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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2010
November
Aloha
State BJJ
Championships: Final Conflict
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
10/15-17/10
ETERNAL SUBMISSIONS: 1st Annual BJJ GI/NO-GI tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Kauai)
August
Hawaiian
Open Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
7/24/10
The Quest for Champions 2010 Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling & Continuous Sparring)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
7/17/10
Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Maui War Memorial, Wailuku, Maui)
6/26/10
Kauai Cage Match 9
(MMA)
(Kilohana, Gaylords Mansion, Kauai)
6/24/10
Quest for Champions
(Kumite/Grappling)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
6/11-13/10
MMA Hawaii Expo
(Blaisdell Ballroom)
6/11-12/10
3rd
Annual Pacific Submission Championships
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/11/10
Legacy Combat 1
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Ballroom)
6/4/10
X-1:
Nations Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/3-6/10
World
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach, Long Beach,
CA)
5/22/10
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waiphau Filcom Center)
5/15/10
Scrappla Fest 2
Relson Gracie KTI Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Island School, Kauai)
X-1 World Events
(MMA)
(Waipahu HS Gym)
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Evolution Training Center, Waipio Industrial Court #110)
5/1/10
Galaxy
MMA: Worlds Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/23/10
2010 Hawaii State/Regional Junior Olympic Boxing Championships
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
4/17/10
Hawaiian
Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser
H.S. Gym)
Strikeforce: Shields vs Henderson
(CBS)
4/16/10
808 Battleground
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
4/8-11/10
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(University California Irvine, Irvine, CA)
4/3/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Amateur Boxing Smoker
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
3/27/10
DESTINY: No Ka Oi 2: Oahu vs Maui
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
3/20/10
X-1: Champions 2
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/20/10
Hawaiian Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
3/14/10
Hawaiian Kimono Combat
(BJJ)
(PCHS Gym)
3/10/10
Sera's Kajukenbo Tournament
(Kumite, Katas, Grappling)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
3/6/10
Destiny Fast N Furious
(MMA)
(Level 4 RHSC)
2/19/10
808 Battleground
(MMA)
(Filcom, Waipahu)
2/6/10
UpNUp 6: Unstoppable
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
2/5/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
1/30/10
Destiny
(Level 4,
Royal HI Shopping Ctr)
(MMA)
Quest for Champions
(Pankration/Sub Grappling)
(Kalani HS)
1/23/10
Kauai Knockout Championship Total Domination
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Kauai War Memorial Convention Center, Lihue, Kauai)
1/17/10
X1: Showdown In Waipahu
(Boxing, Kickboxing, MMA)
(Waipahu H.S. Gym)
|
|
May
2010 News Part 2
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran 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
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go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
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O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer 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
|
Sprappler
Tournament Results
Kids
Gi
White
Belt
8-9
yrs 53-57 lbs
1st
Damien Strom (Longman)
2nd
Keanu Simao (Longman)
3rd
Jessica Cezar (Relson/KTI)
8-9
yrs 65-70lbs
1st
Zachary Kaina-Kokubun (Relson/O2)
2nd
Jacob Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
3rd
Andrew Cezar (Relson/KTI)
12-13
yrs 75-85 lbs
1st
Larson Aiwohi (Longman/PH)
2nd
Ezekiel Bagano (Longman/PH)
3rd
Joshua Decambra (Maui Grappling Academy)
12-13
yrs 134-158 lbs
1st
Matthew Cambell (Kauai 24 Hr Fittness)
2nd
Abraham Catbagan (Kamole)
14-15
yrs 155-176 lbs
1st
Quinton Bolosan (Relson/O2)
2nd
Kaimana Casey (Longman)
3rd
Wailea Kerr (Kamole)
16-17
yrs 120-138 lbs
1st
Lowen Gonzales (Longman/PH)
2nd
Mikey Beltran (Relson/KTI)
16-17
yrs 154-161 lbs
1st
Elijah Souza (Longman)
2nd
James Goode (Longman/PH)
White/Yellow
Belt
8-9
yrs 53-57 lbs
1st
Kaizen Nino (Relson/O2)
2nd
Keanu Simao (Longman)
3rd
Damien Strom (Longman)
8-9
yrs 60-75 lbs
1st
Liam Mason (Relson/O2)
2nd
Keawe Pimental (Longman/PH)
3rd
Nikela Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
12-13
yrs 105-118 lbs
1st
Jake Salmon (Longman)
2nd
Lathan Aiwohi (Longman/PH)
3rd
Josiah Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
Yellow
Belt
8-9
yrs 53-75 lbs
1st
Liam Mason (Relson/O2)
2nd
Kaizen Nino (Reson/O2)
3rd
Keawe Pimental (Longman/PH)
16-17
yrs 176-218 lbs
1st
Matt Paulson (Longman)
2nd
Robin Raza (Kamole)
Yellow/Orange/Green
Belt
14-15
yrs 99-122 lbs
1st
Elijah Koga (Kamole)
2nd
Bobby Castle (Longman/PH)
3rd
Ricky Bauajadia (Kamole)
Orange/Blue
Belt
16-17
yrs 137-154 lbs
1st
John Hommel (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Keanu Pascua (Relson/HK)
3rd
Hunter Ewald (Longman)
Girls
White Belt
12-13
yrs 116-121 lbs
1st
Elizabeth Oshiro (Longman)
2nd
Natalia Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
Girls
White/Orange Belt
12-14
yrs 107-133 lbs
1st
Harmony Pacheco (Relson/O2)
2nd
Neysha Laumatia (Relson/TPJJ)
3rd
Elisabeth Oshiro (Longman)
Girls
Yellow/Orange Belt
14
yrs 107-133 lbs
1st
Neysha Laumatia (Relson/TPJJ)
2nd
Harmony Pacheco (Relson/O2)
Adults
Mens Gi
White
Belt
131
lbs below
1st
Bryce Beaver (Kamole)
2nd
Matthew Domingo (Kamole)
3rd
Mikey Beltran (Relson/KTI)
132-145
lbs
1st
Loren Otake (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Micah Bermoy (Longman)
146-154
lbs
1st
Daniel Kong (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Cody Woods (Longman)
3rd
Devon Andrews (KG/Pure JJ)
160-173
lbs
1st
Jonah Farias (Relson/KTI)
2nd
Roy Simao (Longman)
3rd
Bryan Manuel (Relson/KTI)
174-187
lbs
1st
Kyle Myers (Longman)
2nd
Bronson Tandal (Longman)
3rd
Chris Hyde (Relson/KTI)
188-215
lbs
1st
Jackson Rosser (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Casey Kimaro (Kamole)
3rd
Arnold Bumagat (Relson/KTI)
Blue
Belt
131
lbs Below
1st
Glenn Daguio (Relson/KTI)
2nd
Arjay Balisacon (Relson/KTI)
3rd
Justin Martins (Longman)
132-145
lbs
1st
John Hommel (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Nate Neikter (Longman)
3rd
Noa Espirito (Relson/KTI)
146-159
lbs
1st
Matthew Park (Kamole)
2nd
Brandon Agan (Longman)
3rd
Daniel Deanda (Kamole)
160-173
lbs
1st
Nick Takashima (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Nick Lee (Relson/Shiraki)
3rd
Daryl Delima (Relson/O2)
174-187
lbs
1st
Aaron Coyaso (Relson/KTI)
2nd
David Cambell (Relson/KTI)
188-201
lbs
1st
Dustin Aguiar (Kamole)
2nd
Derek Kawakami (Relson/KTI)
3rd
David Cambell (Relson/KTI)
212
lbs Above
1st
Koji Ueunten (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Steve Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
36
yrs Over 159 lbs Below
1st
Kirk Carinio (Longman)
2nd
Ashley Maldonad (Longman)
36
yrs Over 160-180 lbs
1st
PJ Dean (Relson/O2)
2nd
Seiji Yotsuda (Relson/KTI)
3rd
Raymond Martinez (Kamole)
36
yrs Over 202 lbs Above
1st
Steve Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
Adult
Womens Gi
Blue
Belt
Open
Weight
1st
Nancy Kapiko(Relson/TPJJ)
Purple/Brown
Belt
159
lbs Below
1st
Joe Scoval (Longman)
2nd
Luke Hacker (Longman)
3rd
Travis Talbo (Kamole)
160-180
lbs
1st
Kawika Stewart (Longman)
2nd
Taylor Sadler (KG/Pure JJ)
3rd
Ka'ula Watson (Longman)
Open
Belt
1st
Grant Wells (Longman)
2nd
Derek Kawakami (Relson/KTI)
3rd
Aaron Coyaso (Relson/KTI)
Kids
No-Gi
8-9
yrs 53-57 lbs
1st
Kaizen Nino (Relson/O2)
2nd
Jessica Cezar (Relson/KTI)
8-9
yrs 65-70 lbs Beg
1st
Jacob Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
2nd
Zachary Kaina-Kokubun (Relson/O2)
8-9
yrs 60-75 lbs Adv
1st
Liam Mason (Relson/O2)
2nd
Zachary Kaina-Kokubun (Relson/O2)
3rd
Keawe Pimental (Longman/PH)
12-13
yrs 95-115 lbs
1st
Jake Salmon (Longman)
2nd
Lathan Aiwohi (Longman/PH)
3rd
Josiah Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
14-15
yrs 99-122 lbs
1st
Bobby Castle (Longman/PH)
2nd
Jake Salmon (Longman)
3rd
Chansen Auwae (Relson/TPJJ)
14-15
yrs 155-176 lbs
1st
Quinton Boloson (Relson/O2)
2nd
Robin Raza (Kamole)
3rd
Alika Peleketi (Kauai Pankration)
16-17
yrs 120-138 lbs
1st
Mikey Beltran (Relson/KTI)
2nd
Lowen Gonzales (Longman/PH)
16-17
yrs 137-154
1st
john Hommel (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Keanu Pascua (Relson/HK)
16-17
yrs 180-183 lbs
1st
Chris Hyde (Relson/KTI)
2nd
James Goode (Longman)
3rd
Kory Kaneholani-Davis (Kauai Pankration)
Girls
No-Gi
12-13
yrs 116-121 lbs
1st
Natalia Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
2nd
Elizabeth Oshiro (Longman)
12-14
yrs 107-133 lbs
1st
Harmony Pacheco (Relson/O2)
2nd
Natalia Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
14
yrs 107-133 lbs
1st
Harmony Pacheco (Relson/O2)
Adult
Mens No-Gi
131
lbs Below Beg
1st
Arajy Balisacan (Relson/KTI)
2nd
Leon Alyvilla (Relson/KTI)
3rd
Justin Martins (Longman/PH)
132-145
lbs Beg
1st
Loren Otake (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Arjay Balisacon (Relson/KTI)
3rd
Jaron Sit (Longman)
146-159
lbs Beg
1st
Cody Young
2nd
Boz Nakahara (Relson/Shiraki)
3rd
Brandon Largusa (Longman)
160-173
lbs Beg
1st
Nick Lee (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Nick Takashima (Relson/Shiraki)
3rd
Sean James (10th Planet JJ)
174-187
lbs Beg
1st
David cambell (Relson/KTI)
2nd
Chris Hyde (Relson/KTI)
3rd
Aaron Coyaso (Relson/KTI)
188-201
lbs Beg
1st
Aaron Coyaso (Relson/KTI)
2nd
Jackson Rosser (Relson/Shiraki)
3rd
Derek Kawakami (Relson/KTI)
202-215
lbs Beg
1st
Aaron Lee (Relson/KTI)
2nd
Harold Bumagot (Relson/KTI)
216
lbs Above Beg
1st
Koji Uenten (Relson/Shiraki)
2nd
Aaron Lee (Relson/KTI)
3rd
Steve Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
159
Below Adv
1st
Luke Hacker (Longman)
2nd
Joe Scoval (Longman)
3rd
Matt Park (Kamole)
160-180
lbs Adv
1st
Ka'ula Watson (Longman)
2nd
Kawika Steward (Longman)
Chris
Kaui (Relson/KTI)
36
yrs Over 159 Below Beg
1st
Kirk Carinio (Longman)
2nd
Ashley Maldonado (Longman)
36
yrs Over 160-180 lbs Beg
1st
PJ Dean (Relson/O2)
2nd
Seiji Yotsuda (Relson/KTI)
3rd
Matt Oneil (Relson/KTI)
36
yrs Over 202 lbs Above Beg
1st
Steve Alvarez (Relson/KTI)
Womens
No-GI
Open
Adv
1st
Nancy Kapiko (Relson/TPJJ)
2nd
Evrielle Blair (Longman)
3rd
Alexis Carvalho (Relson/KTI)
Team
Points
Kids
Points
1st
Relson Gracie 84 pts
2nd
Longman 57 pts
3rd
Kamole 11 pts
4th
Kauai 24 Hr Fitness 3 pts
5th
Kauai Pankration 2 pts
6th
Maui Grappling Academy 1 pt
Adult
Points
1st
Relson Gracie 112 pts.
2nd
Longman 56 pts
3rd
Kamole
4th
KGJJ 3 pts
5th
10th Planet JJ 1pt
Much
Thanks to all of our competitors and sponsors for helping us
run another great tournament!
50-kids
& 95 Adults that competed
Thanks
again to all our staff, especially our off Island staff and competitors!
Aloha |
GSP:
FROM ULTIMATE CHAMPION TO ULTIMATE COACH
Every season of “The Ultimate Fighter" has brought
a different style of coach, and some of the best fighters in
the world have taken a turn at the head of a team on the powerhouse
reality show. For the first time ever, UFC welterweight champion
and arguably pound-for-pound top fighter in the world Georges
St-Pierre will take his turn as coach on the next season of the
reality show, which starts filming in June.
The
Canadian fighter leaves for Las Vegas in a few weeks, and has
already started assembling his team of coaches and assistants
that will help him along the way with the new season of hopefuls.
The
cast of characters to support St-Pierre will be a who's who list
of MMA's elite, as the champion has consistently surrounded himself
with some of the best in the business.
"I'll
take all my coaches, if they want to come, and so far they all
want (to)," St-Pierre said when speaking to MMAWeekly Radio.
"I'll also have some people that work with me that nobody
knows yet, that aren't in my corner, but they play a huge role
in my career."
The
coaches that people do know will include his own head coach Firas
Zahabi, as well as strength and conditioning coach Jonathan Chaimburg.
Other coaches like Greg Jackson are sure to make appearances
for St-Pierre's team throughout the season.
St-Pierre
also promises some new faces that fans may not recognize, but
after the reality show they may very well become household names.
"I
have a guy from Paris, France, he's a champion in Muay Thai,
he helps me before every fight, and nobody knows who he is cause
he's not in my corner," St-Pierre disclosed.
What's
odd is throughout the history of “The Ultimate Fighter"
several past champions and legends in the sport have taken a
turn coaching on the reality show, but due to timing and other
issues St-Pierre will be making his debut with Season 12. The
champion says everything worked out perfectly for this season,
and plans on putting in a lot of work this year because he has
a bout of his own to worry about in the latter part of 2010.
"It's
perfect timing, I'm very happy that it happened right now actually,"
said St-Pierre. "It's going to be a good experience because
don't forget I need to stay in shape as well, I need to train
because I'm going to have a fight coming up too soon as well."
He
will face his opposing Season 12 head coach Josh Koscheck in
a rematch of the fight St-Pierre won in August 2007. A date for
the rematch has yet to be announced, but won’t likely take
place until after Season 12 has run its course on television
this fall.
One
aspect of the show that will surely be showcased will be St-Pierre's
own legendary training techniques that have brought him to the
pinnacle of the sport. His training methods are the stuff of
legend, and St-Pierre plans on sharing with the next crop of
"Ultimate Fighters."
"It's
going to be the first experience for me. I'm excited because
I do things quite differently than most of the fighters, the
way I train, so I'm happy," said St-Pierre. "I'm going
to be able to show people how I train, it's going to be a good
experience."
The
Canadian champion will head out to Las Vegas at the beginning
of June to start taping, with the debut coming later this year
on Spike TV.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Parisyan,
Bustamante, Sokoudjou, Kang, More UFC Vets Headed to Impact FC
Karo
Parisyan, Murilo Bustamante, Jeff Monson, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou,
Paulo Filho and Denis Kang have been confirmed by the promoters
with opponents for Impact FC's upcoming cards in Australia on
July 10 and July 18.
Additionally,
Monson and Filho are in for double duty, slated to fight on both
cards. Monson is lined up to fight Bira Lima and then former
UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez. Meanwhile, Filho will
take on Keith Johnson and then UFC and PRIDE veteran Kang.
The
July 10 card is headlined by Josh Barnett vs. Geronimo Dos Santos
and the July 18 card is headlined by Ken Shamrock vs. Pedro Rizzo.
Parisyan
will be returning to action after 17 months away from fighting
following a positive test for painkillers at UFC 94. Parisyan
will meet 28-year-old Brazilian Luis "Besouro" Dutra
Jr. with a record of 10-2.
Sokoudjou,
who was saved last Friday with a DQ win over Dave Herman at ADFC
1, will face M-1 Challenge veteran Joaquim "Mamute"
Ferreira of Rio de Janeiro.
Seen
lately on UFC television as Rousimar Palhares' coach and translator,
former UFC middleweight champion Bustamante will exit a two-and-a-half
year hiatus and step in the ring against Jesse Taylor of The
Ultimate Fighter fame.
July
10 in Brisbane, Australia:
Josh
Barnett vs. Geronimo Dos Santos
Carlos Newton vs. Brian Ebersole
Karo Parisyan vs. Luis "Besouro" Dutra Jr.
Jeff Monson vs. Bira Lima
Paulo Filho vs. Keith Johnson
July
18 in Sydney, Australia:
Ken
Shamrock vs. Pedro Rizzo
Jeff Monson vs. Ricco Rodriguez
Murilo Bustamante vs. Jesse Taylor
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Joaquim Ferreira
Paulo Filho vs. Denis Kang
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Alistair
Overeem-Fedor Emelianenko Fight Is the Only One That Makes Sense
Even
though I know better, the temptation to make certain unhelpful
comparisons between Alistair Overeem, Fedor Emelianenko, and
their respective performances against a common opponent is almost
overwhelming.
Don't
worry, I'm not going to do it.
I'm
not going to point out that while Fedor needed a round and a
half to dispatch Brett Rogers, Overeem only needed a couple of
minutes. I'm not going to contrast Fedor's smashed nose with
Overeem's unmarred mug in the aftermath of the Rogers fight.
Really, I swear I won't.
See,
I know it doesn't work like that. There's no transitive property
in MMA. The difference between styles, the fact that each fighter
isn't necessarily the exact same man every time he steps in the
cage, these factors make such comparisons useless.
At
the same time, I'd be lying if I said that the ease with which
Overeem destroyed Rogers didn't make me think twice about how
the world's greatest heavyweight might stack up against the man
with the cartoon superhero physique. And while no one knows for
sure what goes on in the heads of M-1 Global executives, it's
hard not to think that maybe Fedor's notoriously difficult handlers
had some of the same thoughts watching last night's one-sided
title fight.
The
differences between Overeem and Rogers were mainly ones of power
and attitude. In just under four minutes in the cage, Rogers
never made the champ so much as consider the possibility that
he might get hurt. Overeem's probably taken more damage doing
yard work than he did defending his Strikeforce belt.
Afterwards
"The Demolition Man" made it clear, once again, that
he has his sights set on Emelianenko, but that he doesn't necessarily
blame the Russian for the fact that the fight has proved so difficult
to put together. Overeem prodded Fedor's management for keeping
their fighter out of the Strikeforce title bout, but later expressed
admiration for Fedor as "a legend."
It's
a savvy trash-talk balancing act on his part, praising Fedor
while making his management out to be the bad guys who are robbing
fans of the fight they want to see, but I'm not sure it will
have much effect on the M-1 Global crew.
If
you couldn't tell by now, they don't particularly want to see
their fighter take on Overeem. They have good reasons. As far
as assets go, M-1 has Emelianenko, some logos that they'd love
to plaster around various arenas and cages, and not a whole lot
else.
Much
depends on their ability to promote Fedor as the world's top
heavyweight. If they put him into a fight with the bigger, stronger,
and technically sound Overeem, there's too good a chance that
they might lose that particular claim to fame. It's a risk, and
no good businessman risks his most valuable asset unless he absolutely
has to.
That's
why M-1 opted for the safer choice of Fabricio Werdum as Emelianenko's
next opponent even while Overeem was more than willing to meet
him. Whenever you see a fighter's management go to such great
lengths to keep him out of a title bout, you know something's
up.
In
all likelihood, Fedor will run through Werdum on June 26, but
then M-1 is going to face a problem. While I'm sure they're already
preparing to make the case that their fighter should take on
Antonio Silva next instead of Overeem, that's not going to fly
for long.
As
Overeem's easy victory in St. Louis proved conclusively, Strikeforce
has two great heavyweights on the roster. That's the good news.
The bad news is, that won't mean much at all if it can't get
them both in the cage together, and soon.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Jorge
Santiago
Middleweight
champion on Sengoku, Jorge Santiago wants to breathe different
airs. After six wins on the Japanese event, the American Top
Team athlete dreams about coming back to the American events,
where he first became a champion. In an exclusive interview to
TATAME, Jorginho revels that his biggest desire at this point
is to fight on Strikeforce, talked about the trainings on ATT,
the conditioning training of Antônio Pezão for his
fight against Andrei Arlovski, this Saturday, remembered the
rematch with Mamed Khalidov, revenging his loss in 2009, commented
about the domain of Anderson Silva on UFC and a lot more.
After
the fight, how is the training rhythm?
They
are fine, I’m already back to the trainings. In February
I spent a month in Brazil to rest, but came back to the trainings
right after it. There was some athletes during their preparation
to fight, so I didn’t have an easy time. Maybe could appear
out of the blue one fight for me and I had to be prepared.
What
did you think of the rematch with Mamed Khalidov?
It
was hard, the guy is really tough and only a few knew him. After
that fight I could tell who he is, I even searched information
about him. He is a great name in Europe, has only one loss on
his record. I happened to lose the first fight, so I got really
alert on the second one so that I would not make any mistake.
It’s hard to fight against a person you don’t know
and don’t know what to expect. When the guy is known and
is on the media, you can see what his game is like… So it
was hard getting ready for him, but I had the pressure of having
the belt in my hands and I wanted to keep it, so I settled a
cautious strategy just for keeping the belt, that was the most
important thing. In the other fight it was not a belt on dispute,
bet there was on the last one.
Do
you think it was decisive the fact that you didn’t know
him on the first fight and on the second you could set a strategy
for the fight?
Yeah.
The strategy was more defined on this last fight. Of course I
didn’t risk much on this fight, I confess I did a cautious
fight, because there was a title involved. If you are the champion,
you have to maintain your title, it doesn’t matter how the
fight will go… The guy has to work really hard to catch
you.
Do
you have any expectations for your next fight in the matter of
date of opponent?
They
talked about it, but didn’t give me a name yet. Sengoku
will come back in July, if I’m not wrong and I’m trying
to fight on the United States. I’m looking for the opportunities,
the events, I’m trying to figure it out what is it that
they want, but it’s a maker of chatting. They switched me
from the night to the day, but I believe I’ll soon be fighting
here in the U.S. too.
Does
your contract allow you to fight on the U.S.?
They
are allowing. My only commitment with them is to, within a six
months period, defend my belt on the middleweight division. Besides
that, as long as it’s not UFC, because they demand an exclusive
contract, I can fight anywhere, like on Strikeforce and other
events, and it is exactly what I’m trying to do now. I want
to defend my middleweight belt there every six months and meanwhile
fight here in the United States.
How
many more fight do you have on your contract?
I
don’t have a fixed number, I only have the commitment to
come back here and defend my belt. We are about to remake the
contract. I’m waiting for them and, at the same time, looking
for opportunities here on the U.S., so I’m just waiting
to see what will happen and I’m ready. It there is a good
thing, you can count me in.
How
do you see the growth of events on your category like Strikeforce,
Bellator and others?
Thank
God my division is starting to grow. On America, besides UFC,
I think that the division is getting better, because people on
Strikeforce are counting with athletes as Robbie Lawler, Melvin
Manhoef, Jacaré, there is a good crew. The until 84kg
division will grow on America too and I hope that not only on
UFC, but guys like these new guys on Strikeforce. I always want
to fight these people.
How
do you think you’d do in Strikeforce today?
I’m
dying to fight these guys and that’s what I want, I want
to fight on Strikeforce. If God helps me, I can face these guys.
I had a situation here in Strikeforce, I won the GP as I knocked
out on two fights, right? Unfortunately, my contract ended at
that time and I signed with Japan, so I have pendency here. There
are guys in American pretending they are champions on my division,
but didn’t want to fight me and that was the deal. Unfortunately
I had to get out of here, so I have to solve this case and end
up with this pendency.
How
do you see this domain of Anderson on your division, having no
threatening opponents to fight against?
Some
good guys got out of UFC, so our division has not the same level
of athletes anymore. Nowadays I don’t see who could take
Anderson off there. I admire a lot his fighting style, I told
him that, I try to see him as a mirror and, for now, I really
don’t see anyone beating him. UFC has to admit more guys,
because it’s not fair having Anderson fighting on this division
(laughs). He has to go up and beat everyone from the division
above ours. I hope they call more people. They say they are already
doing it, so maybe we’ll see new people on the event.
Don’t
you think that Vitor Belfort would be a great name to try to
get this belt off Anderson?
Vitor
has a chance. In a fight you can never underestimate your opponent.
He is one of the guys who have the potential to fight. I think
that, nowadays, he would be the great name, but even tso I think
Anderson would win. I think Anderson has a more complete game
to put in practice in the octagon along with Vitor. Vitor is
a great fighter, but he has do a lot more than Anderson, because
Anderson is the champion, so he has to prove more and run after
him.
Dana
White said that, if Anderson wins his two next fights, he will
try to force him to change divisions. Do you think it is right
of Dana trying to force Anderson to change his division instead
of bringing new challenges?
I
bet the can change divisions and win two belts, man (laughs).
Of course he has to do what is best for him, he has the conditions
to became the champion on the light heavyweight division. He
has no opponent on his level there, he’s very free.
Shogun
said he would accept fighting Anderson. How do you think it would
be this bout?
It’s
hard to say because they are two talented guys. It would be a
fight I would want to watch from the first line, sit with popcorn
in my hands and I wouldn’t even blink, because if one of
them messes up, the other will end the fight right away.
Source: Tatame
|
Wild
West Virginia: A Look Inside a Commission
Jerry
Jones arrived at Elkins High School in Elkins, W.V., this past
March, mouthpiece in hand, and gave the attendant $10. A doctor
listened to his lungs, took his blood pressure and put him on
a scale. He was asked a series of questions: Have you ever been
hospitalized? Have you ever had a concussion? Do you have any
physical problems?
Jones
answered: no, no and no. He was placed in a queue of dozens of
men lining up to be crowned Elkins’ weekend warrior of the
moment -- a trademarked Toughman in sweat-soaked 16-ounce gloves
and battle-worn headgear.
Had
he been truthful, he might not have been offered the chance.
“The
seizures can occur at odd times,” he said. “They just
come out of the blue. I had to lie to fight.”
Jones
has epilepsy. This was his third Toughman event.
A
Faulty Circuit
In
the combat sports climate of West Virginia, amateur boxing is
virtually non-existent; professional boxers draw only modest
attention.
Instead,
the state has become the single most prolific host of Toughman
and Toughman-style events in the country. The two-night tournaments
are supervised by the athletic commission, endorsed by promoters
as safe, secure fun and reported on by local papers with the
reverence afforded to organized leagues. Eleven of them took
place there in 2009, admitting hundreds of fighters and thousands
of spectators; eight have already transpired this year, not including
the off-brand Rough ‘N Rowdy.
“Not
even [Toughman creator] Art Dore puts on a bigger show than [local
promoter] Jerry Thomas,” said Matt McCase, a sports and
entertainment promoter in the state. “And the truth is,
the audience you’re marketing that event to really wants
to come and see that. It’s really hard for these people
to sit and watch pro bouts. They don’t respect it so much.”
Toughman
is as much entertainment as sport, with flashing lights, gyrating
women and a pulsating soundtrack with a sense of humor. If a
fighter is downed or mimes injury, audiences might hear Queen’s
“Another One Bites the Dust” or the sound of a baby
crying. In a 2002 Harper’s magazine piece, author Kathy
Dobie described the dynamic of promoters allowing uniformed police
officers in for free so they can break up fights in the crowd.
Virtually anyone -- including “bar room brawlers and street
fighters” solicited by Rough ‘N Rowdy advertising --
can enjoy the adrenaline of being in a ring without any of the
training, ability or sacrifice.
“True
amateur boxing in West Virginia is Toughman,” added McCase.
“That’s all these people know and all they want to
know.”
The
public appetite for these contests has led to the state’s
Department of Revenue to exert control over proceedings via an
organizational branch. But whether crowds show up for boxing,
kickboxing or the state pastime of amateur brawling, the West
Virginia Athletic Commission is displaying signs that its five-member,
modestly budgeted staff is falling short in monitoring the health
of participants.
Sherdog.com
contacted six professional boxers who competed in the state in
2008 or 2009; four described conditions that would be intolerable
according to the standards of the Association of Boxing Commissions
(ABC), the American Association of Professional Ringside Physicians
(AAPRP) or even the state’s own statutes. Pre- and post-fight
physicals were either absent or fleeting, ignoring cuts or swelling;
some were free to get their hands wrapped without the observation
or approval of commission officials; another showed up for a
fight with a “nasty gash” over his eyebrow that went
ignored. (That same athlete suffered a cut in a separate bout:
When he sought medical attention, his coach was given a butterfly
bandage and told to apply it.)
“I
never had to take a drug test, blood test or physical,”
said one boxer. “They never took a urine test. I could’ve
been on crack or cocaine. I could’ve had blood pressure
through the roof. They never would have known it.”
“It’s
totally inappropriate
for a commissioner to be a
referee or judge in a fight.
What if you make a mistake?
You’re going to have to
discipline yourself.”
-- ABC President Tim Lueckenhoff.
“Every
other place I’ve fought, right when you leave the ring,
somebody checks you out,” said another. “I had awful
swelling on the face. I was worried. My eye was just terrible.
And nobody checked it. Someone else’s coach came up to me
and said, ‘You need to get some aluminum on it real fast.’
It was wild.”
Because
hand wraps aren’t regularly monitored, one athlete was told
by a local resident that fighters could “skin” gloves
-- the act of tightening the mitts closer to the knuckles to
increase the chances for damage. Another fighter described having
to help a commission member operate the scale for a weigh-in.
When
informed by Sherdog.com that Athletic Commission Chairman Steven
Allred was the listed ring official for several pro bouts in
the state, ABC President Tim Lueckenhoff blanched. “It’s
totally inappropriate for a commissioner to be a referee or judge
in a fight,” he said. “What if you make a mistake?
You’re going to have to discipline yourself.”
Allred’s
brother Scott is also a listed referee for pro bouts; when Jim
Frio was active on the commission, he was listed in a Morgantown
show as both the commission supervisor and a fight judge. For
an August 2009 contest between local favorite Tommy Karpency
and the visiting Chuck Mussachio, Pete McGinley was installed
as the referee despite a serious conflict of interest.
“Every
time I felt like I was getting him on his heels and starting
to do some damage, the ref would tell me to stop and watch my
head or stop and tell him to watch his head,” Mussachio
recalled. “At one point, he stopped the fight. I thought
he was checking to see if Tommy was cut. But he was actually
giving him a breather. He wiped the hair out of his eyes and
said, ‘Continue.’”
Unknown
to Mussachio at the time: the Morgantown gym where McGinley is
a boxing instructor acts as an occasional training site for Karpency.
Karpency has not lost any of his 15 fights in West Virginia.
McGinley officiated at least six of them.
State
of Denial
The
acceptance of Toughman’s laymen and boxing’s pre-damaged
might lead some into believing the state would have no problem
with the callused bodies of professional mixed martial artists.
Yet the House and Senate have failed to pass any one of three
bills introduced prior to the 2009 and 2010 legislative sessions
that would allow the competition; the idea of ground strikes
and chokes is enough to turn athletic commission chairman Allred’s
disposition into one of barely concealed contempt.
“If
I had the wherewithal and the means,” he said, “I’d
like to see MMA banned in other states.”
Allred
arrived on the commission in 2000, around the time MMA promoter
Jamie Levine was strong-arming his way into the territory with
his World Extreme Fighting brand. Never lacking in volume, Levine
portrayed his show as a public execution. Appalled, former commission
Chairman Rick Modesitt sponsored legislation that clarified the
commission’s power over freestyle fighting events.
“It
was a very emotional issue, a very intense issue, in the state
at the time,” remembered Modesitt. “The taste we got,
right or wrong, was MMA being portrayed as a near-death match
scenario by Mr. Levine.”
“Why
would we allow a brutal sport to come into our state?” he
said. “It is for money? Tell me it’s better than what
we have, which already has its problems. The kids fighting in
MMA, if they’ve had a concussion or two or three, haven’t
even begun to experience their psychological effects. Those things
take time. It doesn’t even manifest itself until 10 to 20
years after a career in football.”
By
2001, there was no ambiguity left: West Virginia would not host
mixed martial arts competitions. It remains only one of three
states with a law specifically prohibiting the sport. Forty-three
states and Washington, D.C. sanction MMA while an additional
five consider it legal and permissible without athletic commission
oversight. New York has submitted sanctioning as part of its
2010-11 budget; Connecticut allows bouts on Indian land.
If
New York’s legislation is processed, West Virginia will
become the only territory out of 51 to completely rebuke the
contests.
“I
hear states do it for economic reasons,” Allred said. “You
get to the point where, what are you going to allow for the sake
of a tax dollar? Where do we stop? I’ll wear that badge,
or target, with honor.”
Allred,
who was appointed to the head chair in 2003 after Modesitt resigned,
has taken that distinction to extreme lengths. In 2005, he sent
a Cease and Desist letter to Ernest Hiles, who was set to promote
a jiu-jitsu tournament without strikes. Hiles spent $6,000 taking
the matter to court, which found in Hiles’ favor and issued
a temporary restraining order against the commission. Allred
tried similar tactics last year against Hiles’ grappling
tournament at the West Virginia Games, an addition to the event
requested by the city of Charleston. Other instructors have reported
receiving similar orders.
“Jiu-jitsu
is big here,” Hiles said. “We even have a tournament
upcoming to raise money for cancer research. It's odd that he
chooses to try and shut it down so often.”
Accused
of being misinformed by proponents of MMA and grappling in the
state, Allred says he agreed with the criticism and attended
a jiu-jitsu school to take classes. He was unwilling to name
either his instructor or the name of the academy. Citing his
familiarity with other instructors in the area, Hiles believes
he has never trained.
If
he did, the classes would have to be modified significantly:
While Allred professes a “great deal of respect” for
grapplers, he cannot reconcile the option of chokes in competition.
“Respiratory
choke, you’re cutting a guy’s oxygen off until he’s
rendered unconscious,” he said. “A vascular choke,
cutting a guy’s blood supply off until he’s unconscious
or dead.”
USA
Judo, which has registered 30,000 combatants in that style, allows
chokes in athletes as young as 13. Their insurance company has
recorded no injuries as a result of the techniques.
“There
have been studies done, mostly in Japan and in Europe,”
said Robert S. Nishime, M.D., who is tasked with overseeing injury
issues for the organization. “Individuals were choked with
cardiac and pulmonary monitoring. It’s consistently shown
to be a safe technique.”
Fighting
a Losing Battle
Largely
unsuccessful in his attempts to have jurisdiction over grappling,
Allred turned his attention to the increasing buzz in West Virginia’s
political halls over sanctioning MMA. Appearing before legislation
in 2009 during sessions held for a House Concurrent Resolution
that mandated a study of both MMA and the state’s athletic
commission -- the latter a study that was never arranged -- Allred
submitted a host of documentation to delegates that presented
the sport as a medieval and despicable anomaly, including material
prepared by New York State Assemblyman Bob Reilly.
Among
the paperwork was a letter from USA Boxing condemning MMA and
signed by then-president Jim Millman. But Tom Virgets, Chairman
of the organization that supervises amateur boxing, told Sherdog.com
that Millman had never brought up the issue with the board and
that USA Boxing has never issued any official statement on the
topic.
“No
one authorized Jim to speak on behalf of USA Boxing,” Virgets
said. “We have made no official statement regarding MMA.”
(Millman, who is no longer with the organization, could not be
reached for comment.)
“I
truly feel that MMA is
the most dangerous combative
sporting event known to
mankind at this point in time.”
-- Steven Allred.
Opponents
did not restrict arguments to the legislative floor. Allen Saoud,
D.O., the senior ring physician for the state, told an ABC affiliate
in Clarksburg that he had personally witnessed elbows and knees
causing injury to combatants during his supervision of MMA events
in Ohio. Bernie Profato, chairman of the Ohio State Athletic
Commission, retorted that Saud was “full of crap.”
According
to the state’s records, Saoud only worked amateur bouts,
which disallow knees to the head and elbows.
“I
went and pulled his record and there wasn’t one situation
where he advised anyone needing a follow-up CAT scan,” Profato
said. “The few fights he worked, I looked at them, and he
never had anything where he said someone had to be off for six
months because he was beaten up.”
Despite
the pockmarked evidence, Allred’s arguments were effective
in calling up emotional responses from delegates who have stirred
reputations for being easily swayed. Before a 2009 session intended
to address adding calorie information to restaurant menus, several
legislators were seen enjoying free biscuits provided by a local
restaurant chain; a bill intended to raise taxes on beer was
broken up by beer wholesalers throwing a party for delegates.
Neither bill passed.
As
far as MMA is concerned, Allred believes they did the right thing.
“You
can’t have a baseline,” Allred said. “You can’t
take one or three years and look at it and say, ‘We didn’t
have any serious injuries.’ I don’t know you can do
that fairly in a comparison against boxing. I look at MMA and
it really scares me to death. Knees and elbows are bone against
bone. That’s extremely serious.”
Allred
cites the frequency of boxing matches relative to MMA as a reason
for the former’s aggressive mortality rate. In 2002, the
first full year MMA was sanctioned in Nevada, 63 MMA bouts were
held in the state compared to 339 boxing matches. But by 2009,
boxing held 238 fights to MMA’s 163. During the same year
in California, 70 boxing events took place to MMA’s 76.
Three
boxers in the U.S. died in 2009 due to injuries sustained in
the ring; a fourth died in Australia while sparring; Z Gorres
was put into an induced coma following a subdural hematoma. There
were no serious injuries reported in state-sanctioned mixed martial
arts, a statistic some ringside physicians attribute to diluted
striking because of the grappling element and the availability
of attacks other than those directed at the head.
“I’m
opposed to the sport not because I’m a boxing guy, and not
because I just don’t like MMA, but because I think it’s
dangerous,” Allred said. “I just find it very difficult
for me to dive in to MMA, to think that it’s a safe sport,
that it’s not harmful to participants.
“I
truly feel that MMA is the most dangerous combative sporting
event known to mankind at this point in time.”
Source: Sherdog
|
ARLOVSKI
ADMITS MISTAKES, WANTS TO FIGHT SOON
Back to the drawing board.
It's
an old saying, but it stands true in just about any sport. It
holds true for Andrei Arlovski, who has now lost three fights
in a row dating back to early 2009, and he's working to get back
to the form that saw him regarded as one of the best heavyweights
in MMA just a few shot years ago, the UFC championship belt around
his waist.
The
Belarus native faced a tough test against Antonio Silva at Strikeforce:
Heavy Artillery on Saturday night, where he struggled in the
stand-up game during most of the fight, which has become his
strong suit in MMA.
Arlovski
will take the brunt of the criticism for his performance, but
still needs to figure out what has to change if he's going to
get back to the top of the division.
"I
feel kind of upset because I put down my trainers. We had a great
camp. I don't know, after 11 months (out of action) it's kind
of hard to come back, but I think I did okay," said Arlovski.
"I took his couple of shots on my chin. I guess I showed
the fans my chin's not weak. It was a tough fight. He's tough.
"It
just wasn't my night."
The
strategy going into the fight was a very specific direction,
but the former UFC champion admits he didn’t follow it very
well and it cost him in the end.
"The
game plan was very simple, straight punches and move to my right.
Obviously I didn't do enough," Arlovski said. "I have
to do some more combinations, more three, four, five punch combinations"
As
Arlovski mentioned he was coming back after a long layoff due
to taking a turn in the boxing world, but tasting a trifecta
of defeats is enough and he's focused on MMA and MMA only for
the immediate future.
"Right
now I'm focused on my MMA career because when I took the fight
on short notice against Brett Rogers my mind was focused on my
pro boxing and as a result he knocked my ass out in less than
20 seconds," said Arlovksi. "Of course I wanted to
box, but in MMA I have three losses in a row. I'm 15-8 right
now and it's horrible. I just have to train I guess even harder
and try to fight even harder."
The
game plan for now is get back in the gym, and get back in the
Strikeforce cage as soon as possible.
"I
feel great. I could fight maybe tomorrow. It's up to Scott Coker,"
said Arlovski. "I want to fight, fight, fight."
The
Strikeforce president commented that Arlovksi would be back "sooner
than later," so Arlovski will now work to re-establish himself
as a relevant heavyweight in a burgeoning division.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
PALHARES
READY FOR TEST AGAINST MARQUARDT
His nickname when translated may mean "Shorty," but
Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares has been anything but
short in his UFC career. The Brazilian middleweight currently
stacks up with a 4-1 record and is currently slated to face off
against Nate Marquardt at UFC 118 in Boston.
Training
under legendary fighter Murilo Bustamante, Palhares has made
a name for himself as one of the most devastating submission
fighters in the game, and it was a submission in his last fight
that cost him a suspension from the New Jersey Athletic Commission.
After
snatching a leg from opponent Tomasz Drwal, Palhares wrenched
up a heel hook and quickly had a submission win in the first
round, but the referee and athletic commission believe that he
didn't release the hold fast enough and suspended the fighter
following the bout as a disciplinary action.
Palhares,
now moves on, but still has a sour taste in his mouth from the
whole experience believing he did nothing wrong.
"I
think it was unfair," Palhares told MMAWeekly.com. "I
didn't have any intention to hurt my opponent. In my opinion,
unfortunately the referee was too far from us and took too long
to interrupt the fight. If he was faster nothing of that would
happen."
When
the heel hook was released, Drwal was in obvious pain, but Palhares
explains that he only did the job that he had to do to finish
the fight and meant no ill will or harm towards his opponent.
"I
did my job. I held until the referee stopped the fight,"
Palhares explained. "That's what Murilo always tell me to
do, because he had (a) bad experience before with this subject."
The
experience that Palhares referenced was a 2002 fight in the UFC
between Bustamante and Matt Lindland in which the Brazilian Top
Team fighter appeared to finish the fight with an armbar, but
due to confusion with the stoppage, the fight was allowed to
continue. Bustamante eventually submitted Lindland in the third
round, but most believe he actually won the fight earlier with
the armbar.
Palhares
is ready to move forward now and face possibly his toughest test
in the UFC. He is expected to face Colorado based fighter Nate
Marquardt at UFC 118 in Boston. While the fight is still not
confirmed, Palhares talked about the possible match-up and what
kind of danger Marquardt brings into the fight.
"He
is a great fighter, it will be a good test for me," said
Palhares. "I am working hard to develop and improve my game.
My dream fight (is) a title shot some day, and if God helps me
become a champion. I know that to reach my dream, I will have
to work hard and fight the best fighters in the world. Right
now I am feeling totally secure and confident about my skills.
Let them come. I want the best opponents I can have. It is time
to test myself against them."
The
last fighter to defeat Marquardt, Chael Sonnen, will now face
Anderson Silva at UFC 117 with the middleweight title on the
line. Beating Marquardt would be a big step forward for Palhares
putting himself in a solid position to deserve a title shot,
and he's ready for that challenge.
"I
think it would be a big step in my career, and put me closer
than what I am now," Palhares stated. "It is my dream,
but I know I have to be ready when this time comes."
For
now though, Palhares will focus on facing Marquardt in August
and a win will go a long way to proving he belongs with the top
middleweights in the world.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SHINE
FIGHTS CANCELLATION EXPLAINED, MATCHMAKER RESIGNS
The fallout from the Shine Fights cancellation from the weekend
continues into the new week as matchmaker Ron Foster has now
resigned from the promotion amidst speculation of disorder and
disorganization at the event in North Carolina on Saturday. The
North Carolina Boxing Authority has also responded with why the
event was canceled and it had nothing to do with Ricardo Mayorga.
On
Monday morning, Ron Foster announced his resignation to fighters
and managers by sending an e-mail saying that he was stepping
down from his duties as matchmaker for Shine Fights. When reached
for comment on Monday by MMAWeekly.com, Foster was traveling
at the time, and requested more time for an official response.
In
the e-mail sent out on Monday Foster said, "because of the
actions that took place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday I no longer
feel that Shine Fights is the place for me."
Speculation
ran wild on Saturday as to why the North Carolina Boxing Authority
had pulled the plug on the show, but Executive Director Ken Pike
and Superintendent Terrence Merriweather responded to MMAWeekly.com,
answering all the questions about why the show was canceled.
"There
were concerns about fighter safety and well being, that's why
the fight was canceled," said Merriweather on Monday. "What
we're talking about specifically is failing to have a doctor
at the event, at the time for the fighters to be seen before
the fights had started."
Pike
and Merriweather confirmed that in North Carolina it's the responsibility
of the promotion to provide the doctor, and one was not on scene
for the fights on Saturday. A financial problem arose as well,
as the members of the Boxing Authority explained.
"North
Carolina rules and (regulations) require the promoter to have
all purse amounts to the boxing authority two hours before the
first match-up, and those requirements were not met," said
Merriweather.
The
full purse means funds to cover all the contracted bout agreements
had to be paid to the commission prior to the event to guarantee
fighter pay, and according to the members of the Boxing Authority,
Shine Fights never followed through with that commitment.
Speaking
with MMAWeekly.com anonymously on Monday, a source close to the
event said that the situation at and around the show on Saturday
was chaotic at best.
Shine
Fights CEO Devin Price, as previously reported by MMAWeekly,
was not present at the event due to the legal hearing held in
Florida earlier in the day to deal with the fallout of the injunction
filed on behalf of Don King who was Ricardo Mayorga's boxing
promoter.
According
to sources at the event, fans were already in the building and
seated when the commission decided to cancel the show, and that
refunds would be issued this week.
Also
fighters on the card were set to be paid by Shine Fights as Price
disclosed on Saturday following the event's cancellation. MMAWeekly.com
has confirmed that fighters were told they would be paid, and
that different fighters will get a different percentage of their
fight purse depending on the contractual obligations set forth
when deals were signed.
Representatives
from Shine Fights declined to comment to MMAWeekly.com at the
time of this publication.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
EXTENDS REACH WITH ROKU SET TOP STREAMING
For the first time ever, just as UFC light heavyweight rivals
Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans enter the Octagon and touch
gloves, Roku users all over the country will be able to see what
happens next and who emerges the winner of this ultimate grudge-match
live on TV via their Roku streaming video player.
The
world’s largest live pay-per-view event content provider,
the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Roku, Inc. on Monday
announced a multi-year deal to feature all major UFC events on
Roku, starting with UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans taking place Saturday,
May 29 live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“We
are always looking at the latest technology and the newest ways
to bring the UFC experience to our fans,” said Dana White,
UFC President. “Roku is another way for fans to get more
UFC and watch all of the UFC events live and in HD, starting
with UFC 114 on Saturday, May 29th.”
“The
Roku player is capable of delivering amazing live events, in
HD, on the TV. We are excited to be UFC’s lead partner in
bringing the total UFC experience – from live events and
classic fights to insider previews, countdowns, and training
coverage – to fans everywhere, whenever they want it,”
said Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, Inc.
“The
new UFC channel joins a growing list of major streaming content
services for the TV that started first on Roku, including Netflix,
MLB.TV, and Amazon Video On Demand – further strengthening
our position as the leader in delivery of premium streaming content.”
In
addition to UFC 114 and future live fights, Roku users will also
have access to the UFC Vault, the world’s largest collection
of archived fights, as well as live access to UFC pre-fight events
including the official weigh-ins, and pre- and post-fight press
conferences, hosted by White.
First
introduced in May 2008 as the original Netflix player, the Roku
streaming player is a little box that allows you to instantly
stream entertainment on your TV without a PC. Roku’s rapidly
expanding library of instant entertainment includes over 50,000
movies and TV shows, live sporting events, music, and more.
Roku
players start at just $79.99 for the standard definition model
and $99.99 for the HD model.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Octagon
observations: What now for Kimbo?
1.
End of The Kimbo Show: The legendary street brawler’s stint
in the UFC did about as well as could be expected. UFC got what
it wanted in using Kimbo to breathe ratings life back into “The
Ultimate Fighter,” and Slice earned respect in the community
by making a real commitment to become a legitimate mixed martial
artist. Ultimately, he didn’t make it, but it wasn’t
for a lack of effort. UFC president Dana White summed it up on
Saturday night: “He deserved another fight in the UFC and
he lost. I’ve got nothing but respect for Kimbo and I like
him as a person. And I think he’s carried himself really
well.”
Slice
will make another big payday somewhere if he still feels like
fighting. He’s tailor-made for Japan’s matchmaking
style, which often values showmanship ahead of pure skills. In
the United States, some promoter somewhere will throw money at
him in order to get some attention. And it will probably work.
2.
“Shogun’s” tale: Who doesn’t love a good
redemption story? Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was all but
written off in many circles – including here – as just
another ex-PRIDE washout. But Rua never complained in public
about his plight, took the time to heal his injuries, and mounted
a serious effort to get back to the top. Whoever wasn’t
already on the “Shogun” bandwagon hopped aboard after
he was on the wrong end of a highway robbery in his first attempt
at Lyoto Machida’s title. Saturday night, Rua became the
fifth fighter to hold the light heavyweight title in just under
three years. If he can return stability to the 205-pound weight
class, the “all-time great” status expected of him
when he competed in PRIDE will be his after all.
3.
What’s next? Let’s slow down on the Rua-Anderson Silva
talk for the time being. Silva has to defend his title at middleweight
again and prove he won’t spit on the fans who shell out
$45 to watch him headline before getting rewarded with a crack
at the 205 belt. Besides, the next UFC event features two former
light heavyweight champions in Rashad Evans and Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson, who, due to various circumstances, never got their title
rematch. White wouldn’t quite commit Saturday to giving
the winner a title shot – the guess here is that White doesn’t
quite trust Jackson not to flake if he beats Evans – but
this makes more sense than any other scenario at the moment.
4.
“The Dragon” will return: MMA is a “what have
you done for me lately” sort of game, but let’s hope
Lyoto Machida isn’t forgotten based on a single bad loss,
which, after all, was the first defeat of his career. Machida’s
point karate and sumo training gave longtime fans a blast from
the past and the firepower he displayed in his wins over Thiago
Silva and Rashad Evans demonstrated that he is close to a complete
package. Rua shattered Machida’s invincible aura with his
fearlessness on Saturday night, so it will be intriguing to see
how a fighter as cerebral as “The Dragon” responds
to his first major setback.
5.
Do the right thing: For all the criticism, fair and otherwise,
that White has received for his decisions at the UFC helm, Saturday
night demonstrated why he is the sort of leader needed to successfully
run a promotion in a business as cutthroat as mixed martial arts.
There’s a code of honor and respect in MMA and there are
lines you simply don’t cross if you want to compete in the
major leagues. What Paul Daley did to Josh Koscheck, sucker-punching
him after the fight was over, is a zero-tolerance infraction.
White sent an unequivocal message by cutting Daley on the spot.
No doubt, some reporters and bloggers will look at every single
decision White has ever made in a decade as company president
and try to trump up some sort of charge of hypocrisy or inconsistency
in his decision making, but White made the right decision in
this case, period, end of story.
6.
In the money: Make no mistake about it, Georges St. Pierre against
Josh Koscheck for the welterweight title is a money fight. Koscheck
cemented his place as the fighter UFC fans most love to hate
with his performance in his victory over Daley and with his trash
talk afterward. And that’s before we get several months
of Koscheck’s mug all over “The Ultimate Fighter”
as a coach. As for the title match itself, while it is still
hard to see Koscheck beating GSP the second time around, he was,
in fact, the last person to win a round against the current champion,
back in 2007, and does figure to give the champ his most competitive
matchup in quite some time.
7.
True talent: It’s hard to believe that Alan “The Talent”
Belcher is the same fighter who was TKO’d in short order
by Jason Day in Montreal two years ago. Since then, Belcher has
become one of the sport’s most improved fighters, and he
never looked better than he did in hostile territory on Saturday
night. Belcher returned to the Bell Centre and finished a motivated
Patrick Cote in front of a sellout crowd that was vociferously
rooting for the Quebec City native. Belcher says he wants to
fight Anderson Silva, and Dana White sees it as feasible. “I
was very impressed with Belcher tonight,” he said. “He’s
in the mix. I don’t disagree with him.”
8.
Woe Canada: It appears the easiest way for a UFC fighter worried
about job security to keep his job is by moving north of the
border. After Saturday’s action, the five Canadian fighters
on the non-televised undercard – Jason MacDonald, Tim Hague,
Joe Doerksen, T.J. Grant and Jonathan Goulet – are a combined
2-13 in their past 15 Zuffa fights. Granted, this is a bit unfair
to MacDonald, who lost due to a freak leg injury on a takedown,
but only the cagey veteran Doerksen, who suckered Tom Lawlor
into a rear-naked choke, left the Bell Centre cage as a winner.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
OVEREEM
DEMOLISHES ROGERS, CALLS OUT FEDOR
It was short night for the return of Strikeforce heavyweight
champion Alistair Overeem as he simply outmatched and punished
Brett Rogers for a first round win, and now the only thing on
his mind is Fedor Emelianenko.
After
spending 2 ½ years away from the promotion, Overeem came
back on fire Saturday night, displaying his usual aggression
to put Rogers on his heels early. Landing some good leg kicks
combined with combinations, Overeem maintained control and even
tossed Rogers down to the mat when the opportunity arose.
Once
on the ground, Overeem was just too much, passing the guard of
Brett Rogers, and dropping bomb after bomb on the Chicago native.
As Rogers turned to his side to try and avoid the punishment,
Overeem continued to crush him with punches, and referee John
McCarthy mercifully stopped the fight.
Spending
time in Japan focusing primarily on kickboxing, Overeem promised
to come back soon to the Strikeforce cage and solidified his
spot as champion on Saturday night.
"It's
been a while, but I'm back, and I'm the champion of Strikeforce
and I'm here to stay," Overeem said in victory.
It
was uttered before the fight and it continued afterwards that
the only fight that Overeem wants right now is a match-up against
the top heavyweight in the world.
"Fedor
Emelianenko," Overeem answered when asked who he wanted
to fight next. "His management declined to fight me tonight,
respect for Brett because he stood up and wanted to fight me
like a man. I think now it's Fedor's time."
Fedor
will return to action in just over a month to face Fabricio Werdum
in San Jose, and Overeem will continue to call for the fight
that seems almost like an inevitable match-up for the Strikeforce
heavyweight belt. Now it's just a matter of Strikeforce and M-1
Global coming to terms to make it happen.
That
looks to be the biggest challenge of all.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
GRACIE
UPHOLDS FAMILY NAME, PLANS 2010 RETURN
Gracie...
The
most iconic name in all of mixed martial arts and the latest
family member to step into the very large shoes to fill with
that last name is Roger Gracie, who debuted for Strikeforce on
Saturday night. He choked out former UFC and Pride fighter Kevin
Randleman in the second round in St. Louis.
Admitting
that he hasn't focused fully on MMA in some time, Gracie looked
strong in his first fight back in two years, cracking Randleman
with a good knee before finishing the fight on the ground. The
pressures that go along with the last name Gracie can't be ignored,
but Roger is well aware and plans on carrying the legacy forward.
"I
think every Gracie has some sort of a responsibility when he
fights because he's representing the whole family when he's fighting,"
he said. "You have to learn to deal with that sort of pressure
because you can't let that interfere with the way you fight or
your concentration, so I think I've gotten pretty used to it."
The
gifts he's received from the Gracie lineage is a lifetime of
instruction from some of the best in the world. Renzo Gracie
sat in Roger's corner at Strikeforce on Saturday night, while
surely the entire family was rooting for him from all over the
world.
Gracie
hadn't fought MMA in two years before coming back in Strikeforce,
but was active in grappling tournaments all over the globe. He
admits that fighting MMA is a different feeling, but the activity
he's had kept him from having any real ring rust.
"I
wasn't fighting MMA, but I was still active in jiu-jitsu and
grappling," Gracie said. "That's definitely helped
me a lot. The hardest thing is to deal with the pressure before
the fight, all the adrenaline and things like that. It's the
same. It doesn't matter the modality you're fighting. That sort
of thing is just like for every single fight."
As
for his future, many have already begun asking how quickly he'll
rise up the light heavyweight division after only his third professional
fight. Keeping a busy schedule in all facets of his career, Gracie
says fans can expect to see more of him in 2010.
"The
last time I fought was in (2008), but I'm pretty sure I"ll
be fighting soon," said Gracie. "I don't know exactly
when, but hopefully the second half of the year. We'll see, but
I will be fighting more often."
The
entrance of Gracie starts to build and stabilize a light heavyweight
division, which has been in flux over the last couple of years
in Strikeforce, but now has a Top 10 ranked champion and a list
of contenders that continues to grow.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MELENDEZ
VS ALVAREZ: IF DEAL'S RIGHT, LET'S DO IT
"I want to make a statement, I want to be No. 1. I'm back
on track, and I'm almost there, I want to prove it. I'd love
to fight someone like Eddie Alvarez. Eddie Alvarez is a guy I'd
really like to fight," Strikeforce lightweight champion
Gilbert Melendez told MMAWeekly.com recently.
“Gilbert
is a great fighter who’s got a lot of momentum going right
now,” Alvarez responded. “This is the match-up that
all the fans want to see and it’d be a shame if it didn’t
happen. I want to do it.”
Well...
it appears those that can make that fight happen are paying attention.
“As
an MMA fan, first and foremost, Alvarez versus Melendez is an
awesome fight at 155 that deserves to be seen and needs to be
made,” Alvarez’s boss, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said
on Saturday.
“Gilbert
has the heart of a warrior, just like our champion Eddie. I will
do everything I can to get Gilbert what he asked for. Gilbert
wants the fight, Eddie wants the fight and I want the fight.
All we have to do is get Scott Coker on board and together we
can make this happen.”
Coker,
the CEO of Strikeforce, is listening. He’s not ready to
fully commit to the fight, but he told MMAWeekly.com on Saturday
night that he is open to working with Bellator to make it happen.
"We'd
consider it. It depends on the timing," he said.
"We
had a conversation about Roger Huerta (currently under contract
with Bellator) fighting for us, but the terms and conditions
weren't something that was attractive to us, so we passed. But
we've had some good conversations with Bellator and the door's
open for anybody."
Strikeforce
has already proven that it isn’t averse to partnerships.
The company agreed to co-promotions with M-1 Global to win the
Fedor Emelianenko sweepstakes, and also has a strong fighter
sharing partnership with Japan’s Dream promotion.
The
Huerta negotiation however is indicative that Strikeforce isn’t
jumping into a situation just to make a good fight happen. It’s
got to make sense.
"I
think it's about the deal,” Coker stated, “but if the
deal's right, let's do it."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NO
MATTER WHO, NO MATTER WHERE, JACARE READY
It took Ronaldo “Jacare” de Souza all three rounds,
but he came out on the winning end of the equation in his bout
with Joey Villasenor at Saturday night’s Strikeforce event
in St. Louis.
"It
was a war and it was a great fight,” said Jacare later.
“I was prepared for that."
He
dominated the majority of the fight, doing just enough on his
feet to stay away from Villasenor’s power and take the Greg
Jackson-trained fighter to the mat, over and over, for the course
of the fight, earning a unanimous decision.
So
what’s next for the Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist?
Many
would think a title shot, but with Strikeforce middleweight champion
Jake Shields’ status up in the air – he’s likely
to bolt for the UFC – the status of the title belt remains
in the upper stratosphere as well.
That’s
all right by Jacare; he’s just looking to fight again.
"Strikeforce
is my home,” he said after the fight. "I'm waiting
for Strikeforce to tell me what will be the next fight."
Now
sitting at 12-2, both Jacare and his boss want to keep the momentum
building after back-to-back wins over Villasenor and Matt Lindland.
"You'll
see Jacare back sooner than later,” said Strikeforce CEO
Scott Coker. “What I mean by that is he fought in December
(against Lindland) for us and it's been about five months, but
we plan to have Jacare back in the next three months or the next
four months."
Against
who remains a mystery, but the promotion’s middleweight
division contains the likes of Robbie Lawler, Dan Henderson,
Scott Smith, and Cung Le, among others, so Jacare is sure to
get an opponent that will be every bit as challenging as Villasenor
when the time comes.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
FOR
ALISTAIR OVEREEM IT'S FEDOR OR BUST!
I want to fight Fedor.
Give
me a fight with Fedor.
Fedor,
fight me.
There
are many variations on the theme, but the refrain is the same...
Alistair Overeem wants to fight Fedor Emelianenko.
With
the Strikeforce heavyweight champion’s first round demolition
of Brett Rogers on Saturday night, it would seem the fight could
now happen. Not so fast.
Remember,
Fedor has another fight on his hands first. He is scheduled to
face Fabricio Werdum in a Strikeforce and M-1 Global co-promotion
on June 26 in San Jose, Calif.
If
he wins there then let’s talk.
“I
know Alistair would love to fight Fedor, and that's a conversation
that will happen after June 26,” said Strikeforce CEO Scott
Coker on Saturday night. “You can't assume. Fabricio Werdum
is an amazing fighter and what if he beats Fedor? So then it
shuffles the deck again.”
Most
fighters will say that they want to fight whoever the promotion
wants or whoever wins the fight. Not so for Overeem. He has a
definitive match-up in mind.
"Definitely
Fedor. Fedor is a way more exciting fighter. He's always looking
for the kill, fighting stand-up or on the ground, like me,”
Overeem explained of his desire to fight the No. 1 heavyweight
in the world.
“Werdum
is more ground. I prefer fighters who go for the kill. It’s
more exciting fights instead of fighters who stall. I'm not saying
that Fabricio is a stalling fighter, but the Fedor fight is a
little more attractive, more aggressive, less stalling."
Let’s
face it, Fedor is regarded by most as the top of the heap in
the heavyweight division. It is nearly unanimous... save for
UFC president Dana White.
So
why wouldn’t Overeem have his sites fixed on the top of
the mountain?
“Fedor
is a legend,” said Overeem, “and if you want to become
a legend you have to fight a legend and you have to beat the
legend.”
Coker
is happy with Overeem’s return because his heavyweight division
is now brimming with solid match-ups.
“What
I am excited about is now there's some amazing heavyweight match-ups
that we're going to be able to put together with Alistair and
Andrei (Arlovski) and (Antonio) ‘Giant’ Silva and Fedor
in the mix, so the heavyweight division is looking strong."
But
to Overeem there is only one name in that mix that he cares about.
Say it with me, “Fedor!”
Coker
won’t budge... talk of Overeem vs. Fedor will just have
to wait until June plays out.
“Alistair
has told me many times that he would love to fight Fedor,”
said Coker. “He's called Fedor out when he fights in Japan
all the time. So he's looking forward to taking that fight, but
that's going to be something where we're going to have to sit
down after the June 26 fight.
“And
like I said, you can't count Fabricio out. The timing could be
right for him to move forward. So I think that when you look
at that fight it has to be something that M-1 and Strikeforce
will sit down after that fight is over."
Most
everyone believes Overeem vs. Fedor is the premier match-up in
Strikeforce’s heavyweight division.
Overeem
lived up to his end of the bargain by crushing Brett Rogers.
Now
it’s Fedor’s turn with Werdum, but that’s no given.
It
would, however, give Overeem, and everyone else, the match-up
that we all want to see.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BTT
bets on Palhares against Marquardt
With
four wins in five fights on UFC, Rousimar “Toquinho”
Palhares will have his chance to stick to the tops of his division
on UFC 118. TATAME.com learned from close sources that the black
belt will face Nate Marquardt on August 28, on the United States.
Searched
by TATAME, Murilo Bustamante, Brazilian Top Team leader, did
not confirm the duel, but commented the meet of Toquinho and
Nate Marquardt. “We will do it all with him, each time more
try to keep the fight standing, train the takedown and to vary
the most we can, do the ground game every chance we get. Of course
that the game is to bring him to the ground, but be ready to
fight wherever the fight takes place”, analyses Murilo.
The
black belt also commented on the punishment imposed to Toquinho
on his last fight on UFC. “I think the judge made a huge
mistake… My orientation was the same as his, only to let
it go when the referee interrupt the fight. The referee has to
have a plenty view of the fight… He submits really quickly
when he fit the position, the referee had to know better and
get a better position… he was too far and took a while to
interfere, but I think it won’t happen again”, concluded
Bustamante.
Source: Tatame
|
Dan
Lauzon's UFC 114 Camp in Chaos Following Brother Joe's Departure
Dan
Lauzon was once considered a mixed martial arts prodigy. At 18
years, six months and 14 days old, he became the youngest fighter
ever to compete in the UFC. He seemed to have the world in his
hands.
Now,
however, his MMA career has fallen into chaos.
In
a recent interview with The Boston Herald, Lauzon revealed that
his brother -- fellow UFC fighter Joe Lauzon -- as well as his
usual cornermen Joe Pomfret and Steve Maze, are no longer working
with him and have refused to corner him in his upcoming UFC 114
fight against Efrain Escudero.
"They're
not going to be there to support me," he told the paper.
"It (stinks). I don't really know what I did to deserve
this. I wouldn't do that to anybody. I wouldn't do that to my
brother, I wouldn't do that to anyone in my gym. It's not right."
While
Dan Lauzon says that his training was going well up until the
trio essentially cut ties with him, that group disagrees.
Writing
on his blog, Joe Lauzon said it was a pattern of irresponsible,
unfocused training that led to the split.
"When
Dan was 14 to 17, he trained like a mad man. He was in the gym
all the time, but he is 22 now and that fire he once had is long
gone. When he is in the gym, he comes in and works hard. He does
a great job helping guys with technical things and teaching more
subtle things as well. Unfortunately, he is never in the gym.
If he has a fight, he is in sparingly. If he doesn't have a fight
he is an absolute ghost."
Joe
Lauzon said that after questioning his brother about his work
ethic and training schedule, he and the other two trainers essentially
gave Dan an ultimatum requiring that he follow the schedule laid
out for him, otherwise they would not corner him for his fight.
Joe
wrote that while Dan upped his training a little, it still fell
far short of where it needed to be.
"It's
not fair that we all make time for him in Vegas when he can't
do his job beforehand and train," Joe Lauzon wrote.
Joe
Lauzon said he wrote his side of the story on his blog only after
Dan spoke with the media, adding that he was "a little relieved"
that he'd no longer have to lie when people asked how his brother's
training was going.
With
little time left in his camp, Dan Lauzon has reportedly continued
his training at Lauzon MMA (which is owned by Joe), but not under
his brother's eye. He said after this fight, he will likely move
on. Adding to the pressure, Dan (12-3) is coming off a loss to
Cole Miller, and a second straight loss would likely put him
in danger of being cut.
"I
was completely hurt by it, especially my brother Joe," Dan
said. "I don't think anybody would ever do that to their
brother. I can't think of anyone else that would ever do that
to their brother and just tell them, 'Hey, you're on your own.'"
Source: MMA Fighting
|
BELLATOR
OPEN TO PROMOTING ALVAREZ VS. MELENDEZ
Since
Gilbert Melendez trumped Shinya Aoki on CBS a few weeks back,
the Strikeforce lightweight champion has been vocal about how
he'd like to fight Bellator Fighting Championships 155lb champion
Eddie Alvarez.
Now
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney has listened and opened the door to
Strikeforce president Scott Coker to see if they co-promote and
make the fight happen.
“As
an MMA fan, first and foremost, Alvarez versus Melendez is an
awesome fight at 155 that deserves to be seen and needs to be
made,” Rebney said. “Gilbert has the heart of a warrior,
just like our champion Eddie. I will do everything I can to get
Gilbert what he asked for. Gilbert wants the fight, Eddie wants
the fight and I want the fight. All we have to do is get Scott
Coker on board and together we can make this happen. Eddie wants
to fight the best and Gilbert wants to fight the best and there
is no reason why any promoter or network should stand in the
way of that.”
When
speaking with MMAWeekly Radio after his fight with Aoki in April,
Melendez said that Alvarez would be a great match-up to have,
and hopefully the organizations could work together to make it
happen. He also believes that to get to the top you have to beat
the best, and that's where he ranks Alvarez.
"I
want to make a statement, I want to be No. 1," said Melendez.
"I'm back on track, and I'm almost there, I want to prove
it. I'd love to fight someone like Eddie Alvarez. Eddie Alvarez
is a guy I'd really like to fight."
Bellator
lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, fresh off of a submission
win over Josh Neer just last week, says he's more than happy
to accept the challenge and hopes the fight happens as well.
“Gilbert
is a great fighter who’s got a lot of momentum going right
now,” Alvarez said. “This is the match-up that all
the fans want to see and it’d be a shame if it didn’t
happen. I want to do it, Bjorn wants to do it and it sounds like
Gilbert wants to do it. If I could sum up my thoughts in four
words, it’d be: ‘Let’s make it happen."
No
doubt that Strikeforce president Scott Coker will be broached
about the subject at the post fight press conference following
tonight's event in St. Louis. Strikeforce has done co-promoted
shows in the past with organizations like M-1 and Elite XC, but
to date they have not worked with Bellator. A superfight between
Melendez and Alvarez could be just the ticket to make it happen.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
COMMISSION
CANCELS SHINE, BUT THEY'LL MOVE ON
Saturday may go down in history as the longest day ever for Shine
Fights CEO Devin Price.
The
promotion was set to put on their latest show in Fayetteville,
N.C., on Saturday night, headlined by former world boxing champion
turned mixed martial arts fighter Ricardo Mayorga taking on UFC
veteran Din Thomas. An injunction filed by Mayorga's boxing promoter,
Don King, was upheld early in the day in Broward County, Fla.,
and set the domino effect in motion.
Price
spoke with MMAWeekly.com on Saturday evening to give his account
of what exactly transpired. The Shine Fights CEO was still in
Florida as of this evening due to being in court all afternoon
dealing with the King injunction.
"I've
been in court all day yesterday and all day today. I actually
did not get out of court until about 4:30. So as you know the
judge granted the injunction for Don King, and so the Ricardo
Mayorga fight was off," said Price.
"However,
we were ready to move forward with our show because we felt and
we still feel like we have a great card. So we were ready to
go put it on and fans were actually in the building from my understanding,
and the commissioner ended up calling the fights for reasons
I'm not entirely sure of. So I don't want to speak too much around
that."
A
source told MMAWeekly.com that fans were indeed in the building
and it was the commission that announced the show had been cancelled.
Fans were advised that refunds would be issued starting Monday
for the cancelled show. Still baffled by the cancellation Price
says it was the commission that made the call and he'll be in
touch with them first thing Monday morning.
"The
commissioner cancelled the show. I didn't know they could cancel
the show," Price said. "The commission decided to cancel
the show. I just want to get an understanding from their side
of things why they decided to call the event. That's one of the
first things I'm going to find out."
One
thing that will remain up in the air at least for now is the
injunction against Shine using Ricardo Mayorga. Price admitted
that right now they're unsure if they will file an appeal or
not. Now that he’s seen that side of boxing promoters, he
knows it’s something he has no desire to be a part of.
"I'm
not a boxing promoter, I do not want to be in the sport of boxing,
and I got involved in mixed martial arts, and we're going to
keep to our roots, so that's that," Price stated.
Price
made sure to point out that the fighters scheduled for Saturday’s
card would be paid, regardless of the fact that they didn't get
to compete. He also said the company is absolutely moving forward
and will be planning a new show in the next few months.
"The
fighters will all be taken care of financially for this fight.
This is not going to be a situation where we're going to say
'oh the fight's canceled, nobody's getting paid,’"
said Price. "People will be paid, and we're going to look
to put on a fight very soon. We're probably looking at June/July/August."
The
fighters that were on the card will all be considered for future
Shine Fights cards as well.
"We're
definitely going to get them fights going forward, and make those
good match-ups like what we had tonight," said Price.
The
Shine Fights CEO will speak with the North Carolina Athletic
Commission on Monday for clarification about the cancellation.
MMAWeekly.com
will have more information on this story in the coming days.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
JACARE
& FEIJAO SOLIDIFY THEIR CONTENDER STATUS
Strikeforce may have solidified two new top contenders at Heavy
Artillery on Saturday night with Ronald "Jacare" De
Souza and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante getting wins,
while also welcoming the newest member of a legendary family
to the fold.
While
the world and Strikeforce wait to see what middleweight champion
Jake Shields' next move will be, Ronaldo "Jacare" De
Souza made his case for the next shot at the 185lb title with
a win over Joey Villasenor on Saturday night.
Known
as one of the best grapplers in all of MMA, Jacare showed extremely
strong wrestling by taking Villasenor down multiple times during
the fight, while working for punches a few submissions. To Villasenor's
credit he used his wealth of experience to get up from the bottom
and stay out of any real trouble on the ground.
As
the fight wore on, Villasenor gained confidence in his ability
to land punches on the Brazilian, and he managed to open a cut
and bust up Jacare's nose as well. The takedowns and ground work
were simply too much in the end as Jacare kept pushing forward
to get the fight on the mat, and he picked up a unanimous decision
win for his efforts.
Now,
Jacare will have to wait for Shields' decision and then the hunt
for a middleweight title shot can begin for the Brazilian grappling
wonder.
He
made the family proud on Saturday night as Roger Gracie kept
his perfect record in tact with a second round submission over
Kevin Randleman.
There
was no doubt looking at the first round of the fight that Gracie
was still a project at work with his stand-up, but in the 2nd
round he connected with a knee flush to Randleman's head.
As
Randleman dropped, it was like Christmas morning for the former
Abu Dhabi grappling champion as he quickly worked his ground
game, transitioning positions and eventually sinking in a rear
naked choke. Randleman had no choice but to tap out, and Gracie
gets his third professional win. Having possibly the most legendary
last name in all of MMA, Roger is happy to represent the first
family of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
"Every
Gracie that step in the ring, it means a lot for the family,
we're here to represent them," said Gracie after the win.
It
was a back and forth battle early, but eventually Rafael "Feijao"
Cavalcante put away Antwain Britt, and he put him away with a
brutal knockout.
The
fighters were both comfortable trading punches to open the fight,
and Britt seemed to be getting the better of Feijao with a few
stiff combinations. A training partner of UFC middleweight champion
Anderson Silva, Feijao obviously understands how to withstand
pressure under fire and he fired back with some power of his
own.
Catching
Britt with a big right hook, Feijao followed up with a swarm
of punches as his opponent eventually dropped to the canvas as
the referee literally jumped into the fray for the save. Feijao
now solidifies his place as a top contender in the light heavyweight
division where "King Mo" Lawal wears the crown.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SILVA
HANDS ARLOVSKI 3RD LOSS IN A ROW
The heavyweight division is always looking for new contenders,
and after suffering the first loss of his career in his last
fight, Antonio Silva got back to winning form and became a player
again in the division defeating former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski
at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery.
Going
into the fight it appeared on paper that Arlovski would have
the better boxing, but apparently Silva has some pretty good
stand-up training at American Top Team as well. The big Brazilian
tagged Arlovski several times in the fight, putting his fist
right on the chin of his opponent and backing him down.
Arlovski
tried to move forward but every time he would throw a punch,
he seemed to forget his defense and immediately ate a shot just
as quickly.
The
fight wore on through the 2nd and 3rd rounds with a lot of clinch
work against the cage with referee John McCarthy having to separate
them after a lack of action. To Silva's credit he continued to
punish Arlovski and it looked like he may have broken the Belarus
native's nose during the bout.
The
judges saw Silva's dominance and gave him a unanimous decision
win, as he rebounded after a loss to Fabricio Werdum in his last
fight. As for Andrei Arlovski, now after dropping three fights
in a row, he may be fighting for relevancy in the division with
his next bout as well as staying employed.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Thiago
Silva ‘loved to see’ Lyoto knocked out
Thiago
Silva is hunger for fighting. After losing for the second time
on his career, the guy from São Paulo wants to recover
himself over Tim Boetsch, his opponent on UFC 117, on August
7. “It’s confirmed, but I haven’t signed the contract
yet”, tells Thiago, in a chat with TATAME, showing his excitement
for the duel. “I’m training hard and I’m ready,
it’s about time. I’m 100% ready to make a good show,
I’ll train hard to win”.
The
Brazilian faces Tim Boetsch, athlete that is coming back to UFC
after three wins in smaller events. On the previous UFC fights,
Tim won only two. “I didn’t know him, but I watched
some videos. He is a tough guy, comes forward and likes to fight.
It’ll be good, both of us enjoy fighting. The fight will
end before the third round”, bets Thiago, analyzing the
division. “It’s all messy, man. There are a lot of
good athletes, it’s hard for one guy to keep himself on
the top of the division, and it often changes.
The
last change on the top of the division was the trade of belt
between Lyoto Machida and Maurício Shogun. Thiago reveals
his happiness with the win of Shogun on UFC 113. “I thought
it was amazing, I was really glad. Shogun is a guy I respect,
he helped me a lot on Chute Boxe, also Dida… They have always
been on my side, I’m very glad, independently he is part
of my division. I loved to see his knockout over Lyoto, it made
me even happier about it (laughs), tells Thiago.
With
only two losses on his record, the athlete from American Top
Team does not think about choosing his opponents in the future,
but made it clear that he wants rematches against the former
champions of Ultimate, Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans. “I
think these two losses are choked, but I don’t choose my
opponents. I’m here to fight against the bests. But if UFC
wants to make a rematch, I’m in (laughs)”, concluded
Thiago.
Source: Tatame
|
Barão:
“I want to leave my mark on WEC”
Renan
Barão lost on his MMA debut and then never felt his bitter
taste again. After 25 wins, the tough guy signed up a contract
with WEC and his debut was scheduled for June 20, against Clint
Godfrey. Barão is in Rio de Janeiro, training hard on
Nova União, and took that time here to talk to TATAME.
The athlete commented on the impact of losing his first fight
on MMA, spoke about his future on WEC, explained why he decided
to change for a lighter weight division, revealed the secret
of athletes from Natal, among other issues, which you can check
on the below interview.
How
are the trainings on Nova União?
I’m
training hard, a lot of Muay Thai and Wrestling, doing the trainings
focused on the Jiu-Jitsu… If my fight was today, I’d
be ready, so you can imagine how I’ll be like on June the
20th.
Which
Nova União athletes are being your sparring?
A
lot of people, there is Johnny Eduardo, Felipe Olivieri, Léo
Santos... José Aldo still is on the United States, but
is coming. I’m training with a lot of different guys so
I can get there focused and make a good debut.
You
debuted with a loss on MMA and later won 25 fights and never
lost again. What impact did this loss had in your career, since
it was on your debut?
I
was very young and I have never entered on the octagon before,
it’s a huge space, I had no timing and I was too nervous.
I think I lost against my own self and then I started thinking
about something a friend of mine said. He said that the true
champion is not just the champion on the win, but also on the
loss, and thank God I knew how to use it in my favor to conquest
a lot of fights over this loss.
You
will debut on WEC on June 20 against Clint Godfrey, who is coming
from a loss for your friend Wagnney Fabiano. Did he give you
some tip about Godfrey? How are you using it on your trainings?
Wagnney
has not come back yet, he’s still in Canada, but Léo
Santos, his brother, told me some things. He is a guy who likes
to bring his opponent down and I’m trainings focused on
that. I want to get there, do my job and impose my game over
his and if God helps me, I’ll make a good fight. I’m
studying his game… He likes to trade some blows, is a good
submitter, a complete guy. I think it will be a good fight, Johnny
Eduardo is sharpening my Muay Thai and I’m doing just fine.
Have
you set a strategy upfront or will you wait to see what happens?
My
strategy will be to impose my game and rhythm, but nothing’s
settled, I’ll play my game and go forward.
Why
did you decided to change you a lighter weight division?
I
did it even because Junior (José Aldo) is the champion
of the division and I couldn’t fight on that same division,
so I decided to lose some weight and go to a lighter division…
Let’s see what will happen.
What
are your expectations for your future on WEC? Who do you think
that may be the hardest ones you will have to fight?
I
want to leave my Mark on WEC and I’m training hard for it.
There are a lot of tough guys, Brian Bowles is one of them and
he beat two friends of mine, Will Ribeiro and Marcos Lobo, he
is a complete and prepared athlete. I think a fight against him
would be a good thing.
Have
you been up to the success of Patrício Pitbull?
I
watched only his first fights, on which we fought pretty well
thanks God and got a good result, submitted quickly. ON this
last one (against Wilson Reis), I didn’t watch, but I know
he fought well to and fought until the end, taking it to the
judges round card decision.
What
is the thing about athletes from Natal, a land of great talents?
The
hard life, man… People come from the bottom and they really
commit to their goals and when they get there, they don’t
want to waste such an opportunity, they want to grab it with
all their strength.
When
will you go to the United States?
I’m
train here in Rio de Janeiro and I may travel a week before the
event.
What
can we expect of your debut on WEC?
You
can expect a great fight and I’ll give everything I’ve
got up there, I’ll go forward, make my game work and, if
God helps me, I’ll get a positive result.
Would
you like to leave a message?
I’d
like to thank God, Ricardo Sérgio from Platinum, also
want to thank João from Rip Dorey, who is giving me a
lot of support. A big hug for everyone in Kimura who has always
helped me.
Source: Tatame
|
Roger:
“The fight went as planned”
In
his Strikeforce debut, last Saturday in St Louis, Roger Gracie
was unimpressed by the greater experience of his opponent Kevin
Randleman. He notched his third MMA win using the best of what
the gentle art has to offer, finishing with a rear-naked choke
4:10 min into the second round.
Now
his attention has turned back to competing in the gi, as the
black belt will storm full steam on his way to an unprecedented
third absolute world title in Jiu-Jitsu.
With
the same serene demeanor he displays when facing opponents, Roger
had a chat with GRACIEMAG.com. Check out what he had to say.
What’s
your breakdown of your fight with Kevin Randleman, an opponent
with 31 fights on his record?
I
think I had a certain advantage because of my height and the
fight went pretty much according to plan. I imagined he’d
have a hard time hitting me because of my size, so I worked my
jab and waited for the right time to take him down. I managed
to catch him by surprise with that knee, something even I didn’t
expect. It was spur of the moment and made the most of it by
going after him.
You
displayed calm while striking and managed a knockdown with a
knee. How do you feel about your standup department?
So,
so. My standup has improved a lot, but the way I use it will
always depend on my opponent. I’ll always feel more confident
on the ground, and that’s where I’ll try and take the
fight. But a fight starts standing, and one has to always be
prepared for that. It’ll depend on the opponent. Whenever
I don’t feel confident, I’ll try to take it to the
ground right away. That’s how it went with Kevin. I realized
he was hard to take down, so I waited for the right moment and
let the fight play out.
Did
you feel any pressure in this fight because of Renzo and Rolles’
losses?
My
head was in the perfect place for the fight. I faced it like
any other fight I’ve had in Jiu-Jitsu or MMA. I went in
calm, was aware, and I think that was most important. I was fine,
and the pressure was the same as with any other fight.
Will
we see you fight more regularly in MMA? Were you alright making
weight?
I
plan to fight more often and stay at this weight (93 kg, light
heavyweight). I have an easy time making weight. It would be
much tougher fighting someone heavier than someone my own weight.
It wasn’t that big a sacrifice and it’s better than
fighting someone 130 kg.
Randleman
squirmed a lot on the ground. Was it hard to hold him there?
I
realized he was kind of groggy when he landed. I leapt to mount
and he nearly escaped. Perhaps I acted prematurely because I
wanted to go straight for the katagatami (arm-and-neck choke).
He nearly got up, but I managed to take his back. That’s
when I went to work on getting his neck.
Are
you really going to compete at the Jiu-Jitsu Worlds? Could training
for this MMA fight hamper your Jiu-Jitsu?
Yes,
I’ll be at the Worlds. I’ll be back on the mat shortly!
I don’t feel this fight got in the way of anything. I’m
going to put on my gi now and train specifically for Jiu-Jitsu,
and not believe anything can get in my way.
What
are your expectations going for a third absolute title?
My
expectations are the same as always. I’m going in the same
as I always do and we’ll see what happens.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Details
from Brazilian Nationals 2010
The
Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship, which ended this past
weekend in Rio de Janeiro, featured some true warriors. Even
before the finals, there was no lack of hotly-disputed matches
on the mats of the Tijuca Tennis Club.
At
featherweight, Bruno Malfacine (Alliance) plowed through his
adversaries before managing three guard passes in the final against
Felipe Costa (Brasa). Now Guilherme Mendes (Atos) submitted his
first opponent with a triangle and defeated Bernardo Pitel with
a guard pass and back mount to go on and beat Gabriel Moraes
(Monteiro) in the light featherweight decider, where he got the
back mount yet again.
At
featherweight, champion Rafael Mendes (Atos) had a total of four
matches. Before the final against Cobrinha, he finished his first
one with a choke from behind, his second with an armbar and beat
Theodoro Canal by 6 to 2. At lightweight, Gilbert Durinho (Atos)
didn’t have it easy. Of the five matches he was in, he had
to make it past hard-nosed competitors like Helder “Sponge
Bob”, who he finished with a reverse omoplata hold, and
Augusto Tanquinho in the semifinal by 3 to 1 in advantage points.
In the final he faced Jonathan Torres (Lloyd Irvin) and, with
the score tied at 2 to 2, he eked out the win by 3 to 1 in advantage
points.
The
party in the middleweight division was left to Barbosa’s
duo Tiago Alves and Murilo Santana. Alves had four matches and
defeated CheckMat’s Luis Gustavo “Guga” in the
semifinal. Now Murilo had three matches. In the semifinal, he
submitted the game Victor Bonfim (Gordo). In the medium heavyweight,
not even the tooth he cracked in the absolute division the day
before could hinder Tarsis Humphreys. The Alliance athlete had
a total of four matches. In the semifinal he submitted a tough
Rodrigo Fajardo with a choke. At the other end of the bracket
was Nivaldo de Oliveira (CheckMat), who left in his wake such
stalwarts as Eduardo Telles. In the final, Tarsis got the takedown,
swept and scored another two points from a penalty to win 6 to
4.
The
heavyweight division was a rocky one. Both absolute finalists
fell along the way. Bernardo Faria was overcome by Alexandro
Ceconi (Rilion Gracie) with a guard pass. Now Rafael Lovato lost
to Léo Nogueira (Alliance) in the decider, after a 2-to-2
draw. In the final, Ceconi got the takedown and guard pass to
capture the gold. Thiago Gaia (Nova União) had been just
barely striking out but, this year, he managed to get his gold
at a Brazilian Nationals. He submitted Paulo Tarcísio
in the decider with a choke from north-south position. Now Rodrigo
Cavaca submitted all three of his opponents to make it to the
top of the ultra heavyweight podium, even the game Igor Silva
(Brasa) who came off a 13-to-2 triumph over Antonio Peinado.
In the final, Cavaca caught him in a foot lock.
After
his campaign on Saturday (see here), Bernardo Augusto got top
position and passed Rafael Lovato’s guard to win the absolute
yet again, just like he did at the Jiu-Jitsu Pan.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
STRIKEFORCE:
HEAVY ARTILLERY LIVE RESULTS
For the
first time in nearly three years, Alistair Overeem will return
to Strikeforce to defend his heavyweight title. Stepping in to
oppose him will be Minnesota fighter Brett Rogers, who looks
to bounce back from the first loss of his career when he faced
Fedor Emelianenko last November.
Also
on the card will be a match-up of heavyweight contenders as former
UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski looks to move past two
losses in a row when he squares off against American Top Team
heavyweight Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva.
Strikeforce:
Heavy Artillery airs live on Showtime at 10 p.m. EST/PST.
Refresh
this page frequently for the latest results and play-by-play…
STRIKEFORCE:
HEAVY ARTILLERY PLAY-BY-PLAY:
ALISTAIR
OVEREEM VS. BRETT ROGERS
R1
– Both fighters spend the first minute searching for their
range. Neither landing a lot of punches, but Overeem landing
a few leg kicks and then tossing Rogers to the ground. He follows
Rogers down, landing a couple punches on the way, and starts
working from side control. Overeem keeps his weight on top of
Rogers dropping elbows to the body and hammerfists to the head.
Rogers scrambles, but Overeem maintains control, dropping a couple
punches from standing before dropping back down to side control.
Overeem gets up to his knees and starts pounding Rogers with
ground and pound, unrelenting with his punches until referee
John McCarthy stops it.
Alistair
Overeem def. Brett Rogers by TKO (Strikes) at 3:40, R1
ANDREI
ARLOVSKI VS. ANTONIO SILVA
R1
– Silva lands a couple early inside leg kicks. Both fighters
test their range, searching for an opening with their boxing.
Silva looks much more calm than Arlovski, both landing the jab.
Both landing leg kicks, Arlovski misses with his punches and
eats a couple counter rights from Silva, the second one rocked
Arlovski. Silva clinches and presses Arlovski to the cage, landing
knees to the legs with two minutes to go in the round. Silva
backs out, lands a leg kick then follows with a couple punches
that rock Arlovski before putting him on the mat. Silva starts
ground and pounding from Arlovski’s full guard, but can’t
do much with it before the end of the round.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Silva
R2
– Silva doing a good job eluding Arlovski’s punches
and countering with a big right hand. About a minute in, Silva
landed a flurry and then pressed Arlovski into the cage. Arlovski
reverses position, kneeing Silva in the legs. Good short uppercut
from Arlovski, but Silva answers then they’re separated
after the action slows. Arlovski clinches and they work along
the fence before being separated. Arlovski lands good combination
and then a jab to the body. Silva clinches and lands a solid
knee to the body. Arlovski reverses position then trades punches
with Silva on the break.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Arlovski
R3
– Silva switching stances a lot now. Good inside kick-left
jab combination from Silva. He then presses Arlovski into the
fence landing a few short knees and punches before they get separated.
They exchange in the center of the cage, Arlovski missing a lot,
Silva getting the better of the exchange. They clinch on the
fence, Silva landing a few short knees to the legs and body,
but are quickly separated. Arlovski kicks, but Silva steps in
with some effective counterpunching to nullify the kicks. Silva
presses Arlovski on the cage and then scoops him up for a big
double-leg takedown, immediately passing to half guard. Silva
stands up in Arlovski’s guard and drops a couple really
big shots down before moving back into full guard. Arlovski gets
back to his feet and they’re quickly separated, but no real
offense before the bell sounds.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 and the fight 29-28 for Silva
Antonio
Silva def. Andre Arlovski by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-28), R3
RONALDO
"JACARE" DE SOUZA VS. JOEY VILLASENOR
R1
– Jacare shoots right away, but Villasenor sprawls out and
they end up clinched on the fence. Jacare drops down, lands a
takedown, and starts ground and pounding from half guard. Jacare
moves to full mount, pounding away on Villasenor’s face.
Villasenor bucks and rolls out from under Jacare, getting back
to his feet. They clinch, Villasenor’s back to the fence.
Jacare takes Villasenor to mat again, landing some heavy ground
and pound punches from full guard before passing to half guard.
Villasenor escapes and gets back to his feet, only to immediately
return to his back. Jacare starts working for a Kimura from half
guard, but Villasenor escapes to survive the round.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Jacare
R2
– Jacare goes right back to the double-leg takedown and
puts Villasenor on his back, landing in half guard. But again,
Villasenor regains his feet. Jacare returns the favor by taking
Villasenor down again, working from half guard. Villasenor escapes
and returns to his feet once more and immediately starts headhunting
with two minutes left in the round. Jacare lands a solid short
left hook, shoots and takes Villasenor down again, starting up
another ground and pound attack from full guard. Villasenor escapes
to his feet again, defending another takedown as the bell sounds.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Jacare
R3
– Villasenor storms in right away with a strong boxing combination,
Jacare bleeding from the nose and mouth. Villasenor stops Jacare’s
takedown attempt. Villasenor lands another right hand then sprawls
out on another takedown attempt. Jacare comes back with a big
overhand right and follows with a double-leg, putting Villasenor
on his back for the first time this round with half the round
to go. Jacare works a grinding ground and pound from half guard,
not mounting a lot of offense, but keeping Villasenor on the
defensive. The referee stands them up with one minute left even
though Jacare was still punching from half guard. Jacare goes
right back to the takedown, putting Villasenor on his back for
the remainder of the fight.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 and the fight 30-27 for Jacare
Ronaldo
“Jacare” de Souza def. Joey Villasenor by Unanimous
Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), R3
ROGER
GRACIE VS. KEVIN RANDLEMAN
R1
– Both fighters are leery to engage early, each trying to
find his range. Gracie tries to get his jab going, but is having
trouble landing it. Randleman is looking for the takedown, but
having a difficult time with Gracie’s six foot four inch
frame. He moves in and Gracie puts on a half-hearted guillotine
attempt. Randleman presses Gracie to the cage. Gracie drags Randleman
down with the guillotine, but they immediately scramble out and
back to their feet.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Gracie
R2
– Randleman immediately lands a hard body shot. Gracie starts
picking up his pace, pawing at Randleman, and landing his jab
and the straight right. Randleman presses Gracie, who maintains
the clinch and catches Randleman with successive knees to the
chin, the second of which dropped the former Pride fighter. Gracie
follows him down and takes full mount, nearly landing a side
choke. Randleman escapes and Gracie takes his back, locking on
a figure-four body lock. Randleman is able to defend the rear
naked choke for a bit, but eventually succumbs and taps out.
Roger
Gracie def. Kevin Randleman by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 4:10, R2
ANTWAIN
BRITT VS. RAFAEL “FAJAO” CAVALCANTE
R1
– Britt lands a couple of strong left hooks early, but Fajao
quickly clinches. They separate and Britt is getting the better
of the stand-up with his boxing. Fajao gets a couple shots in,
but Britt is landing more frequently and with more power. Fajao
clinches again, but Britt lands a couple hard uppercuts. They
separate briefly, but clinch again, this time Fajao lands some
knees before the action slows. They restart and Fajao clips Britt
with a right hand then follows up with a flurry that puts Britt
down and has the referee stepping in to stop the fight.
Fajao
gets a big hug from his coach, UFC middleweight champion Anderson
Silva.
Rafael
Cavalcante def. Antwain Britt by TKO (Strikes) at 3:45, R1
STRIKEFORCE:
HEAVY ARTILLERY RESULTS:
MAIN
CARD (ON SHOWTIME):
-Alistair Overeem def. Brett Rogers by TKO (Strikes) at 3:40,
R1
-Antonio Silva def. Andre Arlovski by Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28), R3
-Ronaldo “Jacare” de Souza def. Joey Villasenor by
Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), R3
-Roger Gracie def. Kevin Randleman by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 4:10, R2
-Rafael Cavalcante def. Antwain Britt by TKO (Strikes) at 3:45,
R1
PRELIMINARY
CARD (NON-TELEVISED):
-Jesse Finney def. Justin DeMoney by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 3:22, R1
-Lyle Beerbohm def. Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro by Split
Decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27), R3
-Darryl Cobb def. Booker DeRousse by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28,
28-29), R3
-Mike Chandler def. Sal Woods by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 0:59, R1
-Fransisco "Kiko" France def. Lee Brousseau by Submission
(Rear Naked Choke) at 1:27, R1
-Tom Aaron def. Erik Steenberg by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 0:56, R1
-Matt Ricehouse def. Greg Wilson by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 0:45, R3
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Overeem
on cusp of something big
ST. LOUIS – Brett Rogers may be 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds,
but Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem made light
work of him Saturday night with a first round ground and pound
victory.
With
Overeem’s win, he and Strikeforce came one step closer to
their desired potential biggest match in company history: a heavyweight
showdown with champion Overeem and Fedor Emelianenko, generally
ranked as the top heavyweight in the world and best in the sport’s
history.
Overeem
(33-11, 1 no contest) is a Dutch native who spent most of his
career in Japan and can hardly match Emelianenko’s record
(32-1, 1 no contest), but in three years he has gone from a light
heavyweight with several holes in his game to a monster at heavyweight.
The win over Rogers (10-2) was his eighth in his last nine fights
and seventh to end in the first round.
His
only blemish under MMA rules since his 2007 win over Paul Buentello
was a fight he was dominating against Mirko Cro Cop. That fight
was stopped and ruled a no-contest when Cro Cop couldn’t
continue after a low blow.
“From
2007, I’m different in every way,” said Overeem, 29,
who is four years younger than Emelianenko. “I changed a
lot of things, a lot of personal things. I changed trainers [moving
to legendary Dutch trainer Cor Hemmers]. I went up in weight.
I changed the way I work out. I was being more creative with
my team.
“Two
thousand six was a bad year. I had three consecutive losses.
When you have three consecutive losses, it makes you think. I’m
a fighter by nature. I always want to win. There was some personal
stuff, some stuff in training wasn’t right. I looked at
everything in detail. I redesigned everything in detail. It’s
still changing every day, every week, every month, you reevaluate
everything.”
Overeem
looked considerably more impressive against Rogers, the opponent
he and Emelianenko have in common. In the Emelianenko-Rogers
fight Nov. 7 in Chicago, the Russian was hurt in the first round
and on the verge of a stoppage late as Rogers was on top of him,
hammering him with punches.
Emelianenko
escaped the predicament and came back to win via second-round
knockout.
Overeem’s
win Saturday, before 8,136 fans at the Scottrade Center, was
short. Overeem threw Rogers to the ground in a move he described
as a secret. Once Rogers was on his back, Overeem softened him
up with elbows and knees to the body. Then he started firing
away with punches on the ground, and once he saw Rogers was hurt,
put on the full-court press. After 14 straight punches, referee
John McCarthy called it a night for the big Minnesotan at the
3:40 mark.
“It’s
a secret weapon,” he said about the throw. “Don’t
ask me about it. I don’t think you will ever find any of
my training stuff on YouTube. I like to keep coming up with surprises.”
As
he did before the fight, and as he has done in Japan for more
than a year, Overeem verbally took aim at Emelianenko after the
win. Emelianenko faces Fabricio Werdum on June 26 in San Jose,
Calif., and if he wins, it would at least make sense for a match
that would have potential to be as strong a match for Strikeforce’s
move to pay-per-view as would seem on the horizon this year.
“Well,
Fedor’s a legend,” said Overeem. “If you want
to become a legend, you have to beat a legend. I was hoping he
would want to fight me and become the champion, since he’s
not the champion in Strikeforce. I was thinking he’d like
to have that fight. But his management declined. I don’t
know. Maybe it will all work out for the better. They gave me
some cage experience [he had been fighting in a ring and not
a cage in Japan] so maybe it’s for the better. Maybe it’s
meant to be like that.”
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker felt it was premature to talk about that potential
fight until after June 26.
“To
be very honest, the situation is Fedor’s fighting on June
26,” Coker said. “Alistair has told me he’d love
to fight Fedor. But that’s going to be something, if he
wins, that we sit down with M-1 Global [Emelianenko’s team]
after June 26. You can’t count Fabricio out. The timing
could be right for him.”
Overeem
came in at a muscular 253 pounds on his 6-5 frame. He wasn’t
quite as large as in his recent fights in Japan, for which he
was between 259 and 261 pounds, particularly noticeable in the
back and traps. But he was still plenty big.
His
physique, the most impressive in the heavyweight division with
the possible exception of Bobby Lashley’s, had been the
subject of much speculation by many, Rogers included, leading
to the fight. He was 229 pounds the last time he fought in the
United States, two and a half years ago when he won the championship
from Paul Buentello in San Jose. For most of the decade, he fought
at 205 pounds, although he was starving himself at times to make
that weight, and it showed as he had a reputation for coming
out strong, but tiring.
“I
think there are some individuals that are responsible for these
allegations,” Overeem said after the fight. “All these
individuals, some opponents I beat, and some people who dislike
me, and it just stacked up and the rumors were spreading. It
was people who don’t like me. It’s just a matter of
time. I’m going to defend my title with success and I’m
going to take drug tests just like everybody else and that will
clear everything up.”
Overeem
said he decided in 2009 to make his Strikeforce championship
a priority, but a hand injury and a lucrative offer late in the
year from K-1, a kickboxing promoter in Japan, kept him from
returning to the United States until now.
He
said he would like to fight once or twice more in the U.S. this
year. Coker said Overeem was expected to fight again late in
the year in K-1, likely in either their Grand Prix tournament
in September and December or the New Year’s Eve event.
“I
watched Alistair fight back with Pride [earlier in the decade],
he was so athletic, so talented, and then he started fighting
in K-1,” Coker said.
“K-1
has the best strikers in the world. They don’t do MMA, just
stand-up fighting. He started New Year’s Eve [2008], he
started beating K-1 strikers in their own game. We’re really
proud of him. I hope the fans felt the wait was worth it. When
you look at the skill level, he was so calm in the cage. It was
total domination.”
Overeem
has been critical in the past of Emelianenko’s management,
because they’ve declined his challenges, but not of Emelianenko
himself. At one point Vadim Finkelchtein, Emelianenko’s
manager, said they had no interest in a fight with Overeem because
Emelianenko was above any championship, and dismissed him as
a steroid user. That comment was ironic, as Finkelchtein then
asked for a fight with Josh Barnett, who has failed three steroid
tests during his career.
Overeem
also made it clear that his domination of Rogers, whom he outlanded
in total strikes 54-1 in the short fight, does not give him any
psychological edge against Emelianenko, who struggled vs. Rogers.
“It’s
a different fight,” he said. “When Fedor fights me,
he’s going to be really sharp. He’s clever. I think
he’s too sober. He’s not going to be mentally scared
because I beat Brett in three minutes.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
LASHLEY
VS. SPARKS, ZAROMSKIS VS. CYBORG SIGNED
Two more
fights have been confirmed for the upcoming Strikeforce show
in Los Angeles set for June 16. Former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley
will face Ron Sparks in a heavyweight bout, while Dream fighter
Marius Zaromskis returns to action to square off against Chute
Boxe fighter Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos.
Strikeforce
official Mike Afromowitz confirmed the bouts to MMAWeekly.com
on Saturday.
MMAWeekly.com
first reported the possibility of the fight between Lashley and
Sparks on Friday following the Strikeforce weigh-ins, and now
the bout has been made official. Both fighters come into the
June fight with 5-0 records. With Lashley pushing six feet three
inches and 265 pounds, and Sparks at six feet five inches and
285 pounds, it truly will be a battle of the big men.
The
other fight confirmed for the California card will see the return
of Dream welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis, who hopes to
have better results than the last time he was on U.S. soil when
he lost a bid for the Strikeforce welterweight title against
Nick Diaz.
Zaromskis
hasn't fought since that loss. Opposing him will be longtime
Chute Boxe fighter Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos, who
last fought in Strikeforce in June 2009 in a loss to Joey Villasenor.
Santos
picked up a win outside of Strikeforce when he beat Daniel Zarate
in December 2009, and will try to make it two in a row.
More
fights for the upcoming Strikeforce card in Los Angeles will
be announced over the coming weeks.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
KID
YAMAMOTO BOUT MOVED TO DREAM 14
A bout between former top ranked fighter Norifumi "Kid"
Yamamoto and Federico Lopez, originally planned for Saturday
night’s Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery card in St. Louis,
has been rescheduled for Dream 14 on May 29 at the Saitama Super
Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker said changes to the Dream show, which included
the cancelation of their light heavyweight tournament, resulted
in the fight being moved.
"We
had received a request from Dream to put Kid on the (St. Louis)
fight card, and at that time we felt we should oblige, but I
think they had some changes in Japan with the format for May
29," Coker said recently.
Saturday
night’s Showtime card includes five televised fights, including
Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem’s first
title defense. He faces Brett Rogers, who enters the bout coming
off of a loss to Fedor Emelianenko.
Dream
14 features Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz facing
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, as well as Japanese legend Kazushi
Sakuraba facing Ralek Gracie. The 24-year-old Ralek will be the
fifth Gracie that the 40-year-old Sakuraba has faced in his storied
career.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
REPORT:
MAYORGA OUT, SHINE FIGHTS CANCELLED
Saturday
turned into a day of drama surrounding the mixed martial arts
debut of former world champion boxer Ricardo Mayorga against
UFC veteran Din Thomas at Shine Fights: Worlds Collide. It was
off, then on, and finally off again.
Mayorga
has a promotional contract with boxing promoter Don King, who,
early Saturday afternoon, was awarded an injunction to block
Mayorga’s participation in the mixed martial arts bout.
Shine
Fights promoters initially told MMAWeekly.com that they were
moving forward, the injunction be damned. Late Saturday afternoon,
however, reporter Karen Bryant posted on her website that Mayorga
is out and Murilo “Ninja” Rua vs. David Heath will
now headline the Worlds Collide pay-per-view Saturday night.
Less
than an hour later, Bryant, who was scheduled to be part of the
Shine Fights broadcast team, tweeted that the North Carolina
commission overseeing the event in Fayetteville allegedly pulled
the plug on the entire event.
Shine
Promotion officials were unavailable at the time of publication
to verify the change, but MMAWeekly.com has verified with fighter's
camps at the event that fighters are now being told of the cancellation.
(UPDATED
at 4:25 p.m. PT on May 15 to note that MMAWeekly.com verified
cancellation with fighter's camps.
UPDATED
at 4:10 p.m. PT on May 15 to note reported cancellation of the
entire event.)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Lyoto:
“I wanted to end the fight quickly”
UFC’s
former champion, Lyoto Machida talked to TATAME on his come back
to Brazil. Regretting the loss for Maurício Shogun on
UFC 113, the karate fighter commented the knockout he suffered
on the first round, the feeling of the first loss on his career
and promised to improve even more for his next appointment. On
the chat, Lyoto countered the critics and guaranteed: “It
can taste bad, bitter and hard to swallow, but for sure it will
be constructive on the future”, said. Click here to read
the exclusive interview with Machida.
Lyoto Machida
UFC’s
former champion, Lyoto Machida talked to TATAME on his come back
to Brazil. Regretting the loss for Maurício Shogun on
UFC 113, the karate fighter commented the knockout he suffered
on the first round, the feeling of the first loss on his career
and promised to improve even more for his next appointment. On
the chat, Lyoto countered the critics and guaranteed: “It
can taste bad, bitter and hard to swallow, but for sure it will
be constructive on the future”, said.
What
do you think went wrong with your strategy?
I
think Shogun’s strategy fit just fine for that moment, but
I was well trained. People sometimes try to find a reason, but
for me there’s no excuse. I was well trained, focused, dedicated
myself for months to do this fight and unfortunately it didn’t
come out the way wanted to. There’s no excuse, it was his
day, he was better than me on that night.
Do
you think your mistake was that you went forward and maybe you
should have played on the counterattack?
No...
I’ve watched the fight a few times and I can say I followed
my strategy, but Shogun came forward and maybe he tried it harder
than me, since he was the challenger. I also wanted to end the
fight quickly. I did never expose myself on an ungracious way,
but it’s a fight and his punch got me. On that moment he
was better, but it’s ok. The most important thing is how
I’m feeling now, prepared, motivated and band new for new
challenges.
One
of the critics that came up after your loss was the lack of remarkable
sparring...
People
speak too much and they try to help sometimes, but who was beside
me saw all of my dedication and difficulty… maybe if I punched
him first people would be saying exactly the opposite, that my
trainings were good, but that’s a personal issue for my
team to analyze, even because we had great results on important
fights. It’s not because one thing went wrong that everyone
is not trying it hard enough. We have to correct ourselves, always
keep improving.
Talking
about the division, Shogun’s next opponent should be the
winner between Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans on UFC 114. How
do you think this fight will be?
It’s
a tough fight, they have similar styles, both like to do the
boxing game and take the opposite down, so it’s hard to
bet. Maybe Rampage experience will be a decisive factor...
How
do you think it would be like, today, a rematch of Shogun and
Rampage?
I
think Rampage will be a very hard opponent to Shogun, it will
be a tough rematch, for sure, but I can’t tell. Even because
Rampage got off the trainings due to some appointments he had
on the movies, so let’s see how he behaves on this fight
and then we can do some thinking about it.
Fell
free to leave a message to your fans…
I’d
like to thanks all my friends from Pará, a very warming
people. I was supported when I got to the airport, there were
a lot of people waiting for me and screaming my name, independently
of my loss. I want to remind people it’s a sport and losses
are also a part of the process, the important thing is the recovery.
To win or lose is normal, but the thing is how I’m going
to recover myself now, against the challenges that will come…
It can taste bad, bitter and hard to swallow, but for sure it
will be constructive on the future.
Source: Tatame
|
Nogueira:
“I’d love a rematch against Mir”
Former
champion of Pride and UFC, Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira suffered
the first knockout of his career on the fight against Frank Mir
and, a little bit further from the UFC’s heavyweight belt,
he dreams about redemption.
On
the chat with TATAME Magazine on its May edition, Minotauro reveals
his interest on a rematch against Frank Mir, who also is far
from the top of the division when he lost to Shane Carwin. “I’d
love a rematch against Mir, it is a fight I would like to do
again. It would be a good fight, he is a high level athlete.
I want it, for sure”, Nogueira.
Without
thinking about retirement, Rodrigo spoke openly about the knockout
he suffered against Cain Velasquez, the death of his Muay Thai
coach, Luiz Alves, the pressure of being within the ten best
fighter in the division for more than eight years and the growth
of Junior Cigano dos Santos in the UFC heavyweight division
Source: Tatame
|
Bráulio
comments on frustration: “At least Roger and Jacaré
saved the evening”
No
sooner had Shine Fights 3 been canceled, due to an injunction
from promoter Don King, who didn’t want his athlete Ricardo
Mayorga to face Din Thomas, than GRACIEMAG.com contacted Jiu-Jitsu
world champion Bráulio “Carcará” Estima,
who would have made his MMA debut this Saturday against Rick
Hawn in North Carolina.
In
his first statement, he spat out almost everything he was feeling:
“I’m
really frustrated. I feel like throwing up just thinking about
all I had to give up for the fight, and now it ends this way,”
he says.
“I
trained like mad. I went through complicated situations in getting
here. I missed my son’s first birthday, spent just two nights
at home these last two months. In a nutshell, I invested a lot
in my training, and I’m not talking financially. I abdicated
training in the gi as well, and the World Pro went the way it
did. And now there’s the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship, in
California this June, which I may have put at risk for nothing.
I’m really bummed. At least Roger [Gracie] and Jacaré
did well and saved the evening.”
Estima
further commented on the mood after the show was canceled at
the last minute.
“The
mood here is one of confusion; no one knows how or when the next
step will be taken. Things started coming up little by little.
Rock by rock, until the mountain crumbled.
“The
promoters said the athletes would get paid in the gymnasium.
Then they said the lobby of the hotel, and Devin, the promoter,
would show up at 9:30 at night.
“Now
they’re saying he’ll get here at 3am, on a chartered
jet from Miami, where Don King’s ruling was made. So the
mood is one of disgust and confusion. And nobody knows how it
all will end. The promoters say it will all be ok tomorrow and
that Shine Fights will continue, with the next show in July.”
Bráulio
tried to reschedule his fight for an event in England, but unsuccessfully.
“I
tried to reschedule this fight for an event to take place this
weekend in Birmingham, England, just so all this suffering, all
this work, won’t go to waste. You have no idea how much
I wanted to fight, how much I suffered for this,” he said
in frustration.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Doubling
Up On The News
We are
doubling up on the news since we will be in Kauai for the next
couple of days and our Clear wireless connection doesn't work
there. Enjoy!
|
MMA
RETURNS TO HAWAII AS X-1 EVENTS PRESENTS “SHOWDOWN AT WAIPAHU
II”
TODAY!
Fight
veterans and future stars featured on huge card
Honolulu,
HI (USA): X-1 World Events, the top entertainment company in
Hawaii, is proud to announce that on Saturday, May 15th, 2010,
they will be bringing MMA back to the island as they present
“Showdown at Waipahu II,” featuring some of Hawaii’s
top professional and amateur MMA fighters and kickboxers.
On
the main card is well-known Hawaiian MMA veteran Kolo Koka (13-12)
taking on Chicago’s own Quinton McCottrell (4-5), who won
his last fight following more than a year layoff from the sport.
Koka is coming into this bout on a two-fight losing streak and
will be looking to turn the tide and get back to his winning
ways. McCottrell, for his part, is known for his heavy hands,
and will be looking to end the fight early utilizing his knockout
power. Also on the main card will be Thomas Sedeno (0-0) and
Brent Schermerhorn (2-0), who will be going to battle in the
170 lbs. division. Sedeno will be facing a tough task in his
professional debut as Schermerhorn has displayed his unrelenting
standup skills in his first two professional fights by winning
via TKO in the first round.
In
another 170 lb. bout, Taylor Cochron (0-0) of the United States
Army will be making his professional debut against Walter Hao
(4-4), who has made the drop in weight classes from 185 lbs.
for this fight. Additionally, also making their professional
debuts are Justin Babbs, Falo Faaloto, Justin Wong, and Brandon
Piper. Fans can expect to see fireworks when each fighter steps
into the ring to do battle with his opponent, as each warrior
has great striking and submission skills, and is capable of ending
the fight at any time.
The
undercard will feature some talented rising stars the Islands.
There will be five amateur title fights to determine who the
best in their division is. Exciting young fighters Toby Misech,
Bronson Mohika, Kevin Soong, Maki Pitolo, and others will showcase
to the Islands what the Hawaii fighting spirit is all about.
“This
event is going to highlight the talent level of Hawaii’s
top amateurs and professionals,” said Mike Miller, Owner/Promoter
of X-1 World Events. “MMA fans are going to be in for a
treat with the abundance of fights and vast disciplines which
will be showcased throughout the fights.
Main
Card
Pro
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Kolo Koka vs. Quinton McCotrell - 170
lbs.
Pro
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Thomas Sedeno vs. Brent Schermerhorn
- 170 lbs.
Pro MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Justin Babbs vs. Falo Faaloloto
- 170 lbs.
Pro
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Taylor Cochron vs. Walter Hao - 170lbs.
Pro
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Justin Wong vs. Brandon Piper - 145
lbs.
Amateur
Title Fights
Amateur MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Tyrone O’Neil
vs. Kevin Soong - 155 lbs.
Amateur
MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Joie Yeampierre vs Toby
Misech – 145 lbs.
Amateur
MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Joie Hernandez vs. Bronson
Mohika - 135 lbs.
Amateur
MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Micah Paulo vs. Maki Pitolo
- 185 lbs.
Amateur MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Paea Paongo vs.
Sasae Paogofie – Heavyweight
Amateur
Non-Title Fights
Amateur MMA (3/3 minute rounds): John Joao vs. Ron Verdadero
- 185 lbs.
Amateur
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): TBA vs. Peni Taufaao - 145 lbs.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing exhibition (3/2 minute rounds): Nainoa Dung vs. Shawn
Desantos, Jr.
Kickboxing (3/2 minute rounds): Sheldon Crawford vs. Ioane Kim
- 145 lbs.
Kickboxing
(3/½ minute rounds): Sai Crawford vs. Kasey Farinas -
85 lbs.
Kickboxing
(3/1½ minute rounds): Cristien Raquedan vs. Alika Agustin-
90 lbs.
Kickboxing
(3/1½ minute rounds): Raymond Raquedan vs. Charles Naone-
85 lbs.
Kickboxing
(3/1 minute rounds): Sedric Crawford vs. Kaena Desantos- 65 lbs.
Amateur
MMA
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Loyed Trueman vs. Brad Orsbone- 185
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Koa Ramelb vs Randy Kamaiopili- 155
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): James Ekener vs. Anthony Kinoshita-
185 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Manny vs. Jan Quimoyog- 125 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Philip Akui vs. Micah Ige- 175 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Kawika Young vs. Steven Beal- Heavyweights
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Dale Laymeyer vs. Joseph Ena Ena-
165 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): John Shepard vs. Derrick Galindo-
185 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Vince Alama vs. Timothy Cation- 205
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Derrick Galindo vs John Shepard- 185
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Aloune Diop vs Ka’eo Kawa’a-
185 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Daymon Carr vs Dale Lahmeyer- 185
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Jacob Pyfer vs. Evic Liftee- 170 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Jarrett Questel vs. Adam Trueman-
170 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Chad Puha vs Joseph Ena Ena
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
|
Scrappla
Fest 2 TODAY!
Kauai's
Scrappla Fest 2
Gi & No Gi Tournament
May 15, 2010
Island School
3-1875 Kaumualii Hwy
Lihue, HI 96766-9597
$50 entry fee
Tentative
times:
Kids Rules 930am.
Kids Gi Start 10am.
Kids No Gi Start 11am.
Adult
Rules 12:30pm.
Adults Gi Start 1pm.
Adults No Gi Start 3:45pm.
We
will be running 4-6 matches at the same time to keep the tournament
running smoothly. More info to come about weights and weigh ins.
kids ages-weight divisions will be made on sight
5-below
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
women
125-below
126-140
141-above
menbeginner
white , blue
131-below
132-145
146-159
160-173
174-187
188-201
202-215
216-above
men
advanced, purple and above
159-below
160-180
181-201
202-above
Thank
you,
Pono
Pananganan
Kauai Technical Institute
ktirelson_gracie@hotmail.com
|
MAD
SKILLS TODAY
MAD SKILLS
SATURDAY MAY 15
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
JUMAR
ESCOSIO 155 JUSTIN BURGESS
JOJO
KELLY 175 BARACK HOLT
RICKY
PLUNKETT 145 RYNE YOSHIMURA
JESSIE
PURGANON 160 JESSIE HURST
ALLEN
AUSTRIA 145 JOSEPH CARTER
ISRAEL
ALVAREZ 120 RICKY FAJARDO
JUSTIN
KAI IWASAKI 145 MARK YARCIA
JADA
PERRERA 100 KAMA DA BEBE ASSASIN BANTILAN
RACHEL
OSTOVICH 125 LENA BOOM BOOM COOK
BRYSHANE
BAYUDAN 160 MIKEY WABINGA
FRED
RAMAYLA 140 MARK WILSON
CHEVY
DECASTRO 125 VEE VICKERS
JOE
MOLINA SHW PETE SEFO
EDDIE
LANI 140 JAYAR DUMAOAL
HANS
LEE HW JARREN KAWALU
STEVE
200 JEREMY
MATT
STONE 225 DUSTIN CULLASTRO
DANTE
BOY 110 BRENNAN WAIALAE
DAN
CERA 110 BRENTON WAIALAE
KAWIKA
KUPUKAA SHW MANNY
CARLOS
MASUNGSON 125 REX MANUEL
PAUL
AUSTRIA 130 DANIEL ASUNCION
YVONNE
WILLIAMS 100 GIGI
All
matches and participants are subject to change
|
Strikeforce
‘Heavy Artillery’ Preview
by Tomas
Rios
The
importance of Strikeforce “Heavy Artillery” this Saturday,
as it relates to the overall health of the promotion, cannot
be overstated. In wake of its second appearance on CBS, which
included a post-fight melee on national television, Strikeforce
could use some good news from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Luckily,
this show has the potential to make people forget what went down
in the Music City, as the main event features Strikeforce heavyweight
champion Alistair Overeem defending his strap against Clubber
Lang lookalike Brett Rogers. Backing up that slugfest, former
UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski meets Antonio Silva
in a fight likely to test the support system in the cage.
Plenty
more violence will be discussed in the analysis that follows.
Strikeforce
Heavyweight Championship
Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers
The
Breakdown: Overeem has been the Strikeforce heavyweight titleholder
for two and a half years and will now get around to the hard
part of being a champion -- defending the shiny gold strap around
his waist. Rogers, the long overdue challenger, enters on the
strength of perhaps the most advantageous loss in sports history
-- a spirited showing against heavyweight demigod Fedor Emelianenko
that ended with everyone’s favorite dead-eyed Russian hitting
the knockout blow.
Rogers
will face a similar disadvantage against Overeem, who is a mask
and some dreadlocks shy of becoming an official Predator. An
undeniably talented kickboxer with nasty front headlock skills
and cringe-inducing ground-and-pound, Overeem has proven one
of the most offensively versatile fighters in the heavyweight
class. Rogers may not be some brainless brawler, but he lacks
Overeem’s technical acumen and relies heavily on overwhelming
opponents with power punches.
In
heavyweight MMA, cinderblock fists, a stout chin and cool haircut
will win you a lot of fights, but Rogers has started to run into
the sort of competition capable of exposing his limitations.
Overeem looks to have Rogers beat in close, thanks to his “Street
Fighter”-style tiger knee, and from afar, the fight favors
his telephone pole jab and diverse techniques. Even if Rogers
can find a home for his powerful overhand, he needs to put Overeem
down and out before the champion decides to change levels.
Overeem’s
spectacular top control game hangs over Rogers’ head in
this fight. Standing, Rogers may find himself at a disadvantage,
but at least he has the tools to give Overeem pause; on the mat,
it’s a different story.
The
Bottom Line: Rogers held his own against Emelianenko, thanks,
at least in part, to a size advantage that allowed him to bully
the world’s top-ranked heavyweight for a time. No such edge
exists for Rogers in this fight. As long as Overeem has the steam
to go a few hard minutes, expect him to turn in a dominating
performance that will start up a fresh round of illogical “Emelianeko
vs. Ubereem: Who wins?” forum threads.
Andrei Arlovski
vs. Antonio Silva
The
Breakdown: MMA’s heavyweight hype machine can be a fickle
beast, and Arlovski and Silva are familiar with the unforgiving
nature of great expectations. The story of Arlovski’s career
revolves around his all-universe talent and questionable chin.
Silva’s ginormous frame has, to this point, dwarfed his
actual skills.
Silva
has proven far from an imposing shell devoid of talent, and his
size requires a great deal more athleticism and coordination
to execute even basic techniques. Arlovski, on the other hand,
moves like a fluid middleweight and retains all the power of
a heavily bearded Belarusian. The ability to move around and
rip off quick combinations will be Arlovski’s greatest advantage
in this fight, as Silva’s game works best from inside the
pocket.
However,
Arlovski often makes the mistake of standing his ground and getting
into exchanges his chin cannot survive. Taking advantage of those
moments, as well as pressing Arlovski against the cage and scoring
takedowns, needs to be the backbone of Silva’s game plan.
Expecting him to adopt a more nuanced approach after years of
dependence on his hulking frame and straightforward style might
prove overly optimistic.
The
Bottom Line: As with every Arlovski fight, the analysis and conjecture
goes out the window the second he gets hit clean. Of course,
all the doomsday prophecies about Arlovski’s anti-chin ignore
the fact that he has proven himself a better all-around fighter
than Silva. Leg kicks and one-twos will be the story of this
fight, as Arlovski field dresses his giant quarry en route to
a second-round technical knockout.
Ronaldo “Jacare”
Souza vs. Joey Villasenor
The
Breakdown: Villasenor has been a solid middleweight fighter for
some time, and it’s good to see him making some bank in
a quality promotion.
One
of the best middleweight prospects in the sport, Souza may prove
beyond Villasenor’s capabilities as a fighter. A grappling
virtuoso who has the takedowns to ground most anyone, Souza’s
ability on the mat cannot be overstated. His rapidly improving
striking further complicates matters for Villasenor.
No
longer the green power windmill machine he was at the nexus of
his MMA career, Souza has grasped the fundamentals and still
shows the cage generalship to rely primarily on his grappling.
Ideally, Villasenor would get inside on Souza and cut loose with
punches, but being anywhere near the clinch with “Jacare”
has proven a self-mailed invitation to getting Judo tossed. Once
Souza starts making Villasenor defy gravity, it will only be
a matter of time before he gets the human origami treatment.
The
Bottom Line: Undoubtedly a showcase fight for the man likely
to take over for Jake Shields once he puts pen to paper with
the UFC, expect Souza to cement his status as Strikeforce’s
middleweight alpha male at Villasenor’s expense.
Roger Gracie
vs. Kevin Randleman
The
Breakdown: The golden child of MMA’s first family, Gracie
makes his Strikeforce debut against Randleman, a longtime Hammer
House disciple and staph magnet, in a bout to which Brazilian
jiu-jitsu acolytes the world over are counting down. A former
UFC heavyweight champion, Randleman has advanced well beyond
his prime, and his submission defense leaves a lot to be desired.
The
expectations for any Gracie have to be tempered a bit by the
fact that almost any of them can make a healthy living doing
private seminars, and this one, given his lofty status in the
grappling world, could cash checks on his name for a long time.
That convenient cash flow makes pursuing an MMA career seem less
than tempting and remains a big reason why the Gracie clan has
become all but absent from the modern MMA landscape. That does
not mean much in this fight, however, as Gracie will not need
a particularly intense training camp to snatch hold of whatever
submission opportunity Randleman dangles in front of him.
The
otherworldly athleticism Randleman once used to compensate for
his obvious technical deficiencies has all but disappeared. In
its stead sits an old-school converted wrestler with little in
the way of secondary skills and an injury history that belongs
in the New England Journal of Medicine. Gracie may be just as
one-dimensional as Randleman, but he will enter the cage in his
physical prime, and submissions win a lot more matches than takedowns.
The
Bottom Line: Get your buddies together and add some interest
to this fight by setting up a pool on what submission Gracie
hits on Randleman.
Rafael “Feijao”
Cavalcante vs. Antwain Britt
The
Breakdown: The dearth of light heavyweight competition outside
the UFC has left the freshly minted Strikeforce light heavyweight
champion, Muhammed Lawal, without a clear challenger to his crown.
Strikeforce hopes either Cavalcante or Britt can stamp his ticket
to a title shot by doing something -- anything -- that will capture
the imagination of fan and analyst alike.
If
nothing else, Britt and Cavalcante will make for an exciting
fight. Neither man has much in the way of back down in him. Plus,
they both make their money on the feet. A straight-up slugfest
definitely favors Britt, as he has the faster, more accurate
punches, as well as the power to make Cavalcante pay every time
he steps forward. That’s the approach Cavalcante needs to
take since he will not beat Britt from range and his best shot
at victory lies inside the clinch.
Controlling
Britt and wearing him down with knees and anything else he can
connect on from in close sounds like a good plan, but Cavalcante
lacks the lockdown clinch technique it will take to stifle his
opponent. That leaves Britt open to blitz with the kind of punching
salvos for which Cavalcante lacks the defense and counter-punching
skills. There are not many light heavyweights who can stand up
to Britt’s power, but Cavalcante will have no choice but
to try.
The
Bottom Line: This will be the fight that introduces Britt to
the lay fan. Some crackling early exchanges will turn more and
more one-sided until Britt finishes Cavalcante midway through
the first round.
Lyle Beerbohm
vs. Vitor Ribeiro
The
Breakdown: The pearl of the prelim slate pits longtime stalwart
of the Japanese lightweight MMA scene Vitor “Shaolin”
Ribeiro against the dazzling pantaloons of Lyle “Fancy Pants”
Beerbohm. This fight has taken an unfortunate turn in recent
days ever since Beerbohm went to the Internet in search of lawyers
who could help extricate him from his Strikeforce contract. Considering
Ribeiro has been under contract with Strikeforce since September
and is just now making his promotional debut, I’m half expecting
him to turn this into a class-action lawsuit.
As
for the fight itself, Ribeiro is one of the best grapplers in
the division and is nothing short of stultifying from top control.
Making matters worse for Beerbohm is Ribeiro’s underrated
wrestling skills, which make him one of the most dominating grapplers
around. Beerbohm is still coming into his own as a fighter. While
he has shown great grappling acumen for a relative neophyte,
he doesn’t have the game to survive in Ribeiro’s world.
A
striking match may be a different story, but Beerbohm doesn’t
have the wrestling to keep this fight upright and Ribeiro isn’t
about to repeat the disastrous striking strategy he used so feebly
against Shinya Aoki.
The
Bottom Line: It’s hard to imagine what must be going through
Beerbohm’s head entering this fight. That is reason enough
to pick against him, and Ribeiro’s obvious advantage on
the mat only makes this an easier pick.
Source: Sherdog
|
Randy
Couture says fight with James Toney will bring in new followers
from the boxing world
By Zach
Arnold
Quotes
from an interview he did with MMAFighting.com on Saturday night
in Montreal, Quebec, Canada at UFC 113:
Couture:
“It’s not official yet, but we’re getting real
close to signing it. James Toney, UFC 118 in Boston.”
Question:
“What do you think of that match-up? Because I know when
James Toney, when they first announced him coming to the UFC,
you were on Twitter and you were asking for it.”
Couture:
“Yeah, absolutely. He’s been running his mouth saying
he’s going to knock everybody out. I’d be happy to
welcome him to MMA. I think it’s a great crossover fight.
You know, since I’ve been in this sport for 13 years, everybody’s
been comparing us to boxers so to have a world-class boxer to
finally step up and sign on the dotted line is a big deal.”
Question:
“Do you think a guy like him deserves to be fighting in
the Octagon?”
Couture:
“Deserves? I mean, who says? He’s a four-time world
champion in boxing, he wants to try his hand in MMA, he thinks
he can knock everybody out. Why not?”
Question:
“But, let me explain. There are guys who work years and
years to get here and has never fought in an MMA match. You know,
does he just get the right to go in?”
Couture:
“I worked years and years in wrestling and walked right
into Mixed Martial Arts. My very first fight was a UFC.”
Question:
“But that was a different time, though.”
Couture:
“Like I say, it doesn’t matter. Combative sports are
combative sports. He’s going to be a formidable opponent
because he’s a very good striker. They don’t call him
Lights Out for nothing. I obviously have a wrestling background.
How does that match-up? That’s an interesting match-up in
my opinion. It crosses over and we’re going to draw a bunch
of boxers in to watch our sport for the first time ever. It’s
good.”
Question:
“A lot of people say that if you think to stand with him
for one second, you’d be making a big mistake just based
on your wrestling skills. Will you try to stand and bang with
him?”
Couture:
“I’m not going to stand and bang with him, that would
be stupid. But one second? C’mon, give me a break. I can
stand with him as long as I need to stand with him to put him
where I need to put him, to beat him up, to beat his ass.”
Question:
“When you go in there, will you feel as though you are representing
this sport?”
Couture:
“Absolutely, that’s the whole point of the fight. It’s
a cross-over fight, boxing versus MMA, and I will gladly represent
Mixed Martial Arts.”
Question:
“And is the point of this fight maybe to never have him
fight in the UFC again, to say you know what, you should stick
to your sport?”
Couture:
“No, I don’t think that’s true. I think he wants
to transition into Mixed Martial Arts. Unfortunately he’s
jumping right in. I think in a matter of time with his background
he could be a very, very good Mixed Martial Artist. How much
is he going to learn between now and the end of August, that’s
the question.”
Question:
“And finally, a victory over James Toney, does that still
put you in line for a future Light Heavyweight title shot? Do
you think that’s you know does what you need to do?”
Couture:
“I don’t think it has anything to do with that. I don’t
think that puts me into title contention. I don’t think
it’s a title contending fight. … I think I’m already
made my statement in the Light Heavyweight division as one of
the #1 contenders. There’s a lot of tough guys in the Light
Heavyweight division. I hope to get the nod and fight the winner
of [the main event at UFC 113 -- which was Shogun], but James
Toney doesn’t help me get there. It’s just an interesting
crossover fight.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
'Rampage'
Jackson Calls Rashad Evans Fight a Warm-Up for Title Shot
By Ben
Fowlkes
For a fight that has proved unusually difficult to put together,
"Rampage" Jackson doesn't seem as though he's expecting
his main event showdown with Rashad Evans at UFC 114 to be all
that competitive.
In
a recent interview with Fighters Only Jackson referred to the
bout with his longtime rival as "a step backwards,"
indicating that he's more interested in a rematch with new UFC
light heavyweight champ "Shogun" Rua, who scored a
TKO victory over him in Pride back in 2005.
According
to Jackson, fighting Evans is little more than a tune-up for
the title shot that UFC president Dana White has promised to
the winner of the Jackson/Evans bout.
"I
feel like fighting Rashad is a step backwards, because he doesn't
have the belt anymore. But if things go right, this will be a
nice warm-up fight for Shogun. If everything works out it will
be nice. Everybody knows I took time off; it would be stupid
to go right into a title fight with Shogun so this will be a
good test for me. If I lose to Rashad I don't even deserve to
get my belt back!"
Not
that any of us should have expected Jackson to be overly pessimistic
about his chances against Evans, but it's hard to believe that
even he regards this as nothing more than a "warm-up fight."
At
the moment, oddsmakers favor Jackson very slightly, but the line
is very close to even on many internet sportsbooks. By all accounts
Jackson has gotten back in shape after a long absence from the
gym during the filming of "The A-Team," but he hasn't
fought since March of 2009, when he beat Keith Jardine via decision.
Getting
back in shape is one thing, but getting your timing back after
so long away from the cage could be another matter.
Jackson
might want to talk to Lennox Lewis about what happens to fighters
who return from movie roles looking for tune-up bouts. The former
boxing heavyweight champ found out the hard way against Hasim
Rahman that an acting gig and a pro fighting career aren't always
compatible pursuits.
Especially
once those four-ounce gloves start flying, it's all too easy
for a warm-up to turn into a knockout.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
OVEREEM
NOT WORRIED BY ROGERS, WANTS FEDOR
by Damon
Martin
Alistair Overeem has a hit list and after he puts away Brett
Rogers, he has his sights set on only one fighter: Fedor Emelianenko.
With
Overeem just days away from his first title defense of the Strikeforce
heavyweight belt, the Dutch fighter respects the opponent he's
about to face on May 15, but doesn't see much struggle in getting
past him.
Once
he is past him, Overeem says Fedor and his management team have
no excuses left and must face him and settle it in the cage once
and for all.
As
for Brett Rogers getting a shot at his title, he simply says
they pay me to fight, and that's what I'm going to do.
"I
am a pro fighter. I have signed several contracts through my
management with different promoters and I fight if the price
is right. I would have wanted to fight against Fedor, but I guess
his management has other ‘priorities’ for him,"
said Overeem in an interview with MMAWeekly.com "So I will
prove to the world after I win against Rogers that Fedor must
accept the fight with me."
What
is the ultimate hold-up in Overeem facing Fedor? Is it Strikeforce?
Is it Fedor himself? Overeem chalks it up to one word.
"Politics,"
Overeem answered. "I am the current champion, but the management
of Fedor said no."
Overeem
went on to explain the backtalk and harsh words that came from
Fedor's manager, Vadim Finkelstein, and that when he beats Rogers
they will have no choice but to sign for the fight that he's
been requesting for over a year.
"This
Vadim guy apologized to me. First Vadim said he did not say those
things he said about me then some reporter from sports.ru taped
the conversation and brought the tape out in the open,"
Overeem revealed. "It made him look like a fool and he apologized.
"It
says something about the level of management. Fedor proved himself
as the best, but he has not been really fighting a lot in the
last years because of bad management. I have fighting rhythm
and got stronger and competed also in the best stand-up league
in the world and got a third place at the WGP K-1 finals in 2009,
something Fedor never did."
After
the fight with Rogers, Overeem hopes to compete in Strikeforce
at least two more times this year, but will also fight for K-1
at the end of September and December in their tournament.
And
while the Dutch wrecking machine understands that Rogers does
pose danger to him, like any fighter in MMA, he also knows that
he has the perfect weapons to dispose of Fedor Emelianenko and
that's his final goal.
"He
is big and has a strong punch, but I have fought way better and
stronger opponents than him. I do not see much problems for me
in this fight," Overeem said about Rogers. "(Fedor)
is the name to beat and I am the chosen one who can do this."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
After
Ultimatum, Arlovski Turned to Greg Jackson, AKA
by Joe
Myers
Sometimes
you have to take a step back in order to take two steps forward.
Andrei
“The Pitbull” Arlovski hopes that's the case as he
prepares to face Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva on the Strikeforce
“Heavy Artillery” card in St. Louis this Saturday.
Coming
off first-round knockout losses to Fedor Emelianenko and Brett
Rogers, the 31-year-old Arlovski (15-7) and his management decided
a change of scenery was in order.
"After
my loss to (Rogers), I talked to my trainers and they sort of
gave me an ultimatum," Arlovski said in a recent conference
call. "They told me that I needed to look for different
trainers. Now I have become more disciplined. In my fight against
Rogers, I didn't stick with my game plan. I didn't take Rogers
seriously, and he knocked me out."
The
discussion with his camp led to a two-week stint with Greg Jackson
in November 2009 before he returned to Chicago to train with
his primary team, Team Pitbull. Then, in March, Arlovski traveled
to San Jose, Calif., the home of American Kickboxing Academy,
for another two-week stint. While he was there, Arlovski worked
with Cain Velasquez and Mike Kyle among others.
"My
manager spoke with Bob Cook and they set up a camp for me at
AKA," said Arlovski. "I was very excited about that.
I had a chance to train with all of the guys from AKA before
I came back to Chicago. I'm very excited about what I learned.
I got a lot of experience from (Jackson) and San Jose. I hope
now I'm a better fighter. I hope I'm a different fighter. I can
say I'm more disciplined and will stick with my game plan. No
more going straight back and putting my hands down like how it
was against Rogers."
Along
with going to different training camps, Arlovski changed things
up outside of the cage as well.
"It's
embarrassing to say, but I worked with a sports psychologist
(after the Rogers loss) and changed a lot of things in my life,"
said Arlovski. "Now I'm just focusing on my MMA career,
training hard, eating and sleeping. I'm just focused on my MMA
career. My mind was on pro boxing when I fought Rogers, but now
my focus is on MMA."
Arlovski
has had nine months to dwell on his loss to Rogers and said he
wants nothing more than to beat Silva and put the past behind
him.
"Those
two losses cost me a lot, so I have to climb back to the top,"
said Arlovski. "Everybody was like, 'Wow!' when (Rogers)
beat me in 20 seconds. I didn't take the fight seriously and
now I've been on the bench nine months. I've been miserable.
I need to stick with my game plan and be more disciplined. I
just have to go out, do what works well and stick with my game
plan."
One
thing is for sure, though. Arlovski will be going back to AKA
to train again for his next fight.
"Everybody
at AKA was very friendly," said Arlovski. "I remember
Bob Cook really pushing me through some of their conditioning
workouts. It was a great experience for me, a great camp and
I definitely will go again."
Silva
(13-2) is coming off a decision loss to Fabricio Werdum on Strikeforce's
November 2009 card and he said he'll be ready for a revamped
Arlovski.
"(Arlovski)
seems like he's completely renovated," Silva said through
a translator during the conference call. "I'm also like
that due to my hard training camp. I think the public will gain
from this fight because I don't think it will go the distance.
Since I started training with my old coach again, I've focused
on my striking and I'm going to be looking for his head.
"I
hope it stays standing. He's been knocked out in his last two
fights, so I hope to exploit that."
Source: Sherdog
|
SENGOKU
RAIDEN CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
Kikuto
vs. Enomoto, Irie vs. Kawamura Added to Sengoku 13
By FCF
Staff
Sengoku
Raiden Championship has confirmed two more bouts for the promotion’s
upcoming June 20th event in Tokyo, Japan, as Sanae Kikuta will
take on Yasubey Enomoto and Ryo Kawamura will fight Hidetada
Irie.
Sengoku
13 will be headlined by a featherweight bout between champion
Masanori Kanehara and challenger Marlon Sandro.
Kikuta
(28-6-3) will head into the bout having won 6 straight. The veteran
hasn’t fought since last January, when he earned a Split
Decision victory over Hidehiko Yoshida at Sengoku’s No Ran
2009 event.
Enomoto
(3-1) is coming off his first professional loss; last June, Bellator
welterweight Tyler Stinson stopped him in the third round at
an Art of Fighting event.
Kawamura
(11-5-2) hasn’t fought since December, when he worked his
way to a Majority Decision victory over Shunsuke Inoue at a Pancrase
event. Kawamura is 3-2 in his last five fights, with the losses
coming against notable opposition in Fabio Silva and Muhammed
“King Mo” Lawal.
Irie
(7-3-2), who is riding a 4 fight undefeated streak, hasn’t
lost since April, 2006, when he was stopped by Gegard Mousasi
at Deep 24. Irie made his Sengoku debut in January, 2009, and
stopped Minoru Kato.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
DREAM
5/29 Saitama Super Arena
By Zach
Arnold
Start
time – 16:00 (4 PM JST)
¦Catch
Weight (88 kg): Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Ralek Gracie
¦Welterweights: Hayato Sakurai vs. Nick Diaz
¦Featherweights: Yoshiro Maeda vs. Kenji Osawa
¦Featherweights: Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Joachim Hansen
¦Featherweights: Hideo Tokoro vs. Akiyo “Wicky”
Nishiura
¦Featherweights: Kazuyuki Miyata vs. Takafumi Otsuka
The media spin so far on this match announcement is that if Sakurai
loses, this could be his final match. Sakurai is promising a
career revival. DREAM relayed comments from Nick Diaz about the
fight and Diaz said that he was completely confident that he
would beat Sakurai in the same manner in which he beat Marius
Zaromski.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Mayorga
vs. Thomas Remains in Jeopardy Over Term 'Bout'
By Ben Fowlkes
In the court battle over whether boxer Ricardo Mayorga is contractually
free to pursue his MMA debut against former UFC fighter Din Thomas
at this Saturday's Shine Fights event in North Carolina, a lot
may depend on what the definition of the word "bout"
is.
Last
week, Don King Productions filed a motion in a Florida court
for preliminary injunctive relief to stop Mayorga's participation
in the Shine Fights 3 pay-per-view event, alleging that Mayorga
is violating his exclusive promotional contract with DKP by engaging
in the MMA bout.
According
to copies of the motion and the separate complaint obtained by
MMA Fighting, Don King Productions claims that its contract with
Mayorga prevents the fighter from participating in any bouts
not promoted by DKP.
At
issue, it seems, is whether that contract extends beyond Mayorga's
boxing efforts and into his would-be MMA endeavors.
"That's
what we're basically trying to defend against, is this claim
that we're the boxing promoter and Shine Fights is the MMA promoter,"
said Alejandro Brito, an attorney for Don King Productions. "The
way that we view this contract, especially with regards to Mr.
Mayorga, who does not have any experience as a mixed martial
artist, is that the language in the contract refers to any bout."
Where
things get tricky is when the contract distinguishes bouts from
Bouts.
In
one section of the promotional agreement signed by Mayorga, the
term Bouts is defined as "all professional boxing bouts."
Another section states that Mayorga "shall not participate
in any bouts other than the Bouts promoted or co-promoted by
[Don King Productions]..."
The
inclusion of the word bouts, with a lower-case b, is what precludes
Mayorga from taking the fight against Thomas, said Brito. That
Shine Fights has promoted Mayorga's participation by pointing
to his skills as a boxer, he added, only further solidifies the
case.
"The
statements that have been made by Shine Fights represented an
attempt to draw upon Mr. Mayorga's background as a boxer in order
to promote this event," said Brito. "He obviously has
no background in MMA, so he's going to be utilizing his boxing
skills, which is what Don King Productions has been trying to
cultivate.
"He's
going to use those skills in an MMA bout, but I don't think there's
anyone who's going to be fooled into thinking that Mr. Mayorga
is going to get down on the ground and grapple and participate
in any real, full-fledged mixed martial arts. ...This isn't someone
who can really crossover and hold themselves up as a real MMA
participant. He's not; he's a boxer."
One
of the issues brought up in the complaint is the likelihood that
Mayorga will be injured or "perform poorly" in the
fight with Thomas, which would then harm DKP's attempts to promote
him as a boxer in the future.
The
motion points out that Thomas is "an experienced and successful"
MMA fighter, while Mayorga has never participated in an MMA bout,
which "substantially increases the chances that he will
be injured in this MMA event and will result in Mayorga being
unable to perform his contractual obligations to DKP."
Potential
injury is of particular concern since the motion states that
DKP has arranged for a bout between Mayorga and WBA middleweight
champ Felix Sturm in August or September. Brito said that though
contracts haven't been signed for that fight, Mayorga "was
aware that this is something that's potentially being sacrificed
as a result of him participating in this event."
A
Broward County judge is scheduled to hear the case this Friday
at 1:30PM ET.
Shine
Fights officials failed to respond to requests for comment.
SHINE SAYS KING CAN'T STOP MAYORGA'S MMA DEBUT
by Damon
Martin
It appears despite all of the efforts of boxing promoter Don
King to stop the upcoming MMA debut of Ricardo Mayorga, his fight
with Din Thomas will still happen this Saturday night in North
Carolina.
Mayorga
arrived in Fayetteville, NC earlier today and along with Shine
Fights president Devin Price, they laughed off King's claims
of having exclusive rights to promote the former boxing champion.
“MMA
fans are going to see an electrifying evening of fighting. I
have faith in the American justice system, and I believe justice
will prevail. When one operates within the rules and regulations,
one has nothing to worry about. As far as King goes, it is just
his usual smoke-and-mirrors. He shoots his mouth off about an
injunction to try and sway the media's perception, and then waits
until the last minute to file in hopes of affecting the success
of the promotion," said Price.
"I
know the difference between MMA and boxing and so does Don King.
The members of the media, and both MMA and boxing fans, can clearly
see that Don King is up to his ‘trickerations.’ This
is a wonderful and exciting promotion Shine Fights has put together
for both MMA and boxing fans, and I look forward to Saturday,
May 15th."
King
filed the injunction after sending two separate cease and desist
orders to the promotion trying to stop their bout with Mayorga,
who he claims to have exclusive rights to under a previous contract.
Price has stood by the fact that they have Mayorga under contract
for his MMA career, while King owns the rights to Mayorga's boxing
contract.
The
fighter also spoke out about King's tactics, and Mayorga has
every intention of stepping into the ring with Din Thomas in
just a few short days.
"Don
King cannot stop this fight because I have only signed contracts
with Don having to do with my boxing career," said Mayorga.
"This is ridiculous, because Don knows he has not fought
me in 18 months and a fighter makes his living and supports his
family based on fighting.
I
love MMA, and this is a wonderful opportunity for me and my family.
He does not give me fights and now wants to try to stop me from
fighting, that’s a shame. I have not had any other means
to make a living other than fighting. No one can live on air
alone. I have been fortunate to have enjoyed being a world champion
in boxing, and now have a great opportunity in MMA. Aside from
my passion for MMA, I support my family, my children, my mother."
The
fight between Mayorga and Thomas is the main event for the third
Shine Fights show, which will be on pay-per-view this Saturday
night, and they will match-up in a catchweight bout of 160lbs.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Roger
Gracie Turns Focus to MMA for Randleman Bout
by John
Chandler
Widely considered the top prospect of his family’s next
generation, multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion
Roger Gracie will return to active MMA competition when he challenges
former UFC champion Kevin Randleman in a light heavyweight attraction
at Strikeforce “Heavy Artillery” on May 15 at the Scottrade
Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Although
such inactivity was never planned, the 28-year-old Gracie has
only fought under MMA rules twice in the past four years, submitting
UFC veteran Ron Waterman in December 2006 and longtime Pancrase
star Yuki Kondo in May 2008.
“I
never planned to be away for so long,” Gracie said during
a teleconference call touting the May 15 event. “I tried
to come back twice before but I was injured. I’ve been away
from the ring for years now but I’ve never stopped training.
The plan now is to compete maybe two or three times a year. I
used to compete in BJJ competitions four to five times a year,
but now we’ve cut that back to two in order to concentrate
on my MMA career. I think I can do both.”
For
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, bringing Gracie into fold was a
no-brainer. The last time the promotion utilized the Gracie name
was Strikeforce’s inaugural foray into MMA back in March
2006. Frank Shamrock’s first-round KO of Cesar Gracie drew
a then-U.S. record of 18, 265 fans at an MMA event.
“We
started talking to (Roger) a while back and we had debated different
ways of bringing him into the organization,” Coker said.
“All of my indicators out there said, ‘Hey, this is
a guy that could carry on the (Gracie) name. That doesn’t
mean that there isn’t anyone else out there that could,
but based on Roger’s jiu-jitsu accomplishments, we had to
take a strong look at him.
Roger
Gracie will face a very experienced Kevin Randleman.“Roger
came out for a visit last year and we talked for a while. Then
it was a matter of placing him onto a Challengers show or putting
him right into the big show. We feel that the Gracie name has
worked well in the past. Is this a marketing gimmick? Absolutely
not. We feel that Roger is a great fighter and will be able to
move up the ranks.”
As
expected, having the burden of carrying the Gracie name can come
with its fair share of pressure. Looking to capitalize on the
recent UFC setbacks of his relatives, Renzo and Rolles, Roger
is determined to use the surname as motivation.
“Of
course there’s a lot of weight behind the name,” said
Gracie. “Many fighters carried the name around for many
years. In the same way it gives me a lot of pressure, it pushes
me forward a lot. I feel like I have to train that much harder
and perform that much better because I have the name. It’s
as almost as if it gives you extra strength.”
Looking
to add the first blemish to Gracie’s record is Randleman,
who despite having dropped seven out of his last ten fights,
remains a dangerous opponent to anyone due to his wrestling prowess
and explosive athletic ability.
Compelled
to add skills other than grappling to his arsenal, Gracie has
spent the last eight weeks improving his boxing and wrestling
in hopes of leaving no stone unturned when it comes to facing
the threat that Randleman presents.
“I
came to New York at the beginning of the week to finish my training
with my cousin Renzo and Ricardo Almeida,” Gracie said.
“They have a lot of good guys to train with. I’ve been
doing a lot of boxing with my coach and we’ve been bringing
some guys in to wrestle as well. I feel like a pretty complete
fighter. Just with my jiu-jitsu alone, I feel pretty safe.
“My
boxing isn’t on a high level. I have decent hands, but my
jiu-jitsu is what I’m going to use. My other skills will
never be on par with my grappling, so I have to do what I have
to do. I believe I’m prepared for whatever happens. I think
it makes it harder to win because everyone is going to try their
best to get away from the ground (against me). Again, I think
that it’s my strength. If I can use it, I’ll be fine,
but of course, it’s going to be hard. I’m excited for
the fight. Kevin is going to be my toughest opponent yet.”
Despite
only having two professional bouts under his belt, a win over
Randleman could end up placing Gracie on the fast track to challenging
newly crowned Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Muhammed Lawal
in the near future.
“Usually,
that’s a scenario where we would talk about it when the
time comes,” Coker said of a future title shot for Gracie.
“But you have to remember that even though Roger doesn’t
have that many MMA fights, he’s had probably near a thousand
jiu-jitsu matches. We’ll keep an eye on the winner of the
Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante vs. Antwain Britt fight
and that could be a good next opponent if Roger gets by Kevin.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Is
Din Thomas Planning to Trade Strikes With Ricardo Mayorga?
By Mike
Chiappetta
He said it with conviction, so maybe we should believe him, but
is Din Thomas really planning to stand with Ricardo Mayorga at
their Shine Fights main event this weekend? Thomas recently spoke
with Sherdog.com about the fight and indicated that he had no
qualms about engaging Mayorga on their feet. (The video is after
the jump.)
Thomas,
who is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, is 25-8 in his career,
with 14 wins coming by way of submission. If he wanted to, he
could probably take Mayorga down within a few seconds of the
opening bell and tap him out inside of one minute. But the American
Top Team product says that he's interested in the test that Mayorga
provides, and that test will only take place when they are standing
upright and trading leather.
"Oh
yeah, without a doubt," he said when asked if he was truly
going to throw blows with Mayorga. "Honestly, I kind of
want to. I want to challenge myself. I do want to stand with
him. Obviously, I want to kick, too. He got to at least let me
kick. Kick, knee and elbow. I definitely want to stand with him.
I don't want to just go out there. I want to put on a good show
and really test myself."
The
36-year-old Mayorga is 28-7-1 in his boxing career with 22 KO's.
He holds notable wins over Vernon Forrest and Fernando Vargas
in his career, but hasn't fought in the boxing ring since a 12th
round knockout at the hands of Shane Mosley in Sept. 2008.
Shine
Fights: Worlds Collide will take place at Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville,
N.C., and air on pay-per-view.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
DAVIS
AND DIAZ VERBALLY AGREED FOR UFC 118
by Damon
Martin
The
"Irish Hand Grenade" will get to fight in Boston.
Marcus
Davis, who has long trained and spent time in the Boston area,
will get to fight in his adoptive hometown as he's set to square
off against former "Ultimate Fighter" winner Nate Diaz
on the UFC 118 card in August.
The
bout has been verbally agreed to by the fighters, but no bout
agreements have been issued at this point, according to sources
speaking with MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday. The fight was first
reported by MMAJunkie on Wednesday.
The
condition of the fight may still be pending due to the upcoming
hearing within the Tennessee Athletic Commission regarding Nate
Diaz's involvement in the post fight brawl that broke out following
his teammate, Jake Shields, and the altercation with Jason "Mayhem"
Miller.
There's
no guarantee that anything will happen to Diaz, but if he does
face a suspension that goes beyond the Aug 28 date, the UFC is
expected to honor that penalty and a replacement would be found
to face Davis.
Marcus
Davis is coming off of a 2nd round knockout over Jonathan Goulet
this past weekend at UFC 113 in Montreal. As for Diaz, his test
at welterweight will continue after a dominant win over Rory
Markham in his 170lb debut at UFC 111 in March.
More
information about the fight between Davis and Diaz will be available
after the hearing is held with the Tennessee Athletic Commission
later this month.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
From
New Zealand, Comprido bets on Roger vs Xande, and Brock Lesnar
by Luca
Atalla
Who’s
going to be the first three-time absolute world champion? That’s
what GRACIEMAG.com has been asking readers ever since Xande Ribeiro
confirmed on Twitter that he’ll be at the toughest championship
in the world.
Xande?
Current champion Roger? Ronaldo Jacaré and Pé de
Pano, who are now MMA fighters?
We
passed the question on to our special reader, himself a two-time
champion (1999/2000), Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros.
Could he be up to the task?
Rodrigo
backtracks, and places his bets, indicating that, should he participate,
he’ll just be sticking to his motto, “what’s important
is to compete.”
“I’m
here in New Zealand to inaugurate Brasa NZ, headed by a student
of ours from BJJ Camp, Keatha Banan,” begins Comprido, via
email.
Xande
wins by success rate, Roger by consistency. And I win the dispute
of who is the most handsome” Rodrigo Comprido
“Aside from that, I’m working hard with my students
in Florida who are going to the Worlds, and with both Brock and
Mike Rusow, who faces Todd Duffee at UFC 114,” he says.
“I’m
sending a bunch to the Worlds in June, and there are about three
I have faith will win, aside from Felipe Costa, my old black
belt who is always at the head of the pack,” he wagers.
I
ask what chance he feels Felipe has to overcome the current roosterweight
champion, Bruno Malfacine.
“I’ve
known Bruno’s game a long time, since he and Felipe have
fought on four occasions in the past, and it’s tied at 2
to 2. Malfacine has also beaten Caio Terra, who is also my student.
He’s a tough kid with a lot of competition trickery, a quick
game and he positions himself well. I helped Felipe put together
a strategy to stifle his game, and I have faith in Felipe winning.”
Nice,
nice. And what will the absolute in the Long Beach Pyramid be
like?
“Roger
constantly makes it to the final. But there are several tough
guys besides Xande. Romulo, Braga Neto, Braulio, Demente, Cavaca,
Telles… I feel this year we’ll have some great surprises
at the Worlds, but not in the absolute; my money’s on Xande
vs Roger,” he says, later adding:
“Obviously,
the one who’s better on the day takes it. It’s hard
to predict. Roger is always a favorite, but Xande always has
a strategy for the final. If the criteria is consistency and
number of finals, Roger takes it; if it’s success rate,
it’ll be Xande. But if it’s who is the handsomest,
I win hands down! (Laughs),” he jokes.
Comprido
says he can’t comment on Brock Lesnar’s Jiu-Jitsu training
in his preparations for UFC 116, on July 3, but he didn’t
skirt giving his analysis of the giant champion’s opponent,
challenger Shane Carwin.
“All
I can say about Brock is that he’s in great shape and will
have a good showing. I think Carwin is a great fighter, who is
used to winning his fights quickly. He’s beaten good really
good Jiu-Jitsu guys and is held in high regard. He’ll certainly
be a tough opponent, but even so I can see some weaknesses in
his game. It’ll be a battle that can’t be missed, two
of the heaviest hands in the UFC, and that’s not marketing.
One is undefeated, the other doesn’t even consider the possibility
of losing his belt. I think it will be one of the greatest battles
in the UFC,” he concludes, in grand style.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Eddie
Goldman corners Scott Coker on drug-testing issue in Mixed Martial
Arts
By Zach
Arnold
Last
Wednesday, Eddie Goldman did a great interview with Scott Coker
of Strikeforce. It was one of the more news-worthy interviews
that I’ve heard so far this year and there were some very
revealing answers from Mr. Coker on a significant amount of issues
regarding his company and his thoughts on the sport in general.
You
can listen to the entire interview here.
I
did a transcript of many of the major quotes, so let’s go
over some of what Scott said.
The
upcoming main event of Brett Rogers vs. Alistair Overeem in St.
Louis this Saturday was brought up and you can tell that Scott
is very excited about having Overeem fighting for him again.
“I
tell you this guy is an amazing athlete, talented MMA fighter.
MMA is, you know, his passion and then he started fighting in
K-1, in the stand-up league, which you know and I know the best
stand-up fighters in the world fight in K-1 and so he goes in
there and he did very well. I mean, he beat Badr Hari one time,
he lost to Badr Hari one time. … So, for him to be able
to compete on that level just standing up it says a lot about
how much he’s worked on his stand-up. Alistair’s going
to be a dangerous fighter both in submissions and the stand-up.”
Eddie
asked Scott if the MMA media had blown the Fedor “will he
or won’t he fight for Strikeforce?” story out of proportion.
“No,
the way I look at it is you know we have a relationship with
M-1 Global and you know they wanted to change some things so
you know it took time to work it out and you know like any other
relationship that has to be tweaked from time to time, we worked
it out and now we’re moving forward, so to me this is just
a hiccup in the overall picture, the overall landscape and you
know really Fedor wants to fight and M-1 wants Fedor to fight
so we’re happy to have them here, especially in our hometown
where we’ve had so many great match-ups at the HP Pavilion.
We’re happy to have them here and we’re happy to bring
him to the fans who have been loyal to us for such a long time.”
The
a big note I took away from the interview was when Eddie asked
Scott about whether or not he planned on booking the winner of
the Fedor/Werdum fight against the winner of the Overeem/Rogers
fight. (Besides asking the question, it’s curious that Fedor
is being positioned as a challenger while Overeem is the champion.)
Coker’s answer is very revealing here.
“You
know, I talked to M-1 about that and their position was look,
let Alistair fight, let Fedor fight, and then after their fight
let’s sit down and let’s discuss the next steps but
they didn’t want to have a premature conversation and I
don’t blame them because a lot could happen. I mean, a lot
of people think you know Brett Rogers is just a walk-through
opponent but this guy’s got some heavy hands as we’ve
seen in the past and you know in MMA with those little gloves
you’re never going to know what’s going to happen.”
When
asked if he was going to recruit more heavyweights into Strikeforce,
Mr. Coker said that he would bring in a couple of new faces but
that recruitment is happening in all their different weight classes
on three different levels.
“You
know, we talked about bringing in a couple of Europeans, a couple
of Americans in the league and I would say that what you’re
seeing on May 15th with those two heavyweight fights and the
Fedor fight against Fabricio Werdum, I mean I think that’s
a very impressive line-up of heavyweights and you know the beauty
of all of this is we get to watch it for free on Showtime. So,
you know that’s the beauty of it is you can sit back and
watch it on TV and not have to pay a PPV fee and see you know
some of the best heavyweight fighters in the world. But you know
not just the heavyweight division, Eddie, but I think all of
the divisions and the weight classes we have we’re going
to be looking to improve our fighter base and you know our roster
and we’re going to do 3 ways – we’re going to
either borrow them, what I mean by borrow them is you know the
deal we have with DREAM or maybe we’ll borrow some of their
fighters or share some of the fighters is probably a better word.
We’re going to build them which is what we’re doing
in the challenger series, which I think you know Tyrone Woodley
and Luke Rockhold and some of the guys coming out of there are
And Tim Kennedy who’s coming out of our Challenger Series
and you know they’re doing fatalistic over there and you’ll
see them in the big show pretty soon. And you know from there
you’ll see those guys move up. And then last when there’s
a free agent out there that’s available we’ll be talking
to them.”
It
was mentioned during the interview that a lot of Strikeforce’s
shows will be airing on Showtime and not on PPV. Take a listen
to this sales pitch.
“And
then you got a hot MMA brand out there on Showtime and you know
so it’s a great value. Yeah, it is, for the dollar it’s
an amazing value.”
Maybe
Strikeforce is a hot brand on Showtime, but it sure isn’t
a hot brand on CBS — especially after the Nashville event
this past April.
“I
can start off by saying, Eddie, it’s unfortunate what happened
and I don’t want to give excuses for you know how it went
down or this or that. I’ve been in the fight business for
25 years, it’s the first time anything like this has ever
happened to me on one of my shows and you know it’s something
that we’ve taken measures to fix and it’s not going
to happen again. And with saying that, you know I feel bad for
the fighters that fought that night because you know this thing
overshadowed their efforts and their talent and you know technical
ability because I think you saw three real technical fights that
night. We didn’t have that barn-burner fight like Gilbert
(Melendez) vs. Josh (Thomson) or Fedor/Rogers, but it was three
amazing and great fights and you know the situation at the end
just took away from that so I feel bad for the fighters who fought
that night and really right now we should be talking about that,
the fighters instead of the situation after. So you know I feel
bad for the fighters. Am I happy about it? Of course not. I do
understand that this happens in all sports. I mean, you know,
whether it’s football, basketball, boxing, I mean it’s
just you know it’s just a situation that will occur from
time to time.”
When
Mr. Coker mentioned boxing, this gave Eddie a wide opening to
ask the question about whether or not Strikeforce would support
more stringent drug testing of fighters. Eddie brought up the
question in regards to the recent Floyd Mayweather/Shane Mosley
bout and how Mayweather demanded USADA-level drug testing with
Mosley and both fighters did it going in and out of their fight.
Instead of answering the drug question directly (initially),
Coker focused on Mayweather. Eddie had asked him if he would
support stricter drug testing (including random blood drug testing)
for both MMA and kickboxing.
“Well,
here’s what I feel. Mayweather, go fight Pacquiao, just
go do it. You know, stop the excuses. I sound like a promoter.
But you know to me, that’s the fight that I would love to
see. and you know to me you’re not the athletic commission.
Let the athletic commission do what they do and you know the
fighter, go fight and if you feel like you can go beat this guy,
go beat him. I mean, you know pound for pound, he’s supposed
to be the greatest fighter in the world, so go do it. To me,
leave the sanctioning, leave the testing, leave all the administrative
stuff to the athletic commissions and that’s what they’re
there for. Athletic commissions, Eddie, were created to protect
the consumer, the fighter, and the promoter from each other basically,
right? So, you know, if there’s an issue with the testing
in California, California and Nevada adopt a new program, well
you know what? Then that’s what Strikeforce will use. And
if they have a national testing procedure that’s implemented
in the states we’re promoting in, then that’s what
will do. But until that happens, I mean you go to Nevada, I mean
you know they run every test in the book and you know maybe the
Olympic testing or the cycling testing might be a little bit
more stringent but you know that’s not really my expertise
and we’ve always been governed by the state athletic commissions
and you know when that changes, Eddie, we’ll do it. But
right now we’re governed by the commissions.”
Reading
the text of this quote does not do justice to the way Mr. Coker
sounded while giving this answer. In my opinion, he sounded like
he wanted to anywhere else in the world at that time when the
question was this. Even though the answer was corporate and milquetoast,
it sounded like Scott wanted to run away from answering this
as fast as he possibly could.
Eddie
asked again in a different manner, this time bringing up how
Mayweather asked for Mosley to be tested due to Mosley’s
role with BALCO and the issue of EPO. He pointed out that Nevada
does urine test but not advanced, significant drug testing to
catch up with drug cheats who are 8-10 years ahead of where the
state athletic commissions are currently at.
“Well
I can say this, Eddie. Do I want top fighters to be on performance-enhancing
stimulants and drugs? Of course not. No one wants that. We want
the playing field to be fair. You know, that’s our goal
as well. But you know when you have different restrictions in
different territories and every commission is different, you
know it’s sometimes exactly what are they testing for and
then what do we test, I mean you know right now I think that
maybe there should be a national testing procedure for boxing
and MMA across the country and not just regulated by each state
and that would I think you know make all the fears and all the
you know on a national level go away for each fighter to worry
about, ‘Is this guy is on this or is this guy on that?’
And you know Eddie, I’m sure in not just you know in boxing
but in all sports I’m sure that you know people are always
trying to get that edge to compete at the higher level. It’s
been throughout history. Look at Ben Johnson and look at you
know some of the great Olympians who have had to return their
medals. So, it’s everywhere, even the Tour de France, I
mean they’re always accusing Lance (Armstrong) of doing
it. But I mean, to me, how do you really know unless they prove
through his testing that he’s guilty, how do you really
know? I’m not a doctor, I’m not a scientist, I have
no idea.”
“I
think that’s an issue that the state commissions or a national
commission have to take care of and that’s what they’re
there for.”
It
was a lackluster answer to two direct questions on a very important
issue in the sport right now. Eddie deserves praise for asking
it in the manner in which he did.
Eddie
asked Scott if he was satisfied with the current direction of
Strikeforce and where the company stands nationally. Also, Mr.
Coker was asked if he is happy the way the MMA media has covered
Strikeforce so far?
“We’ve
been really a national product for what, a year now? And we’ve
put on some amazing fights and done some I think big, big events
and I think that you know the media has been fair. I think they
have been giving us a lot of coverage and writing a lot of fair
statements. Sometimes the statements are you know like in any
fight you know like after the big fights we’ve had with
Fedor or Gina and you know we’ve had great stories and then
after Nashville people are focused on the situations and you
know sometimes it’s not always going to be great, right
Eddie, in the media. We do the best we can. And let me just tell
you from my position how I look at it is. We’re just going
to keep doing great fights and just keep moving forward and you
know judge us by the fights in the cage that night and you know
we’ll just move forward.”
When
asked about the Nashville fights that aired on CBS, Mr. Coker
dropped this amazing line.
“I
think that you know they were definitely technical fights and
sometimes, you know, that’s the fight that you have and
you know sometimes they’re going to be KOs, sometimes they’re
going to be submissions, it just ended up being, I would have
never thought that we had three 5-rounders go the distance if
you were to ask me before the fight.”
Finally,
Eddie asked Scott about the prospects of keeping Jake Shields
under the Strikeforce banner. Shields totally disrespected Strikeforce
by appearing a week after his fight at the Zuffa PPV on 4/24
in Sacramento with Dana White at cage side.
“I
think that we’re going to reach out again maybe in the next
couple of days but you know we’re in our negotiation period
and we’re going to negotiate, so, we’ll see what happens.”
Trying
to put on a happy face, Mr. Coker closed out the interview this
way.
“You
know what Eddie? Things always work out the way they’re
supposed to.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker Talks Heavyweights, Post-Fight Brawl
By Michael
David Smith
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker would like to move past the post-fight
brawl that marred his promotion's last show, and on Saturday
night in St. Louis, he'll promote a fight card that should go
a long way toward doing that. The Heavy Artillery card, which
will be televised on Showtime, features the long-awaited return
of Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (defending
his belt against Brett Rogers) as well as a co-main event with
heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Antonio Silva.
With
two heavyweight fights in the top two spots, Coker said in an
interview with MMAFighting.com that he thinks the heavyweight
division is the premier division in Strikeforce. He also talked
about the upcoming return of Fedor Emelianenko, and why that
brawl on CBS disappointed him. The full interview is below.
Michael
David Smith In May Alistair Overeem will fight Brett Rogers for
the Strikeforce heavyweight title, in June Fedor Emelianenko
will fight Fabricio Werdum and in July Brock Lesnar will fight
Shane Carwin for the UFC heavyweight title. Which of those three
fights do you think MMA fans will recognize as the sport's true
heavyweight championship fight?
Scott Coker: Well, Alistair vs. Brett is for our title, I think
Brett is definitely worthy of a title shot, we've been trying
to put Alistair in a fight for the last 10 months, and to me,
that's for the Strikeforce heavyweight belt and that's the fight
that gets my vote. But I think the MMA community looks as Fedor
as the No. 1 fighter in the world -- which he is -- and the No.
1 pound-for-pound fighter in the history of MMA, so I would think
Fedor is MMA fans' choice if they had a poll.
Is
it bad for the sport that we don't have a generally recognized
heavyweight champion of MMA? Isn't that one of the problems boxing
has faced?
Boxing has the WBA, WBC, WBO champions, but in boxing the promoters
are all willing to work together -- Golden Boy Promotions will
work with Bob Arum or Gary Shaw, they all work together and hopefully
you'll see those different champions fight. In our sport, unfortunately,
that doesn't happen. Hopefully that will change and the big promotions
will work together and these big fights will happen.
Do
you think fans get the fights they want more in boxing or more
in MMA?
Well, if Floyd Mayweather fights Manny Pacquiao I can answer
that better, but in boxing, you do get to see the fights. In
MMA right now we don't have that. Think about the matchups we
could make if the UFC had an open-door policy. We could have
Gilbert Melendez fighting B.J. Penn or Frankie Edgar. We could
have Nick Diaz fighting Georges St. Pierre. We could have Jake
Shields or Jacare fight Anderson Silva. We could have Gegard
Mousasi or King Mo fight Lyoto Machida or Shogun Rua. At heavyweight,
you could have Fedor or Alistair fight Brock Lesnar or Shane
Carwin. Those are fights I'm sure the fans would like.
It's
an outstanding relationship. We've had some hiccups, but we're
moving forward.
-- Scott Coker on M-1 GlobalOvereem thinks Fedor is ducking him.
Do you agree with that?
Well, I haven't heard everything that Alistair's management and
Fedor's management have said to each other, but Fedor -- I'm
sure -- will fight anybody. So if Alistair wins against Brett,
and if Fedor wins against Fabricio, I'm sure M-1 and Strikeforce
will have a dialogue about that.
What
have Fedor and his people at M-1 been like to work with?
It's an outstanding relationship. We've had some hiccups, but
we're moving forward. We're back on the same page and moving
forward.
With
a few weeks now to reflect on it, how do you assess your last
CBS show?
The disappointing thing to me with the situation after the fight
was that it took away from three great championship fights. Gilbert
Melendez beat Shinya Aoki, the best jiu jitsu fighter to come
out of Japan in years, and King Mo beat Gegard Mousasi. Were
they barn-burner fights? No, but they were technically good fights
that fans enjoy. So we had three championship fights and then
we had that unfortunate incident after the fight. So we're working
with the Tennessee Athletic Commission and those fighters will
be suspended and fined.
Who
do you blame for the brawl?
I don't want to point fingers. It's just an unfortunate situation.
In all my years of promoting, it's never happened and it shouldn't
happen again.
What's
next for Dan Henderson?
More fights. Dan's a great fighter. I could see Dan going against
Robbie Lawler, I think that would be a great fight. Jacare or
Joey Villasenor would be great fights. If Nick Diaz wants to
fight at 185 again, that would be a great fight. Dan is on vacation
right now and then we'll have that conversation.
Is
Jake Shields going to the UFC?
We're having a dialogue right now, and we'll see. We inherited
his contract from ProElite, and we'll know probably in the next
two or three months if we do another contract with him.
Where
do Gegard Mousasi and King Mo go from here? There's not a lot
of depth in the light heavyweight division outside the UFC.
I think our fight on May 15 between Feijao [Rafael Cavalcante]
and Antwain Britt is going to be great, and we also have Roger
Gracie fighting Kevin Randleman, so we have some good light heavyweights.
But the fight King Mo really wants is he wants to fight Fedor.
King Mo could fight at heavyweight and that would be an interesting
fight. Dan Henderson vs. King Mo could also be interesting.
Would
you say that you're making a concerted effort to build up the
heavyweight division? You mention your light heavyweight champion
possibly moving up to heavyweight, you've got four heavyweight
fights on Saturday, you've got Fedor, you've got guys like Bobby
Lashley and Shane Del Rosario. Is that division of particular
importance to Strikeforce?
Yes. Everybody likes the heavyweights, and that's probably our
premier division, but I wouldn't say it's more important than
all the rest. Our heavyweight division is strong, and when you
have a guy like Fedor, you want to get great fighters in the
cage with him.
Is
Lashley ducking Del Rosario?
Lashley and Del Rosario will probably both fight on our June
16 card and maybe we'll have the winners of their two fights
fight each other after that.
Do
you know who Lashley's next opponent is?
We've submitted a couple names for commission approval but without
athletic commission approval we can't move forward.
Who's
next for Gilbert Melendez?
I think he could fight a rematch with Tatsuya Kawajiri [Melendez
beat Kawajiri by unanimous decision in 2006], I think he could
fight JZ Cavalcante, maybe Vitor Ribeiro. I think maybe after
another year he'll probably have a trilogy fight with Josh Thomson,
and I think those are four good guys he could look forward to
fighting.
In all my years of promoting, it's never happened and it shouldn't
happen again.
-- Scott Coker on 'Mayhem'-Shields Brawl
Could Gilbert's next fight be in Japan?
That would be up to Gilbert and Dream. We're planning on him
fighting for Strikeforce.
Will
you add weight classes? Why not have bantamweight and featherweight
champions?
Right now probably not because I like the way the divisions are
shaping up, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't do a fight in those
classes. Probably not a whole division right now though.
Strikeforce
is the leader in women's MMA, but are you having trouble putting
together big women's fights? We still haven't heard what's next
for your top female fighter, Cris Cyborg.
She will be fighting in June and we should know her opponent
soon.
Will
it be Erin Toughill?
No. She let us know she will not be ready to fight until after
July.
Do
you think Gina Carano will ever fight again?
I think she will. I know she's a fighter at heart, and she'll
want to come back at some point.
One
last thing I want to ask you about: There's a Fake Scott Coker
on Twitter. What do you make of that?
I saw that, and I thought it was pretty funny. For someone to
take the time out of their day to tweet stuff as a fake Scott
Coker, I think that's funny.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Alan
Belcher: There’s harder guys for me to beat than Anderson
Silva
By Zach
Arnold
Some
interesting quotes from this interview he did right after his
win over Patrick Cote with MMAFighting.com on Saturday night.
“I’m
tickled to death. I felt like I still haven’t really hit
my potential, but that’s what peaking’s all about,
you know. Whenever I’m in the driver’s seat for that
title shot, that’s when you’re going to see my best
performance.”
Later
on in the interview…
“You
feel as thought you’re getting a lot more respect now?”
“Yeah,
man, that’s what I want, more respect, and you know I’m
going to get respect after tonight, after winning 6 out of 7
fights you know besides the Akiyama fight which was close, you
know, what can I do man? I don’t know, I can’t look
any different, you know, I wear the best shorts and I think I
got the flashiest style and the most slickest style and I’m
a very well-rounded fighter. So I mean, what else can I do man?
Just keep trying and you know I’m a lifer in this man. I’ve
been doing MMA since I was a kid, starting martial arts when
I was 8 years old, Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu when I was 14, so
I mean I’ve been doing this a lot longer than everybody
even though I’m young and you know, dude, I’m in it
for the long haul, I’m going to make a statement in this.
This is my life quest so, you know, I’m just going to keep
doing what I’m doing, bro.”
“You
called out Anderson Silva after the fight. Are you ready to face
top competition in the Middleweight division?”
“Absolutely,
man. He’s just a human like anybody else. I mean, what would
you do if you were me? What’s Anderson going to do to me…
that like if I fight a wrestler or something, they’re going
to try to take me down. I mean, he’s going to try to box
me and stuff and all I got to do is, you know, watch his punches,
don’t get punched, land bigger, heavier shots, I can kick
harder than him, and I think there’s harder guys to beat
for me than Anderson. He’s an awesome fighter, you know
I’m not trying to put him, I’m just saying I’m
ready for the big fights whenever they may be.”
“That
said, he has a date against Chael Sonnen coming up in August.
So who would you like to fight?”
“I’d
like to fight Anderson Silva next.”
“So
you’re just hoping for Chael to get injured or something?”
“No,
I mean, I don’t care, whoever, the top guys all lost, I
don’t think I have to fight a loser at this point, I will
if they ask me to you know rankings-wise I don’t think I
have to fight a Nate Marquardt or somebody coming off of a loss
to prove myself right there. Let me fight somebody that’s
top, on a winning streak, you know. You know, yeah, if Chael
gets hurt, I’m going to step in there. If Anderson don’t
fight, I’m going to step in there, you know, whatever the
UFC wants.”
In
other UFC news, Paul Daley is apologizing and TJ Grant is headed
to Cuba.
And
the “new” Google News sucks in terms of how much the
news engine is getting spammed with Bleacher Report, Examiner.com,
MNDC, and God knows whatever other spam blogs there are out there.
It’s ridiculous and it’s become harder and harder to
filter for mainstream news items on UFC and MMA in general. Guess
I’ll have to start figuring out a way to configure a good
Google News RSS feed, filter out the crap, and post a link on
the site for everyone to use. Count me out as a fan of the “new”
Google News layout.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
MMA
RETURNS TO HAWAII AS X-1 EVENTS PRESENTS “SHOWDOWN AT WAIPAHU
II”
Tomorrow
Fight
veterans and future stars featured on huge card
Honolulu,
HI (USA): X-1 World Events, the top entertainment company in
Hawaii, is proud to announce that on Saturday, May 15th, 2010,
they will be bringing MMA back to the island as they present
“Showdown at Waipahu II,” featuring some of Hawaii’s
top professional and amateur MMA fighters and kickboxers.
On
the main card is well-known Hawaiian MMA veteran Kolo Koka (13-12)
taking on Chicago’s own Quinton McCottrell (4-5), who won
his last fight following more than a year layoff from the sport.
Koka is coming into this bout on a two-fight losing streak and
will be looking to turn the tide and get back to his winning
ways. McCottrell, for his part, is known for his heavy hands,
and will be looking to end the fight early utilizing his knockout
power. Also on the main card will be Thomas Sedeno (0-0) and
Brent Schermerhorn (2-0), who will be going to battle in the
170 lbs. division. Sedeno will be facing a tough task in his
professional debut as Schermerhorn has displayed his unrelenting
standup skills in his first two professional fights by winning
via TKO in the first round.
In
another 170 lb. bout, Taylor Cochron (0-0) of the United States
Army will be making his professional debut against Walter Hao
(4-4), who has made the drop in weight classes from 185 lbs.
for this fight. Additionally, also making their professional
debuts are Justin Babbs, Falo Faaloto, Justin Wong, and Brandon
Piper. Fans can expect to see fireworks when each fighter steps
into the ring to do battle with his opponent, as each warrior
has great striking and submission skills, and is capable of ending
the fight at any time.
The
undercard will feature some talented rising stars the Islands.
There will be five amateur title fights to determine who the
best in their division is. Exciting young fighters Toby Misech,
Bronson Mohika, Kevin Soong, Maki Pitolo, and others will showcase
to the Islands what the Hawaii fighting spirit is all about.
“This
event is going to highlight the talent level of Hawaii’s
top amateurs and professionals,” said Mike Miller, Owner/Promoter
of X-1 World Events. “MMA fans are going to be in for a
treat with the abundance of fights and vast disciplines which
will be showcased throughout the fights.
Main
Card
Pro
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Kolo Koka vs. Quinton McCotrell - 170
lbs.
Pro
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Thomas Sedeno vs. Brent Schermerhorn
- 170 lbs.
Pro MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Justin Babbs vs. Falo Faaloloto
- 170 lbs.
Pro
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Taylor Cochron vs. Walter Hao - 170lbs.
Pro
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): Justin Wong vs. Brandon Piper - 145
lbs.
Amateur
Title Fights
Amateur MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Tyrone O’Neil
vs. Kevin Soong - 155 lbs.
Amateur
MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Joie Yeampierre vs Toby
Misech – 145 lbs.
Amateur
MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Joie Hernandez vs. Bronson
Mohika - 135 lbs.
Amateur
MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Micah Paulo vs. Maki Pitolo
- 185 lbs.
Amateur MMA Title Fight (3/3 minute rounds): Paea Paongo vs.
Sasae Paogofie – Heavyweight
Amateur
Non-Title Fights
Amateur MMA (3/3 minute rounds): John Joao vs. Ron Verdadero
- 185 lbs.
Amateur
MMA (3/3 minute rounds): TBA vs. Peni Taufaao - 145 lbs.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing exhibition (3/2 minute rounds): Nainoa Dung vs. Shawn
Desantos, Jr.
Kickboxing (3/2 minute rounds): Sheldon Crawford vs. Ioane Kim
- 145 lbs.
Kickboxing
(3/½ minute rounds): Sai Crawford vs. Kasey Farinas -
85 lbs.
Kickboxing
(3/1½ minute rounds): Cristien Raquedan vs. Alika Agustin-
90 lbs.
Kickboxing
(3/1½ minute rounds): Raymond Raquedan vs. Charles Naone-
85 lbs.
Kickboxing
(3/1 minute rounds): Sedric Crawford vs. Kaena Desantos- 65 lbs.
Amateur
MMA
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Loyed Trueman vs. Brad Orsbone- 185
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Koa Ramelb vs Randy Kamaiopili- 155
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): James Ekener vs. Anthony Kinoshita-
185 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Manny vs. Jan Quimoyog- 125 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Philip Akui vs. Micah Ige- 175 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Kawika Young vs. Steven Beal- Heavyweights
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Dale Laymeyer vs. Joseph Ena Ena-
165 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): John Shepard vs. Derrick Galindo-
185 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Vince Alama vs. Timothy Cation- 205
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Derrick Galindo vs John Shepard- 185
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Aloune Diop vs Ka’eo Kawa’a-
185 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Daymon Carr vs Dale Lahmeyer- 185
lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Jacob Pyfer vs. Evic Liftee- 170 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Jarrett Questel vs. Adam Trueman-
170 lbs.
MMA
Match (3/3 minute rounds): Chad Puha vs Joseph Ena Ena
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
|
Scrappla
Fest 2 Tomorrow
Kauai's
Scrappla Fest 2
Gi & No Gi Tournament
May 15, 2010
Island School
3-1875 Kaumualii Hwy
Lihue, HI 96766-9597
$50 entry fee
Tentative
times:
Kids Rules 930am.
Kids Gi Start 10am.
Kids No Gi Start 11am.
Adult
Rules 12:30pm.
Adults Gi Start 1pm.
Adults No Gi Start 3:45pm.
We
will be running 4-6 matches at the same time to keep the tournament
running smoothly. More info to come about weights and weigh ins.
kids ages-weight divisions will be made on sight
5-below
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
women
125-below
126-140
141-above
menbeginner
white , blue
131-below
132-145
146-159
160-173
174-187
188-201
202-215
216-above
men
advanced, purple and above
159-below
160-180
181-201
202-above
Thank
you,
Pono
Pananganan
Kauai Technical Institute
ktirelson_gracie@hotmail.com
|
MAD
SKILLS Tomorrow
WEIGH IN
FRIDAY MAY 14
5:30
24 HR FITNESS PEARL HIGHLANDS ABOVE SAM’S CLUB
18 AND OVER PHOTO ID REQUIRED
17 AND UNDER MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY THEIR PARENT
AND BIRTH CERTIFICATE
MAD
SKILLS
SATURDAY MAY 15
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
JUMAR
ESCOSIO 155 JUSTIN BURGESS
JOJO
KELLY 175 BARACK HOLT
RICKY
PLUNKETT 145 RYNE YOSHIMURA
JESSIE
PURGANON 160 JESSIE HURST
ALLEN
AUSTRIA 145 JOSEPH CARTER
ISRAEL
ALVAREZ 120 RICKY FAJARDO
JUSTIN
KAI IWASAKI 145 MARK YARCIA
JADA
PERRERA 100 KAMA DA BEBE ASSASIN BANTILAN
RACHEL
OSTOVICH 125 LENA BOOM BOOM COOK
BRYSHANE
BAYUDAN 160 MIKEY WABINGA
FRED
RAMAYLA 140 MARK WILSON
CHEVY
DECASTRO 125 VEE VICKERS
JOE
MOLINA SHW PETE SEFO
EDDIE
LANI 140 JAYAR DUMAOAL
HANS
LEE HW JARREN KAWALU
STEVE
200 JEREMY
MATT
STONE 225 DUSTIN CULLASTRO
DANTE
BOY 110 BRENNAN WAIALAE
DAN
CERA 110 BRENTON WAIALAE
KAWIKA
KUPUKAA SHW MANNY
CARLOS
MASUNGSON 125 REX MANUEL
PAUL
AUSTRIA 130 DANIEL ASUNCION
YVONNE
WILLIAMS 100 GIGI
All
matches and participants are subject to change
|
Full
interview transcript: Scott Coker talks about Strikeforce matchmaking,
this Saturday’s St. Louis event, the problems with M-1,
booking UFC castoffs, re-signing Jake Shields, and Kimbo Slice
By Zach Arnold
Editor’s
note: I would highly advise any rational person against transcribing
a 24 minute radio interview unless you are getting paid a lot
of money. However, this is my job and this interview that Scott
Coker did with Sherdog radio was very newsworthy in a lot of
respects. I hope you find some informational value in this transcript.
If you really love what we’re doing, give us a donation
for the web site. Thank you.
Comparing
the Paul Daley situation in Montreal to what happened at the
Strikeforce show in Nashville.
“Well
here’s the situation is that you know and this is probably
the first call that I received about it and you referenced back
to Nashville, I think that people have kind of already moved
on. So that’s been the overall consensus and unfortunately,
you know, the situation that happened, I had heard about it,
someone had texted me about it, but I was on a flight so I missed
the show and I didn’t see exactly what happened but I heard
that there was like a sucker punch, you know, way way after the
bell and you know that’s not good for the sport and you
know we got to get past that with these athletes because it’s
just unsuccessful.”
Was
UFC cutting Paul Daley the right move? Why didn’t that happen
in Strikeforce? Was Daley getting the axe due to what happened
on CBS?
“You
know, that’s a good question and you know, I mean, you know,
who really knows. I think that there’s probably some influence,
but you know, I’m not the UFC and you know they run their
business the way they run it and you know I have no idea what
thought process went into it but I’m sure it had some influence
on what happened you know the week before or two weeks before.”
Isn’t
there a double standard in UFC in that they fired Daley but they
are pro-actively wanting to sign Jake Shields, someone who was
involved in the Nashville brawl?
“Nate
(Diaz) was over there doing his thing too and there’s no
penalty for Nate. But you know I’m sure when cooler heads
prevail you know they’ll be able to work something out with
Paul but I’m sure if Paul will be on some type of heavy
suspension from the commission up in Canada. I don’t’
imagine Paul being able to fight any time soon.”
Would
Strikeforce be interested in bringing in Paul Daley?
“You
know I tell you, you know, I’m sure we’ll get a call
and you know but let’s see what happens, I mean I think
you who knows, he’s going to be on suspension for I bet
you 4 to 6 months, he’s going to be, he’s not going
to be able to fight. I just think that, and again I didn’t
see the tape guys, so I really don’t know, but everything
that I’m hearing and what my friends are telling me that
it was a you know, a blatant serious offense and I don’t
think the temperature for that action, for that type of you know
reaction from a fighter or that kind of behavior from a fighter
is going to be accepted, it’s just not acceptable.”
Is
there an update on what the Tennessee athletic commission will
do for fighter punishment after the Nashville brawl?
“You
know what, they have had you know they sent out the letters to
all the people that they’re basically going to have issues
with and you know they’re going to have a hearing, I think
it’s this week coming up and they’re going to decide
some suspensions and some fines and they’re going to go
out and they’re going to go levy them and the fighters will
have an opportunity to appeal it and try to go before a commission
hearing so they’re going to have you know their opportunity
to say or you know to be heard, but from what I hear it’s
still going to be another 30-to-45 day process.
This
weekend’s big show in St. Louis, Missouri with Alistair
Overeem vs. Brett Rogers for the Strikeforce Heavyweight title.
Why
does the Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers fight booking make
sense?
“I
tell you, you know what, Alistair being gone was an issue of
scheduling because as you know he fights for K-1 as well, he
fights for DREAM, and when we signed him to a contract because
we have a direct relationship with Alistair and before we were
just borrowing him from PRIDE when PRIDE was in still business,
so we were borrowing him from DREAM, but now we have a direct
relationship. He was scheduled to fight, he got injured, and
so it didn’t work out but you know last year after Brett
Rogers fought Andrei Arlovski in St. Louis last June and he had
knocked out Andrei Arlovski, the fight we were trying to put
together back then was Brett Rogers to fight Alistair Overeem
and that was a title fight, everybody was for it, and all the
fans were for this. This is a great, here’s a guy who is
10-0 and he should fight your champion now, and it was acceptable
then. So Alistair gets hurt, he’s out, we put Brett Rogers
in to fight Fedor and you know he lasted longer than anybody
that I’ve seen probably in the last five years, last with
Fedor, and then you know he loses and I think that’s you
know to me we have no problems putting that fight together. Here’s
a guy that was 10-0, on his way to fight Alistair, Alistair gets
hurt, he fights Fedor, so why should he be penalized because
you know Alistair got hurt, he fights Fedor, and it didn’t
work out? I mean I was sitting right there at cage side watching
Fedor’s head bounce off that canvas going, ‘I think
Brett Roger’s going to knock this guy out,’ I mean
I thought he was really close to finishing that fight. Definitely
won the first round, in my opinion, and then he got caught. To
me, we’re bringing the fight back you know to when after
he beat Andrei Arlovski and we’re going to put the fight
together back then, so you know we feel good about it and I think
Brett deserves that shot and you know it’s nice to have
Alistair back. Here’s a guy that’s you know a threat
especially when you look at Mixed Martial Arts, he’s got
it all. He’s got the stand-up, he’s the ground, and
you know let’s check this guy out. I’m telling you,
he’s going to be impressive and I’m looking forward
for the US fans to finally get to see Alistair fight.”
Will
Fedor fight for a Strikeforce title or is he on a per-fight basis?
“Let’s
talk about that because you know it’s just a matter of timing
because while we’re going through the M-1 negotiaton, I
couldn’t just wait and wait and wait and not have Alistair
fight and not have Brett fight, you know, it wouldn’t be
fair to them. So that fight was put together before we all got
back on the same page with M-1. If we would have gotten back
on the same page with M-1, maybe it would have been a different
fight. Maybe Alistair would have waited until June to fight and
Fabricio could have fought Brett Rogers. But you know keep in
mind Fabricio Werdum is a guy that beat Alistair in the past
so you know he’s got a great career and we’re happy
with that fight as well, but the timing of these two guys getting
together fighting each other is because of you know of the hiccups
and little you know the bumps we had with M-1 trying to get back
on the same page so it’s more of a timing issue but I can
tell you this — I know Fedor’s afraid to fight no man
on this planet and you know he will fight anybody and you know
when you talk about Alistair fighting Fedor, if those two guys
end up winning and I think if Alistair keeps his aggressive style
of wanting to fight Fedor, I think eventually M-1 and I will
sit down and try to put that fight together. Can I guarantee
it will happen? No, but I tell you what, we’ll do our best
to bring that to the fans because that’s a fight I think
fans would want to see.”
How
is the relationship between Strikeforce and M-1 and was it on
a difficult road due to crazy demands? What was the problem and
how was it resolved?
“Well
you know what, I can’t get into the details obviously because
you know of the contractual you know non-disclosure and things
like that, but you know we did the fight in November and you
know they weren’t happy with some of the things that went
down and so you know we worked towards fixing that to where it
was equitable on both sides, I think we finally got to that point
and then shortly thereafter we announced the Fedor fight, but
you know, I don’t want to get into the details. I’m
just glad, my position is that I’m just glad that we got
through it and you know Fedor’s back fighting and I think
that’s the important thing. You know here’s a fighter
that’s the greatest fighter in Mixed Martial Arts history,
you know, being able to fight and you know back in the cage,
back fighting on a co-promotion with M-1 Global and Strikeforce
and fighting Fabricio Werdum in San Jose, you know, that’s
what’s should be happening and you know all the other stuff
and all the politics and all the business arrangements and all
the hiccups of business I mean, you know, to me at the end of
the day you know we want to see him fight and that’s where
we’re at so I’m happy.”
Jacare
Souza is your big upcoming star in the Middleweight division.
Why is he going to be an important part of the company’s
future?
“Boy
I tell you, you know we had the opportunity to see him fight
live, I saw his fights in DREAM and I heard about him and I saw
him fight in DREAM and I was like, wow, this guy is really good
because it’s not just the type of jiu-jitsu where it’s
like a lay-and-pray, try to control, he’s trying to surf
you, trying to you know get the you know the boring victory by
just riding a guy out, you know, and you know you see that a
lot with you know not just jiu-jitsu but sometimes wrestlers
who do that, who just try to control you. But to me here’s
a guy that has decent stand-up now and I heard he’s even
better than he was in December and now and when you look at his
jiu-jitsu style it’s a style to me that’s a little
different in the sense that he’s always advancing, trying
to advance his position and going for the submission and aggressively
trying to improve his position and aggressively trying to submit,
so you know it’s a very exciting style that he’s bringing
to the table and you know to fight Joey (Villasenor) who is an
amazing striker and has been around for a long time and you know
knows all the tricks in the book you know I think it’s going
to be a fantastic fight.”
How
do you find the balance between bringing in free agents, developing
talent, and making sure that people don’t see your league
as one that just brings in UFC castoffs?
“Well,
I can tell you this — we’re not trying to piggyback
on anybody’s you know party here, but when you look at our
roster I think we’ve built a good roster of fighters that
don’t fight in UFC or have never fought in UFC and what
I mean by that is look at not just Jacare, Gegard Mousasi, King
Mo, when you look at the new guys coming up like the Luke Rockholds,
the Tyrone Woodleys, and the UFC doesn’t have a female division
but we’ve had the popularity of Gina and Cris(tina) Cyborg,
I mean we’ve had a lot of fighters, Alistair Overeem is
another one that hasn’t fought in the UFC, so we have a
lot of fighters, a lot more than people you know would think
that have never fought in the UFC and I can tell you this, Dan
Henderson when he was available of course you’re going to
go for a guy like Dan, but let’s be real — Dan didn’t
come from UFC, Dan has been fighting in RINGS way before PRIDE,
went to PRIDE, you know, PRIDE got bought by UFC and ended up
in UFC and now you know he’s fighting for us, so you know
to be fair those guys like Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Shogun,
and etc. they didn’t start in the UFC, they started with
PRIDE and so you know there were leagues you know that had great
fighters and not just the UFC.”
You
mentioned the concept of ‘trading’ talent back and
forth between organizations in the future. What did you mean
by that?
“Well
what I mean by trading is you know every league can only carry
so many athletes and now that you know the fighters know that
there’s going to be an alternative for them, you know to
go shop their wares you know they’re going to you know to
me it’s like free agency in football. When a fighter becomes
a free agent then he’s going to want to come to us and have
a conversation and you know hope that a bidding war kind of goes
back and forth and you know I think we’ve proven you know
especially with Fedor that, look, the fighters you know that
our important to develop our league and grow in importance to
Showtime and CBS you know we’re going to keep those fighters
and we’ve proven that we can you know stay in the game at
the highest level with these athletes because believe me Fedor
is not a cheap fighter.”
“Dan’s
worth it, I mean here’s a guy who’s done it all and
like I said even before UFC when he was with PRIDE, one of the
most exciting fights that I’ve seen with Dan it wasn’t
the Bisping fight, which I thought was fantastic, but it was
the fight where he fought Wanderlei Silva in PRIDE in the second
PRIDE in Las Vegas or the first PRIDE in Vegas, to me that was
an amazing fight and you know I’ve seen Dan in some great
wars and you know when we had the opportunity to grab him you
know we did and you know and it didn’t work out with Jake,
I mean he lost to Jake Shields and you know it is what it is
but you know we still have a lot of hopes for Dan.”
What
do you do with Jake Shields? Can you re-sign him? What do you
think the outcome will be? Is he talking with UFC?
(Coker
laughing in background) “Well, are you really saying that
they’re actually talking, you think? Hahahaha. You know
guys, you know Jake’s a free agent you know in the sense
that he doesn’t have any more fights with us, he has an
exclusive negotiation period and you know let’s just see
where it goes. I mean, you know, it’s going to be interesting
and you know for us this is a situation that is not part of our
normal course of business because we’ve bought Pro Elite,
what a year ago a year and a couple of months ago, it was February
of 09, and we inherited Jake’s contract and that’s
how Jake’s contract was written, so that’s just what
it is. So we have not should put him in high-profile fights and
really tested him and give him those fight? No, I’m glad
we did, no matter what happens and to me it’s you know let’s
just see what happens because you know there’s the negotiation
period, there’s a matching right period, and you know we’re
going to have some you know we’ll probably have some say
in what happens in the future but let’s just see how the
next two weeks unfolds.”
What
are your expectations going in and coming out of this weekend’s
St. Louis event?
“I
tell you, I mean, you always hope for the big number (for viewership),
right? I mean last year I think we had 8(000) or 9,000 people
in the building and you know I think that it would be probably
relatively something similar but I mean if we have 8(000) to
10,000 I think that’s kind of where our goals are right
now and you know I hope that it’s a big television broadcast
on Showtime because when you look at this fight card, starting
with the first fight of the night between Antwain Britt and Feijao,
I think that’s going to be a heck of a fight leading into
the Kevin Randleman fight with Roger Gracie, you know, here’s
arguably the best Heavyweight jiu-jitsu you know master coming
in to fight Kevin Randleman the seasoned veteran I mean it’s
going to be interesting and we got the two Heavyweight fights
that you know I think the shows the depth of our Heavyweight
division and then look at Jacare vs. Joey, I mean there’s
not one fight on this card that I’m not going to want to
watch personally and we’re very proud to host it and guys,
you can watch it all for free on Showtime, I mean that’s
the beauty of it. The value of the product is you know as far
as to me you get to watch some amazing fights, some of the best
fighters in the world, and you know it’s not on PPV.”
What
did you take away from the ratings information on the last CBS
event?
“You
know I’m going to put it in perspective. Any time you know
we have a CBS broadcast date I mean it’s a very special
occasion and when you look at the Fedor number, you know it was
bigger, I think that one of the things that we need to improve
on is improve on painting the picture better about the future
fights and one of the ways that they did that Fedor piece that
ran on it was called the Fight Camp 360 and they spent a lot
of money and they did an amazing piece, Showtime spent the money
and it ran on all the CBS affiliates and aired those the Friday
and Saturday leading up to the fight and I think that you know
when you look at those 24/7’s that HBO does for boxing and
the Fight Camp 360 does for Showtime, they’re able to paint
the picture that’s really attractive and I think that’s
the one thing we’ll definitely do next time is to try to
create the awareness and try to create the buzz and basically
paint the picture better about the upcoming event because the
hardcore fans all tuned in and you know when was the last time
we had Mixed Martial Arts have 2.9 million people watch it? 2.9
million households watch the show, I mean it’s still a large
number for our young sport and you know would we like to improve
it next time? Sure, and you know the benchmark is set with some
of the earlier fights on Elite XC but you know I think that there’s
things we can improve and hopefully we’ll get a chance to
improve it and move forward.”
Kimbo
Slice is still a big ratings draw and he put up big numbers for
both Elite XC and UFC. What about booking him versus Herschel
Walker in Strikeforce?
“You
know I tell you, you are probably the fifth or sixth person that’s
contacted me and said, ‘Hey, you got to put Herschel Walker
against Kimbo Slice,’ but you know the thing is with Kimbo,
you’re right, he was successful in the ratings for Elite
XC but you know when we had the purchase of Pro Elite the deal
at that time was too, we felt it was too rich for you know is
there a long-term viability with this fighter, you know is he
something we can build for six-eight years with you as a fighter
as you can with a Gegard or King Mo or Jacare, can you have a
long history I mean a long career, and that time we evaluated
that we should maybe just pass and that’s what we did and
you know we haven’t revisited it internally yet so you know
as of right now I think we’re going to stick with our course
which is you know putting on the best fighters in the world and
putting together with the best match-ups and get aggressive with
the match-ups and put the fights that people want to see and
that’s what we’re going to do.”
Kevin
Randleman said that he got a staph infection. Is he medically
cleared to fight and ready to go against Roger Gracie?
“Well
I tell you, Kevin and I had a conversation last week and I said,
Kevin, you need to go get cleared by a doctor and you need to
do it today because you know if you’re hurt or you’re
injured or you’re sick you know then we need to know and
we need to move on because it’s not fair to Roger and Kevin
you know said look, if I can’t fight you know, you know
can I fight in June? I said of course we’ll find something
else for you but you know he went to the doctor, came back, and
I guess said you know the doctor cleared him to participate so
you know I think Kevin will be fine and he’s good to go,
so, that’s as much detail as I have of the situation.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Dan
Miragliotta Gives Referee's Viewpoint on Daley-Koscheck Mess
By Mike
Chiappetta
There are more than two sides to a story. Just ask Dan Miragliotta,
the third man in the cage during last Saturday's UFC 113 co-main
event between Paul Daley and Josh Koscheck.
Just
moments after the final horn, Daley sucker-punched Koscheck,
drawing himself a lifetime ban from the UFC in the process. The
fight also featured a phantom illegal knee. Needless to say,
Miragliotta had his hands full.
The
6-foot-4, 295-pound ref, who has been officiating MMA fights
since 1996, took some time out of his day to discuss one of the
most notorious finishes in UFC history, and how he took control
of the situation.
Mike
Chiappetta: With all the trash-talking that led up to the fight,
were you specifically on the lookout for things more than you
otherwise would be for a regular fight?
Dan Miragliotta: Basically we treat every fight the same. There's
no difference. We're always looking for the same fouls and the
same things whether there's trash-talking or not. That doesn't
really change anything. We try to be on our toes at all times.
You've
been refereeing for over a decade. Have you ever seen a competitor
hit another after the bell like that before?
Never. That was the first time ever. I've seen it in boxing,
but not in MMA.
What
was your reaction to it?
I was shocked. I thought [Daley] was going to hug him. I thought
it was over with. You've seen it before where guys hated each
other, spoken poorly about each other, but when the fight is
over, they still get up and give each other a hug and it's over
with. Because of the trash talk, I was trying to be on my toes
during the touching of the gloves and after the final bell. I
tried to stay close to him. When Daley reached for him, I thought
he was going to hug him. I was wrong. He caught me off-guard.
For
a second, it looked like you were getting between them.
Yeah, when Daley first got up, I got between them because of
the trash talk, just to play it safe. But then it felt like there
was no tension. Daley was grabbing for his arm. It seemed like
everything was done with and he was going to say, 'Hey Josh,
good fight.' I was wrong. I was shocked.
Everyone
was shocked. Koscheck afterward said that he said something to
egg Daley on. Did you hear what he said to him?
Koscheck the last minute or so, had his head to Daley's side.
He must have said something because I heard Daley say something
back to him. With mouthpieces on and I'm standing a few feet
away, I didn't hear what either one of them said. You can't hear
them when they're that close to each other. They weren't yelling
at each other.
In
the Kimbo Slice-Matt Mitrione fight, Kimbo had apologized for
putting his fingers close to Mitrione's eyes during the fight.
And Mitrione goes, 'Don't worry about it, bro.' That was during
the fight and that one I heard because they were standing up.
I didn't hear a word [Koscheck and Daley] said.
Did
you see any anger in Daley's face those last few seconds?
I saw frustration. He couldn't stop Josh from taking him down
and controlling him on the ground. From what I heard of the pre-fight
interviews, they both said they were going to make this a standup
battle, and it wasn't that way. Josh played his cards right and
did what he had to do to win the fight. Daley was frustrated
that it didn't go his way. He's a great fighter. Dana said many
times the kid had such good potential. And honestly he's always
been respectful to me. I've met him a couple times and he's always
been nice and respectful. I was very shocked.
Had
you ever refereed a Daley fight before?
No, I didn't. But I'd met him before. I've been to UK events
around five times with the UFC.
What
did you say to Daley when you pulled him away from Koscheck after
the punch, and what did he respond to you?
I said, 'What are you doing? You're a pro fighter. What are you
thinking?' He didn't answer me, so I said it again. I was restraining
him. He said, 'I didn't hear the bell.' That was it. That's all
he said. Everybody else heard the bell.
I'm
sure there will be fallout for Daley from the Quebec athletic
commission. Did anyone from the commission ask you for your version
of events?
No, when the fight was over, there was no post-fight meeting.
They got up and took care of business. I haven't been contacted
about it at all.
Do
you read or watch pre-fight interviews to get an idea of the
tension level of a matchup you're going to officiate?
No. I don't do too much online stuff. If they bring me in a day
early, I go to weigh-ins and can kind of feel that vibe. You
can watch and see what's going on. For this event I flew in Saturday
and flew out Sunday. But I heard there was a lot of trash talk.
They're competitive guys and their pride is a big part of their
competitiveness.
As
a keeper of the rules, do you think the punishment (getting cut
from the UFC) fit the crime?
Dana White is the promoter, so he gets final say. I don't have
anything to do with it. I heard Dana say on your site, he'll
never be back, that he's done, and even if he becomes the pound-for-pound
best fighter, he wouldn't be back. I'm only the referee. You
could see in Dana's interview he was very upset.
Can
you touch on the illegal knee in the fight? It was hard to tell
if it really hit Koscheck, though he said it did. At first it
looked like you took away a point but then we found out you didn't.
Can you explain what happened?
There was definitely confusion there because I never took a point
away. I thought the knee missed him at first. But when Josh reacted
the way he did, I thought, 'I guess I missed it.' We're not perfect,
we're human. But I really thought it missed him. So Josh looked
at me, held his head and said, 'The knee, the knee.'
I
stopped the fight real quick and decided to bring the doctor
in. They don't really get a break for that. It was intentional,
because he was on the ground and [Daley] threw it right at his
head, but if it didn't make contact, no points could be taken
away. When the doctor came in and looked at it, it gave me time
to watch the replay on the monitors in the arena. It clearly
showed on every angle it didn't hit him, it didn't brush him.
It maybe hit his hair. I finally watched the fight again yesterday
and Joe Rogan said, 'He got hit with an illegal knee. Dan Miragliotta
has to take a point away.' He was adamant about it. But then
he saw it on instant replay and said, 'Oh no, that never hit
him.'
I
really didn't think it hit him. His head didn't move. When you
get hit with a knee, your head's going to go back. His head didn't
budge. When I saw the replay, I told the doctor to please leave
the ring, I told Josh to get up, and I said there was no contact
and no point was taken away. Between rounds Joe Rogan asked Mike
Goldberg to clarify it with me, and I told him there was never
a point deduction. Then they cleared it up on the air.
If
it was an Illegal blow like that, not only do I have to take
a point away, I could take up to two points if it creates damage,
and it could be a disqualification if the fighter couldn't continue.
But we got it sorted out.
Why
do you always seem to be involved in these crazy things, Dan?
[Laughing] I told [Counsel to the New Jersey State Athletic Control
Board] Nick Lembo he's got the hex on me. I get some crazy things.
I got big shoulders, I can take the abuse. But that's why I don't
go on the internet. Everybody's got a comment to make. Hopefully
this time it's good comments.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
STRIKEFORCE
SIGNS SHOOTO CHAMP BAHADURZADA
by Al Yu
Siyar Bahadurzada has his eyes set on a U.S. debut. The Sengoku
and Shooto veteran recently signed a four-fight exclusive contract
with Strikeforce.
“My
management and Strikeforce have a good business relationship.
First Alistair Overeem, then Marloes Coenen, and now I have joined
Strikeforce,” said Siyar. “There will definitely be
some other Golden Glory fighters joining Strikeforce in the future
too.
“Strikeforce
is a great professional organization and I'm looking forward
to competing at their shows.”
The
Golden Glory fighter successfully defended his Shooto 183-pound
title against Leandro Silva and defeated Pawel Nastula training
mate Robert Jocz last year. He hopes to have a breakout year
in 2010. No opponent has been named for Bahadurzada’s first
fight in Strikeforce, but he anticipates his debut will be soon.
“Hopefully
early this summer. I am looking forward to fighting for the fans,
but also for the hundreds of thousands of Afghans out there in
the U.S. They have been waiting to see me fight in the U.S. for
a long time and now the time has come,” stated an excited
Bahadurzada. “I will also introduce some new ‘Dutch’
Muay Thai techniques to the MMA fans in the cage. I'm anxious
to fight for the U.S. fans and I’m sure the they will like
my fighting style.”
Having
competed as a middleweight for most of his career, he will now
test the waters of Strikeforce’s 170-pound division.
“I
have competed in the 170-pound division before. In fact, I’m
a natural 170-pound fighter and I feel faster, stronger and more
athletic and explosive when I’m 170 pounds. I will have
no problems transitioning to my natural weight; the only ones
who will have a problem are the ones who will be facing me in
this weight division.
“I
will face anyone that Strikeforce thinks will make a great fight
against me. Down the road I’m really looking forward to
being matched with fighters like Marius Zaromskis and Nick Diaz.
They are both great fights for me, stylistically. When I fight
in the U.S., it will not only be about winning, I will fight
to entertain the fans give them their money’s worth.”
Bahadurzada
recently visited the states to train. He enlisted the help of
some talented fighters to help him improve his wrestling and
ground game.
“I
was out in California for six weeks. I trained there mostly with
Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Muhammed ‘King Mo’
Lawal and Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller. But I also trained
regularly with Fabricio Werdum, Babalu (Renato Sobral), Mark
Munoz, and many other great fighters; the last couple days with
Rashad Evans.
“The
trainings in States were really great and everybody out there
wanted to help each other. I really liked the mentality of the
fighters in the U.S.,” he commented. “They are willing
to exchange knowledge, which is really great for MMA, fighters,
and the fans. This is really important in the evolution of a
fighter. I will be training with these guys more often in the
future and my wrestling and ground game is getting better and
better.”
Siyar
Bahadurzada has come a long way from the dangerous environment
growing up in Afghanistan. He prides himself on his drive and
motivation. The Dutch-Afghan fighter looks to the States as his
new home and hopes to make an impact in the welterweight division.
“I
would like to thank the MMA fans for supporting the sport and
especially the fans who support me when I'm fighting. I am really
looking forward to fighting in the U.S. and putting on some exciting
fights. To the fans who do not know me yet, watch my fights and
I will entertain you. For updates regarding my upcoming fights
come follow me on twitter @SiyarTheGreat and on facebook ‘Siyar
Bahadurzada’.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Shogun
awaits Rashad or Rampage: “Either one will be a great fight”
by Mohamad
Jehad
After beating Lyoto Machida at UFC 113, securing the light heavyweight
belt, Maurício Shogun is the most-talked-about MMA fighter
right now. Stars like UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, who faces
James Toney at UFC 118, despite having praise for the Brazilian,
is already eying the Curitiba native’s belt.
“Great
performance from Rua. I’d love to get a shot at him after
Toney, in August. Maybe in October, UFC 120,” tweeted Couture.
The
next one’s already been confirmed, though. Two ex-champions,
just like Couture, will go toe to toe for a shot at Shogun. The
next challenger will come from the bout between Rashad Evans
and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, at UFC 114.
“Dana
White already said it would be between those two. It’ll
be a tough fight against either of them, that’s for sure.
Both are top-tier fighters, and it’ll be a great fight against
either of them,” Shogun told GRACIEMAG.com.
The
current champion has already beaten Jackson in the past, at the
Pride GP of 2005, which he went on to win. Even so, he doesn’t
prefer a fight with one or the other.
“Truth
is, I have no preference. I can’t think about opponents
I want to fight. Whoever it may be, I’ll be happy. I just
can’t be left without an opponent! I’ll be stoked to
fight either of the two; they’re great fighters and it will
be a good fight,” he says in finishing.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Five
takeaways from UFC 113
By Zach
Arnold
1.
Despite many Canadian fighters losing at UFC 113, UFC’s
power in Canada is growing and growing.
The
Montreal crowd was hotter than I expected. Montreal has turned
into a great market for UFC. “But it’s not Toronto.”
Soon enough, UFC will be in Toronto and Ottawa and Canada will
become as big of a market for UFC as it used to be for WWE in
the 1980s and 1990s. WWE’s power in Canada has diminished
significantly and UFC’s power is growing in the country.
Canada is a wonderful country for sports fans and their passion
is simply unrivaled.
I
understand that there were many concerns in the past about the
Canadian Dollar/US Dollar exchange rate, but now the exchange
rate is basically even and given the amount of debt that America
is in I think it’s going to be a while before the Loonie
goes back to being the US Dollar’s little brother. Because
the exchange rate is what it is, it makes running Canada much
more attractive if you’re an American entertainment or sports
operation. UFC must be absolutely thrilled.
2.
The end of the Kimbo Slice experiment.
Did
UFC get the most bang for their buck with him? He popped them
great ratings on The Ultimate Fighter, then he had a horrible
fight against Houston Alexander (not totally his fault), and
the end of his run likely … is to elevate a 1-0 now 2-0
fighter named Matt Mitrione. If Mitrione turns out to be a legitimate
heavyweight in UFC, it’s a great deal. But as we’ve
seen with UFC booking time in and time out, it’s going to
be hard to see how the matchmakers will have patience with Mitrione
and how succeptible they probably will be in throwing him to
the wolves sooner rather than later.
All
in all, I think the verdict on the Kimbo/UFC experiment is that
it was good, but not great, and maybe they didn’t maximize
the value they could have with him, but they were cautious and
had every reason to be.
And
after the event, Kimbo was cut.
3.
What did UFC expect out of Paul Daley?
They
put him on TV saying he’s going to “kill that motherfucker,”
then he’s making gay slurs against Koscheck on a UFC conference
call, he’s constantly running his mouth on hype videos and
is doing photoshop contests on The Underground Forum with someone
doing a picture of Koscheck and Tito Ortiz kissing. To top it
off, there was actually a chance that he could have been a coach
on The Ultimate Fighter. With his skill set? Seriously? On top
of that, Daley went into this fight telling ESPN UK that he had
no singular loyalty to UFC and that he wanted to fight in multiple
MMA organizations and win multiple MMA titles. So, when he fought
the way he did and he takes a cheap shot at Josh Koscheck after
the fight, why is anyone surprised? Why is Dana White mad? You
knew what you were getting with Daley. It’s like the fable
about the Scorpion and the Frog.
I
understand why White is mad. He along with the rest of UFC management
viewed this Montreal show as their big selling point heading
into the political season in Ontario to get MMA legislation passed.
Yes, Daley is a punk and what he did was a punk move. There’s
no defense for his actions. I can understand why he has major
heat on him for what he did, given the fact that it gives the
critics some ammunition. However, if you wanted to avoid those
antics, you should have never booked Daley in the first place
and fostered his behavior the way it was.
On
MMA Live, it was announced that Dana White cut Paul Daley from
UFC and that he is not welcome to fight for Zuffa again. “Well,
I think I won twice,” responded Josh Koscheck.
4.
The comparison between Josh Koscheck and Ken Patera is accurate.
For
those who don’t remember Ken Patera, Ken Patera was a great
heel who made his name in the late 70s and early 80s on Strongest
Man competitions on CBS. Who else could pull off some of those
feats while wearing the kind of glasses he did? He was an intelligent
heel. He knew how to piss off people and he was great at what
he did. He was good at practically everything. Patera, while
doing Strongest Man, was a professional wrestler. He was the
Missouri state champion in the St. Louis wrestling territory.
He feuded with the top guys for the NWA World Heavyweight title.
Patera never was “the man” but he was always in the
mix and a dangerous heel.
Which,
in a sense, describes Josh Koscheck in the UFC. He is credible,
he is a masterful promo, he’s a great personality, and absolutely
brilliant at what he does. He gets knocked out from time to time
and it only adds to the heat he draws from fans who get so incensed
at him that they will pay to see him get his comeuppance.
I
only wish his fight against Georges St. Pierre was in Montreal
or Toronto.
5.
The revenge of PRIDE and how PRIDE is playing a big part in keeping
UFC’s top of the cards going.
Here’s
another pro-wrestling analogy for you. (The old-school wrestling
fans will love this and the pure MMA fans probably already hate
me at this point.)
Watching
Shogun win the UFC Light Heavyweight title reminded me so much
of when Ric Flair won the WWF title in the early 90s. Flair came
into the WWF from the NWA and he was billed as “the real
world’s heavyweight champion” and his fans loved him
because of where he came from. He wasn’t a product of Vince
McMahon. So, when he finally won McMahon’s title, Flair’s
fans felt like their league was “major.”
With
Shogun winning tonight, it is clear that PRIDE’s stars are
now the ones keeping UFC’s title pictures interesting to
watch. The question is what will happen when the PRIDE stars
eventually fade into the sunset and UFC has to make new stars
to replace them. Rampage is a PRIDE guy, Shogun a PRIDE guy,
and Machida was Antonio Inoki’s “child.” Rashad
Evans is the one true UFC creation in that mix. It would be fitting
to see Rampage vs. Shogun in the near future.
The
irony of the PRIDE guys taking over in UFC is that for years
PRIDE was a dirty word in UFC circles. Now, you hear fighters
go on a UFC microphone and be like, “Yeah man, I watched
PRIDE for years, it was so great and the fighters were so wonderful.”
And PRIDE taped shows being re-mixed on Spike are drawing big
ratings, something Dana is taking credit for.
What
a funny world.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
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The
words of the champion in his return to the top
by Mohamad
Jehad
Maurício Shogun knocked Lyoto Machida out in the first
round at UFC 113 this Saturday, and again he has found his place
at the top of the MMA world, like during the days of Pride FC.
After the show, in Canada, Shogun was all joy:
“I’m
so happy! This belt is my dream, my life. I trained hard every
day for this!”
In
the octagon, the Curitiba native stated that one of his strategies
for beating Lyoto was to brush up on his striking. At the press
conference, he said what else he had done differently.
“In
the first fight I trained a lot based on Lyoto’s game, which
is different. This time I looked to take more risks, expose myself
more and finish the fight quickly. Thank God, I managed to impose
my tactics and get the knockout,” explained the fighter,
who again remarked on the result from the first fight against
Lyoto.
“For
this fight, I didn’t even think about the first one. There
was a lot of controversy the last time, but it just served as
motivation for me. It served to make me train hard and get this
win.”
The
knockout came at 3:35 minutes of the first round. The new champion
commented on the moment.
“I
saw he was dazed by the first punch, so I mounted and kept hitting
till the ref intervened. Truth is, I stopped hitting before the
ref broke it up. When we see the opportunity to get the knockout,
we try not to miss it. But he was already stunned by the first
punch.
After
having made it to the top of the world MMA ranking, having won
a thorny GP at Pride FC, Shogun dealt with injuries and underperformed.
Back at the top, with the UFC title, he again takes his place
among the best in the world.
“I
always believed I could make it to where I am today. I always
had confidence in myself and pursued my dream of being the UFC
champion of the world.”
In
finishing, as he had already told GRACIEMAG.com previously, Shogun
stressed that he is a professional fighter and the only one he
wouldn’t face is his friend Wanderlei Silva. Or in other
words, if the UFC puts him against Anderson Silva, the door is
wide open
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
VILLASENOR:
FORGOTTEN CONTENDER IS BACK
by Damon
Martin
Of all the top middleweights that could be in line for a title
shot in the next year, one name that has dropped under the radar
is Greg Jackson fighter Joey Villasenor.
Sure,
the former King of the Cage champion has won four fights in a
row, and seems poised for a run at the 185-pound title, but several
months off due to contract negotiations and then waiting for
Strikeforce to give him a fight, and Villasenor has become the
forgotten contender.
The
New Mexico based fighter understands the business side of the
sport, and how politics get involved in who gets up front status
when it comes to marketing, but at the end of the day he's a
fighter and he just wants to fight.
"Overly
frustrated," Villasenor told MMAWeekly Radio about his mood
lately. "It's the business part of the sport. Elite went
down then all that melee for six months, then Strikeforce buys
the contracts out and I fight for them, and then after a few
delays, and now it's been 11 months since my last fight. We had
contract negotiations, and then it took five months to finally
get a fight solidified. Even then it wasn't confirmed until like
a week and a half ago."
A
fighter's shelf life can be long or short depending on how things
go, and for Villasenor it's been two years of healthy activity
in the prime of his career that he's missed due to the business
side of MMA.
"Two
years of being healthy and ready to fight, and just two years
of unfortunate circumstances. Frustration is probably the key
word. I've been really frustrated, but I've overcame it, preparing
to fight, ready to fight, and actually going in there and fighting
is going to be such a relief," Villasenor said. "That's
my job, just saying that I'm going back to work it feels good."
Finally
scheduled to fight, Villasenor will fight grappling guru Ronaldo
"Jacare" Souza in his return bout this weekend. Jacare
has been mentioned as a top contender to Jake Shields' middleweight
title, but somehow Villasenor's name hasn't gotten the same kind
of billing.
He
knows that ultimately if he puts in the work and does away with
Jacare, Strikeforce and everyone else will recognize the body
of work he's strung together and Villasenor will become the top
contender in the division.
"I
really don't mind that they're not talking about me," said
Villasenor. "I don't mind being the snake in the grass.
I was the No. 1 contender when Elite folded, and now I'm in the
position to be the No. 1 contender again, and nobody's really
talking about me. I know it's inactivity, and my face isn't plastered
all over. I don't have my own TV show. I really don't mind it."
Winning
changes everything and while Jacare may be poised for a title
shot, it's Villasenor that can snatch it away by beating him
this weekend and that's exactly what he intends on doing.
"If
I win this fight that puts me at No. 1 contender, no doubt about
it," Villasenor stated. "I know Jacare's going to be
favored going into this fight, and I don't mind that. It takes
all the stress and the pressure off me. I get to go into this
fight being the underdog, and I get to go into this fight with
a lot of people not believing in what I'm capable of doing."
What
he's capable of doing is beating Jacare and then calling for
a title shot as the promotion's top contender at 185 pounds.
Villasenor squares off with Jacare Saturday night in St. Louis.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Popovitch:
Paris triumph good sign for MMA debut
by Marcelo
Dunlop
ADCC
2009 winner Pablo Popovitch once again left his gi and old black
belt at the gym in Florida and set about winning a no-gi championship,
this time in Paris, France, on May 1.
The
30-year-old today spoke up about his winning the VIC tournament,
in a chat with GRACIEMAG.com, explaining why he and buddy Jeff
Monson didn’t face off in the absolute final, opting to
split the 1,500-Euro prize money.
“I
had eight matches and won most of them by submission, taking
the under-84kg title and the absolute, closing out with Jeff
in the open weight division. Shoot, we’ve been training
partners and friends for over ten years; there’s no way
we could fight each other,” he explains.
Pablo
has a date for his MMA debut marked on the calendar. On June
4 he’ll be in a co-main event at Rock and Rumble 3, to take
place at the Hard Rock Café in Florida. And his eight
fights were good prep work for the challenge.
“This
championship served as preparation for my coming fights. My MMA
debut is coming up June 4 as a co-main event at Rock and Rumble
3, in Florida. But I’m also going to compete at the Grapplers
Quest 32-Man tourney in July, which will be high level. But I’m
training a lot and I hope to have a great MMA debut,” he
says in closing.
The
Grapplers Quest challenge with 32 big names in no-gi grappling
takes place on the 10th and 11th of July, with a 10-thousand-dollar
payout for the winner. Among the names aired by the promoters,
Xande Ribeiro, Josh Barnett, Jeff Monson, Roberto “Cyborg”
Abreu, Daniel Moraes, Bill “The Grill” Cooper, Vinicius
Magalhães, Chris Moriarty, and other should be there.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
'Cyborg'
Santos vs. Marius Zaromskis Planned for Strikeforce: Los Angeles
By Ariel
Helwani
A welterweight bout between Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos
(17-13) and Marius Zaromskis (13-4) has been penciled in for
June 16's Strikeforce: Los Angeles event at the Nokia Theatre,
MMA Fighting has learned from sources close to the fight.
Santos,
the husband of Strikeforce's 145-pound champion Cristiane "Cyborg"
Santos, dropped a split decision to Joey Villasenor in his Strikeforce
debut last June. That fight was contested at 185 pounds. Since
then, he knocked out Daniel Zarate at Samurai Fight Combat 2
in December.
Meanwhile,
Zaromskis, the current DREAM welterweight champion, lost a Strikeforce
170-pound bout to Nick Diaz in January. That loss snapped an
impressive five-fight winning streak for "The Whitemare."
Zaromski's
DREAM title will not be on the line in this particular fight.
Strikeforce:
Los Angeles will mark the organization's first-ever midweek show.
It will air on Showtime from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles
in conjunction with the E3 Expo, a popular video game convention.
Strikeforce is expected to have a large presence at the convention
due its involvement in the upcoming EA Sports MMA video game,
which will be released later this year.
Robbie
Lawler vs. "Babalu" Sobral will headline the event.
Bobby Lashley and KJ Noons have also been officially announced
for the card , but their opponents are not known at this time.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Chael
Sonnen reveals how he almost became a professional wrestler and
what Paulo Filho said to him during their second fight in WEC
By Zach Arnold
I
had put this on the backburner due to everything that went down
at UFC 113 in Montreal, but there was a really great interview
that Chael Sonnen did with Bryan Alvarez & Dave Meltzer last
Wednesday that I think everyone should go out of there to listen
to.
Down
below, I’ve quoted parts of the interview that I thought
were intriguing or newsworthy, but I didn’t quote everything
he said during the interview. You can listen to that interview
by clicking here.
There
was talk about a press release from Anderson Silva in which he
stated seven reasons as to why he should/shouldn’t have
to face you. Has he acknowledged you as an opponent?
“Yeah,
that’s true, I’ve put my finger in this guy’s
chest for four years challenging him, he’s fought everybody
in the world that isn’t named Chael Sonnen and you know
the only and one time he even acknowledges the challenge is to
state seven reasons why he [didn't want] to do it. All the while
he doesn’t mind fighting one-legged Canadians from Canada
and other guys who can’t even hold their spot within the
company. But the only time he ever acknowledged my presence was
to say why he didn’t have to fight me.”
What
did you take away from his UFC 112 Abu Dhabi fight against Demian
Maia?
“Well,
I learned that he’s really good. He went out there and did
some mannerisms and behaviors that were new and odd to me and
he was never once in trouble against one of the top guys out
there.”
Mentally,
do you think something is going on with Anderson when he fights?
Any funny business?
“No,
sure not. You know again I don’t know. If he likes to fight
in a weird style, you know go ahead, that’s up to the guys
who put him on TV if they decide if they want to continue to
do that. If it’s not pleasing to watch, they won’t
do that. But it is effective, you can’t deny that it works.
He’s acted a fool in other matches, he acted a fool in the
Forrest Griffin match and scored a really quick knockout and
looked like a big hero when it was done. So, this time he didn’t
land those shots, it didn’t end well, so the antics carried
on for 25 minutes and so a lot of people are disappointed with
him but you know as a guy that’s getting ready to compete
with him you know I’m just looking at the stuff that he
did right and how to try to defend myself for that.”
Are
there any weaknesses that he has that you can take advantage
of or anything you can expose if you take him down?
“Well,
you know a fight is like the most unsophisticated thing on the
face of the planet. People try to break down all the different
ways like what you’re going to do and you got these guys
sitting around with their 8th grade education and their gold
teeth trying to act as though if they’re some sort of fight
expert. Who cares. Walk out there, put your hands up, and get
in a fight. And if you hit him more times than he hits you, they’ll
raise your hand at the end of 25 minutes.”
Anderson
Silva has tremendous speed and elusiveness. Is there any other
fighter that you can compare him to?
“I
think he’s a different cat. You know I think it’s one
of the problems, let’s use Machida as an example. I think
it’s one of the problems that the guys have with Machida,
you never get a feel that style because he’s so unique until
you get into the ring with him. You know so you’re out there,
you did your best to prepare, but it’s kind of a crap shoot,
it’s a whole new world and I feel like Anderson’s the
same way. You know his strikes are pretty good, I don’t
know if he’s a great striker, they’re pretty good but
he’s a great set-up guy, he’s a great fake-you-out
guy, so his strikes land so effectively because his fakes and
juking and jiving before hand gets your guard down. So, that’s
new, I mean I don’t have anybody in the gym like that, I
don’t know if I’ve ever even come across anybody as
athletic as him that can quite move and flow and have the rhythm
as him anywhere in my life. So, yeah, it’ll be new, there’s
not like somebody that I can call on to bring in. He’s kind
of a one-of-a-kind.”
Do
you know if Anderson has signed the fight contract to face you
in August?
“I’ve
haven’t heard that he has sent his in yet. He has to though,
it’s not as though he has options, it’s not as though
he’s a hot commodity that people want. He’s got one
avenue, it’s the UFC and even they’re growing a little
cold on him, so he’s definitely be there on August 7th.”
Did
you consider becoming a professional wrestler?
“Yeah,
when I was in college, I didn’t graduate college until 2001,
I became an All-American in 1998 and right after that I went
out to the WCW, what they had at that time was called a Power
Plant and there was a try out, it was an extremely difficult
tryout, it was three days and boy it was hard, only two of us
made it, me and a gentleman from Jamaica. And we got invited
to comeback and I said, “Well, look, I’m going to go
finish college,” and they said, “Well, you only have
to do tryout, once you get invited the invite’s good for
life essentially.’ So, I was going to return after I graduated
in 2001, well by then they had shut down, the WCW had folded
up and no longer was in existence.”
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