Upcoming
Events
Do you
want to list an event on Onzuka.com?
Contact
Us
(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2012
3/29-4/1
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(Irvine, CA)
2/11/11
Mayhem at the Mansion
(MMA)
(Kilohana Carriage House, Lihue, Kauai)
2011
12/9/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
11/18/11
Island Heat 3: Tha Comeback
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom,Waipahu)
11/11/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
11/5-6/11
Eternal
Submissions
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Kauai)
11/5/11
Hawaii Toughman
(Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic Ctr)
Chozun-1
(Kickboxing)
(The Waterfront, Aloha Tower Market Place)
10/22/11
NAGA Hawaii
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H.S. Gym)
10/21/11
Destiny MMA
(MMA)
(The Waterfront, Aloha Tower Market Place)
10/15/11
Up N Up
(MMA)
(Kodak Room, Waikiki Shell)
10/7/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
9/24/11
Aloha
State of BJJ
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser HS)
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
( Palolo District Park Gym)
9/23/11
808 Battleground Presents: Unstoppable
(MMA)
(The Waterfront, Aloha Tower Market Place)
9/3/11
Australian Fighting Championship 2
(MMA)
Melbourne Aquatic & Sports Complex, Melbourne, Australia)
9/2/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
8/27/11
Pro
Elite MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Toughman Hawaii
(Boxing, Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic)
Add to events calendar
8/20/11
POSTPONED
Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Neal Blaisdell Center
Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui)
8/13/11
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waterfront at Aloha Tower)
8/12/11
Up N Up: Waipahu Brawl
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
8/6/11
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
7/22/11
808 Battleground & X-1 World Events
Domination
(MMA)
(Waterfront at Aloha Tower)
Vendetta
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
7/16/11
2011 Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament
(Continuous Sparring, MMA (Controlled), and Submission Grappling)
(War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
7/8/11
Chozun 2
(Kickboxing)
(The Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace, Honolulu)
Rener Gracie Seminar
O2 Martial Arts Academy
$65
7-9PM
7/1/11
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
6/25/11
Kauai Cage Fights
(MMA)
(Kilohana Estates)
6/17-19/11
Big Boys & MMA Hawaii Expo
Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu)
6/18-19/11
Hawaii
Triple Crown
“State Championships”
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu)
6/18/11
Destiny: Fury II
(MMA)
(Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu)
6/17/11
UpNUp: On The Rise
(MMA)
(Neal Blaisdell Center, Honolulu)
6/10/11
Genesis “76 South Showdown Kickboxing”
(Kickboxing)
(Campbell H.S. Gym, Ewa Beach)
6/2-5/11
World
Jiu-Jitsu Championship
(BJJ)
(California)
5/28/11
HUAWA Grappling Tournament 2011
Grappling Series II
(Submission grappling)
(Mililani H.S. Gym, Mililani)
Cancelled
Battleground 808
(MMA)
(The Waterfront, Aloha Tower)
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
5/21/11
Scraplafest 3
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Island School, Puhi, Kauai, behind Kauai Commuity College)
5/20/11
Kauai Knockout Championship II: Mortal Combat
(MMA)
(Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall, Lihue)
5/14/11
Boxing Smoker
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Gym)
5/6/11
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
4/28/11
Destiny: Fury II
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/23/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Gladiators for God
(Amateur Muay Thai)
(Wet&Wild Water Park)
4/16/11
Hawaiian
Championship of BJJ
(BJJ
& Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
4/15/11
Destiny
& 808 Battleground presents "Supremacy"
(MMA)
(Aloha Tower Waterfront)
4/9/11
Fight Girls Hawaii
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
4/2/11
Toughman Hawaii
(Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic Ctr)
3/24-27/11
Pan
American Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA)
3/26/11
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
HUAWA Grappling Tourney
(Sub Grappling)
(Mililani HS Gym)
3/12/11
X-1:
Dylan Clay vs Niko Vitale
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/11/11
Chozun 1: "the Reckoning"
(Kickboxing)
(The Waterfront at Aloha Tower Marketplace, Honolulu)
3/5/11
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
2/25/11
808
Battleground Presents
War of Warriors
(MMA)
(The Waterfront At Aloha Tower, Honolulu)
2/20/11
Pan
Kids Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(California State University, Carson, CA )
2/19/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
2/5/11
Garden Island Cage Match 10: Mayhem at the Mansion 2
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Kilohana Carriage House, Lihue, Kauai)
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
2/4/11
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
1/29/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Battle At The Barn
(MMA)
(Molokai H.S. Gym, Molokai)
1/8/11
Hawaii Toughman
(Kickboxing)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
|
|
December
2011 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.
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!
|
Want
to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
Click here for pricing and more
information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
|
O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer 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
What
: Man-up & Stand-up / Kickboxing
Today
Where : Waipahu Filcom Center
When : Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011
Doors open @ 5:30 pm
Happy
holidays to all of you fight fans. Das right, the end of the
year is near and you know what that means. It’s the time
when Man-up & Stand-up gives back to all of the top fighters
that supported the show throughout the year. Fighters will be
battling for belts at their respected weights. There will be
grudge matches, title defenses, rookie of the year battles and
the list goes on. If you haven’t been to one of these events
then the end of the year show is definitely the one that you
don’t wanna miss. Amateur stand up action at its finest.
This event is scheduled for 25 fights and please believe that
it will be action packed because you know how its done here on
Man-up & Stand-up. It’s all about the knockdowns, not
the takedowns.
As
you all know. The grudge matches are usually the most vicious
and least sportsmanlike battles when the timekeeper rings the
bell. One of the grudge matches that will have the crowd bouncing
again is the Aiona vs Kapua match. Aawh yeeeeeaaaaaahhh, When
a belt is on the line it makes things more intense. Man-up &
Stand-up heard of their beef on the streets and asked them if
they both would wanna settle it in the ring instead of the streets
where police and jail time are involved. They agreed, they battled,
they shook hands. In their first meet & greet, Kapua was
like a pitbull off of his leash which had the judges labeling
him as the aggressor in the fight. But Aiona used his reach and
movement which helped him to get the decision over Kapua. That
fight was so close that Man-up & Stand-up asked them if they
wanna do it one mo’ gen but for a belt. They agreed, they
will battle but this time they will probably raise each others
hands at the end of the fight unless one of them is on the mat
snoring. Jude is training twice as hard and Aiona changed his
training camp for this rematch. Can’t wait to see the outcome
on this one.
Two
of Man-up & Stand-up’s undefeated fighters of 2011 will
face each other for the most outstanding 140 pounder of the year.
They both participate in triple threat, pankration, kickboxing
and they do fairly well in all of them. They have dominated every
opponent in kickboxing that Man-up & Stand-up has given them.
Now, Man-up & Stand-up will give them each other to see who
will rise to the top to receive the title. Big Islands Kai Kunimoto
will go to war with Westside’s Kaylen Stafford. Kunimoto
is the taller of the two and throws some punishing leg kicks.
Stafford is the more aggressive of the two and favors his hands
more. Both have excellent counter punching and both have the
same intentions of walking out of the ring with the bling. So
be there to see who wants it more. Big islander or the Westsider.
There
will be 2 titles going out to 2 worthy kids that started off
this year just learning the basics of kickboxing. As they fought
throughout the year, their skills have improved as well as their
love for this sport. The Ceno brothers go up against two of Up
N Up’s 9 year olds that have waited for this moment from
the beginning of this year. There are not too many young kids
that favor this sport so these 4 kids take pretty much whatever
they can get, as long as the weight and age aren’t outrageous.
But all four of these kids have earned the right to battle for
something more than just a mark under the W. If you seen these
kids fight, you would agree with Man-up & Stand-up. And if
you don’t, come down to the Filcom on Dec 10 to be amazed.
Be
sure to get your tickets early for only a limited amount of tickets
will be made. Others will have to pay at the door. Man-up &
Stand-up will try to keep the card updated every week and hopefully
have a new write up on some of the other upcoming matches. All
of these matches will be something to talk about over the holidays.
Thank you for all of your support throughout the year and happy
holidays to you all. Check out the talent that is about to be
let loose on Dec. 10.
Man
Up and Stand Up
Saturday
Dec 10 2011
Waipahu
Filcom Center
Doors
open at 6:00
KEONI
CHANG
140
TOFI MIKA
JUSTIN
DULAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
160
WALTER WALKER
KAI KUNIMOTO
140
KALEYN STAFFORD
EUGENE
ANGUAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
130
ISAIAH PASCUA
NALU KAWAILIMA
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
135
ELIAS VELASCO
ISAAC HOPPS
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
146
JASON LEDWARD
DAMON APPLEBAUM
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
SHW
BEN BOYCE
ROB CONNELL
185
MILLER UALESEI
EVAN QUIZON
130
DENNIS MONTIRA
JUDE KAPUA
200
BRYCESON AIONA
KANANI JUHN
155
STEPHANIE KOENIG
NAZ HARRISON
100
MAKOA DESANTOS
CHEVES ANTOQUE
185
HOKU CUBAN
BRYSON
"FO REAL" LUM (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
150
JON MENDONSA
DARRYL DANO
145
NEVADA HARRISON
CHANTE STAFFORD
125
DONTEZ COLEMAN
JOEY BALAI
125
SHAWN DESANTOS
MONICA FRANCO
135
JENNA GANABAN
JOHN TURMER
185
KALANI PARKS
LOMBARD MADALORA
175
KAI
LOPAKA CENO
60
JONAH CARTER
CHANCE CENO
65
AINSLEY
CHERISSE HAIOLA
130
TAYLOR ENGCABO
JORDAN ROBERTS
125
ALFONSO MARTINEZ
All
matches and participants are subject to change.
|
UFC
140 Today
By Zach
Arnold
Air Canada Centre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
12/10/11
Hawaii
Air Times:
2:00-3:00PM Preliminaries Channel 27
4:00-7:00PM UFC 140 Channel 701
Dark matches
Lightweights: Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish
Welterweights: Rich Attonito vs. Jake Hecht
Lightweights: Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
Bantamweights: Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson
Lightweights: John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman
Middleweigths: Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
Welterweights: Brian Ebersole vs. Claude Patrick
Main card
Light Heavyweights: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
Featherweights: Mark Hominick vs. The Korean Zombie
Light Heavyweights: Tito Ortiz (+175)vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
(-220, 11 to 5)
Heavyweights: Frank Mir (-260, 13 to 5) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
(+210)
UFC Light Heavyweight title match: Jon Jones (-450, 9 to 2) vs.
Lyoto Machida (+350)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
St-Pierre
Injured: Diaz vs. Condit at UFC 143
by Ken
Pishna
Match-ups
change on a dime in mixed martial arts, and the pairing of Georges
St-Pierre and Nick Diaz has suffered its second blow. Slated
to fight each other at UFC 143 on Super Bowl weekend, GSP has
been knocked out of the bout with a “blown ACL.”
UFC president Dana White tweeted the news on Wednesday, identifying
St-Pierre’s injury, and noting that he will be out for about
10 months due to the injury.
White also confirmed that Carlos Condit would be slotted in his
place to face Nick Diaz for the interim UFC welterweight title.
This marks the second time the bout between St-Pierre and Diaz
has been derailed. The first time was UFC 139, when Diaz missed
a couple required public appearances, raising the ire of UFC
officials, who pulled him from the bout and replace him with
Carlos Condit.
St-Pierre, however, suffered a minor knee injury in training
prior to the bout, leaving officials no choice but to elevate
the UFC 139 co-main event between Nick Diaz and B.J. Penn to
main event status, rescheduling GSP and Condit for UFC 143.
Diaz went on to defeat Penn. White then made the call to put
Diaz back in the title picture, setting him up to challenge St-Pierre
at UFC 143 on Feb. 4 in Las Vegas, moving Condit aside to face
Josh Koscheck on the same night.
Now, with GSP having to bow out once again, the UFC is matching
up Diaz and Condit in the UFC 143 main event for an interim belt.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Pros
Pick: Jones vs. Machida
By Mike
Sloan
Light
heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his crown for a second
time when he meets former titleholder Lyoto Machida in the UFC
140 main event on Saturday at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
The clash between two of the sport’s most unorthodox fighters
marks the UFC’s third and final trip to the Great White
North in 2011.
Sherdog.com
caught up with a number of professional fighters and trainers
to gauge their opinions on the UFC 140 headliner:
Pat
Miletich: Although very tough, Machida is not a good enough athlete
to counter the speed and power of Jones. Fight does not get past
the third.
Fabio
Maldonado: I’m cheering for Machida, but I can’t pick.
I think Jones is the favorite, perhaps with a 60 percent chance
of winning. Lyoto is exceptional, but if he wins, he will be
even more exceptional. It will be a great fight.
Travis
Wiuff: I don’t see how Machida can win this fight. What’s
he gonna do, stand and trade with Jones? No way. Take down Jones?
I don’t think so. Jones is way too big, talented and trains
with a great team that will always have him ready. Machida is
a hard puzzle to figure out, but who else better to figure him
out than Greg Jackson? Jones wins by TKO [in the] third round.
Rafael
“Feijao” Cavalcante: Tough fight. Lyoto is an excellent
fighter, but I think Jones is the favorite because he is more
physical, has a better reach and is very confident because he’s
at a great time in his career.
Erik
Paulson: Well, this is an interesting comparison of similar styles.
I think that Jones may be surprised at Machida’s ability
to break in and out and break the rhythm. I think that Machida
is going to be surprised that Jones also is very deceptive with
his bag of tricks and athleticism. Plus, Jones has the length
and that super reach. I still gotta go with the champ -- Jones.
Andre
Santos: I believe in Machida -- a man who is well-experienced.
I’m almost sure that Jones will not find him in the cage.
Kyle
Kingsbury: Jones by TKO [via] ground-and-pound.
Thiago
“Jambo” Goncalves: I believe a lot in Lyoto, because
he’s a guy who’s hard to find in the Octagon. I think
Jones will have difficulty in the fight. There’s a lot of
people thinking that no one defeat this guy, but I think Lyoto
is a tough fight to anyone.
Travis
Lutter: I think Jones will be too much for Machida. Jones’
mixing of his striking with his wrestling will put Machida on
his back. Jones [wins].
Joe
Duarte: Right now, Jones is on fire. Even if Machida drank Anderson
Silva’s urine, I don’t think he can beat Jones. He
always has a chance, but those are slim at the moment. Jones
wins by stoppage in the later rounds.
Keith
Berry: Jones is a beast. I think he will be champ for a longtime.
Machida has a different style, but I think Jones will find his
rhythm and get a five-round entertaining decision nod.
Benji
Radach: Machida-Jones is going to be fun to watch. It’s
going to be good to see the styles clash. Machida has such a
unique style that it’s hard for anyone to get used to. However,
I think that Jon’s wrestling will be the deciding factor
in this fight. I think Jon will be delivering his own arsenal
of standup and have the takedowns and control that Machida won’t
be able to stop. [I see] Jones pulling off the decision.
Amaury
Bitetti: I think Machida has the game to complicate Jones’
life, so I think he wins.
Mike
Ciesnolevicz: As a karate black belt myself, I can appreciate
Machida’s tactical approach. It’s not going to be as
easy as some people think, where Jones is just going to come
out and take him down and demolish him. Machida is very quick,
strong and elusive and has never been held down in the UFC. I
also believe Machida has better cardio than Jones. Realistically,
Machida is the better striker and the better Brazilian jiu-jitsu
guy. Jones’ advantage comes in the form of reach and wrestling,
but Machida has never been outwrestled. I see this fight being
a tactical battle where Machida at times frustrates Jones and
forces him into making a mistake similar to the first Urijah
Faber-Mike Thomas Brown fight, where Faber got caught trying
to throw a tricky elbow technique. I think Machida catches Jones
with something during a striking exchange in round four and becomes
the champ. The best part is when Machida gets on the microphone
and proclaims karate as the best striking style, and all the
local dojos flood with new students. Machida’s defeat of
Jones will prove what I knew all along, that karate is the smartest
and most effective style of standup fighting. I see Jones putting
on his karate gi and becoming a student of Machida Karate after
this fight.
Rony
“Jason”: Absolutely picking Machida. Machida is ready.
I think he wins and captures this belt.
Gabe
Ruediger: This is a very interesting matchup. Machida and Jones
are both unorthodox, and I’m curious about the game plans
for each to deal with the other’s style. The light heavyweight
belt seems to get passed around, but I think Jones will hold
onto it through this bout.
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira: I pick Machida.
Javier
Vazquez: Machida will not be able to figure out the range. Jones
will control the range and strike at the legs. I expect Jones
to follow the [Mauricio] Rua game plan but will add the twist
of the occasional takedown. Jones will be too big, too strong,
and his reach will be too long. Jones will also have the wrestling
edge. I can’t see Machida doing much against Jones. I think
Jones finishes Machida in the third round by TKO.
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira: It will be an excellent fight. Lyoto is very
good strategist and has a game to confuse Jones. He had an excellent
training camp, invested in it, and will have a tactical game
plan. I pick Machida to win. I think it will be great if he wins
this belt.
Cub
Swanson: Jones will take Machida down and submit him in the first
round.
Pros
Picking Jones: 12
Pros Picking Machida: 6
No Pick: 2
Source:
Sherdog
|
Dana
White Unsure of ‘Mayhem’ Miller’s UFC Future After
‘Embarrassing’ Performance
by Matt
Erickson
UFC president comments on Miller, post-Bisping loss
CHICAGO – Dana White had some blunt and fairly harsh words
about Jason "Mayhem" Miller's loss to Michael Bisping
at the TUF 14 Finale on Saturday. With a few days to reflect,
apply some rational thought and respond again, he was even more
harsh.
Miller returned to the UFC for the first time in more than six
and a half years and fought Bisping after the two coached opposite
each other on "The Ultimate Fighter." But Miller was
dominated by Bisping, who according to FightMetric won the striking
battle a whopping 150-38. Most of Miller's strikes came in the
first round, when he scored a lone first-round takedown out of
11 attempts in the fight and used it mainly to hold Bisping down
in a leg triangle. Bisping dominated the second round and the
third before finally getting the wave-off from Steve Mazzagatti.
After the fight, White took to his Twitter, as he often does,
calling the Bisping win perhaps "the most one-sided fight"
he had ever seen in the UFC. On Wednesday after a press conference
announcing UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis at the United Center in
Chicago, White told Heavy.com he was still uncertain about what
will happen next for Miller.
"I still don't know (what I'm going to do with him),"
White told Heavy. "It was bad. To be honest, and my Twitter's
been blowing up with Mayhem fans blasting me, but facts are facts:
It was the worst standup I've ever seen in my life. I don't know
if I've ever seen standup that bad."
Miller (24-8, 0-2 UFC) landed 38 of 131 total strikes. But in
the second and third rounds, he combined to land just 10 of 72.
Bisping was 133 for 202 in the same rounds.
Might it have just been an off night for Miller? Perhaps. He
hadn't fought in more than 14 months, dating back to a submission
of Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 16 in September 2010. A little bit
of cage rust after a long layoff? Maybe. But White was unrelenting.
"I don't even know what to call it – I've seen guys
with some ring rust," White said. "Some of the punches
that were thrown by Mayhem Miller in this fight, you can go to
a girls Tae Bo class and see better form in standup. It was embarrassing."
Since his MMA debut more than 10 years ago, Miller has built
a solid resume. And his list of losses are against a level of
fighters that makes them understandable, if not forgivable –
Chael Sonnen, Tim Kennedy, Georges St-Pierre, Frank Trigg, Jacare
Souza, Jake Shields.
And that's the other reason White is perplexed about not only
what went on in front of him at The Palms in Las Vegas on Saturday,
but just what to do with Miller now.
"The guy's been in the business over 10 years," White
said. "It looked like it was his first fight ever. It was
the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
Source: Heavy.com
|
Georges
St-Pierre Details Knee Injury: 'I Will Be Champion Again, I Promise'
By Mike
Chiappetta
UFC
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will require reconstruction
of the torn ACL in his right knee, a setback that he called a
"compensation injury" stemming from a previous issue
to his left leg.
in
his first comments since the injury forced him out of UFC 143,
St-Pierre detailed the circumstances that led up to it and warned
those doubting his return at full strength that he would once
again rule the UFC's 170-pound class.
"A
few months ago I was on top of the world and I'm now I'm in a
downfall," St-Pierre said. "But you recognize a champion
from how he comes back from things that don't go well. Everybody
that says bad things and says bad stuff about me right now, mark
my words. I'm going to tell you right now, I'm in a downfall
in my life, but in a few months, I'll be back stronger than ever,
and I will be champion again. I promise."
St-Pierre
said on Wednesday that he hurt himself while wrestling. He heard
a crack and felt pain but tried to continue. However, consistent
instability in his right leg led him to believe something more
severe than originally thought. He eventually visited his orthopedist,
Dr. Sebastien Simard, and an MRI showed a complete tear of his
ACL as well as a smaller tear in his meniscus.
Dr.
Simard, who has twice previously performed surgery on St-Pierre,
said he expects the champion to return at the same level of competition
as before the injury. While UFC president Dana White said on
Wednesday that St-Pierre was out for 10 months, Simard lowered
the estimation, saying he expected a full recovery in around
6-9 months. By the time he returns, St-Pierre (22-2) will be
31 years old.
"His
recovery rate is completely off the charts," he said.
For
now, St-Pierre will be faced with the surgical procedure, followed
by rehabilitation and strengthening the knee, which is not the
same one which forced him out of October's planned UFC 139 matchup
with Carlos Condit.
St-Pierre
said he believed that overcompensating for that injury with his
healthy leg may have led to more problems.
"I
believe there is only one person to blame for what happened and
it's myself," he said. "I'm the kind of guy, I endure
pain and go through it. I learned a big lesson in my life. It's
going to make me stronger, smarter and more clever."
St-Pierre
said the diagnosis surprised him as he didn't suffer any common
symptoms like swelling. He mentioned that he recently trained
with Vitor Belfort and told him that there were positions he
was unable to practice because of instability, and he finally
visited his doctor to learn the full extent of the problem.
He
had two separate MRI's that both confirmed the damage.
In
the meantime, Nick Diaz and Condit will fight for the interim
title, a move which he called "the right thing to do."
St-Pierre said he hopes to be back by the end of 2012 to stake
his claim as No. 1.
"Some
people will say bad stuff about me, that 'he's finished,' and
stuff like that," he said. "What I'm going to tell
you is t's very easy to hit a guy when he's down. We have a saying
in France, 'The life goes up and down.' People will laugh because
I'm in a downfall, I'm hurt, I'm not a threat to them. But I'll
be back on top, mark my words."
St-Pierre
has been champion for over 1,300 days since taking the title
back from Matt Serra at UFC 83 in April 2008, and he hasn't lost
in his last nine fights, beating Matt Hughes, Jon Fitch, BJ Penn
and Josh Koscheck, among others.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
on Fox 2 to Determine Three Title Contenders
by Ken
Pishna
Not
only is the UFC unleashing a triple-header for its second offer
on Fox, the marquee fights will determine the next contenders
to both the UFC light heavyweight and middleweight championships.
The
UFC is going big on Jan. 28 at the United Center in Chicago.
UFC on Fox 2 features Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis in the main
event, with two middleweight feature fights pitting Chael Sonnen
against Mark Munoz and Michael Bisping against Demian Maia.
UFC
president Dana White, at Wednesday’s UFC on Fox 2 press
conference in Chicago, confirmed that the winner between Evans
and Davis will get a shot at the winner of the UFC 140 light
heavyweight title fight between current champion Jon Jones and
challenger Lyoto Machida.
“Rashad
Evans looked fantastic in his last fight against Tito Ortiz and
he wants to get the belt back,” said White on Wednesday.
“But Phil Davis is no joke. He’s undefeated at 9-0
and has stormed through guys like Brian Stann, Alexander Gustafsson
and Rogerio Nogueira. He wants the title shot just as bad as
Rashad.”
White
also noted that the winner of Sonnen and Munoz will get the next
shot at Anderson Silva upon the middleweight champion’s
return, and then the winner of Bisping and Maia will get the
next title shot after that.
“Chael
Sonnen and Mark Munoz are going to collide to see who gets the
next crack at Anderson Silva,” White added. “Chael
wants the chance to avenge his loss to Anderson. Mark wants a
chance to prove that he’s the best 185-pounder in the world.
Plus, we’ve got Michael Bisping against Demian Maia and
the winner (of that fight) will be next in line for a title shot
after the winner of Sonnen-Munoz.”
Sonnen
was initially expected to get a shot at Silva at UFC 143 on Super
Bowl weekend, but that was before Silva revealed that he would
be out for the next few months trying to heal a shoulder injury.
White
confirmed that Silva is expected to be ready by early summer
to face the winner of Sonnen vs. Munoz.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Kelly
Slater compares surfing to martial arts in “NY Times”
The
“New York Times” published it, and ever-astute Brazilian
reporter Renato de Alexandrino broke word about it in Brazil
on the “O Globo” website.
A
surfing world champion 11 times over, icon of the waves Kelly
Slater drew comparisons between his sport to the martial art.
Addressing who counts among his Twitter followers, Slater named
UFC president Dana White, and discussed the similarities between
the two sports.
“I
didn’t used to like MMA, and now I love the sport. Truth
is, surfing is like a martial art,” said Slater. “Good
martial artists use the most efficient moves for getting the
body to produce more energy. In surfing you have to master the
same things – base, balance on your feet, the act of turning,
bend and extend your legs. I love watching two guys fighting.
It’s like human chess,” concluded Slater, who is known
to train with Kron Gracie, Ricardo Arona, BJ Penn and Vitor Belfort.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Georges
St-Pierre suffered full ACL tear in right knee, vows to return
"stronger than ever"
By: Jamie
Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
In a press conference this afternoon, Georges St-Pierre and his
orthopedic surgeon Dr. Sébastien Simard discussed the
injury that has taken him out of UFC 143. Simard revealed that
St-Pierre hyperextended his knee in training and completely tore
his right ACL, which will require complete reconstruction through
surgery.
However,
while the injury is absolutely a severe one, Simard believes
St-Pierre will make a complete recovery in six-nine months. The
dejected Champion then vowed that he will return stronger than
ever.
"A
few months ago I was on top of the world and I'm now I'm in a
downfall," St. Pierre said (comments transcribed by MMANation.com
and MMAFighting.com). "But you recognize a champion from
how he comes back from things that don't go well. Everybody that
says bad things and says bad stuff about me right now, mark my
words. I'm going to tell you right now, I'm in a downfall in
my life, but in a few months, I'll be back stronger than ever,
and I will be champion again. I promise."
St-Pierre
had no idea how bad the knee was when it was bothering him in
camp, and blamed the injury itself on overcompensating as he
recovered from an injury to his left knee - the one that took
him out of UFC 137.
"The
symptoms of an ACL tear were not there at all. I felt a little
discomfort but I went home and had dinner with a friend and the
next day I trained. It was only a few weeks later when I still
had instability in my knee that I called Sébastien and
he suggested we take a picture of it. I thought ACL tear would
leave you rolling on the ground. I never thought it would be
this bad.
"When
we saw the picture, Dr. Simard said, 'You know George you can't
fight with a knee like this.' If you fought with it it could
be the same thing that happened to Patrick Cote against Anderson
Silva... I believe there is only one person to blame and that
is myself. This injury is what they call a compensation injury.
My other knee was almost 100% healed but I was compensating for
it with my right knee when I hurt it."
Penick's
Analysis: These are the types of statements he makes publicly,
but everyone has to be wondering (see: fearing) that he'll simply
never be the same again. With how different Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua has looked after several knee surgeries of his own, the prospect
of St-Pierre being slowed down significantly by the injury, even
after recovery, is a very real one. And with how brutal recovery
from injuries like this can be, how much longer does St-Pierre
want to continue on? I would hope he's really wanting to get
back and be close to 100%, but with all he's accomplished already,
it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he walked away from the
sport early. It's a depressing thought, but it could be the reality
of the situation.
Source:
MMA Torch
|
Tito
Ortiz exclusive: “I’ll test Rogerio's stand-up”
By Samira
Bomfim
Only
fighter to defend the light heavyweight title of UFC for longer
than five opportunities – a record in the UFC -, Tito Ortiz
is not on a comfortable situation on the show. With only one
win out of the seven last bouts disputed, the “Bad Boy from
Huntington Beach” guarantees he’s not under pressure
for his fight against Rogerio Nogueira, at UFC 140. And he wants
more: he wants to punish the Brazilian fighter. “I’ll
test Rogerio’s stand-up. People say his Boxing skills are
so great, but I’ve seen him being knocked down and I wanna
try to do it to him”, says Ortiz, on an exclusive interview
to October’s edition of TATAME Magazine, talking about his
preparation, his guesses about the duel between Jon Jones and
Lyoto Machida and the trainings with Ricardo Demente. Check below
a extract of the chat and stay tuned on TATAME to know all about
UFC 140.
How
was your prepare for the fight?
Rogerio
Nogueira is one of the bests in the world, I’ve been watching
him for a long time now... He and his brother. It’ll be
a great fight for me. I’m hoping it to be a war, it’ll
be one of the toughest fights of my life. I’ll be ready
and prepared. I gotta do it.
Rogerio,
besides being a BJJ black belt, is good at Boxing. How are you
preparing yourself for that?
I’ve
been training Boxing and Jiu-Jitsu for 14 years now, I got in
third place at Abu Dhabi (ADCC) on my weight division and fourth
on the open class. I’ve submitted some black belts, I almost
did it against Rodrigo Medeiros, who’s a world champion
of Jiu-Jitsu. It’s not a Jiu-Jitsu or a Boxing fight, it’s
MMA. I was the fighter who held the light heavyweight title for
most time in all UFC history, I’m one of the most known
UFC fighters ever. But Rogerio’s a tough opponent. I gotta
do my homework, work hard, do the best possible in order to defeat
him. And the best to defeat him is to be 100%.
Do
you still have Ricardo Demente as your Jiu-Jitsu coach? What’s
he doing to help you out on the ground game?
You
just need to look at my fight against Ryan Bader, on which I
submitted him with a guillotine choke. Ricardo has been helping
me a lot at Jiu-Jitsu, especially now I’m healthy. People
don’t get it, I got my neck treated and I’m back. Many
athletes don’t comeback after a surgery like that. I’m
still competing, with a happy and healthy life. Ricardo helped
ne a lot with my Jiu-Jitsu and I help him at Wrestling. He won
on his MMA debut in Brazil, and I guess it took him like 80 seconds…
He took the guy down, caught his arm quick. We feel like brothers
now, he teaches at my gym, Punishment training center, and I
try to help his career and becoming him better than he already
is.
Is
the pressure on?
No,
no pressure.
Even
after the loss to Rashad?
No
pressure, because I got time to train for this fight. Against
Rashad I didn’t have enough time, I trained for like 10
days. I fought because UFC asked me to, I fought because the
fans wanted to see me in action again. I probably shouldn’t
have done it, but I felt I was in good shape. I didn’t have
enough time to reach the top, but I’ll have this time. I’ll
make sure I train a lot Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing and Wrestling.
I’ll test Rogerio’s stand-up. People say his Boxing
skills are so great, but I’ve seen him being knocked down
and I wanna try to do it to him.
What
would you bet for Jon Jones VS. Lyoto Machida?
It’ll
be a hard fight because Machida moves exactly like Jon Jones.
They’ll be extremely hard to find. I don’t know, but
I’m guessing Jon Jones will do better, but Machida’s
a tough opponent. And that’s what makes UFC the best show
to watch, because you never know who’ll win.
Source:
Tatame
|
With
Japan fading, how does One FC fit in 2012 MMA picture?
By Zach
Arnold
With
the upcoming UFC Japan card in late February, this question that
an HDNet viewer submitted to Dan Henderson about the level of
MMA competition in Japan during the PRIDE days was bittersweet
for me. Right now, things are flat out boring and stagnant in
Japan. Sure, the DREAM/Inoki NYE SSA card could prove to be great
to watch, but it’s not moving the needle on a worldwide
basis.
One
of the barometers in the past that I said was needed for Japan
to make some sort of recovery and advancement was a transplant
of new blood and new ideas. This simply hasn’t happened
in Japan. The same old cast of characters is around trying to
run events as if everything is going according to plan. This
is why, more than anything, One FC is almost viewed as the go-big-or-go-home
potential player in Asia in the coming years.
Which
is why recent comments One FC boss Victor Cui made to Eddie Goldman
kind of piqued my interest. Give me your take on where you see
the Asian MMA picture heading in the next five years.
Where
One FC is currently positioned in the business landscape
“I
see One FC as right now, by any major metric if you look at it,
we are the largest organization in Asia. We’ve got the largest
number of fighters. We have the largest number of events. We’re
right across Asia. We have the largest media reach in terms of
our media partners and people that we’re working with and
that’s growing continuously. You talk about the network…
we are working closely with every major promoter in the region,
in each one of those countries that are leaders by their own
right in the sport that have made the sport in Asia what it is
and we’re working together under the One FC network to give
more opportunities for fighters, more opportunities for gyms
and for promotions and revenue, cost savings, idea sharing, all
these kinds of things together. So, it’s an exciting time
in the industry and I’m proud to say that I think One FC
is leading the way for a lot of these new initiatives and driving
the energy and the new interest in MMA as it’s starting
to really rapidly grow in the region.
“When
we recently held a One FC network summit and everyone came down
here to Asia and we had all these industry leaders together for
the first time, it was amazing. We shared ideas and we talked
about what plans we had for our champions and for fighters and
things, the challenges that we’ve had in each of our countries
and how we could work together or have fighters go on each other’s
promotions (cards0 and leverage more sponsorship opportunities
and television opportunities, all those kinds of things and I
really believe that, in Asia, people don’t realize that
you’re talking about a population base of 3.9 billion people.
The viewership for UFC, their fan base in North America and Brazil
and Europe is about maybe around 65 million. And here in Asia
you’re looking at 3.9 billion people. Now, of course, the
social and economic demographics is a little bit different but
the scalability at what we’re looking at and just the uniqueness
of this because it’s not a homogenous market. You’re
talking about multiple countries, multiple languages, and different
things that work in each country. So, to be able to combine all
these experiences and come together is a really exciting thing
to do and I’ve been lucky enough that I’ve developed
strong relationships with many of the gyms that are in the networks,
many of the other promoters and fighters that allow me to bring
together the community and make things like this happen. Our
announcement with DREAM was another huge step. Being able to
tap into and work with and have some of the best fighters in
the sport and do a fighter exchange and have them on future fight
cards of One FC is another very exciting step for us to take.
“My
experience, I mean, I’ve been in the media industry and
sports my whole life for over 15 years now and I take all of
this knowledge and I look at it and I can see that the way to
exponentially grow and quickly grow a sport and is cooperatively.
You find a way to leverage each other’s learnings and work
together, you know, it’s not easy. There’s always challenges
and there’s always issues or agendas or egos that you have
to juggle but that’s part of the challenge. The goal here
is the greater good.”
Why
Singapore is the home base as opposed to Tokyo or Hong Kong
“Singapore
is one of the most regulated and strictest markets to run an
event in and that’s specifically why we launched One FC
in Singapore because when you run an event in Singapore that
means you have set the bar at the highest and at the highest
standards in pretty well all of Asia because they are so strict
in their governance of every aspect of the sport, from audience
experience to fighters to officials and to television broadcasts
and everything. So, to be able to have government support in
Singapore and successfully hold the events here and have it broadcast
on terrestrial TV here shows that, to the rest of Asia, we have
exceeded the highest standards that are already set.”
Why
Asia is the best market to position an operation to make a run
outside of America
“The
difference with MMA in Asia and why this is such a huge opportunity
right now for the sport and for One FC is that martial arts has
its roots in Asia. When you talk about martial arts, people think
Asia. Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, all those guys are all
Asian and every country in this region has very, very, very strong
roots in martial arts. Whether it’s tae kwon do in Korea,
karate in Japan, Judo, Silat in Indonesia & Malaysia or Sanda
in China and everybody, everybody I will say from the common
man on the street to the politician already intuitively understands
martial arts. Its in our culture, its in our music, its in our
soap operas, its in our TV shows, and if you were to walk down
the street in Asia and you were to say to somebody, ‘do
you know what Muay Thai is?’ and they’ll say, ‘yeah,
I know that, that’s the national martial art for Thailand,’
it’s a beautiful sport, I’ve seen it when I was in
Thailand and people will know those words, Muay Thai. You go
anywhere else outside Asia and you say, ‘do you know Muay
Thai?’ and they might look at you like, you know, what are
you talking about? I have no idea what you’re saying. And
that’s why there’s such a positive reception to One
FC in the region, from media partners, from the countries that
we are bringing One FC, it’s been nothing but outstanding
support because they recognize that this is an exciting thing.
They see what’s happening overseas in the US and North America
and they look at Mixed Martial Arts as an opportunity to really
unify all the different other martial arts. It’s a chance
for different organizations to come together, from the tae kwon
do guys to Judo to BJJ to Muay Thai and suddenly you’re
getting their top fighters or their champions wanting to cross-train
and do multiple disciplines and that’s why it is one of
the only sports that I can think of that has a natural ability
to bring together the entire community of martial arts.”
He
stated during the interview that One FC’s goal for a future
television deal is to get into 1 billion homes. The cage will
be used for all events as opposed to the ring. Co-promotion with
DREAM likely starts on March 31st. Tentative schedule: 8 events
in 2012, 14 events in 2013, 24 events in 2014.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Carlos
Condit: First Nick Diaz Then GSP
by Damon
Martin
First
he wasn’t in a title fight, and then a bizarre incident
occurred and he got a title shot. Then the champion got injured
and he was asked to wait, but ultimately got bumped out of the
title shot.
Now
with champion Georges St-Pierre sidelined for the next 10 months
after tearing his ACL in training, Carlso Condit will fight for
the UFC interim welterweight title against Nick Diaz at UFC 143.
It’s
certainly been an up and down past few months for the former
WEC champion, but Condit continues to roll with the punches and
now he gets another new opponent with a belt on the line.
“Another
change of opponents, it’s been kind of a crazy ride the
last couple of months, but you just kind of got to roll with
it,” Condit said on Tuesday.
“The
good thing is I’ve been training, I’ve been focusing
on what I need to be doing to win the fight no matter who they
put in front of me.”
Over
the past several months Condit has gone from B.J. Penn, to Georges
St-Pierre, to Josh Koscheck and now finally Nick Diaz.
Ultimately,
Condit is happy with the choice of fighters because facing Nick
Diaz is something that’s been on his radar for quite some
time.
“I’m
really excited, I’ve been wanting to step inside the Octgon
with Nick Diaz for a really long time. Great fighter, great skill
set, and I really think we’re going to put on a good show
for the fans,” Condit stated.
Unless
something else crazy happens, which at this point Carlos Condit
has to be accustomed to, the New Mexico native will face Nick
Diaz for the 170lb UFC title in February.
Condit
hopes to snatch that title first, and then wait for St-Pierre’s
knee to heal so he can take that belt as well.
“I
will be the UFC interim champion and then when Georges (St-Pierre)
gets better, I will be the undisputed UFC champion,” Condit
said with confidence.
Condit
will first try to go through Nick Diaz on Super Bowl weekend
to claim the UFC interim welterweight title to add to his collection.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
What
: Man-up & Stand-up / Kickboxing
Tomorrow
Where : Waipahu Filcom Center
When : Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011
Doors open @ 5:30 pm
Happy
holidays to all of you fight fans. Das right, the end of the
year is near and you know what that means. It’s the time
when Man-up & Stand-up gives back to all of the top fighters
that supported the show throughout the year. Fighters will be
battling for belts at their respected weights. There will be
grudge matches, title defenses, rookie of the year battles and
the list goes on. If you haven’t been to one of these events
then the end of the year show is definitely the one that you
don’t wanna miss. Amateur stand up action at its finest.
This event is scheduled for 25 fights and please believe that
it will be action packed because you know how its done here on
Man-up & Stand-up. It’s all about the knockdowns, not
the takedowns.
As
you all know. The grudge matches are usually the most vicious
and least sportsmanlike battles when the timekeeper rings the
bell. One of the grudge matches that will have the crowd bouncing
again is the Aiona vs Kapua match. Aawh yeeeeeaaaaaahhh, When
a belt is on the line it makes things more intense. Man-up &
Stand-up heard of their beef on the streets and asked them if
they both would wanna settle it in the ring instead of the streets
where police and jail time are involved. They agreed, they battled,
they shook hands. In their first meet & greet, Kapua was
like a pitbull off of his leash which had the judges labeling
him as the aggressor in the fight. But Aiona used his reach and
movement which helped him to get the decision over Kapua. That
fight was so close that Man-up & Stand-up asked them if they
wanna do it one mo’ gen but for a belt. They agreed, they
will battle but this time they will probably raise each others
hands at the end of the fight unless one of them is on the mat
snoring. Jude is training twice as hard and Aiona changed his
training camp for this rematch. Can’t wait to see the outcome
on this one.
Two
of Man-up & Stand-up’s undefeated fighters of 2011 will
face each other for the most outstanding 140 pounder of the year.
They both participate in triple threat, pankration, kickboxing
and they do fairly well in all of them. They have dominated every
opponent in kickboxing that Man-up & Stand-up has given them.
Now, Man-up & Stand-up will give them each other to see who
will rise to the top to receive the title. Big Islands Kai Kunimoto
will go to war with Westside’s Kaylen Stafford. Kunimoto
is the taller of the two and throws some punishing leg kicks.
Stafford is the more aggressive of the two and favors his hands
more. Both have excellent counter punching and both have the
same intentions of walking out of the ring with the bling. So
be there to see who wants it more. Big islander or the Westsider.
There
will be 2 titles going out to 2 worthy kids that started off
this year just learning the basics of kickboxing. As they fought
throughout the year, their skills have improved as well as their
love for this sport. The Ceno brothers go up against two of Up
N Up’s 9 year olds that have waited for this moment from
the beginning of this year. There are not too many young kids
that favor this sport so these 4 kids take pretty much whatever
they can get, as long as the weight and age aren’t outrageous.
But all four of these kids have earned the right to battle for
something more than just a mark under the W. If you seen these
kids fight, you would agree with Man-up & Stand-up. And if
you don’t, come down to the Filcom on Dec 10 to be amazed.
Be
sure to get your tickets early for only a limited amount of tickets
will be made. Others will have to pay at the door. Man-up &
Stand-up will try to keep the card updated every week and hopefully
have a new write up on some of the other upcoming matches. All
of these matches will be something to talk about over the holidays.
Thank you for all of your support throughout the year and happy
holidays to you all. Check out the talent that is about to be
let loose on Dec. 10.
Man
Up and Stand Up
Saturday
Dec 10 2011
Waipahu
Filcom Center
Doors
open at 6:00
KEONI
CHANG
140
TOFI MIKA
JUSTIN
DULAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
160
WALTER WALKER
KAI KUNIMOTO
140
KALEYN STAFFORD
EUGENE
ANGUAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
130
ISAIAH PASCUA
NALU KAWAILIMA
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
135
ELIAS VELASCO
ISAAC HOPPS
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
146
JASON LEDWARD
DAMON APPLEBAUM
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
SHW
BEN BOYCE
ROB CONNELL
185
MILLER UALESEI
EVAN QUIZON
130
DENNIS MONTIRA
JUDE KAPUA
200
BRYCESON AIONA
KANANI JUHN
155
STEPHANIE KOENIG
NAZ HARRISON
100
MAKOA DESANTOS
CHEVES ANTOQUE
185
HOKU CUBAN
BRYSON
"FO REAL" LUM (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
150
JON MENDONSA
DARRYL DANO
145
NEVADA HARRISON
CHANTE STAFFORD
125
DONTEZ COLEMAN
JOEY BALAI
125
SHAWN DESANTOS
MONICA FRANCO
135
JENNA GANABAN
JOHN TURMER
185
KALANI PARKS
LOMBARD MADALORA
175
KAI
LOPAKA CENO
60
JONAH CARTER
CHANCE CENO
65
AINSLEY
CHERISSE HAIOLA
130
TAYLOR ENGCABO
JORDAN ROBERTS
125
ALFONSO MARTINEZ
All
matches and participants are subject to change.
|
UFC
140
By Zach Arnold
Air Canada Centre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
12/10/11
Hawaii
Air Times:
2:00-3:00PM Preliminaries Channel 27
4:00-7:00PM UFC 140 Channel 701
Dark matches
Lightweights: Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish
Welterweights: Rich Attonito vs. Jake Hecht
Lightweights: Mark Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
Bantamweights: Yves Jabouin vs. Walel Watson
Lightweights: John Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman
Middleweigths: Jared Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
Welterweights: Brian Ebersole vs. Claude Patrick
Main card
Light Heavyweights: Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
Featherweights: Mark Hominick vs. The Korean Zombie
Light Heavyweights: Tito Ortiz (+175)vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
(-220, 11 to 5)
Heavyweights: Frank Mir (-260, 13 to 5) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
(+210)
UFC Light Heavyweight title match: Jon Jones (-450, 9 to 2) vs.
Lyoto Machida (+350)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
UFC
140 Preview: The Main Card
By Tristen
Critchfield
One more victory can add the proverbial icing to the cake of
what has been a very memorable year for Jon Jones. Solving the
always-vexing Lyoto Machida on Saturday at UFC 140 will give
the light heavyweight champion wins over three former 205-pound
titleholders, as well as one of the division’s top prospects,
within 12 months. It is pretty heady stuff when considering that
many 24-year-olds are simply trying to adjust to life after college,
if they have gotten that far.
Many
believe Machida’s elusive style is tailor-made to knock
Jones off his pedestal. In front of what is sure to be a rabid
crowd at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, “The Dragon”
will have his chance. Holding on to light heavyweight gold is
an accomplishment in itself, as Jones looks to become the first
person to defend the belt twice since Chuck Liddell did it three
times in 2006. A look at the UFC 140 “Jones vs. Machida”
main card, with analysis and picks follows.
UFC
Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon Jones (14-1, 8-1 UFC) vs. Lyoto Machida (17-2, 9-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: It was not long ago that Machida was the UFC’s
unsolvable riddle, an elusive karate expert who did not drop
rounds, much less fights. A steady diet of kicks to the legs
and body from Mauricio Rua at UFC 104 exposed a chink in the
armor of “The Dragon,” and “Shogun” shattered
the aura of invincibility with a first-round knockout in their
rematch at UFC 113.
Now
Machida, like the rest of the light heavyweight division, finds
himself in the considerable shadow of Jones. The 205-pound champion
has run roughshod over his competition, blending reach, creativity
and athleticism to near perfection. In many ways, Jones is now
the puzzle for foes that Machida was once viewed to be. The 33-year-old
is a dangerous foil for Jones, an intuitive counterstriker who
is equal parts patient and intelligent.
In
recent bouts, opponents have not had an answer for Jones’
quickness, but Machida will demonstrate that he has much more
mobility than the likes of Quinton Jackson, Rua or Ryan Bader.
The Brazilian is excellent at creating space between himself
and his opponent, attacking and retreating while moving in and
out of harm’s way. This task will prove much more difficult
against Jones, who owns a 10-inch reach advantage over the former
champion. Against “Rampage,” Jones landed a variety
of kicks and punches to his opponent’s head, legs and body
while avoiding the potential one-punch knockout counter. Meanwhile,
Machida, perhaps wary from his recent knockout loss to Rua, allowed
Jackson to control the cage in a split-decision setback at UFC
123. He will have to be willing to take more chances here.
Machida
is an excellent tactician, but he will find his affinity for
the counter tested, as Jones lands kicks from what seem like
impossible distances. He will also have to be on alert for Jones’
takedowns, which tend to come from all angles and directions.
The karateka’s best plan of attack involves using unique
angles and feints while constantly changing directions in the
Octagon. He must keep his back away from the cage at all costs,
because Jones’ Greco-Roman skills will allow him to take
the bout to the ground at a moment’s notice, at which point
he can launch his vicious elbows and ground-and-pound. Machida
is competent fighting from his back, but Jones’ superior
size and length will make him extremely difficult to defend.
The
one downfall to being so dominant is that Jones has yet to experience
serious adversity inside the cage. The Jackson’s Mixed Martial
Arts product has yet to be rocked or planted on his back in a
fight, raising questions about how he would respond. More than
mere good fortune, Jones’ ability to avoid precarious situations
is a testament to rapid improvement. The New York native’s
reach allows him to be more creative than most fighters would
be willing to, all while still picking his spots with incredible
timing and balance.
Machida
began his run in the UFC with the label of a boring fighter because
his bouts often went the distance. He changed that perception,
starting with his knockout of Thiago Silva at UFC 94, and his
ability to throw odd combinations will be unlike anything Jones
has seen. That said, Machida will need to wade through danger
to test the champion. Simply fighting from the outside will allow
Jones to methodically pick him apart for five rounds.
The
Pick: The bout could begin slowly, with both fighters feeling
each other out over the first five minutes. Expect the action
to pick up considerably by round two, as Jones begins to time
his opponent and connect with creative combinations. Absorbing
punishment will force Machida to abandon his preferred style
and take more risks. Machida has only been finished once in his
career, but Jones has made a habit of defying expectations. Jones,
with a barrage of elbows and punches on the ground, wins by third-round
TKO.
Heavyweights
Frank Mir (15-5, 13-5 UFC) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-6-1,
4-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: The trend before each Nogueira bout is to question how
much the former Pride Fighting Championships heavyweight titleholder
has left in the tank. Nearly three years ago, when “Minotauro”
tangled with Mir for the first time at UFC 92, those same doubts
existed. After dropping the Brazilian twice in the opening frame,
Mir finished the job with a pair of left hooks, followed by punches
on the ground in round two. It was the first time in his professional
career that Nogueira had been stopped.
Fast
forward to the present, and Nogueira is still around, defying
the odds just when everyone is ready to close the book on his
memorable career. Multiple surgeries and an 18-month layoff made
Nogueira a considerable underdog against Brendan Schaub at UFC
134, but he outstruck the Grudge Training Center product and
earned a first-round technical knockout. Matched with Mir once
again, Minotauro could position himself nicely at heavyweight
with one more improbable victory.
Mir
is coming off consecutive victories against Mirko Filipovic and
Roy Nelson but gave uneven performances in both bouts, lacking
aggression until the third round against “Cro Cop”
and failing to finish “Big Country,” who was battling
walking pneumonia. He will need to show a greater sense of urgency
against the seemingly rejuvenated Nogueira.
In
their first encounter, the grappling exhibition that many anticipated
never transpired. Instead, Mir showcased his improved standup,
and the Brazilian has never been one to back down from an exchange
thanks to his solid boxing. The difficulty today is that he cannot
always absorb the amount of punishment he once could, as Mir
and Cain Velasquez have recently proved.
Despite
his excellent submission game and solid guard, Mir would like
to make this encounter a carbon copy of the first, where he can
use a right uppercut-left hook combination to test his opponent’s
chin. What makes rematches interesting, however, is that they
quite often take a different direction than the original fight.
Nogueira’s footwork has slowed with time, and he will have
to be smart when striking with Mir. He demonstrated against Schaub
that his hands are still dangerous, but he will want to keep
Mir at a safe distance to avoid his uppercut and knees in the
clinch.
The
Pick: Nogueira is always good for a Hail Mary submission attempt,
so Mir must proceed with caution if he hurts him early. With
the ground games of both men likely to cancel each other out,
it becomes a case of who can connect with heavy leather first.
Mir gets the best of the action and takes second-round technical
knockout.
Light
Heavyweights
Tito Ortiz (16-9-1, 15-9-1 UFC) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
(19-5, 2-2 UFC)
The
Matchup: Ortiz came back to earth following his upset of Ryan
Bader, as a vicious knee to the body courtesy of Rashad Evans
spelled the end for him at UFC 133. Nogueira, meanwhile, has
probably had his fill of talented wrestlers after dropping back-to-back
decisions to Bader and Phil Davis.
Working
in the Brazilian’s favor is that Ortiz can no longer consistently
land the powerful double-leg takedown that was nearly automatic
in his heyday. Ortiz’s top-notch conditioning is not what
it once was, either, as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy”
tends to fade in later rounds, much as he did in a loss to Matt
Hamill. With that in mind, the former UFC light heavyweight champion
remains a tough out, and the short right hand that set up his
submission of Bader demonstrated that anyone has a puncher’s
chance.
“Minotoro”
did a decent job defending the takedowns of Davis in their UFC
Fight Night 24 encounter, so it is unlikely that Ortiz will be
able to plant him on the canvas with any regularity. Even if
he did, Nogueira has a good submission game from his guard and
is fully capable of sweeping and escaping his opponent from the
ground. Nogueira’s boxing trumps anything Ortiz can offer
on the feet, but he will have to attack more than he did against
Davis. In that bout, the Team Nogueira representative was content
to sit back and counter. If the former Pride standout feels like
he can neutralize Ortiz’s wrestling, perhaps he will be
more aggressive.
Ortiz
will have to collapse the pocket and force Nogueira into the
clinch, where the Brazilian’s punches tend to lose some
of their zip. The Team Punishment product is a master of working
off the cage, but he will have to be aware of Nogueira’s
ability to counter with knees to the body.
The
Pick: Evans aside, Ortiz has proven himself to be durable even
in defeat, so it is doubtful that any punches from Nogueira will
end his night. He will have to connect with something big early
to impose his will, however, and Minotoro’s chin will be
able to absorb his onslaught. Over the course of 15 minutes,
Nogueira will stuff Ortiz’s takedowns while connecting with
punches and knees in the clinch to take a clear-cut unanimous
decision.
Welterweights
Claude Patrick (14-1, 3-0 UFC) vs. Brian Ebersole (48-14-1, 2-0
UFC)
The
Matchup: Ebersole got as much attention for the bonus he received
from a grateful UFC President Dana White at UFC 133 than for
his actual performance against a scantily clad Dennis Hallman
in the Octagon. With Rory MacDonald withdrawing from UFC 140
due to injury, the 63-fight veteran now turns his attention to
Patrick, owner of one of the quietest 13-fight winning streaks
in mixed martial arts today.
Ebersole’s
collegiate wrestling background should serve him well against
Patrick, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt who likes to hunt for
single- and double-leg takedowns to set up submissions. As with
most wrestlers, Ebersole would like to operate from top position,
from which he can launch his ground-and-pound in the form of
elbows and hammerfists.
Patrick
outstruck fellow submission specialist Daniel Roberts at UFC
129, and he should be able to get the best of Ebersole, as well.
The Australian-based American has adequate striking, but, despite
his basic skill level, Ebersole has never been knocked out. Patrick
prefers to use his striking to set up clinches, where he can
unleash dangerous knees or change levels for takedowns. The Canadian’s
ability to transition to the guillotine choke is uncanny, and,
on the mat, he is adept at holding his opponent and finishing
submissions. Ebersole has solid defense in that area, however,
as he twice escaped guillotine choke attempts from Chris Lytle
at UFC 127.
If
he can wrestle Ebersole to the mat, look for Patrick to be diligent
in his attempts to pass guard. Ebersole’s experience with
fighting larger opponents earlier in his career should help him
combat Patrick’s tactics in the clinch and in sprawling
against takedowns. If Patrick does force him to fight from his
back, it will be interesting to see how he responds.
The
Pick: If Ebersole can impose his will with wrestling and ground-and-pound,
the night will go his way. Patrick will be comfortable on the
ground with Ebersole, and his striking is more dangerous than
his opponent’s. Ebersole will find himself in some difficult
situations, but he will be able to escape several submission
attempts. It will not be enough, however, as Patrick’s work
on the feet will be the clincher in a narrow decision victory.
Featherweights
Mark Hominick (20-9, 1-1 UFC) vs. Chan Sung Jung (11-3, 1-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Hominick showed enormous heart against featherweight
champion Jose Aldo at UFC 129, battling through a tennis-ball
sized hematoma on his head to give the Brazilian a scare in the
bout’s fifth round. Had Hominick been able to pass guard
in the final minutes, the champion’s situation could have
become dire. He could not, however, so now “The Machine”
must work his way back into title contention.
His
opponent, Jung, is best known for his two bouts with Leonard
Garcia. The first was a slugfest of epic proportions in which
“The Korean Zombie” came out on the wrong end of a
decision; in the rematch, Jung paid tribute to Eddie Bravo with
the twister, a “Submission of the Year” candidate for
2011. In between, the Korean Top Team representative was knocked
silly by a George Roop head kick. With recent history in mind,
the best approach for Jung against Hominick would be the one
he utilized in his rematch with Garcia.
If
Jung plods forward in typical zombie fashion, with his hands
down while firing away with uppercuts, Hominick is perfectly
capable of adding him to his personal highlight reel. Crisp and
precise, the Team Tompkins product makes use of both hands and
feet to keep his foes guessing. He will want to keep Jung at
a safe distance by using a stiff jab and leg kicks. At UFC Fight
Night 24, the Korean was opportunistic when it came to taking
Garcia to the mat. Once there, Jung made use of elbows, as well
as his underrated ground game, hunting for submissions throughout
before eventually finishing it with the twister.
Taking
down Hominick represents Jung’s best shot at an upset here.
When Jung gets popped, he often responds with careless aggression,
leaving himself prone to the knockout shot. If Hominick is not
worried about the threat of a takedown, he will be free to tee
off with impunity.
The
Pick: It is going to be extremely difficult for Jung to close
distance on Hominick, and he will eat a steady diet of punches
and kicks for his troubles. Eventually, The Korean Zombie will
lose patience and engage in an entertaining but short-lived firefight
with the talented kickboxer. Hominick wins by second-round technical
knockout.
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
141
By Zach
Arnold
MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada)
12/30/11
Dark matches
Featherweights: Manny Gamburyan vs. Diego Nunes
Featherweights: Nam Phan vs. Jim Hettes
Welterweights: Matt Riddle vs. Luis Ramos
Lightweights: Jacob Volkmann vs. TJ Grant
Welterweights: Dong Hyun Kim vs. Sean Pierson
Lightweights: Ramsey Nijem vs. Anthony Njokuani
Main card
Lightweights: Ross Pearson vs. Junior Assuncao
Light Heavyweights: Vladimir Matyushenko (+250) vs. Alexander
Gustafsson (-300, 3 to 1)
Welterweights: Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks
Lightweights: Nate Diaz (+170) vs. Donald Cerrone (-250, 5 to
2)
Heavyweights (eliminator): Brock Lesnar (+150) vs. Alistair Overeem
(-160, 8 to 5)
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Rashad
Evans Brings Up Penn State Scandal in Pre-Fight Trash Talk With
Phil Davis
By Ray
Hui
CHICAGO -- Rashad Evans used the alleged troubles of former Penn
State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky as ammo Wednesday
in a "verbal battle" against Phil Davis at the UFC
on FOX 2 press conference at the United Center.
When
asked by fan on what to expect from him come Jan. 28, Evans replied,
"I prefer to bring the knockout [version of myself] because
Phil, he needs to get knocked out."
Davis
quickly retorted, bringing up a comment UFC light heavyweight
champion Jon Jones made this past Monday on The MMA Hour.
"Glad
you mention that cause one of your buddies Jon Jones said you
don't have much of a chin."
Not
to be outdone, Evans had the final word, referencing the recent
scandal that took place at Davis' alma mater.
"I
guarantee you'll be the first one to take a shot cause I'm going
to put my hands on you worse than that dude on those kids at
Penn State."
Evans
has never been one to shy away from trash-talking. As a matter
of fact, he refers to the time from now until the fight as just
another element of the sport.
"Fans
don't want to see people fight that like each other," Evans
told MMA Fighting after the conference. "And I don't got
anything against Phil but at the same time, we signed a contract
to do a job. It's a fight. It's not a competition to be friends.
And a fight is fought on many levels. The physical fight will
be fought on Jan. 28, but until then, it's a mental war.
"...
Every single chance I get, I'm going to talk about Phil Davis.
I'm going to talk about the ugly thing he got growing out the
end of his chin. What is that? What is it? I don't know. It's
just hairs that haven't really come together yet," Evans
said with an expressive smile on his face. "I don't know
if he ain't mature yet to grow it fully, fully thick, but I don't
know. It don't look right. I want to shave it."
For
Evans, it all boils down to having fun. Because after all, in
addition to the competition aspect of MMA, he's there to entertain
the audience.
"When
it comes down to it, I have respect for him as a fighter. But
this is entertainment. People want to be entertained. I want
to entertain myself. I have plenty of respect for him as a fighter
and as a person. But when it comes to competing with me, I gotta
let my mouth go a little bit."
As
the two head into a No. 1 contender bout on network television
for the opportunity to challenge Jones for the belt; if Evans
wants to talk, Davis will oblige.
"At
the end of the day, I'm just having fun," Davis told MMA
Fighting. "I'm not saying anything disrespectful or too
mean or anything. Just have fun."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Bisping
vs. Maia 3rd Marquee Bout at UFC on Fox 2
by Ken
Pishna
Days
removed from his domination of Jason “Mayhem” Miller
at The Ultimate Fighter Finale, Michael Bisping has his next
fight lined up. No, it’s not Anderson Silva. Bisping will
be facing a Brazilian, however, in fellow Top 10 ranked middleweight
Demian Maia as part of the UFC on Fox 2 fight card in Chicago.
Bisping (22-3) is now on a four-fight winning streak since stumbling
in a decision loss to Wanderlei Silva. Like most top middleweights,
he’s been angling for a shot at the title wrapped around
Anderson Silva’s waist, and Wanderlei Silva has been angling
at a rematch with him. Neither will happen.
Bisping will instead have to make his way past Maia if he hopes
to get a shot at Anderson Silva, who is out of commission, likely
until sometime around late spring or early summer.
Maia (15-3) has already had a shot at Silva’s belt. He was
unable to take it away when the two fought to a decision in Abu
Dhabi at UFC 112, Silva taking the unanimous nod.
Maia is 3-1 since that fight, winning back-to-back bouts before
stumbling against Mark Munoz, who faces Chael Sonnen, also on
the UFC on Fox 2 fight card. Maia’s most recent action was
a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Santiago at UFC 136 in
Houston.
The winner of Sonnen vs. Munoz will get the next crack at Silva.
And Bisping is edging closer and closer to a title shot. But
Maia holds a victory over Sonnen, so if he is able to defeat
Bisping, he could make a case to be back in the running for a
rematch with Silva later in the year.
UFC on Fox 2 is co-headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis taking
top billing, and Sonnen vs. Munoz in the co-main slot at the
United Center on Jan. 28 in Chicago.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Sonnen
must beat Muñoz to face Anderson
Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Chael
Sonnen wants a rematch with Anderson Silva by any means. First,
though, he has to make it past Mark Muñoz. The matchup
was confirmed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is set
to take place at the January 28 UFC on Fox 2 show in Chicago,
USA. The winner is tipped to challenge the “Spider”
for his middleweight crown.
Sonnen is coming off a submission win over Brian Stann at UFC
136, while Muñoz is on a four-fight winning streak.
Now in the evening’s main event, Rashad Evans and Phil Davis
will do battle for a shot at the light heavyweight title, facing
the winner of the December 10 showdown between Lyoto Machida
and current champ Jon Jones.
Check out the card as it stands:
UFC on FOX 2
Chicago, USA
January 28, 2012
Phil Davis vs Rashad Evans
Chael Sonnen vs Mark Muñoz
Demetrious Johnson vs Eddie Wineland
Evan Dunham vs Paul Sass
Jon Olav Einemo vs Mike Russow
Cody McKenzie vs Michael Johnson
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
DREAM/Inoki
NYE event at Saitama Super Arena
DREAM Bantamweight tournament reserve fight: Hideo Tokoro vs.
Yusup Saadulaev
DREAM Bantamweight tournament: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo
Marques Diniz
DREAM Bantamweight tournament: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
Featherweights: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
Welterweights: Hayato ‘Mach’ Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
Lightweights (Mixed rules fight): Yuichiro ‘Jienotsu’
Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno
DREAM Bantamweight tournament finals: Fernandes/Diniz winner
vs. Imanari/Banuelos winner
DREAM Featherweight title match: Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Lion Takeshi
DREAM Lightweight title match: Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka
The booking of DREAM has always confounded me. A lot appeals
to the hardcores, some of it tries to appeal to the masses but
ultimately fails… the general consensus, if you talk to
someone like Mike Hackler, is that this will be a red hot show.
Fedor vs. Satoshi Ishii was the original plan as the main event
but Ishii declined the fight. Who knows what the reason is and
it’s legitimate or not. Fedor supposedly will fight on the
card but the opponent is not yet determined.
Last year’s Dynamite show, which I lambasted as K-1’s
public execution (and it proved to be so), drew exactly what
you expect for a card with no major television money supporting
the event and a lack of ability to attract any kind of serious
sponsorship.
If DREAM can pull off 15,000 legitimately paid for this show,
I would be impressed. You can never tell how much is paid versus
papered these days, but we’ll probably have a good barometer
of how things stand the week before the show. My gut feeling
is that this card, without a major fight added to it, reeks of
9,000 paid and the rest papered. The UFC Japan card, which I’ve
said more than enough about, is better in terms of name value
than this DREAM event… and that is saying a lot right now.
I still have the over/under on the UFC Japan pegged at 10,000,
given that it’s happening so damn early. If the start time
was a normal evening start, I would upgrade the over/under to
13,000-16,000 which is Yokohama Arena level.
Speaking of Yokohama Arena, WWE basically ran an identical house
show card for two straight nights this week and drew 6,200 and
7,000 paid. Yoshihiro Takayama, Kensuke Sasaki, and a few other
Japanese wrestlers were there at the show backstage. Even in
the early ’00’s, those attendance figures would be
ruthlessly mocked in Japan. Now? It’s almost the norm. A
lot of people were aghast at that 6,200 number but, frankly,
I thought given the horrible booking and the short amount of
time to promote (around three months), it was appallingly OK.
But, yeah, drawing 6,200 in a 16,000 seat building is never a
great thing. It’s better than, say, 4,800 at Nippon Budokan,
but that’s not saying a whole lot.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Lyoto
Machida prepared “surprises” for Jon Jones
Interview
by Eduardo Ferreira
Lyoto
Machida has been on the top of the world, and will have another
chance to win the UFC belt next Saturday, December 10th, against
the tough Jon Jones. Brother and trainer of the Karate fighter,
Chinzo Machida revealed to TATAME that the athlete is preparing
a “surprise” for Jones, like the one he brought to
knockout Randy Couture.
“We
always train some different things, but it depends a lot on the
moment. On that fight against Couture he found the right moment
and applied that coup”, explains Chinzo, guaranteeing that
Lyoto doesn’t depend exclusively on the counterattack to
win. “If Jon Jones makes a mistake, Lyoto will strike too.
He’s prepared for all situations”, warns.
Check
below the exclusive interview with Chinzo, who talked about the
anxiety for the title shot and the possibility of guaranteeing
the fourth Brazilian title in UFC, in seven weight divisions.
How’s
Lyoto doing on this final phase of the trainings?
He came from almost ten weeks of hard training. First we focused
the conditioning trainings, then the techniques, we called the
sparrings, like Glover, King Mo and Anderson Bradock, besides
the local guys, who helped on this specific training. I believe
that now, from today until the fight, we only need to keep him
motivated.
Elbows
can always catch fighters by surprise, but Jon Jones always uses
them. Lyoto plays with the distance and there’re many people
who point him out as the one to beat Jones. What did you do in
terms of strategy?
We’ve been training not these aspects, but all aspects:
the stand-up, the takedowns, both on the defensive and offensive
parts, and on the ground. It was a global work. We know the dangers
of the elbows, of everything. We’ve been studying a lot,
watching the videos. Let’s see the result of our training
when the time comes.
Is
it good for Lyoto that Jon Jones really goes for it and he rather
working on the counterattack?
I guess it helps him a lot, but we don’t get stuck on that.
If Jon Jones makes a mistake, Lyoto will strike too. He’s
prepared for all situations.
You
brought King Mo to help out on the trainings. Lyoto’s very
good on the takedowns, but Jon Jones is an expert. Was this help
of King Mo mostly on the offensive takedowns?
The main idea is to do the best thing for the moment, you know?
If Lyoto has a chance, he won’t miss the chance to take
Jon Jones down. But Lyoto’s intention is to do what he’s
always done. The fight’s not only about wrestling, but also
the stand-up and the ground game. MMA is a mix, so we brought
an outside sparring, to get him prepared the best possible way
for anything that happens when he’s there.
You
were on his first conquest, you’ve been through that anxiety.
How is it different this time?
The first time, since you never got it, you get more anxious
and that can stay in your way sometimes. Today I see a more mature
Lyoto. He has won many fights, he has conquered the belt, he
has lost it, he’s coming from a win. He’s more mature.
And the state of mind is very important for a fight. I believe
it’s like 60, 70% of the fight itself.
How
do you see the possibility, with the growth of the sport, of
Brazil conquering seven titles in seven UFC weight divisions?
It’d be a great thing. It’d prove that Brazil is one
of the strongest, if not the strongest, countries in MMA. But,
we’re not worried about that to begin with. The belt is
a consequence. We’re focused on the fight. If he wins this
one, he’ll automatically earn the belt. What he shall do
is to focus his mind entirely to doing a good fight, execute
it like we trained, with our entire team, and do it the best
possible way.
Jon
Jones brings many surprises, but so does Lyoto, like he did the
last time, with that great KO. Are you preparing something like
that?
We always train some different things, but it depends a lot on
the moment. On that fight against Couture he found the right
moment and applied that coup. It’s something we’ll
only know on the 10th.
Source:
Tatame
|
Sapp
vs Kimo Announced for Aug 15 K-1
Yesterday, K-1 officially named the 6 foot 2 inch, 240-pound
Kimo Leopoldo as Bob Sapp's opponent, whose appearance in Sin
City next month will mark his first in the United States. The
two superheavyweights will meet in a three, three-minute round
K-1 rules Superfight.
Leopoldo,
a 34-year-old, eight fight veteran of the UFC and former Pride
competitor, is coming off of an impressive first-round stoppage
of fellow original UFC combatant, David “Tank” Abbott.
Just shy of the two-minute mark of their fight on June 6th at
UFC 43, Leopoldo slapped on an arm triangle choke which forced
Abbott into submission.
The
meeting with the 6 foot 3 inch, 375-pound Sapp will mark only
the second time in his career that Leopoldo, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
player more accustomed to punishing his opponents on the mat,
will lace up the boxing gloves for a K-1 bout.
In
1995, he was pitted against Japanese fighter Masaaki Satake and
abruptly stopped with a left hook in the second round. Four months
ago, Leopoldo employed the help of Eddy Millis, commander-in-chief
of Rancho Cucamonga, California’s Shark Tank martial arts
training center, to bring his kicking and punching skills up
to par with the rest of his game.
Considering
his precarious past, Leopoldo’s willingness to jump into
a bout with the monstrous figure who, twice knocked out four-time
K-1 World Grand Prix champion Ernesto Hoost last year, comes
as little surprise. During his early adulthood, before he found
his calling in the combat ring, Leopoldo kept all kinds of bad
company in order to earn enough money to survive. He later turned
to religion as a means of steering himself in an honest direction.
To remind himself to stay on this path, he tattooed Jesus’
name across his midsection and an oversized cross on his back.
Sapp,
meanwhile, has increasingly been on the radar of the United States
media, which has taken a keen interest in his career switch from
NFL lineman to martial arts wrecking machine. Appearances in
the pages of ESPN magazine and hip-hop bible, The Source, were
bolstered by recent Sapp interviews on FOX Sports Network and
Black Entertainment Television (BET). On Monday, June 23rd, Sapp
arguably made his most significant crossover to date when he
graced the cover of leading daily business newspaper, The Wall
Street Journal.
Source
Sherdog
|
Spike
Pulls No Punches with ‘UFC Unleashed: Evans vs. Davis’
Marathon
The
UFC and Spike TV’s partnership comes to a close at the end
of the year with the UFC making the move to the Fox family of
networks for the next seven years, beginning in January 2012.
Spike TV officials, however, still have access to a library of
UFC programming, including past event broadcasts, until the end
of 2012, and they’re using said material as artillery to
counter-program UFC on Fox 2.
The UFC has slotted a triple-header for its second effort on
Fox, headlining UFC on Fox 2: Evans vs. Davis with Rashad Evans
vs. Phil Davis, Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz, and Michael Bisping
vs. Demian Maia.
Spike TV is countering the Jan. 28 fight card with a UFC Unleashed
marathon. Spike is pulling no punches with the Jan. 28 marathon,
airing from 4 p.m. to 12 midnight ET/PT on Spike TV, titling
it UFC Unleashed: Evans vs. Davis.
UFC Unleashed: Evans vs. Davis leans heavily on the major players
from UFC on Fox 2, predominately featuring Rashad Evans fights,
but also including bouts featuring Phil Davis, Chael Sonnen,
Mark Munoz, and Michael Bisping.
Aside from countering the UFC’s efforts, Spike is likely
working to keep its own MMA profile in front of fans over the
course of the year, leading up to Bellator Fighting Championships
making the move from MTV2 over to Spike TV in 2013.
The “UFC Unleashed: Evans vs. Davis” marathon includes:
4:00pm ET/re-airs at 9pm PT
UFC Unleashed – Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera
5:00pm ET/re-airs 10:00pm PT
UFC 137 – Phil Davis vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
7:00pm ET/ 4:00pm PT
UFC Unleashed – Chael Sonnen vs. Renato Sobral (UFC 55)
8:00pm ET/ 5:00pm PT
UFC Unleashed – Mark Munoz vs. Kendall Grove (UFC 112)
9:00pm ET/ 6:00pm PT
UFC Unleashed – Rashad Evans vs. Brad Imes (“The Ultimate
Fighter 2” finale)
10:00pm ET/ 7:00pm PT
UFC Unleashed – Rashad Evans vs. Rampage Jackson (UFC 114)
11:00pm ET/ 8:00pm PT
UFC Unleashed – Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida (UFC 98)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
What
: Man-up & Stand-up / Kickboxing
Where : Waipahu Filcom Center
When : Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011
Doors open @ 5:30 pm
Happy
holidays to all of you fight fans. Das right, the end of the
year is near and you know what that means. It’s the time
when Man-up & Stand-up gives back to all of the top fighters
that supported the show throughout the year. Fighters will be
battling for belts at their respected weights. There will be
grudge matches, title defenses, rookie of the year battles and
the list goes on. If you haven’t been to one of these events
then the end of the year show is definitely the one that you
don’t wanna miss. Amateur stand up action at its finest.
This event is scheduled for 25 fights and please believe that
it will be action packed because you know how its done here on
Man-up & Stand-up. It’s all about the knockdowns, not
the takedowns.
As
you all know. The grudge matches are usually the most vicious
and least sportsmanlike battles when the timekeeper rings the
bell. One of the grudge matches that will have the crowd bouncing
again is the Aiona vs Kapua match. Aawh yeeeeeaaaaaahhh, When
a belt is on the line it makes things more intense. Man-up &
Stand-up heard of their beef on the streets and asked them if
they both would wanna settle it in the ring instead of the streets
where police and jail time are involved. They agreed, they battled,
they shook hands. In their first meet & greet, Kapua was
like a pitbull off of his leash which had the judges labeling
him as the aggressor in the fight. But Aiona used his reach and
movement which helped him to get the decision over Kapua. That
fight was so close that Man-up & Stand-up asked them if they
wanna do it one mo’ gen but for a belt. They agreed, they
will battle but this time they will probably raise each others
hands at the end of the fight unless one of them is on the mat
snoring. Jude is training twice as hard and Aiona changed his
training camp for this rematch. Can’t wait to see the outcome
on this one.
Two
of Man-up & Stand-up’s undefeated fighters of 2011 will
face each other for the most outstanding 140 pounder of the year.
They both participate in triple threat, pankration, kickboxing
and they do fairly well in all of them. They have dominated every
opponent in kickboxing that Man-up & Stand-up has given them.
Now, Man-up & Stand-up will give them each other to see who
will rise to the top to receive the title. Big Islands Kai Kunimoto
will go to war with Westside’s Kaylen Stafford. Kunimoto
is the taller of the two and throws some punishing leg kicks.
Stafford is the more aggressive of the two and favors his hands
more. Both have excellent counter punching and both have the
same intentions of walking out of the ring with the bling. So
be there to see who wants it more. Big islander or the Westsider.
There
will be 2 titles going out to 2 worthy kids that started off
this year just learning the basics of kickboxing. As they fought
throughout the year, their skills have improved as well as their
love for this sport. The Ceno brothers go up against two of Up
N Up’s 9 year olds that have waited for this moment from
the beginning of this year. There are not too many young kids
that favor this sport so these 4 kids take pretty much whatever
they can get, as long as the weight and age aren’t outrageous.
But all four of these kids have earned the right to battle for
something more than just a mark under the W. If you seen these
kids fight, you would agree with Man-up & Stand-up. And if
you don’t, come down to the Filcom on Dec 10 to be amazed.
Be
sure to get your tickets early for only a limited amount of tickets
will be made. Others will have to pay at the door. Man-up &
Stand-up will try to keep the card updated every week and hopefully
have a new write up on some of the other upcoming matches. All
of these matches will be something to talk about over the holidays.
Thank you for all of your support throughout the year and happy
holidays to you all. Check out the talent that is about to be
let loose on Dec. 10.
Man
Up and Stand Up
Saturday
Dec 10 2011
Waipahu
Filcom Center
Doors
open at 6:00
KEONI
CHANG
140
TOFI MIKA
JUSTIN
DULAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
160
WALTER WALKER
KAI KUNIMOTO
140
KALEYN STAFFORD
EUGENE
ANGUAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
130
ISAIAH PASCUA
NALU KAWAILIMA
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
135
ELIAS VELASCO
ISAAC HOPPS
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
146
JASON LEDWARD
DAMON APPLEBAUM
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
SHW
BEN BOYCE
ROB CONNELL
185
MILLER UALESEI
EVAN QUIZON
130
DENNIS MONTIRA
JUDE KAPUA
200
BRYCESON AIONA
KANANI JUHN
155
STEPHANIE KOENIG
NAZ HARRISON
100
MAKOA DESANTOS
CHEVES ANTOQUE
185
HOKU CUBAN
BRYSON
"FO REAL" LUM (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
150
JON MENDONSA
DARRYL DANO
145
NEVADA HARRISON
CHANTE STAFFORD
125
DONTEZ COLEMAN
JOEY BALAI
125
SHAWN DESANTOS
MONICA FRANCO
135
JENNA GANABAN
JOHN TURMER
185
KALANI PARKS
LOMBARD MADALORA
175
KAI
LOPAKA CENO
60
JONAH CARTER
CHANCE CENO
65
AINSLEY
CHERISSE HAIOLA
130
TAYLOR ENGCABO
JORDAN ROBERTS
125
ALFONSO MARTINEZ
All
matches and participants are subject to change.
|
Overeem:
Taking care of mom
Training
is going well for my UFC debut against Brock Lesnar on December
30 at UFC 141. I said it when I was sat on a stage next to him,
and I will repeat it here, I am not underestimating Lesnar, but
I will rip him apart piece by piece and go on to win Junior dos
Santos’ UFC heavyweight title after I dispense of Lesnar.
However,
there has been a big change since my last Yahoo! Sports blog.
I am now training for Lesnar in Holland. I flew back about a
week ago. I don’t want to go too deep into personal matters,
but what happened was my mother is recovering from cancer and
needs my support. She needs me in Holland over the next couple
of weeks and I came back for her.
What
I can say is that going back to Holland to be with my mother
won’t be a distraction; it is actually stopping me from
getting distracted. If I stayed in Las Vegas for this camp I
would be constantly worried about her and my focus would have
been compromised. Now I can train 100 percent, and know she’s
just across town.
The
training for this bout marks the final couple of miles on a road
I began on when I was a kid as a kickboxer. It’s been a
long, twisting road, a road with a lot of bumps and roadblocks
on it. I’ve lost big fights, I’ve missed opportunities.
But, you know what? All that has made me stronger. It has made
me a champion and it has made me – in my mind, and fighters
have to believe in themselves – the best heavyweight on
the planet.
I
have been asked how I went from a good light heavyweight fighter
in PRIDE, a guy who beat some top opponents but didn’t dominate
the division, to being a dominant champion as a heavyweight.
In
MMA, the thing to do is go down in weight after a loss, that’s
what you have seen with guys like B.J. Penn and Kenny Florian,
and they have proved that the right thing to do by their results.
But
I have always done my own thing my own way, so I did the opposite.
I went up in weight.
Everyone
around me, including friends of mine I have known since we were
kids, knew right away it was the right call when I moved to heavyweight
full time in 2007. Some fans and MMA media didn’t understand
it, they thought “How is he going to do any better at heavyweight,
he will not do as well as at 205 lbs.” but I make the decision
after taking a hard look at myself.
I
took an honest look at myself and made some hard decisions. While
I had some impressive results like beating Vitor Belfort twice,
I was not living up to my potential and I took a good look at
the reasons why. I decided that one of the main reasons I wasn’t
living up to my talents was I was starving myself to make 205lbs.
I could not eat correctly, could not train weights. I was weak
at the weight and wasn’t even healthy, much less fit and
healthy.
I
knew putting on enough weight to where I was able to compete
with the top heavies would take time. I also know that as soon
as I started eating well and had the energy to work out with
weights I would add mass right away. But it took time for me
to get bigger and grow into a powerful heavyweight.
I
have no problem saying that I think I can match power with Brock
Lesnar. In fact the UFC poster for our fight has Brock and me
side by side with our measurements and I am the bigger man.
There
are some fighters who I think are born great, guys like Georges
St. Pierre and Jon Jones. I was born a very good fighter, but
I have to work very hard to get to “great” and that’s
why I have made so many sacrifices already to win the UFC title.
Plus
– and this is something fighters never ever usually admit
– the fact is 205 lbs is a division stacked with talent
and the heavyweight division doesn’t have that many world
class fighters. I am happy to admit that. At 205 lbs., you have
a great champion in Jon Jones, and very talented guys like Lyoto
Machida, Rampage, Ryan Bader, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson,
Shogun Rua – the list goes on and on. Anyone in the top
15 at light heavyweight is a dangerous fight, while at heavyweight,
if I am honest, there’s maybe eight or nine true world class
fighters competing at heavyweight.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Management
Team Sticks by Both Sonnen & Munoz
Everyone has heard the age-old argument of teammate vs. teammate
in MMA.
Add
to that mix the phenomenon of fighters under the same management
team facing off with one another. It’s a somewhat unspoken
ideal that most managers will go out of their way to try and
avoid one fighter on their roster facing off with another one.
While
it has happened before, some past situations have even caused
fighters to change or leave managers, or vice versa with it comes
up.
Monte
Cox, who previously managed former UFC welterweight champion
Matt Hughes, famously had issues representing then fellow 170lb
fighter Sean Sherk because the two were both at the top of the
division and he didn’t want to get caught in the middle
when or if they had to square off.
With
the announcement of the UFC on Fox 2 co-main event between Chael
Sonnen and Mark Munoz, the managers are again caught in the middle
but they are playing things much more diplomatically this time
around.
While
Sonnen and Munoz don’t train together, they are both managed
under the MMA Incorporated banner by CEO Jeff Meyer and COO Mike
Roberts. Meyer and Roberts represent several high profile fighters
including UFC bantamweight Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez, Chad
Mendes, and of course Sonnen and Munoz.
Now
that their clients are set to square off in a fight that will
determine the next challenger to Anderson Silva’s middleweight
title, they are steadfast in supporting both fighters and as
cliché as it sounds, treating this fight with business
as usual.
“Today,
the UFC announced that two of our represented athletes, Chael
Sonnen and Mark Muñoz, will compete against each other
at the UFC on FOX show in January. Our agency represents many
top contenders in the UFC. The likelihood that two of our athletes’
career paths would collide has always been a possibility and
has now become a business reality,” said CEO Jeff Meyer
in a release sent to MMAWeekly.com.
“While
we personally take no joy in our clients fighting each other,
our over-riding obligation is to assist our clients with the
advancement of their respective careers. The UFC on FOX show
presents an amazing opportunity for both Mark and Chael to compete
on the biggest stage in mixed martial arts as well as gain exposure
to millions of additional fans.”
Unlike
any past situations where fighters have literally had a break-up
with a management team over a situation like that, Sonnen and
Munoz will be sticking with their team at MMA Inc, and the team
at MMA Inc is sticking by them.
“Mark
and Chael are part of the MMA Incorporated family and will remain
so long after this bout,” said Meyer. “Throughout their
respective camps, and ultimately the fight, we will continue
to serve both men with the same dedication and attention to detail
that we have provided each of them over the past several years.
We wish both Mark and Chael the best of luck in what is sure
to be an amazing fight.”
Nothing
will change for either fighter in regards to their management
team heading into the fight, although asking Meyer or Roberts
who they think will win might remain a bit of a sticky subject.
Sonnen
and Munoz square off on Jan 28 at UFC on Fox 2 in Chicago.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Bisping
rides crowd’s jeers to victory
LAS
VEGAS – Michael Bisping may be challenging the likes of
Josh Koscheck and Brock Lesnar as the most hated fighter in the
UFC, but that did opponent Jason “Mayhem” Miller little
good on Saturday night.
Bisping
(23-3) used an exhausted Miller (24-8, 1 no contest) as a punching
bag before referee Steve Mazzagatti finally waved it off at 3:34
of the third round in the main event of “The Ultimate Fighter
14 Finale” at the Palms Casino. Bisping, who is originally
from Liverpool, England, heard crowd boos, loud chants of “USA”
and “Bisping sucks,” while taking Miller apart.
“I
don’t give a [expletive] if you boo or cheer,” Bisping
said. “This sounds like a cheesy comment. But when I got
into this sport, I just wanted to make enough money, I did dead-end
job after dead-end job, just wanted to make enough money to go
to college and get a trade. I’ve far exceeded that goal
so everything’s a bonus.”
Bisping
struggled in the first round, and the crowd exploded when Miller
took him down and may have done enough to win the round. But
Miller, who had actor Kevin James in his corner, had little movement
once the second round started.
“I
don’t think anyone’s cardio was an issue,” Bisping
said. “It was the pace of the fight. I feel it was a fast
pace. I was tired. Jason’s only been stopped once before
and it was a shaky first round. I was annoyed at myself in the
first round. I was blasé.
“As
soon as we clinched, I knew I was more physically dominant. But
he was so awkward, so unorthodox. At the end of the first I was
thinking, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’”
The
finish came in the third round when Miller went for a desperation
takedown. Bisping easily sprawled and ended up on top. He unloaded
with a lot of punches and elbows, as well as knees to the body,
before it was stopped.
“Jason
jumped on the bandwagon that nobody likes me and that I’m
not a very good fighter,” Bisping said. “He’s
been quick to discredit me, saying they’ve given me hand-picked
opponents. That doesn’t sit well with me, so it was nice
to teach him a lesson.”
Bisping
got word officially earlier in the day that, even with a win,
he was not going to be in the immediate middleweight title picture.
UFC announced a Jan. 28 match on FOX in Chicago between Chael
Sonnen (26-11-1) and Mark Munoz (12-2), with the winner being
the next opponent for champion Anderson Silva.
Miller’s
brief tenure in UFC after a six-year absence, with one fight
following his stint as a “TUF” coach, may be in jeopardy.
When the fight was over, UFC president Dana White questioned
if he would give Miller another fight.
“Yeah,
listen, I trained really hard for this fight and I’m sorry
I got tired,” said Miller, who ended up being hospitalized
later after the fight. “Yeah, I can’t make any excuse.
For all the boos that Bisping gets, as a fighter, he deserves
your applause. Give it up for him.”
The
card also featured the tournament finals for Season 14 of “The
Ultimate Fighter.”
The
show featured arguably the second best final bout, after the
now legendary Season 1 Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar fight.
Diego
Brandao (19-7) survived being knocked down twice in the first
round, and seemed on the verge of defeat when he caught Dennis
Bermudez (8-3) with an armbar at 4:51 of the first round to win
the featherweight final.
The
fight saw Bermudez, who figured to have little chance standing,
hurt Brandao early with an aggressive striking game. Bermudez
got a knockdown early. However, Brandao came back and put Bermudez
down with a flying knee, and followed with a German suplex. Bermudez
then dropped Brandao with a hard right and landed hard punches
from the top, and just as the round was ending, Brandao surprised
him with an armbar.
Brandao
had talked the past week about winning and using the money from
his new UFC contract to buy his mother in Brazil a house.
“For
me, part of my mission is over,” Brandao said. “I wanted
to give a better life to my family after my dad passed away.
I’m so happy to buy [my mother] a house in Brazil. She doesn’t
know. I hope she doesn’t have a heart attack.”
The
bantamweight final saw John Dodson (13-5) upset T.J. Dillashaw
(5-1) in just 1:54. Afterwards, Dodson said he considers himself
a flyweight and not a bantamweight.
The
diminutive Dodson’s speed was the difference, as Dillashaw
couldn’t land on him. Dodson knocked Dillashaw down with
a left. Dillashaw landed with his legs spread, got right back
up, and was dropped again.
After
a few more punches, ref Herb Dean stopped it. The crowd booed,
thinking it was stopped early, even as Dodson was doing flips
all over the ring.
“I
felt it was stopped early, but what can you do,” said Dillashaw,
who was a three-time qualifier for the NCAA Division I wrestling
tournament when he was at Cal State Fullerton. “I was going
for the single leg takedown. I’m not sure I’d get it,
but give me a chance to compete. I’m not saying I’d
win.”
After
the show, White confirmed that Zuffa and Showtime are close to
a deal and Strikeforce would continue as a separate promotion,
running regular shows in 2012 on the network. He wouldn’t
reveal any details regarding the new deal. The contract that
Zuffa inherited when purchasing the Strikeforce promotion in
March, expires in February, but Showtime had the option to renew
with the same terms for an additional two years.
UFC
also announced the top two matches for the next FOX network special,
a two-hour show from 8-10 p.m. ET on Jan. 28 from the United
Center in Chicago.
Besides
Sonnen vs. Munoz, which will be a three-round fight, the main
event pits Rashad Evans (16-1-1) against Phil Davis (9-0) in
a five-round fight. The winner will get a shot at the winner
of the Dec. 10 Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida bout in Toronto for
the light heavyweight title.
White
also announced there would be a third feature bout, one with
big name fighters that would be announced as early as Sunday.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Bad
boy Bisping ready for all comers
When
you’re in a sport in which the amount of money you make
is largely dependent upon how much people want to see you, the
worst possible outcome is to be ignored.
Be
certain that Michael Bisping is never ignored.
Oh,
he’s hardly a beloved figure in the UFC, but he’s good
enough at playing the villain that people are willing to pay
to see him in the hope of seeing a repeat of the outcome of his
match with Dan Henderson at UFC 100.
That
was the bout when Henderson knocked Bisping cold with one of
the biggest right hands in UFC history.
Bisping
isn’t apt to make many new fans on Saturday when he meets
Jason “Mayhem” Miller in the five-round middleweight
main event at the Palms on The Ultimate Fighter Finale, but that’s
hardly of concern to him these days.
He
wasn’t looking to appear again on “The Ultimate Fighter,”
given that he appeared as a fighter in Season 3 and then again
as a coach opposite Henderson in Season 9. It would have been
a different story, he said, had the opposing coach been someone
who would have put him in line for a title shot, but he concedes
that win or lose on Saturday, he’ll need to win at least
one more fight to have a hope of competing for the middleweight
belt.
“I
want to fight for the title and, obviously, a win over Miller
is not going to get me there,” Bisping said.
The
UFC had hoped to have Bisping and Chael Sonnen as coaches for
this season, the finale on Spike TV. Had that happened, the level
of trash talking would have reached levels never before seen.
As
it was, Bisping had a fairly good feud going with Miller, though
it wasn’t anything like it could have been with Sonnen.
“I’m
not really sure what I get out of doing this again,” Bisping
said. “That’s a good question. I’m not fighting
for a title shot, and I’m not fighting a top contender.
I suppose I got a lot of good exposure out of it and I remain
current with the fans. The UFC has been very good to me over
the years and they asked me to do it and so I did. They’re
fantastic employers and if this is what they needed, it was fine
with me.
“The
only problem with it was that you’re away for so long and
look who I’m fighting. You never underestimate an opponent,
and I’ll be ready, but what has Miller done? I’ve been
around fighting the best fighters in the world. He hasn’t
accomplished much of anything in this sport. A win over him doesn’t
really do a lot for me, but I do recognize that he’s got
some ability and I’ve taken him seriously. … I need
to win it and I have had one of the best camps I’ve had
in a long time.”
An
MMA apparel company which has no stake in the fight took advantage
of Bisping’s notoriety and produced a video in which people,
including fighter Tim Kennedy, said they wanted to see Miller
punch him in the face.
At
the start of the video, the narrator says, “There is one
disease that needs to be eradicated from the face of the Earth
before it’s too late,” and then goes to clips of people
asking for Miller to punch Bisping in the face.
It
stems from a feud Bisping had with Jorge Rivera prior to their
fight in February at UFC 120. Rivera posted a series of videos
in which he railed against Bisping. After Bisping stopped Rivera,
he spat at Rivera’s corner.
It’s
typical, though, of how Bisping has come to be perceived among
UFC fans. Few fighters are more despised, with the possible exception
of Josh Koscheck, but Bisping at least understands that people
care enough to hate. That’s good, he pointed out.
He
took the latest video in stride and professed not to be bothered
by it.
“I
have no idea what they could have been thinking, but I suppose
in some sense, I should be grateful that they took the time and
spent their own money to promote my fight,” he said. “That’s
flattering in some way. I’ve got thick skin, though. I don’t
care what they do. It doesn’t bother me. It won’t stop
me from doing what I’m going to do.”
It’s
an uncertain future ahead. Sonnen is expected to fight Mark Munoz
on UFC on Fox 2 on Jan. 28 in Chicago, though that bout has yet
to be officially announced. Champion Anderson Silva is not expected
to fight until late spring or early summer and it’s believed
he’ll meet Sonnen if Sonnen wins his interim bout.
Bisping
simply knows it’s a must-win fight on Saturday and he plans
to do just that. He’ll worry about the future starting on
Sunday.
“The
most important thing is to get rid of this loudmouth first and
then I can talk with the UFC and see what they think,” he
said. “I need to win this fight so that the significant
fights I really want can become a reality.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Jon
Jones the fighter of the year at MMA Awards
This
Thursday the Oscar of the mixed martial arts world, the MMA Awards,
were held in Las Vegas, and Jon Jones met expectations by winning
the statue for best fighter of the year. Check out the other
winners:
European
Fighter of the Year
Nominees: Michael Bisping (England), Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden),
Joachim Hansen (Norway), Alistair Overeem (Holland) and Dennis
Siver (Germany)
Winner:
Alistair Overeem
Gym
of the Year
Nominees: Alliance MMA, Black House, Jackson’s MMA, Roufusport
and Xtreme Couture
Winner:
Black House
Referee
of the Year
Herb Dean, “Big” John McCarthy, Dan Miragliotta, Josh
Rosenthal and Mario Yamasaki
Winner:
Herb Dean
Comeback
of the Year
Marloes Coenen against Liz Carmouche at “Strikeforce: Feijão
vs. Henderson”, Cheick Kongo against Pat Barry at UFC Live
5, Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira (career), Tito Ortiz
(career) and Joe Warren against Joe Soto at Bellator 27
Winner:
Cheick Kongo
Best
Equipment Brand
Bad Boy, Everlast, Hayabusa, Rival and Venum
Winner:
Everlast
MMA
Journalist of the Year
Finalistas: John Morgan, Gareth A. Davies, Josh Gross, Ariel
Helwani and Ben Fowlkes
Winner:
Ariel Helwani
Coach
of the Year
Rafael Cordeiro, Eric Del Fierro, Cesar Gracie, Greg Jackson
and Shawn Tompkins
Winner:
Greg Jackson
Best
Clothing Brand
Affliction, Bad Boy, Form Athletics, RVCA and Tapout
Winner:
Tapout
Event
of the Year
BAMMA, Bellator Fighting Championships, DREAM, Strikeforce and
UFC
Winner:
UFC
Media
Outlet of the Year
“Inside MMA” on HDNet, MMAFighting.com, “MMA Live”
on ESPN, MMAjunkie.com and Sherdog.com
Winner:
MMAjunkie.com
Best
Technical Clothing Brand
Bad Boy, Hayabusa, Jaco, Sprawl and Venum
Winner:
Bad Boy
MMA
Personality of the Year
Bruce Buffer, Jacob “Stitch” Duran, Joe Rogan, Bas
Rutten and Burt Watson
Winner:
Joe Rogan
Female
Fighter of the Year
Marloes Coenen, Zoila Gurgel, Sarah Kaufman, Ronda Rousey and
Miesha Tate
Winner:
Miesha Tate
Ring
Entrance of the Year
Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, Vitor Belfort at UFC 133, Dave
Herman at UFC 131, Mark Hominick at UFC 129 e Jason “Mayhem”
Miller at DREAM.16
Winner:
Jason “Mayhem” Miller
Revelation
of 2011
Donald Cerrone, Daniel Cormier, Phil Davis, Demetrious Johnson
and Brian Stann
Winner:
Donald Cerrone
Submission
of the Year
Chan Sung Jung on Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night 24, Pablo
Garza on Yves Jabouin at UFC 129, Richard Hale on Nik Fekete
at Bellator 38, Vinny Magalhães on Viktor Nemkov at M-1
Challenge 25, and Tito Ortiz on Ryan Bader no UFC 132
Winner:
Chan Sung Jung
Ring-Girl
of the Year
Arianny Celeste, Kelli Hutcherson, Brittney Palmer, Chandella
Powell and Mercedes Terrell
Winner:
Arianny Celeste
Leading
Man of the Year
Scott Coker, Lorenzo Fertitta, Marc Ratner, Bjorn Rebney and
Dana White
Winner:
Dana White
Knockout
of the Year
Patricky “Pitbull” Freire against Toby Imada at Bellator
39, Cheick Kongo against Pat Barry at UFC Live 5, John Makdessi
against Kyle Watson at UFC 129, Lyoto Machida against Randy Couture
at UFC 129, and Anderson Silva against Vitor Belfort at UFC 126
Winner:
Anderson Silva
Fight
of the Year
José Aldo against Mark Hominick at UFC 129, Dominick Cruz
against Urijah Faber at UFC 132, Frankie Edgar against Gray Maynard
at UFC 125, Nick Diaz against Paul Daley at “Strikeforce:
Diaz vs. Daley”, and Diego Sanchez against Martin Kampmann
at UFC Live 3
Winner:
Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard
Fighter
of the Year
Dominick Cruz, Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson, Jon Jones and Anderson
Silva
Winner:
Jon Jones
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Ednaldo
Lula counting on Junior dos Santos’ help for UFC debut
The
second edition of UFC Rio, on January 14th, at HSBC Arena, has
11 Brazilians on its card, but only one is a debutant. It’s
Ednaldo Lula, who fights Rob Broughton, on the only confirmed
bout on the heavyweight division. Used to the daily battles of
trainings, Law School and the work as a security guard at the
university, Lula will have, on the beginning of 2012, the chance
to right his story on the biggest MMA event in the world. "I
want to show a lot of guts and objectivity in the UFC. I'm going
for it, to finish it, I’ll do everything to knockout".
How
did you get the invitation from UFC?
It
was a surprise. I had a bout scheduled at WFE Platinum, on December
16th, and almost signing with Bellator. A friend of mine, Danilo
Indio, came here to train with me one day, said I shouldn’t
sign because there was a better thing coming my way. I didn’t
understand it back then. It didn’t take much longer, he
was on Facebook and said he had good news, but didn’t wanna
tell me what was it.
How
many fights are predicted on your contract?
Six.
It was a surprise, because usually they offer like two or three
fights. My obligation is even bigger now. All fighters dream
on fighting in the UFC and I got it, with a great contract. I
was training because I’d fight next month, so it came to
me on the right time.
Do
you fear the pressure since you’ll be debiting in an event
that big?
It’s
a pressure of an international event, but there’s the good
side, because my first fight will be in Brazil, my country. Thank
God the fans will be on my side. It’d be a bigger pressure
if I fought outside, like in England, for instance, but I’m
used. The responsibility is different now, there’re many
things to be risked and my obligation is greater now.
What
do you know about your opponent? Almost all of his wins were
by KO or submission…
I
only know his name, and I don’t even know how to pronounce
it (laughs). My coaches are in charge of that (giving him the
information).
What
changes in your career are you hoping for after UFC Rio?
You
can’t compare UFC, it gives me perspective of living to
fight. But I’m grateful to WFE, event that helped me a lot
professionally.
Do
you do something else?
I
work as a security guard every other day from 10om until 7am
where I go to law school. After that I go home and have breakfast
and 9am I go train. I’m on the ninth period and I’ll
graduate next year. I lost many classes because I had the tests,
but I had to train first. Now it’s the UFC. I gotta train
harder because my life is on the line.
What
can the fans hope of you?
My
game is focusing on Boxing and the stand-up, what they like better
to see. I’m a BJJ black belt, so I’m not dumb on the
ground. I train many kicks, wrestling, but I’m better on
the stand-up. I want to show a lot of guts and objectivity in
the UFC. I'm going for it, to finish it, I’ll do everything
to knockout.
Will
Junior dos Santos help you?
Cigano
is a guy who has always helped me professionally, he has always
helped and I’ve always helped him as his sparring. I don’t
know if he’s helping me on the trainings, because he might
go through a knee surgery, but only saying nice things, telling
me about stepping in that octagon many times, it’s helpful.
When we fight, wherever it is, even in any place here in Brazil,
he calls me to talk to me, say some words… He’s like
a brother.
You
were known as “Lula Molusco” (Squidward). Why did you
leave it behind?
I
guess Ednaldo Lula sounds more professional.
Source: Tatame
|
TUF
14 Finale Finalists Score Big with Bonuses
The Ultimate Fighter 14 closed out the final season of the series
on Spike TV with a bang. Fans have long been clamoring for the
lighter weight fighters on the show, and now we know why…
they deliver.
Handing
out the usual post-fight award bonuses on Saturday night in Las
Vegas, the UFC awarded $40,000 to each of the winners.
The
big winner on the night was Diego Brandao. The Brazilian became
the featherweight Ultimate Fighter with his first-round armbar
of Dennis Bermudez. Brandao actually had to survive being knocked
down and an ensuing onslaught of ground and pound from Bermudez
before he secured the finish.
Brandao
earned the TUF 14 Finale Submission of the Night bonus, and shared
the honors with Bermudez for the Fight of the Night bonus, as
well. Brandao pocketed an extra $80,000 in addition to his Ultimate
Fighter winning performance, while Bermudez netted $40,000 as
well in his runner-up role.
John
Dodson, who became the bantamweight division’s Ultimate
Fighter on Saturday night, also secured the Knockout of the Night
bonus with his first-round TKO stoppage of T.J. Dillashaw. The
Team Alpha Male fighter argued an early stoppage, but was on
wobbly legs as he did so.
Dodson
took home the trophy, the six-figure UFC contract, and an additional
$40,000 for the finish.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Matches
to Make After TUF 14 Finale
Bluster
gave way to stone-cold reality for Jason “Mayhem” Miller,
and it was not pretty.
Michael
Bisping shellacked the colorful and charismatic “Bully Beatdown”
host, scoring a third-round technical knockout in “The Ultimate
Fighter 14” Finale main event on Saturday at the Palms Casino
Resort in Las Vegas. Miller had been stopped on strikes only
once previously in his 32-fight career. Bisping, who burst on
the scene during Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter,”
has rattled off four consecutive victories, his longest such
streak since he began his professional campaign 14-0.
A
dramatic shift in momentum unfolded in the second round, where
Miller was reduced to little more than a sitting duck once his
takedowns failed him. Bisping overwhelmed the former Icon Sport
champion with volume and accuracy, leaving him fatigued, frustrated
and desperate entering round three. Once there, Bisping scrambled
into a dominant position on the ground and polished off his latest
conquest with punches, elbows, hammerfists and knees to the body.
It was over 3:34 into round three.
Bisping’s
12 wins inside the Octagon tie him with Kenny Florian, Chris
Leben, B.J. Penn and Diego Sanchez for 11th on the UFC’s
all-time list.
In
wake of “The Ultimate Fighter 14” Finale, here are
seven matches we want to see made:
Michael
Bisping vs. Vitor Belfort-Anthony Johnson winner: Bisping’s
two previous encounters with truly elite fighters ended in defeat,
as he lost a split decision to Rashad Evans at UFC 78 and got
victimized by a Dan Henderson highlight-reel knockout at UFC
100. Now on a four-fight winning streak, the polarizing 32-year-old
Brit has put himself in position to give it another go. While
none of his individual skills move the needle, Bisping remains
an underrated and underappreciated all-around presence at 185
pounds. Belfort and Johnson will throw leather with one another
at UFC 142 on Jan. 14. Let “The Count” take a swing
at the winner.
Jason
Miller vs. Cung Le: Miller fell woefully short of the mark in
his return to the UFC. Outside of a first-round takedown and
some mild ground-and-pound, the 30-year-old Strikeforce veteran
was no threat to Bisping. His inability to put the fight on the
ground and keep it there led to a one-sided beating and likely
left UFC matchmakers with far more questions than answers. Miller
needs to return to the drawing board and tighten up his game
in a hurry if he wants to remain relevant in the UFC. Perhaps
a matchup with former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung
Le would do some good for both men, provided the San Shou master
desires another fight in the UFC in wake of his recent loss to
Wanderlei Silva.
John Dodson vs. Yves Jabouin-Walel Watson winner: Because of
his thrilling style and experience, Dodson provides UFC brass
with a myriad of options. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
14 bantamweight winner, who aspires to someday win titles in
three divisions, is well equipped to thrive outside of his ideal
weight class, at least until the UFC finds room for the flyweights.
Save for the occasional lapse in focus, Dodson has very few holes
in his game, and few 125- or 135-pounders can match his physical
tools. The survivor of the Jabouin-Watson showdown at UFC 140
on Saturday could serve as a nice first test for Dodson as reality
show royalty.
Diego
Brandao vs. Nam Phan-Jim Hettes winner: No one can question Brandao’s
drive and determination, but his submission victory in “The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 14 featherweight final exposed
some chinks in the armor. An offensive juggernaut, the Brazilian
often leaves himself vulnerable and exposed in pursuit of the
finish -- a weakness upon which a seasoned, streamlined striker
like Phan could capitalize. Hettes, an unbeaten
submission savant, poses a dangerous challenge on the floor.
Tony
Ferguson vs. Edson Barboza-Terry Etim winner: Where Ferguson
goes, fireworks follow. “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
13 winner outpointed American Top Team veteran Yves Edwards in
what can only be described as a valuable experience. A potent
standup fighter with excellent wrestling skills, Ferguson will
be a tough out at 155 pounds. Throw him the Barboza-Etim winner
and see how far he wants to climb.
T.J.
Dillashaw vs. Nick Pace: Dillashaw stood with one of the sport’s
most gifted strikers and paid the price. Still, there is no shame
in a defeat to Dodson. Another outstanding prospect spawned by
the Team Alpha Male camp, Dillashaw figures only to improve from
here, as he works daily with Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez and
Chad Mendes. A matchup with Pace -- a highly regarded Team Tiger
Schulmann export whose only three losses have come to former
WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres, onetime UFC bantamweight
title contender Demetrious Johnson and the well-traveled Ivan
Menjivar -- might paint a more accurate picture of where Dillashaw
stands in his development.
Dennis
Bermudez vs. Leonard Garcia-Tiequan Zhang loser: Bermudez came
within an eyelash of upsetting Brandao in “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 14 featherweight final. However, his aggression
cost him. After leveling the Brazilian with a picture-perfect
counter right hand, Bermudez swarmed for the figurative kill.
Not long after, his left arm was hyperextended and he was submitting
to an armbar. On-the-job training can be a painful experience,
especially under the glare of the UFC spotlight. With that said,
Bermudez’s wrestling background and natural punching power
make him an interesting prospect at 145 pounds. Provided his
arm was not injured too severely, he could be looking at a return
bout between now and the end of the first quarter of 2012. Send
the Garcia-Zhang loser his way.
Source: Sherdog
|
Michael
Bisping Says His Punches Had a Lot to Do with Mayhem’s Fading
Cardio
Following
Michael Bisping’s win over Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller
on Saturday night, everybody commented on how the fight might
have gone differently if Miller’s cardio was up to par.
After
a good start to the fight, the former Strikeforce fighter couldn’t
get Bisping back to the ground and suffered the consequences
as the fight wore on.
By
the end of the second and into the third rounds, Miller was exhausted,
barely keeping his hands up and taking an onslaught of punishment
from the Brit.
But
to the point of his cardio and conditioning, Bisping points out
that it wasn’t an accident that Miller’s body was wearing
down as the fight wore on, and it had nothing to do with him
being ill prepared.
“This
is it, everyone of my opponent’s gasses. Any time I stop
someone it’s because they gas. Guarantee Jason didn’t
gas, I guarantee Jason could have gone five rounds. This is a
five round fight, I finished it in the third. This is a big opportunity
for Jason, I guarantee he had the cardio to go five,” said
Bisping after the fight.
“Guess
what? You might have caught it, but when someone’s landing
big body shots like I was, kneeing him in the stomach and punching
you repeatedly in the face, your cardio gets affected.”
Bisping’s
attacks had an obvious influence on Miller’s cardio, and
eventually the punishment was enough to stop the fight.
The
former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner knows as well as anybody
that cardio is a real weapon in a fight, that’s why he’s
always ready to go 25 minutes, and with enough damage done to
his opponents, there’s no way they’re going to make
it that far.
“You
take the best runners in the world, you kick the (expletive)
out of them, they won’t run quite as well,” Bisping
joked.
Check
out the rest of Michael Bisping from the TUF 14 Finale post fight
press conference below:
Source: MMA Weekly
|
John
Dodson runs circles around TJ Dillashaw, takes ‘The Ultimate
Fighter’ bantamweight crown
After
he knocked T.J. Dillashaw silly, Dodson backflipped off the Octagon,
then danced and bounced off the walls.
The
tiny bantamweight proved sized doesn't matter when countered
with speed and technique at Saturday night's bantamweight finale
of "The Ultimate Fighter." Dodson was impossible to
hit over the first 90 seconds of the fight and when he drilled
Dillashaw with a left to the side of the head he went into hyper-speed
to get the finish at the 1:54 mark of the first.
The
5-foot-3 Dodson is the first 135-pound champ in the history of
the "The Ultimate Fighter," which rolled out its first
season featuring the little guys at bantamweight and featherweight.
Dodson was already widely recognized as one of the best 125ers
in the world, but he took a gamble in trying out for the field
of bigger guys, and came out a huge winner.
"Words
cannot describe how I feel right now. Thank you everybody,"
Dodson told UFC analyst Joe Rogan as much of the Las Vegas crowd
at the Palms booed. "I don't care if you hate me, just watch
me."
John
Dodson runs circles around TJ Dillashaw, takes ‘The Ultimate
Fighter’ bantamweight crown
Dodson
emerged from the show as one of the big heels. He talked plenty
of trash and even worse, a member of Team "Mayhem"
Miller, he served as a spy for Team Michael Bisping.
Dillashaw,
who trains out of Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male in California,
was a big favorite before the season started. There are some
who believe he's just a tick behind veterans like Faber and another
teammate Joe Benavidez, who are both ranked in the top six at
bantamweight.
Dillashaw,
a former elite college wrestler, came out in a low stance and
tried to establish range with his jab. He looked incredibly slow
against the lightning quick Dodson. Dillashaw threw a lazy shot
when he got crushed by left punch/arm to the side of his head.
He was stunned and stumbled for a second. That's all it took
for Dodson to land a short left and drop him.
Dodson
flew on top of him and got off three more hammerfists before
ref Herb Dean jumped in to save Dillashaw. Dillashaw was going
for a leg to try and get the fight under control when Dean stopped
it. It may have been a little early to halt the action, but when
Dillashaw rose to his feet he wobbled back to the cage.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Diego
Brandao wins ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ with BJJ skills
Though
he showed knockout power over the course of the 14th season of
"The Ultimate Fighter," Diego Brandao won the season
with submission prowess. He beat Dennis Bermudez with a first-round
armbar.
Diego
Brandao wins ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ with BJJ skillsThe
featherweights came out winging punches, but it was Bermudez
who got the advantage early, ducking from Brandao's punch, then
taking him down and landing a huge ground shot before Brandao
got back to his feet. Bermudez did not back down, but was knocked
down by a Brandao punch three minutes in. Somehow, Bermudez survived
and landed big strikes of his own. Brandao landed a flying knee,
then tried to control Bermudez on the ground. Bermudez got back
to his feet, narrowly avoiding a Brandao kick.
The
fight took a turn in the final minute. Bermudez showed power
of his own, knocking down Brandao late in the round with a short
right. Bermudez threw punch after punch, and looked close to
finishing the fight. Brandao avoided Bermudez's strikes, then
grabbed on to Bermudez's arm. Brandao threw his legs over to
secure a fast, perfect arm bar, and Bermudez tapped at 4:51 in
the first round.
With
that tap, Brandao won a six-figure contract with the UFC. The
Brazilian who calls Wanderlei Silva his hero is looking forward
to using his money to buy his mother a home in Brazil.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Host
Molly Qerim Shares the MMA Awards with Two Special Guests
On
any red carpet event you’re expected to see celebrities
showing off their latest designer clothes, jewelry and more often
times than not whoever happens to be their date.
Some
people bring a significant other, some bring a parent, but for
CBS Sports anchor and MMA Awards co-host Molly Qerim she decided
to bring two very special dates to the red carpet for the most
recent awards ceremony.
Qerim
was serving as host for the second year in a row, this time alongside
controversial badboy Chael Sonnen for the World MMA Awards.
“Last
year I went by myself and as a sports fan and a fan of MMA, it’s
such a fun event to see everybody in the industry. I was just
thinking this year I really want to share it with somebody, and
I really want to share it with somebody who will appreciate it,”
Qerim told MMAWeekly.com.
“I’m
not really in the position yet to fly people out myself and that
kind of thing, so I’ve known Jen Wenk for a while and I
reached out to her and I knew all her connections with PR in
Las Vegas and working for the UFC for so many years and right
away she connected me to the Boys Town organization.”
Boys
Town is an organization that helps at-risk youths in a particular
area in several different programs. The Las Vegas area Boys Town
club was more than happy to connect a couple of kids from the
area, who were huge MMA fans, to be Qerim’s honorary dates
for the evening.
The
boys selected lived the life of a celebrity that evening with
limo service to and from the event, dinner with Qerim, and of
course walking the red carpet and meeting their favorite MMA
fighters and figures from around the industry.
Qerim
admits that the boys definitely had stars in their eyes and soaked
in every moment of what was a big night for the both of them.
“At
first I think they were just a bit overwhelmed, and a little
bit shy. Then I think they were just really enjoying it and relishing
in the moment. I could really tell that they were thrilled and
I think they’ll remember this night for a very long time,”
Qerim said.
“Some
people will never experience that in a lifetime, and to see these
kids light up, honestly it really just meant the world to me.”
When
Qerim was in college and making her way into the broadcasting
world, she says it was meeting some of her own personal heroes
that inspired her to continue to work hard and try to make it
to the top of her field.
She
hopes it can be much the same kind of inspiration for the kids
from Boys Town who got to meet all of their favorite fighters
and people from around the industry.
“I
think for these kids and something I felt personally, that somebody
would take out the time to care and choose them and share a special
night with them,” said Qerim. “It means so much to
me. I hope that the more I continue to grow in this industry,
and I’m just getting started, there’s more and more
I want to do.”
Qerim’s
long term goals are to start her own foundation for charity,
and she got a good first step of what it feels like to help somebody
experience the time of their lives.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Brandao
to ‘Change Life’ after Thrilling Finals Win
Diego Brandao hopes that his run in the UFC is just beginning.
| Photo: Wilson Fox
Diego
Brandao proved on Saturday night why he was one of the favorites
to win “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 14, as the well-rounded
Brazilian submitted fellow finalist Dennis Bermudez in the featherweight
finale at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Brandao
lived up to his hype in spades, showing off his power and accuracy
in the early going. After a few solid exchanges, the 24-year-old
found the mark with his right hand, dropping Bermudez with a
flash knockdown. The Brazilian quickly pounced on his stunned
foe, but his zeal would nearly cost him the victory.
Backpedaling,
Bermudez delivered a perfectly timed right straight that drilled
Brandao directly on the chin and dropped him like a ton of bricks.
The tide turned in less than a second, and the American quickly
went on the offensive, dropping a hailstorm of ground-and-pound
on the dazed Brazilian in an effort to finish the fight.
Somehow,
Brandao managed to gain control over Bermudez from the guard,
executing a textbook straight armbar. As he flipped “The
Menace” onto his back, Brandao cranked hard on the hold,
hyper-extending his foe's elbow as Bermudez tapped vehemently.
“I
looked for the knockout [early],” Brandao told UFC.com after
his win. “[My corner said to] look for the armbar. I can
see on the tape, I put my feet on his hips, and [threw my legs
up]. He was off balance, and I threw [my hips] around, and this
was a perfect armbar, just like I’ve trained over and over.”
A
pupil of Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson, Brandao joined teammate
John Dodson in making history as the first featherweight and
bantamweight “TUF” champions in the 14-season history
of the reality show.
Though
Brandao had harsh words for Bermudez in the final episode of
the series before the finale, he gave a game opponent his due
after their back-and-forth featherweight final.
“Congratulations
to Dennis for making the finale,” said Brandao. “But
God blessed me, and today, I am the best.”
While
the fighter garnered a reputation as a loose cannon during his
time on the show due to his brutal and swift knockouts of his
opponents, the fighter asserts that his intense in-cage demeanor
does not double as his persona in real life. That said, Brandao
has no plans to change his pre-fight attitude now that his first
step has been taken toward UFC relevance.
“I
want to change my life. I want to be back [in the Octagon] again.
This is very important for me,” said Brandao. “[People]
sometimes don't understand. I’m not crazy. I’m a good
person. I love everyone after the fight. But before the fight,
I want to destroy you, bro. I promise.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Bisping
rides crowd’s jeers to victory
LAS
VEGAS – Michael Bisping may be challenging the likes of
Josh Koscheck and Brock Lesnar as the most hated fighter in the
UFC, but that did opponent Jason “Mayhem” Miller little
good on Saturday night.
Bisping
(23-3) used an exhausted Miller (24-8, 1 no contest) as a punching
bag before referee Steve Mazzagatti finally waved it off at 3:34
of the third round in the main event of “The Ultimate Fighter
14 Finale” at the Palms Casino. Bisping, who is originally
from Liverpool, England, heard crowd boos, loud chants of “USA”
and “Bisping sucks,” while taking Miller apart.
“I
don’t give a [expletive] if you boo or cheer,” Bisping
said. “This sounds like a cheesy comment. But when I got
into this sport, I just wanted to make enough money, I did dead-end
job after dead-end job, just wanted to make enough money to go
to college and get a trade. I’ve far exceeded that goal
so everything’s a bonus.”
Bisping
struggled in the first round, and the crowd exploded when Miller
took him down and may have done enough to win the round. But
Miller, who had actor Kevin James in his corner, had little movement
once the second round started.
“I
don’t think anyone’s cardio was an issue,” Bisping
said. “It was the pace of the fight. I feel it was a fast
pace. I was tired. Jason’s only been stopped once before
and it was a shaky first round. I was annoyed at myself in the
first round. I was blasé.
“As
soon as we clinched, I knew I was more physically dominant. But
he was so awkward, so unorthodox. At the end of the first I was
thinking, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’”
The
finish came in the third round when Miller went for a desperation
takedown. Bisping easily sprawled and ended up on top. He unloaded
with a lot of punches and elbows, as well as knees to the body,
before it was stopped.
“Jason
jumped on the bandwagon that nobody likes me and that I’m
not a very good fighter,” Bisping said. “He’s
been quick to discredit me, saying they’ve given me hand-picked
opponents. That doesn’t sit well with me, so it was nice
to teach him a lesson.”
Bisping
got word officially earlier in the day that, even with a win,
he was not going to be in the immediate middleweight title picture.
UFC announced a Jan. 28 match on FOX in Chicago between Chael
Sonnen (26-11-1) and Mark Munoz (12-2), with the winner being
the next opponent for champion Anderson Silva.
Miller’s
brief tenure in UFC after a six-year absence, with one fight
following his stint as a “TUF” coach, may be in jeopardy.
When the fight was over, UFC president Dana White questioned
if he would give Miller another fight.
“Yeah,
listen, I trained really hard for this fight and I’m sorry
I got tired,” said Miller, who ended up being hospitalized
later after the fight. “Yeah, I can’t make any excuse.
For all the boos that Bisping gets, as a fighter, he deserves
your applause. Give it up for him.”
The
card also featured the tournament finals for Season 14 of “The
Ultimate Fighter.”
The
show featured arguably the second best final bout, after the
now legendary Season 1 Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar fight.
Diego
Brandao (19-7) survived being knocked down twice in the first
round, and seemed on the verge of defeat when he caught Dennis
Bermudez (8-3) with an armbar at 4:51 of the first round to win
the featherweight final.
The
fight saw Bermudez, who figured to have little chance standing,
hurt Brandao early with an aggressive striking game. Bermudez
got a knockdown early. However, Brandao came back and put Bermudez
down with a flying knee, and followed with a German suplex. Bermudez
then dropped Brandao with a hard right and landed hard punches
from the top, and just as the round was ending, Brandao surprised
him with an armbar.
Brandao
had talked the past week about winning and using the money from
his new UFC contract to buy his mother in Brazil a house.
“For
me, part of my mission is over,” Brandao said. “I wanted
to give a better life to my family after my dad passed away.
I’m so happy to buy [my mother] a house in Brazil. She doesn’t
know. I hope she doesn’t have a heart attack.”
The
bantamweight final saw John Dodson (13-5) upset T.J. Dillashaw
(5-1) in just 1:54. Afterwards, Dodson said he considers himself
a flyweight and not a bantamweight.
The
diminutive Dodson’s speed was the difference, as Dillashaw
couldn’t land on him. Dodson knocked Dillashaw down with
a left. Dillashaw landed with his legs spread, got right back
up, and was dropped again.
After
a few more punches, ref Herb Dean stopped it. The crowd booed,
thinking it was stopped early, even as Dodson was doing flips
all over the ring.
“I
felt it was stopped early, but what can you do,” said Dillashaw,
who was a three-time qualifier for the NCAA Division I wrestling
tournament when he was at Cal State Fullerton. “I was going
for the single leg takedown. I’m not sure I’d get it,
but give me a chance to compete. I’m not saying I’d
win.”
After
the show, White confirmed that Zuffa and Showtime are close to
a deal and Strikeforce would continue as a separate promotion,
running regular shows in 2012 on the network. He wouldn’t
reveal any details regarding the new deal. The contract that
Zuffa inherited when purchasing the Strikeforce promotion in
March, expires in February, but Showtime had the option to renew
with the same terms for an additional two years.
UFC
also announced the top two matches for the next FOX network special,
a two-hour show from 8-10 p.m. ET on Jan. 28 from the United
Center in Chicago.
Besides
Sonnen vs. Munoz, which will be a three-round fight, the main
event pits Rashad Evans (16-1-1) against Phil Davis (9-0) in
a five-round fight. The winner will get a shot at the winner
of the Dec. 10 Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida bout in Toronto for
the light heavyweight title.
White
also announced there would be a third feature bout, one with
big name fighters that would be announced as early as Sunday.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Hendo
explains use of Jiu-Jitsu to weather Shogun’s storm
According
to UFC president Dana White, the fight between Dan Henderson
and Maurício Shogun has joined the list of the greatest
showdowns in UFC history. The fight is covered in the issue of
GRACIEMAG now in the works. While you wait on yours (if you’re
not a subscriber yet, get on board here.), here’s a taster
of Henderson’s take on his battle with Shogun.
In
the final round, Shogun mounted you and fired off a number of
shots. What was going through your head at that moment?
I
knew I’d won the fight, so I had to keep moving to make
it to the end of the round. I could tell he was too tired to
knock me out at that point.
You
do your ground training with the Brazilian Ricardo “Pantcho”
Feliciano. How did you put your Jiu-Jitsu to use when you were
under fire from Shogun?
I
was really tired. If I hadn’t been so exhausted, I might
have used Jiu-Jitsu to get out from under him. My strategy there
was to not let Shogun get back mount; I didn’t want to risk
it, since I knew I’d win the decision. I managed to hang
on till the end of the round–that was all I was thinking
about.
What
does this fight mean to your career?
It
was really important to my career. I think this win was enough
to earn me another shot at the title. That’s what I’m
hoping for, but you never know.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Big
Nog “wasn’t thinking” on first loss to Frank Mir:
“I gotta keep moving”
After
fighting Frank Mir, on December of 2008, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
had four losses in his career, all by points. The American was
the first one to give the bitter taste of a loss by technical
knockout to the Brazilian, who, on December 10th, at UFC 140,
will have a chance of revenge, in Canadian lands. On an interview
to TATAME, the heavyweight talked about the expectations for
the rematch, betted on Rogerio Nogueira against Tito Ortiz and
also comment on the lessons learned from the bout that happened
three years ago.
Frank
Mir was the first one to beat you by TKO, in 2008. Do you want
revenge?
It’s
a rematch I’ve always wanted. I’m please to fight him
again. I’ll do my best. I’m better conditioned, I’ve
gone through my surgeries, so I’m no longer injured. I’ll
represent the best way I can. I’m well trained, I did an
excellent training camp and what I want is to win.
You
fought Brendan Schaubn in Rio, after a long time off the octagon,
when you’ve been though surgeries, but you knocked him out.
Do you believe the pressure ain’t that big now?
It
was indeed a little extra pressure, it was a comeback. I’ll
use the training camp of that fight and the qualities I’ve
earned for this one. My striking has improved, I’m well
arranged as to my physical trainings with (Claudio) Pavanelli,
who’s the fitness trainer of Flamengo (soccer team), he’s
got a great level. I got great guys with me. My coaches, De La
Riva at Jiu-Jitsu, (Amaury) Bitetti, my Wrestling coach, who’s
always bringing Americans with great Wrestling level to train
with me and it’s helped me a lot. So I’ve improved
my Wrestling too.
What
lessons have you learned from you fight with Frank Mir, in 2008,
that you can use on this rematch?
I
guess that, in 2008, I was a little emotive. I wasn’t thinking,
I didn’t move a lot. I gotta keep moving around Frank Mir.
He’s agile, despite getting tired. So I gotta keep moving
all the time and try to pressure him more.
The
fact your brother, Rogerio, is fighting on the same day ain’t
any news. But does it change something?
t
motivates me a lot because Rogerio is one of my greatest training
partners. I’m one of his greatest sparrings too. It helps
us. I guess this one helping the other thing is very stimulating.
It’s a little tiring to watch Rogerio fighting and then
fight, but it helps more than it disturbs me.
How
do you see Rogerio vs. Tito Ortiz?
Rogerio
is better on striking and he’s good enough to defend the
takedowns of Tito Ortiz. I guess Rogerio is better on the ground,
and that he has an advantage on the stand-up. Rogerio is an experienced
Boxing athlete and I believe he can knock him out.
How
is he dealing with the pressure of having to win, since he’s
coming from two losses?
It’s
a normal pressure for UFC: you gotta keep your losses to the
minimum. But I guess he’s handling it quite well. Tito Ortiz
is on the same position he is, and I believe on Rogerio’s
experience on striking to get the knockout.
Source: Tatame
|
TUF
14 Finale Results: Diego Brandao is the Featherweight Ultimate
Fighter
Diego Brandao, when he was just 16 years old, promised his dying
father that he would take care of his mother. After Saturday
night’s victory to become the featherweight winner of the
fourteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Brandao will do just
that.
“This
is what I want for my dad; he’s looking at me right now,”
declared Brandao after the fight. “And now I’m gonna
be able to buy house for my mom in Brazil, baby, yee haw!”
Brandao
rolled through the season’s featherweight class, finishing
all of his opposition in the first round. He finished all of
his opponents during the regular season by TKO, but he took a
different route in the finale.
He
and Dennis Bermudez went toe-to-toe for the better part of the
opening round, taking turns rocking each other with an arsenal
of punches, kicks, and knees.
Brandao
struck first, putting Bermudez on his back with a flying knee,
and suplexing him after they returned to their feet. Bermudez
recovered quickly, however, re-entering the fray and dropping
Brandao with a right hand to the jaw.
Bermudez
unloaded a relentless flurry of ground and pound, but got lazy
with his left arm, leaving it on Brandao’s chest. Brandao
took immediate advantage, locking out an armbar. Bermudez tapped
almost instantly, possibly suffering a broken arm.
“I
knew he was going to continue to punch. I wait for the armbar.”
He
waited for the armbar, but he didn’t waste time on the finish,
closing it out with nine seconds to spare.
Diego
Brandao is your TUF 14 Featherweight Ultimate Fighter.
Source: MMA Weekly |
TUF
14 Finale Results: Bisping Finishes Mayhem
For
all the hype and hatred that seemed to lead Michael Bisping and
Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller to the ‘Ultimate Fighter’
season 14 finale, the ending came with a resounding thud.
Michael
Bisping dominated a very tired Jason Miller to earn a third round
TKO to defeat his fellow coach, and move one step closer towards
his ultimate goal of a UFC title shot.
When
the fight started, Miller attacked and moved forward in his normal
zombie like style, not fearing Bisping’s power at all.
The
former Bully Beatdown host snagged a quick takedown and pushed
Bisping against the cage where he looked to mount, and gain a
dominant position. Unfortunately, Miller couldn’t pull Bisping
away from the cage and he never took full advantage of the move,
and eventually the Brit was able to work his way back to the
feet.
It
was standing where the mismatch began. Bisping’s boxing
was much more solid as the season 3 winner of the ‘Ultimate
Fighter’ threw jabs and straight punches with precision
while Miller could only fire back with haymakers.
As
the second round wore on it was clear that cardio and conditioning
were going to be a big factor with Bisping stepping forward and
striking, while Miller started to back up and his gas tank was
depleted.
Bisping
fired off huge body shots and cornered Miller against the cage
and unloaded several unanswered shots. At one point, Miller rose
his arms and gave Bisping a free shot, which he gladly took.
Miller was able to absorb the punch, but it really was the beginning
of the end.
Bisping
came out firing again in the third round and once he got Miller
on the ground, it was over. The Brit blasted away at Miller,
who at this point had a bloodied nose and a huge mouse under
his left eye.
With
Miller only defending by covering up, referee Steve Mazzagatti
saw enough and stepped in to stop the carnage.
Through
all bravado that Bisping showed before the fight, even going
as far as dropping a few ‘F’ bombs at the Las Vegas
crowd during Friday’s weigh-ins, he showed class in victory
and paid credit to his opponent’s toughness.
“He’s
a tough guy, I knew if I was going to finish him, I had to have
a high work rate. He’s a tough son of a gun, congratulations,”
Bisping said towards Miller.
“Listen,
you know booing whatever, I’m here to entertain. I feel
me and Jason put on a fantastic season of the ‘Ultimate
Fighter’, congratulations Jason and thank you all for tuning
in and watching it.”
The
bad blood going into the fight was put to rest, and in a very
classy move, Miller applauded Bisping’s performance and
apologized for his own.
“I
trained really hard for this fight, I’m sorry guys I got
tired,” said Miller. “I can’t make any excuses
about it, for all the boos that Michael Bisping gets, as a fighter
he deserves your applause.”
As
for Michael Bisping, the win moves him closer to his ultimate
goal which is eventually challenging for the UFC middleweight
title.
Despite
a strong finish over a tough opponent, Bisping was quick to point
out that Saturday’s performance was far from his best, and
it’s going to take nothing less than perfection to get past
someone like Anderson Silva.
“I’ll
be honest I wasn’t happy with that. First round didn’t
go to plan, second and third was good, but if I was to face the
champion a first round like that wouldn’t cut it. Still
a lot of work to do,” Bisping stated.
The
win does put Bisping right in the crosshairs for a major fight
in the division however, possibly facing a fighter like Vitor
Belfort if he’s successful in his next bout at UFC 142.
Love
him or hate him, Bisping performs and at the TUF 14 finale he
simply outmatched Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Bisping
Bullies, Finishes Mayhem in TUF 14 Finale Headliner
“The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 3 winner Michael Bisping handed
Jason “Mayhem” Miller a beating he will not soon forget.
Bisping
stymied Miller’s takedowns and abused him on the feet en
route to a lopsided third-round technical knockout in “The
Ultimate Fighter 14” Finale headliner on Saturday at the
Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The end came 3:34 into round
three, as Bisping posted his fourth consecutive victory and continued
to cement himself as one of the world’s top middleweights.
“He’s
a tough guy,” Bisping said. “I knew if I was going
to finish him, I’d have to have a high work rate. He’s
a tough son of a gun.”
Once
it became clear Miller could not engage on his terms, the fight
was effectively over.
Miller
(23-8, 0-2 UFC) delivered his only takedown midway through the
first round, tied up Bisping’s legs with a modified mount
and peppered the Brit with some light ground-and-pound. Bisping
did not panic, returned to his feet and re-established himself
in an upright position. Miller had no answer in the standup.
Round
two was all Bisping (22-3, 12-3 UFC), outside of an accidental
head butt that left him with a visible swelling on his brow.
He turned away Miller’s takedowns and hammered the “Bully
Beatdown” host with stout right hands and knees from the
clinch. As fatigue and frustration took hold, Miller’s situation
deteriorated. Bisping stuffed another attempted takedown in the
third round and punished the former Icon Sport champion with
punches, elbows and wicked knees to the body. Miller finally
wilted, and referee Steve Mazzagatti called a merciful halt to
the beating.
“I
trained really hard for this fight. I’m sorry, guys. I got
tired,” said Miller, who had not fought in the UFC in more
than six years. “I can’t make any excuses about. For
all the boos that Michael Bisping gets, he deserves your applause
as a fighter.”
Bisping
pointed to the first round as reason for concern as he pushes
toward title contention.
“I’ll
be honest. I wasn’t happy with that,” he said. “First
round didn’t go [according] to plan. Second and third were
good, but if I were to face the champion, a first round like
that wouldn’t cut it, so I’ve still got a lot of work
to do.”
Jackson’s
Mixed Martial Arts representative Diego Brandao submitted Dennis
Bermudez with a nasty first-round armbar in “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 14 featherweight final. His left arm badly
hyperextended, Bermudez tapped out 4:51 into round one, his submission
bringing a decisive end to a riveting encounter between two promising
fighters.
The
two 145-pound prospects traded heavy shots, each of them scoring
a knockdown. Bermudez (7-3, 0-1 UFC) was closing in on victory
late in the first round, having floored Brandao with a beautiful
but brutal counter right hand. He pounced on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu
black belt and unleashed his ground-and-pound. However, in his
haste to finish, Bermudez left himself exposed. Brandao (14-7,
1-0 UFC) snatched the armbar, rolled into a dominant position
and secured the tapout, Bermudez wincing in visible agony.
Dodson
Finishes Dillashaw Fast
In
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 14 bantamweight final,
the experience, speed and power of John Dodson proved too steep
a mountain for Team Alpha Male representative T.J. Dillashaw
to climb.
Dodson
(12-5, 1-0 UFC) set the table for his first-round technical knockout
with a ringing straight left, picked his shots with surgical
patience and precision and then floored the previously unbeaten
Dillashaw with a counter left hand behind the ear. He followed
with a pair of quick left hooks and a few hammerfists, as referee
Herb Dean moved in to halt it 1:54 into round one.
Dillashaw
(4-1, 0-1 UFC) rose on wobbly legs and was assisted to his corner,
having tasted defeat for the first time.
“Words
cannot describe how I feel right now,” Dodson said. “You
guys have no idea how long I’ve waited to be here.”
“The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 winner Tony Ferguson recorded
his sixth consecutive victory, as he used a dominant first round
as a springboard to a unanimous decision in a featured lightweight
bout. All three cageside judges scored it for Ferguson (13-2,
3-0 UFC): 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
Ferguson
had Edwards (41-18-1, 9-6 UFC) in serious trouble in the first
period, as he cracked the American Top Team standout with a straight
right hand and swarmed with a volley of punches. Edwards covered
up, absorbed the punishment against the cage and recovered. Later,
he shot in for a single-leg takedown near the end of the round.
Ferguson countered it masterfully with a rolling omaplata.
Rounds
two and three were far more competitive, as Edwards put together
nice combinations and fired away with kicks to the legs, body
and head. Ferguson, the heavier hitter, landed more shots of
consequence, scored the only takedown of the fight and
did enough damage to sway the judges.
Bedford
Brutalizes Gaudinot in TKO
Emboldened
by a seven-inch height and eight-inch reach advantage, Bellator
Fighting Championships veteran Johnny Bedford smashed through
Louis Gaudinot en route to a third-round technical knockout in
a bantamweight showcase. Bedford (18-9-1, 1-0 UFC) finished it
1:58 into round three.
Game
but outgunned, Gaudinot (5-2, 0-1 UFC), a world-ranked flyweight,
never found a foothold in the match. Taken down and mounted repeatedly,
his considerable resolve ultimately failed him. After two one-sided
rounds, Bedford attacked the Team Tiger Schulmann representative
with wicked body shots and folded him at the base of the cage.
“That’s
fun to watch,” Bedford said. “I’m known in the
gym for going to the body. I don’t get to use it too much
in my fights -- I don’t know why -- but you see it works,
right there. That will drop anyone.”
A
series of standing strikes, including knees and kicks to the
body and shoulders, forced referee Steve Mazzagatti to step in.
Bedford, a 28-year-old Oregon, Ohio, native, has won seven of
his last eight bouts.
Source: Sherdog
|
TUF
14 Finale Shows Just How Badly UFC Needs the Little Guys
John DodsonThe lessons from some fight nights are subtle -- a
bit of meaning you find only after sifting through the blood,
sweat, and spilled cans of Xenergy. This was not one of those
fight nights.
For
anyone with a little bit of sense and decent vision, the takeaways
from the TUF 14 Finale were like a flashing neon billboard on
the Vegas strip. You couldn't miss it if you tried. Not when
a phalanx of bantamweights and featherweights puts on one great
fight after another, while the main event features one middleweight
who gasses early and another who simply gets tired of beating
on him.
Contrasts
like that are helpful at times. If you didn't know that the little
guys were worth watching before, you do now. Or at least you
should. And if an entire season worth of memorable reality TV
fights on The Ultimate Fighter wasn't enough for you, they capped
it off with perhaps the greatest full finale event in TUF history.
It's
not as if we shouldn't have seen this coming, either. Even back
when featherweights and bantamweights were relegated to the WEC,
putting on twice the fights for half the paychecks, the hardcore
fans who consistently tuned in to the Sunday night events on
Versus appreciated the quality of the performances they put on.
If only these guys could get a chance in the UFC, those fans
said. And then they did, only to have the UFC quickly realize
that it probably didn't have enough of them.
Putting
135 and 145-pounders on the Spike TV reality show was a brilliant
way to both fatten up the roster and introduce the weight classes
to a wider audience, and the cast wasted no time making their
presence felt with a series of fantastic elimination fights in
the very first episode. It went on like that more or less all
season long, so maybe we shouldn't be surprised that they delivered
at the finale as well.
In
fairness, this card was loaded with them. In recent years the
TUF Finale has featured only a handful of non-finalists, but
Saturday night's event was comprised almost exclusively of reality
show participants, giving the smaller fighters plenty of chances
to shine.
Only
two of the five prelim fights went the distance, and both of
those that did (Steven Siler's decision win over Josh Clopton
and Marcus Brimage's decision over Stephen Bass) were action-packed
affairs that stayed busy and competitive all the way until the
end.
On
the main card, John Dodson showed not only his power and quickness
in a quick TKO win over T.J. Dillashaw, but also his freakish
agility in a post-fight celebration that included dueling flips
that looked like something out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
What's more, he did it all with a smile, which is equal parts
creepy and impressive.
Then
there was the featherweight finale between Diego Brandao and
Dennis Bermudez, which has to be in the conversation for best
one-round fight of the year. After they took turns rocking one
another in frantic exchanges, Brando nearly got his jaw knocked
off his face before somehow recovering to pull off a miraculous
armbar with just seconds left in the first round.
Among
the eight fights in either the bantamweight or featherweight
division from this card, there was hardly a man who didn't seem
up to UFC standards. It was a collection of well-conditioned,
well-prepared athletes who gave the fans their money's worth
before the main eventers even set foot in the cage.
Remind
me again why we didn't have these guys in the UFC years ago?
It
shouldn't surprise anyone that there are so many talented lighter
weight fighters in MMA. I've advanced this theory several times
before, but it seems pretty obvious to me that decent heavyweights
are hard to come by because big guys who are gifted athletes
have more options. You're 6'4" and 250 pounds with speed,
agility, coordination, and a competitive fire? I can't blame
you if you opt for the NFL over MMA. You'll make more on the
practice squad there than most UFC fighters do from fighting,
and you get part of the year off.
But
if you're Dodson, who is 5'3" and pushing it to fight at
135 pounds, it probably doesn't matter how gifted you are. You're
going to be considered too small for most high school football
teams, let alone the pros. You're genetically disqualified from
most major pro sports right out of the womb, which is true of
most of us for one reason or another, but shouldn't be true of
this guy, as anyone who's seen what he's capable of already knows.
MMA
offers the rare ability to compete against someone roughly your
own size every time out, and as a result there is a wealth of
talent in the lighter divisions. Conventional wisdom has held
that fans simply aren't interested in seeing pint-sized warriors.
But then, if we adhered to that kind of thinking we never would
have seen the Brandao-Bermudez fight. We never would have seen
Dodson flipping around like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. We
wouldn't have had much of a fight night at all, really, and we
would have had only ourselves to blame for it.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Lyoto
sets up surprise and “sponge effect” for Jones
Battle
time is nigh. On the coming 10th of December, Lyoto Machida faces
the light heavyweight champion of the UFC, Jon Jones, and he’ll
be looking to do what no man before him has ever done to the
fighter of the year–beat the American (Jones has one blemish
on his record, but it was for getting disqualified for using
a supposedly illegal strike).
One
week removed from the showdown in Toronto, Canada, Lyoto held
an open training session for the press, and revealed what he
has been doing to recover his title.
“We’re
always trying to put together something different, something
to surprise our opponent. For sure there’ll be a surprise
on December 10,” said the karateka, who had some high-powered
help in training, like boxing coach Luiz Dórea and fighter
“King Mo” Lawal and others.
“I feel quicker, at a good weight–96 kg (211 lb). I’ve
dropped some weight, but this way I’ll go in there without
much fat, just lean mass. Logically, I’m stronger and quicker
now, so what I need most right now is to rest. Rest is what provides
that sponge effect–first it drains you, then you get the
final result,” Lyoto guarantees.
UFC
140
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Canada
December 10, 2011
Jon
Jones vs Lyoto Machida
Frank Mir vs Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
Tito Ortiz vs Antônio Rogério Nogueira
Mark Hominick vs Chan Sung Jung
Under
card
Krzysztof
Soszynski vs Igor Pokrajac
Jared Hamman vs Constantinos Philippou
John Makdessi vs Dennis Hallman
Yves Jabouin vs Walel Watson
Mark Bocek vs Nik Lentz
Rich Attonito vs Jake Hecht
Mitch Clarke vs John Cholish
Claude Patrick vs Brian Ebersole
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Don’t
be surprised if you see Lyoto Machida take Jon Jones down at
UFC 140
Former
UFC champion, Lyoto Machida wants to return to the top of the
division, but to do so he needs to overcome the tough Jon Jones,
on December 10th, on the main event of UFC 140. On an exclusive
chat with TATAME TV in Belem, Para, the Karate fighter talked
about his trainings, the support of King Mo in Wrestling and
how to stop “Bones”.
How
are you doing on this final phase of y our prep?
Well,
we’re on a stage where we’re a lot focused, we talk
a lot, I slowed it a lot down, because I was on a sequence of
eight hard weeks of preparation, including the technical and
physical parts, because we know I’m a lot demanded on that
aspect on a bout like this one. So, we’re basically on the
competition period already, wondering about what can we do, discussing
what can we use during the event on December 10th, and that’s
pretty much it.
You
brought Glover and now King Mo is also here to help you. Did
you work the stand-up with Glover and the takedowns with King
Mo?
Actually,
I also brought Anderson Bradock, who’s a guy that fights
in K-1, he’s a great K-1 fighter. I brought him and Glover
on the first moment. They stayed here for two weeks. On that
period we tried to do many sparrings, simulating similar situations
I’ll might confront during the fight, also on the clinch,
the takedowns. We know Glover is a high lever fighter and why
he’s been smashing everybody down here in Brazil, and I’m
sure he’ll make a good career abroad, and Bradock also helped
me a lot to simulate the fight. Then Glover had to go because
he was fighting and then I brought King Mo to add a lot. He’s
a high level fighter in Wrestling, he has been a world champion
on the Pan Am, he has defeated Olympic champions, so he knows
the details of the position that can help me block his game during
the fight, and I guess that’s the main aspect. I guess the
technical part is the most important one for a fight like that,
because I’m fighting a very technical guy. Jon Jones knows
many techniques, he’s can do many things, so that’s
why I’m trying to improve more and more my wrestling.
You
brought him eyeing the takedown defense, since Jon Jones is a
good wrestler and can take you down? Or will you try to get him
on his back, something never seen before?
Well,
I guess it’s hard to predict how things will go on during
the fight, but we trained a lot offensive wrestling, me taking
him down. Besides the takedown defenses, we trained counterattacks
with the takedowns, so if I take him down, it won’t be a
surprise for me, for my team, because we know what we’ve
been doing here. Our greatest goal is to win the fight, in any
area it takes place, no matter if it’s on the stand-up,
the wrestling or on the ground. I want to have an advantage in
all areas.
Everybody
says you’re the one to defeat Jon Jones. How do you take
this trust the Brazilians have towards you?
I’m
really happy and honored to have this responsibility, to know
I have the tools to fight a guy who’s the current champion.
But, to be honest, I try not to think about it, because it might
disturb me and event prevent me from making my next step. I try
to keep focused, I try not to think about if I’m the man
to beat him or not. I guess the most important thing is the training.
The training will bring us to the fight, it’ll lead the
fight wherever it goes.
Jon
Jones is very versatile and you keep moving forwards and backwards.
Do you believe it’s a good match-up?
I
believe I can control my distance and how long does it take for
me to get in and out of his radar. Since Jon Jones is very versatile,
I also ought to be to try to be versatile to make it settled.
We trained many attacks too on the stand-up so that we can have
another tools. Many times, Jon Jones prefers to use the counterattacks,
waiting for the fight to happen, so we need also to have this
tool so we can defeat our opponent.
You
fought for the title one time and became a champion. Are you
more nervous now? How does it feel?
I
believe this time the pressure is on, I feel the same anxiety,
I can’t deny it, it feels the same, because you want it
to happen, it want it as soon as possible, but today I believe
I’m more mature, because each day that comes by, each years
that goes by, each fight that goes by, it’s natural for
you to become more mature. And now I can control it better, manager
this conflicts inside us, not the fight itself, but the inside
conflicts, like anxiety, fear, the will… Everything must
be balances so that we can have what we call performance, because
our greatest goal is the performance on December 10th.
How
do you see the growth of the sport? Now, Brazil holds three out
of the seven belts and you’re fighting for the fourth.
We’re
very happy to see how it’s growing fast, we’re happy
to see Brazil embracing this MMA proposal with a lot of affection.
We can feel it with our fans, and the general media, so it’s
a good thing for the sport. It’s good for everybody and
we know it. But it’s on the beginning of the journey. There’s
a long way to go, many things to develop. We know it’s a
growing sport, not only in Brazil, but in the entire world, and
this support and recognition we have of people coming and talk
to us, saying like “Lyoto, I’m cheering for you in
the name of Brazil, in the of your state”. I’m very
glad about it.
On
this growth, Anderson might have become the most popular fighter.
Many people said he’d come here to help you, but he never
came. Have you, at least, talked to him?
I
talked to Anderson on the phone like three or four times, and
we talked a lot. He sent me a video, telling me to train that.
He shoot a video there saying what he thought I should focus
more my training on for this fight, he showed me a different
coup, saying I can use it. So, he always tries to help me the
way he can. We can tell Anderson is very helpful, mainly with
his friends. You can see his worry to come and talk to me. I
know he wants me to bring another title to our Brazil.
Send
your message for the Brazilians who cheer for you.
I’d
first like to thank all the support I’ve been having of
my sponsors, the state government, and also thank the Brazilian
fans, because I get messages from all over Brazil asking for
an autograph, a t-shirt, a message. I’m really glad to be
able to pay them by with my fights, to send my message using
a sport as a tool. And I wanna say that, on December 10th, the
most important thing is that I’ll be there giving my best.
I believe I’ve already done that on the trainings, so it
was a great victory. And a victory is built, and we’re building
it with the trainings we planned, we did. Thank you a lot. I
want you to know that on December 10th you’ll be all cheering
for me there and I’ll be pouring my heart out in there to
bring this belt home.
Source: Tatame
|
TUF
14 Finale Results: Tony Ferguson Has Arrived
Ultimate
Fighter Season 13 winner Tony Ferguson and former uncrowned UFC
lightweight king Yves Edwards took it the distance at Saturday
night’s Ultimate Fighter 14 Season Finale in Las Vegas,
putting on a striking clinic.
Ferguson,
much bigger than Edwards, started strong, chopping away at Edwards’
lead leg with some harsh low kicks that went unchecked. He staggered
Edwards late in the opening round, driving him around the ring,
but Edwards dug deep and answered with a head kick and punch
combination.
Edwards
turned it up a notch in the second round, finding more openings
for his combinations and landing several head kicks, although
none were solid enough to drop Ferguson.
The
third round was another toe-to-toe battle, but Ferguson finally
got his jab into the act, utilizing it well, keeping Edwards
searching for an opening that never appeared.
Taking
it to the wire, with any takedowns being but a feeble distraction
to their striking performance, Ferguson took the unanimous decision
from the judges, improving his in-Octagon record to 3-0.
“I
give my hat to Yves right here man,” said a grinning Ferguson
after the fight. “He came out and threw exactly what we
thought. I didn’t think it was gonna go three, but I’m
glad it did. I really learned a lot.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
TUF
14 Finale Results: John Dodson Crowned Bantamweight Winner
There
was a bitter grudge between John Dodson and T.J. Dillashaw heading
into the ‘Ultimate Fighter’ finale, and Dodson certainly
did his part to settle it.
As
season 14 of the reality show started, Dodson was one of the
odds on favorites to make it to the finale after a very successful
career outside the Octagon where he faced a slew of talented
fighters.
Still,
Team Alpha Male’s T.J. Dillashaw had all the raw talent
and hype surrounding him that made the former college wrestler
a heavy favorite going into the final fight for the debut season
in the bantamweight division.
Despite
Dillashaw’s grappling pedigree, he opted for a stand-up
fight with the wild and speedy Dodson as soon as the opening
bell sounded.
The
strategy backfired in a hurry when Dodson’s lighting fast
movements saw him pop his former rival from the reality show
early in the fight.
Still
Dillashaw moved forward looking for strikes, and Dodson saw the
opening he needed to uncork a perfectly placed counter left that
drilled the former Team Bisping fighter right behind the ear.
Dillashaw’s
legs buckled and Dodson followed up with another big shot. As
Dillashaw wobbled to the floor, Dodson went right after him with
a few more shots before referee Herb Dean came through for the
stoppage.
Some
in the arena believed the fight was stopped too early, but replays
showed Dillashaw rising from the canvas with Jello legs underneath
him.
A
top ranked flyweight before the ‘Ultimate Fighter’
ever started, Dodson is now the TUF 14 bantamweight champion
after defeating T.J. Dillashaw by TKO in the first round.
“Words
cannot describe how I feel right now,” Dodson said after
the win.
Always
a smile on his face, Dodson flipped around the cage like he was
starring in a new sequel to ‘The Matrix’ and you may
never see a fighter any happier to win the ‘Ultimate Fighter’
crown.
“Did
I just end it that quick? I wanted to celebrate this a little
bit longer, you guys have no idea how long I waited to be here,”
said Dodson. “Thank everybody who’s booing me, cheering
me, thank you guys. I don’t care if you guys hate me, just
watch me.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
‘TUF
14’ Finale Live Results and Play-by-Play
The Pearl
at the Palms, Las Vegas, NV
December 3, 2011
Dustin
Neace vs. Bryan Caraway
Round
1
Josh Rosenthal is the referee for this opening matchup. Neace
connects with a jab early. Caraway follows with a left of his
own; Neace is utilizing plenty of head movement. A left hook
rocks Neace and Caraway presses forward, landing an uppercut.
A big overhand right from Caraway misses its mark. Halfway through
the round, Caraway shoots and takes Neace down. Neace has a butterfly
guard and attempts to sit up. Craway inside control, but Neace
catches him in a triangle, but it’s not locked in. Caraway
gets out and lands an elbow from side control. With less than
a minute to go, Caraway takes his opponent’s back. Neace
is trying to shake him off from the front, but Caraway’s
butterfly hooks keep him secure. He ends the round trying for
the triangle again.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Caraway
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Caraway
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Caraway
Round
2
Caraway begins the frame by landing a couple outside leg kicks.
Neace continues to press forward with movement, but isn’t
landing much. Caraway with another leg kick. Neace has swelling
under his right eye now. Caraway gets a single leg and moves
immediately into side control with about 2:30 to go. Neace attempts
to get up, and Caraway hunts for a kimura. Caraway takes Neace’s
back again, and now he has both hooks in. He’s got the rear-naked
choke in tight, and Neace is forced to tap at the 3:38 mark.
Josh
Clopton vs. Steven Siler
Round
1
Herb Dean is the referee in charge of the featherweight bout.
Clopton presses Siler against the cage, and the Skrap Pack representative
lands a few short knees. Siler responds by punishing his opponent
with knees of his own from the Thai plum. They break away and
return to the center of the cage. Siler throws a leg kick that
Clopton catches, but he misses with the right hand. Back in the
clinch, Siler controls his opponent while firing away with knees.
Clopton catches a kick and tosses Siler to the canvas. He doesn’t
want to engage on the ground, however. Siler continues to be
aggressive in forcing clinches against the fence. Clopton responds
with a couple of body shots. Back in the center of the cage,
Clopton lands a solid right hand. Clopton is starting to land
some serious punches, and now he presses Siler against the cage.
Siler goes for a knee and Clopton falls into a guillotine choke.
The round ends with Clopton giving the thumbs up.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Siler
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Siler
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Siler
Round
2
Siler is controlling the center of the Octagon, and follows a
lead right hand with a knee. Clopton, with one underhook, lands
a knee. Siler goes from the Tahi plum to a single leg. They break
away and Siler appears to hurt Clopton with a punch. Clopton
is eating punches and knees against the fence. Siler has been
landing numerous knees in the first two minutes, and appears
to have no trouble controlling Clopton’s head. Clopton gets
a trip takedown and proceeds to unleash a series of rapid hammerfists.
Siler is able to get up, and goes right back to the plum. A left
hook by Clopton is answered by a right from Siler. Both men are
opening up in the center of the Octagon. With a minute to go,
Siler lands four or five more knees from the clinch. Clopton
is bleeding profusely as the frame winds down. Clopton goes for
a takedown at the end and falls into a guillotine. He’s
saved by the horn.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Siler
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Siler
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Siler
Round
3
Clopton needs to finish the fight to have a chance. He begins
the round with a nice right hand. He shoots for a takedown, Siler
stops it and momentarily has a guillotine. Clopton achieves a
takedown and throws his shoulder into Siler’s chest. Siler
sweeps up and has the Thai plum clinch once again, which has
been the story of the entire fight. They break away and Dean
gives time as Clopton had dropped his mouthpiece. Clopton gets
a takedown, but is content to hold position there. Dean urges
the fighters to work. Siler is controlling Clopton’s posture
nicely to avoid damage. Siler is landing short punches from the
bottom. Clopton finally gets an opening and lands a hammerfist
before they get back up. Clopton loses his mouthpiece again and
Siler lands some punches of his own. Siler finishes the bout
with more knees and then he stuffs a final takedown attempt from
Clopton.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-10 (30-28 Siler)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Siler (30-27 Siler)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Clopton (29-28 Siler)
Official
scores: All three judges score the bout 29-28 for the winner
by unanimous decision, Steven Siler.
Josh
Ferguson vs. Roland Delorme
Round
1
Chris Tognoni is in charge of this bantamweight tilt. Ferguson
rocks Delorme with a left hand right off the bat, but he recovers
and wrestles his opponent to the ground. In half guard, Delorme
gives up position to attempt a guillotine, but it’s to no
avail, as Ferguson is out. Ferguson is up and working some ground-and-pound.
Delorme is working for a triangle from his back, but Ferguson
is defending. Delorme is peppering his foe with shots while holding
on to the triangle. Ferguson’s right arm is the only thing
saving him from serious trouble. Now he’s got the arm across
and pulls Ferguson’s neck down. Delorme is looking for an
armbar, and pounds Ferguson with some elbows in the process.
Somehow Ferguson escapes the triangle and moves to side control.
He steps into full mount, and lands some punches before moving
to Delorme’s back. Delorme nearly gives up an arm triangle
while trying to escape. Delorme reverses position as time expires.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Delorme
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Delorme
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Delorme
Round
2
A nice left right combo from Ferguson lands, and he continues
to move forward. Both men are exchanging on the feet in the opening
minute. Ferguson catches a kick and shoves Delorme away. A left
hook from Delorme finds its mark, and Ferguson responds with
one of his own. Ferguson answers a kick from Delorme with a combination.
Ferguson lands a body kick followed by a lead hook, also to the
body. Ferguson gets him down to the mat. Delorme tries to stand
up, and Ferguson hunts for a guillotine. He loses the choke and
they’re back up. Ferguson connects with a couple of stiff
jabs with less than a minute to go. Delorme is in Ferguson’s
guard as the round ends.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Ferguson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Ferguson
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Ferguson
Round
3
A touch of gloves to begin the final frame. Delorme drops Ferguson
with a left hand. He wastes no time and pounces for a rear-naked
choke. The choke is deep, and Ferguson is forced to tap 22 seconds
into the final round.
John
Albert vs. Dustin Pague
Round
1
Herb Dean is the referee for this bantamweight matchup. Both
fighters ccome out with an aggressive exchange. Albert hits Pague
with a left hook followed by a big right hand to the jaw, dropping
his opponent. He pounces and attacks with rapid hammerfists.
Now mounted, Pague is in trouble. His right arm is tied up across
his neck, and Albert continues to tee off. The pummeling continues,
and finally Dean has seen enough. The time of the stoppage is
1:09.
Stephen
Bass vs. Marcus Brimage
Round
1
The referee for this featherweight bout is Josh Rosenthal. Brimage
connects with a lead right hook. Bass looks outmatched on the
feet early as he looks for a single leg. Brimage defends and
moves forward. Brimage is controlling the pace and looks comfortable
letting his hands go. Bass initiates a clinch and connects with
a few punches inside. They break away and Brimage tees off. Now
back in the clinch, Brimage works some effective dirty boxing.
Brimage lands a superman punch. Bass hits an inside leg kick
and shoots for a takedown. Brimage’s defense is solid, and
they break away once again. A good inside leg kick from Brimage.
Bass hits a left hook and moves away. Brimage continues to be
the one landing combinations, however. The inside leg kick from
Brimage is also starting to consistently find a home as the round
wanes.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Brimage
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Brimage
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Brimage
Round
2
Bass begins with an inside leg kick. He needs to get the fight
to the canvas, but so far his attempts have failed. A kick from
Brimage finds his opponent’s cup, and Bass takes a brief
recovery period. A straight left from Brimage lands. Bass returns
fire with a knee. Bass returns the favor with a kick to Brimage’s
groin, and another pause ensues. Brimage assures the referee
he’s ready, and they resume. Brimage hits a right hand followed
by a flying knee. A well-timed leg kick from Brimage sends Bass
to the mat. Brimage comes with a left hand-inside leg kick combo.
Bass clips Brimage while countering a leg kick, and Brimage appears
temporarily dazed. Another takedown attempt from Bass is stuffed.
Brimage continues to use movement, but he’s slowing down.
Brimage finishes the round with one more crushing inside leg
kick.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Brimage
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Brimage
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Brimage
Round
3
They exchange wildly and Bass drops Brimmage and follows with
a flying knee. Bass knows he’s behind and continues to move
forward to try and make something happen. Bass hits a right uppercut.
Brimage is waiting as Bass controls the Octagon. An uppercut
misses but Brimage does connect with a left hand. Brimage stuffs
Bass’ single leg attempt, and they continue to stand. Bass
lands a combination. Bass rushes toward Brimage and gets a knee
to the gut. He smiles and continues to plod forward. Brimage
clips him with a left hand. Bass lands a knee to the body. Despite
obvious fatigue, Brimage is able to string together effective
combos. With 10 seconds left, a slugfest ensues. Bass connects
with a right hook and drops Brimage to the mat. He can’t
finish the job before the round ends.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Bass (29-28 Brimage)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Bass (29-28 Brimage)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Bass (29-28 Brimage)
Official
scores: Two judges score the bout 30-27, while the other sees
it 29-28 for the winner by unanimous decision, Marcus Brimage.
Johnny
Bedford vs. Louis Gaudinot
Round
1
Steve Mazzagatti is the referee for this bantamweight tussle.
The fighters touch gloves at the start of the round. Bedford
gets a takedown 30 seconds in and moves into Gaudinot’s
half guard. Gaudinot fights to get up and eats a knee in the
process. Bedford continues to force the action, and Beford slams
him to the floor. Bedford moves into full mount and hammers away
on his now-bloodied opponent. Gaudinot is struggling to hip escape
and protect himself at the same time. Gaudinot rolls and gives
up his back. Bedford has both hooks in and tries to slip his
arm under Gaudinot’s chin. He breaks free momentarily, and
forces Bedford into half guard. The ground-and-pound continues
over the final minute from inside Gaudinot’s full guard.
As Gaudinot rises, Bedford finishes the round with a couple knees
to the body.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-8 Bedford
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-8 Beford
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-8 Bedford
Round
2
Gaudinot starts out using kicks and movement, but Beford quickly
moves forward with punches. Bedford takes Gaudinot down near
the cage and smashes him with a knee to the body. They’re
back up, but Bedford is too big and strong. He grabs a leg and
forces Gaudinot to the canvas again. Now in half guard, Bedford
hammers away with punches to the ribs. Bedford moves from side
control to full mount and resumes the assault. Gaudinot can’t
push Bedford away, and the Texan continues to methodically pound
away. With a minute left, Bedford has full mount again. Elbows
and punches continue, and Gaudinot can do little but cover up.
With 15 seconds left, Bedford is trying for an armbar, but Gaudinot
is saved by the bell.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-8 Bedford
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-8 Bedford
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-8 Bedford
Round
3
Gaudinot is trying for a takedown to change things up in the
final frame. It doesn’t work. Bedford rushes forward with
a solid knee. Another knee from Bedford, and Gaudinot wisely
circles away from the cage. Gaudinot lands a spinning back fist,
his most significant offense of the night. Beford isn’t
fazed, and he tees off with body shots. Now Gaudinot is turtled
up on the canvas as Bedford whales away, but Mazzagatti is letting
it go. Bedford lands a series of knees to the body with Gaudinot
against the cage, and finally Mazzagatti has seen enough, calling
a stop to the action at the 1:58 mark.
Tony
Ferguson vs. Yves Edwards
Round
1
Ferguson starts out throwing kicks. He continues with this approach
and hits three solid leg kicks. A headkick from Edwards lands.
He follows with a solid left. Ferguson hits an uppercut right
down the middle. A right by Ferguson hurts Edwards. A right hook
from Ferguson connects another right hand rocks Edwards. Ferguson
is looking for a finish. The round ends in entertaining fashion
with both men attacking.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Ferguson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Ferguson
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Ferguson
Round
2
Ferguson connects with a lead uppercut and then a jab. Edwards
fires back, and Ferguson's nose is bloody. Now Ferguson throws
a rear-hand uppercut and finds a home for it. Edwards with a
straight left and a jab, followed by a counter right-left. Ferguson
now stalking Edwards around the cage, but Edwards lands an overhand
left. Ferguson lands right back. Edwards tries a high kick, but
it's blocked. High kick from Ferguson is blocked, now. Edwards
whiffs on a left hook and tries a double-leg, but it's stuffed.
Ferguson hits a double-leg of his own and plants Edwards on his
butt as the round expires.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Ferguson
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-10
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Ferguson
Round
3
Ferguson lands a stiff jab to start round three and follows it
with a body kick. Edwards answers with a hard leg kick. Lead-right
straight by Ferguson, then Edwards leaps in with a right hook.
Ferguson connects with another body kick. Edwards lands and inside
leg kick but eats a right-hand counter. Ferguson pushes forward
and lands another jab. Another body kick from Ferguson. Lead-hand
superman punch from Ferguson is answered by a leg kick from Edwards.
Nice straight left lands from Edwards, then another. Uppercut-hook-head
kick combo from Edwards lands, then Ferguson attempts a sloppy
backfist. Edwards hits n inside leg kick. Ferguson comes back
with a lead-leg sidekick. Neither man can find the sweet spot,
but the work rate is phenomenal. Ferguson whiffs on a superman
punch, then stuffs a takedown attempt. Both men pawing for distance
now, and Ferguson lands a jab. Both men throw as the round expires
in another close round.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Edwards (29-28 Ferguson)
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Ferguson (30-28 Ferguson
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Ferguson (30-27 Ferguson)
Official
scores: 30-27 (twice) and 29-28, all for the winner by unanimous
decision, Tony Ferguson.
T.J.
Dillashaw vs. John Dodson
Round
1
Dillashaw whiffs on a low kick. Dodson sticks him with a left
hand. Both men gauging range now. Dodson's speed advantage is
evident from the start. Dillashaw whiffs on another low kick.
Dodson eats a short right on the way in, but he circles out quickly.
Dodson lands an inside lock kick and pursues Dillashaw across
the cage. Dillashaw resets but gets hit with a high kick to the
cheek. Dillashaw eats a brutal left hook on the way in and it's
over quickly. Dodson pounds away as Dillashaw tries to recover,
and Herb Dean has seen enough. The end comes at 1:54 of round
one.
Dennis
Bermudez vs. Diego Brandao
Round
1
Brandao fires a leg kick to start and whiffs on a right hand.
Bermudez pushes him against eh cage and lands a right hand. Bermudez
lands a front kick and catches a Brandao round kick, putting
him down. Brandao up-kicks and scrambles to his feet. Brandao
lands a right hand after missing with a lead uppercut. Brandao
lands a glancing overhand and misses with a hook. Bermudez doubles
up on his jab and lands a nice kick to the ribs. Bermudez gets
clipped with a left hook to the body and then a right hand that
puts him down. He's back up, however, and starts to fire back.
Brandao lands an inside leg kick, then counters an uppercut with
a nasty left hook. Both men wing punches, but neither connects.
Bermudez eats a flying knee and falls to his back with Brandao
riding him. Brandao takes Bermudez's back, but the American escapes
to his feet. Brandao charges forward but gets caught with a sharp
right straight that drops him. Bermudez pounces, but the Brazilian
dives for a kneebar. Bermudez escapes and starts to drop more
leather, before Brandao pulls a wicked straight armbar out of
nothing and forces Bermudez to tap out in pain. Josh Rosenthal
stops the contest with only seconds remaining in the first round.
Jason
“Mayhem” Miller vs. Michael Bisping
Round
1
Steve Mazzagatti starts the contest. Miller lands a leg kick
and gets caught with an uppercut as he charges forward. The crowd
chants U-S-A as the men clinch against the cage. Miller has hold
of a Thai plum, but Bisping escapes. Miller tries an overhand
right, but Bisping slips it and counters. Miller fires back with
a right overhand. Miller wades forward with a big right, and
Bisping looks to counter. Miller clinches, grabs a body lock
and executes a trip. Miller now steps over into mount as Bisping
sits against the cage. It's a low mount, just over the Brit's
knees. Bisping is trying to butt-scoot and looks to Mazzagatti,
presumably for a restart. Miller is now starting to land with
ground-and-pound from the odd position. Bisping scoots his hips
back and escapes to his feet. Bisping laces a right hand to the
jaw of Miller and lands a counter left hook and then an overhand
right. Miller's standup is wide open, but Bisping can't capitalize
with a big shot. Bisping lands a jab, and Miller bulls ahead
as the round expires.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Miller
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Miller
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Miller
Round
2
Bisping takes the center of the cage and lands a counter left
hook. Miller lunges forward and lands a hard knee to the gut.
Bisping answers with a two punch combination and then a leg kick.
Miller dives for a double-leg and switches to a single against
the fence. Bisping has a whizzer and pummels with an underhook
to escape. As they reset, Miller accidentally headbutts the Brit
as they both throw leather. After a brief pause, action is restarted.
Bisping pumps a jab and then avoids a takedown. Bisping lands
a nice straight right and then another jab. Miller lands a jab,
but Bisping answers with a hard knee to the belly. Miller dives
for another takedown, but Bisping easily defends. On the ground,
Miller taunts his man, and Bisping appears to throw a kick at
Miller's head. Luckily, it misses, and Miller once again tries
for a takedown, which he misses. Miller stands again, but he's
exhausted. Bisping is now really finding his range, and he's
cracking combinations to the head and body. Deep breath from
Miller. Bisping lands a knee to the the face, and Miller puts
his hands by his sides and taunts Bisping again. Bisping obliges
and lands another flurry. Miller drops to the mat for another
takedown, and Bisping jumps on him, landing ground-and-pound
as the round ends.
Freddie
DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Bisping
Mike Whitman scores the round 10-9 Bisping
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Bisping
Round
3
Miller's left eye is swollen and bruised, but he comes out aggressively.
Bisping avoids another takedown and allows Miller to stand. Bisping
is picking his shots, and Miller looks lost as he eats another
sharp right straight. Bisping works the body and lands another
right hand. Miller is circling and winging big, individual shots,
taking deep breaths in between swings. Miller accidentally pokes
Bisping in the eye, but he's fine. Action resumes, and Miller
dives for an ankle. Bisping sprawls and Bisping is unloading
from the turtle position. Miller manages to recover guard, but
it's not looking good. Miller is surviving, but Bisping is in
total control. “Mayhem” tries to upkick, but it's ineffective.
Bisping is continually landing punches and knees, as Miller rolls
to the turtle position. Mazzagatti has seen enough and steps
in to save Miller from more punishment.
Source: Sherdog
|
Michael
Bisping Wants Title Shot in 2012
by Damon
Martin
If
there’s one thing lacking in Michael Bisping’s game,
confidence isn’t it.
As
he heads into his main event fight against Jason “Mayhem”
Miller at The Ultimate Fighter finale this weekend, Bisping has
every intention of dispatching of his fellow coach and then making
a charge towards the UFC middleweight title in 2012.
Bisping
actually had his eyes set on a potential No. 1 contender’s
fight after facing Miller this weekend, but understands either
way, he’ll be waiting a bit longer for the chance to face
Anderson Silva.
However
it happens though, Bisping is gunning for the belt next year.
“People
are going to say ‘oh he’s so full of himself’
but I think the fact of the matter is I’m one of the best.
I’m one of the best in the world, simple as that really,”
Bisping said during a recent appearance on MMAWeekly Radio.
“I’ve
been fighting for a long time now. I’ve only ever been stopped
once. I’m definitely one of the best middleweights in the
world. I’m going to prove that. I’m going to take Miller
out. He doesn’t even deserve to be in the same cage as me,
and I’m going to get my shot at the world title next year.”
Originally,
Chael Sonnen was scheduled to face middleweight champion Anderson
Silva in the first part of 2012, and Bisping was hoping to face
Mark Munoz after fighting Miller this weekend.
Now
with Silva on the shelf until mid-2012, Bisping is assuming he’ll
have to fight someone else with Sonnen and Munoz likely headed
towards the UFC on Fox 2 headliner in January with the winner
getting the first crack at Silva when he returns.
“I
thought Chael Sonnen was going to be fighting Anderson Silva,
then I thought a logical match-up would have been me and Mark
Munoz, but obviously that’s not going to happen now. It’s
going to be Chael Sonnen and Mark (Munoz), and the winner of
that is going to face Anderson Silva,” said Bisping.
“After
I beat Miller, I’m going to have to face somebody else in
the meantime. Hopefully get through them and then fight for the
title. Looking into my crystal ball, I win (over Miller), and
I win the next fight, I should be fighting for the title towards
the middle of next year, I would hope.”
As
far as potential competitors to face after the Miller fight,
Bisping doesn’t really care. He just wants to prove himself
in the middleweight division and show he belongs in the cage
with someone the likes of Anderson Silva.
“The
middleweight division right now is absolutely stacked, so there’s
a lot of good challenges out there for me,” said Bisping.
“I’m ready. I’m 32. I’ve been involved in
this sport for a long time. I’ve learned the hard way. I’ve
learned from my mistakes, and now I feel I’m in my prime
and I’m ready to go.”
Assuming
the winner of Sonnen and Munoz face Silva next, Bisping wants
to be the next challenger on the UFC’s list of contenders.
Ideally, Bisping would love the chance to face Silva most of
all, just because the Brazilian has built up a legendary status
in the sport and still sits undefeated in the UFC.
Don’t
take Bisping’s desire to face Silva as dissing the champion,
however; it’s quite the opposite. He wants to face the best,
and the Brit knows Silva is the greatest fighter the UFC has
ever seen.
“It
doesn’t matter who the champion is, I want to fight for
the title, but I want to face Anderson Silva of course. Listen,
I’m not about to sit here and disrespect Anderson Silva,
the guy’s amazing. He’s pound-for-pound the best in
the world and an icon of the sport. I’m a fan, I love watching
the guy fight, but I want to fight him of course,” said
Bisping.
“I
feel I match up pretty well with the guy. I can definitely give
him some problems. I’d definitely turn up and fight him
as opposed to some of the people that he’s fought recently.
I’d love to challenge the best guy on the planet, that’s
what we’re here to do.”
If
Bisping can get past Miller on Saturday and then collect one
more win in 2012, he might just get his chance to find out.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Torres:
Style Change for the Best
Miguel
Torres didn’t finish Nick Pace at UFC 139, but he did win
a dominant unanimous decision without taking any damage in the
process.
At
this point in his career, Torres will take that outcome.
“I
fought smart,” he told the Sherdog Radio Network’s
“Beatdown” show. “I controlled the distance using
my jab. I set up my right hand. I set up a bunch of kicks. …
I didn’t get injured at all. I took no damage whatsoever.
I’m in my gym right now as we speak, getting ready to teach
a class at 4 and start training at 5.”
Since
he’s not nursing any injuries, Torres said he’s ready
to go again. He’s hoping to fight on the January UFC card
expected to take place in Chicago, or if not there, then soon
after. The quick turnaround is another benefit resulting from
a change in his style. Gone are the days of reckless aggression.
Now Torres uses a tactical approach, which has developed from
his work with trainer Firas Zahabi.
“The
first thing he told me was, ‘You’re the kind of guy
that I can see is worrying about everybody else but himself.
You’re trying to make everybody happy but yourself,’”
Torres said. “He goes, ‘You have a daughter. You have
a wife. You’ve got to be smart. You’ve got to do what
is best for your family. You being busted up at 35 and not having
any prospects is not going to make you a good father. You’ve
got to be smart. You’ve got to look out for your career
and you’ve got to get paid at the same time.’”
The
advice resonated.
“It
hit my heart real hard because he was totally right,” Torres
said. “He was totally right about the situation.”
With
that said, Torres doesn’t consider his new style conservative
or defense-oriented. He’s still looking for knockouts and
submissions, and for sure he mounted plenty of offense against
Pace, but he wasn’t going to take a big risk and run into
a right hand either.
“I
have a limited window to be able to be a great fighter and to
be a champion,” Torres said. “I feel like I haven’t
even reached my peak yet. I’m still working out my style
and finding that balance of being ultra aggressive and being
conservative, finding that middle balance.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Losing
face: Enron-style Japanese fight scene scandals
By Zach
Arnold
It’s
been a really bad, bad week if you are a fan of pro-wrestling
or MMA in Japan. The bad news keeps getting exponentially worse
and, in its own bizarre way, can be connected together in terms
of cultural themes.
NOAH
has had a terrible week. Mark “Bison” Smith, their
top gaijin heavyweight ace, died in Puerto Rico. Finding reliable
foreign wrestlers at this point in time is very difficult. On
top of that, news just broke that former heavyweight champion
Takeshi Rikio will have to retire due to myelopathy (herniated
disc). He was somebody that the late Mitsuharu Misawa tried to
make into a company ace. The experiment failed. Good heavyweights
don’t grow on trees.
Pro-wrestling
was the industry that built the native stars that led to the
Japanese MMA boom. Without such stars, MMA would not have existed
on as grand of a level as it did. Wrestling was the star factory
that MMA promoters raided and bought off with cash. Once the
MMA boom started to wane, promoters found they didn’t have
stars left to poach because the wrestling scene was on the decline.
Today,
wrestling promotions struggle to sell out Korakuen Hall (the
legendary 2,000-seat venue). JCB Hall, which was supposed to
be an upgraded version of Korakuen with 3,000-plus seats, is
not often used by event promoters. Without television support
and without major financial backing, Japanese promotions are
struggling for dear life to survive.
Which
brings us to K-1 and Sengoku/World Victory Road.
Without
heavy television support financing their MMA shows, I always
wondered how these promotions could book buildings like Ariake
Colosseum, Yokohama Arena, Ryogoku Kokugikan, and Saitama Super
Arena if a TV network wasn’t footing the bill. It’s
not like calling up a pizza joint and ordering dinner. You need
at least four months lead time, usually six months, and cash
up front. Now, juxtapose these advanced building bookings with
guys like Ray Sefo saying they were owed hundreds of thousands
of dollars. Peter Aerts & Jerome Le Banner are now working
Antonio Inoki cards, for goodness sakes. So is Bob Sapp. Bibiano
Fernandes refused to go back to Japan until he got paid for previous
fights. Nick Diaz’s camp claimed they had money issues with
DREAM. The situation became so comical that DREAM shows had some
guys under K-1 contracts and some under contracts to Real Entertainment,
Mr. Kato’s company that owns the DREAM entity. So, RE guys
were getting paid on time (most were) while K-1 guys weren’t
getting paid at all? Remember how Alistair Overeem, after winning
the World GP at Ariake Colosseum, was getting ready to focus
his energy on becoming a star in Japan with the assistance of
Yoshimoto Kogyo? Within two months of that declaration, he had
decided to move all his energy to Strikeforce. He admitted (quietly)
to ESPN at the time that he hadn’t gotten paid.
The
bombshell of all bombshells was dropped by Shu Hirata on Mauro
Ranallo’s radio show last October that Kazushi Sakuraba
allegedly hasn’t been paid for any of his fights within
the last two years. Around this same time period, you had reports
from people like the esteemed Dave Walsh who said that K-1 was
willing to book guys for their Chinese World GP event if they
were willing to accept half of the previous money owed to them
and write off the other half. The Chinese GP event never happened,
by the way.
By
this point, we’ve all figured out what has been happening.
You have mid-to-big-sized buildings booked, guys fighting because
they want and hope to get paid, and in the end few fighters allegedly
getting paid at all other than lip service and threats. Those
who do get paid don’t dare say anything to upset the apple
cart. Those who didn’t get paid either don’t do anything
about it (the statute of limitations in Japan for money disputes
is two years) because they still want to keep getting booked
or they don’t want to be threatened at gunpoint in hotel
rooms. I mean, you can’t possibly make this up.
To
say that there’s quite a difference between old school yakuza
and new school yakuza that hang around today’s fight game
is quite an understatement. Old school yakuza used to always
take pride in paying foreigners and they paid top dollar. You
got paid well, you socialized well, you were part of a culture.
The new school yakuza? They would put a bullet in your head first
and go to prison for life before paying off a debt they owe.
The fight business always has attracted yakuza because of the
social value of being connected to the business image-wise. Now?
There’s not so much value, so you end up with shady characters
hanging around the business who are itching for a confrontation
or a ready-made scam to feast upon innocent people.
Which
brings me to a development that you are starting to see in Japan
that never used to exist when old school yakuza were in charge
of things. Because of the actions of the new breed of yakuza
(shoot first, consequences later), victims are starting to sue
the bad guys now. You never used to sue the yakuza in court because
you’d end up dead more than likely for your troubles. However,
with violence & thievery escalating, people are running out
of options. So, victims are taking a page out of the American
playbook and going after the gangs in court. The yakuza does
not want anything to do with the court system. They don’t
deal with contracts; they deal with guns.
Miro
Mijatovic, who is now out of the fight business, went to court
to go after admitted yakuza-fixer Seiya Kawamata. It’s one
thing for a native to go after a yakuza guy in court but when
it’s a foreigner who’s filing the lawsuit, that’s
the rarest of birds. Kawamata, of course, was a K-1 fixer whose
word printed in various articles in Shukan Gendai’s negative
campaign against PRIDE destroyed the organization. Taking an
admitted yakuza fixer to court is a brave thing to do. Don’t
believe me? A person who was instrumental to Miro’s lawsuit,
Toshiro Igari, lost his life because he took on powerful people
who didn’t want to do anything about corruption. He lost
his life but in the process got the last laugh from beyond the
grave when his book got published. In that book, he dealt with
all the major scandals happening in regards to how the yakuza
threaten both police & district attorneys in order to prevent
charges from being filed in important corruption cases. Mr. Igari
died in the Philippines right around the time the sport of Sumo
was imploding due to a match fixing & betting scandal in
which elements of the boryokudan were hanging around the scene.
With
this as your back drop, I bring attention to a new scandal book
that recently was published that you might be interested in (if
you can read Japanese). The book claims that Kazuyuki Fujita,
who had worked for Sengoku, went to court to battle with Sengoku
over unpaid fight money (breach of contract). The claim? That
his contract was a four or fight deal worth about 200 million
yen ($2.6 million USD). The idea that he was asking and promised
$500,000USD a fight is, on the surface, incredible. The book
claims that Sengoku had their own arguments as to why the contract
wasn’t honored and that there was a settlement.
The
one thing you used to always be able to say about Japanese promoters
& bookers in the fight game was that their word was their
bond. If they made you an offer, the offer stood and you got
paid. Today? There is no more ‘golden word’ in the
business. That credibility has been destroyed. How do you ever
get your good word back?
Appropriately,
the section(s) of the book talking about FEG & Sengoku troubles
is called “Kakutougi Crisis.” On the cover of the book,
there’s a screaming font headline talking about the assault
involving TARU beating up on Nobukazu Hirai and putting him in
the hospital for good. This past week, TARU was arrested by the
authorities after Hirai’s mother filed an official complaint.
Hirai is still in the hospital months after the assault and reportedly
suffers from permanent memory loss.
It
seems a lot of people have lost their minds and their memories
on how to behave honorably in the Japanese fight industry.
*****
Updated
UFC Japan 2012 (Saitama Super Arena, 2/27 10 AM local JST, 2/26
evening American time):
UFC
Lightweight title match: Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson
Lightweights: Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
Welterweights: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
Middleweights: Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
Featherweights: Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
Heavyweights: Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
Light Heavyweights: Rampage Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
Despite the starting time issues, I still have the over/under
at 10,000 for attendance because UFC will be a shiny new toy
to watch. That said, I’m not overly confident and I would
go with the ‘under.’ TV Tokyo, the smallest of the
over-the-air broadcast TV networks in Japan, is now airing a
“UFC World” program. If UFC does hit broadcast TV,
it likely will be this channel and that would mean a very minimal
impact in the country. The network has little-to-no penetration
outside the Kanto region (Tokyo/Yokohama). Not in the same league
as Fuji TV, Nippon TV, Tokyo Broadcasting, or TV-Asahi.
Michihiro
Omigawa has been booked for UFC’s return to Brazil in January.
He will not fight on the Japan 2012 card.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Gray
Maynard wants a fourth fight against Frankie Edgar
By Eduardo
Ferreira
UFC
lightweight champion Frankie Edgar had only one defeat on his
career, but he got his revenge with knockout over Gray Maynard
at UFC 136 – after a draw on UFC 125. Edgar remains on the
top and fights Ben Henderson in February, in Japan, but it’s
not over yet. Not, at least, to Maynard.
On
an exclusive interview to TATAME in California, the lightweight
fighter said he hopes to fight him for the fourth time.
“Hopefully
he holds on to the belt, because there’s got to be a part
four, I think, to make it a true trilogy. Now he has one and
I do too, so that’s a draw. So, we gotta do it again. Hopefully,
he holds on the belt and I can work back up there”, said
Gray.
Disappointed
about his performance in Texas, the former contender learn lessons
from his first MMA defeat. “Obviously it was not the outcome
that I was hoping for. It happened, I had to deal. I gotta improve
on some things and gotta be prepared for the next opponent”,
affirmed.
Getting
ready to change gyms, with the possibility of leaving Xtreme
Couture for AKA, Gray is still waiting to know his next opponent.
“Well,
that’s a lot of stuff up in the air. I know (Melvin) Guillard
got up against Jim Miller. I know (Donald) Cerrone is going to
go up against Nate Diaz, so there’s a lot of interesting
stuff that you kinda have to wait to see what happens”,
highlights. “I gotta have a place to train, I gotta be prepared”.
Although
he doesn’t know who’s next on the line, Maynard knows
one thing for sure: he’s fighting on the most complicated
division in UFC. “It’s the best in the world. It means
it’s a lot of fun. Gotta lots of fun fights. For me, I like
the top of the world. I like to go up against the bests in the
world”, concludes.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Fedor
Emelianenko’s people pushing for fight with Cain Velasquez
by Jacoby
Harms
M-1
Global believes Fedor Emelianenko is back to his old self, as
“The Last Emperor” recently earned a convincing victory
over Jeff Monson in his native country of Russia. The win snapped
a three-fight losing streak for Emelianenko, long considered
the greatest heavyweight in MMA history.
Now,
M-1 Global’s Vadim Finkelstein feels like there is a perfect
fighter for Fedor to face in 2012 – former UFC heavyweight
champion Cain Velasquez. Velasquez lost his belt to Junior dos
Santos earlier this month at UFC on FOX 1: Velasquez vs. Dos
Santos.
“We
are determined to move forward, and would like to offer the UFC
a fight between Cain Velasquez and Fedor Emelianenko,” said
Finkelstein, in a recent interview with Russia’s Championat.ru.
“I can guarantee Dana White great revenue from this fight,
and a record-breaking attendance.”
As
you can imagine, thanks to years and years of frustration in
dealing with Emelianenko and his people, White was less than
excited about the fight, posting on his Twitter, “Hell no!”
in regards to Finkelstein’s request.
Dashing
the hopes of dreamers everywhere, it appears that once again
the notion of Emelianenko gracing the Octagon is still little
more than wishful thinking.
Source:
5 Ounces of Pain
|
Brett
Rogers Receives 60-Day Sentence in Domestic Abuse Case
Former
Strikeforce heavyweight Brett Rogers has been sentenced to 60-days
in jail following his arrest for domestic violence earlier this
year.
According
to the Pioneer Press in Minnesota, Rogers was handed the sentence
after pleading guilty to third degree assault in a deal where
prosecutors dropped charges for a felony for domestic assault
by strangulation and stalking, as well as a gross misdemeanor
charge for endangering a child.
Rogers
was also sentenced to three years probation, he has to attend
a court ordered domestic abuse program and until that is completed
he is to have no contact with his wife unless his probation offers
previously approves it.
Rogers
is also banned from using any substance of abuse like drugs or
alcohol.
The
court denied Rogers’ attorney’s request to delay his
jail time to allow him to train for a fight that he apparently
has booked for Dec 31.
While
the courts won’t deny Rogers the ability to earn an income,
they won’t allow him to delay the sentence in this case
for him to train for the bout.
Because
Rogers already served 26 days in jail under the previous arrest,
his total jail time will likely equal about 14 more days in jail.
Following
the arrest in which Rogers was accused of physically beating
his wife and leaving her with several cuts and bruises, he was
released from his Strikeforce contract the following day.
Since
that time, Rogers has only competed once in MMA where he lost
to former UFC heavyweight Eddie Sanchez.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
‘Mayhem’
Miller: All Grown Up
By Todd
Martin
It
was one of the most important years in the development of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship: 2005. The promotion secured a
regular television deal with Spike TV, and the first season of
“The Ultimate Fighter” created a crop of new stars
that helped to carry the sport for the remainder of the decade.
Jason
“Mayhem” Miller could have been one of those stars.
A charismatic and colorful showman, Miller was young, talented
and marketable. He made his UFC debut at the age of 24 in the
opening bout of UFC 52 -- the card that matched Randy Couture
and Chuck Liddell after they coached on Season 1 of the reality
series. UFC 52 drew what was at the time by far the biggest UFC
buy rate under Zuffa LLC management. It was a perfect platform
for Miller to showcase his abilities.
There
was only one problem: Miller’s opponent was a young French
Canadian prospect by the name of Georges St. Pierre. St. Pierre
did not simply hand Mayhem a loss; he made Miller look like he
did not belong in the Octagon. St. Pierre dominated the striking.
He dominated the wrestling. He dominated the submission game.
A unanimous decision later, Miller found himself out of the UFC.
Over
the next six and a half years, Miller created a name for himself.
He competed around the world. He became a reality TV star. He
fought on network television. His ascent very much paralleled
that of the UFC, but, unlike so many other fighters, it came
completely outside of the Octagon. That was, of course, until
now.
Originally,
Miller was not supposed to coach the current season of “The
Ultimate Fighter.” Chael Sonnen was targeted to coach opposite
Michael Bisping, but the polarizing Team Quest veteran could
not get licensed by the state of California. Miller had not spoken
with anyone in the UFC about coaching on the show, but he sent
out a tweet that he wanted the spot. Shortly thereafter, he got
the call. Sonnen’s misfortune turned out to be the biggest
break in Miller’s career.
“In
my entire life, things haven’t worked out exactly perfect,”
Miller says, “but in this case, my luck was swinging in
the other direction. It all eventually paid off. I liked what
Junior dos Santos said about how if you’re a positive person
and you work hard things will turn out good for you. And it’s
true. Before, I don’t think I was that positive a person,
but I’ve moved over to being a grownup. I’m not a selfish
guy; I’m trying to give to others, and it’s coming
back to me tenfold.”
The
big opportunity to coach came opposite the cocky Brit Bisping,
who is quickly becoming one of the sport’s top villains.
Bisping and Miller did not have any bad blood heading into the
show, but enmity slowly built during taping. With the two coaches
talking trash and playing pranks on each other, anticipation
built for their fight at the end of the season, set for “The
Ultimate Fighter 14” Finale this Saturday at the Palms Casino
Resort in Las Vegas. Ratings for Season 14 of “The Ultimate
Fighter” rebounded from the disappointing numbers posted
by its predecessor, which featured Brock Lesnar and dos Santos
as coaches.
Bisping
is 11-3 in the UFC.
The
interest in the Bisping-Miller bout was apparent at the UFC on
Fox 1 show on Nov. 12. When Bisping made his way to his seat
through the crowd, he received the strongest negative reaction
of the entire event. The boos were so loud that the crowd was
barely paying attention when Dustin Poirier tapped out Pablo
Garza. There was no doubt how fans felt about Miller’s rival.
The
editing of any reality show plays a role in the perception viewers
have of the people involved. However, Miller insists that, if
anything, the editing actually was charitable to Bisping.
“They
edited it to make him not look as bad!” Miller exclaims.
“There’s a common misconception that you can edit things
to make it bad. One thing I learned from ‘Bully Beatdown’
is if you don’t give it to them, they can’t make it.
If you’re not a jerk, they can never paint you to be a jerk.
And if you’re doing all the things that he did those six
weeks, of course, you’re going to look bad because you looked
bad in real life. There’s no magical CGI. The guy was a
jerk, so they went ahead and showed it to everybody.”
While
most seasons of “The Ultimate Fighter” have culminated
in a pay-per-view showdown between the coaches, Bisping-Miller
will be the second such fight to take place on Spike TV. UFC
ratings on Spike TV and Versus this year have not been good,
but this fight could be an exception with the hottest television
grudge match in years.
There
are frequently fights where one man feels like he has something
to prove, but Bisping-Miller is the rare match where both men
feel they are being underestimated by the other. Miller has been
dismissed by some as more of a character than a fighter, with
losses in many of his biggest fights. Bisping, meanwhile, is
sometimes dismissed as a U.K. marketing tool fed a diet of less-than-stellar
competition. Neither criticism is really fair, yet it is clear
that each man buys into the criticism of the other to some degree.
“He’s
a decent fighter,” Miller says of Bisping. “He’s
a tough fighter. He’s kind of a workrate guy. He gets on
his bicycle and starts running. I think he’s a bit overrated,
but he definitely has some skills and is a dangerous opponent.
I’m happy to be able to go out there, beat him and show
the world where I’m at. They’re talking about him getting
a title shot. Give me a title shot.”
Bisping
primarily relies on his striking to win fights and Miller has
a strong ground game, but Mayhem feels he will give the Wolfslair
Academy representative problems on the feet.
“I
have a feeling he’ll shoot on me before I shoot on him,”
Miller predicts.
“Before,
I don’t think I was that positive a person, but I’ve
moved over to being a grownup. I’m not a selfish guy; I’m
trying to give to others, and it’s coming back to me tenfold.”
-- Jason “Mayhem” Miller, UFC middleweight
For
all he has accomplished outside the Octagon, Miller knows he
is still an unknown to much of the UFC audience. That makes an
impressive performance against Bisping imperative. The difference
between a win and a loss could not be greater.
“Most
casual fans don’t even know me,” Miller acknowledges.
“Some know me as the ‘Bully Beatdown’ guy. That’s
fine. That’s one part of my career. I used my gift of gab
to make myself famous as a comedian and to help bring new fans
into a sport I love so much. And so far, I’ve been welcomed
with open arms from UFC fans. They may not have seen me fight,
but they research me and go, ‘Oh, this guy is a real fighter.’”
Few
fans remember Miller’s only other UFC fight, way back in
2005. The fight with Bisping is likely to be a completely different
story. There will be millions more watching, and Miller is no
longer 24 years old. He is in his prime, and his second chance
in the UFC seems long overdue. A decisive loss will not soon
be forgotten, but neither will a spectacular win. The adage about
there never being a second chance to make a first impression
has rarely seemed so off.
“Of
course [that first UFC loss eats at me],” Miller says, “but,
at the same time, I was a lost soul at that point of my career.
I was trying to find the right weight. I was trying to find the
right camp. I was in and out of jail. I wasn’t exactly focused
on my career. To me, since I was last in the UFC I really grew
up. Now, as a grown-ass man, I get to do something I wasn’t
able to do when I was a boy.”
From
boy to man, it has been a long journey back to the sport’s
biggest stage.
Source
Sherdog
|
Chael
Sonnen Means “Nothing” to Anderson Silva
Chael
Sonnen takes digs at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva
at every turn. His mission seems to be to goad Silva and anyone
who will listen to him into making a rematch between the two.
For
many people, Sonnen would be driving them to the brink of sanity.
But
what does all the goading mean to Silva? He shook his head as
he responded to MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday night, saying simply,
“Nothing.” Chael Sonnen’s antics mean nothing
to him.
“I’m
in the UFC for fights,” Silva explained. “Chael, Mark
Munoz, Vitor Belfort, Brian Stann, Chris Leben, I’m staying
here for fight. This is my work. It’s my life.”
He
appears to have no preference who he fights, Silva just wants
to do his job.
But
for now, sidelined with a shoulder injury, Silva is taking some
time away from fighting to be with his family over the holidays.
He’ll likely not return until early summer, perhaps to headline
a mega-event in Brazil.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
King
Mo back to Strikeforce in January, says Machida can beat Jones
By Eduardo
Ferreira
Lyoto
Machida decided to intensify his Wrestling trainings for the
duel with Jon Jones, which happens on December 10th, and for
that he called for back-up: King Mo Lawal, former champion of
his division in Strikeforce.
On
a visit to Belem, Para, TATAME talked exclusively with the American
guy, who analyzed the trainings with the Karate fighter and claimed
that Lyoto’s ready to beat Jon Jones.
“It
comes down it all about the game plan and he’s got a great
game plan, so I think he’s gonna do it”, bets King
Mo, revealing that he’s returning to Strikeforce’s
cage on January 7th, still with no opponent set, commenting on
the knockout over Roger Gracie and analyzing the current situation
between Strikeforce and the UFC.
How
did you end up here in Belem to train with Lyoto?
I
was in Las Vegas, I was training my Boxing and my manager called
me and said: “Lyoto wants you to come out and train with
him in Belem”. It sounded exciting and I was like “yeah,
let’s do it”. I said “yeah, I’ll go”.
And that’s how I ended up here. That was like two weeks
ago. It’s been great training.
What
do you think about his performance in trainings during the week?
He
just improves a lot every day. He’s gotten better. He was
good when I first got here, but he’s improved. He’s
smart, man. His dad’s genius, smart. He’s got a great
team and great people to train with, so he’s doing the right
stuff every day. He’s looking good.
Do
you think he’s ready to stop Jon Jones?
Yes,
I think he’s ready. You know, if he wasn’t ready he
wouldn’t be fighting. He’s always ready. I think when
it comes down it all about the game plan and he’s got a
great game plan, so I think he’s gonna do it.
Jon
Jones is a great wrestler, but it isn’t that easy to take
Lyoto down. How do you see the fight in this aspect?
Here’s
the thing: Jon Jones is a good wrestler. A great wrestler is
like Daniel Cormier, Ben Askren, Joe Warren. It’s great
wrestling. Jon Jones is good wrestling. In MMA he’s got
good takedowns. I think that if Lyoto does what he’s been
doing, it’ll be hard to take him down. It’s hard to
take down a moving target. If you’re standing still, you
get taken down, but it’s hard to take down a moving target.
So…
Is
it the first time you come to Brazil?
No.
It’s the second time. I’ve been in Rio.
Do
you plan on coming back in the future to train more?
I
hope so. I’d like to. There’s good train, good weather,
and good people here.
Do
you prefer Rio or Belem?
I
like Belem.
Is
it better here?
It’s
sweet because they got “tapioca” (laughs).
You
defeated Roger Gracie on a very impressive way. Were you surprised
to finish up the fight like that?
No.
I wasn’t surprised. The plan was to knock him out. And that’s
what I was looking to do. I walk him down and I was looking for
that big punch. I knew it was coming eventually. He’s young
in the sport. He’s a beginner, you know. Maybe they gave
him a fight with me a little too soon, but he’ll be here.
He’ll be a champion soon.
Were
you ready to fight him on the ground?
Yes,
I was. I train with Fabricio Werdum, Dean Lister, Robert Drysdale,
Romulo Barral, Bruno Bastos… I train with good Jiu-Jitsu
guys.
World
champions…
(laughs)
Yeah. They all destroy me. They all tapped me, so… I felt
like Roger is good, but I thought like “I’d be able
to wrestle and fight a little bit on the ground. Maybe he might
submit me, but maybe it takes him six minutes”. But maybe
I’d fight on the ground and I would like defend, defend…
But he’s good, so I was like “we’ll see”.
I thought I was ready.
When
do you think Roger will be ready to become a champion?
I
think maybe like in another year and a half. He needs more fights.
I feel like he fought me a little too soon. Maybe he should’ve
fight a striker and use his takedowns and maybe submit him. Then
he’d fight another wrestler, or another Jiu-Jitsu guy, and
then he fights someone like me, Gerard Mousasi, Mike Kyle, different
guys… Ovince St. Preux, who’s a tough fighter. To me,
I’m bigger. So, he just wasn’t ready just yet.
You
asked for a rematch with Rafael Feijao. Is that your next fight?
I
hope so. I wanna fight him again because now I’m healthier.
Before, when I fought him I had no meniscus, I had no stability
on my knees. I fought him, I was winning, he caught me with a
knee, and then that’s it, and elbows. But now, I’m
ready (laughs).
What
would you do different this time?
Not
so much. The same. Because now I’m not injured, I can use
both legs. Last time, only one leg. This time, two legs.
When
will you fight again?
January
7th.
Do
you have an opponent set?
No,
we’ll see.
Feijao?
Hopefully.
I heard he’s hurt, but we’ll see.
How
do you see this situation between UFC and Strikeforce?
I
don’t know. It’s confusing because no one knows what’s
going on. I don’t know what is going on, so I’m just
gonna say I just wanna fight. Give me fights and I don’t
worry about this.
Do
you believe you’ll fight in UFC next year?
We’ll
see. Hopefully. I don’t know what’s gonna happen because
Strikeforce want me around next year, so I don’t know. I
have to wait until my contract with Strikeforce ends. My contract
ends in February. So, we’ll see. I just don’t know.
I don’t know what’s happening, no one knows what’s
happening. But, hopefully, everything turns out good in the end.
How
do you see the light heavyweight division in the UFC?
There’s
a lot of good people, but they can be beaten. No one’s unbeatable.
Because, remember: everybody on 205lbs wants to be on the head
and there are five: Rampage, Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Lyoto,
Shogun. Five different champions in the past three years. So,
anybody can get beaten. It’s just a matter of time in the
corporation.
Is
it the best weight division in the world?
Yeah,
I think so. And the most money (laughs).
Source:
Tatame
|
Chandler
Knew He’d Survive Rough Round Against Alvarez
Michael
Chandler got off to a good start against Eddie Alvarez on Saturday
at Bellator 58, but in the third round he took a pounding.
For
the undefeated Chandler, it was a new experience.
“That
was the first time I found myself in a pretty adverse situation,”
he told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Savage Dog Show.”
“It was really just the first time I’d been hit that
many times. … It was really just hard to come back and honestly
just get my bearings, trying to figure out where his next three
punches were coming from.”
Chandler
found himself in a war against a veteran. Still, he maintained
his calm and his confidence.
“I
knew I was going to survive,” he said. “Once I got
back to the corner, [coach Gil Martinez] just had a way of letting
me know everything’s going to be fine. I still had a chance.”
Chandler
not only survived the third round, he came back in the fourth
and won the fight. After rocking Alvarez on the feet, Chandler
submitted him with a rear-naked choke to become the new Bellator
lightweight champion. It was a thrilling bout, and although Chandler
took his share of punishment -- including a cut under his eye
that he said was still “oozing out blood and whatever”
two days later -- he also proved his toughness.
“I’m
glad people saw me with my back against the wall,” Chandler
said, “and I still was able to win the fight.”
In
Alvarez, he also beat the No. 6-ranked lightweight in the world.
Chandler would seem poised to enter the top 10 now, but that’s
not a concern of his.
“I
honestly don’t really care or know where my ranking’s
going to go,” he said. “All I can really control is
how many hours I put in the gym and how hard I’m working
and how focused I am and how badly I just want to continue to
defend the belt and continue getting better and better. The sky’s
the limit.”
Bellator
CEO Bjorn Rebney has already suggested that Chandler is one of
the best lightweights in the world. He’s only a couple of
years into his career, but he’s certainly on the right track.
“I’ve
still got a lot of work to do,” Chandler said. “I’ve
got a lot, a lot of hours -- thousands and thousands of hours
to put in in the gym. I know I’m going to get there eventually,
one day, and I know I will be known as the greatest lightweight
in the world and hopefully the greatest fighter of all time.
That’s why I’m here. I want to put butts in seats and
I want to put on a great show and I want to really work my hardest
to become that next level, that next generation of fighters.
I think I’m hopefully on my way to doing that.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
Full
UFC Japan 2012 (2/26 Saitama S.A.) card is Bushido-level at best
By Zach
Arnold
TV:
PPV (10 PM EST/7 PM EST?, meaning 10 AM Japanese start time for
first undercard fight after 9 AM doors opening at SSA)
Dark
matches
Bantamweights:
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso
Lightweights: Takanori Gomi vs. George Sotiropoulos
Bantamweights: Kid Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
Light Heavyweights: Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
Featherweights: Leonard Garcia vs. Tiequan Zhang
Middleweights: Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
Featherweights: Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
Main card
Heavyweights:
Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
Light Heavyweights: Rampage Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
Lightweights: Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
Welterweights: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
UFC Lightweight title match: Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson
A couple of points from the UFC press release on this card.
“Japan
is the spiritual home of martial arts – the world has learned
from the Japanese many aspects of how to compete in hand-to-hand
combat with respect and honor,” said Fertitta. “But
Japan also has a proud history of modern mixed martial arts and
I am excited to bring the Ultimate Fighting Championship back
here, and to begin the build-up today to one of the most highly
anticipated events of the year — not just for Japanese UFC
fans, but for sports fans all over the world.”
UFC
wanted a vanity show in Japan approximately five years after
they bought the PRIDE assets, so they got it. They got lucky
when Shu Hirata says they got a free roll of a few million bucks
for a sold show from Dentsu, Japan’s second largest ad agency.
So, what did UFC do? They went the Vince McMahon route. Book
an Americanized show that, for traditional Japanese fight fans,
has no tribute to their past glory days or history. The matchmaking
of the show does not touch on any past or present cultural themes.
It’s just a straight-up UFC card. Now, in most other countries
on this planet, this card is perfectly acceptable for a mid-range
show. However, we’re dealing with Japan here and the Japanese
are prideful people. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist
to know that the Japanese want you to do business on their own
terms and to cater to their tastes. They want a world-class card
and themes promoted that deal with their natives winning on top.
Why do you think Antonio Inoki forever and a day was successful
at constantly beating random foreigners that he built up at Kuramae
Kokugikan or Budokan?
On
top of that, that start time. That’s unbelievable. Will
that be a reason if the show happens to bomb? Or will it be because
“the Japanese fans need to get with the program?” Of
all the countries Vince McMahon has conquered with WWE, Japan
is one of the very few big markets he has failed to make it work
in. In a couple of days, he’s got back-to-back shows at
Yokohama Arena that will be extremely telling. Little to no advertising,
no Japanese-tailored matchmaking, and not a lot of promotional
work. Just like UFC will be doing, WWE uses Kyodo for their ticket
sales along with Lawson.
Two
further interesting & revealing items. First, Nikkan Sports
is going to help promote the show. It’s not uncommon for
the sports papers to do this. It happened all the time when the
papers got PR in exchange for presenting trophies to winners
at the major wrestling events in the ’90s. Nikkan Sports
backed the two SWS shows at the Tokyo Dome in 1991. Second, look
at that ticket price UFC is charging for the VIP seats. They
are falling into the PRIDE/K-1 mold of charging 100,000Y for
VIP seats. $1,300 seats. The pricing of the other seats: 34,000Y
($440), 19000Y ($250), 9800Y ($127), and 5800Y ($75). By comparison,
WWE has never had any tickets higher than 30000Y for shows. Most
are 15,000Y, which is typical of Yokohama Arena pricing. The
building costs anywhere from $50,000-$100,000 depending on how
often and what days you rent it. I’m sure WWE got a deal
for using it on back-to-back weekdays, but they’ll still
draw maybe 5,000 a show tops.
I
alert you to these ticket prices for a couple of reasons. First,
if you believe Shu’s statement of Dentsu putting up a few
million dollars in cash for the show (and I do, or at least believe
that Dentsu’s acting as a middleman for someone), then it’s
hard to see how they will make that up at the gate with this
card. This is not a $3 million USD drawing card by Japanese standards,
IMO.
OK,
so what about TV? UFC in the presser is pushing WOWOW as carrying
the show. There’s discussions that they’re trying to
explore other TV options. Good luck with that given this card
line-up. WOWOW is small fry, it’s meaningless. Dentsu is
the ad agency that K-1 & PRIDE worked with for their major
shows on network television to make heavy money. There is no
money to be made for Dentsu pitching this show outside of broadcast
television. If I’m a broadcast network, there’s no
way in hell I touch this card and put it on air unless I get
a barter or pay-for-play deal. So, the business angle for Dentsu
doesn’t make a lot of sense unless they thought they were
going to get a better card out of the deal. My opinion: I suspect
what they are saying versus how they are feeling may be very
different right now.
But
back to the ticket prices. Those prices… that’s inviting
trouble. You’ll likely see the cheapest tickets sold out
and a lot of floor seats struggle to sell. Here’s the problem
(and it’s one I’ve elaborated on before) — who
has the cash to pay for those expensive seats? Here’s your
hint if you haven’t already figured it out. So, if you attract
those kinds of people to your show with those seats, how many
of them are going because the UFC show is a good status symbol
versus those who may be looking for trouble? If the UFC card
isn’t worthy of TV, that takes away quite a bit of the value
of the show being a status symbol, doesn’t it? What are
you left with then?
Believe
me, if there is a run on the VIP tickets it will catch the attention
of not only the players remaining in the MMA game in Japan on
the ground but it also catch attention from Tokyo Metropolitan
Police who are ramping up their war against the gangs. I understand
why you might have those kinds of “VIP” ticket prices
if you’re Dentsu and you paid out that cash for a sold show,
but you have to be smarter about what kinds of people will show
up. You have to understand that the whole concept of these expensive
“VIP seats” is what opened everyone’s eyes (police,
included) to the major gangs showing up at big fight events to
cause trouble or to try to snooker various people into deals
later on. After all, Seiya Kawamata (Kazuyoshi Ishii’s admitted
yakuza fixer) had one job at big fight shows and that was to
take the gangsters backstage so that they wouldn’t be seen
on TV because the police was ready for a crackdown. The gangs
used those big fight shows as recruiting tools because if they
showed up in the front row on camera on Fuji TV or Tokyo Broadcasting
System or Nippon TV, it was a great selling point to recruit
new blood into the gangs.
Am
I suggesting that there will be sabotage and violence at the
UFC show because of these VIP seats and the expensive ticket
prices? No, not overtly. However, be careful what you wish for
and don’t make the same mistakes that others have in the
past because the cops are pissed right now and are in no mood
to deal with any more gang warfare. If you haven’t already,
read my piece from Friday night about the dire situation in Japan
right now. I’ve had Japanese insiders comment on it over
the weekend and basically everyone says the same thing —
the new gangs are more violent, they are taking bigger risks,
and they will screw with anyone because they are desperate for
a fight.
I
still am sticking with 10,000 as the over/under for attendance
to this show, but I don’t know how much will be papered
and how much will be paid. That, in and of itself, is another
can of worms where the gangs have been trying to get involved
in more in Japan as well. Another story for another day. (Involving
pyramid schemes, invasion of privacy, and loan sharking tactics,
no less.)
The
card, the start time, the lack of TV support, and the ticket
pricing is relatively speculative for this show. The promotion
would be wise to have the prelims on *after* the main card so
that fans can see them in the afternoon as opposed to 10 AM in
the morning. If you have prelims at 10 AM in the morning, that
means you expect the fans to stay the night in Saitama on Saturday.
Why? The trains. Is it uncommon for afternoon starts at places
like Korakuen Hall for wrestling cards? No. But then again those
shows aren’t starting undercards so early. Furthermore,
a lot of times seats are empty on the wrestling undercards for
the noon start times.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Not
Anderson, So Who is Next for Chael Sonnen?
by Ken
Pishna
First
it was Anderson Silva, then Mark Munoz; so who is next for Chael
Sonnen?
He
believes that Saturday night’s main event at The Ultimate
Fighter 14 Finale will determine his next opponent.
“I’m
not fighting Anderson. I’m not against competing with Mark,
but I don’t believe that will happen,” Sonnen told
MMAWeekly.com on Wednesday night. “I believe what will happen
for me will be based on what happens Saturday night.”
Asked
point blank if that meant he felt he would be fighting Michael
Bisping or Jason “Mayhem” Miller next, he answered,
“That’s my belief.”
Of
course, Sonnen was originally expected to step into a rematch
with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva next, but Silva
is sidelined for the next few months due to a shoulder injury.
Speculation
then shifted to a possible match-up with Mark Munoz, with whom
Sonnen shares the same management company, MMA Inc.
Even
TUF 14 headliner Michael Bisping believed that was the fight,
telling MMAWeekly.com Radio recently, “I thought a logical
match-up [if he gets past Miller] would have been me and Mark
Munoz, but obviously that’s not going to happen now. It’s
going to be Chael Sonnen and Mark, and the winner of that is
going to face Anderson Silva.”
Sonnen
obviously feels differently, telling MMAWeekly.com that there
was never a deal in place for him to fight Munoz, although he
and Munoz realize that, being in the same division, the fight
could be made at some point.
“I
don’t have a next fight,” Sonnen said, before leaving
himself an out due to the fickle nature of matchmaking in this
sport – just ask Georges St-Pierre, Nick Diaz, B.J. Penn,
and Carlos Condit.
Sources
had indicated to MMAWeekly.com that Sonnen and Munoz was being
considered for UFC on Fox 2 in January.
“(Mark
and I) have no deal to fight each other, but this sport can change
in an instant. What I don’t want to happen is for this to
change five minutes from now and you think I fibbed to you.”
So
if he believes that he might face Saturday night’s winner
between Bisping and Miller, who does Sonnen think that will be?
“I
think it’s a pretty good fight. Bisping’s the favorite,
two-to-one, but it’s a lot closer than two-to-one. I think
he should be the favorite. I’d give him the edge, but I
wouldn’t be surprised if Mayhem won. It’s gonna be
a close match.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Would
a confidential drug testing program help out UFC fighters?
By Zach
Arnold
As
noted by USA Today yesterday, Chris Leben got suspended for a
year by the organization after testing positive for painkillers.
Not just garden variety painkillers but very strong ones. Trouble
has followed him throughout his professional MMA career but the
UFC has made no indication of cutting him from their roster.
In
the fight game, heavy usage of pain killers, PEDs, sleeping pills,
and alcohol (both separate and in concert with each other) is
the norm, not the exception. Anyone who is connected to a sport
like the NFL or an industry like pro-wrestling can tell you the
damage inflicted by heavy usage of painkillers. It’s not
just the sports world, either, it’s American society at
large. Addiction to prescription drugs is a terrible problem.
I have great sympathy for anyone who is suffering from a prescription
drug addiction. Of course, I have little to no sympathy for steroid
or growth hormone usage.
We’ve
seen plenty of wrestlers under the age of 50… hell, under
the age of 40, who have dropped dead because of one drug cocktail
or another. Don Frye, when he was a guest many years ago on our
radio show, openly talked about how much pain guys like him endured
in fights. Remember the ankle lock fest with Ken Shamrock in
PRIDE? Guys take a beating in the combat sports world and because
there are so many shows and such a limited amount of time to
make great money, most fighters or wrestlers immediately pop
a pill or shoot up with a needle knowing that they only have
one chance in their lifetime to make some cash in their chosen
profession.
This
leads us to an interview that Dr. Johnny Benjamin did with Mauro
Ranallo yesterday (audio link here) on the subject of painkiller
use & abuse in Mixed Martial Arts, starting with Chris Leben’s
situation.
“The
common names for those medications (that he got busted for) are
Percosets and Dilaudid. These are some of the strongest and most
addictive narcotic pain relievers that are on the market. They
are derivatives of the Oxycontins and so on and so forth. Here
in South Florida where I live, it’s wrecking havoc in this
place. The problem is just that — their addictive potential
is just off the charts.
“I
read all the blog sites and everybody’s all caught up, is
it a performance enhancer? It’s a banned substance, it’s
not a performance-enhancing substance list, it’s a banned
substance list. And this is a place where sports in general and
MMA in specific are trying to look out for the well being of
the fighters because getting on this type of medication, as anybody
will tell you, is very, very, very hard to get off. I don’t
call these types of medications, the opiates, the narcotics,
the Dilaudids, performance enhancers. I call them performance
enablers.”
He’s
exactly right. Semi-retired wrestler Lance Storm talks about
how dangerous taking painkillers can be because when you are
injured and feeling the pain, you’re body is telling you
to stop and you’re popping a pill to basically continue
on without feeling the natural pain you’re supposed to.
The end result is more physical damage to your body, including
your organs should you take one too many pills.
Incredibly,
just like with Testosterone Replacement Therapy, you can try
and get away with a prescription for pain killers with the various
state athletic commissions.
“If
you report that you’re taking this pain medicine and you
have a prescription from a doctor and you can convince the commission
and the governing board that this is legitimate use and appropriate
use of the medication, you can take some of these medications.
Once you get up to the Dilaudid and Oxycontins and so on and
so forth, that’s going to be a hard sell. I want to hear
your story to make that one sound reasonable. But one thing about
that is everybody knows, you ask a fighter, hey are you ready
for this fight? How do you feel? ‘Oh, I’m 100%.’
That’s a lie. None of them are 100%. If they’re 100%,
they didn’t train for the fight. They’re all nursing
injuries — black eyes, this hurt, that hurts, and they go
in there and give you the best they have. So, it’s not uncommon
for contact athletes and combat athletes to need something to
get through the rigors of training. But if you need as something
as strong as Dilaudid which we give to terminal cancer patients
when you know they’re not going to live and you just want
to make them comfortable at all costs, when you’re getting
into that sort of thing then everybody needs to step back and
say, hey, this is a sport. What we really need to talk about
is the quality of your life and what’s going on.”
The
danger with so many fighters & wrestlers & football players
& hockey players using these kinds of drugs is that when
someone drops dead, you start to look at the deaths as merely
numbers and your mind plays tricks on you to almost dehumanize
what’s really going on. A guy drops dead, that’s tragic.
Two or three guys commit suicide due to brain damage, you get
worked up for a day or two and then it’s back to the status
quo. My great fear is that what we’ve seen in pro-wrestling
with the heavy death toll is what we may see down the road with
the MMA industry.
“It’s
absolutely a tell-tale sign in my estimation for what’s
coming. If you look at any other contact or combat sports, especially
in the NFL, the NHL, pain tablets, I mean, they have nicknames
for [prescription drugs]. It’s not even pain medicine any
more. Give me a handful of those and a handful of these. I mean…
they have bottles in the training room, hundreds and hundreds
of these tablets because they pass them out at half time. So,
if you think that MMA is going to have a different course than
what we found in the other contact & combat sports…
“The
thing I would say to you is it’s endemic in these types
of sports and it’s endemic on both sides. The athletes want
to participate and to succeed at this type of sport you have
to have a certain kind of personality. I’m not saying it’s
a personality defect but you have to be a person who’s a
thrill seeker to a certain degree and a person who, not saying
you’re angry and you have issues, but you have to a certain
amount of junkyard dog…”
Mauro
also interviewed Marc Ratner yesterday about Mr. Leben’s
suspension and, in his own words, he stated that he wants an
independent body to do drug testing for UFC events outside the
States. His terminology was “a worldwide federation to regulate
the sport” so that Zuffa can’t be accused of conflict
of interest by doing their own drug testing in foreign countries.
Dr.
Benjamin, during his interview with Mauro, made a suggestion
as to how UFC could help slow down the abuse rate of painkillers
by their fighters.
“There’s
a huge opportunity out there to help these guys and it takes
more than just a 30 minute talk at a symposium or when they put
on the UFC convention, bring in all the fighters in, which costs
them a great deal of money over a couple of days and someone
goes up there for 45 minutes and says, hey, these things are
bad of you. it’s kind of like saying smoking is bad for
you and then let’s move onto the next thing. This has to
be… people are some point have to recognize, the powers
that be, they’re going to have to say that no one wants
to deal with this issue because it’s bad press and they
think that it’s going to slow down the moneymaking machine
that it is. But I say that if you don’t address it, you
have bigger problems. So, the thing about it is is that at some
point they’re going to have to get a confidential program
in effect, it’s going to cost money. I think someone like
Dana White’s going to have to step up. He and the UFC, the
Fertitta Brothers, they’ve moved this sport to where it
is now in large part. They have the greatest resources and they
have the greatest desire to see MMA become what we all believe
that it can. I believe what they’re going to have to do
is set up a real program for their fighters to give them confidentially
to where these guys can be monitored, all of them, not just the
ones who have shown past problems because a lot of them have
problems that you just don’t know about… yet.
“You
have to protect athletes from themselves. They’re athletes
with families. You have to make sure that these guys are protected
from themselves because one thing they recognize is if they don’t
compete, they don’t earn (money). See how long you cannot
fight and see how long your sponsor is going to stay with you.”
The
problem with suggesting UFC running a confidential drug testing
program is that I don’t trust them on the issue of drug
testing in the first place. Dana White’s rhetoric on Chael
Sonnen’s TRT usage should be enough to persuade you that
he’s not exactly going to be providing a heavy bite when
it comes to cutting fighters who are moneymakers and get caught
doping. Dana always says that he wants ‘the government’
to drug test his fighters. Marc Ratner’s statements yesterday
match up with Zuffa company policy in that matter, so I find
it hard to believe that UFC will be taking any heavy pro-active
steps to slow down the usage of pain killers if they aren’t
doing aggressive drug testing for PEDs.
With
all of that said, Dr. Benjamin is right. If an active fighter
with UFC drops dead because of drug abuse, this is going to hurt
them in the court of public opinion, with politicians they’ve
been trying to curry favor with, and also with potential business
partners/sponsors. The problem is that if leagues the NFL, NHL,
and WWE can’t figure out how to get a handle on painkiller
usage, how can we expect the UFC to do any better?
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Full
TUF 14 Finale Card Announced
Hawaii
Air Times:
6:00PM-9:00PM
SPIKE Channel 559
The
final three fights have been announced for The Ultimate Fighter
season 14 finale.
In addition to the previous match-ups announced first by MMAWeekly.com
on Wednesday, the UFC has filled up the remainder of the undercard
with several fighters from this season of the show.
Roland Delorme will face Josh Ferguson in a bantamweight match-up,
Bryan Caraway meets Dustin Neace in a featherweight showdown,
while Steven Siler meets Josh Clopton.
If Clopton’s name doesn’t sound too familiar it’s
because he was one of the original contenders to get into The
Ultimate Fighter house for season 14, but lost in a qualifying
match-up to Dustin Neace.
He will now get new life in the UFC as he faces Steven Siler
in a featherweight match-up.
Here is the full fight card for the TUF 14 finale:
MAIN EVENT (on Spike TV):
-Michael Bisping (21-3; #5 Middleweight) vs. Jason “Mayhem”
Miller (24-7)
TUF 14 FEATHERWEIGHT FINAL (on Spike TV):
-Diego Brandao vs. Dennis Bermudez
TUF 14 BANTAMWEIGHT FINAL (on Spike TV):
-TJ Dillashaw vs. John Dodson
MAIN CARD BOUT (on Spike TV):
-Tony Ferguson (12-2) vs. Yves Edwards (41-17-1)
PRELIMINARY BOUTS (on Facebook):
-Louis Gaudinot vs. Johnny Bedford
-Marcus Brimage vs. Stephen Bass
-Dustin Pague vs. John Albert
-Roland Delorme vs. Josh Ferguson
-Steven Siler vs. Josh Clopton
-Bryan Caraway vs. Dustin Neace
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Bellator
Season 5 Finale Earns 265,000 Viewers on MTV2
By Mike
Whitman
Bellator Fighting Championships maintained its ratings momentum
during its fifth-season finale, as Bellator 59 earned an average
of 265,000 viewers on MTV2.
Network
officials notified Sherdog.com of the rating on Tuesday afternoon,
also noting that a replay of the Saturday night broadcast took
in an additional 136,000 viewers. The Bellator 59 average viewership
nearly matches the 269,000 viewers drawn by the previous week’s
broadcast and ranks fifth-best among the promotion's 2011 offerings
on the cable channel.
Featuring
the finals of both the bantamweight and heavyweight tournaments,
Bellator 59 emanated from Caesars Hotel and Casino in Atlantic
City, N.J.
While
Eduardo Dantas (Pictured) outpointed Alexis Vila to earn a shot
at Zach Makovsky’s 135-pound title, the heavyweight tournament
finals ended much less decisively. Just 84 seconds into the bout,
Thiago Santos landed an accidental kick to Eric Prindle’s
groin, rendering Prindle unable to continue and setting up a
2012 rematch to decide Cole Konrad’s next challenger.
Immediately
following the Bellator 59 premiere, MTV2 replayed Michael Chandler’s
title-winning performance against Eddie Alvarez at last week’s
Bellator 58, netting an additional 237,000 observers.
Source: Sherdog
|
Ultimate
Fighter Finale Predictions
By Michael
David Smith
Will Jason "Mayhem" Miller earn his first UFC victory,
or will Michael Bisping give Mayhem the beating he's been promising?
Will Diego Brandao continue to look like a wrecking machine,
or will Dennis Bermudez win the featherweight final? And who
takes the Ultimate Fighter bantamweight tournament, T.J. Dillashaw
or John Dodson? We try to answer those questions as we look at
the Ultimate Fighter Finale below.
What:
The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale
When:
Saturday, the Spike televised card begins at 8 PM ET.
Where:
Palms Resort Casino, Las Vegas
Predictions
on the four televised fights below.
Michael
Bisping vs. Jason Miller
Miller, the Bully Beatdown host and former Strikeforce and Dream
fighter, finally returns to the cage after more than a year away
following his victory over Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 16. A big
question facing Miller is whether he'll come in sharp and in
shape, or whether ring rust is an issue.
A
victory would put Bisping on a four-fight winning streak, and
he has said he thinks he's in the hunt for a middleweight title
shot if he gets that fourth win in a row. Realistically, that's
not going to happen: Even if he beats Mayhem, he'd need at least
one more win before the UFC would give him a shot at Anderson
Silva.
But
a win would solidify Bisping's place in the middleweight Top
10, and I think this is Bisping's fight. I don't see him finishing
Mayhem, but I do think his wrestling and his boxing are good
enough that he should control the fight standing or on the ground,
and he'll win a decision.
Pick: Bisping
Dennis
Bermudez vs. Diego Brandao
If there's anyone from this season of The Ultimate Fighter who
has the potential to become a breakout star it's Brandao, who
has looked absolutely terrorizing in winning all of his fights
this season. Brandao has said Wanderlei Silva is his favorite
fighter, and he looks a lot like a young Axe Murderer: Brandao
doesn't waste any time in going on the attack and looking for
a knockout.
Can
Bermudez avoid being Brandao's latest victim? I don't think so.
It's true that Bermudez has a background as a college wrestler,
and if Brandao has a weakness it's his wrestling. But I don't
think Bermudez is going to be able to withstand the barrage of
strikes that Brandao is sure to go after him with. I like Brandao
to win by TKO.
Pick: Brandao
T.J.
Dillashaw vs. John Dodson
In the bantamweight final, we have a couple of good wrestlers
who train with a couple of good camps: Dillashaw is part of Team
Alpha Male, and Dodson is part of Team Greg Jackson. I think
both of these guys have more sophisticated, complete games than
we usually see from Ultimate Fighter contestants.
The
advantage Dillashaw has is his height, reach, size and strength:
He's a good-sized bantamweight, while Dodson is a small 135-pounder
and would be fighting at 125 pounds if the UFC had a flyweight
class. If Dillashaw can exploit his reach advantage standing
up and out-muscle Dodson from the top position if the fight goes
to the ground, Dillashaw can win.
But
I think Dodson's experience edge is big here: He's been fighting
professionally since 2004 and has an 11-5 record. Dillashaw only
started fighting in 2010 and has a 4-0 record. Dodson is going
to be a lot more confident and at ease in the biggest fight of
both their careers, and I think Dodson will execute his game
plan well and win a decision.
Pick: Dodson
Tony
Ferguson vs. Yves Edwards
Ferguson won the last season of The Ultimate Fighter and then
looked outstanding in his first fight after that, brutalizing
Aaron Riley at UFC 135. The 35-year-old Edwards, who has fought
all over the place in a 15-year career, is 41-17-1 and is a step
up in competition for Ferguson. This is not an easy fight for
Ferguson at all.
But
it's a fight that I think Ferguson should win, because his punching
power will test the somewhat suspect chin of Edwards. In fact,
I like Ferguson to win this fight in spectacular fashion and
add a highlight reel knockout to his growing resume.
Pick: Ferguson
Source: MMA Fighting
|
TUF
14 Odds for Bantam and Featherweight Finals
The
TUF 14 finale is now set and the odds have been released for
both the bantamweights and featherweights fighting Saturday night
in Las Vegas.
The odds are courtesy of Nick Kalikas from BetonFighting.com.
The first fight in the bantamweight finale pits Team Greg Jackson
student John Dodson against Team Alpha Male prodigy T.J. Dillashaw.
Dillashaw has opened as a slight favorite in the finale fight
at -235 with the comeback on Dodson at +175. Dodson has a clear
experience advantage, but Dillashaw has been one of the hottest
prospects in the sport and hopes to prove that on Saturday night
at the TUF 14 finale.
“T.J. Dillashaw comes in as the slight favorite to win the
TUF 14 bantamweight crown. Most of us are expecting a highly
competitive three-round war. Both fighters are so well rounded
we should get our wish,” said Kalikas. “I think T.J.’s
the rightful favorite coming in, but I wouldn’t be to surprised
if we see early action coming in on the underdog at the sportsbooks.”
In the other finale fight, Dodson’s teammate from Jackson’s
will look to make it four first-round stoppages in a row under
The Ultimate Fighter banner as the ferocious Diego Brandao takes
on Team Mayhem’s Dennis Bermudez.
Brandao comes in as a heavy favorite at -355 with good reason.
The Brazilian has looked almost unstoppable thus far in the season,
showing unreal aggression and striking throughout his fights,
but also mixing in good takedown defense.
“Diego Brandao opens as a decent favorite in the featherweight
finale. No denying how talented Diego is after the way he tore
through everyone on his way to the finals,” Kalikas added.
“Even though Diego’s a solid favorite heading in, I’m
not exactly counting out Dennis Bermudez. He was also very impressive
on the show and I know he’ll come ready to fight.”
Bermudez will look for the upset coming back at +255, and the
former college wrestler will look to put Brandao in a bad spot,
something no one else has been able to do on the show thus far.
The Ultimate Fighter finale takes place on Saturday night in
Las Vegas with the first ever bantamweight and featherweight
champions being crowned from the reality show.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Viewpoint:
MMA’s Reality TV Partnership Hanging TUF
By Tristen
Critchfield
Over
the years, “The Ultimate Fighter” has wisely adopted
a fluid format as well as flexibility, making minor tweaks in
order to keep up with the never-ending demand for fresh concepts
and solid ratings.
That
has included making prospective contestants fight to get in the
house (fight fans love fights, after all), appealing to national
pride (Michael Bisping must cringe every time he sees a UFC 100
highlight) and giving a YouTube sensation a chance (stay tuned,
Kimbo Slice could be back next week).
Often
criticized by MMA’s hardcore demographic, the first season
of “The Ultimate Fighter” is largely responsible for
the sport’s rapid growth in subsequent years. Consider this:
without Stephan Bonnar-Forrest Griffin 1 and the curious collection
of in-house hijinks that preceded it, would the UFC have been
able to ink a deal with Fox networks six years later? Or Bellator
with MTV2, for that matter?
As
it moves further into its teen-age years, the long-running reality
show is headed for its biggest transformation to date. Beginning
in the spring of 2012, “The Ultimate Fighter” is going
live. No more canned fights that happened months ago. No more
paranoia regarding leaked results. No more questions of whether
reality’s script influences matchmaking.
Not
only is Wednesday’s conclusion to Season 14 the end of the
program’s relationship with Spike TV, but it will also likely
be the last time a current contestant can host a viewing party
at his favorite local watering hole. In the coming years, they
will be on site, watching -- or making -- the action unfold.
It could revitalize the series, which has grown stagnant in recent
years.
“This
is revolutionary television right here,” UFC President Dana
White said last summer.
Maybe,
at least for MMA, but with such wholesale changes comes inherent
risk. With a final tip of the cap to the show’s current
incarnation, it is time to take a balanced look at some of the
pros and cons of “The Ultimate Fighter’s” brave
new world.
The
Good
Live
and Direct: As previously mentioned, live Octagon combat is the
main selling point for the new format. Fans prefer to watch their
stick-and-ball sports as they happen, so it is reasonable to
assume the same rule applies to fight aficionados, as well. At
their best, taped events supply nostalgia, not suspense. In the
past, the UFC has worked diligently to keep results shrouded
in mystery, but now such consternation becomes moot. Instead,
the sense of anticipation will heighten for each episode.
Choose
Your Own Adventure: The fact that viewers can now take an active
role in selecting matchups is bound to generate interest. The
world is full of armchair matchmakers, and with a text-your-vote
method reminiscent of “American Idol” in place, they
will finally have an opportunity to emulate Joe Silva. Some might
argue that many fans will not have the fighters’ best interests
at heart during the voting process, but at its core “The
Ultimate Fighter” is a competition. Preserving the best
matchups for later only enhances the risk for other variables
-- such as injuries -- to enter the equation.
Word
of Mouth: At its peak, the UFC on Fox 1 produced 8.8 million
viewers and, with 5.7 million viewers on average, was the most-watched
fight since 2003. Fox’s heavy-handed promotion of the UFC
was felt during the Major League Baseball playoffs, as well as
during NFL coverage. Similar tactics should continue in advance
of “The Ultimate Fighter’s” FX debut. If all goes
as planned, Season 15 could surpass the ratings generated by
Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson’s presence on Season
10.
Everyone
Has a Story: There is probably a group out there who would not
mind if all the pomp and circumstance leading up to each week’s
fight was eliminated, but if you have not noticed by now, “The
Ultimate Fighter” does not cater to the diehards. The reason
“The Ultimate Fighter” alums maintain such longstanding
popularity is that people become invested in their personalities.
Before he was known as a durable brawler, Chris Leben was the
guy who had his slumber interrupted by Josh Koscheck and a garden
hose. Such narratives are valuable to “The Ultimate Fighter”
brand. Even as the show switches networks, there will be plenty
of opportunity to get to know the cast.
The
Bad
Set
a Curfew: The most devoted followers of mixed martial arts are
going to seek out fights, wherever they might be. They are not
the concern here, but much of the rest of the show’s most
coveted viewing demographic, males in the 18-to-34 range, might
not find Friday night all right for fighting. Wednesday was safe;
it is not hard to convince people to congregate in front of their
televisions in the middle of the week. Friday, on the other hand,
has sent many a promising program to an early grave. The UFC
must hope that the quest for a social life does not outweigh
the love of all things MMA.
Conflict
of Interest: Coaching rivalries have been as much a part of the
show as the development of young fighters. It is difficult to
quantify how many people bought UFC 114 simply because they witnessed
multiple chest-to-chest altercations between Evans and Jackson
on Season 10 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” but it is likely
that their feud helped boost the event’s final numbers significantly.
Now, opposing coaches will be expected to conduct their camps
as the show airs. While most of the competitors come to “The
Ultimate Fighter” from established camps of their own, it
could prove difficult to receive proper training if the coaches
are more worried about themselves. Depending on how the trial
run goes, do not be surprised if some stars balk at coaching
invitations down the road.
Prospects
Dim: Rare is the talented prospect that escapes the watchful
eyes of Silva and Sean Shelby these days. The notion that all
of these talents become “The Ultimate Fighter” castmates
is dated, however. It is unlikely that the Renan “Barao”
Pegados of the world would choose to go the reality-show road
when they could just as easily negotiate a contract with the
company for more lucrative pay. Plenty of accomplished fighters
began their UFC career with White questioning their desire on
national television. With a longer season -- the show will last
12 weeks instead of six -- now in place, the most gifted athletes
might choose to bypass that route entirely.
More
Filler: The UFC’s debut on Fox generated record ratings
and featured the coronation of a new heavyweight champion, but
there was plenty of grumbling regarding the actual amount of
fight time during the broadcast. That same problem could exist
on a smaller scale for “The Ultimate Fighter.” If the
featured bout of the week ends in a matter of seconds, how will
the rest of the hour be filled? In theory, the happenings taped
inside the house will occupy most of the first hour, with the
fight ready to go near the tail end of the program. Unless producers
get really creative, they could have 10-15 minutes to burn on
some nights.
Source Sherdog
|
TUF
14 Final Draws Season-High TV Ratings
It’s
all about the fights, and Wednesday night’s Ultimate Fighter
Season 14 regular season final episode TV ratings proved it.
The
final regular season episode of TUF 14 drew 1.7 million viewers,
according to Spike TV officials, the highest number of season
14. That was good enough to rank the episode No. 2 in the key
advertiser demographics of Men 18-49 and Men 18-34, just behind
FX’s American Horror Story. Ironically, The Ultimate Fighter
is moving to FX in 2012.
TUF
14’s final regular season episode featured two semifinal
matches, one in each weight class. John Dodson earned his birth
to Saturday’s TUF 14 finale with a victory over Johnny Bedford
in the bantamweight division, while Diego Brandao did away with
Bryan Caraway in the featherweight class.
Dodson
squares off with T.J. Dillashaw in Saturday’s finale on
Spike TV. Brandao faces Dennis Bermudez in the The Ultimate Fighter
14 Finale.
The
reality series’ final season on Spike TV drew an average
of 1.5 million viewers per episode.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Fitch
ready for Hendricks: “I think I can overwhelm him”
By Eduardo
Ferreira
One
of the best welterweight fighters of the world, Jon Fitch had
to leave UFC’s cage for a while due to a surgery, but his
comeback is scheduled for December 30th, at UFC 141, against
Johnny Hendricks.
On
an exclusive chat with TATAME, in California, the American barely
could hide his happiness for finally returning to Ultimate. “I’m
very glad to fight, I had the surgery in May and I’ve been
out for a while, so I’m just happy to be back in the cage,
happy to fight. I love my job and I hate not being able to do
it”, said Fitch.
With
only one loss in 23 fights, being only defeated by the champion
Georges St. Pierre, Fitch wants another chance at the title,
but before that he need to overcome Johnny Hendricks, athlete
who has 11 wins in 12 fights.
“I
think Johnny is a very good wrestler and very heavy handed, good
in Boxing, but I think that with my game and skills is much higher
than he is. I think that as long as I’m healthy and in shape,
and my timing is on, I think I can overwhelm him”.
Source:
Tatame
|
Shooto
Sets 9-Bout Lineup for 2011 Rookie Tournament Final
By Chris
Nelson
Former
rookie champions and unbeaten hopefuls line the nine-fight bill
for Shooto’s 2011 Rookie Tournament Final released Tuesday
by the Japanese organization.
Shooto
will crown its 10th class of freshman aces Dec. 18 at Shinjuku
Face in Tokyo, with six tourney finals ranging from 115 to 168
pounds bolstered by a trio of Class B bouts.
In
non-tournament action, flamboyant Dokonjonosuke Mishima disciple
and 2010 roookie champ at 115 pounds Masayoshi Kato (a.k.a. Macho
the Butterfly) will try to keep his perfect record intact against
Shinya Murofushi. Krazy Bee’s Yusuke Yachi, the 2009 rookie
champ at 143 pounds, will look to get back in the win column
against Kazuhiro Ito, and ex-strawweight ranker Katsuya Murofushi
will return from a 26-month absence against Tadaaki Yamamoto.
Perhaps
the 2011 rookie field’s brightest prospect, 154-pounder
Yusuke Kasuya (Pictured) of Akimoto Dojo, will square off with
Nobumitsu Taison, who comes fresh off a first-round knockout
in his Nov. 27 semifinal. The youngest finalist, 19-year-old
Yuya “Monkey” Shibata, vies for the top spot at 123
pounds against 29-year-old Hiroshi Osato, while 115-pound armbar
machine Jun “Requiem” Nakamura tangles with Osaka’s
Satoshi Sasao.
Reversal
Gym Yokohama and Hayato Sakurai’s Mach Dojo each send two
representatives to the tournament finals. The teams will clash
at 143 pounds when Sakurai student Yoshifumi Nakamura meets Chuji
Kato, while Reversal’s Michinori Tanaka faces Akihito Ishihara
at 132 pounds and Mach’s Yuki Okano takes on Gota Yamashita
at 168 pounds.
All
fights are scheduled for two five-minute rounds; in the event
of a draw, tournament finals are decided by an extension round.
Shooto
has held staggered tournaments in multiple weight classes since
2002 to determine the organization’s top newcomers. Notable
past rookie champions include Takeya Mizugaki, Tatsuya Kawajiri
and Hiroyuki Takaya.
Source
Sherdog
|
Eliot
Marshall Released from the UFC
by Damon
Martin
A
second stint in the UFC has come to an end for former ‘Ultimate
Fighter’ competitor Eliot Marshall.
The
Colorado based heavyweight has been released from the promotion
following back-to-back losses.
“Well
it’s official,” Marshall wrote on his Twitter account.
“I have been released by the UFC.”
Marshall
originally came back to the UFC on short notice when the promotion
needed a replacement to face Luiz Cane at UFC 128 in March. Marshall
stepped up to the plate, but suffered a TKO loss to the Brazilian.
Coming
back at UFC 137, Marshall took on Brandon Vera in a pivotal light
heavyweight match-up for both fighters.
Despite
Marshall nearly finishing Vera several times in the third round,
including a knockdown and two near submissions, the judges still
only saw it as a 10-9 and gave the first two rounds to Vera.
The
decision was met with a lot of controversy after the fight, but
despite the close nature of the fight, the UFC has opted not
to retain Marshall’s services.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
United
States Boxing Team to Face off With Ukraine in Second Leg of
European Tour
(COLORADO
SPRINGS, COLO.) – USA Boxing’s European Tour squad
has traveled to Ukraine for the second leg of their international
competition overseas. The mixed squad of elite male and female
athletes competed in the World Cup of Petroleum Countries in
Surgut, Russia, November 24-27 before heading to the next stop
on their journey. Team USA's current visit to Ukraine is the
first-time a U.S. squad has traveled there.
The
United States and Ukraine will face off in two dual competitions
with Team USA facing two different squads from the host nation.
The first competition will take place tomorrow in Chernivtsi,
Ukraine following two days of joint training sessions. Team USA
will travel to Ivano-Frankisvsk on December 2 prior to the second
dual match, which will take place on Sunday.
The
U.S. squad competing in Ukraine will be: male flyweight Shawn
Simpson (Chicago, Ill.), female flyweight Marlen Esparza (Houston,
Texas), male lightweight Toka Kahn Clary (Providence, R.I.),
female light N’yteeyah Sherman (Barberton, Ohio), male light
welterweight George Rincon (Carrollton, Texas), male welterweight
Errol Spence (Desoto, Texas), male middleweight Antoine Douglas
(Burke, Va.), female middleweight Tika Hemingway (Pittsburgh,
Pa.), male heavyweight Jordan Shimmell (Hudsonville, Mich.),
and male super heavyweight Laron Mitchell (San Francisco, Calif.).
Coaches
Ken Porter (Akron, Ohio), Ed Rivas (Abilene, Texas) and Everette
Elliston (Denver Colo.) will once again guide the U.S. squad
at the USA vs. Ukraine Dual with Bruce Kawano (Pearl City, Hawaii)
serving as the Technical Advisor, Brent Bovell (Washington DC)
working as the AIBA Official, and Ken Buffington (Marshalltown,
Iowa) joining the delegation as Team Manager. The team will return
to the United States on Monday following the two dual competitions.
Ukraine’s
men’s team was the top finisher at the 2011 AIBA World Championships,
qualifying six athletes for the 2012 Olympic Games at the event.
The full bout sheets for the dual events can be found below.
USA
vs. Ukraine Dual I, Chernovtsi, Ukraine – December 1
MALE
114
lbs: Shawn Simpson, Chicago, Ill./USA vs. Denis Yaschuk, Ukraine
132
lbs: Toka Kahn Clary, Providence, R.I./USA vs. Gjunduz Guseinov,
Ukraine
141
lbs: George Rincon, Carrollton, Texas/USA vs. Oleg Nekljudov,
Ukraine
152
lbs: Errol Spence, Desoto, Texas/USA vs. Denis Lazarev, Ukraine
165
lbs: Antoine Douglas, Burke, Va./USA vs. Dmitrii Mitrofanov,
Ukraine
201
lbs: Jordan Shimmell, Hudsonville, Mich./USA vs. Sergei Melnik,
Ukraine
201+
lbs: Laron Michell, San Francisco, Calif./USA vs. Roman Kapitonenko,
Ukraine
FEMALE
112
lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas/USA vs. Tetiana Kob, Ukraine
132
lbs: N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio/USA vs. Aleksandra
Sidorenko, Ukraine
165
lbs: Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa./USA vs. Mariia Badylina,
Ukraine
USA
vs. Ukraine Dual II, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine – December
4
MALE
114
lbs: Shawn Simpson, Chicago, Ill./USA vs. Oleksandr Shepeliuk,
Ukraine
132
lbs: Toka Kahn Clary, Providence, R.I./USA vs. Volodymyr Matviychuk,
Ukraine
141
lbs: George Rincon, Carrollton, Texas/USA vs. Volodymyr Martseniuk,
Ukraine
152
lbs: Errol Spence, Desoto, Texas/USA vs. Denis Lazariev, Ukraine
165
lbs: Antoine Douglas, Burke, Va./USA vs. Arsen Rizun, Ukraine
201
lbs: Jordan Shimmell, Hudsonville, Mich./USA vs. Vitaliy Merinov,
Ukraine
201+
lbs: Laron Mitchell, San Francisco, Calif./USA vs. Denis Poyatsyka,
Ukraine
FEMALE
112
lbs: Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas/USA vs. Anna Rohovych, Ukraine
132
lbs: N’yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio/USA vs. Yana Sydor,
Ukraine
165
lbs: Tika Hemingway, Pittsburgh, Pa./USA vs. Iryna Komar, Ukraine
Source:
Bruce Kawano, USA Boxing
|
UFC
on FX 1 Official, Tickets On Sale
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday made UFC on FX 1
official, announcing that it will return to Nashville on Jan.
20. Lightweight contenders Melvin Guillard and Jim Miller will
clash in the night’s main event at Bridgestone Arena.
The event is the promotion’s first on the FX network, a
live two-hour broadcast beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
“For our first live event on FX, we wanted to deliver an
incredible fight for the fans and Melvin Guillard vs. Jim Miller
should be a war,” UFC president Dana White said. “These
are two of the top ranked lightweights in the UFC and both have
a lot on the line as they want to get back in the title picture.
“Miller is known for relentless pressure. There is absolutely
no quit in him. He has won Fight of the Night and Submission
of the Night awards. Melvin Guillard is one of the most explosive
athletes in the lightweight division. He has won the Knockout
of the Night award twice. I expect more awards to be won in this
fight.”
The Nashville card will also feature an exciting welterweight
bout between Duane “Bang” Ludwig and Josh Neer, as
well as an explosive heavyweight tilt pitting Pat Barry against
Christian Morecraft.
UFCon FX 1: Guillard vs. Miller tickets go on sale Friday, Dec.
2 at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets will be available at the Bridgestone
Arena box office or online at www.bridgestonearena.com. Tickets
are also available online at www.TicketMaster.com, by phone at
800-745-3000, and at all Ticketmaster outlets including select
Kroger locations.
Tickets went on sale Wednesday to UFC Fight Club members with
another special offer to UFC newsletter subscribers on Thursday
before opening up to the general public on Friday.
“The fans in Nashville better be ready for fireworks when
me and Miller go at it,” Guillard said. “I see Fight
of the Year written all over this one. I’ve got a lot of
respect for him and I know how phenomenal he is inside the Octagon,
but I’ve wanted this fight for a while and I’ll be
ready. This is a great opportunity for me and I’m honored
to be a part of history in headlining the first ever UFC on FX
event.”
Miller sounds just as excited for this fight as Guillard, saying,
“Melvin has proven that he’s a dangerous opponent,
but he’s also proven that his weaknesses can cost him and
his weaknesses are my strengths. You’ve got two of the best
guys in the division in a fight that I highly doubt will go the
distance. Don’t blink because this thing could end at any
moment.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
‘The
Ultimate Fighter 14’ Finale Preview
By Tristen
Critchfield
Hawaii
Air Times:
6:00PM-9:00PM
SPIKE Channel 559
The
end of an era is at hand for “The Ultimate Fighter,”
as the 14th finale marks the popular reality show’s final
appearance on Spike TV. Next year, the series introduces a new
live format to FX, where fights throughout the season -- not
just the last bout -- will count toward each fighter’s record.
As
usual, the finale presents the possibility that a new star or
stars will be born in the Octagon. On Saturday at the Palms Casino
Resort in Las Vegas, bantamweights John Dodson and T.J. Dillashaw
as well as featherweights Diego Brandao and Dennis Bermudez are
those candidates. Also looming large is the matchup of coaches,
where Michael Bisping and Jason Miller can settle their differences
while simultaneously ascending the UFC’s middleweight ladder.
Here
is a look at the main card fights at “The Ultimate Fighter
14” Finale, complete with analysis and picks.
Middleweights
Michael Bisping (21-3, 11-3 UFC) vs. Jason “Mayhem”
Miller (24-7, 0-1 UFC)
The
Matchup: While these two opposing coaches certainly had their
fair share of obligatory confrontations on Season 14 of “The
Ultimate Fighter,” there does not seem to be too much genuine
animosity between Miller and Bisping, a la Rashad Evans-Quinton
Jackson or Bisping-Dan Henderson on previous seasons. With both
men serving as only mild sources of irritation for one another,
it becomes easier to focus on what shapes up to be a key middleweight
duel.
Prior
to his stint as reality show coach, Miller might be best known
for hosting MTV2’s “Bully Beatdown” or his role
in the Strikeforce “Nashville” melee that effectively
ended any hopes the promotion had of remaining on CBS. That said,
Miller’s most notable achievement of late came in the ring
at Dream 16, when he submitted Kazushi Sakuraba with an arm-triangle
choke at 2:09 of the first round. Like Babe Ruth allegedly calling
his own shot, “Mayhem” predicted he would make the
former Pride Fighting Championships standout tap and then looked
downright clairvoyant when he became the first man in 14 years
to do so.
Miller’s
grappling is excellent. He owns 14 submissions in his career
and managed to go the distance without tapping in losses to skilled
jiu-jitsu practitioners such as Jake Shields and Ronaldo “Jacare”
Souza; moreover, he nearly submitted Shields with a rear-naked
choke. He will have his work cut out for him against Bisping,
who is one of the soundest defensive fighters in the UFC.
Miller
will want to take it to the ground as soon as possible, where
he can implement some of the same relentless ground-and-pound
that set up his historic win over Sakuraba. The Las Vegas resident
is extremely active while working from the top, and he will have
to be because Bisping is good at controlling his opponent’s
posture from the guard. The Englishman is also adept at clearing
his hips and using the cage to get back to his feet when his
solid takedown defense fails him.
“The
Count” will want to use those skills to keep the fight standing
as much as possible, where he can rack up points with his precise
boxing. Bisping’s power is not overwhelming; it is his footwork
and ability to land a high volume of punches that will confound
Miller. Bisping is an expert at landing the one-two combination
and then swiftly moving out of harm’s way.
The
Wolfslair Academy representative’s lack of knockout clout
will allow Miller to push forward without fear of serious repercussions.
If Miller can fight at close range, he can use his muay Thai
to punish Bisping while in tie-ups before attempting to get the
action to the canvas. Bisping is usually composed in the Octagon,
so do not expect “The Ultimate Fighter 3” winner to
stray far from his game plan of boxing and solid takedown defense.
The
Pick: The best chance of a finish resides with Miller cinching
an arm-triangle or rear-naked choke, but, in 24 professional
bouts, Bisping has yet to be stopped by anything other than a
Dan Henderson right hand. Miller needs to make Bisping work by
taking him down repeatedly and using his ground-and-pound to
find an opening for a submission. In the long run, Bisping will
prove too difficult to keep down, however, and his right hand
will find its mark enough times to garner a decision victory.
“The
Ultimate Fighter 14” Bantamweight Final
John Dodson (11-5, 0-0 UFC) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (4-0, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Both 135-pound finalists come from quality camps, as
Dodson is a longtime student at Jackson’s Mixed Martial
Arts in Albuquerque, N.M., and Dillashaw is entrenched at Urijah
Faber’s Team Alpha Male gym in Sacramento, Calif.
Undefeated
in four professional bouts, Dillashaw wants to impose his will
through wrestling, much as he did in overwhelming Dustin Pague
in the bantamweight semifinals on the reality show. Dillashaw
ate a knee from his opponent in the first round, but most of
the action centered on the 25-year-old’s relentless takedowns
and ground-and-pound from inside Pague’s guard.
He
will not find domination to be so simple against Dodson, a former
state champion wrestler in high school with excellent takedown
defense. While Dillashaw possesses solid hands and punching power,
he does not match up with the athleticism of “The Magician”
on the feet. Dodson throws kicks with frightening speed and precision
while fluidly moving in and out of harm’s way. He possesses
a toolbox of innovative attacks that he is not afraid to unleash
when the opportunity presents itself. If there is a fault with
Dodson, it is that he occasionally lets showmanship take first
priority in the cage; when it comes to physical ability he has
very few peers at his level.
Dillashaw
will want to make this a grinding, physical bout, using his standup
to set up shots and takedowns. Dodson will sprawl and defend,
so Dillashaw must not become frustrated and stray from this approach
if it does not succeed immediately. Though Dodson is comfortable
at 135 pounds, his preferred class is flyweight, where he is
ranked No. 10 in the world by Sherdog.com. Dillashaw’s best
chance is to wear down Dodson by pressing him against the cage
and testing the New Mexican’s gas tank. When fighting at
distance, Dodson will rack up the points quickly with his fast
hands and feet.
The
Pick: Dodson will set the tone early with his striking, connecting
enough times so that Dillashaw decides to turn the bout into
a wrestling match. Taking Dodson to the mat is easier said than
done, however, as the Californian will spend the majority of
the bout chasing his opponent around the Octagon. Even if Dillashaw
lands a couple takedowns, Dodson will have done enough damage
elsewhere to win a unanimous decision.
“The
Ultimate Fighter 14” Featherweight Final
Diego Brandao (13-7, 0-0 UFC) vs. Dennis Bermudez (7-2, 0-0 UFC)
The
Matchup: Brandao has emerged as one of the most explosive fighters
on this season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” blasting
through his opposition in breathtaking fashion. The Brazilian
began his professional career at a young age, accumulating a
spotty won-lost record in his formative years of mixed martial
arts. He did post a notable win over Brian Foster in 2008, however,
knocking out the five-time UFC veteran inside of a round. Since
making the trek to Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts, Brandao
has shown marked improvement and became arguably the most feared
featherweight in “The Ultimate Fighter” house.
Brandao
attacks with a fury, as was evident when he rushed Steven Siler
with a flying knee in a quarterfinal bout on the reality show.
His aggression is backed by wicked punching power, as he owns
eight career wins by knockout or technical knockout. Brandao,
a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, is also dangerous on the ground.
Those skills do not always come to the forefront in his fights,
but he has been lauded by teammates at Jackson’s for helping
them improve their ground games.
It
is no secret that Bermudez would like to plant Brandao on his
back and go to work. The New Yorker has been battered at times
when he attempts to strike with his opponents, most recently
in his semifinal showdown with Hamid Corassani. “Akira”
stung Bermudez with solid punches in the early going, but once
“The Menace” got the contest to the mat, he was able
to lock in a guillotine choke.
Bermudez
will have to do better against Brandao. If the Jackson’s
MMA representative connects in the manner that Corassani did,
it will be a short night. Expect Brandao to be in his opponent’s
face immediately, looking for the home run knockout. If Bermudez
can survive the early onslaught and make it to the second round,
he will have achieved a small victory. While unbridled aggression
is one of Brandao’s strengths, it is essential that he not
become careless in his approach. If Bermudez slams him to the
mat, Brandao must look to reverse position and hunt for a rear-naked
choke, which Bermudez has been susceptible to in the past.
The
Pick: Bermudez needs to drag this one out, where he can test
Brandao’s resolve when the quick finish does not arrive.
His striking defense does not appear to be up to the test, however.
Brandao will be throwing bombs, and, eventually, he will connect
with one or two of them. Brandao wins by first-round technical
knockout.
Lightweights
Tony Ferguson (12-2, 2-0 UFC) vs. Yves Edwards (41-17-1, 9-5
UFC)
The
Matchup: After two impressive fights in the UFC, “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 13 winner Ferguson has the look of a prospect
with a bright future ahead of him. Enter Edwards, a respected
veteran who can provide the type of test that determines whether
“El Cucuy” is ready to ascend to the next level in
the promotion.
Edwards
is well-rounded, mixing punches and kicks well in the standup
while possessing a crafty ground game, as well. The 35-year-old
Bahamian has displayed a generally solid chin for most of his
career, which made his first-round knockout loss to Sam Stout
at UFC 131 so surprising. Edwards rebounded by defeating Rafaello
Oliveira at UFC Live 6, countering the AMA Fight Club product
with a steady diet of kicks to the legs, head and body. He will
need to be on alert against Ferguson, an adept boxer who has
shown an affinity for countering opponents from the pocket.
The
27-year-old dropped Ramsey Nijiem at “The Ultimate Fighter
13” Finale with a counter left hook and broke Aaron Riley’s
jaw with a pair of left uppercuts at UFC 135. If the punch that
Stout used to put Edwards to sleep is an indication that his
chin is fading after years of battles in the cage, Ferguson has
the tools to put it to the test once again.
Edwards
is capable of keeping Ferguson off guard with an array of spinning
back fists and unorthodox kicks, but if Ferguson finds himself
in a dicey situation, he can change the direction of the fight
with his excellent wrestling. On the ground, he will need to
proceed with caution, as Edwards remains adept at transitioning
to submissions when his opponents become too comfortable.
The
American Top Team representative’s best chance of defeating
Ferguson is to take him deeper into the fight, where his years
of experience can take over. If Edwards can survive his opponent’s
onslaught of power punches early on, he will have a better chance
of frustrating Ferguson and baiting him into a grappling contest.
The
Pick: There is something to be said for experience, and Edwards
has plenty of that. Unfortunately, the years of wear and tear
may have taken its toll on him. Ferguson’s athleticism and
wrestling ability will allow him to dictate the location of the
fight, and his boxing ability gives him a solid chance of finishing
every time out. Edwards makes things interesting with a variety
of attacks early, but Ferguson gets a TKO in round two.
Bantamweights
Johnny Bedford (17-9-1, 0-0 UFC) vs. Louis Gaudinot (5-1, 0-0
UFC)
The
Matchup: This is an intriguing matchup to round out the main
card of the finale, because both fighters possess the potential
to have solid careers inside the Octagon. A featherweight for
much of the early part of his career, Bedford will look to play
the bully against the smaller Gaudinot, who is ideally suited
for 125 pounds. The Texan’s clinch and takedown tactics
failed him against John Dodson, another smaller fighter, when
“The Magician” scored a brutal second-round knockout
over him in the semifinals.
While
both Gaudinot and Dodson are natural flyweights, Dodson is physically
strong enough to handle the takedown attempts of larger 135-pound
fighters. In his loss to Dustin Pague, Gaudinot showed a creative
mix of spinning back fists and kicks but was often overmatched
in the clinch, where Pague was able to punish him with knees
and uppercuts. Eventually, that methodical approach led to Gaudinot
folding to the floor, giving up his back and succumbing to a
rear-naked choke.
The
six-time Ring of Combat veteran will have to make judicious use
of movement to prevent Bedford from doing the same. Working in
Gaudinot’s favor is that Bedford displayed a tendency to
drop his head when shooting in during his last match, and “Goodnight”
can capitalize on the flaw by punishing his opponent with a well-timed
knee.
If
Bedford gets his way, the fight will follow the script that his
encounter with Josh Ferguson earlier on the show did: solid tie-up
work that enables trip takedowns and ground-and-pound. The 5-foot-10
Fitness Fight Factory product should not hesitate to use his
reach advantage against the 5-foot-3 Gaudinot, if necessary.
The
Pick: It is unclear how much Bedford’s hand injury truly
affected him during his time in the house, but prior to being
waylaid by Dodson, he looked to be one of the show’s more
solid prospects. Gaudinot is a world-class flyweight, but he
will struggle against the physicality of Bedford. Unless he can
catch Bedford off guard with an innovative combination, the bout
will be dictated by Bedford’s positional control, as he
grinds out a unanimous decision.
Source
Sherdog
|
When
Fedor met Satoshi Ishii on NYE; card will not air on broadcast
TV
By Zach
Arnold
On NYE at Saitama Super Arena:
Welterweights: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
Featherweights: Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Lion Takeshi
Featherweights: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
DREAM Bantamweight tournament: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo
Marques Diniz
DREAM Bantamweight tournament: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
DREAM Bantamweight tournament finals
The scuttlebutt coming out of Fedor’s decision win over
Jeff Monson in Russia is that he will fight on the Inoki NYE
card at Saitama Super Arena against Inoki-managed/owned-in-Japan
fighter Satoshi Ishii. On paper, the fight makes sense for both
parties. Fedor sees it as a chance to get a win, as ugly as it
may be, over a relatively green fighter and an easy payday plus
TV rights in Russia. Inoki’s camp views it as a chance to
get Fedor back in Japan (where he’s the most valued, still)
and that Ishii can somehow make the match ugly enough to get
a decision win as long as Fedor doesn’t tag him early and
knock his ass out.
So, what’s the problem with the fight? First, it’s
likely going to be an ugl
y one to watch. Second, Ishii is not a draw in Japan. The Overton
window on fans converting into Ishii supporters is done. It’s
dead. This is a guy who in the time span of a year got booed
out of SSA on NYE last year when he fought Jerome Le Banner.
Japanese fans were backing a Frenchman over the Olympic medal
hero. Since that time span, Ishii fled Japan, came back to get
a divorce after 9 months with his (now) former wife who was 19
or 20 years old, had media reports surface that he wanted to
become an American citizen so he could compete in the Olympics,
traveled to Kings MMA in So. Cal to train so he could fight Paulo
Filho in Brazil, to now ending up in the same location where
the tumultuous cycle started a year ago? Nobody is as impulsive
& reckless of a decision maker as this guy is right now.
He had everything to gain in his MMA career when he first entered
the business and totally squandered his golden ticket.
Remember all the talk about Ishii wanting to be in the UFC? He
could have fit into the plans of UFC Japan and actually had a
chance to grow up as a fighter. Instead, he’s back to do
the business of Inoki by fighting a fading, yet accomplished
& decorated veteran who is likely going to produce a fan
reaction that will resemble the Le Banner fight. Of course, if
Ishii beats Fedor on NYE (even if he gets booed out of the building),
I definitely could see Dana marking out and paying Ishii a lot
of money to appear on the SSA card. It still wouldn’t change
the fact that Ishii isn’t much of a draw, but it would be
a great ’screw you’ to send to the PRIDE fans for a
vanity show.
Speaking of UFC Japan, here’s the updated card line-up:
UFC Lightweight title match: Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson
Lightweights: Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
Welterweights: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
Middleweights: Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
Featherweights: Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
Heavyweights (rumored): Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
Think the fans will get up at 6 AM to watch the main card at
SSA at 10 AM if guys like Rampage aren’t on the card?
If you’ve been following MMA Supremacy on Twitter, you might
have heard that the second Fox network show on January 28th in
Chicago will feature Rampage Jackson vs. Forrest Griffin (why?)
and Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz. If Mark had trouble with Okami,
I wonder how the fight with Chael will turn out?
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Diego
Brandao: I Want to Be a UFC Champion Some Day
By Michael
David Smith
After beating Bryan Caraway to advance to Saturday night's Ultimate
Fighter Finale, Diego Brandao says he's ready to prove that he's
a rising star in the UFC.
In
an interview with MMAFighting.com, Brandao said he's been training
hard for his fight with Dennis Bermudez on Saturday night, and
that he views it as a step toward his ultimate goal in the sport,
of being a UFC champion some day.
But
Brandao's more immediate goal is to provide for his family in
Brazil, and he especially wants to be able to buy his mother
a house. Brandao said that if he earns a UFC contract with a
victory against Bermudez on Saturday night, that goal is well
within his reach.
Our
interview is below.
Michael
David Smith: In your win over Bryan Caraway, I really thought
that as soon as the flying knee landed, it was over. Did you
feel like that too?
No, I was ready for war, and I knew Bryan Caraway is very tough,
so I knew I wasn't going to finish him easily.
I
was surprised how much punishment Caraway was able to withstand.
Were you surprised? Did you think the ref let it go on too long?
I think it did go on pretty long. He could have stopped the fight
earlier. But I also tell referees, "Don't stop my fights
until I'm out." I want to get every chance to win the fight
so I know why Bryan Caraway wanted every chance to win the fight.
Now
you'll fight Dennis Bermudez on Saturday night at the Finale.
What do you think of him?
I don't think anything of him. He's a great fighter but I think
the guys I beat in the house are better than him.
What's
your prediction for the bantamweight fight at the Finale, T.J.
Dillashaw vs. John Dodson?
T.J. is good but he only has four fights. Dodson has like 20
pro fights. Little John is going to knock him out.
Although
viewers at home only saw your fight with Caraway on Wednesday
night, it happened months ago and you've had the fall to train
for the Finale. What has your preparation been like for the fight
with Bermudez?
I've been training with Greg Jackson and Mike Winklejohn, I've
been working on my Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and I've just been training
very hard in New Mexico -- 505 in the house. I'm in great shape.
My coaches tell me I'm in shape. At Greg Jackson's gym I have
great people here -- Jon Jones has been helping me so much. I
think Jon Jones is the best there is. He can take anybody down
and so he has helped me with my takedowns and takedown defense.
What
would it mean to you to become this year's winner of The Ultimate
Fighter?
It would mean I could make my mom's dream come true, that she
could own a house. She works so hard to pay her rent. I've been
working here for three years for a reason and that's to try to
make money to help my family and people in Brazil. I don't want
to be a superstar -- if you want to be a superstar you go to
Hollywood -- but I do want to make money by fighting. I want
to buy a house for my mom. And I also want to be proud of myself,
and that will come with winning in the UFC.
Do
you view yourself as a future UFC featherweight champion?
I definitely want to have a chance to fight for the belt some
day. Jose Aldo is my friend and he's making my country very proud.
He's the best in my weight class and I would have a lot of business
to take care of before I'd be able to fight him. But I want to
become a UFC champion.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Featherweight
Finalists Set for TUF 14 Showdown
by Damon
Martin
The
Ultimate Fighter season 14 featherweight final will pit one of
the show’s fiercest competitors in Diego Brandao against
Dennis Bermudez.
As intense a fighter as there has ever been on the reality show,
Brazilian born Diego Brandao let his intentions be known the
day he stepped in the TUF house.
He was there to win and destroy whoever got in his way…
He did not disappoint.
Brandao crushed Jesse Newell, Steven Siler, and Bryan Caraway,
all with first-round stoppages to earn his way to the finale.
While Brandao is a devastating fighter, he’s also disciplined
because he trains with one of the best camps in the world under
the tutelage of Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn.
Hoping to derail Brandao’s trail of destruction will be
former college wrestler Dennis Bermudez.
Bermudez was one of the quieter fighers on the show, just putting
on workmanlike performances and earning his way to the finale.
To get there Bermudez defeated Jimmie Rivera, Stephen Bass, and
Akira Corassani, and will now represent Team Mayem in the finals
as he tries to set the tone for his coach who fights later that
night.
The featherweights will battle in another Team Bisping vs. Team
Mayhem contest as the 145-pound Ultimate Fighter title is up
for grabs.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Thiago-Pyle,
Broughton-‘Lula’ Added to UFC’s January Rio Return
By Mike
Whitman
Ultimate Fighting Championship officials Tuesday confirmed a
pair of rumored matchups for UFC 142, as Paulo Thiago is slated
to face Mike Pyle, and Rob Broughton will welcome Brazilian heavyweight
Edinaldo Oliveira to the Octagon on Jan. 14.
Headlined
by Jose Aldo’s featherweight title defense against Chad
Mendes, the event will emanate from HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Also featuring a middleweight collision between heavy hitters
Anthony Johnson and Vitor Belfort, the evening’s main card
will air live on pay-per-view.
Thiago
(Pictured), 30, rebounded from back-to-back defeats in his most
recent outing, easily outpointing David Mitchell at UFC 134 in
August. A seven-time UFC veteran, the Brazilian owns Octagon
victories over Josh Koscheck, Jacob Volkmann and Mike Swick.
A
12-year pro, Pyle strung together three consecutive UFC wins
before being knocked out by red-hot prospect Rory MacDonald in
August. Prior to that defeat, the Xtreme Couture representative
had earned Octagon wins over Jesse Lennox, John Hathaway and
Ricardo Almeida.
Broughton
comes fresh off a losing effort against debuting countryman Philip
De Fries, as “The Bear” was outpointed by his younger
opponent at UFC 138 on Nov. 5. The defeat marked the Englishman’s
second straight loss, bringing his overall promotional record
to 1-2.
Unbeaten
in 14 career outings, Oliveira has won nine consecutive fights.
The 27-year-old last competed on Oct. 21, knocking out Nalzinho
Novaes. “Lula” has finished 10 of his 13 career opponents,
earning eight knockouts since turning pro in 2005.
Source
Sherdog
|
Daniel
Cormier on Lesnar vs. Overeem: “We might see Brock jumping
around the cage”
By Eduardo
Ferreira
Finalist of Strikeforce heavyweight GP, the wrestler Daniel Cormier
is getting ready to fight the tough Josh Barnett, in 2012, but
he’s already thinking about a possible merge to the UFC.
On a chat with TATAME at AKA’s training center, gym located
at San Jose, California, the American analyzed the duel between
the wrestler Brock Lesnar and the striker Alistair Overeem, scheduled
for December 30th, which will define the next on the line for
UFC’s title, currently on the hands of the Brazilian Junior
dos Santos.
“It’s gonna be whoever can implement their game in
fight first. I mean, Brock could take him down and test him.
He has a chance. But, if he’s forced to stand with Alistair,
it’s not gonna be good at all (laughs). We might see Brock
jumping around the cage”.
Source:
Tatame
|
Up
Against It: The Evolution of Fence Tactics in MMA
By Peter
Lampasona
Shane
“The Hurricane” Burgos scores a body lock takedown
and ends up in half guard. His opponent, Jason Aronica, seems
comfortable attacking off of his back, so Burgos takes the opportunity
to make his first use of the cage wall in the fight. He pushes
Aronica’s head into the barrier, cutting off most of Aronica’s
mobility and offensive options. This maneuver is now so standard
that it is considered conventional wisdom in mixed martial arts.
It is easy to forget that this common technique is a recent invention,
and just the beginning of the fighter’s tactical use of
the fence.
Aronica gets an underhook and tries to escape out the back, but
Burgos puts his hands into position for a D’Arce choke during
the scramble. Burgos attempts to finish but doesn’t have
the correct angle. The wall The Hurricane used to his advantage
seconds ago now blocks his way. Here he must choose between letting
go of the submission or backing up from the wall and giving his
man room to escape.
Burgos elects not to make that choice. Instead, he walks his
feet along the wall. Balancing his weight on Aronica with his
chest, The Hurricane grips the cage with his feet until he is
fully upside down and vertical over his opponent. This is not
so conventional. Still vertical, Burgos somersaults off the cage
to finish the maneuver for the win.
This scene did not take place on a nationally televised fight
card in Las Vegas, but in the Rec Center of Rahway. New Jersey
at the Evolution Fighting Championship 8 amateur card. The locally-run
amateur promotion represents the entry level of competitive mixed
martial arts. Yet Burgos, not yet a professional, performed a
technique that would have been the mark of a particularly creative
veteran just a few years ago.
While the rules of mixed martial arts prohibit gripping the fence
with fingers, Burgos had observed, like many before him, that
regulations are rather non-specific about toes. It’s a common
sentiment that the use of feet to grip the fence is using a technicality
to violate the spirit of the rules. However, it’s not knowing
the regulations, but knowing exactly how to bend them that leads
to true mastery. In Burgos’ case, his “cop out”
of the rules resulted in a thoroughly fantastic setup for a fight-winning
choke. Finding the little loopholes in the regulations to sneak
in new techniques is where the mixed martial arts allows for
real creativity. The canvas for this artistry is the cage wall.
Burgos’ use of the fence was only the most dramatic of several
that night in Rahway. Forward charging opponents were quickly
redirected with a well timed bounce against the wall. The backward
spring of hitting the chain link was used to set up takedowns:
all techniques that were used are considered requisite knowledge
for MMA competition. Yet all of them were well beyond what the
designers of the first UFC octagon had imagined.
The UFC, which has informed the standards of all smaller MMA
promotions, began as an intricately designed commercial for Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu, which most of the organization’s founders now
admit to. The decision to use a cage rather than a ring was mostly
so larger strikers with no grappling experience would have less
ability to avoid the takedowns of BJJ exponent Royce Gracie.
After the days where every athlete only represented one specific
style of fighting, the cage was kept and expanded to other promotions
for aesthetic reasons rather than tactical ones. A locked cage
communicated to the fans a sense of confinement and adrenaline
that an open ring did not.
But, as tool using mammals, the best human warriors have always
been defined by the ability to turn the presence or absence of
anything into a weapon. And there is no more obvious presence
than the wall. There are the, now, obvious tactics. The fence,
once used to enhance the chances of takedowns, now just as commonly
defeats them. Squatting up while pressing alternating shoulders
against the fence, or wall-walking, is now a standard way for
a fighter to regain his feet and the complete antithesis of what
the cage was originally designed for. But turn-about is just
the beginning of what can be done with the wall.
While there were many memorable moments on the eve of UFC 100
in July of 2009, the most unique came in the bout between Alan
Belcher and Yoshihiro Akiyama. Towards the end of a very close
fight, Akiyama was walking Belcher against the wall. Belcher
had been unable to enter into striking range quickly enough to
avoid retaliation that night, and in the final minutes was hanging
back just outside of his man’s reach. Now against the fence,
Belcher had nowhere to go but into the fray. So, he put one foot
up and bounced off the wall, performing in the flesh what video
game fans may recognize as the Maximum Spider.
Observant fans turned to each other with a look that asked the
question “Is that even legal?” Not only was it legal,
it was beautiful.
With one punch, Belcher illustrated a concept that was quickly
spreading to all segments of MMA: when an athletes sets out to
use all of his weapons in a bout, the environment can be added
to the list that includes his hands, shins, head, and weight.
Belcher was later upstaged by Anthony “Showtime” Pettis.
In another close bout, Pettis put the final distance between
himself and Benson Henderson on the score card by leaping at
him and using the fence to change the trajectory of a flying
round kick while in mid-air. This is still referred to as the
“Showtime Kick.”
Now, as illustrated by the performances of Burgos and the other
young amateurs at Evolution, fighters on every level are becoming
more cognizant of what they can do with the chain link weapon
that surrounds their battlefield. Soon, Peter Parker stunts will
be as much a part of the sport as punches and takedowns. That
is the true beauty of wall work.
Effective fighting fundamentals have not changed significantly
over time. While some people with unique size and shape have
learned to use their bodies in creative and exciting ways, fighters
all still have two arms, two legs, and only so many different
things you can do with all of them. But around the canvas is
a brand new metal limb that people have only just begun to experiment
with.
MMA is a very young sport and has seen almost yearly alterations
to what is considered tactical standards. An oft repeated truism
is that no one knows where the future of the sport will lead.
It leads to the fence.
Source: The Fight Nerd
|
Alves-Kampmann
Welterweight Clash on Tap for UFC on FX 2 in March
By Mike
Whitman
A welterweight matchup between Thiago Alves and Martin Kampmann
is slated for the UFC’s second appearance on cable network
FX in 2012.
UFC
officials Tuesday announced that verbal agreements are in place
for the bout, which will take place in early March. Specific
date, venue and location information was not revealed.
One
of the division’s most powerful strikers, Alves, 28, has
split his last four bouts after failing to capture the promotion's
170-pound title from Georges St. Pierre in 2009. The Brazilian
“Pitbull” went 1-1 in 2011, falling by unanimous decision
to Rick Story in May before submitting debuting Swede Papy Abedi
at UFC 138 on Nov. 5. Known for his heavy hands and effective
leg kicks, Alves owns 11 of his 19 career wins by knockout.
Kampmann
snapped a two-fight losing streak by outlasting Story at UFC
139 just 10 days ago. The 29-year-old’s last two defeats
carried with them some controversy, as the “Hitman”
was narrowly decisioned by Jake Shields and Diego Sanchez. A
13-time UFC veteran, the Xtreme Couture representative has finished
13 of his 18 career victims and has never been submitted in nearly
nine years as a pro.
Source
Sherdog
|
Tito
Ortiz: The Huntington Beach Bad Boy No More
by Damon
Martin
When UFC announcer Bruce Buffer calls former light heavyweight
champion Tito Ortiz‘s name in Toronto next weekend, for
the first time in forever, he won’t be calling out “The
Huntington Beach Bad Boy.”
Ortiz, who faces Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on the main card of
UFC 140, is moving on from his younger days of talking trash
on opponents to build fights and putting his old moniker to bed.
He’s now fighting for his fans, his family, and for the
future, putting the negativity behind him.
“No longer the bad boy, positive from here on out. I’m
now the ‘People’s Champ,’” Ortiz told MMAWeekly
Radio.
When explaining the change in nicknames, Ortiz says it all comes
down to positivity over negativity. For years, he was known as
the fighter with the biggest mouth who had no problem running
down his opponents to help sell a pay-per-view.
Now Ortiz maintains his status as one of the most well known
fighters in the sport, and he’s hoping to turn things around
with a sunnier outlook towards the future.
“I just want to change my whole outlook on life. Being the
bad boy, talking smack to sell fights, I no longer need to do
that,” said Ortiz. “I’ve got three boys who are
growing up and I want to make sure I’m known as someone
who has given back to MMA and been a positive role model to a
lot of people’s lives.”
Ortiz looked towards another legend in sports history for who
he should model himself after.
“Being the ‘People’s Champ,’ the only other
person I can think of who’s done the great things in their
sport was Muhammad Ali. If I could walk in one of those footsteps,
then I’ve done my job as a fighter and a mixed martial artist,”
Ortiz stated.
Like Ortiz, Ali was obviously never afraid to speak his mind
or open his mouth when it came time to sell a fight. When people
talk about Ali now, though, he’s looked at not only as possibly
the greatest boxer to ever live, but simply an icon of sports
that’s transcended his goals as a pugilist in the ring.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion hopes to one day be
remembered in a similar light, and so he’s moving on from
the past as “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” to just
being Tito Ortiz.
“I believe so, it’s time to grow up, it’s time
to mature as a man, as a father. I’ve done a lot in this
sport. I know my road’s coming up short here where it’s
really time to think about the future. I’ve been competing
for almost 15 years; I think the longest UFC fighter in history,
competing more than anybody else and for the longest record non-stop
fighting in the UFC. I never fought anywhere else. No amateur
status, nowhere else besides the UFC, that’s all I’ve
fought and I just want to keep that positive attitude,”
Ortiz said.
“Fulfill my career as a UFC fighter and look towards the
future.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
What
: Man-up & Stand-up / Kickboxing
Where : Waipahu Filcom Center
When : Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011
Doors open @ 5:30 pm
Happy
holidays to all of you fight fans. Das right, the end of the
year is near and you know what that means. It’s the time
when Man-up & Stand-up gives back to all of the top fighters
that supported the show throughout the year. Fighters will be
battling for belts at their respected weights. There will be
grudge matches, title defenses, rookie of the year battles and
the list goes on. If you haven’t been to one of these events
then the end of the year show is definitely the one that you
don’t wanna miss. Amateur stand up action at its finest.
This event is scheduled for 25 fights and please believe that
it will be action packed because you know how its done here on
Man-up & Stand-up. It’s all about the knockdowns, not
the takedowns.
As
you all know. The grudge matches are usually the most vicious
and least sportsmanlike battles when the timekeeper rings the
bell. One of the grudge matches that will have the crowd bouncing
again is the Aiona vs Kapua match. Aawh yeeeeeaaaaaahhh, When
a belt is on the line it makes things more intense. Man-up &
Stand-up heard of their beef on the streets and asked them if
they both would wanna settle it in the ring instead of the streets
where police and jail time are involved. They agreed, they battled,
they shook hands. In their first meet & greet, Kapua was
like a pitbull off of his leash which had the judges labeling
him as the aggressor in the fight. But Aiona used his reach and
movement which helped him to get the decision over Kapua. That
fight was so close that Man-up & Stand-up asked them if they
wanna do it one mo’ gen but for a belt. They agreed, they
will battle but this time they will probably raise each others
hands at the end of the fight unless one of them is on the mat
snoring. Jude is training twice as hard and Aiona changed his
training camp for this rematch. Can’t wait to see the outcome
on this one.
Two
of Man-up & Stand-up’s undefeated fighters of 2011 will
face each other for the most outstanding 140 pounder of the year.
They both participate in triple threat, pankration, kickboxing
and they do fairly well in all of them. They have dominated every
opponent in kickboxing that Man-up & Stand-up has given them.
Now, Man-up & Stand-up will give them each other to see who
will rise to the top to receive the title. Big Islands Kai Kunimoto
will go to war with Westside’s Kaylen Stafford. Kunimoto
is the taller of the two and throws some punishing leg kicks.
Stafford is the more aggressive of the two and favors his hands
more. Both have excellent counter punching and both have the
same intentions of walking out of the ring with the bling. So
be there to see who wants it more. Big islander or the Westsider.
There
will be 2 titles going out to 2 worthy kids that started off
this year just learning the basics of kickboxing. As they fought
throughout the year, their skills have improved as well as their
love for this sport. The Ceno brothers go up against two of Up
N Up’s 9 year olds that have waited for this moment from
the beginning of this year. There are not too many young kids
that favor this sport so these 4 kids take pretty much whatever
they can get, as long as the weight and age aren’t outrageous.
But all four of these kids have earned the right to battle for
something more than just a mark under the W. If you seen these
kids fight, you would agree with Man-up & Stand-up. And if
you don’t, come down to the Filcom on Dec 10 to be amazed.
Be
sure to get your tickets early for only a limited amount of tickets
will be made. Others will have to pay at the door. Man-up &
Stand-up will try to keep the card updated every week and hopefully
have a new write up on some of the other upcoming matches. All
of these matches will be something to talk about over the holidays.
Thank you for all of your support throughout the year and happy
holidays to you all. Check out the talent that is about to be
let loose on Dec. 10.
Man
Up and Stand Up
Saturday
Dec 10 2011
Waipahu
Filcom Center
Doors
open at 6:00
KEONI
CHANG
140
TOFI MIKA
JUSTIN
DULAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
160
WALTER WALKER
KAI KUNIMOTO
140
KALEYN STAFFORD
EUGENE
ANGUAY (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
130
ISAIAH PASCUA
NALU KAWAILIMA
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
135
ELIAS VELASCO
ISAAC HOPPS
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
146
JASON LEDWARD
DAMON APPLEBAUM
(O2 Martial Arts Academy)
SHW
BEN BOYCE
ROB CONNELL
185
MILLER UALESEI
EVAN QUIZON
130
DENNIS MONTIRA
JUDE KAPUA
200
BRYCESON AIONA
KANANI JUHN
155
STEPHANIE KOENIG
NAZ HARRISON
100
MAKOA DESANTOS
CHEVES ANTOQUE
185
HOKU CUBAN
BRYSON
"FO REAL" LUM (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
150
JON MENDONSA
DARRYL DANO
145
NEVADA HARRISON
CHANTE STAFFORD
125
DONTEZ COLEMAN
JOEY BALAI
125
SHAWN DESANTOS
MONICA FRANCO
135
JENNA GANABAN
JOHN TURMER
185
KALANI PARKS
LOMBARD MADALORA
175
KAI
LOPAKA CENO
60
JONAH CARTER
CHANCE CENO
65
AINSLEY
CHERISSE HAIOLA
130
TAYLOR ENGCABO
JORDAN ROBERTS
125
ALFONSO MARTINEZ
All
matches and participants are subject to change.
|
UFC
launches most ambitious travel plans yet
With
stops in Brazil, Japan, Australia and possibly Sweden in the
first quarter of 2012 alone, the UFC has targeted the most ambitious
travel intinerary in its history next year.
And
that’s just the start of what promises to be the busiest
year in company history. Beginning in mid-March, with the first
season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show on FX,
the company will broadcast live fights every Friday night from
its gym in Las Vegas in addition to a regular schedule of fights
most weekends.
UFC
president Dana White has talked for months about plans that would
eventually include running multiple shows around the world on
Saturday nights. At one point the company considered a doubleheader
Feb. 25, first airing a show from Japan on Fox, followed immediately
with a pay-per-view event from Las Vegas. That ended up not happening
when the date for the second Fox show was changed to Jan. 28,
which will be held at the United Center in Chicago.
The
Feb. 26 show in Japan (Feb. 25 in the U.S.) will instead be a
pay-per-view date from the Saitama Super Arena just outside Tokyo,
MMA’s “home arena” during the heyday of the PRIDE
organization, which at its peak regularly packed the building
with 35,000 fans.
The
UFC is taking what some feel is a risky step in Japan, a country
with unique tastes. The hope is that by pushing the UFC’s
brand for the first time in the modern era, augmented by top
Japanese stars Yoshihiro Akiyama, Yushin Okami, Hatsu Hioki and
Takeya Mizugaki, the company can do what the promotions in that
country can no longer do in drawing big crowds.
Akiyama
(13-4, 1 no contest) will face Jake Shields (26-6-1). When Akiyama
left Japan, he was the country’s most hated fighter because
he’d been caught on camera rubbing skin lotion on his legs
before a Dec. 31, 2006, fight against Kazushi Sakuraba. The animosity
stemmed from the belief that he cheated to beat the country’s
national hero in the sport.
But
that’s also been five years ago. Before the controversy,
the charismatic former Asian Games gold medalist in judo was
being promoted as the new leading MMA star in the country.
Okami
(26-6), one of the top middleweights in the world, is neither
a major star nor well known in Japan because he wasn’t part
of the national TV era of companies like PRIDE, Dream and Heroes.
Okami will face Tim Boetsch (14-4). Hioki (25-4-2), who will
face Bart Palaszewski (36-14) is somewhat in between, in the
sense he fought at a high level in Japan and was well-respected
as a fighter, but was never a celebrity fighter or heavily promoted
to the masses. The same is true for Mizugaki (15-6-2), who faces
Chris Cariaso (12-3).
The
main event for the Saitama show will be Frankie Edgar (14-1-1)
vs. Benson Henderson (15-2) for the lightweight title, a match
of two fighters not well known in the Japanese market. Of the
Japanese names on the show, only Akiyama was a well-known star
outside of the most ardent hardcore fan base. Norifumi “Kid”
Yamamoto, who is actually the biggest star in Japan of the fighters
on the current UFC roster, has a broken finger and looks to be
unlikely to be ready by that time.
That
Japan card will be followed six days later by what is tentatively
scheduled as the second FX show, from Sydney, Australia. This
would be a Saturday late morning and afternoon show on March
3 broadcast in prime time March 2 in the U.S. No matches have
been hinted about for the card. If this goes as planned, it would
mark the first time much of the UFC crew will be stationed overseas
for an extended period of time, first going to Japan early to
promote and put together that show, and head to Australia immediately
after the show.
The
question coming out of this ambitious schedule, when even the
most ardent fans have trouble keeping the dates and matches straight,
is how much UFC product is too much? And as much, what is the
breaking point for White, particularly when the “TUF”
season starts and he has to be in Las Vegas every Friday, which
is a key promotional day, and the same day as weigh-ins for Saturday
night shows. White is the key in both the local and national
promotion of the pay-per-view shows, and he can’t be in
two places at the same time.
When
it comes to running live events in various countries, there is
still far more of a demand then a supply. With the exception
of one event in 2010 in Germany, a market the company had lost
television in, every overseas show they have run of late has
done either sellout or near-sellout business. The strategy to
combat this in 2102 is not to increase the number of pay-per-view
shows, and actually slightly decrease them, but run more often
by adding free TV and basic cable shows on Fox, FX and Fuel.
The
most successful of the foreign markets has been Brazil. After
selling out its first show in the market in 13 years Aug. 27
in Rio de Janeiro at the HSBC Arena, the company returns to the
building Jan. 14, going with Brazilian native Jose Aldo Jr. (21-1)
defending his featherweight title against wrestling standout
Chad Mendes (11-0). But the big attraction on the show will be
one of Brazil’s most popular fighters, former champion Vitor
Belfort (20-9), facing newly turned middleweight Anthony Johnson
(10-3). Belfort is the country’s best-known fighter, because
he’s appeared on a popular reality show and is married to
Joana Prado, a television star and model.
The
company has still talked about plans of running an outdoor soccer
stadium show in the country at some point next year, which could
break the company’s attendance record set April 30 in Toronto
of 55,724.
White
said that when tickets went on sale for the Aug. 27 date, several
hundred thousand fans called the first day, and that the company
“blew it” by not putting the show in an outdoor soccer
stadium.
Brazil,
generally considered the sport’s birthplace, is the country
where the UFC currently enjoys its highest level of mainstream
popularity.
The
Nov. 12 fight in which Junior dos Santos captured the heavyweight
title from Cain Velasquez aired live on the country’s biggest
network, Globo, and did a 20 rating and a 52 share, for a total
of 22 million viewers. The viewership level is even more impressive
when you consider the fight didn’t even begin until 12:30
a.m. in Rio de Janeiro.
A
date in Stockholm hasn’t been announced, but company officials
have confirmed its being worked on for early in the year. If
followed through, it would be the first time the UFC has hit
Scandinavia, where it has been popular on television for several
years.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
144 Fight Card: Edgar vs. Henderson
UFC 144 fight card features Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson.The
entire UFC 144 fight card has been announced for the promotion's
return to Japan on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 at the Saitama Super
Arena in Japan.
In
the main event, lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will defend
his belt against former WEC champ Ben Henderson.
Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson, who last fought in Japan exactly
six years removed from UFC 144, returns to the Land of the Rising
Sun to face TUF 8 winner Ryan Bader.
Out
of the 12 bouts scheduled for the card, seven of the competitors
are Japanese. Check out the complete UFC 144 fight card below.
UFC
144 will air live in North America on pay-per-view at 10 p.m.
ET.
Pay-Per-View
Bouts
Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson
Rampage Jackson vs. Ryan Bader
Mark Hunt vs. Cheick Kongo
Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields
Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon
Preliminary
Bouts
Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch
Takanori Gomi vs. George Sotiropoulos
Hatsu Hioki vs. Bart Palaszewski
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto vs. Vaughan Lee
Riki Fukuda vs. Steve Cantwell
Takeya Mizugaki vs. Chris Cariaso
Leonard Garcia vs. Tiequan Zhang
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Twitter
Mailbag: Talking Title Shots, Rematches, and Black Friday Deals
Before we jump right into the Twitter Mailbag here, let me pause
to remind you of two things: 1) You love this freaking website,
which brings you everything from breaking news to video interviews
to in-depth stories to entertaining features, and 2) We're nominated
for Media Source of the Year at this year's MMA awards, and the
voting window is closing rapidly.
I'm
not telling you to go this website right now and vote for us.
Nope. Not doing that at all. What I am telling you is that, if
I were you, and I enjoyed the work of a particular website that
was nominated for an award like that, I wouldn't consider it
an unreasonable demand on my time to register and vote for my
internet pals. But hey, that's me. And I'm not a total jerk.
Now
then, who's got the first question?
@Orderx7
Why does @UrijahFaber keep getting title shots? There are other
guys in the div. that can sell a fight.
In
theory, I agree. But in practice, who else could you possibly
give a title shot to right now at 135 pounds? Demetrious Johnson
just had his chance. Miguel Torres is still trying to string
a couple wins together. Brian Bowles just got utterly smashed
by Faber. So who's left?
It's
not just that Faber is still the most popular fighter in the
division (though, let's be real, he's that too), but he's also
earned the shot. Bowles was a former WEC bantamweight champ whose
only prior loss was an injury TKO to Cruz, and Faber ran right
through him. He's pretty clearly the second-best fighter in the
division, and isn't pitting #1 against #2 what a title fight
is supposed be all about?
@DaveDomination
what are your quick predictions for UFC on Fox 2?
I
predict that no matter what the full lineup looks like when it
finally hits TV, MMA fans will find a way to complain about it.
@JDRCheckIt
how likely is it to see Fedor in a big league again?
Short
answer: not very. That's assuming that by 'big league,' you mean
the UFC, Strikeforce, or Bellator. If you mean M-1 Global (or
an M-1 Global co-promotion), then it's a different story.
Regardless
of how we feel about it, seems like Fedor is going to bravely
soldier on through one mediocre fight after another. He beat
Jeff Monson, which still counts for something, I suppose, and
I wouldn't be terribly surprised if he eventually ends up rematching
Tim Sylvia or Andrei Arlovski on another 4 a.m. pay-per-view
with high school AV club-quality production values. But as for
fighting the big boys on the big shows, I'm afraid those days
are over for the Last Emperor.
@Dchavez
who has the best Black Friday deals and when should I get there?
The
answer to those questions are, in order: Best Buy, and six hours
ago.
@KevinMarshall
mailbag: Hell of a bout between Chandler & Alvarez. Is it
me or is there not as big a disparity between UFC & Bellator's
LWs?
If
I'm reading your question right, what you're asking is, why do
the Bellator lightweights seem UFC-caliber, while some of the
higher weight classes in Bellator seem populated with fighters
who aren't quite ready for primetime? I don't necessarily disagree
with that premise, but I think it has less to do with either
the UFC or Bellator and more to do with the nature of talent
distribution in this sport.
It
makes sense that MMA has, on the whole, more talent in the lighter
weight classes than the bigger ones. If you're a talented athlete
who's 6'3" and 250 pounds, you probably have options when
it comes to making a living in pro sports. If you're 5'6"
and 165 pounds, it's a different story. Because MMA is one of
the few popular pro sports that promises its competitors a chance
to go up against someone their own size, it's more likely to
draw the little guys who got run off the football field or laughed
off the basketball court.
Basically,
there are more good lightweights to go around, so it makes sense
that Bellator has a few. It also makes sense that heavyweights
are at such a premium that it's an issue even in MMA gyms across
the country. You hear it from trainers all the time: the toughest
thing about developing a good heavyweight is finding good heavyweight
sparring partners. What's happening lately is that heavyweights
are starting to consolidate in a few select gyms just so they
can train with other guys their size, which brings us back to
the old teammate-versus-teammate question that's been ridden
into the ground. Which reminds me, thanks for not asking that
question. I'm just so sick of it.
@noelluperon
Have you press row guys ever been sprayed in blood, spit, sweat
or any of the less noble fluids flying from the Octagon?
Press
row is a good eight to ten feet from the fence, so we're usually
safe. Those poor photographers, like our own Esther Lin, are
not always so lucky.
@TimKennedyMMA
mailbag question. What's the deal with Strikeforce? When is Tim
Kennedy going to fight UFC guys?
I
keep asking the same thing, Tim. I keep hearing others ask it
too. I just haven't heard any satisfying answers yet. Perhaps
there's something you'd like to tell us?
@DJNonfiction
Hendo vs. Shogun II...Do it all over again (in japan), or leave
this one alone to the history books?
Ah,
the siren's song of the rematch. If the first fight was great,
why not do it all again, beginning with round 6, right? Sadly,
it very rarely works out that way. Remember Griffin-Bonnar II?
Yeah, neither do I.
Trying
to recreate a great fight is like showing up at your high school
girlfriend's house with a bouquet of supermarket flowers and
a six-pack of wine coolers. Just because it resulted in a magical
night once, that doesn't mean it's a formula for success every
time. The part of me that scored this fight a draw thinks that
a rematch makes sense, but the part of me that thinks it was
the greatest fight in MMA history doesn't want to see it defiled
by a sad attempt to recreate its glory.
For
now, I'm fine with Henderson moving on to a title shot in either
the middleweight or light heavyweight class. And who knows, maybe
he and Rua will meet again somewhere down the line.
@Futch6
MAILBAG-- question: who do you think will be JDS's toughest opponent:
Lesnar, Ubereem, Cain, Mir?
I'm
not sure about this 'Ubereem' fellow you mention, but I think
Alistair Overeem could create some serious problems for the current
UFC heavyweight champ. That is, if he gets past Brock Lesnar,
which is a big if.
Overeem's
ability to take a punch and give one back (along with a couple
kicks and a bunch of knees coming right behind it) could test
dos Santos' stand-up game in new and exciting ways. His size
alone presents a different sort of challenge, and we know he's
not going to freak out the first time he gets hit in the face.
First,
however, Overeem has to get past Lesnar. How he manages that
will depend heavily on how much he can improve his takedown defense
before December 30. Let's hope he's doing more than hitting pads
at Xtreme Couture between now and then, because if he ends up
on his back with Lesnar on top of him -- even once -- it could
be all she wrote.
@LoganasaurusRex
if you're @danhendo where do you take the title shot? Also has
any other fighter ever secured two title shots at once before?
If
I'm Henderson, I take the fight at light heavyweight. He hates
that cut to middleweight, and I think it shows in the cage. He'll
give up size and reach to Jon Jones (or Lyoto Machida), but he's
got a chance against either, if only because one is still slightly
inexperienced and the other is vulnerable to his style of fighting.
Plus, that way he gets to eat what he wants, and an eating Hendo
is a happy Hendo.
@AdriantheWizard
After Ben Henderson, who's the next contender at LW if Melendez
loses in December?
The
phrasing of your question seems a little odd, Mr. Wizard. If
Melendez loses? That makes it sound like he might walk in the
cage and spontaneously lose consciousness. If Melendez loses,
it will be because Jorge Masvidal beat him. And if Masvidal beats
him, that would make Masvidal the new Strikeforce lightweight
champ, so why not have him fight for the UFC lightweight belt?
That is, assuming that whole champion-versus-champion thing is
really going down as soon as we all think/hope it is.
@dsmelser13
Who do you have in this on going battle between @arielhelwani
and @MieshaTate? Who is right? And Who should get the award?
I
wouldn't call it a battle so much as a misunderstanding, but
if you're asking me who I think deserves to win the award for
female fighter of the year, I have to side with the champ. I
realize she only fought once in 2011, but it was a big one. Tate
submitted Marloes Coenen to claim the 135-pound Strikeforce title,
which is, for the moment, one of the only women's titles that
matters.
What's
more, female fighters at Tate's level don't get as many opportunities
from promoters to do their thing, so I can't fault her for the
lack of fights. Ronda Rousey might have had a higher work rate
this year, and yes, she did armbar everything on two legs, but
she did it against a lesser caliber of opponent, so there were
more chances to keep getting in the cage.
That
said, I voted for Sarah Kaufman. Because I like Sarah Kaufman.
And yes, I realize that's not how you're supposed to vote in
these things, but I also don't care.
@stlbites
do you ever get discouraged by the lack of thoughtful MMA fans
and the seeming girth of meatheads asking for freebies?
Personally,
I think there are plenty of thoughtful MMA fans. My Twitter timeline
is full of them, even if it also has some idiots sprinkled in
there from time to time. I've always thought that, from a fan
perspective, MMA is a sport for nerds, and I mean that in the
best way. MMA fans obsess about and over-analyze every aspect
of this sport, and a great many of them actually do so intelligently.
It's just that the idiots yell rather than talk, so they tend
to drown everyone else out.
As
for the people asking for freebies, Dana White would get a lot
less of that if he stopped encouraging it. At the UFC on FOX
presser, for example, he specifically told people not to ask
him for tickets. Then the first fan who got his mitts on the
mic asked for tickets, and DW gave them to him. All I'm saying
is, when the children are spoiled, you don't blame the children.
@shplane
What did you think of Breaking Dawn?
I
assume that's a typo and you mean to ask what I thought of Red
Dawn, which of course I watch every Thanksgiving. I thought it
was awesome. I think that every year, though.
@tpears86
do you think Maynard is smart about going to AKA?
I
happened to be in the AKA gym last week and saw Maynard going
through Daniel Cormier's wrestling practice along with the rest
of the crew. I have to say that it seems like a good place for
him, and one where he'll really fit in. AKA is more of a team
than many other gyms. There's a real exchange of ideas happening
on those mats, whereas some other places are just workout facilities
with a rotating cast of coaches and sparring partners. Xtreme
Couture -- and the Las Vegas MMA scene in general, really --
features a lot of coming and going. AKA doesn't. The difference
will only benefit Maynard.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
|
Do
Hendo’s Hands Hold the Jon Jones Kryptonite?
What’s
it gonna take to beat UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones?
That’s
a legitimate question without a clear answer.
Thus
far, no one has even come close to putting Jones in trouble.
And only two fighters have ever taken him to a decision, Stephan
Bonnar and Andre Gusmao.
Matt
Hamill does hold a victory over Jones and their respective resumes,
but that was a fight that Jones dominated, losing only due to
a disqualification for using an illegal “12 to 6 o’clock”
elbow strike.
Aside
from that asterisk on his record, Jones has been nothing short
of spectacular, reeling off five consecutive victories since
the DQ. He finished Brandon Vera, Vladimir Matyushenko, and Ryan
Bader to set up a title shot. He then dominated and finished
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to capture the belt then defended
it against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
He
next faces Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 in Toronoto.
Having
been caught up in the Jon Jones tornado, Bader believes he has
an answer to our initial question, although it’s not exactly
definitive.
“Maybe
(Dan) Henderson,” Bader told MMAWeekly Radio’s weekend
crew recently. “Looking at his last fight, he’s not
gonna go away. Shogun and Henderson looked like zombies out there,
knocking each other out.”
Bader
has a similar fighting style to Henderson, so it’s no surprise
that he would think the answer lies somewhere within their mirroring
tactics.
“I
think it’s gonna take a big puncher. It’s a guy that’s
gonna throw at him and doesn’t respect him really. I think
Henderson could be that guy,” said Bader, pointing out what
could have led to his faltering against Jones when they met at
UFC 126 earlier this year.
“That’s
what the thing is, people respect Jon Jones too much. They respect
his skills, and rightfully so, but it’s a guy that says
screw it, I’m gonna try and go out there and knock your
head off. It could be Dan.”
Henderson’s
power punches have been the answer numerous times before: Fedor
Emelianenko, Michael Bisping, Wanderlei Silva, and many others.
Could
it be they hold they hold the Jon Jones kryptonite as well?
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
Will
Anderson Silva Head Gigantic UFC in June?
The
UFC’s return to Brazil last August was an unabashed success.
So much so that the promotion is returning to Rio de Janeiro
on Jan. 14 for UFC 142, featuring featherweight champion Jose
Aldo defending his belt against Chad Mendes.
UFC
president Dana White also recently confirmed that the first international
version of The Ultimate Fighter reality series would be based
in Brazil.
So
it’s no surprise that the UFC may already be planning its
next venture in the South American country. Reports out of Brazil
have it that the UFC is working on a mega-event in Sao Paulo
in June featuring middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
After
the success of UFC 134 last year, where more than 16,000 tickets
sold out in about an hour, company officials talked about doing
a larger event at a soccer stadium in Brazil. The rumored June
event could be such an event… if it happens.
White
was asked about a possible June event in Sao Paulo following
UFC 139 recently. While he didn’t confirm it, White’s
denial of knowledge wasn’t exactly convincing.
“What
happens is you guys get all this sneaky information and then
I say stuff at the press conference and my whole crew says, ‘What
are you doing?’” White commented, before adding, “I
don’t know if we’re going to Sao Paulo in June and
if Anderson Silva is headlining the card. I have no clue. That
would be awesome though.”
That
statement was made with an air of “I really shouldn’t
be talking about this at all” hanging overhead, but a June
event in Sao Paolo has yet to be confirmed.
The
UFC was initially trying to line up a rematch between Silva and
Chael Sonnen at its Super Bowl weekend event, UFC 143. Those
plans were dashed, however, when it came to light that a Silva
shoulder problem was more severe than they thought, sidelining
the champ for the early part of 2012, fanning the flames for
a June return.
Sao
Paulo would be an ideal location for the UFC to do a giant stadium
show. The city is one of the most populated in the world at more
the 11,000,000 people and has drawn well north of 100,000 spectators
for soccer games. Anderson Silva, of course, would make for the
ideal headliner at a soccer stadium in South America. Such an
event would likely blow the doors off of the record-setting 55,000-plus
fans the UFC drew in its Toronto debut.
But
for now, the speculation is just that, speculation
Source:
MMA Weekly |
MMA
Top 10 Women: Ronda Rousey Enters the Top 5
Ronda Rousey is the next big thing in women's mixed martial arts.
The
undefeated Rousey, who beat Julia Budd on the Nov. 18 Strikeforce
Challengers card, has been running through her competition like
few fighters, male or female, we've ever seen: Rousey is 4-0,
and incredibly all four of her wins have come in less than a
minute, all by armbar. Before turning pro she had three amateur
fights, and she won all three of those by armbar in less than
a minute, too.
And
so, although she's still new to the sport and still hasn't been
tested against the best women Strikeforce has to offer, Rousey
makes my Top 5 as we rank the top pound-for-pound fighters in
women's MMA. She looks that good.
What
we don't know yet is whether Rousey is more than just a one-trick
pony: If she faces an opponent who's able to keep the fight standing,
will she be able to hold her own exchanging punches? And although
she's not going to face anyone who's on her level as a judo player,
will she be able to execute more than just her go-to arm bar
if she faces an opponent who's sophisticated enough on the ground
not to let Rousey get her arm?
It
remains to be seen. But I think she's a future champion, and
I think she deserves her place on the list of the top women in
the sport, which is below.
Top
10 pound-for-pound women in MMA
1.
Cris Cyborg (1): After more than a year away, Cyborg returns
to defend her women's 145-pound title against Hiroko Yamanaka.
That's an interesting matchup; Yamanaka has a 12-1 record and
will have a height and reach advantage over Cyborg. But Yamanaka
has never fought outside Japan before, and Cyborg has been so
dominant that at this point it's very tough to see anyone beating
her.
2.
Zoila Gurgel (2): It's unfortunate that after Gurgel's huge win
over Megumi Fujii, she's only been able to fight once. She's
currently nursing a torn ACL and won't be back any time soon.
It would make sense for Bellator to arrange another women's tournament
for the right to take on Gurgel, although it's not clear whether
that's in the promotion's plans.
3.
Miesha Tate (7): Tate turned in a great performance against Marloes
Coenen to win the Strikeforce 135-pound women's championship.
What really worked for her in the Coenen fight was her superior
wrestling, and it's her wrestling that would make her a favorite
to beat almost any female fighter in the world.
4.
Megumi Fujii (3): In the year since suffering her one and only
loss to Gurgel, Fujii has gone back to Japan and won a couple
of unanimous decisions. I'd like to see her back in the Bellator
cage in 2012, and a rematch with Gurgel would be the biggest
women's fight Bellator could make.
5.
Ronda Rousey (NR): Rousey has been calling out Tate, and although
the next shot at Tate's 135-pound title was supposed to go to
Sarah Kaufman, Zuffa may decide that Rousey is too hot to hold
off on right now. Rousey is an easy sell for promoters because
she's smart and articulate and an Olympic bronze medalist in
judo, and putting her in the cage with Tate would be one of the
most marketable female fights that Strikeforce could arrange.
6.
Marloes Coenen (4): First Coenen lost her Strikeforce title to
Tate, then she lost her contract when her management at Golden
Glory feuded with Zuffa. Now it's anyone's guess when or where
she might fight next; she's with an organization called BlackEye
Promotions, which has no events scheduled.
7.
Sarah Kaufman (5): Kaufman's only loss was to Coenen, and since
then she's won two in a row, supposedly earning a title shot
against Tate, whom Kaufman beat in 2009. The question is whether
Strikeforce will push Kaufman aside to put Rousey in the cage
with Tate.
8.
Jessica Aguilar (8): Aguilar looked great in her unanimous decision
win over Lisa Ellis-Ward at Bellator 58. Aguilar has now won
seven of her last eight fights, with the only loss coming by
split decision to Gurgel.
9.
Tara LaRosa (6): LaRosa has been inactive since her great heel-hook
submission of Carina Damm in March, and as a result a couple
of more active fighters have leapfrogged her in the rankings.
LaRosa is one of the real pioneers for women's MMA. Let's hope
she's back in the cage soon.
10.
Alexis Davis (NR): Davis has had a couple big wins since we last
updated our women's rankings, beating Julie Kedzie by unanimous
decision in July and then beating Amanda Nunes by TKO in September.
I hope Zuffa keeps Strikeforce's 135-pound women's division alive,
because Davis could be a great opponent for Tate, Kaufman or
Rousey.
Source:
MMA Fighting |
|