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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
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Man Up & Stand Up Kickboxing Championship
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
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)
|
|
September
2010 News Part 1
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & 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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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!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
DALEY'S
STRIKEFORCE DEAL, INCLUDING DEBUT TALK
As first reported by MMAWeekly.com back in August, Paul Daley's
signing of a six-fight contract with the Strikeforce promotion
has been officially announced.
The
news comes hot on the heels of a decision victory win over fellow
welterweight Jorge Masvidal, who also inked a six-fight deal
with the promotion a couple of days ago.
For
Daley the announcement will serve to put him back into a strong
mix of welterweight fighters within the promotion, although he
has already mentioned at various points his desire to throw down
with Nick Diaz.
While
the news has been announced globally through Strikeforce, MMAWeekly.com
managed to confirm with various sources close to the situation
that a debut will likely occur towards the end of the year,.
It will be against a high caliber adversary with an exciting
style, but with no confirmed bout in the offering at the moment.
Speaking
independently to sources in Brazil, it is rumored that recent
170-pound debutant Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos currently
leads the way as a possible opponent.
For
Daley's part, the deal marks a significant step forward in opposition,
but still keeps doors open to remain active, even if the promotion
doesn't have anything lined up for him. Daley has long been a
Ronin fighter and likes to remain active on the circuit. This
new deal allows that if opportunities in Japan present themselves,
and Strikeforce is willing, we may see some further exchange
bouts between the American and Japanese promotions.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
NATE
MARQUARDT: I DON'T CHEAT, I DON'T GREASE
Nate Marquardt defeated Rousimar Palhares in the main event of
“UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares” by TKO, but
it wasn’t without a bit of controversy.
Palhares
took Marquardt down and went to secure a leg for an ankle lock.
Marquardt easily escaped and the Brazilian started to complain
to referee Herb Dean, alleging the Team Jackson trained Marquardt
had a lubricant on his legs.
Marquardt
seized the moment and pounced on the downed Palhares with a barrage
of strikes forcing and end to the fight.
Palhares
continued to protest after the fight was stopped, but Dean and
Texas commission officials cleared Marquardt of the allegation
almost immediately.
“Basically
after the fight he was complaining. He thought I had something
slippery on my legs, so the referee, Herb Dean, wiped my legs
with a paper towel and he said he was going to wait for the sweat
to dry and if there was grease left over it would leave a mark
and there was nothing left over,” explained Marquardt. “Also,
the commissioner came over with his bare hand and checked my
legs and said that I was good to go.”
In
his post-fight interview Marquardt said he worked up a good sweat
before entering the Octagon with the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black
belt, and theorized that was the cause of his opponent’s
reaction.
“Basically
I believe what happened was I had a good sweat going before the
fight and he felt as I turned out of the ankle lock, it slipped
a little bit, and he felt that I had greased or something, so
I’m sure that he was a little upset,” explained Marquardt,
also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.
Marquardt
was pleased with his victory, but said the greasing claim took
away from his win.
“I
was very excited for the win, but that kind of took a little
bit out of it for me,” said the middleweight contender.
“It was kind of disappointing to try to have to defend yourself
over something like that. I’m not a dirty fighter, and I
don’t cheat, and I don’t grease.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ANTONIO
MCKEE SIGNS MULT-FIGHT DEAL WITH UFC
Going for the finish makes a big difference for a fighter, and
apparently that philosophy has paid off for former IFL and MFC
competitor Antonio McKee, who has signed a new multi-fight contract
with the UFC.
The
news of McKee's signing was confirmed to MMAWeekly by sources
close to the negotiations, and was initially reported by MMAJunkie.com
on Wednesday.
A
winner of 14 fights in a row, McKee never made the headlines
for his performances because he was never known as a particularly
exciting fighter. A tremendous wrestler and grappler, McKee had
become synonymous with going to decisions over the last few years.
Vowing
to finish his last opponent or retire, McKee made good on his
promise as he sliced open Luciano Azevedo last Friday night in
Maximum Fighting Championships, and got the stoppage at just
over halfway thorugh the first round.
McKee
will jump right into the middle of a very tough and very stacked
UFC lightweight division, and there will be no easy tests for
the California based fighter.
There
has been no word when McKee's debut could happen, but with a
quick win last week, it's likely he'll be healthy and in shape
if the UFC should come calling.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Absolute
champion of Asia celebrates, but doesn’t reveal “family
secret”
A
well-known competitor and trainer in Japan, the half-Brazilian,
half-Japanese Marcos Souza is not an illustrious unknown to readers.
The son of Master Adilson Souza, master and founder of Bon Sai
academy, Marcos is of noble lineage, with further family credentials
from his brown belt brother Roberto Satoshi Souza.
Even
so, Marcos was not the favorite going into the Asian Open that
ended September 12. And he nearly put off signing up, due to
a foot injury.
In
the end, he stuck his neck out among beasts like Abmar Barbosa,
Mike Fowler and Jonathan “JT” Torres, and showed the
worth of the Brazil-Japan blend – he won both his weight
and the open weight group at the IBJJF competition. And he even
had breath left to answer five questions from GRACIEMAG.com.
Was
the 2010 Asian Open your first major title?
Yes,
there was a special flavor to it. Two years ago, at the same
championship, I was winning 15 to 2 with 40 seconds on the clock
and my I wanted to finish off my opponent any way I could. I
let myself get carried away by emotion and I got caught in an
armbar with 20 seconds remaining… This year I wanted to
prove how that Asian Open was unfortunate.
This
year I won all the events I was in here in Japan, at weight and
open weight. Cups like the Dumau International, Aichi Open, West
Japan, All Japan and the Abu Dhabi Asian Qualfiers…
How
did the match go against JT, one of the sensations of the current
season?
Everyone
was saying it would be an interesting match, perhaps the most
heavily anticipated of the absolute. He’s been gaining ground
in Jiu-Jitsu, has been beating a lot of tough guys and deserves
respect. He has a highly offensive guard, has been catching everyone
in his path, but I believed in my game. I passed his guard and
got my knee on his belly, winning by 5 to 0. He’s really
strong for a lightweight, and on top of that he’s really
quick. I was pleased.
Then
came the absolute final. Why did you and Abmar opt not to fight?
Last
year, Abmar came to compete in Japan and stayed at my house,
we trained together and we’ve been great friends ever since.
He said that as I helped him last year, this year he’s going
to reciprocate what I did for him. The curious part is that,
on Saturday, he told me he wasn’t going to compete in the
absolute because he was going to watch the judo Worlds. So I
joked with him asking whether he was afraid of somebody, and
bugged him about the title having to go to a Brazilian. Besides
the Japanese threats, there was JT and Mike Fowler, each in a
different bracket, and the danger of the two closing out. We
joked about each of us having to take out one of them along the
way, which is what ended up happening.
You
nearly stayed out of the Asian Open. How did you get injured?
Last
month in the final of the All Japan, I hurt my foot against a
170-kg (374-lb) opponent! It was right at the start of the match.
I ended up winning, but haven’t been able to train since.
I’d already told my students and sponsors I wasn’t
going to compete, since I hadn’t been training. But my desire
spoke louder, and as I was in Tokyo to accompany my students,
I decided to sign up at the last minute. I overcame the pain
and fear of competing untrained.
I’d
like to take the chance to thank my sponsors, Bull Terrier, Fightwear,
Dragão Kimonos, Brutal Company. And of course, all those
who rooted for me, it’s because of you that I try to improve
with every day.
You
brother won the absolute brown belt division, getting the finish
in all his matches. What are you guys’ training sessions
like?
My
brother has enviable focus and responsibility. He wins a championship
and on the next day he’s training again like he’s about
to compete.
Now
he’s even going to compete in the Jiu-Jitsu GP against another
sever fighters, to prove who’s the best in the under 75
kg (155 lbs) division in Japan.
We
trust each other a lot, corner each other and know exactly what
the other is going to do in a match. We train every Tuesday,
Wednesday and Saturday at our academy Bon Sai Hamamatsu. Everyone
asks who submits who, but that’s a family secret! (Laughs).
What’s
you guys’ routine like in Japan?
I
teach class from Monday to Saturday, while my brother heads training
at Bon Sai Iwata. There are three of us brothers here in Japan.
At first we worked in a factory. Hard times… The food was
bad and the work grueling. Even worse, we didn’t have time
to train. Now we have three branches here, aside from the 14
in Brazil, which we always visit. In October, for example, we’ll
be back there to be with the family.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Champions
of biggest Shooto Brazil event so far
The
18th installment of Shooto Brazil, in Brasilia, was the biggest
in the organization’s history. Ten fights were held at the
Nilson Nelson gymnasium and the five thousand paying spectators
were delivered all the excitement they could hope for.
In
the evening’s main event, Guto Inocente didn’t have
much work in putting away Argentina’s Gustavo Moia. A straight
front kick literally left his opponent dangling from the ropes,
and a follow-up knee to the body dropped Moia, who was unable
to get up. The win in just forty seconds was worth the promotion’s
heavyweight title.
Eder
Jones showed his well-rounded MMA game. The beast from the Brazilian
state of Bahia did well in the standup department and took Guilherme
Braga down at will. The bout ended with a foot lock that caused
Braga to scream, and referee Marlon Sandro called an end to the
fight. Despite Braga’s protests about not having tapped,
the decision was correct.
One
of the revelations of the under 56 kg division, Alexandre Pantoja
didn’t take long in beating Bruno Azevedo in a fight full
of rivalry. After getting taken down, Pantoja tried for an armbar,
but the finish came with a choke from back mount while still
in the first round. The first round of the fight between John
Lineker and Alvino Torres was breathtaking. Lineker, a boxing
specialist, connected with a string of solid crosses. Alvino
Torres responded with his muay thai, landing knees and kicks.
In the second round, though, Lineker changed strategies and took
the fight to the ground, where he ended the fight with a rear-naked
choke.
Junior
Field did well in the standup department and landed takedowns
to take the unanimous decision over Antener “Peixe”.
Rodrigo Medeiros and Vicente Luque had one of the most lively
matches. Luque got the better of the standup, while Medeiros
had the better time on the ground. The result yielded a draw.
Claudio Rocha took Ermeson Queiroz down and finished up with
an arm triangle in just one minute. Vinicius Silva didn’t
need much time either. After knocking Vanderley Camilo down with
a hard right, the fighter followed up with strikes until the
referee intervened.
In
the early matches, Gilberto Dias sunk an arm triangle on Heliovanio
Batista. Now Fabio Shon beat Fabio Lima via unanimous decision.
Check
out the results:
Shooto
Brasil 18
Brasília, Brazil
September 17, 2010
100kg
belt
Guto Inocente (BSB) defeated Gustavo Moía (Argentina)
via KO in R1
Combates
Fights
83 kg- Eder Jones (Bahia) submitted Guilherme Braga (Formosa
– GO) via footlock
56 kg- Alexandre Pantoja (RJ) submitted Bruno Azevedo (BSB) via
rear-naked choke inR1
60 kg- John Lineker (Curitiba) submitted Alvino Torres (BSB)
via rear-naked choke in R2
- Junior Field defeated Antenor Peixe via unanimous decision
76kg – Vicente Luque (BSB) and Rodrigo Medeiros (Goiania
–GO) fought to a draw
65kg- Claudio Rocha (BSB) submitted Ermesson Queiroz via arm-triangle
in R1
76 kg- Vinícius Silva (Formosa –GO) defeated Vanderley
Camilo (BSB) via TKO in R1
60kg – Gilberto Dias (BSB) submitted Heliovanio Batista
(Goiania – GO)
70 kg- Fábio Shon (Goiânia) defeated Fábio
Lima (BSB) via unanimous decision
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Referee
Shoved by Keith Jardine Reacts to Fighter's Actions, Suspension
Steve
Armstrong's night was nearly over. The Texas Department of Licensing
and Regulation referee had just presided over the Shark Fights
13 co-main event, and now he was waiting to do his last pre-fight
check over main event participant Keith Jardine.
Armstrong
waited in the aisle of the Amarillo Civic Center as Jardine threw
his arms up for the cheering crowd and approached him. As they
intersected, Armstrong stopped Jardine with his right hand in
order to begin his mandatory check. In a flash, Jardine pushed
Armstrong's hand away and then stared at the veteran referee
for a beat before shoving him backwards.
That
quick exchange, which took just 2.5 seconds in real time, landed
Jardine an indefinite suspension at the hands of the state's
athletic sanctioning body, TDLR. In an interview with MMA Fighting,
Armstrong explained how the incident took place and his thoughts
on the actions that landed the MMA veteran in hot water.
"I
think he was zoning," said Armstrong, who has been a referee
in Texas for five years, but has been around martial arts since
1973. "He was fixing to fight a big fight. I was trying
to stop him, and he smirked and pushed me. I said, 'You push
me again, you're DQ'd.' Then he patted my shoulder like he realized
what was going on. I think he got caught in the moment."
Armstrong
says that prior to fight weekend, the two had never met in person.
But on Friday, Sept. 10 -- the night before the show -- Armstrong
was introduced to the night's 20 fighters as one of the referees
during a standard rules meeting. During that time, Armstrong
says he was in the same room with Jardine for "about 15
minutes," so while he was not exactly a familiar face, he
shouldn't have been a completely foreign one either.
After
officiating hundreds of bouts, Armstrong says he had never before
been involved in a situation like the one that unfolded before
Jardine's fight. And if it was up to him, he probably would have
let it go without a further thought. Unfortunately for Jardine,
the shove occurred just a few feet away from TDLR members, who
were sitting cageside.
"They
saw it," said Armstrong. "I don't know if I would've
even brought it up. But the commissioner and assistant commissioner
were sitting 10 feet away so they were watching the whole thing.
They asked me why he pushed me. I said, 'I don't know.' And I
really don't know. It wasn't something I did, that's for sure."
Messages
left for Jardine went unreturned, but his manager told MMA Weekly
in the wake of the incident that Jardine confused Armstrong for
a fan after being grabbed by other fans while walking to the
cage.
Armstrong
says that as a veteran of over 20 fights, Jardine should have
been well aware that the pre-fight check was coming as he neared
the cage. And that even if he had been a fan, fighters shouldn't
be shoving fans, either.
"He's
got a lot of fights, he should know better," he said. "There's
no excuse but I didn't want to see him get suspended indefinitely.
I just wanted to know, 'Hey, do you have a mouthpiece and a cup
on?' In every fight that's checked, so this is nothing new to
Keith. We're always going to look at your gloves and do those
checks. That's all very standard, going through that checkpoint."
While
Jardine -- who went on to lose the fight, his fifth straight
loss -- was given an indefinite suspension, he's likely going
to have to state his case in front of TDLR members before they
reinstate his license. In addition, most states that sanction
MMA usually honor suspensions initiated by other state sanctioning
bodies, so Jardine may have limited options for competition until
a suspension is decided upon.
MMA
Fighting spoke to one state athletic commission department head
-- Nevada state executive director Keith Kizer -- who said while
in MMA, honoring suspensions is not automatic, his influential
state, like many others, often does so.
"I've
never known us to not give reciprocity and honor suspensions
for any sport for unsportsmanlike conduct," he said.
Meanwhile,
Armstrong hopes the moment becomes just a sidenote to Jardine's
career while serving as a warning to other athletes about cageside
behavior.
"I
think the state doesn't want anyone else to do this, so they
may be making a statement that this is not the way you conduct
yourself," Armstrong said. "And it's true, you have
to conduct yourself as a professional. But I believe everyone
makes mistakes. You'd have to look at his career and see if he
has a habit of doing these things. If it's his first offense,
it's not a habitual thing. He seems like pretty much a gentleman.
I think he got carried away in a big moment, in a big fight.
I wish him the best. I didn't take it personally, but it's not
up to me."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Crocotá
“going for the KO or submission”
Since
he left UFC, where he suffered the first losses of his career,
Edilberto Crocotá took a
while
to find his way out of this bad phase and start up fresh. A sequence
of five wins on WFE
and
Jungle Fight cheered him up, but the bad result against Gil de
Freitas, on the 18th edition
of
the event produced by Wallid Ismail, where he lost on the judges’
decision, made the fighter
rethink
his game plan.
“I’ve
set a goal in my head, I’m not letting it go to the judges
to decide anymore because they
made
a huge mistake last time and I won’t let it happen again”,
explains Crocotá, who was
brought
into tears after the loss to Gil, pretty mad with the judges.
With a brand new spirit
after
knocking Rondinelli Rodriges out on Jungle 21, Crocotá
is now back as the main attraction
of
the 22nd edition of the event, which happens next Saturday on
the Ibirapuera’s Gym, in Sao
Paulo,
against the very tough Eduardo Pamplona.
“I’m
trained, I can face anyone. He’ll be another one I’ll
go for it. It’ll be a good fight to
watch,
everybody knows it’ll be a great show”, promises the
guy from Bahia, who only left the
decision
to be made by the judges once, winning 13 times by knockout or
submission. “I’m
going
there to win, I’m not going there to do the best fight.
I’m going for the knockout or
submission.
I’ll drill”, said.
Against
Pamplona, who won 13 of the 15 fights of his career, Edilberto
knows that the win
can
bring him to the spotlight again. “He’s a very good
athlete, complete, has a long career to
follow
on MMA. I won’t give him any space and I know he’ll
try to make it hard for me either.
He’ll
give his best and I’m sure that the audience present there
will have the chance to watch a
great
show”, promises the tough guy. Check below the complete
card of the event, which will
be
broadcasted live by ESPN Desportes in the United States.
COMPLETE
CARD:
Jugle
Fight by Pretorian
Sao
Paulo, Brazil
Saturday,
September 18 of 2010
Super
fights:
-
Ediberto Crocotá vs. Eduardo Pamplona;
-
Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Erik Becker;
-
Johil de Oliveira vs. Alessandro Zóio;
GP
155lbs semi-finals:
-
Francisco Massaranduba vs. Yuri Marájo;
-
Manuelo Morales vs. Rodolfo "Fito" Perez;
K-1
Low Kicks:
-
Rogério Bezerra vs. Fabio Leão.
Source: Tatame
|
TUF
12 EP 1 RECAP: 14 ELIMINATED & 14 ADVANCE
by Jeff
Cain
Twenty-eight lightweights made it through the tryouts, interviews,
and screening process to make it to the elimination round of
fights to compete for a spot in “The Ultimate Fighter 12:
Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck” house.
The
wild card slot introduced in Season 11 is back in Season 12.
“We’re
bringing back the wild card,” explained UFC president Dana
White. “The way the wild card works is after the guys fight
their way into the house there’s seven preliminary fights.
And for the eighth preliminary fight, we take two guys who have
lost, but we feel have a ton of talent and could still make it
in the competition and we bring them back as the wild card fighters.
And the winner of that fight gets the last quarterfinal spot.”
After
a pep talk from White, it was time for the elimination round
where the winners earn a bed in the house and a spot on the show
for the remainder of production, that is unless they’re
injured in their elimination bout and can’t continue, quit,
or do something to get kicked off.
The
first elimination bout presented on the show (the fights could
have happened in a different chronological order during filming)
was between Marc Stephens and T.J. O’Brien.
Stephens
wrestled at the University of Buffalo under Koscheck. Koscheck
admitted to have never seen Stephens fight but said, “he’s
an okay wrestler.”
In
the first exchange Stephens landed a low kick followed by a right
hand that dropped O’Brien and finished him by technical
knockout with strikes on the ground securing his place in the
fighter house.
Spencer
Paige and Steve Magdaleno entered the Octagon next.
The
first round was fast paced and competitive with each fighter
having his moments. The second was back and forth in the beginning
with Paige pulling out the unanimous decision win and earning
residence inside the fighter house.
Nam
Phan and Mike Budnik were the next to compete. Phan is a lifelong
martial artist. Budnik is a former professional skater who competed
in the first 10 X-Games.
Phan
landed the cleaner strikes. He was taken down twice in the first
round, but he quickly made his way back to his feet each time.
Late in the round Phan knocked Budnik down with a body shot.
Budnik turtled up as Phan fired down punches and referee Herb
Dean stopped the fight. Phan won by TKO extending his stay in
Las Vegas and on the show.
Andy
Main submitted Jason Brenton by triangle choke after a back and
forth fight.
Jonathan
Brookins used grappling to control Ran Weathers and came away
with a unanimous decision victory.
Sako
Chivitchian relied on his Judo background to get Toby Grear to
the ground and maintained top position to take the decision and
advance in the competition.
After
the fight, Chivitchian said, “This is the greatest day of
my life. You could never know how great it feels. There’s
no words to say it. You’ve got to get in here to know how
it feels,” while Spike TV showed clips of him puking after
the fight.
Jeffrey
Lentz and Daniel Head were next in line.
Before
the fight started, coach St-Pierre crossed out Lentz on his sheet
listing the contestants with photos, saying he’s going to
lose.
Lentz
put a beating on Head before submitting him with a rear naked
choke in a one-sided affair.
Following
the match, coach Koscheck showed Lentz that St-Pierre crossed
him out before the fight began. “He crossed you out before
it even started,” he said. “Just know it.”
Lentz
replied, “I ain’t worried. Never count me out.”
Paul
Barrow and Alex Caceres made their way to the cage. Caceres,
nicknamed Bruce Lee Roy, walked out in a replica yellow jump
suit of the one Bruce Lee wore in the movie “The Game of
Death.”
Barrow
got a single leg takedown early, but couldn’t keep Caceres
down. Barrow closed the distance and the two jostled for position
inside the clinch. Caceres took Barrow’s back and sunk in
a rear naked choke, ending the fight.
“I
love this kid,” said White. “Bruce Lee Roy might be
for real. This kid has takedown defense. He’s got some submissions,
and his stand-up looks pretty good. It will be interesting to
see how far Bruce Lee Roy can make it through the competition.”
Michael
Johnson vs. Pablo Garza was next with Johnson securing takedowns
and unleashing vicious ground and pound. Johnson was unable to
finish, but walked away with a clear-cut unanimous decision,
impressing the UFC president and Koscheck in the process.
“Michael
Johnson is a great wrestler, and he seems like a kid that goes
in to finish,” commented White. “He’s nasty.”
Koscheck
predicted great things from Johnson.
“Michael
Johnson is going to be a contender, for sure, in this competition,”
said the welterweight contender.
Aaron
Wilkinson displayed good takedowns and the ability to ground
and pound his opponents, defeating Michael Richman by decision,
becoming the only Englishman in the house.
Kyle
Watson used his jiu-jitsu skills to get Joseph Duffy to the canvas
and force him to tap out due to a rear naked choke. The Matt
Hughes trained Watson will have 13 roommates in the fighter house.
Sevak
Magakian escaped J.J. Ambrose’s early submission attempts
and used his wrestling to win by unanimous decision.
Cody
McKenzie, a commercial fisherman in Alaska residing in Washington,
entered the Octagon first against Amir Khillah, who soon followed
for their elimination bout.
St-Pierre
was familiar with McKenzie and predicted he’d win by guillotine
choke, and the welterweight champion was right. Khillah took
McKenzie down and then came the guillotine. McKenzie tightened
it down and the Egyptian fighter went to sleep.
“I
know Cody by name, “stated St-Pierre. “He has one thing
that he does unbelievably well. It’s his guillotine choke.”
The
final elimination bout to get in the fight house was between
Dane Sayers and Ariel Sexton.
Sayers
opted not to touch gloves and ran across the cage with a flying
knee to start the first round. Much of the round was a slugfest
with Sexton landing often. At the start of the second stanza,
Sayers looked fatigued. White predicted Sayers would get “knocked
out this round.”
Sexton
was in complete control when Sayers applied a guillotine choke
and immediately pulled guard to lock it on. Sexton escaped, but
Sayers took his back and secured a rear naked choke to the standing
Sexton forcing him to tap.
The
Blackfoot Chippewa Native American joins a diverse cast of fighters
in “The Ultimate Fighter 12: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck”
house.
The
14 cast members advancing to team selections and moving into
the fighter house were: Marc Stephens, Spencer Paige, Nam Phan,
Andy Main, Jonathan Brookins, Sako Chivitchian, Jeffrey Lentz,
Alex Caceres, Michael Johnson, Aaron Wilkinson, Kyle Watson,
Sevak Magakian, Cody McKenzie, and Dane Sayers.
The
coaches, UFC welterweight titleholder Georges St-Pierre and Josh
Koscheck, will rematch at the conclusion of the Spike TV reality
show’s twelfth season at UFC 124 in Montreal on Dec. 11.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Mayhem
Miller talks about DREAM 16 fight against Kazushi Sakuraba and
his future in Strikeforce
By Zach
Arnold
KENNY RICE: “So, Jason, let’s get to it. You go back
to Japan, you’re taking on Sakuraba who lost his last fight
to Ralek Gracie. How’s everything been going for yourself?
Because you’ve had a little bit of time off here to get
ready for this.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Well, you know, I’ve been training anyway
and it was just getting ready for whatever came up and luckily,
you know, this came up so I just ramped up my training to 1000%
and it’s kind of weird for me right now, honestly. I get
to fight like a legend, like to me I watched this guy all coming
up and kind of modeled myself after him and watching him fight
when I was younger was like a passing of the torch from that
traditional like “this is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,” I mean
you could see where fighting was going, you know like he started
beating all the Gracies and you could tell that fighting was
becoming this hybrid of wrestling, boxing, and grappling instead
of like just style vs. style. So, for me to punch his face in
will be very great.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “Wow. When you see him, you never realize now looking
at him that he’s 41 years old.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Yeah!”
BAS
RUTTEN: “And he’s been through some wars!”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “He’s been through some wars, yeah.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “I mean, the three fights against Wanderlei.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Like, you know, I got to win this fight, you know
he’s older, older than me but he’s still dangerous.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “Oh, he’s very dangerous. Very explosive power
in his punches.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Going for a submission and just trying to tear
your arm off or you know his fight before this last fight he
lost, I mean he was getting massacred and then just pulls off
this submission of the year out of nowhere, you know, gets a
kneebar on the guy. I mean, I’m going in there with a clear
head and I’m fighting smart.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “Yeah.”
JOE
ROGAN: “Remember when he popped onto the scene when he first
fought Conan (Silveira)? Remember that?”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “No! I don’t remember that.”
JOE
ROGAN: “Yeah! UFC Japan.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “OH YEAH, I REMEMBER THAT. When they stopped the
fight.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “All the way back to the days where the arm couldn’t
be broken, right? He had that thing on his arm, ‘my arm
cannot be broken,’ armbar, he got an armbar.”
JOE
ROGAN: “He tapped him, he got him with a far-side armbar.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “I was there.”
JOE
ROGAN: “Remember when they stopped the fight too soon? He
dropped down for a takedown and Big John mistakenly though he
got hurt and he stopped the fight and let him come back.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “And Sakuraba stayed in the cage, remember? He didn’t
go out. He said, no, I’m not going to go out until they
change the verdict and they changed!”
JOE
ROGAN: “Nobody even knew who Sakuraba was back then.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Yeah, yeah, of course.”
JOE
ROGAN: “He’s a real icon, he’s one of the few
guys, a real true original.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “Yeah.”
KENNY
RICE: “In many ways, this is one of your biggest fights
ever.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Yeah, yeah.”
KENNY
RICE: “I mean, this may be the biggest in some ways.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “I mean, for me, every fight coming up is the biggest
fight ever. The name recognition that goes with Sakuraba and
you know he’s got this legendary aura around him. I mean,
it’s not going to stop me from beating him up. Like I said
before, man, I beat up my Dad plenty of times.”
KENNY
RICE: “You didn’t get paid for that, did you?”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Nah.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “Total satisfaction. “The satisfaction knowing
that you can take him out.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “He’s still got a better intra-family record
than I do, but still, you know, you’re as good as your last
fight.”
BAS
RUTTEN: “That’s a nice, warm family right there.”
KENNY
RICE: “Let me ask you about Strikeforce. Are you still in
the mix there with Strikeforce? It was Jacare and Kennedy and,
you know, the whole thing, we know all the thing that happened
in Nasvhille. Is life still good? Good graces you’ll fight
again in Strikeforce?”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “I mean, I don’t know, I don’t talk to
them directly, you know, I have managers for that but, you know,
I still have a contract, you know, with Strikeforce and I’m
willing to fight for them.”
JOE
ROGAN: “What did you think about Tim Kennedy and Jacare
fighting for the title?”
MAYHEM
MILLER: (pauses) “I don’t know, I mean… What aspect
do you mean?”
JOE
ROGAN: “Well, both guys you’ve fought.”
RON
KRUCK: “I mean, that’s a title you [fought for], obviously.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Yeah, that’s true. I don’t know, you
know, I thought that was a strange choice for them because I’m
the last one to fight for the title, you know, and I lost a decision,
a close decision with Shields and then with Jacare and Kennedy
fighting, two guys that I’ve fought before, I don’t
know. I don’t know where that puts me in the whole mix.
I mean, I guess…”
JOE
ROGAN: “Have they talked to you about a rematch with Jacare?”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “I’d love that! You know, I love that! I would
love to kick him in the head legally, you know. I just think
that it’s like, I don’t know. I don’t know exactly
what their plans are for the future and the title picture for
Strikeforce, you know whatever it holds for me, you know I’m
open to anything. I want to fight.”
JOE
ROGAN: “Isn’t it weird seeing Jacare win a kickboxing
contest?”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “YEAH!”
JOE
ROGAN: “Actually, it was a kickboxing fight.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “I kind of knew that Jacare had been working on
his kickboxing and definitely that’s the area he had been
working on so I think he wanted to kind of showcase it there
in the fight.”
JOE
ROGAN: “Yeah, a little bit of that but I was surprised he
didn’t take him down, there was almost no ground fighting
in that fight.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Yeah, I mean, I think that his corner was telling
him that he was doing good enough to win the fight, you know.
I know. I thought it could have went either way.”
JOE
ROGAN: “I don’t tune into a Jacare fight to see kickboxing,
I tuned in to see one of the best jiu-jitsu guys in the world.”
MAYHEM
MILLER: “Yeah, grappling.”
JOE
ROGAN: “And to see some mid-level kickboxing…”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
WEC
9/30 Broomfield, Colorado card line-up
By Zach
Arnold
Bantamweights:
Antonio Banuelos vs. Chad George
Featherweights: Diego Nunes vs. Tyler Toner
Lightweights: Ed Ratcliff vs. Chris Horodecki
Featherweights: Mike Brown vs. Cole Province
Featherweights: Leonard Garcia vs. Mark Hominick
Featherweights: Chan Sun Jung (Korean Zombie) vs. George Roop
Bantamweights: Miguel Torres vs. Charlie Valencia
Lightweights: Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
WEC Featherweight title match: Jose Aldo vs. Manny Gamburyan
Source: Fight Opinion
|
MMBB
interviews “El Guapo” Bas Rutten
I recently got the opportunity to interview MMA pioneer and legend
Bas Rutten. With a professional record of 28-4-1, Rutten won
the UFC heavyweight title by defeating Kevin Randleman on May
5, 1999 at UFC 20. Now retired from fighting, he is a veteran
commentator for the now defunct Pride organization, and will
sit along side Don Frye on Sept. 11 as commentator for Shark
Fights 13.
Kevin:
Do you think there should be one sanctioning body so champions
aren’t just promotional or organizational (IE UFC/Strikeforce
and no unified champion)?
Bas:
It would be great, but will not happen. The UFC will simply say
“If you are a member, you can not fight with us”, and
boom, its over, and business wise, Dana is right.
Kevin:
Brett Rogers is fighting Ruben “Warpath” Villareal
who was your last opponent, do you think it’s a good decision
for Rogers considering he’s only lost to Fedor and Overeem?
Bas:
Yes, Rogers will have no problem I think. Ruben was a last minute
replacement. He has a hard head, but really need to work on his
leg kick defense. Its not that Vallereal is a top 10 fighter,
so like I said, Rogers should be OK.
Kevin:
You’ll be commentating alongside Don Frye September 11 at
Shark Fights 13, how are you feeling about this?
Bas:
Gonna be CRAZY, looking forward to it a lot.
Kevin:
Being a great commentator and obviously with your vast knowledge
of the sport, has the UFC ever approached you to come commentate?
Bas:
No they didn’t, I think the UFC is totally fine with Joe
Rogan, personally I am a big fan of Rogan’s work also.
Kevin:
Who right now are your favorite fighters to watch?
Bas:
GSP, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Rory Mac Donald, Mark Homenick,
and last but not least, Jose Aldo. I pretty much like any fighter
in the WEC also.
Kevin:
How do you feel about todays competitors compared to those when
you were in your prime?
Bas:
Now finally fighters start to get alrounded, in my time there
were not that many who could do that. That’s why I always
say that I am happy with my record, didn’t lose the last
22, only 3 went to a decision, 12 KO’s and 13 submissions.
Kevin:
My 8 yr old now knows who Bas Rutten is, how was the transition
to cartoon network?
Bas:
It was easy, ask my family, I am a big kid. Its easy with me,
what you see is what you get, I am not putting on an act, I am
just myself, which makes the whole thing extremely pleasant for
me. I love this job and can’t wait to start my anti bullying
campaign.
MMBB:
Can you speak of the anti bullying campaign a bit?
Bas:
I wish I could teach them how to defend themselves as a “last
resort” thing, but right now its just letting the kids who
are watching, know what THEY should do. They should get help,
they should tell. Nobody likes a bully, not even their own friends
who are probably scared of them. But nothing is better then,
when everything else fails, to give them a good lesson. When
taught the right way, they can do that without “beating
in” the bullies faces.
Of
course I understand that many kids simply don’t have the
“gift” for it, that’s why we focus on the kids
who are watching it. Then go talk to the bullies parents, if
they are the same as the bully, simply call the cops.
Kevin:With
all the instructional DVD’s you have out, which would you
recommend the most?
Bas:
The Big DVD’s of combat, even BJ Penn called me and told
me that he thought I made the best instructional out there. Many
other fighters have said the same. You really get your money’s
worth, 7 DVD’s FULL of techniques, and most important, I
show you the escapes right away.
Kevin:
Speaking of B.J., after seeing him get dominated twice Vs. Frankie
Edgar, do you think it’s time for a change in training or
teams for Penn?
Bas:
I truly believe so, I open a new gym and gonna spend a lot of
time there. I am open to have BJ there, I am 100 % sure I can
make him even better, he learns fast and I see a lot of stuff
he can work on.
Kevin:
Do you feel it’s BJ Penns camp as far as training or the
fact that he tends to surround himself with yes men? I mean Parillo
offered nothing except derogatory comments about Edgar in between
rounds at UFC 118.
Bas:
He should surround himself more with people who say NO sometimes.
But since I don’t know who’s in charge during the camps,
I can’t comment on that.
The
trainers should tell the student what to do, and the student
has to do it, if that means 3 more extra rounds, so be it. He
fully needs to trust his trainers and do whatever they tell him
to do.
Many
“big name fighters”, control their own workouts, this
can NOT happen. Like I said, I don’t know how it goes in
his camp, I am just saying what in a good camp happens.
Kevin:
Where is the new gym going to be and when does it open?
Bas:
Its in Thousand Oaks CA, really nice, state of the art, 8500sf
with abother 2000 optional which we take as soon as we signed
up 100 more students. Sauna’s, newest power training equipment
(Coremax), Everlast everywhere, awesome! September 25th it opens.
Kevin:
Last question, since we are talking about training, can you set
the record straight about what happened with Kimbo?
Bas:
I lost respect for him as a fighter, and once that happens its
over.
I told him this. I have NO problem with Kimbo whatsoever, just
when that’s gone, its gone. I hear he’s gonna box,
that’s gonna be way better for him.
Kevin:
Thanks a lot Bas, I really appreciate the time!
Bas:
Godspeed & Party on!
Source: MMA Ratings
|
Former
heavyweight champs Barnett and Rodriguez employed again
By Maggie Hendricks
Someone
call the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Josh Barnett and Ricco Rodriguez
are both employed by MMA promotions again.
Strikeforce
announced today that they have signed Josh Barnett to a multi-fight
deal.
“Strikeforce
is the home of the best heavyweight division in the world and
I’m proud to be able to call it my home now,” said
Barnett via a Strikeforce press release. “I’m looking
forward to competing amongst the greatest fighters in the world
and fighting my way to another world title.”
This
is a shot at redemption for Barnett, a fighter with a checkered
history. Despite being talented enough to win to UFC championship
in 2002, Barnett was stripped of the belt immediately after because
he tested positive for a banned substance.
He
played a major role in the downfall of Affliction's fighting
promotion by being denied a license for a bout with Fedor Emelianenko
because he tested positive in a pre-fight drug test. Since then,
he's failed to show up for hearings about getting his license
back. As of April, the issue of his license in California is
still unresolved.
Barnett
has continued to fight in promotions overseas, and hasn't lost
since a 2006 PRIDE bout with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. His last
win was with Australia's Impact FC over Geronimo dos Santos,
a first-round TKO.
No
fights have been scheduled yet for Barnett, but maybe now fight
fans will get to see the Barnett/Fedor Emelianenko bout that
never happened because of Affliction's demise.
Rodriguez's
second chance
During
Thursday evening's broadcast, it was announced that Rodriguez
signed with Bellator. He will face Dave Herman on Sept. 30 in
Lake Charles, La.
Rodriguez
beat Randy Couture in 2002 to win the UFC heavyweight belt, but
lost it in the next fight to Tim Sylvia. After a stint on VH1's
"Celebrity Rehab" and ballooning up to 330 lbs., he
has become refocused on training. This year, he has fought six
times, and won six times.
Herman
will be a much tougher test for Rodriguez. He has 19 wins, and
not a decision among them.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Forrest
Griffin Hoping to Fight Before 2010 is Up
You have to admit, if we end up going through 2010 without seeing
Forrest Griffin throw down, this year’s MMA campaign will
be somewhat incomplete no? After all, whether it’s been
through getting his ass handed to him by Anderson Silva, shocking
the world by tapping out “Shogun” Rua, or thrilling
fans in his classic tilts with Stephen Bonnar, Griffin ranks
right up there on the ‘got your money’s worth’
index. Plus it doesn’t hurt that the former TUF winner is
extremely gifted in the fine art of sarcasm…which is something
we’ve always enjoyed (no…seriously).
Of
course, Griffin has been on the shelf since earlier this year,
due to a shoulder injury which prevented him from fighting Antonio
Rogerio Noegueira at UFC 114 on May 29th. With September well
underway and no bouts yet announced, the light-heavyweight is
running out of time to fight in 2010. Well, speaking on the MMA
Hour with Ariel Helwani recently, Griffin confirmed that his
shoulder is at “70ish” percent , and that “My
goal right now is to win a fight before the end of the year.”
So maybe in December then?
When
asked about the possibility of facing Jon Jones, a name which
has consistently come up in the ‘who’s next for Forrest’
online discussion, Griffin stated:
“That’s
a great fight to take a year layoff with injury fighting a guy
coming off like a hot three-fight win streak.”
See—there’s
that sarcasm—nicely done. It would be a damn entertaining
fight, but yeah; Jones is not exactly an ideal opponent to get
back into the swing of things with….
Source: MMA Fix
|
Murilo
Ninja wants bigger challenges in 2011
By Guilherme
Cruz
Pride veteran and former EliteXC champion, Murilo “Ninja”
Rua turned into 30 in 2010, but he still does not have a home
on MMA. Since Pride closed its doors, in 2007, the fighter fought
in six different events, but could not reach a safe place, something
he is trying to find for a long time. With four wins on the last
12 months, all by knockouts or submissions, Ninja hopes for new
and good things for the year to come.
“There’re a lot of things happening related to Murilo.
I’m trying to define his future in 2011”, said Eduardo
Alonso, manager of the fighter, revealing that the main goal
is to sign with a big event next year. “We’ve straightened
a good way to go with good wins and now we wanted him to have
the greatest challenge of his career, to find within himself
the motivation to face those challenges”, explains, looking
forward to see what the next year will bring them. “It came
up a possibility for him to fight in Europe, Israel and Hawaii,
but everything is just a speculation yet”.
Set
to fight at Dream, in April of 2009, Ninja got close to come
back for the Japanese event, but since it was pretty close to
the fight between his brother Maurício Shogun against
Lyoto Machida, he decided to cancel his bout. “There’s
still the possibility of him coming back to Dream”, Alonso
said. “They even said something about him fighting (Kazushi)
Sakuraba, but they’re old friends, so it didn’t happen”,
reveals, hoping for a chance to get into the US. “We want
Murilo on the United Stated in 2011, on a bigger event…
We’re prioritizing it”, finished.
Source: Tatame
|
Bad
behaviour
Expect
Josh Koscheck to be on his worst behaviour during Season 12 of
"The Ultimate Fighter." And don't expect rival coach
Georges St-Pierre to be happy about it.
The
new season of the mixed martial arts reality TV show kicks off
Wednesday (Rogers Sportsnet, 10 p.m. ET) with 28 lightweights
vying for a contract to fight in the UFC.
The
show will also serve as an extended buildup to Dec. 11 when St-Pierre
defends his UFC welterweight title against Koscheck in the champion's
native Montreal.
The
two men are oil and water.
St-Pierre
may be the most popular fighter in MMA as well as the best pound-for-pound.
He is the cage-fighter you'd bring home to meet mother.
Koscheck,
meanwhile, loves to play the villain.
He
wore the black hat on Season 1 of the series. And while he has
progressed from accomplished collegiate wrestler to elite MMA
fighter, outside the cage he still loves to stir the pot.
Asked
by a Canadian reporter what he learned from six weeks of filming
with GSP, Koscheck replied: "Well, I didn't think Georges
was as boring as he was.
"I
first thought Georges would be pretty cool, have a good personality,
and be outgoing ... That was not the case. I think Georges is
boring, I think Georges doesn't have a personality. And I think
that Georges has got all you guys fooled up there.
"He
comes off not the same guy as you portray him. And obviously
I come off different as well. Me in the public eye, they hate
me -- obviously that's the image I portray, I guess. But when
you meet me in person, it's a lot different. I think that's similar
to Georges. He comes off as this squeaky-clean guy but when you
meet him in person, you're like 'God, this guy's a douche bag."'
Koscheck
(17-4) pauses at that point.
"Maybe
not a douche bag, but boring as shit. How's that?"
St-Pierre
(20-2) isn't much of a fan of Koscheck, either.
He
says filming the show was "fun" but also "hard
because I was with Koscheck all the time, closer to him.
"But
I went through it and now I'm happy it's over."
Asked
how he views Koscheck after that experience, St-Pierre said:
"He's arrogant. Of course, maybe I dislike him even more.
But it was necessary. I didn't have much of a choice of doing
the show.
"To
tell you the truth, it's good for me, because in battle, you
need to know yourself and know your enemy, know who you are going
against. And those six weeks allowed me to know Josh Koscheck
even more. To know him more deep down inside how he is as a human
being. And I'm going to be able to use that in a fight, to manipulate
him like I want."
Koscheck
says expect fireworks on the TV show.
"Any
time I'm involved, you've got to know that I always do my part,"
he said gleefully. "I'm here to make money, I'm here to
entertain, I'm here to get ratings and I'm here to build a long
career.
"And
I'm going to do what I've got to do. But there's definitely fireworks
throughout this season, not only from myself but from some of
the members of the show, some of the cast members."
The
29-year-old St-Pierre refuses to trash-talk, saying repeatedly
he does his talking in the cage. His English, while excellent,
may not be up to the cut and thrust of such banter, he adds.
Still,
he says Koscheck shows his true colours on the show.
"I
believe you can see a person, if he's good or not, when he's
in a position of power. Because you see the true nature of a
person when he's in a position of power.
"Now
he's in a position of power -- he's the No. 1 contender, he wants
to be champion, he's in the spotlight."
Away
from the spotlight, the 32-year-old Koscheck isn't pulling the
wings off flies or elbowing seniors aside.
He
loves to go fly-fishing. He has his own clothing company, Mar
Clothing. And he is a keen user of Twitter, often ending the
night with a positive statement to his followers.
"U
must travel the deepest valleys 2 appreciate the highest mts.
If u have never been in a valley. U wouldn't k'no the feeling
of the mt top," read one recent tweet.
Koscheck's
message to fans in Montreal come December won't be quite as inspirational.
"I've
already thought about what I'm going to say and I've already
thought about the outfit that I'm going to wear out (to the cage).
Boy, it is going to be pretty priceless."
Koscheck,
a Pennsylvania native who now lives in California, riled up Montreal
fans at UFC 113 in May during the hockey playoffs by telling
the Bell Centre crowd in his post-fight interview that the Pittsburgh
Penguins were "going to kick your ass next week."
"And
then I'm going to beat St-Pierre, so you guys are going to lose
twice. How about that? Yeah, that's right Montreal."
St.-Pierre
won a decision over Koscheck when they first met at UFC 74 in
August 2007.
The
Canadian had just lost his title to Matt Serra at the time, winning
it back two fights after the Koscheck bout.
Source: Sportsnet.ca
|
JIM
MILLER SOLIDIFIES SPOT AS 155 CONTENDER
by Damon
Martin
Jim Miller is ready to put his name in the hat of 155-pound contenders
who could be getting close to a shot at the UFC lightweight title.
His
chances improved on Wednesday night as he picked up a unanimous
decision win over Gleison Tibau at UFC Fight Night 22.
Heading
into the night, Miller was a winner of four in a row, and with
the recent upheaval in the lightweight division, he knew that
another victory could have him climbing towards an eventual crack
at the belt.
While
some try to peg Miller as a grappler, the New Jersey native showed
off his hands against Tibau, and popped the Brazilian with big
punches in both the first and second rounds.
On
both occasions, Tibau's legs started to buckle and he moved away,
but Miller was unable to capitalize and get the finish.
The
American Top Team fighter did manage to get Miller to the mat
a few times during the fight, but once the fight hit the canvas
he wasn't able to do much to the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.
Miller responded to every challenge that Tibau put up, and fired
back with great combinations and aggressive stand-up.
The
judges saw the difference in Miller's performance as well and
handed him the unanimous decision.
Now
a winner of five straight fights, Miller is sitting in an elite
class of contenders that hope to soon get a shot at Frankie Edgar's
155-pound divisional belt.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
HANDS DOWN $40,000 BONUSES AT FIGHT NIGHT
by Damon Martin
Everything is bigger in Texas, even the UFC Fight Night 22 bonuses.
After
a night of exciting fights and exciting finishes, the UFC handed
down $40,000 bonuses to several fighters, including two submissions
of the night.
It
was not a good night to be a former "Ultimate Fighter"
winner on Wednesday night.
Cole
Miller picked up a cool $40,000 for his rear naked choke victory
over "Ultimate Fighter Season 9" winner Ross Pearson.
Charles Oliveira also got $40,000, and he may have established
his place in the UFC, with a rear naked choke win of his own
over Efrain Escudero, another "Ultimate Fighter" winner.
HIT
Squad fighter Brian Foster made quick work of veteran fighter
Forrest Petz on Wednesday night, and earned the "Knockout
of the Night" for his efforts.
The
"Fight of the Night" bonus went to Kyle Kingsbury and
Jared Hamman who went to war for three rounds, with Kingsbury
getting the nod by decision. Winner or not, both men will walk
out with an extra $40,000 for their efforts.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
James
Toney Wants to Fight at UFC 123
By Mike
Chiappetta
Ever since Randy Couture turned his lights out with a triangle
choke submission at UFC 118, James Toney has been relatively
quiet. But the Motor City mouth that scored him his first foray
into the UFC cage is beginning to roar once again.
Speaking
to FightHype.com, Toney said that he's interested in taking another
shot at the octagon. And he even has a date in mind: UFC 123,
which is scheduled to take place in a suburb near his hometown
of Detroit.
While
the evening's festitivies will be headlined by a main event pitting
former light-heavyweight champs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
and Lyoto Machida, Toney thinks he'd be a better alternative
as a drawing card.
"If
they want to sell any tickets in Detroit, they should put me
on there," Toney said. "B---- a-- Rampage can't sell
no tickets in my hometown."
As
first confirmed by MMA Fighting, the November 20 card will take
place at The Palace of Auburn Hills, less than 20 miles outside
of Detroit.
Meanwhile,
Toney also told the site that he'd like UFC president Dana White
to promote his next boxing fight, but only to spite the boxing
establishment.
After
over a one-year hiatus from the squared circle, Toney had voiced
his plans to box in October, less than two months after his UFC
118 bout with Couture, but with time running short, no return
to the sweet science has yet to be announced for the multi-division
champion, and his options appear to be dwindling.
A
return to the UFC cage seems just as improbable. Shortly after
UFC 118, White effectively closed the book on Toney's UFC career,
saying he was one and done.
"He's
a boxer and that's what he does," White said a few hours
after Toney submitted to Couture. "He wanted to fight, he
picked a fight with our guys and he fought tonight. He's a tough
guy, he's been around. I have a lot of respect for him, but you
can't expect a guy to come in with one discipline and do well.
He stepped up, he came in and did it. He picked a fight and he
got one."
Toney
made a guaranteed purse of $500,000 for what turned out to be
a three-minute, 19-second appearance in the co-main event.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Sherdog’s
Guide to ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
by Scott
Holmes
It’s season freaking 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter”
people, a.k.a. Team St. Pierre vs. Team Koscheck, otherwise known
as “How long will it take Koscheck to burn GSP’s poutine?”
Having
lost to the French Canadian-born UFC welterweight champion before,
odds are that Koscheck will spend the entire season just gnawing
and digging into GSP’s psyche and elevate the blood pressure
of one of the more flat-lined fighters west of Fedor Emelianenko.
Only
four minutes into the season and Koscheck’s already on the
mind of the first fighter to enter the cage. Marc Stevens claims
to have wrestled for Koscheck at the University of Buffalo, but
Koscheck seems dodgy when UFC President Dana White asks him if
Stevens is “his boy.”
I’m
not sure if Stevens was slighted but it sure seems so after he
begins yelling “Remember me now?” at his former coach
literally 13 seconds after the bell sounds and about six seconds
after his right hand connects with T.J. O’Brien.
“Yes,
we do,” answers Koscheck, pleased with the effort as he
jots down some notes.
Not
a bad start to this season of contestants coached by two welterweights
with major ill-will towards one another. With 28 fighters vying
to get into the house, not a second of the show is spared and
the action begins almost immediately.
However,
there still are some questions to answer first:
What
weight classes are featured this season? Lightweights.
Will
there be seven preliminary fights and one wildcard matchup based
on the effort and likeability of two fighters who lost but remain
in the good graces of one Dana White? Yes.
How
many f-bombs will White use in his opening remarks to the contestants?
Five.
Will
there be finally be another hot-blooded Armenian this season?
You betcha.
Does
referee Steve Mazzagatti’s mustache make a surprise appearance
at the reunion show? We’ll cross that bridge when we get
there.
After
that first matchup reacquaints a former coach and student, White,
GSP and Koscheck all settle in at the card table and watch the
rest of the field battle it out for spots in the house. Due to
time constraints, a lot of editing, and careful consideration,
most of the long or boring fights are surmised in soundbytes
from the coaches or White.
For
example, a quick highlight shows that Andy Main won his fight
by triangle and the best quote from that result was from Main
himself: “Watch out for Andy Main, I’m coming for ‘ya.”
Go
ahead and sit down; it’s going to be a while.
Toby
GrearAnother fight that produces winners but nothing of note
is the win for Jonathan Brookins over Ran Weathers in a bout
described as a “wrestling clinic” -- not to be confused
with the “grappling match” put on by Toby Grear and
Sako Chivitchian.
Michael
Johnson’s fight gets passed over as well, but White seems
genuinely impressed by this unanimous decision winner. White
says Johnson “seems like a kid who goes in to finish,”
which looking back now seems at odds with the whole unanimous
decision thing. Regardless, the coaches seem genuinely impressed
with Johnson and the real unanimous decision is that he’s
considered to be a major contender.
Aaron
Wilkinson brings some UK representation to the house after winning
his fight and winning over Koscheck, who’s marveled that
a Brit can wrestle.
Kyle
Watson finishes unbeaten Joseph Duffy with a rear-naked choke
and offers that he’s eager to get into the TUF house and
“ready to start some shenanigans.” That’s probably
not good.
Another
fighter named Sevak wins without impressing, while a fighter
named Sako impressively pukes half a dozen times following his
win and says “Man, this is the greatest day of my life.”
In
the “fights that are actually shown” dept., we have
Spencer Paige, who roughs up Steve Magdaleno for most of a round
until he’s smothered for nearly the rest of the fight. Magdaleno’s
superior ground game has him the fight in the bag until a poor
toss attempt ends up giving Paige mount, costing Magdaleno the
fight in the judges’ eyes.
Former
X-Gamer Mike Budnik meets up with Nam Phan and finds that he
left all his speed on the track. Budnik gets some judo going
but telegraphs almost everything he throws, while Phan darts
in and out, finally slugging Budnik right in the breadbasket.
Budnik crumples and Phan throws follow-up leather until asked
to stop.
GSP
draws an X covering Jeff Lentz’s face on the piece of paper
in front of him. Lentz hasn’t even touched gloves yet, so
Koscheck and White go nuts with joy watching Lentz beat his opponent
like a rented mule. Nothing delights the Yanks quite like French
comeuppance, be it in any form.
Next
up, Paul “The Wheel” Barrow takes time to explain his
nickname just before getting completely forgotten after the entrance
of Alex “Bruce LeRoy” Caceres. Alex Caceres borrows
his nickname and yellow Bruce/Kill Bill (for you young ones)
one-piece karate track suit, from the master.
White
goes gaga for Caceres, as the fighter’s smile stays plastered
across his face weathering a storm of punches from The Wheel
Barrow. After some solid takedown defense, Caceres latches onto
the back of Barrow and secures a rear-naked for the win. White
thinks he’s the real deal and chuckles with glee while Bruce
LeRoy does some Bruce Lee moves following his win.
Did
I mention Bruce LeRoy is going to be a handful? If not, I will.
He will be.
“I’m
sure there’s a lot of people that want to punch me right
now,” says Caceres, “especially because I have a smile
on my face the whole time. I can’t help it.”
Cody
McKenzie turns out to be another bright spot, claiming to be
a commercial fisherman from Alaska who also seems to be crazier
than a soup sandwich. Just before his fight, GSP whispers “guillotine”
to White, predicting the end result based on McKenzie’s
reputation for winning with that hold. Sure enough, McKenzie
slaps one on early and mercifully hands Amir Khillah back to
referee Mazzagatti after reading him a bedtime story with his
forearm.
McKenzie
breaks down the guillotine variation after his fight and little
brothers across the country are now probably gurgling and yelling
for mommy.
“I’m
sure there’s a lot of people
that want to punch me right now.”
-- Alex “Bruce LeRoy” Caceres.
Another
great fight is had between the long-limbed Ariel Sexton and his
smaller, mohawked opponent Dane Sayers. Sayers had been giving
out Native American shoutouts beforehand but proves himself to
be a true warrior on a Vision Quest after getting outclassed
most of his fight. In an improbable comeback, Sayer ends up hanging
off the back of the taller Sexton and chokes him for dear life
until he taps out.
White
and Koscheck erupt with admiration and disbelief, clapping and
hollering at the spent fighter heaving breaths next to the fence.
A
ring official asks, “How do you feel?” and Sayers stares
at the ceiling, answering flatly, “I feel like I just won
the most important fight in my life.”
“He’s
got some balls,” says White. “Wow! All balls.”
While
White and his rival coach continue to gush, GSP sits quiet and
almost remote. Like a cow barely acknowledging the rancher’s
presence, nothing seems to make him stir. It’s going to
get ugly.
The
final word comes from McKenzie:
“Looking
forward to the house -- wish we had some girls in it,” he
says.
In
all the twelve seasons, I’m not sure anyone’s ever
mentioned that first. Maybe he’s not that crazy after all.
Source: Sherdog
|
Sean
Sherk: I’ve accomplished more in MMA than 95% of the other
fighters have
By Zach
Arnold
Sherdog recently did a radio interview with Sean Sherk to talk
about his upcoming fight with Evan Dunham on September 25th in
Indianapolis. Even though it was a somewhat short interview at
around 13 minutes long, it featured a lot of good questions and
even more interesting answers.
(Questions
are paraphrased and answers are transcriptions.)
Heading
into your UFC 119 fight against Evan Dunham, what does this fight
mean to you after such a long layoff?
“Um,
it means a lot. It’s exciting. I’ve been out for a
little while, struggled with some injuries, had to kind of take
a little of bit time off, lick my wounds, get myself healed up
again and now I feel great, you know, physically and mentally
I feel better than I have in a long time so I’m ready, ready
to go to war.”
Evan
Dunham is the undefeated up-and-comer who has a lot of good skills.
What kind of challenge does he present?
“Obviously
I think he’s got some great athleticism, got some good wrestling,
good jiu-jitsu, good striking. I think he’s very well-rounded,
young, up-and-coming, he’s hungry, so I think he poses a
lot of problems, you know, I mean he wants to be the best-of-the-best
and in order to be the best-of-the-best you’ve got to beat
the best of the best and I’m the guy standing in his way
right now, so we’ll see.”
After
initially talking about the Dunham fight, a lot of the questions
talked about his injuries, the layoff, and what his future goals
are in the sport. Plus, his attitude on MMA fans and the way
he is perceived.
Coming
back after a long layoff, it seems like some people have written
you off. You’re a big underdog in this fight (2-to-1). In
the last 7 1/2 years, you have three losses — all to UFC
champions (Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn, and Frankie Edgar.) Do
you feel you’re getting a raw deal from the media and some
of the fans?
“To
be honest with you, I don’t ever go online. I don’t
read any press. I don’t read any interviews. I don’t
listen to what the fans say, it really doesn’t matter to
me, you know. I’ve been the underdog. I’m actually
surprised that I am the underdog. I’ve accomplished more
than 95% of the fighters in the world have accomplished so it
kind of surprises me that I would be considered an underdog.
But, uh… you know, whatever. That’s great, you know.
I’ve been dealing with adversity and stuff like that my
entire career so I guess this wouldn’t be any different.”
Right
now there are a lot of questions about wrestlers coming into
MMA and having boring fights. You started as a wrestler and evolved
your game and you go out there and you’re a striker. Was
there any pressure or anything in mind that influenced your fight
style or did your striking just get better?
“Well,
I’ve been boxing for a really long time ever since I first
started fighting I was working my boxing a long time before my
first fight so I just think just with the evolution of Mixed
Martial Arts and what the evolution of my fighting game it was
time to bring my boxing to the front of my game plans, I guess,
you know, add it to my repertoire so now people got to worry
about obviously take downs, they got to worry about my ground
game, now they got to worry about my boxing ability, too, so
I wanted to become more of a three-dimensional type of fighter
and I just thought that, you know, the time was right.”
Do
you think the influx of wrestlers coming into MMA has made the
sport stale? Fans say that wrestlers taking guys down and just
sitting on them is not exciting to watch.
“I
don’t think so, you know, I think that this sport has, I
think every style has had a place in the sport, you know, for
a while a lot of the strikers were kind of dominating the industry
and then the jiu-jitsu guys are dominating the sport and then
the wrestlers were dominating the sport, then it went back to
the strikers, then it went to the karate guys and I mean every
one… every style has a place in this sport, I just think
right now the wrestler and the wrestling ability with the athleticism
and the takedowns and the takedown defense and things of that
nature, they’re at the pinnacle of the sport so I think,
you know, eventually the strikers will start to learn how to
sprawl a little better and force those wrestlers to keep the
fight up on the feet.”
It’s
been over a year since you’ve last fought. Are you anticipating
having a slow start or ring rust?
“No,
not at all. I’ve been competing since I was 7 years old,
you know, it’s not like you just forget how to fight, you
know, because you took a year off. I think, if anything, I’m
totally 100% rejuvenated and I’m excited to get in the Octagon
again. So, I don’t anticipate any type of ring rust, you
know, I’ve had about a 17-week training camp for this so
it’s not like I’m sitting at home on my butt watching
TV, eating potato chips, and I just decided to jump off the couch
and fight. I’ve had 17 weeks of preparation for this thing
so I’ll be more than ready.”
Any
chance of over-training?
“No.
No. I mean, when I say 17 weeks I mean, you know, 6 of those
17 weeks were just technique, technique, technique, technique
and you know 11 or 12 of those 17 weeks were training camp, you
know, sparring, still doing technique, foot work, you know, all
kinds of different conditioning and lifting weights and 11-12
weeks of preparation. That’s how I always do it, so I think
that my timing and preparation was perfect for this fight.”
The
way you lost the belt was certainly not how you envisioned it,
but do you see yourself as a guy who can get back to the top
at age 37 and compete against a guy like Frankie Edgar who you
got decisioned by? Is that your ultimate goal?
“You
know, I mean everyone keeps bringing up this age thing and I
mean when I fought Frankie I didn’t get my ass kicked by
any means, you know. I chased the guy around the Octagon for
three rounds and I lost a decision so I didn’t get beat
up, I didn’t get taken down, I didn’t get hurt, I didn’t
get knocked down. So, as far as me not being able to compete,
I still think I’m one of the best fighters in the world,
you know, I’m a force to be reckoned with and everything
thinks that I’m not. Anyone thinks that I’m not, they
can step in the Octagon with me.”
There
comes a time when you got to kind of start looking at the end
of the road. Doesn’t sound like you’re there yet.
“I’m
not even close to being there, you know, I’ve got all of
kinds of stuff left to offer this industry and the sport so I’m
not going anywhere for a long time, you know, I haven’t
lost any athleticism and I haven’t lost any of ability,
I’ve only gotten better and I’ve only gotten smarter.”
Another
win might put you in position to get a crack at the title. Is
that something you’re aiming for right away? Do you want
a shot at Frankie Edgar?
“I
would love to fight for another belt, you know, whoever ends
up with the belt six months or a year from now, whatever the
case is, I’d love to be the guy that gets another shot at
that belt.”
Penn
was just overwhelmed by Edgar. What’s it like fighting a
guy who just darts in-and-out like Edgar? Never gives you the
clean shot. How hard is it to fight him?
“To
be honest with you, I don’t want to make any excuses, but
I mean that was the most frustrating fight of my career by far,
you know, I mean I showed up ready for a fight and I left feeling
unsatisfied, I left feeling as if I didn’t even get into
a fight, you know, I went for four or five mile run after that
fight, I was so pissed off. I mean, it just… it’s just
not what I showed up for and that was his game plan, obviously,
was to pepper me and hit-and-run and he beat me and he did the
same thing to BJ in the first fight so that’s up to him,
you know, he was able to implement his game plan and I wasn’t
so he got the win.”
In
a re-match, would you change things up?
“Oh
yeah, I mean obviously I would have to change things up next
time around. You know, I’d have to think of a different
game plan because the game plan for the first fight didn’t
work. But that’s obviously a long time down the road. I
got to worry about the guy that I’m fighting in two weeks
which is Evan Dunham, so he’s going to pose some problems
and we’ll see what kind of fight he brings and I got a couple
of different game plans in mind, kind of depends on what happens
in the Octagon.”
Evan
Dunham comes to fight, you’re not going to have to go for
a five mile run after this one. He likes to trade, fight on the
ground, he’s going to go anywhere you want to go. You going
to put him on his back?
“Game
plan is to win. You know, I’m going to have to fight a three-dimensional
fight. I’m going to have to use my boxing, I’m going
to have to use my wrestling, and I’m going to have to use
my jiu-jitsu ability. I think this fight is going to be many
different areas, you know, it’s going to be all over the
place and I guess it’s going to come down to, again like
I said before, who’s able to implement their game plan.”
You’ve
had some tough injuries that have cost you some fights. How has
your recovery process gone and how angry are you when you want
to fight and then you can’t due to injuries?
“It’s
very frustrating, you know I mean I’ve had my fair share
of injuries but, you know, I mean I’ve trained so hard over
the years and I feel like I had to train hard to prepare myself
100% for these fights, fighting a lot of tough guys, you know,
I haven’t really fought anybody that has been outside of
the Top 10 since 2005, you know, when I fought Georges St. Pierre.
Everyone I’ve fought has been a Top 10 guy, has been a world
champion or has been a #1 ranked contender so I’ve had to
train my butt off to make sure I’ve been ready for all these
fights and I did what I needed to do, there’s no regrets
but unfortunately after training that hard for that long your
body’s eventually going to start giving out on you but I
took some time off, I had a couple of really good doctors I was
working with… I was able to get 100% healed and rehabbed
and when I started this training camp I felt better than I’ve
ever felt before and I still do and I’m two weeks out so
I don’t see any problems arising within the next two weeks.”
A
lot of people have questioned your injuries. You say you don’t
read the press, but Monte Cox in the past was quick to send out
medical back-up for what had happened, x-rays and reports. Is
it discouraging to you to hear people questioning your injuries?
“Oh,
saying that I wasn’t hurt? You know, is it frustrating?
No. I expect it. I’ve had a lot of highs and lows with the
fans over the years, obviously you know the fans, some of the
fans a lot of them are fair-weather, they love you one minute
and they hate you the next so you can’t take that stuff
personal. Like I said, I mean, that’s the reason why I don’t
go anywhere near the internet because I don’t need any negative
feedback or any negative energy so I don’t go anywhere near
the Internet and I’m not really into that kind of stuff.
If the fans doubt that I’m hurt, then I guess that’s
on them, that’s not really on me.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Daley
Doesn’t Deserve to be Back Into the UFC
Paul Daley is a talented fighter that has good standup, but his
ridiculous attitude and outlandish behavior will rightfully keep
him out of the UFC. In addition to his crazy behavior, he has
another problem he doesn’t seem to want to fix: his weight
cutting practices.
In
his most recent fight, a unanimous decision victory against Jorge
Masvidal, Daley came in at 172 lbs. and 171.75 lbs.
“I
think mostly because we came in a bit later than we normally
come in, we arrived here Wednesday. It only really gave us one
real good day of weight cutting. I don’t want to create
too many excuses but we didn’t get the official scales to
check our weight on until the day of the weigh in as well which
sucks a little bit. My scale is two pounds off of the official
scale. There were some problems but, again, I don’t want
to make too many excuses. Masvidal’s agreed to fight, we’ve
come to a purse agreement. He’ll get a bit of my purse or
whatever. As long as the fight’s on–I know I can’t
keep doing this….It is what it is.”
Missing
weight against a fighter that typically fights at lightweight
is even worse, and offering an excuse only to say you don’t
want to offer a lot of excuses is even more asinine.
Daley’s
continued struggle to make the 171-pound welterweight weight
limit surfaced when he fought Dustin Hazelett during UFC 108
in early January. The fight, which was contested at 172 lbs.,
also caused Daley to lose 10% of his fight purse.
Daley
didn’t seem to have a shot at getting back to the UFC any
time soon — and the British fighter’s recent missed
weight attempt and crude behavior in front of the fans after
the fight probably won’t help.
Daley’s
unpredictable behavior could be a strong gain for Strikeforce
or Bellator; sporting a strong 25-9 pro MMA record with victories
against Dustin Hazelett, Martin Kampmann and Duane Ludwig. He
has, however, come up short against Koscheck, Jake Shields, and
Nick Thompson.
Source: MMA HQ
|
Ross
Pearson Heaps Praise on Frankie Edgar
Since
Frankie Edgar cruised to another Unanimous Decision victory over
long-time, lightweight king, BJ Penn last month, a collective
‘he IS that effin good’ has fired throughout the MMA
world. Of course, after Frankie took out BJ the first time, many
observers of the sport remained somewhat unconvinced of Edgar’s
standing, but now the Jersey fighter’s bandwagon is filling
up with plenty of hop-ons and deservedly so.
For
example, in a recent interview with Fighters Only Magazine, Ross
Pearson talked in length about recent training sessions he’s
had with the lightweight champ, and the British lightweight was
obviously pretty damn impressed with Edgar’s game.
“I
think Frankie is the kind of guy who is very scrappy, he has
great wrestling, great foot speed, I think he can hold it for
a while,”…“We did a good eight rounds and I enjoyed
it. Like I say to everyone, you have to find [your opponent’s]
weaknesses and exploit them but it was hard to find a weakness
with Frankie. He had good stand-up, good footwork and his takedowns
are unbelievable.”
Yeah,
we’re thinking BJ would probably agree with the summary
above, after all, until Penn ran into Edgar, we were all debating
about when would be the appropriate time to officially unveil
the ‘Congrats on Cleaning Out the Division’ banner.
How the times have changed…Pearson is of course taking on
Cole Miller at next week’s UFC Fight Night, which should
be a fantastic bout—to bet head here.
Source: MMA Fix
|
OLIVEIRA
THE REAL DEAL IN UFC LIGHTWEIGHT CLASS
by Ken
Pishna
Charles
Oliveira may have wound up in his co-main event bout with Efrain
Escudero on Wednesday night at UFC Fight Night 22 due to a confusing
shuffling of opponents, but he made the most of the opportunity,
showing the heart and skills of a modern day mixed martial artist.
The
20-year-old Brazilian worked Escudero over with a varied striking
attack over the first two rounds, only getting better as time
went on. He missed on many of the takedowns he went for, but
he managed to pick Escudero’s lead leg apart with textbook
leg kicks throughout.
Not
only that, but he mixed in some Jose Aldo/Anderson Silva flash
and dash maneuvers, including impressive double jumping knees
in round two.
Round
three started off rough, however, Escudero launching a knee straight
into Oliveira’s groin as the round got underway. To make
it worse, it appeared the referee was pressing Oliveira to hurry
back into the fight.
Oliveira
soldiered on, and in stunning fashion. He clinched and rushed
Escudero into the cage, slingshotting him off the fence into
a takedown. Escudero was almost out of trouble, escaping and
standing up, when Oliveira took his back just as Escudero got
to his feet. Clinging onto Escudero, Oliveira sunk in a deep
rear naked choke, finishing the fight by tapout on the back of
a standing Escudero.
The
win moved Oliveira up to 14-0 as a professional, clearly establishing
him as a contender in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
STRIKEFORCE
QUOTABLES: Bobby Lashley wants a rematch with Chad Griggs, blames
illness on Strikeforce Houston performance
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"I already asked for a rematch [with Chad Griggs], because
when you have certain events like I did that sort of hindered
me from being able to open up and fight, I've got to go back.
I'd hate for them to use that fight to boost somebody's career,
saying, 'Okay, he beat Bobby,' because that wasn't really the
case. If I didn't have these problems, and I'd been able to go
out there and fight, I think it would have been a pretty quick
win for me. But I just didn't have anything in me...
When
I went to the hospital afterwards, they said I was really dehydrated.
I went to [the] hospital on Thursday before the fight because
I wasn't feeling very good. I was just sluggish and not feeling
good, so I went to urgent care and got checked out. I thought
I was going to be okay. We didn't do any blood work, but they
gave me an IV because they said I was a little dehydrated then
and when I went in there and fought I didn't have anything in
me...
Ever
since I got into the fight game I've had people badmouthing me...and
all that stuff got into my head... Now, after that fight was
a real eye-opener. I didn't go in there at 100% and now everyone
was like, 'This is what we wanted; we wanted to see him get beat.'
So now, I really don't care. I'm going out there to fight and
I'm not worried about any critics, any this or that, I'm not
worried about any of that anymore...
Now
I'm just going to go out there and fight. I'm not going to have
any pressure on me. If they want to keep that as a loss, then
keep that as a loss so I have a loss, because now I'm just going
to go out there and fight. Because once you have a loss, you're
not undefeated anymore so now I don't have to worry about that.
So I can just go out there and fight."
-Bobby
Lashley talks to Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com about his loss
to Chad Griggs at last month's Strikeforce: Houston event and
getting past the critics as he moves forward in his career.
Penick's
Analysis: Lashley's comments will be taken as him making excuses
by many, but he's got plenty of reason to feel defensive and
to be defiant with the reaction he's gotten from fans and writers
and more. He obviously had a dehydration issue as he was hospitalized
after the event, but with him going to the hospital prior to
the event there's a reason he was affected. But at the same time,
fighters need to look out for themselves, and far too often they
take fights they shouldn't when they're sick or injured because
they need the payday. That may have been the case with Lashley
here. Still, I hope he does take this new approach to his career
and that he doesn't get bogged down with the negatives, because
that's just what he's going to have to deal with. He'll learn
from the loss and he'll be better the next time out.
Source: MMA Torch
|
Brings
A Stone Cold Approach to Austin
Rhett Butler
“I’m much more prepared physically and mentally; game
plan-wise I’m feeling confident and I think I’m going
to go in there and do a really good job and put on a good fight."
As current UFC middleweight David Branch climbed the ranks and
built his record, he developed an uncanny penchant for having
his hand raised.
Winning
in the combat sports scene became second nature for Branch and
soon he racked up a stellar record of 6-0 before the call to
the big show came. Although a competition-winning jiu-jitsu ace
under the tutelage of the legendary Renzo Gracie, Branch showed
balance in his MMA career with three submission victories and
three knockout victories and he was prime for the newest challenges
that the UFC had to offer.
That
first challenge came in the form of TUF 7 alumnus Gerald Harris
and the stage was set for their dance at UFC 116: Lesnar vs.
Carwin. But what resulted was a loss that exposed a hole Branch
never talked about but that always loomed in the back of his
mind.
“I
think that I was waiting for Harris a little bit too much and
I didn’t just open up my game,” said Branch. “I
didn’t really have any set game plan to beat Harris, it
was just me going in there and trying to put everything together
- my strikes, my grappling, my wrestling - on the fly; I didn’t
really have any type of serious game plan. I believe that I started
warming up more towards the end of the second round. In the third
round I kind of got a little personal, I was trying to go for
the knockout and that’s not really how I fight. I had a
sense of urgency and I think if I would have took my time and
just started picking my shots off and came with the same intensity
that I did in the third round in the first round I think that
things would have been a little bit different. But Harris was
really, really strong; he actually surprised me.”
Surprises
are nothing new to Branch, after all, he realized just a few
years ago that he had a multitude of brothers and sisters on
his father’s side and that two of them, Sechew Powell and
Jamelle Hamilton, were professional boxers. There was no game
plan to handle the tide of emotions that brought Branch to tears
when he found this out nor was there one for this additional
epic event: the first defeat in his career.
The
Slam Heard ‘Round The World
The
deciding factor in the fight occurred in the third round when
Harris performed a highlight reel worthy slam on Branch at the
2:35 mark. It was clean and it was dramatic; the only thing was,
Branch actually thought he won the fight.
“I
actually thought I won (laughs) when I woke up from the slam
knockout; I know that’s weird. I thought I had gotten the
victory I thought I had finished the fight with a triangle choke
but something blurry had happened. Then when I saw him standing
next to Bruce Buffer I said, ‘damn, he scooped the victory,
man, I know what happened now.’ It took me about 30-40 seconds
to realize what happened. I was coherent when I went to the back
but it was a crash knockout and I definitely went out.”
The
defeat underlined for Branch an obvious tactic he was missing:
having a strategic game plan tailored for his fights. Although
it might seem obvious to any laymen, those with talent know it
is always easy to forget to create strategy when you are naturally
good.
“My
success in my earlier days was just because I was just so much
more talented than the guys that I fought and I was just able
to overwhelm them with pure talent,” said Branch. “I
just kind of left the chips fall where they may and I always
came out on top because I was so much more superior than everybody
at everything that they did. It’s a big jump from the shows
that I had fought in before to the UFC. I realize that a lot
of the guys in the UFC, especially a guy like Gerald Harris,
he had a lot of exposure during The Ultimate Fighter show so
he’s actually seen high level coaching and preparation for
fighting and I really wasn’t exposed to that and I think
that was to his advantage. He was much more professional, he
approached the situation more as a professional where I still
had an amateur mindset and that was like my breaking point to
becoming a professional.”
Up
next for Branch is Tomasz Drwal at UFC Fight Night 22. Drwal
is coming off a loss of his own, to main event competitor Rousimar
Palharaes at UFC 111. To Branch, this next challenge is welcomed.
“I’m
much more prepared physically and mentally; game plan-wise I’m
feeling confident and I think I’m going to go in there and
do a really good job and put on a good fight. From what I’ve
seen from his other fights he has some pretty basic things that
he does but other than that I’m not really worried about
him too much. He’s pretty good but he’s not really
good at one thing or any two things, he’s just pretty well
rounded at everything. I think he’s a little weak on the
ground and in the clinch he’s a little naïve. He telegraphs
a little bit of his punches, comes forward a lot and I don’t
think his wrestling is really up to par and his jiu-jitsu probably
isn’t as well. He’s just a tough guy with a lot of
fights.”
As
the sophomore UFC run of David Branch draws near in the capital
of Texas, Branch has geared up and is looking past his natural
abilities and his former spotless record. His only want now is
to entertain the fans.
“I
really don’t want to let down the fans. I think I let them
down a little bit with my performance last time. I think I have
so much more to offer, so much more to put out, and there was
so much that I wasn’t able to put out. I’m not going
to be in any rush in this fight, I’m not going to make stupid
mistakes but I’m definitely going to perform like a professional
athlete just making stone cold calculated decisions.”
Source: UFC
|
HAZELETT
VS. BOCEK ADDED TO UFC 124
by Damon
Martin
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fans might be in for quite a treat at UFC
124 in Montreal. Grappling whiz Dustin Hazelett will return to
the lightweight division against American Top Team fighter and
jiu-jitsu black belt Mark Bocek on the December 11 card.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Wednesday.
Hazelett
(12-6) has become known as one of the slickest grapplers in the
UFC over the last few years, and has picked up several "Submission
of the Night" awards to show for it.
The
Kentucky native now training out of Jorge Gurgel's academy in
Cincinnati, OH fell on rough times of late. Following a submission
win over Tamden McCrory at UFC 91, Hazelett was forced out of
action with an injury. When he re-appeared over a year later
he lost his first fight back to Paul Daley at UFC 108.
Hazelett
then fell to welterweight prospect Rick Story at UFC 117, and
then decided that it was time to drop back down to lightweight,
and finally pick up some size and strength on his opponents.
His
first test back in the lightweight division is no slouch. Mark
Bocek (8-3) who hails from Canada, but now trains full time at
American Top Team in Florida, will look to make his home country
proud when he fights in Montreal in December.
Going
4-3 during his time with the UFC, Bocek has picked up some impressive
wins along the way, while his losses have only come to top lightweights
like current UFC champion Frankie Edgar and New Jersey fighter
Jim Miller.
The
bout between Hazelett and Bocek will likely be part of the untelevised
undercard for the show, but no official announcements have been
made by the UFC at this time.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Hughes
Announces UFC 123 Fight; Penn Rumored Opponent
 
According to Matt-Hughes.com, the Illinois native is in talks
with the UFC to return at UFC 123, which takes place Nov. 20,
from the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
The
card is headlined by light-heavyweight contenders Lyoto Machida
and Quinton Jackson in a potential number one contender’s
bout.
On his official site, Hughes wrote
Finally,
Dana called me yesterday and we had an interesting conversation
about the November 20th UFC in Detroit. More news about that
down the road.
Since
the announcement, sites such as Cage Potato and Bloody Elbow
have reported that the opponent will be none other long-time
rival B.J Penn.
The
potential fight will be a rubber match in the series between
these foes.
With
thirteen straight victories, and five straight title defences,
Hughes was the heavy favourite heading into their initial January
2003 bout. Penn, however, shocked the mixed martial arts world
by submitting Hughes in the first round, winning the welterweight
championship.
The
second fight, which took place at UFC 63, was a completely different
story. Hughes used his superior wrestling to control position,
eventually landing the crucifix position and finishing Penn in
the third round.
Now
when the two meet, there will be an entirely new sub-plot. Penn
is coming off of a lengthy and successful lightweight title run
and is considered among the best in the world. Hughes, despite
three straight victories, is considered to be in the twilight
of his career; most have counted him out of legit contendership
since his back-to-back losses to Georges St. Pierre.
This
will be Penn’s first trip to welterweight since his annihilation
at the hands of St. Pierre in January 2009.
Penn
has struggled to stay motivated at 170lb; often coming into his
bouts out of shape and unprepared to fight at the elite level.
If Penn enters the cage against Hughes not at his best, it could
be a long night for the Hawaii native.
Source: MMA HQ
|
Strikeforce
signs Josh Barnett
By Zach
Arnold
Press Release
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MMA HEAVYWEIGHT SUPERSTAR JOSH BARNETT SIGNS
WITH STRIKEFORCE
NEW
YORK (Sept. 13, 2010) – Two-time champion and top world-ranked
heavyweight superstar Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin”
Barnett has signed a multi-fight agreement to compete for world
championship Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion STRIKEFORCE.
“STRIKEFORCE
is the home of the best heavyweight division in the world and
I’m proud to be able to call it my home now,” said
the 32-year-old Barnett (29-5), an expert in catch wrestling
who hails from Seattle, Wash.
“I’m
looking forward to competing amongst the greatest fighters in
the world and fighting my way to another world title.”
The
6-foot-3, 255-pound Barnett became the youngest UFC champion
in history at age 24 when he scored a second-round TKO (4:35)
on MMA legend Randy “The Natural” Couture in Las Vegas,
Nev., on March 22, 2002. In his sixth career fight, Barnett submitted
wrestling and MMA legend Dan “The Beast” Severn with
an armbar in the fourth round (1:21) in Hawaii.
In
addition to his achievements in America, Barnett has spent a
good portion of his career competing in top tier promotions overseas,
including the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan
where he notched memorable victories over the likes of Aleksander
Emelianenko, Mark Hunt and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. On Oct.
21, 2006, Barnett took part in PRIDE’s first event on U.S.
soil, submitting Pawel Nastula with a toe hold in the second
round (3:04) at Las Vegas’s Thomas & Mack Center.
In
2008, Barnett competed in another Japanese promotion, Sengoku.
After submitting (heel hook) Hidehiko Yoshida in Tokyo on March
5, 2008, Barnett returned to action on May 18, 2008, and earned
a unanimous decision over top-ranked rival and fellow American
Jeff “The Snowman” Monson.
Barnett
signed an agreement to compete in Japan’s DREAM promotion
earlier this year. Last March 22, he made his debut with the
organization, submitting former K-1 tournament champion and devastating
power puncher, “Mighty Mo” Siligia, with a kimura at
4:41 of the first round.
On
July 10, Barnett followed up the strong showing with a first-round
TKO (punches) over Geronimo dos Santos in the main event of a
fight card in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
AFTER
SILVA, SONNEN WANTS GSP OR SHOGUN
by Damon
Martin
Chael Sonnen is still swinging his verbal hammer, and now he's
laying the smack down on the UFC's reigning welterweight champion.
With a rematch against UFC middleweight king Anderson Silva set
to go down in early 2011, Sonnen already has his sights set on
what would be next, assuming he gets the belt.
And
his sights are set on another UFC champion.
Speaking
to fans in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Sonnen was asked who he
would want to fight if he beat Silva and without hesitation the
Oregon native gave a firm and direct answer.
"GSP,"
Sonnen said emphatically. "GSP had better pray to heaven
above that Shogun accepts my challenge cause one of those guys
is getting beat up."
St-Pierre
seems to have caught the attention of Sonnen, as did the UFC's
current light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua. Currently, St-Pierre is awaiting his fight on Dec. 11 against
Josh Koscheck, while Rua is recovering from injuries and is expected
to face Rashad Evans in the first half of 2011.
While
St-Pierre has never backed down from a challenge, he's also never
had much to say about Sonnen who is outside of his weight class
of 170 pounds. If the moment ever did arise where St-Pierre would
call for a fight with Sonnen, the pound-for-pound verbal champion
has a few words for the Canadian.
"If
GSP said he wanted to fight me, the first thing I would say is
the same thing I say every time I hear GSP talk, 'God dangit
that guy sounds like a French-Canadian Minnie Mouse.' That's
the first thing I'd say," Sonnen quipped.
"Then
I'd say 'hey GSP, let me ask you a serious question. Do you have
a designated driver? Do you have someone to get you home safely?
Cause clearly you're intoxicated.’ I would say, ‘GSP,
do you have a hankering for pain? GSP, did you lose a bet with
God? GSP, bring your $3,000 suit, bring your $3 date, and get
that 3 cent tan beat off your socialist back.’ That's what
I would tell GSP."
Sonnen
has never been one to hold back his tongue, and just in case
GSP didn’t hear his comments, he was happy to make sure
someone would pass it along.
"If you see GSP, you give him that message from me,"
Sonnen shouted.
What
St-Pierre did to get under the skin of Sonnen is unclear, but
he appears to have an issue with the UFC's 170-pound champion
that he wants to settle in the Octagon. As far as weight classes
go, Sonnen is quick to point out that he wouldn’t be challenging
for the welterweight title, but he's happy to meet in the middle.
"In
fairness, I couldn't get to 170," Sonnen said. "I could
get part way down there if we wanted to do a catch weight, if
it was something like that."
As
far as fighting Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Sonnen has no
issues going back to his former weight class for a shot at that
belt.
"I
could certainly go up to 205. I used to be a 205-pounder. Joe
Silva moved me down to 185. He said 'this is a better weight'
and I've competed there ever since," Sonnen admitted.
Whether
Chael Sonnen ever actually faces St-Pierre or not is a story
for another day, but he's certainly made his intentions clear.
First
things first though, Sonnen has to defeat Anderson Silva.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Bustamante:
“Toquinho was naïve”
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Rousimar Toquinho’s coach Murilo Bustamante explained his
fighter’s posture against Nate Marquardt at this Wednesday’s
UFN 22 event. Toquinho diverted his attention during the bout
to complain to the referee when he was caught off guard by a
string of strikes and knocked out.
“What
happened was that Rousimar thought Marquardt had Vaseline on
his legs. He felt that was the case and complained to the ref.
He was naïve in doing so,” said Murilo direct from
Texas to GRACIEMAG.com.
“Marquardt
carried on fighting – correctly –, as anyone would.
The athletic commission examined him and detected nothing awry.
Now we’ll forge ahead,” he said in lament.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Alexandre
Ribeiro
By Guilherme Cruz
Two-time absolute world champion of Jiu-Jitsu, Alexandre Ribeiro
is still recovering from a knee injury, but he cannot wait to
get back into action. Training with younger guys, “a little
cautious”, like he says, the black-belt is now preparing
himself to start 2011 the right way, and he wants to join the
main events of Jiu-Jitsu and wants to fight MMA. And it is on
the rings that he hopes to put his gentle art’s skills in
use, after two wins by knockout. “It’s truth: I’m
only using my belt as a uniform (laughs). I think I can learn
from all of it. I’m very glad and when I step on the ring
in March, I promised to myself I’d get a submission”,
said Xande, on an exclusive interview given to TATAME, talking
about his projects, the possibility of fighting Jiu-Jitsu in
Brazil this year and the success of Jacaré, Roger e Galvão
on Strikeforce.
How are the trainings on the United States going?
Man, actually I’m still a little cautious, my knee is not
100% healed... I can train with the white and blue-belts, but
I’m not on my level… I’m in pain because of my
knee, there’re lots of thing I can’t do like half-guard,
to close the triangle… I’m doing a lot of strengthen
work, working out a lot so I won’t get hurt again, and I’m
also taking care of the things at the gym, I’m organizing
my students because there’s about 20 new students per month,
the release of my DVD… There’re many things, besides
the fights, happening at this moment. I’m getting better
from my knee, but in terms of performance, I can’t do much.
So, you are training with younger guys, right?
Yeah, I’m training with the younger guys, the starters,
but the positions and the technique continue. I’m very focused
on my trainings with the kimono, doing a thing or another every
once in a while, trying to keep me active… I’m taking
care of my injury, my family, the business and, if God helps
me, soon I’ll be 100%.
How is this DVD project going?
Well, actually it’s delayed, it should be released some
time ago, but I got involved on the competitions and we lost
track of time, but until the end of this month it1ll be released
a instructive DVD with techniques, which was very pleasant for
me to make, because it’s a very basic DVD, but there’re
some advanced positions and maintenance of the position which
may help the more graduated guys… There’s much left
for the second edition. The number one is now even released and
I’m already thinking about the number two (laughs). Until
the end of the month, this DVD with the techniques I used on
the competitions and on the gym, which had been proved to work,
should be out and it’s all on a very basic level so I can
show our real Jiu-Jitsu.
I was told you intend to fight on World of WLPJJ at the end of
the year… Is it true?
I was very excited to join this competition, but I think I’ll
end up not disputing it because we’re in September and I’m
not doing my performance training, but I’m very focused.
Last World (CBJJ) I think I rushed things too much because I
was coming from an injury, had fought right before the event,
so now I’ve learned from my mistakes. It’s still possible,
but the important thing is that I want to train it all, I want
to keep myself up-to-date, to be smart and learn this new tendencies
of Jiu-Jitsu. I keep doing my basic training and I know I can
get there and do a nice job. Actually there’re many focuses,
but the real focus is to keep me active and always updated about
what’s going on.
When it comes to MMA, is there anything scheduled?
Since I’m not 100% yet, it’s hard to negotiate. There’s
an event, which I can’t quote right now because there’s
nothing signed, that should happen at the end of next February
or on the beginning of March, and that’s my goal. If I’m
100% ready physically, I’ll go for it and I’ll fight
MMA in March. I’m training, I’m thrilled, climbing
ropes… I’m doing everything I can with my arms and
can’t with my legs. Until World, I want to do one MMA fight,
and maybe a Jiu-Jitsu championship, and let’s see how I
get to the World, but now I’m just doing the technical part.
I’m very focus on this part of the training so that when
the performance trainings are back, I can be pretty sharp.
Many Jiu-Jitsu athletes have given MMA a shot and succeeded,
like Roger Gracie, who debuted quite well on Strikeforce, Ronaldo
Jacaré, who became its champion, and André Galvão,
who won twice on the event, being the last one over Jorge Patino
Macaco. What do you think of the success of the Jiu-Jitsu guys
on MMA?
That makes me very happy because the guys from Jiu-Jitsu are
getting titles there. MMA, nowadays, is completely different
from what it used to be here on the beginning of all. Now everybody
is prepared and knows a little bit about everything. To see the
good guys from Jiu-Jitsu getting there only makes me happy. Despite
being a fighting and confronting André Galvão,
Jacaré or Roger, I’m a fan. On the fight with (Kevin)
Randelman I was yelling, on Jacaré’s too, just like
on André’s… But André’s was against
Macaco, so I wasn’t that thrilled. I’m thrilled and
I hope and can come back to the circuit and represent Jiu-Jitsu
the way these guys are representing.
Surprisingly, you only have wins by knockout on MMA. Will you
manage to put yout black belt in use next time (laughs)?
It’s
truth: I’m only using my belt as a uniform (laughs). I think
I can learn from all of it, and one of the most important things
for me is to have fought six rounds in two fights and have had
the experience of going through two complete fights, I think
it can have a good influence when I come back. I know I didn’t
submit those guys because of my mistakes, I did much things wrong,
and it’s a critic I make to myself, but I think that emotionally
and even because of the experience I earned on my two fights,
but analyzing the technique and physical matters, I think I still
can evolve a lot. And I will. We have a very busy team in San
Diego, Cyborg is here, there’re great guys here who’s
been helping me, I’m very glad and when I step on the ring
in March, I promised to myself I’d get a submission.
Source: Tatame
|
Georges
St. Pierre: I Know Josh Koscheck Better Than Ever Now
By Ben
Fowlkes
Georges St. Pierre won't lie, he didn't exactly have a great
time filming season 12 of "The Ultimate Fighter," which
premieres Wednesday night on Spike TV.
Don't
misunderstand him, he's glad he went through it, he said. He's
also glad that it's over. While some fighters dislike the reality
show coaching gig because it takes them away from home and disrupts
their normal routine, for St. Pierre the problem wasn't so much
the atmosphere as the company.
"I
was with Josh Koscheck, so that was hard," the UFC welterweight
champ told MMA Fighting. "He's very arrogant and I don't
like to be close to this guy. But I didn't have a choice. It
was a few weeks where I had to be there close to him."
But
while being alongside the brash challenger made St. Pierre's
coaching job considerably more irritating, there were some upsides
to being forced to see Koscheck's smirking mug in the gym.
"To
train to be successful in a fight you have to know yourself and
know your enemy. This experience made me know my next opponent
better than I did before, so I could exploit those things that
I learned," said St. Pierre. "I learned the traits
of his character. I learned that I can manipulate him better
than I thought as far as fighting and game plan. I learned a
lot about his personality. I'm very good at analyzing people
and I kind of know better who I'm dealing with now."
To
train to be successful in a fight you have to know yourself and
your enemy.
-- Georges St-Pierre And yet, normally St. Pierre says he doesn't
like to get to know his opponents personally before a fight.
The danger is that the more time he spends with them, the more
he talks to them and becomes friendly with them, the greater
the chances that he might actually start to like them.
"Then
it's hard," he said. "Because let's say in the fight
you have a good position on him to hurt him, you know, to put
him away and really hurt him. It's harder to do. That's why I
like to be away from my opponent."
But
with Koscheck? Let's just say the risk that he and GSP would
gradually become friends over the course of the filming was minimal
at best.
That
was no accident, according to Koscheck. When told that St. Pierre
regarded the time spent with him as the hardest and most unpleasant
part about filming this new season of TUF, his reply was somewhat
predictable.
"That's
awesome ... you just made my day," he said when I spoke
to him for SI.com earlier this week.
The
way Koscheck tells it, GSP may be the champ, but he's boring.
He's boring as a person, and as a fighter. He takes people down.
He lays on top of them. He tries to outpoint them.
It's
a criticism St. Pierre's been hearing more and more lately, and
unlike Koscheck, he's not going to claim that it doesn't matter
to him what fans think.
"I
do care, because it's my fans. I want my fans to be happy,"
St. Pierre said. "[As champion], the only people I haven't
put away have been [Thiago] Alves and Dan Hardy and [Jon] Fitch.
But I put away Matt Serra. I put away Matt Hughes. I put away
B.J. Penn, because he didn't [answer the bell], so I put him
away. The thing is, you can't always go through a guy and beat
him like that."
But
it's not just that the guys he's facing are better now, St. Pierre
added. It's that he comes in as a heavy favorite in each fight,
and people simply expect him to run through each challenger.
What they don't realize, he said, is that these guys are actually
pretty tough.
I never took steroids in my life and I never will. So to gain
weight or lose weight with your body the natural way, it's very
hard.
-- Georges St-Pierre
"Like Dan Hardy, he's a lot better than people thought.
He's much better than people think he is. He's very good. I think
they're going to be surprised, because I think he'll come back
strong and show that he is a top guy in the world, and people
will have more respect for him."
Regardless
of what you think of St. Pierre's competition over the last few
years, the fact that he's facing Koscheck again, with another
fighter he's already beaten, Jon Fitch, seemingly on deck, that
tells us something about the state of the division. St. Pierre
has so thoroughly dominated his weight class that he's heading
into a series of reruns. Maybe that's why fans keep asking about
a possible move up to middleweight, where at least he could find
fresh challenges.
One
day he just might do it, said St. Pierre. At the moment he still
thinks there's work to be done at welterweight, but a move to
185 pounds is not out of the question. The question in his mind
is, would he ever come back down again?
"It's
very easy to put weight [on]. Gaining the weight is not the problem.
The problem is coming back down after. If I go up, I might not
go back down. That's the thing. I don't know how to say this,
but, you know, I do things right. I never took steroids in my
life and I never will. So to gain weight or lose weight with
your body the natural way, it's very hard. It's hard on your
physique. I can do it, but the problem would be coming back down
after you put the weight [on]. If I go up, I'm going to stay
up."
That
might not be the worst news for the other welterweights in the
UFC. But for now they've still got GSP at the top of the food
chain to worry about, and he's got Koscheck to deal with.
Of
all the problems he might face when they step into the cage together
again, at least a reluctance to hurt his reality TV co-star won't
be one of them.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Koscheck,
St. Pierre Adopt Different Coaching Philosophies for ‘TUF
12’
by Joe
Myers
Georges
St. Pierre file photo: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
The
12th season of "The Ultimate Fighter" kicks off Wednesday
night at 10 p.m. EST on Spike TV featuring UFC welterweight champion
Georges St. Pierre and No. 1 contender Josh Koscheck and if the
coaches are to believed, the season should be an exciting one.
"I
think there's going to be some fighters from this season that
are going to put themselves in some quality camps," said
Koscheck during a conference call Tuesday to promote the "TUF"
season premiere. "When I first saw the first 28 guys, I
sort of gave them the eyeball test and it looked like they picked
them for personality. But after the first episode, people will
get to see the talent level and I think lot of them going to
be in the UFC for a long time."
The
first episode of the reality show will air following UFC Fight
Night 22, which starts at 8 p.m. ET and features a middleweight
main event of Nate Marquardt taking on Rousimar Palhares.
St.
Pierre, who will defend his 170-pound championship against Koscheck
in the main event of UFC 124 on Dec. 11 in Montreal, said the
cast for the upcoming season is indicative of how far the sport
of mixed martial arts has come.
"I
think our sport has gone worldwide," said St. Pierre, who
earned a unanimous decision victory over Koscheck at UFC 74 in
August 2007. "Only a few countries play hockey or play American
football. Mixed martial arts is worldwide and this season was
more representative of what MMA has become. It was a privilege
to work with some guys who have some great raw materials. You're
going to hear about them after this season, for sure."
Just
as St. Pierre and Koscheck have seemingly different personalities,
they had different philosophies when it came to picking the fighters
for their respective teams.
"I
did a lot of research and wanted to find guys who wanted to fight
and put on a good, exciting fight," said Koscheck. "I
feel like the coaching staff I brought would help all kinds of
guys, whether they were strikers, wrestlers or whatever, so I
just looked for people who wanted to fight."
Meanwhile,
St. Pierre went after fighters that he felt he and his coaching
staff could help make the most progress during the six weeks
the show was being taped.
"I
looked for guys I saw more of myself in and ones I could help
the most," said St. Pierre. "I didn't know much about
their training and backgrounds. I didn't necessarily pick the
best ones, but the ones I could help the most and make them a
better fighter. I coached them all in different ways. With every
guy, I was different. Some needed more advice, some needed more
motivation or to be pushed. They were all different characters.
I had to adjust to their personalities."
Along
with discussing their coaching stints on "The Ultimate Fighter,”
St. Pierre and Koscheck talked up their title fight, which will
be in St. Pierre's hometown of Montreal.
"I
think the fight being done in Montreal is good," said Koscheck.
"They really love me there and I have a good relationship
with the fans there. I can't wait to shock them all and come
out of there with a new belt. I know I got under his skin (during
the filming of TUF 12) and I kind of like that. I like that he's
pissed off and training hard so when I whip his ass Dec. 11,
he won't have any excuses. Everybody has a chance to be on top
for a long time, but now it's time to put a stop to that."
St.
Pierre said he didn't mind Koscheck's trash-talking, chalking
it up to mind games that Koscheck was trying to play.
"I
knew what was going to happen (during the filming)," said
St. Pierre. "He's very predictable. Everything on the show
was what I expected from him. I can't control how Josh behaves
himself, but I know how he is. He's definitely trying to get
in my head, which is good for me. It's served as more motivation
when it's happened in the past. When we fight, I'll have done
my homework, guaranteed."
The
public's perception of the Koscheck-St. Pierre fight seems to
involve a "good guy-bad guy" dynamic, with Koscheck
playing the role of the villain. However, St. Pierre said he
thinks Koscheck isn't as bad as people make him out to be.
"I
don't think Josh is a bad person," said St. Pierre. "He
likes to provoke people when he fights, but it's just what he
does. I don't like the trash-talk, but it's about entertainment.
People like to like people and like to hate people. It's about
'Love me, hate me, but don't ignore me.' It's a sport of entertainment,
so it's not a problem."
Source: Sherdog
|
Demise
of Duffee
Joe Ferraro
Showdown Joe gives a behind the scenes look at the surprising
release of Todd Duffee from the UFC.
Widely
regarded as one of the best prospects in mixed martial arts today,
Heavyweight Todd Duffee has been released by the Ultimate Fighting
Championship.
The
news comes as a shock to many, but apparently, the writing was
on the wall for quite some time.
Leading
up to his last bout with the organization, Duffee took aim at
the MMA media and the UFC stating he was "over hyped",
and when it came to the fans perspective of him (and other MMA
fighters), he told Pro MMA Radio "...in the fight game,
there's just a different dynamic between the fighters and the
fans. It's a real love- hate relationship. You either saved America,
or you're the scum of the world."
It
got worse from there, as just days before his UFC 114 bout vs.
Mike Russow, Duffee took another public shot at his employer.
When
the UFC tweeted "Dunno which is more awesome - @todd--duffee's
former title or his job at Dairy Queen", the youngster took
exception, and promptly responded with "@ufc yo find a new
way to promote me i don't find my misfortunes as funny as you
might. your sense of humor sucks." After the Twitter incident,
the countdown to Duffee's demise officially began.
Coming
into the fight, Duffee was a heavy favourite and many expected
it to be another showcase of his knockout power. But someone
forgot to tell Russow, as the veteran pulled off an incredible
come from behind victory. After being dominated from the opening
bell, even suffering a broken arm, Russow knocked out Duffee
in the third round, which sent the MMA world into a tail spin.
The loss for Duffee may have been but another bullet point for
the UFC to use to release the Las Vegas native.
But
they continued to move forward with him, as he was then targeted
to face Jon Madsen at UFC 121 in October, but Duffee pulled out,
citing a knee injury. It came as a strange coincidence as Duffee
had accepted a movie role for the sequel to "Never Back
Down", which filmed from September to November. Another
twist to the story was when Duffee tweeted "looking for
weekend job in denver tired of being completely broke ne suggestions?"
There is no doubt in my mind that the UFC saw this as another
slap in the face and added it as another bullet point to their
case for cutting Duffee loose.
There
is much more to this story that has been brewing for quite some
time, and it reached a boiling point earlier this week.
With
the proverbial axe coming down from the UFC, many around Duffee's
camp are staying tight lipped, keeping their comments to a minimum,
with Todd's Twitter account no longer active. With many others
trying to piece together what the final straw was that broke
the UFC's back, Alex Davis, Duffee's manager informed Sports
Illustrated's Josh Gross that, "Well, I'm not sure exactly
what the problem or problems were. I tried hard to avoid, but
Dana wasn't listening. It unfortunate, but Todd's an asset and
he will keep on fighting He is a young kid and gets lots of attention."
My
own personal experiences with the 24 year old have been nothing
short of stellar. He was always available for an interview and
his own sense of humour always guaranteed us at Sportsnet a very
good time. He even took time during the UFC 114 fight week to
set up an interview, in his hotel room, to discuss his career,
his bout with Russow and being the cover boy for Muscle and Fitness.
While
it's sad to see Duffee released by the organization, it's tough
to argue with all the writing on the wall. Todd should be fine
though; he'll likely be picked up by Strikeforce soon, if not
by organizations such as Bellator, Shark Fights or the MFC. Will
he ever be back with the UFC? My answer is "Yes".
Source: Sportsnet.ca
|
MARQUARDT
DROPS THE HAMMER ON PALHARES
by Damon
Martin
Protect yourselves at all times.
It's
a cardinal rule in MMA that every referee from every commission
instructs the fighters before they clash. Rousimar Palhares dropped
his guard for just an instant in his fight with Nate Marquardt
on Wednesday night at UFC Fight Night 22. He paid for it when
the Colorado fighter crushed him with a big punch on the ground,
before finishing things up to get the first round TKO.
The
reason for Palhares dropping his guard came after he attempted
one of his patented heel hooks, and Marquardt immediately slipped
out and pulled away. The Brazilian motioned towards referee Herb
Dean as if he felt something slippery on Marquardt's leg, but
no stoppage occurred and he soon paid for that mistake.
Seeing
the opening, Marquardt fired down like a missile at Palhares
with a monstrous right hand. Palhares' head snapped back like
a rubber band, and Marquardt jumped on him with machine gun like
shots.
It
didn't take long for Herb Dean to step in and stop the fight,
declaring Marquardt the victor.
Following
the fight, Marquardt was checked over by the ringside physician
and referee again, and no evidence was found that he had any
kind of greasing agent on his legs.
"They
checked it before I fought. The thing is I came out really warm
because I wanted a good sweat, I wanted to be slippery,"
Marquardt commented when asked about the controversy.
Marquardt
admitted that the way the fight ended wasn't how thing were planned,
but when he saw the door was open for him to take a shot at Palhares,
he dropped down with a sledgehammer right hand, crushing him.
"I
just saw an opportunity and jumped on it," said Marquardt.
"We kind of ended up in that little scramble position. That
wasn't part of the game plan, but I saw an opportunity and went
for it."
Bouncing
back strong after a loss to current No. 1 contender Chael Sonnen
in his last fight, Marquardt is once again in the mix at the
top of the 185-pound division.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Registraton
rally to pack political punch
by Jamie
Evan Bichelman
Secretary
of state, UFC fighters to highlight new online platform
Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller says he wants to knock
some sense into voters.
He
is teaming up with UFC for a voter registration rally called
“Fight for Your Ultimate Right” at noon on Wednesday
in Pida Plaza, which is part of a campaign aimed at inspiring
voter turnout.
Two-time
heavyweight champion Frank Mir and Roy “Big Country”
Nelson will speak at the event.
“The
deadline for voting is Oct. 2, so we want everyone to vote as
soon as possible,” Miller said.
The
event will take place during the annual Involvement Fair, put
on by CSUN and the Office of Civic Engagement and Diversity.
The
rally will showcase the secretary of state’s office’s
new online voter registration platform.
“We
are going to be highlighting the new online system where you
can sign up with your Nevada ID,” Miller said.
The
project squares up with the student government’s efforts
to boost the volume of students’ voices on political issues
— especially education.
“CSUN
is proud to be a partner of this along with OCED,” said
undergraduate Student Body President David Rapoport.
“Hopefully
we can get students involved in voting and more involved in this
election cycle … and it’s kind of cool, too.”
The
event will last about half an hour and attendees will receive
free T-shirts.
Both
Mir and Nelson are Las Vegas natives.
Mir,
who is openly liberal, is known for his will to use his celebrity
status to speak out on political issues.
This
is the second time Miller, a long-time fighting fan, has partnered
with UFC to push political involvement.
He
released a video in 2008 that included several prominent fighters,
including Chuck Liddell, and UFC President Dana White.
Source: Rebell Yell
|
Three
fights added to DREAM.16,
Omigawa NOT fighting Warren
by Tim
Koskuba
Michihiro Omigawa will not be fighting Joe Warren on DREAM.16.
In an online press conference today, Keiichi Sasahara announced
three more bouts for DREAM.16 on September 25th. The event will
take place at the Nappon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan.
It
was rumored that Sengoku tournament finalist, Michihiro Omigawa,
would take on current Bellator featherweight champion, Joe Warren
at DREAM.16. However, Warren's management and DREAM could not
come to terms on a bout agreement. Omigawa will now take on former
Tachi Palace Fights bantamweight champion, Cole Escovedo.
Former
WEC champion, Chase Beebe, will return to DREAM to take on a
fellow WEC veteran; heavy-handed, Hiroyuki Takaya. This fight
will take place in the 64 kg division (141 pds.).
Mitsuhiro
Ishida will look to make himself 2-0 after dropping to featherweight
when he takes on Shooto and Cage Force veteran, "Wicky"
Akiyo Nishiura.
DREAM
also stated they were in final negotiations with Norifumi "Kid"
Yamamoto to compete on the card.
Here's
a look at the card so far:
-Jason
"Mayhem" Miller vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
-Shinya Aoki vs. Marcus Aurelio
-Gegard Mousasi vs. Tatsuya Mizuno (For vacant DREAM Light heavyweight
title)
-"Lion" Takeshi Inoue vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
-Hideo Tokoro vs. Joachim Hansen
-Mitsuhiro Ishida vs. "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura
-Cole Escovedo vs. Michihiro Omigawa
-Chase Beebe vs. Hiroyuki Takaya
Source: Headkick Legend
|
COLE
MILLER HANDS ROSS PEARSON FIRST UFC LOSS
by Ken
Pishna
Cole Miller had a tall task before him at UFC Fight Night 22
on Wednesday night, despite having a height and reach advantage
over his opponent, Ross Pearson.
Like
Miller, Pearson emerged in the Octagon from “The Ultimate
Fighter,” though Pearson won his season, and has since racked
up two more UFC victories. Miller has been solid, but has also
stumbled twice in the Octagon.
Not
so in Austin, Texas.
Miller
weathered a difficult first round, going toe-to-toe with Pearson,
who is widely considered a much better technical striker than
the American Top Teamer.
It
was round two, however, where Miller’s patience paid off.
Pearson went right back to working on Miller’s lead leg
with low kicks, like he did early in the opening round, but Miller
finally found the opening to utilize his reach, rocking Pearson
with a couple right hands that sent the Brit staggering back
to the cage. Miller followed up with a left hook, right cross
combination that put Pearson on the mat, then immediately finished
him off with a rear naked choke.
Point,
set, match.
“I’m
just happy I came out hear and did what I said I was gonna do,”
said Miller after the fight.
“I
see all these wrestlers coming out here, point fighting strikers,
and lay and pray jiu-jitsu guys, they’re all doing the same
thing. Ain’t nobody trying to finish, pass guard, mount,
nothing, just control the clock. This ain’t football, people
gotta come in here and fight.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
FIGHT NIGHT 22 PLAY-BY-PLAY & RESULTS
Middleweight contenders Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares
headline UFC Fight Night 22 on Wednesday night in Austin, Texas.
A
lot has been made of the grappling games of both fighters, especially
since Palhares is widely considered as one of the premier grapplers
in mixed martial arts.
Marquardt,
a Brazilian jiu-jitsu like Palhares, isn’t concerned. He
says he has a healthy respect for the Brazilian’s ground
game, but doesn’t fear him. Palhares, however, believes
that if he can lure Marquardt to the mat, the fight is tailor
made for him.
MMAWeekly.com
will be bringing you full results and play-by-play of the main
card for UFC Fight Night 22. The main card begins at approximately
8 p.m. ET and airs live on Spike TV, although it is tape delayed
on the West Coast.
UFC
FIGHT NIGHT 22 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
NATE
MARQUARDT VS. ROUSIMAR PALHARES
R1
- A touch of the gloves and the main event has begun. Marquardt
with a leg kick and Palhares tries to grab it. Both fighters
being careful in the opening minute. Palhares comes in with an
uppercut. Marquardt tries to counter. Marquardt's left hand is
very low. He rushes in with a flurry. Palhares ducks and looks
for a leg to grab on to. Palhares gets the fight to the ground.
Palhares in side control. He goes for a leg and Marquardt escapes
and lands big shots to the downed Palhares. Referee Herb Dean
stops the fight. Marquardt wins by TKO.
Nate
Marquardt def. Rousimar Palhares by TKO (strikes) at 3:28, R1
EFRAIN
ESCUDERO VS. CHARLES OLIVEIRA
R1
- Oliveira comes out aggressive, misses with a high kick but
lands a flying knee. Escudero clinches and presses him against
the fence. They're separated and Oliveira fires a high kick that's
blocked. Oliveira with a right hand and then he shoots for a
takedown. Escudero defends it. After some clinch work, they separate.
Pace slows with both guys dancing looking for an opening. Oliveira
with a leg kick and Escudero tries to counter. Another leg kick
by Oliveira. Oliveira goes for a single leg and Escudero bounces
on one leg and lands punches. Escudero lands in Oliveira's half
guard as Oliveira pulls guard, but the Brazilian gets back to
full guard. Escudero lands an elbow. MMAWeekly.com scores the
round 10-9 for Oliveira.
R2
- Escudero has more pep in his step this round. He lands a combination
as Oliveira misses with a big shot. Oliveira gets a takedown
but Escudero has his back. Escudero gets up and they're back
standing. Oliveira lands a couple of leg kicks adn then a left
hand. Oliveira applies a Thai clinch and lands a knee. Escudero
clinches and they're back to trading shots. Oliveira with a front
kick. Oliveira dances. Escudero motions him to come in. He does
with leg kicks. Oliveira goes for a flying knee that misses.
Escudero ties him up and as the round ends they're back to the
center of the Octagon. MMAWeekly.com scores the round 10-9 for
Oliveira.
R3
- Final round begins. Oliveira lands an inside leg kick off the
mark and hits Escudero's groin. The action resumes quickly. Uppercut
by Oliveira and a counter right hand by Escudero. Escudero ties
him up and lands a knee square on Oliveira's cup. Oliveira clearly
in a lot of pain takes a couple of minutes to recover. Escudero
throws a kick to the body and Oliveira catches it, drives him
into the fence and slams him. Oliveira takes his back standing
and slaps on a rear naked choke forcing Escudero to tap out.
Charles
Oliveira def. Efrain Escudero by submission (rear naked choke)
at 2:25, R3
JIM
MILLER VS. GLEISON TIBAU
R1
- Miler working leg kicks. Tibau comes in with a combination.
Miller fires a leg kick that Tibau catches and gets the fight
to the ground. Miller works his way back to his feet and lands
a stiff right jab that rocks Tibau. Tibau ties Miller up. Tibau
gets a double leg takedown but Miller quickly gets back up again.
They break from the clinch and take the middle of the Octagon.
After a brief exchange, Miller goes for a takedown but Tibau
has none of it. With 90 second remaining they're clinched along
the cage. They separate and they stand toe-to-toe. Miller lands
a right hand. Tibau fires back landing one of his own. Left hand
by Tibau in the closing seconds. Close round. MMAWeekly.com scores
it 10-9 for Tibau.
R2
- A touch of gloves and round 2 is underway. Miller with a big
left hand that has Tibau fleeing on wobbly legs. Miller is all
on him trying to finish the fight. Miller gets him down for a
moment but Tibau back to his feet. Miller works for a single-leg
and finally lets it go. Miller misses with a big left hook. Tibau
ducks under a punch and gets a takedown. Miller works for a submission
and Tibau stands up and lets Miller to his feet. Miller moving
forward but not landing much with a minute on the clock. Tibau
looks to be fully recovered and stalks Miller. Tibau with a double
leg takedown. Tibau finishes the round in Miller's guard. Another
close round. MMAWeekly.com scores it 10-9 for Miller.
R3
- Final round begins and both fighters look fresh. Tibau with
a double jab landing the second cleanly. Tibau countering well.
Miller rushes in with a flurry and they tie up against the cage.
Miller with a knee as they separate. Miller aggressive, moving
forward and lands a left hook. Tibau looks for a kimura standing
and Miller drives for a single leg takedown. They separate. Tibau
attempts a takedown but Miller defends. With a minute on the
clock it's any body's round. The referee separates them with
:45 remaining. Miller shoots for a takedown, Tibau defends. Miller
pressing forward. Tibau with a left hand. The fight ends with
Tibau pressing Miller against the cage.
Jim
Miller def. Gleison Tibau by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,
29-28)
ROSS
PEARSON VS. COLE MILLER
R1
– Pearson begins with a leg kick. Miller using his reach
to keep Pearson on the outside. Pearson gets inside and lands
a right hand. Pearson rushes in with a flurry and Miller drops
down for a single leg takedown and gets it. Pearson immediately
back to his feet. They exchange along the fence and Miller tries
to pull guard. He stands and presses Pearson with punches. Pearson
with a left hand that gets through, and Miller goes back to using
his jab. Pearson finding his range in the final 90 seconds. Close
round to score. MMAWeekly scores the round 10-9 for Pearson.
R2
- Pearson counters Miller's jab with leg kicks. A hard right
hand to the body of Miller and Miller shoots for a double leg.
Pearson fends it off and they're back standing. Miller with a
flying knee that misses but follows up a straight right hand.
Miller with a combination ending in a left hand that drops Pearson.
Miller pounces on him and applies a rear naked choke forcing
the end of the fight.
Cole
Miller def. Ross Pearson by submission (rear naked choke) at
1:49, R2
UFC
FIGHT NIGHT 22 RESULTS:
Main
Bouts (On Spike TV):
-Nate Marquardt def. Rousimar Palhares by TKO (strikes) at 3:28,
R1
-Charles Oliveira def. Efrain Escudero by submission (rear naked
choke) at 2:25, R3
-Jim Miller def. Gleison Tibau by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 29-28)
-Cole Miller def. Ross Pearson by submission (rear naked choke)
at 1:49, R2
Preliminary
Bouts (Non-Televised):
-Yves Edwards def. John Gunderson by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27), R3
-Kyle Kingsbury def. Jared Hamman by Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28), R3
-Dave Branch def. Tomasz Drwal by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27), R3
-Rich Attonito def. Rafael Natal by Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 30-27), R3
-Anthony “T.J.” Waldburger def. David Mitchell by Unanimous
Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Brian Foster def. Forrest Petz by TKO (Strikes) at 1:07, R1
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ludwig
returns against Osipczak at UFC 122
The
fight card for UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany, continues to come
together. MMAWeekly.com has learned from sources close to the
bout that verbal agreements are in place to pit Nick Osipczak
against Duane “Bang” Ludwig in a welterweight bout
at the Konig Pilsener Arena.
British
fighter Osipczak (5-2) is likely on his last leg on the Octagon.
After starting strong coming off “The Ultimate Fighter:
Team U.S.A. vs. Team U.K.” with wins over Frank Lester and
Matt Riddle, Osipczak has since dropped back-to-back decision
losses to Rick Story and Greg Soto. He likely needs a win to
remain on the roster.
Ludwig
(19-11) is also on a two-fight skid, but under vastly different
circumstances. He stepped up on short notice for a tough bout
against lightweight contender Jim Miller less than a month after
his last Ring of Fire appearance, and then faced Octagon newcomer
Darren Elkins in March, losing the bout due to a severe injury.
Elkins
shot a takedown on Ludwig, whose left leg was pinned awkwardly
under his body. He suffered three breaks in his leg and ankle
– including a spiral fracture – that required three
screws inserted in his ankle.
After
several months on crutches and having had at least one of the
screws removed, he is currently training at Grudge Training Center
in Denver.
A
middleweight contenders showdown between Vitor Belfort and Yushin
Okami is expected to headline UFC 122 on Nov. 13.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Bellator:
Larkin dominates, Clementi loses controversially
At
the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans, Bellator took a week
off from tournament bouts, and had three decisions and an explosive
debut.
Eric
Larkin, a four-time NCAA All-American wrestler, showed off a
well-rounded game in his Bellator debut, winning with a guillotine
at 2:46 in the first round.
Larkin
started out with a head kick that knocked Marcus Andrusia to
the ground. Though he seemed a little surprised that the kick
worked, he followed it up with ground-and-pound, and finished
Andrusia off with a guillotine choke.
After
the fight, Larkin said that he would be comfortable in Bellator's
lightweight or featherweight tournament.
UFC
vet Clementi loses close decision
In
his Bellator debut, Rich Clementi lost a controversial decision
to Carey Vanier. In a very close fight, Clementi and Vanier appeared
tied up going into the final round.
Halfway
through the third round, Vanier had Clementi pinned against the
fence, with one hand down on the ground. By definition, Clementi
was a downed opponent. Vanier landed two knees, busting open
the area above Clementi's eye. The referee did not acknowledge
the illegal knees. Though he gave Clementi's corner time to work
on the cut, he did not deduct a point from Vanier's score, which
would have been appropriate.
When
the fight was restarted, Vanier inched ahead of Clementi, obviously
winning the final round. The judges saw it 29-28, 28-29, 29-28
for Vanier, meaning that a deducted point would have made the
decision.
The
two were fighting for a spot in the Bellator lightweight tournament.
Vanier is in, but if Bellator wants to right the wrong done to
Clementi, he will also be given a berth in the tournament.
Schambari,
Karakhanyan win decisions
Eric
Schambari beat Matt Horwich with a good jab and effective takedowns,
taking the split decision, 30-27, 28-29, 30-27. The 28-29 score
is questionable, unless the judge was rewarding Horwich for continuing
to move forward, in an almost zombie-like way, no matter what
Schambari threw at him.
Georgi
Karakhanyan won a grappling-filled decision over Anthony Leone,
30-27, 30-27, 29-28. Karakhanyan, who lost to Bellator champ
Joe Warren last season, used jiu-jitsu to control Leone on the
ground throughout the non-tournament bout.
Source: Cagefighter
|
Shark
Fights 13: The Don Frye Experience
Watching
mid- to lower-tier MMA broadcasts can often be a painful experience.
When
so many viewers have become accustomed to the high-end production
values of UFC pay-per-views, which operate like a well-oiled
machine, slummin' it for cards like Shine Fights: Lightweight
Grand Prix or Moosin: God of War is sometimes a necessary evil
for many that comes with being a fan.
Saturday's
Shark Fights 13 pay-per-view could have fallen into that category.
And from a strictly visual standpoint, it often made local cable
access programming look Emmy-worthy.
But
Shark Fights had two superheroes come along to turn the broadcast
from a car crash you couldn't look away from into a car crash
you couldn't wait to see more of. Don Frye and Bas Rutten, the
commentating duo joining Ron Kruck for the broadcast, took the
pay-per-view from "just another show" status to "legendary"
status.
Rutten
has long been a player in the MMA commentary game. He has the
technical background to talk with expertise about what's happening
in the fight, but his Dutch accent coupled with his penchant
for using onomatopoeias like they're going out of style make
him a comic book character come to life. "Bam! Pow! Ooooh!
Bap! Powpowpow!"
But
then there's Don Frye.
Oh,
Don Frye. A living legend, to be certain – winner of the
UFC 8 and UFC Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournaments, Pride and K-1
fighter, 8-second knockout deliverer, former firefighter, actor
in movies like "Miami Vice" and "Public Enemies"
... about 220 pounds of badass. Do YOU want to be the one to
tell him bedecking himself in an American flag button-up cowboy
shirt for the broadcast is a fashion faux pas? (Though his cowboy
hat, if given the chance, could quite possibly cure Swine Flu.)
With
a voice that sounds like the audio love child of Randy "Macho
Man" Savage and Wilford Brimley, and a mustache that quite
possibly needs its own zip code, Frye brought a mix of pre-planned
one-liners and deadpan observations that have already gone down
in MMA broadcasting lore under the category of "Did he REALLY
just say that?!?" Better still, he excused some of his comments
by saying he was in Texas – so that kind of talk was allowed.
Rutten
singing "Heigh-Ho" from "Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs" while Houston Alexander ground-and-pounded Sokoudjou
would have been a Top 20 moment on any other broadcast. But with
Frye along for the ride, it paled in comparison.
Here
now, the Top 20 highlights of Saturday's Shark Fights 13 pay-per-view
broadcast, courtesy of the inimitable Don Frye.*
20.
To Rutten: "I know you love me, dontcha sweetheart?"
19.
On Danillo Villefort: "How old is that boy?"
18.
When Kruck mistakenly called Frye "Bas": "No,
I'm Don. Bas is the ugly guy with no hair."
17.
On Johnny Rees Rees and Paul Bradley both wearing red trunks:
"I'll take the white guy in the red shorts."
16.
On the staredown between Rees and Bradley: "Like a couple
of tribal Vikings out there. Blond hair, blue eyes ..."
15.
To Kruck and Rutten at the end of the night: "Great to be
here with you ladies."
14.
On referee Kerry Hatley stepping in front of the camera angle:
"Get Kerry's ass out of the way and we can see the fight."
13.
On the difficulty of finding an MMA fight in France: "I
didn't know France was ever in a fight. ... I heard Italy just
declared war on Spain, and France surrendered."
12.
On Alexander after he survived a barrage from Sokoudjou in Round
1: "He's still a little wobbly on his feet, ya know? Either
that or he's got good rhythm."
11.
On Bradley: "He's built like a brick s**thouse, ain't he?"
10.
On something we're still trying to figure out: "Skin like
a mule's ass."
9.
On Brock Larson's unanimous decision loss and Frye's continued
theory he may have been ill: "I'd like to hear if something
was wrong with him tomorrow (instead of right after the fight).
You don't want the Tito Ortiz list of excuses here. No one respects
that."
8.
On a promo spot for a charity for U.S. troops on the ninth anniversary
of 9/11: "Get out your wallets, ya cheap bastards, and give
'em some money."
7.
After the fights, while straight man/babysitter Kruck was still
on his way back to the broadcast table from a post-fight interview
with Trevor Prangley: "That was like two hours of rough,
hard sex. I need a cigarette and a tequila now."
6.
On Keith Jardine's stance: "He's so awkward. He's like a
rabid octopus. He looks like he's about to fall over at any time."
Fortunately, Kruck didn't point out to him that an octopus, as
a cold-blooded animal, cannot get rabies.
5.
Obviously no stranger to viral video sensation "Double Rainbow
Guy," during a particularly memorable exchange with Rutten:
"Double rainbow! Triple rainbow! Double secret probation!
... No, no, no, it's gonna go into triple double overtime!"
Kruck saved the day by reminding the viewers, and Frye, "There
is no overtime in Shark Fights."
4.
During a discussion with Rutten over their records: "I started
counting fights when I'd come home drunk and knock my old lady
around," to which Kruck, ever the straight-man, quickly
covered for him by saying, "I bet she's got a few wins over
you, too."
3.
On his background as a wrestler: "Look at me: I'm a wrestler.
My balls are so big, I wear the excess on my hat."
2.
On cauliflower ear: "This guy's tough. His ears are like
potatoes. Looks like he got stuck in the birth canal, had to
beat him out with a stick."
1.
On the preliminary card fights: "That was like prison sex:
hard, sweaty, violent and there was a lot of noise."
*
Yes, we know there are more. Plenty more. After all, this list
doesn't even touch the preliminary card broadcast. What did we
miss? You tell us!
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Jared
Hamman Wonders, What Do You Do with a $65,000 Check?
People
kept telling him he'd won Fight of the Night, but Jared Hamman
didn't realize they were serious. It was nice to hear, and he
appreciated the compliment. He knew his three-round slobberknocker
with Rodney Wallace at UFC 111 had been an entertaining one,
but Fight of the Night? On the same card that featured guys like
Georges St. Pierre and Shane Carwin? That didn't sound right.
"I
thought they were telling me like, basically, that was a really
good fight," Hamman (12-2) told MMA Fighting. "I was
like, thanks, I appreciate that. They had to be like, 'No, you
really won the Fight of the Night bonus.' I had to call my manager
and ask him if it was true."
And
it was. After a fifteen-minute scrap with Wallace that sometimes
resembled a blur of furious arms and legs roving around the Octagon
like a contained tornado, Hamman won a unanimous decision victory
and, as he would learn later in the night, a $65,000 bonus for
Fight of the Night.
For
a guy who was fighting on the prelims in his second UFC appearance,
it was a considerable boost to his bottom line. The 6'3",
205-pound Hamman had taken up MMA back in 2006, but then it was
mostly a hobby. His college football days were over and he'd
transitioned into a job as coach at the University of Redlands,
where he'd played for two years as a defensive end.
He
enjoyed the job, but spending hours each day watching game film
didn't exactly satiate his own physical drive to compete. A friend
invited him down to a kickboxing class, and it sounded like just
the thing he needed. A little over four years later he was in
the UFC, trading blows with Wallace and earning himself a hefty
chunk of change for his effort. Only now he faced a new problem.
"I
didn't know what to do with the check. What do you do with a
$65,000 check? Do you just walk into the bank with that? I kept
asking people, what do I do with this? It's serious amount of
money to have in your hand at one time."
After
being assured by several people that yes, you can take even a
sizable check like that to the bank without setting off alarms,
Hamman put some of it in savings and socked away a little to
pay his taxes. Much of it he put back into his training, but
some of it demanded to spent elsewhere, and soon.
"Right
after that fight my car basically exploded. I had been driving
the same car for a long time, and then the engine exploded, and
so many other things went wrong with it in the two days after
the fight, that I finally had to get a new car."
The
28-year-old Hamman is a full-time fighter these days, though
that was never his plan when he started out. For a while he had
been content to pursue it more as a hobby. He racked up a 9-0
record and landed a spot on the ShoXC series, but didn't consider
fighting as a career.
That
all changed on April 5, 2008, when he lost his first fight thanks
to a first-round flying knee from Poai Suganuma that knocked him unconscious and,
somewhat surprisingly, changed his entire approach to his fighting
career.
"Up
to that point, it was just fun. I was winning every fight, working
hard, having a great time," Hamman said. "Then I got
that flying knee to the head and I lost that fight, and I remember
sitting there afterwards going, I am so pissed right now. At
that point, it was like, that's it. No more messing around. No
more going halfway, it's time to get serious about this."
Getting
serious meant training alongside MMA vets like Vladimir Matyushenko
and Antoni Hardonk, and it also meant quitting his job as a football
coach to focus full-time on his training. It paid off for Hamman,
who rebounded from a knockout loss in his first UFC fight against
Alexander Gustafsson to earn some TV time with his Fight of the
Night performance against Wallace.
"I
was trying with everything I had to end that fight," Hamman
said. "I was hitting him and he was hitting me. I kept thinking
that at some point in time, just like everybody else, this guy's
going to crumble, his cardio will break down, and I'll overcome
him. But he stayed strong. He cracked me and I cracked him, and
I thought, hey, this is the UFC, man. This is what you get. I
had a great time."
He
faces his next challenge at UFC Fight Night 22 in Austin, Texas
this Wednesday, as he takes on AKA product former "Ultimate
Fighter" contestant Kyle Kingsbury (8-2,1 NC).
"He's
big and strong, much bigger than I am, probably," Hamman
said of Kingsbury. "But I'm used to fighting big dudes.
I used to fight heavyweights back when I started. I don't really
get too scared when I look across and see a big buff dude."
What
Hamman's more concerned with, he said, is fighting style. He
likes the match-up with Kingsbury for the same reason he liked
facing Wallace and Gustafsson.
"They're
guys who will come right at you and fight," said Hamman.
We've
already seen how Hamman responds to that approach. If Kingsbury
brings the same mentality, we could be looking at bonus-worthy
brawl on Wednesday night. At least this time he'll know what
to do with the check.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
Fight Night 22 Preview: The Prelims
You
like fights. UFC Fight Night 22 is this Wednesday on Spike. If
all goes according to plan, there will be fights.
When
you break things down nice and simple like, life becomes easy.
Regardless of what you’re doing come Wednesday, it better
involve watching this quality lineup. While the prelims aren’t
guaranteed to make the broadcast, nothing in life is guaranteed
except for the torrent of hate mail coming my way.
In
other words, read this preview, get your knowledge right and
hope for some speedy main card fights. It’s just the right
thing to do.
Follow
Tomas Rios and his quest to win the Sherdog fantasy football
league on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Tomas_Rios
Yves
Edwards vs. John Gunderson
About
six years ago Edwards was considered the uncrowned lightweight
champion of the UFC after edging out Hermes Franca and knocking
out Josh Thomson with what can only be described as a flying
thug-jitsu kick. Since then Edwards has gone 9-8. Most of the
blame lies not on physical depreciation but instead on his bizarre
predilection for going right along with his opponent’s strategy.
It’s
a mental weakness that could cost him in his return to the Octagon
against Gunderson, who has the sort of top-control-centric grappling
that has stifled Edwards many times before. The real key to this
fight, however, is Edwards’ takedown defense, which has
been, at best, suspect of late. This is the same guy who was
getting double-legged by Luis Palomino in Bellator, and while
Gunderson doesn’t have some otherworldly penetration step,
he’s a great example of how far some basic transitional
wrestling can get you in MMA.
There
isn’t much in the way of flash when it comes to the tragically
nicknamed “Guns.” Gunderson is going to come out, pump
a few jabs, change levels for a single leg and keep switching
takedown techniques until one sticks. From there it’s no-frills
top control highlighted by solid guard-passing and constant offensive
activity. While he’s not about to score a submission, the
native Oregonian has the style to shut down the guard of Edwards,
who often resorts to a passive closed guard instead of using
his length and skill to create scrambles and submission opportunities.
The
offensive dynamism that was once synonymous with the American
Top Team disciple is long gone. In its stead is a pure counter-fighting
style that struggles against anyone willing to take Edwards down.
That’s not to say Edwards is completely hopeless, especially
when taking into account Gunderson’s tendency to fall apart
when he can’t impose his kind of fight. In his bout with
Rafaello Oliveira, any semblance of offense disappeared for Gunderson
as soon as Oliveira took top control and that was hardly the
first time he stalled out for 15 minutes straight.
Typically,
that scenario materializes when Gunderson is forced to work off
his back. While Edwards can hit the occasional takedown, he has
never been the type to change levels every chance he gets. Even
worse is Edwards’ frustrating passivity on the feet, which
keeps him from landing anything significant and simultaneously
gives his opponents plenty of time to line up a takedown.
If
nothing else, Gunderson won’t fight to his own detriment,
and that right there is why he’s going to win this fight.
There is no question that Edwards is more versatile and dynamic,
but that’s of little use when he’s standing outside
the pocket flicking the occasional jab. It won’t be the
most aesthetically pleasing fight ever, but Gunderson should
be able to grind out a decision win.
Source: Sherdog |
Warren:
Dream 16 Bout with Omigawa Not Happening
One
of the top fights slated for Dream 16 on Sept. 25 in Nagoya,
Japan, was a featherweight matchup pitting the world-ranked Michihiro
Omigawa against newly crowned Bellator Fighting Championships
featherweight titleholder Joe Warren.
However,
during an appearance on the Sherdog Radio Network’s Savage
Dog Show on Friday, Warren said he will not face Omigawa at the
event.
“It
doesn’t look like I’m fighting in Japan,” said
Warren, who knocked out Joe Soto at Bellator 27 in San Antonio
to win his title. “It just didn’t work out very well.
We didn’t come to an agreement, and it didn’t look
like it was the best opportunity for me at that time. I thought
it was, but it just isn’t going to go down.”
Even
though the fight with Omigawa did not materialize, Warren --
a Greco-Roman wrestler who won gold medals at the 2006 Pan-Am
Games, the 2006 FILA Wrestling World Championships and the 2007
Wrestling World Cup -- hopes to have two more fights before the
end of the year.
“We’re
training hard right now,” Warren said. “I have Kit
Cope in town teaching me how to not get hit and land some punches.
I need to keep fighting and keep getting better. I probably won’t
fight until November or December, so that will give me two months
to get ready, and the best way to learn how to fight is by fighting.
I’m still young, still healthy and injury-free.”
“
I’d be a lot more comfortable
at 135, but there’s more money
for me at 145.
”
-- Joe Warren on weight classes.
The
33-year-old Warren burst onto the MMA scene in March 2009, debuting
with a first-round technical knockout win over former World Extreme
Cagefighting bantamweight champion Chase Beebe. He then outpointed
Japanese star Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto. After a submission
loss to Bibiano Fernandes at Dream 11 in October, he posted four
wins in five months in 2010 en route to winning Bellator’s
second season featherweight tournament and take the title from
Soto.
“The
way I won both [world titles in wrestling and MMA] -- the hard
work I put in and the sacrifices -- makes them mean a lot,”
Warren said. “To me, there’s a special place for both
of them. It’s real exciting to win the fighting world championship
the way I did with the knockout. I hadn’t had one, and both
have a special place in my heart. Now, I get an opportunity to
sit on top and train for these fights and be ready.
Warren
likes life as a front runner.
“It’s
a lot easier when you’re on top,” he said. “I’m
used to being on top, so it’s been a different role for
me to have to fight my way up. I’m really happy to have
a belt in MMA and be able to get an opportunity to keep defending
it.”
Warren’s
mixed martial arts fights have come at featherweight, but a drop
to the 135-pound weight class may be in his future, especially
after he attempts to make the 2012 Olympic wrestling team at
60 kilograms (132 pounds). He said he will continue to pursue
MMA training while he tries to qualify for the Olympics.
“I’d
be a lot more comfortable at 135, but there’s more money
for me at 145,” Warren said. “In four years, I’ll
be too old to [try to make an Olympic team], so the time to push
is now. I’ve been lucky that I’ve had no injuries to
keep me from training or keep me off the mat. We’re confident
with what we have going on. I’m still training at the Olympic
Training Center, and I’m focused on that. I’m still
focused on winning in fighting, as well.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Ryan
Bader in three different angles
On
September 25 in Indianapolis the undefeated Ryan Bader (11 fights)
will face off with Rogério Minotouro in the octagon at
UFC 119. Winner of the 8th season of “The Ultimate Fighter”
reality show, Bader was coached by Minotouro’s twin brother
Rodrigo Minotauro. A declared Minotauro fan, now the wrestling
specialist will be gunning for the brother.
“He’s
a great fighter and great person. I respect what he’s done
for the sport a lot. But I’m on my own path and now I need
to beat him. He’s great on the ground and at boxing, but
he doesn’t kick that much. His weakest part is his wrestling,
as he showed against Jason Brilz (Minotouro’s last opponent),
when he got caught in a guillotine. I can definitely beat him,”
Bader told the Fighters Only magazine website.
Bader
knows what he needs to improve on to overcome Nogueira.
“The
ground game comes naturally to me, but I have a harder time with
striking. I’m working on striking five days a week. I have
excellent boxing and muay thai coaches and I’ve made great
progress,” he says.
However,
Rogério has an ace up his sleeve for the bout. Big brother
Minotauro knows well Bader’s secrets.
“I
coached him at the UFC house and he won. I like him, he’s
good at wrestling, has a heavy hand, but I feel Rogério
is more experienced and has a better ground game and better striking.
He’s better at wrestling, but Rogério is having a
really good phase and wants to fight for the title,” Minotauro
told GRACIEMAG.com.
Rogério
Minotouro also knows what he needs to watch out for with his
opponent.
“He’s
a really tough guy who combines wrestling with striking well.
He’s a top opponent. It’ll be a tough fight, but I’ll
go after him with Jiu-Jitsu and boxing. I’ll have to use
my Jiu-Jitsu a lot in the fight; that’ll be one weapon,
but my boxing is good, too,” he wagered.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
“Dos
Santos will be better on the title fight”
With
six wins on the six fights he did on the UFC’s octagon,
Junior “Cigano” dos Santos will now have the dream
chance of every fighter: the UFC belt. Waiting for the winner
of the fight between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez, the coach
Luis Carlos Dórea shows confidence on his pupil, believing
he will be even better when it comes the time for him to fight
for the belt.
“He’s
expecting to see who he’ll confront because they’re
two great athletes, the fight would be tough against any of them…
I always say: he’s constantly evolving, so you’ll see
him a lot better than before, with willingness, personality,
a real warrior… He knows that it’ll be worth the title
and he’ll do everything in his power in order to win this.
After this fight, he’ll be the champion”, bets Dórea,
on a chat with TATAME, without pointing out a favorite on the
duel between Lesnar and Velasquez.
“It’ll
be a very tough fight, light all fights are… Cain doesn’t
go for it too much, does his game and it’s pretty efficient,
and Brock Lesnar is very strong, dangerous… It’ll be
a tough fight for both of them. I can’t say much now, it’ll
be a tough fight and let’s see who is the best fighter in
there”, comments.
Glad
with the work of his heavyweight, Dórea compliments the
journey he had to roam until the title shot. “He deserves
all of this because of everything he’s been doing. There’re
six wins in six fights, five of them by knockout, four of them
on the first round… He’s an athlete who had evolved
a lot, started against a great athlete, (Fabrício) Werdum,
winning by KO… Cigano only had tough ones on his way, but
there’s no easy one on UFC. He’s been tested several
times and now I think the time has come. He showed his abilities
while standing up, he proved himself to be very strong. Six fights,
six critical wins”, celebrates.
Source: Tatame
|
“JZ”
and Thomson comment on fight worth title shot
Gesias
Cavalcante and Josh Thomson are set to lock horns at the October
9 Strikeforce event in San Jose, California. Better still, according
to the promoters, the winner of the bout will be to challenge
for the lightweight title now held by Gilbert Melendez.
Since
establishing himself as one of the world’s best lightweights,
two-time K-1 GP winner Cavalcante went through a period of inconsistency
in his career. Besides a string of injuries, he suffered one
no contest and a loss to Shinya Aoki and another to Tatsuya Kawajiri.
In his last outing, “JZ” had a rough time, but managed
to beat Katsunori Kikuno by split decision in the Dream promotion.
“I
feel I could have had a better performance in my last fight,
but it was my first appearance after a long time on ice; I was
rusty. But now, I feel great and I’m excited about being
back doing what I love to do. I train hard against good guys
every day,” remarks the ATT representative.
After
years fighting in Japan, the fighter is pleased to be back fighting
in the USA, where he lives. And having the crowd against him
doesn’t bother him.
“I’m
happy to be 100% healthy and fighting in America. When the bell
rings, it’ll be just Thomson and me in there. It’s
a tremendous opportunity to reestablish myself, against a former
world champion. The fight is really important. The winner should
fight for the Strikeforce title,” he says jubilantly.
Thomson
won’t make things easy, especially as he wants his belt
back. The fighter has nine submission- and four knockout-wins
out of seventeen triumphs and three losses. He has beaten athletes
like Hermes França and Melendez, the current champion,
with one win apiece.
“The
fans expect me to fight guys of JZ’s caliber and I, too,
want to fight the best lightweights. Now Strikeforce has a ton
of fighters in the division. There will always be talk about
a third fight with Gilbert, but that will only happen at the
right time,” he comments.
“I
need to keep winning, though. There are a number of great fights
for me, and this is definitely one of them,” he adds.
Other
promising matchups featured on the Strikeforce card are Nick
Diaz’s welterweight title defense against KJ Noons and Sarah
Kaufman’s against Marloes Coenen.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Alexander
posts a great comeback against Sokoudjou at Shark Fights 13
Houston
Alexander got ripped heavily for his final UFC performance. The
generally hard-charging Alexander ran most of his fight against
Kimbo Slice at "The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale". He
got trashed by fans and even UFC president Dana White. Tonight,
against the much bigger Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, he went a long
way in restoring his tough guy reputation. Alexander came back
from a vicious beating in the first, allowed Sokoudjou to tire
himself out and then finished the "African Assassin"
with his own nasty attack in the second. Referee Steve Armstrong
saved the helpless Sokoudjou at 1:31 of the second round at Shark
Fights 13 in Amarillo,Tx.
The
38-year-old Alexander has now won two straight after losing 5-of-6.
"I
don’t know about you guys at home, but that was a big dude.
We got conditioned for this fight. We knew it was going to be
a tough fight," said Alexander
Alexander
(11-6) took the right approach. He maxes out at around 210 pounds
while Sokoudjou is naturally 230. Unfortunately he had to take
a beating early in the fight to really test Sokoudjou's stamina.
Less than 90 seconds into the bout, Sokoujdou drilled Alexander
with a left hook that floored the Nebraskan. From there, Alexander
held on for dear life. He really did, grabbing Sokoudjou's leg.
That left him open for Sokoudjou to land a few dozen shots to
the face and side of his head. Alexander stayed active enough
to ward off the stoppage and more importantly make Sokoudjou
use a massive amount of energy.
Alexander
came out for the second still looking a bit wobbly but it was
clear Sokoudjou's gas tank was on empty. Holding his hands low,
he was an easy target. Alexander backed him up with a combination
followed by a big knee. Smelling blood, Alexander let loose five
overhand rights that put Sokoudjou on his butt. Another 14 shots
and he fell to his side. The fight was over but Armstrong allowed
Alexander to get off an incredible 42 unanswered shots in roughly
20 seconds before stopping it.
"I seen him panting a little bit. But I was conditioned,"
said Alexander when he was asked why he went on the attack.
Alexander,
a huge striker, is still relatively new to the game and pretty
limited when it comes to ground work. He became a fan favorite
in 2007 when he stormed to a pair of upset wins in the UFC. When
other fighters realized that Alexander was basically helpless
on the ground, things went south. Sokoudjou (9-7-1) was the perfect
matchup if he could withstand the Cameroonian's power early in
the fight.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
PRANGLEY
HANDS JARDINE HIS 5TH LOSS IN A ROW
It was supposed to be Keith Jardine's first step back to the
UFC, but Trevor Prangley had other ideas in mind.
Some
tried to label Prangley as a stepping stone for Jardine's eventual
return to the Octagon after being cut following his last fight,
but the South African fighter training out of American Kickboxing
Academy worked a brilliant strategy and came away with a split
decision win.
From
the first second of the fight, Prangley paid special attention
to the odd striking style that Jardine brings to every fight,
but defended it well. Prangley caught Jardine with a glancing
blow early, opening a cut over his eye and the crimson started
to flow. Taking the fight to the ground almost cost Prangley
as Jardine sprung to life with an armbar attempt, but the South
African stayed patient and worked himself free.
Gaining
confidence in his stand-up in the 2nd round, Prangley dropped
Jardine with a big punch that rattled the New Mexico based fighter,
and put him on notice that he wasn't the only one who could end
the fight with a knockout. Prangley admitted after the fight
that he knew the first two rounds were make or break for him
to win the bout.
"He's
unorthodox. I took some punishment in that first and second round,
I know he's got great cardio working at altitude. I knew I had
to win the first two, that was my game plan," Prangley commented.
The
third round was all Jardine as he came to life, knowing that
a finish was probably the only way he'd walk out of Texas a winner.
Jardine came out aggressive and launched forward with punches,
while firing a few body kicks, but nothing landed with much impact
and Prangley survived the round.
Coming
back from a loss against Tim Kennedy in his last fight in Strikeforce,
Prangley was sympathetic to Jardine's situation, as the former
top ten light heavyweight drops his fifth fight in a row.
"It's
never satisfying to beat a guy like Keith when he's down on his
luck and he's trying to make his comeback, I'm trying to make
my comeback, we both took a chance," Prangley said after
getting his hand raised in victory.
Following
his win, Prangley took notice of the date, and shared a moment
of silence with the crowd in attendance in remembrance of 9/11.
After thanking the fans, Prangely was quick to point out that
right now he just wants to spend time with his family who he's
been away from for several weeks, and then he'll worry about
what's next after beating Keith Jardine.
"This
is the biggest one in my career," Prangley said about the
win. "For one, moving up a weight class, everyone knows
I'm only a 85lber and to fight a guy of his caliber. Great fighter,
he stood there and ate everything I had to give him."
Possibly
the biggest question following Shark Fights on Saturday night
is where does Keith Jardine go from here? With five losses in
a row, the former "Ultimate Fighter" competitor has
veered far off track from where he wanted to be after his bout
with Prangley, and the answers don’t seem anywhere in sight.
SHARK
FIGHTS 13 FULL RESULTS:
Trevor
Prangley def. Keith Jardine by split decision (29-28, 29-28,
28-29)
Houston Alexander def. Sokoudjou by TKO (strikes) at 1:31, R2
Paul Daley def. Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (30-27,
29-28, 29-28)
Danillo Villefort def. Joey Villasenor by unanimous decision
(30-27 on all cards)
Tarec Saffiedine def. Brock Larson by unanimous decision (30-27
on all cards)
Paul Bradley def. Johnny Rees by submission (rear naked choke),
at 4:28, R1
Ronnie Mann def. Doug Evans by split decision (48-47, 48-47,
47-48)
Aaron Rosa def. Devin Cole by unanimous decision (29-28 on all
cards)
Daniel Strauss def. Karen Darabedyan by unanimous decision
Eric Davilla def. Pete Spratt by submission (guillotine choke)
at 3:49, R2
Source: MMA Weekly |
ASIAN
EXPANSION: SEARCHING FOR UFC'S YAO MING
The UFC's global expansion has been a major goal of both UFC
president Dana White and co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta over the last
few years. The latest move the company made was hiring former
NBA Asia executive Mark Fischer to run the UFC's Asian offices,
and begin the process of bringing MMA and the UFC to China and
other locations around Asia.
Fischer,
who spent 12 years working with the NBA, specifically expanding
its Asian reach, was a major piece to add to the puzzle. With
his limitless knowledge of the way businesses must work to succeed
in places like China, the UFC has a specific game plan in mind.
After
being introduced at UFC 118 in Boston, Fischer got to work immediately
on the long-term goals of the promotion. He wants to make it
clear right way that it won't be a fast process, but over time
the UFC can be successful in Asia.
"I
think initially we're focused on media exposure, forming up some
of our television and Internet media coverage, getting the sport
out to as many fans as possible, and then we'll move on to the
next steps which will be events down the road. It won't be events
right away," Fischer said recently.
Admitting
that China is definitely the largest market to strive for, Fischer
also knows that it's not a place where pay-per-view has been
successful yet. Sports fans in China are not accustomed to paying
for content. So the UFC will have to take different approaches
to gain traction there.
As
UFC president Dana White announced with Fischer's arrival, the
company is hopeful to be in over 500 million homes across Asia
in time. The new head of the UFC's Asian office says that those
numbers are certainly attainable, but it won't happen overnight.
"I
think that's a rough number of the initial potential that we
could go after over the next two years. We could probably get
that reached pretty quickly," Fischer commented. "Asia
is home to 3 billion people, and a billion plus are in China,
and the fact there sort if already is a very high aptitude towards
martial arts. Not necessarily MMA, but I think that's an easy
conversion, just given the roots of martial arts in Asia."
After
several years of research and development, the NBA finally launched
the NBA China in 2008 after a $253 million investment. The payoff
of course will be the estimated $2 billion the company will rake
in following that investment. In 2008 alone, the NBA generated
$50 million in profits from China, and that number is expected
to continue to grow.
Time
is the key, according to Fischer, who knows that other sports
like soccer, while extremely popular in China, have not put down
roots there because of the financial commitment they have to
make to succeed there. He says that's the difference with the
UFC, they are willing to invest on what they hope will be a lucrative
return.
"We
need to be sort of humble and conservative in our projections
initially. There certainly will be push back from different sources,
whether it's the government here or some private companies that
see us as competition, maybe have vested interests there, and
so we're going to have our challenges. I think long term though,
the potential is fantastic," Fischer said.
One
major piece to the NBA puzzle that helped push China to the next
level was the introduction of Yao Ming to the sport in 2002.
While his career flourished and then floundered in the NBA, Chinese
fans rallied behind its native son when he played in the NBA.
Fischer
believes there will be just such a star to be discovered for
the UFC in China, but he also points to stars from the NBA like
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who are household names in China.
He believes UFC fighters can achieve that same level of success.
"Yao
Ming was a great catalyst. I think we'll find our Yao Ming eventually
in China, and there are some very good Japanese and Korean fighters
already in the UFC, and we want to build on that. As we go across
Asia, we'll find others," Fischer stated.
In
the short term as far as bringing the live UFC product to Asia,
the new head of the Asian office named locations like Hong Kong,
Taiwan, and Singapore as possible homes to the UFC.
Source: MMA Weekly |
ROUSIMAR
PALHARES: THE SPIDER AND THE FLY
"Will you walk into my parlor," said the Spider to
the Fly.
It's
a rare moment in Rousimar Palhares' career when the Brazilian
will face another grappler with similar credentials to his own
in the world of jiu-jitsu. Known for his incredible ground acumen,
Palhares will deal with Nate Marquardt at UFC Fight Night 22
on Wednesday. He believes their similar backgrounds will play
to his advantage.
Palhares
and Marquardt have both trained under legendary jiu-jitsu coaches
in their careers, and while the Brazilian may have more accomplishments
in the grappling world, he knows that his opponent is a dangerous
fighter on the ground as well.
Actually,
Palhares is counting on finding out just how dangerous Marquardt
is on the ground. While most fighters avoid that position with
him at all costs, he believes the former UFC middleweight title
challenger will play right into his trap.
"To
me, the fact that he does have a black belt in jiu-jitsu means
that he will accept to play that game with me, and I find it
easier for myself when I fight people with that kind of a background,
where they actually engage in jiu-jitsu with me," Palhares
said recently.
Prior
to this fight, Palhares had to deal with a brief suspension following
his fight with Tomasz Drwal when the New Jersey State Athletic
Commission felt he held on to his heel hook submission for too
long when finishing the fight. He sat out for 90 days.
A
master of leg locks and submissions, Palhares has recorded five
career wins by heel hook or ankle lock, and takes exception to
the commission's declaration that he's somehow a dirty fighter
or looking to injure his opponents.
"I
think it was unfair," Palhares stated about the suspension.
"I didn't have any intention to hurt my opponent. In my
opinion unfortunately the referee was too far from us, and took
too long to interrupt the fight. If he was faster nothing (like
that) would happen."
Fighters
are taught to always continue until the referee steps in to stop
the action, and Palhares isn't letting past events get into his
head going into the Marquardt fight. He also has the wisdom of
his coach and mentor Murilo Bustamante rolling through his head
after a similar situation cost him a submission during his UFC
career.
In
a 2002 fight against Matt Lindland, Bustamante had to deal with
a confusing non-stoppage when he cranked an armbar on the former
Olympian. Referee John McCarthy saw a tap, and started to step
in, but then let the fight continue. By that time, Bustamante
had released the hold and had to wait until the third round to
finally catch Lindland with another submission.
It's
those life lessons that Bustamante passed down to his prized
pupil that guarantee Palhares won't let that situation ever come
back to haunt him in a fight.
"I
hold until the referee stop the fight," Palhares commented.
"That's what Murilo always tell me to do it, because he
had bad experience before on this subject."
Palhares
will look for submissions at every moment in the fight with Marquardt,
and in the end, he hopes his hand is raised once again and it
gets him closer to his ultimate goal...
...a
shot at the UFC middleweight title.
A
victory over Marquardt would put him razor close to that very
goal.
"I
think it would be a big step in my career," said Palhares.
"It is my dream, but I know I have to be ready when this
time come."
Palhares
faces Marquardt in the main event of UFC Fight Night 22 on Wednesday
in Austin, Texas.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Rankings:
Mayweather-style MMA
Call
them the “Stick ‘n’ Move Kids,” the “Dart
and Dash Duo,” or whatever nicknames of various wit levels
you can conjure. Just make sure you also call Dominick Cruz and
Frankie Edgar “champ,” as the practitioners of what
one might call “Mayweather MMA” cemented their holds
on their respective titles with a pair of decision victories
in August.
Cruz,
in his first defense of the WEC bantamweight title, scored a
split-decision victory in a rematch over Joseph Benavidez. The
tightly contested match turned on Cruz’s ability to keep
Benavidez from scoring major damage, while also landing enough
takedowns to sway two wrestling-happy judges.
Edgar,
meanwhile, flustered B.J. Penn at UFC 118, solidifying his claim
to the UFC lightweight title. By the start of the third round,
Penn, who dropped out of the Top 10 for the first time in the
poll’s three-year history, looked like a beaten man, and
Edgar cruised his way in and out of range en route to a unanimous
decision.
Whether
this is good for the sport is up for debate. Who came out of
August with more buzz: Chael Sonnen, who dominated Anderson Silva
for four rounds before making a mistake and losing? Or Edgar
and Cruz? And of the three, who do you think the fans are most
likely to plunk down $50 to watch next time out?
But
there’s no denying that what either fighter does is effective.
The duo is a combined 29-2. Cruz has never been beaten in his
weight class and Edgar will face the only man who has defeated
him, Gray Maynard, in his next title defense.
Of
course, the media is always quick to declare MMA’s next
big wave. Lyoto Machida’s counterstriking style was supposed
to revolutionize the game, but Mauricio Rua came along with the
antidote. Whether “Mayweather MMA” is here to stay
or is simply 2010’s answer to 2009’s Machida Era remains
to be seen.
This
month’s voting panel: Denny Burkholder, CBSSports.com; Elias
Cepeda, Inside Fighting; Steve Cofield, Cagewriter and ESPN Radio
1100 Las Vegas; Neil Davidson Yahoo! Sports; Dave Doyle Yahoo!
Sports; Ben Fowlkes, SportsIllustrated.com and MMAFighting.com;
Josh Gross, SportsIllustrated.com; Ariel Helwani, Versus.com
and MMAFighting.com; Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports; Damon Martin,
MMAWeekly.com; Todd Martin, freelance; John Morgan, MMAjunkie.com;
Franklin McNeil, ESPN.com; Brad McCray, freelance; Dave Meltzer,
Yahoo! Sports; and The Wrestling Observer; Brett Okamoto, The
Las Vegas Sun; Ken Pishna, MMAWeekly.com; Michael David Smith,
MMAFighting.com; Dann Stupp, MMAjunkie.com; and The Dayton Daily
News.
Scoring:
10 points for a first-place vote, nine points for second, etc.,
down to 1 point for a 10th-place vote. Fighters who are under
suspension for usage of performance-enhancing substances or drugs
of abuse are ineligible to be considered for the duration of
their suspensions; fighters who have been inactive for more than
12 months are ineligible for consideration until after the completion
of their next fight.
10.
Brock Lesnar
Points: 33
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Heavyweight (UFC heavyweight champion)
Hometown: Webster, S.D.
Record: 5-1 (won past four)
Last month’s ranking: unranked
Most recent result: def. Shane Carwin, R2 TKO, July 3
Analysis: On paper, Lesnar’s next opponent, Cain Velasquez,
is undersized. But that hasn’t deterred Velasquez up to
this point.
9.
Jake Shields
Points: 44
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Welterweight (never lost Strikeforce middleweight
title)
Hometown: San Francisco
Record: 25-4-1 (has won past 14)
Last month’s ranking: 9
Most recent result: def. Dan Henderson, unanimous decision, April
17
Analysis: Will Shields be the next non-UFC Top 10 fighter to
flop, or will he justify the hype next month in his debut against
Martin Kampmann?
8.
Lyoto Machida
Points: 54
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Hometown: Belem, Brazil
Record: 16-1 (lost previous fight)
Last month’s ranking: 8
Most recent result: lost to Mauricio Rua, R1 TKO, May 8
Analysis: It’s always interesting to see how a fighter rebounds
from his first knockout, and in Quinton Jackson, Machida will
be facing a man with heavy hands.
7.
Dominick Cruz
Points: 57
Affiliation: WEC
Weight class: Bantamweight (WEC bantamweight champion)
Hometown: San Diego
Record: 16-1 (has won past seven)
Last month’s ranking: 10
Most recent result: def. Joseph Benavidez, split decision, Aug.
18
Analysis: Is going to hold the bantamweight belt until someone
literally catches him.
6.
Fedor Emelianenko
Points: 67
Affiliation: Strikeforce/M-1
Weight class: Heavyweight
Hometown: Stary Oskol, Russia
Record: 31-2, one no-contest (lost past 1)
Last month’s ranking: 5
Most recent result: lost to Fabricio Werdum, R1 submission, June
26
Analysis: Stop us if you’ve heard this before: “The
Last Emperor” has matchup on his horizon.
5.
Frank Edgar
Points: 103
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Lightweight (UFC lightweight champion)
Hometown: Toms River, N.J.
Record: 13-1 (has won past five)
Last month’s ranking: 6
Most recent result: def. B.J. Penn, unanimous decision, August
28
Analysis:If nothing else, Edgar-Maynard could prove MMA’s
version of the irresistible force vs. the immovable object.
4.
Mauricio Rua
Points: 115
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Light heavyweight (UFC light heavyweight champion)
Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Record: 19-4 (won previous fight)
Last month’s ranking: 4
Most recent result: def. Lyoto Machida, R1 TKO, May 8
Analysis: Still on the shelf with a knee injury.
3.
Jose Aldo
Points: 145
Affiliation: WEC
Weight class: Featherweight (WEC featherweight champion)
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro
Record: 17-1 (has won past 10)
Last month’s ranking: 3
Most recent result: def. Urijah Faber, unanimous decision, April
24
Analysis:Manny Gamburyan is fearless and likes to throw; if nothing
else, Aldo-Gamburyan should be an entertaining scrap while it
lasts.
2.
Anderson Silva
Points: 175 (7 first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Middleweight (UFC middleweight champion)
Hometown: Curitiba, Brazil
Record: 27-4 (has won past 12)
Last month’s ranking: 2
Most recent result: def. Chael Sonnen, R5 submission, Aug. 7
Analysis: Appears to be headed toward a Sonnen rematch.
1.
Georges St. Pierre
Points: 182 (11 first-place votes)
Affiliation: UFC
Weight class: Welterweight (UFC welterweight champion)
Hometown: Saint-Isidore, Quebec
Record: 20-2 (has won past seven)
Last month’s ranking: 1
Most recent result: def. Dan Hardy, unanimous decision, March
27
Analysis:December title defense against Josh Koscheck will be
in Montreal, near St. Pierre’s hometown, adding to his already
considerable advantages.
More
•
Votes for others: Jon Fitch 25, B.J. Penn 11, Gilbert Melendez
8, Rashad Evans 6, Chael Sonnen, Cain Velasquez 4, Gray Maynard
3, Jon Jones, Joseph Benavidez 2, Nick Diaz 1.
•
Upcoming matches for Top 10 fighters: No. 3 Jose Aldo vs. Manny
Gamburyan, Sept. 30.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Can
Oliveira capitalize on red-hot UFC start?
Charles
Oliveira, the youngest fighter currently on the UFC roster, couldn’t
have had a more impressive UFC debut than what happened on Aug.
1 at the UFC on Versus event in San Diego.
Oliveira,
an unbeaten 20-year-old from Sao Paolo, Brazil, came in with
no fanfare for a prelim match with Darren Elkins, who came into
the fight with an 11-1 record. Oliveira was taken down with a
hard slam right away, and immediately went for a triangle choke,
which was blocked.
But
fast as a speeding bullet, Oliveira reversed his legs with a
triangle using the other leg, and secured an armbar at the same
time for the submission. All of this went down in 41 seconds,
“Yes,
the first fight I had in UFC was very quick,” said Oliveira,
speaking through interpreter Fred Magalhaes. “I don’t
feel no weakness or anything. So I was in very good shape.”
“I
tried a triangle,” said Oliveira. “It wasn’t there,
so I locked on an armbar. It was just a natural thing.”
That
got him a $40,000 submission of the night bonus, which also resulted
in UFC airing the fight later on the live broadcast of the show.
In taking no damage, Oliveira was called upon for a quick turnaround
and will fight Wednesday night at a live UFC event on Spike TV
from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Tex.
Oliveira
is in the semi-main event of the show, against Ultimate Fighter
season eight winner Efrain Escudero (13-1), a slot he got when
Escudero’s original opponent, Matt Wiman, pulled out due
an injury.
“We
got back to Brazil, where we continued training and when I heard
the news about fighting right away,” he said. “I was
already training anyway.”
“I
think it’s a great fight,” said Escudero. “I think
it’s going to be an excellent fight. I think he’s,
you know, it’s his time to shine and all. He’s coming
off a good win and he’s trying to move up the ladder. So
for us to step into the octagon, I think it’s going to be
a real good fight.”
‘This
is very good, but you know, you want to fight in the best event
with the best of the best,” said Oliveira. “And you’ve
got to take short notice (fights) like that. This is normal.”
Escudero
is a good measuring stick to find out where Oliveira, in his
third trip to the U.S. [he had a 2009 fight in Atlantic City
for the Ring of Combat promotion] truly stands.
Thus
far, Oliveira on paper looks like the lightweight version of
someone like Jon Jones. He started fighting only two-and-a-half
years ago, and is listed as having a 13-0 record. But all but
two of his fights have been in Brazil, where record keeping isn’t
perfect.
Oliveira
himself said there was an eight-man tournament that he won that
isn’t listed, and his record would be 16-0, with only one
match so far that has reached the third round.
But
walking into UFC and wowing everyone in your debut is hardly
a guarantee of long-term success. You can look no farther than
Todd Duffee, who set the fastest knockout record in his debut,
or Houston Alexander, who destroyed ranked fighter Keith Jardine,
as people who shocked the UFC fan base on their first times in
the Octagon. But neither lasted in the organization.
Rameau
Thierry Sokoudjou in PRIDE did the same thing, destroying two
top-ten fighters in a minute, but never lived up to his promise
after those fights.
But
although young when it comes to career length, Oliveira comes
in with more actual fight experience than any of the other “phenoms,”
largely due to competing and winning four different one-night
tournaments in Brazil, two eight-mans and two four-mans, all
as a teenager.
“They
were three rounds, five minutes a round,” he said, unlike
U.S. tournaments that usually feature shortened matches if people
have to fight more than once in an evening.
In
theory, that could have required as much as 45 minutes of fighting
in one night. That type of tournament, a throwback to the early
days of UFC, wouldn’t even be allowed in most states. But
with Oliveira’s quick finishes, the longest he’s gone
in winning a tournament has been just over 16 minutes.
Oliveira’s
base is jiu-jitsu, which he started when he was brought by his
uncle to Eric Cardoso’s gym in Guaraja, Brazil, near Sao
Paolo, at the age of 12. But he’s hardly one dimensional,
making it clear he’s an MMA fighter, not a jiu-jitsu fighter
doing MMA. His record says the same thing, with six knockout
finishes to go with his six submission finishes.
Escudero,
24, a junior college All-American wrestler in 2007, won his first
12 pro fights, as well as the TUF championship, before suffering
his first setback on Jan. 11 against Evan Dunham. While not the
exact same finish, Dunham’s win came in a similar manner
as Oliveira’s win, starting as a triangle, and then switching
to an armbar. Dunham was somewhat unheralded going into that
fight, but since he followed with a win over Tyson Griffin, and
is now among the top lightweights in UFC. Escudero came back
at UFC 114 on May 29 in Las Vegas with a decision win over Dan
Lauzon in a fight that was less than thrilling.
The
switch of opponents came in mid-August, so Escudero said that
was plenty of time to change up his game plan for a very different
opponent.
“It
was a month out, so I had enough time,” he said. “It
was all in a 48-hour window span (the change of opponents) where
everything moved so quickly, and for me, we’re worried about
what we’re bringing to the table. We’re not worried
on what they’re going to bring to the table. We’re
making them fight our fight, and we’re going to go out there
and do our job.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
PAUL
DALEY: I'D LOVE TO FIGHT NICK DIAZ
The news of Paul Daley's signing with Strikeforce may have been
a bit premature, but that's not to say he won't end up there
after his bout on Saturday night in Shark Fights where he faces
Jorge Masvidal.
Appearing
on MMAWeekly Radio Thursday night, Daley says that there have
been talks with Strikeforce, and he hopes to make an announcement
about his next deal shortly after Saturday's fight.
The
opportunities for Daley are plentiful, and as a top ten welterweight
there are always going to be challenges for him in any organization.
One particular fight that interests the British bomber is a potential
Strikeforce welterweight title shot against reigning champion
Nick Diaz.
Daley
has never been short on words for any opponent, but in Diaz he
sees someone he respects tremendously, and he considers himself
a fan. Still, he knows if the two of them end up in the cage
together it would be fireworks.
"Nick
Diaz – great fighter. It took me a while to come round to
it. As a person people say he's a bit of a (expletive), that
sort of stuff, but as a fighter I'm a huge Nick Diaz fan,"
Daley said. "A lot of people say stuff about his boxing
and everything, I think he's a fantastic boxer. He's one of my
favorite fighters at the moment."
Diaz
is currently awaiting his first official title defense as Strikeforce
champion when he faces K.J. Noons on Oct. 9 in San Jose, Calif.
Daley believes Diaz will still be holding his belt after that
night, and also confesses he's not much of a fan of Noons.
"K.J.
Noons, I wouldn't say he's one of my favorite fighters. I don't
think too much of him, and I think Nick Diaz should put him away
pretty easily," Daley commented.
Since
exiting the UFC, Daley's biggest hope has been to find the biggest
fights against the toughest opponents. He says Diaz is exactly
that type of fighter, and he hopes the match-up can be put together.
"We'll
see where I'm at because I'd love to fight Nick Diaz," Daley
said. "Outside of the UFC, he's probably the biggest name
out there, most highly rated. I think he's a badass, and I want
to test myself."
Rocketing
into the top ten after blasting Martin Kampmann and Dustin Hazelett
in back-to-back fights, Daley has earned his spot among the best
welterweights in the world. A fight against Diaz would be another
big test for Daley, and he welcomes the chance.
"I'm
looking for fights that are going to motivate me. I'm not short
of motivation because I love fighting, but I'm looking for something
that will give me that extra intensity, and make me want to lock
myself away and make me want to give 110 percent in everything
that I'm doing. I think Nick Diaz would be a great fight for
me," Daley stated.
"If
that could happen at some point in the future, I'd really look
forward to it."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
FICKETT
SWEEPS SHINE FIGHTS WITH THREE FINISHES
UFC veteran Drew Fickett, who couldn’t win a fight in five
tries in 2009, won three fights in a single night at Shine Fights
Lightweight Grand Prix at First Council Casino in Newkirk, Okla.
Despite
having to overcome many hurdles, which began with the fight night
cancellation of its May event, Shine Fights went off without
a hitch on Friday night, Fickett taking top honors in the one-night,
eight-man tournament.
Not
only did Fickett run the gamut, he submitted all three of his
opponents in the first round. He choked out Charles “Krazy
Horse” Bennett to start the night off, then Dennis Bermudez,
and then a reinstated Carlo Prater in the tournament finale.
As
often happens in one-night tournaments, Charlie Brown, winning
his reserve bout over Brian van Hoven, subbed into the semifinals
when Kyle Baker had to withdraw due to facial lacerations.
He
was supposed to face WEC veteran Rich Crunkilton, but the AKA
fighter withdrew due to a rib injury. So Prater, who lost a split
decision to Crunkilton, was called upon to face Brown.
Prater
won the bout by majority decision, earning the berth to the final,
where he was submitted by Fickett.
The
Shine Fights Lightweight Grand Prix took place at the First Council
Casino on tribal land when the promotion was unable to secure
sanctioning for its tournament format.
Grand
Prix Final:
-Drew Fickett def. Carlo Prater by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 2:02 R1
Grand
Prix Semifinals:
-Carlo Prater def. Charlie Brown by Majority Decision
-Drew Fickett def. Dennis Bermudez by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 2:02, R1
Grand
Prix Opening Round:
-Rich Crunkilton def. Carlo Prater by Split Decision
-Kyle Baker def. James Warfield by Split Decision
-Dennis Bermudez def. Shannon Gugerty by Unanimous Decision
-Drew Fickett def. Charles Bennett by Submission (Guillotine
Choke) at 3:34, R1
Grand
Prix Reserve Bout:
-Charlie Brown def. Brian van Hoven by Majority Decision
Source: MMA Weekly
|
VILLASENOR
GLAD FOR SHARK FIGHTS, EYES TOURNEY
Joey Villasenor is facing a last minute opponent change at Saturday
night's Shark Fights pay-per-view event in Amarillo, Texas.
He
was originally slated to face UFC veteran Drew McFedries, but
a last minute swap finds him stepping in with Danillo Villefort
instead.
It’s
no matter, Villasenor is just thankful to be fighting, period.
Despite being under contract with Strikeforce, he has had only
two bouts in the past two and a half years. That’s just
not enough, so Strikeforce gave him permission to take a bout
with Shark Fights.
“I
think that sometimes (as fighters) we're just looked at as commodities
and we sell shows and stuff and we're a dime a dozen to a business
sometimes,” said Villasenor, venting. “What people
don't realize is that this is our full time job. When I get paid,
I have to pay three people. I have to pay two of my coaches and
a manager and I take home what's left.
“It's
really tough to take care of your bills and take care of the
people that are taking care of you and pursue fighting.
It's been real frustrating, but at the same time I gotta keep
in perspective that this is sports and these types of things
happen.”
Villasenor
is a known fighter with an exciting style, but he’s fallen
into a journeyman’s role, where the paydays are good, but
not good enough to fight an average of once per year.
“I
guess it wouldn't be so bad if I was making a million dollars
a fight,” he declared.
“I appreciate Strikeforce. They've heard me and my manager
out many times about wanting to be active. And for them to say
go ahead (and fight for Shark Fights), it relieves a lot of stress
and makes me happy.”
That
doesn’t mean, however, that Villasenor has abandoned his
goals in Strikeforce. His focus is only temporarily shifted to
Villefort. When he’s done after Saturday night’s Shark
Fights bout, he still has goals in mind under the Strikeforce
banner.
Tops
on the list is Strikeforce’s oft talked about middleweight
tournament to declare a top contender to current champion Renaldo
“Jacare” Souza.
“I
would love to be in that tournament. When I look at (my fight
with Jacare) and him being the champ now... He's the champ for
a reason. He beat me fair and square, but I'd love the opportunity
to fight him again. To have the opportunity to fight in the tournament
to be the number one contender, that'd be great.”
And
whether he’s granted a slot in the tournament or not, Villasenor
still has another fight mapped out as part of the remaining agenda
for 2010.
“A
goal I set for this year is three fights for this year. If I
can do that, I'm going to be riding great momentum.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
GRABOWSKI
VS. KONRAD AT BELLATOR 29
Bellator Fighting Championships on Saturday confirmed that undefeated
polish sensation Damian “Polish Pitbull” Grabowski
(13-0) will take on two-time NCAA Division I heavyweight wrestling
champion Cole “The Polar Bear” Konrad (5-0) in a Season
3 Heavyweight Tournament fight taking place at Bellator 29 at
the Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee, Wisc., on Sept. 16.
Bellator
29 will mark the first nationally televised, sanctioned MMA event
to take place in the state of Wisconsin.
“Both
of these guys are undefeated and have been impressive against
tough opposition up to this point in their careers,” said
Bellator Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “On Sept. 16 in
Milwaukee only one of these fast-rising heavyweights will move
on to a spot in the upcoming Bellator Heavyweight Championship
fight.”
Making
his U.S. debut at Bellator 25, Grabowski faced off against the
dangerous ground-and-pound specialist Scott Barrett in quarterfinal
action. Barrett was aggressive with his takedown attempts out
of the gate, but “The Polish Pitbull” withstood the
early barrage and took control of the fight as the clock ticked
down. Following 15 minutes of back-and-forth action, a unanimous
decision was awarded to the more aggressive Grabowski, keeping
his perfect record intact.
Entering
this fight with Konrad and coming off of the impressive victory
over Barrett, Grabowski is confident, but humble.
“I
treat every fight like it’s my first,” said Grabowski.
“I don’t even like to think about what I have done
in my past, because it’s all about what I can do in the
future as a professional MMA fighter.”
Now
making his home in Chicago, Grabowski has taken to American life
well, and only has one thing on his mind.
“Nothing
in my life is more important than winning this tournament and
becoming a Bellator Champion. I have never trained harder for
an event, and my only focus is becoming the greatest fighter
in Bellator,” said Grabowski.
Konrad
is also entering the cage after picking up the biggest victory
of his career at Bellator 25, where the Wisconsin native and
close training partner of UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar
made use of his world class wrestling pedigree while dominating
Spanish submission ace Rogent Lloret on his way to the unanimous
decision victory.
Konrad
realizes the chance to become the first Bellator heavyweight
champion is within reach, and has no intention of allowing this
opportunity to slip away.
“Becoming
Champion would be huge,” said a confident Konrad. “Having
started my career last January, to win a tournament like this
would be a great progression in my career. To have this semifinal
match in Wisconsin makes it even more special because you have
your family and friends around for support, and it gets you revved
up.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
‘Chiquerim’
wants to debut on UFC soon
Weeks
before his UFC debut, Willamy “Chiquerim” Freire suffered
a knee injury and was forced to leave his fight with Thiago Tavares.
After the period on which he stayed away, the lightweight from
Nova União is back to the trainings and excited for his
debut on the octagon.
“I’m
almost 100%, there’s only physiotherapy section and I think
I’ll be back in November, if that’s what God wants
to”, Chiquerim told TATAME, revealing he was upset about
the situation. “It was hard for me, it have never happened
to me before in my life. I never had to drop a fight in any event
due to an injury, but I’m an athlete and this happens”.
Despite
of being waiting for a confirmation of his opponent and date
of the fight, Willamy reveals he is waiting for a foreigner opponent,
once Thiago, his original opponent, had a fight scheduled with
Pat Audinwoon (UFC 119). “I really wanted it not to be a
Brazilian, but, if it is, it happens… We have to fight,
right? But I think it’ll be an American... I don’t
know, no one have said anything, but I’m waiting for an
answer”, concluded.
Source: Tatame
|
Charles
trains with “Macaco” to UFN 22
Confirmed
against Efrain Escudero among the main fights of UFC Fight Night
22, on September 15, the lightweight Charles “do Bronx’s”
Oliveira embarked last Monday to Texas, United States, where
he will do the final phase of his local preparation on Jorge
Patino “Macaco” training center. “I’ll stay
these days before the fight finishing my trainings with Macaco
on his gym in Texas. I trained hard here (in Sao Paulo) with
my family Bronx’s. Cosmo Alexandre helped me a lot and now
is war time”, said the fighter, who debuted on the UFC octagon
with a 41-seconds submission victory.
Source: Tatame
|
DALEY
DIDN'T APPRECIATE DANA'S PINK SLIP DELIVERY
Paul Daley's abrupt exit from the UFC didn't come as a shock
to many after the British fighter took a cheap shot at Josh Koscheck
following their fight at UFC 113 back in May. Even Daley wasn't
surprised to hear the news that he was out of the UFC, he just
didn't like the way the message was delivered.
As
Daley got back to his hotel in Montreal, fans approached him
for pictures and autographs, and it was at that point he was
told the news that he was out of the UFC for good.
"Dana
White's character, I would have expected nothing less than getting
kicked out of the UFC. He could have done it a little more gracefully
and told me personally," Daley said about the incident on
MMAWeekly Radio.
Instead,
he found out from a fan seeking his autograph at the hotel, who
told him, “Dana just said you're never going to fight in
the UFC again.”
That
was the first he had heard of his firing, and just like that
he was out of the UFC.
While
the pink slip was expected, he says even now he's never spoken
to the UFC president, and that was the only disappointing thing
about the whole situation.
"To
this day I've still never heard nothing from Dana," Daley
commented. "With all the talk Dana gives and the attitude
of being a big man that he is, he could have at least came to
my face and said 'Paul, I don't respect what you did, I think
you're an (expletive) or a jerk or whatever, you're not going
to fight here again.'
"But
still to this day, I've had no phone call, no e-mail, no nothing,
so that just goes to show the treatment I received having fought
(Martin) Kampmann at late notice, and fought co-main event on
my second fight in the UFC, and done a bunch of media work for
them in the U.K. There's some things I don't agree with, but
I'm happy to move on."
Daley
tries to avoid talking about the UFC too much simply because
he knows there was life for him before he was there, and he will
survive without them as well. He does believe there is certain
treatment handed out to certain fighters, and he was not one
of them.
"The
UFC is the UFC. It's like a secret society type club, there's
a lot of favoritism going on and all kinds of (expletive),"
Daley explained.
Of
course with other situations that have happened in the past,
despite Dana White's obvious protests, Daley doesn't believe
the door is locked on him returning to the UFC one day. Several
fighters have had ties severed with the UFC only to come back
one day.
Karo
Parisyan was notoriously let go last year after falling out of
a fight. The brash UFC president erupted on Twitter firing the
Armenian fighter, and proclaimed he'd never fight in the Octagon
again. After cleaning up his act and getting a fight outside
the promotion, Parisyan is scheduled to return to the UFC this
November at UFC 123.
Daley
isn't focused on returning to the UFC though, because he believes
there are still plenty of opportunities out there for him and
he's happy to explore his options.
"Obviously,
I'm going to go where the opportunities arrive. In the near future
I don't see myself fighting for the UFC. I've got a few decent
offers on the table. I'm just going to deal with Jorge Masvidal
on Saturday, and then it's on to the next one, but yeah, never
say never," Daley said.
"Not
being in the UFC's not going to sway what I'm destined to be,
and that's to be a champion."
Daley's
next challenge will be a Saturday night showdown with Jorge Masvidal
at Shark Fights 13 in Texas.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BELLATOR
28: LARKIN IMPRESSES, VARNIER GETS PAST CLEMENTI
Carey Vanier picked up an impressive with, albeit with some controversy,
over former UFC lightweight Rich Clementi to move forward with
his hope of getting a slot in the next Bellator Fighting Championships
155lb tournament kicking off in season 4.
Varnier
did well to escape some early submission attempts from a wily
veteran in Clementi, and eventually got the upper hand in the
2nd and 3rd rounds respectively. The controversy stemmed when
Varnier launched a knee strike to Clementi, who was still clearly
on the ground. The fight was paused and Clementi had to deal
with a nasty cut, but the referee didn’t deduct a point
for the illegal strike
In
the end the point may have cost Clementi a win or at least a
draw as he came up short, losing by split decision to Vanier
who will look to make another run in the Bellator lightweight
division.
Former
Arizona State All-American Erik Larkin made more than a few heads
turn with his Bellator debut on Thursday night, as he launched
a head kick that rattled opponent Marcus Andrusia early before
finishing the fight with a guillotine choke just 2:46 into the
first round.
Expected
to be a contender in the next Bellator featherweight tournament,
Larkin let his presence be known to Joe Warren and anyone else
watching his debut that he's for real.
Eric
Schambari halted the momentum Matt Horwich gained after a win
over Thales Leites in his last fight, as he defeated the former
Team Quest fighter by split decision in their middleweight bout.
It was a back and forth battle, but Schambari did enough in the
judges' eyes to get the nod for the win.
FULL
RESULTS FOR BELLATOR 28:
Erik Larkin def. Marcus Andrusia by submission (guillotine choke)
at 2:46, R1
Carey Vanier def. Rich Clementi by split decision (29-28, 29-28,
28-29)
Eric Schambari def. Matt Horwich by split decision (30-27, 30-27,
28-29)
Georgi Karakhanyan def. Anthony Leone by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 29-28)
Tony Roberts def. Kelvin Doss by submission (punches) R1
Jonathan Mackles def. Brock Kerry by split decision
Charlie Rader def. Josh Rafferty by TKO (strikes) R1
Scott O'Shaughnessy def. Gabe Woods by submission (armbar), R3
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
EXPLORING EAST COAST OPTIONS FOR 2011
World Extreme Cagefighting already has its next few shows nailed
down. They head to the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colo., on
Sept. 30, back to the Palms in Las Vegas on Nov. 10, and then
the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Az., in December.
Much
like its counterpart, the UFC, the WEC isn’t sitting idle
on those three events. WEC general manager Reed Harris told MMAWeekly.com
on Friday that they are already looking ahead to another event,
likely to fall either the week before or the week after the UFC’s
Feb. 5 event on Super Bowl weekend.
“We’re
really looking to do an East Coast show (around that time),”
said Harris. “We’re looking at a few different options
right now as far as venues and locations, but we’re looking
at somewhere on the East Coast.”
It’s
early on in the process, so it’s still possible that the
promotion’s first event of 2011 doesn’t land on the
East Coast, but that’s definitely the direction that Harris
wants to explore as they continue extending the promotion’s
presence across North America.
WEC
51 features a featherweight title bout between current champion
Jose Aldo and challenger Manny Gamburyan, WEC 52 will see former
featherweight titleholder Urijah Faber make his bantamweight
debut against Takeya Mizugaki, and WEC 53 is likely to feature
Ben Henderson defending his belt. There has been no word yet
on who may be on tap for WEC 54.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
LIMA
WINS BIG, MCKEE AVOIDS RETIREMENT AT MFC 26
MFC 26: Retribution on Friday night was supposed to be Ryan Ford’s
big homecoming to the Maximum Fighting Championship, the promotion
where he cut his professional teeth. But his opponent, Douglas
Lima, took full advantage of his invitation to the party.
Ford
immediately took control of positioning on Lima in the opening
round, but did little with the top position, while Lima continually
searched for submissions and popped off punches and elbows from
his back.
Round
two saw Ford go for the takedown again, but Lima slipped to his
back on the way to the mat, immediately latching onto Ford’s
left arm. Moments later he pulled the arm out, Ford rolled, and
Lima stretched it out for the submission.
Party
over.
“I
thought he won the first round, but we train good jiu-jitsu.
I want the belt now. I was promised if I win this fight, they
will give me a title shot. That’s what I want please,”
said Lima after the fight, holding MFC’s feet to the fire.
MFC
lightweight champion Antonio McKee promised that if his fight
with Luciano Azevedo went to a decision, he would retire.
No
problem there, the fight didn’t make it out of the first
round. After recovering from an errant low kick from Azevedo,
McKee used a huge double-leg slam to put the Brazilian on the
mat. From there, he pounded away on Azevedo, moving him over
near the ropes where he landed two fierce elbows that split open
an ugly gash on Azevedo’s forehead.
Azevedo
turned over into the ropes. The referee stepped in, called timeout,
and called the doctor in to check the gash. He quickly determined
that Azevedo could not continue.
The
fight really should have been deemed over when Azevedo turned
over and into the ropes, but at least the result wasn’t
affected. McKee won the fight by TKO via the doctor’s stoppage.
“Like
I told Mark Pavelich, if I don’t get this sucker out of
here in the first or second round, I’m retiring. So guess
it’s not true, you can teach an old dog new tricks,”
McKee said after the fight. Never at a loss for words, the 40-year-old
fighter didn’t stop there.
“I
don’t fear anybody. I’m waiting for the UFC to release
B.J. (Penn) or Sean Sherk so I can tear their ass up too.”
His
is not an exciting style, but Jesse Taylor’s strong wrestling
base was the key to improving his professional record to 16-6
with a three-round mauling of British fighter Tom “Kong”
Watson.
Taylor
took Watson down over... and over... and over again for all three
rounds, not mounting much damage, but controlling where the fight
took place for the duration. A former “Ultimate Fighter”
competitor, Taylor did come close to finishing the fight in round
two with a tight rear naked choke, but neglecting to sink his
hooks in gave Watson just enough wiggle room to slip out.
“Kong”
could never mount any offense of his own though, losing a unanimous
decision to Taylor.
Light
heavyweight Dwayne Lewis made quick work of former “Ultimate
Fighter” cast member Mike Nickels, dropping him to the canvas
several times in their brief bout. Nickels was game, continually
getting back up, but charging in with his head down and arms
wide, tailor made for Lewis’ trademark uppercuts.
Lewis
dropped Nickels for the final time, with his “D-Bomb”
uppercut, and finished him off with a couple finishing punches,
Nickels turtled up on the canvas at the 1:30 mark of round one.
Lewis
put himself in the running for a light heavyweight title shot,
although MFC president Mark Pavelich said that he’d like
to see Lewis get another win or two before that happens.
David
Heath put Simon Hutcherson in an armbar that nearly finished
their fight in the first round, but couldn’t quite secure
the finish. It might have been better for Hutcherson if he had,
however, as Heath broke his nose before the opening round closed.
Heath then brutalized him in the second round, landing a spinning
backfist before finally dropping him for good with a straight
right followed by a couple of hammerfists for good measure.
Tyson
Steele looked to be heading for his fourth win in four tries
as a professional, taking Curtis Demarce down at will for the
better part of nine minutes. Demarce, however, caught Steele
in an armbar on his final takedown of the fight before transitioning
to a triangle choke, rolling up to a triangle from top position
to finish the fight.
-Douglas
Lima def. Ryan Ford by Submission (Armbar) at 0:48, R2
-Antonio McKee def. Luciano Azevedo by TKO (Dr. Stoppage) at
3:11, R1
-Jesse Taylor def. Tom Watson by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Dwayne Lewis def. Mike Nickels by TKO (Strikes) at 1:30, R1
-David Heath def. Solomon Hutcherson by KO (Punch) at 3:46, R2
-Curtis Demarce def. Tyson Steele by Submission (Triangle Choke)
at 4:09, R2
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Thiago
Silva excited to fight Brandon Vera
Away
from the octagon since January 2 of 2010, Thiago Silva confirmed
to TATAME his duel with Brandon Vera, which happens on the first
day of 2011 (UFC 125). “The contract’s here, I’ll
sign it tomorrow”, revealed the American Top Team fighter.
Despite
not fighting for a long time and a loss on his last fight to
Rashad Evans, Thiago believes that Vera’s two losses in
a row, to Jon Jones and Randy Couture, may be a positive factor.
“Everything depends on the athlete. To get there really
hungry for the win sometimes is not a good thing, but everyone
is different. I’ll be ready, for sure, and let’s see
what happens”, Thiago said, analyzing the game plan of his
opponent, who is a Muay Thai expert.
“I
think it’s a good fight, the two of us like to bang and
it seems it’ll be a great fight. I’m anxious for this
fight, our games match. He won’t be like trying to grab
me all the time, we’ll trade a lot of punches”, said,
focused on his recovery. “There’s plenty time and I
still have to fix my spine. I’m doing treatment for it.
It’ll take a month so I can go back to the trainings, but
now I just have to wait for me to fight again”, finished.
Source: Tatame
|
Happy
with the belt, Jacaré wants more
On
a 25-minutes battle, Ronaldo Jacaré dominated Tom Kennedy
with a sharp stand-up game and won his first MMA title of the
career, becoming Strikeforce’s middleweight champion. “I
set a good strategy, my opponent came prepared to defend himself
from my takedowns, so I moved a lot on the cage and I connected
the best punches”, Jacaré told TATAME, explaining
why he did not use his Jiu-Jitsu skills.
“It
was the way I found to win this fight. Of course I prefer the
ground fight, but it’s a long way until you get there and
sometimes it ain’t easy, and I also thought he’d try
to take me down too, so I’d use my strong point, which is
my Jiu-Jitsu”, he explains, celebrating his good performance
on the striking.
“I
train very little the stand-up game, but I’m learning a
lot from my coaches: Distak on MMA and Boxing, Cesário
on Boxing, and Tunico on Muay Thai. I know it’s very important
to me to evolve while standing up, because I want to be a complete
MMA fighter: I have to be great on the takedowns, takedown defenses,
stand-up game, making or passing the guard”, said.
Glad
with the win, the marriage and the birth of his first son, Enzo
Gabriel, the black-belt dreams with more. “I feel fine being
the champion of Strikeforce, but I want more than that. My victory
is gone, now I want to put my belt in line. I want to fight one
more time this year”, concluded the champion, on a chat
with TATAME.
Source: Tatame
|
Still
dreaming of belt, Arona hopes for November return
“I
watch everything and everybody, I’m keeping up with things,
and I can say I have what it takes to the UFC light heavyweight
division, the most stacked of them all,” declared Ricardo
Arona to Brazil’s Sportv television network.
On
this Saturday’s Sensei fight-specific television program,
Arona addressed his recovery from knee surgery, showed off the
training center he built in his home (half ring, half cage),
refused to return to the BTT, spoke of his imminent signing with
the UFC and conversation with Dana White, and described what
it was like to fight for the first time in his homeland, Brazil,
at Bitetti Combat.
According
to Arona, if the doctors give the go-ahead, he’ll fight
in November, which would then take him to the UFC light heavyweight
division.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
never stops: new matchups, firings…
UFC
Fight Night 22 is coming up on the coming 15th in Texas. But
the promotion is already looking well ahead and, between confirmed
or unconfirmed matchups, new fights are announced, while some
athletes end up getting cut.
Since
beating Mario Miranda at UFC 118, Demian Maia should face Kendall
Grove in the grand finale of 12th season of the “The Ultimate
Fighter” reality show. The fight isn’t yet official,
but the show is set for December 4 in Las Vegas, and features
a fight between Stephan Bonnar and Igor Pokrajac.
Now
Brandon Vera and Thiago Silva should face off at UFC 125 in Las
Vegas January 1st. Vera is coming off back-to-back losses, while
Silva lost in his last outing, to Rashad Evans.
Australian
beast George Sotiropoulos returns to the cage at UFC 123, November
20 in Michigan. A win over Joe Lauzon places the lightweight
near a title fight.
The
one who got a raw deal was Todd Duffee, who has lived through
extremes during his brief ride in the UFC. First he carried out
the quickest knockout in the organization’s history beating
Tim Haugue in just seven seconds. Then he suffered an unexpected
loss – the first of his career –, a knockout from a
single strike from the chubby Mike Russow, against the run of
play. Duffee was set to face Jon Madsen at UFC 121 in October,
but a knee injury pulled him from the bout. To add insult to
injury, the fighter was released from the event.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
X-1
World Events Results
Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Main
Event: 185 lb. World MMA Championship:
Falaniko Vitale def. Kala “Kolohe” Hose
Via KO via no gi sleeve choke at 2:26 in Round 4.
*Vitale retains the X-1 championship.
Light
Heavyweight MMA Championship Tournament Semi-Finals:
Poai Suganuma (HI) def. Vitaly Shemetov (Russia)
Via KO at 1:08 in Round 1.
Light Heavyweight MMA Championship Tournament Semi-Finals:
Sang Soo Lee (S. Korea) def. Roy Boughton (California)
Via split decision.
145
lb. World MMA Championship:
Ricky Wallace def. Alvin Cacdac
Via rear naked choke 4:40 in Round 3.
*Wallace becomes the new X-1 champion.
135
lb. World Bantamweight MMA Championship:
Russell Doane def. Bryson Hanson
Via triangle choke at 2:59 in Round 1.
*Doane becomes the new X-1 champion.
155
lbs. – Max Halloway def. Duke Saragosa
Via decision.
135 lbs. – Sarah D'Alelio def. Raquel Paaluhi
Via arm bar at 2:13 in Round 1.
160
lb. Kickboxing
Danilo Zanollini def. Kaleo Kwan
Via decision.
135 lbs. – Mark Tajon def. Eddie Perrells
Via arm bar at 1:35 in Round 1.
145
lbs. – Dustin Kimura def. Chris Williams
Via triangle choke at 2:55 in Round 1.
185
lbs. – Collin Mansanas def. Caleb Price
Via split decision.
135
lbs. – Timothy Meeks def. Van Shiroma
Via decision after 3 rounds.
|
DESTINY:
Undisputed Beyer vs Manners II
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu, Hawaii
Saturday, October 16 at 6:00pm
Source: Event Promoter
|
UFC
Fight Night
Frank Erwin Special Events Center, Austin, Texas
September 15, 2010
Dark
matches
Welterweights:
Brian Foster vs. Forrest Petz
Welterweights: Anthony Waldburger vs. David Mitchell
Middleweights: Rich Attonito vs. Rafael Natal
Light Heavyweights: Jared Hamman vs. Kyle Kingsbury
Main card
Lightweights:
Ross Pearson vs. Cole Miller
Lightweights: Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau
Lightweights: Efrain Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira
Middleweights: Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares
Source: Fight Opinion
|
FOR
PRANGLEY HIGH RISK YIELDS HIGH REWARDS
by Ken
Pishna
Trevor Prangley is a UFC veteran, a Strikeforce veteran, was
Bodog’s middleweight champion, was MFC’s light heavyweight
champion, and is the current Shark Fights light heavyweight champion.
Coming
off of a loss to Tim Kennedy and a draw with Karl Amoussou before
that, Prangley has been down on himself. He’s looking to
make things right when he faces fellow UFC veteran Keith Jardine
on Saturday night at Shark Fights 13, the promotion’s first
pay-per-view effort.
“The
pressure is just as great for me. Anybody can survive a loss.
I've done it before. A lot of other great fighters have done
it before me, but nobody wants to do it, especially when you're
in the twilight of your career,” he told MMAWeekly.com.
“I
want to end my career on the best note of the entire career.
(The pressure is on me) for my own personal accomplishments.
I want to be back to where I was and I want to be respected the
way I was. My last two fights, I wasn't very happy with my performances.”
Prangley
thinks that he has figured out much of what his problem was in
what he characterizes as poor performances against Kennedy and
Amoussou... time. He has a penchant for taking fights on short
notice. This fight with Jardine is the first time in a long time
that he hasn’t been rushed into battle.
“I
had a full camp for the first time in three fights. I'm back
to where I want to be and where I should be for a fight of this
size,” he said.
“I
realized that I need a six-week camp. I can't be doing these
two-and-a-half, three-week notices, a weight cutting camp instead
of a training camp.”
Aside
from having plenty of notice to prepare for Jardine, Prangley,
normally a 185-pound fighter despite wearing Shark Fights’
belt for the 205-pound division, doesn’t even have to worry
about cutting weight for this fight. If anything, he could put
on some weight if he wanted, but he’s not going that route
either.
“I'm
not a big believer in I've got to bulk up for this fight. I think
that would hurt me more than anything. I'm gonna come in a little
small in the fight,” he declared.
“I
believe not having to cut the weight is gonna nullify any of
the advantages of not being as big as the other guy.
“I've
always said I'm a 185er. To be honest with you, I prefer to not
fight guys the caliber of Keith Jardine at 205. The fight was
just too good of an opportunity to pass up. High risk yields
high rewards.”
Of
course, Jardine is seen by many as damaged goods, having been
shown the Octagon door after losing four straight bouts. Granted,
he wasn’t exactly fighting any slouches there. Those four
losses were to Matt Hamill, Ryan Bader, Thiago Silva, and Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson, a fact not lost on his South African
opponent.
“I
don't care what the guy's record is. I've seen him fight; everybody
has seen him fight. He's super dangerous. Just because the guy
has a bad luck fight or gets caught a couple of times doesn't
mean anything. It doesn't make you any less of a danger in the
ring.”
Especially
when one of Jardine’s strong points flies directly in the
face of one of Prangley’s key strengths... wrestling. Jardine
has a strong takedown defense, which he showed on occasion against
Bader and Hamill, both highly acclaimed wrestlers, just like
Prangley.
That’s
something that he’s kept in mind and planned for with an
emphasis on sparring with his teammates at American Kickboxing
Academy, the home of fighters such as Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck,
Josh Thomson, Cain Velasquez, and numerous other top fighters.
“(His
takedown defense has) put a different spin on the way I look
at this fight and the way I'm coming out and fighting in it,”
he said, adding, “If people think I'm just going in there
to shoot and take him down, I think they're in for a big surprise.
“I'm
going out there and I'm putting it all on the line. It's been
a really long time since I've been this excited and this confident
about a fight.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Welcome
to the DREAM world
By Zach Arnold
Sherdog’s Tony Loiseleur has play-by-play on Twitter of
today’s press conference:
Dream
16 bouts announced: Kazuyuki Miyata – Lion Takeshi Inoue,
Joachim Hansen – Hideo Tokoro, Shinya Aoki – Marcus
Aurelio. Another fight will be announced later tonight at 9:00
online by Dream, according to Dream EP Sasahara. Aoki, Tokoro,
Lion, & Miyata just rolled out. Aoki is wearing the Japanese-made
Nick Diaz shirt. Miyata: “I’m not gonna lose at this
weight class.” Tokoro says he’s happy to be fighting
Hansen. Aoki saying he wanted to fight earlier this month but
will do his best. Lion looking forward to rep Shooto. Aoki looks
like he’s smirking. Sasahara telling me to ask Tanigawa
at the next K-1 presser about paying fighters late and Zuffa’s
Asia expansion. He’s passing the buck. Aoki was laughing
at my questions while Sasahara looked slightly peeved. Schadenfreude,
I guess. Sasahara deflecting my Qs to an absent Tanigawa meant
that my asking about their financial state woulda been useless.
I’m saddened that the other reporters were sighing at me
for hijacking things and taking attn away from D16 to ask real
Qs tho’. Tough crowd. Thanks to @usatmma and @thaimmakb
for reminding me abt Aurelio in Shine tourney. Sasahara said
he sees no problem w/Aurelio doing it b4 D16. Oh, Sasahara says
they were in talks to get Sandro & other SRC guys but they
seem to have fallen thru. Unlikely now to see SRC reps in D16.
Lion talking now about wanting to fight Takaya in Dream. Unfinished
biz from the Shooto days, perhaps? Tokoro saying when he heard
he was fighting Hansen, everyone around him was like “WAT?”
and they’ve been worrying abt him. That said, Tokoro has
had to psych himself up for the fight while everyone else just
worries about him. Sasahara saying there’ll be 5 fights
total announced by tonight, and then they expect 4, 5 more announced
in future. Yes! Boutreview just asked “why announce so late?”
Good Q Ihara-san! Sasahara pauses for a bit, hesitates b4 saying
“there’ve been issues. I’ll explain it as soon
as the event is over.” Hmm… okay. Earlier in the presser,
Aoki called out Gomi. Take that for what you will, given the
current MMA geopolitical situation… Aoki talking now about
reporters being indiscreet asking certain Qs at press conferences.
Didn’t know he was related to Shane Carwin. Aoki saying
he doesn’t like us indiscreet reporters asking negative
Qs, so he wants to brighten things in his Nagoya performance.
I
have a few comments about what was said here…
Tony
mentions that reporters were sighing when he asked “tough”
questions. Here’s my true feelings on this — Tony is
a brave man to ask the questions he asks (especially given the
hostile climate in the entertainment world there these days).
Truthfully, what Tony asks is relatively tame and just straight-up
questions, but in the Japanese world where a lot of the media
are either paid off with favors or long understood not to ask
tough questions or else you’re ‘wasting time’,
this is why they *sigh* when a gaijin asks a simple question
like, “Is your promotion broke? Why is your card late?”
Also, it doesn’t help that Tony is an American, so it’s
simply chalked up as another ‘here’s the annoying gaijin
again’ question. Group-think, don’t rock-the-boat mentality.
As
far as DREAM is concerned, take note that these press conferences
never have Ishii and that Tanigawa only shows up occasionally
and never shows up when the perception of ‘bad news’
is being delivered. In this case, the ‘bad news’ would
be that they don’t even have a full card line-up yet to
announce.
Regarding
Aoki’s attitude, all I can say is that he’s got a combination
of a Napoloenic complex mixed in a vibe of thinking that he’s
a draw when he really isn’t and doesn’t mean nearly
as much to a lot of people as he thinks he’s worth. It seems,
more than anything else, that jealousy is what fuels Aoki as
opposed to pure ambition or dedication. The problem is that you
can only go so far in life when your main source of internal
power is feeding off of the anger or irritation of/from others.
With
three weeks left to promote the show, it’s another largely
pedestrian effort at booking a card.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Frank
Shamrock’s (Downloadable?) Code Training
by Cameron
Conaway
When people ask, “Who is your favorite MMA fighter?”
I always answer Frank Shamrock.
Many
of the question-askers are those fans who claim to be “diehards,”
yet when pressed they only know of Rampage Jackson and Chuck
Liddell. I’m used to seeing a sort of uncertainty in their
eyes when I say Frank’s name. I’m used to feeling a
sense of disappointment that these “fans” don’t
know about Frank Shamrock.
I
felt that same disappointment when Frank retired. The disappointment
wasn’t from sadness as I watched the man so positively influential
on me when I was young walk away. Nor was it because his retirement
meant I was getting old. It was because the only other MMA news
that could have possibly trumped Frank’s retirement from
MMA happened. On the same night he retired, fans of the sport
were stunned into stillness. Fedor lost.
Jack
Kerouac, the Beat Generation writer, is also a big influence
on me. So when I was granted the chance to interview Frank recently,
I sought to somehow fuse them both. A famous Kerouac quote is
“First thought, best thought.” I rolled with it.
“Frank,
I’ve got a series of phrases here and I want you to say
the first few sentences that come to mind. I’ll follow up
where I see fit, but I want to tap into your subconscious.”
He
laughed. “Sounds good. Shoot.”
Sherdog:
MMA strength and conditioning.
Shamrock: It’s come a long way. The physical requirements
are unbelievably high, through the roof. When you look at all
the components of fitness, MMA fighters are the world’s
most conditioned athletes.
Sherdog:
How has your own training changed and evolved over the years?
Shamrock: It’s changed dramatically. Early in my career
at the Lion’s Den, I didn’t know the first thing about
cardiovascular training. It wasn’t until I met Maurice Smith
that I saw and understood the benefits. We began running stairs,
and I instantly saw the huge crossover that cardiovascular conditioning
could have for MMA.
Back
then, we were mostly running stairs. But we did anything we could
to feel our hearts beating fast and to try to keep our hearts
beating fast for as long as possible. Today’s athletes,
and the scientists behind their training, have taken it to a
new level. They use oxygen deprivation, hyperbaric chambers and
blood enrichment. It’s amazing to have been part of the
early movement and to have had the chance to see how far it’s
come.
Sherdog:
What were your strength and conditioning goals when training?
Aside from fighting, how did you gauge progress?
Shamrock: Impact. Everything I did was related to how I could
withstand and absorb impact without hurting myself. I had a broken
spine when I was younger, so even sprinting hurt badly. I trained
so hard because I wanted to protect my body. At 16, I was diagnosed
with scoliosis. Doctors said I’d never seriously play another
sport. I had the fighter mentality even then, so I wanted to
prove them wrong. I stopped running in 1997 because of the trauma
to my body. My back just couldn’t take it. Even sprinting
on grass taxed my hips and back too much. Elliptical trainers
came along and they were the first machine where I could train
my muscular and cardiovascular systems without hurting myself.
Now,
I do a lot of bodyweight and kettlebell exercises. I’ve
given up traditional weight training for the most part. I also
do yoga and a lot of breathing and balance work. I used to be
all gung-ho about smashing everything and lifting heavy. I never
thought I’d say this, but I’m one of those old guys
going soft. I always saw old masters and thought they just kind
of let their bodies go. But really, it’s the degenerative
process. You can slow it down, but you can’t come close
to stopping it.
Sherdog:
Fedor losing.
Shamrock: Tough for Fedor and the brand. The sport took a hit
on that one. He was the first guy that had the whole invincibility
thing rolling. The sport is what it is; we all lose, but it seemed
like he was one or two fights away from having that shield thing.
That superhero thing. Stars grow and in one day can crash. It’s
crazy. It’s like some new vitamin on sale. One day everybody
says it’s the greatest thing. It’s sexy. Then it crashes
all in one stroke. The myth of Fedor crashed. I could feel it
coming.
Sherdog:
Pre-Fight rituals? Do you have a spiritual outlook regarding
fighting?
Shamrock: Everything I did was for fighting. I prayed everyday,
as well as before and after matches. I don’t go to church;
I go to martial arts school six days a week. This is my temple.
It’s all spiritual.
As
for rituals, I have to brush my teeth before I fight because
you breathe better when your teeth are clean. I have to take
a warm shower before every fight because it relaxes and loosens
muscles and helps them work better. Everything is for fighting.
Fighting is life. We do group prayers before each match. I always
bow to my opponent, though that’s not so much a ritual as
it is a part of the martial arts game. I don’t know, there’s
a lot of differences between how I used to do things and how
I do them now. It’s like there are two Franks -- classic
and modern. Classic Frank grapples. Modern Frank strikes. Actually,
in the EA Sports MMA game, there’s the modern striking Frank,
but if you purchase the game at Wal-Mart you can get a downloadable
code to unlock classic Frank. (Laughs.)
Sherdog:
Alistair Overeem.
Shamrock: A killer. Has the potential to be a superstar, but
I’m not sure he’ll do it. If his focus is purely on
fighting, he could. But I don’t think he sees what’s
going on in the U.S., the huge growth of the sport. I hope he
does. He’s got great technique, he’s massive and people
love him. He looks the part and can fight. Most big guys can’t
fight. They look like they can fight, but they can’t move.
He’s a rare breed. Most big guys don’t have to fight
people, so they don’t have the same urgency to train hard.
I’ll fight a big guy any day over a medium-sized dude who
has to scrap. We Americans, we love the big guy. He could be
a huge hit here.
Sherdog:
Strikeforce women’s tournament.
Shamrock: I like it. I like it a lot! I like when women fight
in MMA. It’s bringing the sport closer to mainstream. It’s
such a powerful act. They fight so hard, so technical. Miesha
Tate, Sarah Kaufman -- they bring even more heat than the men
sometimes. Sport aside, look how far women have come? It’s
awesome. These women aren’t slinging Frisbees. They’re
fighting. This is real. They can go from nobody to superstar
in one year. Look how Sarah Kaufman was on ESPN. I study this
game intently -- she’s got great hands, a solid chin and
tactical aggression. Her jabs have grown tremendously.
Sherdog:
Retirement.
Shamrock: (Laughs). It was time. There wasn’t much more
I could do physically and technically in the cage. What more
could I do? I knew early on I had a bad back, that my days were
numbered. I wanted to keep doing something good for the sport
and this meant doing it as long as I could while remaining the
best in brain and body -- that balance. I want to forever influence
the sport in a positive way. I think it has the potential to
change lives. I guarantee you I’m never going anywhere.
That
said, retiring was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I knew
if I kept walking into the cage, the things I had built would
slowly fall apart -- my body, mind, brand and image. In the early
days, nobody wanted to talk about MMA; now it’s the thing
that my neighbor’s kids are talking about. I thought to
myself, “I can’t keep dragging my carcass out there
and allowing the youngsters to beat on me.” I didn’t
want to be that old baseball player who keeps trying to throw
it and blows a shoulder. I wanted people to say, “That Frank,
he’s a sharp dude.”
I
know Leon Spinks; he’s brain-dead. There’s nothing
he can do for the sport anymore. He left it all in the ring.
I don’t want to be that guy. I want to be here forever,
whether as a mentor, teacher or coach. Part of the never-hang-it-up
attitude is generational. People believed they could train hard
and pick up the technical or business stuff later. Now, there’s
more awareness about healthy lifestyles, of the benefits of a
healthy body. MMA is a business as much as it is about fighting.
And I don’t believe the business is being geared the right
way. This sport can save lives; it’s saved mine. I’d
be dead without it. But the older generation -- they left themselves
in the gym or ring and now what are they?
Sherdog: When did you know for sure that it was time?
Shamrock: After the Cung Le fight I knew I was mentally fatigued
from fighting. I broke my arm. I’m a scientist. I looked
at the formula. Why did I stand with Cung Le? I was fighting
to put on a show rather than following my plan and fighting for
the W. The Cung Le fight was a wakeup call. I thought about it
for a year. I asked myself, “What am I fighting for?”
I began to get bored and tired of fighting. But my fighter heart
said to get back in camp, to go at it again, to get it right.
So I rested up, and as soon as I began training I got hurt. More
time off. Then I started training again and got hurt again. I
went on with the Nick Diaz fight anyways and fought my soul out,
but my body just couldn’t respond. It just wasn’t happening.
I couldn’t do it. I’ve never been unable to physically
perform. I was shocked because I knew how to fight with a torn
ACL, when hurt, with pain, but this time I just couldn’t
do it. I realized with the Cung Le fight that my mind wasn’t
in the right place. I realized with the Diaz fight that my body
wasn’t either.
I
rested four months, got back into training then got hurt. I again
asked myself what I was doing. I was sitting on ice. I’ve
been literally living on ice my entire life because of my inflamed
back. The doctors always wonder how I do what I do when my spine
is so inflamed. This time though, something clicked. I looked
over to my wife and said, “Hey babe, I’m done.”
That was it. She was so supportive. It felt good to say it and
mean it.
Sherdog:
What are your primary professional goals in life?
Shamrock: To build global awareness and a brand of martial arts
that can help the world. I have one goal. That’s what I’m
doing this business for. The breast cancer awareness, the Shamrock
Way, the mentoring, the coaching -- they are all tentacles leading
to this one goal, to change the world for the better and to do
it through MMA.
I
grew up on the streets. I was locked up most of my young life
until I found this sport. I’d have been in prison or dead.
I know exactly where I’m going. This sport can and will
change the world. It will change how we workout -- Mickey Rourke
even trained in MMA with me. It will put a dent in the obesity
epidemic. MMA will change how people think. It will help people
around the world. It’ll build a sense of community. It’ll
build ethics.
Sherdog:
Speaking of ethics, it seems the individual martial arts instill
them, but MMA often avoids them at all costs. Would you say your
goal is to bring morals, discipline and the honor code back into
MMA?
Shamrock: Absolutely! Unfortunately, because our sport is sexy,
people use it in the wrong way to get ratings, and the really
cool stuff gets shelved. There’s nothing all that sexy about
bowing and respect. Whole groups of kids think you’re supposed
to act crazy and violent and curse and that MMA is just to beat
someone up. MMA is about the journey of respecting yourself and
your fellow man. You can’t do this sport without a trusting
opponent, a trusting partner and a trusting team. MMA is about
being a better human. It’s a dichotomy -- we need to respect
each other to beat each other up.
Parents
see their child get bullied, then tell them to get their butt
down to the MMA school to learn how to defend themselves. But
there’s so much more they can learn. Right there is the
huge disconnect. What’s on TV isn’t what’s in
the dojo. I want the next generation of parents to see this,
then the next to see it a little more and so on. Eventually,
the spiritual and mental aspects of the individual martial arts
will be what MMA is about. And we will all be better in body
and mind.
Source: Sherdog
|
Eric
Larkin Impresses, Carey Vanier Gets Away with One at Bellator
28
By Ben
Fowlkes
Four-time All-American wrestler and NCAA Division I champ Eric
Larkin wrapped up his third straight MMA victory in as many tries
at Bellator 28 in New Orleans on Thursday night.
Larkin
got off to a quick start, dropping Marcus Andrusia with a surprise
head kick in the opening seconds, then adding some vicious ground-and-pound
as Andrusia struggled to regain his bearings. After taking a
beating in the half-guard, Andrusia attempted to sit up and got
caught in a tight guillotine choke from Larkin, forcing Andrusia
to submit at 2:46 of round 1.
"I
actually had a coach text me today and say, 'Hey, you should
throw the head kick. He'll never expect it.' And I landed it,"
Larkin said after the victory.
The
win brings Larkin's record to 3-0 since beginning his pro MMA
career in April. Though he wrestled at 149 pounds, the fight
with Andrusia took place at lightweight as a precursor to Larkin
moving down to featherweight to compete in Bellator's 145-pound
tournament.
"I'm
excited," said Larkin. "I weighed in at like 153 or
154. I actually got down there pretty light, so that's not going
to be that bad to get down to 145."
The
lightweight tournament qualifier bout between Carey Vanier and
MMA veteran Rich Clementi made for an interesting clash, but
was not without controversy. Midway through the third round of
a close fight, Vanier hit Clementi with two illegal knees to
the head as Clementi was pinned against the cage with one hand
on the mat, making him technically a downed opponent.
After
the first knee Clementi looked up at Vanier and at referee Mark
Leblanc, who did nothing. It was only after Vanier landed the
second illegal knee, which opened a nasty cut over Clementi's
left eye, that Leblanc stepped in to pause the action as Clementi
shouted at him.
Clementi
was livid with Leblanc for the oversight, but while Leblanc gave
Clementi's corner time to work on the cut, he did not take a
point from Vanier for the foul. That would prove to be an important
call, as Vanier took the split decision with scores of 29-28,
29-28, and 28-29.
Vanier
seemed to indicate that he couldn't see Clementi's hand on the
mat from his vantage point, but Leblanc certainly could, and
he took no steps to stop or even warn Varnier about the first
illegal knee. The bout continued after the brief stoppage, but
Clementi's cut opened again soon after, leaving him bathed in
blood by the end of the final frame.
In
other action, middleweight Eric Schambari outpointed former IFL
champ Matt Horwich behind an effective jab and a commitment to
the takedown. Though Schambari seemed to be landing more punches
on the feet, Horwich plodded through them like a persistent mummy
for most of the first round.
Schambari
spent much of rounds two and three trying to get Horwich to the
mat, eventually succeeding in the third and keeping Horwich on
his back until the final horn. Two of the three judges rewarded
Schambari with scores of 30-27, while one judge inexplicably
scored it 29-28 for Horwich.
Finally,
featherweight Georgi Karakhanyan won a unanimous decision victory
over Anthony Leone after a three-round grappling match that saw
each man put his jiu-jitsu skills on display. In the end, Karakhanyan
was able to control more of the action and maintain top position
for most of the bout, netting him scores of 30-27, 30-27, and
29-28 for the win.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Jiu-Jitsu
to break all barriers
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Jiu-Jitsu shows how it’s possible to ease complicated situations
and turn them around, whether in the dojo or in life. One of
the greatest lessons of the mat is that there are ways to overcome
the obstacle, regardless of what it is. Take Helio Gracie, for
example, who through the gentle art overcame health problems
during childhood, and adapted his game in such a way as to handle
much bigger and stronger opponents. Helio in his day definitively
revolutionized fight techniques, and debunked concepts considered
solid up until that point.
The
keyword is “adaptation.” The thousands of – maybe
even infinite – possibilities well-learnt Jiu-Jitsu provides
are adapted as best suited to each individual, without regard
to weight, strength, age, sex… That’s the case with
Gilberto “Gibs” Moya, a Marcos Barbosinha and Mario
Dias black belt.
First
let’s recapitulate, though: In March of this year, GRACIEMAG.com
published an article about Russell Redenbaugh. Blind and missing
fingers, Redenbaugh earned his black belt at sixty-five years
of age. Excited about it, he didn’t hesitate to send us
first hand news of him being the first person with such a disability
to make it to the highest order.
It didn’t take long for the newsroom to be flooded by messages
asking to correct the error: Brazil’s Giba Moyano, 100%
blind due to congenital cataracts, was a black belt before then,
and his story deserves telling. Now twenty-eight years old, with
fourteen years of gentle art experience, Giba was promoted on
July 27, 2008. But Jiu-Jitsu changed his life definitively when
he was still a white belt.
“I
was a thirteen-year-old, and I was lost. It’s a phase where
we naturally feel very insecure, and that was made worse because
I couldn’t see. After six months I already felt a heck of
a difference. Jiu-Jitsu provided me the psychological structure
to face a lot of life’s other challenges,” Giba tells
GRACIEMAG.com.
He
made many advances through the martial arts. Besides participating
in major championships, Giba now has Jiu-Jitsu as a profession,
a way to make a living.
“I’ve
been teaching at an academy in Praia Grande, coastal São
Paulo, since 2004. Along with the many valuable lessons, Jiu-Jitsu
also gave me the opportunity to work. Ten years ago I never would
have imagined it,” he says.
The
only thing Giba laments is the fact that so few people with disabilities
seek the martial arts.
“I’d
love to do such work, but there isn’t much demand.”
Whether
or not Giba is Jiu-Jitsu’s first blind black belt, truth
is it doesn’t matter. The main lesson is that whether the
hardship is big or little depends, in part, on ourselves and
the actions we take to turn them around. And always remember
your great friend: Jiu-Jitsu will be your ally at all times!
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
JORGE
SANTIAGO WANTS IN STRIKEFORCE TOURNEY
by Damon
Martin
With Strikeforce continuing its efforts to put together a middleweight
tournament at some point in 2010, one strong contender hopes
to throw his name in the mix, Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge
Santiago.
Santiago,
who is coming off a win in a fight of the year candidate against
Kazuo Misaki in August, has always had a desire to return to
fight in the United States. The Strikeforce middleweight tournament
would afford him the perfect chance.
While
his obligations in Japan keep him busy, Santiago's manager, Alex
Davis, tells MMAWeekly.com that he's always felt he had unfinished
business in the States.
"Obviously
being Sengoku champion he has to keep on fighting in Japan. He's
already carved that niche for himself; he's a hero there. Of
course, he wants to come fight in the States. He fought in the
UFC, didn't go as good as he would have liked it to go. Now,
he's really cleaned up his game, he's really improved,"
Davis told MMAWeekly Radio.
The
last time Strikeforce held a middleweight tournament was in November
2007, and Santiago was a part of that night as well. The American
Top Team fighter destroyed Sean Salmon and Trevor Prangley on
his way to winning the tournament, but afterwards went on to
fight in Japan instead.
Now
well established as a Top 10 185-pounder, Santiago believes he
has a place in the Strikeforce middleweight tournament.
"They
haven't made a decision on their 185-pound tournament, when it's
going to be, or if it's a four-man tournament, but I'm always
calling saying 'what about Jorge Santiago?' I think if they do
a 185-pound tournament, that's one that has to be in there,"
Davis commented.
The
sour taste left in Santiago's mouth from another experience fighting
in America came from his time in the UFC. Not that he had a problem
with the promotion, only that he didn't live up to his potential
in his fights.
Santiago
went 1-2 during his brief stint in the Octagon, picking up a
win over Justin Levens before losing to both Chris Leben and
Alan Belcher, which triggered his exit from the UFC. He'd love
another shot there as well, but with his Sengoku contract in
place, he'll have to wait for any kind of revenge in the Octagon.
"The
only reason he's not back in the UFC is because he's got his
contract in Japan, which is a good contract, pays him very well,
and he's the champion there," Davis commented. "In
that situation Strikeforce is a little bit more flexible."
Regardless
of the timing or the placement of the tournament, Santiago's
manager believes that he's established himself as one of the
best middleweights in the world, and if Strikeforce is choosing
the four best participants, the Brazilian deserves to be one
of them.
"I'm
always mentioning his name, and I'm sure that when they do the
tournament, he'll end up in there," Davis said in closing.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Eddie
Wineland, Damacio Page to Meet at WEC 52
By Matt
Erickson
Eddie Wineland, the WEC's first bantamweight champion, will meet
Damacio Page at WEC 52 in November.
MMA
Junkie first reported the fight on Thursday, and sources close
to Wineland's camp confirmed to MMA Fighting that the Indiana-based
fighter has agreed to the bout, though contracts have not yet
been signed.
WEC
52, though not yet made official by the promotion, will take
place at The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on
Nov. 11.
Wineland
(16-7-1, 4-2 WEC) will chase his fourth straight victory after
a loss to Rani Yahya at WEC 40 in April 2009. In that fight,
his return to the promotion after two outside fights, he was
submitted at 1:07 of the first round. Since then, however, he
has been dominant, beating Manny Tapia and George Roop with 30-27
sweeps of the scorecards and a Knockout of the Night win over
Will Campuzano at WEC 49 in June.
Wineland
won the WEC's original bantamweight title in the pre-Zuffa era
with a win over Antonio Banuelos at WEC 20 in May 2006. He lost
the belt to Chase Beebe in his first defense at WEC 26.
Page
(12-4, 3-1 WEC), a member of the Greg Jackson camp in Albuquerque,
N.M., has won four of his last five fights. His only setback
came against former bantamweight champion Brian Bowles at WEC
35. But injuries have kept Page out of consecutive scheduled
fights against Takeya Mizugaki and Banuelos, meaning he will
been out of action for 13 months when he steps in against Wineland.
The
Wineland-Page bout is expected for the main card, which will
be televised live on the Versus cable network.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Bibiano
Fernandes
By Guilherme Cruz
Dream featherweight champion, Bibiano Fernandes defended his
belt for the last time against Joachim Hansen, but the real battle
started right after the bout. With the promise he would receive
his purse 20 days after the event, Bibiano needed to wait for
six months. On an interview to TATAME, the black-belt talked
about his problem with Dream, explained why he will be out of
the next edition of the event and revealed that he might stop
fighting MMA in case Dream closes its doors. “I’ll
be pretty honest with you: if someday I stop fighting in Japan,
I won’t fight anywhere else because I’m not interested”.
Check below the chat with the fighter, who revealed to TATAME
his dream of seeing Jiu-Jitsu becoming an Olympic sport.
How did you know that, finally, you would get paid?
First of all, I’d like to thank TATAME for publishing that
article… It ran all though Canada, United States, until
it got to the ears of the guys from Dream. It got there and they
called me about a week ago saying that my money was there, that
they have sent it to my manager, so it’s cool… They
had made a proposal for me to fight on the next edition of the
event, but you turned it down because they owed you your money.
Did they make a new proposition?
They called me and said they wanted me to fight on the 25th event.
Are you nuts? I said: “You just paid me, you didn’t
even talk to me before and now you want me to fight? I’m
a professional. This is my life, this is what I do for a living,
it’s not like that”. It’s not about the money,
I want to make a good fight, I’m not training... Ok, I’m
training, but I’m not on the level to fight. I told they
it doesn’t work like that, I’m not conditioned, I’m
not on the right rhythm, I won’t fight. I’ll go to
Brazil and see my father, my family, so maybe next time”.
They started saying thing and claiming they’d give me things
and I said: “I won’t fight. You said you’d pay
me in 20 days and only six months later you actually paid me.
You want me to fight, but no. I appreciate it, but maybe next
time”. Let’s see how things get.
They got to tell you how you would fight?
They didn’t say… I think I’d be (Hiroyuki) Takaya,
but I’m not 100% sure. He told me he wanted to fight me
and that it would be for the belt. I don’t have a problem
fighting anybody, but I think things are supposed to be fair.
I think that being fair is a thing we should always look for
in life. If the guy gives me three weeks to fight and got my
money there, I won’t fight for the money, I’ll fight
for my country, my family and friends, for those who are near
me.
Dream has been going though this problem paying its athletes.
How do you see it?
Well, man... I’ll be pretty honest with you: If someday
I stop fighting in Japan, I won’t fight anywhere else because
I’m not interested. My plan is Jiu-Jitsu, I love Jiu-Jitsu.
Whatever I can do in order to help Jiu-Jitsu, I will. Dream is
an excellent event, but is going through a difficult situation,
I don’t really know what is going on. Whoever fought in
Japan know what it feels like… The fans respect you there.
I hope that, someday, Dream or other event may go though it and
find a way out of this because it’s a good event, it’s
beautiful and the Japaneses, for their own formation, need an
event like Dream there. Before there wasn’t this problem,
but I hope they really find a way out of this and that everything
works out just fine for them.
If you leave Dream, will you quite MMA? Why don’t you just
move to an event in the US, for example?
I fight for the sport, for my students, my friends… I don’t
know if I’d fight on the United States because look at my
division there… The guys don’t pay us decently. I do
my classes, I don’t think it’s worth it to go there
and fight for US$ 10 thousand and change all my life to train
and fight. I like fighting, I love fighting, but if my money
is enough, I’ll keep fighting Jiu-Jitsu, giving lessons
of Jiu-Jitsu, that’s what I want. In life everything had
its exact time and I’ll enjoy it all long as it lasts and
when it’s over, it’s over. I’ll fight until God
allows me to.
Do you see yourself fighting on a big event of Jiu-Jitsu again,
like Worlds, or ADCC?
I’m on the campaign for the Jiu-Jitsu to join the Olympic
Games, I really want Jiu-Jitsu to become an Olympic sport, I
really want it. I’ll do whatever is in my power in order
to help it.
What do you think that must change in Jiu-Jitsu so it becomes
an Olympic sport?
Jiu-Jitsu has to become professional… He’s already
is professional, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a beautiful one.
I’m here in Canada and I’m seeing the sport growing,
the number of students is rising pretty fast. I think they should
shorten the time (of the fights)… If I’d fight today,
it wouldn’t be like it used to be, Jiu-Jitsu changed a lot.
It had to lose that sticking thing, it should be more like Roger
Gracie, (Ronaldo) Jacaré, this style…
Do you have the dream of maybe fighting Jiu-Jitsu on an Olympic
Game?
For sure, man. If I had the opportunity of representing my country,
surely I’d be there and represent my country on Jiu-Jitsu.
There are the guys that come from Wrestling and represent their
country on the Olympic Games, so it would be a pleasure. I train
Jiu-Jitsu here, everything I have I owe to Jiu-Jitsu and to God.
The beginning of my life was on Jiu-Jitsu.
If it doesn’t happen to you, maybe your son can represent
Brazil in the future, right?
If
God wants to. Let’s train him… I don’t know if
I’ll have a son or a daughter, but if it’s a boy, for
sure… My dream is to see Jiu-Jitsu on the Olympic Games,
even if I’m not there… It’ll be like a dream come
true not only for me, but to all Brazilians.
Source: Tatame
|
Fighting
Politics: Senator Challenged to MMA Match
By Jake
Rossen
Theodore Roosevelt may have been the last of the presidential
bad-asses: Our 26th leader was quite fond of judo, boxing and
wrestling, and even scolded states looking to ban pugilism to
stop being a bunch of nannies. (There is anecdotal evidence Barack
Obama is an MMA fan, but he probably couldn’t nail a double-leg:
bet Teddy could.)
While
politicians are too ramrod-straight to consider such endorsements
today, there is one exception: Independent Senate candidate Mike
Spears, who this week challenged incumbent Senator David Vitter
to a mixed martial arts cage match to settle their differences.
According
to Spears, he’s seeking a “modern-day duel” stemming
from Vitter’s admission to being involved in a prostitution
ring in 2007, an act that “insulted the honor” of their
state. Spears says he intends to compete in a cage match regardless
of Vitter’s response.
Is
this a publicity stunt? Duh: Vitter is flirting with 50 and probably
doesn’t incorporate shark tank drills and tire flips into
his regular exercise routine. We get the joke, but Louisiana
probably isn’t laughing: Spears does himself few favors
by appearing to be one chromosome away from a rabid animal. Is
this the guy you want heading up a pretzel stand? Sure. A major
political seat? Teddy just did a forward roll in his grave.
Source: Sherdog
|
Joseph
Benavidez is happy with his performance in second fight with
Dominick Cruz
By Zach
Arnold
HECTOR
CASTRO: “It looked like your game plan early was that you
were going to react to his movement, wait for him to come in
and then punish him when he came in. Was that part of the game
plan? Because towards the end of the fight you were a little
more aggressive in coming after him more.”
JOSEPH
BENAVIDEZ: “Yeah, definitely part of the game plan to get
him when he comes in because the thing with Dominick (Cruz),
I mean it’s basically impossible to go forward and hit him
because if you throw a feint, nonetheless throw a punch, he’s
gone five feet out of the way, he’s not going to sit there
and try to counter. He’s going to get out of the way, you
know, and he moves back in a way where it looks like he’s
doing something also so you kind of have to wait for him to come
in and then even when he does that it’s hard to plug him
or change your levels and take him down because he comes in at
such an angle, he’s not straight in front of you hitting
you but you know I think I did a great job of waiting for him
and like I said I was being patient, I was landing high-percentage
shots and you know, like I said, it’s just the judges’
saw it takedowns more than punches.”
HECTOR
CASTRO: “Now, your fancy footwork, I mean especially like
Dominick and guys like Frankie Edgar, they’ve been having
a lot of success with it. How hard is it for yourself, I mean
you know, a fighter, you’re normally a very aggressive fighter,
you know you bring it every fight. Wrestling base, good stand-up
as well but how hard is it when you’re facing a guy with
great footwork like that?”
JOSEPH
BENAVIDEZ: “Hey, I mean obviously it’s hard. It’s
hard to fight guys like that. I mean the two guys you named are
both world champions so you know it’s definitely hard to
fight a guy like that, it’s a strategic fight which I think
is hard for some people like me some other guys that just want
to go in there and basically take someone’s head off. I
mean I have a strategy, too, but yeah it’s hard to fight
a guy that’s not necessarily fighting you, you know, or
is not you know um… doing the things that most people would
do, staying in there in the pocket, catching punches, or turning
punches so you know it’s different and like I said, I think
I did a good job of figuring it out. I figure I think I’m
one of the best fighters in the world and I did a great job of
fighting like that, you know just came down to some small things
but yeah like I said it’s definitely hard to fight a guy
that’s running.”
HECTOR
CASTRO: “Now, how is it good for you? I mean your camp is
developing, you know obviously Urijah Faber, you have a lot of
good fighters, Chad Mendes, but you also got a couple of new
guys. I mean how good is that for you guys to add not only other
fighters but you know top competition?”
JOSEPH
BENAVIDEZ: “It’s awesome, man, you know you’re
only as good as your team and when you first start fighting you
need to find a great team to train with, a team that brings out
the best in you and I did that a long time ago, three and a half
years ago I moved from New Mexico and you know it was me and
Faber and a few guys and I was happy with that, I feel like I
was getting better and now that we’re just adding guys on
it makes it that much more. When you’re in the room fighting
with top-quality guys like that, some of the best, toughest,
strongest guys in the world, you know it makes the fight that
much easier. It gives you a lot of confidence going into the
fight to know that you’ve done it for 10 weeks now with
the toughest guys and you know you got to go in there for 25
minutes or 15 minutes with another guy so it really helps and
everyone just has a great mentality, everyone’s on the same
page and that makes it also great to be around.”
HECTOR
CASTRO: “Well, what’s next for you, man? I mean, you
know, obviously you’re coming off this loss. Where do you
go from here?”
JOSEPH
BENAVIDEZ: “The way I look at it, you know, I’m not
going to lose a fight to anyone in the division. I feel like,
like I said earlier, I feel like I’m the best fighter in
the division. One of the best and everyone’s tough so there’s
going to be some great fights ahead for me, there’s so many
people out there in the 35 division that people don’t even
know they’re great fighters and a lot of the other known
guys, so I’m looking forward to fighting any of these guys
and the way I look at it, you know, I’m not going to lose
and Cruz might be at the top for a while so if I don’t lose
I mean there’s no choice but to give me a title shot again
because I’m just going to beat everyone until they do.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
X-1
World Events Today!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Blaisdell Arena
X-1
TO PRESENT BIGGEST TITLE FIGHT IN HAWAIIAN MMA HISTORY ON SEPTEMBER
11TH AT “HEROES”
Second
round of light heavyweight title tourney to commence
Honolulu,
HI (USA): Top Hawaiian fight promotion X-1 World Events today
announced the full fight card for its next incredible event,
entitled “HEROES.” This exciting fight card will feature
a main event of X-1 World Middleweight Champion Falaniko Vitale
putting his belt on the line against devastating KO artist Kala
“Kolohe” Hose. Also taking place at the Neal S. Blaisdell
Arena that night will be the much-anticipated second round of
the X-1 World Light Heavyweight title tournament, as the pairings
have been set. Russia’s Vitaly Shemetov, coming off a brutal
KO victory over Japanese MMA pioneer Shungo Oyama, will battle
Hawaii’s own Poai Suganuma. Also coming off a big KO win
is South Korea’s Sang Soo Lee, who will lock horns with
California’s Roy Boughton, an undefeated submission specialist.
“HEROES” will also showcase two world title fights,
as well as a world kickboxing championship match.
Tickets
for this incredible event will go on sale on August 7th at the
Blaisdell Box Office at 9 AM, as well as all Wal-Mart, Kailua
Sports Gear outlets, and on Tickemaster.com, or by calling (800)
745-3000. Prices are $200.00 for 1st row/cageside seats , $150.00
for 2nd row seats, $100.00 for floor seats, $50.00 for the risers/lodges,
and $35.00 for the upper bowl. Tickets for all military, law
enforcement, fire department, and EMT’s are available with
ID at the Blaisdell Box Office for $10 off of the $50 and $35
seats, and $25 off the $200 floor seats, $150 2nd row seats,
and $100 floor seats.
Falaniko
Vitale (27-9, fifteen submissions) is one of the most respected
Hawaiian combatants fighting today. An experienced athlete who
recently celebrated ten years as a professional fighter, Vitale
proudly represents the 808 Fight Factory, one of the toughest
fight gyms on the Islands, and has fought for some of the most
well-known promotions in the world. Fans of King of the Cage,
Rage in the Cage, SuperBrawl, Icon Sport, the IFL, StrikeForce,
and the UFC have all seen his skill set exhibited. In his most
recent bout, he defended his coveted X-1 strap against former
UFC competitor Kalib Starnes, finishing his controversial opponent
via submission in the process. Niko, as he is known, has taken
on top names in the sport, including “Ruthless” Robbie
Lawler, former StrikeForce Middleweight title challenger Jason
“Mayhem” Miller, MMA pioneer Jeremy Horn, StrikeForce/UFC
veteran Trevor Prangley, and UFC fighter Frank Trigg. He has
beaten notable fighters such as UFC vet Aaron Riley, former UFC
Middleweight Champion Dave Menne, UFC middleweight contender
Yushin Okami, and the aforementioned Lindland.
Kala
“Kolohe” Hose (7-3, seven KO/TKOs) is known for his
devastating knockout power, and has garnered a reputation as
one of the toughest Island fighters today. He claimed the ICON
Middleweight title in August of 2008 with an exciting TKO victory
over current UFC fighter Phil Baroni that was lauded by Island
fight fans for its great action. Also a veteran of Superbrawl
and EliteXC, Hose will look to add the X-1 Middleweight belt
to his list of accomplishments. During his career, he’s
faced UFC veterans such as Baroni, “Mayhem” Miller,
and Reese Andy. He will face what is probably the toughest opponent
of his career in Vitale.
In
addition, the second round of the heralded X-1 World Light Heavyweight
tourney will commence at this event, as former EliteXC headliner
and Hawaii native Poai Suganuma (10-3) will match up with “The
Dancing Russian” Vitaly Shemetov (7-7), who brutalized respected
veteran Shungo Oyama in the first round of the tournament en
route to a KO victory. Suganuma, for his part, defeated Greg
Schmitt via unanimous decision on his way to advancing. The other
semifinal matchup will feature Gracie-trained submission specialist
Roy Boughton (4-0, four submissions), who tapped out Adam Akau
with a first round guillotine choke to garner a place in the
second round of the tournament, as he faces extremely tough South
Korean SpiritMC veteran Sang Soo Lee (14-9). Lee knocked out
Daniel Madrid with a beautiful right hand in order to move on
in the tourney. Also featured will be a 145 lb. World Championship
bout between Dave Moreno and Ricky Wallace, as well as a 135
lb. World Championship fight between Bryson Hanson and Russell
Doane.
“I
am very excited about this incredible card. Having two great
Island fighters like Niko and Kolohe fight for the belt, along
with the second round of the tournament, and throwing in two
other title matches…what a card!” exclaimed Mike Miller,
Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events. “It’s going to
be an amazing night of fights.”
The
full fight card is as follows:
Main
Event: 185 lb. World MMA Championship:
Falaniko Vitale vs. Kala “Kolohe” Hose
Light
Heavyweight MMA Championship tournament (second round):
Poai Suganuma (HI) vs. Vitaly Shemetov (Russia)
Sang Soo Lee (S. Korea) vs. Roy Boughton (California)
145
lb. World MMA Championship:
Dave Moreno vs. Ricky Wallace
135
lb. World MMA Championship:
Bryson Hanson vs. Russell Doane
160
lb. World Kickboxing Championship:
Danilo Zanollini vs. Kaleo
Kwan
155
lbs. – Bryson Kamaka vs. Herman Santiago
135
lbs. – Adrianna Jenkins vs. Kat Alendai
135
lbs. – Eddie Perrells vs. Mark Tajon
135
lbs. – Raquel
Paaluhi
vs. Sarah D'Alelio
170
lbs. – Anthony Torres vs. Thomas Sedeno
145
lbs. – Dustin Kimura vs. Chris Williams
185
lbs. – Caleb Price vs. Collin Mansanas
135
lbs. – Van Shiroma vs. Kazuki Kinjo
About
X-1 World Events
Founded
in 2004 by Mike Miller, X-1 World Events is a world-class mixed
martial arts (MMA) promotional company based in Honolulu, HI.
Locally-owned and operated, X-1 delivers exciting live arena-based
entertainment events to fight fans all over the islands. The
events feature some of the MMA world’s most talented fighters,
including UFC, Pride, and Abu-Dhabi veterans such as former UFC
champions Dan “The Beast” Severn and Ricco Rodriguez,
UFC veterans Jeff Monson, Kimo Leopoldo, Chad “The Grinder”
Reiner, “Sugar” Shane Nelson, Brandon Wolff, Wes “The
Project” Sims, Ronald “The Machine Gun” Juhn,
Wesley “Cabbage” Correira, and Falaniko Vitale, as
well as Pride veterans Chris Brennan and Ron “H2O-Man”
Waterman. X-1 World Events can be found online at http://www.x1events.com/
About
Fight of Your Life Communications
Fight of Your Life is the only company that focuses exclusively
on communications within the sport of MMA. Through utilization
of media relationships, sponsorship contacts, writing skills,
and public relations experience, Fight of Your Life raises the
profile of its clients, which increases awareness, draws revenue,
and helps establish long-term viability. Current Fight of Your
Life clients include fight promotions such as Gladiator Challenge,
Jeff Curran’s XFO, X-1 World Events, MMA Big Show, and Shine
Fights. In addition, Fight of Your Life handles management for
rising StrikeForce lightweight title contender Lyle “Fancy
Pants” Beerbohm. Also, Fight of Your Life owner Phil Lanides
covers MMA for Examiner.com. For additional information on Fight
of Your Life Communications, please visit http://www.fightofyourlife.com/
|
The
Incredible Shrinking Hunt
By Jake
Rossen
It’s never a good sign to see a professional athlete refusing
to take off his shirt when a camera is around. Even with that
disclaimer, the training footage depicting Mark Hunt that’s
been circulating shows an obviously leaner fighter taking his
UFC debut fairly seriously.
Granted,
Hunt doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter: If he
doesn’t drop the excess flab that’s hung over his kickboxing
trunks since the 1990s, he won’t slide under the 265-pound
weight cap. But it’s nice to know someone is finally ignoring
the idea perpetuated by bloated athletes like Roy Nelson that
you can carry a sloppy body fat percentage and still be taken
seriously.
Nelson
is a good fighter, as is Hunt, but there is zero benefit to having
a gut to haul around in a sport as demanding on your anaerobic
activity as MMA. Can it be used to “control” opponents
on the ground who have trouble moving the excess weight? I guess:
Hunt kept side control on Fedor Emelianenko for an impressively
long time. But actual technique would accomplish the same thing.
Hunt
comes into the UFC with an asterisk: He appears to be unwanted
by the company and is present only because of contractual obligations
stemming from their buyout of Pride in 2007. His MMA career has
had a bizarre tempo: After winning five of his first six, he
went on to lose his next five. That’s leprosy to the promotion,
which typically only signs fighters on win streaks -- even when,
in the case of several debuting or returning fighters, those
wins are against human heavy bags. At least Hunt lost to some
of the best in the business, including Emelianenko and Josh Barnett.
If he goes down again, at least he’ll look good doing it.
Source: Sherdog
|
Boxing
champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. releases profanity-laced video rant
slamming Manny Pacquiao
BY Mitch
Abramson
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Most people kick back and unwind on their vacation. Floyd Mayweather
Jr. seems to prefer unleashing racist-filled criticism against
a fighter he's trying to negotiate a blockbuster bout against.
In
a Ustream video released early Thursday morning, Mayweather went
viral on Manny Pacquiao, calling him a "whore," accusing
him of doping, dubbing him a "midget" and generally
stealing the spotlight from Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, who
were in Dallas on Friday to hype their Nov. 13 title match.
Mayweather
seemed to be toying with the public's appetite for a fight with
Pacquiao that many expect to be the highest grossing match of
all time, if it can ever get made. The negotiations have broken
down over the issue of blood testing.
"I'm
on vacation for about a year, about a year," Mayweather
says on the video as members of his entourage can be seen in
the background, laughing. "As soon as we come off vacation,
we're going to cook that little yellow chump ... So they ain't
gotta worry about me fighting the midget ... Once I stomp the
midget, I'll make that make me a sushi roll and cook me some
rice."
Mayweather,
who is seen wearing a white baseball cap, blue T-shirt, goes
on to deride Pacquiao's finances. He also appears to be answering
fans' questions via cell phone on Ustream, which is a free, web-based
platform to screen video. At one point, he sings a derogatory
song about Pacquiao. At another point, he's strolling through
what's presumably his home, calling attention to his "suede"
walls and his computer-operated shower head in a bathroom. At
times, the video resembles an episode of "MTV Cribs"
with cursing and Pacquiao bashing.
"'Poochiao'
got three losses and two draws and been knocked out twice,"
Mayweather says. "So, like I said before, once I beat him
it's going to be a cakewalk and it's on to the next ... We know
Pacquiao made $6 million in his last fight and Floyd Mayweather
made $65 million in his last fight ... That Pacquiao, he can't
speak no English ... And then this with Nike only got 70Gs. How
stupid can a be? Reebok gave me a million dollars for three weeks.
I wore Reebok for a week for a million dollars ... This (EXPLETIVE'S)
name is Emmanuel. He got a fake name, taking power pellets,"
an apparent reference to performance enhancing drugs.
Pacquiao
released a statement through his publicist, Fred Sternburg, saying
only: "The video speaks for itself."
Sternburg
said he was with Pacquiao on Thursday night when they watched
the video.
"Manny
just shook his head," Sternburg said from Dallas.
Mayweather,
along with his advisor, Leonard Ellerbe, did not return a phone
call seeking comment. Pacquiao filed a defamation suit against
Mayweather last year for accusing Pacquiao of using performance
enhancing drugs, which Pacquiao has denied doing.
Pacquiao's
attorney in the suit, Daniel Petrocelli, did not return a call
for comment.
Ross
Greenburg, president of HBO Sports, who tried in vain to facilitate
negotiations between Mayweather and Pacquiao in the
spring, also declined to comment on the video.
The
two-hour video ends with Mayweather getting a haircut, promising
to be on Ustream again "tomorrow from the jet."
Source: New York Daily News
|
Boxer
Floyd Mayweather Jr. apologizes for racist Ustream video rant
against Manny Pacquiao
By Mitch
Abramson
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. hasn't boxed professionally since May 1, and he
doesn't have any fights lined up. To fill the void, he's taken
up an ill-fated second career as a web show host on Ustream,
where he unleashed a flood of racial invective against Manny
Pacquiao on Thursday, labeling him a "whore" a "midget,"
calling him "Poochiao" and suggesting that Pacquiao
is on performance-enhancing drugs.
The
fallout was swift and predictable with columnists and the boxing
community condemning the rhetoric as pathetic.
Apparently,
Mayweather got the message because at 12:16 a.m. on Saturday,
toward the end of a 50-minute video, he apologizes for his comments
on another Ustream web show, accompanied by the TV personality
Ray J, members of his entourage, and an unidentified woman who
appears to be a hotel employee, whom Mayweather introduces as
"Tanya, my new guest."
It
should be noted that Mayweather doesn't apologize directly to
Pacquiao but to anyone who was offended by his remarks.
"I
do want to apologize for what happened the other night,"
Mayweather says. "I want to apologize to everybody because
everybody thought that it was a racist comment that came from
me. I don't have a racist bone in my body. I have nothing but
love for everybody."
Mayweather,
wearing sunglasses and broadcasting from a "remote location,"
which appears to be a hotel room in Las Vegas, can be seen on
the video eating a stem of grapes, opening up a large plastic
bag filled with money, comparing his "black diamond"
watch with Ray J's, and generally engaged in good-natured ribbing
with an assortment of friends. Mayweather goes out of his way
to mention that there are people of different nationalities in
his entourage.
"Some
of my guys are Muslim, some of my guys are Jews. Puerto Ricans,
Dominicans, Mexicans, whites," he says. "It doesn't
matter. I got nothing but love in my heart. All I want to say
is, if anybody was affected from what I said the other day, I
apologize as a man. . . . I was just having fun. I didn't really
mean it."
Mayweather
goes on to give a half-hearted compliment to Pacquiao, saying:
"Manny Pacquiao is a good fighter. He truly believes that
he's one of the best. But the thing I know is that I am the best.
He's one of the best but I am the best. To all the Manny Pacquiao
fans, stand behind him, even one day when we meet up and I beat
him."
Mayweather
also offers condolences to his former promoter, Bob Arum, who
lost his oldest son, John, in a mountain climbing accident last
weekend.
"God
bless to Bob Arum and his son because I heard that Bob Arum's
son had a bad accident, so it's all love to the whole Arum family,"
Mayweather says.
Pacquiao
was boarding a plane and couldn't be reached for comment, his
spokesman said.
Source:
New York Daily News
|
Thiago
Silva excited to fight Brandon Vera
By Guilherme
Cruz
Away from the octagon since January 2 of 2010, Thiago Silva confirmed
to TATAME his duel with Brandon Vera, which happens on the first
day of 2011 (UFC 125). “The contract’s here, I’ll
sign it tomorrow”, revealed the American Top Team fighter.
Despite not fighting for a long time and a loss on his last fight
to Rashad Evans, Thiago believes that Vera’s two losses
in a row, to Jon Jones and Randy Couture, may be a positive factor.
“Everything depends on the athlete. To get there really
hungry for the win sometimes is not a good thing, but everyone
is different. I’ll be ready, for sure, and let’s see
what happens”, Thiago said, analyzing the game plan of his
opponent, who is a Muay Thai expert.
“I
think it’s a good fight, the two of us like to bang and
it seems it’ll be a great fight. I’m anxious for this
fight, our games match. He won’t be like trying to grab
me all the time, we’ll trade a lot of punches”, said,
focused on his recovery. “There’s plenty time and I
still have to fix my spine. I’m doing treatment for it.
It’ll take a month so I can go back to the trainings, but
now I just have to wait for me to fight again”, finished.
Source: Tatame
|
Shine
Fights faces oxidation after Virginia cancellation of Lightweight
tournament
By Zach
Arnold
For
those keeping score, Shine Fights was going to have a Lightweight
tournament old-school style in Virginia at the Patriot Center
(campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia —
the Washington D.C. area). Jason Chambers was scheduled to talk
about the event on Luke Thomas’s MMA Nation radio show.
Instead, the Virginia state athletic commission canceled the
Shine event after reportedly claiming that they wouldn’t
sanction the show due to ‘fan booking’ of tournament
fights. This resulted in Shine issuing a press release in which
the league said that they had a verbal agreement with the Virginia
commission.
Faced
with this dilemma, we have the following two stories to link
to:
In short, MMA Rising is reporting that if any of the fighters
go through and fight on the Shine card that they will get suspended
in all states that sanction MMA. In the case of Marcus Aurelio,
he is booked against Shin’ya Aoki on the DREAM card on 9/25
at Nagoya Rainbow Hall and has to figure out what to do —
does he fight on a Shine show that is under some pressure, to
say the least, or does he fight in Japan for a promotion that
has fighters complaining about money problems?
Shine
says that they have been the victim of bad and inaccurate press
from MMA media members and Tapout Radio conducted an interview
last night with one MMA writer singled out in particular, JA
Yount. Listen to that interview here (28 MB).
It
should be worth repeating from the MMA Rising article —
Oklahoma’s commission won’t sanction this event. We’re
not talking California or New Jersey here, but rather Oklahoma.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
MARQUARDT
FIRES BACK AT HARDY'S WRESTLING RANT
by Damon
Martin
Wrestling has always been a vital part of MMA, from the days
of Dan Severn and Mark "The Hammer" Coleman to fighters
at the top of the sport today like Georges St-Pierre and Brock
Lesnar.
Dan
Hardy is one person who does not enjoy the wrestling tactic used
in many fights. He expressed those thoughts after two of his
teammates fell short battling grapplers in their fights at UFC
118 in Boston.
"I
think the problem is there's beginning to be too much wrestling
in UFC Octagon, not too little of it in the gym," Hardy
said in an article for the Nottingham Post. "There are a
lot of people out there calling themselves 'UFC fighters' who
are nothing of the kind. In the UFC, you should go for finishes.
"You
should work for 15 minutes to knock your opponent out, submit
him, or improve your position to give yourself the best chance
of doing either. But there's guys out there who just want to
use wrestling to hold a stalemate for 15 minutes, without ever
risking going for ground and pounds or attempting submissions."
Hardy
fell prey to the takedown in his last fight, finding himself
on his back for the better part of 25 minutes in his title bout
against UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. Hardy isn't
the first British fighter to suffer in the wrestling department,
and while he admits he's working on that part of the game, he
still has issues with the current trend in the UFC.
Another
person who fell short due to his wrestling in his last fight
is Nate Marquardt. Top middleweight contender Chael Sonnen took
him down repeatedly in their fight back in February.
Marquardt
takes a different approach when hearing Hardy's comments about
wrestling's dominance in MMA.
"I
think that's just something from someone who isn't a good wrestler,"
Marquardt said about Hardy. "I think wrestling is a big
part of MMA, and you shouldn't complain about it, you should
learn it and learn how to defend against it."
Speaking
about his fight with Sonnen, Marquardt is honest about his shortcomings
and what he did when he went back in the gym to ensure it doesn’t
happen again.
"I
was unable to defend the takedowns in my last fight, and that's
why I lost the fight," Marquardt commented. "Now I'm
going to be more prepared to defend the takedown no matter who
I'm fighting, and I worked hard on my wrestling and I continue
to work hard on my wrestling."
Looking
at the current champions and contenders in the UFC, there are
wrestlers perched at the top of several divisions, but there
are always interlacing fighters from striking backgrounds, grappling
backgrounds, and everything in between.
Marquardt
believes this is just the right moment for wrestling to dominate
in MMA, but just like everything else, the times will change.
"With
mixed martial arts we see waves of changes, trends in the sport
where one minute it's strikers that are dominating the sport,
then all of a sudden it's the wrestlers, then it kind of goes
back and forth, and I think it's just something you have to pay
attention to and be prepared for," he commented.
Marquardt
has worked tirelessly on his wrestling and grappling since the
loss to Sonnen in preparation for his upcoming fight with Rousimar
Palhares at UFC Fight Night 22. For Hardy, his next fight will
fall against New Mexico fighter Carlos Condit at UFC 120 in England.
As
far as the debate about wrestling in MMA, that will always continue
to be an ongoing discussion among fighters, media, and promoters.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Erik
Paulson looks back at Lesnar/Carwin fight and previews upcoming
Lesnar/Velasquez fight
By Zach
Arnold
INTERVIEWER:
“Erik, we all know that you train Brock Lesnar. Let’s
revisit that fight (with Carwin). What do you feel about that
fight?”
ERIK
PAULSON: “I felt that, uh… the year off for Brock,
just like anybody, made him rusty and I think that basically
the biggest goal in that fight, getting ready, was for conditioning
so he did mostly tons and tons of conditioning. Lots of strength
exercises, lots and lots of cardiovascular aerobic and anaerobic
exercises. Probably not as much as sparring, more pad work trying
to sharpen and crispen stuff. I think we probably could have
done more sparring. Sparring makes you more comfortable to use
stuff because of the pressure factor and you know a lot of pad
work just to get the technique work back and crisp and you know
on pads he looked great. There was a little bit of nervousness
going into the fight when he stepped there into the beginning
because Shane was coming gunning for him and have the intention
and he’s a big, strong formidable opponent you know. I think
of anybody who’s the most dangerous it would be probably
him and now they’re talking Cain Velasquez, but I know that
Shane really worked hard and physically is pretty comparable
to Brock as far as strength-wise. I don’t know about athleticism
but I know strength-wise and definitely power in the punch.”
INTERVIEWER:
“We saw Brock get clipped by an uppercut by Shane. In between
rounds, what was going on? Let’s move back, when you saw
him get hit with that uppercut, what was going through your mind?”
ERIK
PAULSON: “Uh… boy, he got caught, and when he crumbled
up we’re like, move, grab him or move, and you know it was
kind of a blur for me because it was like he got hit and then
all of a sudden he kind of crumbled and then hit the fence and
then they kind of went to the ground and then Brock fetal’d
up which was weird for me because I thought he would try to scramble
so I think he really got rocked with that shot and the time on
the ground and the defending actually gave him enough time to
get his bearings back and kick him off a couple of times. Also
allowed Shane to drop a couple of bombs but if you look, a lot
of those hits weren’t hitting him, they were hitting the
arms and the ref twice if he was OK and he responded and pushed
him away, so it was close. I mean we were all nervous.”
INTERVIEWER:
“Now, we’re in-between rounds, Lesnar comes to your
guys’ corner, what are you guys telling him?”
ERIK
PAULSON: “Uh… keep your hands up, you got to go first,
you got to him, you got to drop your hands, fire when you’re
fired on, stay away from the right hand, keep moving to the right
and you know if you get hit, tie-up and get him down, you got
to get him on the ground. I have a piece of paper written on
the counter that I wrote, it said ‘Brock will win round
two/three via shoulder triangle choke.’ And it’s sitting
on my desk at home right now. I wrote that as a… because
I knew that was only move that Comprido had been working the
whole time was one submission that was getting either half-guard
or side-control and getting that shoulder triangle and then really
surgically putting the head down, getting the hips right, and
getting up on the toes and putting your hips forward so I think
that was kind of the key and when I saw him do it in practice
over and over and over, I just go, ‘Brock’s going to
finish Shane with a head and arm triangle.’ Once he got
that on, I go this fight’s almost over and then Brock had
it tight and then he looked up at the corner and we’re like,
head down, put your head under, and then create that angle and
try to get that angle on the body and get up on the toes and
rotate your head under and you could see Shane at first was like
this, he kind of rolled and then he kind of went back and you
could see his eyes, he looked up, he was like… it’s
on, and he started fighting and turning and boom.”
INTERVIEWER:
“What was the mood like after the fight?”
ERIK
PAULSON: “Uh… well, everyone was happy and surprised
and it was just like… but I think by Brock getting hit and
almost losing I think the respect factor in his head, he was
a lot more humble I think to the camera and I think the crowd
really like did a 180 on him and said, wow, that was good and
the fact that he didn’t showboat afterwards is really good
and showed some respect, that was very good.”
INTERVIEWER:
“It was announced by Dana White that Brock will be facing
Cain Velasquez. Cain’s a really tough test for Brock as
he possesses good speed, good hands. How do you see that fight
going? What do you want to train Brock specifically for Cain?”
ERIK
PAULSON: “Well I think what Brock needs, more than anything,
is good sparring partners that can kick box and grapple. So he’s
got some guys in his camp that actually can throw down with good
striking, good takedowns, and good takedown defense so I’m
sure the goal for that camp will probably be bringing in some
good strikers in.”
INTERVIEWER:
“Would you care to give a prediction on that bout? How do
you see it coming out to?”
ERIK
PAULSON: “Uh… It’s the same as Randy. Randy scientifically
formulates game plan strategies and tactics according to a person’s
strengths and weaknesses and Brock’s the same way and he’s
going to try to bring in quality guys and formulate a game plan.
I already know a game plan that would work for him should be
like but it’s just word of advice and whether or not he
follows through with that, it’s up to him, I don’t
know. Marty’s (Marty Morgan) in charge of his camp and he
brings a lot of different guys in so you know that’s their
choice, all you can do is offer a comment.”
INTERVIEWER:
“Now if you can comment about it, what are some weaknesses
that you see in Cain Velasquez?”
ERIK
PAULSON: “He’s real tough, there’s a big size
difference, though, with Brock and him so the power factor but
he hits hard, he’s fast, he’s in-and-out, he’s
a good wrestler so he can actually stop stuff and get out of
stuff. I don’t know if he’s used to going against someone
as big and powerful as Brock. I think that’s a big thing.
Fighting someone that’s actually equally as aggressive and
powerful as Brock.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Octagon
Return of Yves Edwards Confirmed for Sept. 15th
By FCF Staff
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has officially confirmed the
Octagon return of Yves Edwards, as a lightweight bout between
the accomplished veteran and John Gunderson, has finally been
added to the line-up for the September 15th UFC Fight Night card
in Austin, Texas.
Edwards
(38-16-1) will fight under the UFC banner for the first time
since July, 2006, when the American Top Team fighter lost by
TKO (doctor stoppage due to a cut) to Joe Stevenson. Since then
Edwards has gone 7-5 fighting for a host of promotions, including
BodogFight, HDNet Fights, Elite XC, and Strikeforce amongst others.
Most recently, on August 12th, Edwards (pictured left) worked
his way to a Unanimous Decision victory over Luis Palomino at
Bellator 24.
Gunderson
(23-8-1) has gone 1-1 since signing with the UFC earlier this
year, losing by Unanimous Decision to Rafaello Oliveira in January,
before earning his first Octagon win in June via a UD victory
over Mark Holst. The International Fight League veteran is 4-1
in his last five fights.
The
upcoming UFC Fight Night card, which will be hosted by Austin’s
Frank Erwin Center, will be headlined by a middleweight bout
between Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares. The event will
be broadcast live on Spike TV.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
On
Fighters and Luck
By Ben
Fowlkes
Shortly after his heartbreaking loss to Anderson Silva via fifth-round
submission, a dejected Chael Sonnen sat down at the post-fight
press conference and made a simple proclamation to everyone who
was eager to chalk the loss up to a lucky finish for the champ:
"The better man always wins."
At
the time, it seemed like a magnanimous statement from the walking
insult generator. Even though he won 22 minutes of the 23-minute
fight, and even though he'd taken all four rounds on every judge's
scorecard, it didn't matter in Sonnen's eyes. Silva won, and
that's the only metric that matters when it comes to determining
who the superior fighter is. So he said.
But
as much as we hear about how anything can happen in MMA, how
the four-ounce gloves are known to conjure a certain type of
magic in the cage, aren't there times when you just get lucky
and win one you shouldn't? Does the better man really always
win?
"Definitely
not," said Jason "Mayhem" Miller. "But what
else is there?"
It's
a fair point. It's not like we can open up each guy's brain and
find some magic formula that will tell us exactly how good he
is. Good is a changeable commodity in the fight game. Some nights
you're better than others. Some nights things just don't go your
way.
"You
get one chance, that one night, and you can get lucky,"
Miller said. "I think the better guy usually wins. Just
mathematically it works out that way. Usually, it's who's better
that night. I've had so many fights where afterwards I was like,
dude, I shouldn't have won. Either because I was sick or f----d
up or whatever. And then there were others where I did lose and
thought, well, I can't believe I even did this because I was
so hurt or sick I was going to pull out. That's life, though."
I don't think, in my opinion, that anybody really knocks someone
out with what they thought would knock them out.
-- Pat Barry
But this presents a problem for outside observers. Most of the
time we never know if fighters are hurt or sick or just not all
there, because they've learned that it's not worth the trouble
of trying to explain it to us. They take their loss and move
on.
Then,
there are also the times when nobody's sick or injured, but one
guy just catches a fortunate break. Kenny Florian can remember
one time when he was that guy.
"I
guess the Chris Leben fight, certainly, that was probably the
only fight where I felt like I was losing and got off easy. I
got that cut. I wasn't winning the fight by any means. He was
a guy with probably literally ten times as much experience as
me at the time. He was much bigger, much better, and maybe even
deserved to go through [the "Ultimate Fighter" tournament]
over me, but he didn't. That's probably the only time that happened
to me. It's rare, but it happens. Out of my twenty fights or
so, that's the only time it's happened."
The
lucky cut is somewhat rare, as is the lucky submission. But the
lucky punch? That's a trope that's as old as punching itself.
It couldn't have been long after the first caveman learned to
ball up his hand and use it as a weapon that some other outmatched
early man knocked a bigger, stronger foe unconscious with a shot
that was more of a hope and a prayer than a tactical assault.
Pat
Barry has flung enough punches at other humans' heads to know
how that goes. The way he tells it, knockout punches are almost
never the carefully premeditated affair many of us assume them
to be.
"I
don't think, in my opinion, that anybody really knocks someone
out with what they thought would knock them out. I think knockouts
happen, for me anyway, when it's usually kind of accidental.
I mean, you always throw the punch with the hope and intention
of knocking someone out, but you never know it's going to happen.
I've thrown punches before that were just supposed to feel guys
out, then it lands and the guy falls down unconscious. At the
same time, I've also thrown power shots on people that I knew
were going to land, and they've done nothing."
For
instance, there was the right hand he floored Mirko "Cro
Cop" Filipovic with. Barry felt sure that one was a fight-ender.
It knocked Filipovic down, but it also broke Barry's hand in
the process. Talk about bad luck.
But
then, there have been times in Barry's career where the pendulum
has swung in the other direction.
"I've
had kickboxing matches in China where I went in going, this is
not going to be good. I'm not ready for this, I'm not there,
and I just don't feel prepared. Then the bell rings, I throw
a punch, and the guy goes down unconscious. ...There's a sense
of relief, honestly."
MMA
is somewhat unique when it comes to the element of luck. In football
maybe you can get lucky with a hail Mary pass that bounces off
someone's helmet and lands in your receiver's arms in the end
zone, but in order for it to matter the game has to be close
to begin with. In MMA, you can lose every second of the fight
and still win it at the end. As long as there's time left on
the clock, you have a chance.
"The
more punches you throw out there, the luckier you tend to get,"
said "Mayhem" Miller. "That's part of mixed martial
arts. That's why we love it. You have that ability at any time
to end it."
But
it leaves us with the same question we started with: if you can
get lucky and win a fight, does that mean you were the better
fighter? If you lose 99% of the fight and still win, does that
necessarily make you the better fighter even on that one night?
Is the end result all that matters?
Maybe
not, but as "Mayhem" points out, it's all we have.
Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes luck is the intersection of
perseverance and opportunity. It's not something you can plan
for, and it's not something you can ever remove from the equation
entirely. All you can do is keep plugging away and hope for the
best.
Maybe
tonight is your lucky night. Then again, maybe it's the other
guy's.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Happy
with the belt, Jacaré wants more
By Guilherme
Cruz
On a 25-minutes battle, Ronaldo Jacaré dominated Tom Kennedy
with a sharp stand-up game and won his first MMA title of the
career, becoming Strikeforce’s middleweight champion. “I
set a good strategy, my opponent came prepared to defend himself
from my takedowns, so I moved a lot on the cage and I connected
the best punches”, Jacaré told TATAME, explaining
why he did not use his Jiu-Jitsu skills.
“It was the way I found to win this fight. Of course I prefer
the ground fight, but it’s a long way until you get there
and sometimes it ain’t easy, and I also thought he’d
try to take me down too, so I’d use my strong point, which
is my Jiu-Jitsu”, he explains, celebrating his good performance
on the striking.
“I train very little the stand-up game, but I’m learning
a lot from my coaches: Distak on MMA and Boxing, Cesário
on Boxing, and Tunico on Muay Thai. I know it’s very important
to me to evolve while standing up, because I want to be a complete
MMA fighter: I have to be great on the takedowns, takedown defenses,
stand-up game, making or passing the guard”, said.
Glad
with the win, the marriage and the birth of his first son, Enzo
Gabriel, the black-belt dreams with more. “I feel fine being
the champion of Strikeforce, but I want more than that. My victory
is gone, now I want to put my belt in line. I want to fight one
more time this year”, concluded the champion, on a chat
with TATAME.
Source: Tatame
|
UFC
122 TAPS OSIPCZAK VS. LUDWIG
by Ken
Pishna
The fight card for UFC 122 in Oberhausen, Germany, continues
to come together. MMAWeekly.com has learned from sources close
to the bout that verbal agreements are in place to pit Nick Osipczak
against Duane “Bang” Ludwig in a welterweight bout
at the Konig Pilsener Arena.
British
fighter Osipczak (5-2) is likely on his last leg on the Octagon.
After starting strong coming off “The Ultimate Fighter:
Team U.S.A. vs. Team U.K.” with wins over Frank Lester and
Matt Riddle, Osipczak has since dropped back-to-back decision
losses to Rick Story and Greg Soto. He likely needs a win to
remain on the roster.
Ludwig
(19-11) is also on a two-fight skid, but under vastly different
circumstances. He stepped up on short notice for a tough bout
against lightweight contender Jim Miller less than a month after
his last Ring of Fire appearance, and then faced Octagon newcomer
Darren Elkins in March, losing the bout due to a severe injury.
Elkins
shot a takedown on Ludwig, whose left leg was pinned awkwardly
under his body. He suffered three breaks in his leg and ankle
– including a spiral fracture – that required three
screws inserted in his ankle.
After
several months on crutches and having had at least one of the
screws removed, he is currently training at Grudge Training Center
in Denver.
A
middleweight contenders showdown between Vitor Belfort and Yushin
Okami is expected to headline UFC 122 on Nov. 13.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
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