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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2010
November
Aloha
State BJJ
Championships: Final Conflict
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
10/15-17/10
ETERNAL SUBMISSIONS: 1st Annual BJJ GI/NO-GI tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Kauai)
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)
(99 Market Shopping Center, Mapunapuna)
7/9/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
7/3/10
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
6/26/10
Kauai Cage Match 9
(MMA)
(Kilohana, Gaylords Mansion, Kauai)
6/25-26/10
50th
State BJJ Championships
(BJJ)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/24/10
Quest for Champions
(Kumite/Grappling)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
6/19/10
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
6/18-19/10
Select
Combat
(Triple Threat)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/12/10
Destiny: Fury
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Center)
6/11-13/10
MMA Hawaii Expo
(Blaisdell Ballroom)
6/11-12/10
3rd
Annual Pacific Submission Championships
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/11/10
Legacy Combat MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/4/10
X-1:
Nations Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/3-6/10
World
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach, Long Beach,
CA)
5/22/10
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waiphau Filcom Center)
5/15/10
Scrappla Fest 2
Relson Gracie KTI Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Island School, Kauai)
X-1 World Events
(MMA)
(Waipahu HS Gym)
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Evolution Training Center, Waipio Industrial Court #110)
5/1/10
Galaxy
MMA: Worlds Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/23/10
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)
|
|
July
2010 News Part 2
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi and Kickboxing Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ Dean, & Chris
Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
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Club TV
The Toughest Show
On Teleivision
Tuesdays
at 8:00PM
Olelo Channel 52 on Oahu
Also on Akaku on Maui
Check
out the FCTV website! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
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To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
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to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
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Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
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O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Knife & Stickfighting) who were directly
trained under the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
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Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
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LASHLEY
VS. GRIGGS SET FOR STRIKEFORCE AUG 21
Former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley will head back to action on
August 21 in Strikeforce and face off against Chad Griggs in
a heavyweight bout on the night's main card in Houston.
Strikeforce
official Mike Afromowitz confirmed the fight to MMAWeekly.com
on Friday.
At
a perfect 5-0, Bobby Lashley has been pretty impressive so far
in his MMA fighting career. A background in wrestling helped
Lashley with the groundwork for his MMA foundations, and the
massive heavyweight has sought out camps like American Top Team
to help in his transition to the sport.
Now
training out of Colorado, Lashley has taken some hits in the
media for not taking a more well-known or perceived tougher opponent,
but he has admitted in the past that he wanted to take things
slow and not push his acceleration into MMA.
Trying
to prove he belongs in the cage with Lashley will be 8-1 fighter
Chad Griggs, who makes his Strikeforce debut on August 21.
The
former IFL heavyweight has fought primarily in regional promotions
recently and rides a three fight win streak into his fight with
Lashley, with all the fights being stopped in the first round
due to KO or TKO.
The
fight between Lashley and Griggs will occupy a slot on the televised
portion of the Showtime broadcast, headlined by Muhammed "King
Mo" Lawal putting his light heavyweight title on the line
against Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante.
Source: MMA Weekly |
FRANK
SHAMROCK NOT EXPECTING UFC HALL OF FAME
When Frank Shamrock first announced his retirement from the sport
of MMA a few weeks back, one of the major questions from fans
and critics alike was, “Would the former UFC champion ever
be inducted into their Hall of Fame?”
During
his time with the UFC, Shamrock went 5-0, and was undefeated
through several title defenses as the promotion's middleweight
(now light heavyweight) champion.
Despite
those accolades, Shamrock doesn't believe that the UFC will ever
induct him into its Hall of Fame.
"I
don't think it will ever happen personally," Shamrock told
MMAWeekly Radio. "I'm the competition, why would they put
me in there? They're unique that they can write their own history
and future."
While
competing in the UFC, Shamrock defeated several top fighters
at the time. He had the most memorable match of his career when
he defeated Tito Ortiz in September 1999. Following the fight,
Shamrock decided to retire from active competition. He stuck
around the UFC for a little while after that, but soon left the
company altogether to pursue other interests.
After
winning the UFC championship by defeating Kevin Jackson, Shamrock
defended the belt four times, finishing every opponent within
time limits. He believes those credentials should land him in
the UFC Hall of Fame.
"I
think so, but it's not my company, so they do what they want
to do," Shamrock stated.
What
it comes down to for Shamrock is doing what the fans want to
see, and he believes that his accomplishments were enough inside
the Octagon that he deserves to be listed with fighters like
Royce Gracie, Randy Couture, and his brother, Ken.
"I
think it's the right thing to do for the fans, but like I said,
it ain't my show. So I don't worry too much about it," said
Shamrock. "I think it's a disservice to the sport personally
cause you can't change history, and you can't omit people because
you don't like them or they didn't sign a contract. It is what
it is."
History
will ultimately tell the tale on Frank Shamrock in the UFC. A
5-0 record, all fights won by submission or knockout, and four
successful title defenses. He may not make the UFC Hall of Fame,
but Shamrock will always be remembered as a great in the Octagon.
Source: MMA Weekly |
SHIELDS
SIGNS WITH UFC AND GOES BACK TO 170LBS (UPDATED)
The UFC has a new contender in the welterweight division and
his name is Jake Shields.
The
former Strikeforce middleweight champion has officially signed
with the UFC, and will move back down to 170lbs, where he spent
the majority of his career before a recent move to 185lbs.
The
news was announced by GracieFighter.com, the site for Shields'
lead trainer Cesar Gracie, on late Thursday night.
Shields
has been long rumored to head to the UFC after finishing his
Strikeforce contract with his last fight, a unanimous decision
over former UFC middleweight Dan Henderson, back in April.
Contract
negotiations followed as Shields became a free agent, but Strikeforce
instead opted to release the California based fighter when a
number couldn't be reached, and it's been assumed since that
time that he'd sign with the UFC.
The
website also proclaimed that Shields would be heading back to
welterweight for his first fight with the promotion, after a
stay at 185lbs in Strikeforce.
"Jake's
opponent is one of the UFC's top contenders and will be announced
shortly," the website stated.
Current
rumors for a first fight for Shields includes a possible match-up
with Martin Kampmann as early as UFC 121 in October. Following
a win over Paulo Thiago in June, Kampmann welcomed the chance
to face Shields for his first UFC fight.
"That
would definitely be a good fight," Kampmann said about Shields.
"He's tough and he's ranked real high in the welterweight
division. For good reason, I didn't expect him to beat (Dan)
Henderson, he's definitely good."
UPDATE:
Speaking
with sources close to Shields on Friday, MMAWeekly.com has confirmed
that the contract with the UFC is still not official yet, but
a deal could be done by the end of the day today. The change
for the fighter to go back to 170lbs has been confirmed, and
when Shields makes his return to action it will be at welterweight.
Source: MMA Weekly |
‘Big
Foot’ vs. Overeem next on Strikeforce?
Coming
from a great win over the former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski,
the Brazilian Antônio “Big Foot” Silva is waiting
for his opponent to be chosen for his next challenge on Strikeforce,
and he wants a tough one. “Big Foot will probably fight
in October, maybe for the title, but nothing has been set by
the event. Fedor would also be a great opponent for him. (Sergei)
Kharitonov is another possibility”, reveals Alex Davis,
manager of the heavyweight.
Former
champion of the extinct EliteXC, Big Foot debuted on Strikeforce
last November, and loss to Fabrício Werdum on a tied fight.
Six month later, the fighter showed his improvement on a major
win over Arlovski, dominating the bang for 15 minutes. With a
mess on the contract between Fedor and Strikeforce, besides the
arm surgery of Werdum, the way is clear for Big Foot to win his
chance to fight for the belt against Overeem. “We’re
hoping they’ll put him against Overeem. Big Foot is on a
great moment, focused, in a good rhythm. He’ll fight any
guy they’ll tell him to”, concludes the manager.
Source: Tatame
|
Thiago
Silva
Thiago
Silva has come close to his division’s belt, but the loss
to the former champions Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans disturbed
the plans of the American Top Team’s athlete. Having fought
for the last time in January, he wants to get back to a good
sequence starting with a win over Tim Boetsch, on UFC 117, which
happens on August 7. On an interview to TATAME, Thiago talked
about the recovery of his back injury, commented the style of
the game of his opponent and analyzed his division, pointing
out to Maurício Shogun as the favorite for the duel with
Rashad Evans.
How
are the trainings for your fight on UFC 117 going?
The
training is good, it’s being very productive, the guys are
committed and the expectations are high… The last time I
fought was seven month ago, right? It’s time, I’m ready.
He’s a good wrestler, a good banger, has a good boxing,
but my strategy is settled.
You
had an injury on your fight with Rashad Evans. Is your recovery
done? Are you going to be 100% for this fight?
My
recovery was good. I found out I had three hernias and it disturbed
me a bit because I couldn’t get back to my trainings, I
had to stop and take care of myself, but I’m fine now. I
did physiotherapy every single day and it became a routine thing
for me, but my back is good, I’m training hard, so the expectations
are high. I’ll get back at my best.
Thiago
Pitbull, your team partner, will fight on the same night as you
and will face Jon Fitch. How do you think this fight will end
like?
Pitbull
is training hard around here. Every day I see how he is committed
to it, do it’ll be a good fight…
They
confronted each other some years ago. What do you thing will
be different this time?
I
believe that Pitbull, nowadays, has a better ground game, his
bang is wonderful… The guy is really good while standing.
But I think that Pitbull’s differential is that he’s
training his ground game, is sharp, more complete, and has been
training a lot of Wrestling, so I believe this fight will be
different.
You
are coming from a loss to Rashad, who will probably be the next
challenger for the belt. How do you see yourself on the division
currently?
I
see myself as an athlete with a potential to be developed and
that, despite the injury, is working hard to compensate it. I
don’t choose my opponents, I fight with whoever they tell
me to, but I want to fight the bests. From this fight on, I want
to fight the tops again.
This
fight between Rashad and Shogun will probably happen next year.
How do you think it will be like?
Rashad
has a good block-game. He’s using it in every single fight
he does… He did it with me, did it with Rampage and I don’t
see him doing it differently against Shogun because Shogun is
a great guy standing and on the ground too. I’ve trained
with him and I believe Rashad doesn’t have tools to beat
him, unless he brings him to the ground and get stuck there,
just like he did with me. If Shogun block his takedowns, he wins,
for sure.
UFC
117 will have six Brazilian vs. American bouts. What do you think
the outcome of this duel will be?
Well,
I’m a Brazilian, right, man? I’ll cheer for my country.
I believe it’ll be an awesome night, many Brazilians will
be there together and I hope everybody wins.
Source: Tatame
|
Rizzo
knocks out Shamrock in Sydney
Impact
FC held its second event this Saturday in Sydney, Australia.
The event featured a number of big-name fighters, many of whom
are veterans.
In
the evening’s main event, Pedro Rizzo didn’t give Ken
Shamrock a chance. Rizzo threw punches and kicks to come up with
the knockout 3:33 min into the first round, marking the Brazilian’s
third win in a row.
Years
on, the fight that was supposed to have taken place at Pride
Bushido finally happened, but there was no victory in the bout
between Paulo Filho and Denis Kang, ending in a split draw.
Brother
of UFC champion Mauricio Shogun Murilo Ninja is known for his
striking, but he often showcases his refined Jiu-Jitsu skills.
That’s what transpired in Sydney, when he came up with his
ninth career submission win, against Jeremy May, with a guillotine
choke in the first round.
Murilo
Bustamante had a few good moments in the first round, when he
made it to the mount against Jesse Taylor. In the second he fell
and suffered a barrage of ground and pound strikes that seemed
to have little effect. The fight returned to the feet but, to
the crowd’s surprise, Murilo didn’t continue. According
to the Sherdog.com website, Bustamante said behind the scenes
that he felt dizzy, even though the strikes weren’t that
hard. When the fight returned to standing, he realized he would
be unable to continue.
Former
UFC fighter Paul Daley didn’t have it easy against Daniel
Acacio. The Brazilian had a solid showing before Daley won by
submission in the third round.
Glover
Teixeira added another good win to his record and, for the eighth
time in a row, he didn’t need the whole three rounds, getting
the knockout over Marko Peseli in the first.
Check
out the complete results:
Impact
FC 2
Saturday July 17, 2010
Sydney, Australia
Pedro
Rizzo defeated Ken Shamrock via TKO at 3:33 min of R1
Paul Daley submitted Daniel Acácio at 1:15 min of R3
Soa Palelei defeated Brad Morris at 4:20 min of R1
Paulo Filho drew with Denis Kang
Murilo “Ninja” Rua submitted Jeremy May via guillotine
at 4:12 min of R1
Jesse
Taylor defeated Murilo Bustamante via TKO at 2:10 min of R2
Jim York submitted Peter Graham via rear-naked choke at 3:44
min of R1
Glover Teixeira defeated Marko Peseli via TKO at 2:55 min of
R2
Richie Vaculik submitted Glenn Taylor-Smith via rear-naked choke
at 4:16 min of R2
Manuel Rodriguez submitted Shane Nix via rear-naked choke at
4:22 min of R1
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Year’s
top stories at the halfway mark
With
records broken, major upsets, expansion frustrations, the involvement
of decorated celebrity athletes, and more television than ever,
the first half of 2010 has been filled to the brim with big MMA
news stories.
There
have been several major title changes. Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua took the UFC light heavyweight title from previously undefeated
Lyoto Machida. Frankie Edgar won the UFC lightweight title from
B.J. Penn. Ben Henderson, then
interim champion, defeated WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner
to unify the titles. Dominick Cruz won the WEC bantamweight title
from Brian Bowles. “King” Mo Lawal won the Strikeforce
light heavyweight title from Gegard Mousasi. And Nick Diaz taking
the vacant Strikeforce welterweight title with a win over Dream
welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis.
At
the other end of the spectrum, Anderson Silva continued his path
of domination, setting UFC records for most successful title
defenses (six), most consecutive wins (11) and longest championship
reign (46 months and counting). But his victory on April 10,
a five-round decision over Demian Maia which turned into a combination
track meet and dance contest, was considered among the worst
title fights in company history.
The
10 biggest news stories of 2010’s first six months:
1.
UFC on pace for pay-per-view record: Led by two recent shows,
the May 29 card headlined by Rashad Evans beating Quinton “Rampage
Jackson,” and the July 3 event where Brock Lesnar defeated
Shane Carwin, Zuffa LLC has already registered approximately
5.5 million buys on 10 pay-per-view events this year, including
the inaugural WEC show in April. The company set the North American
record for any PPV organization last year with nearly 8 million
buys. Barring a slew of major injuries to headliners, which actually
happened to the company last year, even conservative predictions
for the rest of the year would have the company easily beating
that mark.
Another
possible mark would be the first year in history that one company
topped the 1 million mark for individual events on three occasions.
Boxing did it twice, in 1991 and 1996. UFC has cracked a million
on both Jackson-Evans and Lesnar-Carwin. There is no sure-fire
third match this year to pull that number, but both Lesnar vs.
Cain Velasquez on Oct. 23 and Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck
in December have at least a shot at hitting the mark.
2.
Emelianenko loss leads major upsets: MMA’s very nature,
with so many different ways to win and lose, lends itself to
upsets. But very few people would have expected Fabricio Werdum,
a fighter UFC cut in 2008, to beat Fedor Emelianenko, the most
dominant fighter in the sport’s history – let alone
a submission in one minute, nine seconds. Emelianenko, who had
never been in submission danger in his entire career, was caught
in a triangle on June 26 in San Jose, ending an undefeated streak
of 10 years, seven of which he was generally regarded as the
sport’s top heavyweight. From an oddsmaker’s standpoint,
an even bigger upset was Edgar’s title win over Penn on
April 10 in Abu Dhabi via a close five-round decision. While
anyone, like Emelianenko, can get caught, Edgar outworked Penn
over a 25-minute fight and while the decision was close, in no
way can it be called a fluke.
3.
Zuffa LLC sells 10 percent to Flash Entertainment: It was no
secret that casino magnates Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta absorbed
several years of losses running the UFC early in the last decade
and looked to get out. But after hitting it big on television
in 2005, the brothers seemingly never looked back, turning down
offers to sell stock and ideas to cash in and take the company
public. But on Jan. 11, company president Dana White announced
that, after eight months of negotiations, the company had sold
a 10 percent stake to Flash Entertainment, an arm of the Abu
Dhabi government.
The
purchase price was not revealed but was believed to be well in
excess of $100 million. White claimed the sale made sense because
it would enable the company to speed up its efforts at international
expansion, although nothing has been announced in that regard
directly related to the deal. Others noted the Fertitta brothers’
other main business, Station Casino, was in bankruptcy and the
family needed to put up significant cash to regain control, although
Lorenzo Fertitta denied one had anything to do with the other.
Currently, Zuffa is owned 41 percent each by Lorenzo and Frank
Fertitta, 10 percent by Flash and 9 percent by White.
4.
Lesnar rebounds from life-threatening illness: After being taken
down by a severe case of diverticulitis, the UFC heavyweight
champion and the sport’s biggest drawing card ended 2009
having to fight for his life. When 2010 started, the odds were
that he would need surgery on his intestines that would put him
out of competition for nearly two years, and possibly end his
career.
But
in January, Lesnar was told he didn’t need surgery and received
the go-ahead to start training. The battle to stay in the sport
was mirrored by his return to the cage, where he was on the verge
of losing his championship in round one, only to come back and
submit the previously unbeaten Carwin in round two. In a one-year
period, because of his battles, Lesnar went from easily the most
despised fighter in the sport to someone who won over the majority
of the fans through both his struggle outside the cage and the
heart displayed in the Carwin fight.
5.
Strikeforce’s disastrous CBS card: Strikforce’s April
17 event from Nashville was probably the most important show
this year for the sport’s network future. A three-championship
fight card that on paper looked to be “can’t-miss”
somehow did. The show had three straight largely dull five-round
decisions, followed by an in-ring brawl that led to three-month
suspensions for Jake Shields, Jason Miller and Nick Diaz.
Shields,
in the last fight of his contract, upset Dan Henderson to keep
his middleweight title, but it was his last fight with the company
as he’s expected to move to UFC. The worst news of all was
the 1.76 rating, with 2.86 million viewers, unacceptable as prime-time
network numbers. Strikeforce hoped the show would usher in an
era of quarterly prime time specials, but at press time no decision
has been made about another one.
6.
Slow going on legislative front: Even with the MMA’s increased
popularity, lingering perceptions over the sport’s banishment
in the mid-’90s have kept UFC out of several key markets.
The company pushed hard to get legislation passed that would
allow them to host major events this year at the Rogers Centre
in Toronto, which seats more than 60,000 fans and would be the
biggest live event ever in North America; Madison Square Garden
in New York and the T.D. Garden in Boston. Thus far, it looks
like the company is one-for-three, with a Boston debut on Aug.
28 after Massachusetts brought MMA under the jurisdiction of
the state athletic commission. Legislation in New York stalled
again, and the province of Ontario hasn’t budged in allowing
the sport live in the city where it is as popular as anywhere
in the world.
7.
Flood of celebrity/crossover athletes: Whether good or bad, a
host of decorated athletes and sports entertainers have gotten
publicity with attempts to get into the sport. One of the great
college football players of all-time, Herschel Walker, at 47
seemed to defy age in his Jan. 30 debut win over unheralded Greg
Nagy. Satoshi Ishii, the 2008 Olympic super heavyweight gold
medalist in judo, debuted on New Year’s Eve to great fanfare
in Japan, but looked unimpressive losing to a long past-his-prime
Hidehiko Yoshida. James Toney, 41, one of the most accomplished
boxers of the generation, debuts on a UFC show on Aug. 28 against
MMA legend Randy Couture.
And
while he has not signed yet, there has been lots of noise in
recent weeks regarding Dave Bautista, 41, one of World Wrestling
Entertainment’s top stars who Scott Coker has openly talked
of trying to match up with fellow pro wrestler Bobby Lashley.
Bautista was a bigger pro wrestling star than Lesnar, but doesn’t
have the college wrestling background of Lesnar, Lashley, Dan
Severn and Kazushi Sakuraba, who all were first pro wrestlers.
Not
everyone who wants to get in has been able. Jose Canseco, who
fought last year in Japan, was turned down flat by Strikeforce.
8.
WEC moves to pay-per-view: Since the WEC became a nationally
televised promotion in 2007, every successful Versus network
event had one thing in common: Urijah Faber was the headliner.
Faber’s challenge to featherweight champion Jose Aldo Jr.,
then, made for the natural move to pay-per-view on April 24 in
a show from Sacramento. While the local fans were disappointed
as Aldo Jr.’s low kicks destroyed Faber’s legs, it
did establish the champion as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound
fighters. The show was considered among the best MMA events in
recent years, paced by a fight-of-the-year candidate in which
Leonard Garcia won a controversial decision over The Korean Zombie,
Chan Sung Jung. With that match live airing on Spike TV right
before the PPV started, it may have led to a slew of late buys.
The estimates of more than 150,000 buys were hardly UFC level,
but were about double what most had predicted when the show was
first announced months earlier. As part of the deal with Spike
TV to help market the show, all references to “WEC”
were eliminated, the card featured UFC announcers, UFC ring announcers,
and White front and center promoting the show. No second WEC
pay-per-view event has been announced.
9.
Chuck Liddell retires … or does he?: Liddell, 40, the UFC
light heavyweight champion when the sport hit television, was
announced as retired by boss White last year after being knocked
out by Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Liddell himself never
agreed, though, and asked to come back. White and Liddell agreed
the latter could come back if he cleaned up his lifestyle and
dedicated himself fully to the sport. Originally, Liddell was
to face Tito Ortiz on June 12 in Vancouver, but Ortiz pulled
out due to neck surgery. Liddell physically appeared to be in
his best condition in years, as advertised, when he walked into
the cage against Rich Franklin. He broke Franklin’s arm
with a kick early, showed a diversified offensive attack of punches,
kicks and wrestling, but was still knocked out with seconds left
in the first round on a punch that would have never rocked him
in his prime. White has again said Liddell is retired, but Liddell,
who has lost five of his last six fights, four by knockout, again
says he’s not sure.
10.
Strikeforce vs. Dream co-promotion: In a sport where at the top
level exclusive contracts have made putting together certain
intriguing fights impossible, the No. 2 U.S. group and top Japanese
group started working together. The results have been disastrous
for Japanese MMA. In five company vs. company fights the U.S.
side has won all five. Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki
got virtually no offense in against Strikeforce champion Gilbert
Melendez in the most significant of the five matches. A depressed
Aoki, when asked after his loss what it said about the quality
of fighters in each country, said, “The results speak for
themselves.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
DANZIG
FILES APPEAL WITH VANCOUVER COMMISSION
Following a controversial stoppage at UFC 115, Mac Danzig and
his management team have filed an appeal with the Vancouver Athletic
Commission to have the loss to Matt Wiman overturned to a no
contest.
The
news of the appeal was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by Danzig via
text message, and first reported by BJPenn.com.
During
the first round of their lightweight match-up, Wiman caught Danzig
in a guillotine choke. It appeared deep at first, but a close-up
from the overhead camera showed that one side of Danzig's neck
was completely exposed, so he was still breathing and at that
point not in danger of being choked out.
As
Danzig was pushing off a leg to try and maneuver his way out,
referee Yves Lavigne appeared to hear Wiman say he thought his
opponent was unconscious. A brief touch of the glove and he stopped
the fight. Danzig bounced up immediately, confused about why
the fight was stopped.
There
was so much confusion over the stoppage that the UFC has made
a rematch between Wiman and Danzig at UFC Fight Night 22 in Austin,
Texas, as a lead-in to the 12th season of “The Ultimate
Fighter" on Sept. 15.
That
not withstanding, because of the stoppage, Danzig still has a
loss on his record; one he hopes to have expunged and changed
to a no contest.
The
Vancouver Athletic Commission has yet to respond with a verdict
in the matter.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JARDINE
RETURNS VS. PRANGLEY AT SHARK FIGHTS
Shark Fight Promotions on Friday confirmed that Keith Jardine
and Trevor Prangley will headline Shark Fights 13. This will
be Jardine's first post-UFC challenge since his recent departure
from the organization. Jardine will face fellow UFC veteran and
current Shark Fights light-heavyweight champion Trevor Prangley
in a non-title bout.
Shark
Fights 13 will take place on Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Amarillo
Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas.
According
to Brent Medley, president of Shark Fight Promotions, "We
are very excited that Keith Jardine and Trevor Prangley are fighting
for our organization. Jardine had a lot of options, as several
promoters were clamoring to sign him, but he chose to fight for
us. Prangley is our light heavyweight champion and he always
puts on an exciting fight. We feel that Jardine vs. Prangley
is a very compelling match up for any organization."
Jardine
(15-8-1) is looking to bounce back after a loss to Matt Hamill
at “The Ultimate Fighter 11” finale last month in Las
Vegas. Jardine, who is best known for fighting in the Ultimate
Fighting Championship (UFC), plans to defeat Prangley and add
another notable win to his record. He has defeated some of the
best fighters in the business, including Brandon Vera and former
UFC champions Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell.
"To
prove that I'm still a top contender I need to fight for credible
organizations and face high caliber opponents,” commented
Jardine. “Shark Fights has become a leading promoter over
the last two years. The promotion has a huge following.
"I've
known Brent Medley for several years, and in my opinion, he is
one of the top matchmakers in the industry. When Brent approached
me about fighting for Shark Fights and facing Trevor Prangley,
I jumped at the opportunity. Prangley has an impressive list
of notable wins and has only lost twice over the past three years."
Prangley
(22-6-1) was on a six-fight win streak prior to his recent loss
to Tim Kennedy at Strikeforce "Live" in Los Angeles.
The South African Olympic alternate has fought for some of the
top fight organizations in the industry and currently holds the
Shark Fight light heavyweight title. Prangley holds impressive
wins over top-notch fighters such as Chael Sonnen and Travis
Lutter.
Prangley
is looking forward to stepping into the cage to face Jardine.
"I'm
looking forward to this fight. I'm ready to step into the cage
and redeem myself. I'm not happy with my lackluster performance
against Kennedy. I plan to come back strong. Keith is a tough
opponent."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BELLATOR'S
HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNEY FILLING UP
Bellator Fighting Championships on Friday added two more competitors
to its Season 3 heavyweight tournament.
UFC
veteran Eddie Sanchez and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rogent
Lloret bring to six the total competitors in the promotion’s
first tourney for the big men. Other heavyweight tournament fighters
include Damian Grabowski, Neil Grove, Mike Hayes, and Scott Barrett.
The
27-year-old Sanchez enters the tournament with an overall professional
record of 12-3 including eight wins via KO or TKO. He is now
in the midst of a four-fight win streak that includes a 10-second
KO of Jay White during Bellator 7 and a come-from-behind TKO
victory over Marcus Sursa at Bellator 20.
“In
that fight, Eddie demonstrated that he has great heart and drive,”
Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “With that kind
of attitude and his solid MMA game, Eddie’s a dangerous
and exciting addition to our Heavyweight Tournament.”
An
M-1 Global veteran, Lloret has not lost a fight in more than
three years and enters the heavyweight tournament with a 9-1-1
overall professional record. He is known for his ground game
– submitting six of his nine victims, including four by
arm triangle choke – but also holds a knockout victory over
Miodrag Petković with a devastating high head kick this
past April.
“Ever
since we decided that we would hold a Heavyweight Tournament,
we were hoping to sign Rogent Lloret,” said Bellator founder
and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He was one of the top heavyweight
free agents in Europe for a reason: he is devastating on the
ground and has a very underrated standup attack as well. He’ll
be a tough draw for whomever he faces in our Heavyweight Tournament.”
Bellator’s
Season 3 kicks off on Aug. 12 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel
& Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nogueira
brothers together again at UFC 119
On
the beginning of this month, TATAME broke the news that twin
brothers Rodrigo Minotauro and Rogério Minotouro would
fight on the same night on UFC 119, on September 25. It will
be the first time the Nogueira brothers will fight together on
UFC, but that’s not a new thing for the Brazilians. Together,
the twins have 62 fights on their career, and they got into action
on the same night five times, with seven wins and only three
losses.
UFO
(August 8 of 2002): Minotauro wins, Minotouro loses for the first
time
It
was August of 2002 when Minotauro conquest his 16th win by knockout
over Sanae Kikuta. The event, UFO, which took place in Tokyo,
Japan, was not that good for the family. Fighting for the fourth
time, Minotouro ended up being beat by Vladmir Matyshenko on
the judges round card decision. Rogério’s revenge
came seven years later, when he knocked Vladmir out on Affliction.
-
Minotauro knocks out Sanae Kikuta on R2
-
Minotouro losses to Vladmir Matyushenko by decision
Pride
24 (December 23 of 2002): Brazilians shine on Pride
Four
months after their first fight together on the same night, the
brothers won on the same night for the first time on Pride. The
first one to fight was Minotouro, and beat Guy Merzer on the
judges round card decision. Among the main events of the evening,
Minotauro gave a show and submitted Dan Henderson on the beginning
of the third round.
-
Minotauro submits Dan Henderson on R3
-
Minotouro beats Guy Metzer by decision
Pride
25 (March 16 of 2003): Fedor stops Minotauro’s reign
Rodrigo
was the king of the heavy weight of Pride, but on March 16 of
2003 he suffered the first loss of his career on the Japanese
event. Facing Fedor Emelianenko, Minotauro was beat on the on
the judges round card decision and loss his heavyweight belt.
On the same event, Rogério compensated his brother’s
result with a win by submission over Kazuhiro Nakamura.
-
Minotauro loses to Fedor Emelianenko by decision
-
Minotouro submits Kazuhiro Nakamura on R2
Pride
Critical Countdown (June 26 of 2005): Minotouro goes down on
Pride’s GP
Two
years later, the Nogueira’s brothers were back on the same
event. In action on the GP of the middleweight division, Minotouro
had one of the best fights in all history with Maurício
Shogun, but loss on the judges round card decision. His brother
got into action against Pawl Nastula and got the win by TKO yet
on the first round.
-
Minotauro beats Pawl Nastula by TKO on R1
-
Minotouro losses to Maurício Shogun by decision
Pride
Critical Countdown Absolute (July 1 of 2006): Two more wins for
the brothers
After
submittin Zuluzinho, Minotauro went for the quarterfinals of
the Pride Openweight’s GP and had to face Fabrício
Werdum. The win over Werdum on the judges round card decision
guaranteed the party of the family from Vitória da Conquista,
Brazil, who also watched Rogério beating the Dutch Alistair
Overeem by TKO on the second round.
-
Minotauro beats Fabrício Werdum by decision
-
Minotouro beats Alistair Overrem by TKO on R2
Source: Tatame
|
Vitor
Belfort
UFC’s
former champion, Vitor Belfort re-debuted on the American octagon
against Rich Franklin, but a shoulder injury postponed his fight
against Anderson Silva. Back to the trainings after several weeks
of physiotherapy, Belfort talked to TATAME about his trainings
in Las Vegas and who he would like to confront next. “For
now I know nothing. I want to fight with the winner of this fight
(Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen), I want to fight for the belt”,
warns Vitor, who commented te duel for the title, which will
happen on UFC 117, and talked about the overdone provocation
of the American.
How
is your comeback to the trainings going? Are you training your
arm already?
I’m
thrilled. I’m back to the trainings and I’m very glad.
Today I’ll rest a bit, stay with my family and tomorrow
we’ll train again. The guys will be here supporting me,
I’m training with Shawn Thompkins and Ray Sefo… It’s
been great.
Did
your entire family go there this time?
Yeah,
man… Everybody came.
During
this time off, on what did you focused more your preparation,
besides the physiotherapy?
I
did what I could. I did everything I could do… I ran, strengthen
my muscles, I was always doing something.
There
were rumors about you confronting Michael Bisping on UFC 120,
but then people started saying you would face the winner between
Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen on UFC 121. So, what is really
your next fight?
For
now I know nothing. I can’t say much because I truly don’t
know. I want to face the winner of this fight, I want to fight
for the belt. Now let’s wait and see who will it be.
Are
you staying on the U.S.A. until when?
I’ll
go to Brazil, then I’ll come back in August and I’ll
keep training here until my next fight.
What
do you expect of this fight between the two of them? Anderson
has been unbeaten on this division, but Sonnen is coming from
a great win over Nate Marquardt. Do you think he has any chance
to beat Anderson? How do you think this fight will be like?
If
they keep the fight standing, Anderson will beat him easily.
If it goes to the ground, Anderson also has a strong game over
there. Sonnen is a great guy, he’ll try to impose his rhythm
so that Anderson gets tired. We’ll have to wait to figure
it out.
What
do you think of this provoking game of Chael Sonnen, who has
been saying a lot of thing about Minotauro and Minotouro too?
There’s
nothing to say, right? I’m a person of few words. I don’t
like this kind of promotion, mainly because Minotauro and Minotouro
are wonderful persons, great athletes, also don’t speak
to much, they’re respectful, have never disrespected anybody…
I got a little upset about it. You reap what you sow, so that’s
it. I have nothing else to say, i’m not that kind of guy.
What
the fans can expect of your return to UFC?
They
can hope that I’ll give my best. Nowadays I don’t fight
for the recognition, I fight for my own reasons, for the things
I believe in. I fight for my family, for the people who are by
my side, my fans, UFC… I fight so I can give the best for
them and that’s what I’ll do. I’ll do my best
not only inside that octagon, but on my trainings I’ll work
hard to improve. I work for my fans everyday, everyday I try
to do something more for them. On UFC you only got one day to
show it all. It’s with a lot of proud and honor that I go
there and try to do a good job for them, so I hope they can support
me too.
Source: Tatame
|
Rafa
says he’s ready for no time limit, but asks for bigger purse
Current
featherweight champion of the world Rafael Mendes did some raining
on the parade of the inspired idea of a no-time limit match between
him and four-time world champion Rubens Cobrinha, which arose
in the USA this week and had Jiu-Jitsu fans the world over at
the edge of their seats.
Today
Rafael told GRACIEMAG.com he is ready for a gi match to the finish,
and said that, were it up to him, he’d be down for it too,
after Cobrinha accepted the challenge yesterday, as readers found
out here on the website.
However,
Mendes, who recently won a good chunk of change with his conquests
at ADCC 2009 and the World Pro 2010, asked for a hike in the
purse. Now the ball is in the court of the project’s investors,
as you will find out to come:
The
question every GRACIEMAG.com reader wants to ask: Are you going
to take this “dream matchup” with Cobrinha, with no
time limit and to the finish?
I
see no problem in taking this match, I’d take it. But they
have to pay my price. I’ve already replied to Bray’s
(Deavours, one of the project’s originators), and told him
just that. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody, I
fought the whole year, more than one competition per month. But
to fight with no time limit I asked he pay what I’m worth.
They
offer the winner 10 thousand dollars, and the loser takes nothing.
Do you feel at least the format for the match was a good idea?
Yes,
but I’m not going to do a no-time limit match just because
it’s a good idea. I want to make it clear that I have no
problem with facing Cobrinha or whoever else they might want
me to face. I entered this division in 2009 when I got my black
belt and faced everybody, I beat the best, and now I’m number
one, so I ask that I be valued as such. I understand they want
to put up money to see this no-time limit match, and I’ll
do it. But they’ll need to pay my price. If they really
want to see this match, all they have to do is really invest
in it.
There’s
also the prestige…
But
I don’t feel that I’d be fighting for prestige because
I don’t feel obliged to prove anything, I’m the current
no-gi (ADCC) and gi (Worlds) champion of the world. To me the
fight is truly interesting for Cobrinha, who would certainly
accept the first offer, regardless of what it is, to try and
get back what he lost. So that’s all I can say, I’ll
do it, for sure, I’m ready as I’ve always been. But
if they want to promote something big like this match, I ask
that they pay what it costs. Best regards to all!
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Midseason
MMA Awards: The GDP Award
Some
people say money can't buy happiness. Those people are broke
losers who live with their moms and take the bus to work at Cinnabon.
Forget those people. For the rest of us – the ones who don't
want to take all our meals in shopping mall food courts –
it's important to have a little cash in our pockets.
There
are two ways you can accomplish that as a pro fighter: 1) Be
a main-eventin', cut-of-the-pay-per-view-gettin', mainstream-sponsor-havin',
first-class-flyin', son of a gun, or 2) Fight every single chance
you get.
The
first option is more glamorous, but the simple fact is that it's
not realistic for 99% of MMA fighters. They can't all be the
best in the world. Some of them sweat and bleed for every penny.
They have to make as much as they can, while they can. They have
to keep getting in the cage and keep getting paid.
So
far in 2010, one man stands head and shoulder above the rest
when it comes to putting on the gloves and stacking that paper,
and that man is Chris Leben.
At
UFC 116 on July 3, Leben won his third fight in 2010. The $75,000
Fight of the Night bonus helped bring his (disclosed) total take
for the year so far to $316,000, and all without ever fighting
in a main event. Keep in mind, that's just the money he made
from fighting, winning, and collecting bonuses. It doesn't include
cash from sponsors or the mysterious 'locker room bonuses' the
UFC is famous for.
Not
to get Leben in trouble with the IRS or anything, but it's a
good bet that he pocketed even more once all his revenue streams
are added up. "King" Mo Lawal might be the official
captain of Team GDP (Get Dat Paper), but Leben is making a strong
case for a starting spot of his own.
But
so what, right? What's the big deal about a pro athlete adding
a couple extra grand to the wad of dough in his sock drawer?
Normally,
nothing. But in Leben's case we're looking at a guy with ambition,
drive, and a reckless disregard for his own health. In other
words, everything that's good about pro sports, but without all
the whining by rich people.
This
is someone who beat up Aaron Simpson in Las Vegas one Saturday
night, flew back to Hawaii to rest and recover, then ended up
flying back to Las Vegas two weekends later to do it all again,
this time against an even tougher opponent in Yoshihiro Akiyama.
That's
not some golfer finishing 37th and riding off in a Lincoln Towncar
to cash his oversized novelty check. That's a guy who is putting
his body on the line in order to bulk up his bank account. He
knows he can't do this forever, but he also knows that he doesn't
want to be living on ramen and checking soda machines for spare
change when he's fifty.
Leben
is a fighter who realizes that hurting is his business, and right
now he's in a bull market. He is the CEO of face-smashing, the
Count of Monte Fisto.
Some
people marry rich. Others buy lottery tickets. Leben beats up
pro fighters.
If
you can't respect his violent pursuit of wealth, that's cool.
I'm sure you have other, more fulfilling goals to focus on, but
try not to get too wrapped up in them. Otherwise you'll miss
your bus.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
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
|
The
Quest for Champions 2010 Martial Arts Tournament
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
St. Louis High School Gym
Featuring: Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling and Continuous
Sparring
For more info please contact Kempo Unlimted HI (kunltd@hotmail.com)
Source: Tommy Lam
|
Can
UFC sell a rematch between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian?
By Zach
Arnold
From Sherdog radio on Wednesday, the setup for this question
is based on the premise that Kenny Florian beats Gray Maynard
and BJ Penn beats Frankie Edgar on August 28th in Boston, therefore
leaving the promotion stuck with a rematch that on paper has
to be booked but isn’t one that is easy to sell because
of how lopsided the first bout was between the two men.
Actually,
from a ‘business standpoint,’ a more difficult scenario
would be having to do a rematch between Jon Fitch and Georges
St. Pierre (something the Sherdog team addresses). However, that
match (if it happens) wouldn’t take place until mid-2011
at the earliest.
Onto
the radio passage…
JACK
ENCARNACAO: “Kenny Florian and BJ Penn, both of course fighting
August 28th and the question, would UFC be interested in that
rematch? I have to say they would be, I mean I’m not entirely
sure what, I guess the Sotiropoulos fight works to some degree
but I didn’t really get the sense that they were promoting
that Pellegrino fight as a potential contender’s fight.
The real response seemed to be, you know, Sotiropoulos is now
very much in the conversation and might be prepared for a title
eliminator fight. It of course wouldn’t be the first time
that, you know, that was said and then the guy gets a title shot
due to circumstances calling for it. Maybe they have a show on
the docket for Australia. I’ve been saying that over and
over again that would be a huge fight for Australia based on
the crowd response Sotiropoulos was able to get in February.
But, yeah, I think they would have to do a BJ/Kenny Florian rematch
at that point.”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “The problem is just how captivating is it really
going to be? Because I think Kenny Florian, for all the improvements
we talk about him making, he’s still going to get run over
BJ Penn in a rematch and I don’t even think it’s going
to be a close. You credit Kenny Florian got getting there but
I don’t think a rematch would be close between the two of
them and I think the UFC knows that to a large extent, I mean
they’ll push it, they’ll sell you on Kenny Florian’s
improvements again, but it’s the same song and dance as
last. Going from Sean Sherk to the first BJ Penn bout. So if
Penn wins here, I mean… For as much as I’d hate it
for George Sotiropoulos’ career because he’s not ready
for a title bout at this point, he may be in fact be pushed into
that bout whether or not he’s ready just because you don’t
really want to see Penn/Florian because it’s not going to
be any different from the first bout. I think, ideally for the
UFC, you have Edgar and Florian win. And then you work with BJ
Penn however else you can because Penn/Florian, that rematch,
I mean do you see it going any differently? I don’t.”
JACK
ENCARNACAO: “I don’t know. I don’t really know
because he is very much changed his emphasis. That was his last
fight training striking with Mark DellaGrotte and he hasn’t
really explained why he’s split from Mark DellaGrotte after
that fight but one thing we did see in the Clay Guida knockout
which you know few people are able to put a shot, have ever put
a shot on Clay Guida and put him to sleep, was a reemphasis on
boxing. He said in interviews, Florian did, that you know I think
we’re at a stage right now in the game where it’s much
more important to emphasize boxing [instead of] Muay Thai and
perhaps you know the time to emphasize Muay Thai has passed,
at least in terms of my game and we didn’t see, we haven’t
seen work the steady diet of standing elbow strikes and some
of you know the more elusive circling and leg kick and stick-and-move
that that got him to the Penn fight in the first place. So, I
think he’s a much different stylist and will be a much different
stylist against BJ Penn the second time out. It’s tough.
I wouldn’t be any more inclined to pick him to beat BJ than
I would be any Lightweight. I would say the same exact thing
about that rematch that I said about the Edgar fight and we saw
what happened. And really the way Edgar beat BJ Penn wasn’t
appreciably different from how in theory Kenny Florian would
beat BJ Penn. I think Edgar has better wrestling, but that’s
not to say that Florian needs strictly wrestling to avoid getting
brought to the ground again. I think what we saw in that first
fight was a game plan where Florian wanted to tie up BJ’s
arms, tire him out in the clinch against the fence, have an extended
period of basically leaning on him to see if he would gas down
the stretch, and he found out, Diego found out in the next fight
that it isn’t that BJ any more and perhaps it’s never
been that BJ when it comes to 155. You know, the sense that you
beat BJ by taking him down, the stretch, tiring him out, and
then picking him apart when he doesn’t have any gas left
is a 170 conceit, is a way of looking at him pretty much in a
Welterweight context and if he’s forced to make 155 and
training with Marinovich on conditioning, that’s not going
to be the way to beat BJ Penn ay more. It’s going to be
point-scoring, much like we saw from Edgar. So I think Florian
executes a completely different game plan. I think he’s
just as capable of beating BJ Penn the way Edgar did, which admittedly
is not decisively and I did have that UFC 112 fight scored for
Penn over Edgar. You know, the UFC sometimes finds themselves
in this position. I mean, if Jon Fitch beats Thiago Alves on
August 7th, he probably will get another title shot against Georges
St. Pierre despite a complete shutout at UFC 87 against him.
Some guys just are so good that they deserve to be the top contender,
but there might be a gap, an insurmountable gap even in talent
and in ability with the champion. But it really doesn’t
mean that you foreclose on the opportunity if you get him back
in the picture. Sure, it’s more intriguing for the UFC to
give someone new and fresh a shot at BJ Penn, but just because
they’re new and fresh doesn’t mean you can more easily
sell the public on the chances that they’ll beat them. You
know, no one was sold, hardly anyone seemed to be sold on Frankie
Edgar being able to beat BJ Penn and that certainly wasn’t
why that fight was put together. But at the same time, you could
have made the argument that Gray Maynard deserved that shot per
beating Frankie Edgar and they picked Edgar because they thought
he was more spectator-friendly and perhaps more impressive in
his signature win toward the title shot than Maynard was in a
plodding win over (Nate) Diaz. So, it’s a complicated picture,
but I certainly don’t see the UFC holding out on doing a
Florian/Penn rematch if that’s what presents themselves
in going in the direction of anywhere else because I just don’t
think there would be anybody else at that point in that position.
If Maynard beats Florian, then we’ve got something perhaps.
And we’re also assuming that Penn basically is the champ
already.”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “I mean, listen, assume that Penn and Florian
win their bouts, yes. I think it’s, I’m not really
excited about that bout, though. I’m really not and I understand
what happened between Edgar and Penn, but… in a 12 month
span because I believe 101 took place last [August], are we really
talking… actually what will be probably, a 15-16 month span
by the time the fight rematch happens if it were to, I really
just don’t see it. And like you said though, we may not
have another choice because George Sotiropoulos or Evan Dunham
or one of those guys up is probably going to be a bit too soon
for either of them.”
JACK
ENCARNACAO: “Yeah, I mean, I’m not saying that it would
be big business, although UFC rematches if they weren’t
close at all the rematches in a sense, you know don’t sell,
but we haven’t seen many of those. Most of the UFC rematches
do better business than the first match and they happen to be
close fights, which is why they’re rematches in the first
place. It’s sort of rare that someone does what Florian
is perhaps about to do on August 28th and what Jon Fitch perhaps
is about to do on August 7th in that they get the shot, lost
pretty decisively to the champ, and then still set themselves
apart from every other contender in the division. We really don’t
have much precedent for someone clawing their way back like that
in a UFC context so I think it’s still kind of an open question
as to how interested people are going to be because it’s
so rare that a guy that gets totally shut out by a guy gets a
shot at him again anyway.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
The
Stories of the Year So Far
by Tomas Rios
We’re
just six months into 2010, and the MMA landscape looks like someone
blasted it with nukes and ran a terraformer over the scorched
earth.
The
stories have been coming in at an astounding pace, as the global
nature of the sport makes it almost impossible to stay abreast
of everything that goes down on a daily basis. However, there
are a few of stories that not only stand out but whose impact
is such that it affects the game in ways no one can predict.
Here
are the ones you won’t be escaping anytime soon.
The
Fall of Fedor
The
routine nature of Fedor Emelianenko’s dominance was well
past the point of even being worthy of discussion. Odd as it
may sound, Emelianenko plowing over the division was starting
to get passé after seven years as the world’s No.
1 heavyweight.
And
then Fabricio Werdum trapped him in a triangle and made the supposed
cyborg tap out. The moment was a historic one and the fallout
continues to reverberate throughout the sport. However, nothing
has approached the hysteria and hate produced by fandom’s
reaction to a world where Emelianenko is no longer the world’s
top-ranked heavyweight. The very idea of Brock Lesnar, a former
pro wrestler and all-around uber-jock, usurping Emelianenko’s
spot is anathema to many and simple logic to others.
Regardless
of how anyone feels about it, the fact is that Emelianenko’s
loss means the UFC has the world’s best heavyweight, and
they won’t be giving up that claim anytime soon. Perhaps
the most intriguing question for the second half of 2010 is whether
we’ll enter 2011 with Brock Lesnar or Cain Velasquez leading
the division.
The
WEC Is the Greatest Thing Ever
Not
too long ago the WEC was Urijah Faber, some unknown prospects
and a random collection of scrubs feeding on his scraps.
Post-Zuffa
acquisition, however, the organization has morphed into the premier
locale for all talent at featherweight and below. Just barely
six months into 2010 and the WEC’s metamorphosis is nearing
light speed, as their recent shows have produced some of the
very best and most intriguing fights of the year.
Perhaps
even more importantly, these fights have captured the imagination
of fans used to wondering if anyone would bother watching a “bunch
of midgets fight.” That notion was soundly repudiated by
WEC 48, the organization’s pay-per-view debut. Not only
was it one of the best nights of fights in the sport’s history,
but it also far exceeded expectations by notching a reported
buyrate of nearly 200,000.
It’s
likely a matter of time before the brand is absorbed by the UFC,
and that is something everyone should be excited for. Just look
at boxing, a sport that has repeatedly failed the brilliant fighters
who compete at lighter weights -- a fact that makes Zuffa’s
dedication to the WEC brand all the more heartening.
Sonnen
& His Big Mouth
Can
Sonnen (top) back up his talk?Let’s get this out of the
way early in the game: Chael Sonnen’s attempts to build
the hype for his UFC 117 middleweight title bout against Anderson
Silva have run the gamut from standard-issue idiotic to appallingly
racist.
With
that said, Sonnen and his 1950s insults have generated far more
interest than the overplayed wrestler vs. striker narrative imposed
on this fight. With every tweet, interview and media appearance,
Sonnen has dominated the headlines and managed to build a considerable
following of fans who find amusement in his vitriol.
Constructing
controversy has long been the golden ticket in fight sport, and
Sonnen relying on racial and cultural divides to up the ante
is hardly new. However, between this and the unfortunate race-baiting
that marred the Quinton Jackson vs. Rashad Evans match, we could
be witnessing the birth of a trend that will only worsen the
image of a sport dealing with ignorant, politically charged pontificating
both at home and abroad.
Weighing
the short-term financial payoff of these cheap ploys against
the potential long-term collateral damage is a dicey game and
one the UFC has almost no choice but to engage in. At a time
when the sport can’t even get sanctioned in New York or
a fair shake in Germany, the last thing anyone wants to deal
with is a Sonnen quote hitting the mainstream media and going
viral.
Judges
& Referees: Is There No Cure?
As
more and more MMA goes down worldwide, the unacceptable standards
for judges and referees is becoming less of an occasional headache
and more like an ongoing migraine.
It
seems as if every event has at least one judge handing in a foolish
scorecard and a referee making calls that fly in the face of
reason and sanity all at once. In 2010 alone we’ve seen
Yves Lavigne cost Mac Danzig his fight with Matt Wiman because
he couldn’t distinguish between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Judges
haven’t done any better this year as evidenced by the inexcusable
scorecards handed in for high-profile bouts like Varner vs. Shalorus,
Penn vs. Edgar I and Maynard vs. Diaz. The scoring in these bouts
resulted in either the wrong man winning or simply exposing the
sheer incompetence of some judges.
There
are certainly great judges and referees out there, but they’re
severely outnumbered and their work is almost always overshadowed
by their less capable peers. All the potential solutions out
there involve trying to change static bureaucratic systems uniformly
unwilling to admit a problem even exists. In other words, things
are only going to get worse and they may not get any better.
Source: Sherdog
|
UFC
117 FINALIZED WITH 11-BOUT CARD
On
Thursday, the UFC officially finalized the 11-bout card that
will make up UFC 117 in Oakland, CA headlined by UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva defending his middleweight title against
Chael Sonnen.
Serving
as the co-main event of the night will be a rematch years in
the making as Jon Fitch faces Thiago Alves in a pivotal welterweight
showdown on the card. Alves and Fitch were set to meet back in
March, but Alves was diagnosed with a brain anomaly that forced
him to undergo surgery and out of the fight.
Now
the two top five ranked welterweights will square off in August
instead.
Also
on the card will be a heavyweight tilt that pits Junior Dos Santos
against Roy Nelson with the winner guaranteed a shot at the UFC
heavyweight title at some point in the future.
Former
UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes gets back in action against
Renzo Gracie prodigy Ricardo Almeida, while Thiago Silva and
the returning Tim Boetsch mix it up in a lightweight contest.
Exciting
lightweight fighter Clay Guida faces Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace
Rafael Dos Anjos, and fellow grappling master Dustin Hazelett
returns following an extended layoff and meets Rick Story on
the undercard.
6'11"
heavyweight Stefan Struve faces UFC newcomer Christian Morecraft,
Johny Hendricks draws former "Pro's vs. Joes" champion
Charlie Brenneman, American Top Teamer Ben Saunders gets to fight
"Superman" himself Dennis Hallman, and Rodney Wallace
squares off against Stanislov Nedkov.
UFC
117 will take place at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA on August
7, and will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Jon
Jones ready to take prodigous status with win over Vladimir Matyushenko
at UFC on Versus 2
By: Chris
Park, MMATorch UK Specialist
In just over two weeks time Jon "Bones" Jones will
be back in the Octagon, aiming to follow up on his career best
win over Brandon Vera when he tackles wily veteran Vladimir "The
Janitor" Matyushenko at UFC on Versus 2.
The
fight with Vera in March saw Jones dominate and then stop a man
who was once himself regarded as "the next big thing."
Vera left the arena that night a broken man, with his eye socket
fractured and his pride in tatters, as he knew he was defeated
by a man who was simply a superior fighter.
It
was this performance that proved Jones is ready for the big time.
After such dominating displays against the likes of Stephan Bonner,
Matt Hamill and Jake O’Brien, Jones looked set to start
his assault on the top ten light heavyweights. The win over Vera
had many calling for bouts against Forrest Griffin, Thiago Silva
or perhaps a fight with Rich Franklin as Jones' next test, so
it was something of a surprise when Matyushenko was named as
his next opponent.
Over
the years a number of up and coming fighters have fallen from
grace when they have come up against experienced opponents, similar
to Matyushenko, and Jones will need to be ready for a battle
come August 1. Jones has so far defeated very strong opposition,
but it will be this next fight that will make the case for calling
him a prodigy much clearer.
There's
precedent in the UFC, as far as the young up and comer vs. cagey
veteran is concerned, and that should temper those ready to crown
Jones. As a teenager, Vitor Belfort exploded into the UFC, blasting
away everyone in his path, finding himself as the man widely
considered to be the face of the future as the UFC began to grow.
Belfort then faced off against Randy Couture and was taken into
the deeper waters by "The Natural,” who eventually
stopped the overwhelmed Brazilian.
It
was a shock result at the time, but in hindsight was just another
example of what a phenomenon Randy Couture is. One thing is for
sure, that fight pulled the carpet from under Belfort's feet,
his "prodigy: status was tarnished and, despite a fantastic
career overall, he has never quite hit the great heights he was
once predicted to reach.
B.J.
Penn has,
of course, been known as "The Prodigy” for years, and
no man more deserves that moniker more than Penn himself. With
a glittering career that has seen Penn hold the UFC championship
in two different weight classes, the Hawaiian native is destined
to one day take his rightful place in the UFC Hall Of Fame.
It
would be unfair at this point to compare the meteoric rise of
Jon Jones to that of Penn, but his near flawless performances
in the Octagon so far make it difficult not to. Jones has not
once even looked troubled in his five UFC bouts, and left the
tough Matt Hamill a crushed mess when they fought.
Should
Jones dispatch of Matyushenko, then an opponent in the top ten
is a must for his next fight. "Bones" will need to
take on and defeat the likes of Rogerio Nogueira and Forrest
Griffin before we can really begin to dream of Muay Thai wars
with the likes of Shogun Rua or Anderson Silva.
The
only concern: if Jones runs through Matyushenko on August 1,
he may be thrust toward the top end of the ladder too soon, and
as we have seen with the careers of Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo
and more recently Todd Duffee, too much hype can only leave you
with one place to go – and that’s down.
While
fighters like Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez are living
up to their hype and are both riding huge waves of momentum,
helping inject more excitement than the heavyweight division
has ever had before, it is Jones who looks the most like the
next Prodigy.
Source: MMA Torch
|
Updated
2010 Grand Prix Fields
by Fraser
Coffeen
After
recent action in both the MAX and HW Grand Prix, let's take a
look at the updated fields for the 2010 Grand Prix Finals.
FINAL
16
1.
Semmy Schilt (2009 Grand Prix Champion)
2. Badr Hari (2009 Finalist)
3. Alistair Overeem (2009 Semi-Finalist)
4. Remy Bonjasky* (2009 Semi-Finalist)
5. Jerome Le Banner (2009 Quarter Finalist)
6. Errol Zimmerman (2009 Quarter Finalist)
7. Ruslan Karaev (2009 Quarter Finalist)
8. Ewerton Teixeira (2009 Quarter Finalist)
9. Kyotaro (Heavyweight Champion)
10. Freddy Kemayo (East Europe GP Champion)
11. Ben Edwards (Oceania GP Champion)
12. TBA (Asia GP Japan)
13. TBA (TBA Qualifying GP)
14. TBA (Wild Card)
15. TBA (Wild Card)
16. TBA (Wild Card)
Five
slots remain open. At least two should be filled by qualifying
tournaments - one in Asia and one other yet to be named (though
I would imagine it will be in Japan). Konstantin Gluhov has qualified
for one of this tournaments. For the other three wild cards,
both Gokhan Saki and Ray Sefo are leading candidates for slots
at this point. Other names to consider in the GP picture are
Peter Aerts and Daniel Ghita.
Finally,
Remy Bonjasky is a bit of a question mark. The rumors have died
down a bit, but there has been serious talk of Remy retiring
this year and perhaps not taking part in the GP.
Switching
gears, here is how MAX is shaping up so far:
MAX
FINAL 8
1.
Albert Kraus (2009 Quarter-Finalist; defeated Nakajima)
2. Yuichiro Nagashima (Japan GP Champion; defeated Dida)
3. Yoshihiro Sato (defeated Yamamoto)
4-8. TBD in European leg of Final 16
MAX
FINAL 16 (Remaining)
7.
Giorgio Petorsyan (2009 GP Champion)
8. Andy Souwer (2009 Finalist)
9. Artur Kyshenko (2009 Quarter-Finalist)
10. Su Hwan Lee (Wild Card)
11. Mo Khamal (West Europe GP Champion)
12. Vitaly Horkou (East Europe GP Champion)
13. Michal Glogowski (Wild Card)
14. Chahid Oulad El Hadj (Wild Card) OR Gago Drago (2009 Quarter-Finalist)
15. Buakaw Por. Pramuk (2009 Semi-Finalist) OR Pajonsuk (Wild
Card)
16. TBA (Wild Card)
Source: Head Kick Legend
|
First
Look At Round 5 “Versus” Series Prototype Images
MARKHAM, Ontario, Canada, July 12, 2010 – Round 5, a leader
in producing mixed martial arts collectible figurines, today
released images of several prototypes of its “Versus”
line, pairs of distinctly new figures highlighting battle scenes
from great UFC matchups. The prototypes were first seen at the
Round 5 booth at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas in May.
The
“Versus” series includes collectibles representing
the following bouts: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs.
Wanderlei Silva (UFC 92), 12-27-2008; Forrest Griffin vs. Jackson
(“The Ultimate Fighter 7”); Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar
(UFC 100), 7-11-2008; and Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell (UFC 66),
12-30-2006.
Images
of the first available “Versus” pairs can be viewed
at flicker. Future “Versus” pairs will include classic
PRIDE matchups and other special editions.
The
“Versus” line, scheduled to hit Toys“R”Us
stores in the fall and other retailers later in the year, will
be accompanied by an Octagon segment display.
Round
5 UFC “Ultimate Collector” Series 1 and 2 are now available
at leading retailers across North America. A list can be found
at www.Round5MMA.com.
About
Round 5
Round 5 (http://www.round5mma.com/), headquartered in Markham,
Ontario, Canada, is the MMA industry’s fastest growing worldwide
collectible figure company. Committed to developing intricately
detailed figures, Round 5 strives to remain true to the sport
of MMA and its personalities.
Source: By The Numbers
|
Thiago
Alves
By Guilherme Cruz
In 2006, Thiago Pitbull was surprised by Jon Fitch and was knocked
out on his fourth fight on the UFC. From that time, the Brazilian
won seven times, being five of them by knockout, and was only
beat by the champion of his division, Georges St. Pierre. On
August 7 (UFC 117), Thiago will come back to UFC’s octagon
wanting to revenge his loss to Fitch, and promises an outstanding
win. “I can’t wait for it to happen, man… This
fight needed to happen, but I’ll get it this time, I’ll
beat this guy up”, warns, commenting his wish of a rematch
with St. Pierre, as well as the new acquisition of the division,
Jake Shields, his brain surgery and a lot more.
How are your trainings going for this next bout?
The trainings are intense, thanks God, and very hard. There’re
many guys helping me like Jucão, Tyron Woods and all the
guys from ATT like Jorge (Santiago), Thiago Silva, Katel (Kubis),
and our Muay Thai coach, Master Libório… The tem
is very united with this goal to bring ATT back to the top.
How does it feel to rematch Fitch?
I can’t wait for it to happen, man… This fight needed
to happen, but I’ll get him this time, I’ll beat this
guy up, I’ll knock him out.
How do you see your evolution in this period since you last confronted
each other, in 2006?
I believe we both improved a lot, but I’m much better than
him now. When I fought him, I wasn’t on my best shape, but
there’re no apologies, he won. I’m much more complete
when it comes to that last fight, I can’t wait to show people
who the new Pitbull is.
You were supposed to confront him on UFC 11, but end up cut right
before it because of a problem you had in your brain… What
was it?
I did some routine exams for UFC and they discovered a bad formation
on my brain and there wasn’t time enough to find out if
I was born with that or if it had happened sometime during these
last five years. After the event, they compared the exams to
an old one I had and they said I was born that way. It wouldn’t
bring me any harm, but they thought it was best to just cure
it for good.
Were you at risk during the surgery or could something happen
to you in case you decided not to do this procedure?
There’s always a risk because it’s a brain thing, right?
If you do one little thing wrong, the guy can become retarded
for the rest of his life (laughs), but everything went great.
They said that if I didn’t have this surgery it could blow
and cause a bleeding, so that’s why they had to fix it.
Did all this time away from the octagon disturbed you in any
way?
Man, it makes me more anxious than if I was fighting all the
time, but it won’t be a problem. I’ve been doing this
since I was 14 years old. When I get the first punch on my face,
everything will look like it always was (laughs).
You don’t fight since UFC 100, when you disputed the belt
with Georges St. Pierre. Is your wish to reach for the top and
have this rematch?
Everything happens for a reason, everything I’ve been through
in my life… I got there and had my chance to fight against
the champion, but I learned that it’s not that easy, I had
to be happy not only my profession, but in my life in general,
I had to feel fine with myself so that I could become the number
one. I fixed what I had to fix. There’re no apologies, he
was better than me on that night, but nowadays things would be
different. But, first I have to beat Jon Fitch.
Georges St. Pierre’s next opponent is Josh Koscheck, who
has been beat by the Canadian before. Do you think he has any
chance against the champion now?
I believe it’ll be tougher than the first one, but I think
it won’t change much. Koshcheck improved a lot, but St.
Pierre evolved a lot more. But you can never now, a bout is a
bout.
St. Pierre said he would like to get retired after a win over
Anderson Silva. How do you think this confrontation would be
like?
Man, I think it’d be a great fight, but Anderson is much
bigger and stronger, and on the fight, it matters a lot. St.
Pierre would not impose his rhythm neither put Anderson where
he wants. His takedowns might work, but when there’s down
there, Anderson is very efficient and there’s the distance
difference…
Jake Shields, Strikeforce’s former champion, should have
his debut on UFC soon. Would you like to “welcome”
him?
For sure, it’d be great. He’s fucking good, I don’t
know why he was not on UFC yet. Thanks God he decided to come
to UFC and, if they ask me to “welcome” him, it’d
be my pleasure to show how things work inside the UFC (laughs).
Would you like to send a message for your fans?
I’d
like to send a great hug for everybody, thanks to all the support.
Be faithful, because in 2010 we’ll reach the top and get
this belt.
Source: Tatame
|
Women
– Independent World MMA Rankings (July 16, 2010)
By Zach
Arnold
From the office of the Independent World MMA Rankings
The
July 2010 Women’s Independent World MMA Rankings have been
released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA media
outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple MMA
web sites, as well as www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
The
members of the voting panel for the Women’s Independent
World MMA Rankings are, in alphabetical order: Nicholas Bailey
(MMA Ratings); Jim Genia (Full Contact Fighter and MMA Journalist
Blog); Yael Grauer (MMA HQ); Jesse Holland (MMA Mania); Robert
Joyner (Freelance); Zac Robinson (Sports by the Numbers MMA);
Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David Smith (AOL Fanhouse);
Joshua Stein (MMA Opinion); and Ivan Trembow (Freelance).
July
2010 Women’s Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on July 13, 2010
Featherweight
Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
1. Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (10-1)
2. Marloes Coenen (17-4)
3. Gina Carano (7-1)
4. Yuko “Hiroko” Yamanaka (9-1-1)
5. Cindy Dandois (4-0)
6. Shana Olsen (4-0)
7. Amanda Nunes (5-1)
8. Jamie Seaton (2-1)
9. Emily Thompson (3-2)
10. Hitomi Akano (15-7)
Bantamweight
Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Sarah Kaufman (11-0)
2. Roxanne Modafferi (15-5)
3. Tara LaRosa (18-2)
4. Hitomi Akano (15-7)
5. Shayna Baszler (12-6)
6. Takayo Hashi (12-2)
7. Miesha Tate (9-2)
8. Julie Kedzie (14-8)
9. Jennifer Tate (6-1)
10. Vanessa Porto (10-4)
Flyweight
Rankings (116 to 125 lbs.)
1. Tara LaRosa (18-2)
2. Aisling Daly (9-0)
3. Zoila Frausto (7-1)
4. Rosi Sexton (10-2)
5. Rin Nakai (7-0)
6. Sally Krumdiack (8-3)
7. Lena Ovchynnikova (6-0)
8. Megumi Fujii (20-0)
9. Monica Lovato (5-1)
10. Jeri Sitzes (3-1)
Junior
Flyweight Rankings (106 to 115 lbs.)
1. Megumi Fujii (20-0)
2. Yuka Tsuji (22-2)
3. Lisa Ward (13-5)
4. Mei “V Hajime” Yamaguchi (6-2)
5. Jessica Pene (7-0)
6. Jessica Aguilar (8-3)
7. Kyoko Takabayashi (11-4)
8. Angela Magana (8-4)
9. Saori Ishioka (8-4)
10. Emi Fujino (8-4)
The
Women’s Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated and
published on a monthly basis, with fighters receiving ten points
for a first-place vote, nine points for a second-place vote,
and so on.
The
rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the
voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody
else’s vote, and no computerized voting.
The
voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’
actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition
that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective
perception of which fighters would theoretically win hypothetical
match-ups.
Inactivity:
Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible
to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time
they fight.
Disciplinary
Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary
suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test
or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing
Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that she is leaving
one weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the
fighter is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class
until her first fight in the new weight class has taken place.
Catch
Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are
in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are
considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits
for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for
each weight class.
Special
thanks to Eric Kamander, Joshua Stein, and Yael Grauer for their
invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett
Bailey for designing our logo.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
FABRICIO
WERDUM IN LONG TERM STRIKEFORCE DEAL
by Damon
Martin
Fabricio Werdum picked up not only the biggest win of his career
when he defeated Fedor Emelianenko, but he also picked up one
of the biggest wins in mixed martial arts history.
That
kind of victory equals golden opportunities in the future, as
well as tremendous job security.
While
Werdum is still awaiting for word on whether his next fight will
pit him against Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem
or a rematch against Emelianenko, one thing is for sure, he will
be with Strikeforce for a long, long time to come.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker told MMAWeekly Radio recently that Werdum is
locked up in a long-term contract with the promotion, and they
hope to keep him there for many years to come.
"There's
a lot of rumors, and there's a lot of haters out there all the
time it seems like, but the reality is we're not going to do
a deal where we're going to leave ourselves exposed," said
Coker.
"Fabricio
Werdum is a Strikeforce fighter, and he will be for many years,
and we look forward to having him be part of our roster."
Werdum
signed with Strikeforce after a 2-2 campaign fighting with the
UFC, and has since gone 3-0 with the promotion, including wins
over Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and Fedor Emelianenko.
The
only question remaining for Werdum now isn't what promotion he'll
be fighting for, but which fighter will be his next fight.
Strikeforce
officials are expected to make a decision over the coming weeks
for who will face the Brazilian next.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
MAD
SKILLS Today!
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JULY 17 2010
DOORS OPEN AT 5:00 PM
NAZ
HARRISON 110 COLE DANT
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VISTANTE 45 JACOB CARTER
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WALLER 50 JONAH CARTER
ROBERT
BANIS 155 ROBBIE OSTAVICH
MATT
AUSTIN 110 NELSON KUKAHIKO
GREG
FRANK 200 JEREMY NITTA
DAVE
CORDEIRO (O2
Martial Arts Academy) 200 TBA
CARLOS
MASUNGSONG 120 JED
KAINOA
ALVEIADO 100 BRENTON
CHAZ
KANAE 145 JAMES PURGANON
LAITA
TYNELL 215 HANS LEE
CODY
SANTOS 145 SHAWN MCKEWEON
JON
CABASAG 155 WALLA KAHOOKELE
BRYSON
DELACRUZ (O2
Martial Arts Academy) 220 SAM
RICKY
MURILLO 160 BRYSON OKADA
CLEM
HALLOWAY 145 RICKY PLUNKETT
KAHALE
DELIMA SHW KAWENA ADAMS
CODY
FAVINAL 130 ANTHONY COLORADO
DEREK
KAWALU 155 JOE GARCIA
RODNEY
BARONA 160 HAYSZON LINKEE
MICAH
IGE 160 ARNOLD PEREZ
JOEL
PAET 160 JESSIE PURGANON
CHEZ
CANTERE 145 KEVIN PURGANON
ERNEST
KAUMA 130 AARON PUAHALA
JON
LUCIUS 155 LAAKEA KAHOOKELE
ANDYMAR
RENON (O2 Martial Arts Academy) 230 OLO
Matches
and participants may be subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
Jake
Shields Signs With UFC
By Ray Hui
Dana White can finally stop having to answer questions about
signing Jake Shields. The former Strikeforce middleweight champion
is UFC bound, says the official website of Shields' Cesar Gracie
camp.
"Jake's
opponent is one of the UFC's top contenders and will be announced
shortly," GracieFighter.com stated.
Shields
will move down to the division where he spent the majority of
his career, 170 pounds.
Even
before the last fight on his Strikeforce contract, it was only
time before Shields would join the UFC. Just one week after the
Henderson win, Shields was on camera sitting next to White at
the WEC 48 pay-per-view in Sacramento. At the end of June it
became all but official after Strikeforce took the initiative
to release Shields from his contract during their renegotiation
period.
"He
wants to be in the UFC, we want him in the UFC, unless something
crazy happens in contract negotiations, which I don't anticipate,
he should be fighting in the UFC," White told MMAFighting.com's
Ariel Helwani the day after Shields received his Strikeforce
release.
The
31-year-old Shields, who holds an overall MMA record of 25 wins,
four losses and one draw, is considered one of the top 170 and
185-pounders in the world. Shields has won his last 14 fights,
including wins over Dan Henderson, Jason "Mayhem" MIller,
Robbie Lawler, Paul Daley as well as current UFC fighters Carlos
Condit and Yushin Okami.
Shields
is coming off the biggest win of his career, a decisive win over
Henderson on CBS to successfully defend the Strikeforce middleweight
title.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Paul
Daley's Punishment for Sucker Punch? You're Looking at It
By Ben Fowlkes
At some point this weekend, Paul Daley is going to have to look
around at the company he's keeping in Australia and ask himself
some tough questions.
Who
knows, maybe he already has.
Maybe
when he sat down for the pre-fight press conference and looked
around to see himself surrounded by aging ex-champions and noted
MMA misfits of every stripe, perhaps that's when it started to
sink in that he had found himself in a sort of MMA purgatory.
Daley
already knows why he's on the Impact FC card in Sydney this Saturday
and not in the UFC. We all do. After losing a decision to Josh
Koscheck at UFC 113, he threw what may have been the most notorious
and yet least damaging punch in UFC history. Least damaging to
the recipient, anyway.
Coming
as it did several seconds after the bell, Daley's sucker punch
succeeded in getting him immediately booted from the UFC, which
is how he finds himself on this particular rogue's gallery of
a fight card. Sure, there are some guys scheduled for the event
who just hit a rough streak, maybe lost one or two more than
they could afford to. But this many volatile, questionable characters
all on one card? At some point we have to acknowledge that it's
not a coincidence, but a pattern.
At
the press conference this week, Daley described his own ugly
incident as "a bit insignificant" now. How he managed
to say that with a straight face as he prepared to fight on a
card headlined by a 46 year-old Ken Shamrock, who's 1-5 in his
last six fights, I'll never know.
The
funny part is, back in Montreal the local commission is still
in the process of deciding how to punish the British welterweight
for his indiscretion. Maybe someone should send them the fight
night lineup for Impact FC. When they see Daley's name between
Shamrock's and Jeremy May's, they might decide that he's been
punished enough.
Judging
by Daley's remarks this week, he doesn't think his UFC ban is
all that big of a deal. He doesn't even necessarily think it's
a true ban. If he keeps winning fights and "bringing in
fans," he suggested, Dana White might soften his stance
and allow him back in the fold.
Sorry
Paul, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Daley's
exile is a punishment that perfectly fits the crime. It's far
more appropriate than a fine or a suspension or any other sanction
that an athletic commission might hand out. He still has the
chance to fight and pick up a paycheck. He hasn't been placed
on a blacklist because of one stupid mistake. That would be unfair.
And
yet, he has been put on some sort of list. He's among the damaged
goods now, right there with Jesse Taylor – the fighter who
literally and gleefully peed his pants on national TV –
and Paulo Filho – the man who is as likely to skip an event
altogether as he is to show up and spend three rounds talking
to ghosts that only he can see.
It's
not a career death by any means, nor should it be. In a way,
it's just a different kind of fame. It also might be the best
way to discourage such actions in other fighters. One look at
the various cautionary tales that fill out the Impact FC fight
card, and suddenly they're reminded why it's important to play
by the rules and conduct themselves with some measure of dignity.
If
they don't, they're bound to find themselves at one of these
pre-fight pressers some day, listening to the people around them
trying (and failing) to downplay the extent of their own screw-ups.
Then they'll have to ask themselves how they got there, and chances
are they won't like the answers.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Strikeforce
should have a GP-style Middleweight tournament
By Zach
Arnold
Update:
They’re going ahead with a tournament in October & December,
but they are going to do a one-night tournament deal in December
— sounds like San Jose to me since California allows it.
They’re trying to split the baby here.
That’s
the argument presented by Sherdog radio (from last Monday). A
caller suggested the idea of a one-night tournament but that’s
not going to happen, so he said why not do a PRIDE-style GP since
Middleweight is the promotion’s strong division?
This
topic is touched upon in a broader context of how Strikeforce
and Showtime are not creating any momentum for shows. Every time
I bring this point up, there are a few of you out there who start
to mock the media for ‘narratives’ or ‘focus’
or whatever you want to poke at. The truth is, however, every
major sports league has narratives and themes. Will the Evil
Empire buy their way to another championship? Will Phil Jackson
be able to achieve a fourth Three-Peat as coach? Will a small-market
underdog team like New Orleans be able to repeat as Super Bowl
champions? There are always narratives and themes going into
every season and every major series in big sports, so why can’t
that be expected by fans of MMA promotions? UFC does a good job
of creating stars and giving fans what they want. After all,
UFC set the expectation level of what fans demand to see in terms
of undercard fights and new stars. So, if UFC does, it should
raise the stakes for other promotions to meet or exceed those
standards.
In
thinking about the idea of Strikeforce not having a prolonged
Middleweight tournament, it would be a really big blunder on
their part… and this is coming from someone who hated the
yearly tournament format in Japan. Middleweight is the one division
that Strikeforce can actually look at people and say that they
have guys who could be competitive with UFC’s roster. They
have the talent there to pull off a GP-style tournament, so why
not do it? It would give the fans a decisive winner, some great
matches, and would earn the respect of a lot of fans. Give the
fans what they want and make it happen.
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Strikeforce needs to do something and they’re
not doing anything right at the moment. I don’t think it’s
up to Scott Coker or Mike Afromowitz, I don’t think it’s
their problem. We’ve talked many hours about how Strikeforce’s
hands are really tied at the mercy of Ken Hershman and Showtime
and what they want to do and they just aren’t building the
brand. They aren’t, you know, you don’t look at one
Strikeforce event and go, ‘Oh, look what’s happening,
it’s building to another event, I can’t wait for the
next Strikeforce show.’ It’s just, I mean, the fights
are good. I have no problems with the fights, you know, a lot
of them are great. But they’re not building stars on the
undercard. They’re not really saying, look how this main
event carries over ot the next main event in this division. It’s…
it’s just like, hey, look, some fights are on, watch them.
Oh, hey, we’re going to do some more fights down the road,
maybe they’ll be good, too.”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “The lack of planning is a real big issue and
I think this is something we’ve talked about plenty of times
before, though I will say about just having a tournament in general,
not necessarily in the one-night… I do agree with that because
you kind of, that was the first thing you really got people pretty
excited for in terms of what Strikeforce was doing. I think that
was one of the first things that, all right they’ve talked
about this tournament for the Middleweight belt. All right, forget
the fact Jake Shields jumped ship. You do the best that you can
with the situation that you have and OK, all right, Scott Coker
comes out and here he starts talking about maybe 8, 4, maybe
8, maybe 16, who knows, he has no clue, but it’s something
to get excited about and if you’re a fan of Strikeforce,
if you’re following, you kind of want to see something like
that happen. Well, no, all of a sudden it’s going to be
Kennedy vs. Jacare and it will determine who has the belt from
there.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “That’s not fun. That’s not fun! At
all.”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “But, I mean, the bout itself I have no real
problem with, just the fact…”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “No, no, no, let me rephrase that. The fight
itself is fine. I don’t have a problem with that. I think
Jacare, if you’re going to have a title fight, Jacare definitely
needs to be in it. However, let’s build up to it. I mean
this is the golden opportunity… Let’s take a field
of fighters, let’s tell you their story, let’s have
them fight each other and build up, I mean really look at the
titles right now. Who are the champions in Strikeforce, Lutfi?”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “Oh goodness… Overeem.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Correct. And… Overeem is the Heavyweight
champion. No one even remembers when he fought Paul Buentello
to win that title.”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “No, I mean, we do but that’s because we
do the show.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “I mean, literally the only thing that we’ve
seen of Alistair Overeem in Strikeforce in recent memory is defeating
Brett Rogers, who had just lost to Fedor. So… that title
basically has no luster whatsoever. There’s no real lineage
on it, no one really even you know looks at… I mean for
a long time… but while Fedor was on his winning streak and
fighting you know in Strikeforce, people really looked at Fedor
as the champion. Various media outlets even forgot that Overeem
was the champion and just, it’s almost instinct to call
Fedor the Heavyweight champion of Strikeforce. So… no real
history there. Let’s talk Light Heavyweight. Who’s
the Light Heavyweight champion, Lutfi?”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “King Mo.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Who basically dominated Gegard Mousasi, who
took it from Renato Babalu in, you know, I mean I guess King
Mo’s great. It’s great that he’s a champion, but
you know Mousasi was supposed to be really big elite-level Light
Heavyweight that was dominate their division and run game through
everybody and we’re supposed to be excited about Mousasi
and this guy who hasn’t been doing MMA very long took their
title, so, you know, I’m not saying that King Mo isn’t
a great fighter, but he’s not the level of, he doesn’t
have the hype that everyone thought Mousasi was going to have.
And then we have this Middleweight title, which again doesn’t
really have you know anything, Jake Shields leaves, you know,
we’re sort of sitting there shrugging our shoulders. I guess
we’ll do this, just throw it at somebody. It’s just…
we don’t have to go through everything. It’s just…
none of their titles are really established. I mean… when
we introduce a fighter as a Strikeforce champion, I mean it sounds
nice but I don’t think anyone looks at a Strikeforce title
holder as some elite-level fighter who, Oh my God, he’s
their champion, he must be a killer. It’s just missing that
and I think that’s straight on Strikeforce and Showtime
that they really haven’t… I mean… this goes to
their champions to their preliminary fighters who we don’t
get to see. You aren’t really doing anything to promote,
they’re not promoting the brand, they’re not really
not promoting the fighters. They’re promoting the fights,
which I mean we all loves and this is something my old partner,
Josh Gross, would always talk about — just promote the fighters
and the fights. They’re promoting the fights but they’re
really just not promoting the fighters and by not promoting the
fighters, they’re really not promoting the brand. And I
mean Strikeforce is something that we care about, we cover because
it has really good talent, it’s just it’s not captivating
the crowd that pays the bills.”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “There is a big issue in terms of how to, not
necessarily a big issue, just a big discussion in terms of what
is the best way to run a promotion, is there a best way to run
a promoting. UFC came along, followed the pro-wrestling model,
and has had the success that it’s had. And one of the bigger
discussions that we’ve had surrounding Strikeforce is just
how successful it can be putting the fighter first and trying
to emphasize the fighter as opposed to the brand itself and it’s
gone that route in terms of focusing on hype, Dan Henderson’s
going to get all this money and it’s going to be focused
on Dan Henderson and we’re going to push Dan Henderson and
maybe to the extent of, at the expense of Strikeforce.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “Look at the talent, though, Lutfi! Look at the
talent that Strikeforce has at 185 pounds. It’s one of their
better divisions. Let’s have these guys fight other. Let’s,
I mean, I know everyone that is a boxing fan has made just a
big deal out of the Super Six. Let’s do something like that
with these guys.”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “And I’m with you, I’m absolutely with
you on that. But I’m saying it goes back to just overall
how they decided to run the promotion strictly based on more
the individual fighters as opposed to the brand itself because
if you go and you do the brand and if you go and you run your
promotion the same way the UFC is running their promotion more
on the name of the brand as opposed to the individual fighters,
then you probably do get this Middleweight tournament off the
ground. Then you probably do focus on Strikeforce’s Middleweight
tournament featuring all these different guys as opposed to just
trying to pander to each individual fighter’s specific interests
and not getting anything done to begin with.”
TJ
DE SANTIS: “It just seems like putting the title on Jacare
and Tim Kennedy, I think both of those guys if they beat each
other are worth of carrying that you know banner as champion,
but it just seems like throwing those guys together without having
a tournament just seems like, ah, we got a problem here, let’s
just get a quick fix when this is a golden opportunity to promote
the brand, to promote the fighters, and to really promote their
best division.”
LUTFI
SARIAHMED: “Yeah. No, I’m with ya. There’s no
reason not to take advantage of the opportunity in front of you
and hopefully they still will. Hopefully it’s one of those
things where you have your title fight and then maybe you still
do a tournament for the sake of a #1 contender, who knows. But
I think this is something that they have to take advantage of
because of the fighters in their Middleweight division and hopefully
they can pull something off.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Fredson
Paixao: Little Bark, Plenty of Bite
By Frank
Curreri
Halfway across the world in the Amazon jungle, where Fredson
Paixao lived for many years and climbed nearby trees to enjoy
the freshest Acai berries a tongue will ever taste while also
swimming in piranha-infested rivers for pleasure, there was an
important protocol that could spell the difference between life
and death.
The
practice required this: if you ever suffered a snake or spider
bite, or a bite from any suspicious creature, it was incumbent
upon you, in all your hysteria, pain and head-spinning agony,
to show grace under pressure; which is to say, you had to suck
up the pain of the bite and immediately set out to kill the doggone
rascal that had just pierced your flesh and perhaps threatened
your life.
Why?
Because you had to literally run and find the nearest doctor.
And your chances for surviving a poisonous bite might depend
upon how quickly the doctor could identify the species involved
and pinpoint the appropriate anti-venom.
Those
habits explain why, on a recent afternoon in Las Vegas, Paixao
walked around with a plastic water bottle that was empty save
for a curious item: a dead scorpion.
“It
bit me this morning,” the bulldog-framed fighter said with
a smile, proudly holding up the water bottle containing the motionless
critter.
The
memento was the consequence of a safeguard, not a souvenir. The
four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion had been bitten
after an early morning workout. As he sat down and jump started
his car, he felt the bite. He quickly jumped to his feet and
instantly zeroed in on the culprit.
“He
tried to run away,” Paixao said, “but I stepped on
him.”
There
in the Vegas desert, in a parking lot, Paixao had a decision
to make. Go to the hospital as a precaution or carry on with
plans to visit his 18-month-old daughter, Emma?
“It’s
just a little bite,” he told himself. “I was born in
the middle of the jungle and lived with snakes, little monkeys,
birds … so how can I be scared of these things? I’d
be far more scared of crossing the street here (in Vegas) than
playing around in the jungle all day or coming across a snake
or something like that.”
He
recounted this experience with a great deal of nonchalance, explaining
that the absence of swelling on his leg and no sign of sickness
shaped his decision to forego a trip to a doctor or emergency
room. Paixao had better things to do with his time, like dedicate
himself to three-a-day training sessions to prepare for his upcoming
opponent, Bryan Caraway. The featherweights will collide on the
undercard of WEC 50 in Las Vegas. It is an intriguing matchup
between two men who excel at finishing fights on the ground.
Paixao (9-3) has submitted five opponents, while Caraway has
forced 11 foes to tap.
But
make no mistake, Paixao believes he is several leagues above
Caraway (14-4) in the grappling realm.
“I
put my game on top of him,” Paixao, a native Portuguese
speaker, said in his ever-improving English, which is heavily
laced with an accent. “I don’t care what he does …”
What
Paixao means is that he intends to impose his submission grappling
game on Caraway, whom he expects to “try to come in and
take me down and ground and pound.”
“Animal”
is a compliment in MMA circles and it’s a word Paixao’s
training partners often use to describe him. He is the kind of
nimble athlete who can make an opponent feel like he is fighting
three Fredsons at once. Compounding the problem is that Paixao’s
jiu-jitsu IQ often leaves him three or four steps ahead of his
foes. He gives much of the credit to his jiu-jitsu instructor,
Osvaldo Alves, and also says that chess helps keep his mind fresh,
too. Well, sometimes at least.
“When
I start beating him, he gets up and leaves,” said Carlos
Sanchez, a close friend and training partner of Paixao’s.
Important note: Sanchez is referring to beating Paixao at chess,
not jiu-jitsu.
The
two men are as fanatical about chess as they are about jiu-jitsu.
They play on a $250 board. They have played each other almost
every single day for the past three years – often completing
20 or more games in a day. Sometimes their chess battles get
so heated that tempers flare, causing them to go days without
speaking to each other.
“I
cannot lose a fight at a jiu-jitsu tournament because he’ll
never stop talking,” Sanchez said. “We’ll be talking
and I’ll beat him at something and then he’ll say,
‘Remember that guy that scored 12 points on you? I got swept
three years ago by some guy that came from California and he
still brings it up.”
“Always
I’m crazy for playing chess,” Paixao said. “I
started playing when I was 25 because people were always saying
how jiu-jitsu is like chess. So I went to parks and coffee shops,
jumped on the tables and played the older guys in chess.”
Though
many, including Caraway, perceive Paixao to be stiff and vulnerable
on his feet, the 31-year-old Paixao said his game has been soaring
to new heights and he’s eager to showcase his new arsenal.
“Whoever
they put in front of me from now on, I’m going to win,”
he said. “In my best fights I didn’t think - I go,
I do my thing. Then I started thinking, and taking my time in
the cage. I need to go back to not thinking and just going. Now,
with this fight, I’m going back to the old Fredson.”
Source: WEC
|
Butterbean
tears into Pudzianowski: 'He punches like a girl'
Here's a new way to build buzz for an upcoming mixed martial
arts show: Issue a press release lambasting one of the main draws
as a lousy fighter.
Moosin,
the folks that gave the world Tim Sylvia vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski,
sent around some unflattering quotes from promoter Eric "Butterbean"
Esch. Officials for Moosin are considering Pudzianowski for an
Oct. 9 show in Chicago, but Esch derides him as an unskilled
girly puncher:
"I
know he allegedly broke his foot in the fight against Sylvia,
but he didn't show anything before he quit. Pudzianowski has
no stand-up and as strong as he is, he punches like a girl. All
he does is throw arm punches. He needs a lot of help. He's the
five-time World's Strongest Man but hits like a 130-pounder,
not a strong man who weighs 270 pounds.
"He
doesn't have the skill level to get to the level he wants to
fight. ... I don't know who has been coaching him but that trainer
should be fired. Pudzianowski needs to prove himself, showing
he has a good stand-up game by beating a good MMA fighter, before
he gets another big fight..."
Pudzianowski
did little against Sylvia in their May 21 bout in Worcester,
Mass., other than clinch for unsuccessful takedown attempts before
gassing out by the end of the first round. He tapped out in the
second in the face of a ground-and-pound attack from Sylvia,
a two-time titleholder with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
For
his performance, Pudzianowski took home an official purse of
$110,000, more than twice as much as Sylvia's $50,000 and 46%
of the Worcester show's total reported payroll of $237,100. Moosin
brought in Pudzianowski as a hook for the TV viewing audience
in his home country of Poland.
Moosin
uses Esch as its public representative for U.S. events, but he
knows more than most promoters about fighting. The Toughman legend
has a mixed martial arts record of 12-7-1 that includes two wins
in Pride Fighting Championships.
Source: USA Today
|
Ronaldo
Jacaré
By Guilherme Cruz
ADCC and BJJ World champion, Ronaldo Jacaré wants another
title for his professional record. On August 21, the black belt
gets into action for the third time on Strikeforce’s octagon
and fights for the title on the middleweight division against
Tim Kennedy, and he is ready for this battle. “The expectations
are high, we’re training very hard… He’s extremely
strong, takes everybody down”, compliments Jacaré.
On an exclusive chat with TATAME, the Brazilian talked about
his fight for the belt, his evolution since his first belt dispute,
on Dream, and commented the next belt disputes of his team mates
Rafael Feijão and Anderson Silva. “The guy (Chael
Sonnen) is a good athlete, but Anderson is training enough to
beat him”, bets.
What is your expectation for this fight for the belt on Strikforce?
The expectations are high, we’ve been training hard…
I’ve been training for a while and I was waiting for this
fight for the belt would come soon, I was already working on
it.
How is your preparation going, since this fight might have five
rounds?
I’m ready to get there and fight for the belt. I’m
not sure if it’ll last five rounds, but, in case it does,
I’ll be prepared.
You will face a guy who has only been beaten twice in his career.
What do you know about his game?
He’s extremely strong, takes everybody down, holds a good
professional record… That’s what I know about him.
He’s a guy who’s coming from several wins in a roll,
so he also should be prepared to do a great fight, to become
the champion. That’s why they chose him to dispute this
belt with me.
He is indeed a good Wrestler, but you are an expert in Jiu-Jitsu.
Do you believe he will try to bring you to the ground?
For sure. I believe he’ll keep doing his game, he’ll
try to bring me down, but I’ll be prepared to defend myself
while standing and bring him down in order to use my Jiu-Jitsu
to try to submit him.
You got the change to fight for the belt on Dream and did not
had a good result back then. Do you consider yourself more mature
for this belt dispute?
I’m cool. Dream was a good learning for me and I fought
here on Strikeforce to get this chance to fight for the belt,
beating two great fighters, two former champions, and now I’ll
have my chance for the belt.
Chuck Liddell is from Tim Kennedy’s team. Do you think this
could be an advantage for him, having a former champion of Liddell’s
level as a support and probable corner?
That won’t help him if he’s not prepared to get there
and fight for the belt. The fact that Chuck Liddell trains along
with him will not change a thing during the bout. He can be supportive
on the trainings, but it all depends on the fighter. It doesn’t
matter if he has the guy as his coach and he can’t do a
thing up there.
On that same night, Rafael Feijão, your training and team
partner, will have his chance for the belt on his division. How
is this expectation of you two training together to get your
own Strikeforce’s belt on the same evening?
The team is united and strong, we’re trying to reach our
limits during the trainings, (Josuel) Distak leading the trainings,
Rogerão (Camões) working on the physical part,
so we’re very focus for this event. Me, Feijão and
X-Gym are focused on these two belts.
How do you think this bout between Feijão and King Mo
Lawal will be like?
I believe there’ll be a lot of punches, but I hope that
Feijão, who’s my training partner, wins, because
he’s such a nice person. It’ll be a very busy standing
fight, if it depends on Feijão. I hope he get of there
with the win.
King Mo is also very good on takedowns and he proved that on
his last fight. Do you think he will try to bring Feijão
to the ground? How this part of Feijão’s game is?
Is he training that?
Everybody has been training together: me, André Galvão,
Feijão and great guys who are coming from Niterói
to train and help us. Everybody is together and I can tell that
Feijão’s ground game is very good. He’s been
doing trainings on the ground too and he’s getting better
and better, he’s surprising us. He’s improving a lot.
Anderson trains with you guys, but he is doing his preparation
for his next bout on the United States. How do you think this
next belt defend he has ahead of him will end like, when he will
face Chael Sonnen?
I hope that Anderson is in a good phase and focused, so that
he can do a great fight. People are saying that, for sure, he’ll
make it a great show. For what I’ve heard, he’s prepared
to it, he’ll make a good presentation for everybody to watch
it, a fighting show. He’ll do a good job, and for sure,
he’ll get this win.
Chael Sonnen has been saying craps. You have been through a similar
situation when you confronted Jason Miller, who is also a teaser.
What changes in the mind of an athlete when the guy starts saying
things like that? Does it change much?
For me, it doesn’t change anything. If the guy is quiet
or talkative, it doesn’t matter to me. You have to be a
fighter, go there and fight. What matters is the day of the bout,
you don’t need to say things first. I believe that doesn’t
change anything if the guy likes to talk or not, what matters
is what he can do inside that cage, that octagon. But I don’t
worry about it. I don’t know how it’ll be for Anderson,
but I believe it won’t change much. I believe it’ll
be the same for him too.
Do you believe Sonnen is good enough to beat Anderson?
The
guy is a good athlete, but Anderson will be prepared to beat
him.
Source: Tatame
|
The
top five heavyweight fights in UFC history
By: Chris
Park, MMATorch UK Specialist
In light of this weekend’s Heavyweight title clash between
Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, I have been looking back at some
of the other key heavyweight fights that have happened over the
years.
Instantly
I thought of fights such as Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Crop Cop
and Mark Coleman’s loss to Pete Williams and so I decided
to put together a list of what I think are the five greatest
heavyweight fights in UFC history.
After
watching those fights again I concluded that both would sit better
at the top of a heavyweight knockouts or even a heavyweight upsets
list. This Saturday we may see one of the greatest fights ever,
only time will tell, but as things stand here are my top five
heavyweight fights in UFC history.
5.
Tim Sylvia vs. Randy Couture, UFC 68 (2007)
This
fight came at a time where the heavyweight division was in desperate
need of some new life. Tim Sylvia had reclaimed the title by
defeating Andre Arlovski. After an instant rematch with Belarusian,
Sylvia then won a lack-lustre decision against Jeff Monson.
It
was clear that the heavyweight division was a long way off the
pace with champions such as Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre
and Chuck Liddell running high in their respective divisions.
Who could challenge Sylvia and emerge as the modern day star
of the division as the UFC moved further into the mainstream?
Cue former heavyweight and light-heavyweight champion Randy “the
Natural” Couture, who at the ripe old age of 43 came out
of retirement to take up that challenge.
Randy
Couture and Tim Sylvia met at UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio in March
2007. After only 8 seconds of the fight Randy Couture gave the
heavyweight division more excitement than it had seen in years
as he dropped the 6' 8" champion with the first punch of
the fight. This set the tone and Couture used every tool in his
skill set to overwhelm and dominate Tim Sylvia for the full five
rounds.
The
win saw Couture crowned the first ever three time UFC Heavyweight
Champion as the three judges scored all five rounds in favour
of “the Natural.”
This
was a fantastic fight to watch as Couture turned the entire division
on its head by taking out the less than fan popular champion.
More importantly, this fight saw the return of a legend that,
more than three years later, is still one of the elite fighters
in the UFC today.
====
4.
Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II, UFC 100 (2009)
UFC
100 was the most anticipated event in the organisations history,
and the main event more than lived up to its billing with PPV
figures of over 1.5 million, making it the most watched event
in UFC history.
After
losing his UFC debut in 90 seconds to Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar
bounced back by taking out veteran Heath Herring and then going
on to stop the returning Randy Couture to be crowned the Heavyweight
Champion.
In
Couture’s absence from the UFC (for legal reasons) Frank
Mir and Minotauro Nogueira agreed to coach on The Ultimate Fighter
and then go on to fight one another for the Interim Heavyweight
Championship. After Mir stopped Nogueira, Brock Lesnar vs. Frank
Mir II, to crown the undisputed king of the division, was inevitable.
In
July 2009 the two squared off, and a more methodical Lesnar paced
his way through round one. A lot was said by Frank Mir in the
build up to this one and Lesnar took his frustrations out on
Mir, stopping him mid-way through the second round and leaving
him a bleeding mess.
This
fight signaled the beginning of a new era of heavyweight fighters,
as Brock Lesnar became the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.
====
3.
Pedro Rizzo vs. Josh Barnett, UFC 30 (2001)
In
a period where MMA was really beginning to evolve, the undefeated
Josh Barnett went head to head with fan favourite Pedro Rizzo.
Both fighters stood and delivered as they went at it toe-to-toe
for the entire first round, taking everything that the other
man could throw.
Both
men hit the ground running for the second round, but it was Rizzo
who landed the killer blow. A right hand to the temple saw Barnett
out on his feet, a further right to the jaw finished things off
as Barnett hit the canvass out cold.
Not
only was this one of the best fights I have ever seen, it was
also one of the most clinical knockouts as Barnett lost his undefeated
record. Both fighters are still fighting today and, with 30 fights
on his record, this fight with Rizzo still remains as the only
knockout loss of Josh Barnett’s career.
====
2.
Minotauro Nogueira vs. Randy Couture, UFC 102 (2009)
Both
Randy Couture and Minotauro Nogueira came into this fight off
the back of stoppage losses to Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir respectively.
Many
referred to this as a pointless fight between two veterans of
the division whose best days were behind them. Another way of
seeing this was the coming together of two legends, in a bout
that was five years in the making, with the winner right back
into the title mix.
This
fight became an instant classic as both Couture and Nogueira
left it all in the cage as they fought tooth and nail for the
full three rounds. Nogueira took the unanimous decision in a
bout that left one thought in everyone’s mind: imagine if
this fight had taken place five years earlier! Perhaps it may
have gone one step further and ended up top of the list?
Regardless
this fight was an absolute joy to witness.
====
1.
Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo, UFC 31 (2001)
From
the minute I decided to put this list together I was sure I would
choose this fight as my number one, as it featured Randy Couture
and Pedro Rizzo battling it out for five rounds for the Heavyweight
Title.
Couture
dominated Rizzo throughout the first round, and the fight looked
very close to its finish on a number of occasions. Rizzo then
came back to dominate the second round, hurting Couture with
his leg, body and head-kick combinations.
Unbelievably
this fight went the distance, and after a further three rounds
of back and forth action Couture won a unanimous decision in
one of the most action packed wars I have ever seen. A close
decision, that would mean a rematch in the future, saw Couture
retain his title in one of the greatest fights in MMA history.
====
There
you have it, my top five UFC heavyweight fights ever. The absence
of any heavyweight inclusions between 2001 and 2007 says it all
really, as this division is now on a totally different level
to where it was five years ago in the UFC.
Source: MMA Torch
|
UFC
RETURNS TO AUSTRALIA IN 2011
by Jeff
Cain
The Ultimate Fighting Championship took its Octagon to Australia
for the first time on Feb. 21 with UFC 110. The event was an
unabashed success with UFC president Dana White vowing to return,
possibly making the land down under an annual stop.
White
recently said the Las Vegas-based fight promotion will return
to Australia in 2011.
“If
you’ve ever known how we do it, when we come in and we’re
as successful as we were in this market, we make it an annual
event. So we’ll be coming back here obviously,” White
said to the media at the UFC 110 post-fight press conference
in Sydney. “Our first trip to Australia was very successful.”
Following
UFC 116 on July 3, White stated, “We’ll be back to
Australia next year.”
Australia
will likely be one of the first international locations to land
it‘s own “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show as
well.
“We’re
killing it in Australia,” said the UFC president. “Australia
has become very, very good for us.”
It’s
still up in the air whether the UFC will return to Sydney on
its second trip to the Land Down Under, or if the Octagon might
make its first appearance in Melbourne, another city the promotion
has had its eyes on.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce
Completes Challengers 9 Card; Shane Del Rosario-Lolohea Mahe
in Main Event
By Matt
Erickson
Strikeforce on Thursday made official the full fight card for
its Challengers show July 23 in Everett, Wash.
Heavyweight
Shane Del Rosario (9-0) puts his unbeaten record on the line
against Lolohea Mahe (4-1-1) in the main event.
All
nine of Del Rosario's fights have been stoppage victories and
just one has gone to the second round. His last win came more
than eight months ago, an omoplata victory over Brandon Cash.
Mahe is coming off a loss in his Strikeforce debut in March against
Lavar Johnson.
In
the co-main event, Strikeforce women's bantamweight champion
Sarah Kaufman (11-0) puts her title on the line against Roxanne
Modafferi (15-5), who upset Tara LaRosa by split decision at
Moosin's God of Martial Arts show in Massachusetts in May. It
will be Kaufman's first defense of the title.
Also
on the main televised card, Cory Devela (9-4), who has fought
just twice in two years, meets Bobby Voelker (21-8); Mike Kyle
(16-7-1), whose last loss came a year ago to Fabricio Werdum,
takes on Abongo Humphrey (7-1), whose only career loss came to
Brett Rogers; and Caros Fodor (5-2) makes his Strikeforce debut
when he faces Thomas Diagne (1-1).
The
preliminary card has seven fights scheduled, including five fighters
making their professional debuts:
Brent
Knopp (2-0) vs. Ryan Hayes (1-0)
Taurean Washington (5-1) vs. CJ Marsh (0-0)
Chris Inman (0-0) vs. Joe Hernandez (2-1)
Scott McDonald (1-0) vs. Doug Kay (2-0)
Drew Brokenshire (4-2) vs. Mike Minniger (0-0)
Jamen Olney (0-1) vs. Levi Alford (1-1)
Frankie Orr (0-0) vs. John Elam (0-0)
The
main card of Strikeforce Challengers 9 will air live on Showtime
at 11 p.m. Eastern on July 23 and takes place at the Comcast
Arena at Everett, just north of Seattle.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
A
very interesting reminder of the pro-wrestling connection in
the MMA media
By Zach
Arnold
I
recently saw the archive for the May 3, 1993 Observer and as
if I needed a reminder of just how many people from the pro-wrestling
world came over into MMA over the last two decades, I got it
in the form of two reader letters Dave Meltzer received and published.
We
should have known. Continuing the tradition of the infamous Nassau
Coliseum shows, Dusty and company managed to completely discredit
themselves in front of a large crowd of wrestling-hungry fans.
Nobody believed or accepted the reason for Flair’s absence.
The major crowd chants were “We Want Flair” and “Refund.”
Needless to say, no signs were posted and no refunds were offered.
Flair should have been here in town the last few days doing promotional
work. Instead, the WCW marketing geniuses omitted any mention
of the card on the previous Saturday’s World Wide show,
and instead played scatter-shot ads on TV and radio tennis shows.
What they did overall was a disaster. The match with the most
heat, Chris Benoit vs. Ron Simmons, was cut short by a stupid
ruling. This gave us plenty of time for Vinnie Vegas and Van
Hammer. Do the bookers really hate the fans that much or are
they just completely insane? The fans popped for Too Cold Scorpio
but he did almost no flying, including not doing his finishing
move which was voted the best move in wrestling in 1992. There
were the usual assortment of Dusty DQ finishes along with a couple
of clean pins and one submission. Most matches sucked, with only
four of the nine matches two stars or better and nothing better
than three stars.
Eddie
Goldman
New York, New York
I
went from Boston to New York to see WCW’s debacle at the
Paramount. Needless to say, I’m fairly disappointed. Is
any thought at all being put into the booking? Whose brainstorm
was it to use Chris Benoit in a 45 second match and follow it
up with Vinnie Vegas vs. Van Hammer for what seemed like an eternity?
The sad thing is WCW will look at the decent gate and call the
night a success, probably not realizing that they’ve killed
themselves in yet another market. Ted Turner, if you’re
listening, please let WCW die.
David
Doyle
Braintree, Massachusetts
Yes,
that is our Eddie Goldman, the one that we all know. Eddie was
a fan for many years of wrestling but was turned off by it in
the mid-90s and he was really one of the true pioneers of MMA
writing. In a sense, he was ahead of his time. A lot of people
crack on him for saying “the fake professional wrestling”
but in hindsight, the conclusion he came to back then is one
that we’re seeing a lot of people come to now.
As
for Dave Doyle, that Dave Doyle turned out to be a sports editor
for Fox Sports (the dot com) and then became the boxing/MMA editor
for Yahoo Sports… where Dave (Meltzer) works now. It’s
a small world.
Ariel
Helwani also was a lifelong fan of wrestling, but he admitted
that he soured on the business when he was backstage at a TNA
show a couple of years ago (due to being with Spike) and watched
grown men in costumes live out their gimmicks and watched someone
like Kurt Angle struggle with all the injuries he’s been
through.
Oliver
Copp, who has done work for the UFC in Germany, is of course
a huge wrestling supporter.
The
truth is that for a lot of people covering MMA, they admit that
they are/were wrestling fans or are closet fans. What does ‘a
lot’ constitute? I’d have to say at least half. At
least.
The
big question I wonder is if the supporters that pro-wrestling
has lost over the years will ever support the industry again.
As
for my experience and background, most people know my story.
I had the unique opportunity to watch the rise of the UWF and
then Pancrase as a teenager while at the same time watching what
was happening with UFC and then the Monday Night Wars, but my
wrestling knowledge was never limited to just those time frames.
I grew up as a kid watching a lot of the territories and still
have a lot of that footage. It’s amazing to look at the
climate 30 years ago in both Japan & America and see what
the transformation has looked like.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
MAD
SKILLS Tomorrow
99 Market Center, Mapunapuna
JULY 17 2010
DOORS OPEN AT 5:00 PM
NAZ
HARRISON 110 COLE DANT
DIESEL
VISTANTE 45 JACOB CARTER
JUNIOR
WALLER 50 JONAH CARTER
ROBERT
BANIS 155 ROBBIE OSTAVICH
MATT
AUSTIN 110 NELSON KUKAHIKO
GREG
FRANK 200 JEREMY NITTA
DAVE
CORDEIRO (O2
Martial Arts Academy) 200 TBA
CARLOS
MASUNGSONG 120 JED
KAINOA
ALVEIADO 100 BRENTON
CHAZ
KANAE 145 JAMES PURGANON
LAITA
TYNELL 215 HANS LEE
CODY
SANTOS 145 SHAWN MCKEWEON
JON
CABASAG 155 WALLA KAHOOKELE
BRYSON
DELACRUZ (O2
Martial Arts Academy) 220 SAM
RICKY
MURILLO 160 BRYSON OKADA
CLEM
HALLOWAY 145 RICKY PLUNKETT
KAHALE
DELIMA SHW KAWENA ADAMS
CODY
FAVINAL 130 ANTHONY COLORADO
DEREK
KAWALU 155 JOE GARCIA
RODNEY
BARONA 160 HAYSZON LINKEE
MICAH
IGE 160 ARNOLD PEREZ
JOEL
PAET 160 JESSIE PURGANON
CHEZ
CANTERE 145 KEVIN PURGANON
ERNEST
KAUMA 130 AARON PUAHALA
JON
LUCIUS 155 LAAKEA KAHOOKELE
ANDYMAR
RENON (O2 Martial Arts Academy) 230 OLO
Matches
and participants may be subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
THE
LIFE AND TIMES OF UFC CHAMP BROCK LESNAR
by Damon
Martin
The life and times of Brock Lesnar spans an NCAA championship
in wrestling, a career as a WWE Superstar, a short stint trying
out for the NFL, and now being the UFC heavyweight champion.
That
life will hit the pages, and then hit bookstore shelves, as Lesnar
and longtime friend Paul Heyman are currently working on an autobiography
for the South Dakota born fighter who has seen a lot in his 32
years.
Heyman,
formerly known as Paul E. Dangerously to many pro wrestling fans,
has been a longtime friend to Lesnar, and the two are collaborating
on a book that will give fans an insider's view to his life.
"Paul
was one of the first guys that seen my talent at the WWE. Like
I said, I was in the ring doing dark matches, the dark matches
go out and warm the crowd up, the guys that go out and put five
minutes in and do a show, and Paul saw talent in me and put a
bug in (WWE CEO Vince McMahon's) ear. So he's been with me from
the beginning," Lesnar said about his relationship with
Heyman.
"Now
I'm finally, I'm writing a book, and Paul's writing it, both
him and I, and my book will be coming out here in the near future,
and we've been spending a lot of time together."
While
Lesnar was preparing for his fight this weekend, Heyman was with
the fighter as part of his support team, and has been a confidant
for many years. Looking back at his life, Lesnar says it's nice
to be able to sit and reminisce about the old days, and even
likes watching his pro wrestling matches from time to time.
"It's
really been cool to sit back and talk about things" Lesnar
commented. "Last night we watched, Bill Goldberg came over
last night, me and Bill we watched my last match for WWE, and
we just laughed. But it's cool that we can do that, and the coolest
thing about it is that I'm here right now. It's crazy."
No
word from Lesnar on when the book will be released, but it's
expected to span quite a bit of time and cover many subjects,
as he's lived an interesting life that should end up being a
monumental story.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Report:
Fedor’s Next Opponent Still Uncertain; Fabricio Werdum Possibly
Having Surgery
When Fabricio Werdum tapped out MMA deity Fedor Emelianenko on
June 26th the foundations of the sport shook like it hasn’t
in quite some time (other top-quake-contenders: Zuffa buying
Pride? Randy Couture ‘retiring’ in 2007? Brock Lesnar
being relatively civil after subbing Shane Carwin?) Not only
did most people not see it coming, but it raised a ton of questions
about Fedor’s immediate future.
Of
course, it didn’t take long for both Fedor’s management
(M-1) and Werdum himself, to talk about possibly doing an immediate
rematch. Strikeforce’s Scott Coker didn’t seem to be
too keen on that idea, and to the annoyance of some, talked about
the possibility of doing Fedor / Overeem next. Well, according
to a report from Super Lutas (thanks to MMA Mania for the translation),
Werdum is considering undergoing surgery to repair an injured
elbow he’s had for some time, stating “I might just
get back next year.”
Next
year? Looks like Coker should be able to green light Overeem
/ Fedor no problem now right? Not so fast. According to an updated
report from BloodyElbow.com, the outlet contacted M-1’s
Evgeni Kogani, who had this to say when asked about Werdum possibly
going on the DL.
“(Werdum’s)
gotta do what he’s gotta do. The re-match will be there,
pre elbow surgery or post. That’s what the fans want and
that’s what they will eventually get.”
When
asked a follow up question about Fedor fighting Overeem, Kogani
said they’d have to talk to their “partners”,
with news on that coming “in a little while.” Soo…
more drawn out negotiations to come or?
Source: MMA Fix
|
Strikeforce
August card in Houston shapes up
By Zach
Arnold
A
look at what the main card is based on Tuesday’s press conference:
SF
Light Heavyweight title match: King Mo vs. Feijao
SF Middleweight Title match: Jacare vs. Tim Kennedy
KJ Noons vs. Jorge Gurgel
Bobby Lashley vs. TBA
Fifth match TBA
That fifth match should be Erin Toughill vs. Shana Olsen to determine
a #1 contender for Cris Cyborg’s 145-pound title. If it
isn’t, it will indicate a couple of things:
¦a)
The promotion has zero confidence in Toughill or least lacks
confidence in giving her PR
¦b) They don’t think a non-Cyborg women’s fight
deserves a main card slot on Showtime/CBS. They did the same
thing last Fall in Chicago when they had Marloes Coenen face
Roxy Modafferi in a non-televised match to determine a #1 contender
for Cyborg three months later in Miami.
The promotion’s 8/13 event at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix
has one match announced — Joe Riggs vs. Louis Taylor in
a catch-weight bout of 182 pounds. (Ugh.) The show will also
feature a one-night four-woman 135-pound tournament to determine
a #1 contender for the winner of the Sarah Kaufman/Roxy Modafferi
7/23 Everett title fight. The 7/23 show is headlined by Shane
Del Rosario vs. Lolohea Mahe and unfortunately also has Mike
Kyle on the televised portion of the card
Jeremy
Botter at Heavy.com reports that Strikeforce wants to book Bobby
Lashley vs. Dave Batista (ex-WWE wrestler) on PPV.
Strikeforce
wanted to do a four-man tournament on 8/21 Houston show but Texas
commission allegedly rejected it
That’s
the report from Matt Erickson at MMA Fighting who said that the
tournament would have featured Robbie Lawler, Matt Lindland,
Tim Kennedy, and Jacare. There’s a few fascinating things
about this. As Mr. Coker stated on Sherdog radio two weeks ago,
he wanted to do an 8-man Middleweight tournament. He considered
breaking it up into two separate 4-man tournaments in order to
get suspended guys like Nick Diaz into the mix. He also said
he would consider both a title match and a tournament. Then,
a week later the promotion announces a title match between Tim
Kennedy & Jacare with no tournament. If Matt’s report
is true that Strikeforce considered a 4-man tournament, then
they were essentially trying to compromise with what they had
talked about as opposed to what has ended up getting booked.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Death
in the Cage: The Michael Kirkham Story
By A.J.
Perez
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Dennis Kirkham only saw footage of his
youngest son's mixed martial arts bouts once.
"The
guy beat the heck out of the back of Michael's head to the point
where it was beet red," Kirkham told FanHouse. "The
other fighter was warned two or three times by the referee."
Michael
Kirkham lost that amateur fight in Columbia, S.C., on April 24
via a technical knockout, a bout he lamented on Facebook should
have resulted in the disqualification of his opponent. Kirkham
was given an automatic 30-day medical suspension for the TKO
loss, but it doesn't appear that he followed up with a doctor.
Two
days after the suspension ended, Kirkham -- known to his friends
here in the Carolinas as "Tree" due to his 6-foot-9,
155-pound frame -- suffered a brain hemorrhage in his pro debut
at the University of South Carolina Aiken Convocation Center
on June 26. He died two days later at the age of 30.
"I
told him he wasn't ready," Dennis Kirkham said. "He
said, 'I'm fine, dad. I'm OK.'"
Kirkham's
was the second death in U.S. history linked directly to a sanctioned
MMA bout. He was checked out immediately before the fight by
a ringside doctor, and an ambulance was stationed nearby. It's
possible, however, that neither could have been capable of detecting
or treating the damage inflicted in the previous bout.
"This could have been second-impact syndrome," said
Dr. Joe Estwanik, former medical advisor to the North Carolina
Boxing Authority and author of "Sports Medicine for the
Combat Artists." "From a few days to three-to-four
weeks after somebody suffers a significant blow to the head,
a second blow can trigger an overwhelming response by the body
that we still don't really understand. Even a minor blow could
result in massive swelling of the brain and there's up to a 50
percent chance of dying."
Dr.
Robert C. Cantu, a leading researcher on second-impact syndrome,
said a brain scan done after the first fight may have been able
to detect a brain injury, but such tests run well north of $1,000.
That was certainly out of reach for Kirkham, who owed thousands
in child support and hadn't held a steady job in years.
He
was slated to make about $300 for his bout with Carlos Iraburo.
The
rise in popularity of UFC in recent years has spurred a boom
in the number of people training in MMA, and gyms have sprouted
up around the country to meet the growing demand. Kirkham caught
the MMA bug while he lived here a couple years ago, going as
far as creating his own fighting crew called the Fayetteville
Independents.
Friends
said Kirkham was largely self-taught, reading MMA books and studying
his favorite fighters, such as Chuck Liddell.
"He
was a good fighter," said Albert Avery, who along with his
brother, Moses, and cousin, Mark Papa, were members of the Independents.
"I saw him take down a guy that outweighed him in 16 seconds."
"He was a good fighter. I saw him take down a guy that outweighed
him in 16 seconds."
-- Albert Avery
Members of the Independents sparred wherever they could in and
around Fayetteville -- in backyards, garages and makeshift gyms.
Some trained for a short time at The Sports Center, a gym in
Fayetteville where Kirkham worked for a few weeks last year.
"He
was a good guy," owner Lee Tart said. "He did all kinds
of stuff. He mowed grass, made sure the parking lot was clean
and did some glass cleaning. Then, one day he didn't come to
work. I couldn't find him."
Kirkham,
who moved from Illinois to North Carolina after high school to
pursue his dream of starting up a band, cobbled together jobs
here and there to make ends meet. He had a running feud with
his ex-wife, who remained in Illinois and was due $10,584 in
back child support as of July 2007, when a judge ordered Kirkham
to pay $511 per month in child support for his two children.
"I
don't believe it's right that I should have to pay child support
on children that I am being denied contact with," Kirkham
wrote to a judge in an effort to contest the amount of child
support due. "I [have] been kept from having any involvement
in their lives for the past three years."
Through
all the court documents obtained by FanHouse, Kirkham listed
"unemployed" under occupation. Brandon Patterson, an
Indianapolis-based MMA promoter who Kirkham leaned on for advice,
said Kirkham didn't see MMA as a way out of his financial troubles.
"He
got into it because he loved it and was good at it," Patterson
said. "His financial problems had nothing to do with why
he got into the sport."
Kirkham
left town with his girlfriend late last year to join one of his
brothers in Gaston, S.C. He kept in constant contact with members
of the Independents, helping set up various amateur bouts and
traveling as far as Tennessee for matches.
"He
was the motivator and backbone of the Independents," Moses
Avery said. "Every time we went to a fight, the Independents
were considered the underdog team, but we never came home without
a win."
Iraburo,
Kirkham's opponent on that fateful night last month, followed
a more traditional route to MMA. He began in martial arts at
age 15, and at 18 started training in MMA, according to his bio.
Carlos "Carlito's Way" Iraburo, who turns 28 this week,
currently trains and teaches at Fizogen Xtreme Couture Gym in
Wellington, Fla.
At
5-foot-9, he gave up a full foot in height to Kirkham, although
Iraburo had the more impressive amateur resume: A 4-0 record
vs. Kirkham's 3-3.
"I
kept trying to get him to quit. The simple fact he wasn't making
any money and all his time was taken up training. I wanted him
working construction to feed the kids."
-- Dennis Kirkham Iraburo did not return several messages left
by FanHouse for this story.
The
bout didn't make it past the first round. Iraburo took Kirkham
down early on and then landed several blows as both battled for
position on the ground. None of the headshots were considered
out of the ordinary, observers said, but Kirkham soon lost consciousness
and never recovered, despite attempts by medical personnel at
ringside.
An
autopsy found that Kirkham died from subarachnoid hemorrhage
of the brain. Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton, who was not present
at the autopsy, said the report showed no indication of a prior
injury. But Cantu, the neurosurgeon based at Emerson Hospital
in Concord, Mass., said such an injury would likely only turn
up in a brain scan.
Cantu
studied the brain of the first known MMA fighter to die from
injuries during competition, American Doug Dedge. He suffered
a head injury two days before the fight that took his life at
an unregulated tournament in the Ukraine in 1998. The first MMA
death known to take place on U.S. soil occurred in 2007 when
Houston's Sam Vasquez died days after suffering severe head injuries.
Regardless
of whether his final amateur fight played a role in Kirkham's
death, Dennis Kirkham said he doesn't hold Iraburo responsible.
"Carlos
didn't do anything wrong," Kirkham said. "He just did
what any fighter would do. It could have been anybody in there.
It's just one of those things."
South
Carolina approved MMA last year, although the state's athletic
commission's requirements fall short of the benchmarks set by
Nevada and California. According to the American Association
of Professional Ringside Physicians website, a full physical
is not required to fight in the state, let alone an annual neurological
exam that some other state commissions require.
Citing
an ongoing investigation into Kirkham's death, South Carolina
Athletic Commission spokeswoman Lesia Kudelka refused to comment.
The
International Sport Karate Association sanctioned the bouts that
night and the organization's commissioner, Robert Mason, told
FanHouse that ISKA would follow the investigation closely. Mason
didn't rule out that Kirkham, considered a lightweight despite
being unusually tall for the weight class, could have put himself
at a disadvantage. He added that restrictions on that basis would
be tough to implement "unless the height-to-weight ratio
was found to be a symptom of a specific genetic weakness or predisposition."
"I
don't think of martial arts athletes as 'gladiators,'" Mason
said. "There is no intent on the part of anyone to have
these athletes suffer death or serious injury."
In
the end, much of the onus for a fighter's safety lies with the
fighter, according to Nevada State Athletic Commission executive
director Keith Kizer.
"You
rely on the fighter to tell you the truth," Kizer said.
On
his entry form, Kirkham left blank a question that asked if he
had ever been suspended in any state.
It
wasn't necessarily due to the dangers of the sport, but Dennis
Kirkham had been doing his best to shift his son's focus away
from MMA and onto a steady job.
"I
kept trying to get him to quit," Kirkham said. "The
simple fact he wasn't making any money and all his time was taken
up training. I wanted him working construction to feed the kids."
His
three children with his longtime girlfriend, including one infant,
are in the process of relocating to Minnesota. The grieving process
for the entire family is still in its early stages.
For
those who trained and fought with Kirkham, he's more than a tragic
MMA statistic.
"He
got a whole lot of guys into [MMA] and he has inspired a lot
of us to keep fighting," Moses Avery said. "No words
could ever express the goodness Tree had in him."
A
memorial fund has been established for Michael Kirkham's children.
Donations can be made at michaelkirkhammemorialfund.viviti.com.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Roy
Nelson’s Experiment Yielding Favorable Results
By Mike
Russell
Roy
Nelson may not fit the cookie cutter stereotype of what most
people picture when they think of an MMA fighter, but the unassuming,
34-year-old Las Vegas native makes no apologies for being a wolf
in sheep’s clothing whose skill set is often underestimated
due to such preconceived notions.
Sure
he may not have a six-pack, nor is he covered in tattoos but
one thing is for sure: Big Country can fight.
“Anybody
that actually follows the sport who actually knows my style and
knows what I can do doesn’t underestimate me. I may not
be a Greek god, or what people think a fighter looks like, but
I’m definitely a fighter.”
What
the 15-4 former IFL heavyweight champion does in the cage is
beat opponents up and he is hoping to continue in the tradition
when he meets perhaps the toughest opponent of his six-year mixed
martial arts career, Junior Dos Santos, in the center of the
Octagon on August 7 at UFC 117 in Oakland, California.
“Dos
Santos is the pinnacle of guys in the UFC. He’s the number
one contender for sure in the heavyweight division. Nobody wants
to fight him in the UFC, hence why I’m here fighting him,”
Nelson points out. “I pretty much got an email from Joe
Silva asking if I wanted to…actually, not even asking me
if I wanted to, but telling me that I was fighting Dos Santos
next, and here I am.”
Never
one to shy away from a step up in competition, no matter the
circumstance (he fought former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski
on one week’s notice under the EliteXC banner), Nelson says
although he didn’t request Dos Santos as an opponent, he
is relishing the opportunity to try to beat him to earn a promised
title shot in the near future. That brass ring is the whole reason
why he says he took a leap of faith and started from the bottom,
so to speak, in order to work his way up the ranks of the UFC’s
heavyweight class through the side door that his stint on The
Ultimate Fighter opened up for him.
“The
only bug I ever planted in the UFC’s ear as far as wanting
to fight someone was that I wanted to fight whoever had the belt,
and at the time, that was Brock.
I actually wanted a title shot in my first UFC fight,” he
says. “I tried to get on the comeback season of The Ultimate
Fighter, but since I had never fought in the UFC, I wasn’t
eligible. I didn’t care; I wanted to get whatever fast track
to a title shot I could. I’m an older guy so I just want
to get there as quickly as possible.”
Nelson’s
TUF experiment was a success as far as letting fans and reporters
who were unfamiliar with his accomplishments that he was a legit
threat at heavyweight, but the increase in notoriety came at
a cost he knew going into the show.
“I
was making pretty good money before I decided to try out for
the show, but I knew if I just got into the UFC, things would
happen for me. I know guys who were making $10,000 and the next
thing you know, they’re millionaires, so the money wasn’t
the issue,” Nelson explains. “My goal has always been
to win the belt and I knew then the money would follow. Fighting
has never been about the money for me; it’s always been
about proving myself against the best fighters in the world.”
Dos
Santos definitely falls under that category and Nelson thinks
his skill set matches up favorably with the dangerous Brazilian,
who may be the only thing standing between himself and the title
shot he covets.
Although
he dances around the question of whether or not he is his toughest
opponent to date, by stating he is his biggest test inside the
Octagon, Nelson says that he will likely provide the 26-year-old
knockout artist with his most competitive bout simply because
of how well-rounded he has become.
“My
toughest opponent is always me. Any fights that I’ve lost
were all because of me. I know I was the better fighter in every
one of them. The only person who actually beat me was myself.
Some of them I’m sure I won and some of them were a result
of questionable refereeing and judging, so our records are actually
a lot closer if you look at it that way. I don’t sit and
stew about my losses, I just work to make sure I don’t make
the same mistakes twice,” Nelson says. “I think any
opponent I have is tough. Junior has knocked out some tough guys.
I think he has already fought for his title shot. When he beat
Werdum, he should have fought for the title in his next fight.
It’s one of those things. Styles make fights and we match
up really well.”
Speaking
of styles and fights, Nelson says that the recent matchup between
UFC heavyweight kingpin Brock Lesnar and former interim champ
Shane Carwin didn’t convince him that either man is as good
as their proponents tout them to be; it just proved that both
have weaknesses.
“Brock
is the champion. He proved that he is better than Carwin for
two rounds, not just one. Carwin showed that he’s better
than a lot of guys in the UFC heavyweight division,” Nelson
points out. “No matter who the fighter is, someone’s
going to have their number. I think Carwin has Lesnar’s
number, he just has to know it and pull the trigger and execute
a good game plan. Everybody has holes and everybody has areas
to improve. Some fighters don’t improve and some fighters
do.”
When
the sun finally sets on his MMA career and when he ceases to
improve any longer, Nelson, who already has a few business ventures
to his name, says that he may revert back to a role he held before
he became a full-time fighter.
“I
used to help run before and after school programs and I used
to substitute teach. I wanted to teach and I didn’t care
how I did it, whether it was teaching jiu-jitsu or elementary
school, I didn’t care. I got my degree and I taught and
I fought, but one eventually had to go,” he recalls. “I
always knew that I could go back to teaching when my fighting
career was over. I thought about going back to teaching, but
at the point I’m at now, money-wise it probably wouldn’t
make sense for me. I just like having the ability to try to mold
and form somebody. I’ll probably always teach MMA or jiu-jitsu
in some capacity. I have my guys I train to be studs. I love
the challenge that teaching and coaching provides.”
Source: UFC
|
Werdum
eyes elbow surgery, could be out until 2011
Fabricio Werdum's plan for an operation on his elbow could keep
him out of the cage for several months.
Werdum
told the Super Lutas site that he expects to undergo elbow surgery
that could keep him out of the remainder of the year. MMA Mania
translates:
"After
the seminars I will undergo a surgery on my elbow that I have
put off for some time. We're in July and I only want to come
back 100% recovered. I think it's hard to make it back this year
due the physical therapy, conditioning and all else. Then I might
just get back next year."
He
has been attracting more attention since beating No. 1 heavyweight
Fedor Emelianenko on June 26. Werdum, the No. 9 heavyweight in
the USA TODAY/SB Nation consensus rankings, sees greater interest
in his classes:
"Everything
has changed for better for me. That was very important. I've
gotten over 30 phone calls a day in my gym after the win, more
students have come, the seminar value went up."
Werdum
called for a rematch with Emelianenko immediately after the win,
although Strikeforce officials were eyeing a bout between the
winner of Emelianenko-Werdum and heavyweight champion Alistair
Overeem.
Source: USA Today
|
Shinya
Aoki has problems
By Jake Rossen
Taro Irei for Sherdog.com
Shinya Aoki had more on his mind than just a win when he took
down Tatsuya Kawajiri.
It's
not uncommon for Japanese promotions to assign press escorts
and censor the more incendiary statements of fighters.
Someone
had the weekend off. In comments translated by Gryphon.com, Shinya
Aoki -- Saturday's biggest winner in Dream thanks to an Achilles
lock submission over highly regarded Tatsuya Kawajiri -- expressed
a somewhat disturbing view of the fight's finish.
"I
knew Kawajiri never taps, so I could not win without breaking
his bone," he said. "I was hoping for an open fracture."
Yes,
hope: In the same way we maintain pleasant optimism for good
health, a better economy and family success, Aoki hopes he can
send fighters to an orthopedic surgeon. Maybe he gets kickbacks.
Worth
noting: Aoki was also unrepentant when he damaged the arm of
Mizuto Hirota last New Year's. (He actually made faces and stuck
out his middle finger, not typically signs of regret.) Aoki's
glee in hurting people is approaching sadism unseen since David
Abbott was smiling as he tried to push Paul Varelan's face through
the fence.
Most
fighters consider injury to be a side effect of winning: No particular
enjoyment is taken, and athletes are usually quick to express
remorse for gruesome results. Aoki is different: Guilt isn't
on the menu.
There
was some relief in Abbott's tendencies because he was poorly
conditioned and could usually be torn off of someone he downed.
Aoki, like most submission specialists, can tie up an opponent
for almost as long as he wishes. If the objective is to snap
something, that's a radically dangerous skill set to have. But
with Dream struggling, punishing Aoki isn't in the promotion's
best interests. He has something close to a free pass. At least
he can't go for the groin.
Source: ESPN
|
Despite
UFC 115 Success, Vancouver MMA Scene in Turmoil
By Ariel
Helwani
As you may recall, much of the talk surrounding UFC 115 was whether
the organization would ever return to Vancouver following its
first show. High insurance rates and a lack of provincial support,
led many to believe that until things changed for MMA in Western
Canada, the UFC (or another professional organization, for that
matter) would think long and hard before holding another event
at GM Place or any other arena in British Columbia.
A
month later, the MMA scene in Vancouver became a little hazier,
as Vancouver Athletic Commission chairman Mirko Mladenovic, a
supporter of MMA, was impeached and replaced by Dave Rudberg.
Why was he fired? Well, The Vancouver Sun reported that "city
staff and others complained about his conduct during the recent
debate over allowing an Ultimate Fighting Championship event."
Moreover,
there is a growing concern among MMA supporters in Vancouver
that the two-year trial period for MMA in Vancover, which began
in December 2009, might expire with only one major MMA event
ever taking place in the Olympic city.
No
one has been covering this story better than The Score's Paul
Lazenby, and MMA Fighting spoke to the fighting analyst about
some of the issues surrounding MMA in Vancouver and the sport's
future in Western Canada. The interview is below.
Ariel
Helwani: Why was Mirko Mladenovic impeached?
Paul Lazenby: My impression is that Mirko was impeached for forcing
the issue of the UFC through, and also for the fact that in spite
of being a politically active person, he's not all that politically
correct. To be blunt, Mirko can be very abrasive and also very
prone to forcing his own ideas upon people even when he doesn't
particularly know what he's doing. I will always give him credit
for championing the cause of MMA in Vancouver, but the guy stepped
on many toes (mine included), and I'm not surprised that he's
been booted.
AH:
Is the new chairman, Dave Rudberg, good or bad for MMA in Vancouver?
PL: I don't know whether Dave Rudberg is going to be good or
bad for MMA, but if what Mirko has said about Rudberg being a
good friend of Licensing Department Assistant Director Tom Hammel
is true, then we're doomed, since Hammel was one of the primary
opponents of MMA in this city during the fight to get UFC pushed
through.
AH:
Both Marc Ratner and Tom Wright have said that the UFC will only
return to British Columbia if the sport is sanctioned provincially.
Do you think that will happen any time soon?
PL: The provincial and municipal governments have been batting
this issue back and forth for a long time now. I don't dispute
that having a provincial commission is the way to go, but it's
very frustrating to keep hearing that the province and city are
each trying to pawn responsibility off on the other, resulting
in the sport getting stuck in a quagmire. While we wait for the
province to get its finger out of its a**, we could easily continue
to run MMA events under VAC sanction as was previously (and successfully)
done by World Freestyle Fighting, Elite Fighting Championships,
bodogFIGHT, UFC and others.
AH:
What, if any, backlash was there towards the UFC following last
month's event?
PL: The only backlash following UFC 115 is that of the Vancouver
fanbase against the municipal government. The event couldn't
have gone better. I spoke with members of the Vancouver Police
Department and they told me that there were no problems inside
the arena, and nothing on the streets afterward that they wouldn't
have encountered on a normal Saturday night. However, city council
is grasping at straws, trying to find anything negative to justify
blocking further events. Councilor Kerry Jang said of an incident
of gay-bashing that happened in the general vicinity of the arena:
'There was an issue of a beating -- unrelated to UFC, but the
perception was there.' In my opinion, the local government is
going to continue with its old, cowardly practice of making excuses
to conduct further 'evaluations' and 'risk assessments' so that
they can back-burner MMA forever without ever having to actually
say 'no.'
AH:
When do you think the UFC will return to Vancouver?
PL: No time soon, by the look of it. Until politicians put their
personal bias/arrogance aside and let the actual facts about
MMA dictate their actions, I won't be holding my breath for any
kind of professional mixed martial arts activity in Vancouver.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Where
the American fight industry stands right now
By Zach
Arnold
This
radio passage from the Sunday Observer is an interesting discussion.
The setup for this is the fact that TNA, the pro-wrestling promotion
that Spike TV has heavily backed for several years now, is reportedly
in very bad shape. Spike TV has put a ton of resources in pushing
TNA and UFC at the same time. One property (UFC) turned out to
be a giant success and learned how to monetize their base. Their
base in terms of ratings for Spike TV shows is roughly the same
as TNA. The difference? UFC is able to generate 400,000 or more
PPV buys for a lot of events lately. TNA is struggling to get
5% of the amount of buyers that UFC is able to at this point.
The
discussion at UFC 116 revolved around whether or not TNA would
give Paul Heyman what he wanted in order to save the company.
The answer appears to be no. In the radio passage, the ‘he’
being referred to is Eric Bischoff, former WCW boss who was brought
in with Hulk Hogan to try to turn TNA around and has failed at
doing it.
DAVE
MELTZER: “You know, he doesn’t know how to do wrestling
that works today. I mean, granted, that may not be so easy because
I’m not sure anyone truly does as the #2 group. I mean,
that’s one of the big problems right now is that you’ve
got WWE and you’ve got UFC and they really are both, they’re
different but they’re, it’s like it makes it much harder
for a #2 group because in a sense the #2 group isn’t really
#2, it’s a distant, distant, distant, distant #3. And TNA
isn’t even #3, they’re probably #4 if you really look
at it. So it’s… you know… IT’S HARD. I mean,
the fourth biggest baseball league? What the hell is that? Some
AAA league somewhere that no one knows about except for the people
in the cities where it is? And baseball a million’s time
more popular than pro-wrestling or MMA. I mean, they got a tough
road to hoe and that’s maybe one of the reasons why, you
know, (Paul) Heyman… You know, I don’t know that Heyman’s
going to jump. I don’t think he wants to go in and be a
failure. He’s had plenty of opportunities over the years
to go plenty of places, between IFL, he was what was it, YAMMA,
I mean they all wanted him and he turned them down because he
didn’t think they were going to make it and…”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “And he was right!”
DAVE
MELTZER: “What?”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “And he was right!”
DAVE
MELTZER: “Yeah, they were both major failures. IFL was a
money pit.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “If he turns down TNA, everyone, that’s not
a good sign.”
DAVE
MELTZER: “Um… yeah.”
BRYAN
ALVAREZ: “Not a good sign.”
A
few years ago when UFC started rising up and growing, the question
was this: Would MMA become a substitute or a replacement product
for disgruntled wrestling fans? Early on, the answer was substitute.
In order for it to become a replacement, the wrestling product
being produced in America needed to changed significantly to
stop the fan base from eroding in popularity. In 2010, we are
seeing a real contraction of financial support from pro-wrestling
fans and a real boom in growth for UFC. WWE PPVs domestically
are reportedly struggling in the 100,000-200,000 range and TNA
would love to draw 20,000 buys a show. What will the end result
be for a company like WWE? A look at what’s happened in
Japan tells us some key clues.
When
MMA started to cannibalize the wrestling industry in Japan, the
wrestling industry saw a collapse in television support. Without
the television support, it became significantly harder to produce
the kinds of shows that were needed to generate new fans or maintain
the fan base they had. The end result (through scandals and deaths
of key players) is that there are severe money shortages in Japanese
wrestling right now, right at a time when we are seeing some
good matches being produced by the companies still in business
over there. The problem is that the fans largely don’t care
about these good matches now. The mentality of giving up has
already set in. It’s probably too late for a revival without
major corporate support.
The
same thing is happening in America now.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
MAD
SKILLS This
Saturday
99 Market Center, Mapunapuna
JULY 17 2010
DOORS OPEN AT 5:00 PM
NAZ
HARRISON 110 COLE DANT
DIESEL
VISTANTE 45 JACOB CARTER
JUNIOR
WALLER 50 JONAH CARTER
ROBERT
BANIS 155 ROBBIE OSTAVICH
MATT
AUSTIN 110 NELSON KUKAHIKO
GREG
FRANK 200 JEREMY NITTA
DAVE
CORDEIRO (O2
Martial Arts Academy) 200 TBA
CARLOS
MASUNGSONG 120 JED
KAINOA
ALVEIADO 100 BRENTON
CHAZ
KANAE 145 JAMES PURGANON
LAITA
TYNELL 215 HANS LEE
CODY
SANTOS 145 SHAWN MCKEWEON
JON
CABASAG 155 WALLA KAHOOKELE
BRYSON
DELACRUZ (O2
Martial Arts Academy) 220 SAM
RICKY
MURILLO 160 BRYSON OKADA
CLEM
HALLOWAY 145 RICKY PLUNKETT
KAHALE
DELIMA SHW KAWENA ADAMS
CODY
FAVINAL 130 ANTHONY COLORADO
DEREK
KAWALU 155 JOE GARCIA
RODNEY
BARONA 160 HAYSZON LINKEE
MICAH
IGE 160 ARNOLD PEREZ
JOEL
PAET 160 JESSIE PURGANON
CHEZ
CANTERE 145 KEVIN PURGANON
ERNEST
KAUMA 130 AARON PUAHALA
JON
LUCIUS 155 LAAKEA KAHOOKELE
ANDYMAR
RENON (O2 Martial Arts Academy) 230 OLO
Matches
and participants may be subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
X-1
World Events
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2010
X-1
TO PRESENT BIGGEST TITLE FIGHT IN
HAWAIIAN
MMA HISTORY ON SEPTEMBER 11TH
Second
round of light heavyweight title tourney to commence
Honolulu,
HI (USA): Top Hawaiian fight promotion X-1 World Events prides
itself on bringing the best fighters to the Islands, and putting
on the best fights. On September 11th, they will prove this once
again as X-1 World Middleweight Champion Falaniko Vitale will
put his belt on the line against devastating KO artist Kala “Kolohe”
Hose in the main event of a yet-to-be-named event at the Neal
S. Blaisdell Arena. In addition to this incredible title fight
featuring two of the best Hawaiian fighters on the planet, the
much-anticipated second round of the X-1 World Light Heavyweight
title tournament will take place, as the pairings have been set.
And two other exciting world title fights have been signed as
well. All in all, this is one of the top fight cards to take
place in Hawaii in quite some time.
Falaniko
Vitale (27-9, fifteen submissions) is one of the most respected
Hawaiian combatants fighting today. An experienced athlete who
recently celebrated ten years as a professional fighter, Vitale
proudly represents the 808 Fight Factory, one of the toughest
fight gyms on the Islands, and has fought for some of the most
well-known promotions in the world. Fans of King of the Cage,
Rage in the Cage, SuperBrawl, Icon Sport, the IFL, StrikeForce,
and the UFC have all seen his skill set exhibited. In his most
recent bout, he defended his coveted X-1 strap against former
UFC competitor Kalib Starnes, finishing his controversial opponent
via submission in the process. Niko, as he is known, has taken
on top names in the sport, including “Ruthless” Robbie
Lawler, former StrikeForce Middleweight title challenger Jason
“Mayhem” Miller, MMA pioneer Jeremy Horn, StrikeForce/UFC
veteran Trevor Prangley, and UFC fighter Frank Trigg. He has
beaten notable fighters such as UFC vet Aaron Riley, former UFC
Middleweight Champion Dave Menne, UFC middleweight contender
Yushin Okami, and the aforementioned Lindland.
Kala
“Kolohe” Hose (7-3, seven KO/TKOs) is known for his
devastating knockout power, and has garnered a reputation as
one of the toughest Island fighters today. He claimed the ICON
Middleweight title in August of 2008 with an exciting TKO victory
over current UFC fighter Phil Baroni that was lauded by Island
fight fans for its great action. Also a veteran of Superbrawl
and EliteXC, Hose will look to add the X-1 Middleweight belt
to his list of accomplishments. During his career, he’s
faced UFC veterans such as Baroni, “Mayhem” Miller,
and Reese Andy. He will face what is probably the toughest opponent
of his career in Vitale.
In
addition, the second round of the heralded X-1 World Light Heavyweight
tourney will commence at this event, as former EliteXC headliner
and Hawaii native Poai Suganuma (10-3) will match up with “The
Dancing Russian” Vitaly Shemetov (7-7), who brutalized respected
veteran Shungo Oyama in the first round of the tournament en
route to a KO victory. Suganuma, for his part, defeated Greg
Schmitt via unanimous decision on his way to advancing. The other
semifinal matchup will feature Gracie-trained submission specialist
Roy Boughton (4-0, four submissions), who tapped out Adam Akau
with a first round guillotine choke to garner a place in the
second round of the tournament, as he faces extremely tough South
Korean SpiritMC veteran Sang Soo Lee (14-9). Lee knocked out
Daniel Madrid with a beautiful right hand in order to move on
in the tourney. Also featured will be a 145 lb. World Championship
bout between Dave Moreno and Ricky Wallace, as well as a 135
lb. World Championship fight between Bryson Hanson and Russell
Doane.
“I
am very excited about this incredible card. Having two great
Island fighters like Niko and Kolohe fight for the belt, along
with the second round of the tournament, and throwing in two
other title matches…what a card!” exclaimed Mike Miller,
Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events. “It’s going to
be an amazing night of fights.”
Here
is the fight card as it stands now:
Main
Event: 185 lb. World Championship:
Falaniko
Vitale vs. Kala “Kolohe” Hose
Light
Heavyweight Championship tournament (second round):
Poai Suganuma (HI) vs. Vitaly Shemetov (Russia)
Sang Soo Lee (S. Korea) vs. Roy Boughton (California)
145
lb. World Championship:
Dave
Moreno vs. Ricky Wallace
135
lb. World Championship:
Bryson
Hanson vs. Russell Doane
About
X-1 World Events
Founded
in 2004 by Mike Miller, X-1 World Events is a world-class mixed
martial arts (MMA) promotional company based in Honolulu, HI.
Locally-owned and operated, X-1 delivers exciting live arena-based
entertainment events to fight fans all over the islands. The
events feature some of the MMA world’s most talented fighters,
including UFC, Pride, and Abu-Dhabi veterans such as former UFC
champions Dan “The Beast” Severn and Ricco Rodriguez,
UFC veterans Jeff Monson, Kimo Leopoldo, Chad “The Grinder”
Reiner, “Sugar” Shane Nelson, Brandon Wolff, Wes “The
Project” Sims, Ronald “The Machine Gun” Juhn,
Wesley “Cabbage” Correira, and Falaniko Vitale, as
well as Pride veterans Chris Brennan and Ron “H2O-Man”
Waterman. X-1 World Events can be found online at http://www.x1events.com/
|
Carwin
goes back to the drawing board
Shane
Carwin believes he was just one solid shot away from finishing
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 116 last Saturday
night. One solid shot from ditching his “fake” interim
belt and become the undisputed heavyweight champ.
One
problem, his body didn’t agree with his tactics.
Carwin
went all out for the better part of the first round, but as the
opening stanza wound down, so did his body… it started shutting
down. It wasn’t a matter of gassing out, unable to breathe;
it was a matter of his body literally seizing up, not responding
to what his mind was telling it to do.
“We
don’t want it to come off sounding like an excuse. Shane
had the 100-percent best camp he’s ever had coming into
a fight and it shouldn’t diminish Brock’s victory in
any way,” Carwin’s manager, Jason Genet, told MMAWeekly.com.
“But
what happened, what caused the shutdown, was lactic acidosis.
It just comes from exploding like he was doing, not properly
breathing, and not having your body prepared for it.”
In
laymen’s terms, Carwin was pushing himself to such an extreme
in trying to finish Lesnar with his relentless ground and pound
that the lactic acid that built up in his muscles reached a level
that was too much for his body to handle, thus it started to
shutdown.
Carwin
does have Bronchitis now, but Genet says that likely happened
as a result of the hardships placed on his body from the fight.
He wasn’t ill going into the fight.
Knowing
he was in dire straights the way his body was, Carwin went out
in round two to land a fight ending blow and get out of there.
While that was noble of him, Genet says there was just no way
it could happen.
“Even
though he said he was going out to land a strike, it was over
in the corner. Normally in the corner is when your body begins
to recover and that wasn’t happening. His body was getting
worse.”
Genet
says it wasn’t a case of gassing out due to cardio. Carwin’s
issue was more on the level of a medical condition than that,
but he does maintain that it is something that can be altered.
“You
can solve that issue with special diet, you can change it with
training techniques, and you can train it with supplements,”
he said. “We’ve already got a guy that’s gonna
be working with Shane to develop some things to help make some
training adjustments.”
He
wanted to be clear though, as disappointed as they are that Carwin
didn’t walk away with UFC gold around his waist, there are
no excuses.
“It’s
not an excuse, as far as Shane is concerned, it’s just another
way that you can lose a fight. Brock did what he needed to do
and found a way to win. Shane’s just happy that now he knows
and can do something to work on it.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Rashad
Evans Wants to Fight the Best Shogun Rua When He's Ready
HAMMOND,
IND. – Sitting on a well-worn weight bench in his friend
Miguel Torres' sweltering gym on Friday, Rashad Evans said there's
no reason for him to be in a hurry.
Evans,
the former UFC light heavyweight champion, beat Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson in May to become the top contender for Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua's belt. But Rua, who won the title from Lyoto Machida in
May with an injured knee, will be on the shelf until at least
March recovering from surgery. And that means Evans is on the
shelf, as well – by choice.
"I'm
really not in a rush to fight right now – I'm ready, but
I just want to fight the best fighters," Evans said. "I
know he fought Machida when he was hurt, so I can wait to fight
the best Shogun. I'm not like, 'Ahhh – I need to fight!
I need to fight!' There's a lot of things I can do with my time
when I'm not fighting."
Evans
beat Forrest Griffin to win the light heavyweight title at UFC
92; he lost it to Machida in his first defense at UFC 98 in May
2009. It was the first loss of his career. He rebounded with
wins over Thiago Silva in January and Jackson in their now-infamous
grudge match to put himself back on the title track.
He said the potential time off between fights – which would
be around 10 months if Rua is able to fight in March – isn't
a concern to him. Evans went nearly 10 months between fights
after beating Michael Bisping at UFC 78 before knocking out Chuck
Liddell at UFC 88, which got him his title shot against Griffin.
And
while Machida's manager, Ed Soares, has said publicly he believes
there should be an interim title fight between the two former
champs, Evans said – from a preparation standpoint, at least
– it's not something he needs to do.
"I've
been fighting for seven years now, so I know what it's like and
I know what it means to fight and everything like that,"
the Greg Jackson product said. "I'm a veteran in this sport.
I'm not going to forget how to fight. I won't forget what it's
like to be in there. I'm not going to forget all the experience
that I have before. For me, going in and fighting for the sake
of fighting, I'm over that stage in my career. If I do, it just
creates another barrier, another roadblock. They say he won't
be able to fight until March. This won't even be the longest
time I've had off."
Rua
beat Machida with a decisive knockout in their rematch at UFC
113 in Montreal in May. That win was a stark contrast to their
first title fight at UFC 104 last October, which Machida won
by a controversial unanimous decision. Even UFC president Dana
White went on record saying he believed Rua won the fight and
ordered a quick rematch.
Evans
said he expected a Rua victory in the rematch – though maybe
not by knockout.
"Nothing
surprises me in the MMA game – that's just how things happen,"
Evans said. "When he got caught with that shot, I was surprised
that it ended. But I wasn't surprised that (Shogun) won. I thought
he was going to win."
The
loss was the first of Machida's career, just like Machida's knockout
of Evans was the first loss of his career. Machida's father and
coach recently said he believes his son would be best to retire
now, following the knockout loss – because it could take
five to 10 years for the karate practitioner to get back on track
from a spiritual standpoint.
But
Evans found that philosophy to be a bit "extreme."
"I
don't know his dad's competing history, but as a competitor myself,
it's good to have a short memory," Evans said. "You
just have to go on and put your best foot forward. I think the
longer you dwell on something, it can start to negatively affect
you. If you accept what happen, you understand why it happened
and you put it behind you, you can propel and move yourself forward
a lot further than if you just dwell on it and say, 'Oh, I lost,
I lost.' You lost. Then forget about it."
Evans
said his memory was short following his loss to Machida –
though he won't forget the loss.
"The
burning and desire and everything leading up to why I felt like
I lost, it stayed with me," Evans said. "It's still
with me now. But the fact that I lost dissipated. How I lost
– it just wasn't my night. I got knocked out. It happens
in the sport."
It
happened for the first time to Shane Carwin a week ago against
Brock Lesnar when he was submitted for the first loss of his
career while trying to take Lesnar's heavyweight title. Carwin,
a Team Jackson product at Colorado's Grudge Training Center,
dominated the first round but had nothing left in the tank for
Round 2.
Though
disappointed Carwin lost, Evans said Lesnar, a former WWE star,
grew by leaps and bounds as a mixed martial artist.
"I
think he found out that he was a fighter," Evans said. "It's
one thing to go in there and be the biggest and baddest and toughest
guy. It's another thing to go in there and meet somebody else
who's as big and bad as you are. And then it's not about being
the biggest, baddest, toughest guy – it's about skill and
technique and everything else. All the intangibles that are going
to make you better than that guy. When he was getting his (butt)
whipped that first round, he had to think to himself, 'What the
(heck) did I get myself into?' But then he found a way to get
beyond all that. And that's where you find out who you really
are as a fighter and as a person."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Royce
and much more during a lively Middle Eastern summer
Despite
the scathing temperatures in the region, Jiu-Jitsu practitioners
in the Middle East are having a lively summer. Professor Sylvio
Behring just took off from Kuwait, where he spent a week conducting
seminars at the country’s Gracie Barra academy. At almost
the same time Sylvio was in Kuwait, Royce Gracie and José
Mario Sperry arrived in the United Arab Emirates, both with seminars
scheduled in the city of Dubai.
Speaking
of Kuwait, an event promising to set a new baseline is the tournament
promote in part by Ahmed Alhouli, a Vinicius “Draculino”
student, and the man responsible for Gracie Barra promises worthy
prizes for the championship to take place August 6 in the country’s
capital.
Meanwhile
in Jordan, Zaid Mirza is organizing a tournament for kids in
the region up to the age of 15. “We’ll receive youths
from Lebanon, Syria and perhaps the Emirates.” Among the
prizes, there will even be playstations for the young ones. Zaid
further points out that Pedro Galiza will oversee a summer Jiu-Jitsu
camp in Syria at the end of the month: “Galiza should spur
the sport further ahead in Syria, but he also has projects in
Egypt and Lebanon in the works for this year.”
And,
in the consecrated capital of professional Jiu-Jitsu, Abu Dhabi,
a group of local schoolboys are in the dependencies of the ADCC
during their summer break getting ready for a Jiu-Jitsu presentation
in China at the end of August.
It’s
Jiu-Jitsu that’s revving up Arabia.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Dunham
vs Sherk on tap for UFC 119
The
fights for UFC 119 are starting to come together and a major
lightweight bout has been confirmed for the card. Undefeated
Evan Dunham returns to action to face former UFC lightweight
champion Sean Sherk at the Indianapolis event.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Wednesday.
With
a perfect 11-0 record, Dunham could be on the fast track towards
a title shot in the next year. Since coming to the UFC, he is
4-0 and has dominated two great opponents in Tyson Griffin and
Efrain Escudero in his last couple of fights.
Looking
to make his way back to title contention as well is former UFC
lightweight champion Sean Sherk (32-4-1), who comes back for
the September card after being out of action since May 2009.
The Minnesota based fighter has been dealing with injuries that
have forced him to take some time off, but hopes to stay healthy
this time for a showdown with Dunham.
Winning
the lightweight title by defeating Kenny Florian in 2006, Sherk
went on to defend the belt against Hermes Franca before losing
to B.J. Penn in 2008. He went 1-1 after that with a win over
Tyson Griffin and a loss to current UFC lightweight champion
Frankie Edgar.
The
bout between Dunham and Sherk is expected to be part of the main
televised card for UFC 119. A main event has yet to be formulated.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
116 Fighter Salaries
The
Nevada State Athletic Commission released the UFC 116: Lesnar
vs. Carwin fighter salary information on Tuesday. The main event
featured UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in a title unification
bout with interim champion Shane Carwin. The event took place
on Saturday, July 3, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners’ bonuses. Any undisclosed
bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not
disclose to the athletic commissions (such as pay-per-view bonuses),
are not included in the figures below.
MAIN
CARD FIGHTERS:
-Brock
Lesnar: $400,000 (no win bonus) def. Shane Carwin: $40,000
-Chris
Leben: $86,000 (includes $43,000 win bonus) def. Yoshihiro Akiyama:
$45,000
-Chris
Lytle: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus) def. Matt Brown:
$10,000
-Stephan
Bonnar: $50,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus) def. Krzysztof Soszynski:
$10,000
-George
Sotiropoulos: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus) def. Kurt
Pellegrino: $25,000
PRELIMINARY
CARD (SPIKE TV) FIGHTERS:
-Brendan
Schaub: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Chris Tuchscherer:
$12,000
-Ricardo
Romero: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Seth Petruzelli:
$10,000
PRELIMINARY
CARD (NON-TELEVISED) FIGHTERS:
-Kendall Grove: $50,000 (includes
$25,000 win bonus) def. Goran Reljic: $5,000
-Gerald
Harris: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. David Branch:
$6,000
-Daniel
Roberts: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus) def. Forrest Petz:
$6,000
-Jon
Madsen: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Karel Vemola:
$8,000
UFC
116 DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $923,000
Source: MMA Weekly
|
'Angry'
Miguel Torres Wants Return to Aggressive Roots at WEC 51
Miguel
Torres is angry. Or, to quote him more accurately, he's "a
pissed off Mexican right now."
Torres,
the former WEC bantamweight champion, learned Friday his next
fight will come Sept. 30 against Charlie Valencia at WEC 51 in
Broomfield, Colo. And he told MMA Fighting just moments after
he agreed to the bout that he's ready for a style change –
this time reverting back to his old form. There's something to
be said for not fighting angry, but for Torres, the formula had
been working.
"Now
I'm looking to come back and use my old style and stay aggressive,"
Torres said, "and just beat the (crap) out of people."
Torres
(37-3, 5-2 WEC) took a 17-fight winning streak and three straight
defenses of the bantamweight belt into the main event of WEC
42 last August. But Brian Bowles handed him the first knockout
of his career and left Las Vegas with the title. Seven months
later, hoping to show his first loss in nearly six years was
a fluke, Torres was cut – badly – by Joseph Benavidez.
Blood gushing from his forehead, which would later require plastic
surgery, Torres was soon tapping out from a guillotine –
his first submission loss and his first successive defeats.
The
lifelong resident of predominantly blue-collar Northwest Indiana,
who owns and runs his own gym in Hammond just a few miles from
his boyhood home in East Chicago, said some coaching advice got
in his head before the two losses. He wants to bring back "angry
Miguel," the scrapper whose cage improvisation helped him
to 37 wins and a reputation as one of the world's best fighters.
"When
I fought Bowles, a lot of people were criticizing my style for
leaving myself open a lot," Torres said. "I was being
criticized by a couple of coaches that my style was too aggressive,
I come forward too much and I leave myself open too much. And
I always knew that, but I didn't really care because I was like,
'Prove it to me, or shut the (heck) up.' I didn't care."
The
proof came about four minutes into the first round against Bowles.
Torres staggered the challenger and had him backing up. And with
the same aggressiveness he had displayed his entire career, he
followed Bowles in, looking to finish. But Bowles landed a right
that put Torres on the canvas, and he followed up with shots
on the ground that put Torres' lights out for the first time.
The
aftermath had Torres thinking plenty about those coaches' advice,
and he adjusted his style for the fight with Benavidez.
"The
fight with Bowles, I ended up getting caught," Torres said.
"But a lot of doubts started creeping into my mind that
maybe I am too open, maybe I am too aggressive, maybe I am too
crazy. So I tried to revert to a different style that wasn't
mine. That whole training camp (for Benavidez), I was training
for a fight that wasn't my style. And it was just frustrating
because my style is to come forward. My style is to press my
opponent. My style is to strike from any direction. The whole
time against Benavidez, I was going back on purpose."
Self-coached
in his own gym for the majority of his career, Torres had branched
out before the fight with Benavidez in March. He worked jiu-jitsu
with Robert Drysdale. He worked striking with Mark DellaGrotte.
He rolled with Kenny Florian and Frank Mir. But if he could change
one thing, it would be the decision against Benavidez to fight
with caution.
"I'm
really frustrated, not just with my performance (against Benavidez),
but with myself in general in holding back and not fighting my
last fight," Torres said. "My last fight really made
me angry. Every second I didn't attack, I let my opponent's confidence
grow. And it was very frustrating to watch that fight because
I didn't fight. The Bowles fight, at least I went for it. I hurt
him, I chased him, I got caught. I went for it, I got caught.
The Benavidez fight, I didn't do (crap). I did not do one thing."
Torres
said regardless of whom the WEC puts in front of him, he's ready
to show fans – and his opponents – what they haven't
seen since his five-round war with Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 40.
Against Valencia (12-5, 5-3 WEC), Torres will face a well-rounded
fighter riding a three-fight winning streak. He had planned to
spend as much as two months in Montreal working with Firas Zahabi,
head trainer for Georges St-Pierre, at the Tristar Gym. But he
may shorten that now.
"I
haven't seen a big change in (Valencia's) game," Torres
said. "With my aggressiveness, I think I match up well against
him. I might do maybe a 5- or 6-week camp up in Montreal. I'm
already in shape now. I've been training for the past month and
a half. I'm 150 (pounds) right now – I'm in shape. This
training camp I'm going into is me just polishing up myself."
WEC
51, though not officially announced by the organization, will
take place Sept. 30 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo.,
just north of Denver. The main card will air live on the Versus
cable network with a main-event featherweight title fight between
champion Jose Aldo and challenger Manny Gamburyan. Torres-Valencia
is expected to be the co-main event.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MCSWEENEY
VS. BLACKLEDGE AT UFC 120
It will be a battle of the Brits at UFC 120 in London, England.
Dropping
down to the light heavyweight division, James McSweeney will
return to his home country in October to face fellow countryman
Tom Blackledge in an undercard bout at the O2 Arena.
McSweeney
first posted news about the fight on his personal Twitter page
on Sunday. Sources close to the event provided additional confirmation
to MMAWeekly.com.
Spending
most of his career as an undersized heavyweight, James McSweeney
(4-5) will see if the 205-pound division is any kinder to him.
A fierce striker who splits his training between Greg Jackson's
gym in New Mexico and the Grudge Training Center in Colorado,
McSweeney returns home for his next fight.
It
could be do or die time for the former "Ultimate Fighter,"
who lost his last bout by TKO to Travis Browne in June.
Opposing
McSweeney is fellow Brit Tom Blackledge (10-6), who is also a
fighter that spent much of his career battling the big men in
the heavyweight division. A Wolfslair fighter, Blackledge trains
alongside fellow UFC fighters Michael Bisping and Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson, and looks to make his Octagon debut close to home.
The
bout between McSweeney and Blackledge will fill part of the untelevised
undercard for the show that will be broadcast via tape delay
in the United States on Spike TV.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TONEY
SAYS COUTURE FIGHT IS AT HEAVYWEIGHT
There's been a lot of discussion about the upcoming fight at
UFC 118 between Randy Couture and heavyweight boxing champion
James Toney about what weight the two will fight at.
Reports
have bounced back and forth between it being a straight up heavyweight
fight or a catchweight agreement.
Toney,
however, says he is a heavyweight fighter, not a catchweight
fighter, and that's what weight class he'll be fighting in on
Aug. 28.
"Everybody
want to talk about the weight. It don't make sense. James Toney
is the heavyweight champion of the world in boxing, and heavyweight
means any weight right?" said Toney when appearing on MMAWeekly
Radio. "So we're going to have this fight at my weight.
I'm the heavyweight. I can come in what I want to come in at."
Couture
has bounced back and forth in his career from heavyweight to
light heavyweight, while Toney has been a boxing champion in
several different weight classes, most recently in the heavyweight
division.
Toney
feels that if Couture signed his name on the dotted line, then
he needs to show up for the fight, and stop worrying about weight
classes.
"If
they've got a problem with it, they shouldn't have signed to
fight," Toney stated. "If they big and bad, and Dana
said he's going to give me a legend, then put your man in there.
Let's do it."
Toney
comes to the UFC after going 3-0-1 in his last four fights in
boxing, and currently holds the IBA and NABO heavyweight titles.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ESCUDERO
VS. GUNDERSON AT UFC FIGHT NIGHT
A lightweight match-up has been added to the upcoming UFC Fight
Night card kicking off the 12th season of the "Ultimate
Fighter" as season 8 winner Efrain Escudero gets back in
action against John Gunderson on the Austin, TX card.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Saturday. MMAJunkie.com was the first to report the contest.
Winning
the 8th season of the reality show as just the start for a very
bright future ahead for Efrain Escudero (13-1), who comes into
the September fight off a win over former training partner Dan
Lauzon.
Escudero
suffered his only career setback in January as he lost by armbar
to current lightweight contender, Evan Dunham, but the Arizona
fighter has bounced back strong, and looks to do the same again
when he faces Gunderson.
John
Gunderson, a multi-time veteran of the IFL, made his move to
the UFC earlier this year, and after losing his first fight in
the Octagon, he recovered and picked up a win against Mark Holst
in June.
The
Team Tompkins fighter will look to get an even bigger win as
he steps in and faces the "Ultimate Fighter" winner
in Escudero.
It's
believed that the bout between Escudero and Gunderson will make
the televised portion of the Spike TV broadcast set for September
22 in Texas.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JOSH
BARNETT SCORES QUICK WIN IN AUSSIE DEBUT
Impact Fighting Championships held its first event, dubbed “Uprising,”
in Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday. It may have been the promotion’s
debut, but veteran fighters were out in full force at the Brisbane
Entertainment Centre.
Less
than four months removed from a victory over Mighty Mo for Dream,
former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett marked his first
fight in the Land Down Under with a TKO stoppage midway through
the opening round. Barnett is currently riding a six-fight winning
streak, although he has yet to clear up his licensing situation
in California where a disputed failed drug test cost him licensure
approval and a blockbuster fight with Fedor Emelianenko.
Karo
Parisyan, a UFC veteran, made his first start in a year and a
half, submitting late replacement Ben Mortimer with a rear naked
choke late in the second round. Parisyan has been on the sidelines
after serving a nine-month suspension imposed by Nevada due to
testing positive for painkillers. Upon his scheduled return,
he backed out of a fight with Dustin Hazelett the day before
weigh-ins, leading UFC president Dana White to send him into
exile.
Notables
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Jeff Monson both scored wins at
Impact FC 1, although former UFC champion Carlos Newton dropped
a three-round unanimous decision to Brian Ebersole.
-Josh
Barnett def. Geronimo Dos Santos by TKO (Strikes) at 2:35, R1
-Brian Ebersole def. Carlos Newton by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Joaquim Ferreira by TKO (Strikes)
at 1:20, R1
-Jeff Monson def. Ubiritan Lima Marinho by Unanimous Decision
-Thiago Meller def. Jai Bradney by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 1:32, R1
-Fabio Fernandes def. Api Hemara by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 3:58, R1
-Tom Waters vs. Jacob Mahony by TKO (Strikes) at 1:38, R2
-Karo Parisyan def. Ben Mortimer by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 4:18, R2
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Number
one of the rings puts the kimono
Unbeaten
on MMA, Jussier “Formiga” Silva is the number one on
international MMA, but the lack of good challenges made him to
search other sports so that he does not loses his focus. “Since
my next MMA is not scheduled yet, I’ll keep training hard
and I’ll keep myself competing so I don’t lose my conditioning,
as we always do in our gym, because Jair (Lourenço) demands
it from us (laughs)”, tells Formiga, revealing he has his
eyes on Jiu-Jitsu’s titles.
“My
focus now is the World of CBJJE. I intended to also fight the
World on the United States, but unfortunately my visa was denied”,
regrets the flyweight, revealing the negative answer he got from
the Consulate and that he could not do business on the United
States. “On that time, Dedé (Pederneiras) had scheduled
five fights for me on the American event, but it wasn’t
God’s wish and my visa was denied”, explains, focused
on a title on the mats.
“We’re
training a lot of Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling, because my strategy
is to impose my rhythm on my bouts in the search of better results”,
guarantees, promising a Kimura’s invasion in Sao Paulo.
“I’ll change to a lighter division for World, only
on the black belt we’ve got 15 athletes. My goal is the
win and it’ll be glorious if I reach my goal and close up
the division title with my training partner Yoshinoro “Japa”,
who also is well prepared”.
After
the Jiu-Jitsu’s competition, Formiga does not think about
resting. “My next appointment will be on Challenger of the
Night, a Muay Thai event that came from Europe and heated up
Brazil, and I had the privilege of winning the belt on the previous
edition. Now we’re negotiating my belt defense, which probably
will be on the end of August”, reveals, sending a message
of thank to Jair, Dedé, Netinho Pegado and Poli: “that’s
the crew I believe in and that composes Kimura Nova União’s
family”.
Source: Tatame
|
Milton
trains with Belfort and eyes the WEC
Coming
from a win by submission on Bitetti Combat, Milton Vieira, who
beat great names like Luciano Azevedo, Johnny Eduardo and Luiz
Brito, has bigger dreams now. In a chat with TATAME, the tough
guy from Brazilian Top Team commented the trainings he has been
done with Vitor Belfort in Rio de Janeiro.
“Eraldo
has being going there and giving me support… The training
is great. I trained along with Vitor years ago, on BTT’s
golden time, and I’m training a lot of positions”,
tells Milton, pointed out by Belfort as WEC’s next champion.
“Everything is about advertisement”, jokes the lightweight,
who already fought in great events such as Pride and M-1. “We’re
hitting at WEC’s door, and I’ll accept whatever good
comes to me”.
Without
a manager, Milton tries to dig a contract with the biggest event
among the light weights of the world currently. “I’m
trying it for a long time. Thinks started to work out through
a contact I have, but let’s see, I’ll do what I can
(laughs). Vitor tells me I should be in there, he claims that
I belong to WEC… I’m cheering for everybody who’s
getting there and I’m in seeking my dream”, concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
Sifting
through the rubble of the Fedor fallout
The
triangle submission that Fabricio Werdum clamped on Fedor Emelianenko
on June 26 has taken some of the bargaining leverage away from
the Russian and his M-1 Global handlers in negotiating his next
contract.
Emelianenko
can no longer walk into the UFC and get huge guaranteed money
and an immediate title shot against champion Brock Lesnar, as
was offered last year.
But
the Russian, who has one fight left on his Strikeforce contract,
retains value in the big picture.
The
game isn’t about determining who is the world’s top
heavyweight anymore. It’s a UFC vs. Strikeforce branding
battle, with UFC – established as the Coca-Cola of the industry
– clashing with Strikeforce, which is attempting to establish
itself as the Pepsi of mixed martial arts.
The
single most important key for Strikeforce to establish itself
long-term as a strong No. 2 organization is building a consistent
relationship with CBS. Showtime may pay some bills, but because
of its limited market penetration, the premium cable network
is difficult to use as a vehicle to establish new stars, the
lifeblood for any promotion. A big event on CBS can draw more
than four million viewers; the same quality event on Showtime
would be lucky to draw 600,000.
Drawing
a competitive, network prime-time audience has been difficult
thus far. Putting together good fighters and promoting what looks
to be “on paper” as solid, competitive fights have
failed – such as the April 17 three-title fight on CBS that
tanked in the ratings.
The
difference between CBS’ success and failure has been the
inclusion of a headliner with star power. With Gina Carano on
an extended break, only Emelianenko has the same track record
of success among Strikeforce’s current roster. And right
now, there doesn’t appear to be anyone else who can take
his place.
Emelianenko
was clearly the company’s most popular fighter before his
loss. The next most-popular fighter, Dan Henderson, was in the
main event on the disastrous April card but hasn’t proven
he can deliver the audience needed to headline a network prime-time
show.
Worse,
not only is Henderson coming off a loss to Jake Shields –
who appears to be leaving for the UFC without losing the middleweight
title – but also there isn’t anyone in the light heavyweight
or middleweight divisions who could be matched with Henderson
who would capture the casual fan.
For
that reason alone, given UFC president Dana White’s ruthlessness
against opposing promoters, I don’t believe White for a
second when he said last week that he has no interest in the
Russian. There wasn’t much pressure from the public, outside
of the vocal hardcore fan base who comprise a tiny percentage
of people who actually spend money on the product, on White to
sign Emelianenko. But there were relentless questions from the
media about who was the world’s best heavyweight, so White
clearly put pressure on himself for the past three years to make
the deal.
With
Emelianenko’s loss, however, his real value to UFC is simply
that by getting him on its roster, it could derail Strikeforce’s
most valuable key to growth: the potential to do well on CBS.
The
33-year-old Emelianenko issued a challenge to Werdum for a rematch
immediately after Werdum’s victory in San Jose. Since then,
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has discussed all three possible
matches among his star heavyweights: champion Alistair Overeem,
logical top contender Werdum and the Russian, who desperately
needs a high-profile win over one of the other two in his next
fight to stay relevant in top-tier discussions.
The
match Coker has seemed to favor in recent days is giving Emelianenko
a title shot with Overeem. It doesn’t appear to make sense
on the surface for a fighter who lost cleanly in 1:09 to then
get a championship fight. But that’s where Coker has leverage.
Emelianenko needs a high-profile win over either Werdum or Overeem
to regain his elite status. Such a title match would, if CBS
comes to the table, allow Strikeforce to promote a heavyweight
championship fight, give its title visibility and potentially
establish Overeem, with his physically impressive look, charisma
and exciting offensive game, as a legitimate player on the North
American scene.
Without
CBS, Overeem vs. Werdum would be logical for Showtime. The June
26 Emelianenko-Werdum fight was in fact billed as a match where
the winner would get the next title shot. CBS changes the picture
because Strikeforce would be in a must-deliver ratings situation.
At this point, though, neither Overeem nor Werdum have enough
name recognition to draw significant network ratings. A Emelianenko-Werdum
rematch would have the most public interest at this point. It’s
also the fight that both fighters say they want. Emelianenko
obviously needs to erase the blemish to have a shot at regaining
his former stature. Werdum realizes a second win over Emelianenko
means more for his career than a championship belt.
Success
on CBS is more important than the logical progression of the
heavyweight title chase. Strikeforce already came up short in
gambling on Henderson beating Shields, and the last thing it
needs right now is for Emelianenko to knock off its only real
heavyweight contender and then leave the promotion to pick up
the pieces.
Clouding
the picture is the so-called “champion’s clause,”
which binds a champion to their contract as long as they hold
a company title. UFC binds all its champions under such a clause
– UFC won its dispute with Randy Couture three years ago
by refusing to drop recognition of his title – but Strikeforce
hasn’t, and the company was embarrassed when Sheilds left
with the middleweight belt. Strikeforce is insisting Emelianenko
agree to such a clause before signing on for a title bout, which
could complicate matters.
If
CBS doesn’t participate, and it’s still unclear whether
or not it will, Emelianenko and M-1’s leverage in this country
will all but vanish. Strikeforce can put on quality, Showtime-caliber
events and draw nearly the same audience without him. Emelianenko’s
value is no longer worth breaking the bank. Strikeforce can lose
him, and in the big picture, it won’t make a great deal
of difference. But don’t count out Emelianenko’s UFC
value after the loss, as plenty of name fighters have shown over
and over that one loss doesn’t kill interest in stars. But
his side has certainly lost plenty of leverage.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Rankings:
Heavy-duty shakeup
With
one tap of the hand, Fedor Emelianenko sent a shock wave through
the mixed martial arts world. The Russian’s June 26 upset
loss to Fabricio Werdum alone meant an interesting month was
on hand in the Top 10 pound-for-pound poll.
Add
in Brock Lesnar’s high-profile victory over Shane Carwin
one week later, and you’ve got a ripple effect that shook
up the rankings from top to bottom.
Emelianenko
tumbled from No. 3 to No. 8. But in doing so, he helped crown
a new No. 1. Nearly all the voters who previously had Fedor at
No. 1 shifted their first-place vote to UFC middleweight champ
Anderson Silva, enough to push him ahead of the former No. 1,
Georges St. Pierre.
Silva
took 12 first-place ballots out of 20 and finished with 192 points;
St. Pierre had the remaining eight top votes and took second
with 188. Their lockdown on the top two spots is total; St. Pierre
had 12 second-place votes and Silva eight.
With
Emelianenko’s slide, WEC bantamweight champ Jose Aldo and
UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio Rua each moved up a spot,
to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.
UFC
lightweight champ Frank Edgar, meanwhile, vaulted four places
from nine to five. That puts him one ahead of the fighter he
beat for the title on April 10, B.J. Penn. Edgar was ranked in
the top five by seven of the 20 pollsters. There also were four
voters who ranked Penn in the top five while not ranking the
12-1 Edgar at all.
Finally,
we revisit the question of who is the world’s top heavyweight.
While Fedor is no longer in the mix for No. 1 pound-for-pound,
it’s also clear many reporters aren’t yet convinced
that Lesnar is better than Emelianenko. Emelianenko took eighth
with 52 points; Lesnar debuts at No. 10 in the poll with 46.
Of the 20 voters:
Anderson Silva captured 12 first-place ballots out of 20 and
finished with 192 points as he gained the top spot in the pound-for-pound
poll.
(AP Photo)
•
Eleven had both Emelianenko and Lesnar on their ballot, seven
of whom ranked Lesnar higher.
• Three ranked Emelianenko, but not Lesnar
• Three ranked Lesnar, but not Emelianenko
• Three ranked neither
Emelianenko
finished higher than Lesnar, however, because six of his votes
were between Nos. 3-6, while the bulk of Lesnar’s votes
came in the lower half of the top 10, with two fifth-place votes
as his highest tallies.
With
that, things should calm down for a while, as the only top-10
fights on the horizon for the rest of the summer are Silva’s
Aug. 7 defense against Chael Sonnen and the Aug. 28 Edgar-Penn
rematch.
This
month’s voting panel: Denny Burkholder, CBSSports.com; Elias
Cepeda, Inside Fighting; Mike Chiappetta, MMAFighting.com and
Fight! Magazine; Steve Cofield, Cagewriter and ESPN Radio 1100
in Las Vegas; Neil Davidson, Canadian Press; Dave Doyle Yahoo!
Sports; Ben Fowlkes, SportsIllustrated.com and MMAFighting.com;
Josh Gross, SportsIllustrated.com; Ariel Helwani, Versus.com
and MMAFighting.com; Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports; Damon Martin,
MMAWeekly.com; Todd Martin, freelance; John Morgan, MMAjunkie.com;
Franklin McNeil, ESPN.com; Brad McCray, freelance; Dave Meltzer,
Yahoo! Sports; and The Wrestling Observer; Brett Okamoto, The
Las Vegas Sun; Ken Pishna, MMAWeekly.com; Michael David Smith,
MMAFighting.com; Dann Stupp, MMAjunkie.com; and The Dayton Daily
News.
Scoring:
10 points for a first-place vote, nine points for second, etc.,
down to 1 point for a 10th-place vote. Fighters who are under
suspension for usage of performance-enhancing substances or drugs
of abuse are ineligible to be considered for the duration of
their suspensions; fighters who have been inactive for more than
12 months are ineligible for consideration until after the completion
of their next fight.
10.
Brock Lesnar
Points: 46
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Heavyweight (UFC heavyweight champion)
Hometown: Webster, S.D.
Record: 5-1 (has won past five)
Last month’s ranking: unranked
Most recent result: def. Shane Carwin, R2 submission, July 3
Analysis: With strength, athleticism, wrestling ability, a ferocious
ground and pound, and the heart needed to find his way out of
tough situations, Lesnar is turning into the heavyweight version
of a prime Matt Hughes.
9.
Jake Shields
Points: 49
Affiliation: Free agent
Weight class: Welterweight/Middleweight (Strikeforce middleweight
champion)
Hometown: San Francisco
Record: 25-4-1 (has won past 14)
Last month’s ranking: 8
Most recent result: def. Dan Henderson, unanimous decision, April
17
Analysis: It appears all but a certainty Shields will end up
in the UFC. With welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre tied up
with Josh Koscheck for awhile, it will be interesting to see
with whom Shields is matched in his company debut.
8.
Fedor Emelianenko
Points: 52
Affiliation: Strikeforce/M-1
Weight class: Heavyweight
Hometown: Stary Oskol, Russia
Record: 31-2, one no-contest (lost past 1)
Last month’s ranking: 3
Most recent result: lost to Fabricio Werdum, R1 submission, June
26
Analysis: No snarky comments about Emelianenko here. Every fighter
loses eventually, the Russian was a true sportsman in defeat,
and both Strikeforce and M-1 owe him the opportunity to work
his way back to the top.
7.
Lyoto Machida
Points: 55
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Hometown: Belem, Brazil
Record: 16-1 (lost previous fight)
Last month’s ranking: 7
Most recent result: lost to Mauricio Rua, R1 TKO, May 8
Analysis: With Rua out indefinitely due to knee surgery, Machida’s
camp is floating the idea of an interim title bout between Machida
and Rashad Evans. No word yet on whether Evans is up for the
idea.
6.
B.J. Penn
Points: 67
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Lightweight
Hometown: Hilo, Hawaii
Record: 15-6-1 (lost previous fight)
Last month’s ranking: 6
Most recent result: lost to Frank Edgar, unanimous decision,
April 10
Analysis: Getting down to training for the rematch with Edgar.
5.
Frank Edgar
Points: 72
Affiliation: UFC (UFC lightweight champion)
Weight class: Lightweight
Hometown: Toms River, N.J.
Record: 12-1 (has won past four)
Last month’s ranking: 9
Most recent result: def. B.J. Penn, unanimous decision, April
10
Analysis: Has his chance to prove win against Penn was no fluke.
4.
Mauricio Rua
Points: 118
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight (UFC light heavyweight champion)
Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Record: 19-4 (won previous fight)
Last month’s ranking: 5
Most recent result: def. Lyoto Machida, R1 TKO, May 8
Analysis: Knee surgery is expected to keep the new champ out
until at least March.
3.
Jose Aldo
Points: 150
Affiliation: WEC
Weight class: Featherweight (WEC featherweight champion)
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro
Record: 17-1 (has won past 10)
Last month’s ranking: 4
Most recent result: def. Urijah Faber, unanimous decision, April
24
Analysis: No. 3 is the highest a WEC fighter has ranked in the
poll.
2.
Georges St. Pierre
Points: 188 (8 first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Welterweight (UFC welterweight champion)
Hometown: Saint-Isidore, Quebec
Record: 20-2 (has won past seven)
Last month’s ranking: 1
Most recent result: def. Dan Hardy, unanimous decision, March
27
Analysis: Lost the No. 1 spot without fighting and isn’t
likely to return to action until the end of the year, given his
Ultimate Fighter commitments.
1.
Anderson Silva
Points: 192 (12 first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Middleweight (UFC middleweight champion)
Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Record: 26-4 (has won past 11)
Last month’s ranking: 2
Most recent result: def. Demian Maia, unanimous decision, April
10
Analysis: Whether pollsters shifted their votes to Silva because
he had the longest win streak after Emelianenko, or they’ve
forgiven his transgressions against Demian Maia, his performance
against Sonnen will show whether he deserves the top spot.
More
•
Votes for others: Dominick Cruz 42; Rashad Evans 18; Gilbert
Melendez 8; Jon Fitch 7; Jon Jones 6; Cain Velasquez 3; Joe Benavidez,
Kenny Florian, Nick Diaz 2.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
The
Doggy Bag: Expect the Unexpected
Everyone
answers to somebody, so we, the staff at Sherdog.com, have decided
to defer to our readers.
“The
Doggy Bag” gives you the opportunity to speak about what’s
on your mind from time to time.
Our
reporters, columnists, radio hosts, and editors will chime in
with our answers and thoughts, so keep the emails coming.
This
week, readers weigh in on Fabricio Werdum's upset of Fedor Emelianenko,
Chael Sonnen’s war of words and the latest edition of Sherdog.com’s
heavyweight rankings.
Gentlemen,
my question for you is short and simple. What did the Fedor upset
tell us about our sport? Should we be shocked, or was this to
be expected after such a long reign?
-- M. Potter
Brian
Knapp, associate editor: The upset told us what we already knew
about the sport -- to expect the unexpected. Fans, media and
promoters are guilty of working hard to create the impression
of invincibility in elite fighters, and Fedor Emelianenko came
closest to making it a reality. We often forget that even the
greatest among us are human. Fabricio Werdum simply provided
a reminder.
The
frequency with which upsets occur in mixed martial arts is part
of what separates it from other sports. We should never be shocked
by anything that happens inside the cage when two highly trained
athletes throw their hands and feet at one another. Fedor is
human, and he made a human mistake, diving into the guard of
one of the sport’s top submission grapplers. It happens,
and it will happen again, perhaps to Georges St. Pierre, perhaps
to Anderson Silva, perhaps to Jose Aldo.
The
defeat in no way diminishes Emelianenko’s contributions
to the sport. Despite critics who wish to rewrite history, he
remains the most accomplished heavyweight ever to grace MMA by
a wide margin.
Source: Sherdog
|
LESNAR
VS. VELASQUEZ COLLIDE AT UFC 121 IN ANAHEIM
The heavyweights are coming to California.
Brock
Lesnar is heading back to action in October as the UFC heavyweight
champion and top ranked fighter in the division will defend his
belt against top contender Cain Velasquez at UFC 121, which is
rumored to take place at the Honda Center, in Anaheim, CA.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fighter
late Friday evening, and was first reported to MMAFighting.com
by UFC president Dana White.
At
5-1 in his pro career, Brock Lesnar has made a meteoric rise
to the top of the heavyweight division, and did so while spending
a year away from the sport dealing with a serious case of diverticulitis.
The
former University of Minnesota wrestler came back just earlier
this month and defending his belt against Shane Carwin, in one
of the most impressive performances of his career. After a disastrous
first round that saw Carwin pummel the champion, Lesnar battled
back to submit the previously undefeated fighter in the second.
Before
the fight event started, Lensar knew who was waiting on the horizon
for him.
Cain
Velasquez (8-0) has been a virtual wrecking machine in his UFC
career to this point. Blasting through opponents like Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira and Ben Rothwell, Velasquez has shown tremendous
improvements in every fight, and hopes to prove he is the best
in the world come October.
The
fight between Lensar and Velasquez was rumored to go down on
the UFC 119 card in September, but Lesnar's wife had a baby on
the way, and the champion wanted to take some time to be with
his family following his last fight.
Now
it appears the West Coast will get the impact of the heavyweight
title fight, as Lesnar and Velasquez are on a collision course
on October 23 in Anaheim.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
CAOL
UNO MOVES TO 145LBS, RETURNS AT DREAM 16
Caol Uno's return to the UFC definitely did not go the way he
had hoped, and after an 0-2-1 record in the promotion, he has
taken his career back to Japan where he will drop down to featherweight
for his next fight.
Uno
made the announcement during the Dream 15 broadcast on Saturday,
where he expressed remorse about things not going his way in
the United States, and now he's back for possibly his last fight.
Dropping
down to 145lbs, Uno alluded to possibly walking away from the
sport when saying, "this could be my last fight."
The
last time Uno fought, he was finished by American Top Team monster
Gleison Tibau, who is known for being one of the biggest 155lber's
in the sport. Apparently, that size difference, among others,
was reason enough for Uno to decide to move weight classes.
Uno
will make his featherweight debut at Dream 16, which will take
place on September 25 in Japan, and broadcast on HDNet in the
United States.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
International
Open from Rio to Australia
This
July 22 the Rio International Open kicks off in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. The competition was first held in the city in 2008, and
it has since conquered the world.
Installments
have taken place in big cities in the United States with the
New York Open, Houston Open and Miami Open. On August 14 there
will be the inaugural Las Vegas International Open, on the 22nd
of the same month is the maiden Chicago Open and the Honolulu
Open is set to debut on the 4th. And there’s more brewing.
“Next
year we’ll hold the event in Australia, on a date yet to
be determined. We’ll have the first ones in Las Vegas and
Chicago this August, and we’ll return to Hawaii, where two editions of the Pan were
held in the past. The mission is to take Jiu-Jitsu to the world
by way of the IBJJF,” says Marcelo Araujo, vice-president
of the entity.
Siriema,
as he is known, heads the entire IBJJF and CBJJ championship
structure, and is one of those responsible for the championships’
standard of quality around the world. The trend being followed
is the place greater weight on the said “International Open”
championships across the globe, as they have become a tradition
and carry importance for being an international title.
“It
would be hard to set up a ranking system for the competitions,
due to the difficulty in competitors traveling to all the locations
where the event is held. But we intend to benefit the champions
in the future. For example, they will already be better placed
in the brackets at the World Championship,” he reports.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
AOKI
CRUSHES KAWAJIRI AT DREAM 15
Shinya Aoki is back, and at his bone breaking best once again.
The
last time Shinya Aoki fought it was an emotional night for the
Dream lightweight champion losing a one-sided decision to Strikeforce
champion Gilbert Melendez. Like a man on a mission, Aoki returned
home to Japan, and then absolutely decimated Tatsuya Kawajiri's
ankle to get a submission win.
Aoki
wasted no time when the fight started to shoot in on Kawajiri,
and he immediately grabbed a leg, and wasn't planning on letting
go unless he took Kawajiri's ankle with him. With his grasp wrapping
around Kawajiri's ankle like an anaconda going for the kill,
Aoki just kept wrenching and wrenching, until his opponent could
take no more.
Kawajiri
fought as hard as he possibly could, but it looked like his ankle
popped, and with a grimacing look on his face, he tapped the
canvas in submission. Laying on the mat for a few minutes after
the fight was stopped, Kawajiri had to be carried by his team
out of the ring in obvious pain from the submission.
Following
the fight, Aoki announced that Pride was dead after the fight
with Kawajiri, signifying the last two greats from the old Japanese
organization closed a chapter on that book.
"I'm
going to put Dream on my shoulders, so everybody get on board
with me," said Aoki after winning, and announcing his pending
nuptials to the crowd in attendance.
The
other big announcement coming from Aoki may have shocked a lot
of people listening, none so more than his potential opponent.
"I'm
going to fight (Gilbert) Melendez again in September," Aoki
proclaimed, referencing a possibly Dream 16 rematch with the
Strikeforce champion.
Melendez
has stated on several occasions that with the birth of his child
upcoming, he wanted to take some time off and let his body heal,
and spend time with family, while planning on a return at the
end of 2010. No word if a fight with Aoki in September is a real
possibility or not.
Getting
back on the winning track after two losses in a row and several
injuries, Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante had his hands full
with Katsunori Kikuno at Dream 15, but pulled off a split decision
victory.
Cavalcante
and Kikuno battled to a very even first round with both fighters
landing takedowns, and showing their strength when standing.
The second round went completely in JZ's favor after taking Kikuno
to the mat, and transitioning to mount and then taking his opponent's
back.
While
Cavalcante couldn't catch the submission, he rode out the better
part of the next fight minutes with a body triangle, and working
for a rear naked choke. Kikuno survived, but only to come up
short on the judges' scorecards. JZ picks up his first win since
2007, and will make his way back home to American for his next
fight, which will take place in Strikeforce.
Gegard
Mousasi made short work of former UFC fighter Jake O'Brien, catching
a standing guillotine choke, just opening seconds into the fight.
O'Brien, who came into the fight 7lbs over the limit, shot early
and tried to imitate what Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal
did in his last fight with Mousasi.
The
gameplan backfired when O'Brien couldn't get the takedown, and
Mousasi slipped his arm under his opponent's chin, wrenched up
the hold and got the tap. Mousasi gets a crack at the Dream light
heavyweight title in his next fight in the finals of the Grand
Prix.
An
unlikely upset took place in the first fight of the Dream light
heavyweight Grand Prix as Tatsuya Mizuno hit Melvin Manhoef with
a dose of his own kryptonite…the ground game. Mizuno took
some heavy shots from Manhoef to start the fight, but he weathered
the storm, and worked to get the fight on the mat.
It
appeared that Mizuno was going to get a stoppage from strikes
on the ground, but Manhoef survived, if only for a few more seconds.
Mizuno took a moment, grabbed an arm, and locked on a kimura
and Manhoef had no choice but to tap out. Mizuno now moves onto
the finals of the light heavyweight Grand Prix, and faces Gegard
Mousasi.
Michihiro
Omigawa, a former Sengoku fighter now in Dream, made his impact
felt in his first fight for the promotion, as he submitted Young
Sam Jung with a guillotine from the top midway through the first
round.
At
0-2, Jung looked like an easy fight for Omigawa, but he held
his own for much of the fight. Omigawa had to battle his way
for position, but he eventually overwhelmed his much less experienced
opponent, catching the guillotine choke, and forcing the submission.
Omigawa
was only signed to a one fight deal with Dream for Saturday's
show, but it's expected the promotion will try to keep him around
for a longer stay.
Dropping
down to featherweight after being a top ten lightweight for much
of his career, Mitsuhiro Ishida made an impressive debut at the
lower weight as he dominated Daiki "DJ.taiki" Hata
on Saturday in Dream.
Showcasing
his usual wrestling skills, Ishida kept up a relentless pace
throughout all 15 minutes, coming close on a few submission attempts,
and barely letting Hata breathe. Ishida could now be on the fast
track towards a future title shot against Dream featherweight
champion Bibiano Fernandes.
A
series of yellow cards littered the fight between Kazuhiro Nakamura
and Karl Amoussou, in what turned into a tactical ground fight
for the most part, Several takedowns and ground control swayed
the fight into Nakamura's favor for both the first and second
round.
The
best striking combination actually came from Nakamura after getting
his yellow card with about a minute left in the fight, tagging
Amoussou with two solid shots. All three judges gave the fight
to Nakamura, who picks up his second win in a row.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SERRA
VS. LYTLE REMATCH HEADED TO UFC 119
It's like the "Ultimate Fighter" 4 finale all over
again.
Former
housemates and then competitors Matt Serra and Chris Lytle fought
once upon a time for a chance at the UFC welterweight title back
in 2006. Serra got the split decision nod over Lytle, and went
on to win the title in one of the biggest upsets in the sport's
history when he knocked out Georges St. Pierre.
Fast
forward to four years later and both fighters are in the thick
of the welterweight division, and they are ready to mix it up
again. Matt Serra will return to action at UFC 119 in Indianapolis
to fight hometown favorite Chris Lytle in a main card bout for
the September 25 pay-per-view card.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Saturday. The fight was originally announced by MMAJunkie.com
on Saturday.
Since
his time on the "Ultimate Fighter", Matt Serra went
on to win the welterweight title, go through a stint as a coach
on the reality show, and several big fights as well. His last
trip to the Octagon resulted in a first round TKO over former
title contender Frank Trigg.
The
Renzo Gracie prodigy may have slick jiu-jitsu in his back pocket,
but lately his the boxing training under Ray Longo that's been
shown off. Serra packs one of the deadliest right hands in all
of MMA, and he'll try to show that off again in September.
Chris
Lytle has been one of the most active fighters in the UFC over
the last couple of years, while racking up several post fight
bonuses along the way. The Indianapolis fire fighter fought just
earlier this month when he submitted Matt Brown in the 2nd round
of their UFC 116 fight, and was ready to turn around immediately
to fight in his hometown.
Lytle
has gone 6-4 over his last 10 fights, but has won his last three
fights in a row.
The
fight between Serra and Lytle is expected to fill part of the
televised main card on pay-per-view that will be capped off by
heavyweights Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira engaging
in a rematch of their very own.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
National
Cup: R$ 60,000 for the champions
The
responsible for some of the best Jiu-Jitsu championships on current
days, World League Pro Jiu-Jtisu is preparing itself for this
year’s edition of National Cup, and the expectations are
high for the event, which opened its registration today with
promotional prices
“I
believe it’ll be a great event because of its awards. I
used the same model of event on World Cup last year and I imagine
we’ll have over a thousand registered athletes again. I
think it’ll be awesome, mainly because the athletes who
have belts and for the guys who’ll try to steal it from
them”, tells Fernando Lopes, the creator of the championship
will give R$ 60 thousand for its champions.
The
highlights of National Cup in 2009, Bernardo Faria, Michelle
Nicolini, Beatriz Mesquita and Talita Nogueira will wait on the
front seats for the absolute’s finale, but the tournament
has an important change: “we’ve changed our schedule,
it’ll be different now. We’ll not the guy finish one
fight and, tired, fight against a rested guy. He’ll battle
and the finale is only on the next day”, explains Fepa.
Source: Tatame
|
Royler
Gracie
Four-time
champion of the World of Jiu-Jitsu, Royler Gracie is 44 years-old
now and keeps an enviable lifestyle. The legendary man of the
soft art has as his priority the things that makes him feel good,
like his family, surfing and, of course, Jiu-Jitsu. TATAME talked
to the guy himself and, just like inside the rings, did not avoid
any question. Royler analyzed the new generation of fighters,
the current scene of Jiu-Jitsu on MMA and its evolution, talked
about Fabrício Werdum’s win over Fedor Emelianenko,
talked about Rodrigo Minotauro, defended the coming of the World
of Jiu-Jitsu to Brazil among many other subjects, which you can
check on the interview below.
What
do you think of the new generation of Jiu-Jitsu fighters?
I
thinks they’re getting better and better. We can’t
say they settled down. You always have a new technique to learn,
a new detail, and then everybody starts training it and it’s
not a new thing anymore and others come. I believe thing tend
to grow more and more.
Some
people doubted of Jiu-Jitsu’s efficacy on MMA nowadays after
some striker’s triumph, but now we come to a favorable moment
of the soft art, which has been being used by many important
fighters. How do you see this Jiu-Jitsu current scene on MMA?
Actually,
I don’t see Jiu-Jitsu being a disadvantage in any moment.
Like I told you, there are many strikers who are also great Jiu-Jitsu
athletes and they improved their game this way. Wrestlers learned
Jiu-Jitsu and are better fighters now. Jiu-Jitsu’s fighters
perfected theis skills on MMA. What I can say is that things
point out to a better thing because people are training more
and more Jiu-Jitsu and its athletes will have a harder time on
beating their opponents, because who trains Jiu-Jitsu also learns
who to defend yourself of it. We’ve got to a point where
the guy can be an expert in Jiu-Jitsu and be a good standing
opponent and you ought to want to really be there, will all your
heart.
What
did you think of the bout between Fabrício Werdum and
Fedor Emelianenko?
I
thought it was spectacular. Before Werdum fought on World, like
a week before that, I came to talk to him and I told him: “you’ll
submit this guy”. Fedor, to me, it’s not even close
of being on a level like your Jiu-Jitsu is. “Do you think?”,
he asked me and I answered him “I don’t think, I’m
sure”. Right after the fight I called him to congratulate
him and I told him I knew it (laughs). It could only be it, I
knew it… We knew it. I believe if he faces Fedor 10 times,
he’ll submit him on 9 of them. His Jiu-Jitsu is a lot better
than Fedor’s power, there’s no comparison you see this
phenomenon, but he has never fought against a guy of Werdum’s
caliber.
In
your opinion, why many Jiu-Jitsu fighters are choosing to trade
punches and end up being beat because of that?
Well,
we can’t forget that MMA have events that demand that its
athletes stay on that standing game and sometimes the guy doesn’t
want to do it, but it became a business thing. If your not good
on that area, they won’t call you again, they want to see
it, they don’t like to see two guys fighting themselves
on the ground. The fight starts standing with the two guys far
for each other, so that’s impossible for us to avoid it.
If you want to spend all the fight stuck, it’s not easy.
I believe it’s a matter of good sense from the Jiu-Jitsu
fighter and want to freeze the fight, but know he has to wait
for the guy to go for a blow to get a chance to grab him, but
not just to grab and get stuck on the round. Sometimes the guy
doesn’t know when to stop trying to grab his opponent and
being aggressive.
What
do you think changed in MMA along the years?
I
believe that in the olden days no one trained Jiu-Jitsu and nowadays
everybody trains it. It’s like my father used to say: we’ve
got to a point where Jiu-Jitsu is the most important thing inside
MMA. If the guy doesn’t train Jiu-Jitsu, his chances are
very small.
How
do you see this growth of non-Brazilians on World of Jiu-Jitsu?
Do you believe they can mean a threat to the Brazilian hegemony
on the sport?
Everything
says they should be better and better each year that goes by.
But we can’t forget hat World has being happening in America,
not in Brazil anymore. There are a lot of talented people in
Brazil, but sometimes, because of not having money enough to
travel, or not having a visa or financial support or sponsorship,
they can’t manage to go there to dispute the championship.
I believe that these guy’s chances are bigger if World comes
to Brazil and then we can show the world what we have best, which
is our human material.
Are
you in favor of this comeback of the World to Brazil?
I
believe it’s important for the growth of the sport, it’ll
be a good thing to shake this current scene and a good opportunity
for those who can’t afford travelling and also to show how
much more talented athletes we’ve got, I believe in it.
I think it’s really important. We have to bring this championship
back to Brazil. I think they should change its location... It
doesn’t have to always be in America, neither in Brazil.
We can offer the chance of other countries to show its talent
without having to spend so much money.
Do
you believe Rodrigo Minotauro can shine again among the tops?
What do you think he should do to return to the place of a great
champion he used to occupy and we know so well?
Minotauro
is a guy who always brought Brazil’s name to wherever he
went, is a outstanding guy outside Brazil. He is a great fighter,
a great human being and a great person. Of course everybody should
know that the years come and we lose it a little, and they younger
guys are getting better and better each time more. Minotauro
stayed on the top for a long time, and I still believe he has
the tools to get back there, his Jiu-Jitsu is very good, but
we have to know that the other guys are also improving. And it’s
not that Minotauro got worse… I believe he has to train
a little more, and even have a good moment, because his Jiu-Jitsu’s
abilities are great, and he has a good chance of shining again.
Maybe he’s lacking training.
Source: Tatame
|
JZ
aching to fight after Dream win
Gesias
Cavalcante won the K-1 Hero’s Lightweight GP on two occasions,
a feat that secured him a place ranked among the best in the
world in the division. However, a string of injuries brought
on the worst phase in the fighter’s career, when he suffered
back-to-back losses and went over a year without stepping into
the ring. This Saturday JZ, as he is known, had a hard fought
battle against Katsunori Kikumo at Dream 15, which he won by
split decision.
“First
I’d like to thank God for all the lessons I learned during
this time I was not fighting. It was a period of hard work, injuries,
and a return to fighting… I’m really happy to be back
against a great fighter. Kikuno is a great athlete. It was a
pleasure, but I’m aching for more,” said the American
Top Team representative.
At
the press-conference, JZ, who may now also appear at the Strikeforce
promotion, spoke of rival Shinya Aoki, who submitted Tatsuya
Kawajiri on the same evening.
“Aoki’s
dangerous, especially early on. If he sees the opportunity, he
seizes it. He’s clever, doesn’t miss positions. Congratulations
to him. He lost at Strikeforce and it’s good to see him
back.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
CAIN
VELASQUEZ WAITING ON A CALL FROM THE UFC
Cain Velasquez is ready for his shot at Brock Lesnar whenever
the UFC makes the call.
The
Arizona State wrecking machine has been waiting since his February
win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for his shot at the UFC heavyweight
title. Now that Lesnar has defeated Shane Carwin, he's just biding
his time and waiting for the decision on when the fight will
take place.
Rumors
had circulated over the weekend that if everyone involved was
prepared, Lesnar vs. Velasquez could possibly headline UFC 119
in Indianapolis, but it appears the fight won't take place then.
Yahoo MMA reporter Kevin Iole said on Tuesday that the UFC would
not put that fight on so soon, but as of now Velasquez hasn't
heard much of anything.
"Only
thing I've heard is rumors right now, until Dana and the UFC
officially make a date for us," Velasquez told MMAWeekly
Radio on Tuesday. "That's all I know."
For
now it's not a question of if, it's a question of when Velasquez
will get his shot, but he says he's ready to start his full training
camp for Lesnar as soon as possible.
"I'm
in shape now, so it pretty much doesn't matter to me either,"
Velasquez stated. "(I'm) just staying ready, and that's
pretty much it, just have to find out when we fight."
During
his recent downtime, the former NCAA All-American has continued
his work at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.,
training and preparing for whoever held the belt at the end of
UFC 116.
"It's
been good, just getting a lot of technical stuff down, really
working technique with my coaches," said Velasquez. "Trying
to improve in stuff that I think I need improvement on. I think
it's been good."
Watching
the fight between Lesnar and Carwin on Saturday, Velasquez has
already started to analyze what he'll need to do to beat the
champion. He admits that he will have to work hard to put Lesnar
away after the heart he showed on Saturday, but Velasquez is
confident that he has the tools to dismantle the big man.
"I
think I match up well," he said about the fight with Lesnar.
"He's definitely a bigger guy and also really powerful,
but I think I've trained and wrestled guys that are his size,
so I'm used to competing against guys that are that big. I'm
just excited for this opportunity."
If
the fight between Lesnar and Velasquez is pushed back beyond
the September date as all signs are pointing, the heavyweights
could be looking at a possible showdown in November or December.
It seems at this point it's up to the UFC and Brock Lesnar as
to when the fight will take place.
Velasquez
remains on stand-by, waiting to pull the trigger.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SYLVIA
VS. BUENTELLO IN AUGUST; PULVER RETURNS
Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia takes on former UFC
and Strikeforce heavyweight title challenger Paul Buentello will
square off in the main event of Powerhouse World Promotions’
“War on the Mainland” on Aug. 14 in Irvine, Calif.
The winner will be crowned the promotion’s heavyweight champion.
Sylvia
is coming off of a second-round submission of five-time World’s
Strongest Man Mariusz “Dominator” Pudzianowski. Sylvia
has defeated many of the world’s top MMA heavyweights and
super heavyweights: Andrei Arlovski (twice), Brandon Vera, Jeff
Monson, Wes Sims, Ricco Rodriguez, Mike Whitehead (twice), Ben
Rothwell, and Jason Lambert.
Buentello
has notable victories against David “Tank” Abbott,
Gary Goodridge, Justin Eilers, Mike Kyle, and Kirill “Baby
Fedor” Sidelnikov.
In
other title fights on the card, former WEC champion Jason Lambert
faces Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Allan Goes for the vacant
PWP light heavyweight title belt, while former UFC title challenger
Thales Leites fights UFC and Strikeforce veteran Falaniko Vitale
for the middleweight crown.
Former
UFC lightweight champion Jens “L’il Evil” Pulver
returns to action in his first fight since leaving the WEC to
face Diego Garijo.
Also
fighting on “War on the Mainland” are Brazilian middleweight
Gustavo “Ximu” Machado vs. Rick Reeves, Mexican welterweight
Jorge Ortiz vs. UFC veteran Terry Martin, and California lightweights
Joao Silva vs. Erin Beach.
“The
depth of our field is unmatched. We not only wanted to make sure
that we had three really good fights like we do, but to insure
that all of the fights on this show would feature high quality
fighters, as well as competitive, entertaining matches,”
said PWP CEO Brian Manna.
The
event will be carried live on pay-per-view.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
URIJAH
FABER OUT OF WEC 50 DUE TO INJURY
The "California Kid" will have to wait to make his
debut at 135lbs.
Urijah
Faber has been forced out of his upcoming August 18 bout against
Takeya Mizugaki due to a knee injury the fighter suffered in
training for the upcoming bout.
Faber's
manager, Mike Roberts of MMA Inc., confirmed his removal from
the card, and Faber also posted a message via his personal Twitter
page confirming the fight with Mizugaki was off.
According
to Roberts, Faber suffered a slight knee injury during training
that will not require any kind of surgery, but will push his
next fight back.
Faber
could return as early as the September 30 card currently rumored
to take place in Colorado, but nothing has been confirmed as
of yet.
At
the time of this report, no information was available about a
replacement for Faber to step in and face Mizugaki on the WEC
50 card in August. MMAWeekly.com will have more information on
the replacement fight as it becomes available.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JACARE
VS. KENNEDY FOR STRIKEFORCE 185LB TITLE
As Jake Shields gets ready to start his UFC career, Strikeforce
will move on and declare a new middleweight champion on August
21. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
will meet Tim Kennedy in a bout that will determine the new 185lb
title holder.
The
bout was announced by Strikeforce on Friday, with Souza vs. Kennedy
filling the co-main event fight for the show set to take place
in Houston.
Missing
on his chance to win gold in the Dream in 2008, Ronald "Jacare"
Souza has been hunting for a title belt ever since. The Brazilian
has gone 2-0-1 since losing to Gegard Mousasi during the Dream
Grand Prix, and hopes to capitalize on the opportunity headed
his way in August.
In
his last fight out, Souza pulled off a unanimous decision win
over veteran fighter Joey Villasenor in May.
A
decorated Army Ranger, Tim Kennedy did pretty well for himself
as a self-proclaimed part-time mixed martial artist. While still
serving on full active duty for the U.S. Army, Kennedy continued
to fight and win some very impressive bouts along the way.
Now
putting all his efforts into fighting, Kennedy is a force to
be reckoned with even more than before. Winning his last four
fights in a row, and stopping his opponents within the distance,
Kennedy is a rising star in the middleweight division, and a
proven finisher.
Kennedy
and Souza will square off in the second title fight of the night,
with Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal also fighting on the
card defending his belt for the first time against top contender
Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
117: Brazilian party or American dream?
Brazil
has always been one of the major forces of international MMA,
and the number of belts on great events was one of the decisive
factors. On UFC, Anderson Silva and Maurício Shogun keep
Brazil on the top of two divisions, and the United States domain
two other weight divisions, with Brock Lesnar and Frankie Edgar.
However, the Americans will have the chance to regain their hegemony
on August 7, a day on which Chael Sonnen will have a title dispute
on the middleweight division against Anderson. UFC 117’s
card will also have five other duels between Brazilians and Americans,
and the green-and-yellow team promises to keep the Brazilian
flag on the highest spot on the end of the evening.
Owning
the belt, Anderson will do the main event of the evening against
Sonnen, a threaten opponent, who’s been talking a lot about
him on the internet. “He’s promoting it the way he
can. He’s a great athlete, is having the opportunity to
fight for the title, so let’s go. When you get there, everything
changes. The speech change completely inside the cage, everything
changes. The last one who spoke too much didn’t like the
outcome of it, but it’s normal. People have mouths and they
can say whatever they feel like”, said, wishing for a Brazilian
strike. “Brazil lost there (Fifa’s World Cup), and
we try to make a good result here. Let’s try to keep this
hegemony as champions”.
Still
on the main card of the event, Junior Cigano wants to get his
chance for the belt dispute against the chubby Roy Nelson, dreaming
of joining the selective group of champions of UFC. “The
Brazilians are very good on it and that’s really rewarding
for a champion of an event like ours to get to his country and
be recognized as the champion he is. I hope that, soon, I have
this opportunity to bring this belt to Brazil and make a trio
with these UFC belts in Brazil (laughs)… I’ll be great”,
says, excited.
Among
the lightweights, Rafael dos Anjos confronts the tough Clay Guida,
and for that, he prepares a complete game. “I can tell that,
for this fight, it’ll be like that: I’ll defend the
takedowns he’ll try to apply and work on my standing game,
my Muay Thai and Boxing so that, after I hit him a while, I’ll
try to bring him down and submit him. I’ll be hard to submit
him without hitting him before, so I’ll try to defend his
takedowns on the beginning while I work on my strategy, and then
I’ll try to get a good position to submit him”, reveals.
Besides
Ricardo Cachorrão, who will make a duel with the former
champion Matt Hughes, Thiago Piitbull wants revenge against Jon
Fitch. And he promises an exciting victory. “I’ll move
forward and I’ll knock him out. I know Fitch is trying to
improve his game and become a more exciting fighter, but I don’t
believe he’ll do it against me. I’ll tight it up and
I’ll hurt him every chance I got. I know he’s a tough
guy, but August 7 will be my night. I’ll go there and I’ll
knock him out”, promises, on an interview given to Fighters
Only Magazine.
Representing
Brazil on the preliminary bouts, Thiago Silva faces Tim Boetsch
and, despite he does not know much about his opponent, American
Top Team’s athlete guarantees he’ll have his arms raised
on the end of the fight. “I didn’t know him, but I’ve
watched some videos. The fight will end before the third round”,
bets Thiago, analyzing his division. “It’s messy, man.
There’re many great guys, it’s hard to stay on the
top for too long, it always change”.
Check
below the complete card of UFC 117, which will be broadcast live
on SporTV on August 7, starting at 11pm, and stay tuned on TATAME
to know everything about the event.
COMPLETE
CARD (it can be changed):
UFC
117
Oakland,
California, United States
Saturday,
August 7 of 2010
Main
card:
-
Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen;
-
Matt Hughes vs. Ricardo “Cachorrão” Almeida;
-
Clay Guida vs. Rafael dos Anjos;
-
Jon Fitch vs. Thiago “Pitbull” Alves;
-
Roy Nelson vs. Junior “Cigano” dos Santos;
Preliminary
card:
-
Thiago Silva vs. Tim Boetsch;
-
Dustin Hazelett vs. Rick Story;
-
Ben Saunders vs. Dennis Hallman;
-
Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman;
-
Rodney Wallace vs. Stanislav Nedkov.
Source: Tatame
|
Nogueira:
“This time things will be different”
Former
UFC and Pride heavyweight champion Pride and UFC, Rodrigo “Minotauro”
Nogueira will have the chance for revenging his first loss by
knockout on UFC 119, when he will face Frank Mir, who defeated
him at the end of 2008.
On
his own website, Minotauro showed himself excited with the fact
he could remember of the golden days on Pride along with his
brother. “I’m very glad for having the opportunity
to fight on the same day as my brother Rogério. It reminds
us our good old days on Pride”, said Rodrigo, optimistic.
“I
hope this bout will be better than the first. I’ll train
hard, like always, Jiu-Jitsu, boxing and my conditioning. I’m
100%, without any injury. I’ll be very well prepared for
this combat. I’m ready to fight MMA, I’m improving
all my skills. Of course that Mir has his own qualities and deserves
my respect. But this time things will be different”, promises.
On
an exclusive chat with TATAME, the heavyweight commented the
statements of Chael Sonnen, who called him a “punching bag”,
and analyzed the win of Fabricio Werdum over Fedor Emelianenko,
besides commenting on the last win of his brother, Rogério
Minotouro, on UFC and revealing his wish to see his brother fighting
Maurício Shogun.
Chael
Sonnen is saying a lot of things in the attempt to promote his
bout against Anderson Silva, and called you a “punching
bag”… What do you think of it?
Man,
I’ll tell you I don’t know who he is. For me, he doesn’t
change anything, he was submitted by Paulo (Filho), a fight on
which Paulo was not fine, was in depression and coming from a
lot of problems, and he was not at his best and, even though,
doing the worst MMA fight I’ve ever seen, he beat the guy.
I don’t know who he is, what I know is that the only bout
he did I watched was the only good one he did on his life, which
was this last one. I don’t have anything to say about him,
I’m not going to stand here and speak bad things about him
because I don’t know him. I believe he has to fight a little.
For him to become a punching bag or an outstanding fighter, he’ll
have to show up. He’ll have to fight with many guys, I believe
he’ll take a beating a lot, too bad that he won't lose for
me. I’d like to do it, but he’ll have his time.
What
did you think of Rogério’s win over Jason Brilz?
Rogério
is on his own way, he had a tough fight, the boy is to be congratulated,
he made it harder on Rogério. Rogério won the first
and the third round, the boy won the second, so it was a fight
on which Rogério could see the guy’s good side, he
had a better Wrestling than Rogério, but Rogério
also showed he has a heavy hand, showed this side of him too,
but the fight wasn’t very exciting. Rogério is one
step away from the belt, he’s the best fighter… There’s
Rogério and Shogun. The best fight of 2005, one of the
best in all decade, it was a bout that happened in Japan and
I believe United States deserves to watch it too.
Do
you think Maurício Shogun will beat Rashad Evans in case
this bout is confirmed?
I
believe he’ll beat Rashad for his larger experience, he’s
the champion, he has a more complete game, his trade of punches
is better, his ground game is also better than Rashad’s.
Rashad is a dangerous guy, a super athlete of Wrestling, but
Shogun has a more dangerous ground game.
What
do you bet for this fight?
I’d
bet that Shogun will beat Rashad by knockout.
And
about the bout between Junior Cigano and Roy Nelson, how do you
think this combat will be like?
It’s
on the journey to the belt dispute. I believe Cigano will beat
Roy Nelson and the one who will win is the one with the belt
(laughs).
What
did you think of this historical win of Fabrício Werdum
over Fedor Emelianenko on Strikeforce?
It
was pure Jiu-Jitsu, he got a triangle on the right moment and
fit it well, he was well trained, and in good shape. I didn’t
train with Werdum for this fight because I was training with
King Mo on the United States, I was helping him on his trainings,
but I’ve heard he had good sparring, everybody told he would
win this fight, everybody believed in him. He really went there,
did what he planned to do, used his Jiu-Jitsu, submitted, he
is indeed one of the tops of Jiu-Jitsu and Fedor ended but being
a little naïve and not believing on that triangle, which
is a very dangerous position when it comes to Werdum, and he
also got that arm, but the guy thought he would be there on that
half guard hitting him, inside the triangle, Werdum finished
the fight. He got the guy’s arm really tight, Fedor was
escaping from the triangle, but he must be under a lot of pain
on his arm right now.
Do
you think he underestimated Werdum?
He
underestimates Werdum’s Jiu-Jitsu. He started trading some
punches, was better on this part, but, in fact, Werdum’s
Jiu-Jitsu is not easy to take and he did a great job and used
Jiu-Jitsu to win on MMA.
Source: Tatame
|
Punch
resistant Brock has return date
Brock
Lesnar now knows the day, location and opponent for his next
heavyweight title defense. He will face Cain Velasquez as UFC
121 on October 23, in California. The news was confirmed by the
promotion’s president, Dana White.
Velasquez
is coming off a knockout win over Rodrigo Minotauro. Lesnar should
be wary about that. In his last performance, against Shane Carwin,
the champion ate a serious of strikes, but weathered the storm.
Such was the onslaught that many who watched the fight felt it
should have been stopped.
Refereeing
the bout, Josh Rosenthal explains why he didn’t pull the
fighters apart in the initial round, which gave Brock a chance
to turn things around and triumph with a submission hold.
“He
took some hard shots, but he was looking for a way out, blocking
some of the strikes. He tried to push Shane away and took some
more shots. I ordered him to fight, and that’s what he did.
He put his feet to Carwin’s hips and pushed him away. He
was functioning well, he heard and responded to my orders,”
said Rosenthal to ESPN’s MMA Live.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Aoki
Submits Kawajiri at Dream 15
by Brian
Knapp
Shinya
Aoki made it look easy.
Aoki
submitted Japanese rival Tatsuya Kawajiri with a first-round
Achilles lock, as he defended his Dream lightweight championship
in the Dream 15 headliner on Saturday at the Saitama Super Arena
in Saitama, Japan. Kawajiri met his demise 1:53 into the opening
stanza, as he succumbed to a submission for the first time in
almost five years.
The
27-year-old Aoki wasted no time in attacking Kawajiri’s
legs. Sensing he was in peril, Kawajiri struggled for more than
a minute to free himself, landing a pair of heel strikes to Aoki’s
face in desperation. It was all for naught. Aoki tilted his body
back, increased the torque on Kawajiri’s foot and left the
grimacing former Shooto welterweight titleholder no choice but
to surrender.
Aoki
-- who dropped a one-sided unanimous decision to Strikeforce
champion Gilbert Melendez in April -- still has never lost back-to-back
fights as a professional. The defeat snapped Kawajiri’s
four-fight winning streak.
JZ
Decisions Kikuno
In
the co-main event, American Top Team’s Gesias “JZ”
Cavalcante notched his first win in nearly three years, as he
took a split decision from highly regarded Deep lightweight champion
Katsunori Kikuno. Two of the three ringside judges sided with
the oft-injured Brazilian, who entered the non-title match reeling
from back-to-back losses to Aoki and Kawajiri.
A
contentious first round featured takedowns from Cavalcante and
kicks to the legs and body from Kikuno. Cavalcante pushed ahead
in round two, however, as he scored with a quick takedown, moved
seamlessly to mount and threatened the Japanese standout with
a rear-naked choke once Kikuno surrendered his back.
Cavalcante,
a two-time K-1 Hero’s tournament winner, kept a dominant
position throughout the decisive round, as he peppered Kikuno
with punches after abandoning the choke. Kikuno finally escaped
to his feet in the closing seconds, but by then, Cavalcante had
salted away the victory, his first since a September 2007 submission
against Andre Amado.
Mousasi,
Mizuno Advance in Grand Prix
Gegard
Mousasi needed a shade more than half a minute to dispatch UFC
veteran Jake O’Brien in the Dream light heavyweight grand
prix semi-finals.
O’Brien
-- who failed to meet his contracted weight for the match --
pressed for a takedown inside the first 10 seconds and backed
the stoic Mousasi into the ropes. In his haste, he left his neck
exposed to the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion,
and Mousasi wrenched a standing guillotine choke for the tapout
31 seconds into round one.
The
24-year-old Mousasi bounced back nicely from his April defeat
to the unbeaten Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, as he recorded
his 16th win in 17 fights. He advances to the grand prix final,
where he will meet Tatsuya Mizuno, a surprise submission winner
over Melvin Manhoef.
Mizuno
weathered the dynamite in Manhoef’s famed hands, even though
a right hook from the powerful Dutchman planted him on the seat
of his pants inside the first two minutes. He later scored with
a trip takedown from the clinch, passed Manhoef’s guard
with little resistance and threatened to finish the fight with
a keylock.
Ultimately,
the two men returned to their feet, where Mizuno swarmed Manhoef
with heavy punches and dropped the Strikeforce veteran in the
corner. From there, he set up the kimura and forced Manhoef to
yield 7:38 into the first period.
Omigawa
Taps Jung
World-ranked
featherweight Michihiro Omigawa submitted winless South Korean
export Young Sam Jung with a first-round guillotine choke, as
the 34-year-old Hidehiko Yoshida protégé posted
his fourth victory in as many appearances. The end came 7:31
into round one.
Omigawa
dominated the lopsided affair from start to finish. A finalist
in the 2009 Sengoku featherweight grand prix, he knocked down
Jung with an early flurry, bloodied him with ground-and-pound
and threatened with an arm-in guillotine choke. Jung survived
but only prolonged the inevitable.
After
a restart, Omigawa rattled his foe with a series of right and
left hooks, forcing the South Korean to pull guard. From there,
Omigawa pressed forward with another guillotine choke, moved
to full mount and coaxed the tapout.
Other
Bouts
Mitsuhiro Ishida def. Daiki Hata -- Unanimous Decision
Kazuhiro Nakamura def. Karl Amoussou -- Unanimous Decision
Source: Sherdog
|
Barnett
Coasts in Australia;
Parisyan Returns with Win
by Jordan
Breen
BRISBANE,
Australia -- Josh Barnett made it look easy down under, as he
pounded out mammoth Brazilian Geronimo "Mondragon"
dos Santos in the first round to cap Impact FC's debut card "The
Uprising" in front of a spotty but enthusiastic crowd at
the Brisbane Entertainment Center.
Barnett
got a takedown to full mount within 10 seconds of the opening
bell, and it looked like the bout wouldn't even see 30 seconds.
Though "Mondragon" made it back to his feet, Barnett
finished another takedown, again straight into full mount, and
exploited the Belem native's nascent ground skills by posturing
up and pounding away.
Dos
Santos turned away from Barnett, who hammered right hands into
the Brazilian's earhole. After a salvo of clean rights, referee
"Big" John McCarthy stopped in to halt the bout at
2:35 of the first frame. Dos Santos complained to McCarthy that
the bout was stopped too early. As Dos Santos reached his feet
in protest, the hulking Brazilian was rubber-legged, zig-zagging
across the cage.
"The
referee stopped the bout; that's the only reason I quit,"
said Barnett after the bout. "If he thought it was going
to get any better for him, he's wrong."
The
loss was Dos Santos' third in his last four, with that quartet
of bouts all coming in the last five months.
In
what was intended to be the evening's co-feature, Karo Parisyan
returned to action for the first time since January 2009 and
recorded a tougher-than-expected second-round submission win
over tougher-than-expected local Ben Mortimer in what was actually
the evening's first fight.
"This
was my first fight that I was away from my family, and I knew
they were freaking out at home," Parisyan told Sherdog.com.
"My sister was at home throwing up. I felt like it would
be better for them, and for me, if I fought first, and I could
get it over with so they could stop worrying."
"Karo
came to me, and said it was really important for him to be the
first fight of the night, so we made it happen," said Impact
FC promoter Tom Huggins.
For
the better part of two rounds, Parisyan's oft-praised judo dominated
proceedings, as he notched four throws that landed him firmly
in side control. Parisyan looked to have victory secured twice
in the first round, as he spun for far-side armbars from side
mount, but Mortimer escaped both, and even landed some sharp
right hands on Parisyan's face.
In
Parisyan's fourth trip to side control in the second round, Parisyan
threatened with a kimura that forced a scramble. In said scramble,
Parisyan rode Moritimer from the side and locked up a Caol Uno-style
rear-naked choke. After securing the choke, Parisyan then sunk
his hooks and coaxed the tap at 4:18 of the second round.
"I
need more time. My body looks like a third-grader body. But I'm
trying to get back," said Parisyan in self-critique.
Though
he recently started training with former Anderson Silva muay
Thai trainer Daniel Woirin, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou didn't need
his stand-up to quickly crush Brazilian Joaquim "Mamute"
Ferreira.
The
lone man to defeat heavyweight super-prospect Junior dos Santos,
"Mamute" found no such luck against Sokoudjou. After
desperately pulling a deep half guard to escape Sokoudjou's stand-up,
Ferreira's exposed head proved an easy target for "The African
Assassin," who exploded with a torrent of rights and lefts
on the helpless "Mamute." “Big” John McCarthy
stepped in just 80 seconds into the bout.
In
heavyweight action, frequent flyer mile-lover Jeff Monson wore
down Brazilian Ubiratan Lima Marinho to win a unanimous decision,
with three cards of 29-28.
The
6-foot-4, 250-pound Lima was problematic for Monson in round
one. Monson, who was originally set to face considerably smaller
UFC vet Brad Morris, was on the receiving end from liberal jabs
and kicks from Lima, and he couldn't buy a takedown.
In
round two, Monson finally slammed the Paraense down and was able
to start his usual top position grind. The grappling noticeably
slowed Lima, who started moving straight back, becoming easy
prey for Monson's short punches and takedowns. "The Snowman"
continued to pound away from top position in the third round
to seal the win.
Also
on the card, Australian-based American Brian Ebersole earned
a workmanlike unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-29) over former
UFC welterweight champion Carlos Newton.
The
first round was an awkward one, as Ebersole employed thigh-slapping
takedown fakes and ill-advised capoeira kicks against the Canadian.
However, in the last two rounds, Newton's on-going fitness issues
reared their ugly head again.
Newton,
who weighed in at 174 for the welterweight contest -- the latest
in a long line of recent weight overages -- had virtually no
offense in the last two rounds. Ebersole didn't finish a single
clean takedown in the fight, but his level changing kept Newton
off-balance and allowed the American to liberally land left-hand
leads outside and elbows and knees inside. For the last 10 minutes,
a stationary Newton simply served as target practice for Ebersole's
consistent, varied attack.
Thiago
"Minu" Meller, originally a striker by trade, showed
off his nasty guillotine against Aussie banger Jai Bradney. After
Bradney stuffed a Meller shot, "Minu" locked up an
arm-in guillotine and pushed his way to top position. Meller
passed to mount, tightened the choke and left Bradney limp and
lifeless before he could even tap in a mere 92 seconds.
"I
thought I was fine. I was looking for a half guard sweep. Then
I had a dream," Bradney laughed post-bout. "I woke
up, and John [McCarthy] was looking at me."
Brazilian
ex-pat Fabio "Galeb" Fenandes showed real slickness
for a 240-pound heavyweight, as the Mark Hunt training partner
tapped Kiwi Api Hemara with a rear-naked choke at 3:58 of the
first round.
Carlos
Newton understudy Tom Waters earned a second-round stoppage,
pounding out Jacob Mahony, who took the bout on 24-hours notice.
Source: Sherdog
|
The
Quest for Champions 2010 Martial Arts Tournament
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
St. Louis High School Gym
Featuring: Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling and Continuous
Sparring
For more info please contact Kempo Unlimted HI (kunltd@hotmail.com)
Source: Tommy Lam
|
MAD
SKILLS
99 Market Center, Mapunapuna
JULY 17 2010
DOORS OPEN AT 5:00 PM
NAZ
HARRISON 110 COLE DANT
DIESEL
VISTANTE 45 JACOB CARTER
JUNIOR
WALLER 50 JONAH CARTER
ROBERT
BANIS 155 ROBBIE OSTAVICH
MATT
AUSTIN 110 NELSON KUKAHIKO
GREG
FRANK 200 JEREMY NITTA
DAVE
CORDEIRO 200 TEAM CAT
CARLOS
MASUNGSONG 120 JED
KAINOA
ALVEIADO 100 BRENTON
CHAZ
KANAE 145 JAMES PURGANON
LAITA
TYNELL 215 HANS LEE
CODY
SANTOS 145 SHAWN MCKEWEON
JON
CABASAG 155 WALLA KAHOOKELE
BRYSON
DELACRUZ 220 SAM
RICKY
MURILLO 160 BRYSON OKADA
CLEM
HALLOWAY 145 RICKY PLUNKETT
KAHALE
DELIMA SHW KAWENA ADAMS
CODY
FAVINAL 130 ANTHONY COLORADO
DEREK
KAWALU 155 JOE GARCIA
RODNEY
BARONA 160 HAYSZON LINKEE
MICAH
IGE 160 ARNOLD PEREZ
JOEL
PAET 160 JESSIE PURGANON
CHEZ
CANTERE 145 KEVIN PURGANON
ERNEST
KAUMA 130 AARON PUAHALA
JON
LUCIUS 155 LAAKEA KAHOOKELE
ANDYMAR
RENON 230 OLO
Matches
and participants may be subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
STRIKEFORCE'S
ONE-NIGHT 135LB WOMEN'S TOURNEY
by Damon
Martin
The
search to find a top contender in the Strikeforce women's welterweight
(135-pound) division will start and finish with a one night,
four-woman tournament on Aug 13 in Phoenix.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker appeared on MMAWeekly.com Radio and said that
the company is planning two tournaments: one in the 135-pound
weight class and another in the 145-pound weight class, but the
lower weight division will go first.
"It
will be in August," Coker confirmed for the 135-pound tournament.
The
other big piece of news, beyond the victor earning a shot at
the winner of the upcoming bout between current champion Sarah
Kaufman and challenger Roxanne Modafferi, is the announcement
that it will be a one-night tournament. The top four contenders
in the division will be paired up and battle it out until only
one is left standing.
The
promotion has confirmed that the tournament will take place on
August 13 in Phoenix. Still no confirmation at this time of the
participants, but rumors have surfaced that Marloes Coenen and
Carina Damm will be involved as two of the fighters.
Another
fight announced for the August 13 card is former UFC fighter
Joe Riggs returning to action to face Louis Taylor in a 182lb
catchweight bout.
As
far as the women's tournament, one name that won't be included
is Tara LaRosa, once widely considered the top pound-for-pound
woman in the sport. Coker said Modafferi earned her title shot
by beating LaRosa at the recent Moosin MMA show in Massachusetts,
but they did not invite the Philadelphia based fighter to participate
in the tournament.
"I
don't think we've invited her to the tournament, no," said
Coker.
Kaufman
and Modafferi square off later this month at a Strikeforce Challengers
show in Washington. The winner will await the tournament champion
from the August event.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Shinya
Aoki Fighting Anything and Everything
By Daniel
Herbertson
Shinya Aoki has not allowed me to take a decent photo of him
in over a year. Every time I ask him for a photo he covers his
face. I have never had any problems with him, and we used to
have a good working relationship. It wasn't just me though, it
was all foreign press. I have often wondered what caused this
dramatic change in attitude.
Watching
the signing ceremony for his title fight against Tatsuya Kawajiri
at DREAM.15, I noticed that he was doing the same thing with
the Japanese media. On Thursday, a member of the Japanese press
commented on it.
"At
the signing ceremony you had the aura that it was difficult for
us to get close to you..."
Aoki
commented without looking up.
"Well
I don't feel any different now."
Such
responses have been typical to foreign media over the past few
months but it shocked the Japanese media. Someone else was brave
enough to ask a follow up question.
"Before a fight is there anything you always do to prepare?"
It
was a softball question but a roundabout way of trying to get
some insight into his mind. It's common within the Japanese media.
Aoki
responded. "I feel like I am fighting a lot of things. So,
I can focus on my fight."
The
Japanese press didn't respond to this answer, but a member of
the foreign press did.
"What
are those things that you are fighting in order to focus on this
fight?"
Aoki
laughed when the question came in English and was then translated.
He made eye contact for the first time and smiled, although not
at all warmly and replied, "Anything and everything. Including
things I am not able to share with you."
Following
that, he was given some softball questions regarding his condition
before the press breathed a collective sigh of relief as the
interview was concluded. The interview was less than two minutes
in total and the Japanese press simply didn't know how to respond
to Aoki.
Aoki
once had a reputation for being a clown and his open training
sessions were always something that the press looked forward
too. Most people who have been following the Japanese scene for
any length of time will remember his open training session with
Mazakazu Imanari where he dressed like a school girl and frolicked
through the gym for 15 minutes.
For
the first time at DREAM.15, Aoki did not have an open training
session and did not grant any interviews.
As
his fights got more serious and his ranking climbed, he has become
more serious. That is understandable but it doesn't really explain
the hostility. But now there is one other thing that I have noticed.
He had been fighting more and more foreign opponents.
Since
DREAM began in 2008, he has fought nine times against foreigners
and only four times against Japanese fighters. His comment that
Japan will become a colony of American MMA if he lost to Gilbert
Melendez showed an obvious national pride.
Is
this hostility towards me and the rest of the foreign press linked
to the fact he was fighting foreign fighters? Is he associating
foreigners in general with his foreign opponents?
His
comments regarding Japan as a colony of MMA created a lot of
backlash against Aoki. It motivated Hayato Sakurai to challenge
Nick Diaz. It motivated Keiichi Sasahara to bring back the cage.
It motivated Daisuke Sato to create the DREAM.14 video in the
theme of World War II. Japan started to turn on Aoki.
Now
Aoki has to defend his lightweight belt for the first time and
it is against a Japanese rival that has been looming in the background
for years. The pressure is visible on Aoki. He has had a deep
set scowl on his face ever since he started training for this
fight.
His
comment on Thursday, "I feel like I am fighting a lot of
things," was clearly directed at the media. Japanese people
are all around him. The Japanese media are all around him. The
Japanese media knew that they were the enemy.
"Anything
and everything. Including things I am not able to share with
you."
Now
Aoki has turned on them.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
The
media’s countdown for Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velaquez in
UFC
By Zach
Arnold
Dave Meltzer:
“I’m
really looking forward to that fight because that’s going
to be a hell of a fight. I see it as a long battle with both
guys having their ups and downs and some striking, a lot of wrestling,
a lot of ground ‘n pound… A lot of escapes. I just
see this is as, and it’s going to be a long fight most likely,
it may, anything can happen in MMA, it can end in one punch.
I kind of sense that this will be the classic heavyweight fight
of this generation in the sense that you know it’s not going
to be the Lesnar/Carwin fight, we knew it would be a quick fight.
And this one is going to be the opposite of Lesnar and Carwin
and you know it won’t be as dynamic, it won’t be as
explosive going in, I think it’s going to be more cautious
but I think that it’s going to be more dramatic and more
twists and turns and a lot more variety, it ain’t going
to be one guy just punching the other guy really hard and knocking
the hell out of him because I mean, it could happen, but I just
see it as more hurting each other and attrition, you know, so
of course we’re months away from that fight, many months
away.”
On
a lot of radio shows and web sites, I’ve noticed that Cain
has become the favorite pick of the pundits to win the fight.
Lutfi Sariahmed on Sherdog radio felt that since Velasquez and
Lesnar are similar in skills as far as wrestling and that Velasquez
has been more active recently as a wrestler, that it neutralizes
Lesnar’s big strength heading into the fight. Brock’s
performance against Carwin either impressed the pundits (like
me) or completely turned them off. Here’s a passage from
this week’s Pro MMA radio show talking about why the pundits
shouldn’t have soured on what Brock displayed during his
fight with Shane Carwin:
JESSE
HOLLAND: “What’s interesting about Lesnar’s performance
is that there’s really two ways to look at it. You can look
at it and be critical of it because of the first round and I
thought that it was the first round that he fought scared. And
I think if you want to criticize his chin, I don’t think
that’s a fair assessment because I believe part of his reason
for being turtled up and back-pedaling and landing on his butt
has more to do with fighting scared than getting rocked. If you
think about what happens to a fighter if they get rocked, Cheick
Kongo/Cain Velasquez comes to mind. When the legs give out and
they kind of do that zombie lurch forward, and that wasn’t
really Lesnar’s thing. And he did take, Fightmetric had
it at 60 punches to the head. If you can survive 60 punches to
the head in one round against Shane Carwin, who like you said
probably hits harder than anyone in the sport, you know that
says a lot about who you are as far as your will to survive.
Was it a little too easy for Shane? I think it was. I expected
him to dominate the stand-up. I didn’t expect Lesnar to
become a punching bag but to his credit you know he held on,
he persevered, and he came out and a lot of people are critical
of his performance because he was dominated so thoroughly in
the first round but you really can’t praise a guy like Minotauro
Nogueira who in the same position would have been hailed as you
know just another one of his amazing comebacks and but then slam
Lesnar for the same thing. He survived, he came back, and he
won in impressive fashion and I think it says a lot about who
he is as a champion.”
LARRY
PEPE: “I’m not going to slam the performance. I’m
impressed by the importance. I understand that he clearly does
not respond well to being hit from a standpoint of defensively,
he doesn’t have a great defense on the ground when he’s
on his back which is certainly common with most wrestlers. But
the other side of the coin was, my question with him was his
chin. Not having to respond to being hit, how does he respond
in terms of being able to take a punch and if there was ever
a test to being able to take a punch, I think getting hit 60
times in the head by Shane Carwin and not going out and really
impressively to me he comes out in the second round, Jesse, and
aside from the cuts and a little bit of swelling, as far as his
physical ability after taking that beating, a one minute rest
on the stool and he looked very fresh to me, so he answered that
question for me. I think it’s going to take an awful lot
to knock this guy out. I think him finishing the fight the way
he did with an arm triangle choke and really taking the risky
position of leaving a full mount to try to get that choke, he
had to have a lot of confidence in being able to get it and he
did and I think coming in if you’d have told someone that
you have Brock Lesnar by submission, they would have thought
it was time to get you to the loony bin and get you a little
bit of help. So I think that says a lot about how he’s evolving
as a fighter.”
There’s
your setup for a lengthy discussion about how a fight between
Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez will turn out when they fight
in the cage.
LARRY
PEPE: “What kind of chance do you give Cain? Because I don’t
give him much of a chance against Brock?”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “I give him 0% chance. What’s surprising me
is how many people now are saying that Cain is saying that guy.
Not just fans, but of course you know there’s a lot of educations
fans who just say anything depending on who their favorite fighter
is but a lot of fighters are coming up and stepping up and saying
you know what, Cain Velasquez is going to be the next champ.
He’s the guy. And what they like to do is they point to
the mistakes that Lesnar made in the Carwin fight and say, he’s
not going to get away with this stuff against Velasquez and they’re
predicting kind of a one-sided fight in favor of Cain and that
really just surprises me based on what we’ve seen out of
Velasquez in his time with the UFC and you know what? How Brock
is not just a lopsided favorite is something I don’t understand.”
LARRY
PEPE: “Well it’s intersecting to me because we hear
things and we see things and we hear that Cain is a phenomenal
wrestler. I have no doubt that he’s a great wrestler, none.
But to say that he’s a better wrestler than Brock based
on what we’ve seen? What we’ve seen in the cage is
that he had Brad Morris, Jake O’Brien, and Dennis Stojnic
as his first three opponents. O’brien was a 205er, later
had to go to down 205 and couldn’t hang in that division
and got cut. Brad Morris and Dennis Stojnic have long been cut.
Then he fought Cheick Kongo where every time Kongo hit him, he
went down and he used his wrestling against Cheick Kongo who,
oh by the way, had been dominated by a guy named Carmelo Marrero
because Marrero was a wrestler who also wasn’t a legitimate
Heavyweight and had to go down to 205. He beat Kongo because
he took Kongo down at will and you know Marrero, while a good
wrestler, was not regarded as the best wrestler in the Heavyweight
division. So, I don’t think taking Kongo down makes you
a phenomenal wrestler. Rothwell? Took him down a couple of times,
really overwhelmed him. It was really cardio vs. no cardio was
the storyline of the fight. And then he knocks out Nogueira.
So, I don’t know what we’ve seen in the cage that tells
you he’s able to going to take down a 270 pound Brock Lesnar
with no problem and Lesnar is not going to be able to take him
down. I think Lesnar is going to be able to take him down 7 out
of 10 shots because at the end of the day, I don’t think
Lesnar’s shot, I don’t think his takedown is stoppable
by anybody in the Heavyweight division more than half the time.
So and I think the other issue is, once Lesnar takes him down,
I don’t think it’s going to be too easy to get up and
once they’re on the ground as we saw with Mir and we saw
with Carwin, it’s hard to get out of that position against
Brock. So, I’m not exactly what people are looking at either,
Jesse.”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “I’m not sure because what surprises me you
want to put Cain on a pedestal for the wrestling accomplishments.
You can do that and how much of that comes from his time at AKA
with some other good wrestlers like Jon Fitch and I mean clearly
you know they hail everybody there, Koscheck, Fitch, and Velasquez
you know as wrestling deities and that’s fine but you know
Brock Lesnar was the 2000 NCAA Heavyweight champion, runner up
in 1999. He finished his collegiate career 106-5. I mean this
is a guy who is the best wrestler in the country for a couple
of years there and Cain Velaquez also is a very talented wrestler
but we’re talking about an NCAA two-time All-American who
never really placed higher than fourth and he had half the record
that Lesnar did, I think he was about 50-10 in college. So, to
call him a better wrestler or a more accomplished wrestler is
just not accurate. And if you want to say that everything else
is equal, let’s say that you know well you say collegiate
wrestling doesn’t translate into the Octagon because when
you’re in the Ocagon there’s a difference between mat
wrestling and cage wrestling, I’ll give you that, too. But
if we want to say that everything is equal, let’s say that
Velasquez and Lesnar enter the Octagon on equal playing field,
you still have to recognize that Lesnar outweighs him by 30 pounds
come fight night and that’s a very difficult thing to overcome.
I mean, you’re talking about grappling for position, staying
off of the cage, avoiding the takedown, and getting back to your
feet. I just, I really don’t see how Velasquez has any kind
of advantage.”
LARRY
PEPE: “Yeah, I agree with you, and to me it’s a similar
analysis you know when Brock fought Randy. I thought you know
granted Randy’s older and someone but to me the big issue
was OK, they’re both wrestlers, let’s assume that’s
even, Brock has a 50 to 55 pound weight advantage in that fight.
And not only does he have a weight advantage, Jesse, he’s
lightning fast at that weight. He may be faster than Cain just
from a starting position so not only is he much bigger, much
stronger, has the wrestling pedigree, he’s also faster and
I think the big issue with Brock for Cain will be again, who
do you bring in that’s going to simulate that size and speed
so you’re prepared? It’s going to be a lot easier for
Brock to find 240 pound really good high-level wrestlers, good
MMA guys than it’s going to be to duplicate Brock because
quite frankly, if there was someone who had that kind of raw
athleticism, size, wrestling pedigree, etc, they’d be fighting
Brock Lesnar. So I think he’s just a very, very difficult
to prepare for and I think power-wise, it’s no contest.
Brock is a much more powerful striker. I think Cain is the much
more technical striker, but if the fight with Carwin shows me
anything, Cain will have to hit Brock 100 times to put him out.”
JESSE
HOLLAND: “And that worries me, too. If you’re Cain
Velasquez and you’re watching this fight and you see a guy
in Shane Carwin who hits twice as hard as you have pretty much
five minutes to himself, it was almost as if Brock sat down and
said, I’ll give you five minutes to try to knock me out,
go crazy. If you’re Cain Velasquez and you’re watching
that, that has to bother you especially in light of your performance
against Ben Rothwell. Yes, the fight was stopped, TKO, but he
didn’t finish Rothwell by knockout, he was getting back
to his feet. Cheick Kongo was pounded on for 15 minutes. He was
never put away. I mean, if you want to talk about the Nogueira
stoppage as a testament to Cain’s power, you know we’re
talking about a guy I saw Minotauro take a full on head kick
from Mirko Cro Cop in PRIDE right to the face, right to the jaw,
and he wasn’t put out. And he got dropped on his head by
Bob Sapp who powerbombed him and he was not knocked out. So,
if you want to tell me that knocking out a guy who in fight years
is probably 50 years old and has nothing left, if that’s
what going to bring into the fight against Brock Lesnar, I’d
be very concerned.”
LARRY
PEPE: “Yeah. To me, the only path to victory that Cain has
is to get Brock down, use a lot of cardio, outpoint him, but
here’s the problem: That means that the fight, I don’t
see how Cain finishes Brock, which means assuming that the fight
goes 25 minutes, you have to outpoint him for 25 minutes. He
probably has to get you down in a disadvantageous position or
land one big blow and the fight’s over. So, that’s
why for me Brock’s a huge favorite.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Fraternizing,
Giant Puddle Dominate Impact FC Presser
by Jordan
Breen
BRISBANE, Australia -- What is the point of a press conference
that no one wants to be at? For upstart Impact FC, it appears
to be robust if unintentional entertainment.
The
fledgling promotion will host its first card Saturday night in
Brisbane, Australia, headlined by a meeting between former UFC
champion Josh Barnett and Brazilian brawler Geronimo "Mondragon"
dos Santos. Thursday, it welcomed the local media to Brisbane
hotel Urban for a perfunctory press junket that quickly morphed
into a disjointed, bizarre but highly amusing gathering.
The
presser was set for an 11 a.m. start in a function space called
The Loft, an art deco-inspired room far more apt for an afterparty
than a presser despite a quaint 10th- floor view of Brisbane's
city skyline. However, the early minutes of the meeting were
dominated by promoter Thomas Huggins and the aforementioned Barnett
regaling the room with peripheral MMA tales.
Topics
du jour: Rafeal "Earthquake" Carino, a Brazilian goliath
of the NHB era; UFC 5 veteran Andy Anderson's drinking prowess
and topless steakhouses; Huggins' decade-old conversation with
John Lewis as to how to best fight a mummy, werewolf and Frankenstein;
and Barnett's insistence that fellow fighter Karo Parisyan play
up Armenian stereotypes for his ring entrance, urging him to
support "that real Glendale look."
It
may seem like negligible icebreaking banter, but it gets to a
realer truth: Huggins' real passion is in this kind of fraternizing.
After the presser officially "started" at 11:17 a.m.,
Huggins spent most of the 50-some-minute junket with his arms
folded over his chest, seemingly like he would rather be anywhere
else, even outright admitting his distaste for "media stuff."
The
previous day, in a hotel hallway, he told me, "There's a
presser tomorrow, for the local media. I don't really want to
do it, but you know. I just care about my fights." When
he said "my fights," he rubbed his hands together like
a zealous child or mad scientist, full of genuine enthusiasm.
Three
local media members rattled off perfunctory questions for all
the main card fighters. As usual, Barnett charmed, despite boredly
picking at his gray Pancrase wristband throughout. Dos Santos
stretched his gargantuan blue Asics sneakers from under the dais
halfway across the floor, staring blankly at them. Though Barnett
and Dos Santos did talk relevant shop -- Barnett said he’s
training at local Integrated Martial Arts, home of the likes
of Kyle Noke and Adrian Pang among others, while "Mondragon"
noted this was his first fight in which he got his hulking frame
under 265 pounds -- the real meat of the event was on the periphery.
"How
is it that you got all these great fighters together?" a
local reporter asked Huggins.
"He
has the money," shouted a deadpan Parisyan from the audience.
Parisyan
was originally set to take on tough Brazilian Luis "Besouro"
Dutra, who was forced off the card due to separating his bicep.
The UFC veteran will now face local Ben Mortimer. However, while
on the dais, most of his squaring off came with Barnett, who
was perhaps the most active reporter at the event, accounting
for what seemed like half of the questions posed to fighters.
"Have
you been doing any randori to prepare? Working on your reaps?
You ever throw on the old do-gi?" Barnett chided.
The
event at this point had been firmly hijacked by the sideline
hijinks. Mortimer also knocked over a pitcher of water, unleashing
a massive puddle across the floor that was never cleaned up and
slowly but silently spread over the room during the presser.
Meanwhile,
the card's Brazilian contingent -- Dos Santos, Urbitran "Birao"
Lima Mariho, Thiago "Minu" Meller and Joaquim "Mamute"
Ferreira -- all struck up conversations in Portuguese with fluent
cutman Jacob "Stitch" Duran, in town to work Barnett's
corner. As fighters blandly droned into microphones, the Brazilians
all posed for pictures with "Stitch," who seemed like
a superstar to them.
The
puddle of water continued to hungrily devour the tile floor.
The
Australian media were keen to ask about sporting crossover: Former
UFC champion Carlos Newton was asked about the recent State of
Origin, the nation's most beloved rugby league competition, while
Ferreira was asked why Brazil's national side lost at the World
Cup.
"DUNGA!"
Ferreira exploded before his manager and translator Tiago Okamura
even finished translating the question. "Dunga took the
team down!" he added, giving the former Brazilian coach
a literal thumbs down. As the soccer conversation went on, an
anxious Parisyan drummed loudly on his thighs before standing
up and saying quietly, "I can't sit down, man."
When
Ferreira's opponent, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, spoke, it was
again Barnett who took the media reins.
"Your
background is in judo, but you prefer to use your muay Thai in
fights," Barnett earnestly inquired. "Why do you not
use the skills you've worked on your whole life?"
"Well,
with fighters like Arona or Nogueira, if I throw them, they'll
submit me. That's why I focus on striking, what I love to do,"
Sokoudjou explained. "With judo, you just throw, there's
not so much ground game."
"Not
exactly, but whatever," the roaming Parisyan interjected
from the back of the room. The room fell silent. With no response,
Parisyan rolled his eyes to discredit the Cameroonian, whom he
actually beat in judo competition nearly a decade ago. Parisyan
continued his stroll around the room before settling on the couch
next to me.
"What
are you writing?" he asked.
"I'm
writing about you walking around, rolling your eyes," I
smiled.
"What?
Really?" he said. "I didn't do anything wrong, did
I?" He seemed genuinely concerned by the prospect, as well
as the thought that my hair could "poke his eye out."
Huggins
delivered the news that the hand injury of Felise Leniu and illness
of Brad Morris left Bira Lima and Jeff Monson without opponents,
and that they would now fight each other. However, the announcement
seemed to fall on deaf ears: The noon hour sun was glaring through
the massive, uncovered windows, and the room was growing restless.
There were six cell phone rings. Sokoudjou left and re-entered
the room no less than five times in a 15-minute span. The Brazilians
took 56 photo albums’ worth of pictures. The puddle Ben
Mortimer authored earlier had now spanned the entire floor under
the table. Brazilian manager Tiago Okamura impatiently tapped
his foot, waiting for the event to end, quietly splashing water
under his shoe.
"It's
attacking us!" someone in the front row of the audience
seats jokingly gasped as the puddle surged toward them.
One
can only hope Saturday night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre
is as action-packed.
Source: Sherdog
|
Gegard
Mousasi: I Didn't Know a Lot About Takedowns
By Daniel
Herbertson
Gegard Mousasi racked up 15 consecutive victories before running
into Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal in April. In that fight,
Mousasi was taken down repeatedly and stuck under a smothering
top game that sapped him of any offense. He lost his Strikeforce
belt and it looked like we found Mousasi's weakness.
At
DREAM.15 on July 10, Mousasi will face Jake O'Brien in a four-man
tournament for the DREAM light heavyweight title. O'Brien is
a wrestler who is famous for a smothering top game that saps
you of any offense.
The
former Strikeforce and DREAM champion spoke to the press on Thursday
about an opponent made to beat him, fighting his weaknesses and
his goals for more belts.
PRESS:
You fight in two days. How do you feel now?
Gegard
Mousasi: I feel very good, I'm very confident. I think in this
fight I'm going to fight very impressively. I want to give a
good performance, but it's going to be a very good fight.
What is your impression of Jake O'Brien?
He
is a very good wrestler and his losses are only to the very best
fighters in the world so I'm taking him very seriously and as
a lot of Americans, he is cutting a lot of weight so on fight
night he will be much heavier. He has good wrestling but being
aggressive I'm going to take the advantage away from him.
You
have been saying that you will fight aggressively. Do you think
that the last Strikeforce fight [against Muhammed Lawal] affected
your fight style? Do you think this will impact your fight?
Yes,
definitely. I think I learned a lot from the last fight. When
you lose, you learn a lot more. I think last time I was lacking
a lot of aggressiveness and making it my fight. I was too patient.
For this fight, I want to be the one who is going to make the
fight. I'm going to bring the fight to him. That's why I'm changing
my fighting style, especially against wrestlers.
After
the last fight, have you done anything new in your training?
Yes,
I've been wrestling. Specifically wrestling. I've been training
with Golden Glory fighters for my standup and Alistair [Overeem]
for my MMA. As always I have been training with my friends who
continue to help me. I have changed a lot of things and hopefully
I will be able to show that in the fight.
Is
there anyone specific that you brought in for your wrestling?
I
did specific wrestling in a wrestling gym. I've been working
on wrestling aside from MMA. That is something that I wasn't
doing in the past so I'm getting more confident in my wrestling.
I learned that I didn't know a lot about takedowns, it's a really
big gap and I'm catching up and learning a lot. I'm confident
in my takedown defense this time a lot more than in my last fight.
When
you win Saturday's fight, the next fight would be the DREAM light
heavyweight championship. You would have held two DREAM belts
in different weight classes. How strongly would you like to get
the belt in a different weight class?
It's
always been a goal of mine to get the belt in different weight
classes. One day heavyweight, but it's too soon for that. To
win two belts in DREAM it's going to be like what Dan Henderson
did in PRIDE. I think it would be a very big accomplishment to
win two belts and it's definitely a goal of mine. I want to make
a statement with this fight, I want to convince people that I
really want the belt.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Will
Trainer's Legal Woes Delay Mayweather-Pacquiao?
By Lem Satterfield
Although Manny Pacquiao has agreed in principle to put his WBO
welterweight (147 pounds) belt on the line against Floyd Mayweather,
giving his unbeaten counterpart until mid-July sign the contract,
Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, isn't sure that Mayweather's final
decision will be that simple.
Because
if Mayweather agrees to face Pacquiao on the proposed date of
Nov. 13, there is a chance that he would have to do so without
his uncle and longtime trainer, Roger Mayweather, in his corner.
Roger
Mayweather goes to trial on Aug. 2 in the Clark County District
Court in Nevada for allegedly choking and assaulting female boxer
Melissa St. Vil while training her nearly a year ago in Las Vegas.
He could face up to 10 years in prison, if convicted.
"I'm
just saying that I would think that a lot of the problem is Roger's
status. I don't know for sure, and nobody's told me this,"
said Arum. "But I would believe that he's concerned about
Roger's availability and what Roger's status would be."
Representatives
from Mayweather's camp could not be reached.
The
agreement between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions reportedly
contains provisions for random drug-testing and a tentative agreement
on a 50-50 split of the purse.
Arum
declined to discuss purse-split negotiations, but he told the
Los Angeles Times that Pacquiao has agreed to submit to random
pre-fight blood tests up to 14 days before a fight with Mayweather.
"We
don't care who's doing the test. They [United States Anti-Doping
Agency] stopped taking blood 18 days before [Floyd Mayweather-Shane
Mosley], so that shows they can do it and be fine," Arum
told the Los Angeles Times.
"If
there's information that emerges in the final 14 days, we can
go to the [Nevada State Athletic] Commission and ask for more
tests," said Arum. "We can work it out. No one's looking
to pull any fast ones."
If
Mayweather-Pacquiao is not made for the fall, "we would
go ahead and try to make a fight maybe in May" against Mayweather,
Arum said.
In
the meantime, Arum said he would try to put Pacquiao in against
either Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto, the latter being a
rematch of Pacquiao's 12th-round knockout for the WBO welterweight
(147 pounds) title last November.
"I
know that Manny would have a problem fighting if [trainer] Freddie
Roach were not available, so we're just waiting to see,"
said Arum. "That would be up to Floyd whether he wants to
do the fight this year or next year."
Source: AOL/Fanhouse
|
Fistic
Medicine: Staph Infection
by Matt Pitt
The 911 call went out as a possible knee injury. When paramedics
arrived the boy’s heart had stopped beating. It happened
that fast. Hours of work in the ER didn’t revive him. It
was like a bomb going off: sudden, violent and, worst of all,
inexplicable. Two days later the LA County Coroner had the answer:
staph infection.
Staphylococcus
aureus (S. aureus) is a bacteria with a beautiful name -- literally
“golden.” Studies show that 80 percent of Americans
are colonized with S. aureus: The bacteria lives harmlessly on
the skin or within the nares or rectum. If the bacteria breaches
the body's defense, infection occurs: Fighters face the risk
of simple boils, muscle infections, joint destruction. Fortunately,
in the age of antibiotics, treating a healthy person with a simple
S. aureus infection is relatively trivial. A fighter who hides
a simple Staph infection -- even a large, suppurative one --
is exposing his opponent to a very small danger.
Unfortunately,
the antibiotics that have worked so well for so long against
S. aureus infection have lost their efficacy. The “golden”
bacteria is turning ugly. At first Methicillin Resistant Staph
Aureus (MRSA) evolved, and more recently the very concerning
multi-drug resistant Vancomycin Resistant Staph Aureus (VRSA).
What killed the young man in my ER, and what will kill more than
20,000 Americans this year -- almost double AIDS -- was MRSA.
The people at highest risk for acquiring MRSA are the chronically
ill, prisoners, IV drug users and … athletes.
Especially
grapplers.
S.
aureus is communicated from one host to another through close
contact: The prolonged skin-on-skin contact and skin tearing,
shearing forces of contact sports make them high risk. A recent
Nebraska study showed that in 2006, five per 10,000 football
players, and 19.6 per 10,000 wrestlers, were colonized with MRSA.
A year later the numbers had jumped to 25 per 10,000 and 60.1
per 10,000 respectively!
The
absolute number is notable, but the jump in just one year is
particularly disturbing. Extrapolating the Nebraska numbers to
the present day arrives at estimates that 4-5 percent of high
school wrestlers in America bear on their body bacteria that
may maim or kill them. Or -- it has to be acknowledged -- an
opponent.
If
MRSA is potentially quite dangerous, and simple S. aureus easily
managed, how does one tell them apart? The answer is, for an
athlete it is impossible. Wound cultures or nasal swabs have
to be taken and grown on antibiotic impregnated culture mediums
-- a slow, expensive process. This puts an entire generation
of grapplers at risk; they have developed understandably casual
attitudes towards S. aureus but are now facing a growing epidemic
of much more dangerous MRSA.
The
potential for real danger to athletes has not gone unnoticed.
Recent guidelines from National Athletic Trainers' Association
outlines mechanisms to stop the transmission on S. aureus. Personal
equipment -- razors, headgear, towels -- should not be shared.
Training equipment should be disinfected regularly: A good gym
should smell of bleach. Showering before training decreases total
bacterial burden. Avoiding shaving immediately before competition
prevents microscopic abrasions that open the skin to bacterial
invasion. Athletes should check themselves and each other for
suspicious skin lesions: pimples, sores, boils, red patches of
skin.
This
last precaution is the most vital and almost certainly the most
difficult to promote. Competitive athletes are loath to voluntarily
pull themselves from competition. Withdrawing from training is
anathema to the ethos most sports teams promote. The issue is
compounded by the very high recovery ratio: the proportion of
athletes who contract a non-specific Staph infection and heal
easily versus the relatively few who are badly harmed. These
sorts of diseases are the most difficult for public health efforts
to contain.
An
effective system for professional fighting can be designed. State
athletic commissions could require fighters to be tested for
MRSA colonization each year, doctors would find and culture skin
sores three days before competition to differentiate MRSA from
simple S. aureus and ringside physicians would inspect each fighter
the day of the fight and be empowered to exclude them from competition.
Such a system would be expensive and run the perhaps intolerable
risk of last-minute fight cancellations; it has not been adopted.
There is no sign it will be.
There
is hope. In time MRSA, and eventually the very difficult to treat
VRSA, will become as ubiquitous as simple S. aureus -- 30 percent
of the U.S. population will be colonized. Virtually every grappler
will have it. Many of the people grapplers are in close contact
with -- their children and love ones -- will suffer S. aureus-related
diseases. When that time comes, the number of infections will
be much higher and the recovery ratio will be much lower. At
that point athletes, trainers, promoters and doctors will take
the disease -- and it’s prevention -- quite quite seriously.
Whenever
that time comes, some will hail it as a bold step advancing fighter
safety. And some who have survived severe Staph infections --
and the survivors of those did not -- will mourn that it came
too late.
Matt
Pitt is a physician with degrees in biophysics and medicine.
He is board-certified in emergency medicine and has post-graduate
training in head injuries and multi-system trauma. To ask a question
that could be answered in a future article, e-mail him at mpitt@sherdog.com.
Source: Sherdog
|
Maurício
Shogun
By Guilherme Cruz
Pride’ GP champion on 2005, Maurício Shogun had a
great comeback after twoo knee surgeries and conquest UFC’s
belt, but the southern guy was forced to take some time off again
and went through another knee surgery. Yet on the United States,
where he did his last surgery and begun his physiotherapy, Shogun
talked to TATAME about his injury, the comeback for the trainings
and the possibility of a provisional belt, a proposal presented
by Lyoto Machida’s manager. “As far as I’m concerned,
it won’t happen… It’s Lyoto’s interest, only
because you wish it, it doesn’t mean you’ll have it,
but for me, it doesn’t change a thing”.
You went under another knee surgery because of an injury on the
fight against Lyoto Machida. How is your recovery going on the
United States?
It’s everything fine now. I had the surgery a month ago,
and I’m cool, I can walk already. I’m doing a fitness
work and physiotherapy and, next month, I’ll be back to
my trainings and I’ll strengthen my leg so I can come back
next year, probably in January, if everything works out fine.
How are you dealing with it? Playing a lot of videogame?
I’m doing my physiotherapy work once a day and then I go
home and play videogame (laughs), but I’m fine, thanks God.
I’m very glad and thrilled and I hope I can come back soon.
That’s my only goal now. I’ll be 100% prepared for
my next fight.
Before people were speculating about a bout between you and Rashad
Evans, but due to your knee injury, it had to be postponed. It
is possible that UFC makes a provisional belt to be disputed
while you are not 100% recovered. What do you think of it?
Man, I don’t know. Last week I had a meeting with them Dana
White and (Lorenzo) Fertitta and nobody said anything about an
interim title or anything like that, so I’ll fight with
my usual belt on my next bout.
Who said it was Lyoto Machida’s manager, who maybe wanted
to match a bout between Lyoto and Rashad Evens for a provisional
belt so that, in the future, he would dispute the belt with you…
Well,
I don’t know any of it. As far as I’m concerned, it
won’t happen… I believe he’s trying it on the
behalf of his athlete, but for what I know I’ll fight with
my belt in hands. That’s the only think I’m positive
about. It’s Lyoto’s interest, only because you wish
it, it doesn’t mean you’ll have it, but for me, it
doesn’t change a thing. My belt is the official, and if
they want to fight for an interim belt before, it doesn’t
change a thing for me.
Source: Tatame
|
Shane
Carwin's conditioning from a doctor's POV
By Dr. John Ventrudo
There
have been some questions of Shane Carwins’ conditioning
after his submission loss to Brock Lesnar at UFC 116. His post
fight description was “I seized up”. In the medical
world, this situation can be referred to as lactic acidosis which
is related to improper breathing (hyperventilation, or cutting
weight too fast). Probably the most famous case of this was the
marathon runner that collapsed 20 yards before the finish line
a few years ago. Nonetheless, in his pro fight career none of
his fights have continued past the first round, so this could
support the theory of questioning his conditioning and be an
excuse used by the fighter for a poor performance.
However,
Shane Carwin is a competitor and understands the opportunity
this fight provided, in short, I doubt conditioning was the issue.
This brings us to the possible situation of “overtraining”
where nutrition and demands placed on the body are not equal.
I would like to discuss reasonable factors that CAN lead to a
body seizing up after such intense physical exertion, as Mr.
Carwin claims, which are independent of pure conditioning. I
would hope that Mr Carwin has a licensed nutrionist on his staff
considering the stakes. If not, shame on him because nutrition
is as important as take down defense. If your body can’t
sustain for 5 rounds, how can you expect to compete? You can’t
rely on the first round knock out every time.
Nutrition
consists of many factors, age, weight, activity, body style,
BMI (body mass index) all which constitute metabolism. Some factors
are readily monitored, some not. There are many, many factors
in a nutrition plan and it is always best to have a consultation
with a professional. But a few rules of thumb are; Protein is
referenced in a range; figure 1.5 grams of protein per your weight
in kilograms when trying to increase mass or conditioning. The
trace elements, potassium, magnesium, etc which are extracted
from green leafy vegetables and fruits are much more difficult
to monitor but are very important to muscle and blood vessel
function. When trace elements are low we develop cramping, fatigue
and decreased energy. Recommended doses are clearly posted on
nutrition.gov (dietary fact sheet) website and should not be
exceeded. Moreover, if Mr Carwin cut weight improperly, such
as losing 20lbs the day prior to a fight., all the proper dieting
the weeks before was a waste of time because the water you lost
had all the nutrients and electrolytes with it.
In
this particular situation, excluding improper nutrition, a visit
to the doctor would be needed. There are a few sinister things
that need to be ruled out before further training. A basic cardiac
work up and diabetes check would be required. Fatigue, weakness
and muscle cramps are an early sign of adult diabetes. After
these serious conditions are ruled out we must revisit the calorie
intake and work out regiment and fine tune it.
John
Ventrudo, M.D. completed a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Montefiore
Medical Center. He furthered his training at NYU completing a
subspecialty Fellowship in Pain Management, Electrodiagnostics
and Musculoskeletal Medicine. He is the Medical Director at NY
Maritime College for Varsity Sports, a member of American top
Team NY Mixed Martial Arts and registered with NY Metro Boxing
Association as a ringside physician.
Source: MMA Ratings
|
Fedor:
“I don't consider myself the best”
By Guilherme Cruz
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
|
UFC
REACHES SETTLEMENTS WITH SEVERAL PIRACY SUITS
The UFC has long stood for the battle against piracy of their
pay-per-view broadcasts. On Thursday the promotion announced
that they have settled confidential settlements with over 500
businesses and individuals as a result of the illegal broadcasts.
According
to press release by the UFC, the settlements are only part of
the company's continued work to stop piracy, and they will continue
to monitor the situation with Federal and State authorities.
“We
are committed to standing toe-to-toe with anyone trying to illegally
broadcast or stream UFC events,” said UFC President Dana
White. “Today’s announcement further drives home the
fact that we are fully prepared to pursue any business or individual
that steals our programming.”
The
company has made no secret in the past that they would pursue
legal action against anyone providing an illegal broadcast of
their shows, targeting several internet streaming sites that
attempted to continue the practice.
The
UFC currently has partners in place for internet broadcasts of
their pay-per-views, including Yahoo.com, but illegal streams
have continued to be a thorn in the side of the MMA promotion.
The
announcement on Thursday is just another step in their mission
to shut down these illegal operations, and stop piracy.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
So
What Ever Became of Fedor Emelianenko's WAMMA Belt, Anyway?
By Ben
Fowlkes
It's the question that few of us have bothered to ask, probably
because even fewer of us bothered to care, but what's the status
of Fedor Emelianenko's WAMMA heavyweight title after his submission
loss to Fabricio Werdum?
I
know, I know. Somehow, what with Brock Lesnar winning a dramatic
comeback victory and the heavyweight ranks getting shaken up
like a snow globe in the hands of a petulant child over the last
few weeks, it doesn't seem all that important.
That
said, is Werdum now the WAMMA champ? Did Fedor FedEx him the
belt? And if so, will he wear it with the same sense of pride
that Fedor did? I did a little asking around in order to find
answers to these and other almost relevant questions, and what
I discovered was that the fans aren't the only ones who haven't
given the issue much thought.
When
questioned by Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour" before
the Strikeforce bout, M-1 Global's Evgeni Kogan defended the
WAMMA strap thusly:
"What it means, and what it means for us, is the idea that
anyone can fight anyone. ...Eventually everyone is going to fight
everyone else. It's going to have to happen. It's inevitable.
That's what the WAMMA belt stands for. It stands for the hope
for the future that the best people in the world will meet the
best people in the world without organizations, without contracts,
without all this stuff getting in the way. That's why we hold
the WAMMA belt in such importance. ... It stands for an idea.
Not only for Fedor but for us."
When
Helwnai pressed Kogan on whether the belt would be up for grabs
when Emelianenko met Werdum, Kogan responded, "Good question.
I believe that it would be."
Now,
however, it's a different story.
"I
was mistaken," Kogan told me via email this week. "The
WAMMA belt was not on the line in the June 26 bout."
In
other words, Werdum can stop waiting around by the mailbox for
that belt to show up.
But
what does the future hold for this symbolic title? Will it forever
remain Fedor's, no matter how many fights he may lose? Or will
the belt that's supposed to stand for openness and purity of
competition in MMA eventually get put on the line in an actual
fight?
When
I put that question to Kogan, he answered that he believed the
belt would ultimately be put up for grabs again, but as for when
and where, Kogan said, "I'd put this question to WAMMA,
I think it's more their territory."
Fair
enough. Only no one seems to know if WAMMA is even still an operating
entity.
The
website doesn't appear as though it's been updated since November
of 2009, former rankings committee members (such as myself and
a bunch of other people) haven't received any remotely recent
requests for input on fighter rankings, and emails to WAMMA officials
about whether the organization still exists have thus far gone
unanswered. In fact, a PR contact who used to work for WAMMA
told me he hasn't been able to get an answer to any emails or
phone calls to his former bosses in over six months.
It's
sure starting to seem like WAMMA has just up and quit without
telling anyone. Guess that means there's no one to make Fedor
give up that belt if he doesn't feel like it.
But
then again – and maybe (probably) I'm the only one who even
cares enough to mention it – if this belt really is supposed
to be a symbol of open competition beyond the boundaries of organizations
and restrictive contracts, shouldn't it be a piece of hardware
that other fighters get to compete for?
And
if it's going to stand for the great dream of a unified MMA landscape,
shouldn't the belt's journey begin with a trip to Fabricio Werdum's
house?
Source: MMA Fighting
|
5
Fighters Who Branded Themselves
by Jake
Rossen
The irony of Fedor Emelianenko’s longtime (and now rapidly
dissolving) contract controversies -- huge salaries, promoter
concessions, renegotiating -- is that his status as a box office
attraction never really warranted it.
When
Emelianenko was given the broadest possible platform to perform
in a November 2009 CBS fight with Brett Rogers, it became only
the eighth most-viewed MMA fight in North America. When M-1 stuck
a hose in Affliction’s money tank and siphoned millions,
fights against Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski drew only a fraction
of UFC events headlined by comparative non-names. He has never
participated in any of the most-watched fights in Japan, even
though he spent nearly a decade there.
Promoters
bought the cachet of owning the world’s best fighter, yet
no one bothered to stop and think whether that would mean profitability.
Fedor’s management built MMA’s only brand that mirrored
boxing’s model: it was the fighter, not the acronym, that
mattered.
There
have been very few athletes in the sport that don’t need
a recognizable promotional umbrella and whose names alone are
good enough to attract a paying audience. (A promoter’s
nightmare: a self-sufficient athlete who can generate his own
income.) Five guys who never got Emelianenko’s money but
probably deserved to:
Kimbo
Slice: Slice’s story has been exhausted in media, but there
has been no other combat sports attraction that’s used YouTube
as a promotional entity. When Slice graduated to CBS, his fight
with James Thompson became the most-viewed bout to date in the
States with over seven million viewers. None of them watched
because EliteXC endorsed it: they watched because Slice has an
inexplicable appeal that functions under any circumstances. Even
wi-fi.
Tito
Ortiz: A hypothetical, but one I’m confident in: like Slice,
Ortiz possesses a charisma that heightens audience arousal. (Straight
face, please. Thank you.) If he had made good on his threats
to port himself over to Strikeforce during a break in his UFC
deal, he would have been a legitimate non-UFC attraction and
one that company would have very little hope of counter-programming.
Brock
Lesnar: Granted, Lesnar didn’t draw anything but groans
when he fought Min-Soo Kim in his 2007 debut at a K-1/EliteXC
event in Los Angeles. But Lesnar was also curiously reserved
and largely ignored by a media that had no idea whether this
was a one-off or a real career choice: today’s Brock is
an antagonist that could drum up business regardless of whether
it was in the UFC, ABC, or the BBC.
Bob
Sapp: Sapp had the massive K-1 engine running his career for
years in Japan, but his audience latched onto the persona he
perpetuated with interest far beyond that promotion’s ability
to generate. He remains the most-merchandised, most-adored, and
most-watched fighter in the history of the sport: 54 million
Japanese watched him bully Akebono in 2003, over twice as many
viewers as the U.S. had for this year’s “American Idol”
finale.
Georges
St. Pierre: St. Pierre is still developing as both an athlete
and an attraction, but he is essentially what people assume Emelianenko
to be: a dangerous martial artist who attracts attention based
on his flawless results. He boasts two of the highest-profile
endorsements in the sport -- Gatorade and Under Armor -- and
represents the next level of athletic achievement: a contender
in corporate America.
Source: Sherdog
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RAFAEL
"SAPO" NATAL SIGNS 4-FIGHT DEAL WITH UFC
by Damon
Martin
Rafael "Sapo" Natal, a student and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
black belt under Renzo Gracie, has signed a four fight deal to
compete in the UFC, and is expected to make his debut at UFC
119 in Indianapolis.
The
signing and Natal's debut date were confirmed to MMAWeekly.com
by sources close to the fighter. The news was originally reported
by RenzoGracie.com on Thursday.
Natal
(12-2) comes to the UFC fresh off a win over former middleweight
title contender Travis Lutter at the Moosin MMA show in May.
The Gracie trained Brazilian Jij-Jitsu black belt knocked Lutter
out in the first round of their middleweight match-up.
Fluent
in Capoeira as well, Natal has also picked up a win over former
UFC fighter Danillo Villefort during a fight the two had in 2006.
Natal
is the latest product out of the Renzo Gracie Academy to make
his way to the UFC and joins his teacher, as well as other prized
students such as Ricardo Almeida and Matt Serra on the roster.
MMAWeekly.com
will have more information about Natal's debut opponent as it
becomes available.
Source: MMA Weekly
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K-1
Legend Mark Hunt Will Meet Newcomer Sean McCorkle at UFC 119
By Matt
Erickson
A report surfaced today that the UFC has signed two new heavyweights
to meet at UFC 119, and MMA Fighting has confirmed from a source
close to the organization that Sean McCorkle and Pride and K-1
veteran Mark Hunt will fight in Indianapolis.
Though
UFC 119 has not yet been officially announced, it is expected
to take place at Conseco Fieldhouse, home of the NBA's Indiana
Pacers, on Sept. 25. The Hunt-McCorkle bout is slated for the
preliminary card, according to the source.
Share5
Hunt, a kickboxing legend whose brightest moment was winning
the K-1 World Grand Prix in 2001, has lost his last five MMA
fights. Those losses have come against some elite-level competition
– submission losses to Josh Barnett and Fedor Emelianenko
in Pride in 2006; a submission loss to Strikeforce heavyweight
champion Alistair Overeem at Dream 5 in 2008; a knockout loss
in just 18 seconds to Melvin Manhoef at K-1 and Dream's Dynamite
2008; and a submission loss to Gegard Mousasi at Dream 9 in May
2009.
Hunt
did have a five-fight winning streak in Pride between 2004-06,
including wins over Wanderlei Silva and Mirko "Cro Cop"
Filipovic, both by split decision. Hunt joining the UFC would
appear to open up the possibility for rematches with both fighters
down the road.
The
Indiana-based McCorkle is unbeaten and will make his major-promotion
debut in front of his home fans. His wins have all come in Indianapolis,
predominantly for the Legends of Fighting Championship promotion.
And once again, he won't have to travel far. UFC 119 will be
the promotion's debut in Indiana.
Other
rumored bouts for UFC 119 include Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham,
Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens and Indianapolis-based heavyweight
Matt Mitrione vs. Joey Beltran.
Source: MMA Fighting
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Galaxy
MMA Bad Blood
Friday, August 6, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
Lightweight Grand Prix Championship Semi-Final Matches
Harris
Sarmiento (808 Top Team) VS. Jose Salgado (Roy Nelson's Gym;
The Country Club)
Kris
Kyle (808 Top Team) VS. Steve Gable (Gracie Barra)
Lightweight
Grand Prix Alternate Matches
Clay
Lewis Jr. (4WRD Fitness) VS. Jenzen Espanto (Combat 50)
Kyle
Kaahanui (Bulls Pen) VS. Chris Yee (Team Quest)
Grudge
Match
170
Pound Bout: Dirty Curty (Team Submit)VS. Brennan Kamaka (808
Top Team)
Main
Card
185
Pound Bout: Sale Sproat (Freelance) VS. Rocky Ramirez (Greg Jackson's
MMA)
135
Pound Bout: Tyson Nam (Team Quest) VS. Ian McCall (Team Oyama
MMA)
265
Pound Bout: Fabiano Scherner (Team Quest) VS. Mike Martell (Canada
Top Team)
170
Pound Bout: Walter Hao (808 Top Team) VS. Evan Lowther (M-1,
Gracie Kailua)
145
Pound Bout: Justin Wong (HMC) VS. Brandon Pieper (808 Top Team)
Amateur
Matches
125
Women's Pankration Bout: Rachael Ostovich VS. Falen Fowler (Team
Submit)
145
Pound Bout: Colin Mackenzie (God's Army) VS. George Perry (Freelance)
155
Pound Bout: Aaron Terry (HMC) VS. Fatu Tuitasi (808 Top Team)
205
Pound Bout: Keala Cristobal (Freelance) VS. Cade Phillips (Freelance)
170
Pound Bout: Dwain Pasion (Team CAT) VS. Micah Ige (Team Extreme)
230
Pound Bout: Jake Heffernan (Freelance) VS. Dustin Caulustro (Team
Stand Alone)
205
Pound Bout: Alex Steverson (Team Extreme) VS. Benji Rodrigues
(Hakuilua)
125
Pound Bout: Alika Kumukoa (Team Extreme) VS. Jacob Kauwe (Hakuilua)
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