris Cyborg. Thought she probably should have been
warned as opposed to having the point taken away at first but
nonetheless she was watching the strikes closely.
“So
what’s the ref supposed to do? That’s much better.
Is that not better than someone getting dropped, the guy comes
and just flurries insanely while a guy covers up for three seconds
and it gets stopped? Like to me that’s the most annoying
thing in MMA. A guy gets hit with a punch, goes down, he’s
in guard or on hs back and he puts his hands over his face, which
is fine because the guy’s going to come punch you. The guy
gets on top and just throws six punches in a second, all of them
are blocked, and that’s a stoppage? It’s not an intelligent
defense to put your hands over your head if someone’s trying
to punch you in the head?”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Yeah, that’s…”
JORDAN
BREEN: “Here I was thinking that was the best defense because
as far as I’ve seen, people do that on the feet. I’ve
been watching boxing and MMA. When I see people get punched on
the feet, one thing they often happen to do is put their hands
over their head. Believe it’s called BLOCKING. Seen it once
or twice. And so to act as though that’s illegitimate on
the ground simply because your horizontal instead of vertical
is asinine. I mean, there’s no way around the fact that
the fight was violent.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Absolutely.”
JORDAN
BREEN: “It was a beatdown. … Definitely a violent fight.
The problem is people seem to convince themselves that because
MMA isn’t the most violent sport that it’s not violent
at all or that it shouldn’t ever be violent and it’s
a prize fight, it’s violent by nature. Don’t convince
yourself that this is flag football. Bad, nasty grizzly stuff
is going to happen from time to time. The question is, is the
person who’s having that done to them, are they still in
a position to fight? And Jan Finney clearly was up until the
knee collided with her sternum and that was it. I’ve had
absolutely no beef with Kim Winslow’s decision on the stoppage.
In fact, as I mentioned, the only thing that I’m questionable
in her adjudicating the fight is why she took the point immediately,
I would have rather a warning at that point in time considering
it was the first offense there. Even if she [hit] twice in quick
succession, that’s such a heat-of-the-moment thing that
I think a warning is more appropriate the first time around.
But, don’t cry because oooooh, Jan Finney got beat up. She’s
a big girl. She knows what she’s getting into. There’s
nothing in that fight that makes me think Kim Winslow acted irresponsibility
and if anything I would like more referees to when someone goes
down and gets hurt, take a good hard look. Are they getting punched
in the arms? What kind of punches are actually coming at them?
“When
people talk about oooh an intelligent defense is necessary. Intelligent
defense is necessary to defend considerable offense and unless
punches are getting through and doing some real damage as opposed
to just perfunctory hammer fists after being dropped while someone’s
taking them on the forearms and elbows? That’s not cutting
it.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “The only critique I had as I going to say about
Kim Winslow was the fact that every time that Finney was down
and Cyborg was standing over her… Winslow seemed to almost
interject herself into the, I mean, it wasn’t action but
still you know there was just a moment break and she’d go,
‘do you want her up? do you want her up?’ ”
JORDAN
BREEN: “Actually, I agree, I agree.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “If Cyborg wants her up, she should be given
her the opportunity to back up and say I want her up. Don’t
go out of your way to ask her if she wants to get up. I mean,
that’s…”
JORDAN
BREEN: “I agree completely and one other thing. The second
time they clinched up in the first round, she broke them up literally
in the middle of Cris Cyborg throwing a knee to the body, which
I thought was horrible.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Also, too, you can’t look, I mean I know
Cyborg has been working on her English and she’s getting
better, but you can’t look at a non-English speaking fighter
in a middle of a fight and go, DO YOU WANT HER UP? That’s
not going to work. A lot of English-speaking fighters can’t
understand you during a fight. Yeah, if you want… You got
to let fighters dictate where the fights goes and if Cyborg wanted
her up she would have backed up.”
JORDAN
BREEN: “Agreed.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “But don’t let that take away from anything
that Kim Winslow did well tonight because she allowed Jan Finney
to fight. She allowed her to take the punishment when she wasn’t
out of it and again you’re right a lot of people are going
to cry foul, saying that it was absolutely brutal and vicious
but Finney was really never out of the fight until it was stopped
in the second round.”
JORDAN
BREEN: “Yeah. So… ridiculous, ridiculous stuff to act
as though that was what was objectionable and people are now
Tweeting saying that Kim Winslow did warn Cris Cyborg for strikes
to the back of the head but a minute before that, I’ll have
to go back and watch and re-infer my opinion there, but be that
as it may, there were some issues with her refereeing but fairly
negligible ones in the bigger picture. The bigger picture is
definitely the stoppage of the punishment that went on and to
act as though that it’s inappropriate or it’s irresponsible
because women are involved or because she was dropped a couple
of times, seriously? Don’t kid yourself and think that MMA
isn’t a violent sport and more than that, ask yourself at
any point, really, if Jan Finney wasn’t in the proper condition
to continue. Don’t take the watered-down standard that we’ve
become accustomed to in MMA — guy gets dropped, flurry to
three punches that hit him on the hands, oh that’s an OK
stoppage. Don’t take that as being a standard that we should
hold people to. That’s not a good standard just because
it’s what we see the most often.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Also, too, I mean, is Jan Finney going to walk
away from this fight a changed person? Is she going to not be
able to take more punishment in her next fight?”
JORDAN
BREEN: “No.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “No, absolutely not.”
JORDAN
BREEN: “And that’s the other thing, too, is I mean
to act as though this is irresponsible shows a real disregard
for how physical wear and tear happens. You know, she wasn’t,
I mean as we know yet, wasn’t seriously concussed in a major
way but more than that, MMA one of the reasons it does have a
fairly good safety record is the fact that this all transpired
in about 7 minutes.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Yeah.”
JORDAN
BREEN: “This is not a boxing match where it goes 27 minutes
and Jan Finney takes that for you know 5, 6, 7, 8 rounds.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Getting knocked down two times each rounds and
being allowed to continued.”
JORDAN
BREEN: “Yeah, it’s a different animal altogether and
so don’t act as though this was some kind of irresponsible
attempted pillorying of Jan Finney in that she got seriously
harmed in there. I mean, obviously, she did get harmed, that’s
what happens in MMA, but she didn’t get harmed in a way
in which it’s unsafe or unsavory for the sport and is something
that should be abhorred and tried to legislate against in the
future.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Takanori-Griffin
set to UFC On Versus 2
Coming from a loss by submission for Kenny Florian on his debut
on UFC, the Japanese Takanori Gomi will have his second chance
on the American octagon on the first day of August, but he no
longer will confront Joe Stevenson. According to the journalist
Dave Meltzer, the American had a knee injury and will be replaced
by the countryman Tyson Griffin. UFC on Versus 2, which happens
in San Diego, California, will have a green-and-yellow duel between
Thiago Tavares and Willamy Chiquerim, besides Charles from the
Bronx’s debut.
Source:
Tatame
|
Amateur
Boxing Show Tomorrow
Wanted to inform you our next Amateur Boxing Show will be on
Saturday, July 3rd, at the Palolo District Park Gym 6 p.m.
Boxers from Oahu, Kauai and the Kaneohe Marines scheduled to
compete.
Admission is $12.
AMATEUR BOXING OF HAWAII, KAWANO B.C. & PALOLO B.C.
PRESENTS A
MATCH EVENT/SMOKER AT THE PALOLO DISTRICT PARK GYM,
SATURDAY JULY 3, 2010
Tentative, subject to change
RED CORNER WEIGHTS BLUE CORNER
CLUB/BIRTHDATE 3 ROUNDS CLUB/BIRTHDATE
). Isaiah Bright 9/62 (0) 60 9/60 (0) Kekoa Cyrus
Unattached 1 min. Waipahu B.C.
). Chaves Justly Galdones 9/70 (9) 70 10/73 (3) Nicholas Siordia
Flipside B.C. 09/29/00 1 min. 06/18/99 TNT B.C.
). Rolando Valioto 24/190 (0) 180 180 (0) Corky Sponcey
636 B.C. 09/24/85 1 min. Unattached (Marine)
). Devena Samuelu 14/138 (0) 135 14/132 (2) Shannon Paaaina
Pearlside B.C. 04/21/97 1 ½ min. 01/16/96 Five-O B.C.
). Kaleohano Tolentino 20/180 (0) 185 176 (0) Brenton Franklin
636 B.C. 04/03/90 1 min. 01/12/89 Unattached (Marine)
). Eric Galdones 8/55 lbs (5) 60 9/58 (6) Vincent Siordia
Flipside B.C. 08/09/01 1 minute 08/16/00 TNT B.C.
). Bronson Panui 20/152 (0) 155 160 (0) Said Costelan
Five-0 B.C. 1 min. Unattached (Marines)
). Richard Ceredon 26/141 (0) 145 18/145 (2) David Vasconcellos
Jr.
636 B.C. 10/14/83 1 min. 12/08/91 Unattached
-------------10 MINUTES-------------INTERMISSION--------------10
MINUTES-------------------
). Nainoa Messiona 16/125 (1) 130 16/128 (1) Kristian Pascua
Five-O B.C. 12/10/93 2 min. 05/20/92 Waipahu B.C.
). Leohlyd Agustin 27/214 201+ 200 (0) Francisco Irizzary
636 B.C. 10/25/82 1 min. Unattached (Marine)
). Mikuni Munsayac 18/159 (1) 155 19/152 (3) Marco Pagaduan
Unattached 09/27/91 2 min. 10/25/90 Kakaako B.C.
). Kawika Tautala-Kupukaa 21/200 (1) 201+ 210 (0) Richard Barton
Five-O B.C. 05/01/89 1 min. Unattached (Marine)
). Nathan Umeda 130 (6) 130 127 (4) Phil Kapu
Palolo B.C. 12/30/88 2 min. 01/17/90 Kakaako B.C.
). Jaybrio PeBenito 14/90 (4) 90 12/87 (24) Keoni Adric Jr.
Unattached 06/16/96 1 min. 09/01/97 Waipahu B.C.
Looking
for match for:
Lennon Sullivan 10 55 4 Pearlside
*Micah Giron 10 65 0 Pearlside
Wilson Savedra 10 81 10+ 08/10/99 TNT
Ezra Bright 11 84 0 01/15/99 Richard Garcia
Bryer Nagahama 11 119 2 Pearlside
Kawela Alcos 12 68 0 01/19/98 Evolution
Tristen Kamaka 12 103 2-0 Five-O
Kekoa Balasi 12 110 14 Waipahu
Jameson Pasigan 13 95 3 bouts 03/27/97 TNT
Lexus Maduli-Pagampao 13 135 0 bouts 11/12/96 Kawano
Maui Leitu Taua 14 140 0 bouts 09/23/95 Kalihi B.C.
Elmer Bolibol 16 115 1-2 03/28/94 Unattached
Adults:
Kalai McShane 17 125 10+ bouts Five-O
Robinson Villaver 25 143.6 1 bout 11/26/84 Kalihi B.C.
Joshua Dupree 150-155 3 bouts Fighters Unlimited
Andres Barajas 165 0 bouts Fighters Unlimited
Mike Plunkett 19 185 1-0 Five-O
Females
Kairey Bermoy 11 90 1 or 2 bouts 07/21/98 Up and Up
Mahina Melandish 13 93.2 1 bout 08/21/96 Up and Up
Lisa Ha 25 118 1 bout, 2 KB 06/16/85 Kalihi B.C.
Jasmine Padeken-Pasigan 13 120 3 bouts 03/03/95 TNT
Haley Pasion 17 120 0 Waipahu
Jennalyn Ganaban 17 125 3 bouts 11/04/92 Boxfit808
Masters-
Joe Solima 38 140 1
Thanks For Your Support!!
Bruce Kawano
|
UFC
116 Tomorrow
July 3, 2010
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Hawaii
Air Times:
Preliminaries on SPIKE Channel 559
3:00 - 4:00PM
UFC 116 main card
Channel 701
4:00 - 7:00PM
Main
Card:
-Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin (heavyweight title)
-Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Chris Leben
-Kurt Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropoulos
-Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar
-Matt Brown vs. Chris Lytle
Spike
TV Preliminary Card:
-Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer
-Seth Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero
Preliminary
Card:
-Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic
-Karlos Vemola vs. Jon Madsen
-Daniel Roberts vs. Forrest Petz
-Gerald Harris vs. Dave Branch
|
With
Emelianenko Toppled, What Becomes of Heavyweight Ranks?
By Ben Fowlkes
To be the man, as the gospel of Ric Flair reminds us, you have
to beat the man. Last night in San Jose, Fabricio Werdum beat
the man. He beat Fedor Emelianenko just a little over a minute
into the first round. He made the man quit.
Now,
the question we must ask ourselves is, does that make Werdum
the man? The answer is certainly no, which is more than a little
unfair, but also completely sensible.
First,
let's try and take an objective look at this. Werdum, a jiu-jitsu
specialist who relies on his skill with submissions, puts those
skills to work and snatches a victory over the best heavyweight
in the world. You can say he got lucky, or that Fedor got careless,
but you could also make the same argument about Emelianenko's
win over Andrei Arlovski if you were so inclined.
The
major difference here is that Werdum wasn't supposed to win.
He pulled it off, and he shocked the MMA world, but he'd still
be the underdog in a rematch. That's because perception still
equals reality when it comes to appraising fighters. Werdum won,
and judging by the way he and his team came thundering into the
hotel bar after returning from the arena last night, he got a
lot of enjoyment out of the victory, but the fact is that most
observers still don't think of him as the world's best heavyweight.
So if it's not Werdum, and it's not the newly defeated Fedor,
who is it?
For
the moment, no one. There is a power vacuum at the top of the
division, and the UFC civil war between Shane Carwin and Brock
Lesnar next weekend will most likely decide who gets to call
himself No. 1.
That's
not necessarily guaranteed, mind you. It's possible (though difficult
to imagine) that those two behemoths could both emerge from the
UFC heavyweight title bout looking unimpressive. Odds are though
that one of them will beat the other up in brutal fashion, and
that guy will get to wear the crown thanks to Werdum's improbable
win.
Again,
is that fair? Not really. If the Carwin-Lesnar bout wasn't a
showdown for the top spot as of Saturday afternoon, it's a little
odd that it becomes one by Sunday morning, and without either
man doing anything to bring it about.
Fairness
aside, however, that's the way it's got to be, and Werdum's reaction
to submitting Fedor should tell us why.
"Fedor
is the best in the world," the Brazilian said. "Tonight
I beat Fedor, but Fedor is the best."
Only
you can't be the best if you're coming off a loss. Even if it's
a loss that almost no one thinks you wouldn't successfully avenge
if given the chance, the top dog simply can't be 0-1 in his last
outing. The rankings gods wouldn't allow it.
That's
good news for Dana White and the UFC, and it's a bit of a screw
job for Werdum, who's being treated sort of like an orphan who
won a raffle to become king for a day, but that's the way it
is.
If
you're expecting to hear Emelianenko complain, don't bother.
He never really cared about the distinction anyway, and he might
even be just a little glad to be rid of it. At least for the
time being.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Report
Card: ‘Fedor vs. Werdum’
by Mike Fridley
Grades
are in from San Jose, Calif., where Fabricio Werdum turned the
MMA world upside down with a huge upset of perennial No. 1 heavyweight
Fedor Emelianenko.
Fabricio
Werdum: A
“Vai Cavalo” did it. Werdum recovered from a dicey
start to shock the world and the landscape of MMA’s heavyweight
rankings. It’s one thing to defeat Fedor, but to do it in
69 seconds? That’s simply incredible. Next for the BJJ black
belt: Alistair Overeem, a crack at the Strikeforce title and
overdue respect.
Fedor
Emelianenko: D-
It was looking like old hat for the “Last Emperor”
early in the round, as Werdum was on his keister looking up at
the man who hadn’t lost a bout in nearly 10 years. That
all changed when Emelianenko engaged the dangerous Brazilian
in his own world and put his legacy at stake with a man he clearly
underestimated on the floor. So what’s the big deal, you
ask? Everyone loses, right? For years, the Russian from Stary
Oskol was the exception. He had beaten the best at their own
game. Twice did Fedor abuse Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira from the
guard. He spent extended time on his feet with Mirko Filipovic
and arguably got the best of him when the Croatian’s kicks
were feared as much as global warming.
Fedor
was the one consistent in this sport of seemingly unavoidable
parity, but no more. So where does Fedor stand now? This poses
a tough question for ranking panelists such as myself, who will
have to examine the placement of a man that arguably (considering
the recent slides of Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski) hasn’t
won a blockbuster fight in five years. Is he still a top-10 heavyweight?
We’ll see on Tuesday, when Sherdog.com releases its divisional
rankings.
Cung
Le: B+
Oh yes, revenge is sweet. Several clean knockdowns and a convincing
finish will do wonders for recent memory. The Vietnam native
made a statement with flashy kicks that would make Wong Fei-hung
proud and put fear in the hearts of Strikeforce middleweights.
Le’s one setback against Smith aside, the San Jose resident
still possesses a bright future in the cage and a few years of
fight in his 38-year-old frame.
Scott
Smith: D
It looked like a solid strategy at first, but rushing a superior
athlete in his own realm is questionable at best. If Fathead
made Strikeforce wall emblems, Smith would have just gotten “posterized”
by a lethal kick to the body.
Cristiane
Santos: B
The former handball player is making a name for herself as one
of the premier athletes in female MMA and a path of violence
that is perhaps unequaled. Will the media still carry Megumi
Fujii’s torch as the sport’s best, although “Cyborg”
does it more impressively on a bigger stage? Time will tell.
Josh
Thomson: B
Thomson looked exceptional on the floor in round one and less
than impressive in the follow-up frame before locking up a fight-ending
rear-naked choke in the final stanza. Thomson is largely inconsistent
but is a threat to any lightweight, as evidenced by his blowout
of Gilbert Melendez in their first encounter. Let’s not
forget that Thomson isn’t far removed from a broken leg
that forced a lengthy layoff; he’s yet to peak as a mixed
martial artist.
Jan
Finney: C-
It was a complete drubbing, but Finney showed enough heart to
leave San Jose with respect.
Pat
Healy: C
A big underdog, Healy pushed a top-level lightweight into the
third round, and he managed to take the second period on all
three Sherdog.com play-by-play scorecards.
Strikeforce:
B
Four fights, four finishes: not too shabby for a televised card.
Fedor went down, but the promotion’s poster girl dominated
in brutal fashion, and ex-champions Le and Thomson made positive
moves toward title contention. Can the league survive recent
disappointments from Dan Henderson and the reeling Emelianenko?
Yes.
Dana
White: A+
The sport’s most recognizable figure can now say that the
man who defeated Fedor couldn’t hack it in the UFC, and
he’d be correct in saying so. Finally, reporters and fans
will stop asking him about the one fighter he couldn’t secure
on his roster, and MMA’s undisputed No. 1 heavyweight will
be anointed on July 3 inside the Octagon. Is there any arguing
that? Nobody came out of Saturday evening looking better than
Mr. White, not even Werdum.
Source: Sherdog
|
ESPN
barely covers Fedor losing to Fabricio Werdum
By Zach
Arnold
It was pretty painful to see just how the network covered Fedor’s
first loss in a decade or so. They showed a basic 15-second highlight
of Werdum beating Fedor and had it tabbed as “MMA upset”
and that was about it. It was treated the same way the Miguel
Cotto-Yuri Foreman fight was treated by the network, which was
not seriously at all.
If
you’re a fight fan with any sort of passion, watching ESPN
give 20 seconds of air time to a fight that you know means something
to the business is just one of those things where you wonder
whether you are clueless or if they are the clueless ones.
As
far as general mainstream media coverage of the loss, there really
wasn’t a whole lot of it. The attendance for the Strikeforce
show was a shade under 13,000 at HP Pavilion in San Jose.
About
the media coverage of the event — I had actually offered
to write articles, for free mind you, to talk about Fedor’s
fight in Strikeforce and basically the message I got told from
editors of two major sports web sites is that higher-ups on their
platforms didn’t want to see MMA coverage on their site,
no matter if it was free or paid material. They wanted nothing
to do with MMA. I was told to check back to see if there would
be any interest in coverage of the upcoming Lesnar fight…
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
SIGNS TOP KOREAN MIDDLEWEIGHT
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Tuesday announced the signing
of top South Korean middleweight Dong-Yi Yang.
The
27-year-old Yang is 9-0 in his professional mixed martial arts
career. A member of the same Korean Top Team as WEC fighter Chang
Sung Jung, eight of Yang’s wins have come by way of TKO
and the other by submission.
Fresh
off of a win over Bill Saures last month, Yang counts Polish
heavyweight Pawel Nastula among his victims. He has competed
for both DEEP and Sengoku in Japan.
The
UFC has not yet scheduled Yang’s Octagon debut or his first
opponent.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Dan
Hardy vs. Carlos Condit Targeted for UFC 120
By Ariel Helwani
A welterweight bout between former No. 1 contender Dan Hardy
and former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit is in the
works for the yet to be announced UFC 120 event, MMA Fighting
has learned.
MMA
Weekly first reported that the bout has been agreed to by both
parties Monday afternoon.
UFC
120 is scheduled for October 16. It will mark the organization's
fourth event at the O2 Arena in London, England.
After
winning his first four UFC fights in a row, Hardy (23-7) dropped
a unanimous decision to 170-pound champion Georges St-Pierre
in March. His UFC wins came against Akihiro Gono, Rory Markham,
Marcus Davis and Mike Swick.
Condit
(25-5) most recently defeated Rory MacDonald at UFC 115 earlier
this month in Vancouver, B.C. "The Natural Born Killer"
appeared to be en route to a loss, but he turned things around
in the third round, and stopped MacDonald with just 7 seconds
remaining. The win improved his UFC record to 2-1. He lost his
debut to Martin Kampmann and defeated Jake Ellenberger.
No
other fights have been officially added or rumored for the card,
however, Michael Bisping is expected to be a part of it.
The
organization is also expected to hold it's first-ever European
Fan Expo prior to UFC 120. The event will air for free on Spike
TV in the United States.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Fedor’s
reign comes to an end after 2660 days
Saturday night, June 26, Fedor Emelianenko tapped out and loss
to Fabrício Werdum. For the first time since 2003, when
he reached the top of the division with a win over Rodrigo Minotauro,
the Russian left his position as the number one of the world,
and that was a great subject for the superticious to talk about.
According to the calculations the journalist Jordan Breen, from
Sherdog, did, Fedor’s reign lasted 2660 days, and ended
on the 26th of the 6th month of a year ended by the number 0.
Source:
Tatame
|
KING
MO VS. FEIJAO HEADED FOR STRIKEFORCE AUG 21
by Damon Martin
The
upcoming Strikeforce show slated for August 21 is starting to
take shape with one of the headlining fights almost a done deal
as light heavyweight champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal
will likely make his first title defense against Rafael "Feijao"
Cavalcante.
The
bout is expected to take place on the August card, and both Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker and Feijao's manager Ed Soares sound like the
fight is all but accepted.
Speaking
with MMAWeekly Radio on Wednesday night, Coker wouldn't confirm
the fight, but did say the promotion was hoping to announce something
in the next few days.
"It
hasn't been confirmed yet, but we'll probably have it confirmed
before the weekend," said Coker.
The
most likely opponent for Lawal is of course Rafael "Feijao"
Cavalcante, who is fresh off of a win over Antwain Britt in his
last fight, and is currently 2-1 for the promotion, while also
picking up three wins under the Elite XC banner before moving
to Strikeforce.
Ed
Soares stopped short of saying the fight was a done deal, but
made no secret that if Strikeforce offers Feijao the title shot,
they are more than willing to step in.
"That's
what we're hoping for. I think Scott's the guy to ask about that.
Put it this way, if they offer it to us, we accept," said
Soares.
"We
accept without a doubt. I think it's a fight that makes sense,
I think it's a fight that Strikeforce can promote, I think Feijao
has proven he's amongst the top in that division in that organization,
and King Mo's a hell of a fighter. It should be a great fight."
King
Mo won the Strikeforce light heavyweight title in April with
a lopsided decision over former champion Gegard Mousasi. The
former Oklahoma State wrestler is still perfect in his MMA career
going 7-0, while currently 2-0 in Strikeforce.
The
card in August is expected to take place in Houston, but no final
announcements have been made about the venue or location at this
time.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
David
Tua Training in U.S. for July 17 Showdown
World-rated heavyweight contender David Tua (51-3-1, 43KO's),
is currently in the U.S. training for his upcoming fight against
Monte Barrett (34-9, 20KO's) at the Tropicana Casino and Resort
in Atlantic City, NJ on Saturday July 17th. The WBO #2 rated
Tua has set himself up in camp in nearby Jersey City, NJ with
long-time trainer Roger Bloodworth. This will be Tua's third
fight overall, but first in the U.S. since making his return
to the ring in October of last year after a two-year hiatus.
"It
is great coming back to fight in the states. I'm back to the
place where it all started for me," stated Tua. "My
fans here are just as passionate as they are at home. It's a
great feeling and humbling to know that my fans are still there
and still into it for me. I'm grateful for their support and
loyalty they've always shown for me. My fans have supported me
since Day 1 and that means the world to me."
Regarding
training here in the states, Tua seems to be very content.
"All
is good, I have no complaints. I'm working hard, and taking it
one day at a time."
CATCH
IT ON PPV!
The
card, being billed as T-N-T at the Tropicana, is being promoted
by Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing and is being distributed in North
America by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 8 PM/ET
- 5 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand,
DIRECTV, and DISH Network in the United States for a suggested
retail price of only $24.95. The exciting undercard will go live
on PPV at 8 PM/ET - 5 PM/PT with the Tua vs. Barrett main event
scheduled to go on air at 10 PM/ET - 7 PM/PT.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Dave
Meltzer: If Strikforce signs Dave Batista at a decent price,
it shows how smart Scott Coker is
By Zach
Arnold
I
have so much audio to transcribe over the next two days, but
suffice to say I can tell you with complete confidence what to
expect…
I
was wondering if the talk radio transcripts I have been doing
were being read by the media types. Without question, the answer
is most definitely yes. In this radio passage from a late Saturday
night Observer show, this message from Dave Meltzer is clearly
directed at the Sherdog radio personalities — Jordan Breen,
Jack Encarnacao, and Lutfi Sariahmed.
Jordan
said that if Strikeforce and Showtime sign Batista that they
just don’t get it. Jack and Lutfi talked about how much
of a pro-wrestling influence there is over the MMA media writers
in regards to their backgrounds and how it’s swaying coverage
of negotiations between Dave Batista and Sherdog.
There’s
your set-up for what was, in many ways in my eyes, a strange
rant by Dave on this subject. Of note, the topic of Batista was
the thing that got him the most energized and fired up on that
Observer show late Saturday night.
By
the way, take note that I have lots of audio from the Observer
and Sherdog camps and you could not find two completely different
viewpoints on one MMA show than what you heard from these sides
and I will extravagantly highlight those passages today and tomorrow.
Wait until you read the text on Kim Winslow, the referee who
officiated the Cris Cyborg/Jan Finney fight. One side thought
that Kim was allowing a murder to take place and the other side
thought that Kim did a hell of a job in the fight.
As
far as Dave’s rant about Batista signing with Strikeforce,
I’ll address some of his points after you read the passage.
DAVE
MELTZER: “I have read some stuff, you know, having to do
with Dave Batista. OK? And it’s like, OK… I don’t
really want to see, I have no desire to see Dave Batista fight
in MMA. I really don’t care to see it. I don’t think
it’s a good idea for him. However, if… you know, there’s
this big thing going on that like if Strikeforce takes him it
shows how stupid Scott Coker is. OK? If Strikeforce takes him
and books him and get shim at a decent price, it shows how smart
Scott Coker is, not how stupid he is. It shows he’s not
narrow-minded. It shows he sees the big picture and I’m
hearing all these people going like, ‘it’s already
proven this stuff doesn’t work and you know the wrestling
fans don’t crossover’ and it’s like, WHAT THE
[expletive]. WHAT THE [expletive]. I mean, how many times between
Japan and the United States does something have to be so obvious
in front of your eyes that you don’t see it? I mean, it’s
like, what, you know, what, you know… I mean, what did Ken
Shamrock’s 2007 year tell people? What did Brock Lesnar’s
PPV success tell people? What did the whole history of Japanese
MMA tell people? You know, it’s like… it’s like…
that’s what it was built on, this fricking thing was built
on going right after (WWE) RAW. If it wasn’t for that, who
knows if UFC would even exist? I mean, what I do know for a fact
is that UFC would be nowhere but that’s a different thing,
if Vince McMahon had say no I don’t want them on after (on
Spike TV). But the point is is that if Shamrock didn’t fight
Ortiz in 2002 and bring some pro-wrestling audience with him
to that 2002 fight, I think there’s a pretty good darn chance
Lorenzo Fertitta would have said this thing is not marketable,
it’s not going to work, and they would have sold it to someone
who would have gone down the tubes with it because most people
would have at that time. You know what I mean, it would have
the money to keep it going. It would have been a disaster or
you know I mean that helped save it and certainly the one that
took UFC from being number two to number one in the world was
the Shamrock/Ortiz feud and again, you know, that was you know,
you know Shamrock’s fame was you know yeah he had fame from
MMA, but he had fame from pro-wrestling as well. And the other
thing is that a lot, you know, you know, Dave Batista was a lot
bigger pro-wrestling star than Ken Shamrock and he was a lot
bigger pro-wrestling star than Brock Lesnar and he will, on television
as far as TV ratings go, if he’s on the CBS show or if they
have the opportunity to put him on a CBS show and they don’t…
you know…”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Then they’re stupid.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “Am I missing something here?”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Then they’re stupid.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “I mean, am I wrong on this one?”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “No, you’re not. No.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “I mean… it’s like I hear people go well
Herschel Walker already proved to be a failure. That was the
third-biggest Showtime rating they ever did! Because of Herschel
Walker. You think that Nick Diaz drew that rating? You’re
fricking crazy. Nick Diaz wasn’t even over in the building
that night. The guy who was over in the building, the two guys
who were over in the building in Miami were Herschel Walker and
Bobby Lashley, not Nick Diaz. If you think that rating was drawn
by Nick Diaz. You know, again, people don’t understand what’s
drawing ratings and the bottom line is for CBS, I mean I heard
that it’s the whole fricking stupid Kendall Grove thing.
You know, it’s like, all these networks care about is ratings.
WELL, DUH! Welcome to the real world, guys.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Yeah.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “I mean, I don’t know.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “These forums are not good for your mental health.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “What?”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “These forums are not good for your mental health.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “Well, this isn’t forums, this is MMA reporters.
I don’t care, FORUMS are the FORUMS. They don’t know.
But I’m talking about guys who follow the sport and then
say, we’ve already proven that this stuff doesn’t work
when in fact we’ve already proven that he does.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “That’s even more disconcerting.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “Granted, again, Brock Lesnar… Brock Lesnar,
there were reasons that Brock Lesnar could have been successful
because of his legitimate background that Dave Batista doesn’t
have. But Dave Batista is still a bigger, you know, was a bigger
star in pro-wrestling than Lesnar. Will those people follow him
in the same numbers that they followed Lesnar? Probably not.
I think that there’s something, there’s a missing piece
in the dynamic, but will he mean more than Herschel Walker? Debatable.
I mean, Herschel Walker got a lot of mainstream press that Batista
won’t have but Batista was relevant on television, you know,
as of two months ago on a show that really drew big ratings and
Herschel Walker wasn’t in that position since he left the
NFL you know in the 90s. You know, many many years ago.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “The missing piece of the puzzle, I think actually,
if we want to go back to that very quickly is as far as wrestling
fans are concerned, I think that even fans who knew, I mean I
think every fans knows it fake, but I think wrestling fans looked
at Brock Lesnar as, here’s a guy who could kill you and
I think they look at Batista as, here is a big jacked up bodybuilder
that happens to be a pro-wrestler, and if push came to shove,
which guys are you going to want to see in a real fight, I think
people are going to choose Brock because they have this idea
that he’ll kill dudes.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “I agree with you, but as far as the curiosity
and the ratings and everything like that…. there’s
going to be people who are going to watch Dave Batista fight
just because, I mean it’s going to cause curiosity.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Of course, yeah.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “When Herschel Walker played football, there was
nobody watching the NFL going like, if Herschel Walker was in
a real fight, you never thought of him… there are guys in
the NFL who had that tough guy reputation and Herschel Walker
wasn’t one of them. Herschel Walker was just a really, you
know, a famous and a great football player. You know, Dave Batista
did headline Wrestlemanias and things like that and he’s
got you know tremendous name value in that industry and that
industry that we’ve already seen crosses over to MMA when
it’s promoted to them. I mean, Lesnar, you know again, you
know… look at the buy rates Lesnar drew. Where did those
people come from?”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Wrestling.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “Well, not all of them, some of them came from
the UFC. But I mean the point is like, put it this way —
the first Lesnar/Mir fight of that 600,000… 300,000 had
never bought from a UFC before. They came from wrestling.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Yeah.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “And that’s 300,000 buys and you know again
if and TV ratings are different from buys, but you know Dave
Batista’s going to mean more fore TV ratings. Like someone
was talking to me, there’s actually another MMA promoter
was talking to me about you know Dave Batista and what he would
mean on PPV and I was not that high on that. They were going
like, could we get 150,000 buys on PPV putting Dave Batista against
a scrub and I thought, I don’t think so, and he was like,
I think so. I don’t think so. But I said like you know if
you can get him on television even against a scrub I think he’ll
draw curiosity ratings. I mean… what’s her name, Chyna
(Joanie Laurer), remember when Chyna fought on television against
Joey Buttafuoco?”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Yeah.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “I mean, that did something like I don’t remember
the number but it was like a 10 rating or a 9 rating, I mean
it’s ridiculous. The number was unbelievably ridiculous.
It was a number that like MMA will never get in its history.
That’s what draws unfortunately in our society that’s
what draws ratings. That’s a lesson. You know and it’s
like, rather than bury your head in the sand and say you know
like I don’t like it so it won’t work, it’s like
hey, I don’t like it either… but when push comes to
shove and you know let’s face it, especially God… especially
that last CBS show with Dan Henderson on top, look at what rating
it drew. These guys need, isn’t that a lesson learned? Dan
Henderson was a big-time superstar in the MMA world and he couldn’t
draw [expletive] for ratings on top. Fedor can draw because of
that mystique, OK? Gina Carano can draw because she’s very
pretty and for whatever reason. Kimbo can draw and he can still
draw today, even though people think oh Kimbo’s done, Kimbo
would still draw today because he’s a star and people will
pay to see a star just like Liddell lose over and over again
but he’s a star and people will you know pay to see him,
watch them for free, and Batista is a star from another world,
you know, but he’s a real TV star.”
If
you look at a lot of the arguments that Jordan and Jack &
Lutfi made about Batista being an awful signing for Strikeforce,
it more or less has to do with the fact that Batista can’t
fight. He’s a 41-year old guy. Great. So he pops you one
rating on TV. He can’t do anything else for you.
Strikeforce
needs star power plus roster depth. Batista gives them star power
only for one show and that star power is largely very questionable.
When I hear the argument that Batista is some sort of TV star,
think of all the times you saw those horrible ratings WWE would
draw on NBC in the modern era for either the reincarnation of
Saturday Night’s Main Eent or Tribute to the Troops. On
network television, the WWE guys aren’t draws. So, throw
that “TV star” argument out the window.
Focusing
on what Dave said about MMA’s history in Japanese pro-wrestling,
this issue of course is up my alley because it’s damn near
my backbone as far as where I came from to become a writer covering
this industry. You can’t compare the MMA crossover in Japan
to the MMA crossover in America. There are different reasons
for what happened in each sector. In Japan, professional wrestling
has always been covered as a mainstream sport in the media —
TV, newspapers, magazines. It was always treated as legitimate.
When PRIDE rose to fame starting in 1997, the reason professional
wrestling got hurt by it is because the mirage of wrestlers being
the strongest fighters in the world got shattered. (Think: Yuji
Nagata against Mirko Cro Cop.) In America, Vince McMahon made
wrestling into a completely bigger circus and nobody looked at
the wrestlers as legitimate fighters. So, what attracted Japanese
wrestling fans to MMA is an entirely different set of circumstances
than the ones leading to American wrestling fans watching MMA
now (and they are doing so because they are sick and tired of
WWE being so corporate and fake and insulting to their intelligence.)
As
far as the Ken Shamrock/Tito Ortiz feud, two points. Dave argues
that Shamrock’s wrestling background brought new fans to
UFC. He’s right. But the reason those fans stuck around
with Ken is because they saw him as legitimate. No one sees Dave
Batista as a legitimate fighter. Ken Shamrock had an amazing
career in MMA as far as star power was concerned. On the second
point that the Shamrock/Tito Ortiz feud made UFC go from #2 to
#1… in what sense? Domestically in America, sure. Worldwide?
If it wasn’t for the yakuza scandal that destroyed PRIDE,
PRIDE still would have been drawing some very big numbers on
Fuji TV. If Fuji TV had not cut the financial cord to Dream Stage
Entertainment, PRIDE still would have drew big numbers.
Regarding
Herschel Walker being a ‘failure’… no one said
he was a failure. None of the Sherdog writers said that. What
they did remark upon, however, is the same everything everyone
else did which is that he said he only wanted to fight a couple
of times in MMA and that was that. He was not a guy you could
build your promotion around. He had a great story, but at the
end of the day he’s largely a promotional gimmick. Dave
Batista signing with Strikeforce would be the ultimate promotional
gimmick. Strikeforce needs both star power and roster depth and
signing guys like Herschel Walker and Dave Batista doesn’t
address the many problems the company has in regards to building
new talent and being able to actually promote shows on a network
platform.
By
the way, this whole transcription is yet another surreal moment
where my name or the site doesn’t get mentioned at all during
the discussion of where these conversations and articles are
taking place. It’s funny because I have all the evidence
I need to prove that everyone in the business is reading this
place these days but for some reason it’s dangerous, I tell
you, to mention whom they are speaking of.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Lolohea
Mahe Scheduled for Strikeforce on July 23rd!
Strikeforce Challengers 9
July 23, 2010
Comcast Arena, Everett, Washington
Airing: Showtime
-Sarah
Kaufman vs. Roxanne Modafferi (female 135 lb. title)
-Shane del Rosario vs. Lolohea Mahe
-Abongo Humphrey vs. Mike Kyle
Source: The Fight Network
|
UFC
118
August 28, 2010
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Main
Card:
-Frankie Edgar vs. B.J.
Penn (lightweight
title)
-Randy Couture vs. James Toney
-Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares
-Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard
-Marcus Davis vs. Nate Diaz
Preliminary
Card:
-Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
-Terry Etim vs. Joe Lauzon
-Nik Lentz vs. Andre Winner
-Phil Baroni vs. John Salter
-Nick Osipczak vs. Greg Soto
-Amilcar Alves vs. Mike Pierce
|
Fedor:
‘I Made a Mistake’
by Loretta
Hunt
SAN
JOSE, Calif. -- Fedor Emelianenko said his first loss in nearly
10 years came down to over-earnestness and one split-second of
hesitation, as Fabricio Werdum trapped the Russian’s head
and arm into a 69-second submission finish at Strikeforce “Fedor
vs. Werdum” Saturday inside the HP Pavilion.
“At
the very beginning of the round, I hit Fabricio and I wanted
to finish the fight as soon as possible and at that very moment
I made a mistake,” said the 33-year-old fighting legend
through his translator following one of the bigger upsets in
MMA history.
By
all accounts, “The Last Emperor” seemed off to a strong
start as he flurried early with the 6-foot-4 Werdum and seemed
to knock the Brazilian off-balance and to his back.
However,
Werdum, a jiu-jitsu black belt who’d twice been crowned
an Abu Dhabi World Submission Grappling champion, wasn’t
as hurt as Emelianenko thought him to be.
Werdum
systematically applied both an armbar and a triangle choke at
the same time as Emelianenko charged into his guard. The 12,000-plus
in attendance watched and waited as Emelianenko maneuvered to
free himself, as Werdum alternated pressure between the two holds
and tightened his grasp. Emelianenko said he tapped out to the
triangle choke.
“Certainly
there were several moments when I could escape, but I relied
on myself too much and that’s why I paid for it,” said
Emelianenko. “At the very moment that I had to escape, I
stopped. I didn’t do that and that moment was used by Fabricio
to lock his clinch, to finish locking up his legs.”
Emelianenko,
who was said to have been consoling his sullen team members backstage
afterward, was characteristically calm following the defeat,
smiling to the press as he answered questions.
“It
happens that I was made kind of an idol,” said Emelianenko.
“Everybody loses. That happens. I’m an ordinary human
being, as is all of us and if it is God’s will, the next
fight I will win.”
The
Russian star said he would welcome a rematch with Werdum if the
Brazilian granted it.
“I
am very, very sorry and it’s a pity that I disappointed
people that really believed in me and trusted me, but everything
in this life happens for some reason,” said Emelianenko.
Emelianenko
made no excuses for the loss. He said his camp went according
to plan and nothing felt or appeared out of the ordinary as he
headed into his 34th professional bout.
“I
tried to work out (motivated) to come into the fight in my best
shape and the fight today showed that maybe I didn’t work
enough,” he said. “I didn’t manage to make all
my technique to become automatic. That means I will have to work
more.”
When
asked about retirement, Emelianenko said he would at least return
to fight the final bout on his co-promotional contract between
M-1 Global and Strikeforce.
The
defeat that few saw coming put preliminary plans to pair Emelianenko
against Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem on
ice.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker had predicted that Werdum would pull off the
upset and said many underestimated the Brazilian’s abilities.
“I
think Fedor felt he hurt him and wanted to take him out,”
said Coker. “I don’t want to say he got greedy, but
maybe he got a little greedy. He went down to go for the knockout
and he fell right into Fabricio’s strength.”
Coker
stood by his belief that Emelianenko is the “greatest mixed
martial arts fighter ever,” and urged others to remember
the former Pride champion’s impressive body of work, which
includes victories over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko “Cro
Cop” Filipovic and former UFC champions Tim Sylvia and Andrei
Arlovski, to name a few.
“I
don’t want people to start disparaging Fedor,” said
Coker. “Let me tell you, the guy’s still an amazing
fighter and you’ll see him come back. He’ll come back
with a vengeance.”
Source: Sherdog
|
S.C.
FIGHTER DIES FOLLOWING PRO DEBUT
Michael
Kirkham died Monday following his professional mixed martial
arts debut on at the Dash Entertainment and King MMA co-promoted
“Confrontation at the Convocation Center” event at
the USC Aiken Convocation Center in South Carolina on Saturday
night, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The
Aiken County coroner, Tim Carlton, told the AP that Kirkham,
30, collapsed after the fight. He was taken to Aiken Regional
Medical Center, but never regained consciousness.
Carlton
said that Kirkham died from apparent brain injuries suffered
in the ground and pound stoppage, but added an autopsy would
be performed on Tuesday.
Kirkham
had fought six amateur fights prior to Saturday’s pro debut.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
The
happiest man in the world because of Fedor losing is…
By Zach
Arnold
Miro
Mijatovic.
I’m
about to give you a unique history lesson that you probably won’t
read elsewhere. In many ways, Fedor losing tonight historically
means a lot to me because it’s kind of a closing on a chapter
of history that never really got a proper end to it (the end
of PRIDE).
If
you don’t recognize the name Miro Mijatovic (and I’m
sure most of you don’t or forgot), he was the super agent
in Japan who had the two mega power gaijin aces under contract:
Fedor and Mirko. This was in 2003. Miro did work as a lawyer
in Japan and came from very deep Australian credentials. He ended
up doing some service work for swimmer Ian Thorpe in Japan.
Miro
came into the MMA world and became one of the “big three”
agents during the PRIDE era. You have Motoko Uchida, Akira Maeda’s
former secretary in RINGS, managing BTT (Brazilian Top Team).
You have Koichi Kawasaki, who represented Chute Boxe Academy.
You had Miro who was representing Fedor and Cro Cop.
Miro
had managed the careers of both men pretty damn well and dealt
with all the politics that you’ve seen played out in public;
only he had to deal with it in private and make sure everything
went smoothly. He did his job.
Then
came the New Year’s Eve wars of 2003. Antonio Inoki got
into the game. Seiya Kawamata, admitted yakuza fixer, got involved
with the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye show for Nippon TV. PRIDE had their
deal with Fuji TV. K-1 had their deal with Tokyo Broadcasting
System. Fedor would end up fighting on the NYE event and Cro
Cop bailed on Miro to go to Ken Imai, who was closely aligned
with PRIDE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara. If you recall, Mirko was
supposed to fight Yoshihiro Takayama on the Inoki show but backed
out due to back injury claims. We know what happened next.
Eventually,
the strings got pulled in PRIDE and political backstabbing was
the norm. Miro watched as Cro Cop and Fedor, his two big fighters,
fought each other. In the end, Miro became one of the key components
to the implosion of PRIDE because of how he was threatened by
certain individuals and how the yakuza scandal unraveled. He
faced a lot of hardship privately from the scandal and it essentially
drove him out of the fight business.
While
I do not take joy in watching Fedor lose, I do understand why
his detractors are celebrating tonight. It is a sense of closure
on the PRIDE era. However, for those who lived during the PRIDE
era and got burned by it, tonight’s loss has an extra-sweet
taste to it.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
The
5 Best Moments from ‘Fedor vs. Werdum’
by Tomas
Rios
So,
did you hear this Fedor guy lost?
The
five best moments of Strikeforce/M-1 Global “Fedor vs. Werdum”
follow, and you get one guess as to what tops the list.
Werdum
Does the Impossible … In 69 Seconds
Business
as usual for Fedor Emelianenko has come to mean him trampling
some poor soul until the referee decides to step in on behalf
of human sympathy. At first it seemed as though Fabricio Werdum
would be so much fodder for Emelianenko’s brutal brilliance.
Then the Brazilian put the fear of God in Fedor fans the world
over by nearly catching the dead-eyed Russian in an armbar.
As
he has done so many times before, Emelianenko escaped with ease,
but what he did next was downright puzzling: He continued to
ignore the fact that he was in the guard of one of the greatest
Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners on the planet. Werdum responded
to that strategic error by sinking in a triangle choke that not
even the greatest heavyweight of all time could escape.
That
moment when Werdum clamped down on the technique and no one was
sure what would happen -- well, it’s moments like that that
bring into full focus what separates MMA from any sport you could
name.
Fedor
Taps … Once
Fedor
Emelianenko never loses.
It’s
a statement that was regarded as ironclad law in some circles
and one that ended with a single feeble tap. The image of Fabricio
Werdum’s brilliant triangle choke submission of Emelianenko
will live on for as long as this sport lasts and rightfully so.
What
Werdum did on June 26, 2010, will be remembered for many things
-- the fall of Fedor likely being the biggest -- but it should
be remembered as the night the MMA world was reminded that nothing
in sports lasts forever, no matter how hard you try to convince
yourself otherwise.
Kim
Winslow Shows What Refereeing Is About
Referee
Kim Winslow (far right).Anyone interested in what a 10-7 round
in MMA looks like should watch the first round of the so-called
“fight” between Strikeforce women’s 145-pound
champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos and Jan Finney.
While a point deduction kept it from being an actual 10-7 in
my book, it was still a visceral beating that seemed to tap into
a universal sort of compassion from MMA fans and analysts.
Finney
gamely came out for the second round, and the beating resumed
without an ounce of restraint from Santos. Referee Kim Winslow
finally called off the match at 2:56 into the second round and
in doing so showed a tremendous ability to ignore the blows Santos
was landing and focus on the fact that Finney was still intelligently
defending herself.
Many
have labeled Winslow’s performance incompetent. I say it
was one of the best examples of refereeing in a sport desperately
in need of quality cage generals.
Le
Crushes Smith’s Ribs for Cookies
If
you want to inspire greatness in Cung Le, just take away his
pizza and chocolate chip cookies for a few weeks. With the questions
about his commitment to MMA only growing louder after his disastrous
TKO loss to Scott Smith last year, Le ditched the junk food for
the hotly anticipated rematch and outclassed Smith for nearly
every minute of the fight.
The
cherry on Le’s fistic masterpiece was a crumpling spinning
back kick to Smith’s liver that seemed to suck the oxygen
right out of his former conqueror’s blood. With that perfect
meeting of skill and athleticism, Le resurrected some of the
hype he lost when his unblemished record fell by the wayside.
Whether
or not the allure of Hollywood paychecks keeps Le from building
on his greatest moment remains to be seen, but what he did tonight
is good enough -- at least for now.
Thomson
Finishes the Longest Sleeper Hold Ever
After
splitting the first two rounds on my scorecard, it was clear
the bout between Josh Thomson and Pat Healy would come down to
a game of conditioning. While Thomson seemed to be the fresher
fighter, Healy’s rugged style seemed well-suited to covering
up for his wheezing lungs.
Just
as Healy seemed set to take the top control he so desperately
needed to win, Thomson deftly turned the tables and latched onto
his back. A deep rear-naked choke was quickly wrapped around
Healy’s neck, but he resisted logic and instinct by refusing
to tap out for several agonizing seconds.
Human
physiology finally won out, and Thomson walked away with the
win in a match he could not afford to lose.
Source: Sherdog
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The
internet MMA universe is exploding
By Zach
Arnold
I
think the happiest man tonight with Fabricio Werdum beating Fedor
is not Werdum himself but Mirko Cro Cop. Mirko brought in Werdum
to his camp several years ago to help work with him on the ground
game (this was during the PRIDE days). And if anyone remembers
at all the build-up for that Fedor/Mirko match, it was incredible
and one of the most surreal moments I’ve ever seen in my
life. (Including the video package of Mirko before the fight,
the controversial one — you’ll know what I’m referring
to if you saw it.)
My
gut feeling about Fedor losing is that he lost to a guy he should
have beat, but he lost to a guy who while uncoordinated standing
up is pretty good on the ground. Not exactly the result I expected.
He made a mistake. He put the guy on the ground and he fell into
the trap. The hyperventilating needs to stop already and people
need to put it all into perspective.
I
don’t really feel too bad for Fedor losing and I’m
not sure he feels bad himself. Disappointed, yes, but not crushed.
His management team sure as hell panicking, though. As for Mr.
Werdum, congratulations, you earned your lottery ticket and I
hope for nothing but the best for you financially and athletically
in the business. You really pulled off a big accomplishment.
Thumbs up.
As
for Dana White laughing like a mad man for a week heading up
to UFC 116, fine. He can be the bully. Let him say what he’s
going to say. At this point, he’s become predictable in
his rhetoric. He just better hope that Shane Carwin, “the
boring guy,” doesn’t pick apart Brock Lesnar and win
the UFC Heavyweight Title. I’d hate for there to be chaos
in the Heavyweight division, wouldn’t you?
Quotes
and thoughts
“The
Shank Tark.” My favorite line ever. Awesome.
Jordan
Breen on Frank Shamrock retiring:
Narrating
your own retirement tribute video? Really? Couldn’t get
someone else to do these voiceovers? Hell.
Love
how many people are outraged by this Shamrock homage. Strikeforce
has exhausted all good will and fans are ready to snap at anything.
Josh
Gross:
Congrats
Frank Shamrock on a great career. Does he get into the UFC Hall
of Fame? How do they determine that again?
Miguel
Torres on Fedor losing:
Everyone
is human. Fedor is still the man, but now he feels the cold chill
of his humanity. If it bleeds… we can kill it.
Every
Brazilian I know is calling me yelling into the phone. I know,
believe in your jiu-jitsu.
I
have a weird feeling Alexander just got murdered in a basement
of a bar in Russia. The kgb don’t play no games.
Tomas
Rios:
Franky
Shams comparing himself to Fedor is like me comparing myself
to Studs Terkel. Does not compute.
So
was it God’s will for Fedor to get tapped out in 69 seconds?
Because if so, it clearly means God is on the MMA media’s
side.
Source: Fight Opinion
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The
Pitbull will look to get his bite back in August.
After
a long and difficult process that ended with brain surgery, Thiago
Alves has officially been cleared medically and will return to
action on Aug. 7 to face Jon Fitch in the co-main event of UFC
117 in Oakland, Calif.
The
UFC made the bout official on Tuesday.
Alves
and Fitch were last scheduled to meet in March at UFC 111 in
New Jersey, but pre-medical testing on the Brazilian revealed
a brain anomaly that concerned doctors enough to pull him from
the fight. The American Top Team welterweight returned to New
York and underwent surgery to repair the issue, and after several
tests to insure he was healthy, Alves has now been cleared.
Fitch
remained on the UFC 111 card and went on to defeat late replacement
Ben Saunders by unanimous decision.
This
will be the first fight back for Alves since his title fight
against Georges St-Pierre at the historic UFC 100 show last July.
The
bout between Alves and Fitch will occupy the co-main event slot
on the UFC 117 card, with headliners Anderson Silva and Chael
Sonnen battling for the UFC middleweight title.
Source: MMA Weekly
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