Upcoming
Events
Do you
want to list an event on Onzuka.com?
Contact
Us
(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2010
November
Aloha
State BJJ
Championships: Final Conflict
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
August
Hawaiian
Open Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
6/3-6/10
World
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach, Long Beach,
CA)
4/17/10
Hawaiian
Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
4/8-11/10
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(University California Irvine, Irvine, CA)
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)
|
|
March
2010 News Part 1
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ Dean, & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
 |
Fighters'
Club TV
The Toughest Show
On Teleivision
Tuesdays
at 8:00PM
Olelo Channel 52 on Oahu
Also on Akaku on Maui
Check
out the FCTV website! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
|
Want
to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
Click here for pricing and more
information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
|
O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer a Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Stickfighting) who were directly trained under
the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
Quote
of the Day
"Life's
greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved."
Victor
Hugo, 1802-1885
|
Jiu-Jitsu
aces win at Sengoku
Sengoku
held its 12th event this Sunday in Japan, and some big stars
from the world of ground fighting took front and center.
In
the evening’s main event, Jorge Santiago returned the L
Mamed Khalidov added to his record the last time the two met.
Only this time the organization’s middleweight belt was
up for grabs, and the Brazilian managed to hold on to it, after
winning the unanimous decision.
Jiu-Jitsu
black belt Marlon Sandro made quick work of his opponent relying
on his boxing yet again, dismantling Tomonari Kanomata by knockout
in just 9 seconds of combat. The win likely sets the Nova União
teacher up for a featherweight-title showdown with Masanori Kanehara
on June 20th.
Another
beast from Team Nova União, Leonardo Santos made a quick
meal of his opponent, too, but relying on his Jiu-Jitsu to Kiuma
Kunioku in the initial assault.
Check
out all the results:
Sengoku
12
Japan
March 7, 2010
Jorge
Santiago defeated Mamed Khalidov via unanimous decision
Akihiro Gono defeated Diego Gonzalez via unanimous decision
Maximo Blanco defeated Chang Hyun Kim via TKO at 1:10min of R1
Marlon Sandro knocked out Tomonari Kanomata 9 seconds into R1
Yoshihiro Nakao defeated Henry “Sentoryu” Miller via
TKO at 2:27 min of R2
Yuji Hoshino submitted Nick Denis via guillotine at 0.47min of
R2
Leonardo Santos submitted Kiuma Kunioku with rear-naked choke
at 3:06 min of R1
Shigeki Osawa defeated Kyung Ho Kang via unanimous decision
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
DOMINICK
CRUZ DOMINATES TO NAB WEC GOLD
It wasn’t for a lack of effort on either fighter’s
part, but the WEC 47 main event showdown between Brian Bowles
and Dominick Cruz came to a disappointing and rather abrupt ending
Saturday night at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Over
the course of the first two rounds, Cruz set the champion on
his heels, pushing the pace and using outstanding movement to
throw Bowles off his game. Every time Bowles would land a punch,
Cruz would answer with two of his own, and throw in a low kick
for good measure.
And
if that weren’t enough, Cruz put the champ on his back to
put an exclamation point on round two.
But
that was where the excitement ended and the night came to a screeching
halt.
Prior
to round three, the doctor entered the cage to check on Bowles
and determined that he was unable to continue.
“The
first punch that I threw in the whole fight, I broke my hand.
I knew it right then,” said Bowles after the fight. “It
just kind of threw me off. That started going through my mind
instead of concentrating on fighting.”
It
was a bad break for Bowles, but Cruz used his preparation and
took advantage of the situation.
“Brian
Bowles is a great champion, he really is,” Cruz later commented.
“He fought his heart out. I fought my heart out.”
And
with that, Dominick Cruz is your new WEC bantamweight champion.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
FIGHTERS
EARN $10,000 BONUSES AT WEC 47
With only three of the eleven fights on the card going to a decision
at Saturday night’s WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz, World Extreme
Cagefighting officials had their work cut out for them in handing
out post-fight awards.
The
Fight of the Night, before a crowd of 8,345 in Columbus, Ohio,
was one that didn't even provide a clear winner. Fighting on
the non-televised portion of the card, George Roop and Leonard
Garcia gave fans everything but the kitchen sink. They slugged
it out, shot the takedowns, and served up the submission attempts
en route to a draw. Each of them scored a 29-27 decision from
a judge, with the third scoring it 28-28. Both also walked away
with a $10,000 bonus check for their efforts.
Not
surprisingly, the Knockout of the Night went to Anthony Pettis.
Bouncing back from the first loss of his career in his last fight,
Pettis also bounced back from a low blow on Saturday night. The
foul only served to spark Pettis, who returned from the referee’s
timeout to drop Danny Castillo with a head kick and finish him
off with a few punches on the ground.
The
Submission of the Night went to Joseph Benavidez. He did a good
job timing former bantamweight champion Miguel Torres’ jabs
to score timely takedowns. In the second round, Torres attempted
to scramble out from under one of those takedowns. Benavidez
caught him with a sharp forearm to the head that split him open
and then caught him in a deep guillotine choke that had the bloodied
Torres quickly tapping out. The victory secured Benavidez a $10,000
bonus check and likely moved him to the head of the line for
a shot at new champion Dominick Cruz.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
WEC
47: BRIAN BOWLES CONFIRMS BROKEN HAND
Brian
Bowles on Saturday night lost the first defense of the WEC bantamweight
championship he won from Miguel Torres last August. Dominick
Cruz left Columbus, Ohio, with the belt when the fight was stopped
after the second round due to an injury.
Bowles
knew right away what the problem was.
“The
first punch that I threw in the whole fight, I broke my hand.
I knew it right then,” said the Georgian after the fight.
“It just kind of threw me off. That started going through
my mind instead of concentrating on fighting.”
The
break was confirmed in the early hours of Sunday morning when
Bowles made a trip to the hospital to get checked out.
“Broke
hand again sorry to my fans and sponsors but I'll b back the
sign of a true champ is the come back,” Bowles posted on
Twitter after the examination.
It's
unclear what's next for Bowles, outside of taking some time off
to rehab his right hand, but with Joseph Benavidez's impressive
submission of Torres on Saturday night, an immediate rematch
isn't likely to be in the cards.
“I'm
sure I'll have to fight somebody before I fight for the belt
again,” Bowles assessed.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
JENS
PULVER SAYS GOODBYE
Jens
Pulver was the first ever UFC lightweight champion. Not only
did he get through John Lewis and then Caol Uno to win the belt,
he successfully defended it against another legendary fighter,
current champion B.J. Penn.
But
a career can’t be fought forever on the glories of the past...
and Pulver knows that
He
was submitted by Javier Vasquez in the first round on Saturday
night at WEC 47. The loss brought his current losing skid to
five straight bouts. That’s a tough stretch to come out
of.
Pulver
has fought nearly 40 times since his professional debut at the
little known Bas Rutten Invitational in Littleton, Colo., in
1999. And although he’s only 34 years old, he’s among
the elder statesmen of mixed martial arts.
After
his fight with Vasquez, Pulver did leave the door open a tiny
crack, refusing to say he was done fighting, but the truth is,
he made his farewell speech Saturday night before 8,345 fans
at the Nationwide Arena and thousands more watching on TV...
“If
you look down at this TapouT shirt, I just want to show you something
about it. This is the old Punchout, the old Tyson, the vintage,
the authentic... and it’s over.
The
vintage, the authentic (pointing at himself).
I
don't know how many more times I can cry in front of all y’all.
I love y’all way too much to keep putting you through this.
I’ll
never say (I’m done), but I love you all way, way, way too
much to put you through this again. You guys have made my life
a miracle. I don’t make a lot of money doing this... you’re
the only reason I’ve been doing this from day one.
My
momma, she’s in the crowd. My son Karson, I love you. My
daughter Madeline, I love you. My wife Kannika...
God
dang it, I apologize, I didn’t get this W.
Dana
White, you gave me that second chance, I apologize. You gave
me my first chance, my third chance. You’ve made everything
for me sir. People talk about Dana, he’s got a rough texture,
but the one thing I love about him, you’ll never guess what
he feels about you and in this world that’s pretty stand-up.
I
can’t say it enough, I love you guys very much.”
It
may be Pulver’s farewell to fighting, and it was fond, from
the ovation in the arena to the unanimous words of admiration
from the other fighters and WEC general manager Reed Harris at
the post-fight press conference, but it isn’t goodbye to
the man.
Pulver
has become one of the better broadcasters in the sport (spending
several early gigs honing his chops with MMAWeekly.com founder
and close friend the late Ryan Bennett), he has opened a gym
in Idaho with his buddy Tony Fryklund, and will likely continue
to be one of the most sought after spokesmen for the sport.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
10
lessons from the game of the year
Forget
the Super Bowl and upcoming soccer World Cup in South Africa:
the greatest game of 2010 has already taken place in Vancouver.
Canada
and the United States faced off in ice hockey last Sunday, during
the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, in one of those memorable games
that changes the lives of all present in the arena, from players
to spectators.
Brimming
with technique, grit and excitement, the Olympic final that handed
Canada its 14th gold, a record for the Winter Games, was decided
7:40 min into extra time, after the USA took the game into sudden-death
overtime with a dramatic goal, just 20 seconds before time ran
out.
GRACIEMAG.com
put together a list of 10 lessons the historic “MMA on ice”
match inspired:
10)
Every great victor possesses a great defense. If you like to
attack, tirelessly practice defense, and you shall become an
ace in the counter-attack.
9)
Strength, technique, movement and aim are crucial factors in
overcoming a great adversary.
8)
In ice hockey it’s common for a team to play with a player
less due to some penalty. To withstand the pressure of playing
a man down, there’s no formula other than training and training
a lot the defensive line’s posture with one or two players
fewer. Make your training harder to achieve better results.
7)
An ace is an athlete endowed with lots of technique, talent and
discipline. An idol is one who makes the decisive play at the
most difficult moment.
6)
There’s always time to tie up the score.
5)
Losing to someone is already a first step in beating them next
time around.
4)
Hockey goalies are an inspiration to Jiu-Jitsu players. He’s
compact, closed up tight and leaves no openings as keeper of
the goal on ice. In Jiu-Jitsu, elbows should generally be tucked
up against the body and not left out in the air, waiting to get
caught in a lock.
3)
Slips happen all the time. How you react to a spill is what determines
the end result in the dispute.
2)
“When a man tires is when the fight starts,” Carlos
Gracie used to say. Be prepared for however many overtimes are
necessary.
1)
Always wear your mouth guard.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
insists Toney signing isn’t ‘freak show’
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship didn’t become a billion-dollar
enterprise by having its executives take crazy risks. The company
was built methodically, with the larger goal always in mind.
But
on Wednesday, the bus swerved sharply in a different direction
when UFC president Dana White confirmed that the company had
signed boxer James Toney to a multi-fight contract.
White
conceded he’s certain of very little about his plans for
Toney other than that the future boxing Hall of Famer will compete
in the UFC as a light heavyweight. Toney, being the contrarian
he is, said he wants to fight as a heavyweight.
As
for when Toney will fight, the level of opposition he will face
and other pertinent details, White admits he hasn’t mapped
it out yet.
“We’ll
figure something out,” White said. “I’m not really
sure. Here’s the thing with James: We were sitting around
finishing the deal and talking and he told me that he’d
been talking to Strikeforce. He said they were talking to him
about a fight with Herschel Walker. James said to me, ‘Do
you know what I’d do to that [expletive]?’ He looked
at me and said, ‘You know, I have a lot of pride and I’d
never do anything to embarrass myself. I’m a fighter. I
want to fight. And don’t ever underestimate me.’ ”
White,
who remains a diehard boxing fan, clearly is infatuated with
Toney, who is one of the greatest pure boxers who ever lived
and among the five finest boxers of his era.
But
Toney is 41, has twice tested positive for steroids and in recent
years he’s often had a belly that has hung over his waist.
And though the UFC has come a long way in convincing the masses
that it’s a world-class sport and not some kind of a carnival
sideshow, it’s hard to see much of an upside in this signing.
If
Toney gets blown out in his UFC debut, his opponent won’t
get much credit. Most of the talk will be that the opponent beat
up an aged, over-the-hill boxer.
On
the other hand, if Toney were to win, it would cause plenty to
question the quality of fighters in the UFC.
There
doesn’t seem to be an upside for the UFC unless Toney shows
up in peak shape and puts on several quality fights in a row.
Toney
insisted his weight would not be an issue and said he has no
concern about adjusting to MMA.
“Don’t
make wise cracks about my weight, because I’ve been working
hard and the next time you see me, you’ll be shocked,”
said Toney, who said he would probably box sometime in the next
six weeks to get the rust off. “Dana put his foot in his
mouth and said UFC guys are better fighters than boxers. We’ll
see. Everyone who knows anything about fighting knows I’m
the purest fighter in the game. There ain’t no secrets.
“I’ve
been fighting a long time. I was born fighting. I know what I’m
doing. Boxing is still my main focus, but them guys are a bunch
of (expletives) and they don’t want to fight. So I called
Dana after he put his foot in his mouth and I’m going to
prove he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Dan
Goossen, Toney’s long-time friend and promoter, was disappointed
to learn the news. The contract with the UFC allows Toney to
continue to box and Goossen said he had conversations with Toney
earlier this week about a boxing match next month.
Toney
has been doing some MMA training, Goossen said. While he’s
no MMA expert, Goossen understands Toney will be at a disadvantage
fighting against men who have been training in the sport for
many years.
UFC president Dana White insisted that signing boxer James Toney
was legit: "What we won't do is make a freak show out of
it."
“Let’s
face it: There are some bad – meaning good – fighters
in MMA, no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Goossen said. “There
are a lot of wrestlers who are fighters now and James is not
a wrestler. He’s a standup fighter; he’s a boxer. His
skills are standing up. There’s not an MMA fighter in the
world who could fight James on his court, in the ring, and be
able to stay with him.
“But
this is like something I said to Pete Rose the other day: As
great a hitter as Pete was, and he’s one of the greatest
who ever lived, do you think he would be the all-time hit king
in cricket? It’s still hitting a ball with a stick, but
they’re completely different sports.
“Boxing
and MMA are fighting sports,” Goossen said. “They’re
related, but they’re different sports. You need different
skills in each of them. As great as James is, he’s not going
to be as good of a wrestler as the guys he faces. He can’t
cram into a six-, eight-, 12-week training camp what they’ve
been doing all their lives. He’s definitely going to be
at a disadvantage and I don’t want to see him being used.”
White
insists he didn’t sign Toney to be a freak show and said
he’ll avoid gimmick fights like Toney against Walker, the
1982 Heisman Trophy winner, or Toney against former baseball
MVP Jose Canseco.
White
is not sure against who or when, but he said Toney will be just
another UFC fighter when he debuts. Toney said he isn’t
sure when he’ll debut, but said he thought June or July
would be a fair guess. And he said he expects to be the main
event.
“I’m
a main event fighter and I’ve been a main event fighter
since before a lot of these punk-(expletive) fighters were out
of the crib,” Toney said. “Don’t give me that
(expletive) about fighting on the undercard. People want to see
James Toney and I’m going to give them what they want.”
White
gave former NCAA Division I wrestling champion and ex-WWE superstar
Brock Lesnar one of the stiffest challenges possible when he
was matched against former heavyweight champion Frank Mir in
his UFC debut in 2008.
If
the UFC were to pull a similar move with Toney, he might be paired
against someone like former light heavyweight champion Forrest
Griffin.
Toney,
though, is such an X-factor that it’s difficult to match
him evenly. His boxing skills are first-rate and he’ll probably
have the best chin in the UFC the minute he walks into the cage
for the first time.
But
even if he’s paired with a striker, how will he defend against
kicks? If he’s paired with a grappler, like Lesnar was,
will he be able to escape without having his arm broken?
There
are a lot of hard decisions White is going to have to make with
this signing.
“We
threw the kitchen sink at Brock when he came in,” White
said. “Are we going to do that same thing with James? I
don’t know. To be 100 percent honest with you, all [expletive]
aside, I haven’t thought it out.
“I
like James Toney. He’s one of the greatest boxers ever.
I have tremendous respect for him. He said he wanted to fight
in the UFC and I was interested. Now he’s here and I have
to figure out what to do with him. What we won’t do is make
a freak show out of it. I’d be the first to scream if someone
else did that, so I’m not going to do it.”
Toney
is still a big enough name in boxing that he’s been mentioned
as a possible opponent for World Boxing Council heavyweight champion
Vitali Klitschko. Goossen insists that with Toney’s ability
to sell a fight, it could set a European record for ticket sales,
if it occurs.
For
the first time, the UFC will have to manage the schedule of one
of its fighters with someone else, since Toney’s contract
allows him to box.
There
are a lot of variables that are going to make this a difficult
proposition. White, though, is undeterred.
“Hey,
I don’t want this to be seen as a joke, and it’s not
like Herschel Walker or Canseco or any of those guys,” White
said. “James Toney is a fighter. The worst thing anyone
can ever say to me is that they were watching one of my fights
and they changed the channel. That’s why I’ll never
put [expletive] fights on.
“James
is an interesting case. We know how much talent he has as a boxer
and he insists he’ll surprise people by how much MMA he
knows. I’ve still got some thinking to do. But if we promote
him and he does well and that raises his profile and he gets
a Klitschko fight and makes a lot of money for himself and Goossen,
I’d be cool with that. But James came to me and he literally
chased me around the country to do it, so I’m giving him
the chance. We’ll get it figured out one way or another.”
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Wanderlei
says Akiyama up next
There
is no question of the legendary status of Wanderlei Silva in
the world of mixed martial arts. Now the Brazilian fighter is
ready to begin a new legacy fighting at 185 pounds, and his next
challenge could be coming sooner than expected.
Following
a win over Michael Bisping in Australia, Silva spoke exclusively
with MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday, where he confirmed who he will
be fighting, and said the timing should make fans happy.
“I
know I’m going to fight soon,” said the former Pride
champion. “I’m going to have a great surprise for my
fans what date I’m going to fight. I’m so close to
signing my next fight, we’ll talk about things a little
bit more, and I think I’m going to be fighting soon.”
The
opponent will be Yoshihiro Akiyama, who has made no secret that
he wants to fight Silva. He may get exactly what he’s been
asking for with a rejuvenated “Axe Murderer.”
“It’s
a great match because he’s an incredible fighter. He’s
got an Olympic gold medal. He’s had great performances in
Dream in Japan, (he’s) very famous there,” Silva commented
about Akiyama. “I think it’s a great opportunity, one
more really tough opponent, and I’m going to prove in the
future it’s possible I can be with the best fighters in
185.”
While
his focus now turns to Akiyama, Silva also mentioned a second
fight with Michael Bisping, who wanted another shot after losing
the unanimous decision in Sydney.
“The
next is (Akiyama) and he is number one, and the number two is
Bisping because I’m going to give a rematch to him,”
said Silva.
Rumors
have placed the match-up between Silva and Akiyama as a possible
fight for the upcoming UFC 115 fight card in Vancouver slated
for June 12. MMAWeekly.com will have further information on the
proposed fight between Silva and Akiyama as soon as details are
available.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"True
luck consists not in holding the best of the cards at the table;
luckiest is he who knows just when to rise and go home."
John
Hay, 1838-1905
|
JOSEPH
BENAVIDEZ: I DON'T WANT EASY FIGHTS
Since
his inception into the WEC, Joseph Benavidez has been doing anything
but ask for an easy fight. In his four fights with the promotion,
having gone 3-1 with his sole loss coming to the hands of now
top contender Dominick Cruz, Benavidez has picked up impressive
victories over former title challengers Jeff Curran and Rani
Yahya.
So
to say that Benavidez was excited when he received word that
the WEC brass had chose him to face former divisional king Miguel
Torres would be a vast understatement.
“I
was pumped. I didn’t hesitate at all,” he told MMAWeekly.com
It
was right after my Yahya fight, there was talks of (the Torres
match-up), and I kind of expected it. When (the WEC proposed
the match-up), I was already prepared for it,” explained
Benavidez.
“I
knew it was going to happen and that was a fight I’ve been
waiting for as long as I’ve been training, so I jumped at
the opportunity.”
While
Yahya and Curran proved to be good measuring sticks as far as
evaluating where Benavidez stacks up amongst some of the toughest
and best in his division, he’s only in there for one reason.
“I’m
in there to fight the best,” said the surging 135-pound
prospect.
“I
don’t want easy fights. I want fights that are going to
get me a title shot. Of course the paycheck and getting the win
are important, but I think I can beat anyone anyway. So I’ll
fight whoever and there’s more at stake, there’s a
lot more to gain beating a guy like Miguel,” he added.
“I
think it’s a great fight for me. It puts me right back in
title contention. I could have fought another guy and beat him
and not been up for the title fight. I beat (Miguel) then I’m
right there. This is just huge for my career and it’s just
going to be fun. Miguel’s a great fighter.”
Torres’
frame has offered all of his opponents a problem, as he is recognized
not only as one of the best in his class, but also one if it’s
tallest. For this, Benavidez was able to call upon the help of
a close and personal friend: Snoop Dogg.
“It’s
real convenient down here at Alpha Male, having all of these
five-foot-four-inch, five-foot-five-inch wrestlers to (train
with in preparation to) fight Miguel, a five-foot-ten-inch guy.
That works out real good,” said the Team Alpha Male product.
“Well,
Snoop Dogg is a good friend of mine, actually I’ve seen
him come in. They have the same body style, him and Miguel. Yeah,
he came down, so that was good,” joked the always colorful
Benavidez.
With
current champ Brian Bowles and challenger Dominick Cruz called
in for headlining duties for WEC 47 in Columbus, Ohio, the same
night the Torres and Benavidez bout is to take co-main event
honors, Benavidez has heard the talk.
On
several occasions, Torres has stated that whether Bowles should
remain champion or not come Saturday night, Torres will be gunning
for him. With nearly 40professional fights to his credit, it
wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that Torres
could be overlooking the Sacramento, Calif., native (who holds
a subtle 11-1 record), and Benavidez doesn’t mind one bit.
“I
kind of hope he is,” said Benavidez while a guest on MMAWeekly
Radio.
“I
think that would definitely play into my favor, and if that is
what’s happening, then I like that. I don’t mind it
at all. I think Jeff Curran kind of did that to me, looking towards
Miguel, and I went in there and surprised him.
“I
would like it if he’s looking towards (Brian) Bowles. I’ll
just sneak in and shine and that’d be great.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
JAKE
SHIELDS NO FAN OF FORMER SLUGGER CANSECO
Former Major League Baseball star Jose Canseco has been training
at Cesar Gracie’s gym along with Nick and Nate Diaz, Gilbert
Melendez, and others, but Cesar Gracie trained Strikeforce middleweight
titleholder Jake Shields wants nothing to do with the former
homerun hitter.
“I
heard he was out there with Cesar, but personally I’m not
a big fan of his. I don’t want to knock anything that Cesar
and my camp has done, but I don’t really want to have anything
to do with Jose,” Shields told MMAWeekly Radio.
“I
don’t really want to help the guy. I haven’t met the
guy yet, but seeing his track record, I don’t really want
to have anything to do with him,” said the 31-year-old fighter.
“He’s not someone I want in my life. I don’t want
to help a guy out who has constantly screwed everyone over who
has been close to him.”
When
a possible bout between Canseco and Herschel Walker came up,
Shields had mixed feelings, but was clear about who he would
want to win if the match-up were made.
“I
like Hershel Walker and I’d like to see Hershel kick his
(expletive), but if he was fighting under my team that would
make me feel a little weird, so I don’t know how I feel
about that,” said Shields.
“Being
a friend and fan of Hershel and having a guy that I think is
kind of a scumbag coming to my gym... I guess that’s Cesar’s
decision. I don’t want to knock his decision, but I certainly
wouldn’t let him come into my gym.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
WEC
47: BOWLES VS. CRUZ RESULTS & PLAY-BY-PLAY
Join MMAWeekly.com for live results and round-by-round coverage
of tonight’s WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz, which takes place
live at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Brian
Bowles makes the first defense of his WEC bantamweight championship
against No. 1 contender Dominick Cruz in the evening’s main
event, with former champion Miguel Torres looking to get back
on track against fellow contender Joseph Benavidez.
Preliminary
action is scheduled to get underway at approximately 4 p.m. PT
/ 7 p.m. ET with the main card – telecast live on Versus
– at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET.
Be
sure to refresh your browser frequently for the latest results
and play-by-play...
WEC
47 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
BRIAN
BOWLES VS. DOMINICK CRUZ
R1
– Cruz opens with a kick, countered by a punch from Bowles.
Bowles chasing him down with punches, but Cruz moves away and
avoids damage. Cruz starts to pursue Bowles, but the champ fires
back with some big shots of his own. Both fire away and land
good punches. Cruz tags Bowles and appears to hurt him, but the
champion recovers quickly. Bowles rushes in trying to land a
combination and ends up on his back, getting guard with Cruz
on top. Cruz backs out and Bowles stands back up. Both fighters
throw a few more shots before the round ends.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 for Dominick Cruz
R2
– Cruz and Bowles seem content to stand and trade, Cruz
hits a few good shots early, but Bowles fires back strong. Cruz
throws a wicked combo that puts Bowles on his heels, and he closes
with a leg kick that drops the champ for a moment. Bowles walks
forward again, and gets caught with a similar combo from Cruz.
Bowles shoots in and Cruz defends, as they separate, Cruz throws
a knee that hits Bowles low. The fight is paused to let Bowles
compose himself. Bowles rushes in and catches Cruz this time,
but the challenger seems unphased and moves back out. Cruz moves
in and slips under for a takedown to close the round.
MMAWeekly scores R2 10-9 for Dominick Cruz
The
fight is stopped between rounds due to an injury to Brian Bowles
-Dominick
Cruz def. Brian Bowles by TKO (injury to Brian Bowles) at 5:00,
R2
R1
– Benavidez gets inside and tags Torres with a nice punch.
Both fighters throw heavy punches, as Benavidez keeps his guard
up high. Another flurry, and Torres throws his first jab of the
fight, taking advantage of his reach. Benavidez pops Torres with
a good shot, and he falls to his back, but quickly up to his
feet. Benavidez gets the clinch against the cage, Torres reverses,
but Benavidez gets a nice throw to put Torres on his back. Benavidez
controls Torres' head, remaining on top as Torres works to get
guard. As Torres gets guard, Benavidez opens up a few more punches.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 for Joseph Benavidez
R2
– Benavidez moves in and throws a nice combination to open
the round. Torres starts to toss out his jab more, Benavidez
stays elusive. Benavidez ducks under Torres' punch and lands
a nice takedown as he starts to work in his guard, opening up
a nasty cut. Torres rolls, and Benavidez grabs a guillotine.
Torres is forced to tap out, giving Benavidez the win.
-Joseph Benavidez def. Miguel Torres by submission (guillotine
choke) at 2:57, R2
JENS
PULVER VS. JAVIER VAZQUEZ
R1
– Pulver opens up with some good punches, Vazquez shoots
in for the takedown, and Pulver grabs a guillotine. Vazquez rolls
out of trouble, and Pulver stands back up. Pulver throws a kick
and Vazquez catches him, taking him down, but as he tries to
transition and take his back, Pulver rolls and gets up in his
guard. Pulver stands up again and kicks Vazquez in the legs,
but gets caught and taken down again. Vazquez catches Pulver
in a crucifix position and starts throwing punches and elbows.
Pulver slips out but Vazquez takes his back, they roll, Vazquez
gets the mount. Quickly, Vazquez rolls and takes the armbar,
forcing Pulver to tap out.
-Javier Vazquez def. Jens Pulver by submission (armbar) at 3:41,
R1
LC
DAVIS VS. DEIVIDAS TAUROSEVICIUS
R1
– The fighters trade a few shots, and Davis gets a clinch,
pushing Taurosevicius against the cage. Back and forth they go
jockeying for position with neither fighter gaining the upper
hand. The referee separates them and it's back to standing. Back
in the clinch they go, Taurosevicius tries for a single leg,
but Davis moves out and presses him back against the cage. Not
much action in the first round.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 for LC Davis
R2
– A few exchanges on the feet and Taurosevicius shoots in
for a takedown, but Davis stops him and they clinch against the
cage. Taurosevicius is relentless and eventually gets the trip
and takedown. Davis does a good job of working his way up the
cage and back to his feet quickly. It appears Davis gets tagged
with a low blow, but the referee doesn't step in and Davis is
in obvious pain. Davis composes himself and reverses position,
pushing Taurosevicius against the cage again. The referee separates
them again, only for the fighters to end up back in the clinch.
Davis slips a takedown, but Taurosevicius grabs the cage to stop
it, and the referee issues a warning as the round ends.
MMAWeekly scores R2 10-9 for Deividas Taurosevicius
R3
– Back in the clinch for the third round as the fighters
again jockey for position. Taurosevicius is trying hard for the
takedown, just as Davis continues to block his attempts. The
referee separates the fighters and a few strikes are exchanged
before Davis shoots in this time and lands the takedown. As Taurosevicius
works for a omo plata and Davis moves to block him the referee
stops the action and stands them up. The fighters close the fight
back in the clinch again.
MMAWeekly scores R3 10-9 for LC Davis
- LC Davis def. Deividas Taurosevicius by majority decision (29-29,
29-28, 29-28)
KAREN
DARABEDYAN VS. BART PALASZEWSKI
R1
– After a lose start, the fighters start trading some heavy
shots and Darabedyan takes the fight to the ground. Palaszewski
works for an armbar from his back, but can't quite catch him.
Darabedyan postures up and throws down some heavy shots inside
of Bart's guard. Darabedyan opens up with a quick attack, landing
some good punches as Palaszewski is left just to defend. Palaszewski
closes guard again and kicks up for another armbar attempt, and
this time Darabedyan can't get out. He rolls over, but Bart moves
with him and locks the hold even tighter and Darabedyan taps
out.
-Bart Palaszewski def. Karen Darabedyan by submission (armbar)
at 4:40, R1
SCOTT
JORGENSEN VS. CHAD GEORGE
R1
– George shoots in on Jorgensen, but he sprawls and grabs
a guillotine, presses him against the cage, literally lifts him
off the ground with the choke and George taps out.
-Scott Jorgensen def. Chad George by submission (guillotine choke)
at :31 seconds, R1
ERIK
KOCH VS. CHAD MENDES
R1
– Mendes gets the clinch and Koch counters with some nice
knees to the body. The fighters separate and again Mendes shoots
in quick for a takedown, but Koch defends and they clinch against
the cage. Mendes backs out and works his way back in again and
gets the takedown while Koch tries to work against the cage to
get up to his feet. Koch gets up and they are standing and trading
again. Koch connects with a couple of quick shots, but he over
extends and again Mendes takes him down. Koch uses the rubber
guard to subdue Mendes briefly, but he postures and breaks the
hold.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 for Chad Mendes
R2
– Koch rushes in again for punches, only to give up the
takedown to Mendes. Mendes goes for a few punches on the ground,
not much action. Mendes gets to Koch's half guard, and tries
to trap his arm, but Koch moves well to avoid any trouble. Mendes
starts to throw some harder shots inside the guard, landing a
couple of nice elbows.
MMAWeekly scores R2 10-9 for Chad Mendes
R3
– Koch starts strong in the final round, trying to land
punches and kicks, but Mendes stays composed and takes him down
again. Mendes has a cut opened up that's bleeding all over Koch
as they work on the ground. The fight is paused to allow doctors
to check the cut, but Mendes is okay and the fight continues.
Koch is aiming for the side of the cut as blood trickles into
Mendes' face. Koch throws a high knee from the clinch and Mendes
catches it, turns him over and slams him to the mat. Koch rolls
out and Mendes pushes away and puts a finger into Koch's eye
by accident. The fight goes on again. Koch throws a kick that's
caught and Mendes takes him to the canvas. The fight ends with
Mendes working inside of Koch's guard.
MMAWeekly scores R3 10-9 for Chad Mendes
-Chad Mendes def. Erik Koch by unanimous decision ( 30-27 on
all cards)
-DANNY
CASTILLO VS. ANTHONY PETTIS
R1
– Castillo gets a couple shots early, as Pettis tries to
counter he's taken down to the mat. A few punches on the ground,
and Pettis slips out and they are up again. Castillo and Pettis
clinch against the cage, and Castillo throws a knee that tags
Pettis low and the fight is paused. The fighters trade and Pettis
connects with a left high kick that puts Castillo down hard.
Pettis follows up with a few more punches and the referee rushes
in for the stoppage.
Anthony Pettis def. Danny Castillo by KO at 2:17, R1
-
GEORGE ROOP VS. LEONARD GARCIA
R1
– The fighters trade strikes early, and Roop slips under
and takes Garcia down. Roop leaves his head up and Garcia goes
for a guillotine choke. Roop works his way and out and goes for
some ground and pound. Garcia is able to work his way up the
cage and the fighters are standing again. Roop goes for another
takedown, but can't finish, Garcia opens up with a few big punches
as the round ends.
MMAWeekly scores R1 10-9 for George Roop
R2
– Garcia opens up with some hard kicks, and rushes across
with a big punch, but misses. Both Roop and Garcia connect with
some hard punches, but then Roop drives through a nice double
leg takedown putting Garcia on the mat again. Much like the first
round, Garcia again goes for a guillotine, but Roop gets out.
Roop moves to half guard and Garcia starts to roll, and Roop
throws a knee that grazes Garcia's head, but the referee pauses
the fight to warn Roop about the illegal strike. Back on the
feet, Garcia is throwing hard shots, but not connecting flush.
MMAWeekly scores R2 10-9 for George Roop
R3
– Garcia again going for huge shots, but not connecting,
and Roop seizes the moment and again takes him down. This time
Garcia is up quick and they start to exchange again. Garcia hits
Roop and he turns away and Garcia follows up to try and connect
with another shot, but Roop defends well. Roop throws a kick
that hits Garcia in the groin and action is paused. The referee
takes a point away after warning him earlier. Garcia is okay
and the fight continues. Garcia starts to open up again, goes
for a flying knee, and gets taken down instead. Roop tries to
take Garcia's back but they are back up again. Garcia lands a
few nice shots as the fight ends.
MMAWeekly scores R3 10-8 for Leonard Garcia
- Leonard Garcia and George Roop fight to a draw (29-27) (29-27)
(28-28)
COURTNEY
BUCK VS. FREDSON PAIXAO
R1
– Buck throws a nice leg kick early, but Paixao is able
to work the fight to the ground, and immediately take Buck's
back. Paixao works for a rear naked choke as Buck defends. Paixao
roles for the mount, but Buck rolls as well, and they end up
back in the same position except this time Paixao has an arm
under Buck's chin. A few seconds later, Buck is choked unconscious
and referee Mark Matheny pulls Paixao off.
-Fredson Paixao def. Courtney Buck by submission (rear naked
choke) at 2:39, R1
BENDY
CASIMIR VS. RICARDO LAMAS
R1
– The fighters trade high kicks early, neither landing flush.
Lamas fires across with a vicious kick to the body that staggers
Casimir, who is able to recover enough to get the clinch. Lamas
grabs for a single leg takedown, but Casimir fights out. The
fighters separate and after a brief exchange, Lamas fires in
with a jumping knee just as Casimir drops for a takedown, and
Casimir's mouthpiece goes flying and he's knocked unconscious.
-Ricardo Lamas def. Bendy Casimir by KO (knee) at 3:43, R1
WEC
47 QUICK RESULTS:
Main
Bouts (On Versus):
-Brian Bowles vs. Dominick Cruz
-Joseph Benavidez def. Miguel Torres by submission (guillotine
choke) at 2:57, R2
-Javier Vazquez def. Jens Pulver by submission (armbar) at 3:41,
R1
- LC Davis def. Deividas Taurosevicius by majority decision (29-29,
29-28, 29-28)
-Bart Palaszewski def. Karen Darabedyan by submission (armbar)
at 4:40, R1
Preliminary
Bouts (Non-Televised):
--Scott Jorgensen def. Chad George by submission (guillotine
choke) at :31 seconds, R1
-Chad Mendes def. Erik Koch by unanimous decision ( 30-27 on
all cards)
-Anthony Pettis def. Danny Castillo by KO at 2:17, R1
- Leonard Garcia and George Roop fight to a draw (29-27) (29-27)
(28-28)
-Fredson Paixao def. Courtney Buck by submission (rear naked
choke) at 2:39, R1
-Ricardo Lamas def. Bendy Casimir by KO (knee) at 3:43, R1
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
PALASZEWSKI
OPENS STRONG FOR WEC ON VERSUS
Saturday night’s WEC 47 featherweight showdown between Deividas
Taurosevicius and L.C. Davis was supposed to crown one of the
next top contenders to the title currently held by bone crushing
Brazilian Jose Aldo.
Davis
won the bout by majority decision, but the victory did little
to light up the fans at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Davis
and Taurosevicius are both good wrestlers and strong strikers.
The only problem with that is their strengths cancelled each
other out for the better part of the fight. A majority of the
bout was contested in the clinch along the fence with neither
fighter gaining much advantage.
In
the end, the judges at cageside saw it pretty much the same way,
scoring it close – 29-28, 29-28, and 29-29 – for Davis.
Kicking
off the Versus telecast, Armenian Karen Darabedyan unleashed
the power in his hands early, lighting up Polish fighter Bart
Palaszewski before taking him to the mat. Darabedyan then leveled
a ground and pound attack that lasted the majority of the opening
round, until Palaszewski decided he’d had enough.
In
the waning moments of the round, Palaszewski managed to lock
on to an arm and stretched it out for the submission. Darabedyan
tapped out with 20 seconds left in the opening frame.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
WEC
47: VASQUEZ CLOSES THE DOOR ON PULVER
Saturday night’s WEC 47 featherweight bout between Jens
Pulver and Javier Vasquez at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio,
took on a little bit of a professional wrestling feel.
No,
not because anything was scripted.
Pulver
entered the bout on a four-fight losing skid, Vasquez off back-to-back
losses. It was basically a loser leaves town bout – there’s
your pro wrestling shtick.
Pulver
twice attempted a guillotine choke off of Vasquez’s takedown
attempts and scrambled to keep the fight on the feet, but it
was more than he could manage.
Vasquez
put the former UFC champion on his back, quickly passing to the
side and trapping Pulver in a crucifix position, peppering him
with shots to the head. Somehow Pulver managed to find a way
out of the crucifix, but the ground is Vasquez’s world.
Once he latched on, he wouldn’t let go.
“He
got the take downs and before you know it, twist turn, there’s
the armbar, pop, pop. I’m like damn; I’m stuck in this
thing,” said Pulver after the fight.
Pulver
tried to scramble and find a way out. Vasquez capitalized, moved
to mount, and then dropped back into the ligament popping armbar,
leaving Pulver no choice but to tap out or lose a limb.
“I’m
just as big of a fan of Jens Pulver as everybody else,”
Vasquez said following the victory. “It was an honor for
me to fight him. You’ll never hear me say a bad thing about
Jens Pulver.”
He
didn’t quite make it official, saying that he’d never
say that this is it, but Pulver made it clear that he’s
not likely to step back in the cage.
Pointing
down at his custom TapouT t-shirt that featured him as a character
in the old Punchout video game, Pulver said, “This is the
old Punchout, the old Tyson, the vintage, the authentic, and
it’s over.”
He
then pointed at himself saying, “The vintage, the authentic...
I don't know how many more times I can cry in front of all y’all.
I love y’all way too much to keep putting you through this.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
BENAVIDEZ
STUNS TORRES, LINES UP FOR TITLE SHOT
Former
WEC bantamweight kingpin Miguel Torres entered Saturday night's
bout at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, looking to take out
Joseph Benavidez and put himself back into title contention.
Somebody forgot to get Benavidez up to speed on the idea.
Torres
did his best to utilize his reach advantage and establish a strong
jab, but Benavidez smartly countered his reach deficit by charging
the takedowns and putting Torres on his back. He wasn't able
to do a lot of damage, but Benavidez set the tone by the end
of the opening round, setting up the big finish for round two.
Torres
again went to work with the jab on the second stanza, but Benavidez
again put the former champion on his back. This time, however,
he unleashed a fury of harsh forearms that opened a severe gash
on Torres' forehead.
As
Torres tried to scramble out from under Benavidez, he got caught
in a deep guillotine choke. Benavidez threw his leg over Torres'
shoulder, locking down any escape routes. Torres tapped out.
While
Benavidez was excited after the bout, his assessment of the night
was simple, “I had a game plan. I just went in there to
fight a fight.”
Just
fighting the fight is likely to move Benavidez to the head of
the line for a shot at the WEC bantamweight championship.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Minotouro
ready for another ‘easy opponent’
Rogério
“Minotouro” Nogueira waited for a long time to make
his UFC debut, but the huge knockout victory over Luiz Cane made
it worthy. Now, the Bahia native fighter faces the former UFC
light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. “They only put
easy opponents to face me (laughs),” Nogueira jokes. “In
two fights they only put tough guys, but that’s it, I’m
ready”.
After
becoming a father and with 18 victory in his record, Rogério
knows his responsibilities and goals. “I’m more mature
now, training better… I had great opportunities in my life
that I couldn’t get, but this time I won’t lose them,”
guarantees, ready for any challenge. “I’ll accept any
fight, I won’t waste opportunities”, finished the fighter,
who faces Griffin this May.
Source:
Tatame
|
Santiago
defeats Khalidov in rematch
Sengoku
middleweight Champion, Jorge Santiago defeated Mamed Khalidov
in Sengoku 12’s edition, which took place this Sunday at
Japan. After being knockout by Khalidov in 2009, Santiago outlasted
the opponent and took the victory by unanimous decision. One
of the best featherweights of the world, Marlon Sandro needed
9 seconds to knock Tomonari Kanomata out. His team mate Leonardo
Santos got his first victory under SRC banner with a first round
submission victory against Kiuma Kunioku.
COMPLETE
RESULTS
Sengoku
12
Japan
Sunday,
March 7, 2010
-
Jorge Santiago def. Mamed Khalidov by unanimous decision;
-
Akihiro Gono def. Diego Gonzalez by unanimous decision;
-
Maximo Blanco def. Chang Hyun "Armbar" Kim by KO at
R1;
-
Marlon Sandro def. Tomonari Kanomata by KO at R1;
-
Yoshihiro "Kiss" Nakao def. Henry "Sentoryu"
Miller by TKO at R2;
-
Yuji Hoshino def. Nick Denis by submission at R2;
-
Leonardo Santos def. Kiuma Kunioku by submission at R1;
-
Shigeki Osawa def. Kyung Ho Kang by unanimous decision.
Source:
Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"So
long as we live among men, let us cherish humanity."
Andre
Gide, 1869-1951
|
UFC
VS. STRIKEFORCE VS. WEC: UPPING THE ANTE
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is holding three events in
less than a two-week span at the end of March. Recently developed
plans for a possible counter offensive to Strikeforce’s
return to CBS may see the UFC under a similar scheduling arrangement
in April.
It
appears that the MMA juggernaut is preparing a UFC Fight Night
event on Spike TV for April 17, the date that Strikeforce set
for a Nashville event on CBS, according to a report from The
Wrestling Observer. An MMAWeekly.com source close to the situation
confirmed the report, saying, “It looks that way.”
A
later report from Sherdog.com indicated that the UFC might even
up the ante a little more than just counter-programming Strikeforce’s
TV offerings, by considering holding its UFC Fight Night event
at Vanderbilt University, also in Nashville. Such a move would
take a shot not only at Strikeforce’s TV ratings, but also
its ticket sales.
UFC
officials have yet to officially make any sort of announcement
regarding an additional date or location.
The
maneuver is just the latest in a consistently aggressive strategy
from the promotion in countering other high profile mixed martial
arts broadcasting.
This
time, however, Strikeforce could possibly counter the UFC’s
counter.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker told MMAJunkie.com that everything is currently
“locked and loaded for the 17th,” but that there is
“some fluidity to what could happen.”
That
“fluidity” could mean a possible move to April 24,
where Strikeforce would counter the UFC’s sister promotion
World Extreme Cagefighting. WEC 48, featuring featherweight champion
Jose Aldo defending against former titleholder Urijah Faber,
is scheduled for April 24, with plans to be the promotion’s
first pay-per-view offering.
Just
the possibility of the move has caused a backlash from fans on
Twitter that have already purchased tickets to the Strikeforce
event based on the April 17 date. In the scope of the situation,
especially while Strikeforce’s relationship with CBS is
far from cemented, television ratings and the hotly contested
advertising dollar are likely to play a major factor into any
decision to move.
Strikeforce
officials on Friday told MMAWeekly.com that a final decision
on whether or not to slide over to April 24 had yet to be determined.
With
all three promotions consistently stepping up the amount live
events and television programming they offer, regardless of how
this UFC-Strikeforce-WEC programming triangle plays out, it’s
not likely to end any time soon.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Arona
"hibernating to come back hunting"
Ricardo
Arona was considered one of the best light heavyweight fighters
of the world. But, when Pride ended, in 2007, Arona decided to
stop competing for a while. Since then, the “Brazilian Tiger”
kapt saying that this time off was helping him to think about
everything he had done in his career. The time passed, he came
back to fight two years and a half later, but a knee injury forced
him to postpone his plans one more time.
In
an exclusive interview, published at TATAME Magazine’s latest
issue, the black belt opened his house and talked about his plans
to 2010. “I’m hibernating to come back hunting again,”
Arona said, talking about the possibility of fighting in the
UFC and how will he do to stay tuned on the new techniques in
MMA. “Technique is something you renew all the time, we
have to keep the mind open to learn all the time. Even somebody
that doesn’t know MMA can show you something”, said.
Source: Tatame
|
Cruz
complicates WEC title picture
COLUMBUS,
Ohio – Early in the week, Dominick Cruz’s camp used
the analogy of a matador and a bull to describe the game plan
as Cruz went after Brian Bowles and the World Extreme Cagefighting
bantamweight championship.
But
what if the bull broke a horn on its first charge? Bowles broke
his right hand on the first punch he threw Saturday night, and
Cruz’s speed, pace and elusiveness kept Bowles from having
any meaningful offense in the first two rounds of the fight.
When Bowles didn’t come out for the third round at Nationwide
Arena, the 24-year-old Cruz captured the title via TKO.
Cruz
(15-1), whose only career loss came as a 21-year-old challenging
Urijah Faber for the WEC featherweight title, frustrated Bowles
(8-1) throughout the fight with his movement. The hard-hitting
Bowles missed badly on big punches and was picked apart for most
of the fight.
Bowles
was shaking his right hand through much of the second round and
still throwing with it, but he could never connect solidly.
“I
was surprised it was in the second round,” said Cruz, whose
pace seemed to tire Bowles in the fight’s latter stages.
“I thought it would end in the third or fourth round. I
had him on the defensive. You could see it in his face. I felt
it and was going for the kill.” Cruz’s arsenal of punches
and kicks bloodied Bowles’ nose late in the first round.
Bowles continued to throw with his injured hand but eventually
abandoned the plan and went for takedowns, though Cruz avoided
all of them.
“I
picked up the pace [in the second round] because my corner told
me to,” said Cruz, who grew up in Tucson, Ariz., but now
fights out of San Diego. “I try to be like a video-game
character and do exactly what they tell me to do. They prepare
me for war. If I’d have broken my leg, broken my hand, broken
my hip, I was going to keep fighting. You’re going to see
me get better and better.”
Bowles
was flat-footed by late in the second round but continued to
throw hard, yet never landing the needed big bomb.
The
crowd of 8,345, the company’s largest for a show not headlined
by Faber, was stunned at the end of the long evening when Bowles,
who had broken his right hand twice in the previous year, didn’t
come out for the third round.
Bowles
had also broken his hand in his last fight, when he won the title
Aug. 9 in Las Vegas over Miguel Torres. Bowles was taken to the
hospital after the fight with Cruz to check on his hand.
The
crowd was quiet through most of the main event, perhaps emotionally
spent after veteran Jens Pulver lost to Javier Vazquez earlier
in the night. After that fight, Pulver gave tearful post-match
interview.
Pulver
strongly hinted that it may be the end of his career, without
outright saying it. The first UFC lightweight champion, Pulver
is considered the pioneer of the smaller fighters in the U.S.
He broke down in the interview, talking about what the sport
had meant to him. His breakdown led to an emotional response
from much of the audience.
Going
into Saturday night, odds were strong for a rematch between Bowles
(8-1), ranked No. 7 on the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings,
and the former champion Torres (36-3), ranked No. 9 in the same
poll. The pair may very well meet again, but rather than a title
fight, both will be on the rebound.
In
Saturday’s other semifinal, Torres was submitted for the
first time in his career due to a guillotine by Joseph Benavidez
(12-1) at 2:57 of the second round.
Benavidez
was able to mostly negate Torres’ 5-inch height advantage
by getting inside. In the first round, he momentarily dropped
Torres and also scored a takedown to win the round.
Torres
finally got his rhythm going in the second round, establishing
a jab to keep Benavidez off balance until Benavidez ducked a
punch and exploded with a takedown. Benavidez said he believed
an elbow to the forehead caused a deep cut on Torres, turning
the fight into a bloodbath.
During
the scramble, Benavidez clamped on a guillotine. It surprised
both Torres, whose ground game is considered at the top of the
division, and the pro-Torres crowd. The submission earned Benavidez
a $10,000 bonus for the best submission on a show filled with
impressive finishes.
“No,
it wasn’t a surprise he tapped because I had the guillotine
tight,” said Benavidez. “I think most fighters would
have tapped to it. But it was a surprise when I saw the opening
was there.”
Saturday
night’s two surprise wins broke the 135-pound weight class
wide open. Cruz had earned his title shot after beating Benavidez
on Aug. 9, so even though Benavidez knocked off the former champion,
he may not be getting the next title shot.
“I’d
love to get a shot to avenge my only loss,” said Benavidez.
“It was a great fight.”
“I’ll
fight whoever they ask,” said Cruz. “I’m down
to fight him again. I don’t pick my fights.”
WEC
matchmaker Sean Shelby listed a number of potential opponents
for Cruz’s first title defense, including Benavidez, Damacio
Page (12-4 with two straight wins in a combined time of 80 seconds),
Charlie Valencia (12-5 with three straight wins), Antonio Banuelos
(17-5 with three straight wins), Scott Jorgensen (9-3, who finished
Chad George earlier Saturday in 31 seconds) and Frank Gomez (8-1).
He
said Page may be the frontrunner at the moment, but no decision
will be made until after April 24, when Page faces Baneulos on
the company’s first pay-per-view show from Sacramento, Calif.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Saying
Goodbye and Thank You to One of MMA's Early Kings, Jens Pulver
It
was last October that he told me he was returning to fight. At
the time, everybody already assumed he was done. He'd pretty
much said so after losing his last match in only 33 seconds.
But
Jens Pulver could not go; he was not yet ready. He had to try
one more time, make some changes, move his life, his camp, back
to his Boise, Idaho roots. Only when he was home, only when he
was comfortable could he make that decision.
He
told me something that I'll never forget, and that's saying something
because Pulver is a fascinating interview, full of candidness
and surprises.
But
on that day, he told me that he was going to have to face his
mortality twice in life: when he's dying, and when he's told
he's too old to ever do it again as an athlete. It struck me
because while some athletes have that level of self-awareness
during a time of sadness, change and in some cases desperation,
few have the level of honesty needed to acknowledge that in one
way, he is dying right before our eyes.
Pulver
might not have gone quietly or in the blaze of glory that his
fans had hoped. Instead, he went out the same way he came in,
fighting fiercely. At 35 years old, with a record of 22-13-1
and losses in seven of his last eight fights after losing to
Javier Vazquez, Pulver might be forever done in the cage, but
the numbers hardly matter. What matters is what he gave us, and
what he gave us was generous; he was a pioneer, a building block,
an ambassador, a champion.
The
sad part is that for years, Pulver himself did not believe any
of it. Memories of his abusive past would flood his success,
and drown out any enjoyment he deserved. He often lived in a
dark cloud of depression.
The
only times he had sanctuary, ironically enough, were when he
was locked inside a cage. Then, he was 10 feet tall and bulletproof.
If you hit him, he'd hit you back twice. But even that didn't
last forever. When he began losing, even that confidence was
cracked. He struggled to pull the trigger; he suddenly became
obsessed with defense instead of attacking his opponent.
Pulver
never asked for pity or even sympathy; he went forward like he'd
always done, but he realized he needed help. He addressed the
problem. saw a psychiatrist for the first time, he was diagnosed
with anxiety and depression and began medication to treat the
issue.
His
mind clear, he knew his choice was simple: hang it up or make
a change. That decision was easy; he packed up his life in Bettendorf,
Iowa and moved to Boise, Idaho.
"I
miss my mountains and my blue turf," he said back then.
For
years, he'd thought the past was worthless. He'd stored his belts
away in boxes, ignored them, let them get dusty. They no longer
mattered the way his abusive childhood no longer mattered. But
with his mind clear, he came to understand it all mattered. These
were all things that could not be taken from him. His painful
experiences had given him drive, and that drive had led him to
championships, and those championships had led him to today.
And
that, he finally realized, was a good thing.
Pulver
was always one to instruct people not to feel sorry for him,
not for his horrific childhood, and not now for his struggles
in the cage. For him, it was much more apropos to walk out with
his head held high and leave discussions of legacy to those who
saw him.
That's
what happened after the event, when one-by-one, the men who emerged
victorious on Saturday night paid tribute to the man who helped
pave the way for them.
"The
guy is the greatest guy ever, man," said Scott Jorgensen,
who met Pulver in 2001 while at Boise State University. "He's
sincere, he's from the heart. What he says, he means. I don't
have a bad word to say about him. He's the best. I wouldn't be
where I'm at today without people like Jens."
"I've
got so much respect for Jens and anybody who I watched when I
was younger," added Dominick Cruz, who captured the bantamweight
championship with a win over Brian Bowles. "Without them
leading the way I wouldn't be here. Anything they tell me, I
listen."
Even
the man that vanquished him for possibly the last time, Javier
Vazquez, paid tribute. Looking somber, he said, "For many,
many years, I was the biggest Jens Pulver fan. Coming up through
the ranks, that was the pinnacle of where I wanted to be. For
me it was an honor seriously to get a chance to fight him. I'm
pretty speechless as far as him even giving me the chance."
Pulver
told me months ago that he'd probably never make a real retirement
announcement, and he didn't officially close the book after Saturday.
Instead, he simply said, "I love you all way, way, way too
much to put you all through this again."
To
that, the crowd of 8,345 cheered, and some cried, and all realized
that they might be seeing the end of something great, a career
that mattered.
Pulver
joked back then that instead of saying a formal good-bye, that
we'd just see him one day, walking around or attending an event
and he'd be 300 pounds, and we'd come to accept that his career
belonged to history. From there, it would be for others to judge.
He never cared about legacy; he only cared about being real and
honest, and that was good enough for him.
But
if you pushed and prodded him just enough with questions, you
could get him to admit that he knew the value of what he'd done,
that one day years from now when we're all gray and the MMA record
book is an encyclopedia rather than a pamphlet, that Pulver will
still be there, the first UFC lightweight champion.
And
that is the happy post-script on his career: They're always going
to ask, Who was the first? They may not ask about the second
or the 10th, but they'll always wonder who was the first. And
when they ask, they'll be told that the first time the gold was
handed out, it was won by a guy who was a Lil' Evil, and a whole
lot of class.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Shooto
Brazil title-challenge showdown
The
next Shooto Brazil event is coming up March 19. Among the attractions
will be the lightweight title fight between Giovanni Diniz and
Paulo Bananada. As well as his vocation as fighter, Giovanni
is the boxing coach for team Nova União. Besides being
a title fight, further interest to the fight is added for it
being a rematch of a bout with a contentious outcome from the
past.
“I’m
bothered by it. I won that fight fair and square. He things he
won because of a strike that I don’t even think counts,
making my nose bleed. I think it was an involuntary head butt.
Aside from that, he never had the advantage and, even if he did
at some point, I won at least two of the three rounds. The only
thing he did was clinch me, and that doesn’t win a fight,”
remarks Giovanni.
“I
have high expectations and am training a lot. I’ve been
working on my boxing, working a lot on my ground game, where
I feel I had some weaknesses in my last fight against him. I’ve
got weapons to surprise him, just as I know he has been working
to surprise me. I’m confident and I’m going to win
again,” he adds.
A
pugilist form Nobre Arte boxing academy, the fighter also sports
his gi in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, as Diniz explains:
“It
gives me greater confidence, because the Jiu-Jitsu guys have
a lot of weapons and we get to know them at championships. At
tournaments we get in all kinds of sticky situations and that
helps in MMA. That’s why I always look to participate in
Jiu-Jitsu events, just as there are guys from Jiu-Jitsu participating
in boxing and muay thai events,” he says in closing.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
KIUMA
KUNIOKU READY FOR REBIRTH AT 155 POUNDS
With wins over Nate Marquardt, Frank Shamrock, Genki Sudo, and
Yuki Kondo, you'd think that Kiuma Kunioku would be a household
name to hardcore MMA fans, but truth be told the Japanese fighter
has slipped under everybody's radar for far too long.
Maybe
it's because Kunioku fought primarily in Japan, or maybe it's
because he began his career all the way back in 1996, but whatever
the reason he's ready for the world to discover him now.
Spending
the majority of his career fighting well out of his weight class,
at the advisement of his manager, Shu Hirata, Kunioku finally
made the move down to 155 pounds for his last few fights and
he's starting to see the success of the change. Three wins in
a row and Kunioku is now hoping to build on that momentum when
he fights Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Leo Santos at Sengoku
Raiden Championships 12 on Sunday.
"I
am honored to be able to fight such a top jiu-jitsu fighter like
Leo Santos," Kunioku told MMAWeekly.com in an exclusive
interview. "I know he is very tough on the ground."
The
ground game can't be ignored when dealing with Santos, who is
a former Abu Dhabi participant, submitting and defeating some
of the top grapplers in the world. The fight with Santos in Sengoku,
however, will be an MMA match, and Kunioku is quick to point
that out.
"I
really give high respect to his BJJ techniques. I mean, even
GSP couldn't do much against him in the grappling match. But
I am fighting him under the MMA rules," Kunioku stated.
"Remember MMA by Saulo Ribeiro and Marcello Garcia? MMA
and jiu-jitsu is completely different. Every fighter equally
has a chance to win, I think, that is MMA."
Kunioku's
story is one that begs to be told for fans to truly understand
what he's gone through to get where he's at now.
Joining
the Pancrase gym at age 15, Kunioku was training full time to
become a fighter and professional wrestler. When he began fighting
in the Pancrase organization in 1996 there were no weight classes,
so of course he was forced to fight much bigger opponents. Despite
the size difference, Kunioku reeled off impressive wins over
names previously mentioned.
While
he is only 33 years of age, he has 65 professional fights. Kunioku
places no blame on the fact that he fought bigger opponents,
which once again proves his toughness.
"I
don't think about that too much. I am fighting in the ring so
there is nothing different about that, right?" Kunioku said
when talking about fighting out of his weight class for much
of his career. "But if I can re-do my life over again, yeah,
I might want to fight under the weight classes. We didn't even
have a weight class back then."
Seeing
the talent that Kunioku possessed, Hirata pulled the fighter
out of Japan and brought him to the United States, where he began
training with former UFC fighter Dave Strasser, and finally made
the cut to 155 pounds for the first time in his career.
Admitting
that he might even try cutting to 145 pounds at some point, Kunioku
is happy to fight back in Japan, but would love to get the chance
to fight in a show such as the UFC or WEC back in the States.
He
says he believes that B.J. Penn and Gilbert Melendez are the
best lightweights in the world, and that's the challenge that
he hopes to one day conquer.
For
now, Kunioku is focused on Leo Santos, and even shies away from
talking about a shot at the Sengoku lightweight title, as he
feels he still has a lot to prove.
"I
think it is still long way to go till the title shot," Kunioku
commented. "So I am just looking at winning one fight at
a time."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TUF'S
JUSTIN WREN RETURNS AT RING OF FIRE
Heavyweight Justin Wren knows he didn’t make the most of
the opportunities afforded him by being part of “The Ultimate
Fighter” last year.
Losses
to Jon Madsen and eventual show winner Roy Nelson ended his run
just as quickly as it began, but rather than let it discourage
him, he decided to step up and do whatever it takes to get a
second chance.
As
Wren told MMAWeekly.com recently, “2009 wasn’t cracked
up to what I wanted it to be. I had higher expectations of myself.
But it was a great learning experience, and things fell into
place that brought me to the camp I’m with now.
“I’m
with Grudge Training Center now with Shane Carwin, Nate Marquardt,
and a ton of great other talent. I’m lucky to be surrounded
by those guys and I really wanted to make an impact this year.”
Having
formerly trained at Travis Lutter’s gym, Wren made the move
to Grudge at the suggestion of TUF coach Rashad Evans.
“He
introduced me to Trevor Wittman, who is the head trainer at Grudge,”
said Wren. “Honestly I can say he’s the best coach
I’ve ever had.
“He
is the most positive guy I’ve ever met and he really knows
how to get in our heads and get us to focus and fight our hearts
out.”
In
addition to expanding on his game at Grudge, Wren intends on
getting back to his roots to return to the success he had prior
to TUF.
“I’m
a wrestler, so I’m going to get back to that base,”
he stated. “The two fights I lost, I didn’t even attempt
a takedown once. I didn’t get to display on ‘The Ultimate
Fighter’ that ground and pound is my strongest attribute.
“I’ve
been really learning at Grudge how to mix punches with my takedowns;
mix kicks and knees and punches. After I get the takedown I’ve
been learning how to transition to submissions, position control,
and stuff like that.”
Wren’s
journey back to the big stage begins Friday as he joins fellow
Grudge fighter Luke Caudillo at Ring of Fire in Omaha against
local product Josh Henry.
“In
this fight honestly I don’t care if I give away the game
plan,” said Wren. “I’m confident enough in it
that I’ll still be able to capitalize on it.
“He’s
a wrestler, and he does have okay ground and pound and does have
submissions, but I’m going to expose every weakness that
I’ve found. There’s definitely a huge weakness standing
up, but if I do get uncomfortable there, I’ll take him down
and submit him or ground and pound.”
Having
had a handful of fights the last couple of years, Wren is looking
to pick up the pace in 2010 and open the eyes of perspective
promotions.
“I
would love to bust out four fights minimum this year,” he
announced. “I can’t look past this one, but after I
win this one, I want to go on a string of victories in 2010.
“That
way the UFC or whatever promotion it is wants me, rather than
me begging them (to have me). I want them to want me, to want
someone exciting. I’m hoping to have high-paced fights and
improve on that.”
While
his “Ultimate Fighter” experience might not have gone
the way he wanted, Wren is not going to sit around and wait for
another chance to come his way. He’s going to go out and
make it happen, starting at Ring of Fire Friday night.
“I
want to thank Rockwell Watches, Full Tilt Poker, Tokyo Five,
Bodybuilding.com, FightPastor.com, JustinWren.com and WorldFightShop.com,”
he concluded. “I want people to hit me up on Facebook or
Twitter, I do both of those a lot.
“I’m
looking forward to get back on the winning side of things this
next fight. I’m excited to make a statement and show people
that I deserve to be at that higher level and that I’m going
to get back there hopefully within the year.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Guard
well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give
without hesitation,
how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness."
George Sand, 1804-1876
|
Mad
Skills
Filcom Center, Waipahu,
Hawaii
Saturday,
March 6, 2010
Congratulations Team O2, who went 3-2.
Two kickboxers made their debuts, two of our veteran kickboxers
performed exceptionally, as did one of our Jiu-Jitsu aces.
165lbs:
Kickboxing
Justin Dulay (O2MAA) def. Kaleo Nash (Universal Combat Sport)
Unanimous decision after 3 rounds.
205: Triple Threat
Albert Napoleon (O2MAA) def. Steven Donahue (Jesus Is Lord)
Split decision after 3 rounds.
225lbs: Kickboxing
Kawika Kupukaa (Animal House) def. Damon Applebaum (O2MAA)
TKO due to injury in Round 2.
205: Kickboxing
Kahu Sibala (Animal House) def. Chris De Aquino (O2MAA)
Decision after 3 rounds.
155lbs: Submission Grappling - 7 min
Jon Tetsutani (O2MAA) def. Jared Iha (No Remorse)
Submission via rear naked choke.
|
Sengoku
3/7 Tokyo, Ryogoku Kokugikan
By Zach
Arnold
¦Heavyweights:
Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Sentoryu (Henry Miller)
¦Welterweights: Akihiro Gono vs. Diego Gonzalez
¦Lightweights: Kiuma Kunioku vs. Leonardo Santos
¦SRC Middleweight Title match: Jorge Santiago vs. Mamed
Khalidov
¦Featherweights: Shigeki Osawa vs. Kyung Ho Kang
¦Featherweights: Yuji Hoshino vs. Nick Denis
¦Featherweights: Marlon Sandro vs. Tomonari Kanomata
Source: Fight Opinion
|
TORRES
BRINGS A SMARTER APPROACH TO THE CAGE
by Damon
Martin
Miguel Torres has never been a fighter to back down from a challenge.
In
fact, when the WEC came calling for the former bantamweight champion
to step back into the cage following his loss to Brian Bowles,
they gave him the option of picking an opponent, but Torres wanted
none of that.
After
losing to Brian Bowles in 2009, Torres had to re-evaluate a few
things in his career, revamp his training camp, and get back
to the top of the division he ruled for so long. And as for an
opponent for his first fight back... Torres left that up to the
WEC.
"They
wanted me to pick an opponent, I didn’t want to," Torres
said in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. "I told Sean
Shelby to give me the toughest guy he could find a match against,
and that was Benavidez."
Joseph
Benavidez enters the fight against Torres with an impressive
record, his only loss coming by way of decision against current
top contender Dominic Cruz last year. Training alongside former
WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber, Benavidez has shown
a ton of heart and determination in all of his fights with the
WEC.
"He's
one of those guys that just never gets tired, he never seems
to be hurt, and he just doesn't stop coming," Torres commented
about Benavidez. "He punches and kicks from weird angles.
He's very dangerous."
This
will be the first fight for Torres not only following the loss,
but after taking a step back from the sport he loves to put things
in perspective and make sure that he was doing all the right
things he had to do to succeed.
The
WEC originally came calling to place Torres on an earlier card,
but he declined and said he had to get some things straightened
out before he returned. Getting things situated at his home gym,
and then deciding that he had to make a few changes in his own
training camp, led him to this point where he believes he is
the best fighter he's ever been.
"I
had to take some time to get my life in order. My business, my
gym was going crazy, going out of control, getting new members,
I expanded into a new place, taking care of my finances, my taxes,
stuff like that, my family, my friends," said Torres. "I
had to get back to life and take a little break and get everything
in order so that when I train, I can just focus and train."
One
thing that Torres is crystal clear in pointing out is that taking
his training camp abroad to work with different people is in
no way a knock on his old team, something that was portrayed
recently after a few interviews.
"People
are crazy. I did a couple interviews, I was talking about how
my old camps were, and it was not a knock on my guys at all,"
Torres stated. "My guys brought me to where I'm at now,
and it worked perfect until (Brian Bowles). It wasn't even just
my camp or the training partners, it was my business, it was
the camp, it was the traveling, it was nutrition, it was a lot
of things all balled into one.
"It
worked up until I fought Bowles. No knock on Brian; he's a great
fighter. No knock on his camp; but a lot of guys were talking
about how I dissed my old camp. I love those guys. I look at
them as my family, my brothers."
Now
with a slew of top trainers and training partners, Torres says
he's ready to get back to the business of fighting and winning.
Another big change that he says he will unveil Saturday night
is his willingness to win the fight the smart way, instead of
fighting to his opponent's strength or playing to the crowd too
much, which hurt him in the Bowles fight.
"I've
been training a lot to be more crafty, and to be more Machida
like, more of an Anderson Silva type fighter, instead of being
a Wanderlei Silva," said Torres. "I'm very happy to
be able to get back in the cage and show what I've been working
on."
Torres
will get that chance on March 6 when he faces Joseph Benavidez
live on Versus, as the WEC makes its debut in Columbus, Ohio.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Randy
Couture Wants Shot at James Toney
By FCF
Staff
According to posts attributed to Randy “The Natural”
Couture on his official Twitter account, the decorated fighter
is eager to fight boxing champion James Toney, who it was announced
yesterday has signed a multi-fight agreement with the UFC.
A
short time after the signing was officially announced by the
UFC, Couture’s Twitter page stated:
I
hope I'm the first guy they call to fight tony ! :)
Three
hours later another ‘tweet’’ from Couture’s
page included the sentence:
Hope
to fight toney soon
Although
the UFC has confirmed that it has signed an agreement with Toney,
no details have been released regarding when and who the 41 year-old-boxer
may face in his Octagon debut.
The
46 year-old Couture (18-10) awaits official word on his next
opponent, after fighting twice since November, earning wins over
Brandon Vera and most recently Mark Coleman. In August, Couture
lost by Unanimous Decision to former interim UFC champion, Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
The
motivations behind UFC’s move to sign James Toney
By Zach
Arnold
Two
articles that you should read on the subject. The first one talks
about the shotgun marriage between UFC and Toney. Regarding the
end-game here for both parties:
“White
was quoted by Yahoo Sports writer Kevin Iole as saying that he
had been told that Strikeforce was negotiating with Toney for
a fight against Herschel Walker. No matter how many times White
buries Showtime and Strikeforce as minor-league MMA promoters,
the natural reflexive motion for UFC is to try to stop whatever
Strikeforce is attempting to do. Call it the Vince McMahon business
principle of paranoia.
If
Toney was indeed negotiating with Strikeforce, suddenly he found
leverage to get UFC to allow him to box while booking him in
MMA fights. The alleged contract between the two parties is a
five-fight deal. Most people understand that if Toney does not
succeed in MMA that he will get cut by Zuffa after a couple of
fights. However, if Toney somehow manages to not look bad in
the cage, then Zuffa will be able to book him relatively cheaply.”
Ironically,
as I linked to that first article, a quote appeared on the MMA
Memories site:
“But
look, at the moment, this thing we have is still really pure.
It’s not all fucking dirty like boxing. I know that day
is coming. And when it does, I’m gone. “- Dana White
The
second article has quotes from Dave Meltzer about why White was
motivated to sign Toney and how Strikeforce is considering a
move to the 4/24 date instead:
“Strikeforce
was negotiating or at least Dana (White) was under the impression
that Strikeforce was negotiating a Herschel Walker/James Toney
fight for CBS most likely, perhaps for PPV. And so he decided
that I will outbid them and ruin that fight. So I think that’s
what that’s all about because the key to me is that they’re
letting [Toney] box. I mean, like if [UFC] had any you know thoughts
that this guy was really valuable to them, they weren’t
going to sign him to a non-exclusive contract. They’ve never
signed anyone to a non-exclusive contract and they signed him
to a non-exclusive contract.”
I
encourage you to read both articles for the full quotes and context.
Regarding
Toney’s health heading into the cage, Alan Conceicao notes
that the Kimbo Slice/Matt Mitrione fight has been yanked from
UFC’s web site. That fight was set for 5/8 in Montreal.
A signal of Kimbo vs. Toney on 5/8 in Montreal? In actuality,
Toney will be able to fight wherever he wants geographically-speaking
because UFC is promoting him and none of the state athletic commissions
is going to put up much of a fuss about it.
Which,
of course, doesn’t excuse what Alan points out here:
The
last time James Toney won a major title in boxing that wasn’t
stripped from him a few days later for a positive steroids test
was 2003. Toney started boxing and just over the MMA lightweight
limit. Toney has been out of shape and chasing paydays for years,
showing zero regard for his own performances in his own given
sport. Toney hasn’t won a deserved decision in boxing (outside
his fight with the scrubby Matt Greer) since 2005. James Toney
was on ESPN Outside the Lines on January 21, 2007, where he essentially
admitted that he was using hormone therapy (the reason he tested
positive for roids against Ruiz) because repeated traumatic brain
injury had led to Hormone Deficiency Syndrome.
Toney
is no longer a top 50 heavyweight, has brain damage, doesn’t
train, has pointed guns at his managers, torn up gyms, assaulted
numerous people, and abuses steroids. In short, this is a freak
show, every bit the freak show Mercer/Sylvia was. At least in
that case, Mercer was a legitimate heavyweight.
Toney
sounds like he’s a perfect fit to pass the standards of
Keith Kizer’s administration in Nevada. If Evander “Evan
Fields” Holyfield can make it…
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Paulão
and Bitetti address discord
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Paulo Filho contacted the GRACIEMAG.com newsroom this Thursday.
With a tattoo similar to Mike Tyson’s on his visage, the
fighter requested he be allowed to clear up some questions left
lingering since his no-show at Bitetti Combat.
“First
off, an article appeared on Sherdog.com saying I was using drugs
and things. That’s a lie. Like I said before, I’ll
undergo testing to prove otherwise. I’ve been clean for
six months. I’m bothered by the article, which could really
harm my career. Only God knows how much of a battle it is to
overcome addiction and I’m doing it,” he says.
“Amaury,
who I am very fond of, is a fighter, that’s what he knows
how to do. But there are people working with him who aren’t
doing a good job. I live life my way and it’s expensive.
I’m broke, with no money, and they still have some back
payments to me pending. I even asked my family to lend me money.
They promised to deposit the money in my account before the fight,
but they didn’t deposit what we had agreed on,” says
Paulo, before explaining his new tattoo.
“It’s
like what Tyson has on his face. The tattoo looks good, I’m
the one who doesn’t! Come here and take a picture of the
new Paulao to show people what’s to come. I’m off drugs.
This business about no one wanting me is a lie. There are a number
of events around the world wanting me to fight for them,”
he said in finishing.
Chased
down by GRACIEMAG.com for his rebuttal, Amaury Bitetti gave his
side of the story,
“I
fulfilled what had been agreed to with Paulo and I have the proof
of it right here. I had to deposit 20 thousand reais to his account,
which I did, and another 10 thousand in Brasilia. Nor did I have
anything to do with the article published on Sherdog.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
M-1
Global: Fedor Fine With Strikeforce,
No Talks With UFC
By Michael
David Smith
Rumors have swirled in the mixed martial arts world about the
status of the sport's heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko,
who was surprisingly not included in the upcoming Strikeforce
card on CBS. Is Fedor hurt? Will Fedor still fight Fabricio Werdum?
Are Fedor and his promotion, M-1 Global, having problems with
Strikeforce? Will Fedor fight in Japan? Will he fight in the
UFC?
M-1
Global's official response: Yes, maybe, no, maybe and no.
I
contacted M-1 Global with those questions and was sent an official
response from the promotion's spokesman that said things are
fine with Strikeforce, and stated emphatically that neither Fedor
nor anyone else affiliated with M-1 Global has had any talks
about Fedor stepping into the Octagon.
The
information I got from M-1 Global:
1.
Fedor isn't fighting on the April 17 Strikeforce card because
he wanted to have more time to prepare following the recovery
from his hand injury. Hand problems have plagued Fedor for much
of his fighting career, and he suffered another hand injury in
his win over Brett Rogers in November. M-1 Global says Fedor
wasn't able to get in a complete training camp before April 17,
and that's why he's not on the card.
2.
Whether Fedor will fight Fabricio Werdum on the May 15 Strikeforce
card is currently being worked out. Although most people expect
that fight to take place on a great heavyweight card that also
features Rogers vs. Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski vs.
Antonio Silva, it's no sure thing that Fedor-Werdum will happen.
M-1 Global says we should expect more news on that front later.
3.
Everything is fine between Fedor, M-1 Global and Strikeforce.
Behind the scenes, maybe there are issues between M-1 Global
and its co-promoter, Strikeforce. But M-1 Global isn't going
to make those issues public. What they told me is that everything
is just fine.
4.
Fedor is not ruling out fighting in Japan this year. Fedor is
popular in Japan from his days in Pride, and although he hasn't
fought there since New Year's Eve 2007, he won't close the door
on fighting there in 2010. Dream has made some noises about beefing
up its heavyweight division, although it's not clear whether
Dream can come up with the kind of payday Fedor would want.
5.
Neither Fedor nor anyone involved with M-1 Global has had any
recent talks about Fedor fighting in the UFC. They were emphatic
about this one. We don't know when or where Fedor is fighting
next, but according to M-1 Global, it's not in the UFC.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Gui
and Rafa Mendes to compete at Abu Dhabi trials and Pan
by Marcelo
Dunlop
Current world featherweight champion from Rio Claro, Guilherme
Mendes is already signed up for the World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Cup,
coming up in the middle of April.
“Rafa
and I are already enrolled in the qualifiers. And we’ll
probably go to the Pan in April, too. We’re just seeing
what we are going to do about weight,” he explains.
“To
fight in Abu Dhabi, we have to weigh 65kg, and we’ll both
be in the same weight group, with our eyes on the plane ticket
given to the winner of the qualifier. And if we win we’ll
compete at the same weight there, to win the money, God willing”,
the Ramon Lemos black belt explains, laughing.
“The
thing is that at the Pan I would have to weigh up to 64kg in
the gi, and Rafael up to70kg in the gi, right? But we are studying
what to do, with the rest of the team, and everything will be
OK. With the qualifiers out of the way, we’ll see what to
do, and what is best,” the world champion from Atos Jiu-Jitsu
said in conclusion.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Florian
Warns Gomi: UFC155 is the Toughest Division In The World
Takanori Gomi is deluded if he thinks he is going to come into
the UFC lightweight division and steamroll his way to the top,
says recent title contender Kenny Florian, who will face Gomi
when the Japanese lightweight makes his UFC debut on March 31st.
“No
one is going to come into the 155 pounds regardless of your credentials
and just run through anybody. In my opinion it’s the most
difficult division in the world. Most competitive, its talent-rich,
the most well-rounded guys,“ he said.
“Its
hard to finish people in that division, its very, very difficult…
Just because you see someone doing well does not mean you are
going to come in and start dominating. You have to do the work.”
Florian
used the example of Diego Sanchez, saying that his fight with
BJ Penn was not competitive and stating his belief that two of
the decisions Sanchez won in his shot sojourn at lightweight
“could have gone either way”. He is still interested
in a rematch with Sanchez but that may not happen now The Nightmare
has gone back to welterweight.
Gomi’s
fight with Florian will headline UFC Fight Night 21, which takes
place on March 31st in North Carolina. It will be broadcast on
Spike TV and will serve as the lead-in for the premiere episode
of The Ultimate Fighter season 11.
Source: Fighters Only Magazine
|
Tim
Sylvia versus World's Strongest Man
Darryl
Dennis/Icon SMI
Fall from grace: It has been a while since Tim Sylvia, bottom,
has been on top of his game.
The
Massachusetts Athletic Commission will get its first stern test
of competency in the spring when promoters attempt to bring a
fight card to Boston headlined by Tim Sylvia and Mariusz Pudzianowski.
You
might know Pudzianowski as the five-time World's Strongest Man
champion, a 280-something-pound side of flank who looks like
he could crush a beer keg with his bare hands (and probably has,
as part of his regular competition). Sylvia is far less impressive
physically, but he can cop to 30 more MMA fights than Pudzianowski,
who has one.
If
that sounds like pure circus tripe that may not even make sense
on a financial level, that's because it is: Pudzianowski is an
attraction in his native Poland, and can probably pick up a bigger
check for less risk there.
The
story is more indicative of the career decline of Sylvia, who
has somehow failed to gather his senses following a June loss
to elderly pro boxer Ray Mercer. Prior to that embarrassment,
Sylvia dropped two big fights to two big names in Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko -- nothing to be ashamed of.
So
how is it that Sylvia has been unable to recover? The pointlessness
of a Pudzianowski bout or a rematch against Wes Sims indicates
a decaying motivation to fight. And while that's not something
the commission can audit, it might arguably be more dangerous
than a mismatch.
Source: ESPN
|
Opponent
Level Will Factor Into Sanctioning for James Toney's Debut
By Mike
Chiappetta
When James Toney will make his UFC debut remains to be seen,
but the multi-time boxing champion already has plenty of fighters
interested in facing him, from former UFC heavyweight champion
Randy Couture to relative newcomer Kimbo Slice.
Because
of his pro boxing background, Toney will present a fascinating
test case when the UFC matches him up and a state athletic commission
goes through the process of approving an opponent. MMA Fighting
spoke to one of the men who could be faced with the task, Nevada
state athletic commission executive director Keith Kizer, on
what potential roadblocks the UFC could expect to face in setting
up a potential bout.
Like
any MMA newcomer, Toney will have to go through the process of
applying for an MMA fighter's license. Assuming his license is
approved -- which Kizer added, is no given for someone who's
failed two steroids test in recent years -- the next step will
come when the UFC submits a potential opponent to the commission
for approval.
While
Kizer wouldn't address specific possibilities like Couture or
Slice, he said the commission would take into account Toney's
boxing skills and lack of experience in MMA in determining if
a proposed matchup is worthy of sanctioning.
"Generally
speaking, you look at the matchup, compare the two fighters and
try to make sure it's a non-mismatch," he said. "There's
almost always a favorite, someone favored to win the fight. It's
not easy to get a 50/50 fight. But the question is how far apart
are the proverbial odds? If it's too great a distance, it's a
no."
Kizer
said that it would be possible that the commission could attend
a Toney training session to see what type of MMA skills he possesses
in addition to boxing in order to determine his true level of
competitiveness. In addition, he said the commission is open
to hearing all the pertinent information the promotion and Toney's
camp can provide about him.
He
cited as an example a Feb. 2007 bout proposed by PRIDE, pitting
longtime veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira against relative newcomer
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. At the time, Nogueira was an overwhelming
favorite, and upon first inspection, it didn't seem like an acceptable
match.
Kizer
then spoke to Sokoudjou's coaching staff at Team Quest, who filled
him in on Sokoudjou's training and extensive judo background.
After confirming the facts, Kizer approved the bout, and Sokoudjou
went on to pull off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.
That
said, Kizer admitted it was likely that the commission would
more readily approve a Toney matchup with a lesser experienced
opponent than one with years of experience.
"I
don't want to pre-judge anything, but that's probably a fair
statement," he said. "But talking about specific fighters,
that's unfair for me to discuss. We'll let the fans speculate.
If they come across my desk with a request for a fight, I'll
take a look at it, but I don't want to pre-judge anything."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Cachorrão
a better fighter with every fight
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
From
the two fights he had in 2009, Ricardo “Cachorrão”
Almeida emerged from the cage victorious. On 27 March, the Jiu-Jitsu
black belt will have Matt Brown ahead of him, at UFC 111, in
New Jersey. Cachorrão dropped from middleweight down to
welterweight, thus a likely challenger for Georges St.-Pierre
down the road. The path is being blazed and the Brazilian believes
he is becoming a more complete fighter with every fight.
“I
think my game is going through an evolution. Before, everyone
knew I could only end the fight on the ground. I feel the last
two fights I showed better wrestling and stand-up, ” he
is quoted as saying on MMAJunkie.
Cachorrão’s
wrestling has shown marked improvement.
For his next challenge in Brown, he feels it is a chance to demonstrate
this evolution. And of course, he will have to succeed to fulfill
the dream.
“This
fight will let me know what I need to do to reach the top of
the division,” he says.
Although
the fight will not be broadcast on pay-per-view, Almeida’s
performance will feature on the Spike TV channel, along with
the Nate Diaz and Rory Markham fight.
On
the same night, the welterweight title fight between St.-Pierre
and Dan Hardy and the interim heavyweight title bout between
Frank Mir and Shane Carwin will feature as main events.
Check
out the card:
UFC
111
New Jersey, United States
On March 27, 2007
Georges
St. Pierre vs Dan Hardy
Shane Carwin vs Frank Mir
Jake Ellenberger vs. Ben Saunders
Thiago Alves vs Jon Fitch
Mark Bocek x Jim Miller
Nate Diaz x Rory Markham
Ricardo Almeida vs Matt Brown
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"Always
laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine."
Lord Byron, 1788-1824
|
Mad
Skills Tonight!
Filcom Center, Waipahu,
Hawaii
Saturday,
March 6, 2010
Doors open at 6
Shawn
Burroughs 145 Robert Bonas
Cjs Gym * Sit you down
Herbert
Custudio 155 Anthony Rivera
Bullspen * Jesus is Lord
Chris
Manuel 120 Ricky Sajordo
Bullspen * Freelance
Chez
Chantere 145 Mark Yarcia
Bullspen * Freelance
Mark
Carbolledo 145 Chase Brown
Bullspen * Cjs Gym
JJ
Jennings 205 James Ikenur
Bullspen North Shore MMA
Steven
Burroughs 85 Jessie Lindley
Cjs Gym Freelance
Gabby
Rodriguez 45 Justin Kai Iwasaki
Bullspen HMC
Alfred
Santiago 50 Randy Kamaiopili
Cjs Gym No Remorse
Ricky
Plunkett 150 Ikaika Goodridge
Animal House * No Remorse
Albert
Napoleon 205 Steven Donahue
O2 * Jesus Is Lord
AJ
180 Albert
Cjs Gym Inner Circle Grappling
Gil
185 Shawn Sakata
Tiger Muay Thai No Remorse
Jeremy
Herai 65 Taz Kahalewai
Relson Gracie G Team Aniland
KJ
Kama 170 Kawena Mitchell
Relson Gracie G No Remorse
Jan
Quimoyog 135 Jared Iha
Inner Circle Grappling No Remorse
Jonah
Carter 150 Kona Raymond
HSD KB Up n Up
Kaleo
Nash 165 Justin Dulay
Universal Combat Sport B O2
Chris
De Aquino 180 Kahu Sibala
O2 KB Animal House
Cole
Dante 110 Van Cera
Universal Combat Sport B Freelance
Devin
Damo 130 Dennis Montera
Animal House B Sit You Down
Kailyn
Curren 115 Lisa Ha
Animal House KB HMC
Kawika
Kupukaa 250 Damon Applebaum
Animal House KB O2
* = Triple Threat (Kickboxing, Boxing with Take downs, &
Submission Grappling)
KB = Kickboxing
G = Submission Grappling
All matches and participants are subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
DESTINY:
Fast n Furious
Event:
DESTINY: Fast n Furious
What: Sporting Event
Start Time: Saturday, March 6 at 5:00pm
End Time: Saturday, March 6 at 10:00pm
Where: LEVEL 4 Night Club @ Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center
|
Officials
Clinics
NOTICE
FOR OFFICIALS CLINIC:
What: Officials Clinic
and Test- Level 1
Where: Hawaii Self Storage at 488 Kamokila Blvd. in Kapolei.
When: Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Why: For anyone interested in Officiating Amateur Boxing as a
judge, referee, timekeeper or glove table.
Cost is free if you are already registered with USA-Boxing. To
register with USA-Boxing cost is $80 including the background
check.
Contact Clinician Eiichi Jumawan at coach-jumawan@hawaii.rr.com
or 256-2885.
Or Interm Manager Bruce Kawano at bkawano@aol.com
We will need a count of attendees, so let us know if you can
make it.
Thank You For Your Support,
Bruce Kawano
|
WEC
3/6 Columbus, Ohio at Nationwide Arena
By Zach
Arnold
Dark
matches
¦Lightweights:
Ricardo Lamas vs. Bendy Casimir
¦Featherweights: Fredson Paixao vs. Courtney Buck
¦Lightweights: Danny Castillo vs. Anthony Pettis
¦Featherweights: Chad Mendes vs. Erik Koch
¦Bantamweights: Scott Jorgensen vs. Chad George
Main card
¦Lightweights:
Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan
¦Featherweights: Deividas Taurosevicius vs. LC Davis
¦Featherweights: Jens Pulver vs. Javier Vazquez
¦Bantamweights: Miguel Torres vs. Joe Benavidez
¦WEC Bantamweight Title match: Brian Bowles vs. Dominick
Cruz
Source: Fight Opinion
|
"The
Ultimate Fighter 11" exclusive photo gallery of all 28 cast
members
Spike TV on Monday officially announced the 28 fighters competing
on the upcoming 11th season of its and the Ultimate Fighting
Championship's long-runner reality series, "The Ultimate
Fighter."
The
diverse cast includes a teacher, firefighter, poet, pipeliner,
social worker, BET "Iron Ring" competitor, "The
Crocodile Hunter" former bodyguard and others.
Cast-member
bios were available in Monday's post, and now thanks to Spike
TV, we have an exclusive photo gallery of the competitors. (Click
on each thumbnail for a larger version of the photo.)
"TUF
11" debuts March 31 on Spike TV with UFC legends Chuck Liddell
and Tito Ortiz as head coaches. Although the tournament begins
with 28 middleweight competitors, the show is expected to use
the familiar 32-slot tournament, and at least two competitors
who lose in the opening elimination round are expected to be
invited into the house and on the cast of 16.
The
fighters look to navigate the talent-rich field to claim one
of two finalist spots in the tournament. The show concludes with
The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, a live event that takes place
June 19 in Las Vegas.
Stay
tuned to MMAjunkie.com in the coming weeks as we offer interviews
and feature stories on all of the competitors
"The
Ultimate Fighter 11" debut
Date: Mar
31, 2010
Debuts:
March 31 (currently in production)
Broadcast: Spike TV
Cast: 28 middleweight fighters
COMPETITORS
•28
fighters compete in elimination round
•14 winners and two "wild cards" earn spot on
cast
•Competitors: Rich Attonito, Seth Baczynski, Charles Blanchard,
Josh Bryant, Chris Camozzi, Brent Cooper, Jacen Flynn, James
Hammortree, Joseph Henle, Charley Lynch, Kris McCray, Court McGee,
Clayton McKinney, Kyle Noke, Victor O'Donnell, Norman Paraisy,
Constantinos Philippou, Greg Rebello, Nick Ring, Jordan Smith,
Ben Stark, Lyle Steffens, Brad Tavares, Warren Thompson, Kyacey
Uscola, Cleburn Walker, Jamie Yager, Woody Weatherby
COACHES
•Tito
Ortiz, head coach
?Cleber Luciano, assistant coach
?"Razor" Rob McCullough, assistant coach
?Saul Soliz, assistant coach
•Chuck Liddell, head coach
?Howard Davis Jr., assistant coach
?Scott Epstein, assistant coach
?John Hackleman, assistant coach
?Jake Shields, assistant coach
Source: MMA Junkie
|
DAN
HENDERSON TO CHALLENGE JAKE SHIELDS
FOR STRIKEFORCE MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
AT BRIDGESTONE
ARENA IN NASHVILLE, TENN., ON APRIL 17
Gegard
Mousasi Will Defend Light Heavyweight Crown Against “King
Mo,”
Gilbert Melendez Risks Lightweight Belt Against Top-Seeded Rival
Shinya Aoki
Tickets
For World Championship Tripleheader Go On Sale Friday, March
5;
Pre-Sale Begins Tomorrow/Wednesday, March 3, via “STRIKEFORCE
Insider”
NASHVILLE,
Tenn. (March 2, 2010) –Mixed martial arts (MMA) legend and
two-time United States Olympic wrestling competitor Dan Henderson
(25-7) will challenge STRIKEFORCE World Middleweight (185 pounds)
Champion Jake Shields (24-4-1) in the main event of a highly
anticipated STRIKEFORCE fight card at Bridgestone Arena (formerly
known as Sommet Center) in Nashville on Saturday, April 17.
In
other featured bouts, STRIKEFORCE World Light Heavyweight (205
pounds) Champion Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1) will defend his crown
against undefeated MMA star and two-time NCAA All-American wrestling
star “King Mo” (6-0) while STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight
(155 pounds) Champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez (17-2)
will put his title on the line against DREAM Champion and top-ranked
Japanese superstar Shinya Aoki (23-4).
An
exclusive special pre-sale ticket purchase opportunity for STRIKEFORCE:
Henderson vs. Shields will take place for “STRIKEFORCE Insider”
e-newsletter subscribers (www.strikeforce.com/signup.asp) beginning
at 10 a:m. CT tomorrow/Wednesday, March 3, and ending at 10 p.m.
CT on Thursday, March 4. STRIKEFORCE Insiders will receive a
special
e-newsletter Tuesday tonight with the pre-sale code.
Tickets
go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. CT on Friday, March
5 at Bridgestone Arena ticket office, all Ticketmaster locations
(800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com) and
STRIKEFORCE’S official website (www.strikeforce.com).
One
of the most decorated figures in the history of MMA, Henderson,
who left the UFC to sign a multi-year agreement with STRIKEFORCE
in December 2009, is the only fighter in the sport’s history
to simultaneously hold two different titles in two different
weight classes (welterweight and heavyweight) for a major fight
promotion (PRIDE Fighting Championships).
The
31-year old-Shields, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and resident
of San Francisco, captured the vacant STRIKEFORCE middleweight
crown with a unanimous five-round decision over fellow superstar
Jason “Mayhem” Miller in a live CBS primetime televised
matchup at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., on Nov.
7, 2009. Shields, who has not suffered a defeat since December
14, 2004, will put a 13-fight win streak on the line when he
faces Henderson.
Since
2006, the 24-year-old Mousasi has reeled off 15 consecutive victories
to become the top 205-pound fighter in the world. An aggressive,
Dutch-Armenian fighter, who relocated with his family from Iran
to The Netherlands when he was four-years-old, captured the STRIKEFORCE
light heavyweight title by impressively stopping Renato “Babalu”
Sobral one minute into the first round of their meeting at HP
Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. on Aug. 15, 2009.
Unbeaten
since he made his MMA debut in Japan with a first round (2:11)
TKO over Travis Wiuff on Sept. 28, 2008, the 28-year-old King
Mo is a former NCAA Division I All-American and Big 12 wrestling
champion for Oklahoma State University. With a mere 11 months
of MMA experience under his belt, the Murfreesboro, Tenn.-born
fighter decimated two-time UFC tournament champion and MMA legend
Mark “The Smashing Machine” Kerr just 25 seconds into
their meeting with a barrage of punches on Aug. 28, 2009.
Melendez,
a 27-year-old Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu stylist, reclaimed
the STRIKEFORCE lightweight belt from the man who took it from
him – Josh “The Punk” Thomson – with a five-round
unanimous decision in one of the most ferocious battles of all
time in the cage at HP Pavilion on Dec. 19, 2009. The stunning
victory came just four months after the San Francisco native
avenged the only other defeat of his career by stopping Japanese
wrestling ace Mitsuhiro “The Endless Fighter” Ishida
with an onslaught of punches in the third round (3:56) of a rematch
on Aug. 15, 2009.
The
26-year-old Aoki, a dangerous submission expert who holds a black
belt in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as well as judo, is recognized
as one of the sport’s premiere 155-pound fighters. His tremendous
flexibility has allowed him to surprise many opponents, thus
earning him the nickname “Tobikan Judan,” which is
Japanese for “master of flying submissions.”
On
Oct. 6, 2009, Aoki seized the DREAM lightweight title by submitting
superstar Joachim Hansen with an armbar in the second round (4:56)
of a championship bout in Yokohama, Japan.
The
event will air live on the CBS Television Network on April 17.
STRIKEFORCE
in March 2009 signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA
events on premium cable television network SHOWTIME. The promotion
made its live, primetime debut on CBS with the “Fedor vs.
Rogers” mega-fight that it co-promoted with M-1 Global on
Saturday, November 7 and generated 5.46 million viewers for the
main event between the world’s number one heavyweight, Fedor
Emelianenko, and superstar Brett “The Grim” Rogers.
About
STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial
arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made
history with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event, the first
sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state
history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary
champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt
Cesar Gracie at San Jose's HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out,
record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE, sanctioned by
ISKA, has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming
for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship
kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial
arts (MMA) series with "Shamrock vs. Gracie." In May
2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE,
partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E),
an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects
of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.
CONTACT:
STRIKEFORCE
Mike
Afromowitz
(917) 566-8754
mafromowitz@strikeforce.com
Brener
Zwikel & Associates
John Beyrooty
(562) 233-747
johnnybey@aol.com
Steve
Pratt
(818) 462-5602
SteveP@BZAPR.com
Source: Johnney Bey
|
Scott
Coker Looking Forward to Fedor's Return by Summertime
By Ray
Hui
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker commented Thursday on Fedor Emelianenko's
absence from the April 17 Strikeforce-CBS card, downplaying the
promotion's contract renegotiations with Fedor and his M-1 Global
management.
"I
look forward to having Fedor back and I think it'll happen sometime
late second quarter and maybe in the summertime," Coker
said Thursday on ESPN's MMA Live. "I feel confident that
we'll get through this process, and move on."
M-1
Global last week confirmed Fedor would not be fighting on the
Strikeforce-CBS card in April. According to M-1 Global, Fedor
will fight in May against Fabricio Werdum.
In
a recent interview with Mix Fight News, M-1 Global president
Vadim Finkelstein admits contract issues contributed to the postponement
and added that the postponement will allow them time to expand
the availability of the fight to over 100 countries.
Coker
is describing the renegotiations as the ironing out of "some
last-minute details."
"This
happens in sports all the time and MMA is no different,"
Coker said. "It's happened in the past with all different
fighters -- some of you have heard about and some you haven't
heard about -- It's just the nature of the sport. We look forward
to having Fedor back in the cage where he belongs and we just
move forward."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Gesias
Cavalcante: “I have to gain ground again”
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Gesias Cavalcante was in Brasilia to accompany his friends from
American Top Team at Bitetti Combat 6. Accustomed to winning,
two-time winner of the K-1 Grand Prix and one of the top fighters
in his division in the world, the fighter has three unpleasant
results (no contest and losses, respectively). JZ, as he is known,
has dropped in performance ever since he was made to deal with
a series of injuries. Recovering from another to the knee, the
fighter is ready to turn things around and shine yet again. Check
out the conversation he had with GRACIEMAG.com:
When
you fight again?
No
date for now. I’m taking it one step at a time, not wanting
to rush anything. When you rush things, you get the feeling that
we are doing something, but you are not actually doing anything
at all. So I’m taking it slowly, I’m training, but
I don’t have a date set yet so as not to interfere with
my training.
Is
there a chance you will fight in the U.S.?
I’m
staying with Japan. I have one or two more fights there, but
I can also be released to fight at Strikeforce, depending on
the fight and date. I’m waiting to see what happens next.
What
is your view of this time you’ve been away?
I
see it as a learning period. I’ve been fighting since I
was 4 years old and training MMA since he was 15. Ever since
I went to the American Top Team, I think I went a bit overboard
in how I treated my body. I’m a guy who likes to train and
even when I’m not training, I’m in the gym doing something.
I overdid it and now I have to take some time to recover, that’s
all.
What
do you think of the fighters who stand out in your division now?
Do you ever think of Shinya Aoki, after all that drama involving
your bouts with him?
There
was all that drama … I’m not thinking of those things,
all that’s in the past. I’m focused on the present
and the future will be whatever it will. I like everybody who’s
on top, from BJ to Melendez and Aoki, too. Let’s take that
route. I have to gain ground again, I’ve been out of the
circuit. But I know what I and my team can do, and it’s
all right.
A
former opponent of yours, Joachim Hansen will go down in weight
to face Bibiano Fernandes, at the Dream. What do you think of
this fight?
Man, when I learned that Hansen would lose more weight to fight
Bibiano, I was shocked, because the fightis actually is an intermediate
category, even below 65kg. He is thin, but is tall and has heavy
bones. But I’m for Bibiano! The kid is phenomenal, with
excellent Jiu-Jitsu and has a strong chance of making it a good
fight. Hansen has heavy hands, but on the ground Bibiano is first
rate. He’s also done well on his feet. I’m rooting
for Bibiano and I think he’ll win.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Report:
UFC Signs James Toney to Multi-Fight Agreement
By FCF
Staff
After
much speculation and discussion as to whether or not boxing champion
James Toney would eventually transition into MMA, as the charismatic
fighter has continually insisted was his intention, it is being
reported this afternoon the 41 year-old has signed with the UFC.
The initial report came from Five Ounces of Pain, and UFC President
Dana White reportedly has also confirmed the signing to MMA Fighting.
White offered no confirmation as to when Toney will make his
MMA debut.
Toney
will reportedly make his first Octagon appearance having accumulated
a boxing record of 72-6, and due to the fact he remains the NABO
and IBA heavyweight champion, it is expected that the boxer will
compete in the UFC’s heavyweight division.
Toney
last boxing match took place in September when he stopped Matthew
Greer in the second round. The decorated boxer has also won titles
while competing in the middleweight, super middleweight and cruiserweight
divisions.
No
details of the reported agreement have been officially announced.
(Update:
In an annoucement posted on the official UFC website later this
afternoon, White has confirmed that the promotion has signed
Toney to a multi-fight agreement. No opponent or date for Toney's
Octagon debut were given)
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Dana
White comments on Chuck Liddell’s body
By Zach
Arnold
His
latest message for all of us:
http://twitpic.com/169u7o
As usual an mma” news site” said chucks belly was back.
Wrong again idiot websites! Stop reading shit sites people.
He
is in fight shape already.
I’d
like to know what MMA sites are actually on his bookmark list.
I always seem to miss the articles that he’s commenting
on.
Speaking
of staring at bodies in MMA, here’s an article discussing
Marcus Davis’s online blow-up and how photoshopped pictures
of him on a “Gay Times” magazine cover last year irritated
him to the point of making his now infamous AIDS remark:
Yes,
Mixed Martial Arts is a sport. It’s also a sport with ungodly
amounts of testosterone levels that blow away any T/E ratio you’ve
ever seen in your life. If the average human has a T/E ratio
of 1:1, then that level is blown off its hinges in Mixed Martial
Arts. In the most macho of all macho sports, testosterone is
the fuel that breeds world champions and also breeds unbelievable
stupidity. In a business that has macho heels like Phil Baroni
and behemoths like Bob Sapp, it’s impossible to avoid some
of the taboos that come with a sport so fueled by testosterone.
One
of those taboos is homophobia.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
COUTURE,
KIMBO, FORREST?
WHO'S FIRST FOR TONEY?
by Ken
Pishna
Who gets the first shot at James Toney?
That
is the million-dollar question... or likely somewhere near the
million-dollar mark considering that Toney signed a multi-fight
deal with the UFC.
It’s
unclear how soon we’ll find out just who the former world
champion boxer will draw in his Octagon debut, even UFC president
Dana White told MMAWeekly.com content partner Yahoo! Sports that
he wasn’t sure yet what he’d do with Toney.
“We’ll
figure something out,” the brash UFC executive told Yahoo’s
Kevin Iole. “I’m not really sure.”
He
insists whomever Toney is matched up with, it won’t be a
“freak show” pairing with someone like a Jose Canseco
or Herschel Walker.
There
are some interesting scenarios that are already gaining momentum,
however.
Former
heavyweight and light heavyweight UFC champion Randy Couture,
via his Twitter account on Wednesday night, made it abundantly
clear that he would relish the opportunity to welcome Toney to
the cage.
Other
speculation has ranged from Forrest Griffin to Kevin “Kimbo
Slice” Ferguson.
All
three options are fighters that could bridge the gap between
White’s insistence that Toney fight at light heavyweight
and Toney saying he wants to fight in the heavyweight class.
Each mixed martial artist is a large light heavyweight, but on
the smaller end of the heavies, possibly opening up catchweight
options.
Kimbo,
in particular, is stirring a hornet’s nest of speculation.
Juanito Ibarra, Toney’s MMA consultant, told Bleacher Report
that he would like to see a fight with Kimbo, feeling it was
a good match-up for his new client. And he’s probably right.
Kimbo’s ground game has been slow to develop, and although
he fancies himself a striker, he’s nowhere near the striker
that Toney is.
Adding
fuel to that fire is the fact that a bout White said we take
place at UFC 113 between between Kimbo and Matt Mitrione still
hasn't emerged on the UFC's event page. Could that mean Kimbo
may not face Mitrione after all and instead be slotted into an
early summer bout with Toney? Possibly.
One
thing is for sure, the UFC will have to be calculated about how
they use Toney and hope that the former champion is up to snuff
when he steps in the cage in order to quell concerns that he
is just a boxer trying to grab headlines.
Many
of the same concerns surrounded former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar
when he entered the Octagon, but in less than a year, he won
the UFC heavyweight championship.
Can
Toney duplicate Lesnar’s feat? Not likely, but that’s
not even something that needs to be asked of the 41-year-old.
The
more valid question is if he can back up his claims that he can
translate his boxing prowess into Octagon prowess. And that remains
to be seen.
(UPDATED:
4:15 p.m. PT, March 4 to reflect that Kimbo Slice vs. Matt Mitrione
was never on the UFC event page.)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
'Observer':
UFC to run live show head-to-head with Strikeforce
1
Recommend The Ultimate Fighting Championship has plans for a
live card on free TV to counterprogram Strikeforce's next major
show.
UFC
President Dana White confirmed plans for an April 17 event, probably
on Spike TV, the Wrestling Observer reports. That's the date
set for the second Strikeforce show on CBS.
Strikeforce's
April 17 card in Nashville includes three title bouts and five
top-10 fighters. UFC won't be able to put together an opposing
of that quality with less than six weeks' notice, but it has
the sport's most powerful brand. Even comparatively minor shows
such as UFC Fight Nights can draw 1.7 million viewers on Spike
TV.
Among
the bouts being considered is a match-up between welterweight
Mike Swick and former champion Matt Serra, according to the Observer.
Source: USA Today
|
Could
this be Manny's final fight?
LOS ANGELES -- The frantic ferocity of Manny Pacquiao's training
camps at the stuffy Wild Card Gym clearly indicate he feels every
fight could be his last.
This
time around, Pacquiao knows he really might be done with boxing
-- for a while at least.
Pacquiao
is training in Hollywood for his March 13 fight against Joshua
Clottey at Cowboys Stadium while simultaneously running for a
congressional seat in his native Philippines. It's the latest
move in his exhaustive quest apparently to become all things
to all people in a homeland that already has embraced him as
a boxing champion, a commercial pitchman, a movie star, a singer
and its most famous person.
But
if he beats Clottey on March 13 and then gets elected eight weeks
later, as many expect, how can he balance a burgeoning political
career with the months of intense training necessary for a former
flyweight to survive bigger opponents such as Miguel Cotto, Oscar
De La Hoya and Clottey?
"I
don't know, but I can still fight," the 31-year-old Pacquiao
said Wednesday while getting his hands wrapped in a cramped back
room. "Boxing is different than politics. Politics is more
in service. ... I want to be a good public servant. I want to
help people."
Promoter
Bob Arum understands the lure of public service after working
as a lawyer in the Justice Department during the Kennedy administration,
but Pacquiao's determination to join Congress at the height of
his athletic career is perplexing to the man who shepherded Pacquiao
from obscurity.
"I
can't figure it out," Arum said. "I tried very lightly
to dissuade him this time. I know people around him have tried
also. He's determined to do it."
If
Pacquiao is elected this spring after his bout in Dallas, trainer
Freddie Roach and Arum have come to terms with the possibility
that the combination of Pacquiao's political responsibilities
and his struggle to land a megafight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
could keep him out of the ring for a while -- perhaps permanently.
"It
could be our last fight, sure," Roach said. "I don't
think it will, but it could definitely work out that way."
Pacquiao
(50-3-2, 38 KOs), generally considered the world's top pound-for-pound
fighter, will meet Clottey (35-3, 21 KOs) at Cowboys Stadium
in front of a huge crowd lured by Pacquiao's star power and reasonably
priced tickets -- a bonus that particularly appeals to Pacquiao,
who rose from abject poverty to the pinnacle of his sport.
Arum
said Pacquiao feels deeply compelled to give back to his country
for his good fortune. Even after giving away millions of his
boxing winnings to charities, family, friends and strangers who
stand outside his house in the Philippines waiting days to catch
a glimpse of him, he seems to believe the best way is through
elected office -- even if many of his Filipino fans apparently
disagree.
He
failed in an attempt to win a congressional seat in May 2007,
losing by a lopsided margin. His latest run, which will be decided
in the Philippines' general election on May 10, has a much better
chance of succeeding, according to Arum and political observers.
"He's
lived in the U.S., and he's seen how people live here, and the
relative affluence here," Arum said. "As a caring individual,
that has to upset him. He genuinely wants to make a difference
in those people's lives, and I guess he thinks politics is how
to do that."
Roach
has risen along with Pacquiao to the top of his profession, but
he would rather see his greatest fighter leave at his apex than
on a decline. Roach also realizes a fighter of Pacquiao's stature
has little to gain beyond money, unless he finds an opponent
worthy of his skills.
"I
did have a discussion with Manny about it," Roach said over
the shouts of his brother, Pepper, ordering somebody to move
a car that's blocking a spot in the Wild Card's minuscule parking
lot. "We didn't come up with an answer. It's more about
the opponents. If Mayweather beats (Sugar Shane) Mosley and then
won't fight Manny, who else is there? (A third fight with) Juan
Manuel Marquez? Maybe Edwin Valero? People really want to see
Manny-Mayweather."
Mayweather
and Pacquiao have tried to avoid talking about each other while
preparing for their respective spring bouts, but the fight still
is the favorite topic in every boxing conversation. Their negotiations
fell apart over Mayweather's insistence on extra-stringent drug
testing, a stance interpreted by Arum and others as a reluctance
to take on Pacquiao.
Roach
still wants to see the fight come together later this year. Indeed,
Arum agrees Congressman Pacquiao still would be able to train,
noting the Filipino legislative body meets in July and adjourns
until the end of the year.
"If
he gets elected, I'm sure he'll still get time off for training
camp," Roach said. "The government shuts down when
he fights anyway. The terrorists call a treaty and stop fighting.
I think I could get him away for eight weeks."
Source: ESPN
|
Kimbo
Slice May Be Off UFC 113 Card as James Toney Speculation Mounts
By Michael
David Smith
The UFC formally announced last month that Kimbo Slice would
be making his pay-per-view debut at UFC 113. But Kimbo's fight
against Matt Mitrione is still absent from the official UFC 113
card at UFC.com.
And
a whole lot of people are thinking that it's more than just coincidence
that Kimbo's next fight was called into question just hours after
the UFC announced that James Toney will step into the Octagon.
Toney's
trainer Juanito Ibarra is already on the record as saying he
hopes Kimbo is Toney's first opponent in the UFC. Prior to signing
with the UFC, Toney said he wanted to fight Kimbo, although he
seemed only vaguely aware of who Kimbo was and repeatedly called
him "Simba."
But
even if he doesn't know who Kimbo is, Toney knows that the best
opponent for him is someone who is:
1. A well-known name
2. Not good enough at wrestling and Brazilian jiu jitsu to simply
take him down and dominate him.
Kimbo
is really the only fighter under contract to the UFC who qualifies
in both categories. Kimbo vs. Toney would be a huge pay-per-view
draw and would probably generate more mainstream media hype than
any other UFC fight all year. And Kimbo is not a particularly
good MMA fighter, especially on the ground, which means Toney
would have a real chance of winning his UFC debut. (Randy Couture,
on the other hand, would probably need less than a minute to
take Toney down and beat him on the ground by TKO or submission.)
And
as much as a Kimbo vs. Toney fight would have "freak show"
written all over it, it would actually be a somewhat interesting
stylistic match-up. I honestly don't know who I'd pick to win.
Do you?
UPDATE:
To clarify, although UFC President Dana White said publicly that
Kimbo would fight Mitrione at UFC 113, and although the UFC announced
during UFC 110 that Kimbo would fight Mitrione on UFC 113, the
Kimbo vs. Mitrione fight was never listed at UFC.com. Until an
official opponent for Kimbo is listed at UFC.com, expect the
speculation to continue.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Kimbo:
“I’m a little Nemo fish, with the sharks of the UFC
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Kimbo is now an athlete with faith in God. Kevin Ferguson, better
known as Kimbo Slice, prefers to stay out of the media spotlight.
However, when he speaks, he projects a different image from the
one that made his reputation on the internet, when he would brawl
on the streets of Miami. In NOCAUTE magazine # 85, now on newsstands
across Brazil, the UFC fighter recalls his impoverished childhood
when he even spent time living with his family in a car in the
aftermath of a hurricane. Check out the following snippet from
the conversation Kimbo had with GRACIEMAG collaborator Nalty
Jr.
When
you fought in the streets, did you think of fighting professionally?
No.
I never thought about it while fighting in the streets. I started
fighting to make money. We live in a world where there is a system
to follow. Everyone has to make money and find a way to survive.
Street fighting was my livelihood.
You
showed technical improvement against Houston Alexander. How is
work at the ATT going?
For
me it’s a learning experience, since there are many big
fish, some sharks and some whales. I’m just a little Nemo
fish swimming with sharks of the UFC. I know I have a long way
to go, but it’s a matter of time and I will improve my technique.
Who
is the greatest fighter of all time?
I’m
a fight fan. As I box, I have to give credit to my favorite:
Mike Tyson. And the best MMA fighter I have to say is Anderson
Silva. Anderson is certainly the best and most complete fighter
in the UFC. He’s untouchable.
Check
out this Kimbo fight, while still at EliteXC, against another
street tough, Tank Abbott.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
The
legacy of Keith Kizer is cemented thanks to Evander Holyfield
By Zach
Arnold
We
have long discussed Keith Kizer’s “business as usual”
performance on this site as head of the Nevada State Athletic
Commission. As duly noted on a few boxing web sites, Kizer’s
administration has approved more fighters over the age of 35
(a cut-off range for state approval) than anyone could have possibly
imagined. In February, we had a UFC PPV headlined by Randy Couture
vs. Mark Coleman which resulted in Coleman getting cut by UFC
a few days later due to safety concerns.
And
now we get Keith Kizer approving Evander “Evan Fields”
Holyfield for a boxing license to fight Francois Botha in Nevada
reportedly on April 17th. Seriously. According to quotes Kizer
gave publicly, he stated that Holyfield’s recent fight performances
have proven that he is deserving of a one-fight license.
The
criticisms I have leveled against Kizer in the past have all
been fair charges — from the impotent “out-of-season”
drug testing of MMA fighters, to the situation involving Antonio
Margarito and an unwillingness to apply harsh scrutiny to past
Margarito fights in Nevada (due to the hand-wrap controversy),
to the situation regarding his long-standing stand-off with Big
John McCarthy, and to the situation regarding urine tests being
an acceptable and accurate standard for drug testing when negotiations
were happening for Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao. And
yet, the criticism and heat towards Kizer has never been that
strong in regards to those past issues. However, when news broke
today about Holyfield being approved by Kizer’s administration
in Nevada for a license, I suspected that public reaction would
turn very sour very quickly.
The
public reaction has been, so far, consisting of disgust, anguish,
and contempt. The only memeber of the Nevada State Athletic Commission
that voted against Holyfield’s license request was Skip
Avansino, who expressed the same concerns that most American
boxing fans have about Holyfield in regards to his health and
whether or not he is even competent to continue fighting. Will
Avansino end up getting the Flip Homansky treatment and get asked
to leave the commission soon?
The
Las Vegas Review-Journal highlights the licensing controversy:
Dr.
Timothy Trainor, a consulting physician for the commission, gave
Holyfield the green light, but Avansino remained unconvinced.
“I
can’t believe his conditioning has gotten better in the
last five years,” he said. “I would want the medical
advisory board to look into his neurological condition.”
Trainor
said neurological and cardiological tests, conducted within the
past three weeks, revealed no problems.
“From
a medical standpoint, he’s cleared to fight,” Trainor
said.
Holyfield
may be cleared to fight in Nevada, but asking him to speak clearly
in daily life without slurring his words may be a different matter
altogether.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
BJJ
World Champ to fight MMA at Asia
Antonio
Braga Neto and Leandro da Silva, two Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world
champions, will fight MMA at next Martial Combat Fighting Championship,
which takes place at Singapore at May 17 and will air live at
ESPN StarSports. Fellow Brazilian Eduardo Pachu will also be
in the card. “The doors are opening for us there at Singapore.
I wanna fight a lot MMA this year, my manager is working on that”,
Braga Neto said.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"The
secret of a good life is to have the right loyalties and hold
them in the right scale of values."
Norman Thomas, 1884-1968
|
DESTINY:
Fast n Furious Tomorrow
Event:
DESTINY: Fast n Furious
What: Sporting Event
Start Time: Saturday, March 6 at 5:00pm
End Time: Saturday, March 6 at 10:00pm
Where: LEVEL 4 Night Club @ Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center
|
Mad
Skills Tomorrow!
Filcom Center, Waipahu,
Hawaii
Saturday,
March 6, 2010
Doors open at 6
Shawn
Burroughs 145 Robert Bonas
Cjs Gym * Sit you down
Herbert
Custudio 155 Anthony Rivera
Bullspen * Jesus is Lord
Chris
Manuel 120 Ricky Sajordo
Bullspen * Freelance
Chez
Chantere 145 Mark Yarcia
Bullspen * Freelance
Mark
Carbolledo 145 Chase Brown
Bullspen * Cjs Gym
JJ
Jennings 205 James Ikenur
Bullspen North Shore MMA
Steven
Burroughs 85 Jessie Lindley
Cjs Gym Freelance
Gabby
Rodriguez 45 Justin Kai Iwasaki
Bullspen HMC
Alfred
Santiago 50 Randy Kamaiopili
Cjs Gym No Remorse
Ricky
Plunkett 150 Ikaika Goodridge
Animal House * No Remorse
Albert
Napoleon 205 Steven Donahue
O2 * Jesus Is Lord
AJ
180 Albert
Cjs Gym Inner Circle Grappling
Gil
185 Shawn Sakata
Tiger Muay Thai No Remorse
Jeremy
Herai 65 Taz Kahalewai
Relson Gracie G Team Aniland
KJ
Kama 170 Kawena Mitchell
Relson Gracie G No Remorse
Jan
Quimoyog 135 Jared Iha
Inner Circle Grappling No Remorse
Jonah
Carter 150 Kona Raymond
HSD KB Up n Up
Kaleo
Nash 165 Justin Dulay
Universal Combat Sport B O2
Chris
De Aquino 180 Kahu Sibala
O2 KB Animal House
Cole
Dante 110 Van Cera
Universal Combat Sport B Freelance
Devin
Damo 130 Dennis Montera
Animal House B Sit You Down
Kailyn
Curren 115 Lisa Ha
Animal House KB HMC
Kawika
Kupukaa 250 Damon Applebaum
Animal House KB O2
* = Triple Threat (Kickboxing, Boxing with Take downs, &
Submission Grappling)
KB = Kickboxing
G = Submission Grappling
All matches and participants are subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
Officials
Clinics Tomorrow
NOTICE
FOR OFFICIALS CLINIC:
What: Officials Clinic
and Test- Level 1
Where: Hawaii Self Storage at 488 Kamokila Blvd. in Kapolei.
When: Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Why: For anyone interested in Officiating Amateur Boxing as a
judge, referee, timekeeper or glove table.
Cost is free if you are already registered with USA-Boxing. To
register with USA-Boxing cost is $80 including the background
check.
Contact Clinician Eiichi Jumawan at coach-jumawan@hawaii.rr.com
or 256-2885.
Or Interm Manager Bruce Kawano at bkawano@aol.com
We will need a count of attendees, so let us know if you can
make it.
Thank You For Your Support,
Bruce Kawano
|
WEC
3/6 Columbus, Ohio at Nationwide Arena
Tomorrow
By Zach
Arnold
Dark
matches
¦Lightweights:
Ricardo Lamas vs. Bendy Casimir
¦Featherweights: Fredson Paixao vs. Courtney Buck
¦Lightweights: Danny Castillo vs. Anthony Pettis
¦Featherweights: Chad Mendes vs. Erik Koch
¦Bantamweights: Scott Jorgensen vs. Chad George
Main card
¦Lightweights:
Bart Palaszewski vs. Karen Darabedyan
¦Featherweights: Deividas Taurosevicius vs. LC Davis
¦Featherweights: Jens Pulver vs. Javier Vazquez
¦Bantamweights: Miguel Torres vs. Joe Benavidez
¦WEC Bantamweight Title match: Brian Bowles vs. Dominick
Cruz
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
Abu Dhabi card set
by Carlos Eduardo Ozório
The card for UFC 112, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s
premiere in the Arab world, is completely in place. The event
takes place on April 10 in Abu Dhabi, and will be held at the
world’s first car theme park, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, right
next to where the Formula 1 races take place. The news is that
it will be the first UFC event held outdoors. But Abu Dhabi being
a desert, the likelihood of rain is next to none.
Check
out the finalized card:
UFC
112
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Anderson Silva vs Demian Maia
BJ Penn vs Frankie Edgar
Matt Hughes vs Renzo Gracie
Rafael dos Anjos vs Terry Etim
Kendall Grove vs Mark Munoz
Phil Davis vs Alexander Gustafsson
John Gunderson vs Paul Taylor
Nick Osipczak vs Rick Story
Paul Kelly vs Matt Veach
Mostapha Al Turk vs Jon Madsen
Brad Blackburn vs DaMarques Johnson
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Report:
Vitor Belfort Could Return Sooner Than Expected
By FCF
Staff
Vitor Belfort could be returning from the shoulder surgery, which
forced him to withdraw from his scheduled title shot with UFC
Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva on April 10th, sooner than
expected. After Belfort underwent the surgery, it was widely
reported, that the Brazilian veteran would likely be one the
sidelines for over six months rehabilitating the injury. In a
recent post attributed to Belfort on the fighter’s official
Twitter account, however, it sounds as though the fighter believes
he will be able to return to action much sooner.
I
am starting my rehabit and the doctor said that my shoulder is
going to be a much faster recovery then we thought I will be
back very soon
Due
to Belfort’s injury, renowned jiu-jitsu champion Demian
Maia, will fight Silva for his title at UFC 112. The event will
take place in Ferrari World, at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, and will
also feature a lightweight championship bout between champion
BJ Penn and challenger Frankie Edgar.
Belfort
earned the title shot after stopping former champion Rich Franklin
at UFC 103 in September. The win was the feared striker's fifth
in a row.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
After
Machida, Shogun Expects Rematch with Little Nog Soon
His rematch with UFC light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida
is not far off, but Mauricio ‘Shogun‘ Rua also expects
to have another long-awaited rematch put in front of him soon:
Rogerio Nogueira, the 205lb twin brother of former PRIDE heavyweight
champion Rodrigo Nogueira.
Rua
and Little Nog fought in 2005 when they were both signed to PRIDE,
and the match is often cited as one of that organisation’s
best ever. Rua won by unanimous decision but fans have been clamouring
to see a rematch ever since.
“I
believe every fight is tough, but the fights with Lyoto and Minotoro
were the toughest I had. Fans want that fight [with Rogerio]
again and I think we're going to meet each other again. Minotoro
is a guy I respect a lot and we talk often. Nobody can be underestimated,
he is at the top of the category, he has proved that. I'm sure
that fight will happen soon,” Rua told Fighters Only in
a feature interview for our print edition.
When
the match can be made will depend on the outcome of Rua-Machida
II, which takes place at UFC 113 on May 8th. If Rua is successful,
there are going to be contenders ahead of Nogueira in the queue,
although Nogueira fights former champion Forrest Griffin at UFC
114 and may catapult himself up the list if he wins impressively.
Source: Fighters Only Magazine
|
Exclusive:Jens
Pulver on Mentor and MMA Legend Pat Miletich
Did Pat Miletich know the "secret ingredient" for making
champions?
Jens Pulver takes us inside Miletich's famed Iowa proving ground.
By Jonathan
Snowden
Once, legends roamed the fabled halls of Pat Miletich's gym in
Bettendorf, Iowa. Turn around quickly and you'd bump into a world
champion: Miletich, Tim Sylvia, Matt Hughes and Jens Pulver all
trained out of Pat's gym, a step up from the rented racquetball
court where they got their start years earlier.
When
the mainstream media discovered MMA, they were quick to discover
Pat. He was articulate, smart and helped paint a picture they
wanted to sell: whitebread, down home, middle America. This was
the "new NASCAR" and no one better epitomized that
than the clean cut Miletich fighters.
Of
course, like most things, by the time the mainstream discovered
them, the camp was well past its sell-by date. There were fawning
pieces in ESPN: The Magazine and Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim
even wrote a book singing Miletich's praises. These were the
fiddler, playing madly while Rome burned. While Wertheim was
deifying Miletich as a trainer and a leader, his team and his
gym were falling apart. Former heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia
left. Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes left. And finally,
at the end of 2009, the UFC's first lightweight champion Jens
Pulver left the gym.
In
a UGO exclusive, Pulver opens up for the first time about why
he left, Miletich's inflated reputation and more.
Jonathan
Snowden: "When you left Bob Shamrock you were looking for
a home. What attracted you to the Miletich crew?"
Jens
Pulver: "All you ever read about in Full Contact Fighter
was Extreme Fighting and all these guys. Pat Miletich, Matt Hughes,
Jeremy Horn fighting there. Sean Sherk, Denis Hallman. I knew
if I went out there, at least I'd be busy. Because we were only
legal in three states. And I chose to do this for a living like
an idiot. It was only legal in three states and they didn't even
have my weight class. This is what you chose to do? You've got
a job at a high school, you're going to be the head wrestling
coach and you do this? I was hooked on it, so I went out to Iowa,
for Pat but even more because I wanted Monte (Cox) as a manager."
Snowden:
"You spent a lot of time at Pat's gym kind of hazing people
who were looking to be fighters. Was it important right away
to establish who was tough and who wasn't going to cut it in
the sport?"
Pulver:
"At the time, that's what this sport needed. We weren't
well rounded fighters but we had toughness. We just wailed on
each other. We were tough. We were in great shape. And we were
tough. That's all there is to it. We beat the mess out of each
other. We had to learn how to punch. Most of us came from wrestling
backgrounds and we knew a little bit about submissions. But mostly
we could go 25 minutes, we were buzzsaws and we dictated where
the fight went."
Snowden:
"Was there something special Pat was teaching there that
made the team so succesful?"
Pulver:
"People always ask for Pat's secret ingredient. There wasn't
no secret ingredient. That's why I made that comment about our
"supposed leader." There was no one leader man. We
all did it together. Jeremy Horn was the leader when it comes
down to it. We all ran after that guy. We all said 'teach us
coach.'"
Snowden:
"You recently walked away from Iowa and Miletich. Is that
part of the plan for a life after fighting?"
Pulver:
"I want to push the amateur end of it. Legitimate amateur
competition, not pro rules they call 'amateur' so the promoter
pimp doesn't have to pay the fighter trick. They've got to stop
exploiting the fighter. I want to clean up my sport as well."
Snowden:
"What is your relationship like with Pat today? Have you
fallen out with all the guys on the old team?"
Pulver:
"How could I have a falling out? Fallen out with who? There
is nobody. They're all gone. There was Pat, but Pat is too busy
trying to make cash, making a living. He ain't coaching people.
Everyone always thought Pat had a magical touch and was teaching
us all these magical things. No he wasn't. No. Never. Never ever.
It was a great combination of things that left. Jeremy left,
Matt left, Robbie left. Matt Pena left. Everybody grew up more
or less. We weren't there anymore. And that's why the great experiment
is over."
Snowden:
"So, there was no magical Miletich secret?"
Pulver:
"If there is a key ingredient, and Pat Miletich was teaching
it, then that key ingredient would still be there. Correct? The
young bucks would still be coming. Correct? I wasn't trying to
talk mess about Pat himself. I'm just ready to go. I'm 34 years
old. How long was I supposed to stay there? I hadn't been home
in 10 years. I'm tired. I want to build my own gym. I want to
build my own fighters. It's my time."
Jens
Pulver looks to get his career back on track against veteran
submission specialist Javier Vasquez at WEC 47 Saturday at the
Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The show is available free
on the Versus network. You can follow Jonathan Snowden on Twitter:
@mmaencyclopedia.
Source: UFO
|
Jamie
Varner-Kamal Shalorus Off WEC 48 Card
By Ray
Hui
Just three days into his WEC 48 training camp, former champ Jamie
Varner announced Wednesday on his Twitter that opponent Kamal
Shalorus has pulled out due to injury from the April 24 pay-per-view
card in Sacramento, Calif.
The
lightweight matchup was not officially confirmed by the organization,
but it was targeted and would have likely been slotted for the
pay-per-view portion of the card.
It
remains uncertain whether Varner will still fight on the April
24 card.
In
January, Varner (16-3) lost his belt to Ben Henderson, who will
be rematching Donald Cerrone at WEC 48. The third-round guillotine
choke was Varner's first loss since tapping to an armbar against
Hermes Franca at UFC 62 in August 2006.
Olympic-level
wrestler Shalorus (6-0-1) has won both his WEC fights. At WEC
46, Shalorus became the first man to hand a loss to Team Quest's
Dave Jansen.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
JOHN
ALESSIO ENTERS RING OF FIRE A CHANGED MAN
by Mick
Hammond
Sometimes a major change of pace is what is needed to kick start
a stagnating career.
Xtreme
Couture welterweight John Alessio knows this first hand, as it’s
what he’s done in order to get his MMA career back on track.
He
explained to MMAWeekly.com recently, “After losing two in
a row, I had to sit back and take a look at what I felt was going
wrong with my training and in my personal life.
“I’ve
been taking things a lot more serious than before. Now basically
I’m just training all the time. I’m not in the club
scene anymore at all. I’m just completely 100-percent focused
on returning to the UFC.”
When
it came to training, Alessio sought the help of jiu-jitsu guru
Robert Drysdale, top boxing coach Gil Martinez, and former Xtreme
Couture trainer Shawn Tompkins after deciding his fight game
was no longer evolving.
“I
wasn’t really working on advancing my game,” he reflected.
“I was just kind of falling into a pattern of preparing
for a fight, fighting, taking some time off, partying, and then
getting back into shape to fight.
“I
kind of lost that learning curve in between fights. I just made
those changes and just started training harder, staying in the
gym between fights, and continuing to learn to grow.”
Having
got his life back on track, Alessio turned his sights towards
a return to fighting. Enter longtime friend and veteran MMA promoter
Sven Bean.
“He’s
expressed interest in always wanting to use me and I’m grateful
for the opportunity,” commented Alessio. “I’ve
been sitting since Oct. 2, trying to negotiate with some shows,
and Sven Bean stepped up and signed me and gave me this opportunity
to go to Omaha.
“I’m
just looking to make some new fans and continue on my win streak
and keep working hard.”
In
Ring of Fire on Friday in Omaha, Alessio will take on Matt Delanoit
in what could be a match-up to set the pace of the year for each
fighter.
“He
seems to be a scrappy kid, a stand-up kickboxing type fighter,
and it’ll be a tough fight,” stated Alessio. “I’m
sure he’ll be one of those guys who will be looking to make
a name off a name and so it’s my job to go in there and
stop that.”
Following
Ring of Fire, Alessio will step in for an injured Carlos Newton
at the upcoming W-1 show, and from there he makes no bones about
what he wants to accomplish in 2010.
“I
look to finish up the year without losing; and putting on exciting
fights where people are wowed,” he exclaimed. “I want
people to think that I’ve improved a lot and that I’m
a force to be reckoned with that other welterweights should watch
out and take me very seriously.
“I
think it’s very important that I’ve learned from the
big mistakes I’ve made like getting out of shape in between
fights and lack of concentration. Now my goal is that I want
to crack that Top 10 and for everybody to believe in my abilities
as much as I do now.”
With
his life in order, Alessio feels it is time to make his presence
known and finally impact the 170-pound division like he’s
always wanted to.
“Thanks
to my sponsors Knockout Fight Wear, Tapout, Shaw Chiropractic,
Gamma-O, Full Tilt Poker, and TCB Clothing,” he said in
closing. “You can check out the Ring of Fire live on GoFightLive.com,
and then I’ll also be fighting in two weeks at W-1, so be
looking for me to have a very busy March.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
A
lesson in unregulated MMA and why the issue matters
By Zach
Arnold
Just
asking: Is the Fedor camp afraid of Alistair Overeem? Here is
article profiling how Fedor & M-1 are working with Strikeforce.
I was asking some questions myself when I saw M-1 suddenly show
up this week on Comcast Sportsnet/Fox Sports Net airing TV shows
with random matches.
The
Des Moines Register in Iowa has an article highlighting the dark
side of unregulated MMA. Remember this article the next time
you hear Marc Ratner talking about UFC wanting to do business
in markets with regulation in place already. The paper did a
multiple-article series on this very topic. Do you have sympathy
for a 17-year old kid who allegedly lied about his age so he
could fight?
The
San Diego Union-Tribune has an article about NuVasive, the spinal-specialist
company that did the major back surgeries of Nate Quarry and
Tito Ortiz.
WEC
champion Brian Bowles, who fights this upcoming weekend in Columbus,
Ohio, was profiled in a newspaper article recently. WEC will
be a big part of this weekend’s Arnold Classic event which
keeps getting bigger and bigger…
Brock
Lesnar’s pal, Cole Konrad, signs with Bellator. Give him
a couple of years of seasoning and he’ll be off to UFC.
We
talked about Tim Sylvia vs. Wes Sims happening in Saint John’s
on the site a couple of days ago. Now there’s talk about
Tim Sylvia vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski on 4/23 in Worcester, MA.
The promoters are Butterbean and Corey Fischer. Recognize the
name Corey Fischer? We sure do. From our April 12th, 2007 news
update:
Ohio
event promoter Corey Fischer is promoting Cliff “Twin Tyson”
Couser for an upcoming MMA event. Couser fought in the past for
K-1. If you recognize the name Corey Fischer, it’s because
he used to be associated with Toughman boss Art Dore. Fischer
also was named by an Ohio Athletic Commission watchdog group
a few years ago for using professional fighters in amateur Toughman
events (including MMA fighter Forrest Petz).
Petz,
Fischer, and Dan Hardy (of all people) were involved in a bizarre
situation a few years ago during and after a fight.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Lyoto
Machida
By Guilherme
Cruz
The UFC light heavyweight champion is ready to put his title
on line for the second time. Lyoto Machida, who defended the
title against Maurício “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104,
will face the Brazilian fighter one more time at May 8, and spoke
to TATAME.com about the fight, revealing that he doesn’t
believe “Shogun” will repeat the same strategy. In
the exclusive interview, the champion also commented Rodrigo
“Minotauro” Nogueira’s loss to Cain Velasquez,
revealed that he already trained with Velasquez before, and commented
Anderson Silva’s title fight against Demian Maia, at UFC
112.
How are the training for the rematch?
I’m training since December for this fight. We’re focusing
each part of the game every training. Now we’re doing a
lot of specific training and, of course, fighting him for the
second time we know more about each other.
Do you think he’ll repeat the same strategy from the first
fight?
Look, I’m trying to forget it. It’s a new fight. Shogun
is a very eclectic fighter, he has this capacity of changing.
I’m focusing some aspects and we don’t know what’s
gonna happen.
Anderson Silva, who usually trains with you at Black House, was
scheduled to face Vitor Belfort, but now faces Demian Maia. What
does it change in his preparation?
Vitor would fight more standing, that’s his characteristic,
and Demian makes the fight more dangerous too, but with his background
in jiu-jitsu. If Demian tries to fight standing it’ll be
a disadvantage for him. I don’t know what’s Anderson’s
strategy, but I believed he changed it a lot in this aspect.
Maybe he was trying less jiu-jitsu because he would face Vitor.
How do you think it’s gonna be this fight?
Every fight brings its danger. Demian is a really dangerous fighter,
mainly on the ground. He’s getting better in striking, but
Anderson is great in that. Anderson’s level, especially
in striking, is huge. The fight starts standing so it’s
an advantage for Anderson. Demian is really dangerous n his area,
but it’s not easy to take Anderson down.
And what did you thought about Rodrigo Nogueira’s loss to
Cain Velasquez?
I already trained with Velasquez a long time ago and I knew he
was a tough guy, a fighter who’s coming to become a champion.
I never doubted Minotauro could win, but I knew he was going
to face a tough guy. Minotauro deserves all respect for all he
already done, but the competition today in MMA is really high.
Everybody is studying everybody, getting better and better…
The strategy is the differential, and Velasquez’s was better.
How was this training with Velasquez?
I
trained with him when I was going to face Tito Ortiz. I went
after a good guy in wrestling, he wasn’t in the UFC yet.
We trained together for a couple weeks and I felt he was a tough
guy, had a lot of heart. It’s really important in the sport.
A lot of people has talent, but will and persistence? He trained
a lot, he’s a really tough fighter. A loss can happen to
anyone. Velasquez deserved the victory, but Minotauro has his
chances. He’s a great fighter and I knew none of them would
give up the fight. It’s like tennis… Today Federer
is winning, but tomorrow a new guy can come and defeated him.
Source: Tatame
|
Mayweather-Mosley
Set for May 1 on HBO PPV
NEW YORK (March 2) - "Who R U Picking?" "Who are
you picking?" The buzz surrounding the biggest night of
boxing this year has already started as superstar and six-time
World Champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather and welterweight
mega-star, five-time World Champion and current WBA Welterweight
World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley, are set to meet in Mayweather
vs. Mosley: Who R U Picking?, on Saturday, May 1 at MGM Grand
in Las Vegas in a spectacular bout which will be produced and
distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m.
ET/6 p.m. PT.
The
bout, promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions,
and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, AT&T, Dewalt Tools and StubHub,promises
to be a spectacular display of talent and skill with Mayweather
and Mosley will meet in a 12-round welterweight battle that is
already being compared to other great and historic welterweight
match-ups like Sugar Ray Leonard against Tommy Hearns and Oscar
de la Hoya against Felix Trinidad.
"Ever
since I came back to the sport I said I only wanted to fight
the best and Shane Mosley is one of the best," said Mayweather
(40-0, 25 KO's). "Not only does he have the skills, but
he is also fast, strong and a very tough competitor. His speed
and power won't mean much that night against my will and determination
to dominate him inside the square circle. When I compete against
the best, I am always at my best; so on May 1 the fans will see
one great performance."
"I
have always wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather and now that dream
is finally coming true," said Mosley, (46-5, 39 KO's). "Floyd
is excellent at what he does, but my past record of beating the
best competition and other great champions shows that he is just
another one of my opponents I intend to beat. He has never faced
anyone like me before and I think that will be a big factor on
May 1 when I plan to show him just what it means to meet a true
champion in the ring."
"This
fight has been in the making for a long time and now Floyd has
the opportunity to showcase his skills against a great champion
like Shane," said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO, Mayweather Promotions.
"It is these kinds of opportunities that elevate and excite
Floyd. The people and the polls might be wondering who is going
to win this fight, but on May 1, I have no doubt that Floyd is
going to give them a dominant performance and continue to prove
why he is the best fighter in the world today. "
"The
theme of this fight is "who are you picking?" because
when two champions of this caliber meet in the ring, you can
expect nothing but an extremely competitive fight and an unknown
outcome that will only reveal itself on May 1," said Richard
Schaefer, CEO, Golden Boy Promotions. "Shane Mosley is one
of the greatest fighters of this era and so is Floyd Mayweather,
so it is a true gift that the fans will have the opportunity
to see a fiercely competitive and fantastic night of boxing."
"MGM
Grand is thrilled to host two of the sport's superstars,"
said Richard Sturm, President of Sports and Entertainment for
MGM MIRAGE. "Mayweather and Mosley bring tremendous speed
and skill to the ring and will no doubt electrify the fans on
May 1."
"Mayweather
vs. Mosley is a showdown of superstars that fans have been talking
about for years," said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View.
"It has all the elements of a pay-per-view mega-fight."
A
1996 Olympic Bronze medalist for the United States, the undefeated
Floyd Mayweather has since gone on to strike gold in the professional
ranks, winning six world titles in five weight classes to firmly
establish himself as one of the most elite fighters of his era.
With dominating wins over the likes of World Champions Diego
Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar
de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton, Mayweather was on a meteoric rise
to hall of fame greatness when he announced his retirement from
the ring in 2008. But he left the door open for a return if the
right challenge presented itself and after 18 months of a much
needed physical and emotional break from the ring, he returned
to boxing on September 19, 2009 with a dominating and spectacular
victory over future Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Marquez. He now
faces Mosley on May 1 in what will be one of his most challenging
contests to date.
In
addition to his boxing accomplishments, Mayweather has managed
to become a crossover star, appearing in HBO®'s Emmy®
award winning reality series "24/7" three separate
times as he provided cameras with an all access look at his training
and personal life. Additionally, as a competitor on ABC's Dancing
With The Stars, Mayweather was introduced to a completely new
audience with over 35 million viewers tuning in each week.
It
would be easy for Sugar Shane Mosley to be a satisfied man, but
Mosley will not be content until he feels that he has climbed
every mountain the sport has to offer, including beating Floyd
Mayweather on May 1. His goal is to continue to win as this future
Hall of Famer always has, compiling six world titles and having
ruled the lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight divisions
over his storied 16-year career. Mosley has defeated them all,
including the likes of Oscar de la Hoya, Fernando Vargas (twice),
Luis Collazo and Ricardo Mayorga, but his most recent victory
could be his most spectacular - a ninth round stoppage of Antonio
Margarito in January 2009 to win the welterweight world title
for the third time.
Mosley
has a worldwide fan base and feels that he can continue to win,
including one more world championship, his sixth, which is an
amazing feat for any fighter, but seems easy when you're a given
the hallowed "Sugar" nickname, shared by Mosley with
the legendary "Sugars," Robinson and Leonard. He also
hopes to ascend back to the number one spot on the mythical pound
for pound list, which will only happen by taking on the best
in the world, fight in and fight out.
Tickets
priced are $1,250, $1,000, $600, $300 and $150, not including
applicable service charges, are on sale now and limited to 10
per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per
person with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge
by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800)
745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at
www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship
boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers
comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines
and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent
events to date have included world championship fights between
Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar De La Hoya
vs. Floyd Mayweather and George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer; and
concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen,
Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil
Collins, Billy Joel, U2, 'N Sync, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys,
Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The
MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of
Country Music Awards (ACMA), Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game
and the U.S. Open of Motocross.
The
Mayweather vs. Mosley pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m.
ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be
produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be
available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast
will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive
HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc.,
is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view
industry. For Mayweather vs. Mosley fight week updates, log on
to www.hbo.com.
Source: The Fight Network
|
Modest
Living Affords Dominick Cruz Luxury to Train Like Champ
By Ray
Hui
For bantamweight Dominick Cruz, it's all about the preparation
to become a champion. The time to train triumphs any material
possession, and even if he successfully captures the WEC title
this Sunday at WEC 47, he'll continue living a not-so-championship
lifestyle.
In
the 24-year-old's San Diego apartment, his kitchen, bedroom,
and living room are all steps away. Correction, not even steps;
the current No. 1 contender can reach those basic amenities by
simply, turning around.
Despite
fighting five times for the WEC and next week challenging for
the belt, he currently lives in a one-room studio.
"I
just want focus, man," Cruz told me in a recent media call.
"I live modestly by choice because the less bills that I
have, the less debts that I have is the less I have to work and
make money to support those needs. The less things that I have
to live with, the more time I can devote to training. I try to
devote every waking hour I have into MMA, because my goal is
to be world champion and be the best fighter I can be."
It's
worked. His sacrifice has allowed him to fight at the elite level.
Cruz's only career loss was to then-champion Urijah Faber as
a featherweight, and since moving down to bantamweight one fight
after the loss, has reeled off four consecutive WEC wins en route
to Sunday's chance to face current 135-pound king Brian Bowles.
"If
you look around, the opponents, like Miguel Torres and Brian
Bowles, everybody in my weight class," Cruz said. "They're
a bunch of beasts, man. I got to do everything I can to stay
on top of my game. That's what living modestly does for me. It
just keeps my head in a good level spot and I can devote 100%
of my time to training and traveling wherever I need to get the
best training partners possible."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Ed
Soares talks Paulão
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
The absence of Paulo Filho at Bitetti Combat 6 sparked some controversy.
Paulão dropped off the card, but later asked to fight
and returned to the event. The organization brought over Japan’s
Yuki Sasaki to face him, but the Jiu-Jitsu black belt was nowhere
to be found on weigh-in day.
“Since
Chael Sonnen situation (postponement of the fight and later his
first loss), he is struggling with problems,” said Paulo’s
manager, Ed Soares, to MMAJunkie.
“There
is only so much we can do. We love Paulo, he is a great person,
he’s amazing. But he is going through some problems. He
came back against Melvin Manhoef and won some fights, but is
still is going through a rough patch, “he said.
According
to Soares, after the Sonnen debacle, they tried to take Filho
to the U.S., for a change of air. It did not pan out, though.
“It’s
obvious this situation didn’t come about in a couple of
days and won’t go away in that time, either. It will be
a long process to let him out of it,” he added.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"Ignorance
and inconsideration are the two great causes of the ruin of mankind."
John Tillotson, 1630-1694
|
BJ
Penn Unlikely Source of Info for Hawaii Tsunami News Coverage
B.J.
PennAs the world watched the terrible news of another horrific
earthquake -- this one epicentered in central Chile, and waited
for news of a follow-up tsunami expected to hit Hawaii, UFC lightweight
champion BJ Penn and his website BJPenn.com became a legitimate
news outlet for information.
Penn,
who incorporates frequent video blogs as part of his website,
live streamed video footage of Hilo Bay on his website throughout
the day. His videos were picked up by CNN and Fox News and broadcast
to a worldwide viewing audience, and Penn was also interviewed
by CNN regarding conditions in his area.
Though
the tsunami was first expected to hit at 11 am local time, the
islands had not suffered any damage as of one hour later, though
there were reports of receding shorelines, an early sign of an
impending tsunami strike.
The
31-year-old Penn -- a two-time UFC champion in two different
weight classes -- lives in Hilo and is considered one of Hawaii's
most famous athletes. He's always been among the more tech-savvy
athletes in MMA, promoting his website in interviews dating back
to his early days in the UFC.
He
recently released an iPhone app that was a bestseller, and just
a few days ago launched what he calls the "Penn Global Broadcasting
Network" on his site, offering 90 channels of content.
"It's
the biggest news in the world and it's coming from our iPhones,"
a member of Penn's entourage could be heard saying while shooting
video of the bay.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Tim
Sylvia vs. Mariusz Pudzianowski? Butterbean Says He'll Promote
It
Eric
Esch, the fighter better known as Butterbean, claims he's going
to promote a mixed martial arts show in Worcester, Mass., on
April 23 that will feature a main event of Tim Sylvia vs. Mariusz
Pudzianowski.
Butterbean,
who promoted a show in Alabama in December along with the Korean
promoter Moosin, tells the Boston Herald that he and his co-promoters
also have former UFC fighters Rich Clementi, Yves Edwards and
Houston Alexander on board. Butterbean himself will not be fighting
on the card.
Pudzianowski
is a five-time World's Strongest Man whose MMA debut last year
drew a lot of attention in his native Poland and a fair amount
in the United States as well. Sylvia is a former UFC heavyweight
champion whose career has gone into a downward spiral with some
embarrassing losses over the last couple of years. A fight between
them would certainly attract a lot of attention, in the same
way that train wrecks attract a lot of attention.
But
it's a long shot that this actually takes place. MMA was just
legalized in Massachusetts, and the local officials probably
aren't too keen on the idea of a main event that has "freak
show" written all over it.
Sylvia
recently tried to book a fight in Ohio against Wes Sims, only
to be turned down because the Ohio commission said it wasn't
competitive. Athletic commissions have recently shown an increased
willingness to assert themselves in stopping fights from happening
if they match up opponents with disparate levels of experience,
and Sylvia vs. Pudzianowski might not get OK'd.
And
if it does get OK'd? Yes, I'd watch. The same way I'd watch a
train wreck. With part of me feeling some morbid fascination,
and a bigger part of me just hoping no one gets killed.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Randy
Couture at the NFL Combine
Randy
Couture is spending the weekend in Indianapolis, trying to drum
up interest in mixed martial arts training methods in general,
and his Xtreme Couture gym in particular, for NFL teams interested
in exploring new methods of strength and conditioning for their
players.
Fox
Sports NFL reporter Jay Glazer is working with Couture in designing
and implementing MMA-oriented training programs for football
players and athletes in other sports.
MMA
training has become is the latest workout craze for NFL players,
and Couture is seeking to expand that and position his own gym
as the go-to place for football players who want to mix things
up during the off-season. Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared
Allen has trained at Xtreme Couture and raved about the results.
"I
think it's going to be the most important thing I did to help
my career," Allen said last year. "It totally changed
my entire workout regimen. It's so much easier on the body than
running and all that stuff that puts impact on your joints. Plus,
it's fun. You won't get burnt out doing the same old running
and hills. You'll push yourself further than you ever anticipated."
A
few NFL players have expressed interest in going beyond just
training in MMA and actually competing professionally after they
retire. One such player, New England Patriots free agent guard
Stephen Neal, is a former NCAA heavyweight champion wrestler
who beat UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar on the wrestling
mat in college. Couture told Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com that
he likes Neal's chances.
"I
talked to him recently," Couture said of Neal. "Give
me a little time to work with him I think he'll be tremendous.
Any wrestler with the mindset that he has who works with that
kind of vision will do well. I guarantee he'd have Brock Lesnar's
attention."
We're
not going to see Neal in the Octagon any time soon. But we are
going to see more NFL players training the UFC fighters do.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Fans
not thrilled, but Kaufman a winner
SAN
JOSE, Calif. – Sarah Kaufman won the title but not the crowd
on Friday night in becoming the first Strikeforce women’s
welterweight (135-pound) champion before what started out as
a sellout crowd of 2,500 fans at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.
It
ended with a half-empty arena, as Kaufman (11-0) won a five-round
decision over Takayo Hashi (12-2) of Tokyo in what was the second
time a nationally televised MMA event was headlined by a women’s
match.
Kaufman
won 50-45 on all three cards, with Hashi’s only significant
offense a kick to the face late in the fifth round that left
Kaufman with some bruising under the eyes.
While
the match was held less than a mile away from the site of the
Gina Carano vs. Cris “Cyborg” Santos match in August,
the first women’s fight to main event a live nationally
televised men’s show, the similarities ended there.
The
former was one of the big MMA events of 2009, a match that attracted
a level of attention that no other women’s match has approached.
It was a large crowd that clearly came to see the women.
But
this crowd was there more to see local fighters on the undercard.
They didn’t really know either main-event fighter. Hashi
never had fought on U.S. national television. Kaufman was in
her third fight on Showtime but never had been featured on one
of the company’s major events.
The
lack of sustained action hurt the most. The crowd, raucous before
the television portion of the show began, never booed the fight,
which many crowds would have.
The
bout consisted of Kaufman moving forward and connecting with
mostly tight, accurate punches, but there was minimal action.
“I
wanted to please the crowd,” said Kaufman, a native of Victoria,
British Columbia, who before the match spoke of how winning would
be great, particularly in the middle of so much Canadian national
pride with the Olympics. “But she kept moving backwards
and made it difficult.”
“I
wasn’t seeing the chance to finish,” she said. “It’s
hard to finish someone who is always running.”
It
was a battle of contrasting styles and game plans. Kaufman was
there to get the win by the safest route possible, which was
standing, and was at no point in any trouble. Hashi was knocked
down five times in the first three rounds, but Kaufman only followed
her to the ground on two of the knockdowns and in each case only
momentarily before getting back up.
“That’s
where she wanted the fight, so I was going to take the smartest
route possible by keeping it standing,” said Kaufman. “I
didn’t want to give her the chance to get an upkick or a
submission.”
After
being knocked down twice in the third round, Hashi abandoned
the standing and staying out of range game plan, and adopted
the attempt to take down at all costs plan.
But
Kaufman was stronger and Hashi never was able to execute a takedown.
But
between her constantly going for it and Kaufman not wanting to
leave herself off balance, it became an even more careful fight.
It
was the first time in her career that Kaufman went five rounds,
or for that matter, any women’s match had on a nationally
televised live MMA event. She seemed to have little trouble doing
so.
“I
could have gone another five rounds,” she said. “I
noticed her getting tired at the end of the third, fourth and
fifth rounds and wanted to take it to the ground.”
Kaufman
has gone from a beginner who walked into the Zuma Gym, which
opened up downstairs from the dance studio she grew up in, and
who started learning the game under trainer Adam Zugec as a 17-year-old
to a world champion of a major organization while staying with
the same trainer.
She
described herself as nerdish, as she relaxed before the match
started by doing crossword puzzles in the dressing room.
Kaufman
said she doesn’t have any idea what happens from here. Scott
Coker recently had talked of doing an eight-woman tournament
held over two shows to create a next contender, but Kaufman said
she hoped to fight again as soon as possible.
“I’ll
fight next week if they ask. I’ll fight whoever they ask
me to fight.”
Kaufman
took charge immediately scoring a knockdown with a right on one
of the first punches of the fight. But as was the case with each
knockdown, Hashi was right back up.
“I
knocked her down but I never hit her with that one good shot,”
said Kaufman, who came into the fight with eight knockouts in
her 10 previous bouts.
But
action slowed from there as Hashi either moved away or tied up
Kaufman near the cage. After her second knockdown, Kaufman went
to the ground briefly but quickly backed off, forcing Hashi to
stand.
The
crowd started emptying the Civic Auditorium after the second
round, when it seemed clear Hashi wasn’t offering much of
a challenge but that Kaufman was being careful standing, technically
controlling the fight but never going for the kill.
The
two went into the match with a disappointed crowd, as the previous
match, with middleweights Karl Amoussou (11-2-1, 1 no contest)
of Paris facing South African native and San Jose resident Trevor
Prangley (22-5, 1 no contest) ended in a technical draw in 4:42
of the first round.
The
two were trading blows when Prangley’s thumb accidentally
went into Amoussou’s right eye. Amoussou said he wanted
to continue. But when he wasn’t able to open his eye, the
doctor ordered the match stopped, leaving the crowd completely
unsatisfied with a match that had just gotten going.
The
highlight of the main card was highly toured Santa Cruz, Calif.,
native Luke Rockhold (7-1), who overwhelmed former University
of Iowa wrestler Paul Bradley (12-2) in 2:24 of the first round.
Rockhold
used his 7-inch height advantage and dropped Bradley immediately.
Bradley went down a second time from a punch that accidentally
connected to the back of the head. As Bradley was getting up,
Rockhold connected with a short jab that put him down again.
He then overwhelmed Bradley with punches, knees and high kicks
before the match was stopped.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
No
need to hammer Mir for crossing idiot line
Frank
Mir has never been afraid to speak his mind and in a Pittsburgh
radio interview last week, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship
heavyweight titleholder unloaded on current champ Brock Lesnar.
He
said they shared “legitimate hate” and “anger,”
and then in a couple lines that went particularly crazy, declared
he hoped he could essentially kill Lesnar if the two ever fight
for a third time.
“I
want to break his neck in the ring,” Mir said on the Mark
Madden Show on WXDX. “I want him to be the first person
that dies due to Octagon-related injuries.”
Crude.
Ridiculous. And, even by cage fighting standards, unnecessarily
barbaric. No one understands that more now than Mir himself,
who backtracked from the comments Tuesday and expressed embarrassment
that in trying to force a rematch with Lesnar he went too far.
He said he was trying to explain a fighter’s mentality and
it came out all wrong.
“I
kind of lost myself there,” Mir told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday.
“I got carried away. Obviously I don’t want to kill
Brock Lesnar.”
For
the most part, there was nothing to see here, no need to suspend
or fine Mir for speaking out. The UFC in particular, and mixed
martial arts in general, walk a fine line as they continue to
move into the mainstream. Broken neck comments don’t help
erase the old stigma of “human cockfighting.”
Here’s
the thing, though: in the end the person most affected by Mir’s
comments is Mir. If there was ever a sport where trash talking
wasn’t just accepted but could even be applauded it is MMA.
This isn’t some team sport or non-contact exercise.
This
is cage fighting. How polite do you want these guys?
Frank
Mir will have to deal with this and anything else he says when
the door closes on the Octagon and big Brock Lesnar is standing
across the way. That’s how it works. Talk all you want,
there is no avoiding the bill coming due.
“I’m
the one who’s going to have to answer for it,” Mir
acknowledged.
Lesnar
could very well pound Mir senseless again, the way he did at
their last fight at UFC 100 in July 2009. Mir won the first fight
between the two by submission in 2008.
Considering
the stakes involved for any fighter who wants to run his mouth,
it’s tough to get too upset when they do. It’s their
risk. It’s on them. The thing that makes MMA so exciting
– a true man vs. man battle – is why there can only
be so much tsk-tsking over this.
Mir
was talking big and it got out of control, going from colorful
to cartoonish. “Idiotic” is how Mir described it.
Mir
is a natural promoter, always willing to do media interviews
and even serving as color commentator for World Extreme Cagefighting
fights on the Versus Network. He knows what he’s doing and
freely admits he’s been so vocal about attacking Lesnar
because controversy doesn’t just help sell fights, it helps
create them in the first place.
“Hype
puts you in line for fights,” he said. “A Brock rematch
is big on my list. I can’t let this control my emotions.
The thing I want is to fight him. Obviously I took it too far.”
Mir
takes on Shane Carwin, himself a vocal Lesnar basher, on March
27 in Newark, N.J. Assuming Lesnar’s recovery from illness
is on schedule, the winner likely gets a title shot this summer,
probably in Las Vegas in July.
Fighting
Lesnar isn’t just the biggest payday out there for a fighter;
it would give Mir a chance to avenge the disappointing UFC 100
result. While Mir and Lesnar weren’t friends before that
one, and the trash talk from both sides was intense, there was
still a relationship between the two.
Just
three days before the bout, the fighters, both accompanied by
their wives, ran into each other in a back hallway of the Mandalay
Bay Events Center. Both were parents to newborns, Lesnar’s
second child and Mir’s fourth. They actually took time to
look at pictures of each other’s babies.
Mir
said even that tenuous relationship was snapped when Lesnar continued
to taunt Mir and pointed a finger in his face even after knocking
him out in the second round of their fight. Lesnar defended it
as saying he was full of post-fight emotion and Mir had talked
smack in the run-up to the fight.
“I
always understand we’re going to say things to help promote
the fight,” Mir said. “But when it’s over with,
it’s over with. For him to behave that way afterwards did
bug me.”
No
matter who is correct, Mir said his anger at Lesnar motivated
him to push for a rematch a little too hard. Eight months later,
Mir was on a radio show and went too far. “I wouldn’t
want my kids to hear that,” he acknowledged.
The
mini-controversy is likely over. Those that want to use the comments
to cement a negative opinion of MMA probably will. Those that
know better, and understand Mir’s personality, will brush
them aside and look forward to the eventual clash.
And
that’s the point with the UFC. As long as he avoids crossing
the idiot line, Frank Mir should say pretty much anything he
wants.
It
is he and he alone who will have to deal with Brock Lesnar.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce
on CBS set for April 17
SAN
JOSE, Calif. – The second Strikeforce event on CBS will
be held on April 17 at the Sommet Center in Nashville.
However,
Fedor Emelianenko, generally considered the top heavyweight fighter
both currently and of all time, will not be part of the show.
He long was expected to be the headliner of the April CBS event.
M-1
Global, Emelianenko’s main promoter, held a press conference
in Europe on Thursday which announced that Emelianenko (32-1,
1 no contest) would face Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1) in his next
fight, in May. There has been talk of Strikeforce doing a May
15 show in St. Louis.
Emelianenko
competed last weekend in a Russian sambo tournament, won by his
younger brother Aleksander Emelianenko. Fedor Emelianenko withdrew
after reportedly receiving a hand injury, which was believed
to be not serious. He had surgery on his hand after his last
fight, a win over Brett Rogers on CBS on Nov. 7.
With
Emelianenko out, the April 17 show is expected to be headlined
by middleweight champion Jake Shields (24-4-1) defending against
Dan Henderson (25-7).
Henderson
is the only man in major league MMA history to hold championships
in two weight classes at the same time, while fighting for the
PRIDE organization.
Coming
off a season as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter reality show,
and a knockout win over Michael Bisping on UFC 100, the biggest
pay-per-view MMA event in history, Henderson is at the peak of
his U.S. popularity.
But
there is some question whether he and Shields would be able to
carry a show that has to do network prime time-level ratings.
While
not official, it is believed a second title match will take place
on the bill with light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi (28-2-1)
defending against Mohammed “King Mo” Lawal (6-0). Lawal,
a world-class amateur wrestler, has made a great transition into
MMA, but with less than a year and a half in the game would be
giving up tremendous experience to the Dutch fighter working
on a 15-match winning streak, with 13 finishes. Lawal, who took
on the “King Mo” name in his debut in Japan, where
the sport has a more theatrical tone, would be the home town
favorite, having grown up in nearby Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Other
names talked about for the show include Herschel Walker and Bobby
Lashley, who were the two biggest draws on the Jan. 30 event
on Showtime, which did the third-biggest rating for MMA in the
history of the network.
Walker
was at the show in San Jose, watching one of his training partners,
Luke Rockhold, score an impressive win. Walker didn’t commit
to if or when he would fight again, saying he was leaving it
up to his coaches, Javier Mendez and Bob Cook. Cook said that
Walker had not been back training in San Jose but expected he
would start soon, indicating he has decided to fight again.
Walker
is the key because for major network prime time, the show needs
a mainstream hook. Henderson is the only one of the four headliners
who would have a chance to be that draw, as Lawal and Mousasi
have not yet established names past the Hardcore audience in
this country. Walker, who turns 48 next week but has the body
of someone 20 years younger, is significantly better known than
Henderson. Even though he’s not a top-level fighter, his
first fight proved to be a ratings winner and garnered a level
of publicity than most Strikeforce events have been unable to
get.
Lightweight
champion Gilbert Melendez also talked on the Friday night show
about prospective opponents Josh Thomson and Shinya Aoki. Melendez
won the title from Thomson on Dec. 19 in San Jose in a five-round
decision that was one of the year’s best fights. Melendez
said that a third match between the two needed to be done because
Thomson beat Melendez to win the title in their initial meeting.
He also spoke of wanting to win the Dream lightweight title,
held by Aoki, and to bring it to San Francisco.
Neither
that event, nor any shows except a March 26 minor Challengers
Series event in Fresno, Calif., were officially announced at
the company’s Friday night event at the San Jose Civic Center.
The company said it planned a major announcement for Monday.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
EDWARDS,
WATSON, AND JUAREZ BRING THE HEAT
Yves Edwards marked himself as the top contender for the MFC
lightweight belt. Yet it was a pair of spectacular knockouts
that stole the show at the Maximum Fighting Championship’s
MFC 24: Heat XC on Friday night at the River Cree Resort and
Casino, just outside Edmonton, Alberta.
A
flurry of punches from Edwards (37-15-1) dropped opponent Derrick
“The Eraser” Noble into his corner. Edwards continued
to rain down an array of strikes until referee Vern Gorman stepped
into to stop the proceedings at 4:44 of round one in the night’s
main event. “The Texas Gunslinger,” who was making
his debut in the MFC, looked crisp right from the start although
Noble (25-13-1) did catch him with a sharp hook in the early
moments.
Edwards
had a star-studded corner backing him up including MFC welterweight
contender Luigi Fioravanti, and in an interesting twist, reigning
MFC lightweight champion Antonio McKee.
While
Edwards’ win was convincing, it was overshadowed by the
dramatic finishes laid out in front of a sold out crowd by two
other fighters. In the card’s co-main event, English invader
Tom “Kong” Watson sent a resounding message out to
the rest of the MFC’s middleweight contingent when he scored
a vicious head-kick knockout over home-town fighter Travis Galbraith.
Watson
(11-3) caught a wide-open Galbraith perfectly on the side of
the head and sent him crashing face first to the mat. Galbraith
(17-7) was motionless for several seconds and then needed help
getting to his corner after what was one of the most devastating
knockouts in the history of the Maximum Fighting Championship.
It was a clear winner in the Knockout of the Night derby, though
early on it looked like that honor would go to Jesse Juarez.
Juarez
(13-5) didn’t even break a sweat as he came across the ring,
waited for Nathan Gunn to drop his left hand, and then fired
out a spectacular head kick that put Gunn down chin first into
the canvas. Juarez followed up with one hammerfist, but the result
was in the bag from the moment Gunn (7-2) went down and the verdict
was in a mere 11 seconds into round one.
It
was the seventh consecutive victory for Juarez, who called out
for a shot at the MFC welterweight title after the bout. For
Gunn, it was a second straight horrific knockout after he fell
in equally scary fashion to Pete Spratt at MFC 22.
The
other key result on the first collaboration show of MFC and Heat
XC went to Dwayne Lewis, who also scored his seventh straight
win as he stopped Ryan McClain at 2:08 of round two. Lewis (11-4)
went on the attack right from the start and stalked McClain throughout
the opening round. McClain had sporadic success with counter
strikes, but Lewis was all business in the second stanza, dropping
McClain (9-4) and finishing it off with a ground-and-pound assault.
Lewis,
backed by an incredible throng of supporters from his hometown,
was critical of his own performance but inched a little closer
to a coveted crack at the MFC light heavyweight belt.
Other
results:
-Yves Edwards def. Derrick Noble by TKO (Strikes) at 4:44, R1
-Tom Watson def. Travis Galbraith by KO (Kick) at 2:30, R1
-Jesse Juarez def. Nathan Gunn by KO (Kick) at 0:11, R1
-Dwayne Lewis def. Ryan McClain by TKO (Strikes) at 2:08, R2
-Dami Ebeyemi (5-0) def. Paapa Inkumsah (3-2) – Split Decision,
R3
-David Letourneau (2-1) def. Nick Hrynchyshyn (2-1) – Unanimous
Decision, R3
-Garret Nybakken (1-0) def. Chris Barber (0-1) – 2:30 Round
1, tapout via rear-naked choke
-Zach Blaber def. Eric Chouinard – 1:17 Round 1, tapout
via kimura
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NCAA
CHAMPION COLE KONRAD SIGNS WITH BELLATOR
The signing spree of Bellator Fighting Championships continued
on Saturday as former NCAA wrestling champion, Cole Konrad, announced
that he would be joining the organization following his latest
win in Philadelphia.
Following
a first round TKO of Joel Wyatt in Matrix Fights, Konrad disclosed
that he had signed with the growing promotion, and he is expected
to compete for them in 2010.
“I’m
excited to sign with Bellator,” Konrad said. “It’s
a great opportunity to fight for a great company and I’m
just really excited for what the future holds with this company.”
The
former NCAA wrestling champion is a training partner of current
UFC champion, Brock Lesnar, and both hold similar backgrounds
coming from the University of Minnesota.
While
Bellator has announced several tournaments in different weight
classes, one they have not ventured into yet is the heavyweight
division, but Konrad will be an exciting prospect to watch in
fights during their second season debuting in April.
“Cole
Konrad brings some great characteristics to the table that could
make him a force at heavyweight,” Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney
said. “Brock Lesner’s dominance in the UFC has shown
the impact that an elite, world-class wrestler can have in the
heavyweight division. As a two-time NCAA heavyweight champion
who is aggressively rounding out his MMA arsenal, Cole’s
potential is unlimited. We are happy to be teaming up with him
and, as a company, we are excited with what the future may hold.”
According
to the press release with Konrad's signing, Bellator will hold
events for 11 consecutive weeks, but no official word on when
the former Minnesota Golden Gopher will make his promotional
debut.
Stay
tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more information on Cole Konrad's
first fight with Bellator in the coming weeks.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DARREN
ELKINS IN AFTER FISHER SUFFERS INJURY
Spencer Fisher has been forced out of the upcoming UFC on Versus
1 card in March due to an undisclosed injury. Octagon newcomer
Darren Elkins has been tapped as a replacement to face hometown
fighter Duane "Bang" Ludwig on the Denver-area card.
The
change of opponents was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources
close to the fight on Friday. The injury to Fisher was first
reported by F4Wonline.com.
Making
his UFC debut on just over three weeks notice, Elkins (9-1) brings
a solid record with a quality list of opponents in the past.
His
last fight, a win over former UFC fighter Gideon Ray, was his
biggest victory to date, but Elkins has been competing in several
organizations including C3 and Bodog.
Ludwig
(19-10) will look to make his hometown crowd happy. He trains
alongside fighters such as Shane Carwin and Nate Marquardt at
the Grudge Training Center in Denver.
The
bout between Ludwig and Elkins will remain on the untelevised
portion of the broadcast, which will be the UFC's first show
on the Versus network.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Our
imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in
the future."
Charles F. Kettering, 1876-1958
|
YVEL
VS ROTHWELL NOW SET AT UFC 115
Fresh on the heels of the news that Pat Barry and Mirko CroCop
are set to do battle at UFC 115, each of their respective opponents
will now face off as Gilbert Yvel will face Ben Rothwell in Vancouver
in a heavyweight bout.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the match-up,
which has been verbally agreed to at this point, but bout agreements
should follow shortly. The initial change for Rothwell and Yvel
was reported by MMAJunkie.com.
Gilbert
Yvel made his UFC debut in January, but lost by TKO to rising
heavyweight fighter, Junior Dos Santos. Before that loss, Yvel
had just previously knocked out former UFC fighter, Pedro Rizzo,
in devastating fashion.
Suffering
travel sickness before UFC 110, Ben Rothwell was forced out of
his scheduled bout against Mirko CroCop. The former IFL stand-out
was rumored to get another crack at CroCop in the coming months,
but the UFC decided to make the switch around of opponents instead.
Rothwell
brings a wealth of experience into his UFC career, and hopes
to recover after his debut fight didn't go the way he wanted
it to as he was TKO'd by current top 5 ranked heavyweight, Cain
Velasquez.
There
has been no official announcement from the UFC about the switch
or the new bout, and it's unclear if Yvel and Rothwell will go
on the main televised card or the preliminary portion of the
broadcast.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
NEWCOMER JULIO PAULINO IN FOR ROB KIMMONS
Rob Kimmons has been forced to withdraw from a proposed welterweight
match-up with Mike Pierce at UFC on Versus 1. He reportedly has
some sort of unconfirmed leg injury and will be replaced by UFC
newcomer Julio Paulino.
Kimmons’
withdrawal was first reported by MMAJunkie.com. MMAWeekly.com
subsequently confirmed the replacement with sources close to
the bout.
Pierce
(10-3) is coming off of a loss to No. 2 ranked welterweight Jon
Fitch in his last outing. He defeated Brock Larson in his Octagon
debut in September of last year.
A
staple of the Alaska Fighting Championship promotion, Paulino
(17-2) makes his Octagon debut against Pierce. He enters the
bout riding a seven-fight winning streak. His most recent bout
was a victory over UFC veteran Rob Yundt in early February.
A
light heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Brandon Vera headlines
UFC on Versus 1 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Aldo:
“I don’t consider myself as favorite”
WEC
featherweight champion, José Aldo will make the first
title defense on April 24 against Urijah Faber, in California.
After training with BJ Penn’s boxing trainer, Aldo is back
to Rio de Janeiro and started working. After took the belt of
Mike Brown, who defeated Faber twice, the Brazilian guarantees
he doesn’t expect an easy fight. On an exclusive interview,
José Aldo talked about the trains on United States, commented
his friend and idol Rodrigo Nogueira’s loss to Cain Velasquez,
pointed the next talent of Nova União and a lot more.
José
Aldo
WEC
featherweight champion, José Aldo will make the first
title defense on April 24 against Urijah Faber, in California.
After training with BJ Penn’s boxing trainer, Aldo is back
to Rio de Janeiro and started working. After took the belt of
Mike Brown, who defeated Faber twice, the Brazilian guarantees
he doesn’t expect an easy fight. On an exclusive interview,
José Aldo talked about the trains on United States, commented
his friend and idol Rodrigo Nogueira’s loss to Cain Velasquez,
pointed the next talent of Nova União and a lot more.
Faber
has three defeats on career, two to Mike Brown, that you knocked
out when you got the belt. How do you think it’s gonna be
this fight?
Everybody
knows that fight is fight and who isn’t prepared may have
trouble. Mike beat him, but it’s another fighter, another
game. Faber is explosive, I don’t consider myself as favorite.
I have to feel the fight.
Did
you start any kind of training to defend the title?
I’m
still starting to develop my work now, I didn’t start to
think about it yet. On March we’ll focus more on training
over the opponent, standing up and the takedowns, but I have
to be careful with his strong spots and a good Wrestling. For
now I’m training Jiu-Jitsu.
Talk
a little about your training in America?
I
was in Sacramento for a month training a lot of Wrestling, always
trying to get better. I also had the chance to train boxing with
BJ Penn’s trainer.
You
were on the corner of Ronys Torres on UFC. What did you think
about the fight?
I
thought that he fought well standing up. Ronys was perfect, passed
the guard, made everything. It’s true that, sometimes, when
we’re on the corner we can’t analyze the fight well,
but wasn’t my situation. After the event I saw the fight
a lot of times and I was sure that he won the first and the third
rounds. He might have lost the second, but the victory would
be his still. That’s why I say that we Brazilians have to
go for the knockout, don’t let (the decision) with the judges.
And
Minotauro’s fight, where do you think he might have went
wrong?
I’m
total fan of Minotauro and his friend. He was trained and confident
to exchange with (Cain) Velasquez, but unfortunately (Cain) made
it, what made me really sad.
Who
would you point as the next great talent from Nova União
camp?
Eduardo
Dantas. He’s young and will probably blow outside here.
He just need more experience, he has all to shine more, as other
revelations on our team.
When
will you be back to United States?
Only
on April, next to my fight. My training will be developed in
Brazil, where I have the best stuff and the support of my family.
What
can fans expect from José Aldo on this title defense?
I
always try to do my best and please my fans, because they pay
me so I have to please them. You can expect an Aldo with a lot
of will.
Source:
Tatame
|
Bráulio
eying Hawn, Renzo and Demian
Braulio
Estima, 29, is now a citizen of the world. He lives in Birmingham,
England, and has been touring the United States teaching seminars.
It is little wonder “Caracara” is today recognized
as having one of the most technical guards in the world.
Even
so, now and then the Ze Radiola student shows that he will never
stop being that guy from Recife, Pernambuco, one of the poorest
big cities in Brazil.
“Brother
… I’m in the middle of a flight! And connected speaking
to you. I love technology,” the ADCC absolute champion of
2009 said vibrantly.
Carcará
made the most of the flight to comment on his first MMA opponent,
in the 80kg category of Shine Fights. His debut will be on May
15.
“So
then, I know Rick Hawn is a judo champion, was three-time U.S.
champion and even went to the Olympics. It seems he placed ninth
at the Athens Games in 2004. And he already has five wins in
five fights in MMA. If I remember correctly, he will fight tonight
for the sixth time (yesterday). I’ll stay tuned!” he
says.
“Surely
he won’t want to land under me at all, and will rely on
his extra experience in the striking department. Little does
he know that I am practicing a lot of stand-up. My jab is sharp
already (laughs),” he added.
Despite
the commitment in May, Braulio wants to fight Jiu-Jitsu in April
to keep active. ”I’ll fight at the World Pro in Abu
Dhabi. There’s no way I’ll miss watching Renzo, Demian
and Anderson on the same night! I’ll just stick around there
and fight in Abu Dhabi,” concluded the hard-nosed passenger.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Set
to fight Arlovski or Rogers, Pezão gives Werdum pointers
Not
having fought since November, Antonio Pezão should return
to cage in April, at Strikeforce. His opponent is likely to be
heavyweight Brett Rogers, who recently lost his unbeaten record
to Fedor Emelianenko, or former UFC fighter Andrei Arlovski.
“I
expect confirmation for April, the next Strikeforce. I have two
opponents in sight, probably Brett Rogers or Andrei Arlovski.
There’s nothing confirmed for either of the two, but the
date is set. Meanwhile, I continue training at ATT and despite
the uncertainty, the advantage is that they are both strikers.
So I can prepare for this type of fight, regardless of who it
is. Not much changes as far as strategy goes,” Pezão
told GRACIEMAG.com while watching the fights at Bitetti Combat
in Brasilia.
The
fighter also maintains contract with the Japanese Sengoku organization,
which offered him a great fight.
“They
called me to fight on March 22, but that would be really cutting
it close. It would be against Josh Barnett and left it up in
the air. The focus remains on April, at Strikeforce, which is
likely to go down,” he reaffirms.
Recently,
Fedor Emelianenko’s managers confirmed the fighting between
the Russian and Fabricio Werdum, the last fighter to beat Pezão
.
“Tho
one to win the fight between me and him (Werdum) would face Fedor.
The event came up with that. I really feel it should be Werdum
and hope it goes well. I’m rooting for him since he’s
Brazilian like me, since he’ll carry our flag and I hope
he wins it,” he said, giving his former opponent a pointer:
“I
think he should avoid standing too long, or else he’ll take
a fall,” he concludes.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Murilo
Bustamante against Motosserra in boxing match
At
43 years of age, Murilo Bustamante is unafraid to face new challenges.
Away from the rings and cages of MMA since December 2007, Bustamante
rose to the task yet again, just this time for an amateur boxing
match.
His
opponent at Nobre Arte boxing academy, at the top of Cantagalo
hill in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, was also-MMA fighter Danilo
Moto-Serra. The battle lasted three rounds, where both fighters
strung together some good combinations. In the end, by judges’
decision, victory went to former UFC champion Murilo Bustamante,
to the delight of the crowd (see the fight in full below).
“I
asked Claudinho (Coelho) to set me up with a bout so I’d
be more motivated to train. I was training a lot in the gi and
needed to go back to boxing. Danilo accepted and for me it was
very good, “said Murilo.
Team
BTT celebrates at Noble Art academy. Photo: Carlos Ozório
Proof
the MMA guys in has been investing strongly in boxing, other
bouts featured fighters from the mixed style. Vitor Pimenta,
of the BTT, showed great technique against Wendel Negão
and won the decision. Rafael Macuco also showed great enthusiasm
against Baiano and took full advantage with yet another victory
for a BTT athlete.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
L.C.
Davis Discusses Leaving Miletich, Xtreme Couture and WEC Success
LC
DavisWith a record of 15-2, WEC featherweight L.C. Davis is one
of MMA's biggest under-the-radar success stories.
After
back-to-back wins over Javier Vazquez and Diego Nunes, the 29-year-old
has picked up momentum that he hopes to take with him into his
next bout, next Saturday's WEC 47 matchup against Deividas Taurosevicius.
It marks the first time Davis will appear on the televised portion
of a WEC card, and he plans to make it memorable.
But
this time will be different for Davis, who recently made a drastic
change in his training, leaving behind Iowa and the Pat Miletich
camp for a new approach. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting,
Davis discussed his long road to the spotlight, his new training
regimen, his place in the featherweight division and more.
Mike
Chiappetta: You've quietly put together an excellent record.
But for this event, you're guaranteed a chance at the spotlight
since your match will be televised. How important is that to
you?
L.C. Davis: Very important. I'm really happy to be on the main
card on such a stacked card with a lot of great fighters. I feel
really honored and blessed to be in this position. It's important
and I'm looking forward to taking part in it.
Having
this first matchup on live TV, do you feel like you have to try
and make a statement out there?
I'm always looking to make a statement. Every fight I'm there
to be exciting for the fans. Fight a hard, fast pace. If I take
care of business, all that stuff will work out on its own. There's
no added pressure. I just go out there and do what I always do,
and everything else will take care of itself.
What
are your thoughts on your opponent Deividas Taurosevicius?
He's a really tough fighter. He's strong, he fights a really
fast, hard pace. He comes from a jiu-jitsu background, so I think
he's more of a ground fighter than a standup fighter, but he's
pretty well rounded so I've got to be ready for every aspect
of MMA.
As
you said, he's comfortable on the ground and most of his wins
have come via submission. Do you prefer to keep this fight standing?
I don't want to fight the fight where he's most comfortable,
so yeah, absolutely I'd like to stand, but my main focus is to
mix it up a lot. I want to keep him guessing, because like I
said, he's well rounded. The key to victory is to keep him guessing,
use all my skills and be a well-rounded mixed martial artist.
Taurosevicius
is a guy who was in the IFL the same time as you, so is he someone
you're familiar with or someone that you've had your eye on for
a while?
Yeah. Well, I wasn't scoping him out as a possible opponent,
but it's funny how things work out. I've been watching him fight
for a long time. I saw him in the IFL. He fought at 155, I fought
a little bit at 155, but then when they added 145, I fought there.
But I've been watching him, and always thought he was a good
fighter. I like him and respect him as a fighter. I'm looking
forward to the challenge of facing face him.
You
recently left Pat Miletich's gym to be closer to your home. Can
you talk us through your decision?
It was a tough decision. I really respect Pat. He's a great coach,
and I have a good bond with a lot of fighters there. I trained
every day with those guys, so they became good friends and it
makes a special bond with them. But ultimately I wanted to do
what's best for me. I've been there three years. I was really
missing home, and it kind of made me depressed at times. The
best thing to do is to be happy in your outside life, and that's
what I did. I went home where I'm comfortable and happy, and
ultimately I think that will show in my professional life, too.
So
Iowa just wasn't the place for you?
Yeah, I lived there full-time. It would've been better to just
go to train and then come home to my friends and family. Because
the downtime when I wasn't training or focused on a fight, I
was trapped in Iowa through blizzard winters and, you know, dead
Iowa. I came home to Kansas City where I have my friends and
family. But another reason I wanted to get back is because fighting
doesn't last forever. I have aspirations to open my own gym,
and so I wanted to get back to Kansas City and get my name spread
out there and build a fan base so when I open a gym I can pull
some clientele in.
How
long did you ponder that decision? Was it something you thought
about for a long time before making it?
I thought about it for a while. I had a leased apartment. My
lease was getting ready to be up. Thought about it and wasn't
ready to leave, so I renewed the lease for six more months. That
gave me more time to think. I thought about my options, and considered
moving to another gym like American Top Team or Xtreme Couture.
I weighed all my options. But Kansas City was the best fit. I
can be around my loved ones and people that care for me. It's
where I want to be, open my own gym, and think about my life
outside of fighting.
Was
this the first camp of your career away from Miletich?
This is the first full camp away from Miletich since I started
fighting in IFL. It's my first full camp away in three years.
Do
you have a new home base gym, or are you still searching for
one?
I do most of my work here in KC. I mix it up. I go to a boxing
gym, a jiu-jitsu place, I wrestle with some guys, I have a strength
and conditioning place. So I've kind of got guys all around the
city. But I did my last three and a half weeks in Las Vegas with
Xtreme Couture. That's my home base gym from here on out in my
future fights. I'll prepare the first 4-5 weeks at home, then
my last four with Xtreme Couture.
What
did you think of the Xtreme Couture experience? Had you worked
with them before or was this a trial run?
I worked out with them for my first fight in the WEC. I was with
them for one week before my WEC debut in August, and then two
weeks before my last fight with Diego Nunes in November. Then
this time, I worked out for over three weeks. Hopefully next
time I'll shoot for four or five weeks.
How
did the time help you?
It helped me a ton. They've got a ton of good lightweights there:
Tyson Griffin, Gray Maynard, Evan Dunham. And they also have
some good coaches. I worked with Gil Martinez, a great boxing
coach who's really done a lot for my striking. This time, I also
worked with Jake Bonacci, and he helped me with my strength and
conditioning. He also trains Tyson Griffin and Randy Couture.
So I have some good coaches behind me and some good guys to train
with.
If
you win, that'd be three in a row in the WEC. Where do you think
that would put you in the featherweight pecking order?
I think the winner could be in line for a title opportunity,
or at least that much closer In the hunt with some of the top-name
guys. Losing this fight puts you back in the middle of the pack,
so this is very important and added motivation to win.
One
thing I wanted to ask you about was back in 2008, you were supposed
to make your WEC debut, but that didn't up happening. What happened
there?
I had a couple times I thought I was going to make my WEC debut.
One time, I was supposed to step in on short notice to fight
Cub Swanson the first time he was supposed to fight Jens Pulver
and Jens had to back out a couple weeks before the fight. The
WEC reached out to me but the fight never surfaced. I think Swanson's
camp turned it down or something. Then, another time, Swanson
was supposed to fight, and he got hurt. WEC called me, but then
the other guy turned down the fight. It was a done deal, but
right before I signed the bout agreement, he said he didn't want
to do it. Everything happens for a reason. I didn't get my chance
then, but now I'm here.
I
wanted to ask you about another 145-er on this card that you
probably know from the Miletich camp and that's Jens Pulver.
He's had a rough stretch and it's put him in what some people
think is a must-win situation. What's your thoughts on Jens?
I love Jens, man. He's a great guy. I think he can definitely
still fight. He's lost to some really tough, top guys. I think
he definitely still has it. I'm wishing him the best and hope
he can pull out a victory in this next one.
And
finally, your thoughts on the guy at the head of your division,
Jose Aldo?
Aldo is a great fighter. He's well rounded. As we've seen, he
had great takedown defense against Mike Brown. His striking is
bar none, as good as it gets in the division. Apparently he's
a black belt in jiu-jitsu and really good on the ground though
I've yet to see it. I'm looking forward to this next fight against
Urijah Faber to see if he gets pushed into deep water and tested.
From what I've seen, he's an awesome fighter, and I think it'd
be a huge challenge and honor to face him.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
DEVIN
COLE: FORMER IFL'ER REFOCUSED AND HUNGRY
In the early days of the International Fight League, the promotion
needed its young fighters to step up and establish themselves
as stars alongside the company’s legendary coaches to help
establish an audience.
Among
those who made an instant splash was heavyweight Devin Cole.
Back-to-back
wins in his first two fights for the promotion quickly made him
someone to watch, but then it all fell apart. Multiple losses
quickly followed and Cole found himself out of favor with promotion,
exiting a year before its eventual folding in 2008.
Nearly
three years after his tumultuous IFL ride, Cole has been working
hard to re-establish himself in the heavyweight division and
appears finally ready to return to big stage.
As
Cole himself told MMAWeekly.com, “Recently I got refocused.
“When
I was with the IFL, I don’t know what happened. I was a
better fighter, but I wasn’t fighting as good, if that makes
sense. I got into a spiral effect where I just sort of lost my
fire and I just wasn’t going out there to fight. I was just
going through the motions.”
Cole
continued, “Now I’m back on track, refocused, and trying
to get back to the point where I can support my little boy. In
my last seven fights I’m 5-1-1, and I avenged that loss
and draw, have put a three-fight winning streak together, and
am just trying to get more fights and get my name back out there.”
Cole
admits that he got addicted to seeing his name in headlines and
his fighting suffered for it. With those days gone, he says his
motivation for fighting has clearly changed.
“I
took a step back and refocused and looked at myself and now I’m
fighting not because I want to see my name in lights, I’m
fighting because I love it,” stated Cole. “I’m
fighting because I want to make a better life for my family.
“I
think I have a real good chance at that if I get a shot at a
bigger show and get a chance to prove myself again.”
Able
to fight at heavyweight and light heavyweight if given time to
cut weight, Cole went on to explain what sort of skills he could
bring to a promotion willing to give him a chance.
“Back
when the IFL first started I was just a wrestler with a little
bit of hands and a little bit of submissions,” he recalled.
“I would just take people down and ground and pound. Now
I feel like I can stand with a lot of the guys.
“I
was an All-American wrestler in college, so wrestling is always
going to be my base and fights will probably end up on the ground,
but definitely I can stand up. I’m quick and agile. I’m
not your typical big heavyweight that just stands in front of
you and just does the bear dance.”
Having
seen fighters he’s bested in the past get shots at bigger
shows, Cole feels it’s only right he should get his opportunity
as well.
“I
feel like I’m ready for anything,” he said. “I’m
watching guys I beat fight on Strikeforce like Mike Kyle –
who I TKO’d in the second round – fighting on main
cards of these bigger shows. He just fought Travis Wiuff on the
main event on a show on HDNet, and I beat both those guys.
“I
feel like I can compete with anybody, it’s just getting
that break, getting my foot in the door (in order to prove that).
I’m not going to turn down a fight. If anyone calls, I’ll
fight anybody.”
Winning
streak in tow and in a weight class in need of talent, Cole feels
it could be the right time for him to return to the bigger shows
and prove himself not the sum of earlier performances, but rather
a viable commodity in the heavyweight division.
“I
just hope to find a home; a bigger show that will stand behind
me and let me fight for them and earn a spot,” he concluded.
“Just give me a chance and I know I can do it.
“I’d
like to thank everyone that’s followed me and supported
me. Hopefully I’ll be back out there for people to watch
me again soon.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Real
joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men,
but from doing something worthwhile."
Sir
Wilfred Grenfell, 1865-1940
|
DESTINY:
Fast n Furious This
Saturday!
Event:
DESTINY: Fast n Furious
What: Sporting Event
Start Time: Saturday, March 6 at 5:00pm
End Time: Saturday, March 6 at 10:00pm
Where: LEVEL 4 Night Club @ Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center
|
Hawaiian
Kimono Combat is Back On!
Its on!
March 14th Sunday PCHS It was unfortunate to have to postpone
but it looks like the turnout will be better then as originally
expected. Registration is still open and will remain so until
sat March 13th.
Payment
and registration are still being accepted online and or by mail.
Please send to.
It's All Goo LLC
94-1095 Anania circle
Mililani HI 96789
Thanks!
Eric
|
UFC
112: ETIM VS DOS ANJOS & DAVIS VS GUSTAFSSON
With UFC 112 just six weeks away, the promotion has made two
more bouts official for the Abu Dhabi card including British
fighter Terry Etim against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Rafael
Dos Anjos, as well as a preliminary fight between NCAA champion
wrestler Phil Davis and Swedish prospect, Alexander Gustafsson.
Getting
the nod as the final fight announced for the main televised card,
Terry Etim returns to the UFC on an impressive 4-fight win streak
over fighter such as Sam Stout, Justin Buchholz, and Shannon
Gugerty.
The
British fighter looks to make his way up the lightweight division
when he takes on Brazilian fighter, Rafael Dos Anjos, who has
won his last two fights in a row in the UFC.
Also
on the card will be rising star, Phil Davis, who made a very
big impact in his first fight with the UFC, picking up a dominant
win over former WEC champion, Brian Stann, in early February.
The
Penn State alum has shown tremendous skill with only 5 professional
fights under his belt, and he'll get a stiff test when he faces
Swedish born fighter, Alexander Gustafsson, who knocked out Jared
Hamman in his lone Octagon bout to date.
Davis
and Gustaffson are added to the non-televised portion of the
pay-per-view, which will emulate from the Ferrari World Arena
in Abu Dhabi on April 12.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
COLE
MILLER OUT OF MARCH 31 UFC FIGHT NIGHT
An injury has forced Cole Miller out of his scheduled bout against
Andre Winner set for March 31 at UFC Fight Night 21 in North
Carolina.
The
change was initially reported by MMAJunkie.com. Sources close
to the fight have confirmed the news independently to MMAWeekly.com
on Friday.
After
suffering loss to Efrain Escudero last year, Miller bounced back
with an impressive showing over Dan Lauzon at UFC 108, submitting
the Massachusetts fighter with a kimura in the first round.
A
member of American Top Team, Miller suffered a hand injury in
the fight with Lauzon, but it's unknown at this time if that
was the same problem that will keep him out of his March fight
or not.
At
this time, Andre Winner has not received a new opponent, but
with over a month until the fight is scheduled, the UFC may be
able to find a suitable replacement.
Stay
tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more information on the March 31 Fight
Night card as it becomes available.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
OLIVEIRA
IN AGAINST WINNER AT UFC FIGHT NIGHT 21
Just hours after the news broke that Cole Miller was out of his
March 31 fight, Andre Winner has a new opponent. Rafaello "Tractor"
Oliveira has accepted the fight against Winner for a bout that
will take place on the UFC Fight Night 21 show leading into the
newest season of "The "Ultimate Fighter."
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Friday.
Following
a loss in his UFC debut, Oliveira (10-2) bounced back strong
in his next fight picking up a unanimous decision win over John
Gunderson at UFC 108 in January.
The
Brazilian has been training alongside UFC fighters, Jim and Dan
Miller, at AMA Fight Club and will make his 3rd appearance in
the Octagon with the March fight.
Andre
Winner, the runner-up from the ninth season of the "Ultimate
Fighter" show, came back strong in his first fight after
the finale when he dispatched of Roli Delgado by knockout last
November.
The
fight between Oliveira and Winner will remain on the undercard
for the event set to take place in Charlotte, N.C., on March
31.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
CRO
COP LIKELY TO DRAW PAT BARRY FOR UFC 115
It looks like UFC 115 just got a little more interesting.
A
battle of former K-1 strikers has been lined up as rising star
Pat "HD" Barry will face former Pride Grand Prix champion
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic on the main card of the Vancouver
show.
Sources
close to the fight on Friday confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that
the bout has been verbally agreed upon. The fight was initially
reported by MMA Scraps Radio.
Pat
Barry (5-1) made an instant impact in the UFC's heavyweight division
when he bludgeoned Dan Evenson's leg into submission in the first
round of their match-up at UFC 92.
After
suffering a loss to Tim Hague in his second fight, Barry proved
that he was dominant striker in the UFC's heavyweight class as
he knocked out former training partner Antoni Hardonk at UFC
98 and earned "Knockout of the Night" honors.
The
Duke Roufus trained fighter was set to face Gilbert Yvel on the
show originally, but the prospect of a fight against CroCop may
have been too much for UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to resist.
Following
some recent struggles in the Octagon, Cro Cop returned to form,
dispatching of late replacement Anthony Perosh just a week ago
in Australia.
The
former Pride Grand Prix champion has re-dedicated himself to
the sport, and will look to keep his momentum going in June,
but he has a definite obstacle in front of him in the form of
Pat Barry.
The
bout between Barry and Cro Cop will be on the main card for UFC
115 in Vancouver, but no official announcement has come from
the promotion yet.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Filho:
“They didn’t pay what I deserve”
Paulo
Filho was the biggest star at Bitetti Combat’s sixth edition,
which took place last night at Brasilia, Brazil. But the former
Pride fighter didn’t show up in the weigh-ins neither in
the octagon against Yuki Sasaki. The promoters announced that
Filho was out due to “personal problems”.
TATAME.com
called Paulo this morning and he revealed other reasons to not
flying to Brasilia. “We didn’t have a financial agreement.
The purse was too low comparing from what I’m used to receive
and it’s bad for the fighter’s career,” Filho
said, revealing that the problems with the two latest editions
of the event also made him decide not to fight.
Yesterday,
Sherdog website published that Filho had problems with drugs
and pills dependency, but he denies. “They said I’m
having problems with drugs and medicines… You can test me
and you’ll see… I’m great,” guarantees, wishing
a better contract. “I’m not worried with fighting in
Brazil anymore. I like the event, Amaury is my friend, but this
event doesn’t pay what I deserve”.
Before
Thales Leites vs. Rico Washington fight, the promoters announced
that Filho was out due “personal problems” and the
Japanese Yuki Sasaki challenged the former Pride fighter. “That’s
the least he can do,” Filho answered. “He may be frustrated,
but that was better to him. He knows he can’t handle me,
you can’t compare my record to his. If he wanna get beat
by me, ask for it. If someone pays what I deserve, It’ll
be my pleasure to beat him up”.
Source:
Tatame
|
Dream
13: Nakahara ready for Ryo Chonan
Andrews
Nakahara, one of the new promises of Brazilian MMA, is ready
to another challenge on Japanese rings. After to debut with loss
to the legend Kazushi Sakuraba and two knockout victories, the
Brazilian is ready to face the Ryo Chonan at Dream 13, scheduled
to March 22.
“I’m
ok, training. He’s an expert. I was standing still for a
while since my last fight, but I kept training”, said the
fighter, who trains under Francisco Filho in São Paulo.
Analyzing the fights of “Piranha”, he says he’s
focused to a complete fighter. “He exchanges a little standing
up, has some submissions, the leg lock”, analyzes.
And
with one of these leg locks that Chonan submitted Anderson Silva,
considered the best fighter of the world at Pride. “I saw
this fight too”, Nakahara said, giving bigger attention
to MMA. “I want to dedicate a lot to MMA this year, I’ll
try to make three or four fights... And win them (laugh)”,
finished.
Besides
Andrews’ fight, the organization of the Japanese event confirmed
other fight with Brazilian. André “Dida” Amade,
partner of Maurício Shogun and Murilo Ninja at UDL, will
face KJ Noons, who doesn’t fight for more than two years,
when he passed through Yves Edwards and Nick Diaz at EliteXC.
The show that happened on March 22 in Yokohama, will also have
the black belt Bibiano Fernandes, defending the featherweight
title against former lightweight Joachim Hansen.
Source:
Tatame
|
Pé
de Pano prepares for title defense
At
his gym in Lutz, near Tampa, Florida, Marcio ” Pé
de Pano” Cruz trains hard for his first title defense at
the upcoming Art of Fighting 7 event.
Pé
seems to be boosting his work rate in his career, now with four
consecutive wins in MMA. His only two losses came in the UFC,
to Andrei Arlovski and Jeff Monson, in the heavyweight division.
In
his last fight, the absolute world champion of Jiu-Jitsu (2002/03)
dispatched Tom Sauer with strikes on the ground in the second
round, a specialty he demonstrated in his win over Frank Mir
at UFC 57 in 2006.
Pé
recently won the European Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2009, the only
title he was missing, but lost at the ADCC Barcelona last year.
Check
out the promotional video for the battle between Pé and
Dave “Pay Me” Yost, scheduled for next April 3, not
long before the Rio de Janeiro native black belt’s 32nd
birthday.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Paulão
no show; Thales, Indio and Cristiano Marcello steal the show
With
Mario Yamasaki overseeing the action, Thales submits Rico. Photo:
Carlos Ozorio
Without
Paulo Filho, the whereabouts of whom the organizers didn’t
know until not long ago, Bitetti Combat went ahead as planned
in the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium, in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.
In
the presence of masters from various tribes, like Euclides Pereira,
Ricardo Libório, Arthur Virgílio, Gesias Cavalcante,
Marcos Parrumpinha, Paulo Nikolai and so many others, the fighters
put on a show in the cage.
CM
System’s Cristiano Marcello left nothing to chance in sinking
the quickest submission of the night, slapping an armbar on his
Argentine opponent Cobra, who tried to strike him through the
guard.
Soon
thereafter, local boy Danillo Indio Villefort was not to be left.
Against Cassiano Tytschyo, the fighter from the ATT landed a
powerful punch that dropped his opponent to the canvas. His finish
came even quicker – just 57 seconds into the bout.
But
Yuri Villefort (ATT), 19, also brought joy to his father, old
master Francisco Indio, a former security officer for the Senate
and former president Jose Sarney. With strong striking and a
solid chin, Yuri sunk a triangle, foot locks and mounted while
a valiant Julio Cesar Merenda (Tata) responded with counterstrikes
standing and by resisting on the ground.
Earlier,
the surprise was Francisco Massaranduba’s win over Junior
“Buscape” Firmino in the first round. Massaranduba
landed on bottom, but quickly spun for a kneebar. From there,
he landed a foot lock and twisted out the former Pride fighter’s
knee, causing him to leave the ring limping.
In the final fight of the night, after Glover Teixeira put away
a valient Joaquim “Mamute” Ferreira in the second round,
it was Thales Leites’s turn to get a first-round finish
on American rasta Rico Washington.
After finishing with his trademark arm-and-neck choke, Thales
ran to celebrate in the arms of his Nova União teammates,
Rizzo, André Pederneiras and João Roque, and also
was presented a trophy by Senator Virgilio.
In
the final fight of the night, after Glover Teixeira put away
a valient Joaquim “Mamute” Ferreira in the second round,
it was Thales Leites’s turn to get a first-round finish
on American rasta Rico Washington.
After finishing with his trademark arm-and-neck choke, Thales
ran to celebrate in the arms of his Nova União teammates,
Rizzo, André Pederneiras and João Roque, and also
was presented a trophy by Senator Virgilio.
If
the unpredictable Paulao was a no show, another blow the event
suffered was losing Fabio Maldonado, who was injured and unable
to face Guto Inocente.
Check
out the results:
Amanda
Nunes defeated Ediene Índia via TKO at 3min of R2
Cesar
Mutante choked unconscious Felipe Mongo via arm triangle at 0.55
min of R2
Francisco
Drinaldo Massaranduba submitted Junior Firmino Buscapé
via footlock at 2:10min of R1
Leandro
Batata defeated Gustavo Labareda via unanimous decision
Yuri
Villefort defeated Julio Cesar Merenda via unanimous decision
Cristiano
Marcello submitted Emiliano Cobra Vatt via armbar at 1:05min
of R1
Danillo
Índio Villefort knocked out Cassiano Tytschyo at 0.57
of R1
Glover
Teixeira vs Joaquim Mamute
Thales
Leites submitted Rico Washington via arm-and-neck choke in R1
Paulo
Filho vs Yuki Sasaki: WO
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"It
is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday
is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow."
Robert
H. Goddard, 1882-1945
|
Kaufman
crowned Strikeforce champion
SAN
JOSE, Calif. (Feb. 27, 2010) – Before a sold out crowd of
2,322, former ballet dancer turned undefeated professional mixed
martial arts (MMA) star Sarah Kaufman (11-0) became the first
STRIKEFORCE Women’s Welterweight (135 pounds) Champion in
history by powering her way to a five-round unanimous decision
over Japan’s Takayo Hashi (12-2) in the STRIKEFORCE Challengers
main event at San Jose’s Civic Auditorium on Friday, Feb.
26, on SHOWTIME®.
Luke
Rockhold (7-1) continued his climb up the middleweight (185 pounds)
ladder with a stunning first-round (2:24) TKO over Paul Bradley
(12-2). A middleweight contest between former South African national
wrestling champion Trevor Prangley (22-5-1) and France’s
Karl Amoussou (11-2-2) ended prematurely after Prangley accidentally
poked Amoussou in the eye, leading to a doctor stoppage and technical
draw being declared.
From
the outset, Kaufman pressed the action with a stiff jab and one-two
punch combinations, but was unable to finish Hashi who repeatedly
backpedaled her way out of trouble. Kaufman landed her best shots
in the first round, dropping Hashi with a straight right hand.
In
the third stanza, Kaufman sent Hashi reeling back and nearly
put down the Japanese fighter for a second time in the bout with
a straight right hand. After a Kaufman jab snapped Hashi’s
head back, Hashi responded by shooting for a takedown that Kaufman
stuffed.
A
chess match ensued for the remainder of the bout. Kaufman continued
to score with her hands and right leg kick while Hashi retreated
to avoid imminent danger. All three judges scored all five rounds
in favor of Kaufman.
In
the first round of their much anticipated matchup, Rockhold dropped
Bradley with a right hand to the side of the head. Bradley fought
his way back to his feet, but Rockhold quickly went on the attack,
scoring a head kick and following up with three straight knee
strikes to the body.
Badly
battered from the series of blows, Bradley turned his back, prompting
the referee to immediately stop the action.
As
expected, Amoussou came out of the gates firing punches at Prangley,
who covered up and countered the Frenchman’s assault with
his own hands. Prangley scored a takedown, but was unable to
advance his position from half guard.
After
the referee stood up the fighters, Prangley, with an open left
hand, accidentally poked Amoussou in the right eye. The ringside
physician immediately entered the cage and examined Amoussou,
who was unable to open his eye, and declared the fighter unable
to continue at the 4:14 mark of the first round (According to
MMA rules in the state of California, the ringside physician
has the discretion to stop a bout in the event that an accidental
foul causes an injury).
In
other action Yancy Medeiros (5-0) of Waianae, Hawaii dominated
Raul Castillo (6-1) at middleweight with continuous flurries
throughout the matchup between the unbeaten fighters.
Medeiros
stuffed Castillo’s repeated takedown attempts and continued
to pour on the punishment with both hands, putting Castillo on
the canvas with a right hand in the third round. After an exchange
of shots brought the bout to a close, all three judges awarded
the fight to Medeiros.
Like
Medeiros, Tarec Saffiedine (8-2) maintained an all-out stand
up offensive in a welterweight (170 pounds) fight with James
Terry (7-2) for three straight rounds, opening a cut on Terry’s
lower lip and bringing about a welt under Terry’s left eye.
Terry
repeatedly attempted to bring the fight to the mat, but Saffiedine
defended the takedowns well and responded with more strikes.
After three rounds, Saffiedine was declared a unanimous points
winner.
Amongst
those in attendance at Civic Auditorium, was MMA's newest star,
football legend Herschel Walker, as well as STRIKEFORCE World
Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz, and STRIKEFORCE World Lightweight
Champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez.
During
an interview with STRIKEFORCE Challengers host Mauro Ranallo,
Walker said, "(MMA) is the toughest sport there is. To step
in the cage and go mano-a-mano, there's nothing like it. It is
the toughest training I've ever done."
Regarding
his future in the sport, the 47-year-old Walker said, "I
will leave that up to my team at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy,
San Jose) when I get back in the gym. We'll see if they say I
am capable of going again. (If they do), we'll do it again."
Complete
STRIKEFORCE Challengers Results:
Main
Card:
Yancy
Medeiros def.
Raul Castillo – Unanimous Decision (3 Rounds) (30-27, 30-27,
30-27)
Tarec
Saffiedine def. James Terry – Unanimous Decision (3 Rounds)
(30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Luke
Rockhold def. Paul Bradley – TKO (knees to the body) –
1st Round (2:24)
Trevor
Prangley - Technical Draw - Karl Amoussou (doctor stoppage after
unintentional foul ) – 1st Round (4:14)
Sarah
Kaufman def. Takayo Hashi – Unanimous Decision (3 Rounds)
(50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Preliminary
Card:
Ronald
Carillo def. Anthony De Los Santos – submission (armbar)
– 2nd Round (1:20)
Steve
Dickie def. Alan Lummel – TKO (punches) –1st Round
(:33)
Renee
Robinson def. Lilia Salas – TKO (punches) – 1st Round
(1:06)
Jesse
Tobar def. Johnson Nguyen – Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)
– 2nd Round (1:24)
Tristan
Arenal def. George Miller – TKO (punches) – 2nd Round
(:30)
Samuel
Bracamnonte def. Chris Stewart – TKO (punches) – 3rd
Round (:59)
Wayne
Phillips def. Eric Lawson – Submission (armbar) – 1st
Round (4:27)
Source: Tatame
|
CHUCK
LIDDELL IS BACK; TITO ORTIZ IS MOTIVATION
There is no question that Chuck Liddell is an MMA legend and
icon of the UFC. Following a tough string of fights, the former
light heavyweight champion has been battered with retirement
questions, but he's back coaching on “The Ultimate Fighter"
and about to fight rival Tito Ortiz for the third time in June.
Jake
Shields, who served as an assistant coach during the filming
of the latest season of the reality show, says that fans and
critics should stop questioning Liddell, and just wait to see
what he looks like come June.
"I
haven't seen him this motivated since years ago when I first
met him," Shields said when appearing on MMAWeekly Radio
recently. "He's like a whole new Chuck. I think a lot of
people are counting him out, being like, ‘oh, Chuck needs
to retire,’ but the way Chuck's looking right now, I wouldn’t
want to fight him."
Whatever
the motivation is that's driving Liddell, his friend and training
partner believes that it's struck a nerve in the San Luis Obispo,
Calif., fighter and he's ready to prove all the naysayers wrong.
"I
think it's a combination of Tito pissing him off, and the fans
counting him out saying he should retire," Shields commented
about Liddell's return. "I think Chuck's got another run
in him."
Liddell
has never backed down from the fact that he wanted to fight again
regardless of his last few fights. UFC president Dana White has
been very outspoken about Liddell's future, saying that he loves
his friend, but believes he should call it a career.
At
the end of the day, Liddell will get another shot in the Octagon,
and facing an old rival like Ortiz might be just the medicine
the doctor ordered to rekindle the fires in the twilight of his
career. Shields is confident the third fight will go much like
the first two, ending with Liddell's hand raised in victory.
"He
is going to beat the living crap out of Tito. Chuck truly does
not like Tito. He just runs his mouth and pops off, tries looking
funny on TV, but I've never seen Chuck so motivated in my life,"
Shields stated. "He really wants to beat the crap out of
Tito. People are going to be surprised at the beating they're
going to see. They're going to be like, ‘wow, Chuck's back.’"
Source: MMA Weekly
|
STRIKEFORCE
ON CBS IN APRIL, BUT NO FEDOR
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker on Thursday confirmed recent speculation
that his fight promotion would land in Nashville, Tenn., on April
17. Aside from the date and location, he was rather elusive.
“We've
been putting most of our efforts into the fight tomorrow night,"
Coker told MMAFighting.com of the Strikeforce Challengers card
on Friday in San Jose, Calif. "But we'll have some announcements
next week, for sure.”
He
refused to discuss any specific fights for any specific dates.
MMAWeekly.com
sources indicated that the April 17 fight card, despite recent
questioning, would remain on CBS and feature a bout between middleweight
champion Jake Shields and challenger Dan Henderson. Some of the
other Nashville bouts could be confirmed during Friday night’s
Strikeforce Challengers telecast on Showtime.
Reports
on Thursday suggested that an expected marquee fight between
Fedor Emelianenko and Fabricio Werdum might be moved from the
April 17 fight card to an undisclosed Strikeforce event in May.
MMAWeekly.com
sources on Thursday confirmed that Fedor will not fight on the
April 17 CBS card. It was unclear what the plans are for the
Emelianenko vs. Werdum bout, and details of a possible May event
were also cloudy.
A
light heavyweight title bout between champion Gegard Mousasi
and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and a lightweight bout
between Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez and Dream champion
Shinya Aoki were also expected for the CBS fight card, but it’s
unclear if those plans may have changed as well.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WOMEN'S
MMA HAS BOLD FUTURE WITH STRIKEFORCE
Last
year was a banner year for women’s MMA. The first-ever main
event between women on a major promotion’s card was held,
and public awareness rose to an all-time high.
As
2010 begins, women’s MMA continues to develop thanks in
no small part to Strikeforce.
Earlier
this year the promotion hosted the first title defense of middleweight
(145-pound) champion Cris “Cyborg” Santos. Friday night,
Strikeforce will hold a fight between Sarah Kaufman and Takayo
Hashi to determine its first women’s welterweight (135-pound)
champion.
“I
think Cris ‘Cyborg’ is a tremendous athlete,”
said fighter liaison and member of the Strikeforce matchmaking
team Shannon Knapp. “She fights with an aggressive nature
and also has the athleticism and the talent.”
According
to Knapp, she feels Santos is one of the sport’s elite fighters,
regardless of gender or weight, and her sentiment echoes Strikeforce’s
view of her.
“Any
time you have a champion, they represent you, and Cris represents
us very well,” Knapp told MMAWeekly.com. “She optimizes
what a strong, athletic female athlete in this sport is.
“How
could you go wrong? She keeps winning, she’s amazing when
she’s in there, and I think everyone is very happy that
she’s the one who holds the title.”
Knapp
went on to discuss the importance of adding a champion in the
135-pound weight class at Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers
Series event in San Jose, Calif.
“It’s
huge,” exclaimed Knapp. “Especially when you have a
female like Sarah Kaufman that’s out there just going through
the 135-pound division, you come to a point when you have to
say you have to solidify this weight class with a champion.
“I
think it’s a great match-up, it will be a competitive fight,
and we’re all excited about it.”
When
asked what the coming year could possibly hold for the Strikeforce
women’s divisions, Knapp feels it could see another series
of firsts for the promotion.
“We’re
looking for the top female talent and are trying to put on good
fights,” she commented. “I wouldn’t be surprised
if in the future you saw a fully loaded all-female fight card.
“There’s
a lot of talk of, and we haven’t set a date yet, doing different
tournaments in the female divisions.”
As
women’s MMA continues to move forward, Knapp feels a synergy
between herself and Strikeforce when it comes to their continued
support and desires for the evolution of it.
“As
long as the girls are coming in to fight, I’m all about
it,” stated Knapp. “I think that they have a spot in
our sport, but there is still a long road to travel to get the
type of acceptance females in other sports I feel are just now
receiving.
“I
think they’ve come a long way from where we were a few years
ago. As awareness grows hopefully a lot more girls will be interested,
they’ll apply themselves, and it will become deeper and
more competitive.”
Ultimately
where the women’s divisions go is up to the fans, according
to Knapp. It is because of their support that both Strikeforce
and their entire roster can continue to do what they do.
“I
definitely want to thank everybody for the support they’ve
given Strikeforce,” said Knapp in closing. “Without
them we don’t have a product.
“We’ve
got some great fights coming up this year and I don’t think
the fans are going to be disappointed. I think the fans will
really appreciate what we’ll put out there.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BELLATOR
WELTERWEIGHT TOURNEY PAIRINGS
Bellator Fighting Championships announced the final pairings
for their upcoming welterweight tournament that will kick off
on April 15.
In
the first fight in the tournament, NCAA wrestling champion Ben
Askren will make his promotional debut with Bellator and take
on former UFC fighter, Ryan Thomas.
The
remaining three fights in the tournament's first round will take
place a week later on April 22nd.
Dan
Hornbuckle, one of the leading favorites for the tournament title,
will face off against Canadian fighter, Sean Pierson.
Undefeated
Arizona Combat Sports prospect, Jacob "Tick-Tock" McClintock
draws tough British fighter Jim Wallhead, while former Affliction
fighter Brett Cooper gets a first round match-up against Steve
Carl.
The
fights for Bellator will be available on Fox Sports Net in the
U.S., and the April 15 show will be held at the Chicago Theatre
in Chicago, IL. No official word from Bellator about the April
22 event, but they are expected to announce the venue for that
event in the coming days.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
“Minotauro’s
a legend, not David Copperfield”
While
enamored fans struggle to understand what happened with Rodrigo
Minotauro, and others look to astrology to explain the impressive
knockout the former heavyweight champion suffered, GRACIEMAG.com
goes to the source.
The
Brazilian’s former training partner Carlao Barreto has credentials
to spare in analyzing where Rodrigo (32w, 6l, 1d) failed in the
end, he was a specialist in facing big wrestlers, accumulating
wins over beasts like Kevin Randleman and Ben Rothwell.
In
the end, where did Rodrigo mess up in his loss to Velasquez?
We
heard people saying things like, “Ah, why didn’t he
take it to the ground, why didn’t he fall back on his Jiu-Jitsu?”
Well, to those people all I can say is that Minotauro is a legend,
one of the greatest of all times, but he’s not David Copperfield
to go in there and simply take an All American wrestler to the
ground. Those days when a fighter could throw a jab and shoot
for the opponent’s legs are gone. That doesn’t exist
anymore; it doesn’t work.
To
me Rodrigo’s strategy was clear, and correct: strike some,
simulate boxing with Cain, and when he found an opening, pull
guard. Then, when he would be taking strikes in the guard, he
would go for a sweep and take the back – then he would be
all set, since he’s swept great wrestlers, like Randy Couture
and so many others. That was the strategy, but it didn’t
work out like that. It could all be different in a future fight.
Did
Cain’s youth count?
It
was an interesting battle of generations, but the age difference
wasn’t all that great (six years). Anyone who knows Minotauro
knows he’s an athlete who grows in the fight. He doesn’t
start off with explosiveness, he goes in and finds his way in
the ring. Now, the thing that impresses, and which counted in
the outcome, was the absurd evolution Cain showed in the octagon.
He kicked well, showed ever quicker and really heavy hands. He
kind of reminded me of Mike Tyson – thickset, serious faced,
just what it takes to kick butt.
Will
Velasquez be the future UFC heavyweight champion?
If
he shows the same level of evolution he showed last fight against
Minotauro, he has a great chance of taking Lesnar’s belt.
And he’s still young; he’ll go far.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Bráulio
confirms MMA opponent
Over
Twitter, ADCC 2009 absolute champion Bráulio Estima confirmed
the opponent and date for his MMA debut. Here’s his tweet:
“Bráulio
Estima vs Rick Hawn on the main card for Shine Fights, May 15,
North Carolina.”
Some
quick research revealed that Carcará’s opponent is
good on his feet. All three of Hawn’s wins came via KO,
one being TKO.
At
the start of the year Estima signed a three-under-80kg-fight
contract with Shine Fights.
More
information coming up soon.
Source: Gracie Magazie
|
Damm
brothers victorious at Jungle Fight 17
Last
night, Jungle Fight promotion made its 17th edition at Vila Velha
beach in Estpirito Santo, Brazil. Damm brothers Carina and Rodrigo,
a former Strikeforce fighter, was victorious in the event. Carina
stopped Aline Sério (8-1) with a first round TKO victory,
while her brother defeated Ivan “Pitbull” in the unanimous
decision.
Renan
Barão, the best featherweight fighter in Brazil, dominated
dangerous Sérgio Bomba and got the victory by unanimous
decision. It was Barão’s 28th fight and he remains
undefeated in last 26 (despite a no contest). Check below the
complete results.
COMPLETE
RESULTS:
Jungle
Fight 17
Costa
Beach, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil
Saturday,
February 27, 2010
-
Marcelo Guimarães def. Gilmar de Andrade by unanimous
decision;
-
Renan Barão def. Sergio Bomba by unanimous decision;
-
Jorjão Rodrigues def. Roy Parete by submission (arm triangle
choke) at R2;
-
Carina Damm def. Aline Sério by TKO at R1;
-
Erick Silva vs. Henrique Negão – No Contest;
-
Rodrigo Damm def. Ivan Pitbull by unanimous decision;
-
Edson Conterrâneo def. Gerônimo Mondragon by TKO
at R2.
Source: Tatame
|
Officials
Clinics
Hello MMA,
Martial Arts, and Boxing Community,
If any club or interested parties want to compete in amateur
boxing or become a judge, referee, or coach.
Email me at bkawano@aol.com
Boxing show
on Feb. 27th in Kapaa, Kauai.
Officials
Clinic in Kapolei on March 6th.
Boxing event on March 13th, in Puna
A tentative Officials or Coaches Clinic on March 20th.
First show on Oahu is April 3rd, at Palolo District Park.
All Coaches, Officials, have to be registered and certified.
Boxers must register locally.
For more contact and registration info go to www.amateurboxingofhawaii.com
Thank You,
Bruce Kawano
Amateur Boxing of Hawaii Interm Manager.
Ringside Board of Advisors.
NMU Task Force Appointed Member.
|
X-1
Events presents
CHAMPIONS
2 (4 World Title Matches)
What: Sporting Event
Start Time: Saturday, March 20 at 7:00pm
End Time: Saturday, March 20 at 10:00pm
Where: Blaisdell Arena
Honolulu, HI (USA): X-1 World Events, the top entertainment company
in Hawaii, is proud to announce that on Saturday, March 20th,
2010, they will produce one of the most highly-anticipated fight
events in the history of Islands at it presents “Champions
II,” live from the premiere venue in the heart of Honolulu,
the Neal Blaisdell Arena. For ticket pricing and information,
please visit http://x1events.com/
UFC
and StrikeForce veterans will vie for coveted X-1 gold, as X-1
World Middleweight (185 lb.) Champion and Hawaiian Falaniko “Niko”
Vitale will defend his belt against the controversial Kalib Starnes.
In the co-main event, X-1 World Welterweight (170 lb.) Champion
and Hawaii native Brandon Wolff will defend the strap against
an opponent yet to be determined. Also featured will be several
title fights for vacant X-1 belts, as Ultimate Fighter combatant
Richie Witson and StrikeForce veteran Harris Sarmiento will battle
for the lightweight (155 lb.) belt. Dave Moreno and Kurrent Cockett
lock horns with the X-1 World Featherweight (145 lb.) Championship
at stake, and Bryson Hansen clashes with Riley Dutro for the
X-1 World Bantamweight (135 lb.) Championship.
The
undercard will feature some talented rising stars the Islands.
Exciting young fighters Michael Brightmon, Bryson Kamaka, Dejuan
Hathaway, and others will showcase to the Islands what the Hawaii
fighting spirit is all about.
“We
are excited to bring five world title bouts to Hawaiian fight
fans,” said Mike Miller, Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events.
“This event will surely excite the crowd, and satisfy the
appetites of everyone in attendance that loves a good scrap!”
The
full fight card includes:
Main
Card
185
lbs. - World Title Match - Champion Falaniko Vitale vs. Kalib
Starnes
170
lbs. - World Title Match - Champion Brandon Wolff vs. TBA
155
lbs. - Vacant World Title Match - Richie Whitson vs. Harris Sarmiento
145
lbs. - Vacant World Title Match - Dave Moreno vs. Kurrent Cockett
135
lbs. - Vacant World title Match - Bryson Hansen vs. Riley Dutro
Undercard
160
lbs. - Pro MMA - Michael Brightmon vs. Bryson Kamaka
155
lbs. - Pro MMA - Dejuan Hathaway vs. Herman Santiago
205
lbs. - Pro MMA - Maui Wolfgram vs. TBA
135
lbs. - Pro MMA - Russel Doane vs. Chad Pavao
145
lbs. - Womens Amateur Title Match - Raquel Paaluhi vs. Lani Fauhiva
170
lbs. - Brent Shermerhorn vs. Scott Endo
170
lbs. - Falo Faaloloto vs. Palema Amone
135
lbs. - Joe Gogo vs. Van Shiroma
X-1
recently presented top comic Eddie Griffin to Island entertainment
fans, and will be putting on a Haiti benefit event in early March.
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/
About
Fight of Your Life Communications
Fight of Your Life is the only company that focuses exclusively
on communications within the sport of MMA. Through utilization
of media relationships, sponsorship contacts, writing skills,
and public relations experience, Fight of Your Life raises the
profile of its clients, which increases awareness, draws revenue,
and helps establish long-term viability. Current Fight of Your
Life clients include fight promotions such as Gladiator Challenge,
Jeff Curran’s XFO, X-1 World Events, MMA Big Show, and Shine
Fights. In addition, Fight of Your Life handles management for
rising StrikeForce lightweight title contender Lyle “Fancy
Pants” Beerbohm. Also, Fight of Your Life owner Phil Lanides
covers MMA for Examiner.com, and writes for FightSport Magazine,
and CACombatSports.com. For additional information on Fight of
Your Life Communications, please visit http://www.fightofyourlife.com/
For
additional information on Fight of Your Life Communications,
please visit http://www.fightofyourlife.com/
Source: Event Promoter
|
2010
Open Tournament
Aloha everyone,
This
is to inform you that our 2010 Open Tournament will be held on
Saturday, March 20, 2010. As always, we welcome everyone to participate
as we try to make it "A Positive Experience" for everyone.
Attached is the event flyer for your reference. If you have any
questions, e-mail me or call me at 205-9133. Mahalo.
Sigung
Trent Sera
Sera's Kajukenbo
|
|