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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2010
11/27/10
Aloha
State BJJ Championships: Final Conflict
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
11/6/10
X-1 Island Pride
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Man Up & Stand Up Kickboxing Championship
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
10/29/10
808Battleground
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom, Honolulu)
10/23/10
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H.S. Gym)
10/15-17/10
ETERNAL SUBMISSIONS: GI/NO-GI tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Kauai)
10/16/10
DESTINY: Undisputed
Beyer vs Manners II
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
10/2/10
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu
9/11/10
X-1: Heroes
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Blaisdell Arena)
9/10/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
9/4/10
DESTINY:New Era
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
8/28/10
Big
Island Open
(BJJ)
(Hilo Armory, Hilo)
8/14/10
Hawaiian
Open Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
USA Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Lihue Convention Hall, Lihue, Kauai)
8/13/10
Battleground Challenge 2
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
8/7/10
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
8/6/10
Mad Skills
(Triple Threat/Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
7/24/10
The Quest for Champions 2010 Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling & Continuous Sparring)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
7/17/10
Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Maui War Memorial, Wailuku, Maui)
Mad Skillz
(Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(99 Market Shopping Center, Mapunapuna)
7/9/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
7/3/10
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
6/26/10
Kauai Cage Match 9
(MMA)
(Kilohana, Gaylords Mansion, Kauai)
6/25-26/10
50th
State BJJ Championships
(BJJ)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/24/10
Quest for Champions
(Kumite/Grappling)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
6/19/10
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
6/18-19/10
Select
Combat
(Triple Threat)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/12/10
Destiny: Fury
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Center)
6/11-13/10
MMA Hawaii Expo
(Blaisdell Ballroom)
6/11-12/10
3rd
Annual Pacific Submission Championships
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/11/10
Legacy Combat MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/4/10
X-1:
Nations Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/3-6/10
World
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach, Long Beach,
CA)
5/22/10
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waiphau Filcom Center)
5/15/10
Scrappla Fest 2
Relson Gracie KTI Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Island School, Kauai)
X-1 World Events
(MMA)
(Waipahu HS Gym)
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Evolution Training Center, Waipio Industrial Court #110)
5/1/10
Galaxy
MMA: Worlds Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/28/10
Chris Smith BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Hilo)
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)
|
|
October
2010 News Part 2
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi and Kickboxing Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ Dean, & Chris
Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
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to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
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1 million hits and counting!
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O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Knife & Stickfighting) who were directly
trained under the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
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Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 19, 2010
KALA “KOLOHE”
HOSE TO DEFEND HIS HOME
AGAINST
INVASION AS X-1 PRESENTS
“ISLAND PRIDE”
November 6, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
Light
heavyweight title tourney final to commence
Honolulu,
HI (USA): World class fight promotion X-1 World Events is proud
to bring its next exciting fight card to Hawaii as they present
“ISLAND PRIDE,” live on Saturday, November 6th, at
the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. This incredible night
of action will feature local fight legend Kala “Kolohe”
Hose in the main event, as he battles extremely tough and experienced
Mexican fighter Edwin “Tigre” Aguilar. In the co-main
event, the X-1 Light Heavyweight Championship tournament will
come to a finish, as Island favorite Po’ai Suganuma and
Korea native San Soo Lee will lock horns with the belt on the
line. Also on the card will be Strikeforce fighter Lolohea Mahe,
as he makes his return to X-1. Local fight fans won’t want
to miss this night of bone-crunching KO’s, slick submissions,
and electrifying finishes!
This
event will also be shown live on Pay Per View on all inner islands.
The undercard will begin at 5:30 PM, and the main card is scheduled
to start at 7 PM. Ticket prices for “ISLAND PRIDE”
include $35 for riser seats, $50 for floor seats, $70 for second
row seats, and $100 for front row seats. Please see http://www.x1events.com/
for more ticket information.
Kala
“Kolohe” Hose (7-4, seven KO/TKOs) is a fighter known
for his devastating knockout power, and has garnered a reputation
as one of the toughest Island fighters active today. In August
of 2008, he claimed the ICON Middleweight title with an exciting
TKO victory over current UFC fighter Phil Baroni that was lauded
by MMA fans for its great action. A veteran of Superbrawl and
EliteXC, Hose will look to rebound from a disappointing fourth-round
submission loss to X-1 Middleweight Champion Falaniko Vitale
during the most recent X-1 event, “HEROES.” During
his career, he’s faced UFC veterans such as Baroni, Vitale,
“Mayhem” Miller, and Reese Andy. Now, he will take
on the ultra-tough Edwin “Tigre” Aguilar. This knockout
specialist has claimed 16 of his 21 career victories via TKO/KO,
and with “Kolohe” standing on the other side of the
cage, someone is bound to get knocked out in this one!
In
addition, X-1 fans will finally find out who the X-1 Light Heavyweight
Champion will be, as the tournament will come to a close at “ISLAND
PRIDE.” Former EliteXC headliner and Hawaii native Poai
Suganuma (11-3) will tackle the challenge brought by extremely
tough South Korean SpiritMC veteran Sang Soo Lee (15-9) with
championship glory at stake. Suganuma defeated Greg Schmitt via
unanimous decision in the first round of the tournament to advance
to the semi-finals. There, he knocked out Vitaly Shemetov in
just over a minute to gain a spot in the final round. Now he
faces Lee for the belt. The Korean knocked out Daniel Madrid
with a beautiful right hand in the opening round of the tourney,
which allowed him to move on to the second round. In his second
tourney fight, Lee took a unanimous decision victory over California’s
Roy Boughton, which thrust him into the title finals. Now, Suganuma
and Lee will tangle to show who the real champion is.
“ISLAND
PRIDE” is also proud to present a returning local favorite
in Lolohea Mahe. Mahe is coming off a two-fight stint in Strikeforce,
and is looking to rebound in the promotion that helped launch
him. A two-time X-1 veteran, Mahe is determined to prove he belongs
on the big stages of MMA. In addition, “ISLAND PRIDE”
will present two state championship fights, with the 155 lb.,
and 145 lb. state title belts all on the line.
“What
an incredible night of fights this should be!” exclaimed
Mike Miller, Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events. “We’re
proud to bring back Kolohe, who has a tough task on his hands
with ‘Tigre’ Aguilar. Then we finally get to see who
the next X-1 Light Heavyweight Champion will be, and we’re
also glad to see Lolohea Mahe back in X-1. Local fight fans are
in for an awesome night!”
Here
is the fight card as it stands now:
185
lb. Main Event:
Kala
“Kolohe” Hose (7-4) vs. Edwin “Tigre” Aguilar
(21-15-0-1)
X-1
Light Heavyweight Championship tournament (final round):
Poai Suganuma (HI) (11-3) vs. Sang Soo Lee (S. Korea) (15-9)
Heavyweight:
Lolohea
Mahe (4-2-1) vs. Jake Faagai (1-1)
X-1
155 lb. State Title:
Bryson
“The Kid” Kamaka (11-17) vs. Max “Lil’ Evil”
Holloway (0-0)
X-1
145 lb. State Title:
Sadhu
Bott (4-0) vs. Dustin Kimura (3-0)
135
lbs.:
Matt
Comeau (6-3) vs. Van Oscar Penovoraff (3-1)
185
lbs.:
Collin
Mansanas (2-0) vs. Delbert Grace (3-1)
180
lbs.:
Brennan
Kamaka (5-15) vs. Michael Brightmon (10-4)
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/
Source: X1 World Events
|
MAN-UP
& STAND-UP
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER
SATURDAY NOV 6
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
Awwwwhhhhh
yeah, this updated card has way more fire power than the previous
card that was just posted last week. Man-up & Stand-up has
added Eric “The Executioner” Edwards against North
Shore’s finest Jarren Kauwalu in a title for title match.
Eric the super heavyweight champion will face off against the
king of the giants champion Jarren. Both fighters are over 210
lbs, both fighters can bang, and both fighters wanna leave the
ring with two belts around their waist on Nov 6. Will Jarren
be able to put an end to Eric’s winning streak with his
stick and move style. Or will the Executioner Edwards turn Jarren
into one of his statistics. The North Shore boy turned his last
opponent into a punching back in the third round by tiring him
out in the first and second. Will Jarren be able to out condition
Eric or will the Man-up & Stand-up fans find out the reason
why Eric Edwards is called THE EXECUTIONER. What does executioner
mean anyway? The fans wanna know, Man-up & Stand-up wanna
know. Does Jarren wanna know? Well hopefully on Nov. 6, this
question will be answered.
Also
added, Man-up & Stand-up will have a team vs team match with
Laupahoehoe MT going up against Tiger MT. Das right Muay Thai
at its best. The last time these two met in a team competition.
Laupahoehoe walked away with the bragging rights. 2 years ago
when these two met, Tiger’s fighters were new to competition
but now they feel that Nov 6 will have a different story. Laupahoehoe
will bring their fists, their knees and their razor sharp shins
to the ring to prove that it’s the same story but with a
different cover. This will be traditional muay thai rules without
the elbows. Bruises will form, blood will flow, bodies will
fall (BWF). That’s just how its done here on Man-up &
Stand-up.
Man-up
is sorry we couldn’t get all of the fighters on this event
but not to worry their will be another one in the making very
soon. Thank you to all of the supporters of this event. Nov
6 at the Filcom will be one not to miss. It has everything you
can possibly ask for in an end of the year/ stand-up action/
championship show. Be sure to check out the new clips of some
of the fighters on next weeks write up.
GRUDGE MATCHES
KAMAKANI WAIALAE
65
KAENA DESANTOS
MATT STONE
220
DUSTIN CALLASTRO
NICK RIVERA
185
MIKE ELI
RONNIE VILLAHMOSA
155
RODNEY BARONA
NICK CHING
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
125
PAUL AUSTRIA
KAINOA
COOKE (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
135
TYSON MEDRANO
BRYSEN
LUM (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
145
MARK YARCIA
CHEVEZ ANTOQUE
SEMI PRO LIGHT WT
CHARLES HAZELWOOD
185
ISAAC HOPPS (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
ROOKIE OF THE YR
RICKY PLUNKETT
145
JUSTIN
DULAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
SUPER WELTER WT
ROBERT BANIS
155
ELIAS VELASCO
FLYWEIGHT
MATT AUSTIN
120
TITLE DEFENSE
JAMIN TAYABA
125
JAYCOBI VISTANTE
JUMAR ESCOSIO
160
JOSEPH GARCIA
UNDER CARD
JOE KAULULAAU
165
ETHAN KERFOOT
NEVADA HARRISON
125
JORDAN
GUILLERMO (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
JAYAR VISCONDE
120
MICAH
SHIGETA (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
CHRIS KAHELE
185
CARLOS PEREZ
DENNIS MONTIRA
125
KALAI MCSHANE
TEAM VS TEAM
JUSTIN PERREIRA
155
ROB TIGER
JAXON KAGAWA
170
BRANDON TIGER
ROB RASP
230
ABDUL TIGER
LANCE FUNG CHEN
180
LANCE TIGER
All
matches & participants are subject to change.
Source: Derrick Bright
|
$50K
BONUSES HANDED OUT AFTER UFC 120
The UFC's latest offering in England brought out a sellout crowd
of 17,133 fans to London's O2 Arena, while packing a gate of
£1.6 million ($2.6 million), according to UFC officials
at the post fight press conference.
The
crowd in England almost went home without a British victory on
the main card, but Michael Bisping did his part to defeat Yoshihiro
Akiyama to close the night. The two main event fighters also
took home "Fight of the Night" honors with a $50,000
bonus check to boot.
Carlos
Condit silenced the O2 Arena with his vicious knockout of Briton
Dan Hardy in the first round of their welterweight showdown at
UFC 120. Condit not only scored his third win in the Octagon,
but also a $50,000 bonus for "Knockout of the Night."
The
"Submission of the Night" went to preliminary card
fighter Paul Sass, as he finished Mark Holst with a triangle
choke in the first round of their fight. He also earned a $50,000
bonus for his efforts.
(UPDATED
/ 9:30 a.m. PT on Oct. 17 to update gate amount in British pounds
with conversion to American dollars.)
Source: MMA Weekly |
J.Z.
SAYS HE BEAT JOSH THOMSON, WANTS REMATCH
Gesias
“J.Z.” Cavalcante made his highly anticipated Strikeforce
debut on Oct. 9 in the co-main event of “Strikeforce: Diaz
vs. Noons II“ against former Strikeforce titleholder Josh
“The Punk” Thomson. It was his return to the United
States after competing overseas for the last four years. He ended
up on the wrong end of a bad decision according to many, including
him.
“After
the fight everybody kept saying the same thing: I won the fight.
I won the first round and the third round, and that’s how
I felt also. I felt that way after the fight, and I still feel
that way now that I’ve watched the tape,” Cavalcante
told MMAWeekly.com content partner TapouT Radio.
The
American Top Team trained lightweight explained his assessment
of what took place in the Strikeforce cage that night, maintaining
he won the fight.
“I
think I won the first round. It was close. At the end he caught
me in the arm triangle, but I don’t think that was enough
to steal the round. I got a knockdown and the guillotine choke.
I think I was closer to finishing him than he was to finishing
me,” said Cavalcante. “I knocked him down and almost
choked him out.
“At
the end, with 10 seconds left, he wasn’t even squeezing.
He was just holding the position. I think I did more all during
the fight, and I’m glad that all the fans and people keep
saying I won the fight. It’s good to know I came in and
fought a good fight.”
The
judges rendered a unanimous decision for Thomson with two judges
scoring the bout 29-28 and the third turning in a scorecard that
read 30-27 for Thomson.
“No
one thought it was 30-27 for Josh,” said Cavalcante. Even
Thomson, in his post-fight interview, said that there was no
way the score should have been 30-27 in his favor.
The
27-year-old fighter admits Thomson won the second round, and
no one really disputes that.
“(The
second round) goes to Josh. He took me down. He was on top. He
didn’t do much and he didn’t do much damage, but he
controlled the fight. He controlled the second round,” commented
Cavalcante. “The last round I controlled the whole round.”
Trying
to rationalize the decision, Cavalcante gave his opinion of what
might have occurred in the judges’ minds resulting in their
scoring.
“He
was the hometown guy. He was already the champion there. Most
of the people right there, they don’t know me. They don’t
know I’m coming back to the U.S. now after four years. I
think those kind of things influenced the judges to see the fight
in his favor.”
In
a perfect world, Cavalcante hopes to get a rematch, but Thomson
will likely face lightweight titleholder Gilbert Melendez in
a rubber match next.
“If
I have the chance and the fans want to watch the fight again,
I would love to do it, to have no doubts about it, about who
won the fight.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
BISPING
BELIEVES HE'S ONE AWAY FROM TITLE SHOT
Michael Bisping walked out of the Octagon on Saturday night in
London’s O2 Arena with his second straight dominant decision
victory, winning a unanimous decision over Yoshihiro Akiyama.
Does
that alone propel him into title contention? To put it frankly:
no.
But
if you add up his body of work at middleweight in the UFC, Bisping
is headed down the right road. Since making his middleweight
debut with a first-round TKO victory over Charles McCarthy in
April of 2008, the “Ultimate Fighter Season 3” light
heavyweight winner has amassed a record of 6-2 in the UFC’s
185-pound division.
He
reeled off three-straight victories in the division before his
first stumble, a knockout loss at the hands of former two-division
Pride champion Dan Henderson. He scored an impressive win over
Denis Kang before losing a controversial decision to Wanderlei
Silva earlier this year.
You
put all of that in perspective and Bisping’s body of work
at middleweight is highly respectable, easily leaving him knocking
on the door of a title shot... and he concurs.
“Everything
is coming together in my skill set. And now I’m ready. If
I can’t do it now, I’m never gonna do it,” said
Bisping after his win over Akiyama at UFC 120.
“I
had a good fight against (Dan) Miller. I’m relatively happy
tonight. It was a good win. I want to fight a tough guy, whoever
it is. I think one more win against a real credible opponent,
I think that would get me a title shot, but obviously it’s
not up to me is it?”
No,
it’s not up to Bisping to decide if or when he gets a title
shot, and UFC president Dana White was less than committed on
the subject, although he did heap praise on the Brit after his
victory.
“Akiyama
is a tough guy. I knew that that was gonna be a dog fight. Mike
looked good tonight. He took a big shot as soon as that fight
started. He was hurt, he got rocked. He kept his composure and
fought a great fight,” said White, but was open-ended on
Bisping’s future. “We’ll see what happens.”
The
middleweight picture has a few moves to play out before anything
can be determined anyway. Champion Anderson Silva is on tap to
fight Vitor Belfort on Super Bowl weekend in early February.
Aside from that, Nate Marquardt is slated to face Yushin Okami
at UFC 122 in Germany with the winner expected to fight whoever
is champion following Super Bowl weekend.
With
the time all that will take to play out, Bisping surely has at
least one more fight on the docket before a title shot would
even be feasible, maybe two.
There
are plenty of opponents out there. Chris Leben has worked his
way to the upper echelon of the division, Wanderlei Silva is
returning soon, and Demian Maia and Kendall Grove are fighting
in December.
Who
he is able to fight next and how he does will obviously have
a lot to do with how soon Bisping good be granted his wish, but
he obviously feels he’s grown into the role of contender
and is ready to step in when called upon.
Source: MMA Weekly |
BROCK
LESNAR'S FOCUS NARROWS IN 2ND FIGHT BACK
A kinder, gentler Brock Lesnar?
Maybe
not in the cage, but since a debilitating case of diverticulitis
nearly shortened his MMA career, Lesnar has a newfound perspective
on the life he has, the family he cherishes, and the title he
covets as UFC heavyweight champion.
That
perspective has given Lesnar a new outlook on life, and a renewed
focus on the things that are important to him. With his upcoming
fight with Cain Velasquez at UFC 121, Lesnar is one fight removed
from returning after the disease that nearly took his fighting
career away, and now he believes he's ready to take the next
step.
"Everything's
in line, I feel right on," Lesnar said about his preparation
for Velasquez. "I'm as lean as I've ever been. Guys say
they've had good camps. I can go back and say every camp has
been my best camp, but I really think so (this has been the best
camp).
"I've
gotten better and better. I really don't think I'm still the
best that I can be, but Oct. 23, on that night, I'll be the best."
Spending
much of his life traveling all over the world as a feature performer
for World Wrestling Entertainment, Lesnar had enough of the plane
rides and time away from his wife and three children. Lesnar
opened up his own training facility in his hometown of Alexandria,
Minn., and brings in his coaches and training partners to help
him prepare for his fights.
"I
believe in my coaching staff. If I need to reach out and excel
in other areas, I've got my own facility here," Lesnar stated.
"I've traveled the world. I've been to all 50 states 100
times. I’ve been to 30 different countries. I've lived life
on the road. I live here, I train here, and that's how I choose
to train.
"If
I need somebody they normally come to my house and I don't need
to get on an airplane and be away from my family. Been there,
done that, you know?"
For
his training camp in Minnesota, Lesnar has worked with head coach
Marty Morgan, as well as coaches like Erik Paulson, and training
partners including UFC heavyweights Jon Madsen and Chris Tuchscherer.
Lesnar said he was willing to seek out the best training partners,
so he also brought in someone to help him with his striking...
former K-1 fighter turned UFC heavyweight Pat Barry.
"I
needed guys that were exceptionally well on their feet and that
could bring in a different look," Lesnar explained. "I've
got a group, a standard core of wrestlers in here, and so we
searched around for guys, for a different look, and Pat was the
guy. (He's) been a great addition to the camp."
One
of the biggest factors going into the fight with Velasquez has
been the former Arizona State All-American's unbelievable cardio
and conditioning. As a heavyweight, Velasquez is considered a
peak performer when it comes to his condition for a fight, and
while Lesnar has gone three rounds before in his career, it's
still somewhat of a question for him headed into this championship
bout of five five-minute rounds.
Lesnar
promises that while his fight with Shane Carwin didn't go nearly
as long as five rounds, he's prepared for that fight and every
fight with the intention of going until the final bell sounds.
"I
didn't train for Shane Carwin for seven minutes, I trained for
a 25-minute fight," he said. "I'm prepared for 25 minutes
of battle, and that's what you've got to be prepared for. You've
got to take responsibility. If there's one thing that I'm in
control of on Oct. 23, it's my conditioning."
With
just a few days remaining until the fight, Lesnar may be the
biggest figure in the UFC. He may be the face of the entire organization.
But when you've sat in a hospital bed and had someone tell you
that it could all be taken away, everything is narrowed into
a whole new focus.
Lesnar
loves being UFC heavyweight champion. He loves being known as
the best fighter in his weight class worldwide. He also knows
how hard he had to work to get there, and how close he came to
having it all taken away.
"I
just feel blessed and honored to be the champion. This is my
second chance of reinventing myself," Lesnar said. "I'm
a former amateur wrestler, a former professional wrestler, a
wanna-be NFL football player, and here I am, UFC heavyweight
champion.
"Do
I look at it any differently? No. Do I go to bed holding on to
my UFC title every night? No. I tuck my kids into bed every night.
I don't have any added pressure on myself. I'm doing what I love
to do."
Lesnar
will have the chance to do his job one more time when he squares
off with Cain Velasquez in the main event of UFC 121 in Anaheim,
Calif., on Saturday night.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Browne
gasses; Kongo loses point and fights himself into a draw at UFC
120
At
6-foot-7 and 251 pounds, Travis Browne is a heck of an athlete
but he's also a relative pup when it comes to applying that explosiveness
to his fight game. Cheick Kongo, a veteran of 22 fights, let
Browne tire himself out, then chopped down the tree in the second
only to make a stupid mistake in the third to cost himself the
win. Kongo, rolling to a victory over the exhausted Browne, got
a point deducted for constantly grabbing the big man's shorts.
The result was a frustrating draw, 28-28 on all cards, between
the two big heavyweights in the second fight of the televised
card at UFC 120 in London.
The
grabbing of the trunks was inexplicable on the part of Kongo.
He was warned by referee Marc Goddard early in the final round.
Less than thirty seconds later, Kongo did it again and lost a
point. Kongo (15-6-2, 8-4-1 UFC) played with fire when he again
grabbed the shorts on several occasions down the stretch.
Browne
(10-0-1, 1-0-1 UFC) hurt his chances for a win by not managing
his stamina in the opening round. He came out bouncing all over
the ring and awkwardly charging Kongo. Browne landed a few good
punches and leg kicks to win the stanza but by the end of the
round, he was breathing with his mouth wide open.
Kongo
took advantage in the second by clinching with the more stationary
Browne and moving the action to the cage. The tired Browne was
more than happy to rest along the cage but took a ton of Kongo
knees to the inside of his right knee. In the final round, he
could hardly put weight on his right leg. But Kongo refused to
go in for the kill. It cost him a win.
Browne
was fortunate to come out of the fight with a draw but he's clearly
a guy worth watching down the road. At 28-years old, he's only
been fighting since Feb. of 2009. He's training with a good camp,
Alliance Training Center in San Diego. With better gameplanning
and more composure, he could be a very dangerous down the road.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Melvin
Guillard and Yves Edwards meet at Jan. 22 UFC event
Lightweights
Melvin Guillard (25-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and Yves Edwards (38-16-1
MMA, 6-4 UFC) are penciled in to meet at an as-yet-unannounced
UFC event slated for Jan. 22.
Sources
close to the event told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that
verbal agreements are in place with bout agreements on the way.
However,
contracts will be held up until the promotion designates a city
and venue for the fight card, which could be UFC Fight Night
23 or perhaps UFC on Versus 3.
Sources
say that search is currently underway.
Guillard
notched his third consecutive octagon victory this past month
at UFC 119 when he won a split decision against Jeremy Stephens,
whom he called out following a knockout win over Waylon Lowe
at UFC 114. Although the fight was expected to produce fireworks,
the Sept. 25 meeting largely was a conservative affair with Guillard
employing a hit-and-run attack against Stephens.
"I
apologize to my boss, the organization," Guillard said after
the win. "I had high expectations, and I just felt that
I don't think Jeremy brought it the way he was dishing it out.
I had a lot of respect for the power the kid had, and I didn't
want to get clipped."
Still,
the ferociously fast Guillard has brought new life to his UFC
career after a series of setbacks both in and outside of the
cage put him on shaky ground. The 27-year-old veteran of "The
Ultimate Fighter 2" now calls upon the famed Greg Jackson
and has given glowing reviews of his work with the trainer and
his staff.
Edwards,
meanwhile, has won a third lease on an octagon career after taking
a short-notice fight against John Gunderson at UFC Fight Night
22 and winning a unanimous decision.
The
veteran took a four-year tour of national and regional promotions
since a string of losses forced his octagon exit in 2006. During
that time, he went 7-5 and finished his opponent in six of his
seven wins.
Edwards
made his octagon debut at UFC 33, and after two initial setbacks,
he went on a six-fight win streak that anointed him the unofficial
heir to the UFC's lightweight crown. But the promotion shuttered
its lightweight division in 2004, and he once again made a tour
of outside fight organizations until it was brought back in 2006
at UFC 58. There, he met heartbreak when the then-unheralded
Mark Hominick submitted him by triangle choke. A win over Guillard
would be a huge leap in his lightweight career.
Stay
tuned to MMAjunkie.com for further updates on this event.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
MMAWeekly’s
divisional rankings
The
latest MMAWeekly World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday,
October 6. This system ranks the Top 10 MMA fighters from all
across the world in each of the seven most widely accepted weight
classes.
Taken
into consideration are a fighter’s performance in addition
to his win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty
of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most
comprehensive rankings system in the sport.
Fighters
who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible
for Top 10 consideration until they have fought one time after
the completion of their suspension.
AdChoices
Fighters
must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to
be eligible for Top 10 consideration unless they have a bout
scheduled within a reasonable time frame.
HEAVYWEIGHT
(over 205 pounds)
1.
Brock Lesnar
2. Fabricio Werdum
3. Fedor Emelianenko
4. Cain Velasquez
5. Junior Dos Santos
6. Shane Carwin
7. Alistair Overeem
8. Frank Mir
9. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
10. Brett Rogers
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT (205-pound limit)
1.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
2. Lyoto Machida
3. Rashad Evans
4. Quinton Jackson
5. Forrest Griffin
6. Ryan Bader
7. Jon Jones
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
9. Thiago Silva
10. Randy Couture
MIDDLEWEIGHT
(185-pound limit)
1.
Anderson Silva
2. Jake Shields
3. Nathan Marquardt
4. Demian Maia
5. Dan Henderson
6. Yushin Okami
7. Robbie Lawler
8. Jorge Santiago
9. Ronaldo “Jacare” de Souza
10. Michael Bisping
WELTERWEIGHT
(170-pound limit)
1.
Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Josh Koscheck
4. Thiago Alves
5. Paul Daley
6. Nick Diaz
7. Martin Kampmann
8. Matt Hughes
9. Paulo Thiago
10. Dan Hardy
LIGHTWEIGHT
(160-pound limit)
1.
Frankie Edgar
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Shinya Aoki
4. Gray Maynard
5. B.J.
Penn
6. Eddie Alvarez
7. Tatsuya Kawajiri
8. Kenny Florian
9. Ben Henderson
10. Jim Miller
FEATHERWEIGHT
(145 pound-limit)
1.
Jose Aldo
2. Manny Gamburyan
3. Mike Brown
4. Urijah Faber
5. Josh Grispi
6. Marlon Sandro
7. Diego Nunes
8. Michihiro Omigawa
9. Bibiano Fernandes
10. Joe Warren
BANTAMWEIGHT
(135 pounds or less)
1.
Dominick Cruz
2. Brian Bowles
3. Scott Jorgensen
4. Joseph Benavidez
5. Miguel Torres
6. Damacio Page
7. Takeya Mizugaki
8. Brad Pickett
9. Masakatsu Ueda
10. Antonio Banuelos
Source: MMA Weekly |
Just
Scrap Results!
On
a rainy Saturday night in Hilo, BJ Penn.com brought us another
“Just Scrap” Event, and as always the fighters delivered
a solid night of mixed martial arts action. The crowd was pumped
up as ever due to the fact that there were two titles on the
line (Just Scrap 135lb. and Heavy Weight).
In
the second fight, Penn Training and Fitness fighter Jeff Thome
took on Brent Sanbei fighting out of Spirit of the White Robe
Muay Thai. Jeff showed off some seriously improved stand-up when
he was able to stun Sanbei rather quickly and finish him off
with a Rear Naked Choke in 59 seconds into Round 1. Jeff sent
a message that he is dangerous standing up or the ground.
The
crowd was ready for the first title fight of the card, the Just
Scrap 135lb. Title with Spirit of the White Robe Muay Thai’s
standout Reed Akashi matched up against Patrick Abiley. Abiley
was able to get fight to the ground early and seemed to put Akashi
in danger, but in an excellent scramble, Reed was able to stand
up and display his Muay Thai skill and win by knockout at 1:52
into Round 1. In the cage, decked out in pink as always, with
his new belt, Akashi thanked the crowd for the support as they
roared their approval of what turned out to be the only knockout
of the night.
Toby
“2 quick” Misech of Penn Training and Fitness matched
with Dillon Fillekes was up next. These two fighters put on an
incredibly exciting 2 round war. Misech, however, was the superior
fighter and the judges recognized it, giving him a unanimous
decision.
The
Main Event was for the Just Scrap Heavyweight Title with Penn
Training and Fitness/Monster MMA fighter, Chad “Da Brahma
Bull” Thomas up against Joey Palemia of Up and Up MMA on
Oahu. These two put on the stand up battle that was expected
by the crowd. In the end, Palemia was awarded the title by a
Split Decision.
Here
is the full list of fight results…
Sam
Sniffen defeated Mike Soares by Referee Stoppage due to strikes
at 2:08 of Round 2
Jeff
Thome defeated Brent Sanbei by Rear Naked choke at 59 seconds
of Round 1
Zack
Ching defeated Justin Estabillo via Armbar at 25 seconds of Round
1
Kaikala
Kaopua defeated Kimo Luis in a 3 round Split Decision
Joey
Gomez defeated Evic Liftec when Liftec could not answer the bell
for Round 2 due to a shoulder injury
Donald
Gonzalves defeated Terrance Ah Puck by Guillotene Choke at 1:00
of Round 1
Gary
Gouveia defeated Josha Kala by Referee Stoppage due to strikes
at 2:52 of Round 1
Levi
Agalon defeated Tyler Iopa by Rear Naked Choke at 1:22 of Round
1
PUKA
defeated Laimana Mauga when Mauga could not continue due to exhaustion
at 1:32 of Round 2
Kaaha
Alo defeated Clayton Nohara by Rear Naked Choke at 2:02 of Round
1
Shelton
Guerro defeated Kawika Martin in a 3 round Split Decision
Ashton
“one Whack Medivac” Castro defeated Dennis Vasquez
by Unanimous Decision
Reed
Akashi defeated Patrick Abiley by Knockout at 1:52 of Round 1
to claim the Just Scrap 135lb Amateur Title
Toby
“2 Quick” Misech defeated Dillion Fillekes by Unanimous
Decision
Joey
Palemia defeated Chad “Da Brahma Bull” Thomas by Split
Decision to claim the Just Scrap Heavy Weight Title
Source: Rick Booth
|
White
wants Aldo at lightweight; fighter’s fine with that
Getting
ready for this Saturday’s UFC 120 event in England, UFC
president Dana White addressed the possibility of the WEC divisions
– from bantam to lightweight – being incorporated into
the UFC.
On
one of the WEC champions, specifically, White was more incisive,
saying he’d like to see José Aldo in the UFC, perhaps
in the lightweight division now dominated by Frankie Edgar.
On
the subject, Aldo told GRACIEMAG.com:
“Of
course I’d accept. I have what it takes to fight in the
UFC, but it’s not up to me. I’d have to talk to those
who work with me: Dedé (Pederneiras), my coach; and Joinha
(Jorge Guimarães), my manager. Whatever they decide is
always the best. But I believe I have just what it takes to fight
in the division above mine. Wouldn’t be a problem at all.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Bisping
saves the day at UFC 120
LONDON
– It was a night that began in turmoil for the Ultimate
Fighting Championship, but in the end, the company was glad to
have preserved the contender status enjoyed by their most marketable
U.K. fighter.
The
group’s problems began on Saturday afternoon, when management,
media, and competitors alike were left stranded in England’s
capital city, when the drivers chauffeuring them to the O2 Arena
failed to account for the closure of the Blackwall Tunnel. Ultimately,
none of the scheduled fights had to be canceled as first feared.
In
the end, though, hometown hero Michael Bisping triumphed over
Yoshihiro Akiyama by unanimous decision (all three judges scored
the bout 30-27) in the main event, the worst-case scenario had
been avoided, meaning he remains in the mix for a shot at UFC
welterweight champion Anderson Silva.
The
first round of the main event was largely Bisping’s, his
boxing sharper and quicker off the mark, although he was caught
with a left hand at the beginning of the round that he later
admitted had him seeing double.
Despite
being out-pointed, Akiyama, to his credit, didn’t appear
to be in any danger, and in the proceeding five minutes he retaliated
aggressively, catching Bisping consistently with short right
hooks, rocking him again in the final 30 seconds before the bell.
The
final round threatened to be marred by a brutal Bisping kick
which caught the Japanese in the groin, but after several minutes
of recovery, Akiyama built on his second-round performance, throwing
wild hooks that his opponent evaded and countered with jabs,
but it still wasn’t enough to keep Bisping from winning
on all cards.
“Ultimately
it’s up to the UFC, but I feel like I’m really maturing,
and everything is coming together,” said Bisping of his
career and future fights. “I’m ready. I feel now is
my time. I want to fight the best out there, and I think with
one more win against a credible opponent, I should get a title
shot.”
Prior
to the co-main event, to say that the ovation for Nottingham’s
Dan Hardy was rapturous would be an understatement, and remarkably,
the reaction remained the same even after he was knocked out
in devastating fashion by Carlos Condit.
Hardy
had initially done a good job of countering Condit’s strikes
as he entered into range, even if a spinning backfist on the
part of the former WEC welterweight champion hit the Briton’s
chin hard. After 4:27 of the first round, though, both men went
for simultaneous left hooks, with Condit planting his perfectly
on Hardy’s chin at the very moment that “The Outlaw”
over-shot by three or four inches. Hardy was knocked down and
out, although Condit did sneak in a couple of punches on the
ground to officially claim the victory.
“I
feel comfortable on my feet,” said Condit after being asked
if it was his gameplan to stand with Hardy. “But if it had
gone to the ground, I would’ve done well, too.
“We
(at Greg Jackson’s training camp) were worried about his
left hand,” he added. “We trained for that quite a
bit.”
When
Hardy, who had just returned from hospital and remained quiet
throughout the post-fight press conference, was asked what was
next for him, he jokingly replied: “A headache.”
Mike
Pyle found the element of surprise to be irresistible as he went
for takedowns at the start of the first and second rounds in
his match-up with the undefeated John Hathaway, whose own wrestling
had dominated Diego Sanchez back in May. The benefit of the surprise
really came in the second round, when Pyle had the Englishman
trapped in a quasi-triangle from a side position, using the manoeuvre
more for control as he rained down punches and elbows. Up until
that point, Pyle’s stand-up had been sweeter, too, but in
repeating in the third round the grappling dominance that he
had in rounds one and two, he had Hathaway beaten on all counts,
with each judging agreeing a 30-27 verdict.
Travis
Browne’s good defensive footwork, by comparison at least,
seemed to befuddle Cheick Kongo in the opening round of their
bout, so much so that the Frenchman was tentative in spite of
his usual strike-heavy style. Browne’s own punching, however,
was a little wild, throwing down with so much intent that his
agility was all but absent in the second round, a large portion
of which saw both men battling for position against the cage.
Kongo was docked a point for holding his opponent’s shorts
in the third round, but even that didn’t seem to stir the
Wolfslair fighter, and he was extremely lucky to escape from
the fight with a rare draw.
Claude
Patrick clearly had a huge strength advantage, muscling Ultimate
Fighter 9 champion James Wilks to the canvas in three copycat
rounds, but there was more damage done to Wilks’ ego in
this unanimous decision (a 30-27 loss across the board) loss,
than there was to him physically.
Cyrille
Diabate and Alexander Gustafsson clearly came in with the intention
of ending their bout decisively. Knocking Diabate down with a
big shot in the first round, he immediately jumped on his opponent
to attempt to finish, but was unable to strike there with anything
like the same type of ferocity. Diabate survived that onslaught,
but Gustafsson finally one via tapout at 2:41 of round two.
Known
on the UK scene for his brawling brand of boxing, Rob “The
Bear” Broughton did nothing to dismiss that opinion in the
early going of his bout with Vinicius Queiroz. Ultimately, though,
Broughton got the best of the jiu-jitsu specialist at his own
game, as Broughton almost got an armbar submission, before getting
the hooks for a rear naked choke, 1:46 into the third round.
Paul
Sass’ first-round submission victory over Mark Holst was
notable for the busy ground work of both fighters. Sass consistently
looked for the triangle choke, which has become his forte on
the UK scene. He eventually locked the move on, and reminiscent
of Fabricio Werdum’s victory over Fedor Emelianenko in June,
no amount of struggling by Holst could free him, with Sass getting
the tapout with just 15 seconds remaining in the first round.
Low
kicks were the order of the day for Spencer Fisher and Kurt Warburton
at the beginning of their encounter, though Warburton was clearly
using those to throw his opponent off-guard before attempting
the takedown, which he duly got, almost finishing Fisher with
a guillotine choke with two minutes remaining in the round. After
some trading of knees in the second-round clinches, Fisher looked
for the rear naked choke on two occasions in the third, perhaps
concerned about the outcome of any judges’ decision. He
needn’t have worried however, as he emerged with 29-28 scores
across the board.
In
the evening’s opening contest, London-born James McSweeney
made his intentions for Fabio Maldonado clear in the first round,
swinging wildly with punches and spinning back-fists, in addition
to throwing a series of leg kicks. Unsuccessful in his attempt
to grab a highlight reel finish, however, he was clearly drained
come the second round, allowing Maldonado to take control, in
particular using his superior grappling to good effect. Sensing
his opponent’s fading cardio, Maldonado took the fight to
McSweeney in at the beginning of the third round, after just
a further 48 seconds, referee Marc Goddard was compelled to stop
the contest after a series of hard punches against the cage.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Matches
to Make After UFC 120
In
the fallout of UFC 120 “Bisping vs. Akiyama” at the
O2 Arena in London, we take a spin of the matchmaker wheel at
the emerging storylines from Saturday’s event in the United
Kingdom.
Michael
Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva 2
What
to do with a Bisping on the rise (again)? A workmanlike performance
in the main event against Yoshihiro Akiyama showed why Bisping
has become a staple in U.K. shows, as he overcame a shaky opening
to find his spots and take a clear-cut decision.
The
middleweight division is mighty busy these days. The Yushin Okami-Nate
Marquardt title eliminator is at UFC 122 on Nov. 13; mid- and
upper-level foes that might make good matches for Bisping are
readily booked against one another, from the Alessio Sakara-Jorge
Rivera duel at UFC 122 and the Mark Munoz-Aaron Simpson tilt
at the following week’s UFC 123 to Demian Maia’s matchup
with Kendall Grove at the “The Ultimate Fighter 12”
Finale on Dec. 4. A Chris Leben rematch is not an option, as
“The Crippler,” fresh off upset wins over Akiyama and
Simpson, is tentatively scheduled to take on Brian Stann at January’s
UFC 125.
The
UFC is in a curious position with Bisping, as his marketability
affords him a bit more latitude with opponent selection. He can
fill seats without necessarily having to risk another Dan Henderson-like
disaster, though at some point he’s going to have to be
thrown in deeper. That’s why a rematch with Wanderlei Silva
early next year would be perfect.
Silva,
recovering from knee surgery, took a close decision over Bisping
in their first match, closing hard at the end with a series of
punches that made it look like “The Axe Murderer” had
recaptured his prime, if only for a brief few moments. Depending
on how the top of the division shakes out, an impressive win
could put him a big victory away from a title shot.
Plus,
a rematch with Silva is likely to be another pins-and-needles
affair, with Bisping sticking and moving as Wanderlei stalks.
The jury remains out on how effective Silva can be at this point
in his career and, perhaps more importantly, at 185 pounds, where
he seems to be cutting too much weight. It’s promotable
and fan-friendly and offers Bisping his best risk-reward for
a big victory that will catapult him higher in what is a stacked
division.
Carlos
Condit vs. Chris Lytle
Though
Condit stated after his picturesque knockout win over Dan Hardy
that he wanted the winner of Saturday’s Jake Shields-Martin
Kampmann match at UFC 121, it doesn’t make promotional sense
for the organization, particularly if Shields wins, because he’s
a badly needed opponent for champion Georges St. Pierre. Naturally,
Condit, the former WEC boss, wants some get-back against either
guy since he’s lost decisions to both, including a razor-thin
one against Shields at a Rumble on the Rock show in 2006.
Putting
on our matchmaker cap, why not put Condit in against the always-exciting
Chris Lytle? The Hoosier is one of the most durable fighters
in the sport, and he comes to bang. Plus, both would likely prefer
a standing match, as each would respect the other guy’s
ground game. You can counter with the argument that Lytle may
not be highly ranked enough of a contender, especially after
Condit crushed Hardy the way he did, but that’s something
Condit will have in his back pocket that nobody else in the UFC
does.
This
would be one of those matches that’s a can’t-miss “Fight
of the Night.” In addition, it would put Condit in an exciting
brawl to raise his marketability while GSP deals with Josh Koscheck
and the winner of that fight takes on the Shields-Kampmann victor
in early 2011. With his boxing and toughness, Lytle would have
a great shot at winning.
Mike
Pyle vs. Dan Hardy
Pyle’s
performance against the previously unbeaten John Hathaway was
inspiring, as he put together the blend of takedowns and grappling
sequences that make the ground game fun to watch. Pyle’s
always had a boatload of talent; he hasn’t always had the
lead time to put it together on the sport’s biggest stage.
Hathway’s performance, particularly in the second round
when he was caught in a reverse triangle and ate a ton of punches
without ceding, shows that he’s a young fighter with major
upside and heart.
With
a classic veteran-over-upstart upset now cleanly notched under
his belt, a Pyle tussle with the dangerous Anthony Johnson would
be guaranteed dynamite. While Johnson cuts a harrowing amount
of weight to make 170 (he walks around at a solid 210-plus pounds),
he brings a sense of danger and imposing size to any welterweight
match. Pyle typically depends on his hard-nosed wrestling to
dictate the pace of a bout, which plays, literally, right into
Johnson’s strengths. And the talented “Rumble”
can bang with the best of them.
If
Johnson isn’t available, Hardy would be a solid welterweight
contender’s matchup for Pyle, as well. Bill him as “The
Brit Killer” and put it in the U.K. as a co-main event on
a Spike show. Hardy did not look bad at all against Condit, and
he’d be coming in with his back against the wall against
a resurgent veteran.
Cheick
Kongo vs. Patrick Barry
In
what is becoming a regrettable trend in MMA, a point deduction
created a draw in the Kongo-Travis Browne bout, as the Frenchman
grabbed Brown’s shorts in the final round. Neither guy ended
up getting the duke in what was an entertaining heavyweight bout,
even if it will never be confused with a K-1 match.
The
point deduction aside, Kongo is still a marketable heavyweight
with a reliable barometer of performances. Heavyweight bouts
in MMA are like the steak on the menu in a restaurant, designed
to fill the hungry eaters and send them away with full bellies
and warm hearts. A Kongo-Barry fight would almost certainly provide
big standing exchanges, with the kind of kickboxing oeuvre on
display that most heavyweights do not supply. Both guys are explosive,
can kick and work effectively with textbook muay Thai in the
clinch.
It’s
the kind of steak on which you gorge yourself and then take the
other half home in a leftover container. As for Browne, he performed
fairly well in a debut against a notable veteran, and chances
are, he will be better acclimated with this one behind him. At
6-foot-7, 250 pounds, and with good takedowns -- he tossed Kongo
around at will, when he remembered to -- he will have to tighten
up his stand-up game but has size you cannot teach.
Paul
Sass vs. Cole Miller
The
old-school MMA style of diving in to pull guard is about as common
as a karateka entering the Octagon, but it’s still fascinating
to see it at work; it’s like an NFL team running the option.
Now 11-0 with 10 submissions, Sass’ slick triangle submission
of Mark Holst was a lot of fun to watch, namely because he has
a lot of work to do on his stand-up, yet has a great submission
game.
Enter
Miller, who would be a high-level jump for a guy like Sass in
his second UFC fight and a compelling one because his submission
game is pretty slick, too. He’s also proven a reliable commodity
in providing exciting fights and has shown marked improvement
in his stand-up over the past few years.
Source: Sherdog
|
UFC
120: PYLE ENDS HATHAWAY'S UNBEATEN STREAK
He said he was happy to play the villain going into England.
He
even walked out to Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A."
to help rile up the British crowd.
It
all paid off for Mike Pyle as the American went into England
and handed John Hathaway his first pro defeat in a dominant decision
by the Xtreme Couture fighter.
Pyle
set the tone as soon as the fight started with a good stand-up
game that kept Hathaway off balance, before landing taking the
action to the ground. Hathaway showed solid defense stopping
Pyle from getting him down a few times, but persistence pays
off.
In
the second round, Pyle got Hathaway to the ground and caught
him in an inverted triangle choke from the mount and proceeded
to beat the British fighter about the head for the last two minutes.
Hathaway survived, but took a pounding from Pyle.
The
final round saw much of the same action with Pyle working Hathaway
over at every moment, keeping a relentless pace and got the judges'
nod with 30-27 scores giving the Las Vegas fighter his second
win in a row in the UFC.
The
loss, Hathaway's first, is a bit of a set back for the young
British fighter, but likely a good learning lesson to move him
forward with his training and preparation.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
120: CARLOS CONDIT KO'S DAN HARDY
Carlos Condit asked for a fight against Dan Hardy. Carlos Condit
also said he could stand up with Dan Hardy. He proved it on Saturday
night in England as the "Natural Born Killer" knocked
out Hardy with a vicious left hook that ended the Brit's night
in emphatic fashion.
Leading
into the fight, Dan Hardy's trash talk seem to hit a new level,
but it also served as a great amount of motivation for Carlos
Condit, who fed off that energy as he headed into UFC 120.
A
former kickboxer, Condit has shown knockout power in a great
many of his past fights, but whether he underestimated him or
just thought he'd get the big punch first, Dan Hardy stepped
in with a bit of reckless abandon and paid for it.
A
few exchanges early resulted in some leg kicks and some combinations
from both fighters, but no major damage.
That
changed when Condit and Hardy decided to put technique away for
a moment and both threw a series of punches with bad intentions
behind them. As Hardy looked to land one of his famous left hooks,
it was Condit's own left hand that cracked the British fighter's
jaw, sending him crashing to the mat.
Condit
followed up with one more good shot to put the finishing touches
on the night, as Hardy was laid out unconscious on the mat.
"I
feel comfortable on my feet, if it would have gone to the ground
I would have probably done well there too, but I finished it
on the feet this time, so there you have it," Condit answered
when asked about his strategy for the fight.
With
the fight over and the trash talk behind them, Condit paid Hardy
a compliment following the win, his third in the UFC since moving
over from the WEC in 2009.
"Dan
Hardy's a great competitor, hats off to him, much respect,"
Condit shouted after his win.
Hardy
didn't have much to say following the knockout loss, but promised
to return with better results for his home crowd.
"I
got punched in the face," Hardy said when UFC commentator
Joe Rogan asked what went wrong in the fight. "Sorry guys.
Next time."
The
win will likely vault Condit back into the welterweight rankings
and it also promises the New Mexico native a big fight when he
returns to action.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
120: BISPING DECISIONS AKIYAMA
The national anthem of England is titled "God Save the Queen."
On
Saturday night, it was Michael Bisping saving UFC 120 for England
as he defeated Yoshihiro Akiyama in the main event, and kept
the British fighters on the main card from being swept on their
home soil.
It
was a rough night for most of the British fighters, but with
an undefeated record at home and incredible support from the
U.K. crowd, Bisping once again put on one of his best performances
while getting his 10th win in the Octagon.
The
theme of the night for Bisping was control in his stand-up game
and putting together crisp combinations. It seemed whenever the
two fighters came close enough to engage, as Akiyama threw all
of his force into one punch, Bisping answered back with a quick
two or three punch combination.
There
were a couple of occasions where Akiyama did land his single
shot and Bisping looked somewhat rattled, but the British fighter
kept his composure and never let the fight get away from him.
Multiple times in the fight, Bisping unloaded a straight right
hand that continuously found Akiyama's jaw.
A
brief scare happened in the third round when an errant kick blasted
Akiyama in the groin, but after a stoppage and time to recover
the Japanese fighter got back up and the fight continued. Try
as he may to land the knockout shot, Akiyama simply couldn't
keep up with Bisping's pace, and the former "Ultimate Fighter"
winner put together another winning game plan.
"Akiyama's
a great fighter, I expected a tough challenge," Bisping
said after the scorecards read 30-27 in his favor from all the
judges. "I truly believe in my training and my skills and
my ability to win this fight."
"I'm
working hard, no one works harder than me. Hopefully I'll get
the gold soon."
Bisping
gets his second win in a row, and proves once again that he's
nearly impossible to defeat in his home country. The loss puts
Akiyama at 1-2 in the UFC, with his lone win coming by way of
somewhat controversial decision over Alan Belcher in his debut.
Depending on many factors of course, Akiyama could have seen
his last action in the UFC following the loss to Bisping on Saturday
night.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MAN-UP
& STAND-UP
WAIPAHU FILCOM CENTER
SATURDAY NOV 6
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00
Its
about that time when Man-up & Stand-up gives back to all
of the fighters that have supported this event and fought well.
Yes its the end of the year show or as everyone likes to call
it (the championship show). Where all of the amateur fighters
with the best records for their divisions battle against each
other. Not just for the W but for a title that they get to keep.
There will be titles for grudge matches, rookie of the year,
amateurs, semi-pros, and title defenses that will be handed out.
Thats how its done here.
Everyone
seems to enjoy the grudge matches the most. Here they are rematched
because someone didnt agree with the judges decisions which they
shouldnt have left in the judges hands or because it was such
a good fight that Man-up wants to give the crowd a treat as well
as the previous loser a 2nd chance. And usually the previous
winner wants to prove to everyone that his/her win wasnt a fluke
and win a belt doing it. The battle is intense, the fire power
is major and retreat is nowhere to be found being that a belt
is on the line. The crowd is in for a treat because we got 8
of them for yall on Nov 6. Das right.
The
main event will feature Charles Hazelwood of Combat 50 going
head to head against Chevez Antoque of CJ's Gym. If you havent
followed these two guys throughout their short career. Then youve
missed out on some killa fights. Charles was unreal impressive
on his last showing on Man-up. He is a well-balanced fighter
who crushed his last opponents thighs with some thunderous leg
kicks that could take down a tree. Chevez is also a well balanced
fighter who also destroyed his last opponent. His lightning handspeed
was just way too much for his well experienced opponent that
took a seat on the canvas before the bell could end the fight.
Charles and Chevez will be fighting for the semi pro light heavyweight
title. Make sure youre there when thunder and lightning makes
a special appearance at the filcom. Call it a hurricane, call
it a storm, call it Charles Hazelwood and Chevez Antoque finally
meet. Awwhhhh yeah IT'S ON.
Man-up
& Stand-up would like to thank all of you that have supported
this event throughout the year. All of your support is the reason
why these belts (symbols of hardwork, skills, appreciation, etc.,)
are able to make their way to all of these fighters waists. There
will be some new champions and some shattered dreams on Nov 6.
But new dreams will have a new start at the beginning of next
year and some dreams will turn into reality at the end of the
year again. It will always be this way as long as your support
and love for this sport are down to MAN-UP & STAND-UP.
Man-up
will be looking to make an undercard before the title matches
start. So get your list in and hopefully you guys will get to
perform with some soon to be champions. This card will be filled
with major talent. Whoever that Man-up cant fit on this Nov 6
card will be moved to the next card that will be held on Dec
3rd. Check out these names that are set up for titles. And try
to check in on here to get the updated card just in case of changes
or to see write ups on some of the other title matches. See you
there
GRUDGE MATCHES
KAMAKANI WAIALAE
65
KAENA DESANTOS
MATT STONE
220
DUSTIN CALLASTRO
NICK RIVERA
185
MIKE ELI
RONNIE VILLAHMOSA
155
RODNEY BARONA
NICK CHING
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
125
PAUL AUSTRIA
KAINOA
COOK (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
135
TYSON MEDRANO
BRYSEN
LUM (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
145
MARK YARCIA
JAN QUIMOYOG
125
KALAI MCSHANE
CHEVEZ ANTOQUE
SEMI PRO LIGHT WT
CHARLES HAZELWOOD
185
ISAAC HOPPS
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
ROOKIE OF THE YR
RICKY PLUNKETT
145
JUSTIN
DULAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
SUPER WELTER WT
ROBERT BANIS
155
ELIAS VELASCO
FLYWEIGHT
MATT AUSTIN
120
TITLE DEFENSES
RICKY MURILLO
166
TYLER KAGAWA
JAMIN TAYABA
125
JAYCOBI VISTANTE
JUMAR ESCOSIO
160
JOSEPH GARCIA
UNDERCARD
– TBA BY THE END OF THIS WEEKEND
Source: Derrick Bright
|
UFC
120 LIVE RESULTS, PLAY-BY-PLAY, AND PHOTOS
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to the O2 Arena in
London on Saturday for UFC 120. British favorite Michael Bisping
squares off with Yoshihiro Akiyama in the main event, while Dan
Hardy and Carlos Condit fight it out for the chance to move up
the welterweight ranks.
MMAWeekly.com
is live cageside bringing you full blow-by-blow coverage. The
first preliminary bout is scheduled to begin at approximately
12:20 p.m. ET, with the main card bouts beginning at 3:00 p.m.
ET.
Please
refresh your browser frequently for the latest round-by-round
action...
UFC
120 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
MICHAEL
BISPING VS. YOSHIHIRO AKIYAMA
R1
– Bisping works the jab immediately but Akiyama lands a
big punch and the flurries. Bisping settles and fires out his
jab. They trade kicks but Akiyama is head hunting and lands another
big shot. Bisping shots and breaks with an upper cut and then
scores a big takedown. Akiyama gets straight up and they scramble
from a body kick. Bisping unleashes a combo as Akiyama complains
of a low blow. Bisping lands two solid combinations but the Japanese
fighter shakes it off. Bisping fakes the single leg again and
they exchange single strikes. Akiyama misses with a spinning
back fist and they go back to trading until the bell.
R2
– Both jab before Akiyama loads up with a combo. Bisping
kicks to the body but Akiyama catches it. The pace is furious
and they trade shots with Bisping landing a knee in the clinch.
Bisping misses a head kick but lands a solid left. Bisping lands
another solid punch but Akiyama fires back. Bisping continues
to throw the overhand and then a spinning back fist of his own.
Bisping appears to be bossing the action on the feet but Akiyama
keeps on marching forward throwing big punches. Bisping scores
with a side kick and they trade big hooks. Akiyama has Bisping
rocked as the bell sounds.
R3
– They bow to each other and go right back to swinging punches.
Bisping lands a good kick and they trade punches. Akiyama marches
forward and eats a big combo that has him wobbled on his feet.
Bisping has his range and lands two huge punches but Akiyama
won’t go down. Akiyama takes a shot to the groin and drops
to the mat and lays there prone, in agony. The doctor is called
in and Akiyama gradually gets to his feet and takes the full
five minutes to recover. The fight restarts. Bisping lands a
jab but Akiyama bulls forward with wild shots, catching another
kick and looking for the takedown. Bisping’s jab is working
well and he scores with another knee in the clinch before stumbling
Akiyama with a punch. Bisping unloads again and seems to landing
at will but Akiyama stays strong. Akiyama is eating three for
every one he lands but keeps stalking Bisping right up to the
bell.
Michael
Bisping def. Yoshihiro Akiyama via Unanimous
Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
DAN
HARDY VS CARLOS CONDIT
R1 – Condit opens with a leg kick and then another. Condit
lands two more before Hardy replies with his own. Hardy lands
a head kick and then a big lead left hook. Both miss with kicks
and circle each other. They trade punches before Hardy lands
a big leg kick. Condit returns the favour before unloading a
head kick. They exchange shots and Condit lands a spinning elbow.
Condit scores with a good flurry which ups the tempo. Both unleash
power shots. Condit is throwing more combos to Hardy’s single
shots. They both connect with big hooks. Hardy goes down and
Condit drops big bombs to finish the Brit and score the KO.
Carlos
Condit def. Dan Hardy via KO 4:27 R1
JOHN
HATHAWAY VS MIKE PLYE
R1
– They come out and circle, both pawing with the jab. Pyle
shoots and gets the takedown but Hathaway immediately starts
to walk up the cage. Hathaway gets up and reverses the takedown
against the cage and then stands up. Hathaway counters Plye’s
shoot but then eats a knee. Hathaway is throwing more on the
feet but Pyle counters well, landing a solid punch that stumbles
the Brit. They clinch briefly and then circle each other again.
Hathaway lands two stiff jabs but neither fighter has the range
yet. They clinch and Plye scores the takedown with ten seconds
to go.
R2
– Hathaway throws a combo immediately and they go back to
circling, trading single shots. Hathaway has the forward motion
but Pyle clinches and looks for the takedown. Hathaway stuffs
the shot and escapes before landing a left – right combo.
Plye scores with a front kick but Hathaway answers with a flurry
forcing the American to run away. They clinch again and from
the scramble Plye scores an excellent throw takedown. Plye transitions
to side control and then steps over to the reverse triangle.
Hathaway is caught and eating punches and elbows with a minute
to go. Plye is dropping elbows but Hathaway sees it to the bell.
R3
– The circle before Hathaway lands a big body kick. The
Brit shoots but Plye escapes. Hathaway lands a solid overhand
and they clinch. Plye drops for the single leg and trips his
opponent to the mat but Hathaway stands up straight away. The
fighters scramble and Pyle gets the double leg but ends up eating
shots. The fight goes to the mat in Hathaway’s guard who
throws some elbows before scrabbling to escape. Pyle has top
control in half guard but can’t land any shots. Hathaway
scrambles again but he can’t shake Pyle as the American
lands punches and elbows until the bell.
Mike
Pyle def. John Hathaway via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27)
CHEICK
KONGO VS TRAVIS BROWNE
R1
– Browne comes out swinging but Kongo stays light on his
feet and evades well. Kongo lands a solid leg kick and then another.
Browne steps in and swings but misses. Both are wary of the other
as they circle. Browne pushes forward but lands nothing. Browne
scores with two leg kicks and Kongo chases him but eats a big
punch that wobbles him. Browne follows it up and catches Kongo
again. They clinch and Browne lands a few solid knees. Kongo
circles out and away. Browne lands a big body punch and backs
Kongo up. Browne misses with some wild haymakers and Kongo clinches
him. Browne escapes and attacks with a superman punch and a head
kick before Kongo bulrushes him at the bell.
R2
– Kongo walks forward but misses with a leg kick. Kongo
lands a good combo and then ctaches Browne with an illegal knee
to the groin in the clinch. They restart and Browne throws a
combo which Kongo counters well. Kongo rushes in and clinches
again looking for the plumb. Browne pushes him to the mat and
they reset. Browne misses a punch and covers up as Kongo unloads
with a flurry of strikes before they clinch again. Kongo lands
some solid knees against the cage but not enough as the ref breaks
them up. Browne goes after Kongo and they end up in the clinch
again with Kongo in control and chopping away with knees to his
opponent’s legs. The ref breaks them up again and Browne
immediately swings and misses before clinching Kongo and taking
him down at the bell.
R3
– Browne shoots in straight away and they clinch on the
cage as the American chops away with knees. The ref breaks them
up and takes a point away from Kongo for grabbing the shorts.
Kongo comes back more aggressive and shoots but Browne stuffs
it and they clinch again. They break and Kongo kicks the leg.
Browne is breathing hard and Kongo stalks the American across
the cage and they grapple against the cage exchanging knees.
The ref restarts the action but both look tired. They trade briefly
but both miss with most of their shots. Browne lands a solid
right hand and Kongo immediately ties him up on the cage. Browne
scores the takedown at the bell again but the crowd aren’t
impressed and boo the fighters.
Travis
Browne draws Cheick Kongo (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
JAMES
WILKS VS.CLAUDE PATRICK
R1
– Wilks fires out the jab and Patrick attacks the leg. Both
fighters circle the other, feigning. Patrick rushes in and clinches
Wilks against the fence before scoring the takedown. Wilks immediately
attacks the arm but Patrick escapes and then drops back into
his opponent’s guard. Patrick stands up and kicks the legs
before getting side control and then mount. Patrick goes back
to side control and then stands again and drops bombs. Wilks
recovers guard and locks Patrick down. Patrick stands again and
Wilks up kicks forcing the Canadian to drop back into his guard.
Patrick lands some clean punches and gets mount as the bell sounds.
R2
– Wilks opens with a leg kick and they go back to the clinch
with Patrick in control. Wilks lands some knees and turns his
opponent to the cage as both struggle for dominance. They break
and Patrick wades in with a big shot. Patrick scores the take
down but the action is slow. Wilks threatens from his back but
Patrick stays strong and looks to pass. Both men are shutting
the other down on the ground. Wilks looks for the omoplata and
they scramble but end up back in the Brit’s half guard.
R3
– Wilks fires out the jab and a head kick. Patrick clinches
and the grapple on the cage. Patrick score the take down and
ends up in Wilks’ guard. They scramble and Wilks looks to
attack the leg but the crowd is restless as the action slows
again. Patrick passes to side control but Wilks gets back to
guard. Patrick postures and drops punches but Wilks is defending
well.
Claude
Patrick def. James Wilks via Unanimous Decision R3 (30-27, 30-27,
30-27)
-
ALEXANDER GUSTAFSSON VS. CYRILLE DIABATE
R1
- Gustaffsson starts with a leg kick and then a flurry that misses.
Diabate stays calm and counters with two sharp kicks. Gustaffsson
throws a big combo and drops Diabate to the mat and scrambles
to side control. Diabate is trying to escape but Gustaffsson
has control. Diabate gets to his feet and eats a knee to the
body. They trade and Gustaffsso shoots in and clinches his opponent
against the cage. As they break Gustaffsson drops Diabate again
but the Frenchman recovers. They both exchange huge shots on
the feet until Gustaffsson takes the fight to the mat and secures
side control. Diabate tries to escape but Gustaffsson maintains
control.
R2
- Diabate kicks the leg and then flurries with punches. Gustaffsson
clinches and scores a big slam takedown straight into side control.
As Diabate scrambles Gustaffsson punches the head. Diabate tries
to go out the back door but ends up in mount. Gustaffsson then
takes the back and looks for the choke before dropping punches
and then going back to the choke. Diabate escapes only for Gustaffsson
to drop more punches and then sink in the rear naked choke.
Alexander
Gustafsson def. Cyrille Diabate via RNC 2:41 R2
-
ROB BROUGHTON VS. VINICIUS QUIEROZ
R1
- Broughton throws first and both immediately start trading.
Quieroz lands a big leg kick and Broughton clinches. Quieroz
trips his opponent to the floor and ends up in hald guard and
begins to drop bombs. Broughton gets back to guard and looks
to sweep. Quieroz postures up and punches the body. Broughton
scrambles and gives up his back. Quieroz gets in the hooks but
Broughton escape to the feet where they exchange punches. Quieroz
is beating the Brit to the punch but Broughton bulls forward.
Quieroz takes his opponent down, straight into half guard but
Broughton attacks looking for the heel hook. Quieroz scambles
and gets dominant position at the end of the round.
R2
- Broughton attacks early but Quieroz counters and jumps on the
Brit’s back. They scramble and Broughton attacks again with
punches as both throw big bombs. Quieroz trips Broughton to the
mat again but the Brit is doing all the work with heel strikes
from his back. Ref restarts the action and they go back to swinging.
Broughton begins to get the upper hand but Quieroz clinches and
gets the trip takedown again. Broughton has Quieroz locked down
and forces the stand up. Broughton again lands a big flurry and
Quieroz takes him down.
R3
- Both fighters touch gloves and go back to trading big shots
on the feet. Broughton stuffs the shoot and works for the guillotine.
Quieroz secapes but Broughton goes to the kimura and then back
to the neck. Quieroz escapes but Broughton has top control and
begins to throw bombs. The Brazilian gives up his back and Broughton
sinks in the rear naked choke for the win.
-Rob
Broughton def. Vinicius Quieroz by submission (rear naked choke)
at 1:43, R3
PAUL
SASS VS. MARK HOLST
R1
- Holtz feigning and moving forward catches Sass who quickly
pulls guard and threatens with a triangle. Fighters get back
up and Sass throws a flying knee. Holtz takes the fight back
to the mat and ends up in guard. Sass looks for the omoplata
and then for a heel hook as Holtz scrambles. Holtz gets back
to his feet. Sass throws a spinning kick but is stuffed against
the fence. Sass immediately attacks for a heel hook. Holtz escapes
to his feet but Sass shoots in and pulls guard again. Not much
happening but suddenly Sass sinks in the triangle with thirty
seconds to go and Holtz taps.
Sass def Holtz via triangle 1:45 R1
-Paul
Sass def. Mark Holst by submission (triangle choke) at 4:45,
R1
SPENCER
FISHER VS. CURT WARBURTON
R1
- Warbuton lands a solid leg kick to start, Fisher feigning on
the feet. Warbuton lands a big body kick and then a leg kick.
Both fighters attacking the legs with big strikes. Fisher wades
forward and they clinch against the cage. Warbuton scores the
takedown from the body lock and attacks the neck.. Fisher escapes
and pulls guard. Warbuton lands some ground and pound and elbows.
Both attacking from the ground with elbows.
R2
- Fisher pushes forward and clinches but Warbuton is the stronger
in the scramble. Both fighters are landing knees but Warbuton
has better control. Ref breaks up the fight, Fisher immediately
lands a big spinning back kick. Back to the clinch and Warbuton
lands an illegal knee. Fisher resumes quickly and pushes forward
again. Back to the clinch game as both fighters throw knees.
Warbuton breaks and lands a solid punch. Fisher catches a body
kick and drops Warbuton who immediately attacks the leg. Fisher
defends and stands out. Fisher drops an axe kick and both end
up tangled looking for the heel hook.
R3
- Both fighters looked tired but Fisher continues to move forward
and land kicks. Warbuton attacks the lead leg but Fisher lands
a big flurry. Warbuton shakes it off and they clinch again. Both
land knees as they fight for control. Ref breaks them up and
Warbuton goes back to kicking the leg. Fisher clinches and tries
to throw but they end up against the cage in the clinch again
throwing knees to the body. Ref restarts them again and after
a brief trade they go back to the clinch. Fisher takes another
low blow with a minute to go. Fisher lands a big shot and a body
kick. Warbuton goes for the single leg and Fisher scoots round
to look for the rear naked choke. Warbuton escapes but Fisher
scrambles to take the back mount at the end of the round.
-Spencer
Fisher def. Curt Warburton by unanimous decision
-Fabio
Maldonado def. James McSweeney by TKO at :48 seconds, R3
UFC
120 RESULTS:
Main
Bouts (On Spike TV):
-Michael Bisping def. Yoshihiro Akiyama via Unanimous
Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
-Carlos Condit def. Dan Hardy via KO 4:27 R1
-Mike Pyle def. John Hathaway via Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
-Travis Browne draws Cheick Kongo (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
-Claude Patrick def. James Wilks via Unanimous Decision R3 (30-27,
30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary
Bouts (Non-Televised):
- Alexander Gustafsson def. Cyrille Diabate via RNC 2:41 R2
-Rob Broughton def. Vinicius Quieroz by submission (rear naked
choke) at 1:43, R3
-Paul Sass def. Mark Holst by submission (triangle choke) at
4:45, R1
-Spencer Fisher def. Curt Warburton by unanimous decision
-Fabio Maldonado def. James McSweeney by TKO at :48 seconds,
R3
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ISC
World Ranking on October 2010
Flyweight
/ -52.0kg
C. Rambaa Somdet M16 (Thai)
1. Junji "Sarumaru" Ito (Japan)
2. Atsushi "Atch Anarchy" Takeuchi (Japan)
3. Hiroyuki Abe (Japan)
4. Katsuya Murofushi (Japan)
5. Shinya Murofushi (Japan)
6. Junji Ikoma (Japan)
7. "Heat" Takeshi Sato (Japan)
8. Yusei Shimokawa (Japan)
9. Takehiro Harusaki (Japan)
10. Jesse Taitano (USA)
Bantamweight
/ -56.0kg
C. Yasuhiro Urushitani (Japan)
1. Jussie Formiga (Brazil) *South Americas Champ
2. Fumihiro Kitahara (Japan)
3. Mamoru Yamaguchi (Japan)
4. Ryuichi Miki (Japan)
5. Yuki Shojo (Japan)
6. Shinichi "BJ" Kojima (Japan)
7. Shinpe Tahara (Japan)
8. Takuya Mori (Japan)
9. Daiji Takahashi (Japan)
10. Ayumi "GoZo" Shioda (Japan)
Featherweight
/ -60.0kg
C. Shuichiro Katsumura (Japan)
1. Koetsu Okazaki (Japan) *Pacific rim Champ
2. Eduardo "Dudu" Dantas (Brazil) *South Americas Champ
3. Hiromasa Ogikubo (Japan)
4. Darren Uyenoyama (USA)
5. Masakatsu Ueda (Japan)
6. Tetsu "Hadairo" Suzuki (Japan)
7. Teruyuki Matsumoto (Japan)
8. So Tazawa (Japan)
9. Carlos Roberto "Betao" (Brazil)
10. Akitoshi Tamura (Japan)
Lightweight
/ -65.0kg
C. Hatsu Hioki (Japan)
1. Taiki Tsuchiya (Japan) *Pacific rim Champ
2. Renan Barao (Brazil)
3. Gustavo Falciroli (Australia)
4. "Lion" Takeshi Inoue (Japan)
5. Issei Tamura (Japan)
6. Hideki Kadowaki (Japan)
7. Johnny Eduardo (Brazil) *South Americas Champ
8. Tenkei "Fujimiya" Oda (Japan)
9. Matteus Lahdesmaki (Finland) *Europe Champ
10. Akiyo "Wicky" Nishiura (Japan)
Welterweight
/ -70.0kg
C. Vacant
1. Takashi Nakakura (Japan)
2. Takanori Gomi (Japan)
3. Kotetsu Boku (Japan/South Korea)
4. Kenichiro Togashi (Japan)
5. Yusuke Endo (Japan)
6. Paulo "Bananada" Goncalves Silva (Brazil) *South
Americas Champ
7. Shinji Sasaki (Japan)
8. Mizuto Hirota (Japan)
9. Yoshihiro Koyama (Japan)
10. Giovani Diniz (Brazil)
Middleweight
/ -76.0kg
C. Luis "Beicao" Ramos (Brazil)
1. Yoichiro Sato (Japan) *Pacific rim Champ
2. Emanuel Silva (Brazil)
3. Hernani Perpetuo (Brazil)
4. Takuya Wada (Japan)
5. Akihiro Murayama (Japan)
6. Igor "Chatubinha" Fernandes (Brazil)
7. Zelim Felican (Belgium)
8. Shiko Yamashita (Japan)
9. Mikko Suvant (Finland)
10. Roemer Trumpert (Holland)
Lightheavyweight
/ -83.0kg
C. Siyar Baharduzada (Holland/Afghanistan)
1. Sauli Heilimo (Finland) *Europe Champ
2. Andre "Chatuba" Santos (Brazil)
3. Petras Markevicius (Lithuania)
4. Carlos "Indio" Alexandre Pereira (Brazil) *South
Americas Champ
5. Leandro "Batata" Silva (Brazil)
6. Grazhvydas Smailis (Lithuania)
7. Nathan Schouteren (Holland)
8. Rolandas Agraba (Lithuania)
9. Mikkel Guldbaek (Denmark)
10. Bastiaan Rejen (Holland)
Source: International Shooto Commission
|
JOSE
ALDO & WEC LIGHTWEIGHTS TO THE UFC?
When Jose Aldo knocked out Manny Gamburyan last month to defend
his WEC featherweight title for the second time, the talk started
immediately about where he ranked in the world as far as the
best pound-for-pound fighters go, and also how much longer he
would be sticking around at 145lbs.
It
seems Aldo's stay at featherweight may be coming to a closer
sooner rather than later.
The
Brazilian has stated in the past that he's interested in going
to 155lbs eventually, and according to UFC president Dana White,
that's a distinct possibility.
"From
what I'm hearing, Jose Aldo's interested in testing himself at
155lbs. So probably very soon," White answered when asked
when the WEC champ might move to the UFC.
Aldo
has been an absolute wrecking machine since debuting in the WEC
in 2008. With 8 wins in a row in the promotion, including 7 by
stoppage, Aldo has become of the top fighters in the sport, but
he may soon have a whole new challenge if he moves on to face
the best of the best at 155lbs in the UFC.
Aldo
may not be the only WEC fighter making a transition to the UFC
at 155lbs, as White also mentioned that there things in the works
that could see the rest of the lightweights form Zuffa's sister
organization finally make the move to the Octagon.
"We're
working on a lot of things right now we'll be announcing in the
next couple of months," White commented.
Currently,
WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson is about to defend his
belt against top contender Anthony Pettis in December. The WEC
has long been working on a plan to develop a 125lb flyweight
division, and if that coincides with what White is talking about,
it could mean the lightweights making the move to the UFC.
White
admits that he's intrigued to see the potential match-ups between
the best at 155lbs in the WEC and the best at 155lbs in the UFC.
"There's
some interesting fights with those guys so we're working on putting
those together," White said.
The
subject of the WEC lightweights moving to the UFC is nothing
new, but signs are starting to point more and more of the plan
becoming reality sometime soon.
Source: MMA Weekly |
WHITE
TALKS FEDOR, OVEREEM AND CO-PROMOTION
It's been a couple of years since Dana White went on an international
trip to try and negotiate a deal to bring Fedor Emelianenko to
the UFC, but it is still a hot button subject with a great many
fans that want to see the former Pride champion compete in the
Octagon.
Since
that time, the UFC has established an strong heavyweight division
with champion Brock Lesnar ruling the roost and top contenders
like Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, and Shane Carwin anchoring
the weight class along with him.
Fedor
lost his most recent effort, being submitted by Fabricio Werdum,
and while many believed that White would have been cheering his
demise, he says it was far from that.
"A
lot of people were saying that, 'you must have been happy when
Fedor (lost).' To be honest with you, I'm as much of a fight
fan as all you guys are," White said on Friday. "You
hear me talk about Fedor. I flew to crazy places, made him a
very respectable offer to come in and fight. I would have loved
to have done him and Brock Lesnar or whoever. I tried to make
that fight happen, and they know it, whether they say it or not.
"They
know what I did, they know where I went, they know what I offered,
and they still didn't take the fight. It takes two to make a
deal."
White
explained that the two sides had moved past the co-promotion
ordeal, which is what most people believed was the biggest hang
up between the UFC and Fedor's management company, M-1 Global.
With the loss to Werdum hanging overhead now, the UFC president
thinks the team representing Emelianenko might have a few regrets.
"I
told them, ‘you're one punch away from being worth zero
or half of what you're worth,’" White commented. "I
bet they wish they took it now. The other thing with Fedor is
I never say never."
Even
if Fedor ever did make it to the UFC, there are no guarantees
on his success or failure. As evidenced with fighters like Mirko
“Cro Cop” Filipovic and other mainstays from Pride,
just being great in one promotion doesn't always equal success
in another.
"There's
so many guys that have come into the UFC with a ton of hype and
then they lose in the UFC," said White.
Of
course Fedor's monumental unbeaten streak will always be seen
as one of the greatest runs in MMA history, but the UFC president
is quick to point out that some of his most epic wins are in
the past, and he's focused on the present.
"That
was in 2005. It's 2010," White said when pushed about Fedor's
record speaking for itself. "So does Muhammed Ali’s
(record), should I bring him back in?"
As
a fight fan, White also is quick to point out that he's still
a fan of other heavyweights out there competing, such as Strikeforce
heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, but he admits that he
could never allow one of his fighters to do things like K-1.
Due to the schedule, he has to keep moving with the UFC.
"Obviously
one of the top heavyweights is Fedor, and I would say Overeem,
too, and I like Overeem. I've always had a good relationship
with him. It's hard to tell outside, and what a lot of people
get caught up in is 'oh this guy's out there.' What you have
to realize is the guys that fight in the UFC fight the very best
in the world three times a year," White explained.
"I
think anybody's a possibility. He's supposed to be their champion.
They've had a hard time getting him to fight. Did you ever notice
these guys at Strikeforce have a hard time getting their people
to come in and actually fight. If that was the case, you guys
would never see the fights that you want to see. Especially with
as many fights as we're doing, when we sign a guy we want him
to fight three times in a year. How the hell is he going to fight
somewhere else? It's impossible."
While
the door on any of these fighters are never closed, the UFC has
built its brand in a specific way that has garnered great success
and it's doubtful that any one fighter will ever be the person
that makes the promotion suddenly change what has worked for
so many years.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Arona:
“I want to fight abroad, not in Brazil”
Ricardo
Arona fought, after two years off the rings, and defeated Marvin
Eastman on Bitetti Combat 4, but the fight also bought him another
piece of news: a knee injury. “I’m back to the trainings
before I should because I’m hyperactive, but my knee complaint
a bit. The doctor said it’s pretty normal, but I have to
strengthen it more during the physiotherapy sessions so I come
back more intense later”, Arona said, on a chat with TATAME.
Despite
the great harvest of Brazillian events scheduled for the next
months, like Bitetti Combat, on the centenary of the soccer team
Corinthians, and War on the Mainland, in February of 2011, Ricardo
revealed he wants to return to the international events. “Called
me about this event (War on the Mainland), but there’re
nothing set. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but
I want to fight abroad, not in Brazil”, explains.
If
it depended on him, Arona would soon return inside the UFC octagon,
but the talk between him and Dana White, last May, indicated
that he would have to fight once again in order to have his chance.
“That conversation with Dana White was basically about it,
that I’d fight again in other event to recover my rhythm,
and it’d be a good thing for me. I’d like to fight
on UFC, I feel like I’m ready for it, but if I have to fight
again first, there’s no problem with that too”, concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
Mature
after UFC, Villefort ready for more
The
two last years represented great changes on Danillo “Índio”
Villefort’s career. With four consecutive wins, the Brazilian
signed with WEC in 2008, but the changes on the event, like the
extinction of some divisions, made him change too, to a lighter
division on a short period of time. He accepted it, got into
the cage and won by knockout, but the new division was also closed,
giving the fighter the chance to go to UFC.
On
a period of two months, Villefort was debuting on UFC’s
octagon, but he made a mistake and loose to Jesse Lennox. “I
didn’t play according to the game plan we have set. A silly
mistake that cost me too much”, reminds Índio, who
was fired after only one fight on the event. “I fought on
the wrong night. UFC had just bought Affliction, but they couldn’t
keep all athletes, so they terminated the contract with those
who lose on that evening”, regrets.
Back
to the middleweight division, which he used to fight before signing
with WEC and UFC, ATT’s fighter fought three more times
and won in all these occasions, including the quick knockout
in Brazil. On a visit to Brazil to see his son Victor, in Belo
Horizonte, Índio talked to TATAME and talked about his
future, waiting for the confirmation of his fight in December
and sighting a vacancy on the next edition of Bitetti Combat.
“I’d be an honor to fight on the centenary of Corinthians”,
said the fan of Vasco, on a chat you check here below:
Since
you left UFC you’ve fought three times, and won all of them.
How is this fresh start being like to you?
Very
good… I’ve learned with my fight on UFC. It’s
past...
You
stayed off for a while on WEC, because of the change of the divisions,
and right after you debuted, you were transferred to UFC, fighting
only two months later. Do you think you didn’t have enough
time to show your potential on UFC?
No,
it wasn’t the issue. I’m totally guilty. I screwed
it up, I didn’t use the tactic. I didn’t use the game
plan we’ve set for this fight. A silly mistake which cost
me very much… Living and learning (laughs). I just fought
on the wrong night. UFC had Just bought Affliction, so they couldn’t
keep all athletes, so they had to terminate the contract with
those who lose on that evening.
How
did it help you to come back better and win three fights in a
row?
Nowadays
I don’t play on that cage anymore, I fight to finish my
fights as quick and as clever as I could. Having fun, I do it
with my buddies!
Your
last win was on Shark Fights, an event that’s been growing
on the United States. Do you have any idea about when you will
fight again?
My
manager Alex Davis is talking to some producers, but I think
it’ll be in December. I’ve heard there’ll be an
edition of Bitetti Combat on Parque São Jorge… It’d
be an honor for me to fight on the centenary of Corinthians.
Are
you a Corinthians’ fan?
No,
I’m Vasco da Gama.
Vasco
defeated Corinthians this week and you are saying that you’d
like to fight on this event now? (laughs)
It’s
part of the job! (laughs)
Your
last fight in Brazil was perfect, right?
Yeah,
everything according to the plan and what we’ve trained
for. You can call Amaury and tell him I want another fight on
his show! (laughs).
Paul
Daley won on the same night as you, on Shark Fights, and signed
with Strikeforce… Is it the most probable way?
Everything’s
possible, but Alex’s dealing with it. Whatever is vest for
me, he’ll tell me. I trust him. But I think you may be surprised…
How
is your staying in Brazil? Since when you didn’t come here?
I’m
always here, but I last came in June… I’m here in Belo
Horizonte playing with my big boy!
What
is his name?
His
name’s Victor... His eight birthday was on Tuesday, on children’s
day!
Is
he wearing a kimono?
Not
yet... For now he’s doing some Capoeira lessons with Máster
Fuinha. But next year He starts on Judô in Minas Tênis
Clube. He’s well accessorized, his best man is Luciano Correa,
world champion of Judo. He’s well assisted.
Do
you believe he’ll go the same way you did, whether it’s
on Judo or MMA?
I
can’t predict it, I just want that the sport help on his
education and on his lifestyle. If he’ll do it or not only
time can tell us. But the kid punches really hard, that I can
tell (laughs)…
And
how is ATT’s location you’re leading on the United
States?
Despite
the economy is not as it used to be before, we’re doing
just fine, I can’t complain about anything. My gym has open
doors to everyone in Brazil and whoever is in Miami… The
address is 7780 NW 25th Street, 33122, Doral, FL. The gym is
near Miami’s airport. We always have visitors here and some
of the Brazilians stay here. Our website is www.attdoral.com.
Source: Tatame
|
Brendan
Schaub sure of his Jiu-Jitsu against Napão
Brendan
Schaub will face Gabriel Napão at UFC 121 this coming
October 23 in California. And to face the Jiu-Jitsu black belt,
Schaub, who is know for his knockouts, delivered himself to the
gentle art. Aside from his only loss, to Roy Nelson in the TUF
10 finale, Schaub has managed the knockout in all six fight on
his record. However, that doesn’t go to say he doesn’t
know his way on the ground.
“He
trains in the gi, but as he’s always preparing for a lot
of fights, we don’t think much about belt promotions. He
would be a good brown belt, a really tough fighter,” comments
his coach Amal Easton to GRACIEMAG.com.
Now
knockout artist Schaub approves of his master’s teachings.
“I
feel Jiu-Jitsu is one of the most important weapons in the UFC,”
he says, guaranteeing he is ready for any hardships imposed by
Napão should they end up on the ground.
“I’m
prepared for the worst of situations. I work on Jiu-Jitsu with
Amal Easton, with the help of Denilson Pimenta, and I train with
athletes like Shane Carwin, Nate Marquardt, and Eliot Marshall,
among others. They put me in the worst positions and help me
avoid bad situations.”
Brendan
has a great deal of respect for his opponent and feels the clash
of styles will make for a memorable battle.
This
is one of the biggest fights of my life and it will be one of
the greatest in UFC history. I feel ready for him and for any
other fighter in the heavyweight division. It’s a great
step, an inspiration. Gabriel is a great fighter and I’m
prepared for anybody.”
Although
his thoughts are only on his fight at UFC 121, Schaub doesn’t
hide his desire to face the other fighters he admires in the
division.
“If
I beat Gonzaga, I’d really like to face Frank Mir, Cain
Velasquez, or Junior dos Santos. They are great fighters, who
I admire, and it would be really interesting to fight them.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
NOTHING'S
STOPPING TRYON WOODLEY'S TITLE HUNT
It was supposed to be a match-up featuring two of Strikeforce’s
premier up-and-coming welterweights, a clash in style between
the striker/wrestler and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace.
Instead
it turned into one of the most lopsided victories of last Saturday’s
event when Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley quickly dispatched
Andre Galvao in just under two minutes.
“I
didn’t expect for it to end in that manner, in the first
round,” Woodley told MMAWeekly.com. “I expected it
to happen very similar to that in the later rounds out of fatigue
and frustration for not being able to take me down and him getting
desperate.”
Desperation
came quickly for Galvao, as it appeared Woodley’s first
punch put the BJJ ace immediately on his heels. Things went quickly
downhill from there.
“I
think I rocked him (with that first punch),” commented Woodley.
“I think I dazed him and never really got back on his feet.
He had a hard time getting anything going after that because
he was in a daze.”
For
Woodley it was imperative to get a quick, decisive victory over
Galvao after having a close, controversial split-decision win
in his last fight over Nathan Coy in May.
“To
go through a complete war like that (against Coy), and to come
out and get a victory quickly (against Galvao) it validates the
reason why I feel like I should be right back up and fighting
Dec. 4 in St. Louis,” stated Woodley.
“Everybody
saw that I can strike and that I can finish guys by more than
just submission and that I’m ready to go again.”
When
asked if there had been any discussion between his camp and Strikeforce
for a fight on the Dec. 4 card in his hometown of St. Louis,
Woodley replied, “Not yet.
“I’m
definitely going to be bugging the life out of them. They already
know it. I’ve already told Scott (Coker), Bob (Cook), Rich
(Chou), and all those guys what the plan is, and we’ll see.
“They
already told me that if anyone gets hurt, injured, and needs
replacing, I’m the first one up. So that’s encouraging.
I don’t want to wish bad on anybody or for anybody to get
hurt, but if the opportunity presents itself, great. I’ll
jump in there and get it on.”
Regardless
of when he gets back into the cage, the next time Woodley does
step in, it will be with the goal of making his run at the welterweight
title currently held by Nick Diaz.
“Nothing’s
stopping me, so it shouldn’t be long,” said Woodley.
“Scott made a statement that in 2011 I should get an opportunity
for a belt, which is reassuring, but if he’s thinking a
year as in 12 months, it’s not going to take that long.
“I
figure within one or two fights I should be able to jump in there
(and compete for the title).”
Having
looked nothing short of absolutely dominant in his win over Galvao,
Woodley has put the rest of the welterweight division on notice
that he’s arrived and nothing’s going to get in his
way of his goal of being a champion sooner rather than later.
“I
want to thank Rockstar Energy Drink, Clinch Gear, EA Sports,
American Top Team, MMA Overload, and everyone that’s supported
me and helped me become the best fighter I can be,” concluded
Woodley.
“I
appreciate all the support from the fans for their interest in
my career; I just want to thank everybody.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
120 Analysis: The Main Card
by Tim Leidecker
For
an event which boasted eight British fighters on the card, UFC
120 somehow proved a mild setback for UK MMA athletes. While
UK talent on the undercard went a respectable 2-2, “Ultimate
Fighter” season three winner Michael Bisping was the only
Brit to come through on the Spike TV portion of the card.
Two
Americans were the culprits who caused major upsets against British
fighters, with seasoned veteran Mike Pyle outwrestling and out-grappling
the previously unbeaten John Hathaway, and former WEC champion
Carlos Condit scoring the first one-punch knockout of his career
against former title contender Dan Hardy.
Read
on for a closer look at the five main card bouts, as well as
what the future could have in store for the ten participants.
Claude
Patrick def. James Wilks -- Decision (Unanimous)
What
happened: If you watched one round of this fight, you saw all
three, as they each followed the exact same pattern. Patrick
clinched with Wilks and pressed him up against the cage. From
there, he repeatedly took the lanky Leicestershire native down
and scored from top position. Even though Wilks looked the bigger
fighter, Patrick had zero trouble controlling him on the ground
and passing his guard on multiple occasions.
Wilks
had all but two offensive moves all fight long: a triangle omoplata
attempt in the first round, and an attempted leg lock in the
final stanza. Patrick did well to punish Wilks’ legs as
he stood up from his guard and passed to side control. Midway
through the first round, Patrick even had Wilks mounted, but
couldn’t crank up the work rate enough to finish “Lightning.”
Forecast
for Patrick: The Canadian “Prince” has looked very
good since joining the organization in summer of this year. If
the promotion wants to continue building him, they will match
him up with Greg Soto, Kenny Robertson, or the winner of next
week’s Michael Guymon-Daniel Roberts match. If they want
to test him, Paulo Thiago, Diego Sanchez or Mike Pierce could
be next.
Forecast
for Wilks: Dropping to .500 over his UFC career, Wilks will be
battling elimination from the promotion during his next trip
to the Octagon. He could be facing Amilcar Alves, Brian Foster
or countryman John Hathaway there.
Cheick
Kongo vs. Travis Browne -- Draw
What
happened: Coming out of the gates dashing and sporting an unorthodox
striking technique, grappler-turned-boxer Travis Browne landed
the more significant strikes of the first round in the shape
of a couple of knees from the clinch and some huge haymakers.
Kongo got his counterstriking game going in the second stanza,
and crushed Browne’s legs with short knee strikes.
With
the scores tied on the judges’ cards going into the third
round, Kongo was either very stupid or very desperate, as he
had a point taken away for repeatedly holding his opponent’s
shorts -- a foul which ultimately cost him the win. Browne landed
two takedowns at the end of rounds two and three, but had too
little time to get any sort of offense going on the mat.
Forecast
for Kongo: Although there’s probably little interest in
seeing these guys fight one another again right away, a draw
is always the most unsatisfactory result, so both men could be
paired against one another again, sooner or later. If not, Kongo
will fight whoever is healthy and available, someone like Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira or Stefan Struve.
Forecast
for Browne: Still undefeated after his eleventh match, Browne
did much better than expected against Kongo, especially during
the standup portions of the fight. Still, with ground work being
his strong suit, one would like to see him matched up against
another strong grappler, like the winner of Gabriel Gonzaga vs.
Brendan Schaub.
Mike
Pyle def. John Hathaway -- Decision (Unanimous)
Pyle
shocked Hathaway.What happened: Many critics were labeling Hathaway
as overrated after he skyrocketed into the welterweight top ten
rankings courtesy of his smashing of an unmotivated Diego Sanchez.
Pyle utilized the “Hitman’s” hype to motivate
himself, and delivered a flawless tactical and technical performance
which featured excellent close-quarters grappling.
Instead
of reacting to Hathaway’s attacks, Pyle forced his style
of fighting onto the young Brit from the opening bell. He dominated
the stiff-looking Brighton native on the feet and took him down
almost at will. Pyle’s ground work master stroke was a second-round
mounted triangle/crucifix position, which he used to land some
heavy punches to the unprotected frace of Hathaway.
Forecast
for Pyle: This was the best Pyle has looked since submitting
Dan Hornbuckle two years ago. A winner in three of his last four,
Pyle has earned his way onto a UFC pay-per-view for his next
fight.
Ricardo
Almeida or the winner of Dennis Hallman vs. Karo Parisyan would
each be good opponents for him. The most exciting fight out there
would be against Chris Lytle, however, a fighter with a very
similar style to Pyle’s.
Forecast
for Hathaway: A seasoned vet like Pyle came too early for Hathaway
at this point in his career. Still a great prospect at only 23
years old, the UFC would do well to continue grooming him by
matching him up with opponents of similar age and experience.
Possible future bouts could come against the likes of Matt Riddle,
or the winners of Amir Sadollah-Peter Sobotta and Matt Brown-Brian
Foster.
Carlos
Condit def. Dan Hardy – KO (Punch) 4:27 R1
What
happened: Did Hardy believe his own hype after surviving five
rounds with champion Georges St. Pierre, or did Greg Jackson’s
game-planning perfection make the difference? The fact of the
matter is that the “Outlaw” had a lot of trouble finding
the right range, and was unable to unload his punches and kicks
as he was tagged by the long limbs of the “Natural Born
Killer” all through round one.
Just
as Hardy began to get more aggressive and started taking the
fight to his opponent, both men threw hard left hooks at the
same time. Hardy went down, while Condit was left standing. Condit
went for the kill with another two hard shots to the dome of
the floored Brit before referee Dan Miragliotta rescued Hardy
from any further unnecessary damage.
Forecast
for Condit: The win, a legit knockout over a former title contender,
must put the young New Mexican into the extended title picture
as well. With Josh Koscheck and the winner of Jake Shields-Martin
Kampmann ahead of him in line, Condit will have to face and beat
somebody like Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves or Mike Swick to earn himself
a shot at the title.
Forecast
for Hardy: He has asked for the fight before, and chances are
quite good it will be made now: Dan Hardy vs. Thiago Alves. Both
fighters are coming off of tough losses, and both come to bang.
Other interesting opponents for the Brit, who splits time between
Nottingham and Los Angeles, are Diego Sanchez and Martin Kampmann.
Michael
Bisping def. Yoshihiro Akiyama -- Decision (Unanimous)
What
happened: The “Ultimate Fighter” season three winner
Michael Bisping looked as good as ever inside the Octagon in
a fight against former Hero’s light heavyweight tournament
winner Yoshihiro Akiyama which was more one-sided than it might
appear on paper. While he at least grappled a little in his fights
with Alan Belcher and Chris Leben, the black belt judoka Akiyama
made zero effort to take this fight to his realm, instead opting
to stand and trade with the natural kickboxer Bisping for fifteen
minutes.
The
31-year-old Liverpudlian used his jab effectively, stringing
together a couple of nice combinations as the fight progressed
and Akiyama became more stationary. Avoiding the slugfest which
the Korean was looking for, Bisping turned the match into a point-fighting
contest. Akiyama managed to finish both rounds strong, but any
energy left in his body was zapped when Bisping drilled his foot
into Akiyama’s cup midway through the final round.
Forecast
for Bisping: It will be interesting to see if the “Count”
will keep on gunning for a rematch against Wanderlei Silva, a
big-name opponent whom he feels he can beat at this stage of
his career. To finally get a title shot, after almost five years
and thirteen fights with the promotion, Bisping will need to
face and beat the likes of Nate Marquardt or Demian Maia.
Forecast
for Akiyama: With three fights in the UFC, and all three of them
nearly going the distance, it’s pretty obvious that middleweight
is not the right weight class for “Sexyama.” If he
wants to live up to the earlier success he enjoyed in Hero’s
and Dream, he will need to drop down to welterweight. Akiyama
against his compatriot Dong Hyun Kim, against fellow judoka Karo
Parisyan, or against Ricardo Almeida would be a trio of very
compelling fights to make.
Source: Sherdog
|
808BATTLEGROUND
Dole Cannery Ballroom, Honolulu, Hawaii
Friday, October 29
6:00pm
Source: Event Promoter
|
UFC
121 (10/23 Anaheim Pond/Honda Center)
By Zach
Arnold
Dark
matches
¦Heavyweights:
Jon Madsen vs. Gilbert Yvel
¦Middleweights: Chris Camozzi vs. Dongi Yang
¦Lightweights: Sam Stout vs. Paul Taylor
¦Welterweights: Mike Guymon vs. Daniel Roberts
¦Middleweights: Patrick Cote vs. Tom Lawlor
¦Middleweights: Court McGee vs. Ryan Jensen
Main card
¦Heavyweights:
Brendan Schaub vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
¦Welterweights: Diego Sanchez vs. Paulo Thiago
¦Light Heavyweights: Tito Ortiz vs. Matt Hamill
¦Welterweights: Jake Shields vs. Martin Kampmann
¦UFC Heavyweight title match: Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
Source: Fight Opinion
|
A
look at the political war for New York MMA legislation with Justin
Klein
By Zach
Arnold
Justin
Klein, an attorney based out of New York City, appeared on Tapout
Radio last night to talk about what is going on in the state
of New York regarding MMA legislation and what needs to be done
to clear political hurdles.
Justin
is involved in a new project called the New York MMA Initiative
and he is helping out charitably with a youth program that’s
MMA-oriented in his area. He is looking for assistance in terms
of equipment, so if you are a manufacturer of related goods and
can help out, contact Justin. Here is what he is looking for:
“Well,
right now, you know we sort of do it on a needy (basis) because
it’s hard to get a lot of stuff but we need gloves, these
kids need training gloves and, again, in terms of they don’t
spar, I just want to throw out there because I know that question’s
been asked. They don’t spar. They do grapple and they’re
learning Sambo and Jiu-Jitsu but there’s no stand-up sparring,
they do hit pads, that’s all they do. So I want to throw
out there, but… they need training gloves, they need groin
protection, and you know we got them a first round of rash guards
and some board shorts but if we can get any of that gear we’d
love that, too.”
We
have the quotes from Justin’s appearance on the Tapout show
last night. (Full-page mode.)
Regarding
Zuffa’s political contributions to the New York gubernatorial
campaign of Andrew Cuomo
“At
the outset, obviously I’m sure you know this and most of
the followers know this, Mixed Martial Arts is currently illegal
in New York state and has been since 1997 and so, right now,
there is a fairly heated Governor race going on between Andrew
Cuomo and a man named Carl Paladino and… essentially there
were reports, I think it was last week in the New York Post about
campaign contributions from Zuffa to the Cuomo campaign and the
number thrown out there was, you know, approximately $75,000
and I have looked at this issue a little bit earlier because
I had seen on Fight Opinion mention that Zuffa had, in fact,
contributed money to Cuomo’s campaign and I looked myself
at the Board of Elections web site and I only saw about half
that, maybe $36,000 being contributed but that said the mandatory
filing last filing would have been in July so it is of course
possible that Zuffa has contributed additional money. In The
New York Post article it indicated that Cuomo had not taken a
position which did not surprise me and frankly I have called
his campaign myself a week earlier to see where he stood on the
issue and he told me to send an e-mail and I never received a
response but I had called the Paladino campaign and was told
that he had not in fact taken a position on it so in the New
York Post they indicated that Paladino had, and I think quoting
here sort of, had reservations about cage fights. So that was
news to me, so in fact today actually I followed up with the
Paladino campaign and I had a fairly lengthy conversation with
one of his campaign people and they said in fact he had not taken
a position on the issue. They said that they were aware that
there had been reports that he had but in fact he had not taken
a position and he still hasn’t and people should look to
where he generally stands on issues and, you know, a couple of
those issues include the 2nd Amendment right to bare arms and
other issues that Paladino where he stands on other issues to
come to a conclusion about where he stands. So, as of right now,
Paladino’s camp says he hasn’t taken a position and
sort of as an aside here, the New York Post and Paladino have
sort of a little bit of a… I’ll call it a ’situation’
they sort of have a little bit of a heated issue between them.
At a recent political thing up in Lake George, Paladino went
at it with one of the editors from The New York Post (Fred Dicker)
and they have a little bit of a issue there, so that might help
explain why that was reported in the article.”
Why
has legislation for MMA dragged for so long in New York?
“Well,
I mean look you have, you know, and this thing will come up often,
you have an Assemblyman upstate, Bob Reilly, who’s very
vocal about this. In fact, he wrote a report to the full Assembly,
I think it was called A Case for Why Mixed Martial Arts Should
Not Be Legalized and, you know, his stance, you know, he added
a few point but one of them and the main one is that violence
leads to more violence and he doesn’t want to have more
violence in the state than there already is. So, they don’t
focus necessarily on, you know, boxing and that being, he sort
of avoids the comparison. He likes to use, recently he was interviewed
on Inside MMA and he said there that Mixed Martial Arts is different
from other sports because the intent is to hurt the other person
but he obviously, you know, making that argument he’s ignoring
that when two guys get into a ring, it would be the same intent
if you’re going to make that argument. But really it’s
just a violence argument. We don’t need violence in the
state and I think that they, you know, people like Assemblyman
Reilly like to look back at the state of the sport when the ban
was put into place in 1997 and they’re not willing to look
beyond that and to see that the sport has dramatically changed
since then, largely being an offshoot of the Unified Rules in
2000-2001 and he continues to look backwards and one of the recent
things that I read that he was relying on in terms of the intent
factor is he was looking back at the PRIDE rules without, you
know, looking forward or looking at the current state and that
is where MMA takes place are following the Unified Rules and
one of the judging criteria is not damage to the opponent. So,
I mean, I don’t think boxing, you know, that would be an
argument that would be against, what about boxing? And response,
you know, and this takes away from Reilly but my New York state
senator Liz Krueger, she recently voted against the bill to lift
the ban on MMA in the New York Senate and in fact it did pass
the New York Senate… but she put up a blog post on the New
York Senate web site, you know, and she made a number of statements
and one of them was factually completely inaccurate but her position
is boxing may be legal and boxing may take place but I don’t
need to add to that by adding more violence. So, at least (on
the surface) that’s the claim.
“It
passed the New York State Senate and in fact it was also included
in Governor Paterson, he had put forward his Executive Budget
and he had put in a provision that would have lifted the ban
on Mixed Martial Arts. So you knew this year that you had the
Governor in favor and you had the New York State Senate in favor
as well because it passed the Senate and that took it back to
the Assembly and in both regards, both on the budget track which
is a way in essence without getting into too much detail to avoid
the normal legislative process in the sense that if the Governor
puts it in the budget and the Assembly and the Senate agree to
the same budget, then that would be a way to do it without having
it go through the normal process which is to pass both houses
by a majority and then get signed into law by the Governor. And
so in both instances, the Senate and the Governor in their proposed
budgets included lifting the ban on Mixed Martial Arts. The Assembly
did not and in terms of it passing the Senate and then the same
bill, a parallel bill in the Assembly made it through the Tourism
committee, made it through the Codes committee, and again stalled
out in the Ways and Means Committee. So the obvious sticking
point is the Assembly and that is where Reilly resides, he in
fact is on the Tourism committee so for the past two years the
bill has passed out of his committee, so it’s obviously
not that he has such great control of that body. But at this
point he has the ear of the Speaker of the Assembly and the Democratic
Caucus and it’s not moving and so it’s stalled out
for the last two years.”
Does
it matter if the state Governor ends up backing MMA legislation
or do others control the political power?
“Because
this year was a good example and although Paterson had his own
issues and he wasn’t going to be running for reelection,
he was in support of [lifting the MMA ban]. But ultimately the
thing that needs to change is the Assembly and, you know, that’s
where there are plenty of lobbying efforts involved and Reilly
mentioned it on Inside MMA that Madison Square Garden has lobbyists
involved, that Zuffa has lobbyists involved. The lobbying needs
to be directed at the Assembly. .. And there’s two ways
of looking at it. Cuomo… is more likely to have, you know,
at least it would appear a better relationship with the Speaker
of the Assembly Sheldon Silver and Paladino has gone record basically
saying that he thinks that the Speaker of the Assembly should
basically be in Attica and so there’s two different approaches
there and I think both could be, you know, both could work. I
mean with someone’s who completely anti like Paladino and
his relationship with Silver, you know it’s possible that
Silver’s going to realize to get anything done you’re
going to need the Governor’s support for at least something,
so maybe it gets thrown in some sort of trade to get other legislation
passed and with Cuomo it’s possible that if Cuomo was in
favor he could sit down with Silver or sit down with some other
people in the Democratic Caucus and say, look, this thing has
vastly changed, enough already, you know, let’s look at
the sport for what it is now and let’s not look at it for
what it was in 1997 when the ban was put into place.
“Madison
Square Garden, they see it as a potential large source of revenue
and if you look, there was a report commissioned and it was commissioned
by Zuffa but it was done by a company out there and they estimated
and this was recently repeated by Marc Ratner in an interview
with The Wall Street Journal, they repeated that one event in
Madison Square Garden could lead to $11-14 million dollars in
economic activity. That includes hotels, restaurants, and of
course concessions and other direct revenue that would go to
MSG, so they’re for it. Also on the side of who’s for
it, the current Chairwoman of the New York State Athletic Commission,
Melvina Lathan, she is for it. And again, you know the counter
to that by someone like Reilly would be that these people seek
to derive revenue from it. The commission would make money if
MMA was legalized here and so would the Garden, but they’re
clearly for it. And in fact Governor Pataki, you know, he who
signed the law signed into law the ban of MMA in 1997, he has
now said that in fact he’s for it, it’s a different
sport and entirely different circumstances now. So you can take
that for what it is but, I mean, there is a lot of support for
it but there’s also a very, I will call it… I’d
say largely inept political system here in New York and, you
know, there’s real problems in the Assembly and if you don’t
have the right people supporting a piece of legislation, it could
be a long, a long road unfortunately.”
What
will it take to clear the political hurdles?
“Well,
I mean, if you’re out there and you’re listening, you
should write letters, call, I mean, these New York politicians
as much as they might like to think they’re on the Federal
level, they’re not and they should be accessible and you
should be able to call their offices. I frequently call Assemblyman
(Jonathan) Bing and he is one of the co-sponsors of the bill
to legalize MMA and I talk to him frequently and his advice and
he constantly, constantly repeats this is people need to call
their Assembly people, especially in the city here, you know,
which is where I am (NYC). Call them and say, listen, you need
to look at this and get beyond what Bob Reilly is putting out
there in his opinion piece on why it should not be legalized
and you need to realize that this is a different sport and he’s
using old examples to push his agenda. The sport has changed,
the rules are in place, you can’t look back at PRIDE rules
and judging criteria and you have to look at what the sport is
now and that’s really the key, I mean get involved. And
obviously, you know, I got involved. I started this charity where
I’m trying to, you know, help these kids and stuff like
that. There’s other ways to get involved in New York and
get involved in Mixed Martial Arts and, you know… but largely
on the political side I think it’s going to take writing
letters and talking to your legislators, e-mailing, writing letters
and just picking up the phone and calling because a lot of times
you will get them on the phone.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Jake
Shields Feels Pressure, Excitement for UFC Debut 11 Years in
the Making
By Mike
Chiappetta
After over a decade in MMA, and winning multiple belts in multiple
organizations across two weight classes, Jake Shields finally
gets to live his dream of fighting in the UFC. The former EliteXC
and Strikeforce champion has enough on his plate by debuting,
but on Wednesday, UFC president Dana White added further incentive,
saying Shields would "probably" be next in line for
a title shot should he beat Martin Kampmann at UFC 121.
"I'm
very excited about coming to the UFC," Shields said during
a UFC 121 conference call. "I've wanted to fight here for
11 years and I finally made it. When I first started, I thought
I'd be there in a year. It took a little longer than I thought."
Shields
went on to say that he's already noticed positive changes while
working with his new organization.
"The
difference is there's way more media attention, way more hype,
way more professionalism," he said. "They tell you
what you're doing, when you're doing it, they have a staff. And
I don't mean that as a knock on Strikeforce, they're just not
as organized. It's nice to be in an organization that's so together."
While
the decorated 11-year veteran has compiled a 25-4-1 record and
has won 14 straight bouts, it's likely that he'll still walk
into the octagon as a stranger to some fight fans who pay close
attention to the UFC while virtually ignoring other promotions.
It's
a situation for which he's prepared.
"When
I've been going to UFC [events] I've been getting swarmed lately
so obviously some of them know me. But some of them don't,"
he said. "It's like half-ass. So I need to go out there
for people who don't know who I am and show them who I am on
October 23. So I feel a lot of pressure to go out and give a
great performance."
Shields
also voiced a hope that other Strikeforce fighters would get
the chance to introduce or re-introduce themselves to UFC fans
-- namely his Skrap-Pack teammates Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez,
both of whom hold title belts in the competing promotion.
"I'd
love to see Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez come over, but that's
really up to them and Dana to work out some kind of deal,"
he said. "Hopefully in the next year or two both of them
will be coming over and joining me in the UFC."
In
the meantime, Shields will finish final preparations for Kampmann,
a skilled contender with a 17-3 record and a well-rounded game.
During his UFC run, Kampmann has shown strong wrestling, but
it's a situation Shields should get used to, as many of UFC's
best welterweights have excellent wrestling credentials.
Shields
is no different, a former collegiate wrestler who has become
a jiu-jitsu ace over the years. While continually tweaking his
game, he understands what has made him successful and will continue
to showcase his strengths.
"Wrestling
is my roots. I'm not going to go away from that," he said.
"I've been doing a lot of wrestling again. Obviously that's
what I worked on for [Dan] Henderson and I'm staying there. Guys
like Kampmann, he's a great striker, great wrestler and has submissions.
I'm working everything for this fight, trying to find a way to
even it out and get the balance."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
LESNAR:
THERE IS RESPONSIBILITY WITH BEING THE CHAMPION
by Damon
Martin
For being extremely private in his personal life, UFC heavyweight
champion Brock Lesnar is still proud to be an example to kids
looking up to him as an athlete in the sport of mixed martial
arts.
A
former NCAA wrestling champion, Lesnar spent years traveling
and working the circuits of the professional wrestling world
with World Wrestling Entertainment before taking his turn doing
MMA. Being in the spotlight since he left college, Lesnar may
shy away from cameras getting too close to his family as seen
on "UFC Primetime," but he hopes he can set an example
to the youth by doing the right things in and out of the cage.
"Absolutely,"
Lesnar answered when asked if he feels he's a role model. "The
modern day athlete today, he's got nowhere to hide. With TV cameras,
cell phones, Flip cameras, you've got to walk the line and be
responsible.
"There
is responsibility with being the champion."
Lesnar
has always been a fighter who has spoken his mind whether the
conversation turns to politics or medical care, but he believes
that being a good example to kids looking up to him is an important
role he carries with being the UFC champion. Accountability is
the way that Lesnar lives his life, and whether it's in the cage
fighting or walking down the street when someone takes a picture,
he's got to be on point at all moments.
A
father of three, the Minnesota fighter believes that parenthood
is the best example of how to behave the right way and instill
the right values that people will try to mirror in him.
"First
and foremost, I have to be a good role model to my own kids.
If you do that, then you should be for other kids to see as well,"
Lesnar stated.
Nobody
is perfect though, and Lesnar is quick to point out anybody is
capable of making mistakes. It's how you react and move on that's
the key.
It
could be argued that he slipped up following his first win over
Frank Mir, taunting the beaten fighter and making unseemly remarks
in the Octagon after the fight. He later apologized at the post-fight
press conference.
"People
are going to trip and people are going to make mistakes, that's
human nature," Lesnar commented. "As long as you learn
from those mistakes and take responsibility, what more can you
ask for?"
Source: MMA Weekly
|
How
Sentimentalism Changes Our Feelings About Fighters
by Brian
Mayes
Muhammad
Ali and Matt Hughes are two people you would, never ever compare
to each other normally. Ali is the greatest heavyweight pugilist
of all time; Hughes was a great welterweight champion in mixed
martial arts. Ali is a black Muslim who in his day was a touchstone
for social commentary; Hughes is a white Christian who'd rather
go deer hunting than do an interview. At first you think that
the only thing in common these two men share is the fact that
they made their living with their fists. But they share more
in common than you think.
I
first started following MMA back in 2005, when I stumbled across
the second season of The Ultimate Fighter. Matt Hughes was one
of the coaches on that show, and he was the very definition of
a heel. He berated the fighters on his team when they didn't
perform well, and he either mocked or criticized the fighters
on the opposing team to their face. He was both the high school
jock who shoved you in a locker, and the coach who always saw
you as a failure. He was not a beloved figure. I remember the
absolute glee that MMA fans around the world had when Georges
St. Pierre finally knocked Hughes from his perch as welterweight
champion in the fall of 2006. Hughes didn't do much to help his
image over the next few years - he feuded with Matt Serra, and
wrote an autobiography that featured stories from his life that
bordered on disturbing.
Muhammad
Ali was every bit the heel that Matt Hughes was and then some.
He had always played the role from the very beginning, when he
was Cassius Clay, the loud mouthed Olympic gold medalist from
Louisville Kentucky. His gimmick at the time was to call out
the round he was going to defeat his opponent in - if he said
"Archie Moore must go down in four," then by God Archie
Moore would be finished in the fourth round. People actively
rooted against him because he was a loud mouthed braggart. They
so badly wanted to see someone put him in his place, to make
him eat his words. This only got worse after he defeated Sonny
Liston for the heavyweight title and announced himself as a member
of the Nation of Islam, along with changing his name to Muhammad
Ali. It escalated as Ali's rhetoric got more sinister - he openly
decried integration, and even attended KKK meetings to discuss
how the races should be separated. He refused induction into
the armed services, which enraged the conservative base in America.
He decried his greatest rival, Joe Frazier, as an Uncle Tom,
a gorilla, an ugly and ignorant man. And people hated Ali for
it, even beyond the world of boxing. He was a total social pariah.
Yet
today, both Ali and Hughes are remembered warmly and fondly.
When I see fans talk about Hughes today, it's always in terms
of how great his legacy is, or how he was a wonderful champion.
There is nary a hint of the hate this man generated just four
or five years ago. Fans who once openly rooted for Hughes to
be destroyed in every one of his fights, now campaign for him
to have favorable matchups that he can win as he heads into retirement.
With Ali, it's even more exaggerated. You'd swear this man was
Jesus, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. rolled into one. Not
only that, he's been transformed into some sort of an untouchable
boxer, a man who only lost when he wanted to, and could beat
Wladimir Klitschko, Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in the same night
with one arm tied behind his back.
Mark
Kram looked at the way people view Ali today in his fantastic
book, "Ghosts of Manila" -
"Cheap
myth coruscates the man; the wire scheme for his sculpture is
too big. Junk commentary has been slapped on it to the point
that a precise appreciation of just who Ali was (and is) has
become obscured. Worse, grandstanding compassion over his admittedly
tragic current situation has only served to block a clear view
of him even more. While myth usually begins in a place of truth
- in this case, uncommon boxing skill- it often ends in a place
of fantasia, and this is where we find Ali. He has been celebrated
for the wrong reasons and has been interpreted by an increasingly
uniformed generation of media that was barely born at the height
of his career."
Kram
brings up two excellent points here, the first being that a lot
of the reason for sentimentality with Ali is his battle with
Parkinson's disease. We see someone who was once a brash young
man and a superb athlete reduced to a silent old man with a terrible
tremor. It makes you feel sympathy for him and it makes it difficult
to recall all the things that people disliked him for so many
years ago. But his second point is even more salient - most of
those writing about Ali today weren't around when he was actively
fighting. They are seeing everything in retrospect, through sentimental
blinders.
And
I think that's a bit of what we're getting with Matt Hughes.
A lot of the people who think of him in warm terms simply weren't
following the sport when this man was the ultimate heel. If you
just started following the sport within the last year or two,
you've only seen Hughes as an aging fighter, out there giving
his all in the twilight of his career.
But
there's something more to it. I've seen Hughes through two sets
of eyes over the years - at first, the man I rooted against in
his fights with Royce Gracie, BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre,
then years later as the man I rooted for against Ricardo Almeida.
I no longer see him as the super heel that terrorized people
on The Ultimate Fighter - I just see him as the quietly confident
former champion who still puts on exciting fights more often
than not.
Time
softens feelings, and we have forgotten how we thought of Ali
and Hughes in their respective primes. We choose to remember
the good aspects of both men, and forget the things that upset
us. And while Ali and Hughes certainly deserve to be remembered
fondly, let us not totally erase from memory what they were really
like at one time. Not only is that rewriting history, it is disrespectful
to both men's legacy. How Ali and Hughes portrayed themselves
is an essential part of who they were as fighters and as men.
And
we shouldn't forget that.
Source: Head Kick Legend
|
Pre-Worlds
“light” training with Carwin, Marquardt & Co.
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
If light training is what you want, then don’t accompany
Denílson Pimenta on his trip to the United States. Again,
the GFTeam black belt is helping out Renzo Gracie representative
Amal Easton prepare beasts like Nate Marquardt, Shane Carwin,
and Brendan Schaub in working on their ground games. The latter
about to take on Gabriel Napão at UFC 121 on October 23.
“The
gang is really dedicated, the guys are really good at MMA, with
impressive gas tanks. Between spars they’re bouncing around;
they don’t stop for a minute. Nate (Marquardt) never stops,
he gets out from under you the whole time. I’m helping Amal
fine-tune them, working on what they should do in given situations.
We practice a lot of submissions, too, and the folks have really
evolved Jiu-Jitsu games. We also work on ways to trap opponents
under you and I’m stoked to be training with these guys.
I’m always dead tired after training and the guys appreciate
our being there. I can only thank Amal for the opportunity,”
says Pimenta, who offers his prediction on the bout between Brendan
and Gonzaga:
“I
have a lot of faith in Brendan’s standup and it’s really
hard to get him to the ground. The guy puts Shane Carwin on top
of him and still gets out. Just like Nate did when he got out
of Toquinho’s foot hold so quick, he does it, too. If you
blink, he gets up. It will be a great fight, but I have faith
in Brendan. If Napão isn’t at his best, he won’t
make it to the end,” he wagers.
Recent training “vacation” aside, Pimenta is getting
ready for the No-Gi Worlds, to take place November 7 in California.
Furthermore, the black belt will take part in a GP.
‘I’m
going to do the No-Gi Worlds and I’m already cutting weight;
that same old problem! Before that, though, I’m going to
do a GP in Texas on the 28th; there will be eight fighters going
for the under-80kg belt. I’ll compete at 80kg one week and
67 the next! I’m here ready for war, training morning and
night,” he says in closing.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Ramon
Lemos
By Guilherme Cruz
Jiu-Jitsu coach of Anderson Silva, the Black belt Ramon Lemos,
head coach of Atos, was more than pleased with the outcome of
the fight between the champion and Chael Sonnen on UFC 117, but
knows that the greatest challenge is to move on. On a chat with
TATAME, Ramon commented the preparation for the fight against
Vitor Belfort, which happens on UFC 126, and revels he was glad
to know about Sonnen’s doping. “I was very happy because
he was on top of us for 23 minutes, on his best position, and
Anderson submitted him, won the fight and kept the belt…
Then you see that the guy had used things, so he had better conditioning
than a regular athlete… It’s wonderful for us. That
proves that Anderson Silva is the best of t he world”, celebrates,
talking about the plans for Atos and a lot more.
What did you think of the last win of Anderson, showing a sharp
Jiu-Jitsu as he submitted Sonnen after a tough fight?
Man, I believe that everything that happened there was the result
of a good training we’ve been doing. We created a full schedule
and he would perform each move many times during the day, the
conditioning work has been done on Nike’s training center,
so all his physical preparation helped him on the abdominal area…
He told me: “Ramon, I never thought I’d lose”.
Of course it was a tough fight, but you can fool yourself with
that crap. It was a very tough fight because the guy came prepared,
got to the position he wanted so badly and said he would get,
but I think it was fight worthy of a champion. To be honest,
sometimes it could sound like bullshit, but Anderson during all
the training he did on the United States, said: “I’ll
submit this guy”.
You knew about Anderson’s injury. What did you think he
should do?
On the day he got injured, two and a half weeks before, he went
to the doctor and the doctor told us he really had a rib injury
and it’d be hard for him to move quickly, and we had an
entire work done. We’d done the promotion of the fight and
Anderson had a responsibility as an athlete with the event, which
is the greatest one on earth, and with millions of people who’d
watch him on the internet and on TV, on pay-per-view, so he felt
like he needed to fight. He thought: “How I’d say I
won’t fight now? How am I going to set back? I have to go”.
His grandma had just died and he came from his grandma’s
funeral… There were many things that made him go there,
mainly his responsibility as an athlete with the fans. Of course
we know it can’t always be like that. He could’ve lost…
But that’s our opinion. We couldn’t make the decision
for him. We’ve asked him and he said: “I’ll go”,
so I told him: “We’re together on this one” and
thanks God everything worked out just fine.
How did you react when you heard about Sonnen’s doping?
I won’t be a hypocrite and say it was sad... I was very
happy because he was on top of us for 23 minutes, on his best
position, and Anderson submitted him, won the fight and kept
the belt… Then you see that the guy had used things, so
he had better conditioning than a regular athlete… It’s
wonderful for us. That proves that Anderson Silva is the best
of t he world, without any doubts.
Did you approve this rematch before he was caught by the doping
exam?
I’m in favor of rematches for the fans, the show, the event,
the whole media… But, as a professional and athlete, and
now as Anderson Silva’s coach on Atos, I consider a rematch
a bad thing and it doesn’t worth. Because, if the guy had
loss on the judges’ call, it’d be ok. But he stayed
for 23 minutes, and that means five rounds, on his best position,
which is to takedown and punch from the top, and he couldn’t
define the fight, and he lost. There’s no need to know if
he had taken extra medicines or not. You can’t have a rematch
on those conditions. He has to be punished and stay a year off
and then come back for the end of the line and wait for his call
to fight Anderson Silva again.
This problem with Sonnen turned out to be a good thing for Vitor
Belfort, who now will have this chance against Anderson. How
do you see this fight between them?
It’s a fight we’ve all waited for and, on Anderson’s
trainings, we’ve talked that he’d be a probable athlete
to fight him. I think Anderson’s fought everyone on his
division and those he didn’t, was because they weren’t
ready to fight Anderson and have a title fight… They have
to have an entire story to get to Anderson Silva. Vitor Belfort
has been showing it. The fight’s coming and we have to do
our best. The training is being set, we’re making a full
scheduled here and putting it all on paper. I’ve been talking
to Anderson every day, I think that Vitor Belfort has many strong
points, but have some weaknesses too, and I think those weaknesses
will make him fail on this mission to get Anderson’s belt.
I think he’s a top athlete, but Anderson has conditions
to beat him and many other who’ll come his way.
Against Sonnen, Anderson had a hard time on the stand up game,
something that could worry you on this fight against Belfort.
How much did his injury influenced on that matter?
I think his injury manifested loudly on this fight. He entered
the octagon with an injured rib. On the dressing room, while
he was doing some warm up exercises, you could tell he had an
injury because he was always bringing his hand to his rib…
He entered the stage wearing a kimono, something you’ve
never seen before on Anderson’s career. But when you get
there injured, your mind goes shitty, you keep thinking you can’t
move, this or that. I wanted, in the future, that Anderson fighting
at his best, so that people know Anderson is a monster on the
stand up game, on the ground too from the top or on the bottom.
He’s an excellent athlete. I noticed he wasn’t the
same on the stand-up game from the beginning and I think it was
due to his injury. Anderson has no reasons to hide it… We
know very well who Anderson Silva is because of all he has done
on MMA, he has a huge history. He has over 30 fights on his record
and everybody knows what he can do. No one unlearn it all in
one fight. So, there’s no such thing like he’s not
“the man” anymore. On one fight he unlearned it all...
So why did he do all that before? For sure the injury spoke loudly
on this fight.
As his Jiu-Jitsu coach, do you think the ground game can be an
interesting choice for this fight against Vitor Belfort?
I think Anderson has fast hands, and when the fight begins, our
mind is to win the fight. When it comes to Jiu-Jitsu, my intention
with Anderson is to qualify his ground game and bring him to
a similar level to his stand-up game. We don’t want him
to be afraid of the ground game, of standing-up or fighting with
a wrestler… What we want is Anderson to have his best performance
whatever the fight takes place. But, when the fight begins, just
like Jiu-Jitsu and any other martial art, the fight starts with
both athletes standing, and then the exchange begins. We know
that when Anderson exchanges, he’s a phenomenon. We’ll
trade some punches and, if we have to go to the floor, there’re
no doubts he can do it. He trains it, but people think he only
knows how to hit people with his hands, or feet. It’s the
other way around: Anderson Silva is a complete athlete, he does
everything any fighter needs to do.
Now, as the responsible for his trainings, will you prefer to
do his trainings in Brazil or on the United States?
I’m just one of the responsible for Anderson’s training,
and I’m grateful that he had mentioned me that way, but
I’m not the only one. There’s Diógenes, who’s
his right hand… There’s also Dandan, which is a close
friends of ours, and a fundamental piece, ROgério, Distak…
If I start pointing out names, there’re many people who
are a part of it. Everybody’s on it, so it’s teamwork
and we call each other and we’re discussing about setting
the right date… There’s nothing set. We’re defining
things now… In November we’ll start his training. He’s
training, but now like it’ll be in November, when we’ll
start a three months work for his fight against Vitor.
With the end of the year coming, what do you think about Atos’
results on 2010?
I’m on a magical moment in my life. I’ve just started
my career as a MMA coach, but actually I’m not a MMA coach,
I’m just a Jiu-Jitsu coach who works with MMA athletes and
I’ve been working with Jiu-Jitsu my whole life. I’m
the head coach, along with André Galvão, of Atos.
It was a wonderful year … We’ve won two trials to Abu
Dhabi, we were champion in all divisions we had athletes on the
championship in Abu Dhabi, we had a great result on Brazil, on
teams dispute of Brazil’s Championship we got the second
position, but there were some mistakes made by the referees with
disturbed us a bit… On World, Rafael Mendes won and many
other athletes won medals… I think that Atos, in two years,
conquest many things and got to the media, to newspapers, magazines
and TV shows… It’s a magical moment for Atos. They
deserve it, they dedicate 24/7, and I’m very glad and we
want more for 2011. The work hasn’t stop, but the guys are
ministering seminars, teaching and healing from injuries. In
November and December the season starts… In January there’s
Europe Championship, then there’re many trials and then
Brazil World and we’ll be there.
Many people said that Rafael and Cobrinha would face each other,
but then they stopped talking about it. Will this fight happen?
Actually, Rafael got a proposal for this fight and he never denied
it, in fact he wanted it badly. But we’re not irresponsible,
we have many seminars to be ministered. Each season we have an
athlete fighting, but then he’ll minister some seminars,
so you can imagine a professional athlete, one of the best of
the world, having to minister seminars and quitting it because
he’ll fight on an event like this… For him to do that,
it has to be worthy. Cobrinha is a very qualified athlete to
fight Rafael, you don’t have to say it, we know… For
all he’s shown on the black belt category, being world champion
four times in a row, but it has to be worthy when it comes to
finances too. He has responsibilities. We’ve sent an email
asking for a better proposition, and they have never answered
us and the media said he had refused to fight the guy, that he
wanted more money or something like it. I think it was a mistake
the organization made and it sould have been a secret. They didn’t
wait for Rafael to agree with the scholarship.
Talking about money, World Pro promises a reward of a million
dollars, for both with and with no gi. What are the expectations
for this dispute?
What I can tell you is that the athletes should be prepared because
we’ll be there, from the white to the black belt. We’re
training hard and our focus is this. It’s very important
an event like this to make Jiu-Jitsu look better, but the Jiu-Jitsu
community in Brazil should also applaud Fepa (Fernando Lopes),
here in Sao Paulo, who has been doing a great event, very organized,
and it’s getting bigger each year… I bet on Fepa (Fernando
Lopes) on this event and I hope that Brazil has an event like
that. Maybe it won’t have the same reward that Sheik has,
but it has to make athletes live from the sport and, who knows,
maybe someday, help on the trainings.
In the end of the year there’ll be this championship of
Lopes, World League Pro Jiu-Jitsu, which will have a R$ 100.000
reward. Will you also be on this event?
For
sure. We’re professionals and we have to be where the sport
is so that our lives make sense. These events give us the money
so that we can keep practicing the sport. I want people to understand
that when I say it, it’s not like: if there’s money,
Atos will be there. Wherever the event is professional…
Like World of Jiu-Jitsu, which doesn’t give us any money,
but they have a professional level and great athletes on the
dispute… We’ll be there. But on the championships that
give financial rewards, we have to be there so that we can keep
our work and don’t let it fade. I think that it’s the
natural course for Jiu-Jitsu: that each competition has a bigger
reward than the previous one, just like on the white and blue
belts, so that the athlete can keep trainings. The blue belt
of today is the black belt of tomorrow. If those people can’t
survive on the sport, Jiu-Jitsu will be faded to end in Brazil
and we’ll have to go abroad and that’s the big problem.
If the root is going down, the essence will die.
Source: Tatame
|
Unbeaten
John Makdessi to Debut vs. Pat Audinwood at UFC 124
By Matt
Erickson
Unbeaten Canadian John Makdessi has signed with the UFC and will
make his promotional debut against Pat Audinwood at UFC 124 in
December.
The
news was first reported by Mac's MMA New York, and sources close
to Audinwood's camp confirmed the fight with MMA Fighting on
Thursday.
Makdessi,
a Quebec native who has not yet fought outside of Canada, will
debut for the UFC in front of his home fans. UFC 124 takes place
at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Dec. 11, the UFC's second trip
to the venue this year and fourth overall.
A
student of Georges St-Pierre head trainer Firas Zahabi, Makdessi
(7-0) last month won a decision over M-1 and WEC veteran Bendy
Casimir. It was the first time Makdessi, a kickboxer by trade,
had to go the distance – his previous six wins all came
by TKO.
Audinwood
(9-1, 0-1 UFC) who trains at Team Bombsquad in New York, which
produced top UFC light heavyweight contender Jon Jones and Audinwood's
cousin, WEC vet John Franchi. He is coming off the first loss
of his career, a submission setback to Thiago Tavares on the
preliminary card of UFC 119 in Indianapolis last month.
UFC
124 airs Dec. 11 on pay-per-view and features a main event welterweight
title fight between St-Pierre and challenger Josh Koscheck.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Changing
New York Political Winds Could Affect MMA Sanctioning
By Mike
Chiappetta
Political pundits expect the 2010 mid-term elections to usher
in a wave of Republican gains in both national and local races.
According to the influential New York Times political blog FiveThirtyEight,
which aggregates polling data to predict races, New York will
not be one of the states to go from blue to red, at least on
a gubernatorial level. According to their statistical models,
Democrat Andrew Cuomo has a 99.8 percent probability of defeating
Republican Carl Paladino.
As
the last man to sign off on or veto laws, the candidate elected
on Nov. 2 will play a major role in the possible sanctioning
of mixed martial arts in The Empire State. Unfortunately, neither
has yet to take a formal stance on the legalization of the sport.
Robin
Wolfgang, press secretary for Paladino, told MMA Fighting the
campaign does not have a position on the topic.
"Unfortunately
as a candidate we can only take a position on some big key issues,
but as governor we would have more resources to research and
comment on everything that affects the lives of New Yorkers,"
she said.
Meanwhile,
Cuomo's campaign did not return messages asking for comment,
though The New York Post reported earlier this month that UFC
parent company Zuffa Entertainment has donated nearly $75,000
to the Cuomo war chest this election cycle.
The
bigger battle for the legalization of the sport, however, is
fought at the level of the state assembly, where Bob Reilly has
gained a level of notoriety in the MMA world as the sport's most
vocal opponent.
Reilly,
a Democrat from New York's 109th district, is a member of the
Assembly's Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development Committee
that initiates legislation that affects tourism. Yet, he's hardly
its most influential. In fact, the chair of the committee, Steven
Englebright -- like Reilly, a Democrat -- has twice sponsored
legislation that would legalize MMA in New York, and despite
Reilly's objections, the bill has passed out of that committee
both times.
Though
the bill has passed one obstacle on two separate occasions, it
has eventually stalled out as the result of what is reported
to be internal debate among Democrats in the state Assembly.
Though
Reilly has become public enemy No. 1 among MMA fans hoping to
see the sport in New York, according to some, the biggest hurdle
in the fight to sanctioning is Sheldon Silver, the 64th district
representative and Speaker of the Assembly who both The New York
Times and The New York Post call "the most powerful man"
in the state capital.
Just
how crucial is Silver to New York's legislative process? Dr.
Douglas Muzzio, a professor at New York's Baruch College and
longtime political analyst, told MMA Fighting, "Nothing
happens legislatively in the New York State Assembly" without
Silver's OK.
"He
rules the body," he said. "If he wanted it for whatever
reasons, for political partisan reasons, policy reasons, financial
reasons, if he wanted it, it would happen."
Officially,
Silver has no position on MMA.
"Because
we're a committee-driven house, he generally doesn't comment
on bills before they're in committee process," his spokesperson
Sisa Moyo told MMA Fighting.
Privately,
however, Silver and Reilly are said to be relatively closely
aligned, and the campaign of Reilly's 2010 opponent Jennifer
Whalen claims that Reilly votes with Silver 97 percent of the
time.
That
differs from Silver's relationship with Cuomo, which according
to news reports, is expected by many to be contentious should
Cuomo win the governorship as expected. [Meanwhile, It is virtually
guaranteed Silver will win his own election, running against
a candidate, Joan Lipp, who has essentially admitted defeat.]
Cuomo
is largely running on a reform agenda that could lead to major
back-room battles, even among fellow Democrats. There have been
suggestions that Cuomo may try to unseat Silver as speaker, a
move which would greatly change the dynamic of Albany politics.
"In
the larger political sense there is the possibility you'll have
a collision given Cuomo's stated positions and Shelly's acted-on
positions," Muzzio said. "Shelly's a wiley politician
and Andrew is a sophisticated political animal. They may avoid
a train wreck but a train wreck is possible. They're both Democrats,
that's true. They'll have some common interests but also some
conflicting interests. And we may end up with a fight on our
hands."
A
power struggle could prove disastrous for New York, which has
already endured paralyzing state budget battles in recent years.
As a result, the state has had to focus on major issues at the
expense of things considered less important yet fruitful business,
like MMA sanctioning.
"To
be frank, it's not on the public's agenda or the legislature's
agenda," Muzzio said. "There are so many other issues
and concerns. I haven't had one conversation with someone in
state-level politics where that's a topic of conversation. It
could be because of my limited conversation, but I don't see
it. Not only is it below the radar, it's underground almost because
of all the other stuff going on."
Still,
there are power players in the state who have voiced a support
for the sport, including Gov. David Paterson, state athletic
commission chairwoman Melvina Lathan, Madison Square Garden Sports,
the state senate -- which passed a bill sanctioning the sport
in 2010 before the Assembly blocked the measure -- and even former
Gov. George Pataki, the man who originally signed a bill outlawing
MMA in 1997.
And
if makes MMA fans feel any better, Bob Reilly is seeking his
fourth term in New York's 109th district. His opponent, Republican
Jennifer Whalen, has already voiced a support for legalizing
MMA. And it's said to be the political fight of Reilly's life.
Regardless
of whether Cuomo wins as expected or Paladino pulls off a miracle,
the power wielded by Silver is likely to continue to be the X-factor
in MMA's sanctioning struggle.
"If
I were to point to someone who was the determiner of it happening
or not in the Assembly, it's Sheldon Silver," Muzzio said.
"Pure plain and simple, nothing happens in that body unless
he supports it."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
TUF
12 RATINGS HIGHEST YET AT 1.9 MILLION
Episode five of the "Ultimate Fighter" season 12 saw
Josh Koscheck's team get their first win, and it also saw the
highest ratings so far this year with an average of 1.9 million
viewers for the show on Wednesday night.
Up
to this point in the season, episode three had the highest marks
with former boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson making an
appearance, but now the fifth episode is tops for the year to
date.
The
ratings spiked to a 1.93 share in males 18-49, with a 2.2 in
males 18-34, keeping the "Ultimate Fighter" a staple
in a key demographic.
The
season has showcased Koscheck coaching against UFC 124 opponent
Georges St. Pierre, and a cast of lightweights hoping to become
the next champion of the show.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Larry
Pepe responds to critics about his critique of Josh Gross and
steroids in MMA
By Zach
Arnold
This
was the article that created a controversy in media circles:
Larry Pepe eviscerates Josh Gross for proposing zero-tolerance
UFC policy, says current drug testing procedures are great
In
Larry’s response to the critics who didn’t like what
he had to say, he wants to know where the hard evidence is in
regards to a drug epidemic in MMA. Furthermore, he states that
at best the ceiling is probably around 15% for usage given past
studies about drug usage in the NFL.
From
his radio show last Monday:
“And
I want to address a couple of the criticisms that I’ve seen
and clarify some things because I think some people missed the
point. You know, let me start with the Bloody Elbow piece, Kid
Nate was very complimentary to me personally. Bloody Elbow’s
been around a long time, they do a good job. None of this is
personal. This is an issue that I think is up for significant
debate and I’m glad that it’s being debated and I’m
glad people got a chance to hear the other side because I think
people hear an opinion sometimes like this overwhelming percentage
of fighters are on drugs, on steroids, and people just say, OK,
well, that must be on the case and I don’t think that’s
the case and you’ll understand why if you go back and listen
to that episode. And Kid Nate actually takes issue with both
my opinion and Josh’s position. But with respect to mine,
he tells me that there’s no Santa Claus which of course
is devastating to me because, you know, I’m a big fan of
Christmas. (laughs) But, putting that aside, what he’s really
saying is that I had gave the statistic that there have been
10 UFC fighters who have failed in the last 8 years and his point
is that certainly for me to believe that the testing is effective
and we’re catching everybody and that type of thing is like
believing in Santa Claus. Now, first of all, as far as are we
catching everybody? Of course we’re not catching everybody,
neither is the NFL, neither is Major League Baseball. They don’t
and never will catch everybody. This battle will rage on until
the end of time between people who want to cheat and use drugs
and people who want to catch them and we’re never going
to catch everybody with any kind of testing, it’s just not
going to happen and it’s not going to happen in any sport.
To me the real question is, do we have a problem? Is usage at
the rampant level that Josh suggests? Because you average out
his percentages, that crazy range from 30 to 70%, and let’s
just call it 50%… The question is whether you believe that
we have 50% of the UFC fighters using drugs. I don’t because
there’s absolutely no evidence whatsoever that that’s
the case outside of some locker room conversations and there
is evidence, in my opinion, that it’s not the case and that
is the drug testing. Do I think it’s perfect? No. Do I think
we’re catching everybody? No. No drug testing ever will.
But to extrapolate out from 10 fighters in 8 years which is a
little over one a year, one fighter in 2009 and 2010, to extrapolate
that out to half (50%) is insanity to me. That was my point.
I’m not trying to estimate exactly how many people because
there’s no way for us to know, but we do have evidence that
suggests that that can’t be the case.
“The
other thing that I brought up in the last piece is an NFL study
of 2,552 players, retired players, and in that study they determined
that 9.1% had used drugs and about 15-16% of lineman, where strength
and size were a bigger issue. Now, some people attacked using
that study saying that the average age of those polled was 54
but those people actually made my argument for me because these
are retired players who have no reason to lie. It’s a confidential
survey. They’re not getting paid any more. They’re
not going to lose any money. They’re not going to get suspended.
But more importantly, with the average age being 54 the majority
of the players in this study actually played in the NFL prior
to 1987 and the reason that this is very important is because
the NFL did no drug testing before 1987. So, I don’t think
you have to be, you know, there’s no stretch, there’s
no leap of faith to believe that more people use drugs when they’re
not being drug tested than when they know they are being drug
tested and they can get suspended and lose portions of their
salary. I think to think otherwise would be kind of silly and
in a non-tested environment athletes are going to use drugs more
than a tested environment. In the non-tested environment, the
number of NFL players were 9.1% to 16%. So in a tested environment,
you have to believe that that number is no higher and logically
a bit lower. So, even if you use those numbers, even if you say
it’s 10%, it’s 15%, in a non-tested environment, when
you’re taking a non-tested time period into consideration
and the majority of people in the study played in that non-tested
time period, I think 15% is the ceiling and I don’t know
where the argument is that MMA fighters are going to be more
likely to use drugs, use steroids than NFL players. That makes
no sense to me, either, because you know a) they’re going
to get suspended for 9-12 months, they don’t make a salary.
MMA fighters don’t make money if they’re not fighting
outside of some sponsorship deals and not that many MMA Fighters
have sponsorship deals that aren’t directly linked to them
at a fight, like wearing a t-shirt at a fight or wearing shorts
at a fight, so if you can’t fight your ability to earn money
goes down to next to nothing whereas if you can’t play four
games in the NFL, you still collect your salary for the 12 weeks.
So, thank you, because by pointing out the average age of the
players, you actually made my point for me.
“Then
some people raised the issue of blood testing, that without blood
testing all this doesn’t matter because the urine test is
a joke and Kid Nate made a comment that entire classes of extremely
powerful PEDs are never going to be detected by the tests. The
only steroid related compound and HGH technically is different
than steroids but let’s link them together, the only one
that I’m aware of and I checked with actually an attorney
who deals with drug testing cases all the time, and he wasn’t
aware of any known steroid that is detectable in blood but not
detectable in urine. HGH is detectable in blood BUT even back
in April when the Nevada State Athletic Commission was considering
adding a form of blood testing for HGH, a gentleman named Robert
Voy who was a former chief medical officer for the US Olympic
Committee actually dissuaded them, telling them that as of that
time that blood testing for HGH was still not effective and unreliable.
Now, how that far that’s come since then, I don’t know
but in terms of these entire classes of extremely powerful PEDs,
the only thing I know of that is not detectable in urine that
is detectable in blood is HGH and according to those comments
unless the technology has really leaped forward it would be unreliable
so I’m not sure that blood testing is the end-all of everything.
“I
am also, I also question why do we have to go beyond what any
other major sport does when we have the lowest failure rate in
any major sport. NFL does not do blood testing, Major League
Baseball does not do blood testing. why does MMA have to do blood
testing and if you’re going to say it’s because they
fight and it’s violent, again, go back to that prior episode
(I won’t get into the details now) but I would strongly
argue that when you look at the injury reports from an NFL weekend
and the injury reports from a fight weekend that the risk of
harm and risk of injury to an NFL player is greater than an MMA
fighter. And, we also found out earlier this week that the Nevada
State Athletic Commission is going to do some form of blood testing.
They haven’t fleshed out all the details, it hasn’t
been done yet so I don’t want to put too much on that but
depending on how that blood testing plays out, then we will be
doing some form of blood testing and the fighters do get blood
tested once a year when they do their licensing although the
focus of that blood testing is really on infectious diseases.
Mike Chiappetta did a nice piece on this whole blood testing
issue at MMAFighting.com so you can check that out in terms of
these new details of these new policies. But at the end of the
day, again, if we don’t have a statistical problem and we
are failing less fighters than the NFL and Major League Baseball
is failing in terms of their players, why is this, why do we
then hold ourselves to a higher standard? I don’t believe
that we have to have blood testing, but I’m in favor of
anything that gets added. The question, though, comes back again
to whether we have an epidemic in MMA as Josh (Gross) and others
would suggest and there’s nothing that tells me that that’s
the case.
“Last
but not least, on the credentialing issue. I saw some comments
that I got the time line wrong in terms of when Josh gave out
the results to TUF 4 before the show was over and when the Sherdog
credentials were pulled. I had thought that it was a result of
him giving out those, the results of the show. It turns out that
it may not have been. Apparently, the credentials may have been
pulled before. You can jump up and down and say, look look look,
you got it wrong. Doesn’t matter. Whether they pulled it
before or after is not the point. The reason I raised the history
is because I believe that you at least have to question whether
this was a completely objective opinion given the relationship
between the parties. When the credentials were pulled, not particularly
relevant. What is relevant is that at the time the comments were
made that don’t appear to me to have any basis in fact or
any evidence, at that time there exists then and exists now a
contentious negative relationship between Dana White/Zuffa and
Josh (Gross). That’s my point and any time that type of
relationship exists you at least have to question whether you
are getting a completely unbiased opinion and if you listen and
go back to the episode (which a lot of people didn’t actually
catch this part), I said I don’t know that it plays into
it but to not at least raise the question is silly and at the
end of the day if you really believe that it didn’t matter
that he gave out those results, if you believe that their relationship
is fine and that Josh can be completely objective, then you have
to question if he’s a reporter for Sports Illustrated, one
of the biggest sports entities in the business, and he’s
not getting credentialed, obviously the UFC and Josh are not
on great terms. That was my only point.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
RAZOR
ROB MCCULLOUGH SIGNS WITH BELLATOR
Former WEC lightweight champion "Razor" Rob McCullough
has signed a new deal to compete in Bellator Fighting Championships
as a part of their upcoming season 4 lightweight tournament.
A
veteran of 25 professional fights, McCullough has fought in several
major organizations over the years, most notably spending time
in the WEC where he reigned as champion as previously mentioned.
McCullough
underwent a rough patch in his career that saw him exit the Zuffa
promotion after losing 2 out of his last 3 fights with the organization.
Since
that time, McCullough has racked up back-to-back wins over Isaac
DeJesus and former "Ultimate Fighter" competitor Corey
Hill.
“I'm
really glad to be part of a promotion as great as Bellator,"
McCullough said via press released. "I'm ready to get back
to work, and finish fights. Getting in the cage and being able
to mix it up with the best of the best is what I'm in this sport
for. I've been doing this for 15 years for a reason, and it's
to test myself against the best competition in the world. I'll
be able to do that at Bellator."
There
has been no official word on when the season 4 lightweight tournament
will start, but McCullough will compete alongside 7 other 155lbers
for the chance to get a crack at the title held by top ranked
fighter Eddie Alvarez at some point in the future.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Cole
Konrad, Zach Makovsky Capture Bellator Titles
By Mike
Chiappetta
Just a week before his better known teammate is set to defend
the most prestigious heavyweight championship in MMA, Cole Konrad
won a belt of his own, capturing the Bellator heavyweight championship
with a keylock submission victory over Neil Grove at Bellator
32.
Konrad,
a two-time collegiate All-American who trains with UFC champ
Brock Lesnar in Minnesota, followed the same blueprint that took
him to the finals, overpowering his opponent with a takedown
midway through the first. But unlike his previous two tournament
bouts, he found a finish, moving to mount before locking in the
fight-ending submission with just 15 seconds left in the first
round.
"I've
been working all aspects of the game every day but submissions
flow so well from werstling so it's a little bit easier to pick
up right now," he said. "I felt great tonight, hats
off to Neil. He's a great competitor and I had to be on my toes
from the get-go. Fortunately I was."
Grove,
a 6-foot-6 striker nicknamed "Goliath" was expected
to have the edge in the standup, and Conrad worked his jab early
to gauge the distance, finally scoring the takedown to put him
in winning position after Grove closed the distance.
With
the win, Conrad improved to a perfect 7-0 while Grove fell to
10-3-1.
Meanwhile,
in the bantamweight division, Zach Makovsky captured his first-ever
championship by outlasting Ed West in a five-round unanimous
decision.
Makovsky
used his superior wrestling skills to take West down repeatedly
over the course of the 25-minute bout. In the third round, he
cut West around the right eye with a short elbow from side control.
West
had his moments early in the fight, but Makovsky took over in
the final rounds, winning on the judges scorecards 50-45, 50-45,
49-46. Makovsky moved to 12-2 with the win while West dropped
to 15-5 after having his seven-fight win streak snapped.
"It
feels amazing, this is the goal anytime you compete," Makovsky
said. "It's the best experience in my life and probably
toughest as well, fighting every three weeks."
In
a featured welterweight fight, debuting Brit Jim Wallhead earned
a unanimous decision over Ryan Thomas, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28.
Wallhead
had originally been slated to compete in the season two tournament
but was forced out after the volcanic ash cloud caused by the
eruption of Eyjafjallajökull grounded thousands of European
flights.
Wallhead
(19-5) has now won seven straight fights, and 11 of his last
12.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
120 (10/16 O2 Arena in London)
Tomorrow
By Zach
Arnold
Spike
TV will air it both on East and West coasts from 8 PM to 11 PM.
I hate this delay.
Dark
matches
¦Lightweights:
Spencer Fisher vs. Curt Warburton
¦Lightweights: Paul Sass vs. Mark Holst
¦Light Heavyweights: Steve Cantwell vs. Stanislav Nedkov
¦Heavyweights: Rob Broughton vs. Vinicius Queiroz
¦Light Heavyweights: Cyrille Diabate vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Main card
¦Welterweights:
James Wilks vs. Claude Patrick
¦Heavyweights: Cheick Kongo vs. Travis Browne
¦Welterweights: John Hathaway vs. Mike Pyle
¦Welterweights: Dan Hardy vs. Carlos Condit
¦Middleweights: Michael Bisping vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Source: Fight Opinion
|
DESTINY:
Undisputed Beyer vs Manners II Tomorrow
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu, Hawaii
Saturday, October 16 at 6:00pm
Source: Event Promoter
|
Just
Scrap Tomorrow
Hilo, Hawaii
October 16th
Chad
"The Brahma Bull" Thomas vs Joey Palemia
Toby "2 Quick" Misech vs Dillon Fillekes 135 lb Title
match
Keenan Cohen vs Patrick Abiley
Chris Palea vs Josh Kala
Levi Agalon vs Junior Garcia
Rob Midel vs Reed Akashi
Josh Lagaret vs Ashton Castro
Kawika Martin vs Shelton Guerro
Jeff Thome vs Brent Sanbei
Donald Gonzalves vs Jason Kala
Justin Estabillo vs Zach Ching
Joey Gomez vs Keo Alo
Laimana Mauga vs Kikala
Petey Vital vs Jordan Lagaret
Kealii Kanekoa vs Kaahu Alo
Gary Goveia vs Alex "Steamrolla" Blanco
Nat Rowland vs Sam Sniffen
*fight
card subject to change
Source: Rick Booth
|
AKIYAMA
USES PAST TO RETOOL FOR BISPING
by Damon
Martin
Making mistakes is a part of life. Making mistakes is a part
of fighting that everyone has to go through at some point in
his career. For Yoshihiro Akiyama that mistake was stepping into
a fight against short notice replacement Chris Leben and not
feeling 100-percent ready for the match-up.
That
particular mistake gave Akiyama a loss on his record, but a valuable
lesson moving forward.
As
the Japanese Judoka gets ready for his UFC 120 main event showdown
with Michael Bisping, he's able to look back and reflect on the
Leben fight and learn from it.
"I
felt as though, whether it was striking or grappling, I had the
advantage over Chris Leben, and it was my strategy (that cost
me)," said Akiyama. "There were certain things that
were holding me back from fighting at my best in the fight."
Expanding
on that comment, Akiyama believes the Leben fight broke down
because of preparation time due to the late notice change from
his original opponent, Wanderlei Silva, who had to drop out due
to injury.
"I
felt like I didn't have enough time to prepare for my opponent,"
Akiyama stated. "During the fight, I wasn't able to come
up with a strategy that is specifically for Chris Leben."
Akiyama's
concerns for the fight went as high as him almost pulling out
of the bout last minute, but he took the fight and, while he
definitely had his moments, it was a loss when the night was
over.
With
a full camp and time to prepare for Bisping, Akiyama has a fresh
mindset, and even spent some time in America to get ready for
his return to the Octagon.
Training
in New Mexico with Greg Jackson and his team, Akiyama picked
up some new skills, along with some valuable insight, that he
believes will help him defeat Bisping this weekend.
"I
was able to learn the intricate skills of the takedowns, as well
as better striking for MMA," Akiyama said about the camp.
"Most of all, I was able to learn how to deliver a good
three rounds of fight in the cage."
The
fight on Saturday night will be the true test if the training
with Jackson and his camp paid off, but Akiyama is confident
that he can rebound from the loss and get back on track in the
UFC's middleweight division.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Erik
Paulson explains why Hector Lombard has heat with Josh Barnett
By Zach
Arnold
From FightHubTV.com:
INTERVIEWER:
“Erik, Hector Lombard came out there during the (Bellator)
telecast and kind of had some words to say about Josh (Barnett)
and I know Hector used to train here at CSW. I just want to get
your opinion, your view on him doing that.”
ERIK
PAULSON: “OK, well… Hector and Josh sparred really
hard since day one here. Hector likes to throw hard, everyone
knows that. He likes to spar hard, he likes to throw hard so
one day him and Josh in a five-minute round turned a five-minute
round of boxing into a 32-minute round of boxing and they just
kept hitting each other harder and harder and basically what
I did is I just sat and followed them with a mop. I mopped up
all the blood because they were both bleeding. That was them,
uh, full of piss and vinegar and whatever and they want to do
that, it’s fight practice, they’re both adults, they
can do that. So, uh… Hector likes to train hard, that’s
just his m.o. and Josh grabbed him one day and brought him in
the cage when I wasn’t here and I walked in and he had Hector
down and he said, hey you like to go hard and Josh wouldn’t
let him up because Hector, they, whatever. They just have a go,
so, uh… Hector never forgave him for that and so it’s
been bothering him and he told Josh that the reason he left here
was because of that.”
INTERVIEWER:
“What was Josh’s take on that? Did you talk to Josh
after that call-out happened?”
ERIK
PAULSON: “Josh called me that night and he said that Hector,
while he was in the audience at the fights in Florida, that Hector
Lombard just called him out. He said he was going to fight Hector
and I said, why? He goes Hector called me out at the fights,
he said I heard Josh Barnett’s in the audience, who would
you like to fight? Next fight he said he’d like to fight
Josh Barnett. Well, he’s 185, Josh is 260, so… again,
that would never happen. So Josh said I’m going to fight
Hector and I said, oh, wow, really? That’s a little mismatch
in weight there. When you going to fight him? Where? He goes
I’m going to fight him tonight. He goes, he called me out
and I’m going to have some words with him.
“As
far as Hector’s skill, his skill is unbelievable. His judo
is spectacular. I admire, I like Hector. I don’t like people
calling people out that train together, I think that’s stupid
but apparently Hector still had a problem with it and he called
Josh out so it is what it is. I know they had words and talked
about it afterwards and basically I just said that Hector, more
than anything, just need to resolve that issue with Josh and
needed love. He basically just had these bad thoughts from that
whole ordeal and he wars with everybody, it was just that Josh
gave it back to him and I think that they had never really had
words since then and, you know, he saw Josh in the audience and
he just said, hey, I want to fight Josh. And it was right after
a 38 second win, so, you know… It is what it is and that’s
it and I don’t have anything else to say about it. They’re
both grown adults and if they want to fight, I’m sure no
matchmaker will make it happen because they’re both in two
different weight divisions or brackets but, uh, there’s
no money in street fighting but if they have to settle it that
way, which I think should be the last resort, I think they should
talk and delegate things to other people, who did what, and be
diplomatic about the whole thing and they should be able to talk
about it over a beer or over maybe some fisticuffs. We’ll
see.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste graces Playboy cover
by CARLOS ARIAS
Arianny Celeste might be the most popular Octagon Girl in the
UFC's history, and she's about to get even more popular.
The
24-year-old Las Vegas beauty will appear on the cover of Playboy's
November issue, which arrives at newsstands on Friday, and she
will be featured in an 8-page nude pictorial inside the magazine.
Celeste
has been with the UFC since UFC 70 and she also hosts a web-based
show about the sport on UFC.com called "UFC Ultimate Insider,"
which she describes as "Acess Hollywood meets mixed martial
arts." She's also pursuing a music career and her first
single "Fight to Love Me" will be available later this
month.
Here are some topics Celeste touched on in Playboy:
On
the UFC: “I love the fights, though at first it was hard
to watch…At the same time I have my favorite fighters, so
I am a little bit biased.”
On
the duties of an Octagon Girl: “Just don’t trip over
your feet, and try to look hot and graceful.”
On
her look: “I have a very different and unique look, and
I like that…I love my legs – they’re super-strong
and lean. I’m proud of these stems.”
On
posing for Playboy: “This was my first nude shoot, and I
was surprised at how confident I was. But I’m usually running
around naked, so it came naturally.”
Source: Orange County
|
Galvão
reflects and finds lessons in bitter defeat
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
One who always stood out on the mats, a world champion of Jiu-Jitsu,
André Galvão seeks the same success in MMA. However,
the black belt suffered a painful setback on the way to his objective.
Coming off a win over Jorge Patino two months ago, Galvão
was unrecognizable against the undefeated Tyron Woodley at last
weekend’s Strikeforce event. The poor performance cost him
in suffering a knockout for the first time in his career and
delays his dream of capturing the promotional belt.
In
the following conversation with GRACIEMAG.com, the fighter comments
on his mistakes and the big lesson derived from the trying moment
he faces.
I
read on Twitter that you didn’t prepare properly. Is that
correct?
Tyron
did everything just right and is to be congratulated. But what
we do in training reflects in the fight. I accepted this matchup
on four weeks notice. I’d just fought Macaco and was totally
unfocused, taking care of my gym. Ed Soares (his manager) called
me and I accepted right there and then. I feel I should have
had outside advice. If I’d spoken with my coaches in Brazil,
like Distak and Rogério Camões… If I’d
spoken with Jacaré, Feijão or Anderson… I’m
sure they’d have told me not to fight. But I ended up embracing
the idea.
Did
your move to the USA hinder you? Was this last fight too short
after your fight with Macaco?
I
thought I’d be ready. But as the weeks went by, I realized
I wasn’t. I wasn’t at weight and couldn’t sleep
right. I don’t have a house here in the USA yet and am sleeping
a friend’s place. My thoughts were on finding a home, being
far from my family, and on personal problems. I know saying that
after the fact draws criticism and Tyron deserves his due credit,
of course. But this sort of stuff influences the fight. I confess
I was disappointed. Two weeks away from the fight, I was close
to calling my manager to say I wasn’t well. But I said I’d
fight and did.
What was it like in the cage? What did you think of Tyron?
Tyron
hits hard, but I don’t know if my being in such a bad state
got in the way of my recovering from the punch. I don’t
remember anything after the first punch. What you all saw me
do I did on automatic pilot. He was one of the options as opponent
for the Macaco fight, but he didn’t accept. I feel that’s
what makes the difference. He’s doing things right, fighting
once every five months. There has to be an interval between fights,
at least three months. Anyone who trains knows that the ideal
training camp lasts eight to nine weeks, at least. It was a mistake;
I hope I don’t repeat it.
What’s
the big lesson you derive from all this?
I
feel the big lesson… There were many. I have to be near
my family; I’ve been away from them for two months. I have
to be with the right coaches. I was at Brandon Vera’s academy
for three weeks, a great team, but the guys there didn’t
know my game. And, very importantly, to say no. In MMA we’re
always in there to win. Losses happen, of course, but I don’t
need to go making it easy for bad luck to happen. I should have
said no to this fight.
Now
in the USA, how are you going to program your training?
The
truth is it’s much easier to work in Brazil. But I made
this decision and I have my gym here. Now Minotauro’s going
to have a training center here and, if it seems right, I’ll
end my training camp in Brazil. Anderson, Distak, Jacaré,
Feijão, Corvo… Those are guys I trust and who motivate
me. Training in Brazil is different. But I’m going to go
after the best here to train with. I’m going to seek out
the best trainers and take care of my gym. Everything will be
fine. I have faith in God; I feel it was a learning experience,
and I’m still in the hunt for the belt. That’s my dream
and I’m going after it.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Guida
Announces January 1st Bout with Gomi
By
FCF Staff UFC lightweight Clay Guida has confirmed that he will
face former Pride champion Takanori Gomi, at UFC 125, January
1st in Las Vegas, Nevada. The veteran fighter made the announcement
on ESPN Chicago's “MMA Tonight” program this weekend.
Guida
(27-11) will head into the bout having won two straight fights;
most recently the energetic combatant stopped Rafael dos Anjos
in the second round at UFC 117 in August. Guida is 3-2 in his
last five fights; during that stretch he’s also earned wins
over Shannon Gugerty and Nate Diaz, with losses coming against
Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian.
Gomi
(32-6) is coming off a first round, knockout of Tyson Griffin
in August, after being submitted in his Octagon debut by Florian
this past March. Gomi is also 3-2 in his last five bouts, with
additional wins coming against Tony Hervey and Takashi Nakakura,
and his other loss to Satoru Kitaoka.
The
UFC has not officially confirmed the bout. A lightweight title
fight between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard
is expected to headline the UFC 125 card.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Ninja
talks about the “campaign pro-UFC ”
By Guilherme
Cruz
Last week, Wanderlei Silva released a video on is YouTube commenting
on the campaign, along with Maurício Shogun and Paulo
Thiago, asking for the hiring of Murilo Ninja on UFC, the biggest
MMA event currently. On a chat with TATAME, Ninja commented the
campaign and, despite having four wins in a row, is waiting for
the right moment to come.
“I see it from a positive perspective, but I’m fighting
and doing my job. If one day I’ll fight on Ultimate it’ll
only be a consequence. I’ll wait and it’ll come”,
said, analyzing the middleweight division, the one he would fight
in case Ultimate hired him, once his brother is the champion
on the light heavyweight division. “It’s a great division,
there’re great fighters, it’s really hard, but I’ll
try to be on my best to go for the belt. That’s my dream,
my goal, and I want to deserve it. On the right time, I’ll
join Ultimate’s cast”.
Leaving
the dream of joining UFC’s cast aside, Murilo talked about
his busy agenda for this last months of 2010. “I’ll
fight now in Canada, in November I’ll be fighting on the
United States. In December I’ll fight on Bitetti Combat,
on the beginning of the month and, in the end, in Japan. I’m
signing a five fights contract with an American event too”,
tells the tough guy who faces Roy Boughton on W-1, duel that
happens on October 23 in Canada, among the middleweights. “I’m
feeling confortable on this weight division”, concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
Hardy
Plugging Holes in Advance of UFC 120
by Joe
Myers
Welterweight
contender Dan Hardy was on the wrong end of a five-round unanimous
decision against champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111 in March.
Hardy went back to the drawing board and hopes the work he put
in pays off when he takes on Carlos Condit in the co-main event
at UFC 120 “Bisping vs. Akiyama” on Saturday at the
O2 Arena in London.
“I
think [to] anybody watching the fight, it’s pretty obvious
[what I needed to work on],” Hardy said during an Oct. 7
conference call to promote the event. “My wrestling wasn’t
up to scratch, and my offensive jiu-jitsu wasn’t there.
I couldn’t threaten [St. Pierre] on the ground at all, and
I could hardly get back to my feet. They’re the things I’ve
been working mainly on. I’ve just been working solid on
my jiu-jitsu and traveling around working with different wrestling
coaches and just getting some good input on that. I came back
to the U.K. real fast, and the practice is all paying off.”
The
St. Pierre loss snapped a seven-fight winning streak, but Hardy
has still won 12 of his last 14 bouts dating back to September
2006. The 28-year-old Nottingham, England, native has wins over
Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, Akihiro Gono and Rory Markham on his
resume and has not been stopped in more than five years.
“[Wrestling
and jiu-jitsu] is something that’s going to constantly need
improvement, and it’s the same in every area of my game,”
said Hardy, who has 15 finishes among his 23 wins. “You
know, I’m still working hard on my striking and improving
at that, as well, so it’s going to be a constant process
I’m going to be doing for the rest of my career. But I certainly
feel that I’m certainly ready for [UFC] 120, and I’m
looking forward to taking [Condit] down and choking him out."
A
two-division champion for British promotion Cage Warriors, Hardy
said that while it will be nice to fight in front of his countrymen,
how he performs inside the Octagon counts most.
“To
be honest, it makes no real difference where I fight,” said
Hardy, a Team Rough House representative. “The Octagon’s
the Octagon, wherever you are. Knowing that I can drive to the
venue and I’ll be in front of the U.K. fans is always quite
comforting. I know I’ve got good support over here.”
Condit
returns to the cage for the first time since his come-from-behind
third-round technical knockout against the previously unbeaten
Rory MacDonald at UFC 115 in June. The 26-year-old Albuquerque,
N.M., native has rattled off 10 wins in 11 fights dating back
to July 2006. During that time, Condit picked up wins over John
Alessio, Brock Larson, Carlo Prater and Jake Ellenberger, among
others. A former World Extreme Cagefighting champion at 170 pounds,
he has delivered 24 of his 25 wins by KO, TKO or submission.
With
a prime spot in the UFC’s pecking order at 170 pounds on
the line, Hardy-Condit would seem to have “Fight of the
Night” potential written all over it. Hardy, for one, hopes
to accommodate those expectations.
“A
‘Fight of the Night’ bonus would be a nice addition
to my bank account,” said Hardy. “If it’s up to
me, I’d just stand on the Bud Light logo right in the middle
of the Octagon and throw punches until it was over. I’m
confident in my power and in my chin. But like I’ve been
saying, I’ve been working out on my wrestling and my jiu-jitsu,
so don’t be surprised if I take him down and put him to
sleep.”
Source: Sherdog
|
It’s
Showtime & Black Label Fighting promoters accuse Semmy Schilt
of cheating
By Zach
Arnold
Basic premise is that at last week’s Seoul World GP event,
Semmy Schilt fought Hesdy Gerges and beat (you’ll remember
him as the guy Badr Hari went nuts on in Holland earlier this
year). So, what’s wrong? Simon Rutz says that one of Schilt’s
corner men treated him for an injury (taping) and a doctor didn’t
intervene. Rutz believes that if a doctor had seen the injury
to the right shin bone that the fight would have been stopped.
The ‘treatment’ was taping in between the first and
second round.
Official
protest statement can be read here.
We
asked Bas Boon for comment and this is what he issued in response:
The
protest comes from a frustrated Simon Rutz who does not control
his “star” fighter Badr Hari. Round one and two were
for Semmy and round three for Hesdy, so the result 2-1 is correct.
As
for the protest, I hope for Hesdy that the unprofessional behavior
of his management will not lead to not using Hesdy in a superfight
or reserve fight on December 11th. All fighters and coach/managers
must sign a form at the rule meeting and can not discredit K-1
(Simon likes to speak about the rules, well… this is also
a rule). Simon Rutz has all the right to protest how much he
wants, but he should first wait for the result which takes two
or three weeks according to K-1 rules.
What
is really surprising is that a Dutch newspaper “the telegraph”
printed this story on the front page – stating there is
e a big chance of Semmy being disqualified? This is speculation,
as K-1 never spoke to any media about any protest or result (confirmed
by mail) and these lies came by a press conference from Simon.
I contacted K-1 and they never talked to any media about this.
This was orchestrated by Simon Rutz, who is a promoter himself
and has his own agenda. They called the action of Bas Boon sneaky?
If
Rutz would have read the K-1 rules, he could have seen that the
worst penalty they could have given me for taping Semmy after
the first round would be a caution, warning or finally a point
deduction or yellow card. However, I did use tape from the organization
and an official was present who ask me to stop taping when the
second round started, so there is nothing sneaky about that –
as Simon claimed in the Dutch telegraph newspaper.
It
also proved that we could enjoy another two great rounds and
that medical interference was never necessary.
Disqualification
is mentioned in the K-1 rules if I would have entered the ring
during the fight, which did not happen.
It’s
a last attempt of desperate management (if you can call it a
management) who sees their “star” fighters not performing
or even not see them at all… not to mention how unprofessional
this behavior is.
Kharitonov
performed very well in only his second K-1 fight and Saki and
Alistair did great. Semmy had a hard fight, but deserved the
win.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Bruce
Lee was wrong
by Mohamad
Jehad
One
time someone asked Bruce Lee about the importance of the black
belt.
The actor and kung fu master replied that it is nothing more
than a strip of cloth to hold your pants up.
Nearly three decades on, we can now see that Lee was wrong.
The belt is much more than a strip of cloth, much more than a
clothing accessory for fighters. At least in the Jiu-Jitsu world,
the color of the belt represents the conquests and individual
tale of the one wearing it. It’s sad to see that sometimes
it ends up being a money-making tool in the hands of hacks.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen a bevvy of practitioners promoted
without the slightest criteria, mainly outside Brazil. The farther
people are from Jiu-Jitsu’s roots, the more discrepancies
there are as to promotion.
There are people promoting others without the least respect for
our sport’s history, our fight, our way of life. We should
take into consideration each person’s evolutionary process,
not just in terms of technique, but also in soul and character.
What’s the point of having an excellent black belt if he
forgets the moral principles that guide Jiu-Jitsu?
Of course, we can’t demand a high level of technique from
a practitioner who only can manage a few hours a week for training,
as they have to go to work – that’s why, perhaps, there’s
such a great number of competent doctors, pilots, police men,
lawyers, and so many other professionals who represent Jiu-Jitsu
with dignity, many of them black belts.
However, it is the obligation of us all to keep tabs on the procedures
of academies and associations, under the penalty of our sport
taking a shot to the foot.
The criteria needs to be universal, and respected. There needs
to be a global standard, a well-structured test so that we do
not become hostage to our own luck.
The belt surely doesn’t serve only to hold up ones pants:
it should be stamped in your Jiu-Jitsu’s DNA.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
SAYS PLAN IS TO INCREASE UK EVENTS IN 2011
by Ken
Pishna
It’s been 11 months since the Ultimate Fighting Championship
last showed its wares in England. That’s a long drought
after promoting three events there in 2008 and two in 2009.
The
promotion’s most recent stop in the country was in Manchester
last November for UFC 105, which featured UFC Hall of Famer Randy
Couture and Brandon Vera in the main event.
Saturday’s
UFC 120 pits Britain’s own Michael Bisping against Japan’s
Yoshihiro Akiyama at the O2 Arena in London.
The
event will air on tape delay in the United States on Spike TV,
and in the U.K. on ESPN. Despite the recent addition of Sky TV
to its television partners, the UFC’s Marshall Zelaznik
says that British events are still a ways off from a pay-per-view
model, despite growing concern from U.K. fans that feel that’s
what the Sky TV partnership indicates.
“Seeing
how ticket sales went, seeing how the expo has gone, I can tell
you that we're very proud as a group as to what's happening here
in the U.K.,” said Zelaznik.
UFC
120 has reportedly reached sellout status of somewhere around
18,000 seats.
“Our
TV partners here are ecstatic about how things are going here.
It is certainly part of the foundation to grow the sport here
with more events,” he added before denying that pay-per-view
is anywhere in the near future for British events on U.K. television.
“Obviously
everyone in the U.S. knows the success we have as a company on
pay-per-view and in some other parts of the world, we're on pay-per-view,
but we're in the early stages of a three-year deal with ESPN.
(Adding programming on Sky) seems like a great opportunity to
expose the UFC to a new set of sports fans.”
Exposing
its product to more and more sports fans in the U.K. is an obvious
step in the growth of the UFC brand there. And despite the near
yearlong dry spell that Brits have recently suffered through,
there is talk centered on a wealth of events in the coming year
in the U.K. and Ireland.
MMAWeekly.com
sources have indicated that the promotion is considering upwards
of six events in the two countries in 2011, with a focus on slightly
smaller venues in locals such as Liverpool and Nottingham, coupled
with returns to Newcastle and Birmingham.
Zelaznik
confirmed the commitment to expanding the UFC’s presence
in the U.K. and Ireland, saying, “It's really Dana (White)
and Lorenzo (Fertitta's) desire to hold more events here. This
is our first in 11 months. It’s been far too long. We're
trying to figure out a business model that makes sense to bring
more regular events here. We're trying to put all those pieces
together now.
“Dana
and Lorenzo are committed to trying to make that happen here.
Hopefully within the next few months we'll have some big announcements
about that.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Four
Bouts Official for UFC 124
by Mike
Whitman
Two new bouts have been officially added to UFC 124, which goes
down on Dec. 11 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Up-and-comers
Stefan Struve and Sean McCorkle will meet in a heavyweight tilt,
and welterweights Matt Riddle and Anthony Waldburger will also
toe the line.
The
tallest man in the UFC, Struve is 4-2 inside the Octagon, losing
only to contenders Roy Nelson and Junior dos Santos. Struve trains
with Team Schrijber and holds victories over Dennis Stojnic and
former title contender Paul Buentello. Most recently, the Dutchman
put on a “knockout of the night” performance against
Christian Morecraft at UFC 117 in August. Struve also holds a
“submission of the night” victory over Chase Gormley.
“The Skyscraper” submitted Gormley via triangle choke
in the first round at UFC 104 in Los Angeles.
McCorkle
was a virtual unknown before his promotional debut at UFC 119
in September. “Big Sexy” proceed to manhandle former
K-1 world champion Mark Hunt, earning a first-round submission
by applying a straight armbar from top position that contorted
the New Zealander's elbow at an unnatural angle. Prior to that
appearance, McCorkle fought for small shows in his hometown of
Indianapolis. McCorkle is undefeated as a professional and has
done most of his work in the Indiana promotion Legends of Fighting.
Riddle
was a “TUF 7” cast member and is coming off back-to-back
victories inside the Octagon. He has only lost once in his career.
Waldburger has run off four straight wins, most recently earning
a unanimous decision in his UFC debut against David Mitchell
at UFC Fight Night in September.
The
two bouts announced Wednesday will join the main event matchup
between Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck for the welterweight
strap. Opposing coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter” season
12, the pair originally met in 2007. St. Pierre won that matchup
by unanimous decision, repeatedly taking down the former All-American
wrestler. The card will also feature a showdown between jiu-jitsu
aces Dustin Hazelett and Mark Bocek.
Source: Sherdog
|
Just
Scrap
Hilo, Hawaii
October 16th
Chad
"The Brahma Bull" Thomas vs Joey Palemia
Toby "2 Quick" Misech vs Dillon Fillekes 135 lb Title
match
Keenan Cohen vs Patrick Abiley
Chris Palea vs Josh Kala
Levi Agalon vs Junior Garcia
Rob Midel vs Reed Akashi
Josh Lagaret vs Ashton Castro
Kawika Martin vs Shelton Guerro
Jeff Thome vs Brent Sanbei
Donald Gonzalves vs Jason Kala
Justin Estabillo vs Zach Ching
Joey Gomez vs Keo Alo
Laimana Mauga vs Kikala
Petey Vital vs Jordan Lagaret
Kealii Kanekoa vs Kaahu Alo
Gary Goveia vs Alex "Steamrolla" Blanco
Nat Rowland vs Sam Sniffen
*fight
card subject to change
Source: Rick Booth
|
Noons
boxed in by Diaz in rematch
SAN
JOSE, Calif. – Nick Diaz and K.J. Noons combined to throw
more than 1,000 punches in a mixed martial arts title fight that
turned into a boxing match. But it was Diaz who outpointed Noons,
who doubles as a pro boxer, at his own game as he retained the
Strikeforce welterweight title in Saturday night’s main
event at the HP Pavilion.
Diaz
seemed to land more effectively, leaving Noons with a broken
jaw, in garnering revenge for a loss three years ago in an Elite
XC lightweight title match.
While
Diaz had talked of being over the loss, he taunted Noons frequently
through the five-round fight, in winning a decision by scores
of 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46. The Yahoo! Sports card was also 49-46
in favor of Diaz.
“My
hand is broken, I think I broke it in the second round,”
said Noons (9-2). “My jaw was broken in the first round.
He’s a solider He beat me from the judges’ point of
view. I felt like it was good fight. I like to put on good shows.
I’ve got to go back and look at the fight and evaluate.
I always feel like I won. I fought all five rounds. He had a
great game plan.”
“I
knew I hit him pretty hard,” said Diaz (23-7, 1 no contest).
“But no, I didn’t know I broke his jaw.”
The
punch stats actually favored Noons, who landed 310 of his 611
punches thrown to 194 of 443 for Diaz in a grueling battle. But
Diaz seemed to control most of the fight, landing the cleaner
shots while Noons struggled at points with Diaz’s reach
and punch volume.
Noons
looked strong in the second round, landing solid shots, including
one that cut Diaz, which brought back memories of their first
match, which Noons won when the doctor stopped the fight due
to blood.
But
Diaz started controlling the fight again in the third round.
He seemed to dictate the pace and frequently had Noons off-balance
in the last three rounds.
The
only knockdown came in the first round, with Diaz landing a short
right counter that put Noons down. Diaz, who figured to have
a major edge on the ground, was never in a position for a submission
before Noons made it back to his feet.
“In
the first round, you could tell he trained on getting up and
getting out,” said Diaz. “I know how that is. I train
with Jake Shields. The whole thing is a gamble. When all is said
and done, no disrespect, I feel my skill level is a lot higher
standing up and on the ground. In my mind it went back-and- forth.
Should I try to finish with punches or on the ground? That indecisiveness
is a problem which makes this guy a tough match-up for me. I
feel I’d beat him in a jiu-jitsu match or a boxing match.
The indecisiveness really screwed with me. I knew I had to commit
to one or the other.”
The
match was a crowd pleaser, as both men came off as warriors,
never tiring or shying away from the action for five straight
rounds, with Noons still throwing everything he had late, and
being visibly upset in the ring when the decision went the other
way.
“I
don’t want to say I’m completely happy with my performance,”
said Diaz, who has won eight straight fights since his loss to
Noons. “I know what I shouldn’t have done. I’m
happy. I can’t complain. I won the fight.”
Diaz
may have established himself as one of the top fighters in the
world not in UFC, but wasn’t able to prove himself as a
singular box office draw. The show drew 7,473 fans to the HP
Pavilion, about a 90-minute drive from Diaz’s home city
of Stockton. But it was one of the smallest crowds Strikeforce
has drawn in its four-year run in its home building, and less
than half of the crowd Diaz drew when he beat local star Frank
Shamrock last year.
While
a strong show overall, the crowd lacked the big-event atmosphere
that was there in its heyday, when Shamrock and Cung Le headlined
and made the city considered the No. 2 market for live MMA in
North America behind only Las Vegas.
Marloes
Coenen (18-4) of The Netherlands, a pioneer of women’s MMA,
captured Strikeforce’s women’s welterweight (135 pounds)
title by finishing Sarah Kaufman (12-1) with an armbar at 1:59
of the third round.
Coenen
was coming off a loss in challenging Cris “Cyborg”
Santos for the middleweight (145 pounds( title in her last outing.
The 29-year-old, who became a superstar in the sport in Japan
as a teenager, was almost in tears when it was over, thanking
promoter Scott Coker for the opportunity to return to the sport
at a high level.
“Thank
you Scott for believing in me,” said Coenen, who became
the first world champion in the women’s sport in winning
an eight-woman open weight tournament in Japan a decade ago.
“After losing my first title match to ‘Cyborg’
he believed in me and gave me a second shot. I can’t believe
it.”
Coker
after the fight said Coenen would make her first title defense
against Miesha Tate, who won a four-woman tournament to earn
a title shot on August 13 in Houston. He said the fight would
take place early in 2011.
Local
favorite Josh Thomson (18-3, 1 no contest) earned himself a trilogy
with rival Gilbert Melendez, the Strikeforce lightweight champion,
scoring a decision over Gesias “J.Z.” Cavalcante (17-4-1,
1 no contest), a Brazilian who has been a star in Japan for the
past four years and was making his Strikeforce debut.
Thomson
was awarded the decision on scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27
in a decision Thomson was lucky to get, as many had it going
the other way. The first round was close, with Thomson on the
bottom and caught in a guillotine for a long period of time.
But Thomson rebounded and had Cavalcante in a head-and-arm choke
when the bell rang to end the round.
Thomson
clearly won the second round, and Cavalcante just as clearly
won the third round, as even Thomson in the ring after the fight
said he couldn’t understand the 30-27 score for him.
Thomson
felt he could have finished Cavalcante had the first round gone
longer, but not in the second round, when he went for the same
move late.
“I
could have possibly finished him with the move in the first round,
the second round no,” said Thomson, who lost the Strikeforce
lightweight title in December to Melendez, the man he originally
won it from in 2008. “I don’t think it was fully secure
(in the second round). In the first round, if I had another 30
seconds, I think I would have been able to finish.”
“I
thought I won the fight for sure 29-28,” said Thomson about
the controversial decision. “I didn’t think it was
30-27. I thought I lost the third round being on the bottom.
You can’t tell what goes through the judges’ minds.
If i felt I’d have lost, I’d tell you right now.”
The
date of the Melendez fight is depends on whether or not Melendez
fights on the New Year’s Eve show for Dream in Japan.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
André
Pederneiras
One
of the most respectful MMA coaches of the world, André
Pederneiras followed from the corner the great win of José
Aldo on WEC 51, when he knocked Manny Gamburyan out. Perfect
on the event, Aldo got his eighth consecutive win, being seven
by knockout, and André highlights the win of the right
game plan. “We thought the guy would try to take the fight
to the floor for the entire five rounds, but he came to exchange.
And we don’t have any problems with that at all, it was
just a matter of time for him to start playing his game until
the moment he got the knockout”, celebrates Pederneiras,
who discarded the possibility of the athlete to change divisions,
commented the importance of the focus in order to win a belt
of the event and commented on the problems of BJ Penn, graduated
as a black belt by his own hands, and the difficulties he is
going through on his career.
What
did you think of this fight of Aldo against Gamburyan? Was it
like you were expecting?
I’ll
tell you we thought that Manny would play a different game. It’s
like I always tell the guys on the gym: we train ourselves for
the worst. If it turns out to be better, good. If not, we are
prepared. We thought he’s try to apply takedowns all the
time, but he came for the exchange. And we don’t have any
problems with that at all, it was just a matter of time for him
to start playing his game until the moment he got the knockout.
José
Aldo showed a good takedown defense, mainly on the beginning
of the second round, when Gamburyan tried to take him to the
floor and Aldo escaped quickly. After that, Manny didn’t
try it again. Did that surprise you?
Yeah,
because we thought he’d try. We didn’t hope he would
like to exchange with Aldo standing up because of Aldo’s
background on the event and even before. We thought he’d
try to catch him, mainly because on his last fights, he exchanged
a bit and then took the guys down. On his last fight he knocked
out Mike Brown, and I think it motivated him and he thought he
could exchange and was surprised. We try to do the best possible
training, the guys came earlier so that they didn’t suffer
from the height, so everything worked out. It was all planned.
The guy who fought against Diego said that Diego would get tired
quickly because he’s a local guy and he’s used to the
height, but everything worked out, just like we’ve planned.
What
the guys of the event said about Aldo’s win?
Actually,
the guys are very impressed with Aldo because he’s only
getting better and better. Gamburyan came, a guy who has fought
with all tough guys of the divisions and they could tell he didn’t
have any chance against Junior.
Now
he has eight wins on the division and lots of people think there’s
no one to beat him there. What do you think of it?
I
think it’s bullshit. Every fighter gets on the cage with
half chance of winning and losing, that’s what I always
tell him. The athlete who thinks no one can beat him is fated
to go down. The guy has to get there thinking that that guys
is the toughest one, your next opponent will always be the worst.
If you get there with that in mind, your chances of being successful
are bigger.
There
are people speculating about the possibility of Aldo to change
divisions. What do you think about it?
Changing
to a lighter division won’t happen because we have two athletes
on the gym with great chances of wining the belt, Wagnney (Fabiano)
and Renan Barão. There’s no reason for us doing that,
we want to conquest the greatest possible number of divisions
on the event, so it won’t happen. We thought about it when
there was nobody, but now we don’t consider it anymore.
But, changing to a heavier division is complicated. I don’t
like doing that if the guy don’t have enough weight for
it. The guys that fight on the lightweight divisions usually
weight 187lbs… I say this because I have guys of this division
there in the gym. Changing to a heavier division for one fight
is one thing, but changing definitively won’t happen. He’s
very young, he’s 24, there’re many things for him to
reach, time for gaining weight naturally, without making it happen
from one minute to another.
How
much does José Aldo usually weighs?
About
163lbs.
We
interview BJ Penn, on the previous edition of TATAME, and he
said he wouldn’t accept fighting against Aldo, which was
one of the most expected fights when Aldo became WEC’s champion,
in awe of you, for all you’ve done on his career, for coaching
him. What do you think of these statements?
BJ
is the best fighter ever on this division, without any doubts,
even after these losses. He’s a phenomenal person, has a
great character and all. I can’t say much about it, it deeply
touches me.
He’s
going through a hard moment on his career and after this loss
to Frankie Edgar he’s considering going to a heavier division.
Do you think this is the right way for him to go in order to
win again?
It’s
hard to tell without being close to the person. I won’t
tell you whether if it’s right or wrong because I’m
not there with him and I really can’t say, even knowing
him. I think he’s changing for a heavier division because
he talked with the persons who are coaching him and they decided
that this is the right moment for him to do that. He’s not
as fast on this division and Frankie is way faster than him and
he might have the same problem with other guys on the division
he’s currently in. On the division above his, the guys play
it slower. But Penn, technically, can fight in any division he
wants to. BJ proved that in any division below this one, he’s
the man. Probably he’s changing exactly to end this thing
that’s been bothering him which is this lack of speed. He
must be thinking that, on the division above, the rhythm must
be slower, even because of the weight, and that’s exactly
what happens when you keep changing to a heavier division, and
the guys are on a different level of speed than the lighters.
On the lighter divisions you can see a guy fighting for three
rounds with their mouths closed. They exchange all the time and
that’s why WEC’s fights are so great to watch. The
guys don’t stop punching because they’re lighter. It’s
much different than on the heavy divisions.
Source: Tatame
|
Pair
of prospects vying for UFC’s spotlight
Jon
Jones is the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s equivalent
of Stephen Strasburg, the Washington Nationals pitcher who was
so spectacular as a rookie before being injured. Strasburg did
things that had been years – decades – since the likes
of it had been seen in Major League Baseball.
Jones,
23, is similarly gifted. He became a sensation quickly in his
UFC career after acknowledging that he incorporated moves he’d
learned on YouTube into his fight game. He’s 11-1 and his
only loss came as a result of a disqualification because of an
illegal elbow as he was in the process of destroying the highly
regarded Matt Hamill.
Jones
tries moves in the cage few other fighters would even attempt,
but he rarely does the same one twice. Even more amazing, he’s
been so dominant that he hasn’t had to put his flashy moves
together in combination.
He’s
been the UFC’s top prospect almost from the minute he signed
his first contract, in 2008. Greatness seemed assured; it wasn’t
so much a question of if but when.
“He’s
a serious, serious talent,” UFC president Dana White said
of Jones.
White
said after Jones’ Aug. 1 victory over veteran Vladimir Matyushenko
that it was time for the one-time junior college wrestling national
champion to begin facing the top talent in the UFC’s stacked
light heavyweight division.
Two
months after that win, though, Jones suddenly finds himself sharing
the spotlight as the sport’s most promising prospect. Ryan
Bader is 12-0 after back-to-back impressive wins over Keith Jardine
and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
The
UFC is trying to put together a fight between the two young stars
on Feb. 5 on its annual Super Bowl Eve card in Las Vegas. That
has led to Jones being involved in a controversy – a minor,
nearly completely insignificant controversy – for the first
time in his career.
Bader,
like many of Jones’ past opponents, is a wrestler. Jones
isn’t particularly thrilled at facing yet another wrestler
and mentioned it in several interviews as word leaked of the
pending deal.
Jones
was mortified when he perused the Internet and saw that his words
were taken as disrespect for Bader’s ability.
“I
believe in the martial arts way and carrying yourself in a certain
manner and never disrespecting your opponent,” Jones said.
“I’m not the type of person who would ever talk badly
about another fighter and it’s really bothered me to see
what has happened and how I’ve been portrayed.”
The
son of a pastor, Jones praised Bader for his win over Nogueira
and for improving to 12-0.
“You
have to be really good to do what he’s done,” Jones
said. “Ryan Bader is an excellent fighter who has accomplished
a lot and deserves everything that is coming to him now.”
Jones,
though, concedes that he saw things he believes he can take advantage
of when he meets Bader. The conventional wisdom has always been
that a wrestler would probably be the one to beat Jones, because
beating him would probably require getting him off his feet where
he wouldn’t be able to use his lethal strikes.
He’s
heard the talk that Bader might be the guy who could get him
down and, after UFC 119, isn’t buying it.
“It
was a great fight to watch,” Jones said of Bader’s
Sept. 25 victory over Nogueira at UFC 119. “I thought Ryan
Bader was exposed a bit as far as his wrestling ability. Nogueira
not being a wrestler and considering the fact that Nogueira was
able to stuff a lot of his takedowns, it was very interesting
for me to watch.
“But
I respect Ryan Bader as an opponent. I respect that he’s
never lost a fight. I am up for the challenge and I’m excited
by the challenge.”
The
controversy, however minor and trivial it may be, came because
Jones was honest enough to admit he was tired of fighting wrestlers
and would rather test himself against a different style. He was
hardly demeaning Bader or Bader’s talents.
He’s
cringed at those who have suggested he’s become arrogant
or cocky. He’ll admit to being confident in his ability,
but he insists he’s far from cocky. The dictionary definition
of cocky is “jauntily conceited or overbearing; self-confident
in an aggressive or swaggering way.”
Anyone
who knows Jones would laugh at such a description of him. He
has confidence – defined as “firm belief; trust, reliance”
– in his ability in the cage, but he’s by no means
pompous.
“I’m
confident because I study, study, study and, yes, I have some
physical attributes that maybe give me an advantage. The long
arms are something I was born with. But the way I pull off moves,
the timing of the way I do my moves, it’s all because of
my passion and love for this sport. I’m confident because
I work hard. I’m a warrior.
“But
cockiness is not where I’m at. Financially, I’m not
the most successful fighter. As far as stats, I haven’t
broken any records. As far as Hall of Fame, I’m not there.
As far as being a champion, I’m not there. I have no reason
to be cocky. I just love who I am, I love what I’ve earned
and I love this sport.”
The
fight with Bader will be the biggest of his career because it
will put the winner on the precipice of a championship shot.
Still, Jones dreams of one day meeting his idol, UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva.
Jones
is an unabashed Silva fan and said he’s frequently locked
himself in his room and sat in front of his computer for four
or five hours at a time watching Silva fights. His eyes sparkle
as he speaks of moves Silva has pulled. He’s memorized sequences
in those fights, almost by heart.
“I’ve
bathed myself in Anderson Silva,” Jones said. “I think
I’d have an advantage going into a fight with him because
I’ve studied him so much. I’ve patterned my career
after Anderson. You can’t really say you know Anderson Silva,
because, like me, he can pull off pretty much anything he wants
to pull off, whatever he trained for that specific fight.
“So,
you can’t know Anderson Silva, but you can understand who
he is and how he thinks and how he operates.”
The
one thing Silva has never done is look past one opponent to another
he may fight down the line. Part of Silva’s greatness has
come from delivering night after night.
Jones
understands that and plans to take a similar approach to fighting
Bader.
“I
feel I’m this close to getting a shot at being the UFC light
heavyweight champion of the world and I’m not going to slow
down or allow pressure to get in my way now,” Jones said.
“My dream is right in front of my face and I’m fighting
someone I respect a great deal, so that will inspire me to train
even harder.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
WHAT'S
NEXT FOR NICK DIAZ?
When the decision was read on Saturday night declaring Nick Diaz
the winner over K.J. Noons in their welterweight title fight,
no one seemed surprised. A betting favorite going in, Diaz was
looking for redemption from his last encounter with Noons, and
he got that with the unanimous nod from the judges.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker says that he expected maybe something different
out of the fight, but in the end Diaz proved himself as the welterweight
champion, and a dangerous striker that can go toe to toe with
anyone in the division.
"Personally,
I thought it was going to go up and down maybe a little more
than it did, but it just turned out to be a straight stand-up
fight and I think Nick proved he can box with the best of them,"
Coker said after the fight.
With
Diaz now evening the score at one fight each, Noons will surely
look for a chance to settle the score once and for all with a
rubber match between the two rivals. The only problem with that
is Noons is a valuable commodity to the Strikeforce lightweight
division, and Diaz will need to fight new opponents to keep his
stock rising as well.
Coker
doesn't rule out a third meeting between the foes, but also says
it's not something that will likely happen anytime soon.
"I
think we've got to get K.J. a haircut first, and then we'll have
that conversation after," Coker joked about Noons constantly
pushing his hair back from his eyes during the fight. "On
a serious note, I think that not immediately, but I know K.J.,
he's going to want to do it, and then maybe in the future we
can put something together. I don't see it in the immediate future."
So
what's next for the Strikeforce welterweight champion?
"What
we're going to do is we have the fight with Paul Daley and Scott
Smith. I think that is a fight you're going to have to keep your
eye on," said Coker. "As well as Evangelista Cyborg,
(he's) another fighter, and then tonight you saw Tyron Woodley,
I'm not saying he's going to be the next guy, but within the
next year you'll see Tyron get his shot because the guy is unbelievable."
Daley
is currently ranked as a Top 10 welterweight, and actually sits
above Diaz in the MMAWeekly.com World MMA Rankings. With his
debut in Strikeforce in December it would almost seem a lock
if he gets past Scott Smith that he would get a crack at Diaz.
As
for Noons, going up to welterweight was for the shot at Diaz,
so it's likely he'll return to his natural weight class at 155
pounds and probably won't have to wait long for a major match-up
against one of Strikeforce's elite lightweights.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
CBS
OUT OF THE STRIKEFORCE PICTURE FOR 2010
Airing fights on Showtime and CBS was a big piece of the puzzle
for Strikeforce when it embarked on a massive expansion following
the collapse of EliteXC/ProElite.
The
promotion has moved from four events per year to 18 this year.
Its roster has ballooned from 15 fighters under contract to 180.
Showtime
has jumped in will both feet, but CBS, however, has been a little
slow on the uptake, due in large part to the fiasco following
the promotion’s latest appearance on the network.
Following
Jake Shields’ victory over Dan Henderson in the main event
of Strikeforce: Nashville, which aired live on CBS, middleweight
contender Jason Miller entered the cage to build up a potential
fight with Shields. The situation proved volatile and a now infamous
post-fight brawl broke out with members of Shields’ camp
seen punching and kicking a downed Miller.
Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker didn’t comment on the particulars on Saturday
night following Diaz vs. Noons II, but he did confirm that CBS
is still on ice and will remain so for the remainder of the year.
“CBS
is something that we're going to revisit at the beginning of
next year,” said Coker.
He
deflected talk away from any friction between the promotion and
CBS, saying, “We're working on a couple of things with them,
one being the DVD. We're working on another type of product with
them, as well as getting back on the air next year, but it definitely
is shelved until 2011.”
The
lack of exposure on CBS is surely a major blow to Strikeforce’s
plans to make major strides in the MMA world. The network was
counted on to extend the promotion’s reach into mainstream
America, something that is not an easy task with the UFC’s
brand being synonymous with the sport itself.
Strikeforce
needs CBS and will surely work hard to get its product back on
the network, but it’s not going to happen in 2010.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DAN
HARDY FEELS CONDIT HAS NO EDGE ON HIM
For Dan Hardy, UFC 120 represents a chance to get back on the
horse, to put into effect changes that he learned during his
five rounder with UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
His plan, though, is still to plant Carlos Condit square in the
face with a big shot.
“This
is just a bad fight for Condit and I think he will realize that
in the opening moments of the bout,” exclaimed the brash
Briton before explaining his perspective. “He hasn’t
fought anyone like me yet. I can do everything he does, but much
more effectively than him. I am more aggressive, determined,
and more powerful then him. I am going to throw him around that
cage”
Fighting
talk for sure, but something we have come to expect from Hardy,
and it is something he is more than comfortable in firing off.
He doesn’t mind getting into a war of words with his opponents
as long as they realize it’s not just talk. He intends to
back it up.
“I
expect him to be aggressive and walk forward, but when I catch
him with a clean shot I think he will either start to run away
or go for a takedown. Calling me out was a bad choice and I think
that the more footage he watches of me, the more he will realize
this.”
Condit
is in a position where he is looking to move himself into title
contention. The thinking is that if he beats Hardy – who’s
last bout was a title shot – then it sets him on the path
towards gold. Having Greg Jackson in his corner and defining
strategy is surely a positive for the American fighter, but Hardy
isn’t sure that Condit will stick to it.
“It
will be interesting with him now at Jackson’s. They always
choose the safe game plan for a fight. Just look at Guillard
the other day, he was moving away, playing to scorecards. It
will be interesting to see if he has that effect on Condit. I
think Carlos is quite an emotional fighter, so it wouldn’t
surprise me if he goes off-strategy when he starts to get tagged.”
Always
frank, Hardy feels that there isn’t an area of the fight
where Condit has the edge.
“He
has no range. I hit harder than him. I can outwork him on the
feet. He won’t even have wrestling on me, as I am a totally
different fighter now to what I was seven months ago. In fact,
fighting on the ground is up to me, as I will take him down if
and when I want. Wrestling won’t make this any easier for
him.”
Hardy
is certainly brimming with confidence ahead of the bout, specifically
because he feels that Condit is a good style match-up for him.
With the welterweight title picture having several players already
in the frame, he is aware that this bout has more to do with
defining the next batch of challengers.
“I
hope that Condit shows his old form and brings his best. The
thing is, he is really exciting to watch. He will always take
a beating and there are a lot of fights for him in the UFC, but
if he cant get past me, he wont get a sniff at the title,”
he explained, adding that maybe that realization has dawned on
Condit too.
“I
think he fights for respect, being the former WEC champion, he
came here (to the UFC) and hasn’t been doing so well. He
is starting to feel he needs to do something special. In my opinion,
he is outside the Top 10 and he sees me as a way of getting into
it. He wants the belt and it is maybe starting to dawn on him
that it isn’t going to happen. In both his last fights,
he was lucky to come away with the win.”
Whatever
Hardy may say, it is obvious that both fighters mean business
and have been training hard. Condit has buried himself in Jackson’s
and Hardy in the Rough House, both have had a long camp in preparation
for the encounter, and there will surely be fireworks on fight
night because they both like to bang. But even given the stakes,
Hardy believes he is in the better position for victory.
“Fighters
at some point in their career peak and then for a couple of years
struggle. I am not sure if that is the case with Condit. He has
had some great fights in the WEC, I’ll give credit him for
that, but those guys wouldn’t have been a force if they
were in the UFC. The Martin Kampmann fight is his best here so
far, but it hasn’t been fantastic for him. Even in the Rory
MacDonald fight, if it hadn’t been for that flurry, he would
have lost that as well.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
CARLOS
CONDIT: I GET TO TRY TO BREAK HIS JAW
Fighting in your opponent's backyard is a tough spot for anyone
in the UFC to be in. Anderson Silva was able to overcome a hometown
crowd when he beat Rich Franklin back in 2007, as did Gray Maynard
in spoiling Kenny Florian's homecoming when they fought in Boston
at UFC 118.
Carlos
Condit is no stranger to fighting someone on his home soil. It's
hard to forget when the New Mexico native silenced a loud Hawaiian
crowd back in 2006 when he launched a bone-shattering knee that
knocked out Renato "Charuto" Verissimo.
He
also managed to stomp his way through Tatsunori Tanaka when they
fought in Pancrase in Japan, as well as finishing off Rory McDonald
in his last fight when the young Canadian brought his crowd to
Vancouver. So when Condit steps into the proverbial lion's den
on Saturday night when he faces Dan Hardy in his home country
of England, it's nothing new for the 26-year-old former WEC champion.
It's
something Condit actually feeds on.
"I
do, I don't mind it," Condit admitted when talking on MMAWeekly
Radio about being the bad guy when fighting in someone's hometown.
"I fought a lot of Japanese guys on their home turf, too.
I kind of feel like I don't have anything to lose. You just go
out there, all the pressure's on him, he's the one who has got
his friends and family and everybody right there, so I just get
to go out and have fun.
"Energy
is energy, whether it's positive or negative towards me. I just
use it and do my thing."
Following
his win over McDonald in June, Condit immediately asked for a
fight with Hardy. Not because there was a tumultuous relationship
between the two, or because he didn't like the brash British
slugger. Condit, much like Hardy, likes explosive and exciting
match-ups and putting these two together is like lighting a match
and dropping it in a vat of gasoline.
"I'm
not really one to call people out, but Dan Hardy was coming off
of his title shot, and I knew he had a fight coming up and it
was kind of perfect timing for me as far as getting a good training
camp in. I thought it made for a good fight," Condit said.
"I
like to be in exciting fights, I like to give the fans a show,
and this is going to be another fight that's going to live up
to that."
As
the fight gets closer and closer, Hardy's standard pre-fight
talk has amped up. He doesn't mind voicing his opinion about
their upcoming showdown. Condit admits that outside of a 2007
fight with John Alessio, he doesn't buy into the smack talk too
much. Alessio's talk ended in the Canadian being submitted in
the second round by Condit in his second fight in the WEC.
Will
Hardy's talk land him in much of the same hot water?
"We
don't really have anything personally against each other, at
least I don't. I think a lot of it is fabricated just to hype
the fight or to get him hyped up before the fight," Condit
commented. "For me, I don't really see the point in talking
trash about somebody you don't even know when you're going to
get in there and actually try to kick their ass. Unless you actually
have a beef with them, and then I'm not against talking trash."
Condit's
philosophy is actions speak louder than words.
"No
matter what the guy says, I get to go in there and try to break
the guy's jaw," Condit said with confidence. "It will
definitely be violent, and it will definitely be bloody."
Condit
and Hardy square off as the co-main event for UFC 120 in England
this Saturday night.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Exclusive:
Silva vs. Belfort at UFC 126
The
UFC middleweight title will be in line in 2011. According to
Fabiano Farah, Vitor Belfort’s manager, the fight against
Anderson Silva will take place at UFC 126. “I already spoke
to Lorenzo (Fertitta) and we already agreed with this fight.
We already received the contract to sign… It’ll be
at UFC 126, between January and Fabruary”, Fabiano told
TATAME this morning. “Vitor is really well, training hard
and very motivated for this fight. He’s with his family
in Las Vegas, training with a top team, with Shawn Thompkins,
and very, very motivated”, guaranteed. Stay tuned on TATAME.com
to know more about the Silva-Belfort clash in 2011.
Source: Tatame
|
Jacaré
negotiating new deal with Strikeforce
Strikeforce
middleweight champion, Ronaldo Jacaré is more than happy
with his life in the American event. According to his manager,
Gilberto Faria, the BJJ black belt will anticipate the signing
of a new deal with the show. “He’s very well in the
event, we’re even anticipating the signing of a new deal
with them. Jacare’s plan is to keep the Strikeforce title
for a long time and remain fighting against the best of the division”,
Gilberto told TATAME today. Jacaré and Gilberto will be
at Strikeforce’s next event, which happens tomorrow at San
Jose, California.
Source: Tatame
|
THOMSON
LINES UP A TRILOGY WITH MELENDEZ
Josh Thomson and Gesias “JZ” Cavalcante, two of the
premier lightweight fighters in the world, promised a competitive
match-up at Saturday night’s Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons
II in San Jose, Calif., and they delivered.
The
first round epitomized the delivery on their potential.
Cavalcante
dropped Thomson with punches midway through the opening stanza
and immediately followed him to the ground. The American Top
Teamer locked on an arm-in guillotine choke that appeared to
be very tight. Thomson remained calm, eventually working his
head out after a full minute of defending the choke.
Moments
later, Thomson locked on an arm triangle choke that had Cavalcante
in deep waters. The problem for Thomson was that they were too
deep in the round and the bell sounded before he could finish
the choke.
The
second round saw them stalemated for the first half of the round
before Cavalcante took superior back positioning on the mat.
But again, Thomson turned the tables and finished the round in
a flurry of ground and pound as the round ended.
The
final round played out with more clinching before Cavalcante
tossed Thomson to the mat and began working from top position.
Thomson did a good job from the bottom, defending most of Cavalcante’s
attacks, eventually escaping to his feet. Cavalcante landed an
uppercut, dropping the shooting Thomson, but once they hit the
mat, Cavalcante had trouble mounting much more offense before
they ran out of time.
At
the end of the night, Thomson walked out of the ring with a unanimous
decision, if not a bittersweet taste in his mouth, as another
rematch with Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez
looms on the horizon.
“First
off, I want to say knock, knock Melendez. Knock, knock baby.
I wanna say I’m knocking on the door, I want my title back,”
said Thomson after the fight, before admitting, “I felt
like (expletive) tonight. I left it in the hands of the judges
and that’s not someone that I wanted to do.”
He
didn’t like the way the win went down, but Thomson was happy
that another shot at his friend and the man who took the lightweight
strap from him is now in order.
“Everyone’s
waiting for a trilogy... am I right?!”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
THE
BIG PAYBACK: DIAZ AVENGES LOSS TO NOONS
Revenge. Payback. Retaliation.
Call
it what you will, but Nick Diaz was looking for all of the above
when he faced K.J. Noons on Saturday night at Strikeforce: Diaz
vs. Noons II in San Jose, Calif., and while he fell short of
a stoppage he did get a unanimous decision win to avenge the
last loss of his career and retain his Strikeforce welterweight
title.
Outside
of the first round, which resembled an MMA fight, Diaz and Noons
seemed more than happy to engage in a boxing match with a few
knees and kicks tossed in for good measure. It looked early on
like Diaz was going to take advantage of a Noons mistake, as
he clipped the two-sport fighter and took the fight to the ground.
Diaz
was unable to capitalize from side control, and Noons escaped
back to his feet without taking any unnecessary chances on the
ground.
The
first fight had to come flashing back in Diaz's mind during the
second round when Noons unloaded a big punch and moments later
the blood began to flow down the Stockton, Calif., fighter's
face. Doctors stopped the first fight due to cuts, but despite
a nasty gash above his right eye, once the round ended Diaz didn't
have to deal with too much blood in his face from then on.
In
classic Nick Diaz fashion, he began to gain momentum as the fight
wore on, peppering away at Noons with jabs and quick combinations.
Noons didn't back down and landed some big shots of his own,
but was seemed to throw just one punch to Diaz's 10.
Some
fans get sick of hearing the phrase "punches in bunches,"
but it's hard not to use that when talking about Diaz's unrelenting
style of poking away at opponents, and amassing damage. As the
combinations added up, so did the points on the judges' scorecards.
And when it was done, Diaz defeated Noons by unanimous decision.
Following
the fight, Diaz seemed to put his rivalry with Noons to rest,
but wanted to comment on his performance.
"The
thing is, no offense or disrespect, it's all over with, but I
beat this guy on the ground or standing up," Diaz said motioning
to Noons. "It's mixed martial arts out here and it's hard
not to go for the takedown. It makes me look really bad as if
I need to do that, and I'll beat this guy in a boxing match,
but I'll also tap him out on the ground."
To
his credit, Noons took his lumps and didn't try to call into
question anything about the scorecards, keeping his respect for
Diaz in tact.
"He
beat me fair and square," Noons said. "Good job, Nick."
With
the series between the two now sitting at one fight each, a third
fight may be in store down the road, and the champion said he’d
be more than happy to go at it with his rival one more time.
"We
can do whatever," stated Diaz.
It's
more likely that Noons will return to the lightweight division
where he normally fights, and can instantly make a run towards
a shot against Gilbert Melendez, while the champion may soon
be staring at an explosive match with Strikeforce newcomer Paul
"Semtex" Daley or the “Comeback Kid,” Scott
Smith.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
STRIKEFORCE
WORKING ON MELENDEZ-AOKI REMATCH
Gilbert Melendez has been on “Daddy Daycare Duty” as
of late, but all signs point to him returning to competition
in short order... it’s just a matter of settling upon who
and where.
Speculation
has centered on the Strikeforce lightweight champion making the
trip to Japan to face Dream champion Shinya Aoki on New Year’s
Eve. Far from cementing a rematch between the two titleholders,
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker did say that bout is a likely scenario.
“That
is not confirmed, but it is something that (Dream has) said that
they would like to have happen if possible, so we're having that
dialogue,” he said at Saturday night’s post-fight press
conference in San Jose, Calif.
Melendez
battered Aoki en route to a five-round unanimous decision victory
in April of this year, successfully defending his Strikeforce
belt, although the Dream belt was not on the line.
It
wasn’t a foregone conclusion that he would reciprocate and
face the Dream champion on his home turf, but it was bantered
about even before their first fight.
The
other scenario that is likely to play out if Melendez and Aoki
aren’t matched up on New Year’s Eve is a rubber match
between Melendez and good friend Josh Thomson.
The
two first met in 2008, when Thomson took the Strikeforce belt
from Melendez’s waist, handing him only the second blemish
on an otherwise spotless record. Melendez worked his way back
into contention, taking his belt back from Thomson three fights
later, in late 2009, and hasn’t looked back.
“It's
a little slower when you work with a Japanese fight company,”
admitted Coker. “But once we know whether Gilbert is gonna
be free or if he's gonna fight on New Year's Eve in Japan then
we'll make some decisions right away.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Wand’s
devotion to Helio Gracie: “Thank you, Master”
Master
Helio featured on wall of Wand's academy, one of his favorite
photos. Photo: Publicity
Wanderlei
Silva is heading for London. Across the pond, alongside son Thor,
taking a front row seat at UFC 121, Wand will teach ten seminars
that, besides teaching his broad array of standup techniques,
won’t be lacking in Jiu-Jitsu positions.
A
black belt in the gentle art, Wand recognizes the achievements
of one of the grandmasters, Helio Gracie.
“He
really was the man, a tough guy who never backed down from a
fight. Master Helio changed and continues to change the lives
of many, as he did mine. Thank you Master Helio,” says Wanderlei
over Twitter, after posting a photo of Helio hanging on the wall
of his academy in Las Vegas.
“All
MMA academies in the world should have a photo of Master Helio.
Thank you for everything, Master, you’ll be remembered forever,”
he said in finishing.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
The
10 worst nicknames in mixed martial arts
Note:
This was written by an Associated Content contributor. Sign up
here to start publishing your own sports articles.
Most
sports nicknames in the 21st century are boring and unoriginal.
These days people think that calling someone by their nicknames
is somehow clever and cool. The one sport that has great nicknames
throughout is MMA. However, not all MMA nicknames are great.
These are proof of that:
Tamdan
"The Barn Cat" McCrory
To be honest I don't know what a barn cat is but that doesn't
really matter. What matters is that it doesn't sound very threatening.
When I imagine the habitat of some menacing cat I don't think
of a barn.
Trigg doesn't exactly have the most intimidating nickname.
Getty Images
Jules
"Cottonmouth from the South" Bruchez
Besides being a blatant ripoff of Jimmy "Mouth of the South"
Hart, the Cottonmouth of the South is just too much of a mouthful.
A good nickname is short and sweet.
Brad
"Hillbilly Heartthrob" Imes
Growing up in Alabama I've seen my share of hillbillies and I
can tell you that Hillbilly Heartthrob is an oxymoron.
Carina
"Beauty But The Beast" Damm
So, she's the beauty and the beast? This nickname is just trying
too hard. What's next Carina "Good, Bad and Ugly" Damm?
Carina "Butch and Sundance" Damm? Carina "Fast
and Furious" Damm?
Frank
"Twinkle Toes" Trigg
I guess having the nickname "Twinkle Toes" will toughen
a guy up but couldn't Trigg come up with something better? Maybe
something to do with a TRIGGer or TRIGGonometry. Even math is
more menacing than twinkle toes.
Josh
"Kos" Koscheck
Kos? What does that even mean other than half of Koscheck's last
name? If Josh insists on using half of his last name for his
nickname then shouldn't he at least use "check"? That
is at least a word.
Elvis
"The King of Rock N Rumble" Sinosic
This is another nickname that is both trying too hard and is
too much of a mouthful. Nicknames are supposed to be short. This
nickname has three times as many words as his actual name.
Ashleigh
"Ash Cream Man" Grimshaw
Where to start on this one? First of all, it's a bad pun. Second,
this nickname is awfully close to “Ass Cream Man,”
which is not a name I would want.
Steve
"Red Nose" Berger
Did Steve not get the memo? Nicknames are supposed to be a moniker
that is a compliment, not insulting. If having a red nose was
a compliment then Rudolph would have no problem playing in any
reindeer games.
Joseph
"The Ho Bag" Bochenek
Ho Bag? Seriously? Joseph probably thought this was a funny idea,
then after about two matches he realized that everybody would
call him ho bag the rest of his life. Look on the bright side,
Bochenek's career record was 0-10 so his nickname was the highlight
of his career.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
COENEN
SUBMITS KAUFMAN TO WIN TITLE
There were more than a few objections to Marloes Coenen getting
a shot at Sarah Kaufman's Strikeforce welterweight title prior
to Saturday night. Coenen had never fought at 135lbs previously,
plus she was coming off a loss to 145lb champion Cris "Cyborg"
Santos in her last fight.
Well,
Coenen proved she did belong in the fight because just moments
into the third round she applied an armbar forcing Kaufman to
tap out, as she becomes the new Strikeforce 135lb women's champion.
The
first two rounds of the fight between Coenen and Kaufman were
fairly slow moving with both women being tentative and spending
a lot of time in the clinch against the cage. Towards the end
of the second round, Coenen finally landed a nice hip toss, only
to have Kaufman reverse positions and slam down with punches
as time expired.
Coenen
learned something from that moment, and looked to take the fight
to the ground again as the third round got underway. While Kaufman
seemed comfortable at first, it was just a matter of time before
the Dutch fighter found her range and kicked up her long legs,
wrapping up one of her signature armbars.
Kicking
her hips up, Coenen held on like a vice grip and Kaufman had
no choice but to tap or suffer an injury. Kaufman almost suffered
an injury anyways as the referee was slow to move in and stop
the fight, and Coenen kept wrenching on the hold until she knew
the fight was over.
With
a new title belt around her waist, Coenen showed her true sportsmanship
as she expressed concerned about her opponent's well being before
even acknowledging her achievement.
"First,
I would really like to apologize to Sarah because I really didn't
know, normally in training I know when I have to let go, but
the referee came in a little bit too late. I deeply apologize,"
Coenen said after her win.
Now
established at the Strikeforce 135lb women's champion, Marloes
Coenen won't have to wait very long for the first challenge for
her new belt as Team Alpha Male fighter Miesha Tate waits in
the wings as the No. 1 contender.
Coenen
didn't waste anytime getting a message out to her next opponent.
"Let's
get it on," Coenen shouted to Tate.
Coenen
will celebrate her victory tonight, and then the preparation
will likely begin for his first title defense as the new Strikeforce
welterweight women's champion.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nakahara
happy with win, but wanted the KO
Back
to Brazil after a win over the South Korean native Jung Hee Moon,
a duel which happened with Dream’s rules on K-1 World Max,
Andrews Nakahara chatted with TATAME and commented on his win,
regretting he could not submit his opponent. “I dominated
the fight completely, but I hoped for more than that. I expected
I’d create better situations. I didn’t fight until
the end, I wanted to knock him out or submit him, but I couldn’t…
The important is the win”, said, waiting for an invitation
to fight again this year, thinking about the partnership between
Dream and Strikeforce.
What
did you think of your fight on K-1? Did it all happen like you
were expecting it to?
Yeah,
it was cool. I dominated the fight completely, but I hoped for
more than that. I expected I’d create better situations.
I didn’t fight until the end, I wanted to knock him out
or submit him, but I couldn’t… The important is the
win.
Do
you think that the fact it was a two rounds fight, instead of
three, disturbed you from getting, maybe, a knockout on the third
round?
No.
On Dream all fights are like that. It’s a 10 minutes round
and other of 5 minutes. I’ve never had a three rounds fight.
You
confronted a South Korean athlete. Did you know anything about
his game?
I’ve
watched a video of him a week before the fight, they had just
one video and they’ve sent me, but I didn’t know much.
The fight I’ve watched was enough for me to know he’d
try to take me down, so I was cool with my takedown defenses
and I tried to hit him while we were standing up the most I could.
How
is your expectation for this end of the year?
I’m
just waiting. I want to fight one more time, at least. Maybe
on Dynamite on the 31st. I’m just waiting for their confirmation
to see, but I’m waiting. There’s nothing set, but I’m
hoping that they’ll call me in.
How
many more fight you have on your contract with Dream?
Now
there’re no more, it’s over. I just fight when they
call me, there’s no contract. They didn’t say anything
about me fighting now, but I think as soon as they book another
edition of Dream, they’ll call me.
They
have a partnership with Strikeforce. Does that motivate you to
fight on the United States?
Yes,
it does. I’m just waiting. I want to be prepared to have
a nice presentation in all mu fights and maybe they invite me
to fight on Strikeforce too.
Check
below the video of Nakahara’s fight on K-1 World Max:
Source: Tatame
|
SPIKE
TV ANNOUNCES PRELIMS FOR UFC 123
The upcoming UFC 123 show in Detroit will get the Spike TV prelim
treatment with two All-American wrestlers in Aaron Simpson and
Mark Munoz squaring off in a middleweight bout, along with Canadian
prospect Rory McDonald taking on former "Ultimate Fighter"
competitor Matt Brown on the card.
Spike
TV officials made the announcement about the latest edition of
the prelim show on Friday.
Former
NCAA champion Mark Munoz will look to get back in the win column
after coming up short in his last fight against Yushin Okami
in August. Prior to that, Munoz had reeled off a few wins in
a row, while displaying a vicious new level of ground and pound
when getting opponents to the mat
There
are few wrestlers in the world of MMA that can start to match
up to the credentials of Munoz, but former Arizona State All-American
Aaron Simpson can make similar claims. Simpson had been an on
undefeated roll to start his MMA career as well, but wasn't able
to get past Chris Leben in his last fight and felt the sting
of defeat for the first time.
Training
with fellow UFC fighters Ryan Bader and C.B. Dollaway, Simpson
is ready to get back in action against an fellow wrestler and
friend in Mark Munoz.
The
other fight announced for the Spike TV card will be young Canadian
fighter Rory McDonald, who seemed just minutes away from picking
up his second UFC victory in his last fight before running into
a third round buzzsaw named Carlos Condit. With MacDonald likely
up two rounds to none in their fight back in June, Condit simply
overpowered the Canadian fighter, and got a stoppage late in
the final minutes of the fight.
McDonald
is ready to get back in the cage and erase the memories of that
loss, but he has a tough test standing in front of him in the
form of Matt Hume student Matt Brown.
Brown
is looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses in his last
two fights, falling short against Ricardo Almeida and Chris Lytle.
The former "Ultimate Fighter" competitor just recently
welcomed twins into the world, and he will be fighting for his
family come Saturday Nov 23 when he faces McDonald live on Spike
TV.
The
bouts will air on Spike live starting at 9pm ET, just an hour
before UFC 123 goes live on pay-per-view.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
STRIKEFORCE
LIVE RESULTS & PLAY-BY-PLAY
Strikeforce returns home to San Jose, Calif., for Strikeforce:
Diaz vs. Noons II at the HP Pavilion on Saturday night. Welterweight
champion Nick Diaz faces K.J. Noons in a main event rematch to
top the bill. Strikeforce women’s welterweight champion
Sarah Kaufman is also defending her belt on Saturday night, as
she takes on Marloes Coenen.
MMAWeekly.com
will have results from the preliminary bouts, with full play-by-play
of the main card beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
Refresh
your browser frequently for the latest results and play-by-play...
STIRKEFORCE
PLAY-BY-PLAY
NICK
DIAZ VS. K.J. NOONS
R1
- Diaz with a leg kick. Noons misses with a big right hand. They're
back in the center. Diaz with a jab and Noons with a counter.
Diaz lands a two punch combination. Noons with a left hand. Diaz
lands a short right hand knocking Noons down. Diaz in side control.
Noons scrambles back to his feet. Diaz taunting him. Diaz with
a right hand. Noons lacking the head movement he had in their
first fight. Noons with a right hand. Body shots by Noons. Diaz
talking in the closing seconds of the round. Noons presses forward.
The round ends. MMAWeekly.com scores the round 10-9 for Diaz.
R2
- Noons with a right to the body and a left hand to the head
of Diaz. Diaz cut. Noons talking to Diaz and taunting the titleholder.
Diaz losing the stand up in this round. Diaz goes for a takedown
but Noons easily fends it off. Noons with a left hand. Noons
with another right hook to the body. Diaz switches stances to
southpaw. Knee to the body by Noons. Diaz with a body shot but
Noons answers with one of his own. Diaz has slowed down. Noons
moving forward. Lands another knee to the body of Diaz. Diaz
tries to clinch but Noons rotates out. Noons with a high kick
at the bell. MMAWeekly.com scores it 10-9 for Noons.
R3
- Diaz immediately tries to get the fight to the ground, but
Noons shakes it off. Diaz lands a combination. Diaz with a right
hand to the body. Diaz stalking Noons and landing his jab. Noons
with a series of right hands to the boyd. Diaz lands a knee to
the mid section of Noons. Noons looks to have slowed and Diaz
takes the round.
R4
- Diaz more aggressive to start the round. Diaz with a body shot.
Noons lands an uppercut. Diaz moving in and out using his reach
effectively. Diaz with a combination forcing Noons to back away.
Noons with a left hand. Diaz unleashes jab after jab after jab.
Noons wings wild punches from the outside. Diaz gets the Thai
clinch and lands a knee. Noons with an uppercut. Noons with a
knee from the clinch. Diaz lands a knee to the head of Noons
and a left hand. Diaz begins taunting again. MMAWeekly.com scored
the round 10-9 for Diaz.
R5
- Noons presses and Diaz tries to get it to the ground. Noons
has none of it. They clinch and Diaz lands right hands to the
head as Noons lands right hands to the body. Noons stuffs another
takedown from Diaz. Left hookd and right hand by Noons. Noons
with a right hand and Diaz clinches immediately but Noons moves
away. Noons with an uppercut. Final minutes of the bout. Noons
swinging wildly. Noons taunts Diaz. The round ends and they both
raise their hands. MMAWeekly scores the final round 10-9 for
Noons.
-Nick
Diaz def. K.J. Noons by unanimous decision(48-47, 49-47, 49-46)
JOSH
THOMSON VS. J.Z. CAVALCANTE
R1
- Cavalcante moves in but Thomson evades him. Missed high kick
by Thomson. Cavalcante lands out outside leg kick and clinches.
They move back to distance. Cavalcante throwing big shots but
coming up with air. Cavalcante catches Thomson with a right hook
that knocks Thomson down. Thomson goes for the takedown and Cavalcante
applies a guillotine choke. It's in tight, but Thomson pulls
his head out. Thomson ground and pounds inside Cavalcante's guard.
Cavalcante looks for another submission, a triagne, but Thomson
stacks him. Thomson puts on an arm triangle choke but the round
ends. Great round. MMAWeekly scores it 10-9 for Cavalcante.
R2
- Cavalcante closes the distance and presses Thomson against
the cage. They jockey for position as Thomson lands knees to
Cavalcante's thighs. Thomson eventually gets a trip takedown
and takes Cavalcante's back. J.Z. ties up Thomson's wrists. Thomson
briefly looked for the arm triangle choke again, now in Cavalcante's
half guard. Thomson postures up and lands strikes as the round
ends. MMAWeekly.com scores the round 10-9 for Thomson.
R3
- Thomson goes for a takedown early but Cavalcante fends it off.
J.Z. closes the distance but Thomson ties him up. They're clinched
against the cage. Cavalcante gets a takedown and mounts Thomson.
Thomson controls Cavalcante's head as J.Z. lands punches to the
body. Thomson works his way to half guard. Thomson uses rubber
guard and pumps his fist at the camera. Thomson gets back to
his feet with two minutes to go. Thomson goes for a takedown
and Cavalcante lands a big punch. Cavalcante gets top position
on the ground. Thomson works a neck crank as Cavalcante holds
him down. Cavalcante postured up and throws punches. MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Cavalcante.
-Josh
Thomson def. J.Z. Cavalcante by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28,
30-27)
SARAH
KAUFMAN VS. MARLOES COENEN
R1
- Coenen looking to counter early. Outside leg kick by Coenen.
Kaufman throwing combinations as the two feel each other out
through the first two minutes. Kaufman lands a combination as
Coenen closes the distance. They're clinched along the cage and
they're separated by the referee. Coenen lands an overhand right
and a hard left hand. They immediately clinch and work for position.
They're separated again. Coenen works kicks to the legs while
Kaufman looks to box. The round ends with a flurry by both with
neither landing a damaging shot. MMAWeekly.com scores the round
10-9 for Coenen.
R2
- After some boxing at distance, Coenen clinches. The crowd begins
to boo as they're tied up against the cage. They exchange knees
to the legs. The referee separates them. Kaufman lands a combination.
Coenen lands a body kick and Kaufman catches it and pushes her
to the fence. Kaufman appears to be the stronger of the two but
unable to do much in the clinch. The referee decides to separate
them again. Kaufman lands a right hand off a Coenen kick. Coenen
gets a throw takedown but Kaufman lands on top. Kaufman stands
to land punches and Coenen works for an arm bar. Kaufman escapes
and the round ends.
R3
- Coenen gets an early takedown but Kaufman reverses and ends
in Coenen's guard. Kaufman tries to posture up to land strikes
but Coenen active off the bottom. Kaufman landing punches. Coenen
slaps on an arm bar and the fight is stopped. Coenen is the new
champion. Kaufman tapped out.
-Marloes
Coenen def. Sarah Kaufman by submission (arm bar) at 1:59, R3
-TYRON
WOODLEY VS. ANDRE GALVAO
R1
- Galvao lands a stiff jab but Woodley stuns him with a combination.
Galvao tries to get the fight to the ground but Woodley easily
fends it off. Woodley lands a left hand and Galvao briefly knocked
down. Galvao IS hurt and is shakey on his feet. He shoots for
a takedown and Woodley finishes him with strikes.
-Tyron
Woodley def. Andre Galvao by TKO (strikes) at 1:48, R1
STRIKEFORCE
RESULTS:
Main
Bouts (Showtime):
-Nick Diaz def. K.J. Noons by unanimous decision(48-47, 49-47,
49-46)
-Josh Thomson def. J.Z. Cavalcante by unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 30-27)
-Marloes Coenen def. Sarah Kaufman by submission (arm bar) at
1:59, R3
-Tyron Woodley def. Andre Galvao by TKO (strikes) at 1:48, R1
Preliminary
Bouts (Non-Televised):
-James Terry def. David Marshall by unanimous decision
-Josh McDonald def. Ron Keslar by unanimous decision (29-28 on
all cards)
-Jess Bouscal def. Luis Mendoza by submission (arm triangle choke)
at 2:00, R2
Source: MMA Weekly
|
TYRON
WOODLEY: A NEW CONTENDER HAS ARRIVED
Tyron “T-Wood” Woodley established his transition from
up-and-comer to contender at Saturday night’s Strikeforce:
Diaz vs. Noons II event in San Jose, Calif.
The
two-time All American wrestler at the University of Missouri
used his grappling defensively, keeping his fight with multiple-time
jiu-jitsu world champion Andre Galvao on the feet, not letting
the Brazilian into his comfort zone.
Woodley
stuffed all of Galvao’s takedown attempts and picked him
apart with his boxing. Just past the midway point of the opening
round, Woodley rocked Galvao with a right cross.
Galvao
tried to shoot again, but was still wobbly. Woodley stuffed the
takedown and pounded away with punches until referee Josh Rosenthal
stopped the fight.
Woodley,
now 7-0 as a professional, worked his way up through the Strikeforce
Challengers series, but he knows that the win over Galvao proves
that he has arrived, and he’s wasting no time proclaiming
what he wants... a title shot.
“I
think it’s obvious where I fit. I think I should be up next
(against the winner of Nick Diaz and K.J. Noons),” said
Woodley.
“I’m
gonna sit there with my notebook out and be ready for the title.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
‘JZ’
shines, but Thomson wins at Strikeforce
Strikeforce’s
cage had many great fights this evening in San Jose, California.
Between the main events, Gesias Cavalcante and Josh Thomson had
an amazing duel, which started with a high speed on the first
seconds of the bout.
Better
on the stand-up game, the Brazilian knocked down the former champion
right on the beginning, fitting a tight guillotine after that.
The American handled it and got on top of him, trying to punish
him on the ground and pound game. Surprising on the floor, Josh
fit and arm-triangle choke and forced “JZ” to hold
it until the belt rang.
The
second round tough started slower, with both athletes trying
to find the best move on the clinch, on the grid. Gesias tried
the takedown, but Josh reverted and felt from the top, staying
until the end on a comfortable position, which applying some
punches and tried to make some space to get a submission.
On
the last and final round, Gesias got the takedown quickly, working
on the ground and pound to score some more points, but Josh fit
a triangle which was really hard on the Brazilian. From then
on, the athlete of American Top Team tried to score some points
and administrate it until the end, leaving the decision for the
judges to make. After a few minutes of mystery, the judges game
the win to the American.
ANDRÉ
GALVÃO KNOCKED OUT
André
Galvão wanted to reach his third win in a row on Strikeforce,
but the American Tyrone Woodley, unbeaten on his career, stopped
his search for the top of the event. In less than 90 seconds,
Tyrone was done, starting with good coups on the stand-up game,
which made the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt dizzy. Galvãoi
wanted to go to the floor, but the American was smart enough
to keep the fight up. With quick punches, Tyrone brought André
down and beat him by TKO.
DIAZ
DEFENDS BELT WITH GREAT STRIKING
On
a search rematch on the main event of the evening, Diaz wanted
to keep up with the speed on the last fighter and beat him, but
Noons had his eyes on the welterweight belt. On the first round
the advantage was of Diaz, who got a knockdown and administrated
well the fight on the floor, KJ came back better, controlling
the stand-up fight and playing his game on the following rounds.
The two fighters raised their arms at the end of the fifth round,
but the decision of the judges came in favor – and giving
the title – of Diaz, who remains as the champion of the
division.
MARLOES
COENEN IS THE NEWEST CHAMPION
Sarah
Kaufman put her belt at risk against the Dutch Marloes Coenen,
but couldn’t keep it on her waist. After a first round of
little action, getting some boos from the audience, Sarah had
the advantage, which he maintained for the entire second round.
On the third one, tough, the game was completely different. Sarah
punished Marloes on the ground, but made a mistake giving her
arm away for her opponent to work on, and she fit an armbar to
become the newest champion of Strikeforce.
FULL
RESULTS:
Strikeforce
"Diaz vs. Noons 2"
California, United States
Saturday, October 9 of 2010
-
Nick Diaz beat KJ Noons on the unanimous decision;
-
Josh Thomson beat Gesias Cavalcante on the unanimous decision;
-
Marloes Coenen submitted Sarah Kaufman with an arm-bar at 1min59s
of R3;
-
Tyron Woodley beat André Galvão by TKO at 1min28s
of R1;
-
James Terry beat Bret Bergmark on the unanimous decision;
-
Josh McDonald beat Ron Keslar on the unanimous decision;
-
Jess Bouscal submitted Luis Mendoza with an arm-triangle choke
at 3min of R2.
Source: Tatame
|
Ninja
talks about the “campaign pro-UFC ”
Last
week, Wanderlei Silva released a video on is YouTube commenting
on the campaign, along with Maurício Shogun and Paulo
Thiago, asking for the hiring of Murilo Ninja on UFC, the biggest
MMA event currently. On a chat with TATAME, Ninja commented the
campaign and, despite having four wins in a row, is waiting for
the right moment to come.
“I
see it from a positive perspective, but I’m fighting and
doing my job. If one day I’ll fight on Ultimate it’ll
only be a consequence. I’ll wait and it’ll come”,
said, analyzing the middleweight division, the one he would fight
in case Ultimate hired him, once his brother is the champion
on the light heavyweight division. “It’s a great division,
there’re great fighters, it’s really hard, but I’ll
try to be on my best to go for the belt. That’s my dream,
my goal, and I want to deserve it. On the right time, I’ll
join Ultimate’s cast”.
Leaving
the dream of joining UFC’s cast aside, Murilo talked about
his busy agenda for this last months of 2010. “I’ll
fight now in Canada, in November I’ll be fighting on the
United States. In December I’ll fight on Bitetti Combat,
on the beginning of the month and, in the end, in Japan. I’m
signing a five fights contract with an American event too”,
tells the tough guy who faces Roy Boughton on W-1, duel that
happens on October 23 in Canada, among the middleweights. “I’m
feeling confortable on this weight division”, concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
NICK
DIAZ: "IT'S JUST KIND OF MY LIFE TO FIGHT"
What could be worse for a fighter than losing?
Try
losing when you don’t feel like you’ve truly been beaten.
That’s
where Nick Diaz found himself after his first throwdown with
Karl James Noons.
Diaz
was definitely on the worse end of the ugly stick at the end
of round one in their November 2007 bout. Noons had done an excellent
job avoiding Diaz’s patented pawing punches, effectively
utilizing his own boxing skills.
He
opened up a cut on Diaz’s eyelid midway through the round,
and then another on the bridge of his nose before the bell.
While
the damage was mounting, Diaz’s cut man managed the more
severe of the cuts – the one on his eyelid – quite
well, keeping it from becoming the faucet its potential promised,
and was working on his nose in between rounds.
But
before they could make it to round two, the ringside doctor brought
a halt to the fight, handing Noons the EliteXC 160-pound divisional
title in the process.
Diaz,
still maintaining his faculties, immediately protested; ready
to keep going. His protest fell on deaf ears.
The
fight was over, but it has remained with Diaz ever since.
Saturday
night, he’ll get his chance not to avenge a loss, but bring
an end to a fight that started three years ago.
“I
was angry for a long time (about the first fight),” admitted
Diaz. “I was real upset that it ended the way it did because
it wasn’t like I was hurt.
“I
never considered the first fight as a loss. I just always looked
at it as a fight that was stopped (too soon).’’
When
EliteXC folded, Noons went back to his first love... professional
boxing. Diaz had mostly much accepted that the fight had slipped
beyond his grasp.
“I
kind of dropped the idea of ever fighting a rematch because he
got out of MMA.”
After
surgery to have the bones in his brow filed down to help prevent
similar cuts in the future, Diaz went on a tear... and he’s
still on it.
The
Cesar Gracie-trained black belt hasn’t lost a fight since.
He’s overcome the likes of Frank Shamrock; Scott Smith;
Marius Zaromskis, to win the Strikeforce welterweight title;
and Hayato Sakurai, among others. Five of the wins on his seven-fight
streak have come via knockout and the other two by way of submission.
But
that’s just what Diaz does, because he is a fighter. He’s
not a fighter by trade. He’s not a fighter by choice. He’s
a fighter because it’s what he is, and it’s what he
will call upon come Saturday night at the HP Pavilion in San
Jose, Calif., where he will continue the fight with Noons, who
has won three-straight since returning from boxing.
“I
don’t look at it like I love to fight. I look at it like
I have to fight,” Diaz said. “Because if there was
any quit in this game, I wouldn’t have made it this far.
“It’s
just kind of my life to fight.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
RIDDLE
VS. WALDBURGER LATEST FIGHT AT UFC 124
Matt Riddle and T.J. Waldburger are the latest edition to the
upcoming UFC 124 card headed to Montreal, with the welterweights
set to square off in an undercard fight on the upcoming show
in Canada.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the negotiations,
stating the fighters have verbally agreed to the bout. The fight
was first reported by MMAFighting.com.
Many
young fighters find their path to the UFC by way of the "Ultimate
Fighter", and Matt Riddle (5-1) is no exception. The only
difference with Riddle is that he was going on the show with
literally no professional fights on his record, but made an impact
right away breaking the jaw of Dan Simmler to earn his way into
the season 7 of the show.
Since
that time, Riddle has dropped to the welterweight division and
picked up a couple big wins of late, including a TKO stoppage
over fellow "Ultimate Fighter" alum DeMarques Johnson
in his last fight.
While
Riddle went the TUF route to make it to the UFC, T.J. Waldburger
(13-5) took his licks fighting in regional shows, and traveling
around to get the experience needed to finally land a fight in
the Octagon.
The
waiting and experience paid off as Waldburger handed David Terrell
student David Mitchell the first loss of his career when the
two met in September. Looking to build on that win, Waldburger
will travel to Montreal next and face Riddle to try to go for
his 5th win in a row overall.
The
bout beween Riddle and Waldburger is expected to occupy a slot
on the undercard to the show set to go down Dec 11 in Montreal.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WERDUM
BACK EARLY 2011; VS. OVEREEM OR FEDOR?
by Damon
Martin
Career defining win.
It's
easy to describe Fabricio Werdum's victory over Fedor Emelianenko
as just that, but the Brazilian doesn't want that win to be the
only thing people remember him for in the sport of MMA. He's
readying for an early 2011 comeback to prove it.
Following
the win over Emelianenko, Werdum had to undergo elbow surgery
that sidelined the fighter for the remainder of 2010. Now making
his way back to the gym again, Werdum is going through the right
steps to make sure his recovery happens as quickly and safely
as possible.
"He's
doing great actually," Richard Wilner, Werdum's manager
told MMAWeekly.com on Monday. "He's still undergoing physical
therapy, and physical therapy is more intense than one might
imagine, and it includes a number of plyometric exercises and
weightlifting. He started light training about 10 days ago, so
he's progressing remarkably."
Werdum
will leave the United States in just over a week to embark on
a trip to teach seminars across Europe including stops in Spain,
France, Croatia, and Italy. He will then return home to get friend
and training partner Renato "Babalu" Sobral ready for
his December fight against Dan Henderson for Strikeforce.
As
far as his own fight future, assuming everything stays on track,
Werdum will be ready to return to the cage in the first part
of 2011.
"We've
been training and preparing, mentally and physically to fight
again at either the end of February or early March," Wilner
said.
The
opponents for Werdum's return to Strikeforce seem to narrow down
to only two names, Alistair Overeem or Fedor Emelianenko. While
Wilner is quick to point out that they aren't opposed to any
match-up, the choice of the next fighter to face Werdum is an
important one for the Brazilian.
"We
don't pick our opponents, and I don't say that to mean it's only
up to Strikeforce who we fight, though there is truth to that.
We don't come from a camp where we hand pick opponents, so whatever
fight makes sense, that's the fight we take," Wilner stated.
Werdum
holds wins over both of his potential next fights, defeating
Overeem in 2006 and of course the victory over Emelianenko earlier
this year. Either fight would make sense, but according to Wilner
the former Pride heavyweight champion has the biggest case for
a second crack at Werdum.
"Be
it against Alistair (Overeem) for the belt, although Fabricio's
already beaten Alistair, so some may see that as a step back,
although Alistair is a completely different fighter now. By step
back, we absolutely mean no disrespect to Alistair, we just mean
that they fought before and while it was a long time ago, I don't
even know if it would be considered a rematch, but if it was
considered a rematch there's one guy out there that’s arguably
deserving of a rematch more than Alistair, and that's Fedor (Emelianenko),"
Wilner said.
Currently,
Fedor Emelianenko has one fight remaining on his current deal
with Strikeforce, and there's been no word on if an agreement
between his management team at M-1 Global and the promotion will
be sorted out any time soon. Wilner admits that they've had no
contact with M-1 Global or Strikeforce about bringing in Fedor
for a shot at redemption against Werdum.
"We
haven't negotiated that and we're open to anything," he
said about a second fight with Fedor.
While
other names have popped up in the Strikeforce heavyweight division,
such as recent signee Josh Barnett, Werdum's manager believes
it all comes down to Overeem or Emelianenko. No other choice
makes sense.
"That's
the feeling that we have," Wilner said about Werdum's next
fight. "No disrespect to Josh (Barnett), he's a great competitor,
and we know him well, but it makes no sense for us or for Strikeforce
as an organization for Josh to be able to step right in and fight
Fabricio. He needs to earn that right."
Werdum
will continue to rehab and get ready for his 2011 return and
wait for Strikeforce to make the call as to who he will face
in his next fight.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MMA
Top 10 Featherweights: Any Challengers for Jose Aldo?
By Michael David Smith
World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Jose Aldo is
steadily clearing out the 145-pound weight class in North America.
Most MMA observers consider Aldo the best featherweight in the
world and the last three men he's beaten -- Manny Gamburyan,
Urijah Faber and Mike Brown -- to be the next best.
So
now that Aldo has beaten Gamburyan, Faber and Brown, and beaten
them in decisive fashion, who are the future challengers for
the WEC champ? That's a tough question, because most of the next-best
featherweights are fighting outside the WEC.
See
how the rest of the featherweight division stacks up below.
Top
10 Featherweights in MMA
(Number in parentheses is the fighter's rank in the last bantamweight
list.)
1.
Jose Aldo (1): Here's a fun thing thing to think about if you
want to compare Aldo to the other six men who currently own Zuffa
belts: Since his first fight in the WEC, on June 1, 2008, Aldo
has gone 8-0 with seven stoppages. Of Zuffa's seven current champions,
none has been as active or as dominant a fighter as Aldo in that
time: Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is 6-0 with one stoppage
in the last 28 months, lightweight champion Frank Edgar is 5-0
with one stoppage, welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre is
4-0 with one stoppage, middleweight champion Anderson Silva is
6-0 with four stoppages, light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua
is 3-1 with three stoppages and heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar
is 4-0 with three stoppages.
2.
Manny Gamburyan (2): There's no shame in losing to Aldo, and
I actually liked the way Gamburyan fought in the first round
before getting dropped in the second. He's not in Aldo's class,
but I'd probably pick him to beat anyone at 145 pounds other
than Aldo.
3.
Mike Brown (3): It's disappointing that the WEC didn't even televise
Brown's first-round TKO win over Cole Province at WEC 51. Brown
is still a dangerous fighter, but he's 35 years old and has lost
to both Aldo and Gamburyan, and the WEC's featherweight class
seems to be moving on without him.
4.
Urijah Faber (4): For now we'll keep Faber, who's arguably the
best 145-pounder in the history of the sport, as a featherweight.
But the plan is for Faber to fight at 135 pounds in November
and then, should he win, get a shot at the bantamweight title
in 2011.
5.
Marlon Sandro (5): Only the hardest of the hard-core fans know
Sandro in America, but if you haven't seen him fight, you really
need to watch his most recent fight, against Masanori Kanehara.
Sandro is an absolutely brilliant fighter, and maybe the best
featherweight in the world other than Aldo and certainly the
best featherweight who hasn't faced Aldo yet. Unfortunately,
Sandro is also a friend and training partner of Aldo's, and the
two won't fight each other. So there's not much point in Sandro
signing with the WEC.
6.
Josh Grispi (6): Grispi faces Erik Koch at WEC 52, and if he
wins he'll probably get the next shot at Aldo. The 21-year-old
Grispi is a terrific young fighter, but I don't think he's ready
for Aldo just yet.
7.
Hatsu Hioki (7): The tall and lanky Hioki presents interesting
match-up problems for everyone at 145 pounds, and could give
Aldo some problems. He's the Shooto 143-pound champion and also
fights for Sengoku, and I'd love to see the WEC sign him.
8.
Michihiro Omigawa (8): I'd love to see the WEC sign Omigawa,
too. Although his record (12-8-1) doesn't look all that impressive,
he's been an absolute force over the last couple years, winning
eight of his last nine.
9.
Bibiano Fernandes (9): Dream's featherweight champion is yet
another foreign fighter who would be a good fit in the WEC. Fernandes
has expressed concern about Dream's ability to pay him, but if
the money problems can get worked out, a Fernandes-Omigawa fight
would make a lot of sense.
10.
Joe Warren (NR): The newly crowned Bellator featherweight champion
is the best wrestler in the division and maybe the best wrestler
in all of MMA. Although Warren's stand-up is lacking, he showed
against Joe Soto that he can weather a storm and land a hard
punch.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Strikeforce's
Alistair Overeem reaches K-1 GP final eight
Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair "Demolition Man"
Overeem's decision to focus on K-1 kickboxing in the fall is
paying off so far.
Overeem
knocked down Australian veteran Ben Edwards three times in the
first round of their bout Saturday in Seoul at the K-1 World
Grand Prix 2010 Final 16. The Strikeforce titleholder made the
final eight of the K-1 World GP for the second consecutive year;
he made the semifinals last year before losing to Badr Hari.
Edwards
tried to overwhelm his opponent from the start with streams of
punches, but Overeem simply covered up and waited for openings
to counter. He dropped Edwards twice with single overhand rights,
and put him away with a left hook-right hook combination.
Other
mixed martial arts veterans who won Saturday include Siala-Mou
"Mighty Mo" Siligia and Semmy Schilt, who has won four
of the last five K-1 World GP titles.
The
Netherlands continued to showcase its longtime strength in kickboxing.
Four-time GP champion Peter Aerts also won Saturday to join fellow
Dutchmen Overeem and Schilt in the final eight. Fighters from
Holland have won fourteen of the 17 World GP tournaments completed
so far.
Strikeforce
hoped to have Overeem defending his MMA belt this month or in
December, but while promoters were still considered possible
opponents, he committed himself to K-1, where he also harbors
ambitions of winning a title.
Source: USA Today
|
Ratings
that tell a story
By Jake Rossen
Satoshi Ishii helped spike Dream's vital signs, but the promotion
is still just hanging on
The
attention paid to any non-UFC product is usually a pretty good
measure of the truly devoted fan base both here and abroad. If
you're a die-hard, it would've been hard to miss the WEC's offering
last week, which brought in nearly 500,000 viewers.
Last
weekend's Dream event from Tokyo pulled in an 11.9 rating that
spun the needle to 18.1 for Satoshi Ishii's bout with Ikuhisa
Minowa. Not bad for a fight that was put together at the last
minute and couldn't benefit from a lot of media attention.
The
numbers by no means take Dream off life support. FEG, the promotion's
parent company, is still seeking a massive financial investment
and there are anecdotal reports that fighters are being forced
to wait for their fight purses. With the destruction of Pride
and the faded skills of some of the sport's biggest draws overseas
-- most notably Kazushi Sakuraba and Norifumi "Kid"
Yamamoto -- Japan has suffered a steep decline in interest. It
might turn out to be cyclical -- pro wrestling in the States
has experienced some of the same decline and uptick -- or it
might be an indication that only the biggest fights hold any
appeal for viewers there.
There's
no equivalent doomsday clock for the American promotions. The
WEC grabbing its best rating in a year on the strength of Jose
Aldo's status as a do-not-miss-this talent might stifle some
of the talk surrounding a possible WEC/UFC merger. Although the
sheer volume of UFC events could use some of the nearly guaranteed
excitement the smaller weight classes offer -- it would have
been nice to see Aldo follow the Frank Mir-Mirko "Cro Cop"
Filipovic stinker -- there's not much incentive to cannibalize
a promising brand. Far more likely is the UFC holding promotional
crossovers by putting a Ben Henderson or Aldo title fight on
a UFC pay-per-view. (Better: sticking a recognized star from
the UFC on a WEC broadcast.) The WEC likely will never exist
on par with the UFC -- but if the promotion isn't spending like
the UFC, it doesn't have to be.
Source: ESPN
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FRANKLIN
VS GRIFFIN AGREED FOR SUPER BOWL CARD
by Damon
Martin & Ken Pishna
A pair of "Ultimate Fighter" coaches will look to go
to battle Super Bowl weekend as Forrest Griffin returns to action
to face Rich Franklin in a light heavyweight bout that will likely
serve as the co-main event for the upcoming card on February
5.
While
the fight is not official, sources close to the negotiations
informed MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday that the fight has been offered
for the February date. MMAFighting.com originally reported the
possibility of the bout on Tuesday.
The
only hold up to the process currently is Franklin's health. The
former middleweight champion suffered a broken arm in his last
fight, a knockout win over Chuck Liddell, and as of yet according
to sources close to the fighter he has yet to be medically cleared
for a return.
Assuming
that Franklin's arm will be ready to go in time, the fight with
Griffin is the plan for the UFC to move forward with on the Super
Bowl weekend card.
Both
Franklin and Griffin have had extended layoffs, with the Cincinnati
native dealing with the afore mentioned broken arm, while Griffin
had shoulder surgery following his last fight, a win over Tito
Ortiz in November 2009.
The
fight between Griffin and Franklin would likely gain co-main
event status for the show most likely to be headlined by UFC
middleweight champion Anderson Silva defending his title against
Vitor Belfort.
Earlier
this week, MMAWeekly.com confirmed the news that fellow light
heavyweights Jon Jones and Ryan Bader would also compete in the
February card, and while that will still take place on the show,
it will be a featured bout, but not co-main event as originally
thought.
Source: MMA Weekly
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Jose
Aldo's Manager Wants UFC Champ Edgar Next
by Kid
Nate
"To be honest with you, if you were to say, ‘What would
be your dream fight for [Aldo]?' I think a dream fight for him,
which I think would just be a fight that everyone would love
to see, would be Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo. That fight to me
is the fight that everybody would want to see simply just because,
not to disrespect anybody at the 155-pound division to think
that Jose has the right to go up there without fighting in it,
I just think that, as their styles, the way they match up, it
would be one of the greatest fights of all-time, I think. It
has the potential to be, just because of their styles."
Source: Bloody Elbow
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Karo
Parisyan denies those painkiller addict rumors
We
all wanna know ... how's Karo? The answer: we don't know. On
one side we have a (former?) close friend and training partner
saying Karo has a painkiller addiction problem. On the other
we have Karo saying his only problem was anxiety. Here's what
he said on Inside MMA over the weekend when Kenny Rice asked
him straight up if he had a problem:
I
took two pain pills for my torn hamstring legally with a frickin
paper ... a prescription. I had a problem, a torn hamstring when
I was supposed to fight Matt Hughes. That never healed. I could
open up my pants in front of the whole national television right
now and show that dent behind my thigh. I took pain pills, I
completely forgot about all this but it's legal I have a prescription
for it.
This
kinda glosses over the fact that the hamstring injury happened
YEARS ago and those 'two pain pills' weren't his or even what
he was prescribed but random pain pills offered up by a friend
that morning (mmmm, mystery friendship pills).
And
it's not like a prescription means there's no abuse or addiction
going on. You don't have to be a Hollywood celebrity to get a
generous amount of perfectly legal meds. You don't even have
to ask a doctor "Do you know who I am, bro?" You just
tell em it hurts and get your tasty drugs.
Source: Fight Linker
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Fabricio
Werdum prefers 2011 rematch with Fedor, not Alistair Overeem
by FQJMMA
"Vai Cavalo's" manager, Richard Wilner, tells MMAweekly
his fighter's wishes for 2011:
"He's
still undergoing physical therapy, and physical therapy is more
intense than one might imagine, and it includes a number of plyometric
exercises and weightlifting. He started light training about
10 days ago, so he's progressing remarkably.... Be it against
Alistair (Overeem) for the belt, although Fabricio's already
beaten Alistair, so some may see that as a step back, although
Alistair is a completely different fighter now. By step back,
we absolutely mean no disrespect to Alistair, we just mean that
they fought before and while it was a long time ago, I don't
even know if it would be considered a rematch, but if it was
considered a rematch there's one guy out there that’s arguably
deserving of a rematch more than Alistair, and that's Fedor (Emelianenko)."
It's
been almost four months since Fabricio Werdum turned the MMA
world upside down when he submitted the man who many believed
was the best fighter in the sport today, Fedor Emelianenko. Since
then, Werdum has been sidelined after undergoing elbow surgery
and will continue to be out of action until 2011. The bout with
"The Last Emperor" was thought of to be a number one
contender bout, but "Vai Cavalo's" surgery and Emelianenko's
contract status has left Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair
Overeem's next contender up in the air. Would you rather see
a rematch between Werdum and Fedor or a rematch with Werdum and
the "Demolition Man?"
Source: MMA Mania
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JONES
VS. BADER SET FOR SUPER BOWL WEEKEND
by Damon
Martin
As first reported by MMAWeekly.com over the weekend, a light
heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Ryan Bader was offered
and accepted for early 2011. The fight has since been confirmed
for Super Bowl weekend with the event likely to take place on
Feb. 5.
The
news was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the match-up
on Monday. Both fighters had already verbally agreed to the contest,
but with a date set, bout agreements will be issued and signed
shortly.
Thought
of as two of the top contenders in the 205-pound weight class,
Jones and Bader appeared on a collision course after the former
"Ultimate Fighter" winner got past Antonio Rogerio
Nogueira in his last fight at UFC 119 in September.
Bader
had stated when appearing on MMAWeekly Radio after his win at
UFC 119 that he was getting married at the end of October, and
had planned a honeymoon and some much needed time off that would
likely push his next fight past a New Year's Day date.
It
looks like Bader got his wish, and will face Jones as part of
the Super Bowl weekend card in early February with the two light
heavyweights likely squaring off as a co-main event for the show.
Current plans are to have UFC middleweight champion Anderson
Silva face Vitor Belfort as the main event for the show, although
no official announcement has been made.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ralek
Gracie Says Dream Still Hasn't Paid Him For Fight in May5
By Ben
Fowlkes
You can add Ralek Gracie's name to the growing list of fighters
who are upset with Japan's Dream organization, and his complaint
against his former employers is all too familiar.
Gracie
(3-0) told MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani on Monday afternoon's
edition of "The MMA Hour" that the FEG-backed promotion
has not paid him a single penny of what he's owed for his win
over Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream.14 on May 29.
And after waiting patiently for more than four months for the
check to arrive, Gracie is through keeping quiet about it.
"I
fought [Sakuraba] on May 29 and under my contract I was supposed
to be paid 30 days after my fight, in full, and I haven't been
paid yet," Gracie said. "The Dream organization puts
on a wonderful show. They're, in my opinion, the top show in
terms of production, but on the back end, as far as handling
the finances, they haven't really taken care of me in a way that
I expected and a way I feel is honorable and a way they should."
Gracie
may be the most recent fighter to lodge such allegations against
Dream, but he's by no means the first. MMA pioneer Gary Goodridge,
who recently said he still hasn't been paid for his fight on
the Dynamite!! 2009 New Year's Eve event, and Dream featherweight
champ Bibiano Fernandes, who reportedly wasn't paid until September
for a bout in March, have both made similar complaints to the
media.
Much
like Goodridge, Gracie said he's not only been unsuccessful in
securing payment for his fight, but also hasn't even been able
to get a response from the organization lately.
"I
had two different people contacting them," Gracie said.
"I sent them emails personally, and they haven't even responded
to my emails. They're just completely avoiding everything and
it's a complete mess."
Gracie
said he knows that some other fighters on the card, such as Strikeforce
welterweight champ Nick Diaz, have been paid for their services,
but at this point he's resigned himself to the possibility that
he may never see a dime for his win over Sakuraba.
"I
was told that I was going to be paid every month for the last
three or four months, so at this point, what I've been told and
what the truth is are two different things. I'm not really expecting
it anymore."
Instead,
Gracie said, his goal in going public is to warn other fighters
about the potential financial pitfalls of fighting for Dream.
"I
think it's important that fighters know, before going to Japan,
you should have a deal that either gives you your money up front
or in some kind of escrow account, to make sure the money is
available after the fight," said Gracie. "...I feel
like they've had two shows or three shows since my fight. I don't
understand how they're still doing shows and they're just signing
fighters up and fighters aren't getting paid. So to me it's not
the right way to do business and it's not the right way to treat
people."
Source: MMA Fighting
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TapouT
co-founder Dan Caldwell says new partner could take brand to
"Nike levels"
by Steven Marrocco
Dan Caldwell, better known as "Punkass," thinks TapouT
still has a lot of room to grow.
And
Caldwell, who co-founded the MMA apparel giant with Charles "Mask"
Lewis in 1997, believes TapouT's new parent company, Authentic
Brands Group, can take it to a level of visibility associated
with brands such as Nike, Reebok and Under Armour.
"We
had formulated a plan in our head how we thought that would get
done," Caldwell told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
"But things like that take money. So you need to bring in
the right guys to take the brand to that level, and these were
the guys."
After
several weeks filled with rumors of TapouT's impending sale,
the Toronto-based Authentic Brands Group announced this past
month that it had acquired the company, along with MMA brands
Hitman Fight Gear and Silver Star Casting Company, for an undisclosed
sum.
ABG's
CEO, Jamie Salter, previously has held investments in several
prominent U.S. brands, including Polaroid, Halston, Linens 'n
Things and Sharper Image, among others. The company also currently
licenses the Bob Marley brand.
While
the branding firm's track record certainly elevated the profile
of the sale, news of the purchase came as a shock to many observers
who questioned whether the highly recognizable fight brands had
hit a roadblock in the MMA marketplace and economy at large.
Caldwell, however, said his company had fielded offers from several
companies since its explosive rise to popularity in the mid-2000s,
and ABG simply presented the best fit.
"This
is regular business," he said. "People who don't understand
business make this out to be something of an anomaly. Businesses
go through this all the time, and that's how they move forward."
The
clothing brand suffered a huge blow 19 months prior when its
co-founder and CEO, the beloved Lewis, was allegedly hit by a
drunk driver. He died in the car crash in Newport Beach, Calif.
Caldwell and longtime TapouT partner Timothy "Skysrape"
Katz decided to continue on with the company. (A jury trial for
Lewis' alleged killer, Jeffrey David Kirby, is currently set
for Oct. 15 in Newport Beach.)
Caldwell,
who remains president of TapouT, said he and Lewis always dreamed
of making the company into a blue-chip brand and said ABG "gets"
MMA.
"[ABG]
believes that this is the fastest growing sport in the world,
that this is going to be in line with basketball or baseball
or hockey, and TapouT could be as big as a Nike or an Under Armour.
We were all saying the same stuff (in negotiations), so that
was exciting for us."
Caldwell
said the new TapouT plans to open offices in New York City, Los
Angeles and possibly a second office on its home turf of Orange
County, Calif. The company has now outsourced its sales and shipping
departments to Ontario, Calif., and "streamlined" its
main office in Grand Terrace, Calif., down to 30-some employees.
The
company has several production factories around Southern California
as well as overseas in China that employ hundreds of workers.
Entrepreneur
Marc Kreiner, who joined the company in 2005 and, according to
Caldwell, helped TapouT grow from $5 million to $200 million
in annual sales in the past five years, left the company when
the ABG deal was finalized. Caldwell said the split was amicable.
"He
had other things that he saw himself doing," Caldwell said.
"Marc is an entrepreneur and a business guy. He gets into
companies and brings them to a level where he feels like he can
contribute, and when we got to this point, he felt like he wanted
to do other things in life.
"We
had a meeting with him (before the sale) and it was like, 'This
is it,'" Caldwell said. "It's time to pass the torch,
and the new business guys in town are ABG. It's an exciting time
for the business can't help but be excited."
Although
he declined to disclose Tapout's plan for growth, Caldwell said
Tapout and ABG believe they can increase their current sales
figures tenfold in the coming years. The fight brand is also
working on new product lines in hopes of increasing its market
share within the MMA market.
"We're
working on a new secret short that I can't talk too much about,
but it's going to be the best fighting short ever made,"
Caldwell said. "Pieces like that will separate us from everyone
in the business."
And
despite TapouT's near-ubiquitous presence in the MMA community,
Caldwell said the company is just scratching the surface with
everyday consumers.
"Nike
does somewhere around $35 billion a year," he said. "That's
billion with a 'b.' Last I checked, we did just under 200 million.
So I think we have a long way to go before we hit saturation."
Regardless
of its eventual path, Caldwell said Lewis always will be a factor
in TapouT's decision-making process.
"At
the end, we knew it was something that he would have wanted,"
he said. "We still feel like he lives in the structure of
this company, and we'll continue to work hard to make it everything
we want it to be."
Source: MMA Junkie
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