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(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)
1/21/12
ProElite
MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
1/15/12
Polynesia
International BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(King Intermediate, Kaneohe)
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 2
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi.
Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ
Dean, & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
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More than
1 million hits and counting!
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O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Knife & Stickfighting) who were directly
trained under the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
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Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
Zuffa
Should Consider Sending BJ Penn to Strikeforce to Face Gilbert
Melendez
BJ PennIf Dana White won't bring Gilbert Melendez to the UFC,
he should bring the UFC to Melendez. Or at least, someone for
him to fight. After beating Jorge Masvidal at last night's Strikeforce
event in San Diego, what more is there for him to do? Who else
is there for him to beat? What matchup are fans clamoring to
see? The answers are nothing, no one and none.
Melendez
is a top five fighter with nothing left to prove in the division
as it stands right now. He's beaten Masvidal, Shinya Aoki and
Josh Thomson, three of the best lightweights outside of the UFC,
but there's no signed fighter in the division who has truly earned
the right to face one of the best. Sure there are fighters like
KJ Noons and Gesias "JZ" Cavalcante with some name
value, but both of those guys have won exactly one fight in a
row.
Solution:
Bring someone over from the UFC to fight him. It doesn't have
to be the champion. Bring one of the many quality guys over to
challenge him. I have just the guy. He's a big name, he can bring
attention to the promotion, and he offers the instant credibility
that only a former UFC champion can provide. Bring over BJ Penn
to fight Melendez.
Right
now, Penn is on a break from fighting. He's home in Hilo, Hawaii
spending time with his family after his hard-fought loss to Nick
Diaz in October. But Penn does plan to fight again, and he even
said that he'd be willing to rematch Diaz.
That's
not going to happen, as Diaz has moved on to preparing for a
big interim UFC welterweight title fight with Carlos Condit.
So we need to find something that excites Penn, something that
motivates him. Regardless of the skeptics who still refuse to
believe that Melendez is for real, Penn knows the truth, that
Melendez is for real and has a set of skills that would provide
a challenge. Because of that, a bout with Melendez might interest
him. As an added bonus, Melendez comes from the same Team Cesar
Gracie as Diaz, making the marketing of the fight simple. BJ
Penn comes looking for revenge against Diaz's teammate.
Penn
loves fighting for belts, and as long as Frankie Edgar is the
lightweight champ, Penn is stuck. He isn't going to get another
shot against Edgar after losing to him twice. The same holds
true for his chances of getting a welterweight title fight. He's
already lost to Georges St-Pierre twice and Diaz once, so his
chances of earning his way back for another title bout anytime
soon are slim. So where does that leave him? He's in a legend-at-large
role, looking for interesting matchups wherever they might appear.
And is there really anything in the UFC that is so much more
interesting than Penn-Melendez?
Let's
face it, Penn would be one of the biggest stars ever to fight
in the Strikeforce hexagon, with only Dan Henderson and Fedor
Emelianenko able to rival his popularity. He's a former two-division
champ in the UFC, every MMA fan knows him, and his presence would
certainly bring attention to the promotion. Just as importantly,
it would illustrate that Zuffa is serious about Strikeforce.
Just
last week, White promised that Strikeforce wouldn't be a B-league,
or a feeder system for the UFC. They would go after top talent,
he said. They would find a way to make Strikeforce's best fighters
happy, he said. That would mean leaving Melendez where he is,
and bringing talent to him. This match would prove that White
meant what he said.
The
biggest hurdle in this plan would be making it worth Penn's while.
Because Strikeforce is on Showtime and not pay-per-view, the
pay scale is different, and White would have to dig into his
his pocket to make him whole.
That
investment would be worth it for Zuffa, to show that they are
truly committed to Strikeforce as its own promotion. It's one
thing for White to say it on a conference call, it's another
entirely for him to send over a UFC legend. That's a statement.
That's a promise kept.
BJ
Penn would be just the fighter to satisfy White's promise, fan
interest and Melendez's ambitions. Melendez doesn't just need
a legitimate challenge, he deserves one.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
|
Masvidal
takes unusual path to title shot
Jorge
Masvidal is thankful for the little things in life. One of those
little things that the Strikeforce lightweight contender is ever-so-grateful
for is that his next bout will be held in San Diego and not in
some small town where it’s last call at 10 p.m.
Masvidal,
who challenges champion Gilbert Melendez for the Strikeforce
lightweight title in a Showtime-televised bout on Saturday at
the Valley View Casino Center, loves the opportunity that fighting
in a major city brings with it.
One
thing, though, stands above the others: It won’t be hard
to find a McDonald’s open after midnight.
In
addition to being a world-class fighter, he’s also a fast-food
junkie with the ability, he says, “To shut down one of them
Taco Bells.”
Masvidal
is one of the sport’s most unlikely championship contenders.
The 27-year-old is 22-6 in a mixed martial arts career that began
in 2003, though Saturday’s bout is his first major title
shot.
He’s
coming off an impressive victory over K.J. Noons, but his record
should be, he notes, much better than it is.
“I’ve
been robbed more often than the 7-Eleven,” he says dryly.
He
worked out the details for his first fight – Well, not his
first real fight – while in the drive through line at McDonald’s.
The legendary street fighting king, Kimbo Slice, had noticed
him working in a Miami, Fla., gym.
Slice
was looking for an opponent for his protege, a muscular guy named
Ray. He thought of Masvidal and got in touch. Masvidal ordered
his Big Mac and drove over to an old lot behind a laundromat
to meet a guy significantly bigger, and more muscular, than he.
Masvidal
wasn’t concerned so much with his opponent as with the crowd
of the opponent’s friends who were gathered around. They
were there to see a beatdown, and a beatdown occurred, but it
wasn’t who they expected who won.
Masvidal
was never much concerned with Ray, and he pummeled him with ease.
What concerned him, though, was what a spectator might do.
He
began his fighting career not in an elite gym packed with some
of the world’s finest athletes but in a lot strewn with
trash behind a laundromat in Miami, Fla.
“You
just don’t know, but someone there might have a gun, a knife,
anything crazy,” said Masvidal, who was only 18 when he
fought Ray.
He
survived that escapade, as well as a rematch in which he once
again won, and soon thereafter turned pro.
Masvidal
has won way more than he lost, but never was he as impressive
as he was in his last outing, when he systemically took apart
and beat down Noons, the former Elite XC welterweight champion.
That
performance didn’t escape the notice of Strikeforce CEO
Scott Coker, who called Masvidal’s effort “extraordinary.”
“To
be honest with you, I thought K.J. would win that fight,”
Coker said. “I was shocked the way Jorge beat him down.
He is a complete fighter.”
Masvidal
is just different than many of them. For one, he’s not particularly
big on sleep. Give him four hours and he’s a happy man.
He’s often out prowling after midnight, hanging in night
clubs, stopping in strip joints, just looking for a place to
spend some time and have some fun.
He’s
not looking for trouble and he’s not abusing his body, but
he sees no need to hole up in his house just because he has a
fight coming up.
“I
just can’t sleep a lot,” he says. “I’m not
out partying. I don’t drink; I don’t smoke. I’m
just out hanging with my friends. I only need about four or five
hours a sleep a night at most. So if I can’t sleep, I might
as well be out doing something.”
He
spends a lot of time in the nation’s fast food restaurants.
He said, “I’m a humungous fan of McDonald’s,”
putting a significant emphasis on the word “humungous.”
“I can’t tell you how much I love that place. Taco
Bell. Rally’s. Checker’s. I don’t know if you
have one of those where you are, but let me tell you, that place
is awesome.”
One
of life’s pleasures, he says, is a grilled burrito at Taco
Bell. But he has so many favorites, it’s difficult to remember
all of them.
“Wow,
that is one of the toughest questions ever,” he said, asked
his favorite fast-food meals. “There are so many great ones.”
He
hopes to pull out a win over Melendez, one of the fight game’s
great ones, not so much to win the title but to prove he, too,
is one of the greats.
“I’m
not too much into the belt, I’m into beating the best guys
in the world,” he said. “The belt doesn’t mean
a lot if a great guy doesn’t have it. Gilbert just happens
to be a great fighter and that’s what I want. Those are
the kinds of guys I want to fight, and that’s what means
something to me. Beating a top guy like that, that means something.
That has some impact.”
And
doing it in a major city like San Diego means something, too.
He
can celebrate his win by heading over to Taco Bell and gorging
on a few grilled chicken burritos. For Masvidal, that’s
the good life.
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
Caio
gets shot at Maldonado at UFC 142
Holding
three belts in his undefeated, two-year career, Caio Magalhães
is the latest UFC signee. The Jiu-Jitsu black belt, who this
season snapped up the Rio Open title and a WPJJ berth by winning
the tryouts in Natal, Brazil, will face Fabio Maldonado on January
14 at UFC 142.
The
submission ace from Dragon Fight/Nova União shall step
in for Stanislav Nedkov, who had visa woes and will be unable
to make it. “I still can’t believe it. So much training,
so much fighting—I am speechless,” he told GRACIEMAG.com
with excitement.
The
beast from Ceará, Brazil, who recently won the Shooto
Brazil middleweight title, gave hints as to his game plan for
his octagon debut: “I’ll do my game, take him down
and show him Ceará Jiu-Jitsu’s might. I expect a
lot of positive energy from Ceará.”
This
Friday, another three fighters were confirmed for combat at the
HSBC Arena. Carlos Prater steps in for an injured Siyar Bahadurzada,
Ricardo Funch returns to the promotion in place of Paulo Thiago
against Mike Pyle, while Gabriel Napão rejoins the fray
against Ednaldo “Lula”. Check out the card:
UFC
142
HSBC Arena, Barra, Rio de Janeiro
January 14, 2012
José
Aldo vs Chad Mendes
Vitor Belfort vs Anthony Johnson
Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares vs Mike Massenzio
Erick Silva vs Carlos Prater
Edson Barboza vs Terry Etim
Thiago Tavares vs Sam Stout
Mike Pyle vs Ricardo Funch
Yuri “Marajó” Alcântara vs Michirio Omigawa
Fabio Maldonado vs Caio Magalhães
Ednaldo “Lula” Oliveira vs Gabriel Napão
Felipe “Sertanejo” Arantes vs Antônio Carvalho
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Erick
Silva Gets New Opponent for UFC Rio 142
Almost as quickly as it was announced that Brazilian phenom Erick
Silva was without an opponent for UFC Rio: Aldo vs. Mendes, another
fighter has already stepped up to fill the void.
Silva
was originally slated to face stand-up specialist Siyar Bahadurzada,
but an injury knocked the Afghan out of the fight. Taking his
place is Brazilian born Texas transplant Carlo Prater.
UFC
Brasil announced the new opponent Friday afternoon.
Silva
(13-1 / 1 NC) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Judo black belt that
has been tearing through his opposition, going to a decision
on three times in his 13 victories. He made his Octagon debut
at UFC 134 in August, where he TKO’d Luis Ramos inside of
the opening minute of their fight.
UFC
142 (also known as UFC Rio 2) marks Prater’s first time
in the Octagon, although he did serve a two-fight stint in the
WEC under Zuffa ownership. He lost to Carlos Condit and Brock
Larson in the WEC, but has recently bounced back going four-for-four
in 2011, all by way of submission, including a victory over TUF
9 veteran Cameron Dollar.
UFC
142 features featherweight champion Jose Aldo putting his belt
on the line against Chad Mendes on Jan. 14 in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
Cris
Cyborg Out to Prove She Hasn’t Skipped a Beat Following
Long Layoff
Saturday
night marks the return of one of the most feared female fighters
in the history of mixed martial arts in Strikeforce women’s
featherweight champion Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (10-1).
Known
simply as Cyborg, the destruction of her opposition has been
nothing short of breathtaking, as she’s finished eight of
her 10 opponents via KO or TKO.
The
Brazilian, however, sits atop a division with few challengers
and has had to stay active by competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
tournaments. Even with the lack of active competition in MMA,
Cyborg refuses to sit on the sidelines, as she took the gold
medal at Mundials (World Jiu-Jitsu Championship) this year.
Now,
after almost 18-months out of action, the 26-year-old is calm
and focused on showing the world her growth as a martial artist
and is not worried one bit about returning to the sport she loves
so much.
“My
first fight here with Shayna Baszler, I stayed two-years with
no fighting,” Cyborg told MMAWeekly.com.
“When
I have an opportunity, I do my best. I try training better techniques.
I think I have a lot of things for learning and I keep training.”
As
for her fight this Saturday at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal,
she defends her crown against Hiroko Yamanaka. Despite being
heavily favored, Cyborg doesn’t anticipate a one-sided beat
down. In fact, she believes that Yamanaka is a winner just by
entering the cage with her and that they’ll put on a good
show for the fans in San Diego.
“When
I fight, I watch the fights of my opponent. She’s had 12
fights, she’s good, and I think we’ll do a good fight
Saturday.
“I
won’t say I’m better than her because I think, in fighting,
everybody in the cage wins, because it’s very hard to go
for the cage. I’ll be ready.”
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Ricardo
Funch In To Face Mike Pyle at UFC 142
Ricardo Funch will get a second chance in the Octagon as he steps
up on short notice to face Mike Pyle at UFC 142 in Brazil.
UFC
officials announced the booking on Saturday.
Funch,
a training partner of Gabriel Gonzaga, went 0-2 in his previous
UFC stint dropping fights to both Johny Hendricks and Claude
Patrick.
The
Team Link fighter took some time off after the loss to Patrick
in 2010, but returned to action just a couple of weeks ago and
picked up a win over Ryan Quinn.
Now
he’ll come back to the UFC with an opportunity to face Xtreme
Couture fighter and veteran Mike Pyle.
The
bout between Pyle and Funch will be part of the UFC 142 prelim
special on FX airing on Jan 14.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Strikeforce’s
Melendez belongs in the UFC
SAN
DIEGO – UFC president Dana White has long proclaimed his
ambition is to bring all the world’s top fighters under
the UFC banner.
He
has pursued this goal with the fervor of a religious zealot in
recent years, whether spending the money to sign big-name fighters
or simply buying competing promotions outright.
As
long as Gilbert Melendez fights under the Strikeforce banner,
though, White’s vision will remain unfulfilled.
Gilbert Melendez works over Jorge Masvidal during his Strikeforce
title defense Saturday night.
Melendez
(20-2), the Strikeforce lightweight champion, was ranked No.
8 in the most recent Yahoo! Sports Top 10 poll. Saturday night,
he cruised to his sixth straight victory, defeating a game Jorge
Masvidal in the main event at the Valley View Casino Center.
Melendez controlled nearly all 25 minutes of the bout, earning
scores of 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 from the judges. Yahoo! Sports
scored the fight 50-45 for Melendez.
“I’ve
been saying I think I’m the best in the world for a long
time now,” Melendez said. “I’m sick of saying
it. Look at my record, my history. All I can do is keep proving
it in the cage.”
A
move to MMA’s biggest show seemed inevitable after the March
announcement that the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, had purchased
Strikeforce. Since that time, the latter company’s big names
have made a steady exodus to the UFC, including welterweight
champ Nick Diaz and light heavyweight champ Dan Henderson. After
Melendez smoked Tastyu Kawajiri in the same San Diego arena in
April, the fight world was abuzz with talk about a potential
title vs. title fight with UFC champ Frankie Edgar.
“It’s
been a roller coaster trying to stay focused,” said Melendez.
“I’ve got a kid, a gym, I’ve got people telling
me I’m going to UFC. And I’ve got the [self-applied]
pressure on me that I think I am No. 1. I have to do what I can
to tune it all out.”
But
this week’s announcement of a new Strikeforce deal with
Showtime seems to have put a hold on the notion of a Melendez
crossover. Strikeforce will have 6-8 shows in the cable network
next year and badly needs headliners, of which the Santa Ana,
Calif. native is one.
Melendez,
for his part, is saying all the right things in the wake of the
news. There’s no doubting his sincerity. Melendez has been
with Strikeforce since the company made the jump from kickboxing
to MMA in 2006, and Scott Coker, Strikeforce’s founder and
CEO, has treated him well.
“When
I first signed with Strikeforce, I said ‘I dunno Scott,
we’re not on TV.’ Then they got on Showtime. Then [Coker]
went out and got me a match with the No. 2 guy [Shinya] Aoki.
They’ve managed to deliver for me and I have to continue
to keep having faith they’ll deliver for me.”
Coker
has, in fact, delivered to Melendez to the best of his abilities.
In the three years since “El Nino’s” last loss,
Coker has found him a steady stream of new challenges. Melendez
has had rematches with the only two fighters who defeated him,
Mitsuhiro Ishida and Josh Thomson, and handled them both. Coker
lined up the bout with former Dream champion Aoki, and Melendez
had little trouble.
“There
are plenty of fighters out there,” said Coker. “We’ll
find him a challenge.”
Saturday’s
fight, though, demonstrated the trouble Strikeforce faces going
forward in promoting Melendez.
Masvidal
(22-7) is a well-respected pro in fight circles, training with
the elite American Top Team. He’s only been stopped once
in 29 fights. But he’s not a big name to casual MMA fans.
So even though Melendez put on a clinic in using his head movement,
jab, and counter combos to repeatedly fluster his foe, the danger
is that fans will see that Melendez went the distance with a
guy they might not have heard of and not be impressed.
“If
someone looks at the fight like that, they’re ignorant of
MMA,” said Melendez, who actually looked worse for wear
than Masvidal at the post-fight news conference. “That what
this sport is about. Fighter A can beat Fighter B and Fighter
B can beat Fighter C. It’s all about styles and matchups.
Jorge is a bad style matchup for me and for me to go in and win
all five rounds, that’s a big win for me.”
So
where does Strikeforce go from here? Melendez and Coker both
talked vaguely about finding Melendez top-notch bouts in 2012.
But after Masvidal, all that’s left of note in the lightweight
division are journeyman K.J. Noons and promising Caros Fodor,
who KOd Justin Wilcox in 13 seconds but shouldn’t be rushed
into a title shot with just eight pro fights. Is it fair to risk
squandering Melendez’s prime against such a level of competition
when the UFC’s lightweight division is bursting with elite
talent?
Melendez
let his guard down a bit in his postfight interview in the cage,
saying he wants the UFC to send one of their top fighters to
come fight him in Strikeforce next year.
“I
was a little pumped up and maybe got a little ahead of myself
out there in the cage,” said Melendez.
Maybe
“El Nino” was on to something. Likewise, so might be
Masvidal.
“Melendez
is for real,” said Masvidal. “He’d clown a lot
of guys in the UFC.”
Are
you listening, Dana?
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
Strikeforce
Melendez vs. Masvidal Quick Results
Main
Bouts (on Showtime):
-Gilbert Melendez def. Jorge Masvidal by unanimous decision (50-45,
50-45, 49-46)
-Cris “Cyborg” Santos def. Hiroko Yamanaka by TKO at
:16, R1
-Gegard Mousasi def. Ovince St-Preux by unanimous decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
-K.J. Noons def. Billy Evangelista by unanimous decison (29-28,
29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary
Bouts (non-televised):
-Caros Fodor def. Justin Wilcox by KO at 0:13, R1
-Roger Bowling def. Jerron Peoples KO (Strikes) at 0:42, R1
-Devin Cole def. Gabriel Salinas-Jones by Unanimous Decision
(30-27, 30-27, 30-27), R3
-Eddie Mendez def. Fernando Gonzalez by Split Decision (30-27,
29-28, 28-29), R3
-Herman Terrado def. Chris Brown by Submission (Armbar) R3
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Three Fighters Out of UFC 142 in Brazil
The
injury bug has bitten down hard on the UFC 142 fight card in
Brazil with three fighters falling out this week.
Technically,
two fighters were injured with the third falling out due to visa
issues.
First
off, heavyweight Rob Brougton has been forced off the Brazil
card and out of his fight against Ednaldo Oliveira.
Feared
striker Siyar Bahadurzada is the next fighter to fall prey to
injury. He is now out of his scheduled bout against rising Brazilian
phenom Erick Silva.
Finally,
Stanislav Nedkov has been forced out of his fight against Fabio
Maldonado due to visa issues coming to Brazil.
The
UFC is actively searching for replacements for all three fighters
and new bouts should be made in the coming days.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Gabriel
Gonzaga Back, Faces Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 142
Gabriel
Gonzaga is back in the UFC and will face Ednaldo Oliveira at
UFC 142 in Brazil.
Gonzaga’s
manager and trainer, Marco Alvan, confirmed the news on Friday.
According to his manager, Gonzaga signed a new four-fight deal
with the UFC as well.
A
former UFC title contender, Gonzaga exited the UFC after a unanimous
decision loss to Brendan Schaub at UFC 121 in 2010. Following
the fight, Gonzaga actually contemplated retirement, but opted
to come back in October after almost a year away and defeated
Parker Porter in his return bout.
Now
Gonzaga, who trains out of Massachusetts, will have the opportunity
to return home to Brazil where he’ll face Octagon newcomer
Ednaldo Oliveira.
Oliveira
was originally scheduled to meet Rob Broughton the card, but
the British born fighter was forced off the show due to injury.
Over
his UFC career, Gonzaga amassed a 7-5 record while competing
for the promotion. When Gonzaga returns in January, it will also
be his first fight at home in Brazil since 2004 in his last bout
before signing to the UFC.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Nogueira
goes thorugh surgery and returns in June
The
last diagnostic given by John Itamura, a doctor pointed out by
Ultimate, who evaluated the injury suffered by Rodrigo “Minotauro”
Nogueira when fighting Frank Mir, as he was submitted by a kimura
and didn’t tapp out – what resulted on a humerus broked
-, was that the heavyweight fighter wouldn’t ha veto go
thought surgery. But it seems like the plans have changed. Rodrigo
was operated last Friday (16th) at Vail, Colorado, and the surgery
was a success. The doctors say he might return to the trains
in June. Rodrigo went to Vail and went through new tests, which
pointed out the need of the surgery. His biceps wasn’t touched
during the process. The “entrance” was made on the
triceps, what means he won’t lose strenght on this very
arm.
Source:
Tatame
|
Minotauro
goes under the knife, gets 16 screws, set to return in six months
His
fight with Frank Mir didn’t turn out quite the way he’d
expected it to. Starting out strong and nearly coming up with
the knockout, Rodrigo Minotauro ended up succumbing to an arm
lock with some dire consequences. With the result, Frank Mir
achieved two landmarks: he became the first man to both knock
out and tap out the Brazilian in his 41-fight career. Now Rodrigo
has added a new scar on his body, having undergone surgery this
Saturday. On the Nogueira brothers’ blog (Nogueirabrothers.com.br),
Dr. Tom R. Hackett, the head of the team of surgeons who treated
Minotauro, addresses the fighter’s injury and recovery:
“Mr.
Nogueira suffered a complex fracture to his humerus. The fracture
began in the middle of the bone and extended to the elbow region.
Unfortunately, the radial nerve (one of the main nerves lending
a feeling of power to the hands) was damaged. The nerve is located
in the area of the fracture, and the bone compressed it. Before
the operation, he had very little strength in his hand and no
strength whatsoever in his thumb,” explained Hackett.
“The
operation involved an incision behind the arm. The nerve was
removed from the location of the fracture and treated. The fracture
was fixed with a plate and 16 screws, and now, less than 12 hours
post-op, his hand functions are returning and the bone is mending,”
he adds.
Minotauro
already has a return date on the horizon and I has already begun
recovery exercises.
“We
planned to start out with a series of movement exercises today,
and we’ll start reinforcing it next month. If all goes well,
he’ll be back to full training in the coming months and
should be 100% to fight in six months or less. We foresee him
making a complete and full recovery,” he says in finishing.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Fabricio
Werdum Faces Roy Nelson in UFC Return
by Ken
Pishna
A
UFC 143 heavyweight showdown between Roy Nelson and Fabricio
Werdum is in tap for Super Bowl weekend, according to MMAWeekly.com
sources.
Nelson’s
(16-6) UFC tenure was teetering on the brink following back-to-back
losses to Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir, but he bounced back
strong in his most recent fight. Nelson took the fight to Mirko
“Cro Cop Filipovic at UFC 137, likely ending the Croatian’s
career via a third-round TKO stoppage.
The
win over Cro Cop gave Nelson new life in the Octagon. The Ultimate
Fighter Season 10 winner was under heavy scrutiny after the losses
and receiving a heavy dose of criticism over his weight, but
a victory always goes a long way towards silencing the critics.
Werdum
(14-5-1) was on a strong run in Strikeforce, capping a three-fight
winning streak with a victory over Fedor Emelianenko. He was
upended in his most recent bout, delivering a lackluster performance
and losing a unanimous decision to Alistair Overeem in June.
Werdum
has been very vocal about wanting to return to the UFC, now getting
his wish granted. He had a two-fight streak in his past UFC life
halted by current UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.
A
battle for the interim UFC welterweight championship between
Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit headlines UFC 143 on Feb. 4 at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
‘TUF
14’ Finale Draws 1,909 Spectators, $452,700 Live Gate
By Tristen
Critchfield
Final
numbers have been released for “The Ultimate Fighter 14"
Finale.
The
UFC event, held at the Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las
Vegas on Dec. 3, earned a live gate of $452,700, according to
figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Monday.
The
card was headlined by a battle between “TUF” coaches
Michael Bisping and Jason Miller. “The Count” gave
an impressive performance, finishing Miller in their middleweight
bout with knees to the body and punches at 3:34 of round three.
Also,
a pair of Jackson's MMA products took home “Ultimate Fighter”
honors, as John Dodson won the bantamweight finale with a first-round
technical knockout over T.J. Dillashaw, while Diego Brandao pulled
off an armbar in the waning seconds of the opening frame against
Dennis Bermudez at featherweight.
The
event was attended by a total of 1,909 spectators. Of those in
attendance, 1,348 paid for tickets, while another 561 gained
admission with complimentary tickets. There were 233 tickets
that were neither sold nor comped by the UFC.
Source
Sherdog
|
The
Digital Sensei: Steven Seagal Will Disclose Secrets to Victory
to Lyoto Machida Via Skype
“I got three of Richie’s guys breathing through their
foreheads ova he-ya, so allow me be brief…”
Behind
the scenes information and rampant speculation in the lead-up
to a fight is the MMA equivalent of chicks gossiping in a powder
room. It’s, like, totally fun, but when you start to base
your investment portfolio around it or develop an eating disorder
you know you’ve crossed the line. At least, that’s
usually the case. The scoop we’re about to share with you
is as solid as they come, so take advantage of this opportunity
to change your fight picks and spray a bottle of Cool Whip directly
into your throat.
Earlier
this week, Light-Heavyweight challenger Lyoto Machida revealed
that he had not been in communication with Black House’s
not-so-secret weapon, Steven Seagal, during his training camp.
Considering that his devastating knock out victory over Randy
Couture was directly attributable (cough) to the action film
star, it seemed odd that he wouldn’t turn to him for guidance
while training for the fight of his life.
Have
no fear, Dragon fans. As it turns out, Jon Jones‘ weaknesses
are so glaring that they can be pointed out and easily exploited
after a brief, last-minute teleconference. Who knew? Oh yeah,
Seagal did.
In
an interview with the Toronto Sun, the Akido black belt said
that while he may not make it out to the Air Canada Centre, he’ll
be in touch with Machida via Skype. Quoth the “Lawman”:
“I
think Lyoto is a better puncher, a better kicker and he really
moves better than Jon. I see some things Jon does that I think
can be exploited, and I’m going to go over those things
with Lyoto. In my opinion Lyoto is probably the best striker
in the business. I’m not saying he hits harder than Junior
Dos Santos or someone like that, but his speed, his timing and
his accuracy are very good.”
Of
course Machida is only one half of the equation this evening.
What does Seagal think of the young champ?
“He’s
a great fighter, but do I think he’s a great puncher and
kicker? Absolutely not. He’s just very big and very strong
and he’s a very good wrestler.”
Wrestling:
it really fucks your face up.
So
there you have it. Run with that information, make your predictions
below, complain that we’re talking about Seagal again…basically,
just do what you do, people.
Source:
Fight Opinion/Cage Potato
|
Passing
the Torch from Silva to Jones?
by Damon
Martin
There’s
no denying the meteoric rise of Jon “Bones” Jones to
the top of the UFC’s light heavyweight division, and into
discussions for the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.
Even
Jones admits, however, that long reigning UFC middleweight champion
Anderson Silva still sits atop that list as the best fighter
in the sport.
But
at 37 years of age and having openly talked about retirement,
Silva’s time in the sport is closer to the end than the
beginning now.
UFC
president Dana White knows just how talented Jones is and how
dangerous he can be in the Octagon. It’s hard to not look
at Jones’ dominance and not think about the same kind of
things that Silva’s been able to do over the last few years.
“If
this guy can keep his personal life together, continue to grow
as a fighter, who beats this guy?” White pondered.
One
of Jones’ greatest criticisms of late has been his apparent
change in attitude. Despite his coaches’ continued praise
of his humble attitude in and out of the gym, people keep pointing
fingers and saying that as his fame grows, so does his cocky
attitude.
White
believes that Jones has every right to be cocky, if that’s
even what he’s doing right now.
“Let
me tell you what, if I was kicking people’s asses the way
he is, I’d be cocky too,” said White.
Of
course when talking about pound-for-pound the best fighters in
MMA, you can’t forget people like Georges St-Pierre, Frankie
Edgar, Jose Aldo, or Dominick Cruz. Still with Jones’ ability
to finish fighters like he’s been doing, literally rolling
over the top fighters in his division, he might just be the closest
thing to Anderson Silva this sport has ever seen.
When
Silva finally does walk away, will Jon Jones carry the torch
forward for the UFC?
“Could
be,” answered White.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
TUF
Brazil: UFC crew excited about candidates
Joe
Silva, the UFC’s matchmaker, and his team set up shop at
the Sheraton hotel in São Paulo this Wednesday the 14th
to review over 300 Brazilian hopefuls to make it through the
selection process determining the 32 fighters to comprise the
cast for the inaugural season of the Brazilian version of “The
Ultimate Fighter” reality show, set to air on Globo channel
March 15 and be broadcast every Sunday.
The
first episode will have the two teams fight between themselves
to determine the 16 candidates to remain on the program. Vitor
Belfort and Wanderlei Silva will be the coaches. At the end of
the season, the two coaches will face off, while the big winners
among the rookies will be determined, paying out in 1.5 million
reais and a UFC contract.
Among
the unknowns and the fighters already familiar to fight fans,
athletes from several states converged starting at 6 am. Ahead
of them, interviews for the profile sorting process, contract
signing and weight-ins, not to mention the practical part: demonstrating
their proficiency in Thai boxing and Jiu-Jitsu.
“I
haven’t had time to check out all the fighters, but from
what Joe and the team tells me, it’s been marvelous. He’s
really excited about what he’s been seeing,” said UFC
president Dana White during his visit to the tryouts, adding,
“Truth is, it’s no surprise to me, I’ve always
known and said that Brazil is the greatest breeding ground for
fighters.”
For
the selection processes that follow, the team already narrowed
the field down to 70 candidates. In the coming days, the selected
fighters will undergo medical exams, drugs testing and a long
interview process. With the results in hand, the show’s
producers will meet with the UFC board of directors to pick the
32 fighters to kick off the program.
Heading
into its 15 season in the United States, with Dominick Cruz and
Urijah Faber as coaches, The Ultimate Fighter is one of the longest
running reality shows in the country, drawing millions of television
viewers every week. Wholly owned by The Ultimate Fighting Championship,
TUF features a number of competition MMA weight groups.
The
program showcases professional MMA fighters living together in
a house, and tracks them as they train and compete against each
other for a UFC contract. Numerous UFC fighters have been contestants
on the show, with some of them even going on to coach subsequent
seasons themselves.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
141
Las Vegas, Nevada at MGM Grand Garden Arena
12/30/11
TV: PPV
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
|
Jose
Aldo reminds of "real life TUF"
Text by
Eduardo Ferreira
The
dream of conquering a UFC title has already come true to Jose
Aldo. And, between his wishes and plans is the one of becoming
a coach of “The Ultimate Fighter”. But, on the real
life, the Brazilian fighter, who is far from the highlights,
lived an experience of being locked with athletes coming from
different places, living in a studio at Nova Uniao head-quarters,
something with a lot less luxury than UFC’s house. On an
interview with TATAME, on this Tuesday, after the press conference
for UFC 142, which the main star is Aldo himself, with Chad Mendes
as his challenger, the Brazilian reminded the hard times.
“That’s
one wasn’t live, but that was my daily routine: I lived
in the gym with people from other places in Brazil and I became
a champion. That’s the result of a lot of work. My past
was great, it helped me to become the champion I currently am”.
After experiencing the “B side of the show”, Jose Aldo
hopes that, in the future, he’ll have a chance to follow
Wanderlei Silva’s and Vitor Belfort’s steps, since
they were the ones picked to lead the teams of TUF Brazil. “I
dream about it and I hope someday I can be a coach of TUF. I
hope it’s here in Brazil, because it’d be wonderful,
so that I can show you a new champion as good as me in Ultimate”.
Among
other subjects like Flamengo, Chad Mendes and UFC Rio, Junior,
how people called him by at the gym, highlighted the level of
his training and reveals he’s waiting for Gray Maynard to
come and help him to get prepared for the bout on January 14th.
“Thank God I got a wonderful team, I guess it’s the
best team in the world on light weights, so there’s no reason
for me to go abroad to train. We try to bring some guys and coaches
to adjust our trainings. We’re now bringing Gray Maynard,
he’ll come on the 19th. I hope he comes and help us on this
final phase of the trainings”.
Now
you’re fighting Chad Mendes. How are the expectations?
It’s
amazing. We’re trying to remain calm, I’m a lot concentrated
and focused in my trainings so that everything go well when the
day comes and that we can bring this win to Brazilians.
It’s
not a new thing for you to fight in Rio, but you haven’t
done it for a long time and now you’re coming as the champion.
Does it motivate you or does it put you under pressure?
It
motivates me a lot. I try to let the fans outside the cage and
focus on the inside. I’m a lot happy about this fight and
I hope everything goes just fine on the fighting day, that the
fans cheer for me and fight with me, making every step I take
together.
You
could see the first UFC Rio. How does it feel to be on the show?
It’ll
be touching, and I’m a sensible guy, a guy who’s very
motivated and when I have the back-up of the fans, I’ll
try to absorb well and try to honor them, so I’ll be a lot
excited, touched, but absolutely focused on the fight, thinking
about the game plan and in the trainings.
Chad
talked about Vasco and you’re a Flamengo fan. Do you think
it makes it spicy?
Absolutely.
It brings an extra spice, due to the fact he roots for Vasco
and I’m for Flamengo. Of course I won’t be Flamengo
VS. Vasco, but Brazil VS. United States, so that’s the real
rivalry. I wanna have the support of all Brazilians, it doesn’t
matter if you’re a Flamengo fan, Vasco fan… From all
team.
Do
you believe Chad is the tougher guy you’ll fight on this
division? Or do you believe the strongest were guys like Faber,
Hominick, who fought for five rounds?
I
always say that my greatest challenge is my next one. Now the
challenge is Chad Mendes, we’re training for that and I
hope to get a good outcome from it. The next will always be the
toughest, and that it’ll be the biggest.
Will
you train in Rio as you always do?
I’ll
stay in Rio. Thank God I got a wonderful team, I guess it’s
the best team in the world on light weights, so there’s
no reason for me to go abroad to train. We try to bring some
guys and coaches to adjust our trainings. We’re now bringing
Gray Maynard, he’ll come on the 19th. I hope he comes and
help us on this final phase of the trainings.
What
are your thoughts about TUF Brazil? Do you dream about being
a coach someday?
Of
course. I dream about it and I hope someday I can be a coach
of TUF. I hope it’s here in Brazil, because it’d be
wonderful, so that I can show you a new champion as good as me
in Ultimate.
You
lived almost in a TUF’s house, when you lived in Nova Uniao
with many other fighters…
That’s
right (laughs). That’s one wasn’t live, but that was
my daily routine: I lived in the gym with people from other places
in Brazil and I became a champion. That’s the result of
a lot of work. My past was great, it helped me to become the
champion I currently am.
Source:
Tatame
|
Winners
and Losers in the New Strikeforce-Showtime Deal
By Michael
David Smith
Showtime
and Strikeforce have agreed to a new deal for more fights on
the premium cable network, an announcement that comes as something
of a surprise following months of speculation that the UFC would
completely absorb the promotion it purchased early this year.
That
news will have a wide-ranging impact on the mixed martial arts
world, including the fighters, the promoters, the networks and
the fans. We examine who the winners and losers are in the new
Strikeforce-Showtime deal below.
Winner:
Strikeforce women's champions Cris Cyborg and Miesha Tate
It was a little jarring to hear UFC President Dana White, who's
far from the biggest supporter of women's MMA, talk on the conference
call announcing the new Strikeforce-Showtime deal about how great
this will be for female fighters. But he's right: Showtime made
a specific point in this announcement of singling out Cyborg
and Tate as champions who would be involved in big events going
forward. The UFC isn't ready to feature women's MMA, but Strikeforce
and Showtime are.
Loser:
Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez
White insisted that Melendez is excited about the opportunities
he has ahead of him to continue defending his Strikeforce belt,
starting on Saturday night against Jorge Masvidal. That may be
true, but it's also true that Melendez is a great competitor
who craves top-level competition, and he's just not going to
get that outside the Octagon. If Melendez beats Masvidal, he'd
be very worthy of the next UFC lightweight title shot, against
the winner of the upcoming Frankie Edgar-Ben Henderson fight.
Instead, Melendez will remain in Strikeforce, no doubt putting
on solid performances -- but not getting the opportunity to do
what he really wants to do, which is prove that he's the best
lightweight in the world.
Winner:
Showtime
Even though the new Strikeforce won't be quite as good as the
old Strikeforce (the UFC has, after all, already taken away some
of the biggest stars, like Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson, Cung
Le, Jake Shields and Nick Diaz), this deal still means that Showtime
will be the home of the biggest names in MMA outside the UFC.
As a subscriber-based business, Showtime is less interested in
attracting broad audiences than in attracting the kinds of loyal
viewers who are willing to pay for content. That perfectly describes
hard-core MMA fans: The people who love the sport really love
the sport and are willing to show that love on their cable bills.
Keeping Strikeforce means keeping tens of thousands or hundreds
of thousands of MMA fans who only subscribe to Showtime to watch
Strikeforce.
Loser:
MTV2, Spike, HDNet and any other network airing MMA
It's already tough to get attention in the MMA media world if
you're not with the UFC, and for MTV2 (current home of Bellator),
Spike (future home of Bellator), HDNet (home of several smaller
and international promotions) and any other channel that's thinking
about getting into the MMA business, keeping Strikeforce alive
on Showtime makes it tougher.
Winner:
Strikeforce heavyweights
Strikeforce will conclude its heavyweight tournament with Daniel
Cormier vs. Josh Barnett, then give one more fight to the winner
of that, and then move all the heavyweights remaining on the
roster over to the UFC. That's big news for the biggest guys
getting to fight in the biggest show, and it's the logical conclusion
of a movement that is already underway: Strikeforce heavyweight
champion Alistair Overeem is already in the UFC, set to fight
Brock Lesnar, and the last man Overeem beat, Fabricio Werdum,
is headed for the UFC now. Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva
is surely set to fight in the Octagon soon, and promising heavyweights
like Shane Del Rosario, Chad Griggs, Lavar Johnson and Shawn
Jordan will have great opportunities to prove themselves on a
big stage.
Loser:
Strikeforce light heavyweights
Although Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson
has already vacated his belt and returned to the UFC, it appears
that the other Strikeforce light heavyweights will stay where
they are. That means good Strikeforce 205-pounders like King
Mo Lawal, Rafael Cavalcante, Gegard Mousasi, Ovince St Preux
and Lorenz Larkin -- all of whom could have a place in the UFC
light heavyweight division -- will be denied that opportunity.
Winner:
MMA fans
With Zuffa planning 40 live events (32 UFC, eight Strikeforce)
plus the new live Ultimate Fighter on Friday nights, Bellator
looking at a couple dozen events spread over two seasons, HDNet
airing a couple shows a month and your random one-off events
from other promotions, it's going to be a rare weekend night
when MMA isn't on TV. If you're an MMA fan, you've already got
plans for almost every weekend.
Loser:
Spouses/significant others of MMA fans
With Zuffa planning 40 live events (32 UFC, eight Strikeforce)
plus the new live Ultimate Fighter on Friday nights, Bellator
looking at a couple dozen events spread over two seasons, HDNet
airing a couple shows a month and your random one-off events
from other promotions, it's going to be a rare weekend night
when MMA isn't on TV. If you're married to an MMA fan, you're
not going to be able to make plans for many weekends.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Overeem
Granted Conditional License for UFC 141 by NSAC
By Tristen
Critchfield
Despite plenty of speculation to the contrary in recent days,
the UFC 141 main event between Brock Lesnar and Alistair Overeem
is still on schedule.
On
Monday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission granted Overeem
a conditional license even though the former Strikeforce heavyweight
champion has yet to submit a satisfactory pre-fight urinalysis.
Overeem’s
license was issued with three stipulations. First, Overeem must
submit an observed urine sample within 72 hours at a NSAC-recognized
facility in Europe. He will also be tested upon arriving in the
United States from the Netherlands prior to UFC 141. Finally,
Overeem will be subject to two random drug tests in the six months
after his Dec. 30 bout with Lesnar.
While
under oath, Overeem explained to the commission the conditions
which led to him leaving the U.S. on Nov. 17, the same day the
first sample was requested by NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer.
“I
apologize for the delay,” Overeem said by phone during Monday’s
meeting. “In my case, there were three factors involved.
My mother is not doing so well, and that is why I moved my camp
back to my country. Second, because this is my first fight with
the state of Nevada and the UFC. Thirdly, because the procedures
of testing in Holland differ significantly than the procedure
in the States.”
Overeem
said that he was not made aware of Kizer’s request by his
assistant until he had left the country. He took his first test
on Nov. 23, six days after the initial request.
“When
I got the request to test myself, I took the test straight away,”
he said. “When I got the results, I immediately submitted
them, and I thought that should be sufficient for the commission.
After a couple of days, I received notice that it was not sufficient
and I needed to do more testing. I went back to the doctor and
had my second test done, now with the full parameters provided
by the state athletic commission. This was taken last Thursday,
Dec. 7. The results are due (in) seven to 10 days, so I’m
expecting them sometime this week.”
Overeem
took a blood test instead of the required urinalysis on Nov.
23. Kizer said that the results of the blood test came back clean.
The
commission’s greatest concern on Monday was the time between
Nov. 17, the date Kizer requested a drug test, and Dec. 7, the
day Overeem finally submitted to proper testing. The K-1 veteran
denied that he had he had attempted to skirt the process.
“I
did not take any effort to avoid any testing. Furthermore, I’ve
done exactly what I’ve been told to do by my assistants,
who’ve been told what to do by Mr. Kizer,” Overeem
stated.
Overeem
also cited a lack of familiarity with the drug testing method
of the NSAC as another reason for the delay.
“It’s
really hard to test myself here, and I’ve never been through
this procedure before,” he said. “Every time I got
the notice, ‘You have to go to the doctor to get the test
done,’ I went the next day.”
Overeem
was also asked about his lack of correspondence with the UFC
during the ordeal.
“In
training camp, I don’t communicate with the UFC -- my assistants
do that for me,” he said.
While
the commission ultimately recognized Overeem’s explanation
as honest and was sympathetic to his personal issues, it also
promised “more Draconian measures” the next time a
fighter does not take a test in the allotted time frame.
Kizer
said that since the commission reinstated random, out-of-competition
testing on July 1, more than 50 mixed martial artists have been
tested, with none experiencing delays similar to Overeem. Meanwhile,
Lesnar was asked to submit a screening on the same day as Overeem
and did so on Nov. 21.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Why
do fans care about doping in low-impact sports but not high-impact
ones?
By Zach
Arnold
So,
on Saturday night, Twitter had a meltdown. Ryan Braun reportedly
tested positive for synthetic testosterone in his urine sample,
or at least the A sample (as opposed to the B sample). Will Carroll
at Sports Illustrated breaks down just how hard it is going to
be for the Braun camp to attack the positive drug testing result.
The
issue of synthetic testosterone in a urine sample is something
that Victor Conte recently talked about with Jack Encarnacao
of Sherdog when he mentioned that the various state athletic
commissions should employ Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR) tests on
urine samples as part of a panel of methods to catch doping in
MMA. (His other suggestion is to measure basic hematocrit levels
in standard blood samples.) I don’t know if a CIR was used
to detect synthetic testosterone in Braun’s case, but it
would seem to be likely.
What
was so fascinating to see online last Saturday was the reaction
to the news. Twitter was in full meltdown mode. Baseball fans
went nuts and screamed for Braun’s head. It made me think
and wonder the following:
Why
is it that sports fans get upset about doping in sports with
the least amount of physical contact (soccer, baseball) and don’t
care so much about doping in ‘hurt’ sports like hockey,
football, boxing, and MMA where having testosterone injections
& blood doping treatments can impact just how much more physical
trauma you can inflict upon an unsuspecting opponent?
I
have, for a long time, stated my case as to why aggressive drug
testing for both PEDs and pain killers is needed in the sport.
On this subject, I”m not interested in arguing morality.
What I”m interested in arguing is protecting guys from themselves
when it comes to making horrible decisions (as Dr. Johnny Benjamin
recently stated about Chris Leben) that could cause them to drop
dead or have their opponents get permanently damaged both physically
& emotionally. If you don’t think the issue of pain
killer abuse in MMA is serious, think again. The amount of pain
killer abuse is high. It’s addictive, hard to break, and
can cause severe physical damage.
The
counter-argument I hear about aggressively minimizing doping
& pain killer abuse in MMA is that if you want to see guys
last more than a few years in such a physically demanding sport,
then you better accept the doping that comes along with it. Sorry,
but that’s just not a compelling argument against a Wild
West-style policy of drug testing enforcement. MMA is a hurt
game involving athletes with incredible physical tools at their
disposal. Having someone locked inside a cage with T/E ratios
of 10:1 is flat out insane. We already have examples of deaths
& permanent physical damage on display from excessive doping
& pain killer usage in other sports, so why invite &
encourage it in Mixed Martial Arts?
Which
brings us to the rumors floated by Kevin Iole & Josh Gross
that Alistair Overeem could be out of his UFC 141 fight on 12/30
in Las Vegas against Brock Lesnar because he didn’t take
a pre-licensing drug test in Nevada. Today at 3 PM local time
in Las Vegas, there will be a Nevada State Athletic Commission
hearing to determine whether or not Overeem will get licensed
to fight. My guess is that given how much money is on the line
with the UFC show on NYE weekend that the commission will license
Overeem… unless the extinuating circumstances are so egregious
that they have to make a last-minute decision to not license
Overeem to fight in Nevada. If that happens, Frank Mir wants
to fight Brock Lesnar for a third time. On a medical & administrative
level, that’s an absurd idea to have happen given that Mir
got rocked by Nogueira before ripping the guy’s arm off
over the weekend in their Toronto fight. The Ontario commission
so far has been pretty good when it comes to medical testing
of fighters and it would be very hard for me to see Ken Hayashi’s
crew give UFC the green light to clear Mir to fight on short
notice against Brock.
I
just find it fascinating that when it comes to the fight game
that guys like Chael Sonnen not only get a pass but are celebrated
for openly & unapologetically lying about everything while
sports fans in games like baseball are horrified about their
superstars getting caught doping. Where are we at right now as
far as the level of credibility of the sport of Mixed Martial
Arts itself and of the behavior/psychology that MMA fans demonstrate
to serious scandals?
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Alves
vs. Kampmann Headlines UFC Sydney
PRESS RELEASE:
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday announced it will
return to Australia with UFC Sydney: Alves vs Kampmann to be
held at Sydney’s Allphones Arena on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Following two sell-out shows in this country, this highly anticipated
event pits two of the UFC’s most explosive welterweights
against each other and also sees the debut of the flyweight division
with a two-bout tournament to decide the top contenders at 125-pounds
(56.7kg).
Tickets
for UFC Sydney Alves vs Kampmann will be available to UFC Fight
Club members from 10am Monday, Dec. 19 and to UFC Newsletter
subscribers from 10am Tuesday, Dec. 20, before going on general
release through Ticketek on Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 10am (times
are AEDT). Tickets are priced from $75 to $425.
Marshall
Zelaznik, Managing Director of UFC’s International Development,
said: “The UFC is thrilled to return to Sydney for its third
live event in three years. We’ve had tremendous success
with our two previous events, with last year’s UFC 127 remaining
the equal fastest sell-out in the organisation’s history.
I’ve got no doubt that our Aussie fans will be just as excited
about our March event, especially as they’ll witness UFC
history with the introduction of the flyweight division. The
125-pound contenders will absolutely put everything on the line
is Sydney, knowing that the winners of those two bouts will then
have a shot at the inaugural flyweight title. It’s going
to be a great show!”
Commenting
on the card’s main event, Zelaznik said: “Thiago Alves
and Martin Kampmann are two seasoned mixed martial artists who
are sure to go to war in the Octagon. Both athletes are coming
off recent wins and will be looking to continue their streak
to climb the welterweight ladder.”
Fresh
from his first round annihilation of UFC debutant Papy Abedi
at UFC 139, Thiago ‘Pitbull’ Alves (24-7) has returned
to vintage form that has previously seen him cruise through the
welterweight division with wins over UFC greats such as Matt
Hughes, Josh Koschek and Chris Lytle before challenging for the
welterweight title in July 2009.
Martin
‘The Hitman’ Kampmann (18-5) will look to back-up his
unanimous decision win at UFC 139 over up-and-coming welterweight
Rick ‘The Horror’ Story when he meets Alves in the
Octagon on March 3. The Dane has incredible knock-out power and
an underrated ground game that has seen him win nine of his 12
fights in the Octagon, including victories over Carlos Condit,
Jorge Rivera and Paulo Thiago.
In
the flyweight division, former No.1 WEC bantamweight contender
Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson (14-2) will face
the recently crowned Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champion,
Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’ McCall (11-2), while Joseph Benavidez
(15-2) will face Japanese fighter and Shooto champion Yasuhiro
Urushitani (19-4-6) in the weight division’s two semi-finals.
Broadcast
information and details regarding the full card for UFC Sydney:
Alves vs Kampmann will be announced in the coming weeks.
[Editor's
Note: UFC Sydney: Alves vs. Kampmann is expected to air on FX
in the United States, although UFC officials have yet to confirm
broadcast plans.]
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Hiroko
Yamanaka Counts on Experience to Overcome Cyborg
by Andrew
Gladstone
Former
Smackgirl openweight champion Hiroko “Cats Eye” Yamanaka
(12-1) is set to make her Strikeforce debut Saturday night at
Melendez vs. Masvidal in San Diego.
Her North American debut will be a colossal challenge. Yamanaka
faces the seemingly unstoppable Cris “Cyborg” Santos
(10-1), trying to wrestle the Strikeforce woman’s featherweight
title away from her.
Seemingly all pundits and fans alike have put considerable odds
in the favor of the Cyborg, but Yamanaka is not going to give
up easily. The Japanese sensation is coming to fight and does
not have anyone’s rankings or odds in her head.
“I don’t feel like I’m overlooked or anything;
all that I have in my mind is to fight,” Yamanaka said on
a recent Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal media conference
call.
While she may not feel overlooked, everyone else has seemingly
looked past her. Especially after all the talk of Cyborg potentially
dropping down a weight class. One cannot sleep on Yamanaka, as
she is a tough submission grappler with dangerous power in her
knees.
The submission ace won two of her last three fights via submission
and has defeated the likes of Molly Helsel, Yoko Takahashi, and
Hitomi Akano. Yamanaka also has experience in kickboxing via
Shoot Boxing, where she defeated Japanese fighters Mayumi Aoki
and Megumi Yabushita.
Yamanaka has all the experience against tough females from around
the world. With all the pressure on Cyborg to perform well, Yamanaka
feels that her fight experience will shine through on Saturday.
“I do feel like my experience will benefit me. I feel like
I have a lot of good experience and it will benefit me in this
fight.”
Still, Cyborg is a force to be reckoned with. She likes to use
her physical advantages to overwhelm her opponents. Yamanaka,
however, will have the height advantage in this fight, which
could prove significant if they get into a Thai clinch.
Saturday night will tell the tale on whether or not Yamanaka’s
experience will be enough to overcome the force that is Cyborg.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce
‘Melendez vs. Masvidal’ Preview: The Main Card
By Tristen
Critchfield
Masvidal is 4-0 in Strikeforce.
Much of the uncertainty that was surrounding the future of Strikeforce
was put to rest in the days leading up to UFC 140, when Ultimate
Fighting Championship President Dana White announced the San
Jose, Calif.-based promotion was on the verge of inking a new
deal with Showtime. While that has little bearing on Strikeforce
“Melendez vs. Masvidal” on Saturday, it does mean that
Zuffa LLC must keep the Strikeforce cupboard stocked with decent
talent.
Melendez
might be the most highly regarded fighter on the current roster,
and he will put his skills on display in a lightweight title
defense against Jorge Masvidal at the Valley View Casino Center
in San Diego. UFC officials figure to be plenty interested in
Melendez’s performance, so he will want to put on a good
show.
Also
of note is the return of women’s featherweight champion
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, who has not fought since
June 2010. She will look to cement her status as the most dominant
female in the sport today in a title defense against Hiroko Yamanaka.
Here is a look at Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal,”
with analysis and picks.
Strikeforce
Lightweight Championship
Gilbert Melendez (19-2, 9-1 SF) vs. Jorge Masvidal (22-6, 4-0
SF)
The
Matchup: In recent months, there has been plenty of speculation
that Melendez was going to vacate his Strikeforce lightweight
title and make the move to the UFC to challenge Frankie Edgar.
With Edgar locked into a bout with Ben Henderson, that move will
have to wait for now. In the meantime, “El Nino” can
bolster his credentials by beating Masvidal, an American Top
Team product who dissected K.J. Noons in his last outing.
Masvidal
is a well-rounded foe who is not to be underestimated. A solid
counterpuncher, “Gamebred” is adept at mixing leg kicks,
as well as knees and elbows in the clinch, into his arsenal.
His multi-faceted approach paid dividends against Noons, who
possesses some of the most polished standup in mixed martial
arts today. Masvidal was able to blend takedowns with jabs and
batter his opponent on the ground, and Noons was a bloody mess
by the end of their three-round encounter.
Melendez
is one of the best-conditioned lightweights around, built to
go the distance in a five-round fight, something he has already
done four times in his career. In earlier years, the Californian’s
standup was merely a prelude to a takedown. Now, he can trade
punches comfortably in the pocket without being overmatched.
However, with more weapons at his disposal, Masvidal figures
to have the advantage on the feet; Melendez has a solid jab but
does not have the type of power that would deter the challenger
from attacking.
What
El Nino can do is set a frenetic pace inside the cage that virtually
no one can match. His improved standup allows him to set up takedowns
better than ever, and, on the ground, he usually wins the battle
in scrambles and transitions. When faced with a dangerous grappler
like Shinya Aoki, Melendez was able to pressure his opponent
and land punches while staying out of danger.
Masvidal
is competent on the ground, but he will be better off keeping
the fight upright, where he can try to keep Melendez at a safe
distance. It will simply be too draining for the Bellator Fighting
Championships veteran to match wits with Melendez on the mat,
especially if the fight advances to the championship rounds.
If Masvidal tires, Melendez can impose his will with elbows and
ground-and-pound.
Masvidal
is an experienced fighter with victories over respected veterans
like Joe Lauzon and Yves Edwards. He knows what he is doing in
the cage, so perhaps he can bait the champion into a brawl, where
Masvidal would have a distinct edge. However, Melendez has made
a career out of escaping bad positions, and he is too smart to
fight out of his element for very long.
The
Pick: This is an audition for Melendez. While an invitation to
the UFC is a foregone conclusion, another victory likely makes
him the No. 1 contender in waiting for the winner of Edgar-Henderson.
A loss drops him into the middle of a talented 155-pound pack.
Masvidal might be able to get the best of some standup exchanges
in the early going, but, eventually, Melendez’s remarkable
work rate is going to be the difference maker. As Gamebred fades,
Melendez wins by submission in the fourth round.
Strikeforce
Women’s Featherweight Championship
Cristiane Santos (10-1, 4-0 SF) vs. Hiroko Yamanaka (12-1, 0-0
SF)
The
Matchup: In the women’s 145-pound division, there is Santos,
and then there is everyone else. So far, nobody has been able
to handle her wrath. It will be interesting to see what direction
Zuffa LLC decides to go with its women’s brand in the coming
year. Santos is undoubtedly the sport’s most dominant woman,
but that does not always equal marketability in these times.
A worthy challenger would help to build interest.
Next
up for “Cyborg” is Yamanaka, a former Jewels standout
whom many regard as the No. 2 featherweight in the world. Yamanaka
carries an eight-fight winning streak into her Strikeforce debut,
but it will not take long to find out how large the gap is between
first and second best. True to her Chute Boxe roots, Santos will
come out fast and aggressive, and Yamanaka will have to weather
the storm early to have any hopes of taking the fight into the
later rounds.
It
has been more than a year since Cyborg stepped into the cage,
so if the Brazilian somehow begins slowly, Yamanaka will need
to take advantage. Santos’ striking power and physical prowess
are unmatched, giving her opponent little, if any, room for error.
Yamanaka
will need to use every bit of her 5-foot-11 frame to frustrate
Santos, whether it be with kicks to create distance or through
crafty submissions. Even if Yamanaka is able to land sharp combinations
at a safe range, it is possible that Santos will walk right through
them. While Cyborg is a renowned finisher, eight of Yamanaka’s
12 career wins have gone the distance. It is a long shot at best,
but “Cat’s Eye” has a better chance of catching
an overeager Santos in an armbar or triangle from her back than
she does of surviving multiple exchanges. Even on the ground,
Cyborg is no joke, with underrated awareness and intelligence.
The
Pick: Santos is a master at breaking her opponent’s will
through sheer physical dominance. Even if Yamanaka’s chin
can survive the first frame, Santos’ strength and persistence
will gradually wear on her. After such a long layoff, the champion
will have a point to prove and will not want to waste time. Fighting
with a purpose, Santos wins by first-round TKO.
Light
Heavyweights
Gegard Mousasi (31-3-2, 2-1-1 SF) vs. Ovince St. Preux (11-4,
5-0 SF)
The
Matchup: The gifted Mousasi remains something of an enigma to
mixed martial arts fans. Despite a gaudy record that includes
victories over the likes of Hector Lombard, Denis Kang, Melvin
Manhoef, Ronaldo Souza, Renato Sobral and Jake O'Brien, the Iranian-born
Dutchman seems to falter just when he is on the verge of a breakthrough.
The
most recent example of this came against Keith Jardine, where
an illegal upkick cost Mousasi a valuable victory against the
13-time UFC veteran. For a fighter with as many tools as he has,
Mousasi should never have been in the position where a point
deduction could cost him a victory in the first place. In the
meantime, he has been content to fight in Dream’s ring,
where he can flex his considerable kickboxing muscle.
Returning
to the cage for the first time since the draw with Jardine, Mousasi
is faced with the type of prospect he needs to beat soundly to
continue to warrant mention as one of the world’s top light
heavyweights. St. Preux is on a solid run of success, blasting
through eight straight foes, including five under the Strikeforce
banner. However, there is a big difference between finishing
a Joe Cason on a Challengers card and attempting to do the same
against Mousasi on a larger stage.
St.
Preux, a former linebacker at the University of Tennessee, is
not likely to be affected by butterflies -- playing in front
of the 100,000-plus that inhabit Neyland Stadium on Saturdays
in Knoxville, Tenn., has at least assured him of that. In his
rise to prominence, St. Preux has been able to utilize effective
standup to get the best of foes with lesser athletic talent.
That will not work against Mousasi, who is excellent at using
angles and movement to befuddle less experienced strikers. His
multi-pronged offensive attack allows him to wear down opponents
with kicks to the legs and body, and his jab is a worthy precursor
to more powerful punches.
The
biggest hole in Mousasi’s game is that he can sometimes
be taken down without much resistance. While St. Preux’s
wrestling skills are not on par with someone like Muhammed Lawal,
he has demonstrated an ability to be successful in a grappling-based
game. His accurate striking gives him a fighting chance to set
up the takedown and win rounds that way.
The
Pick: Taking on an opponent with the experience of Mousasi is
a daunting task for St. Preux. He will have to do a lot of things
right, including battling through fatigue in the bout’s
later stages. Late in round two, the Tennessean will be fatigued,
worn down by the all-around prowess of Mousasi. The former Strikeforce
champion will capitalize on the opening by finishing the bout
via TKO.
Lightweights
K.J. Noons (10-4, 2-2 SF) vs. Billy Evangelista (11-1, 7-1 SF)
The
Matchup: Noons owns the distinction of being the last man to
defeat current UFC welterweight No. 1 contender Nick Diaz. While
Diaz eventually got his revenge, the fact that Noons was able
to last five rounds with the former Strikeforce champion in their
rematch is a testament to his excellent boxing skill. What the
San Diego-based lightweight struggled with more recently was
the varied attack of Jorge Masvidal. “Gamebred” took
down Noons repeatedly, while also blending in kicks and knees
on the feet.
Evangelista
will want to follow a similar approach and keep his opponent
guessing if he is to have a chance. Simply standing and trading
in the pocket will make for a short night’s work, as Noons
is one of the best in the sport at using feints and unusual angles
to his advantage. His power is noteworthy, as well, with eight
knockout or technical knockout victories to his credit.
Evangelista’s
striking is solid, but he has not been overly dominant in his
signature wins. Even in triumphs over Waachim Spiritwolf and
Jorge Gurgel on the Strikeforce Challengers series, Evangelista
at times left himself exposed. The 31-year-old showed impressive
resolve in recovering, but Noons’ talent leaves less margin
for error. Evangelista will want to use leg kicks early to slow
down Noons’ movement. If he can do that and then utilize
his jab to set up takedowns, he will have swung the fight in
his favor.
Noons
is not especially comfortable fighting from his back, but if
he is allowed to find a rhythm while upright, it will be extremely
difficult for Evangelista to turn the tide.
The
Pick: Without a reach advantage to keep Noons at bay, it is going
to be difficult for Evangelista to impose his will. Noons is
not as large as Masvidal, but his technical boxing skill is superior.
Noons will avoid the majority of Evangelista’s attempts
to take the bout to the floor, and, given time to find his rhythm,
he finishes the contest with strikes by round two.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Jim
Rome skewers Rashad Evans for Sandusky quip; Miguel Torres cut
from UFC for rape remark
By Zach
Arnold
When
your face is plastered next to Jerry Sandusky on national television,
you know it’s not good news for your image. Jim Rome made
sure to cement that point home after the comments Rashad Evans
made yesterday in Chicago for the Fox presser to hype his fight
against Phil Davis.
MMA Fighting: Dana White says Rashad Evans’ Penn State Joke
‘One of the Dumbest Things You Could Say’
Sports by Brooks: Paterno Health Poor: ‘May Be His Last
Christmas’
MMA Torch (Jamie Penick): Miguel Torres cut from UFC due to rape
remark on Twitter
“You knew the Jerry Sandusky/Penn State scandal was going
to get worse before it got any better and… it has. Much
worse. With two more victims coming forward and alleging similarly
horrific allegations of Sandusky abusing them as well, allegations
of a victim being held captive in the basement and Sandusky’s
wife ignoring his screams for help while she was upstairs. And
besides Sandusky already being pretty much the worst guy ever,
his attorney Joe Amendola continues to paint him as the victim.
‘How would you take it if you were facing the kind of charges
he’s facing and your life’s work was helping kids?
You’d be devastated.’
“Hey, Joe, he didn’t help kids — he ruined their
lives. And it’s not a question of if but rather how many…
allegedly. And he’s not devastated because his life’s
work is being questioned — he’s devastated because
he’s finally figured out that he might be the most hated
man in America and that he’s going to spend the rest of
his life behind bars. That’s why he’s devastated.
“And to you Penn State alums and students that are all worked
up saying that my commentary on this story is damaging to your
reputation and affecting your chances of getting a good job…
let’s just say that Sandusky is not doing you any favors
by continuing to rock the Nittany Lions colors every time he
gets arrested. Good news is going forward he won’t be donning
your blue & white. He’ll be in prison orange.
“I wish I could stand here and say this story couldn’t
possibly get any worse but I can’t and unfortunately I know
it probably will.
“Maybe it’s Twitter and maybe it’s the 24/7 news
cycle but it’s rare in this era that an athlete can say
something that actually still shocks me. UFC Light Heavyweight
Rashad Evans, though, just did and not in a good way. Yesterday,
the very same day that Sandusky was being arrested on additional
charges of child molestation, Evans was sitting at a press conference
in Chicago spitting Sandusky smack at his upcoming opponent Phil
Davis. You see, Davis is a Penn State alum so maybe Suga thought
he’d try to hit him where it hurts and put him to sleep
with a Sandusky blast… but he should have just pulled that
punch.
‘I guarantee you’re going to be the first one to take
a shot because I’m going to put those hands on you worse
than that dude did them other kids at Penn State.’
“Rashad, you’ve got to be kidding me. What is it, other
than totally insensitive and just… dumb? Guys have run regrettable
smack before. David Haye saying that his fight with Audley Harrison
was going to be ‘as one-sided as gang rape’ immediate
comes to mind but you, my man, might be the new standard bearer.
Look, I get that these guys are in hype mode and the blood starts
to flow at these pressers. I just don’t care. You can’t
say you’re going to do to your opponent what Jerry Sandusky
allegedly did to these kids. Not that I haven’t done this
already 100 times before but memo to all athletes — there’s
certain things you cannot ever talk junk about. Ever. Keep all
references to 9/11 and Hitler out of your mouths and, I never
thought I’d have to say it, but you can officially add Jerry
Sandusky to that list as well. Look, I work in smack for a living.
I put food on my family’s table with smack. Smack is the
family business, so I know smack and that’s some of the
worst smack I’ve ever heard.”
That embrace by UFC towards social media at their fighter summit
is looking like one hell of a policy right now, isn’t it?
Forrest Griffin wasn’t available for comment.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
After
2 Knockouts in 3 Weeks, CSAC Regrets Licensing Jose Figueroa
By Michael
David Smith
Jose
Figueroa fought in Moscow on November 20 and was knocked out
in the first round. Then he fought in California on December
9 and was knocked out in the first round again. Now the California
State Athletic Commission says it regrets allowing Figueroa into
the ring for that second knockout loss -- but the Commission
says it was Figueroa who failed to disclose his prior knockout
loss when he filled out the Commission's paperwork at the weigh-in
on December 8.
"Prior
to the bout, Mr. Figueroa was required to fill out a pre-fight
questionnaire indicating his last bout and the outcome of that
bout. Mr. Figueroa did not list that fight nor did he list that
he lost by KO," CSAC Executive Officer George Dodd told
MMAFighting.com. "If CSAC would have known that Mr. Figueroa
had fought in Russia three weeks prior to this event and lost
by KO, we would not have allowed this fight to occur. We take
health and safety of combative athletes very seriously, but the
athlete also has a responsibility as well."
Dodd
says he is looking into the possibility that Figueroa may face
disciplinary action from the California Commission, something
that Dodd says he hasn't had to do before.
"I
haven't taken any type of disciplinary action since I've been
here against a fighter not stating his previous fight,"
Dodd said.
But
even if Figueroa failed to list his last fight on his paperwork,
why didn't the CSAC do its own research? It's not like Figueroa's
Moscow fight was a secret: It aired live on pay-per-view in the
United States as the co-main event on the Fedor Emelianenko vs.
Jeff Monson card, and Figueroa's loss was listed as part of his
record on several online databases, and also mentioned in several
news articles about the Fedor-Monson fight. (A Google News search
of Jose Figueroa's name reveals more than 10 articles that referenced
Figueroa's November 20 loss prior to his December 9 fight.)
Dodd
says the California Commission was relying on a database that
had not been updated with Figueroa's November 20 fight.
"The
California State Athletic Commission reviews the Association
of Boxing Commission (ABC) mixed martial arts website to review
past fights and suspensions of fighters," Dodd told MMAFighting.com.
"They did not list Jose Figueroa's previous fight in Russia
nor did it list that he was on any type of suspension."
Dodd
acknowledges that allowing a fighter to get knocked out twice
in less than three weeks can have potentially serious health
consequences.
"I
think with any type of fighter that's been knocked out, a rush
into the ring is the same thing as a football player who's been
knocked out -- the secondary concussions are just as traumatic
or more traumatic than the first one," Dodd said. "The
brain and the body haven't healed themselves. So I take that
seriously. In light of that, the fighter is at a greater risk
when his body isn't able to recover after a KO loss. I'm not
a medical doctor but in my experience and from what I've read
about post-secondary concussions, yeah, it's definitely dangerous."
Ultimately,
the responsibility to prevent a fighter from getting knocked
out twice in rapid succession is on everyone involved, Dodd says.
"A
fighter has the responsibility as well to ensure that he takes
care of himself and doesn't put information down that could lead
to disciplinary action against him," Dodd said. "They
have a responsibility -- I think there's a lot of people that
have the responsibility."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Vitor
Belfort is Anthony Johnson’s First Step to Conquering the
UFC Middleweights
by Ken
Pishna
“If
it goes out as planned, I just might stay at middleweight. If
not, I might go back to welterweight. As of right now, it’s
just a one-time thing.”
That’s
what Anthony Johnson told MMAWeekly.com shortly after his UFC
Rio 2 (UFC 142) bout against Vitor Belfort was announced.
The
fight still hasn’t happened – it takes place on Jan.
14 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – but it sounds as if, so far,
things are going as planned. Johnson, whose past UFC fights were
at welterweight, still hasn’t made a commitment, but he’s
got some definite ideas on his future weight class after several
weeks of camp at middleweight.
“I’m
not going to say I’m going back down to 170. We’ll
see how this fight turns out. Right now, I feel very comfortable
fighting at 185,” he said on Tuesday.
“It’s
just a challenge in life. Vitor is a former champ. He’s
a great athlete. So, I’m the type of guy that likes challenges
and he is the perfect fight for me to make my debut at 185. Who
wouldn’t want to go against a legend?”
Johnson
has struggled to make the 170-pound limit in the past, but he’s
been successful there, reeling off back-to-back wins recently
over Dan Hardy and Charlie Brenneman.
Still,
this new challenge appears to sit well with him. Johnson has
left himself an out to return to the welterweight division, but
less restrictions on dieting might be a considerable factor in
the final decision. Of course, nothing will way more heavily
than how he performs when it counts… in the Octagon.
“So
far, I plan on staying at 185. I feel comfortable. I feel good.
I’m confident at this weight. Right now, 170 isn’t
in my mind at all. My mission is to conquer 185.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Don
Frye returns to action, comes up short in Cali
Contributor:
Junior Samurai
A
hard-nosed pro wrestler who stormed onto the scene at UFC 9,
beating Jiu-Jitsu ace Amauri Bitetti, Don Frye decided to give
fighting another go. Frye, who was dominant on the MMA scene
up until UFC 21, in the 1990s, returned to the cage last Sunday
in California, this time under the GC Mega Stars banner, but
his performance wasn’t what it once was.
Fry
did take it to Ruben “Warpath” Villareal early on,
but 2:30 minutes into the opening round he succumbed to a knockout,
making it the 46-year-old’s second loss in a row.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
One
FC has new TV deal with Global TV (MNC Group) in Indonesia starting
in 2012
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.
MMA
Planet (Japan) is the source for the item about One FC inking
a deal with Global TV. Sherdog has more on Thursday’s presser
to promote the organization’s February 11th event in Jakarta.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Wanderlei
about TUF: "This is one of the most expected rematches in
all history!"
by Eduardo
Ferreira
Not
only the choice of the coaches of “The Ultimate Fighter”
messes with Wanderlei Silva’s mind. It’s not only about
being on the reality show, which will be broadcasted in open
television, but also because he’s fighting Vitor Belfort,
head-coach of the opponent team, at the end of the season. On
funny interview to TATAME, this TIesday (13th), “The Axe
Murderer” says he’ll display discipline as he leads
the house, talks about the rematch with the countryman, the goal
of helping people and a lot more.
“Martial
arts are about respect, discipline, posture. People will have
to sign a deal on which they say that if they mess up with me,
it’ll get ugly (laughs)”. The fighter, who wants the
rematch the “The Phenom” to be on Morumbi stadium,
in Sao Paulo, highlights the chance of presenting to Brazilian
people the daily routine of a MMA fighter.
“The
main idea is to show how is the life and the trainings of a fighter,
make them focus and don’t get disturbed by the cameras or
anything else, stay focused on the training.That’s what
I did on my last fight: I tried not to get so excited about the
cameras the big screens, the fans, otherwise you lose focus”.
Check bellow the complete interview.
You’re
going to be one of the TUF’s coaches. Are you excited about
it?
Of
course. I knew it for a week, the boss talked to me back in Vegas,
but I couldn’t say because it was a surprise, but I’m
really happy about it.
How
are the expectations, since you’re living for a long time
on the United States and will now be on a reality show in Brazil?
The
expectations are great. The main idea is to show how is the life
and the trainings of a fighter, make them focus and don’t
get disturbed by the cameras or anything else, stay focused on
the training. All athletes there I believe have a certain experience,
so don’t let it get to them. That’s what I did on my
last fight: I tried not to get so excited about the cameras the
big screens, the fans, otherwise you lose focus. It’s a
show, but they’re all there with one goal and I believe
they need to focus to make it come true.
What
about your rivalry with Vitor? Will it help you at some point?
There’re
many things they do on the American show that I particularly
don’t think it’s nice. I believe we gotta sell the
sport as it is. Martial arts are about respect, discipline, posture.
And that’s what they’ll see happening here, but it’s
not going to be messy. Not in my side, at least. But people will
have to sign a deal on which they say that if they mess up with
me, it’ll get ugly (laughs).
When
did you know it?
Like
a week, ten days ago. The boss came to talk to me, asked me if
I wanted to be one of the coaches and I said “of course”.
You
wanted to fight Vitor for a long time and now you’ll have
the chance. How are the expectations?
The
best possible. I believe I’m in a good place in my career,
I’m a lot focused, I’m dedicating a lot and I guess
it came on the right time. It’s been so long, and we’re
not fighting in the same city anymore, because we fought in Sao
Paulo, but it’ll show how the event has changed. As Vitor
said himself, the last time we didn’t even have locker-rooms,
so I warmed up on the bathroom, and now we have a big structure.
That’s what happened with the sport.
How
will be the feeling to see a guy from your team beating someone
of Vitor Belfort’s team?
I
wanna show the good side of the martial arts, show the positive
aspects of practicing martial arts and make it popular to people
who has never watched MMA in their lives, and maybe help people
who do many things wrong, like doing crack and other drugs. Sometimes
it happens because the guy doesn’t have anything to do,
his friend starts doing it and he goes and does it. I guess we
gotta bring these guys from the bad side and show them some things
that are good, that’s my mission.
How
will you deal with their psychological?
I’m
not a therapist (laughs). I don’t know.
Dana
White said this rematch can happen on a soccer stadium…
Why
not? I don’t know about it. I saw it on the internet too
(laughs). It’d be perfect.
You
said there won’t be mess around you at TUF’s house.
Will you preach discipline?
No.
Discipline is a part of martial arts. People used to say one
thing and now they’re saying the opposite. I guess all martial
artists must have a good posture, be respectful, and I’ll
be hoping that.
Who
would you like to work with?
I’m
talking to them to check their schedules, but it’s a secret.
You’re
a guy who says what’s on your mind. Have you thought about
it, since you’ll be live in open television?
I
hope I don’t say bullshit (laughs). I came from nothing
and I believe people will see themselves in me. I really don’t
mind about cameras, I’m always real. I have the good feeling
of having conquered it all on the sport, people know my name
all over the world, so it won’t change my life if more people
will know my name or not. What I wanna do is try to change the
lives of the ones who’ll be watching, try to set an example,
a role model. Now I’m not focused on the money, I’m
focused on people.
Source:
Tatame
|
Strikeforce
Melendez vs. Masvidal Predictions
By Michael
David Smith
Will
Gilbert Melendez make a statement that he deserves to be fighting
for the UFC lightweight belt, or will Jorge Masvidal pull off
a major upset? Will Cris Cyborg continue to look like the toughest
woman in the world after a layoff of more than a year? Can Gegard
Mousasi stop a takedown? Will MMA fans remember to watch Strikeforce
on Saturday, more than three months after the last major Strikeforce
card? We'll answer those questions and more as we predict the
winners of Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal below.
What:
Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal
Where:
Valley View Casino Center, San Diego
When:
Saturday, the Showtime broadcast begins at 10:00 PM ET
Predictions
on the four televised fights below.
Gilbert
Melendez vs. Jorge Masvidal
For Melendez, this fight is less about defending his Strikeforce
lightweight title than it is about demonstrating that he deserves
to be brought into the UFC and given huge pay-per-view fights,
like the Strikeforce champions at heavyweight (Alistair Overeem)
light heavyweight (Dan Henderson) middleweight (Jake Shields)
and welterweight (Nick Diaz) have been. Melendez needs more than
just a victory -- he needs a sensational performance, a spectacular
submission or knockout that has everyone clamoring to see Melendez
fight the winner of the upcoming Frankie Edgar-Ben Henderson
fight.
Melendez
should beat Masvidal handily, but finishing him in highlight-reel
fashion is going to be tough to do. Masvidal has only been finished
three times in his 28-fight MMA career. Melendez will win, but
it's going to be tough for him to win in a way that convinces
the UFC that he deserves the next crack at the belt.
Pick: Melendez
Cris
Cyborg vs. Hiroko Yamanaka
Cyborg is finally returning to the cage a year and a half after
she demolished Jan Finney in a serious mismatch. Give Strikeforce
credit for the matchmaking this time around, however, because
Yamanaka is no mismatch -- she's probably the second-best145-pound
woman in the world, after Cyborg, and she presents some interesting
matchup problems for Cyborg. The 5-foot-11 Yamanaka taller and
longer than Cyborg, and Cyborg's tendency to swing wildly with
her chin up and her hands down could leave her exposed to an
opponent with a reach advantage.
But
Yamanaka isn't much of a finisher (eight of her 12 wins are by
decision), and in a 25-minute title fight, eventually Cyborg
is going to hit her and hit her hard. Look for Cyborg to win,
but look for Yamanaka to give her the toughest test she's had
since she made her EliteXC debut three and a half years ago.
Pick: Cyborg
Gegard
Mousasi vs. Ovince St. Preux
Mousasi has much more experience than St. Preux and a much, much
more well-rounded game than St. Preux. Some fans view this fight
as a mismatch that Mousasi should win easily.
I'm
not so sure about that. I think St. Preux, a former University
of Tennessee defensive end who has gone on a tear in the cage
over the last couple of years, has just the kind of style to
drive Mousasi crazy: St. Preux is stronger than Mousasi and has
good takedowns, and Mousasi has shown in his loss to Mo Lawal
and his draw with Keith Jardine that he has a really, really
hard time staying off his back. It wouldn't surprise me at all
to see St. Preux take Mousasi down enough to grind out a decision.
However,
while Mousasi isn't very good at staying off his back, he is
good at finishing his opponents from his back. And that's what
I see him doing: Look for him to catch St. Preux in a triangle
choke or an arm bar and force him to tap.
Pick: Mousasi
KJ
Noons vs. Billy Evangelista
Noons and Evangelista are both coming off losses to Masvidal,
and the loser of this one may be done in Strikeforce, where no
fighter on a losing streak can expect to be safe. I see this
fight going the distance, and Noons landing more effective strikes
and winning the decision.
Pick: Noons
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Strikeforce
‘Melendez vs. Masvidal’ Prelims: 5 Reasons to Care
By Mike
Whitman
After
UFC parent company Zuffa LLC purchased competitor Strikeforce
in March, many felt the Las Vegas-based juggernaut would assimilate
the promotion, as it had done with the WEC and Pride Fighting
Championships in years past.
Instead,
it appears Strikeforce will continue to operate under the Zuffa
umbrella through 2012. Its broadcast deal with Showtime set to
expire in roughly three months, Strikeforce is now close to reaching
a renewal deal with the premium cable network, according to UFC
President Dana White.
However,
before the promotion embarks on yet another year of mixed martial
arts competition, Strikeforce will close out 2011 with its offering
at the Valley View Casino Center on Saturday in San Diego. Here
are five reasons to care about the Strikeforce “Melendez
vs. Masvidal” prelims.
Silverback
or Silver Lining?
It
is hard to know just where to place lightweight Justin Wilcox
in the 155-pound pecking order, and his last two fights have
provided few clues to aid in that process. After running over
a clearly overmatched Rodrigo Damm, Wilcox had his bout with
Gesias Cavalcante prematurely ended by an accidental eye poke
before much of anything had been decided.
Wilcox
appears to possess many of the tools that could make him a successful
lightweight. His overstated physique seems to provide the functional
strength that many others do not have, and that is only complimented
by his solid boxing and wrestling skills.
His
opponent, Caros Fodor, is a dangerous one for “The Silverback.”
Well-trained under the watchful eye of Matt Hume but lacking
any real name recognition, “The Future” could easily
play spoiler if he is overlooked.
Will
this mark Wilcox’s first step toward serious contender status,
or will he prove that he is not yet ready for prime time?
Fodor’s
‘Future’
Fodor
should look at his clash with Wilcox as a tremendous opportunity.
The AMC Pankration product has won his last four fights, dispatching
both David Douglas and James Terry in 2011. Wilcox should prove
the toughest test of Fodor’s career. As such, a win over
the hulking Californian would essentially allow Fodor to snatch
Wilcox’s spot in line, catapulting “The Future”
to bigger and better opportunities.
It
is currently unknown if the once-beaten protege of “The
Wizard” will be able to showcase his typical work rate and
wear down his muscled foe, but watching Fodor try will undoubtedly
be good fun from the safety of your couch.
Strikes
and Gutters
It's
time for Bowling to ante up.
Roger
Bowling appeared to be a strong welterweight prospect last year.
Undefeated and possessing a wealth of natural athleticism, the
Ohioan earned a contentious technical decision over veteran Bobby
Voelker in May 2010 to bring his career mark to 8-0.
His
undefeated streak was halted by Voelker in their rematch, however,
as “Vicious” avenged his loss by knocking out Bowling
in the second round of their Strikeforce Challengers 11 headliner.
The rubber match also went Voelker’s way, as he once again
pounded out his younger opponent in July.
Will
Bowling be able to put the losses behind him and take a real
stab at fulfilling his potential against Jerron Peoples, or will
the Voelker losses forever define his career? Fans will see what
kind of resolve, if any, remains inside of the welterweight.
Pacing
Peoples
Bowling
should have his work cut out for him in Peoples. Much in the
same way that Fodor could use Wilcox to significantly upgrade
his resume, so, too, could Peoples turn some heads with a win
over Bowling. In five pro outings, it has been kill or be killed
for the Californian, as Peoples has yet to see a third round.
The
welterweight came out typically aggressive against Eduardo Pamplona
in his most recent contest in June, and it cost him dearly. Though
he landed a nice right hand to start the bout, Peoples got caught
shortly thereafter, hitting the deck and eventually succumbing
to ground-and-pound courtesy of Pamplona.
Should
Peoples pace himself against Bowling, he may be able to match
athleticism with the Ohioan down the stretch. Whether it lasts
three minutes or three rounds, both men have a lot on the line,
and that should translate to some entertaining action.
Prospect
or Placeholder?
Gabriel
Salinas-Jones is a tricky one.
Barrel-chested
and barrel-bellied, the six-foot-one, 260-pound heavyweight has
shown some decent submission skills on the regional circuit,
finishing current Bellator Fighting Championships talent Zak
Jensen last year. After rifling off four straight finishes, Salinas-Jones
made a successful Strikeforce debut on July 30.
His
victory did not come easily, however, has Bryan Humes stuffed
many of Salinas-Jones’ attempts to take the fight to the
floor. If the 27-year-old has not worked on his wrestling, he
could find himself in for a long night when he locks up with
former NAIA All-American wrestler and International Fight League
veteran Devin Cole, a man who went the distance rising star Daniel
Cormier in January.
Should
Salinas-Jones best Cole, he could prove to be a welcome addition
to a Strikeforce heavyweight division that may thin dramatically
in the coming months. Higher-profile bouts with talents like
Lavar Johnson and Shane del Rosario could await, but those potential
matchups are obviously contingent upon a victory over Cole.
Source
Sherdog
|
Dana
White: Extreme Confusion
Posted
by Jeremy Lambert
We’ve
all overreacted at some point in our lives to something. I do
it all the time when watching a hockey or football game, and
I’m willing to bet that most of you reading this overreact
or react on instinct and emotion to sports as well.
So
when Dana White overreacts to certain aspects of his company,
like fights not delivering or his fighters doing something stupid,
it’s to be expected.
The
difference between you, me, and White is that he’s in charge
of a multi-million dollar company.
P.S.
- If you’re reading this and you’re in charge of a
multi-million dollar company, hook a brother up with a job.
Moving
forward, on Thursday night Dana fired Miguel Torres for an unfunny
tweet about a rape van. Dana didn’t see the comment prior
to being interviewed in Canada by Michael Landsberg, but made
the decision shortly after the interview to release Torres without
talking to the bantamweight star.
Earlier
in the day, Rashad Evans made a comment about Penn St. and their
child molestation scandal directed towards his upcoming opponent
and PSU alum Phil Davis. Instead of firing or fining Evans, Dana
talked to the former UFC champ, let him explain himself, and
decided that Rashad was sorry and that it wouldn’t happen
again.
We
all see the double standard here. Even though Rashad’s comment
was far worse than Miguel’s, Miguel was the one released
because he’s never headlined a PPV that did a million buys.
Lets not look at the double standard though.
Instead,
lets look at Dana and his overreaction to one situation and his
sensible reaction to the other. With Torres, he was essentially
blindsided with news of the tweet and reacted immediately without
giving the fighter a chance to explain himself. With Rashad,
even though his comment was made just a few feet away from White,
he claims he didn’t hear the comment but once he got news
of it, he let Rashad explain himself.
It’s
not like this is the first time Dana has overreacted to a situation.
The problem with his overreactions though is that he always takes
the extreme. It’s either the worst thing in the world to
happen or the best. There’s no middle ground with him. And
once again, when you’re the head of a multi-million dollar
company, it’s probably not the best idea to take the extreme.
When
Quinton Jackson had his run in with the law or certain female
reporters, Dana allowed “Rampage” to explain himself
and let him off with nothing more than a warning, much like he
did with Evans.
When
Junior dos Santos defeated Cain Velasquez in 64 seconds, Dana
overreacted to the negative extreme. He was obviously upset that
his big main event lasted just over a minute, but instead of
praising JDS, he instead decided to bury both fighters on national
TV.
When
Jason Miller lost to Michael Bisping last weekend, Dana took
to Twitter to call it, “the most one-sided fight in UFC
history,” even though there was a fight not three hours
before that was more one-sided. Once again, it was an overreaction
to the negative extreme.
When
Frankie Edgar came back to defeat Gray Maynard at UFC 136, Dana
took the positive extreme and called Edgar the #2 pound-for-pound
fighter in the world.
There
are plenty of other examples of Dana reacting to one extreme
or the other to all kinds of situations. Unfortunately it’s
usually more negative than positive, but I get it. Dana is a
very emotional guy. If you don’t believe me, just watch
him and Joe Rogan scream at everyone to order the PPV even though
we can hear him just fine.
We
can all agree that Dana has done great things for the sport of
MMA and that the UFC likely wouldn’t be in this position
if someone else were in charge. He’s a guy that inspires
confidence in his group, thanks in large part to his emotions.
But that emotion is going to get him into trouble, especially
now that he’s even more in the public eye thanks to the
FOX deal.
Personally,
I think Dana needs to step back a little bit. Right now he’s
the face of the UFC. Whether he’ll admit that or not, he
is. He’s the most public figure in the company. He has the
most twitter followers, he’s in the Bud Light commercials,
he does more interviews than any other figurehead in any other
major sport, and he does video blogs every week, and he’s
always in the public eye.
When
you’re as emotional as Dana and when you’re in front
of the public as much as Dana, you’re going to say stupid
things. It’s the environment he’s created. You want
to know why guys like Forrest Griffin, Torres, and Evans make
rape and molestation jokes or why guys like Frank Mir say they
want to kill other fighters? It’s because Dana, the head
of the company, reacts on emotion and calls journalists “b*tches”
and “c*nts” and throws around “f*ck” like
it’s a football and he’s Aaron Rodgers.
Dana
isn’t going to change his ways, but he can tone down just
how much he does. Let Lorenzo Fertitta be in front of the camera
a bit more at press conferences and on media calls, definitely
don’t allow Dana to be front and center on the FOX shows
like he was on November 12, and someone should probably monitor
what he puts out on twitter as well.
MMA
is a sport where guys get paid to punch each other in the face.
We shouldn’t expect them to act like Taylor Swift, although
they could learn a few things from her about how to become a
media darling, but they have to know when they’re crossing
line. But before Dana can police his fighters, he needs to do
a better job policing himself.
Source:
Fight Opinion/Five Ounces
|
Georges
St-Pierre Knee Surgery a Success
UFC
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre had knee surgery on Tuesday;
his first step back to the Octagon.
St-Pierre
tweeted that Tuesday’s surgery at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic
Clinic in Los Angeles was a success.
“Dr.
ElAttrache says my surgery (ACL patellar tendon autograft) was
huge success! Ligament very strong. Tks for support!” tweeted
GSP.
St-Pierre
blew out his knee, tearing his ACL and doing damage to his meniscus,
while training for a bout with Nick Diaz that was slated for
UFC 143 on Super Bowl weekend. The champ had to back out of his
UFC 137 fight against Carlos Condit in October due to a sprained
knee.
UFC
president Dana White, when he announced St-Pierre’s injury,
indicated that he would be out of action for about 10 months,
but was also confident in his champion’s resilience.
“These
knee injuries are very common in athletes, whether you blow your
ACL or whatever else it might be,” White said . “We’re
going to make sure Georges gets the right surgery with the right
guy, the right rehabilitation. He’s an athlete that’s
taken very good care of himself through his entire career. He’s
a guy that’ll put in the work and do the things that need
to be done. I’m 100-percent confident that Georges St-Pierre
will rebound from this injury and come back.”
St-Pierre’s
doctor, Neal S. ElAttrache, is a renowned surgeon, known for
work with professional athletes. He is the team doctor of the
Los Angeles Dodgers professional baseball team.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Vitor
Belfort and Wanderlei Silva Named TUF Brazil Coaches
by Damon
Martin
A
rivalry will finally be settled during the first ever Ultimate
Fighter: Brazil as Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort square off
as coaches.
UFC president Dana White made the announcement on Tuesday at
a press conference in Brazil.
Silva and Belfort are no strangers to each other. The legendary
Brazilians first faced off at UFC 17.5, also known as Ultimate
Brazil.
Belfort blitzed Silva with punches in the early going of the
fight, finishing off his fellow Brazilian in just 44 seconds
in 1998.
Now, more than a decade later, the two will meet face to face
again in their home country of Brazil as coaches for The Ultimate
Fighter.
The format for the show will run similar to the early seasons
of TUF in the United States, with the fighters living and training
in the house for six weeks before squaring off in a finale.
“The premiere is going to be March 25. It’s going to
be every Sunday night on Globo. The finale will be in June, but
we don’t know where that’s going to be yet,” said
White.
This will mark the first season of The Ultimate Fighter to not
take place in the United States. The UFC has long planned to
expand internationally, and now they have roots in Brazil starting
with this newest edition of TUF.
White, along with several UFC officials, traveled to Brazil for
the open tryouts on Monday. Cast selection will be announced
at a later date.
The Ultimate Fighter Brazil will also air in some fashion in
the United States, and as of last week the rumors were for it
to show on Fuel TV, although nothing has been announced yet.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Nogueira’s
Doc Opts Against Arm Surgery After Break at UFC 140
By Colin
Foster
Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira will not undergo
surgery on his right arm, which was broken by a Frank Mir kimura
last Saturday at UFC 140 in Toronto.
Nogueira’s
twin and fellow UFC fighter Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro”
Nogueira shared news of his brother’s condition Monday on
Twitter after a consultation with orthopedic surgeon Dr. John
Itamura in Los Angeles.
“We’ve
just had a medical diagnosis,” wrote Minotoro. “[Dr.
Itamura] said he would prefer not to do surgery, that [the bone]
will calcify by itself and that in five months, he’s fighting
again.”
UFC
officials referred Nogueira to Dr. Itamura, who prescribed twice-a-day
ultrasound therapy and fitted “Big Nog” with a brace.
The plastic accessory will allow Nogueira to move his arm, something
the pure plaster of a hard cast would not. Long regarded as one
of MMA’s finest grapplers, Nogueira’s submission defeat
against Mir marked the first such loss of the Brazilian’s
42-fight career.
In
August, 35-year-old returned from an 18-month layoff brought
on by hip and knee surgeries to knock out prospect Brendan Schaub.
This
item was updated at 9:46 p.m. ET to clarify that Dr. Itamura
advised against surgery. Pictured: X-ray of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s
right arm released Saturday by the UFC on Twitter.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Why
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Is a Dying Art in the Sport of MMA
By Rob
Tatum
Over the course of nearly a century, the grappling art of Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu has proven to be one of the most effective techniques
in all of combat sports. That was never more apparent than when
the Ultimate Fighting Championship was formed in 1993 and Royce
Gracie dominated the competition, despite being one of the smallest
participants in the field.
As the UFC evolved into a regulated, publicly recognized sport,
BJJ remained one of the most popular grappling bases for athletes.
Nearly 20 years after the first UFC event, a recent downward
trend in the number of submissions has raised concerns over the
effectiveness of the grappling base in today’s mixed martial
arts landscape.
This past year has featured the most events (and fights) in UFC
history, and while the promotion has historically exhibited a
submission rate of roughly one in every four fights (25 percent),
the 24 events (to date) have had a rate of less than one in every
five fights (19 percent).
So what do these numbers mean? Could this year be an anomaly?
Certainly, but if you extend the statistics back over the last
three years, the number of submissions has been closer to the
current year's (21 percent).
Since BJJ is based on overcoming opponents using submissions
(chokes and joint manipulations), this reduction in finishes
at the highest level may give the wrong impression about the
art.
Further compounding the issue is that world-class practitioners
such as the UFC's Demain Maia and Strikeforce's Ronaldo "Jacare"
Souza (both are five-time World Champions) have focused heavily
on improving their striking to compete in MMA and have largely
abandoned their submission games.
Maia started his UFC career with five straight submission victories,
but since then has gone just 4-3 with no finishes. Souza, similarly,
has chosen to strike with a number of opponents, losing his middleweight
championship to Luke Rockhold in a bout that largely took place
on the feet.
Is the current trend of fewer submissions going to continue?
·Yes
42.0%
·No
41.3%
·Not Sure
16.7%
Total votes: 773
Without diving any deeper into the subject, it would be easy
to think that BJJ is losing its utility in the sport. However,
doing that wouldn't be giving a major component of the sport
its proper justice.
The biggest reason that BJJ is no longer as dominant as it once
was is simply that everyone is training it. You'd be hard-pressed
to find any fighter that competes in MMA that doesn't drill the
art at least once or twice a week. With this growth, even athletes
who don't consider BJJ their base are learning to defend against
the once lethal attacks of the seasoned veterans. Wrestlers are
no longer a fish out of water off their backs, and strikers don't
panic when the fight hits the ground.
It's just the natural progression of the sport. Unfortunately
for BJJ (and its practitioners), the art will have to grow as
well. It's not that the techniques have become less meaningful,
but more people have begun to master them. There have been plenty
on instances in the past where certain disciplines have dominated
MMA, and it would come as no shock if BJJ again makes that claim
in the future.
Source: Fight Opinion/Bleacher Report
|
Despite
Owning Strikeforce, Dana White Hasn't Changed Stance on Women's
MMA
By Ariel
Helwani
True
story: at the UFC 139 post-fight press conference, Dana White
not only referenced a Strikeforce Challengers fight, he also
referenced a women's fight.
Crazy,
I know.
Basically,
when talking about the late stoppage in the Chris Weidman-Tom
Lawlor bout, White said he felt there was also a late stoppage
in the Ronda Rousey-Julia Budd fight the night before at Strikeforce
Challengers in Las Vegas.
The
mention was a surprising one for obvious reasons, but it got
me wondering whether White, who, along with his partners at Zuffa,
now owns Strikeforce, was warming up to the idea of promoting
women's fights.
Not
so fast. The UFC president still believes the divisions are too
shallow on talent right now.
"As the sport continues to grow and as time goes on, maybe
that will change," White said. "Maybe it will change
or maybe less women will get involved, I don't know. We'll see
what happens. Time will only tell. I don't know. But yeah, I
still feel the same way."
Of
course, White has made his stance on women's MMA pretty clear
over the years. In short, he's not against women competing in
MMA, but he simply doesn't believe there are enough top-level
athletes fighting right now to build divisions around. It's a
fair argument that even the most devoted supporter of WMMA would
probably agree with.
That
said, the times they are a changin', and after Gina Carano's
absence took some of the spotlight away from the female fighters,
the buzz seems to be coming back, thanks in large part to the
emergence of Rousey, who White admitted after the presser that
he was impressed with.
"She's
talented," White said. "Great fights."
So
for now, women's MMA fans will have to settle on a mention from
White. You gotta start somewhere.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
UFC
140: Jones vs. Machida Medical Suspensions
Following
one of the best events of the year, in UFC 140, the Ontario Ministry
of Consumer Services has handed down the medical suspensions
for the show.
The Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services releases fighter medical
suspension info, however, they do not release pay info as done
by some other athletic bodies in the United States.
No fighter was suspended more than 60 days, including Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira, although it’s assumed with a broken arm
he’ll be out longer than the two-month requirement.
Here are the full list of medical suspensions for UFC 140: Jones
vs. Machida:
Lyoto Machida suspended 30 days for cut over his right eye.
Jon Jones suspended 14 days (automatic)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira suspended 60 days. Needs clearance from
orthopedic surgeon for dislocated shoulder
Frank Mir suspended 14 days (automatic)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira suspended 14 days (automatic)
Tito Ortiz suspended 60 days. Needs chest x-ray and abdominal
ultrasound.
Brian Ebersole suspended 14 days (automatic)
Claude Patrick suspended 14 days (automatic)
Chan Sung Jung suspended 14 days (automatic)
Mark Hominick suspended 60 days. Needs MRI or CT scan
Igor Pokrajac suspended 14 days (automatic)
Krzysztof Soszynski suspended 60 days. Needs MRI or CT scan
Costa Philippou suspended 14 days (automatic)
Jared Hamman suspended 60 days. Needs MRI or CT scan
Dennis Hallman suspended 14 days (automatic)
John Makdessi suspended 14 days (automatic)
Yves Jabouin suspended 14 days (automatic)
Walel Watson suspended 14 days (automatic)
Nik Lentz suspended 14 days (automatic)
Mark Bocek suspended 14 days (automatic)
Jake Hecht suspended 14 days (automatic)
Rich Attonito suspended 60 days. Needs MRI or CT scan
John Cholish suspended 14 days (automatic)
Mitch Clarke suspended 60 days. Needs MRI or CT scan.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Reporter
crashes UFC press conference
Ivan Trindade
“Ivan
Trindade, reporter for GRACIEMAG – you’re on the list?
You sure you got your press pass?” asked the receptionist.
“Yeah, I put in for my press pass but received two e-mails
in response – one saying my request had been accepted, and
shortly after, another saying the opposite.”
From the look of it, the second email was right.
But since the presser was in Rio, he wrangled the red bracelet
giving him access.
On the inside, a classic scene.
Impeccable production, heavyweight press members, and almost
Swiss punctuality.
At 1:09 pm, Vitor Belfort entered the hall followed by featherweight
champ José Aldo, UFC president Dana White, as well as
Chad Mendes and Anthony Johnson.
Dana White started out by saying tickets would go on sale starting
at 11:30 pm this Wednesday and advised, “Better hurry, the
they sell out quick.”
Nothing too remarkable happened at the presser – no tumult,
no poignant questions.
José Aldo guaranteed that Chad Mendes training with Urijah
Faber (who fought and lost to the Brazilian) doesn’t help
his opponent one bit: “They’re two different fights.”
Chad thinks otherwise: “Urijah is showing me the paths to
victory. I hope to make the most of the chance their giving me.”
Vitor Belfort was enthusiastic about his time training with Georges
Saint-Pierre and team: “It was really worthwhile, and I
hope more and more of these exchanges between MMA stars happen.
We have to meet up in the octagon as much as we do in the gym.”
Belfort’s opponent, Anthony Johnson, was respectful in his
comments: “It’s an honor to fight in Brazil, the home
of MMA. Belfort is a great guy and great fighter.”
In the crowd, a mix of the specialized and general press.
Hence questions like, “Chad Mendes, you appeared on Twitter
wearing a Vasco jersey,and José Aldo is a rubro-negro
[Flamengo] fanatic. Are you aware of the rivalry between the
two clubs?”
The American was quick to smooth things over but left a provocation
hanging in the air: “That photo was taken well before the
fight was made. The jersey belongs to my Jiu-Jitsu coach, who’s
crazy about Vasco. I didn’t want to offend anyone, but I
watched some Vasco games and like the team. Yes, I might root
for them.”
Or, to Dana White, “Do you know Galvão Bueno, the
Globo commentator?
The UFC kingpin let them down, “I haven’t a clue who
he is.”
A prankster in the audience added, “É do Brasilll!”
imitating the talking head’s trademark phrase.
Another question had to do with how the Brazilians felt fighting
at home.
“I’ve fought in Rio before and it’s always exciting,
but this time I’ll be on the big stage. For sure my thoughts
will return to the early days, when I first arrived here in Rio,”
replied José Aldo.
A Rio de Janeiro native, Befort was thankful: “After so
many years, it’s a privilege to fight in Rio. I promise
to do my best.”
The microphone made the rounds between reporters until I decided
to put in a question,, capitalizing on how no one else touched
on the subject.
“Dana, there are two fighters head and shoulder above their
divisions – Jon Jones and Anderson Silva. When will we get
to see them face off? Is the UFC thinking about that matchup?”
The UFC top dog smiled and faltered before responding: “Well,
Anderson and Jones still have some things to do first. Besides
that, Anderson has been reluctant to move up to light heavyweight.
But we always put together the fights fans want to see, and this
one will be no different. I just don’t know when it will
happen.”
And the subject shot off in a different direction.
Dana became serious again and announced: “TUF Brazil kicks
off on March 25, 2012 and will air every Sunday on Globo. The
coaches of the two teams are Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort.
In the USA, TUF is the reality show that’s been on the air
the longest. Brazil will be stoked to have its own TUF.”
A video with Portuguese narration introduced the show.
When the lights came back on, there were Wand and Belfort.
Dana continued: “From here we’re going to São
Paulo for the selection process. We see over 400 guys and test
their skills as fighters, check their backgrounds and pick the
personalities that would be the most attractive on television,”
he explained.
After another round of the room the microphone was back in my
hand: “Wand and Belfort, you are rivals and will now face
each other as coaches. What makes each of you a better coach
than the other?” I said in provocation.
The two didn’t falter, though.
“I’m not thinking about that. I just want to be able
to pass on my experience as a fighter to new athletes. I’m
going to teach them what it is to want to win, how to deal with
injury, training, victory and defeat,” mused a mellow Wand,
almost causing us to forget his nickname, “The Axe Murderer”.
Belfa was even more diplomatic: “My concern is to give it
my best shot. I’ll be there body, soul and spirit.”
Wrapping up, Dana guaranteed the two will face off in the show’s
grand finale.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
2011
World MMA Award Winners
Written
by Tom Ngo
Fighters
Only’s 2011 World MMA Awards took place Wednesday night
at The Pearl inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The who’s who of the mixed martial arts world, except yours
truly, attended the fancy black-tie ceremony.
However, just because 5thRound.com wasn’t nominated for
anything doesn’t mean we’ll completely ignore the festivities
like other bitter websites did.
UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen hosted the shindig and Molly Querim
returned as the show’s co-host.
Here are 2011's winners:
INTERNATIONAL FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Michael Bisping, Alexander Gustafsson, Joachim Hansen,
Alistair Overeem and Dennis Siver
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
Nominees: Herb Dean, “Big” John McCarthy, Dan Miragliotta,
Josh Rosenthal and Mario Yamasaki
Winner: Herb Dean
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Marloes Coenen vs. Liz Carmouche at “Strikeforce:
Feijao vs. Henderson,” Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry at UFC
on Versus 5, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (career), Tito Ortiz (career)
and Joe Warren vs. Joe Soto at Bellator 27
Winner: Cheick Kongo
BEST TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT
Nominees: Bad Boy, Everlast, Hayabusa, Rival and Venum
Winner: Everlast
MMA JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
Nominees: John Morgan, Gareth A. Davies, Josh Gross, Ariel Helwani
and Ben Fowlkes
Winner: Ariel Helwani
COACH OF THE YEAR*
Nominees: Rafael Cordeiro, Eric Del Fierro, Cesar Gracie, Greg
Jackson and Shawn Tompkins
Winner: Greg Jackson
BEST LIFESTYLE CLOTHING
Nominees: Affliction, Bad Boy, Form Athletics, RVCA and TapouT
Winner: TapouT
PROMOTION OF THE YEAR
Nominees: BAMMA, Bellator Fighting Championships, DREAM, Strikeforce
and UFC
Winner: UFC
MEDIA SOURCE OF THE YEAR
Nominees: “Inside MMA” on HDNet, MMAFighting.com, “MMA
Live” on ESPN, MMAJunkie.com and Sherdog.com
Winner: MMAJunkie.com
BEST TECHNICAL CLOTHING
Nominees: Bad Boy, Hayabusa, Jaco, Sprawl and Venum
Winner: Bad Boy
LIFETIME ACHIEVMENT AWARD
Shawn Tompkins (His wife, Emilie, accepted the award)
MMA PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Bruce Buffer, Jacob “Stitch” Duran, Joe Rogan,
Bas Rutten and Burt Watson
Winner: Joe Rogan
FEMALE FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Marloes Coenen, Zoila Gurgel, Sarah Kaufman, Ronda
Rousey and Miesha Tate
Winner: Miesha Tate
RING ENTRANCE OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133, Vitor Belfort at UFC
133, Dave Herman at UFC 131, Mark Hominick at UFC 129 and Jason
“Mayhem” Miller at DREAM.16
Winner: Jason “Mayhem” Miller
BREAKTHROUGH FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Donald Cerrone, Daniel Cormier, Phil Davis, Demetrious
Johnson and Brian Stann
Winner: Donald Cerrone
SUBMISSION OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Chan Sung Jung vs. Leonard Garcia at UFC Fight Night
24, Pable Garza vs. Yves Jabouin at UFC 129, Richard Hale vs.
Nik Fekete at Bellator 38, Vinny Magalhaes vs. Viktor Nemkov
at M-1 Challenge 25, and Tito Ortiz vs. Ryan Bader at UFC 132
Winner: Chan Sung Jung
RING GIRL OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Arianny Celeste, Kelli Hutcherson, Brittney Palmer,
Chandella Powell and Mercedes Terrell
Winner: Arianny Celeste
LEADING MAN OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Scott Coker, Lorenzo Fertitta, Marc Ratner, Bjorn Rebney
and Dana White
Winner: Dana White
KNOCKOUT OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Patricky “Pitbull” Freire vs. Toby Imada
at Bellator 39, Cheick Kongo vs. Pat Barry at UFC Live 5, John
Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson at UFC 129, Lyoto Machida vs. Randy
Couture at UFC 129, and Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC
126
Winner: Anderson Silva
FIGHT OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick at UFC 129, Dominick Cruz
vs. Urijah Faber at UFC 132, Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard at
UFC 125, Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley at “Strikeforce: Diaz
vs. Daley,” and Diego Sanchez vs. Martin Kampmann at UFC
Live 3
Winner: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
CHARLES “MASK” LEWIS FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
Nominees: Dominick Cruz, Nick Diaz, Dan Henderson, Jon Jones
and Anderson Silva
Winner: Jon Jones
* Renamed to ‘Shawn Tompkins Coach of the Year Award’
Source: Fight Opinion/5th Round
|
UFC
142: stars excited about fighting in Rio
The
four main fighters of UFC 142, which will take place in Rio,
on January 14th, at HSBC Arena, gathered this Tuesday (13th),
at Windson Hotel, in Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, for the official
press conference of the show, leaded by Dana White, president
of Ultimate. Despite the differences, Jose Aldo, Vitor Belfort,
Chad Mendes and Anthony Johnson showed something in common: they
are all looking forwards fighting on the Wonderful City.
Although
he has already been on national events, Aldo, who is the featherweight
title holder, knows it’s a greater responsibility he has
this time.
“I’ve
fought here and I could feel the fans affection. To me, I see
it with good eyes, but now it’s on the biggest event of
the world. We get a little excited about it, but I try to keep
focused on the fight. If I do well, people will be satisfied”.
Born
and raised in Rio, Vitor Belfort has never fought in his hometown.
Veteran and one of the most popular MMA figures in Brazil, the
Phenom didn’t promise a knockout or a submission, but affirmed
he will make everything in his power to put on a good fight.
“I
promise to do my best. It’s a privilege to be on the top
of the world and fight in my city for the first time”.
Aware
that the fans will play against them, Chad Mendes and Anthony
Johnson seemed also to be excited about fighting in Brazil, even
when fighting again local guys. Trained by the Brazilian Fabio
Pateta, the featherweight talked about the importance of the
country to MMA and affirmed he’ll be ready to come and take
Aldo’s belt home.
“MMA
was born in Brazil. Being in Brazil is like a dream come true.
I’ve always wanted to visit, not only during vacations.
But fighting on the 14th with changes of bringing the belt to
the United States, that’s the dream. I know the Brazilian
fans will gonna boo, but I hope some of them are gonna cheer
for me”, said Mendes, who was then backed up by Johnson.
“Fighting
a Brazilian is a great honor. People are mad about sports here.
I’ve heard good and bad things about UFC Rio. I’m ready
to see what Vitor has to show me”.
Source:
Tatame
|
Strikeforce’s
Big Fish
By Tristen Critchfield
Gilbert Melendez sure sounds like a short-timer, despite his
multi-fight contract with Strikeforce.
Of
course, ever since Zuffa LLC bought out the San Jose, Calf.-based
promotion in March, jumping ship to the UFC is quite a bit simpler
than it used to be. In recent months, three Strikeforce titleholders
-- light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson, heavyweight champion
Alistair Overeem and welterweight champion Nick Diaz -- all made
the transition to mixed martial arts’ largest organization
in the name of bigger fights and more pay-per-view buys.
It
is only natural to wonder when Melendez, ranked No. 2 on Sherdog.com’s
list of lightweights, will be making a similar move. Speculation
only intensified when UFC President Dana White began hinting
in October that the Strikeforce lightweight king’s Octagon
debut was imminent. Melendez himself has not shied away from
the discussion, even with his title defense against Jorge Masvidal
on tap for Saturday at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego.
“It’s
inevitable,” he said during a pre-fight conference call
for Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Masvidal” in which questions
centered as much around the Californian’s impending departure
as they did on his bout with Masvidal. “I think some of
the top fighters need to go to the UFC, and I’m one of those
guys. The goal is to be UFC champ, and the only way to do that
is by getting the UFC title.”
Any
plans of that nature would be derailed by a loss to Masvidal,
an American Top Team product who enters their five-round fight
looking for his third straight win in 2011, having already beaten
Billy Evangelista in March and K.J. Noons in June. The former
Sengoku Raiden Championship and Bellator Fighting Championships
competitor is not a household name, but he is a well-traveled
veteran who can test the champion. If anyone understands what
it means to be overlooked despite a lengthy list of accomplishments,
it is Melendez, who has not always gotten the recognition he
deserves because his entire body of work has come outside of
the UFC.
“A
lot of people have been talking nonsense about Jorge -- that
he’s no good,” Melendez said. “That talk kind
of bothers me. If you don’t fight in the UFC, they think
you’re no good. He poses a lot of threats on the feet; he’s
a well-rounded fighter. I think he could take out a lot of guys
in the UFC right now.”
Melendez
has won five fights in a row, and while he is quick to credit
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker for continually supplying him with
top-notch competition, he also feels he has exhausted most of
the possibilities within the promotion.
“I
think if I get past Jorge, if I stay in Strikeforce, [then] no,
I don’t see challenges there. There’s definitely some
talent, but I think I’ve done my thing there,” he said.
“It would be cool if they brought some UFC fighters to Strikeforce
-- I love fighting in Strikeforce. It doesn’t matter if
it’s a UFC or a Strikeforce fighter; I just want a top fighter.
Masvidal
awaits in San Diego.
“Coker brought me [Shinya] Aoki; he brought me [Tatsuya]
Kawajiri,” Melendez added. “Scott will always pull
some tough fighter out of nowhere to give me a challenge. I can’t
think of anyone on the roster [right now], but Scott always pulls
someone out. There’s a lot of top fighters out there.”
Many
of them reside in the UFC’s ultra-competitive 155-pound
division, however. Ben Henderson will challenge Frankie Edgar
for his belt at UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan, in February. Should
he get by Masvidal, Melendez is viewed by many as the next logical
challenger for the winner of that bout.
“If
I have to beat five more people before that, so be it, but the
sooner the better. I’ve deserved a chance at the UFC title,
and if I can get it as soon as possible, that’s great. If
not, I’ve got to keep winning and working hard,” he
said. “I feel like I’m constantly proving myself in
this MMA industry. It’s inevitable: I’m coming for
that spot.”
Complicating
matters is the status of Strikeforce. During last week’s
UFC 140 press conference, White announced the promotion was on
the verge of a new agreement with Showtime for 2012, meaning
talks of Strikeforce’s dissolution into the UFC are on hold,
at least for now. Melendez was not able to say if the language
of his current multi-fight deal with Strikeforce would allow
him an out clause to join the UFC.
“These
contracts: they’re meant for us fighters not to understand
them,” he said. “I have a lawyer, and hopefully these
guys can get a deal and get it going. That’s all I can say
about that. I do have a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce, and
I’m happy with Strikeforce. I don’t know what can be
done, but I’m sure these guys have the power to do whatever
they want.”
“I
think some of the top fighters need to go to the UFC, and I’m
one of those guys.”-- Gilbert Melendez
Melendez is correct about the last part. Diaz signed a new Strikeforce
contract toward the end of 2010, but it was not difficult for
the newly affiliated organizations to allow him into the UFC
when demand for a Diaz-Georges St. Pierre showdown increased.
Coker himself offered little insight into Melendez’s future,
instead choosing to focus on his title defense against Masvidal.
“Obviously,
we can’t get into legal verbiage about what’s in the
contract and what’s not. Those are all bound by confidentiality
provisions,” he said. “What I can say is Gilbert is
a great champion, and I personally believe he is the No. 1 fighter
in the world. Jorge Masvidal is where his mindset is and where
his focus is, and that’s where I think it should stay. What
happens after this fight will depend on the outcome of the fight.”
It
is hard to fault Melendez for looking ahead, especially when
most anyone who sets foot in a cage dreams of eventually putting
his skills to the test in the UFC. While his credentials dictate
he should take that step, “El Nino” says he will not
allow himself to be discouraged if it does not happen soon.
“I’m
not trying to sound perfect, but I don’t have time to be
negative. I’m grateful to be the main event on Showtime,”
he said. “There might be some disappointment if things don’t
go my way, but I’ve got nothing to complain about, to be
honest.”
Source
Sherdog
|
Heavyweight
‘Cop vs. Con’ Match-Up Added to Dec. 31 DREAM Show
in Japan; Sylvia vs. Rogers Set for NYE
Well, our hunch about Brett Rogers fighting on DREAM’s New
Year’s Eve card was right.
According to a report by Heavy.com, the former Strikeforce heavyweight
and convicted wife abuser will travel to the Land of the Rising
Sun to take on former UFC heavyweight champ and current part-time
Illinois police officer Tim Sylvia.
Rogers, who was sentenced yesterday to 60 days in jail for his
highly publicized June 28 attack on his wife Tiuana, will be
looking to improve on his 1-4 slide in his past five fights.
Besides a questionable decision win over Ruben “Warpath”
Villareal last October under the W-1 banner, Rogers was finished
by Josh Barnett, Fedor Emelianenko, and Alistair Overeem and
lost by decision to UFC cast-off Eddie Sanchez in that span.
Prior to that, he was a perfect 10-0 including a shocking win
over Andrei Arlovski.
The Chicago native, who now lives in Apple Valley, Minnesota,
will be released 17 days prior to the bout. He spent 26 days
in pre-trial custody, including a 10-day stint for a breach of
a court order, and is only required to serve 2/3 of his 60-day
sentence.
“The Maine-iac” has done slightly better than “Da
Grim” in his recent outings, racking up a respectable 6-1
record his past seven fights to rebound from a three-fight losing
streak that saw him dropped by the UFC, knocked out by Emelianenko
and embarrassed by Ray Mercer. The only win of note in his current
stretch, however, came against Paul Buentello at War on the Mainland
in August 2010. Other than a win over Marius Pudzianowski, he
really hasn’t beaten anyone to write Joe Silva about since
Zuffa released him. He lost to somewhat unknown regional fighter
Abe Wagner January 28, making his plan to make it back to the
Octagon an unlikely aspiration unless he racks up a few wins
over UFC-level opponents.
The event, dubbed “Fight for Japan: How are you! New Year!
2011,” which will be broadcast live on HDNet, will also
feature a lightweight title fight between champion Shinya Aoki
and Satoru Kitaoka, a featherweight title bout between champ
Hiroyuki Takaya and Takeshi Inoue and a heavyweight bout between
Emelianenko and a yet-to-be-determined opponent. Our guess is
Todd Duffee, Tim Hague or Sean McCorkle.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Former
UFC Fighter Junie Browning Subject of City-Wide Manhunt in Thailand
Former
Ultimate Fighter bad boy Junie Browning is currently the target
of a city-wide manhunt in Thailand after two incidents over the
weekend.
Browning was in Phuket, Thailand, training and allegedly started
a bar brawl. He then continued the fight in a local hospital.
According to Phuketwan.com, Browning allegedly was seen beating
up a woman in a bar in the Patak Road Karon, and also reacted
harshly when other female workers tried to break up the fight.
The fight then continued at a local hospital where Browning was
being treated for his injuries.
The report states that Browning fled the hospital on Sunday in
Patong and has not been seen since. The police are currently
staking out the Phuket International Airport in hopes of cutting
off Browning if he attempts to leave the country.
Browning posted an update on his Facebook page after the alleged
brawl, updating his status following the events that unfolded.
“Wow what a helluva weekend,” wrote Browning “Some
(expletive) named Sie Menzies and about 10 of his friends started
a fight with me. I guess just to test a ‘UFC fighter guy’
at this (expletive) little bar in Karon Thailand. Had a beer
bottle and glass mug shattered on my head, then to make everything
better, stabbed severely by some crazy Thai (expletive).
“On a positive note, I managed to break a few orbital bones,
at least a couple jaws, and some unconscious bodies laying on
the ground before I blacked out from loss of blood and apparently
had to be resuscitated in the ambulance. So, how was your weekend?’
Browning has run afoul of the law before. In 2009, Browning was
arrested after taking a handful of pills in an alleged suicide
attempt, before assaulting several nurses at a local Las Vegas
hospital.
Since exiting the UFC after the incident, Browning has gone 1-4
in his fight career, with his last four bouts ending in losses.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Ryan
Martinez Finally Hitting on All Cyclinders
While
his win over Mark Ellis at ProElite: Big Guns didn’t go
as he anticipated, Colorado Heavyweight prospect Ryan Martinez
knows what is ultimately most important is victory.
“I
wanted to stand and bang with the dude and basically he ran the
whole three rounds we fought,” said Martinez. “Once
he realized that his wrestling wasn’t going to work, he
just basically got frustrated and just kind of fled the whole
entire time.
“Some
might have said it was a boring fight. Others might have said
it was a smart fight. I fight to win, so I was just trying to
do the best I could to get a W on my record.”
Since
suffering his only loss last July to Derrick Lewis, Martinez
has been on a tear this year, winning all four of his fights.
Martinez
credits his success to the man who was willing to give him a
chance when others would not.
“The
loss to Derek came while I was in between camps,” said Martinez.
“I didn’t have any solid place to train. Finally, I
was at Ring of Fire where Adam (Martinez of Infinite MMA) came
up to me and told me that he would love to have me come up and
train at his gym.”
Since
joining Infinite MMA, Martinez has grown in many areas, none
more impactful than in his maturity as a fighter.
“I’m
a lot more patient,” he said. “My hands are a lot more
crisp and not as wild. My jiu-jitsu game is more focused on submission
attempts and position, position, position.
“Instead
of just going out the brawling, I’m taking my opponent and
seeing what he has and just counter and be aggressive from there.”
While
he’s having the best year of his young career so far, Martinez
is most looking forward to 2012, where he feels he’ll have
the opportunity to breakout as part of ProElite’s heavyweight
grand prix.
“That’s
all that’s on my mind is winning this tournament,”
he said. “God blessed with me with this gift and I’m
going to take advantage of it. I’ve been given a second
chance at life and I’ll pursue it 100-percent.
“All
I want to do is get my name established. I’m 6-1 now, I
have a couple credible wins on my record, and hopefully I’ll
just keep growing and get to the top. I want to do as much as
I can and grow in the sport. Next year the sky’s the limit.”
Martinez
next faces Cody Griffin on Jan. 21 in Honolulu in the semifinal
round of the ProElite Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Cro
Cop already planning return
The
three knockout losses in a row in the UFC haven’t shaken
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic’s resolve. The legend
of the Pride FC ring is already planning his return, even after
having undergone surgery to fix an injury suffered ten days before
facing Roy Nelson at UFC 137.
“I’m
very grateful to the UFC. I regret not having achieved my objectives
in the promotion, and I know I didn’t meet expectations.
They paid me very well. I’m really sorry about it; I tried
my best, I was professional, and I did my best in preparing for
the fight. But to be honest, after the Pride Grand Prix I didn’t
have the motivation to continue,” says Cro Cop in the video
below.
“I
have a few offers to fight, but first I need to get completely
healthy. Unfortunately, I can’t move my arm until December
20, but my plan is to fight in 2012 at Zagreb Arena on March
10, facing a top K-1 fighter. That will be the best cure for
Croatia’s fight fans. I want to put on a show for my fans
in Zagreb,” he added in the interview on Canal Fight website.
Source: Gracie Magazine |
Overeem:
Family always comes first
First
of all, thank you to everyone who has tweeted at me wishing my
mother well after last week’s blog. I’ve been very
touched by your concerns. I wasn’t going to talk about this
publicly, but feel I should as so many of you have sent well-wishes
to her and me.
My
mom is doing ok. She’s had cancer twice in the past, a very
aggressive kind and it was a long ordeal for her and my family.
The treatment she had was very hard; she had experimental treatment
to burn the tumor from the inside out. It worked and saved her
life, but there were complications from it. Recently, she had
a check-up and the doctors found a couple of cells in her body
that they were concerned about. That’s why I flew home.
In his latest blog, Alistair Overeem talks about life with his
family back in Holland.
You
have to understand the negative emotions that scare brought to
my family. We’re a small family – it is me, my mother,
my brother and my grandmother and that’s it. We all have
to be there for each other and it was the right decision for
me to abandon the idea of preparing in Las Vegas for my UFC 141
main event with Brock Lesnar.
I’m
not going to try and say getting this news hasn’t been stressful
during my preparations for the fight. Let’s be honest: it
does get you stressed, your mother being sick. But family stuff
happens to everyone – athletes, businessmen, whoever we
are, and we all should put our families as a priority no matter
what is happening in our careers.
But
to my fans who are worried that I will not be 100 percent ready
to rip Brock Lesnar apart on December 30 at the MGM Grand in
Las Vegas, let me promise you: coming back to Holland for this
camp will not be a factor at all.
Let
me explain: While I am worried for my mother and needed to get
back here, this is the one other thing I am thinking about at
all other than my fight. But I can handle the stress of helping
my mother right now. It is the only thing I have in my life that
is stressful other than this fight until the end of the month.
I’ve
had bad years in the sport before: 2006-07 was a very bad time
for me in my career and that was all because of what was happening
to me in my personal life. I had four or five very stressful
and bad things happening all at once.
First
and most devastating to me, I thought I was going to lose my
mother. She’d just been diagnosed with an aggressive form
of cancer and doctors told us it could be over very quickly,
it was so aggressive. I also had a relationship problem, my daughter
had just been born and I also had a business which really demanded
a lot of attention.
I
was getting stress, negative emotions and bad things happening
in all aspects of my life and my career was very much affected.
I lost three fights in a row that I shouldn’t have. I should
have taken a break from fighting and focused on everything else
I needed to keep fighting because of financial realities.
On
top of all that, I was weakening my body by forcing it to fight
at light heavyweight when I should have been a heavyweight.
I
know my fans are worried that I am distracted right now but trust
me, to compare the situation that had me go back to Holland two
weeks ago to what I was dealing with back in 2006-07, it isn’t
even close.
I
say to MMA fans, again, don’t worry, I will be sending this
guy back to WWE for you.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
Ortiz
philosophical as career winds down
It
was only a few months ago when Tito Ortiz had his back against
the wall and was fighting for his job.
But
his shocking win over Ryan Bader at UFC 132, an emotional high
point for the company in 2011, has likely enabled the former
UFC light heavyweight champion to finish his career on his own
terms, rather than someone else’s.
Ortiz,
who turns 37 on Jan. 23 and underwent both back and neck fusion
surgeries in recent years, is beginning to talk like someone
who recognizes his long journey is about to end. One of the final
stops may be Saturday night in Toronto when he faces Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira (19-5) in one of the main fights at UFC 140.
“I’ve
got two more fights left on my contract,” said Ortiz (17-9-1),
who on Saturday will set a record with his 26th fight in the
UFC, a mark he currently shares with Matt Hughes. “I’ve
achieved my goals for my career.
“I
want to watch my boys grow up. I’ve had two major surgeries.
I want to be able to throw a ball with my kids, run with my kids.
I’ve made the money I need to make right now. I’ve
got one more fight left after this one on my contract and we’ll
see. Then we’ll see where I stand.”
Ortiz
debuted at UFC 13 on May 30, 1997, spurred on by the success
of Jerry Bohlander, a fighter he beat in the California high
school state wrestling tournament. Ortiz has not only had the
longest UFC career of anyone in history, but he predates Dana
White, Lorenzo Fertitta and any employee in the company with
the exception of matchmaker Joe Silva.
In
his own way, Ortiz shaped some of the growth of the company.
White first got interested in MMA when he managed Ortiz and then-training
partner Chuck Liddell.
Nearly
15 years later, instead of talking about making one last run
at the title, Ortiz has been reflecting on his journey in recent
weeks. That includes being the longest-running light heavyweight
champion in UFC history, the first major star of the UFC’s
Zuffa era and the person whose rivalries with Ken Shamrock and
Liddell helped build the company’s pay-per-view business.
“Winning
a world title [from a prime Wanderlei Silva in 2000], being an
amateur in my first UFC fight ever, defending the world title
five times – the longest of any light heavyweight –
helped build the business in general,” Ortiz said. “I
could have been just a normal fighter. I made a brand of the
Tito Ortiz name with Dana and Lorenzo. I look at my career and
I think I’ve done well for someone whose parents were heroin
addicts. I’ve lived in the streets, lived in the garage,
found wrestling and it saved my life.”
While
most in the business talk about the UFC’s Las Vegas debut
in 2001 as a disastrous night – the company’s first
time back with almost full pay-per-view clearance in years and
a rare terrible show – Ortiz saw that night as the turning
point in the sport’s history.
“UFC
33 at Mandalay Bay, the first UFC event in Las Vegas and being
the headliner, that’s when I knew I had made it,” said
Ortiz, who defeated Vladimir Matyushenko that night. “It
made me very proud. This was in Las Vegas. Mike Tyson fought
in Las Vegas, every star, every entertainer, the fight capital
of the world.”
But
Ortiz has been around long enough to see a sea of change since
that day.
“It’s
rad to see how crazy it is,” Ortiz said. “I remember
when fans were booing double-leg takedowns and submissions. Now
people are really educated on the sport. It’s really cool
to see. When I’m at a show (Ortiz is a front-row regular
at most major events), I critique a lot of things, how the fighters
present themselves, how they answer questions, how I could help
them do a better job. Maybe there’s a future there working
with the UFC.”
On
Saturday, he’s facing another battle-proven veteran. Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira, 35, has a strong background in both jiu-jitsu
and boxing. He’s been a big-named fighter for a decade in
a sport where long shelf lives on top are rare and has represented
Brazil in the Pan American Games and South American games, winning
a bronze and gold medal, respectively.
“I
think he’s an awesome athlete, one of the top guys in my
weight class,” Ortiz said. “He beat Dan Henderson,
beat some really good guys, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu,
good boxing, his wrestling defense is really good.”
In
recent years, Ortiz has made a habit of saying, pre-fight, that
he’s had the best training camp of his career, then afterwards,
immediately saying he was injured and barely got through camp.
But he’s not going that route this time around.
“Everything
went well,” he said. “I’m not in my best shape.
You have injuries, nagging injuries, but I’m ready to go
out and fight, that’s for sure. I’m good to go and
put on a show like I always do. I’m not saying I’m
injured, and I’m ready to go do it.”
Ortiz
and Rogerio Nogueira were scheduled to fight on March 26, but
Ortiz pulled out after suffering a cut in training two weeks
before the fight that required 22 stitches.
Instead,
Ortiz faced Bader in July. He had been told outright that if
he lost, which would have been his fourth straight defeat, he
would be cut.
“When
I won the title, that was expected,” he said. “When
I fought Bader, everybody wasn’t sure. I was there to prove
my fans were right no matter what anyone said. It was one of
the most emotional moments I’ve ever had in my life. I was
sober for a whole year, didn’t drink any alcohol at all.
I had to wait until I won my fight. After I won, I had a glass
of wine and it tasted so sweet. I’m not a heavy drinker,
but it was my reward for all my hard work. Usually I stop drinking
three or four months before a fight, but that time it was a whole
year. The next morning I woke up, my son came up and sat there
with me and I had tears.”
The
crowd’s emotional reaction was something else, as for years
Ortiz had been booed loudly in almost every fight. But on that
night, fans seemingly realized that this probably was going to
be Ortiz’s swan song and wanted to pay respect to the legend.
Then he won with a quick knockdown followed by a guillotine submission
in just 1:56.
Ortiz
came back five weeks later and took a fight against Rashad Evans.
Ortiz had originally balked when he was asked to replace an injured
Phil Davis, but changed his mind a few days later. Evans proved
to be way too fast for Ortiz, as “Sugar” finished him
off in the second round.
“It
wasn’t a mistake [to take the fight so quickly]. As a fighter,
maybe yes it was, but as a businessman, no,” Ortiz said.
“Dana asked me for a favor. I showed him I’m a company
guy. I’m there for them. I made mistakes before but I have
all this history with the UFC. I wouldn’t take anything
back.”
And
if he could pick his exit, he has an idea in mind: A trilogy
fight with Forrest Griffin.
“Forrest
Griffin, our matchups are great,” he said. “We’ve
both won once, and both fights were split decisions. People who
want to watch exciting fights, our last two matches were great
fights.”
Source: Yahoo Sports |
UFC
140 Morning After: Jon Jones, a Champ With Staying Power
Jon Jones is already the most dominant UFC light heavyweight
champion since Chuck Liddell. It seems like only a matter of
time before he's the most dominant light heavyweight champion
we've ever seen inside the Octagon.
Jones,
who choked out Lyoto Machida in the second round of their main
event showdown at UFC 140, has been the light heavyweight champion
for less than nine months, and it might seem premature to proclaim
him a dominant champion when he's been a champion for such a
short period of time. But the talented 205-pound weight class
has been an almost impossible class to rule for any significant
period of time.
Until
Jones, who in the last nine months has won the belt and dispatched
two challengers, dominating all three of those title fights.
For
those who don't know the history, Liddell won the UFC light heavyweight
title by knocking out Randy Couture at UFC 57, then successfully
defended the title four times before losing it to Rampage Jackson.
Since then, the light heavyweight belt has been a hot potato:
Rampage successfully defended the title against Dan Henderson
before losing his second title defense, against Forrest Griffin.
Griffin lost his first title defense to Rashad Evans. Evans lost
his first title defense to Machida. Machida beat Shogun Rua in
a controversial decision in his first title defense, then lost
to Rua in his next fight. Rua lost his first title defense to
Jones.
Source: MMA Fighting |
Frank
Mir 'Wouldn't Mind' Replacing Alistair Overeem Against Brock
Lesnar
Frank MirTORONTO -- Frank Mir would have us believe that he was
never really out of it after getting rocked by Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira in the first round of their heavyweight tilt at UFC
140. Instead, he was merely "wobbled," he said. He'd
also have us believe that was bound to get out of danger whether
Nogueira had stopped hitting him and gone for a choke or not,
even if UFC president Dana White was among those who simply wasn't
buying either claim.
It
almost makes you wonder how seriously to take Mir's other major
statement on the night, this one regarding rumors that Alistair
Overeem might have to withdraw from his UFC 141 fight with Brock
Lesnar on December 30.
"If
the rumors that you're hearing are true, I wouldn't mind having
to step in for Overeem and taking on Brock," said Mir. "I'm
pretty healthy and three weeks isn't bad turnaround."
And
why not? He may have come within one or two punches of being
knocked completely out by Nogueira in a back-and-forth one-rounder,
but Mir talked like a man who had hardly suffered any damage
at all before getting the submission win in a wild affair.
As
he explained: "I only fought a three-minute fight, so I'm
feeling pretty good. My wife might not be happy about Christmas
but, eh, she can deal with it."
As
for Nogueira, his holiday season is looking especially grim.
White, who denied the Overeem withdrawal rumors, revealed after
the press conference that he was planning to fly Nogueira back
to Las Vegas with him on Sunday morning so he could have surgery
on his injured right arm as soon as possible. He also said that
he knew Nogueira was headed for trouble when Mir locked up the
kimura, and nothing about the Brazilian's history or posture
suggested that he was ready to tap.
"Nogueira's
a jiu-jitsu black belt, probably the best submissions heavyweight
of all time, you know when you get caught in that thing to tap,"
White said. "You know to tap out to that. It's what happens
if you don't."
Mir
said he knew what the likely outcome would be when he secured
the kimura, and the only thing left to do was to go ahead and
finish it.
"I
had a strong inclination that he was not going to tap, so I took
a deep breath and you guys saw what happened," he said.
The
injury drew pained groans from the crowd at the Air Canada Centre
when it was replayed several times on the big screen. It's the
latest in a serious of injuries that have piled up on Nogueira
of late, and though he hasn't taken the knockouts that some of
his contemporaries have, he might still have to sit down for
a serious talk with the boss, White said.
"You've
got to look at a guy's entire career, not just how it's ending.
Big Nog's been in wars, man. I was at the Pride fight when he
fought Mirko 'Cro Cop' [Filipovic], and 'Cro Cop' was just blasting
him with kicks to the body and shots to the head, and then he
ends up pulling off that submission win in the second round.
He's had a career where he's been through wars.
"Big
Nog is a nice guy and a guy who I respect, and I know they get
pissed off at me when I say this stuff, but again, it doesn't
matter. Unfortunately -- or fortunately -- I'm the one that makes
these decisions. I'm going to have to sit down and talk to him.
I don't want to see him get hurt, or anyone else."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Tito
Ortiz Wants One More Fight Before He Retires
Tito
Ortiz was finished on Saturday night, and he’s been hinting
at retirement, but the former “Huntington Beach Bad Boy,”
redubbed the “People’s Champion,” is not ready
to call it a career just yet.
Ortiz
came out gunning, but Antonio Rogerio Nogueira rocked him early
with punches and drove home two punishing knees to the gut, the
second of which dropped Ortiz to the mat. He quickly followed
the former UFC light heavyweight champion down, pouring on the
punishment, hammering Ortiz’s ribs, until the finish.
Despite
taking such a drubbing, Ortiz isn’t ready to walk away.
“I
take my hat off to him. That body shot hurt me. My game plan
was to get on top and do a ground-and-pound. I gave it my all,”
said Ortiz after the fight. “Sometimes you win and sometimes
you lose. I’m going to take some time off and enjoy the
holidays with my family.”
Ortiz
began this journey just shy of 15 years ago – on May 30,
1997 – and he wants to finish out the final fight on his
current UFC contract.
“I
have one more fight in my contract. I’m going to give the
fans one more fight that is my best.”
UFC
president Dana White wasn’t quite so quick to endorse Ortiz’s
plea to finish out his contract… but he also didn’t
immediately shoot it down either.
“I
gotta talk to Tito. We’ll see,” said White at the UFC
140 post-fight press conference. “I’m always looking
out for guys’ health. It’s not like Tito got vicously
knocked out tonight; he got punished to the ribs. We’ll
see.”
So,
for now at lest, the final chapter of Tito Ortiz’s Octagon
autobiography remains a work in progress.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Strikeforce
Fighters Are Staying In Strikeforce
Strikeforce isn’t going anywhere, and neither are its fighters.
Following
UFC 140 on Saturday night, UFC president Dana White shared some
details as to what their plans for Strikeforce are in 2012. Evidently,
anyone who currently holds a spot on the Strikeforce roster will
stay there with no immediate plans to move to the UFC.
“The
guys that are in Strikeforce are staying in Strikeforce,”
White said following the post-fight press conference. “Strikeforce
lives.”
One
fighter who’s made several statements regarding his desire
to move to the UFC is Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert
Melendez. According to these new details, however, Melendez will
not be in the UFC in the near future. No worries, according to
the UFC president. He’ll make it worth Melendez’s while.
It
going to be good for all, he said.
“Gilbert
Melendez and all the guys that are in the Strikeforce show and
with Showtime, I will make fights [for them],” White proclaimed.
“They will be happy to be there. Believe me, I got this
thing worked out. It’s going to be good for everybody. It’s
going to be good for the fighters, it’s going to be good
for Showtime, and it’s going to be good for Strikeforce.”
When
asked if there are any plans for co-promotion between Strikeforce
and the UFC, White said, “Strikeforce is completely separate,”
but that they have the ability to make some interesting things
happen.
In
addition, White confirmed Scott Coker will continue to be involved
in Strikeforce affairs going forward.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Eyeing May Event in Brazil
UFC Brazil FlagThe Ultimate Fighting Championship has already
firmed up the fight card for its return trip to Rio de Janeiro
on Jan. 14. UFC 143: Adlo vs. Mendes marks the promotion’s
second trip to Brazil in five months.
There
have been strong rumors that put the promotion back in Brazil
again later in 2012. UFC president Dana White confirmed such
speculation on Saturday night.
“How
many events are we going to do in Brazil next year? Right now,
what I know, we’ve got two coming up. We’re gonna do
Rio and probably another one in May,” he revealed.
The
event for May is believed to be a large stadium event, the promotion’s
first since running an event at the Rogers Centre in Toronto
in April.
UFC
middleweight champion Anderson Silva is currently on the shelf
with a shoulder injury, but recent estimates put him back in
the Octagon in late spring or early summer. If the UFC is to
do a stadium event in May, its Brazilian middleweight champion
is the no-brainer choice to headline the show.
Even
before UFC 143 gathers much steam, there are other plans already
set in motion for South America.
“[In
addition to the two events] we’re gonna do The Ultimate
Fighter [in Brazil],” added White. “I fly to Brazil
on Monday for The Ultimate Fighter.”
TUF
Brazil will be the first international version of the UFC’s
popular reality series.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Demian
Maia: "Bisping is an excellent fight for me"
After
being defeated by Anderson Silva on a title fight for the middleweight
division at UFC 112, Demian Maia has fought four times, and got
three wins. Now, the Jiu-Jitsu expert has a bout scheduled against
the English Michael Bisping, on January 28th, at UFC on Fox 2,
and whoever leave the event with the victory will have a titleshot.
But Demian doesn’t want to think about it just yet, and
remains focusing on Bisping, excited about being on an event
that so many people will watch, like UFC on Fox. On the interview
you check below, the BJJ black belt talked about the fight against
Bisping, analyzed his preparation with two months in advance,
commented Anderson Silva’s injury, analyzed Sonnen VS. Munoz,
among other subjects.
How
was it to know you’d fight Michael Bisping?
I’m
really glad about it because it’s a great card, it’s
a FOX card, another level, it’s like it was broadcasted
by TV Globo in Brazil. I guess it’s a great showcase. He’s
a strong guy, it’s an excellent fight for me, because he
has fought so many times in the UFC, he was in two reality shows…
Dana
White said this bout will define, after Chael Sonnen VS. Mark
Munoz, the next challenger at the division belt. Were you surprised?
I
prefer to think only about my next fight, because things change
in UFC all the time. The scene is always changing. Look at Rashad
Evans for instance. He tried to have a chance at the title many
times and didn’t get it. I rather focus and concentrate
on this fight. It’s really nice what he (Dana White) said,
I was really glad about it, but I can’t lose focus, I’m
fighting Michael, independently where I’ll be in case I
win.
On
a recent interview to TATAME, you said you wanted to submit again.
Bisping has never been defeated like that. Do you believe you’ll
be the first one? Do you see flaws in his game that would help
you get there?
To
be honest, I saw few fights of him working on the ground. I gotta
get all the material and watch it again to answer you properly,
but it doesn’t change anything. I train hard looking for
the submission, which is what I do best. Boxing and Wrestling
are just support skills.
Bisping
likes to trash talk. How was your first meeting?
He
has always been respectful to me since I’ve met him, on
the second time I fought in the UFC, in Canada, on the beginning
of 2008. It was the first time I met him. It was actually a curious
situation. They’ve asked me to deliver some sponsor things
to him. A guy asked me to meet him, so it was the first time.
He’s always been respectful. He can do that to promote the
fight, which I believe is a good thing. Actually, for any professional
fighter, I don’t see a possibility on which it messes with
our emotional. I guess it’s a great thing he promotes the
fights. It’s like Chael Sonnen does, he always does that.
I believe it’s good for the event.
You’ll
be fighting in two months, but they usually give three months
for the fighters to get ready. How will you prepare yourself?
I
think about training with all my coaches. But, actually, like
it’s to close, there’re seven and a half weeks to the
fight, we said we’d sit down this week and I’d talk
to my coaches to decide how we’re doing this training camp.
I was already training, so it’s not like I’m starting
from nowhere. I had a pretty reasonable conditioning, and now
we’ll set what we’ll do on the next weeks to be on
my best performance when the time comes.
What
is different for you the fact it’ll be broadcasted live
by FOX?
As
a fight, anything. I always try to focus the most I can. I’ve
fought Jiu-Jitsu many times with like six people cheering for
me, because the place I fought where there was the biggest number
of people was in Canada, in front of 23 thousand people. I guess
there’ll be lie 30 thousand people on this gym. The concentration
is in our train. It’s one of the main things we train, because
we gotta keep focus in all situations. We know there’s the
media, the fans, twenty something thousand people watching, so
it doesn’t change anything. Now, talking about it professionally,
in terms of exposition, it changes a lot, because FOX is a big
television network. I’ll be ready to do my best and get
to the next level.
Mark
Muñoz is fighting Sonnen, a guy you’ve submitted
before. Who do you thing wins this bout?
Man,
I don’t know. They’re in great places right now, both
are coming from victories and are dominating the division. If
you ask me today to pick one… When it’s a Brazilian
people say we cheer for them because they come from the same
place you do, but I know these two guys, I fought them both.
Now, to say ‘this one will win’, I can’t do it.
Chael
Sonnen and even Dan Henderson have been poking Anderson Silva
about his injury. How do you see the fact Anderson hasn’t
fought for a while now?
I
can’t judge his injury because I don’t know what happens
with Anderson. I guess it’s hard for the champion because
he has to be always good, because there’s a line behind
him. So it’s normal to get injured… What happens is
that sometimes the guy doesn’t fight for a long time and
they create an interim title, like it’ll happen now with
Georges Saint Pierre, but I guess that’s not the case. I
believe Anderson might really fight in June. For those who are
on the line it’s bad news, because the most he fights, the
quicker they get a chance at the title sooner, but… It happens
on the sport. Injuries are pretty normal in our sport.
Source: Tatame
|
Anderson
meets President Dilma
This
Tuesday at Credicard Hall in São Paulo the 12th Brazilians
of the Year Award ceremony took place. The event promoted by
Três publishing house honors Brazilian nationals who stood
out in a variety of fields during the year 2011 – from the
arts to culture, economics and national development.
Anderson
Silva, the middleweight champion of the UFC, was one of those
honored, and was awarded the trophy for Brazilian of the Year,
with four others personalities – politicians Dilma Roussef,
Gilberto Kassab and José Mariano Beltrame and professor
Antonio Candido.
The
“Spider” shared the stage with TV stars such as Cauã
Reymond (also a Jiu-Jitsu black belt), Lilia Cabral, Fábio
Assunção, Deborah Secco (GRACIEMAG cover girl in
2002) and the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, who was herself
a combatant, during the years of the Brazilian dictatorship.
What responsibility, champ!
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
140 postfight: Bonuses, Lesnar-Overeem rumors and flyweight division
debuts on Mar. 3
With
all the superlatives you can say about the fights this year in
the UFC, tonight's event in Toronto may have produced the most
spectacular set of finishes on the pay-per-view we've seen over
the 12 months.
Chan
Sung Jung knocked out Mark Hominick in just seven seconds and
got the Knockout of the Night. Frank Mir posted a brilliant comeback
and either broke and dislocated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's arm.
He got Submission of the Night. The main event between Jon Jones
and Lyoto Machida was called the Fight of the Night. All bonus
winners got $75,000. On top of that, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
appeared to have broken some ribs on Tito Ortiz during his big
win.
-
There was a rumor reported by Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole that
Alistair Overeem was going to drop out of his Dec. 30 fight against
Brock Lesnar at UFC 141. Dana White strongly denied the report
and said he hadn't heard anything. Keep in mind, the possibility
still exists. Last week, Overeem left his new training camp in
Las Vegas to tend to his ailing mother back in the Netherlands.
He's due at a Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing on Monday
in Las Vegas.
-
White announced the official start of the flyweight era begins
Mar. 3, 2012. There will be two fights with the winners meeting
for 125-pound title at a later date. Joe Benavidez will face
Yasuhiro Urushitani and Demetrious Johnson battles Ian McCall.
Urushitani will be making his Zuffa debut.
UFC
140 postfight: Bonuses, Lesnar-Overeem rumors and flyweight division
debuts on Mar. 3- Tito Ortiz wants one more fight in the UFC.
He was beaten badly by "Lil' Nog," but wants to go
out a winner. White was non-committal when asked if he would
give another fight to the UFC legend.
-
Ortiz went to the hospital where he was joined by "Big Nog."
He's a tough guy. Anyone who saw his arm snap would be surprised
to see the same guy smiling in an ambulance.
Update:
White said he still hadn't gotten official word on the nature
of injury, but damage to both the shoulder and elbow would require
surgery.
-
The event at the Air Canada Centre hauled in a gate of $3.9 million
and a total of 18,303 fans.
-
Jones said he'd like four or five months off.
"Fighting
three times in 2012 would be nice. My goal is to be a company
guy. Please Dana gimme a break, though," laughed Jones.
"I am actually going to take time off. My parents did a
great job of raising me and my brothers. I want to give them
magical vacation."
Jones
was a go-to guy for the promotion this year fighting in February,
March, October and December.
-
Mir stirred the pot a bit in reference to the Overeem rumors
saying he feels healthy and three weeks is plenty of time to
get ready for UFC 143. He'd also like a shot against new UFC
heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos and thinks the door is still
open even though the Lesnar-Overeem winner has been promised
the next shot.
"If
Brock goes out there and lays on Overeem for three rounds, maybe
I'll get it," said Mir.
-
Mir commented on the duel of jiu-jitsu skills showcased his fight
against the legendary Nogueira.
"He
tried to do BJJ move for BJJ move with me, and the guys I train
with are pretty good. I'm used to guys trying to roll through
on my kimura. I had a strong inclination Nog wouldn't tap,"
said Mir.
The
Las Vegan also said Nogueira would submit nine out of 10 guys
caught in a guillotine, but he's No. 10.
-
White said he told UFC matchmaker Joe Silva that he'd like a
quick turnaround for the Korean Zombie.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Jones
beginning to lap the UFC field
TORONTO
– There are a lot of aspects to Jon Jones’ job that
require quite a bit of work. He’s got the fighting part
of the job pretty much figured out, though.
Jones
completed what should be regarded as the finest year by a fighter
in UFC history on Saturday by overcoming the first real adversity
he has ever faced in the cage. The phenom submitted Lyoto Machida
with a standing guillotine in the waning seconds of the second
round to retain his light heavyweight championship in the main
event of UFC 140.
A
crowd of 18,303 at the Air Canada Centre watched in awe as Jones
capped a remarkable year in which he went 4-0, won the light
heavyweight title and reeled off three consecutive victories
over current or former champions, making them look decidedly
average in the process.
He’s
only 24, but talk has already begun, if only in whispers, about
him one day becoming the greatest fighter ever.
There’s
a long way to go between now and then, but Jones did nothing
to discourage such talk after an astonishing second-round performance
in which he took Machida down, opened a nasty cut on the ex-champion’s
forehead and then put him to sleep.
When
Machida lapsed into unconsciousness and referee John McCarthy
stopped the match, Jones simply let go of Machida, who crumpled
to the floor with a thud.
There
have been a lot of great fighters who have competed in mixed
martial arts, and a lot can go wrong between now and the end
of Jones’ career. But Jones has a rare mix of size, athleticism
and instinct that has never been seen before in the sport.
“I
do believe that I can be one of the best on the planet,”
Jones said. “I think it’s my destiny one day to be
one of the best who ever lived.”
Jones
began the day meditating near a waterfall at a local conservation
area called Ball’s Falls. He only made it about 12 minutes
before leaving, because he was so close to the water and it was
bitterly cold.
“I
didn’t want to get sick,” he said, very reasonably.
A
day earlier, he was booed at the weigh-in and on Saturday, many
in the crowd were backing his opponent, chanting repeatedly,
“Machida! Machida! Machida!”
When
UFC president Dana White was asked about Jones being booed, he
sneered and said, “Who cares?” But as Jones heard White
speak, he wrinkled his nose and grinned.
“Come
on, Dana,” he said with a smile creasing his face. “I
care.”
He
cares about pretty much everything. He seems desperate to be
loved and tries almost too hard because of that.
He
may not be at the championship-level when it comes to dealing
with the media and marketing himself, but he’s on a level
all his own when it comes to the fighting part of it.
Machida
won the first round by confusing Jones with his movement and
landing a few good strikes. Machida circled for much of the round,
darting in and out and throwing strikes that didn’t hurt
Jones but which certainly got his attention.
“The
first round was very, very confusing for me,” Jones conceded.
Things
changed – in a big way – in the second round. Jones
closed the distance on Machida and cut off his escape routes,
backing him near the cage. Jones then took Machida down with
an authority, gaining top position.
He
is probably the best in the business firing elbows from the guard,
and he blasted Machida with an elbow that opened a huge gash
on the right side of the Brazilian’s forehead. McCarthy
was so concerned about it that he stopped the fight to have the
doctor look at it.
He
was cleared to continue but, though nobody knew it, the fight
was essentially over.
“The
fight was going great until I got the cut on my forehead,”
Machida said. “My vision was blurry and that was the beginning
of the end.”
The
fight moved across the cage when Jones once again pinned Machida.
This time, he put on a standing guillotine that slowly sucked
the life from the former champion. McCarthy recognized that Machida
was out and ended it as Jones released the choke and walked calmly
away, shaking his head.
He’s
good. He knows it, White knows it and anybody who pays attention
to mixed martial arts knows it. White put a damper on any speculation
that he’d fight middleweight champion Anderson Silva, noting,
“I don’t see that fight happening any time soon.”
[
Related: Frank Mir breaks Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s arm
in UFC 140 win ]
Jones,
though, is so gifted that he’s basically lapped the field.
There are a lot of terrific 205-pounders, but there aren’t
many, if any, with the tools to knock Jones off his pedestal.
If
he loses, it’s likely going to be an out-of-the-ring issue
that derails him and not because the opponent was better.
“He
continues to prove his dominance and how amazingly talented he
is,” White said. “The one thing about Jon Jones is,
he’s a young guy. He’s a young guy who has a lot of
things to learn in the sport still, but more than just fighting.
But the potential? His potential is unbelievable. If he stays
on the right track and does the right things, the sky is the
limit. He could go down as the greatest ever.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
fires Miguel Torres for joke on Twitter
In
2011 the UFC started stimulating – financially even –
it’s athletes to use Twitter, offering bonuses to those
with the best performance on the microblog.
However,
what former WEC champion Miguel Torres decided to post wasn’t
quite what promotional kingpin Dana White had in mind. “If
a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t
mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises,”
tweeted Torres, as a response that women are being raped in vans
around the USA.
“Miguel
Torres was cut from the UFC and his career with us is over. He
said he hadn’t heard what happened to Forrest. Really? Where
do you live? What business are you in? How do you not hear about
these things? You should have paid more attention. I can’t
defend Miguel Torres. I can’t defend what he said. What
he said doesn’t make sense except for “It’s a
joke.” Well, I don’t think the joke is funny. I think
it’s disturbing,” explained Dana White to the “Sports
Illustrated” website. Last week White came down on Forrest
Griffin for a similar remark.
In
the octagon, Miguel Torres won two of his fights and lost one,
but previously in his career he strung together 20 wins in a
row, not to mention having held the WEC bantamweight belt. What
do you think, dear reader, was it the right decision to cut him?
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
GSP
marks operation, honored at GB during “trying moment”
Saint-Pierre
receives first stripe from Bruno Fernandes, alongside black belt
Rodolphe Beaulieu.
No
longer on the card for UFC 143 in February, when he was supposed
to face Nick Diaz, Georges Saint-Pierre didn’t change his
habits at all after suffering another knee injury; he dropped
by Gracie Barra Montreal last night, his usual Wednesday routine.
There,
the fighter, who hasn’t tasted defest since 2007, was caught
by surprise by the tribute they held for him there, even awarding
him a diploma from IBJJF and the first stripe on his Jiu-Jitsu
black belt.
“GSP
has been my black belt since 2008, and it was time he got a stripe.
The cool part was that his manager, who is also his best friend,
got his black belt yesterday too,” recounts Professor Bruno
Fernandes. “He’s Rodolphe Beaulieu, who has been training
with us for a long while now and became the first black belt
at the new GB Montreal location, a school I openend in April
2010. The other cool part was that each of them knew that the
other was going to get promoted but never suspected they themselves
would be, so it was a great surprise for them both. Just as it
was for the other students, who didn’t have a clue about
anything.”
Six
Canadian fans of GSP’s were there to witness the promotion.
They had won a contest promoted by sports drink Gatorade, and
the prize was a chance to meet the champion.
“GSP
is stoked the stripe came at such a trying time for him, because
of the injury and having to pull out of a fight again. He tore
his anterior cruciate ligament all the way through, and he’s
scheduled for surgery next week,” says Bruno.
Yesterday,
Saint-Pierre issued a statement regarding the injury he suffered
during wrestling training, when he heard a pop but ignored the
pain and tried to train through it. During a recent training
camp with Vitor Belfort in Las Vegas, GSP admitted that there
were some positions he was unable to do because of the lack of
stability in his knee. “I feel there’s only one person
to blame for what happened, and that’s me. I’m the
kind of guy who sucks up the pain and keeps going. Now I’ve
learned a major life lesson. It’ll make me strong, smarter
and cleverer,” declared GSP.
According
to the Sportv.com.br website, his orthopedic surgeon, Dr Sebastien
Simard, says he believes GSP will return to the octagon within
the next six to eight months. Yesterday, Dana White announced
that GSP could sit out for ten months.
Nick
Diaz and Carlos Condit now go on to face each other for the interim
welterweight belt in February. Josh Koscheck, who was set to
fight Condit on the same night, is awaiting his replacement opponent.
UFC
143
Las Vegas, Nevada
February 4, 2012
Nick
Diaz vs Carlos Condit
Erik Koch vs Dustin Poirier
Alex Caceres vs Edwin Figueroa
Rafael “Sapo” Natal vs Michael Kuiper
Jorge Lopez vs Amir Sadollah
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
140: Gate and Attendance Solid in Toronto
Jon
Jones continued his dominant streak with a submission win over
Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 in Toronto. The young champion finished
another former champ and solidified himself as a force to be
reckoned with for years to come.
The
UFC’s return to the Great White North garnered 18,303 spectators,
UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference.
The
gates scooped up $3.9 million and cement the Toronto event as
a solid performance in regards to ticket sales.
As
expected, UFC 140 did very well and Canadian fans continue to
go wild for the Las Vegas-based promotion. It’s easy to
say they eagerly anticipate the UFC’s return to Canada.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
125-Pound Division Officially Announced
The
UFC’s flyweights are on their way to the Octagon.
Following
UFC 140, UFC president Dana White announced plans to begin a
125-pound tournament on March 3 at UFC on FX 2.
“I
want to announce tonight the introduction of the 125-pound division
to the UFC,” White said on Saturday night.
Former
No.1 bantamweight contender Demetrious Johnson will face recently
crowned Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champ Ian McCall on the
card. In addition, Joseph Benavidez will face Japanese fighter
and Shooto champ Yasuhiro Urushitani. This will be the semifinal
round of the flyweight tournament. White did not announce when
the final will take place.
“The
winner of those fights will then fight for the 125-pound title,”
said the UFC boss.
The
flyweight division is the UFC’s latest weight class, after
absorbing the WEC’s bantamweight and featherweight divisions
earlier this year.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Is
Rashad Evans or Dan Henderson The One to Beat Jon Jones?
With his second-round TKO win at UFC 140 on Saturday night, Jon
Jones might well be off to the greatest career start in MMA history.
Through
16 pro fights, he has only lost once, in a fight he thoroughly
dominated before making a mistake by throwing illegal downward
elbows and getting disqualified. Since then he has been nearly
flawless in the cage. He has defeated three former UFC champions
in a nine-month span. He has finished each of his last seven
wins in what has historically been MMA's most competitive division.
But
there are still challenges waiting ahead of him. The two biggest
threats? No. 1 contender Rashad Evans, who will risk his position
to face Phil Davis in January, and sledgehammer-fisted Dan Henderson,
who is fresh off his instant classic win over Mauricio "Shogun"
Rua.
After
fighting four times in 2011, Jones has a well-deserved vacation
coming to him. In the post-fight press conference, he said he
would like to take 4-5 months off. But when he comes back, he'll
likely have one of those two lined up to face him.
From
a business perspective, the Evans-Jones fight makes more sense
as a gate attraction. The two have a built-in rivalry based on
their time together as teammates at the Greg Jackson camp in
Albuquerque, New Mexico and eventual split after Jones acknowledged
that he would fight Evans if the UFC requested it. Since then,
there's been plenty of trash talk between them, and as Jones'
star grows, the possibility of a serious grudge match could sell
big. After all, Evans rivalry with Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson did over 1 million pay-per-view buys, so why not one
with Jones?
From
a style matchup, it is intriguing. Jones has yet to face an opponent
who offers seamless transitions from striking to wrestling, yet
that's exactly what Evans brings to the table. While the Lyoto
Machida matchup puzzle is mostly based on timing, feints and
distance, Evans is a legitimate threat with power striking, takedowns
and work against the cage, offering a triple threat to contemplate.
But
some of the same old, same old would apply. Namely, Evans would
be at a massive disadvantage in reach and height, giving up 9.5
inches in the former and 5 inches in the latter, so his challenge
like many would be to find a way to get into striking range without
taking damage on the way in. That might be a bit tricky for Evans,
who often likes to sit back and let his opponent come to him.
That particular approach is never going to be the best one against
Jones, who is long enough to hit you as you're simply trying
to gauge distance.
Machida,
for instance, had his best moments when he was aggressive and
flurried while coming forward. When he sat back and countered,
Jones fired off kicks to keep him on the defensive. The fight-ending
sequence in fact began when Machida patiently waited with his
back near the fence, waiting for Jones to fire. When he did,
Machida's counter left hand was quite literally beaten to the
punch by Jones' own left by virtue of his reach. The strike dropped
Machida and led to the fight-ending guillotine choke.
Because
Evans and Jones trained together for a time, they each have an
insight into the other. But I would argue that it benefits Jones.
Let's face it, Evans was much further along in his career at
the time and a more fully formed fighter, while Jones was still
in the neophyte stages of the game. Which one do you think is
more different now? If your answer is Jones, Evans' memories
from their time together are mostly useless.
The
interesting thing about Evans is that he doesn't do any one thing
exceptionally. He's very good at several things, and melds them
all together well in a way that makes him hard to prepare for,
and harder to beat. That's what he'd bring to the table against
Jones.
The
other option is Henderson, the 41-year-old Californian who some
consider the greatest American mixed martial artist in history.
A winner of seven of his last eight fights, Henderson has smashed
his way through other studs in the past, and his massive right
hand can end anyone's night. Because of that, he might pose the
biggest one-punch knockout threat of anyone Jones has ever.
While
Jones' chin was once thought to be a question mark, after having
gone through Rua, Machida and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson,
it's safe to assume it's just fine.
Like
Evans, Henderson would have to navigate some serious distance
to land his punches, as his 74-inch reach puts him at a full
10.5 inches less than Jones.
Stylistically
though, a Henderson fight for Jones would be quite similar to
his recent fight over Jackson. Henderson certainly has a much
more decorated wrestling pedigree than Jackson, but in terms
of functional MMA, Jackson is better statistically. According
to FightMetric, Henderson successfully defends 58 percent of
takedowns against him while Jackson defends 80 percent.
Striking-wise,
both Henderson and Jackson are both reliant on their boxing first
and foremost, trusting their hands to power them to victory.
Obviously, most of the time it works out fine for them. Just
because Jackson lost to Jones doesn't mean Henderson will, but
the style and approach would not seem unfamiliar to him, and
that's an edge in his favor.
Both
men have legitimate routes to victory. Evans would need to keep
Jones off-balance by changing his attacks minute by minute. Jones
showed in the Machida fight that he can adjust if you continue
the same attack, so variability is a key. And Henderson offers
a pure power threat that is probably unmatched right now at 205.
When
you look objectively though, Jones' overall package will continue
to make him a favorite to win going forward. He has length and
uses it smartly. He is generous with his kicks, keeping his opponent
at bay. He switches stances. He throws unorthodox strikes. He
is insanely strong in the clinch and has powered every one of
his opponents down from the position. He is murder on the ground,
particularly with his elbows. He is analytical, processing information
and adjusting on the fly. And finally, he has a killer instinct
that can not be taught.
Whether
it's Evans or Henderson next -- or even Davis, who could crash
the party by upsetting Evans -- Jones' next challenger will have
his work cut out for him. And if the champion wins and defends
the belt again, he will continue what is probably the best start
to an MMA career we've ever seen.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
UFC
140 Prelims: Pokrajac and Philippou Impress
The
preliminary portion of the UFC 140: Jones vs. Machida fight card
at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday night, opened
with three bouts airing live on Facebook with the remaining four
prelims airing on ION Television in the U.S. and Sportsnet in
Canada.
Krzysztof
Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
Krzysztof
Soszynski came out a ball of fire, throwing hands at Igor Pokrajac,
but it was the Croatian that quickly took control of the stand-up
game. Pokrajac rocked Soszynski with right hands, putting the
Polish born Canadian fighter on on the mat. Pokrajac never let
up, finishing Soszynski off with jack hammering right hands for
the early first-round stoppage.
Jared
Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
Constantinos
Philippou is now 2-1 in his Octagon tenure, but it was his performance
against Jared Hamman on Saturday night that put an exclamation
point on why the UFC signed him in the first place.
“It
was about time. This is it. This is why I belong here,”
Philippou said about his dramatic knockout finish.
Philippou
rocked Hamman with consecutive hammering punches, locked on a
rear naked choke, but couldn’t finish. He then turned to
a guillotine choke, but still, he couldn’t finish. Running
completely off of heart, Hamman kept going. Philippou rocked
him again with two more shots. Hamman went down, but still wouldn’t
give in. He got back up, but once again Philippou put his hands
on Hamman, this time putting him down and out for good.
Dennis
Hallman vs. John Makdessi
Dennis
Hallman, normally a welterweight, had trouble making weight for
this 155-pound fight, and it seemed to leave him a little testy,
and he took it out on John Makdessi. Hallman quickly wrestled
Makdessi to the mat and brutalized him with a ground and pound
attack. Makdessi eventually gave up his back, something you don’t
want to do with a fighter like Hallman, who quickly sank a rear
naked choke for the first-round finish.
Yves
Jabouin vs. Walel Watson
Not
surprisingly, Jabouin vs. Watson started as a solid stand-up
battle, but it didn’t take long for Yves Jabouin to try
and ground the lankier striker, Walel Watson. He wasn’t
so successful in grounding Watson, so Jabouin instead moved in
and out in the stand-up, chopping away at Watson’s lead
leg.
Closing
the distance with a spinning backfist, Jabouin finally took Watson
to the mat late in round two, but was nearly submitted courtesy
of a Watson guillotine.
He
scored again with the backfist and takedown in round three, but
again Watson turned the tide rather quickly, taking a half mount
position before locking on a D’arce choke. Jabouin escaped
once again and finished strong, eking out the victory by split
decision.
Nik
Lentz vs. Mark Bocek
Mark
Bocek moved over to the TriStar gym that Georges St-Pierre trains
at to re-invent himself after losing at UFC 129. He showed much
of the work he put in at TriStar, coming out much more aggressive
and displaying a strong stand-up game in his fight with Nik Lentz.
He got caught in a guillotine choke early, but remained calm
and fought his way out of it.
As
the fight wore on, Lentz showed he was comfortable off his back,
aggressively seeking the guillotine finish, but spending the
majority of a fight on your back rarely pays off. And it surely
didn’t for Lentz as Bocek dominated the majority of the
fight with his ground and pound attack, handing Lentz his first
loss in eight UFC fights.
“Winning
here against a fighter like Nik Lentz, who has never lost in
the UFC, is incredible,” Bocek commented after the fight,
winning in his hometown.
Rich
Attonito vs. Jake Hecht
Rich
Attonito took control in the opening round, grounding and pounding
Jake Hecht for the majority of the round. As much as the debuting
Hecht tried, he couldn’t find a submission from off of his
back.
Attonito
shot in trying to put Hecht back in the same position in round
two. Hecht, however, dropped an elbow to Attonito’s head
during the takedown to take control and put his opponent’s
back to the mat. Hecht unloaded a ground and pound assault to
finish the fight early in the second.
“I
lost a fight the same exact way before… so learn from your
losses, right?” said Hecht after the victory.
John
Cholish vs. Mitch Clarke
Newcomer
John Cholish, out of Renzo Gracie’s gym in New York, was
calm and composed in his finish of fellow UFC newbie Mitch Clarke
in the UFC 140 opener. Cholish controlled the fight both on the
feet and on the mat en route to a TKO stoppage late in the second
round.
UFC
140: Jones vs. Machida Preliminary Bout Results:
Preliminary
Bouts (on ION Television):
-Igor Pokrajac def. Krzysztof Soszynski by KO at :35, R1
-Constantinos Philippou def. Jared Hamman by KO at 3:11, R1
-Dennis Hallman def. John Makdessi by Submission (rear naked
choke) at 2:58, R1
-Yves Jabouin def. Walel Watson by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
30-27)
Preliminary
Bouts (on Facebook):
-Mark Bocek def. Nik Lentz by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27)
-Jake Hecht def. Rich Attonito by TKO at 1:10, R2
-John Cholish def. Mitch Clarke by TKO at 4:36, R2
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
140 Results: Chang Sung Jung Makes Quick Work of Mark Hominick
Chang Sung Jung moved into the record books with a quick first
round finish of Mark Hominick at UFC 140. Jung scored the TKO
in the opening moments of the card’s first Pay-Per-View
bout.
Hominick
and Jung lasted all of seven seconds in this one. The Korean
fighter threw a right hand that caught Hominick clear across
the chin. Hominick fell back and Jung followed through on the
ground. Five punches later, referee Herb Dean stepped in and
stopped the fight.
Jung
ties the record for fastest knockout in UFC history with the
first-round finish.
“Just
because I got knocked out one time doesn’t mean I’m
[not ] a great striker,” Jung said following the win. “I
think I’m one of the best strikers in the world.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Awards $75,000 Fighter Bonuses for UFC 140
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship handed out $75,000 bonuses for
in-Octagon performances following UFC 140 on Saturday. Jon Jones,
Lyoto Machida, Frank Mir and Chang Sung Jung took home the bonus
money.
Fight
of the Night honors went to the main event light heavyweight
title bout between Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida. Machida got the
better of the exchanges in the first round and was having success
counter-striking the champion. Jones secured a takedown in the
second round and opened up a cut on Machida’s forehead.
Jones dropped him with a left hand and then choked him unconscious
with a standing guillotine choke to retain the title.
Chang
Sung Jung was awarded Knockout of the Night for his seven-second
knockout of Mark Hominick. Hominick missed with a left hook and
Jung landed a counter right hand that sent Hominick crashing
to the canvas. Jung pounced and quickly finished with strikes
on the ground.
The
Submission of the Night bonus was awarded to Frank Mir for his
first round submission of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Mir fought
back from the brink of being finished after taking damage from
Nogueira’s boxing. On the ground, Mir secured a kimura.
Nogueira tried to fend it off but his arm was either broken or
dislocated forcing a stop to the fight. Nogueira had never been
submitted in his storied mixed martial arts career.
The
total bonus money granted following UFC 140 was $300,000.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
140: Minotauro will go through surgery
Rogerio
Nogueira’s evening had a good start with his brother’s
win over Tito Ortiz and an exciting start against Frank Mir,
but it did not end well. The loss via technical submission on
the first round will force the heavyweight fighter to stay off
Ultimate’s cage for a little longer. On the post-fight press
conference, Dana White revealed to the journalists that Rodrigo
was being taken to a hospital in Los Angeles, United States,
where he’ll be submitted to a shoulder and arm surgery,
like the x-ray published by UFC on Twitter shows.
Source: Tatame
|
Lyoto
choked unconscious but earns extra 75 grand
UFC
140 treated the crowd at Toronto, Canada’s Air Canada Center
to a thrilling spectacle in the octagon, and some of the stars
of the show earned extra padding for their bank accounts for
their efforts.
As
expected, submission-of-the-night honors went to Frank Mir for
his kimura armlock on Rodrigo Minotauro. Now the best knockout
award went to South Korea’s Chan Sung Jung, for his drubbing
of Mark Hominick in just seven seconds.
Jon
Jones and Lyoto Machida each earned an extra 75,000 dollars for
the main event deemed to be the fight of the night.
Source: Tatame
|
Frank
Mir breaks Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s arm to win at UFC
140
Frank
Mir was the first man to ever knock out Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
At UFC 140 on Saturday night, he also became the first man to
submit Nogueira.
Nogueira
started the bout by landing short punches, then moving in for
a takedown attempt. The two clinched, but it was Mir who got
the takedown. Nogueira worked his way back to his feet, and the
two continued to clinch against the fence.
The
fight took a turn when Nogueira unloaded several strikes, knocking
down Mir. It appeared that Mir was close to being finished when
Nogueira rolled to try and get a submission. Instead, Mir got
the submission, rolling into a Kimura and breaking Nogueira's
arm. The fight was stopped at 3:38.
Mir,
the one-time heavyweight champion, is on a three-fight win streak
which includes a KO, submission and a decision. His record is
16-5. Nogueira's last bout was a thrilling knockout at UFC 134,
but the loss gives him a record of 33-7-1.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
140 Live Results and Play-by-Play
Saturday,
December 10, 2011
Air Canada Centre, Toronto
Mitch Clarke vs. John Cholish
Round
1
Cholish stays on the outside, looking for his opportunity to
shoot, goes for a single leg and is denied. Clarke snaps off
quick punches and leg kicks as he walks Cholish down, cracking
the American with a hard uppercut. Clarke slips on a punch, but
pops right back up and takes Cholish’s back standing. He
twice drags Cholish to the mat; Cholish gets up both times, then
rolls for a leglock and winds up in Clarke’s open guard.
Cholish pushes Clarke to the cage as Clarke keeps busy underneath,
throwing up guillotines and triangles. Cholish backs out and
lets Clarke to his feet with just over 90 seconds left in the
first frame. Clarke keeps pressing forward, but Cholish is more
easily slipping away from his strikes now and is beginning to
land more of his own.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Cholish
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Cholish
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Cholish
Round
2
Cholish slips a right hand through to begin the second and steps
out of the way of Clarke’s retaliatory combo. Another right
finds its mark and Cholish rushes in behind it, grabbing a waistlock
and shoving Clarke into the cage. Clarke fires off a few short
knees inside and Cholish backs off. Cholish lands a crisp inside
thigh kick and comes over the top with a right hand. The jab
of Cholish is working now, keeping Clarke at bay as the Canadian
continues to move forward. Clarke is stumbled by the next hard
punch from Cholish and swings at air until Cholish drives him
to the canvas. Clarke is breathing heavy and is cut on the bridge
of his nose as Cholish holds him down. Cholish goes for a kimura
and is put on his back in the scramble, but he stays on the arm,
takes mount and is glued to Clarke’s back in a flash. Clarke
is in deep trouble with 30 seconds to go, flattened out on his
belly with Cholish raining down hard shots. Referee John McCarthy
is hovering nearby; with Clarke no longer defending himself,
“Big John” calls a halt to the contest at 4:36 of round
two, giving John Cholish the win via technical knockout in his
UFC debut.
Rich
Attonito vs. Jake Hecht
Round
1
From the outside, Hecht gets to work with hard low kicks to the
lead leg of Attonito, who dips inside and puts a right hand on
his man’s chin. Hecht lets a few go to the body before the
“Raging Bull” charges and brings the fight to the ground.
Attonito works from half-guard, trying to pass to Hecht’s
right side. Hecht stuffs him back to full guard, closes it up
and scoots away from the fence. Attonito comes over the top with
elbows while Hecht continues to shift and push off the cage.
Hecht pushes off Attonito’s hips but can’t get to his
feet and instead settles for throwing a few short elbows from
the bottom. Hecht is doing well to wrap up Attonito, minimizing
damage, but Attonito begins to let loose with punches to Hecht’s
body and head as the round enters its final 80 seconds. Attonito
keeps the strikes coming and closes out the round on top.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Attonito
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Attonito
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Attonito
Round
2
Hecht starts the second with a nice left hook and whiffs on a
high kick. He comes inside to tie up and is stuffed by Attonito,
who shoves Hecht’s back into the fence. Attonito drops down
for a single-leg, can’t find it and goes to his knees for
another try. Hecht drills him with a pair of elbows to the temple
and Attonito crumbles to his side. Referee Josh Rosenthal is
standing nearby, watching as Hecht smashes the fetal Attonito
with a dozen or more heavy punches. They’re partially blocked
by Attonito’s glove, but Attonito is offering up nothing
in return and Rosenthal justly waves off the fight at 1:10 of
the second round.
Mark
Bocek vs. Nik Lentz
Round
1
Lentz takes the outside and Bocek slings range-finding punches
to the head and body. Bocek puts Lentz on the fence, but Lentz
digs an underhook and reverses. They jockey for position and
then split, and Lentz goes high with a deflected head kick. Bocek
gets off a few more punches before he gets put on the fence again.
It’s Bocek who trips Lentz to the floor, though, and the
Canadian works from his opponent’s open guard 90 seconds
into the round. Lentz grabs a guillotine under his right arm
which looks loose at first, then tightens up as Lentz throws
his legs up. Bocek postures up and Lentz stays attached even
when he’s slammed back to the ground. After a minute, Lentz
gives up the choke and Bocek gets busy trying to pass, stacking
Lentz up away from the fence. Lentz keeps a long butterfly guard
and holds Bocek in place while throwing pesky punches from the
bottom. Bocek still can’t pass, stands and just avoids a
big Lentz upkick. With 30 seconds left, Bocek nearly passes to
Lentz’s right side and gets stuffed back. Bocek stacks up
and finishes the close first frame with ground-and-pound.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Bocek
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Bocek
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Bocek
Round
2
Bocek lands a hook to the body but eats a right from Lentz as
he comes forward. He looks for a takedown, can’t find it
from his knees and slips moments later. Lentz follows him to
the floor, considering a guillotine at first before going over
the top, possibly going for head scissors or an inverted triangle.
Bocek shakes him off and winds up in the same position as last
round, in Lentz’s open guard. Lentz is keeping busy, twisting
and rolling for a knee to keep Bocek in his guard. Bocek drops
some heavy offense before Lentz goes for another guillotine.
It’s deep and Lentz again stays latched on as Bocek stands
and slams him back down. Bocek pops his head out with 50 seconds
left in the middle round and ref Herb Dean stands them up with
20 seconds to go. Lentz lands a flurry of solid punches and Bocek
gets the last say in the round with a knee to the body.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Bocek
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Bocek
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Bocek
Round
3
Twenty seconds into the final round, Bocek has Lentz on his back
again, pressed into a cage post. Bocek scoops him away from the
fence and keeps busy with short punches to the body and head.
Lentz stays active from his back, too, but can’t get much
behind his punches. Lentz grabs a loose guillotine and uses it
to get back to his feet with three minutes to go. A lead uppercut
from Lentz snaps back Bocek’s head; shortly thereafter,
Bocek is shooting again and putting Lentz on his back. Lentz
keeps Bocek in his open guard again while Bocek drops intermittent
ground-and-pound. Bocek postures up and drops hammerfists with
a minute left, then goes back to pass attempts. He stands and
drops an axe kick on Lentz’ midsection. Lentz stands with
seconds to go and gets off a few final punches before the horn.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Bocek (30-27 Bocek)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Bocek (30-27 Bocek)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Bocek (30-27 Bocek)
Official
result: All three judges score the bout 30-27 for the winner
by unanimous decision, Mark Bocek.
Yves
Jabouin vs. Walel Watson
Round
1
The smaller Jabouin keeps a good distance, avoiding the long
kicks of Watson as they’re flicked out. Jabouin charges
with a left hand and eats a counter-left for his trouble. A heavy
right hand from Jabouin finds its mark and Watson can’t
find his opponents as he swings to counter. Watson whiffs on
a spinning backfist and is zapped by a nice right hand from Jabouin.
They tie up along the fence, Jabouin in the outside position
and then slamming Watson to his back. Watson pops up and Jabouin
latches onto a single-leg, taking some elbows from the “Gazelle”
in the process. Watson shucks Jabouin off and they’re back
to long-range striking with one minute to go. Watson comes forward
with a three-piece combo and a high kick, all of which are dodged
by Jabouin, who gets the last offense of the round with a pair
of winging punches.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Watson
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-10
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Jabouin
Round
2
Jabouin catches a kick and comes over the top with a right hand
for Watson, who extracts the limb and goes back to throwing volume
from the outside. A thudding outside kick to the knee of Jabouin
backs him off. Watson has a high kick blocked and follows up
with a left which sneaks through. Jabouin puts a hard kick on
the body of Watson, then goes to the leg with another. Watson
misses another spinning backfist and moments later appears to
graze Jabouin low with a turning kick. Jabouin keeps going, though,
and misses with a spinning kick of his own. Watson comes underneath
the punches of Jabouin and lands a few of his own, then sends
the Canadian halfway across the cage with a push kick. Jabouin
uncorks a spinning backfists which stumbles Watson. He drives
Watson to the ground, but gets caught in a guillotine on the
way down. Jabouin pops his head out with seconds to go.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Watson
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Jabouin
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Jabouin
Round
3
Both men come out throwing, Jabouin appearing to get the better
of the exchange on the inside. He puts a high kick on Watson’s
solar plexus and Watson answers with some hard body kicks of
his own. A vicious leg kick from Jabouin gives Watson pause before
moving forward again. Jabouin lands another, then goes to the
other leg. Jabouin pushes in and brings Watson down. Watson adjusts
on the way to the mat and lands in good position for an armbar.
Jabouin gets out trouble there, but winds up on his back. Watson
works from half-guard and sets up a deep brabo choke. He looks
to have it as he rolls Jabouin over, even telling referee Yves
Lavigne that his opponent has stopped moving, but Jabouin hangs
tough and gets out. Both men grin as they stand and it’s
Jabouin turning on the heat in the final seconds, cracking Watson
with a left hand and a stiff kick. Both men raise their hands
at the horn; this one could go either way on the scorecards.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Jabouin (29-28 Watson)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Watson (29-29 Draw)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Watson (29-28 Jabouin)
Official
result: One judge sees it 29-28 Watson, while a second has it
29-28 Jabouin. The third and deciding judge scores the bout 30-27
for the winner by split decision, Yves Jabouin.
John
Makdessi vs. Dennis Hallman
Round
1
Hallman ties up immediately and stays glued to Makdessi as they
stumble along the cage. Makdessi is twice warned for grabbing
the cage; after the second warning, Hallman gets him down. Makdessi
is turtling up already as Hallman socks him in the face on the
ground. As Makdessi gives up his back, Hallman immediately jumps
into position and flattens him out. Hallman smashes the cowering
Makdessi with hammerfists, loosening the Canadian up before grabbing
for a rear-naked choke. Makdessi twists around but Hallman still
has full mount, and “Superman” lays his forearm on
Makdessi’s throat in between punches and elbows. Hallman
drops brutish elbows on Makdessi’s jaw, causing Makdessi
to give up his back again. Hallman has a deep rear-naked choke
almost instantly and the bloodied Makdessi is forced to tap out.
Jared
Hamman vs. Constantinos Philippou
Round
1
Hamman is active with leg kicks early but Philippou is able to
lob a few right hands over the top to his taller opponent. Hamman
rushes for a single-leg but gets nothing and is tagged with a
pair of shots before wading back out. A chopping leg kick stumbles
Philippou and Hamman keeps going to the thigh and body. Philippou
drops Hamman to the ground with a perfectly timed left-right
combo, then another right. Hamman stands, only to be greeted
by another right; he’s in deep trouble as Philippou wrenches
a no-hooks rear-naked choke. Hamman escapes danger and gets back
to his feet, then goes down again from another big right. Hamman
looks completely dazed as Philippou bashes him on the floor.
Just as Hamman gets to his feet for the final time, one last
right hand from Philippou ends the night. Hamman slumps to the
ground and referee John McCarthy steps in to save him from further
punishment at 3:11 of round one.
Krzysztof
Soszynski vs. Igor Pokrajac
Round
1
Soszynski is getting the better of the striking right away, placing
hands on the “Duke,” but the tide turns quickly and
viciously. Pokrajac jacks Soszynski’s jaw with a short right
hook and the “Polish Experiment” stumbles backward.
Pokrajac keeps the pressure on, drilling hard punches against
the cage until a right hand to the temple sends Soszynski to
the floor. A few follow-up punches on the floor blast Soszynski
into another universe and referee Yves Lavigne waves it off.
After just 35 seconds, it’s an impressive knockout victory
for Igor Pokrajac.
Mark
Hominick vs. Chan Sung Jung
Round
1
As soon as the featherweights touch gloves, Hominick swings a
left hand with bad intent. Jung’s first punch, a straight
right, sends Hominick to the ground. The “Korean Zombie”
pounces with another half-dozen punches and turns out Hominick’s
lights. Referee Herb Dean steps in and this one is over in just
7 seconds.
Claude
Patrick vs. Brian Ebersole
Round
1
The welterweights move cautiously until 30 seconds in, when Ebersole
shoots long and is stuffed. Patrick gets an underhook and the
men work for position on the cage, Ebersole on the outside, kneeing
Patrick’s thighs. They get away from the fence and Ebersole
shoots a knee up the middle, then gets shoved into the cage.
Ebersole reverses and Patrick grabs a guillotine, falls into
guard. It’s deep, but Ebersole is stacking up, staying calm
as Patrick wraps his legs around him. Patrick abandons the choke
midway through the round and Ebersole works to pass as he pushes
Patrick into the fence. Patrick uses the cage to stand and gets
his space from Ebersole, comes inside with a hard left. Ebersole
comes forward now with a pair of hooks to the head, one to the
body, then a shot. Ebersole goes for a high double, can’t
find it and instead presses Patrick into the cage as the last
half-minute ticks away. Patrick lands a few knees in the clinch
and reverses the position just before the horn.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Ebersole
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Ebersole
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Ebersole
Round
2
Patrick is the aggressor as round two begins, chasing Ebersole
around the cage. He gets inside and puts a pair of knees in Ebersole’s
gut, misses with a follow-up shot. Patrick comes inside and gets
Ebersole’s forearm under his throat, then lands a punch
before being shoveled into the cage again. Ebersole breaks off
with a nice elbow over the top, shoots straight back in. Patrick
stifles the single-leg again but can’t slip away from Ebersole.
Patrick lands a knee inside and an elbow on the American’s
face, still pinned to the fence. They’re separated for only
a second before Ebersole presses in again. Referee Josh Rosenthal
asks the fighters to advance as the bout hits the midway point.
Patrick gets away and backs Ebersole off with a front kick. He
catches an Ebersole low kick and takes his back standing, but
Ebersole turns around as they go to the cage again. Patrick has
his hands clasped with one underhook, lets it go and gets turned
around. Neither man is mounting any significant offense in the
clinch, and they split. With 20 seconds left, Patrick fires off
a solid combo, but gets tied up for the remainder of the round.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Patrick
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Patrick
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Patrick
Round
3
Ebersole starts the final round with a long single-leg and Patrick
denies him. Ebersole is determined and keeps after it until Patrick
pulls guard about 30 seconds in. Patrick slaps the side and back
of Ebersole’s head with palm strikes; Ebersole works to
pass and offers a few short punches to the body. They stand and
Ebersole keeps control, lifting Patrick into the air and slamming
him back down awkwardly. Patrick turtles and stands with Ebersole
still on his back. Ebersole pressures him back down to his knees,
their left sides to the cage, and tries to put his hooks in.
Patrick defends well, so Ebersole drills a hard knee into the
back of his thigh. Patrick stands and gets his back to the fence,
but Ebersole still has underhooks with two minutes left. He switches
to a single-leg and spins Patrick down. In the process, Patrick
grabs on to an arm and threatens with a kimura. Patrick winds
up on top and slaps on a brabo choke, which Ebersole twists out
of. Patrick mugs Ebersole with an uppercut, a punch to the body
and a knee. He stuffs Ebersole’s long shot with 30 seconds
to go and tries an anaconda choke. In his attempt to roll, Patrick
winds up on the bottom, and that’s where it ends.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Ebersole (29-28 Ebersole)
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Ebersole (29-28 Ebersole)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Patrick (29-28 Patrick)
Official
result: One judge scores the bout 29-28 Ebersole, while a second
sees it 29-28 Patrick. The third judge gives a 29-28 scorecard
and the split decision victory to Brian Ebersole.
Antonio
Rogerio Nogueira vs. Tito Ortiz
Round
1
Ortiz strikes first, stepping into the pocket with punches and
taking return fire from the southpaw Nogueira. Shooting in, Ortiz
gets an underhook and muscles “Minotoro” into the cage,
connects with a few knees up the middle. Both men are winging
punches in the clinch, but it’s Nogueira who scores big
when they disengage. Ortiz is covering up from a left hand, his
back to the fence, and Nogueira will not relent. A nasty knee
to the body sends Ortiz to the canvas, where Nogueira pounces
and Ortiz is able to recover. Ortiz throws up his legs for a
triangle but can’t find anything as Nogueira continues the
onslaught of punches to the body, hammerfists and elbows to the
head. Ortiz is covering up, shrimping away, but not throwing
back. Nogueira drops a dozen or more punches to the body as referee
Yves Lavigne instructs Ortiz to fight back. Ortiz has nothing
to offer and Lavigne calls it at 3:15.
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir
Round
1
Nogueira pushes forward with punches, ducks one from Mir and
gets an underhook against the fence. The Brazilian uses his free
right hand to sock Mir with short shots until Mir spins him around.
Mir scores with a couple nice punches to the body as they spin
along the fence and Nogueira answers with inside knees. Mir trips
his man to the canvas and Nogueira uses underhooks to pop back
up. Nogueira puts Mir’s back on the fence and drills him
with a pair of hard, level elbows and a knee up the middle. A
right hand behind the ear has Mir on wobbly legs against the
cage and Nogueira goes to finish on the floor. Ref Herb Dean
warns Nogueira of striking to the back of the head, and “Minotauro”
changes to an anaconda choke. Mir reverses to top position, Nogueira
nearly takes his back, and Mir latches on a nasty kimura. Nogueira
sits up and it looks like he’ll be able to roll free, but
Mir impressively stays on top. Mir wrenches the kimura one more
time, and that’s all it takes. The submission comes at 3:38
of round one and Nogueira’s arm looks badly broken.
UFC
Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon
Jones vs. Lyoto Machida
Round
1
Referee John McCarthy is the third man in the cage for this 205-pound
title bout, with judges Sal D’Amato, Richard Bertrand and
Jeff Blatnick scoring at cageside should it go the distance.
Jones crouches in his corner and, just as in his last bout, crawls
to the center of the Octagon to meet Machida. The champion quickly
stands and assumes the orthodox stance against southpaw Machida,
who circles the outside slowly. Machida bounces out of the way
of Jones’ long punches and turning kicks. Jones changes
to southpaw and thuds a kick off Machida’s lead leg. Machida
comes inside and stumbles as the men get tangled up, then circles
out. Jones lands another leg kick, but this time Machida comes
over the top with a counter left. Machida winds up on a left
hand and charges in, doesn’t find his mark. The Brazilian
is doing well to slip Jones’ rangy kicks, then he steps
in the pocket and cracks the champ with a hard left. Jones airmails
a right and Machida makes him pay with a pair of punches. Another
flurry has “Bones” stumbling backward, though more
off-balance than injured.
TJ
De Santis scores the round 10-9 Machida
Freddie DeFreitas scores the round 10-9 Machida
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Machida
Round
2
Machida quickly returns to his hit-and-run tactics, slapping
Jones with a kick to the thigh before circling away from multiple
kicks by the champ. Catching a kick from Jones, Machida lobs
a hard right over the top. Midway through the round and this
one is still very much up for grabs. Jones lands a solid right
hand and takes a counter left in return. Bones rushes Machida
on the cage and scores a big takedown; when they hit the ground,
Machida is bleeding badly from his forehead thanks to a Jones
elbow. Referee McCarthy gets a good look at the cut and calls
for the doctor, who quickly gives Machida the go-ahead. They
resume in the clinch with 90 seconds left in the round, Jones
on the outside, throwing knees. Machida twists him around and
disengages, and they’re toe-to-toe again. Jones drops the
Brazilian with a short left and follows up with knees to the
gut. Machida stays on his feet but Jones locks up a deep standing
guillotine. Almost as soon as the choke is in, Machida goes to
sleep. When McCarthy peels the champion off, Machida crumbles
lifelessly to the canvas and Jones coolly strides away. Jones
officially retains his UFC light heavyweight title via technical
submission at 4:26 of round two.
Source: Sherdog
|
ProElite
MMA Returns Live on HDNet At Neal Blaisdell Center Honolulu,
Hawaii – January 21, 2012
Fight Card Headline features
“Da Spyder vs. The PUNK”
And ProElite Heavyweight Grand Prix Semi’s
LOS
ANGELES, CA (December 9, 2011) – ProElite (PK:PELE) makes
its return to the MMA-centric islands of Hawaii, featuring a
fight card loaded with world class talent on January 21, 2012
at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main event matches
Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove against Ikuhisa “The
PUNK” Minowa, and includes the semifinals of the ProElite
Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Tickets
for “ProElite: Da Spyder vs The PUNK” will be on sale
soon to the general public at the Blaisdell Center box office,
all Ticketmaster locations (800)745-3000, Ticketmaster online
and www.ProElite.com. The ProElite event, a wholly-owned property
of Stratus Media Group, will be televised live on HDNet at 10
P.M. EST
Hawaii
native Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove (13-9) returns to
the ProElite cage to take on international fan favorite Ikuhisa
“The PUNK” Minowa (51-32-8) of Nagoya, Japan. The 6-foot-6
Grove had an impressive showing on ProElite’s last card
in Hawaii (August 27, 2011) where he choked out tough MMA veteran
Joe “Diesel” Riggs with a guillotine choke at just
:59 seconds of the first round.
With
35 of his 51 wins coming by way of submission, Japanese fight
icon Minowa, is one of the most well known and recognizable fighters
on the international circuit today. He has competed in PrideFC
and Dream, where he defeated three MMA giants including Bob Sapp
(Achilles Lock), Hong Man Choi (Heel Hook), and Sokoudjou (TKO)
to capture the Dream Super Hulk (Openweight) Grand Prix title.
The January 21 fight will mark Minowa’s ProElite and North
American debut.
The
Honolulu Card also features the first semifinal match of the
Heavyweight Grand Prix, and showcases the very tough Ryan Martinez
(6-1) taking on headhunter Cody Griffin (5-2).
In
his ProElite debut, Martinez handed 2009 NCAA Heavyweight wrestling
champion Mark Ellis his first MMA defeat by unanimous decision
in the first stage of the Grand Prix on November 5, 2011. Known
for his go for broke fighting style, the 5-foot-11 Martinez hails
from Greenley, Colorado where he trains out of Infinite MMA.
Griffin, a true comeback kid, brings an explosive style to the
match. Between the two fighters only 3 out of their 14 total
fights have gone to decision.
The
opposite bracket features the heavy hitting Jake “The Honey
Bear” Heun (2-1) against the biggest physical competitor
in the tournament at 6-foot-5, Richard “The Black Eagle”
Odoms (6-0).
Heun
looks to continue his rise to prominence after training with
Chris “The Crippler” Leben during his time as a Linebacker
at the University of Hawaii and is now refining his technique
in Utah under the guidance of MMA pioneer Jeremy “Gumby”
Horn. Heun has become a dangerous opponent for any fighter entering
the cage with him.
Richard
Odoms, an imposing 6-foot-5 and weighing in at the heavyweight
limit of 265 pounds, is truly a giant in the cage. The San Antonio,
Texas police officer dominated his November 5 fight against Rod
Housley and won a clear cut unanimous decision to advance into
the Honolulu semifinals.
Source:
Pro Elite
|
Rashad
Evans: When Trash Talking Goes Wrong
by Damon
Martin
Trash
talk is second nature to some athletes who followed the lead
of greats like Muhammad Ali or Michael Jordan.
Sometimes,
however, trash talking goes wrong. It appears to have gone sideways
for UFC light heavyweight contender Rashad Evans.
During
a press conference to promote the UFC on Fox 2 fight card on
Jan. 28, Evans and opponent Phil Davis engaged in a little back
and forth banter after a fan posed a question to the former light
heavyweight champion.
Evans
was asked which version of his fighting persona would show up
against Phil Davis. The knockout happy Rashad Evans, who floored
fighters like Chuck Liddell and Sean Salmon, or the wrestling
and ground and pound machine that beat opponents like Jason Lambert
and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
“Whichever
one shows up,” answered Evans. “I prefer to bring out
the knockout one, cause Phil, he needs to get knocked out.”
This
prompted a response from Davis, who invoked the name of Evans’
former training partner and now heated rival Jon Jones.
“Glad
you mentioned that cause one of your buddies, Jon Jones, said
you don’t have much of a chin,” Davis stated.
Hearing
Jones’ name pop up once again infuriated Evans, who then
responded with a longer, more intense diatribe that ended with
reference to the horrendous situation currently surrounding former
Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and his alleged sexual
assault on numerous children.
“You’re
going to have to find out for yourself. I bet you won’t
be able to put your hands on me though. I bet you’ll be
the first one to take a shot. I guarantee you’ll be the
first one to take a shot,” Evans said.
“Cause
I’m going to put those hands on you worse than that dude
did to them other kids at Penn State.”
Davis
attended Penn State, where he wrestled and won a NCAA championship.
Whether
he was trying to push a button or get clever with his response,
Evans went over the line with his trash talk, especially when
considering this was a promotional event to hype up the next
major UFC on Fox show.
Evans
has yet to comment further on the war of words he engaged in
with Davis, or if he has any plans to issue any sort of an apology
for the crass and cruel reference to such an awful story still
permeating the headlines.
While
free speech is definitely something to hold near and dear in
the United States, Evans didn’t violate a law by what he
said, but stepped over the lines of poor taste and poor timing.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Frank
Mir says "muscled-up LHW" Alistair Overeem can't stop
Brock Lesnar's double-leg
by Joey
Santosus
Former
Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir, who will rematch Antonio Rodrigo
Nogueira at UFC 140, shares his thoughts on the recent title
fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos and talks
about the upcoming clash pitting Brock Lesnar against Alistair
Overeem. Mir feels that Overeem is a "muscled-up" Light
Heavyweight and says that, unless the Dutchman can land a knockout
punch early, Lesnar will put him on his back 99 out of 100 times.
"I
think Overeem doesn't move his feet well enough to get out of
the way. I think that he might think that the guys he's wrestling
with, their doubles are something he can sprawl on, but he's
not stopping Brock's shot. I think he really has to come out
with the mindset that he better land a shot and knock Brock out
before he gets going, and I just don't see that happening. ...
If they fight each other 100 times, I think Brock's going to
get the takedown 99 times, and I don't see how Alistair is going
to get up. I know that everybody looks at his traps and arms
and they see a big guy, but I look at the guy's waist and legs
and I see a guy that's just a well-muscled up Light Heavyweight."
Source:
Low Kick
|
Dana
White: Mayhem Miller Has 'The Worst Standup I've Ever Seen'
By Michael
David Smith
CHICAGO
-- With a few days to reflect on it, UFC President Dana White
remains baffled by how easily Michael Bisping beat Jason "Mayhem"
Miller at Saturday night's Ultimate Fighter Finale.
"I
still don't know," White said of Miller's performance. "It
was bad. To be honest, believe me, my Twitter has been blowing
up with all the 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 worse standup. The guy's been in the business
for over 10 years. It looked like it was his first fight ever.
It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
White
said Miller's issues in his third-round technical knockout loss
go beyond ring rust or nerves and seem much more fundamental.
"Some
of the punches that were thrown by Mayhem Miller in this fight,
you could go to a girls' Tae Bo class and see better form, better
stand-up. It was embarrassing," White said.
Miller
was the fan favorite against Bisping, who has long been promoted
by the UFC as a valuable fighter for the U.K. market but hasn't
caught on with American fans. White said he's become accustomed
to fans booing Bisping, but he maintains that Bisping has proven
himself as an elite middleweight and a legitimate future title
contender.
"Michael
Bisping is easy to hate so people want to discredit him because
they don't like him, but Bisping is the real deal. He's a tough
guy," White said.
White
has resigned himself, however, to the fact that Bisping will
never be as popular in the United States as he is in England.
And he says he's not bothered by the fact that Bisping got confrontational
with the fans who booed him at the Ultimate Fighter Finale weigh-ins.
"Bisping
is who he is," White said. "There are certain people,
there's something about them that you're not going to like. Michael
Bisping is one of them and so is Josh Koscheck. These guys could
try to go out there, make everything better, say nice things,
and you're still not going to like them."
As
for the weigh-in incident, White said fans have to expect fighters
to react that way when they're taunted the day before the fight.
"The
day of the weigh-ins, these guys have been away from their families
for eight weeks, they're cutting weight for the last two days,
they're miserable and nasty, and if you say something to him,
he's a fighter, what do you think he's going to say?" White
said. "This isn't the NFL, this isn't the NBA, this is the
fight business."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Rampage
Had to Fight to be on the UFC Japan Card
by Jeff
Cain
Former
UFC light heavyweight titleholder Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson made a name for himself in mixed martial arts competing
in the Japanese-based Pride organization. When the UFC announced
they would be returning to the “Land of the Rising Sun”
for the first time in over a decade, he knew that he wanted to
be on the card.
It
wasn’t that easy, though. It would take some behind the
scenes negotiations and a little hardball, but Jackson got what
he asked for and faces Ryan Bader in the co-main event at UFC
144 on Feb. 26.
“As
soon as I found out the UFC was coming to Japan, I told Dana
[White] ‘hey, whether I win or lose my last fight, I want
to fight in Japan.’ So I’ve been very, very excited
and waiting to come back here and fight in front of the Japanese
audience,” said Jackson during a press conference promoting
the event.
“I
had to fight to be on this card and complain and bitch to my
manager. Now I think the representatives of the UFC upset with
me a little bit, but ask me do I care,” he added.
Jackson
had some of his career defining moments in Japan, and returning
there to fight has Rampage motivated.
“I’m
all about putting on an exciting fight in Japan. One thing I
love about the Japanese fans, one reason I love them the most
out of everybody is cause they don’t care if you win or
lose, all they care is if you have samurai spirit, you go in
and have a good fight. That’s why Japanese fans are my favorite
and American fans are jealous that I say that all the time,”
he said.
“I
just remember back when I was fighting here I just had so much
energy and I wanted to put on a good show for all the fans cause
of the energy they give,” added the former champion.
Jackson
misses competing in front of the large crowds in Japan and their
appreciation for a good fight. He explains the differences between
the two fight-fan cultures and how it might lead to him taking
more chances for the sake of entertainment.
“Like
in America, you’re under so much pressure to win, winning
at any cost, cause fans talk (expletive) to you if you lose.
Even if it’s a good, exciting fight. In Japan, it’s
just a different energy,” said Jackson. “Who knows,
maybe I’ll take more chances and not care, cause it’s
all about the crowd. I react with the crowd and I don’t
care about people watching on TV. I rep for the crowd.
“I
want to just put on a great show.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
returns to Rio in late 2012, says Secretary of Tourism
Marcelo
Dunlop
The
UFC roadshow looks set to return to Rio de Janeiro with another
solid card after next October. At least if it’s up to the
city’s municipal government.
Yesterday
evening, Rio de Janeiro Secretary of Tourism Antonio Pedro Figueira
de Mello had a chat about it with GRACIEMAG.com.
He
said he agrees with fans that the card for the second UFC Rio
is weaker than the first, which drew 14,000 fight fans to the
HSBC Arena last August.
“The
card is indeed not as strong as the last, although there are
some really interesting matchups. The thing is, the January 14,
2012 show is just UFC 142, not another UFC Rio like the first,
with all the publicity and attention from the media. UFC Rio
along the lines of the first one will only be back in the city
towards the end of the year, at around October, and we’ll
invest in bringing another unforgettable card. There should be
other UFCs around Brazil in 2012 before UFC Rio, and we’ll
wrap up the Brazilian season with UFC Rio,” he remarked.
Tickets
for UFC 142, headlined by featherweights José Aldo and
Chad Mendes, go on sale this month, likely on the 14th, one month
before the show. The precise day will be announced on the coming
13th, a Tuesday, at the pre-event press conference, where UFC
president Dana White, Aldo and Vitor Belfort will be on the dais.
Check
out the UFC events to follow Saturday’s card, according
to press releases so far:
UFC
141: Lesnar vs. Overeem
December 30, 2011
MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
UFC
142: Aldo vs Mendes
January 14, 2012
HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
UFC
on Fox: Evans vs. Davis
January 28, 2012
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
UFC
143: Diaz vs Condit
February 4, 2012
Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
UFC
on Fuel TV 1
February 15, 2012
CenturyLink Center, Omaha, Nebraska
UFC
144: Edgar vs Henderson
February 26, 2012
Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan
UFC
on FX 2
March 4, 2012
Allphones Arena, Sydney, Australia
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
On
second thought: Michael Bisping’s wise u-turn on fighting
Anderson Silva
By Zach
Arnold
ARIEL
HELWANI: “Do you think after a dominant performance like
this you will start to finally get the respect that you think
you deserve?”
MICHAEL
BISPING: “I mean, I hope so, I’d like to. Everyone
wants respect. Already people are on Twitter saying Jason gassed,
etc. I’m sure Jason didn’t gas, I’m sure he was
in great shape. But, you know, I hope so, I mean, I go out there.
I try my best to entertain, you know, I try my best to put on
exciting fights. That’s what I want to do. I cherish my
position in the UFC and I feel like the luckiest man in the world
doing what I do for a living and, you know, I want to be successful
at it and I want people to enjoy what I do. Yeah, I wanted to
be appreciated. Hopefully [after] performances like that, people
will start to come around.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “What’d you think of the stoppage?”
MICHAEL
BISPING: “I thought it was just. Yeah, you know, I mean
I was hitting him with a lot of shots. In the third, I was in
his guard and I was punching him, you know, hitting him with
a lot of shots and Mazzagatti said, you know, you’ve got
to fight back, so I fought back. Keep this pace going. My cardio
was good but because of the amount of shots I was throwing I
was starting to get a little tired but I just kept punching and
punching. He kind of squirmed and changed position. In the referee’s
mind, I lost that momentum, you know what I mean? Then I managed
to pass his guard, get side control, and he turtled up and I
just thought, keep this up, keep this up, he’s got to stop
it and fortunately he did.”
ARIEL
HELWANI: “After some of the antics at the weight-ins [on
Friday], flipping off the crowd, telling them to F off, I thought
it was clear, at least to me, that Michael Bisping is running
with this ‘bad boy’ image, the one that we talked about
a couple of days ago, but then with your post-fight interview
talking about the working class family, talking about your family,
you had the crowd now turning and clapping for you. So, which
is it going to be, the good guy or the bad guy?”
MICHAEL
BISPING: “Listen, as I said I’m an emotional guy, you
know, I mean I try to be a good guy, I want to be a good guy
but I have these moments. I mean, I was annoyed at the weigh-in,
I was .2 of a pound over, pardon the expression but as my boxing
coach says you can fart 0.2 out so I almost there but it’s
unprofessional. But, more than anything, I was annoyed at myself
and then the crowd was booing. Then Joe Rogan said, c’mon,
come and give him some love and I thought, no, I’m not in
the mood for that and… you know, I mean, I meant everything
that I said at the weigh-in. Thank you guys for coming out and
showing energy. I realize there’s got be a good guy and
a bad guy and they’re going to cheer for someone. Obviously,
I’m not local as we all know, so I have no problem with
it. As long as people tune in and enjoy what they see, I’m
happy.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Coach
says: ‘Diego Brandão is an example of determination’
Diego
Brandão is the first Brazilian champion of “The Ultimate
Fighter”. And, one of the responsible for that is Junior
Cardoso, adviser and coach of the athlete in Brazil. Fellow countrymen
with Diego, who, despite the nickname ‘Ceará’
was actually born in Amazonas, the coach is thrilled about the
achievement of the young talented fighter.
“I’m
really glad, I guess that Ceará is na example of determination.
He’s always believed he’d make it through the big events,
I remember when he first started training, he said he’d
fight in Pride, which was the best event back then”, said
Cardoso, who also is responsible for the trainings of Adriano
Martins, WFE and Jungle Fight lightweight champion.
According
to Junior Cardoso, his student keeps the same fighting style,
always moving forwards and trying to take his opponent down.
He also revealed that before TUFC 14’s finale, last Saturday,
Diego called him to thank for everything he’s done and claimed
to be confident about the win.
“Now
let’s cheer for him to have a successful career and fight
a lot, change his and his family’s life. And the fact he’s
another fighter from Manaus might open some doors for the other
fighters we have back here. I hope the UFC leaders pay more attention
to us”, wished the coach.
Source:
Tatame
|
UFC
TV Partner Comparison (Past and Present)
The
UFC's move to FOX already looks like it's paying off. The promotions
first showing on the network with "UFC Primetime" received
an average of 2 million viewers (1.3 household rating).
I
decided to compare the coverage size of each of the UFC's television
partners, both past and present, based on the total number of
households each network is available in and the percentage of
overall national coverage.
TV
Network
Houesholds (in million)
Coverage %
FOX
120.6
96%
SPIKE TV
99.9
86%
FX
99.3
74%
VERSUS
76
65%
FUEL TV
32
27%
It's
no surprise that the major network FOX tops the list, and is
available in just over 120 million homes throughout the U.S.
FOX is in about 10% more homes then SPIKE. The UFC's move to
the FOX family, which includes FX and FUEL, will not only put
the promotion on more channels but they'll also be available
in more homes throughout the United States. This give's the promotion
a larger platform to help promote their Pay-Pay-View events which
remain at the core of their business model. With a decline in
the Pay-Pay-View business throughout 2011, it will be interesting
to see if the new FOX television deal will have a significant
impact in 2012 and aid the UFC's attempt of breaking into the
mainstream.
Source
MMA Metrics
|
Jason
Chambers talks new sports agency, Shine Fights, The Human Weapon
and fatherhood
By Peter
Lampasona
First
brought in to the national spotlight as the host of the 2007
martial arts History Channel series The Human Weapon, Jason Chambers
has worn most of the hats available in the MMA industry. The
former fighter, Bellator commentator, and Shine Fights COO has
recently added another notch to his belt, founding Apex Sports
Agency: a representative agency focusing on mixed martial artists.
While
he’s seen many sides of MMA, Chambers said it was a common
thread in all of his experience that led him to start Apex.
“Firstly
the industry timing to help better service the athletes out there,”
Chambers said. “I have been involved in this sport in several
capacities over the past 15 years and I hated Mixed Martial Artist[s]
being treated as second class athletes.”
Chambers
continued to explain that the original business plan was to create
a new division within a more established agency. But, ultimately
that deal might not be best for the athletes he would be representing.
“I
met with a few of the big talent agencies in LA that also represent
NFL, NBA, MLB, etc in an effort to get them enrolled in the process
of building and guiding these future stars,” Chambers went
on. “I had offers from [three] of the top [five agencies]
to come in an start an alternative sports division. But, after
reflecting on this for a bit, I decided it wouldn’t be the
right fit. My fear was that these large [agencies] , while having
then right systems in place to build talent, would not be ‘in
it for the long run.’ They are very bottom line driven.
Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I didn’t
want to leverage my personal and business relationships to build
a division that would get cut after 15 months if it was not making
10 million a year profit. It was going to take time to do it
the right was.”
Chambers
has a big vision for Apex: one that starts with MMA athletes
and slowly goes to cover all alternative or “extreme”
sports. While there are no artificial limits on the growth of
the company, Chambers expressed a strong desire to stay realistic
and stick to a sustainable business plan.
“We
cannot come onto the scene and have 20 UFC clients in [two] months,”
said Chambers. “If you do, you are either poaching or lying
to clients. Neither represents the values I want our company
to uphold. Right now we have a mix of a few former UFC vets,
current UFC fighters and guys that are on the cusp of being there.
One of the many things that separates us from the average agency/management
company is the amount of talent we turn away. It boggles my mind
why someone would want to be the 50th or 60th client on a list,
with 14 other guys in your weight class. How can a manager/agent
really service that guy who isn’t the [number one] client?
”
Before
starting Apex, Chambers was brought in as the COO of Florida
based MMA promotion Shine Fights as the man to clean up the organization’s
public image after the well-publicized debacle that was Din Thomas
versus Ricardo Mayorga. Among the undertakings that happened
in Shine under Chambers’ tenure was a lightweight Grand
Prix tournament, which presented a number of logistical challenges.
Whether
or not the Grand Prix format is still something that can be done
successfully in mixed martial arts, Chambers maintains that the
idea will always have appeal.
“Practical
place or not,I love them,” Chambers said of same-day tournaments.
“I also think there are a ton of fans and fighters that
do as well. Our sport was built on one night tournaments. I agree,
to a large extent, that the sport and its athletes have evolved
past this era, but there is something innately ‘cool’
about a warrior fighting [three] times in one night. You have
to offer something different in order to be a draw.”
Chambers
became known to MMA fans at large with the History Channel series
The Human Weapon, which premiered in 2007. Four years later,
Chambers is still happy to talk about his experience on the show.
“My
favorite place that we visited was Greece,” said Chambers.
“I am a big history and antiquities buff and there are few
places on earth that can speak to those callings like Greece.
The art I was most surprised by was Krav Maga. It is very near
my background in JKD. It is realistic, practical and easy to
adapt to for nearly anyone. I also enjoyed the MMA and McMap
episodes. It was great to be able to shoot in the US for a few
weeks.”
A
competitive martial artist with many years of experience, Chambers
also had some stranger moments on the show.
“There
were definitely times when i wanted to explore the ‘real’
aspect of the technique,” Chambers continued. “I never
liked that fact that every technique we learned had to be a ‘lethal,
deadly, killing technique.’ Some of them were great, some
I wanted to hang my head. I would never want to offend anyone
that practiced those arts, but some are more practical for self
defense than others.”
Currently,
Chambers is balancing his new business with the more serious
business of raising twin children, Declan and Danica, that will
have their first birthday later this month. While the MMA business
is normally a highly mobile affair, Chambers has been trying
to limit his travel because he “miss[es] them terribly”
while he is away.
As
for whether or not the kids will follow in their father’s
footsteps, Chambers is trying to keep their options open.
“I
would love for them to be involved in the Martial Arts, but I
have to let them chose their own paths,” said Chambers.
“Naturally there is a part of me that would take a great
deal of pride in watching my son compete but only if that’s
what he wants. I believe kids should be exposed to as many opportunities
as possible and let their creative side draw them to what fits.”
Source:
The Fight Nerd
|
Faber
and Cruz will test drive the new TUF format
Dominick
Cruz and Urijah Faber have been bandied around as possibilities
for the TUF coaching gig since the WEC was folded into the UFC,
so it should come as no surprise to anyone that their time has
finally come. They'll now be the first coaches under the new
live FX format for the show. It all sets things up for Urijah
Faber's fourth title shot in three years, so lets hope he jumps
this Cruz hurdle so we don't have to sit through tries number
5, 6, and 7.
Putting
the fate of New TUF into the hands of bantamweight fighters is
a bit of a ballsy move, even when you take into account North
America's unwavering perma-boner for Urijah Faber. Thus far the
lighter weight guys have been having some trouble moving the
mainstream interest needle, and it's important for the sanity
of us paranoid UFC fans that the ratings do well or it means
the MMA sky is falling! But who knows, it could be great. Dancing
with the Stars is hot right now, so maybe people will love Dominick
Cruz. And Urijah could turn the dueling coaches format on it's
head and instead blast us in the face with some chill California
loving. "Hey, let's hang ten instead of arguing, bro. Wanna
share an organic salad and work our feelings out?"
Meanwhile,
SB Nation talks to Spike about a coaching choice that sounded
awesome when it was made but led to the worst TUF ratings in
the history of the show:
Jack
Encarnacao spoke with Spike TV President Kevin Kay and asked
him about the poor ratings of the 13th season of The Ultimate
Fighter -- the lowest rated in the six year run -- and Kay named
one of the big causes: former UFC and WWE heavyweight champ Brock
Lesnar.
"Look,
the Brock Lesnar season just wasn't that good. Let's be honest.
It wasn't the Brock that the audience expected. The audience
wanted Brock the bad guy, and Brock was more of a good guy, and
I don't think it was that great a season," Kay said.
In
theory it was a great choice but it ended up being a guy who
no speaka des englis across from someone who said nothing but
CHICKEN SHIT CHICKEN SALAD CHICKEN SHIT CHICKEN SALAD for several
weeks. Stop pretending you're a civilized human being, Brock.
Throw some dudes across the TUF training center, tear all the
doors off their hinges, and beat your chest like the silverback
gorilla we all came to see!
Source:
Fight Linker
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