Upcoming
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2011
12/9/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
11/11/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
November
Aloha
State Championship of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
10/29/11
NAGA
Hawaii
10/7/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
9/2/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
8/20/11
SUSPENDED
Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Neal Blaisdell Center
Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, Maui)
8/12/11
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waterfront at Aloha Tower)
7/22/11
808 Battleground & X-1 World Events
Domination
(MMA)
(Waterfront at Aloha Tower)
Man Up & Stand Up
(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
Man Up & Stand Up
(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)
|
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July
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!
|
Want
to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
Click here for pricing and more
information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
|
O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Knife & Stickfighting) who were directly
trained under the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
Maui
Jiu-Jitsu Open Suspended for Now
The
tournament previously scheduled for August 20, 2011 is suspended
for now with no update in regards to the new date. We will mpost
more information as it becomes available.
|
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What
does ‘Anderson Silva-money’ get you? A nice new mansion
What
does ‘Anderson Silva-money’ get you? A nice new mansion.
Lyoto Machida backed out of the planned fight with Rashad Evans
because he reportedly wanted "Anderson Silva money,"
or a pay day more like that of his good friend, UFC middleweight
champ Anderson Silva. Machida thought he was in the position
to ask for that kind of cash, but UFC president Dana White balked
at this request:
"I opted not to pay him Anderson Silva money and told
him when he accomplished all the things that Anderson Silva has
accomplished, then maybe he'll make Anderson Silva-type money,"
an incredulous White told reporters.
Silva
is on a 14-fight win streak and lives atop the Yahoo! Sports
pound-for-pound rankings. For that, he made $200,000 in his UFC
126 knockout of Vitor Belfort, but that figure doesn't include
any bonuses or cuts of pay-per-view buys, which may be a part
of his contract. His sponsorship money also isn't included into
that figure, and Kevin Iole estimated that he pulls seven figures
for a fight.
In
fact, he just used that money to buy a new million-dollar home
in southern California. The Los Angeles Times reported that Silva
bought a $1.76 million home in Palos Verdes Estates to be closer
to his training homes. The house has an ocean view, four bedrooms,
three and a half baths, a pool and sits on a half-acre lot.
Maybe
this gives a clue behind Machida's motivation. Who doesn't want
a home with an ocean view?
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
The
Trilogy Comes to A Close: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 Set
for UFC 136 Fight Card
Like
an epic trilogy should come to a crescendo, UFC lightweight champion
Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will look to close the final chapter
on their story as they meet on the UFC 136 fight card in Houston.
Sources
close to the match-up confirmed that verbal agreements are in
place for the Oct. 8 fight, set to headline UFC 136. MMAFighting.com
first confirmed the bout on Friday.
While
the fight has been rumored for the UFC 136 fight card for over
a month, Edgar and Maynard both recently received medical clearance
to get back into training and make the fight official.
As
previously mentioned, Edgar and Maynard have met twice before
with Maynard winning the first tilt, the second ending in a draw
after an epic five-round battle.
The
two lightweights were originally scheduled to headline UFC 130
in May, but both fighters suffered injuries in training and were
forced off the card.
Now
healthy, the Edgar/Maynard trilogy will finally come to a close
in October with the winner looking to solidify their place as
the top lightweight in the UFC.
Bout
agreements are expected to be issued at any time to make the
fight official.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
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Evan
Dunham vs. Shamar Bailey at UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger
Evan
Dunham will look to bounce back from an injury and a loss when
he returns in September to face Shamar Bailey at UFC Fight Night:
Shields vs. Ellenberger.
UFC
officials announced the new bout late Saturday night.
Following
a great start to his UFC career, Evan Dunham first fell victim
to bad judging at UFC 119, losing to former lightweight champion
Sean Sherk in a bout just about everyone including UFC President
Dana White scored in Dunham’s favor.
Then
the Oregon native ran into an absolute sledgehammer named Melvin
Guillard during his last fight where he was TKO’d in the
first round. An injury sidelined Dunham from a fight earlier
this year, and so now he’ll look to return on Sept 17 in
New Orleans.
Former
‘Ultimate Fighter’ competitor Shamar Bailey stands
in Dunham’s way of getting back on the winning track.
An
experienced veteran, Bailey came up short in his bid to win the
reality show, but was able to pick up a victory during the season
finale back in June.
Bailey
and Dunham meet as part of the undercard to the welterweight
main event between former Strikeforce champion Jake Shields and
Jake Ellenberger.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
UFC
138 Fight Card Adds Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman
While
UFC 138 is still months away fights are being made for the card
with Tom Lawlor agreeing to face Chris Weidman in November.
UFC
officials confirmed the new bout on Saturday.
Tom
Lawlor was originally scheduled to fight at UFC on Versus 5 in
August, but a training injury pushed him out of his bout against
Kyle Noke.
Instead,
Lawlor will come back in November at UFC 138, which is currently
rumored for San Jose, CA and face Matt Serra student Chris Weidman.
Training
under former welterweight champion Matt Serra, New York fighter
Chris Weidman will try to keep his record perfect when he faces
Lawlor in November.
Currently
2-0 in the UFC, Weidman has shown strong submission skills and
solid stand-up thus far and will attempt to keep the same momentum
going in his next fight.
While
UFC 138 hasn’t officially been announced, it’s expected
that heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will return and defend
his belt against Junior Dos Santos as the main event for the
fight card.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
UFC
on Versus 6 Official for Oct 1, Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman 2 on
Deck
As
MMAWeekly.com first reported on Saturday, the UFC is adding a
third fight card on October 1 and we now know it will be the
UFC on Versus 6 show.
The
newest addition to the fight card will feature a rematch between
former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ winner Mac Danzig as he faces
Matt Wiman in a lightweight match-up.
Danzig
and Wiman first met at UFC 115 in 2010.
Wiman
was able to snatch a guillotine choke and as he was wrenching
it up on Danzig’s neck, referee Yves Lavigne thought that
he was out and stopped the fight.
Danzig
immediately popped up in protest as he was never choked unconscious
and was just working to try and get out of the move.
Wiman
still got the win, but not without a fair share of controversy
and so now the two lightweights will settle the score in the
Octagon.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Popovitch
confirms: “I’ll be at 88kg for the ADCC”
In
doubt – and it seemed the organizers were too – as
to whether current champion Pablo Popovitch will be competing
at ADCC 2011 in his original under-77kg division or one up, at
under 88kg, we put the question to the teacher at team Avengers.
Pablo
was quick to reply. “I’m going at 88kg,” he reported,
now set to face off with other favorites, like Claudio Calasans,
Rafael Lovato, Rousimar Toquinho, Rômulo Barral, Sérgio
Moraes and Paulão Filho, not to mention training partner
André Galvão, current runner-up in the division.
On
how his training is going, the black belt residing in Florida
assured us he’s pleased with the human resources at his
disposal to help him win his second title in the event, this
time set to take place September in England.
“I’ve
got a good gang training No-Gi with me: Roberto Cyborg, Vagner
Rocha, Fred Moncaio, Raphael Chavez, Junior, Dustin Dennis, Luiz
Banha. All of them are slick on the ground and getting ready
to compete at ADCC 2011 or in the UFC,” he said in closing.
If there were any doubts the event will be a war…
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Mid-Year
Awards: The GDP Award
Normally, the GDP Award is reserved for a fighter who, in the
tireless and possibly self-destructive pursuit of money, gets
in the cage over and over again to throw them bungalows for cold,
hard cash.
That's
why Chris Leben got the mid-year GDP Award last July, after fighting
three times in the first half of 2010. It's also why Alistair
Overeem got the award at year's end after K-1ing his tail off,
while also mixing in a couple MMA fights here and there just
to make sure he had some change in his pocket.
But
this time around our mid-year GDP Award recipient is of a different
breed. He didn't fight a bunch of times; he fought once. He didn't
keep doing it over and over until the money piled up like pizza
boxes in a frat house; he did it only as much as he had to, and
he made sure that every second of his time was rewarded handsomely.
That
man, my friends, is none other than Tito Ortiz.
Yeah,
I know. I don't like it any more than you do.
He's
brash. He's abrasive. He never met a sentence he couldn't screw
up. In the UFC 132 pre-fight interviews, I personally heard him
mangle even easy cliches, saying things like "I'm a guy
who wears his heart on his shoulder," and "I need to
put food in my kids' mouths and a house over their heads."
He
even pointed out that he didn't get any gradual build-ups in
his career, noting "My first UFC fight was in the UFC."
Seriously.
And
this is the man we're giving the GDP Award to, you ask? Absolutely.
Ortiz
fought once in the first half of 2011, beating Ryan Bader via
submission at UFC 132. The fight took just 116 seconds, and for
it Ortiz was paid the princely sum of $450,000. Add in his $75,000
bonus for Submission of the Night, and Ortiz went home with $525,000,
not counting sponsorships or other undisclosed earnings.
You
math whizzes out there will note that, just with his fight purse
and bonus money alone, Ortiz made $4,525.86 per second of cage
time. And that $450,000 in base pay? That was guaranteed money.
No win bonus necessary. Ortiz could have gone into the Octagon
and laid down on the Bud Light logo for a quick nap, and he'd
still have walked out with almost half a million dollars.
And
-- and -- this is the kind of money he made after going 0-4-1
in his last five fights! The man hadn't won since 2006, and he
still made more than twice as much in guaranteed money than the
two main event fighters combined -- and that's with their respective
Fight of the Night bonuses factored in.
Ortiz
has since further increased his financial outlook by agreeing
to step in on short notice against Rashad Evans at UFC 133. According
to Dana White, he did so without demanding a pay raise, which
at first seems at odds with the basic principles of the paper
chase. But then you consider that he was already making nearly
half a mill in guaranteed money to begin with. If he does the
UFC a favor, that means he certainly can't be fired if he loses,
and probably won't even be fired if he loses the next fight after
that.
A
lesser paper-getter might have had his vision clouded by greed,
but Ortiz retained the ability to think big picture rather than
going all out for the small score. Say what you will about his
persona, public speaking ability, life choices, and even his
fighting skills. The guy knows how to get paid, even when, ostensibly,
he hasn't done all that much of late to deserve it. Who else
in the UFC can lose that many fights and stay employed, much
less walk out with a wallet that fat at the end of the night?
It's
like an old baseball card that some grandmother finds in her
barn in Iowa. It has no one true value. No price that is or is
not just and fair. So what's it worth? Brother, it's worth whatever
you can convince someone to pay for it.
Lately,
it's the convincing that Ortiz has really excelled at. And for
that, we have no choice but to salute him.
Source:
MMA Fighting |
Anthony
Pettis-Jeremy Stephens Latest Addition to UFC 136 in Houston
The Houston hits just keep on coming. A bout between final WEC
lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and Jeremy Stephens has been
added to UFC 136.
The
UFC announced the matchup Saturday for its Oct. 8 card, which
will take place in Houston, coinciding with a UFC Fan Expo on
Oct. 7-8.
The
fight is the latest in a slew of recent fight announcements the
UFC has made for the show, which will be its second trip to the
nation's fourth largest city. The UFC last visited Houston for
UFC 69 in April 2007.
Pettis
(13-2, 0-1 UFC) will be looking to rebound after some bad luck,
followed by the end of a four-fight winning streak. Pettis, as
the last WEC lightweight champ following that promotion's merger
with the UFC, was expected to face the winner of the Jan. 1 fight
between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. When that fight
ended in a draw, a rematch was ordered (one that will, coincidentally,
happen at UFC 136 in the main event) – and Pettis was left
in the cold. He took a fight with Clay Guida at the Season 13
Finale of "The Ultimate Fighter," and was outwrestled
en route to a 30-27 sweep on the judges' scorecards for Guida.
Prior
to that fight, Pettis went 4-0 in 2010, including his win over
Ben Henderson to claim the WEC title at the promotion's swan
song event in December. That fight included his now-famous flying
kick off the cage in the fifth round – "the kick heard
'round the world." Three of his four wins in 2010 won fight-night
bonus awards.
Stephens
(20-6, 7-5 UFC) has started to surge upward in the lightweight
division in 2011 with a Knockout of the Night win over Marcus
Davis at UFC 125 and a unanimous decision win over Danny Downes
at the TUF 13 Finale in June. Last September, he lost a close
split decision to Melvin Guillard at UFC 119, his only loss in
the last two years.
Stephens,
an Iowa native, has four UFC fight-night bonuses in his career.
Against Pettis, he will be facing his second consecutive Duke
Roufus-trained fighter. Downes also is a product of the Roufusport
school in Milwaukee.
UFC
136 features the main-event lightweight title trilogy rematch
between Edgar and Maynard, plus a co-main event featherweight
title fight between champion Jose Aldo and new featherweight
Kenny Florian. In addition, the card features middleweight clashes
between Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann and Demian Maia-Jorge Santiago,
plus a lightweight bout between Guillard and Joe Lauzon. The
star power already on the card means the Pettis-Stephens fight
is likely to end up on the preliminary card.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
|
UFC
News: Charlie Brenneman vs. Anthony Johnson On Tap for Third
October Event
UFC
fight announcements have come in hot and heavy this week, and
matchmaker Joe Silva doesn’t appear to be taking the weekend
off.
Charlie
Brenneman and the UFC teased a welterweight match-up pitting
Brenneman against Anthony Johnson on their Twitter accounts on
Saturday.
MMAWeekly.com
verified the bout with independent sources that confirmed the
two would square off at an unannounced event on Oct. 1, though
the location remains a mystery. It is believed that the event
will likely serve as a UFC Fight Night event on Spike TV, but
details of the event itself have been scarce up to this point.
Brenneman
(14-2) is coming off the biggest win of his career. He stepped
in for Nate Marquardt when the former middleweight contender
did not receive medical clearance from the Pennsylvania State
Athletic Commission to fight at UFC on Versus 4 in Pittsburgh.
Brenneman not only filled in, but won a unanimous decision over
then-Top 10 welterweight Rick Story.
Johnson
(9-3) enters the bout off the biggest win of his career, as well.
Following more than a year of the Octagon and recovery from a
knee injury, Johnson scored a decision win over former UFC welterweight
contender Dan Hardy at UFC Fight Night 24.
Johnson
was originally slated to face Marquardt at UFC on Versus 4, but
had to withdraw in order to allow a slight shoulder injury to
heal.
The
winner of the fight can only beef up his stock in a loaded division
topped off by current UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
Dennis
Siver vs. Sam Stout; Brandon Vera vs. Eliot Marshall Added to
UFC 137 Fight Card
The
upcoming UFC 137 fight card added new fights on Saturday with
lightweights Dennis Siver facing Sam Stout, while Brandon Vera
gets back in action against Eliot Marshall.
UFC
officials announced the new match-ups late Saturday night.
Dennis
Siver will look to keep his current momentum going when he returns
at UFC 137 and faces a very tough test in fellow striker Sam
Stout.
Stout
earned ‘Knockout of the Night’ honors in his last bout,
putting Yves Edwards to sleep with a thunderous punch that some
have called one of the greatest KO’s in UFC history.
Also
added to the upcoming Oct 29 card in Las Vegas are light heavyweights
Brandon Vera and Eliot Marshall, with both fighters in desperate
need for a win.
Vera
got second life in the UFC after his last opponent Thiago Silva
tested positive for banned substances. The loss originally cost
Vera his job, but the UFC gave him another chance after Silva’s
transgression.
Eliot
Marshall will also be seeking redemption after getting a call
back to the big show on short notice at UFC 128, but fell to
Brazilian striker Luiz Cane.
It
may be a win or go home situation for both Vera and Marshall
when they meet in October.
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Lyoto
on ‘Anderson Silva money’ request: “It was only
a business we had to do”
The
choice of not facing Rashad Evans, in UFC 133, on August 6th,
was taken by Lyoto Machida this week. After much talking about
who’d face the former champion, the Brazilian, facing such
short time to train for the bout, declined UFC’s request.
Actually, the Dragon has put one condition so that he’d
go into the octagon: earning a better pay check.
On
an exclusive chat with TATAME, the athlete who fight out of Belem
states that, in case he accepted the invitation, he’d put
many things in danger, what could only be done with a enlargement
of his scholarship.
“UFC
invited me for a bout with three weeks in advance and I said
I wouldn’t take it since the beginning. I wasn’t prepared
for it, it’d be against my own principles of professionalism,
against what my family and team believe, and didn’t want
me to fight”, said the karate fighter, confessing he thought
about accepting it.
“It
was the heart of a fighter against my professional mind. I was
split, because I’d be 60% prepared only. I’d risk my
name and my career, which is something I’ve never done.
Even when I lost I was in my best condition. UFC insisted and
I said that I could only do it with a better proposition: a better
scholarship. We live of the wins. If I lose, I’d go down
on the ranking. I demanded more money to cover my risks and have
a guarantee of recovery. Aside from the expenses of bringing
all my crew, training on the United States on these 20 days,
which demands a lot of money. I can’t get there and earn
the same salary, it’d be different”, affirmed Lyoto,
assured of his decision.
On
the phone, the athlete Said he wasn’t upset by the fact
Dana White, UFC president, has revealed on an interview that
Lyoto would have asked for a “salary like Anderson Silva’s”.
“It’s
up to him. I wouldn’t say it, but he did, it’s his
call, he’s the president, I can’t interfere. Maybe,
if i remained quiet it was better, but it came up and I wasn’t
upset. The most important is that I’m having the space to
respond. All stories have two sides, which must be listened so
that you can get what happened”, stated the Brazilian, who
doesn’t hope for a retaliation with the boss. “It may
happen. He said it won’t, but we never know. I hope not.
We have to know to separate these things. It was only a business
we had to do”.
While
a new bout isn’t scheduled, Machida, who intends to fight
until the end of the year, is healing a tendinitis crisis on
his right elbow with physiotherapy sessions in Belem.
“I
feel much pain in my elbow as I stretched it and have a muscle
distention. I’m recovered for when I have a fight schedule
so that I can train more easily. I’ve been running, training
Karate, a little of Jiu-Jitsu, with no commitment, with no demands.
The train with a fight schedule is much different”.
Source:
Tatame
|
Can
Demian get his “gentle” back against Jorge Santiago?
As
announced over Twitter by Demian Maia himself, the UFC has matched
another bout especially for fans of slick Jiu-Jitsu and Brazilian
fighters.
Demian
Maia (14w, 3l), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu star and gold medalist at
the 2007 ADCC, will be looking to get back to his winning ways
against Sengoku champion Jorge Santiago (23w, 9l) at the October
UFC 136 show.
While
Maia is already in Rio de Janeiro preparing for his fight, check
out the updated card below.
Further
down, revisit the Brazilian’s No-Gi performance at ADCC
2007 against Yushin Okami, Anderson Silva’s next opponent,
at UFC Rio. Has time come for the good old Demian to make his
return?
UFC
136
October 8, 2011
Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Frankie
Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
José Aldo vs. Kenny Florian
Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann
Dave Herman vs. Mike Russow
Josh Grispi vs. Matt Grice
Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago
Source:
Gracie Magazine |
Hideo
Tokoro Takes Dream Japan Bantamweight Grand Prix; Takaya and
Mousasi Retain Belts
Dream
on Saturday held the finals for its Japan Bantamweight Grand
Prix, which shared the spotlight with a pair of title fights,
at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.
Hideo
Tokoro, following a rough patch in 2009 and 2010 where he went
3-4, has recovered well, winning the Japan Bantamweight Grand
Prix with a unanimous decision victory over Masakazu Imanari.
The
win was his fourth straight, including the opening two rounds
of the tournament when he defeated Atsushi Yamamoto and Yoshiro
Maeda in one night.
Kenji
Osawa took a unanimous decision from Keisuke Fujiwara in the
tournament’s consolation fight. He was kept out of the finals
by Imanari.
Dream
featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya held on to his belt with
the slimmest of margins, taking a split decision over Kazuyuki
Miyata. It was a controversial decision with Takaya having to
go to the hospital after the fight to get damage to his eye checked
out, according to Sherdog.com.
Dream
light heavyweight champion and Strikeforce fighter Gegard Mousasi
left no doubters in his title defense. He finished of Hiroshi
Izumi with a TKO stoppage due to strikes late in the first round
of their fight.
Mousasi
was coming off of a draw with Keith Jardine after losing a point
for an illegal upkick at an April Strikeforce event.
Top
10 ranked Tatsuya Kawajiri rebounded from a drubbing at the hands
of Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez by pounding out UFC
veteran Drew Fickett. Kawajiri finished Fickett with strikes
less than five minutes into the fight. It was an important victory
for Kawajiri, who has alternated between wins and losses the
last couple of years.
Welterweight
champion Marius Zaromskis also won a unanimous decision in a
non-title bout with Eiji Ishikawa.
Dream 17: Fight for Japan Results:
-Hiroyuki
Takaya def. Kazuyuki Miyata by Split Decision, R3
-Hideo Tokoro def. Masakazu Imanari by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Gegard Mousasi def. Hiroshi Izumi by TKO (Strikes) at 3:29,
R1
-Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Drew Fickett by TKO (Strikes) at 4:41,
R1
-Kenji Osawa def. Keisuke Fujiwara by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Tatsuya Mizuno def. Trevor Prangley by KO (Knee) at 4:41, R1
-Marius Zaromskis def. Eiji Ishikawa by Unanimous Decision, R2
-Eiji Mitsuoka def. Bruno Carvalho by Unanimous Decision, R2
Source:
MMA Weekly |
|
Rogerio
Nogueira injured, out of UFC 133 fight against Rich Franklin
Joe
Silva hás a lot of work to do. After finding a replacement
for UFC 133 fighters Phil Davis and Vladimir Matyushenko, he
has to find another opponent for Rich Franklin.
Rogerio
‘Minotouro’ Nogueira, who was set to fight the former
champion at the card, has suffered an injury and is out of the
card.
Nogueira’s
teammate Fabio Maldonado, who revealed the news to TATAME.com,
also told us that the event offered him the spot against Franklin,
but he declined it due to short time to get ready for the fight.
UPDATE:
Maldonado's manager Alex Davis called TATAME to clarify that
the UFC didn't offer Maldonado the bout. He learned about the
withdrawl and called Fabio to say if he'd accept the bout, to
offer Joe Silva next, but he declined it.
Source:
Tatame |
DREAM
Results: Gegard Mousasi Brutalizes Izumi; Tokoro Wins BW Japan
GP
Two champions retained their titles and a tournament champion
was crowned at the DREAM Bantamweight Japan GP Final on Saturday
night at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.
Defending
DREAM light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi delivered one
of the worst beatings in recent memory, absolutely trouncing
Olympic judo silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi. Mousasi effortlessly
knocked several of Izumi's teeth out, possibly broke his nose
and beat him to a bloody mess all within two minutes.
Hiroyuki
Takaya made his first successful defense of his featherweight
title, very narrowly edging out Kazuyuki Miyata in a nail biting
three round war. Miyata seemed to get the better of Takaya, landing
more punches, closing the eye of his opponent and having the
advantage in the wrestling department but Takaya's right hook
and low kicks earned him two of the judge's favor.
In
the final of the DREAM Bantamweight Japan GP, Hideo Tokoro fought
a disciplined bout and completed his comeback to top form, his
defense and hands leading him to victory over an aggressive Masakazu
Imanari.
Gegard
Mousasi Delivers Incredible Beating to Hiroshi Izumi
In a disgustingly one-sided bout, former DREAM middleweight champion,
former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and defending DREAM
light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi beat Olympic silver
medalist Hiroshi Izumi to a pulp inside the first three and a
half minutes of their bout.
Mousasi
simply watched for the first minute of the bout, easily avoiding
looping hooks, a spinning backfist and kicks from the challenger,
before eventually deciding to act – and when he did act,
it was brutal.
Piston-like
jabs landed with perfect accuracy, dazing Izumi and giving the
champion his range for the right hand. The cross, now following
Mousasi's left, knocked several teeth (possibly false teeth)
from Izumi's mouth, seemingly broke his nose and sent him to
the canvas. The iron chinned judo player was good enough to stand
after a torrent of ground and pound, but was only able hang his
bloody face outside the ropes to avoid punches from Mousasi before
his corner finally showed mercy and threw in the towel.
The
bout was over inside three and a half minutes but given the time
that Mousasi simply watched, the alarmingly effortless violence
probably lasted less than two minutes.
Hiroyuki
Takaya Squeaks Past Kazuyuki Miyata to Retain Featherweight Strap
Hiroyuki Takaya's first featherweight title defense was successful,
but only by the narrowest of margins. Freestyle wrestling Olympian
Kazuyuki Miyata displayed greatly improved stand-up in their
three round affair and in one judge's eyes, did enough to claim
the belt.
Takaya
was much better in the opening five minutes and had the challenger
on the back foot. Powerful right hooks battered the guard of
Miyata, clearly troubling him and forcing him to resort to purely
defensive wrestling. As the bout progressed however, Miyata grew
more comfortable in the stand-up and his jab honed in on the
eyes of Takaya.
Through
the final two rounds Miyata controlled the pace of the bout with
his wrestling, landed more strikes, closed the right eye of the
Champion with his jab and at one point landed an incredible Saenchai
Sor Kingstar-style cartwheel kick to the head, but Takaya's powerful
hooks and early domination was enough to win with two of the
three judge's.
Hideo
Tokoro Beats Masakazu Imanari to Claim DREAM BW Japan GP
Completing his return from several years of bad form, Hideo Tokoro
narrowly beat out former two-division Deep champion Masakazu
Imanari to claim victory in the DREAM Bantamweight Japan GP final.
Imanari
was the more aggressive of the pair, leaping in with flying knees
and aggressively seeking the submission during the few ground
exchanges, at one point coming close with a straight ankle lock,
but as is usual for Imanari, he also did himself no favors when
he flopped to back after receiving any strike. Tokoro's defense
and counter boxing during Imanari's reckless standing attacks
was good though and earned him the judge's nod.
Although
Tokoro was crowned the Bantamweight Japan GP champion, both fighters
will advance to the Bantmweight World GP which starts in September
at the next DREAM event.
Champion Hiroyuki Takaya enters to defend his featherweight
title at DREAM on Saturday, July 16, 2011 at the Ariake Coliseum
in Tokyo, Japan.
Tatsuya
Kawajiri Dominates Drew Fickett
Tatsuya Kawajiri returned to top form following his highly disappointing
Strikeforce lightweight title contention, steamrolling Drew Fickett
in a one-sided affair.
The
former Shooto ace came out of the gates on a mission, landing
a short series of low kicks that immediately formed a large welt,
had Fickett wincing in pain and looking to get the bout to the
canvas. A standing guillotine attempt from Fickett missed it's
mark and Kawajiri had no problems escaping and moving into a
dominant position. Through the next four minutes, Kawajiri delivered
a barrage of blows against a largely defenseless Fickett to earn
the referee stoppage and TKO victory.
Marius
Zaromskis Pushed by Late Replacement Eiji Ishikawa
Coming in on only two days notice, Eiji Ishikawa displayed incredible
heart and toughness in his DREAM debut bout with promotional
welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis, the Deep and Pancrase
veteran hanging with the Lithuanian striker to the final bell.
As
expected from the aggressive Champion, Zaromskis tested Ishikawa's
mettle early when he found himself in side control after a reversed
takedown attempt. Zaromskis rained in fists as Ishikawa scrambled
but the Champion seemingly came close to earning the referee
stoppage. Ishikawa's experience, wrestling and toughness allowed
him to recover and mount his own attacks however, throwing high
kicks, controlling significant portions of the bout in the clinch
and landing a beautiful throw off the ropes.
Zaromskis
relentless strikes eventually turned the tide though, the Champion
getting comfortable to the point where he was able to perform
two back flip guard pass attempts. But even as Zaromskis was
winning the bout Ishikawa was there to push him, at one point
the Lithuanian's signature head kick landing cleanly but causing
no damage, prompting Ishikawa to raise his hands in victory.
The
judges had no problems rendering Zaromskis the winner but given
the amount of notice that Ishikawa had, it was certainly a commendable
performance.
Tatsuya
Mizuno Scores Knockout Over Trevor Prangley
Despite possibly being unable to see in one eye, DREAM Light
Heavyweight GP finalist Tatsuya Mizuno scored an impressive first
knockout victory over UFC veteran Trevor Prangley.
Prangley
utilized his formidable wrestling to dirty box Mizuno and although
he was not landing many shots, he did manage to land a fist to
the Japanese fighter's eye, seeming to blind him. Mizuno, blinking
heavily, looked to be in trouble but was good enough to engage
Prangley in the clinch and deliver a knee to the midsection.
Moments later, with bout restarted after a break, Mizuno delivered
a knee to the liver, causing Prangley to fold and flip backwards,
giving Mizuno the knockout victory.
Kenji
Osawa Books Ticket to Bantamweight World GP
In a bout to decide the DREAM Bantamweight Japan GP third place
winner, Kenji Osawa had no problems getting past Keisuke Fujiwara,
ZST bantamweight champion and replacement for the injured Atsushi
Yamamoto.
Fujiwara's
career in DREAM has been plagued with problems of inactivity
and this bout was no excpetion – Osawa was essentially free
to do as wished through the 15 minutes, Fujiwara only doing the
bare minimum to avoid getting submitted. Osawa came close with
two head-arm choke attempts but was unable to finish his passive
opponent.
With
the win, Kenji Osawa joins Hideo Tokoro and Masakazu Imanari
at the DREAM World Bantamweight Japan GP in September.
Eiji
Mistuoka Derails Bruno Carvalho
In the evening's opener, Eiji Mitsuoka avoided the wild striking
and standing guillotine attempts of Brazilian prospect Bruno
Carvalho to take a comfortable decision. An early standing guillotine
attempt from Carvalho seemed to exhaust his arms and after that,
Mitsuoka's superior wrestling made it an easy night.
DREAM
BW Japan GP Final - July 16 at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan
DREAM Featherweight Championship
Hiroyuki Takaya def. Kazuyuki Miyata by Split Decision
DREAM
Bantamweight Japan GP Final
Hideo Tokoro def. Masakazu Imanari by Unanimous Decision
DREAM
Light Heavyweight Championship
Gegard Mousasi def. Hiroshi Izumi by KO (Punches) – Round
1, 3:29
Tatsuya
Kawajiri def. Drew Fickett by TKO (Punches) – Round 1, 4:41
Kenji Osawa def. Keisuke Fujiwara by Unanimous Decision
Tatsuya Mizuno def. Trevor Prangley by KO (Knee to the Body)
– Round 1, 4:41
Marius Zaromskis def. Eiji Ishikawa by Unanimous Decision
Eiji Mitsuoka def. Bruno Carvalho by Unanimous Decision
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Clube
da Luta: Pé de Chumbo faces Gil de Freitas
Following
some confusion that pulled Junior Besouro off the Clube da Luta
card, the promotion managed to maintain the level of the matchups
to feature at the show: Delson Pé de Chumbo will now go
up against the steel jaw of Gil de Freitas.
Lightweight
fighter Luciano Azevedo having injured out of his fight, RFT
team leader Márcio Cromado suffered another setback in
another of his fighters having to drop out, with Luis Besouro
also succumbing to injury.
Clube
da Luta
Via Show, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Superfights
Delson
Pé de Chumbo vs. Gil de Freitas
Murilo Bustamante vs. Chirai Yuya (Deep champion)
Ronys Torres vs. Eduardo Pachu
Glover Teixeira vs. Marcio Pé de Pano
Diego Braga vs. Toninho Fúria
Eduardo Kiko vs. Junior de Oliveira
Under
77kg GP
Edilberto
Crocotá vs. Viscardi Andrade
Hernani Perpetuo vs. Daniel Acácio
Reserve
bout
Claudionor
Fontinele vs. Keu Santos
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
|
XFC
Re-Ups for Two More Years with HDNet; Looks to Expand
Xtreme
Fighting Championships (XFC) on Friday announced that they have
officially signed a new deal with HDNet beginning in 2012.
According
to the new agreement, HDNet will broadcast eight to 10 live XFC
events for two years beginning in 2012 with an option for 2014.
The
Florida-based promotion has been a fixture on “HDNet Fights”
since 2009 when they debuted on the network with “XFC 8,”
which featured two unknown prospects, Rafaello Oliveira and Ovince
St. Preux. Since then the XFC has given many exciting, up-and-coming
fighters the opportunity to display their talents to millions
of viewers on HDNet.
According
to XFC President John Prisco, “We are very excited to continue
our partnership with HDNet and look forward to putting on many
more exciting fight cards for ‘HDNet Fights.’ In addition
to the Saint Pete Times Forum in Tampa, we are looking to add
the Mohegan Sun to our schedule in 2012. We are also looking
at coming back to the great State of Tennessee where we have
had a lot of success in the past.”
In
addition to a new television deal, Prisco has brought in some
new partners that will bring a lot of experience in promoting
MMA to help the XFC continue to expand.
“This
is an exciting time for the XFC,” explained Prisco. “We
have added some very prominent partners to the promotion that
we will announce at a later date. I really feel that they will
help take us to the next level. We are also in negotiations with
some of the top free agents in MMA and are looking to sign many
of them to multi-fight deals. We will be making some big announcements
about the fighters and a schedule for the remainder of 2011 and
2012 in the upcoming weeks.”
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Shark
Fights 17 Results: Jake Rosholt Wins, Working Towards UFC Return
It
was a bit of a rough road for Shark Fights officials getting
from Thursday’s weigh-in to Friday night’s fights,
but after a small debacle over weight, Shark Fights 17 took place
at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas, on Friday night.
The
multiverse just didn’t have a victory in store for Matt
Horwich in the Lone Star State.
Having
defeated Jake Rosholt by TKO the first time the two met, Horwich
couldn’t make it two-for-two. Rosholt, now 6-1 after receiving
his walking papers from the UFC, avenged his only loss since
last stepping foot in the Octagon.
Horwich
tried to get Rosholt to the canvas where he could display his
work with Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, but the former
Oklahoma State wrestler would have none of it. Rosholt instead
did everything in his power to keep the fight on the feet where
he utilized his much improved striking game to win a unanimous
nod from the judges.
“Matt
Horwich is so tough, I’m glad to get out here and get a
win from him tonight,” said Rosholt, who had his hand raised
by a classy Horwich after the scores were announced.
Of
course, the goal for Roshalt is to fight his way back into the
UFC.
“I
just want to keep fighting, keep getting better all the time.
Sooner or later I’ll get there. That’s where I deserve
to be. That’s where the best fighters are. That’s where
I want to fight.”
Ricco
Rodriguez was part of the aforementioned weigh-in debacle when
his original opponent came in overweight for their 230-pound
catchweight bout. Following some negotiations, he agreed to face
last-minute replacement Doug Williams, a fighter he had defeated
once before.
Rodriguez
defeated Williams by Anaconda choke in their first bout. On Friday,
he quickly took the fight to the mat once again, briefly attempting
an armbar, but quickly shifting to a rear naked choke to finish
the fight.
“He’s
a tough fighter and hits very hard,” said Rodriguez when
asked about taking the fight immediately to the mat. “It’s
always dangerous when you’re fighting anybody. This is the
toughest sport. Anybody can get knocked out.”
It
was the former UFC heavyweight champion’s 12th consecutive
victory as he works his way down to the light heavyweight division,
which is no small feat for a man that has tipped the scale at
more than 300 pounds at times.
“My
goal is to get lighter; the heavyweights are just too big these
days,” Rodriguez told HDNet announcer Ron Kruck after the
fight.
There
was a brief moment of shock when Ilir Latifi, who mounted little
offense against former MFC champion Emanuel Newton, was announced
as the winner of their fight via unanimous decision. The crowd
rained down boos before the ring announcer returned moments later
to correct the decision, which the judges had actually scored
for Newton.
Shark Fights 17 Official Results:
-Jake
Rosholt def. Matt Horwich by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Ricco Rodriguez def. Doug Williams by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 2:16, R1
-Emanuel Newton def. Ilir Latifi by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Erik Perez def. Douglas Frey by Unanimous Decision, R3
-Alan Jouban def. Andrew Goldthwaite by TKO (Strikes) at 2:37,
R3
-Victor Hernandez def. Quaint Kempf by Submission (Armbar) at
1:06, R1
-Matt Hobar def. Jay Flores by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 1:55, R1
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Amateur
Boxing Show Fundraiser
Wanted to let everyone know our next Amateur Boxing Show Fundraiser
is on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at the Palolo District Park Gym
starting around 6:15 p.m. Boxers from Oahu, Maui, Molokai and
maybe Kauai scheduled to compete. Admission is $12.
Thanks for Your Continued Support of Amateur Boxing in Hawaii.
Bruce
Kawano
Amateur Boxing of Hawaii President.
Commissioner for Hawaii State Boxing Commission.
USA-Boxing Coaches/International Task Force Member.
Ringside Board of Advisors.
A.I.B.A. Athlete and Youth Commission.
Head Coach- Kawano Boxing Club.
USA National Boxing Team Coach.
Manager - Red Lions Waikiki- Hyatt Regency Hotel.
General Manager- Rock Bottom Sports Bar and Grill.
Source:
Bruce Kawano
|
808
Battleground & X-1 World Events
Domination
Mixed Martial Arts
at the Waterfront at Aloha Tower
Doors open at 5 pm, Fights start at 6 pm
$30 Pre-sale, $40 at the door
http://www.808battleground.com/
|
Phil
Davis Still Wanted to Fight Rashad Evans, But UFC Opted to Pull
Him From UFC 133
by Damon
Martin
Phil
Davis may not be fighting at UFC 133, but it wasn’t by his
choice.
The
former NCAA champion from Penn State injured his knee during
training camp getting ready for his main event fight against
Rashad Evans, but despite the ailment he was still ready to accept
the challenge.
According
to UFC President Dana White, Davis hurt his knee and had to go
in to have an MRI done. While the final results didn’t reveal
any tearing or serious injury, it concerned UFC officials enough
to pull him from the UFC 133 fight card.
White
says it all came down to timing and risk vs. reward of leaving
Davis in the fight.
“Could
he continue training? Yeah, he could have. The reality is the
kid is hurt, he’s a young guy, he’s undefeated, he
can’t even train in kickboxing for the next couple weeks,
and he can wrestle to some extent, but number one, why would
I want to do that to a young, up-and-coming kid? A lot of these
guys will do that stuff and not even tell you. I knew because
he had to go in and get this MRI done so we set it up,”
White explained on Thursday.
“Let
me tell you this, Phil Davis 100-percent still wanted this fight.
I’m like, there’s no way kid. Plus the other thing
is, who is to say you can’t kickbox for two-and-a-half weeks,
and in two weeks he starts full training again, and totally blows
it out and gets hurt. Now he’s going to be out for God knows
how long, and we just lost the main event a week before the fight.”
Following
the MRI, the UFC opted to pull Davis from the fight and prevent
him from risking serious injury to his already damaged knee.
While
the young fighter from Pennsylvania is obviously disappointed,
White knows he still has a long, bright future ahead of him,
and there wasn’t a reason to risk him being out for an undetermined
amount of time if he hurt his knee even worse.
The
extent of the injury that Davis suffered won’t require him
to have surgery, but will sit him on the sidelines for a few
weeks recovering.
“Rehab
and rest. He’s going to go through some rehab on it. He
shouldn’t be out long,” White said.
As
far as what’s next for Davis, while the chance to fight
Rashad Evans in the main event of a UFC pay-per-view doesn’t
come along every day, White stated that him sitting this one
out won’t cost him in the long run.
“As
soon as he’s 100-percent, (he’ll return) against at
top contender, a Top 10 guy in the light heavyweight division,”
White said.
Davis
hasn’t spoken much since the news of his removal from the
card broke, but he’s more than likely dealing with the physical
and emotional fallout of being pulled from the card.
Once
his injury subsides, Davis will head back into training and wait
for the call from the UFC for his chance to get back in the cage
and compete again.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Nelson,
‘Cro Cop’ Slated for UFC 137 Heavyweight Tilt by Mike Whitman
Heavyweights
Roy Nelson and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic will likely
face off at UFC 137.
Filipovic
first mentioned the matchup Wednesday in an interview with Croatian
sports news website Gol.hr, and Sherdog.com confirmed the news
with a source close to the bout shortly thereafter.
Headlined
by a welterweight title fight pitting longtime UFC champion Georges
St. Pierre against former Strikeforce titleholder Nick Diaz,
UFC 137 goes down Oct. 29 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las
Vegas.
Nelson
has recently lost back-to-back contests for only the second time
in his career. After winning the 10th season of “The Ultimate
Fighter” and posting consecutive Octagon victories, the
former International Fight League heavyweight was outstruck by
current No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos in August 2010. Most
recently, “Big Country” was dominated by Frank Mir
in May. After the bout, it was discovered that Nelson had battled
walking pneumonia in the weeks leading up to the bout.
Like
Nelson, Filipovic has lost two straight. Once ranked among the
sport’s elite big men while fighting for Japan’s Pride
Fighting Championships, the Croatian striker has not looked the
same since joining the UFC. Cro Cop has racked up a 4-5 Octagon
record, most recently falling by knockout to Brendan Schaub at
UFC 128 in March.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Ken
Shamrock compares criticism of him fighting to denying 60 year
olds medication
By Zach
Arnold
“Well, I think it’s funny how people call something
we that call entertainment ‘disgraceful.’ I mean, you’re
talking about writers who are sitting on the outside looking-in
who have never stepped in the ring and never competed that are
writing things like this, calling it disgraceful, they should
not do this, boxers shouldn’t get in the ring… you’re
talking about competitors, guys that challenge themselves every
single day in the gym, they get up every morning, they live and
breathe this stuff and you’ve got writers sitting on the
sidelines criticizing warriors. How does that pan out? I’d
like to grab a pen and poke them in the eye. I mean, I don’t
get it, how can you criticize people like that who are CHAMPIONS,
have proved themselves over and over again and you sit them with
a pen and criticize them. And hurt them!
“If
someone came up to you and you got to be about 60 years old,
if you someone came up to you and said, ‘you know what?
you’re 60 years old and you’re too old for us to give
you medication, we need to give it to people that are younger
because they’re healthier and they got more to live for.’
How does that feel? You’re not important, nobody cares about
you any more. That’s wrong! First of all, we’ve done
it for years entertaining people and we did what we were supposed
to do for those years. Now, we have an opportunity to enjoy ourselves,
compete in it the way we want to compete in it and have no absolutely
boundaries on us and absolutely nothing on us that says we have
to win! … We do this for the entertainment now. I enjoy
the competition. That’s what they have a hard time understanding
when you’re sitting on the outside of the ring pushing a
pen. You don’t know what it’s like to have to stop
something you love doing. It’s like stopping breathing,
it’s like telling me to stop breathing. It’s not going
to happen, not as long as I’ve got two legs and two arms
that I can still swing. I’m going to continue to keep doing
as long as I can and as long as the fans want me to. And you
pen pushers, put your pens back in your pocket and wait for something
more exciting to write about.
“Well,
that’s funny how when I got to all these places and you
know the most important people that you look at are the fans,
the ones that are actually paying the tickets to come watch the
show, not the ones that get the free tickets to write about it.
They’re the ones that count, but yet you got the pen pushers
who get the free tickets sitting in the front row bashing the
guys that the fans love. Does that make any sense at all? The
reason why you have a job is because of guys like us and then
you want to turn around and write bad things about us because
we get a little bit old and a little bit slow. Well, I go to
tell you, when your time comes and someone tells you you’re
too old to write any more and you’re too old to get medication
to or you don’t deserve medication because you ain’t
worth it, we need to give it to younger people… let’s
see how that feels. Right now, you’re young and pushing
pens and you’re hurting people with those pens because you
get to write what you want.
“I’ll
say this — as long as the fans are there and they’re
supporting you and they continue to want to see you get in there
and give it a good try and do your best and they support you
over the years, then if that’s what you want to do don’t
let nobody try and embarrass you out of your right. You keep
fighting and you keep doing what you want to do and don’t
let anybody embarrass you not to do it. If you want it and the
fans are still behind you and you’re still wanting to do
it and you have the love for it, you continue to do it.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Manager:
‘Nate Marquardt’s The Right Fit For Any Organization’
by Damon
Martin
Nate
Marquardt is a MMA fighter for hire.
The
former top middleweight contender in the UFC had his suspension
lifted on Wednesday by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission
and now he’s taking offers from several promotions, looking
to get back in the cage as soon as possible.
June
25 was certainly a dark day for Marquardt. First, he was removed
from the UFC on Versus 4 card after his testosterone levels tested
too high following hormone replacement therapy that helped him
recover from low testosterone, then UFC President Dana White
released him from his contract with the promotion.
Now
that Marquardt’s name has been cleared of the suspension
in Pennsylvania, he’s ready to put it behind him and get
back to business. His business is fighting.
“It’s
a positive day when Nate was taken off suspension yesterday,
in less than two weeks from the time he was put on suspension.
I think that goes a long way to show that he wasn’t trying
to deceive anyone, he was disclosing everything all along the
way. I think the commission recognized that, which is why they
let him off without a fine and they let him off suspension in
less than two weeks,” Marquardt’s manager Lex McMahon
from Alchemist Management told MMAWeekly.com on Thursday.
“Certainly
he’s looking to fight some of the top fighters in the world,
particularly he addressed Hektor Lombard and Ben Askren and B.J.
Penn and Paul Daley, and there are some great fights there. He
in particular selected those fighters because they disrespected
him publicly while he was going through a difficult time. Nate’s
never been someone whose done that to anyone else while they
were down. I think he took a great deal of offense to that, and
we’d love any of those fights, any time, anywhere.”
Several
fighters that McMahon named came after Marquardt publicly through
interviews, social networking and other formats to attack the
Grudge team fighter for his testosterone therapy, calling him
everything from dirty to a cheater to a liar and worse.
Those
names have been etched in Marquardt’s mind ever since and
he’s not soon going to forget any of them.
The
first order of business for now however is finding Marquardt
a new fight home. McMahon was in negotiations with Bellator Fighting
Championships until recently when the talks broke down and a
deal couldn’t be reached.
Bellator
CEO Bjorn Rebney said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com on Thursday
that Marquardt ‘just isn’t a good fit’ for them
right now.
For
his part, Marquardt’s manager isn’t really sure what
Rebney meant when he said that because he believes his fighter
is going to be an asset for any promotion that hires him on right
now.
“Regarding
the idea of Nate not being a fit at this time, I’m not sure
what not being a fit means? Nate is a top 5 fighter in the world,
certainly he went through a difficult period, but the fact that
he was cleared from his suspension in less than three weeks and
not fined, shows a tremendous amount about who Nate is as a person,
and what his conduct really was,” McMahon stated.
“I
just fail to see how when a fighter of that caliber comes available,
when you’ve got programming that’s on the MTV networks
where they’re looking for content to counter program the
UFC, I just find it hard that Nate’s not a right fit for
them.”
Rebney
did reference possible super fight scenarios that Marquardt could
fit into with their company facing names like Lombard or Askren
in non-title fights, but McMahon states that option was never
even offered when they negotiated with Bellator.
“Bjorn’s
(Rebney) indicated that there’s opportunities for super
fights, frankly that’s something that we’d love to
see, and he didn’t put that on the table. If that’s
something Bjorn wants, I suggest we sit back down and have a
discussion about super fights. Nate is very interested in fighting
Hektor Lombard or Ben Askren, or both,” McMahon commented.
“We
weren’t afforded the discussion to talk about super fights,
and it’s one that makes a great deal of sense to all concerned.
It will be some of the best ratings Bellator has ever enjoyed.”
Like
anything else in negotiations, both parties tend to keep their
cards close to their chests, but there’s no denying that
many times when contracts like this come into play, money is
almost always at the heart of the discussion.
Alchemist’s
leading manager didn’t want to go into specifics regarding
the details surrounding his conversations with Bellator or Bjorn
Rebney, but somewhere along the line, the right figures were
not being met.
“I
do want to respect the process of the negotiations and not get
into the details, but ultimately what I think it boils down to
is Nate’s one of the best fighters in the world, if you
want him to be part of the organization for the long term, then
he needs to be compensated for that. I think Bjorn and his team
made an excellent effort, but we’re not there,” said
McMahon.
And
as far as the statement that Marquardt ‘isnt’ the right
fit’, well McMahon knows that’s simply not true.
“We
have a tremendous amount of respect for Bellator and Bjorn Rebney,
but let’s be honest, Nate Marquardt’s the right fit
for any organization he’s in,” McMahon stated.
“Nate
Marquardt’s ready to fight, we’re looking for the right
partner and anyone that’s talking about super fight opportunities,
let’s sit down and have a discussion. To come out and say
that Nate Marquardt’s not the right fit, just makes no sense
to me.”
Where
Marquardt will end up landing is still up in the air at this
point. McMahon says that they are fielding offers from all over
the globe and Marquardt is open to fights overseas or in North
America, wherever the best opportunity presents itself.
Watching
the trials and tribulations Marquardt has gone through over the
last month have made him the subject of a lot of adoration from
fans and a fair amount of scorn and scrutiny as well. McMahon
is confident however that wherever his client lands, Marquardt’s
story will be told and he will have a smile on his face.
“Nate’s
path to redemption is going to be an amazing story. When he’s
fighting for a championship belt in the very near future, people
are going to look back at this and say ‘what an amazing
story’,” said McMahon.
“Nate’s
ready to go in very short order. He was ready to fight June 26,
Nate pointed out yesterday he’s ready to fight today.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
The
financial troubles & image blows won’t stop for K-1
By Zach
Arnold
Ray Sefo was booked this past weekend for Antonio Inoki’s
IGF event at Tokyo Dome City Hall. Sefo, along with former K-1
fighters like Jerome Le Banner & Peter Aerts, are now booked
in high-profile positions for Inoki.
Kazuyoshi
Ishii’s former fighters continue to make claims in the Japanese
press (in a rather aggressive fashion) that K-1 owes them a lot
of money. Mr. Sefo claims he is owed $700,000USD. Tokyo Sports
ran an article on Ray’s claims, including further claims
of up to 20 big named fighters who are allegedly disgruntled
with K-1.
Before
we approach the politics of Inoki & Ishii, I think there
is one (unfortunate) observation that needs to be pointed out
in regards to all the fighters who are crying foul right now
about K-1. You knew who you were working for and you knew the
politics of the Japanese scene there in terms of declining business
and just who is involved. Your claims of financial harm may very
well be justified but those same claims are also tempered by
who you were doing business with.
Take
note of recent reports about Kazuyoshi Ishii claiming that he
will run a non K-1 event next year with ‘new backers.’
K-1 is still his baby, so for him to say he’s going to run
a separate event is basically shifting from one deal to another
in order to avoid the image baggage.
As
for Antonio Inoki, Inoki never does anything without political
consequence. He’s not booking Ray Sefo, Jerome Le Banner,
Peter Aerts, and other former K-1 fighters because he’s
a benevolent man looking to burn through someone else’s
money. Mr. Inoki and Mr. Ishii go way back, decades, in terms
of business dealings. Remember, Inoki is backed by Tatsuo Kawamura,
the entertainment agent/broker who used to go to school with
the late Hiromichi Momose (the original backer of PRIDE). It’s
a small world.
Le
Banner is set to face Josh Barnett in the main event of Inoki’s
8/27 Tokyo, Ryogoku Kokugikan event. He is running this as a
protest event to the multi-promotional Tokyo Sports event in
Tokyo at Nippon Budokan featuring NOAH, New Japan, and All Japan.
That show is supposed to be a charity show, although I don’t
know how much of a charitable mood All Japan is in given their
recent dust-up with Tokyo Sports.
Right
now, the political scene in the Japanese fight game is becoming
more derisive as the pool of money shrinks. The claws are out
everywhere.
As
for the DREAM event this weekend in Tokyo at Ariake Colosseum,
there has been zero mainstream media coverage for the upcoming
event this weekend. (Tim Leidecker event preview here.) I can’t
fathom how many paid tickets they will be for that event. The
misery never stops.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Okami
felt he lost to Anderson on 2006, wants to “show who's the
best”
Yushin Okami is the greatest candidate to become the “bad
guy” for the Brazilian fans at UFC Rio. Challenging the
middleweight title on the main event against Anderson Silva,
the Japanese is ready to get into the cage under boos and promises
he’ll do his best to take the UFC belt to Japan for the
first time in history.
On
July’s edition of TATAME Magazine, we’ve prepared a
series of articles with the biggest stars of UFC Rio, and Okami
talked, among many other subjects, about the bout against Anderson
in 2006, in Rumble on the Rock, when he was hit by an illegal
upkick and said he couldn’t go on, winning by disqualification.
“I
won by DQ, but I felt I lost that fight,” he said, responding
to Anderson, who said he faked he was hurt to stop the fight.
“There was a damage. There is no point to talk about past
things so I don't really care of what people say about last fight.
However, that experience made me stronger and as a result I was
able to fight in UFC afterwards so I really thank and respect
Silva. The word that he says to that I was dressed in damage
last is past. I am not dressed. This time I will fight with respect
and it will be a chance to show who's the best”.
Source:
Tatame
|
Opinion:
Stann Softens a Trash Talk Savant
by Jason
Probst
With
a reputation built on over-the-top trash talking and mocking
of opponents -- and whoever else draws his attention -- middleweight
Chael Sonnen faces a bit of a pickle with upcoming opponent Brian
Stann.
Nicknamed
“All-American,” the former Marine Captain was awarded
the Silver Star for heroic actions while fighting in Iraq, in
addition to graduating from the Naval Academy, where he played
football. He’s also from Scranton, Pa., which is about as
Middle America as one can get. In his entire career, Stann has
never shown any inclination to play the heel in interviews, whereas
Sonnen seems born for it. The two will square off Oct. 8 at UFC
136 in Houston.
The
announcement of a Stann-Sonnen bout last week raised two questions:
the matchup itself and the question of how the normally irascible
Sonnen would talk about his opponent. Thus far, it is about as
straight and narrow as Sonnen has been in recent years when it
comes to assessing opponents.
“I
wasn’t ready for a Brian Stann style fight,” Sonnen
told MMAMania.com in an interview last week. “I was ready
to take on a Wanderlei [Silva] or a [Lyoto] Machida or something
like that. I’ll need to sit down and reevaluate and up the
intensity, that’s for sure. He’s doing such a good
job.
“Rewind
to his match with Chris Leben [at UFC 125]. Nobody has dominated
Chris Leben like [Stann did]. That was a special performance,”
he added. “Then they gave him a really easy fight [against
Jorge Santiago] after that, and he went out and did some more
great things. Even [in] an easy fight, you’ve still got
to go do the fight, and he did. He’s really good.”
Source
Sherdog
|
Chael
Sonnen, Chris Leben Asked to Fight Rashad Evans at UFC 133
By Michael
David Smith
As
UFC President Dana White scrambled to find a replacement to step
in and fight Rashad Evans in the UFC 133 main event, he heard
from two volunteers: Chael Sonnen and Chris Leben.
White
said on Thursday that after Phil Davis dropped out of the fight
with Evans, he got texts from both Sonnen and Leben asking if
they could step in. But White never seriously considered putting
either one of them in the cage with Evans, since Evans is a light
heavyweight and Sonnen and Leben are middleweights.
"Both
said they wanted the fight. I told them both they weigh 185 pounds
but thanks for texting," White said.
White
said that the fighter who ended up taking the Evans fight, Tito
Ortiz, was the UFC's first choice to fill in for the UFC 133
main event, but that it took some time to get Ortiz to accept.
The other fighter White contacted, Lyoto Machida, initially expressed
interest but later said he wanted more money to take a fight
on short notice.
Leben
and Sonnen were the only two fighters who approached White about
fighting Evans.
"Those
were the only two," White said. "Two 185-pounders did
it."
White
said he wasn't sure what he would have done if Ortiz had turned
down the fight, but one thing he never considered was dipping
into the Strikeforce roster to find a light heavyweight replacement.
And White hinted that he doesn't think the Strikeforce light
heavyweight division is good enough to produce a legitimate opponent
for Evans.
"That
never crossed my mind," White said. "At 205 in Strikeforce,
who would I grab who could come in and fight Rashad Evans?"
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Bruno
Carvalho set to fight at Dream, awaits K-1 opportunity
Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
Pleased
as punch after his team, CM System, turned two years old, black
belt Cristiano Marcello called up GRACIEMAG.com just before embarking
for Japan. Traveling with him is Bruno Carvalho, considered by
many to be one of the best Brazilian strikers around, whose record
now comes to six wins and just one loss. Bruno is one of the
attractions at this coming Saturday’s Dream event, where
he will face Eiji Mitsuoka.
“He fights with his right leg forward, despite him not being
a south paw. He does that to go for the takedown. He’ll
stand and bang but he surely won’t want to do that against
Bruno. To tell you the truth, he’s quite predictable and
likes going for the takedown. I believe we’re going to win
this one,” says Cristiano in analysis.
However,
Carvalho’s hopes are that, through Dream, the doors will
open for him to fulfill a great dream of his.
“Everyone
knows what Bruno’s striking skills are like and he’s
never had an opportunity to fight in K-1, the world’s main
striking event. So we’re taking the reverse route. A good
performance at dream and – who knows? – maybe he’ll
get called up for K-1. It would be a dream come true for Bruno,”
says Cristiano.
And
there are another two fighters from Cristiano’s team to
see action in the coming days: Daniel Acácio will be at
Clube de Luta and Junior Baby will be fighting at Max Fight.
“I
don’t know the exact numbers but over these two years of
the team’s existence we’ve had over 200 fights and
come up big in over 80% of them. Our money’s on the young
guys loaded with desire. Now we’ll have this international
bout, our first athlete in a major world event, and we’re
in hot pursuit of our objectives. We’ll have plenty to celebrate
this year yet,” says Cristiano in closing.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
History
Channel casting call for MMA fighters for new Jousting TV show
By Zach
Arnold
(Press Release)
NOW
CASTING: HORSEMEN and WARRIORS for History Channel’s FULL
METAL JOUSTING
You
could win $100,000!!!
HISTORY
and the producers of Top Shot and The Ultimate Fighter are looking
for America?s toughest and bravest for their new competition
series Full Metal Jousting. Yes, we said JOUSTING. If you are
a skilled horseback rider and have the heart of a warrior, then
you might have what it takes to become America?s first Full Metal
Jouster and win the $100,000 grand prize. This hard-hitting competition
will recreate the raw, crushing force of 13th Century jousting
battles by arming 16 fierce competitors with lances, 200 pounds
of armor and a 2,000-pound war horse — all charging through
an arena with one goal in mind… to become champion.
You
don?t need to be an experienced jouster, but you DO need strength,
determination and the desire to win.
We
teach you how to joust. You crush the competition.
APPLY
TODAY!
To
apply, send an email to FullMetalJousting@gmail.com with your
name, phone number, a recent photo and a brief description of
why you think you can be History?s first Full-Metal Jouster.
Visit www.pilgrimfilms.tv and click on “CASTING” to
get more information. Call our casting hotline if you have any
questions: 818-478-4570.
Deadline
to apply is JULY 20, 2011
*
Candidates must be at least 21 years of age, proficient in horseback
riding, and a resident or citizen of the United States of America.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Kimbo
Slice Faces James Wade in Pro Boxing Debut in August
by Damon
Martin
Kevin
Ferguson better known to MMA fans as Kimbo Slice will be making
his professional boxing debut on Aug 13 in Oklahoma and he now
has an opponent.
The
one-time ‘Ultimate Fighter’ competitor will face James
Wade in the main event at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Oklahoma.
Kimbo
Slice enters the match with a 0-0 record in boxing, but shot
to fame for his street fight videos, which got millions of views
on YouTube. He also ended his MMA career with a 4-2 record overall.
Wade
comes in with an 0-1 pro boxing record, but a chance of a lifetime
to build his name off of Kimbo Slice’s celebrity.
“James
Wade is an American fighter out of Missouri, and he’s 0-1,
but he doesn’t want to go 0-2. For Kimbo Slice it’s
a great fight for his pro debut, it will give us time to assess
where Kimbo is through his training, and how his learning curve
has already begun,” Team Kimbo promotional advisor Jared
Shaw said about the match-up.
“For
James Wade this is his heavyweight championship, for Kimbo Slice
this is his pro boxing debut.”
While
some have pointed at Kimbo’s move into boxing as his search
for a new payday or some kind of freak show fight, his promoter
says just watch and see. Shaw has followed Kimbo’s training
camp and believes that everyone will be surprised just how seriously
he’s taking his new boxing career.
“Kimbo’s
looking real good, he’s focused, he’s fully healthy
now. This time off has been a blessing for him, he’s reinvigorated.
He has a chip on his shoulder and he’s hungry. He does want
gold, but he wants respect a lot more,” Shaw said.
“A
lot of people think this is the Butterbean, king of the four
rounders, well when we fight six rounds and that will be soon
enough, they won’t say he’s the Butterbean, king of
the four rounders. I can promise you when he steps in the ring,
he’ll back up everything I’m saying.”
While
no one from Team Kimbo or his promoter are flat out out saying
he’s going to make a run at the heavyweight title any time
soon, they all believe he can be an exciting fighter in an otherwise
dull division.
Shaw
points to the recent heavyweight title fight between Wladimir
Klitschko and David Haye that was regarded as one of the worst
big fights in boxing history.
“I
can guarantee you one thing – Kimbo Slice is no David Haye,
he won’t be running away from anybody,” said Shaw.
“He’s going to be an injection into the heavyweight
division.”
Kimbo
Slice faces James Wade on Aug 13 in Miami, Okla.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Dream
2011 Japan Bantamweight Tourney Final: What to Watch For
by Tim
Leidecker
Though
it appears to be on a financial drip feed, Japanese promotion
Dream, once hailed as the successor to Pride Fighting Championships,
is still alive. On May 29, 6,522 fans at the Saitama Super Arena
witnessed the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Dream bantamweight
grand prix -- a tournament designed to crown Japan’s best
135-pound fighter not under contract with Strikeforce, the UFC
or elsewhere.
The
grand prix concludes on Saturday, as Masakazu Imanari faces Hideo
Tokoro in the final. Here is what to watch for at Dream “Fight
for Japan: 2011 Japan Bantamweight Tournament Final” at
the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo:
Imanari’s
Attitude, Tokoro’s Discipline
Shinya
Aoki’s favorite playfellow made the semifinals on the back
of a controversial decision victory over ZST bantamweight champion
Keisuke Fujiwara and a surprise submission of WEC veteran Kenji
Osawa. With Imanari, it always boils down to a question of which
version shows up on fight day. He has allowed himself to slide
against lesser opponents in the past, but, at the same time,
he has almost always performed well on the big stage.
“Cinderella
Boy” Tokoro has successfully fought out of a three-year
slump and is currently enjoying his best run since a four-fight
winning streak in 2006-07. Considered a pure grappler for most
of his career, the Akira Maeda protégé has drastically
improved his standup ability during the course of his most recent
outings.
Hiroshi
Nakamura laid out the blueprint on how to beat Imanari at Deep
52 Impact in February, as he stayed tactically disciplined and
kept the fight on the feet, thus exploiting the virtually nonexistent
standup skills of “Ashikan Judan.” If Tokoro can resist
the temptation to engage in a grappling-heavy match with the
footlock specialist, his chances to win the bantamweight tournament
will increase dramatically.
Takaya’s
Right Hook vs. Miyata’s Wrestling
Miyata
is eyeing a Dream title.
Dream
featherweight champion Hiroyuki Takaya had a three-fight win
streak snapped in May, when he lost an odd split decision to
relative unknown Robert Peralta in his stateside comeback and
Strikeforce debut. Previously, he had experienced a renaissance
at age 33, with impressive knockouts against former Dream lightweight
champion Joachim Hansen and onetime WEC bantamweight titleholder
Chase Beebe and a unanimous decision over Bibiano Fernandes --
the man who defeated him in the 2009 Dream featherweight grand
prix final. His signature strike, the right hook, has yielded
outstanding results throughout his career.
His
opponent, Kazuyuki Miyata, has come a long way since being posterized
and hospitalized by Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto in a mere
five seconds in 2006. “Little Hercules” has always
wowed crowds from Osaka to Yokohama with his explosive suplex
takedowns, but conditioning and submission defense had long been
an issue for the 2000 Olympian. During his current winning streak
-- it spans six fights, with five of them going the distance
-- he has controlled his opponents with stifling top control
and shown little signs of fatigue.
Mousasi’s
Mojo
At
the height of his career, Armenian kickboxer Gegard Mousasi was
ranked No. 3 at middleweight and No. 6 at 205 pounds. A lopsided
decision loss to Muhammed Lawal cost Mousasi the Strikeforce
light heavyweight title and resulted in a wobble to his career
trajectory. His kickboxing remains stellar, as does his submission
game, but the loss to “King Mo” exposed holes: takedown
defense and the inability to sweep an outstanding wrestler. His
last fight, which ended in a majority draw with UFC castaway
Keith Jardine, left Mousasi and his fans unsatisfied, as he gave
away a much-needed win with an illegal upkick that cost him a
point.
Olympic
judo silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi is the latest in a long line
of highly touted Japanese judokas entering MMA. Like Satoshi
Ishii, Izumi has underwhelmed with his performances so far, including
a knockout loss in his professional debut. The undersized light
heavyweight struggled through tune-up opposition but finds himself
with a 4-1 record heading into this match. The 29-year-old is
being thrown into the fire against Mousasi, who has not lost
a fight in Japan in his last 11 appearances. The Armenian could
use a big knockout to restore some of his confidence.
Will
Fickett Break Under Kawajiri’s Pressure?
With
30 wins by way of submission, it is no secret where Drew Fickett’s
strengths lie. The seven-time UFC veteran holds wins over notable
opponents like Dennis Hallman, Kenny Florian, Josh Koscheck,
Kurt Pellegrino and Keita Nakamura, but he hit rock bottom a
year after his contract with the promotion expired. Between August
2008 and August 2009, Fickett lost eight of his 10 fights, against
solid veterans and obscure journeymen. In 2010, he broke out
of this slump and reeled off five consecutive submission wins,
three of them in a single night to win the Shine Fights lightweight
grand prix. In his last appearance, however, he succumbed to
punches against fellow UFC veteran Brian Cobb under the Maximum
Fighting Championship banner.
Tatsuya
Kawajiri yielded to the elbows of arguably the top lightweight
fighter in the world, Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez,
in April. The drubbing he received at the hands of “El Nino”
was probably the worst of his 12-year career, surpassing the
war he had with Eddie Alvarez in 2008. The “Crusher”
has always been respected for his strong wrestling and vicious
ground-and-pound, traits largely absent from the rest of the
Japanese MMA contingent. His attritional attack from top position
has broken the spirit of the vast majority of his opponents.
Could Fickett be next to suffer that fate?
Source
Sherdog
|
Aloha all,
Our
tournament is only 2 days away now. Don't forget, if you have
five paid entries, the sixth entry's first event is FREE! We
also will be giving away Team Champions trophies for each of
the three events (Continuous Sparring, MMA (Controlled, and Sub.
Grappling). Hope to see you all there!
Hope
all is well with everyone. Our 2011 Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament
will be held on Saturday, July 16th at War Memorial Gym in Wailuku,
Maui. This year, in addition to 1st and 2nd place trophies for
each division, we will be awarding Team Champions trophies for
each of the three events (Continuous Sparring, MMA (Controlled),
and Submission Grappling). Attached is an event flier for your
reference and distribution. If you have any questions, e-mail
or call me at 205-9133. Mahalo,
Sigung
Trent Sera
Sera's Kajukenbo
|
Former
Pride Grand Prix Champion Kazuo Misaki Signs with Strikeforce
by Damon
Martin
At one time, Kazuo Misaki was a mainstay in the top ten of the
middleweight division during his time with Pride Fighting Championships.
Now the Japanese fighter is making his move to welterweight and
has signed an exclusive deal to compete in the welterweight division
of Strikeforce.
Sources close to Misaki confirmed the signing to MMAWeekly.com
on Thursday.
Just last week, Strikeforce official Scott Coker had teased signing
a major veteran to their welterweight roster and Misaki fits
the bill.
Misaki (24-11-2) has faced some of the toughest competition over
the last several years, where he spent time in many different
organizations but most prominently in Pride and Sengoku.
In 2006, Misaki was crowned the Pride Welterweight Grand Prix
champion and picked up wins over Dan Henderson and Denis Kang
to get there.
Over the last few years, Misaki has continued to battle away
in Japan and has won his last two fights in a row with victories
over Akira Shoji and Mike Seal.
While there has been no date given for his debut with Strikeforce,
Misaki is expected to fight at 170lbs as opposed to middleweight
where he’s spent the biggest part of his career in Japan.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Pennsylvania
Commission Lifts Marquardt Suspension
by Mike
Whitman and Chris Nelson
Nate Marquardt is now free to return to the cage, as the Pennsylvania
State Athletic Commission on Wednesday voted to lift the former
UFC middleweight’s suspension.
Marquardt,
32, was scheduled to make his welterweight debut against Rick
Story in the main event of UFC Live 4 on June 26, but the former
King of Pancrase was pulled from the card the day before the
fight after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone.
According
to the fighter, he began suffering symptoms of low testosterone
last summer and was placed on testosterone replacement therapy
(TRT) by his primary care physician. After receiving treatment
for several months, the fighter then applied for a therapeutic
use exemption in New Jersey prior to his fight with Dan Miller
at UFC 128.
Marquardt
was granted permission to fight Miller, but the New Jersey State
Athletic Control Board requested that the fighter have his condition
verified by a board-certified endocrinologist before the NJSACB
would sanction a full-on TRT exemption.
Marquardt
then came off treatment for eight weeks, according to the fighter,
in compliance with the NJSACB’s requirements. However, with
his fight against Story looming, Marquardt returned to his primary
care physician, who recommended he undergo more aggressive treatment
in an effort to combat his returning symptoms. The NJSACB informed
Pennsylvania of Marquardt’s situation as the fight drew
nearer, and the fighter was required to take several pre-fight
tests by the PSAC.
The
last test was administered the day of the weigh-ins. When Marquardt's
sample showed his testosterone level was above the allowable
limit, he was removed from the contest by the PSAC. Marquardt
was immediately cut from the UFC roster and became the target
of a scathing critique from UFC President Dana White, who stated
on a live Versus broadcast that he was “disgusted”
by the turn of events and that Marquardt had “no business
fighting in the UFC.”
Marquardt's
representation today released a statement regarding the fighter's
lifted suspension:
“Nate
is no longer restricted from fighting in any jurisdiction and
is looking forward to competing in mixed martial arts again as
soon as possible,” the release stated. “He is currently
fielding a large number of offers from several MMA promotions
and is excited at the wide range of options he has before him.
Nate is still one of the best MMA fighters in the world and will
resume his career in the sport after deciding which venue is
right for him. He felt very comfortable with the drop to welterweight
and will most likely compete in that weight class.”
Though
Marquardt’s management asserted that the fighter is eagerly
anticipating a return to action, the next specific step in his
career is currently unknown.
Since
his release from the UFC, fans and pundits have speculated on
a possible move to Bellator Fighting Championships; the promotion’s
middleweight titleholder, Hector Lombard, has been vocal in his
desire to fight the Grudge Training Center representative, as
has welterweight champ Ben Askren. Marquardt is 2-2 in his last
four starts, notching victories over Dan Miller and Rousimar
Palhares, while falling to Yushin Okami and Chael Sonnen.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Urijah
Faber, motivational machine, on his new book deal with HarperCollins
By Zach
Arnold
MIKE STRAKA: “You’ve accomplished so much in MMA. You’re
almost above the belt and I don’t mean to say that to kiss
your ass or even to take away from anybody who has a belt, but
the things you’ve done in MMA you’ve really pioneered
things that other guys aspire to do. One is you were the fact
of WEC, you were one of the guys who created the lightweight
divisions and certainly created a business for lightweights.
You started Form Athletics, your own t-shirt & apparel company,
you went into business with K-Swiss, you do mainstream commercials
with K-Swiss, Pepsi, and all these different brands that you
represent. How do you have time to do everything and did you
go into this sport with a grand plan?”
URIJAH
FABER:“Um… you know, I think I just went into this
sport ready to conquer, you know, and I definitely don’t
feel like I’m above the sport by any means but I do recognize
that I’ve done a lot and it’s been just through the
back of not being scared to do anything. If I have an idea, I
believe I can do it, I’ll make it happen, I’ll get
the right people on the team, I’ll go after it, and I’m
a guy who likes to stay busy. I mean, you can only train so much
during the day, you only sleep so much at night, and then there’s
a lot of time left over. So, I fill my time, I’ve always
been like that. Ever since I was a little kid I’ve been
busy, busy, busy and it’s just resulted in a lot of good
things.”
MIKE
STRAKA:“I understand you have a book coming out or you’re
working on a book with a major publishing company. Can you talk
about that?”
URIJAH
FABER:“Yeah, I actually sold a book to HarperCollins and,
um, I’ve got a great concept that I’ve been working
on for years, you know, I was a Human Development major at UC
Davis and I’ve been really introspective and kind of looked
at a lot of people that I admire in my world and taken some laws
about, you know, success and weakness and everything else along
that line, so it’s kind of a motivational book but a lot
to do about my life as well… It’s great that we’re
having more and more materials inspired by our sport.”
MIKE
STRAKA:“When you talk about being a motivational speaker
and having a book that’s’ going to be of motivating
value, I was talking to your cousin, Peter, who’s actually
shooting this, he’s actually a Sundance Film Festival award-winning
cinematographer, so thank you Peter for shooting this for me,
but he was telling me when you guys were in first grade you were
the same personality, you were the same very confident kid. What
do you attribute to that confidence? Is it your upbringing? Is
it your parents? Is it Little Man Syndrome? I mean, what is it?”
URIJAH
FABER:“I think it’s just a combination of things, but
if I had to point one thing in particular it’s got to be
undying love and support from family and people have that, you
know they talk about in Human Development that kids that are
successful from all these different areas have somebody, whether
it’s an aunt or uncle or grandparent or the parents or even
the teacher sometimes that believes in them and has their back
unconditionally and I had that in abundance, my parents were
awesome. You know, my mom Suzanne, my dad Theo, my older brother
Ryan. … My Italian mom (was) just like, ‘My boys can
do anything,’ and always talking about how great we are
and if anybody said anything bad about us it’s because their
jealous and almost built an unrealistic confidence and I’ve
seen that in other guys, I’ve seen that in guys like BJ
Penn is one in particular I met his parents and I get the same
sense, Jon Jones, you have that from him, Chuck Liddell, even,
his confidence has been something that’s been a lifetime,
so I got to say thanks to my parents.”
MIKE
STRAKA:“I want to go back to your business and also motivating
people and believing in people because Joe Benavidez & Chad
Mendes, even Mark Munoz, guys who you’ve sort of taken and
said, ‘I believe in you,’ and if people don’t
know at home, in Sacramento there’s a block and Urijah lives
like several homes on the same block and you put up fighters
who come in and train at your camp and you put them up and let
them live there for free, and you know they work off maybe they
clean the gym or whatever, they earn your time with you, but
a lot of guys love you because you believe in them. I mean, I
interviewed Joe & Chad on Fighting Words and I said, ‘do
you ever get sick of hearing the words Urijah Faber’ and,
you know, I kind of thought they’d be like, well, you know,
yeah, but they didn’t. I mean, they were like sincerely,
no, the guy, we wouldn’t be here without the guy and there’s
no animosity and no jealousy, I just can’t believe you’ve
cultivated that environment. How did you do that?”
URIJAH
FABER:“You’re going to buy my book about it but there’s
a chapter in there about building a Who’s Who network and
it’s basically looking for potential in people and helping
people reach their goals instead of, you know, trying to get
ahead or being jealous or things like that and I genuinely enjoy
that stuff, you know, and I feel like there’s power in numbers
and I do everything in my power to help those guys out. I would
gladly take a back seat had Joseph got the belt and just gone
a different path, you know, and I’m cheering for those guys
and they know it. You can’t fake something like that, so
they know genuinely and we’ve been through things in life
and those guys have been there for me, also, so it’s more
a family thing. I’ve talked to Munoz over the years and
he just really understands, we have something that you can’t
really explain because it’s been through experiences and
so, um, I don’t know. I think it just comes from the background
I came from, you know, my adolescence was in a Hippie Christian
environment where there’s a lot of people around all helping
each other get energy and kind of recreated that without the
religion.”
MIKE
STRAKA:“I know you believe in wrestling, you went to (UC
Davis) and a lot of the people, a lot of the programs you work
with are about saving wrestling programs in high schools and
colleges. How important is wrestling to adolescence and to kids
growing up and kids who aspire to be MMA fights?”
URIJAH
FABER:“I think it’s really important and I’m actually
on a really cool project with Phil Davis that’s going to
help kind of highlight some of the amateur side, that’s
what we’re working on…”
MIKE
STRAKA:“Phil Davis, a great Penn State wrestler…”
URIJAH
FABER:“Yeah, he was a national champion, two-time, and a
really smart guy also but what it comes down to is… wrestling
is one of the main backbones for our sport, it’s a simulated
fight, the same regiment, the same attention to detail and technique
and, you know, it takes the same type of individual that enjoys
a fight that enjoys wrestling, so it’s huge and we need
to really grow the programs. It’s a shame that California
college programs are dwindling, you know, with the wrestling
programs because of budget cuts and stuff but the California
high school programs are almost double the nearest state as far
as participation goes and there’s a lot of Latino kids competing
and it needs to keep growing, man, and Dana & Lorenzo I think
can maybe get behind it a little bit with Zuffa and realize that’s
the proving ground, that’s the breeding (grounds) for the
future of MMA.”
MIKE
STRAKA:“Speaking of Dana & Lorenzo, they just released
the UFC Kinetics video game which is a training thing for I think
its the XBox, right?”
URIJAH
FABER:“It’s a THQ video game but its available for
Nintendo Wii and, uh, XBox and, you know, all those video games
where you’re basically you’re the remote control, you
stand in front of the screen, you move, you do the workouts.”
MIKE
STRAKA:“Phenomenal.”
URIJAH
FABER:“Yeah, it’s incredible, and that’s actually
why I’m here in New York talking about that, you know, I’m
one of the spokesguys for the brand and I really believe in it
and it’s, uh, it’s cool to see Mark Dellagrotte and
Greg Jackson and Javier Mendez in there instructing you, it’s
their voice, it’s their image, and they’re showing
you how to punch, how to kick, and you can pick fighters, you
can pick me and have me tell you ‘good job, homie’
and ‘c’mon,’ stuff like that. It’s a great
way to get in shape and learn about the sport.”
MIKE
STRAKA:“So, one thing that I always laugh is when I see
the K-Swiss commercial with Kenny Powers and he calls you Shirtoff
and he cracks me up, man. But you do, in his defense, like to
take your shirt off a lot.”
URIJAH
FABER:“Well, you know what? I’m at home in California,
the sun’s out, the shirt’s off, man, I spend a good
portion of my day covered in sweat, go through about three shirts
a day, drenched in sweat, and, you know, it just feels normal.
I spent most of my adolescence running around on the beach in
Santa Barbara and then the streets in Sacramento, you know, just
in flip flops and shorts and it just feels normal to me. I’ve
had the same lifestyle since I was a little kid.”
MIKE
STRAKA:“I just want to get your thoughts on the sports of
MMA and UFC in particular, you know you started a long, long
time ago now, it’s been like 7 years since you started fighting?”
URIJAH
FABER:“7, almost 8 years.”
MIKE
STRAKA:“Almost 8 years and you’re obviously one of
the pioneers of the lightweight divisions, I Mentioned your accomplishments
earlier but, you know, the sport has grown and you’ve, I
said it earlier, grown further than most fighters have grown
but everybody’s risen with the sport as the sport’s
risen, anybody who makes a living in MMA has the UFC to thank
for that. But guys like you really took it to the next level,
but what are your thoughts on the UFC today, where it’s
heading, and how far its come in these 10 years.”
URIJAH
FABER:“Well, first off, it’s been incredible the rise
and when I first started it was illegal in California, I was
fighting on Indian reservations, there was really no opportunity
for the sport in general let alone the lightweight fighters,
the UFC didn’t have 135, 145, 155 wasn’t even an issue,
it didn’t exist, so the biggest thing is… we have incredible
people behind it now that are developing the sport, we have smart
guys like Dana & Lorenzo & the Fertitta business and
their business savvy and they’re passionate about the sport
and then we have all these passionate fighters that are developing,
you know, their talent and making fighting their lives so you’re
getting these warriors that are dedicating their life to it and
pouring their heart out and making these exciting shows. We’ve
got intelligent guys backing it financially and putting a system
behind it so, um… you know, the sky’s the limit, really,
they’re really planning on taking over the world and making
this the best sport in the world and it makes sense, it’s
the oldest sport in the world. Fighting’s been around since
day one, man, that’s how I used to get women back in the
day.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Tito
Ortiz's UFC 133 Dilemma Spotlights Reward vs. Risk in Late-Notice
Fights
By Mike
Chiappetta
Less
than two weeks ago, Tito Ortiz arrived in Las Vegas like any
other visitor looking to beat the odds. But the game he was playing
wasn't poker or baccarat, it was a real-life gamble for his livelihood.
He had already been marked for dismissal, a pink slip waiting
for him at the completion of a match which odds suggested he
had little chance of winning. Though he was a onetime UFC champion
standing across the cage from a fighter who had just barely scratched
his way into the division's top 10, Ortiz was considered a massive
underdog.
He
wasn't just competing against an opponent, he was fighting for
his job. And with a stunning win, he saved it. But Ortiz didn't
have much time to celebrate his Vegas longshot. Within days,
he was faced with the difficult proposition of facing Rashad
Evans with less than four weeks to prepare.
After
initially declining the opportunity, he changed his mind. Win
or lose, it is the correct choice.
First
off, let's just point out that the decision is no easy one for
any number of reasons. While Ortiz faced some immediate backlash
for his initial rejection of the fight, we don't yet know his
specific reasoning. Fighters put much of their real lives aside
during 8-10 week training camps. That means less time with significant
others, children, business interests, etc. Ortiz may have made
commitments to catch up on some of the things he was missing
out on while preparing for Bader. It's easy to suggest that dropping
everything for the next four weeks would be a snap when it's
not your life, your family and your schedule.
Ortiz
was apparently able to put all of it aside. How?
"I
didn't ask him. I didn't give a s---," White said on Thursday.
"I was just happy he was taking it. I wanted to get off
the phone with him as quick as I could before he changed his
mind."
When
other factors are gone, you're left with debating the risk of
facing Evans on short notice vs. losing the momentum of that
upset win in record time. While taking a short-notice fight can
be a complex decision for a fighter, in the minds of the fans,
it is a simple risk-reward analysis.
So
let's look at it this way: What would Ortiz gain by winning,
and what would he lose out on if he fell to defeat?
When
you examine it in these terms, it becomes clear that Ortiz has
more to gain than to lose.
The
first thing he gains is simple: money. For his UFC 132 fight
with Ryan Bader, Ortiz earned a base salary of $450,000, as well
as a $75,000 bonus for Submission of the Night. In the leadup
to the fight, Ortiz repeatedly mentioned that he took a pay cut
to stay in the UFC, so it's likely that he either no longer gets
a percentage of pay-per-view revenue, or has a reduced percentage
from his previous contract.
Still,
we're talking about serious coin. But fighters don't always make
decisions based on cash alone, so Ortiz would also consider the
benefits of a potential win.
As
previously mentioned, two weeks ago, he was on a short leash,
with his career nearly over. Defeating Bader was a strong win,
but a single victory in his last six outings does little to move
him closer to his stated goal of recapturing the light-heavyweight
championship that was last around his waist in 2003.
Should
he upset Evans -- and Ortiz is again a massive underdog -- it
would be a giant step in that direction. Suddenly, after failing
to win in five fights over four-and-a-half years, he would boast
two wins over two top 10 light-heavyweights in little over one
month.
Remember,
Evans was considered the No. 1 contender to face champ Jon Jones
before a Jones' injury reshuffled the deck. While revisionist
historians may suggest that Bader was not quite as good as once
believed, an Ortiz win over Evans can not be discounted in that
way or otherwise ignored. Evans has faced and beaten big names,
he's a former champion and he's well respected. A win over him
would mean something.
If
Ortiz wins, everything changes. He's back in the mix. He's on
a streak. It's crazy to write this, but one of the loudest, brashest
fighters in MMA history will become the sport's most unlikely
feel-good underdog story. And maybe he gets those pay-per-view
points back.
"I'll
tell you what," White said on Thursday afternoon. "If
Tito beats Rashad, we'll talk."
What
does he risk? How does he suffer by losing? Not much. Since he
is doing the UFC a huge favor by stepping on short notice, it
is assured he will not be cut if he loses. So he's guaranteed
two paydays by taking this fight. If he loses in a close fight
-- and historically, Ortiz isn't easily blown out -- that might
actually serve to show people that the Bader win was no fluke.
Even if he gets controlled for three rounds, well, it came against
the No. 1 contender on less than four weeks' notice. There's
no huge shame in that.
One
crazy note from all this mess is that people often criticize
Ortiz for how inactive he's been over the last few years, but
since the start of 2009, Evans has fought three times, with eight
rounds of cage time. Ortiz has fought three times, with seven
rounds of cage time. Evans is 2-1 with two decisions and was
knocked out once. Ortiz is 1-2 with one stoppage victory, and
one of his losses by split-decision. Perhaps most importantly,
Ortiz is coming off a full camp, a win, and should be relatively
close to peak shape. Meanwhile, Evans hasn't fought in over 14
months, his longest layoff since joining the UFC in 2005. It's
certainly possible that he struggles with timing after so much
time away. Given all those factors, it may not be so crazy to
suggest that maybe these guys aren't as far apart as the odds
suggest.
Ortiz
has little to lose in this late-notice scenario. He will wake
up on the morning of August 6 far from a title shot. When he
walks out of the cage later that night, he'll either still be
far from it -- meaning no difference -- or he'll have leapfrogged
over a slew of mid-tier fighters after beating the rightful No.
1 contender. Either way, he'll still have at least one more payday
coming.
"If
Tito beats Rashad on August 6, how could anybody deny ... he
beats a top 10 contender in Ryan Bader and then comes in and
knocks off the guy many people believe is the No. 1 contender
for the title," White said. "It would definitely put
him in the mix. I wouldn't say he's necessarily the No. 1 contender
after this fight, but he's top three."
When
the potential rewards of winning far outweigh the risks of losing,
the decision really makes itself. Ortiz accepted a fight that
will be difficult and grinding, but with it comes the chance
to move farther and faster up the rankings than any other opportunity
would provide. Some people would view a short-notice offer to
fight Evans as an unnecessary risk. But when you peel back the
layers in this case, it's clear it's more like a gift.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Rashad
Evans Guaranteed Title Shot if He Beats Tito Ortiz at UFC 133
by Ken
Pishna
Rashad
Evans was heavily criticized when he decided to sit and wait
for a UFC light heavyweight title shot against then-champion
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua only to have it fall apart when
he had to drop out of the bout due to injury.
He
then received scathing glances again when he opted not to wait
for a shot at current champion Jon “Bones” Jones. He
instead decided to face up-and-comer Phil Davis at UFC 133, only
to have Davis drop out of the fight with an injury.
After
several dead ends, UFC brass found a last-minute replacement
in the recently resurgent Tito Ortiz, so Evans will still remain
the headliner for the Philly fight card. The UFC initially thought
Lyoto Machida would take the fight, but that fell apart when
they couldn’t agree to financial terms. Ortiz initially
turned down the fight, but changed his mind and later agreed
to the bout.
Evans’
decision to go ahead and fight leaves him in a solid position
to still get in the title picture. UFC president Dana White on
Thursday declared that the former UFC light heavyweight champion
will get a chance to earn his belt back if he defeats Ortiz.
The
belt in question is on the line at UFC 135 on Sept. 24 in Denver
when Jones tries to defend it against another former champion
in Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Evans gets the winner
of that fight if he is successful at UFC 133.
White
added that a win for Ortiz would put him in the top three contenders,
but wouldn’t mean an immediate title shot. Although he defeated
Ryan Bader at UFC 132, and a win over Evans would greatly increase
his viability, Ortiz is still trying to shed the baggage of four
losses and a draw with Evans in his prior five fights.
Regardless
of who wins the UFC 135 title bout, if Evans wins at UFC 133,
it sets up a compelling match-up. Jones is Evans’ younger
former teammate and there has been no love lost between the two
since Evans left Team Jackson/Winkeljohn. A fight with Rampage
would be a rematch of their bout at UFC 114, where Evans won
a unanimous decision.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Chael
Sonnen: Because I got punished for TRT, expect many fighters
to hide their drug usage
By Zach
Arnold
MMAFighting.com interview by Ariel Helwani with Chael Sonnen
at UFC 132
Whenever
Chael Sonnen does a media interview these days, it’s hard
to find much of what he says to be substantive. He’s all
gimmick, at this point, and given the many folks in the media
who are willing to be enablers in order to get a few hits at
the expense of being humiliated, Chael takes advantage of it.
Fine. My scope of interest for his interviews is often limited.
In
this (now) famous interview that was uploaded online a couple
of days ago, Sonnen turns his gimmick on full blast when trashing
Brazil and the Brazilian contingency in the UFC. He dumped all
over Wanderlei Silva being employed by the UFC with a 2-8 record
(his words) and claiming that it’s the worst record ever
for a UFC fighter both in the SEG days and under Zuffa ownership.
He went on to say that ‘the Japan circuit’ (PRIDE)
was essentially fake and that the outcomes of fights for Fedor,
Cro Cop, Nogueira, and Wanderlei were rigged and that the referees
had earpieces to tell the opponents when to take dives. If you’re
into Sonnen ‘comedy,’ then I suppose you’ll be
interested in this. To me, Chael Sonnen ‘comedy’ is
about as enticing as WWE ‘comedy.’
With
all of that stated, there was one part of this interview that
did catch my attention and has flown under the radar in many
circles. The opening context here starts with Ariel discussing
Chael’s suspension just ending. This interview was taped
before UFC announced that Sonnen would be facing Brian Stann
in October in Houston, Texas.
ARIEL
HELWANI:“Does it feel as though a weight has been lifted
off your shoulders here?”
CHAEL
SONNEN:“If you’re a professional athlete, you don’t
have the right to complain about anything. I hear these guys
come out and they’re crying and they’re whining and
it’s ‘poor me’ and I always thought, what a wonderful
world you must live in if that is a big deal, you know, with
all the things that are going on and the adversity a person has
to face and you’ve got to learn to deal with that stuff
and, uh… you know, just because you get a little negative
press or you end up in a little red tape here and there, you
got to know how to deal with that if you’re going to get
anything done in this world. I can’t imagine, I mean I watch
just the average folks have bigger problems with a day being
a good husband or being a good father, uh… look, I’m
a professional athlete, I’m not entitled to do that. I have
an opportunity to do it, it’s a luxury, and nobody owes
that to me and I’ve never felt like a victim in this whole
thing. It was a nuisance, but that’s where it ends.”
ARIEL
HELWANI:“You say it’s a luxury, though, but was there
a point where you thought you might never get a shot to fight
again, another shot, because it seemed as though for a while
one thing after the next was piling on you?”
CHAEL
SONNEN:“Well, yeah, probably, it’s hard to completely
remember all the different emotions you go through. You get a
call one day that says one thing and makes you think, well, looks
like it’s the end of the line, and then understanding the
rules is tough, too. Somebody tells you you’re suspended,
you get information from one state and trust that and then you
learn that’s not exactly right or maybe that was relayed
to me wrong or maybe I interpreted it wrong. So, the rules and
the process constantly changes and so does your mentality, you
know, so, yeah, there were times where I thought this might be
the end of the road. It was up and down and that was probably
the hardest part was the emotional, it was highs and it was lows,
it was so drastic, there was nothing ever steady about it, you
know, it was either ‘aw, man, I got some really good news
today,’ ‘oh, wow, did I get some bad news.’
ARIEL
HELWANI:“Your name has obviously been in the news (recently)
because your suspension expired and you’re free fight. You
also came into the news because people started to link your story
to Nate Marquardt’s because Testosterone Replacement Therapy
came up and you are kind of the first fighter where this really
came up and we started to learn more about it. What’s your
take, if you have any, on what happened to Nate Marquardt with
him getting released and suspended and whatnot in Pennsylvania?”
CHAEL
SONNEN:“Well, let me preface any statement I make with two
things. First off, all I can really do is kind of guess to say,
well, this is what I think because I don’t actually know.
And secondly, to say Nate is a very good guy, um… behind
everything you see, he’s a good guy, he loves his family,
he’s good to his wife, if he tells you something you can
trust him, he’s a good, nice, kind person and… all
I know about it is what I saw on your show and I think that Nate
was very forthcoming and honest, I think it’s important
to understand Nate did not break any rules… he did not fight
with an illegal substance or a banned substance or any kind.
At the same time… I left that interview thinking, okay,
Nate, I believe you, I believe everything you just said, I also
think there’s a couple of things you haven’t said.
I don’t know that, but for my own opinion from my office
watching that on my laptop, I thought there was a couple of things
that probably still haven’t come out.”
ARIEL
HELWANI:“Are fighters abusing TRT in your opinion? Because
you’ve talked about it, this is a medical condition, you
need this. Are there people, in your opinion, in this sport and
in sports in general who are abusing this and using this as a
PED?”
CHAEL
SONNEN:“I can tell you the frustration I have with mine
is when you look at the rules and you say, okay, I’m a rule
guy, I’m a rule follower, I’m going to follow this
rule. Here’s what I need to do if I’m going to be on
this medication. So, you come forward and you start the big fire,
you wave the big flag. You show, this is what I’m doing.
Then they use that against you. That’s where it becomes
very frustrating. I think, because of that, there’s a lot
of guys (now) that are going to say, ‘hey, listen, I’m
going to do this, I’m just not going to come forward like
Chael did, I’m not going to do it correctly, I’m going
to hide it because these guys at the commission are going to
punish me, they’re going to use it against me.’ And
so… I think I’ll leave it at that but I think that…
you know, if the commissions don’t like the rule then, please,
by all means, change the rule. But don’t allow somebody
to do something and then turn the gun on them and say, ‘you
did this and you shouldn’t have,’ when you go, wait
a minute, you said that I could, it’s right there in your
rules. So, I think that makes it tough.”
Juxtapose
this to the comments Dennis Hallman made to Bas Rutten about
TRT usage. I’m not sure where all of this is heading in
terms of either further discussion or action but it certainly
is gaining some traction publicly.
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Royler
won’t fight Bravo at ADCC, and challenged him to a MMA fight
By Erik
Engelhart
Set
to rematch Eddie Bravo on a superfight in this year’s edition
of ADCC, Royler Gracie didn’t approve the way things happened
and he was upset about his negotiation with Guy Nieves, since
he’s disclose some confidential information about their
deal. Since the organization of the event hasn’t got in
touch with him anymore, Royler has other plans and revealed that
the bout won’t happen.
“I
have no problems with ADCC, but the fact is that we didn’t
get to an agreement on our negotiation and unfortunately the
organizers of the event haven’t got in touch with me again.
I can’t keep waiting, I have other plans for myself. I’m
assuming this bout won’t happen”, Royler told TATAME,
saying he might fight MMA this year.
The
BJJ black belt haven’t fought MMA since 2006, when he was
defeated by Hideo Tokoro in K-1 Dynamite, but guaranteed he’ll
return to the rings this year, probably in Brazil, and Eddie
Bravo didn’t accept fighting him in this event.
“I’m
dealing with this MMA event, which might happen in Brazil. I
haven’t sign anything yet, but the negotiations are going
well and it’s likely it happens. The organizer of the event
even called Eddie Bravo to fight me, but he declined it, he didn’t
want to fight me… And I said I was only punch him with my
hands opened, man (laughs)”.
Source:
Tatame
|
UFC
Welterweight Chris Lytle Eyeing Potential Political Bid in 2012
By Ben
Fowlkes
Chris
Lytle has had a lot of experience balancing his dueling careers
as a pro fighter and a full-time firefighter. Now he's considering
adding a third to the list after forming an exploratory committee
to examine a political run for the Indiana Statehouse in 2012.
The
36 year-old Lytle told MMA Fighting on Thursday that he's been
discussing the move for the last few months and finally filed
the papers to form the exploratory committee in order to begin
preliminary fundraising, as well as to "see what people
think about it."
"I
see lots of things wrong with how things are run," said
Lytle, who would be running as a Republican. "I think our
state's doing a pretty good job, but you could always do a better
job. I'm not the type of person who wants to sit there and complain
about something and then not do anything about it. If there's
any way I can help, I'm going to. For the past several years
I studied economics and different governmental issues, pretty
much on a daily basis. I feel I could actually help make a difference."
Lytle,
who is considering running in either the 53rd district for the
Indiana State House or the 28th district of the Indiana State
Senate, said the economy would be his main focus if he does indeed
begin a campaign.
As
for how it would affect his fighting career if he was in fact
elected, Lytle (30-18-5) said he might be nearing the point where
he has to hang up the gloves anyway.
"I've
known my fighting days were numbered for a while now. I don't
know if you've noticed, but not too many guys fight for more
than 14 or 15 years. It's very taxing on your body. I've been
fighting since '98, and that's a long time. I always know I'm
an injury away from it being over, so I'm just taking it one
fight at a time and see how my body's feeling."
Besides,
Lytle added, the legislative session only runs from for a few
months out of the year and, as he put it, "my body could
probably use the rest."
Before
he can think about any of that, however, he has to focus on his
fight with Dan Hardy in the main event of UFC Live in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin on August 14. Once that's over, he said, he can take
another look at his potential political future.
"I'm
not going to do much more with it for now. ...Right now I'm just
looking into it, what people's thoughts are, and how much money
I could raise. After this fight I'll take a step back and look
and see exactly what the possibilities are. Luckily I have a
few months for that. Right now I'm just focusing on this fight.
You can not do this if you're thinking about other stuff."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Machida
Declines Evans For UFC 133; Wife Says It'd Be ‘Silliness’
by Marcelo
Alonso and Colin Foster
Lyoto
Machida will not fight Rashad Evans for a second time -- at least,
not at UFC 133.
Machida’s
spouse, Fabyola Machida, informed Sherdog.com on Wednesday that
her husband will not take the place of the injured Phil Davis
at the Aug. 6 event. However, the former UFC light heavyweight
champion’s wife explained, it was not a one-sided decision
to turn down the short-notice fight.
“The
UFC called him [Tuesday] to offer him the fight,” Mrs. Machida
said, “but after a conference, Lyoto, his managers and the
UFC representatives decided it wouldn’t be a good decision
for him to fight. It would even show a lack of professionalism
on Lyoto’s part to take the fight, having such a short period
to train.”
After
retiring Randy Couture with a stunning front-kick knockout at
UFC 129, Machida rejoined the ranks of UFC’s top 205-pounders.
According to his wife, a title shot wasn’t guaranteed if
he were to beat Evans. Even knowing this, Machida considered
accepting the offer from Zuffa, but used the reason to deny it.
“What
he told me is that thinking ‘with the heart of a fighter,’
he would take the fight,” Mrs. Machida revealed. “But
his professionalism made him turn down the fight. No one is playing
anymore [in professional MMA], everyone is very focused and serious,
so it would be silliness to accept. To take the chance to not
fight as well as he could if he was prepared, would be giving
a chance to unluckiness. ‘Be prepared’ is one of his
principles.”
Source
Sherdog
|
Jungle
Fight shakes up Belém and announces 2012 calendar
Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
The
city of Belém, in the Brazilian state of Pará,
is one of the country’s MMA hotbeds, producing numerous
stalwart fighters. On July 30 the city will host the next Jungle
Fight, an event promoted by Wallid Ismail.
One
of the matchups promising excitement has Adriano Martins taking
on Francisco Massaranduba, while Ednaldo Lula, Ildemar Marajó,
Iliarde Santos and John Lineker also figure on the card.
“I’m
always looking to improve things, which is why we release the
cards for Jungle Fight a month prior to the event. We’re
committed to our mission of revealing new talent, and we’ve
laid out the schedule for the whole rest of 2011 and the year
2012,” declares Wallid.
Check
out the card:
Jungle
Fight By Pretorian 30
Belém, Pará, Brazil
July 30, 2011
Adriano
Martins vs. Francisco “Massaranduba”
Ubiratan “Bira” Lima vs. Ednaldo “Lula”
Ildemar Marajó vs. Richard Smith
Norman Carlton vs. Paulo Henrique
Iliarde Santos vs. Luciano “Boinha” Lopes
Jonh Lineker vs. Junior
Jungle
Fight calendar
July
30, 2011 – Belém
August 20, 2011 – Itu, São Paulo
September 10, 2011 – São Paulo
October 29, 2011 – Rio de Janeiro
November 26, 2011 – Ceará
December 17, 2011 – Rio de Janeiro
January
28, 2012
February 25, 2012
March 31, 2012
April 28, 2012
May 26, 2012
June 30, 2012
July 28, 2012
August 25, 2012
September 29, 2012
October 27, 2012
November 24, 2012
December 29, 2012
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Rashad
Evans: “When Jon Jones loses (in the UFC), he’s going
to quit in a fight”
by Zach
Arnold
GREG SAVAGE:“It seems like you’ve been around forever
now. You look at your record, you look at your age, you’re
31 years old, man. You’re a young guy in this sport, you’ve
already been a champion. I’m sure you’ve got a lot
of aspirations and goals still in this sport, but you’ve
come a long way. Rate your career so far.”
RASHAD
EVANS:“You know, I’ll give it a, if I was to give it
a grade, I’ll probably give it a B+, you know what I’m
saying? It’s not quite where it could be or where I think
it, you know, really should be. But it’s about the journey
and it’s about taking those pitfalls and the ups & downs
and ebbs & flows that’s going to make me achieve those
goals so when I’m finished with my career I can say I got
an A+.”
GREG
SAVAGE:“You talk about winning at Light Heavyweight, your
next move was to go to Heavyweight. You were a tiny, tiny Heavyweight.
You muscled your way through The Ultimate Fighter, won a split
decision over Brad Imes to claim that title, and that was it
for you. You went back down to Light Heavyweight. Everyone still
said, maybe you should be a Middleweight, though. I mean, you
fought that assertion for a long time. Why not?”
RASHAD
EVANS:“You know… I’m always one of those fighters
that never looks as big as they really are, you know what I’m
saying? I always look small and, you know, I figure I’m
doing well at 205, so what’s the point going down to 185?
You know, if I got smashed up at 205, then I might think that
maybe I should go (down) but for the most part, I never really
got into a fight where I felt somebody at 205 and I was just
like, man, this guy’s just above average strong and I think
to find, you know, go down to 185 where I can be, you know, the
stronger guy. But I haven’t found that at 205, yet.”
GREG
SAVAGE:“The Ultimate Fighter was a springboard for your
career, it was an amazing platform for you. But it seems like
what happened on that show started the whole ‘Rashad’s
this bad guy, Rashad’s this cocky guy who really doesn’t
care about anything else’ and it’s gone downhill since
then for you. It seems like you’re fighting an image battle,
at least you were. Now, it seems like you threw in the towel.
Do you even care? And is that, you know, the flashpoint for this?”
RASHAD
EVANS:“At some point I used to be like, ah, man, I really
care about being a good guy because I can’t be any further
than the public perception in real life, you know what I’m
saying, anybody who ever met me in real life is like, you’re
not like nothing how I thought and it’s the craziest thing
because it’s just so funny how I’m portrayed and I’m
seen but I do think it was, you know, Matt Hughes saying that
I’m a cocky fighter and some of the things I did when I
did fight, people are like, ‘Ah, man, this guy is cocky
and arrogant and this is the way he is.’ But you got to
understand. like. when you go out there and fight, you can’t
go there and be like, you know, for me, myself, I can’t
go out there and be, you know, too like, you know, submissive
or too, you know, not trying to be a certain way.
“When
I go out there and compete, my main thought is like, I don’t
compete from the (angry) point of view. For me, it’s like
I want to go out there and embarrass somebody. I want to go out
there and just like make them be like, what was I even thinking
fighting this guy? You know and there’s where I compete
my best from and so when I go out there I’m bringing that
attitude, that’s my attitude, that’s my mindset. You
know, when I’m out there with somebody, I don’t just
want to beat them, I want to try to embarrass them, you know
I want (them) to be like, ‘I never want to fight this guy
again.’ And when you’re out there fighting, the fight
is won on two levels — one is on the physical and the other
one is on the mental. And if I get my guy second-guessing himself,
if I can get my guy hitting me with his hardest punch and I look
at him and smile or, you know, do something when he doesn’t
expect it, then I’m winning on the mental level and then
the physical is going to come after that.”
GREG
SAVAGE:“So, you’re sitting there in March going to
the UFC (in New Jersey) thinking, you know, had to pull out because
I got injured, you know, Jon Jones goes in and wins his fight
and, next thing you know, he’s going to be fighting Shogun
and you’re just like, what are you thinking sitting there
cage side?”
RASHAD
EVANS:“Well, I had an idea before the fight that they were
going to, if Jon Jones won (against Ryan Bader) that he was going
to get the title shot and I spoke to Jon the night before the
fight and I told him that, you know, what was said and I’d
told him he’d be a fool if he didn’t take the opportunity.
So, it was kind of a little bittersweet because at the time I
was really digging Jon. I was like, man, you know, I’m excited
for this kid and I think that, you know, if he gets the title
shot he’s going to win it, you know, and I knew he was going
to smash Bader, I knew Bader didn’t stand a chance. So,
I just knew that, you know, here’s a kid who worked hard
and he works hard and he’s going to get a shot at the title
and I was happy for him, you know. I was surprised the way they
did it, you know what I’m saying, that was kind of cold
blooded the way they did it but, you know, all’s fair.”
GREG
SAVAGE:“You say you were still digging him then. When did
you, you know, start to not dig him? When did you see these character
flaws you talked about?”
RASHAD
EVANS:“Well, the first thing that happened, you know, because
I took a lot of from everybody like saying, ‘oh, man, you’re
not going to fight your teammate,’ because I still buy it
because I wanted to extend the same respect that I was wanting
him to extend to me if I would have won a championship and I
wasn’t going to fight him. You know, I got blasted by Dana
White and by all the fans and everybody’s talking that I’m
scared and all this crap.
“But
what bothered me and made me start seeing things differently
is when Jon did an interview on Versus with Ariel Helwani and
asked a question if he would fight me, he was, yeah, I would
fight him. I mean I wouldn’t want, you know, I wouldn’t
want to get fired, I wouldn’t want if Dana White said so.
Of course Dana White is going to say so, that’s his job
to put the best fights on, so… that, to me, answer was kind
of like, you know, saying Dana White made me do it, that’s
kind of a cop out. For him to say it like that was just kind
of like, okay, you know, it’s kind of a smack in the face.
But the simple fact that he did a pre-recorded interview and
didn’t even have, you know, the respect to give me a call
and say, listen, I did an interview and this is what it may sound
like, this is what I really meant by it, and just saying don’t
take it personal or whatever, bye. Then I would have been cool.”
GREG
SAVAGE:“What was it like when he came out and did another
interview and talked about, ‘you know I used to handle Rashad
in practice, I’m not worried about it.’ I mean, that’s
a cardinal rule for fighters, you don’t talk about what
happens in the room. I mean, he broke it. What was it like for
you, what was it like for other fighters you talked to about
it?”
RASHAD
EVANS:“You know, just the simple fact that he even said
that was kind of like… like… it’s mind-boggling
to me to even bring that up, you know what I’m saying, especially
since the fact that, uh, if he even did get the better of me
in any practice, it was intended for him to get the better of
me.”
GREG
SAVAGE:“Mike Van Arsdale said it was you portraying Ryan
Bader, trying to help him out.”
RASHAD
EVANS:“Yeah, me trying to be Ryan Bader, so that may be
the only reason why he may have got the better of me or even
one day he might have been having a good day and I might have
been having a bad day, it happens in practice. Practice is practice,
you know what I’m saying? That’s why you got to practice
and you try different things because some days you’ll be
the shark, some days you’ll be the bait. The greatest fighters
in the world had days where they got got by somebody or something
like that and they’re just like, really, we’re training
together, we’re supposed to be brothers. We’re training
partners and then you’re going to brag because you took
me down or you caught me with a punch? Are you serious, it’s
practice, you know what I’m saying? It’d be one thing
if you did it in a live fight or something like that but if it’s
at practice, that’s like, you know, to me it was just childish.
It showed to me where his mind was at.
“The
simple fact that he did is just like, man, so this kid is going
around telling people that got me in practice but that’s
funny, he never brings up when I got him in practice. He was
like, you know, begging me to get up and then he’s like,
you know, for like 5 minutes just slapping him in his face, hitting
him, hitting him like this…
‘get
up! get up!’
‘can
you help me up?’
‘no,
I can’t help you up, you got to get up, you got to earn
your way up.’
“And
then I’m hitting him some more.
‘uh,
uh, uh, well, well, uh, the bell’s rung.’
“I
said, listen, if you quit now, you’re going to quit in a
fight. Work your way back up. And I made him work his way back
up because I was trying to help him. I wasn’t trying to
dominate him. I was like, if this kid is going to quit now, he
will quit in a fight.
“And
I know he’ll quit in a fight. Mark my words — when
Jon Jones loses, he’s going to quit in a fight.”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
UFC
President Dana White Says Brock Lesnar’s Recovery ‘Has
Been Incredible’
by Ken
Pishna
Brock
Lesnar is on the mend and recouping from his latest bout with
diverticulitis in true Brock Lesnar fashion… on his own,
on a farm, with no contact to the outside world.
“I
talked to his manager. You want to hear how fast this guy is
recovering?” UFC president Dana White offered up on Thursday.
“He’s
up on his farm in Canada. He has a big farm in Canada and he’s
basically up there farming. He’s completely disconnected
himself from the world, no phones, no nothing. He’s not
talking to anybody.”
Lesnar
is on the mend following surgery in late May to help him deal
with a second bout of diverticulitis. The resurgence of the intestinal
disorder kept him out of the main event of UFC 131 in Vancouver,
where he was to have fought Junior dos Santos for the number
one contender spot in the UFC heavyweight division.
“They
removed about 12 inches of his colon, repaired it, he feels great.
He said he’s a little sore, but the operation was a huge
success,” White had said the day after Lesnar’s procedure.
His
recent troubles are a follow-up to the problems that plagued
him in 2009, when Lesnar first discovered he had the illness
and had to pull out of a fight with Shane Carwin.
Both
times his illness has flared up, the questions rained down about
Lesnar’s future as a fighter. He obviously bounced back
the first time, defeating Shane Carwin before losing the UFC
heavyweight belt to Cain Velasquez at UFC 121.
He
has stated emphatically that this second battle with the disease
won’t knock him out of the Octagon either. It may slow him
down, but he plans to be back in early 2012.
“We’re
hoping he can be back by the first of the year,” White stated
following the surgery.
“His
recovery has been incredible.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Sherwood:
Tito Steps Up
by Jeff
Sherwood
It’s
been a crazy couple weeks for Tito Ortiz, to say the least.
The
“Huntington Beach Bad Boy” has gone from being a fighter
one loss away from retirement -- one who most media outlets and
pundits tabbed as done -- to a fighter who UFC President Dana
White now praises as “the new Tito Ortiz.” Even the
fickle MMA fan base seems to have come around, with some making
excuses for their premature burial of Ortiz and others pointing
out why Tito had a good chance to beat Ryan Bader all along.
It’s a 180-degree reversal from all the talk that led up
to UFC 132.
White
noted before the July 2 bout that Ortiz performs best when his
back is against the wall. That’s exactly what the former
UFC light heavyweight champ did, submitting Bader with a first-round
guillotine choke and looking very good in the process.
Allow
me to do the same as some of the aforementioned fans and say
that Tito’s submission game has always been underrated.
People got a glimpse of that with his near-submission of Lyoto
Machida. I will admit that I was one who picked Bader to win,
and I didn’t think he would have a tough time getting the
job done.
Let’s
look back at Tito’s past five fights, starting with his
first encounter with Rashad Evans. It was a one-point deduction
for fence grabbing which cost Ortiz the victory in a hard-fought
battle with “Suga Rashad.” He then took Machida the
distance at a time when many felt “The Dragon” was
one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters. Then, it
was Forrest Griffin, a fight that a lot of people felt Ortiz
should have won on the scorecards, including judge Glenn Trowbridge.
Save one round, Matt Hamill had a pretty easy time beating Ortiz,
so there’s not much to draw from there. And then you have
Tito’s win over the once-beaten rising star, Bader.
Yes,
I know that I just criticized fans and media for counting Tito
out and then making an argument for him afterward, and then I
turned around and did the same thing. That is what’s great
about sports. Situations like this are what make being a sports
fan great.
Take
a look at MLB’s Minnesota Twins. If you had talked to a
Twins fan on June 1, it would have been a pretty bleak conversation,
but it would be an entirely different story today. On June 1,
the Twins were 20 games under .500 and 16-plus games out of first
place in the American League Central division. Since then, they’ve
got 24-11 and entered the All-Star break 6-1/2 games behind the
first-place Detroit Tigers. The hope is still alive for the second
half of the season.
In
sports, and particularly in MMA, it’s “what have you
done for me lately?” What Tito Ortiz has done lately is
beat a highly touted prospect, then remove himself from Dana
White’s doghouse by accepting a short-notice fight against
Rashad Evans. Plus, Ortiz has won some fans back, so one has
to think pay-per-view numbers for UFC 133 will still be pretty
good, making everyone involved happy.
Imagine
if Tito is able to pull off the victory over Rashad. In the words
of Dana White, he’ll be right back in the mix.
Source
Sherdog
|
Tomorrow!
Aloha all,
Our
tournament is only 2 days away now. Don't forget, if you have
five paid entries, the sixth entry's first event is FREE! We
also will be giving away Team Champions trophies for each of
the three events (Continuous Sparring, MMA (Controlled, and Sub.
Grappling). Hope to see you all there!
Hope
all is well with everyone. Our 2011 Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament
will be held on Saturday, July 16th at War Memorial Gym in Wailuku,
Maui. This year, in addition to 1st and 2nd place trophies for
each division, we will be awarding Team Champions trophies for
each of the three events (Continuous Sparring, MMA (Controlled),
and Submission Grappling). Attached is an event flier for your
reference and distribution. If you have any questions, e-mail
or call me at 205-9133. Mahalo,
Sigung
Trent Sera
Sera's Kajukenbo
|
BJ
Penn’s Brother, Reagan Penn, to Make MMA Debut at ProElite’s
Return Event
by Ken
Pishna
UFC veteran BJ Penn isn’t the only fighter in the family
and his younger brother, Reagan, is going to get the chance to
prove it.
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with no amateur or professional
mixed martial arts experience, Reagan is going to make his debut
in the sport at ProElite’s return event on Aug. 27 at the
Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. The promotion has yet to sign an
opponent for Penn.
His brother’s website, BJPenn.com, reported the news on
Wednesday evening. MMAWeekly.com confirmed the signing with independent
sources.
Although Reagan has yet to make his MMA debut, he has trained
for years and has been a constant at his brother’s fights
recently.
ProElite, Inc. was recently resurrected by Stratus Media Group
after being shuttered for more than two and a half years. The
company formerly operated events under the EliteXC banner. The
Aug. 27 event at the Blaisdell Arena marks ProElite’s first
event since October 2008.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Sherdog.com's
Pound-for-Pound Top 10
It’s
been a slow start to the summer for MMA’s elite, but the
majority of our top 10 appear to be readying for battle in the
second half of 2011.
Reigning
pound-for-pound and UFC welterweight king Georges St. Pierre
recently received his next assignment -- a major Oct. 29 defense
against incoming ex-Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz -- while close-second
Anderson Silva awaits his Aug. 27 rematch with top middleweight
contender Yushin Okami at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro. Also in
Rio, Mauricio Rua is set for a second go at Forrest Griffin,
Rua’s first bout since having his UFC light heavyweight
strap snatched in March by Jon Jones.
Young
“Bones” himself will see action in September, as Jones
has been tapped to defend the aforementioned 205-pound belt against
veteran Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in Denver on Sept.
24. The winner of that matchup could have a contender lying in
wait, with former champ Rashad Evans and unbeaten prospect Phil
Davis set to square off Aug.6 in Philadelphia.
Other
pound-for-pounders rumored for fall returns include Jake Shields,
who could meet heavy-handed wrestler Jake Ellenberger on Sept.
17 in New Orleans, and Jon Fitch, who has reportedly been cleared
to resume training in September and may rematch B.J. Penn in
the fourth quarter. Featherweight dynamo Jose Aldo is also expected
to defend his UFC title before the year is through, as is UFC
lightweight ace Frankie Edgar.
1.
Georges St. Pierre (22-2)
Georges St. Pierre has been cleaning out the elites of the welterweight
division with startling, unprecedented efficiency. Over the last
four years, St. Pierre has dominated the most impressive schedule
of opponents in MMA, making other pound-for-pounders look ordinary.
However, as a result of his dominance as well his style, constantly
critiqued for its conservatism, onlookers demanded a new-look
opponent for GSP. Dana White complied with fans' wishes, signing
former Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz to a new UFC contract, paving
the way for a major St. Pierre-Diaz showdown at UFC 137 on Oct.
29.
2.
Anderson Silva (30-4)
Anderson Silva has just one loss in the last six-and-a-half years,
his infamous January 2006 disqualification loss against Yushin
Okami. At UFC 134 on Aug. 27, he'll have the chance to avenge
the defeat, and in the process, add one of the few remaining
outstanding middleweights he hasn't beat to his docket. Though
challengers such as Mark Munoz and Brian Stann are developing,
if Silva was to best Okami in Rio, the drum would assuredly begin
to beat once again for either a much-wanted showdown with welterweight
king Georges St. Pierre, or another trek up to 205 pounds.
3.
Jose Aldo (19-1)
Few fighters have the dynamism that Jose Aldo possesses, a trait
that saw him rocket to the top of the 145-pound division. However,
Aldo's ongoing neck issues have slowed the Brazilian's roll.
First, Aldo's health stalled discussions of a bout against unbeaten
wrestling standout Chad Mendes. Now, it has left his slated bout
with former UFC lightweight challenger Kenny Florian -- a win
that would be the most outstanding of Aldo's career -- without
a set date. On the upside: when he's healthy, Aldo has a quickly
expanding pool of opponents, as more fine featherweights emerge
and more accomplished lightweights make the cut to 145.
4.
Frankie Edgar (13-1-1)
In spite of taking a pair of wins over an all-time great in B.J.
Penn, many still view the UFC lightweight champion with skepticism.
January's bout with Gray Maynard was Edgar's chance to cement
his place in the MMA world, however, the disastrous opening period
meant Edgar's heart, not his skills, had to take center stage.
An Edgar back injury has postponed a third match with Maynard
later this year, and should he win, he'll have no shortage of
contenders, as the UFC lightweight division is seemingly overflowing
with contenders such as Jim Miller, Melvin Guillard and Clay
Guida to name just a few.
5.
Jon Fitch (23-3-1, 1 NC)
The UFC welterweight division’s other dominant wrestler
remains on the shelf, but not for long. Fitch and B.J. Penn were
set for a July rematch after fighting to a draw in February,
but injuries to both men -- and shoulder surgery for Fitch --
prevented the return bout. The 33-year-old American Kickboxing
Academy product stated in June that he will resume training in
September, in anticipation of possible Nov. 19 scrap with Penn
at UFC 138, rumored to take place in Fitch’s adopted hometown
of San Jose, Calif.
6.
Jon Jones (13-1)
After some confusion, it’s been settled: the UFC’s
youngest champ will defend his 205-pound title this fall, just
not against Rashad Evans. Following a remarkable and brutal win
over Marucio “Shogun” Rua in March, former training
partners Jones and Evans were slated for an August tilt. That
bout was scratched after 23-year-old “Bones” was sidelined
with a recurring hand injury. As it turns out, Jones’ hand
didn’t require surgery, but with Evans already booked for
an August clash with Phil Davis, the young star has been booked
for a Sept. 24 meeting with ex-champ Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson.
7.
Jake Shields (26-5-1)
Jake Shields fell one round short of becoming UFC welterweight
champion in April, his loss to Georges St. Pierre ending a six-and-a-half
year unbeaten streak where Shields took serious scalps at 170
and 185 pounds. The Cesar Gracie product will have the chance
to put another great welterweight on his docket later this year.
When the UFC returns to Louisiana for "Battle on the Bayou,"
Shields will take main event duty against hot up-and-coming prospect
Jake Ellenberger in a fight that could further solidify Shields'
stature in one of the two divisions in which he's excelled.
8.
Gilbert Melendez (19-2)
Gilbert Melendez has looked absolutely sensational in taking
out high-level lightweights in recent memory, including the likes
of Josh Thomson, Shinya Aoki, and most recently, Tatsuya Kawajiri.
However, the real question for the Strikeforce lightweight champion
is whether or not that pipeline of achieved, outstanding lightweights
will continue as Zuffa's stewardship over Strikeforce continues.
Next on deck for Melendez figures to be Jorge Masvidal, however,
the landscape beyond "Gamebred" is uncertain.
9.
Dominick Cruz (18-1)
At UFC 132 on July 2, Cruz erased the lone loss of his MMA career,
earning a unanimous decision over former WEC featherweight champion
Urijah Faber. The victory was Cruz's ninth straight, as "The
Dominator" has now taken W's over Faber, his teammate Joseph
Benavidez twice, former champion Brian Bowles and Scott Jorgensen.
The victory solidifies Cruz as the top bantamweight in the sport
and by a fair margin. Cruz's developing resume might have a chance
to get even stronger and more diverse in the coming months, should
he get a rubber match with Faber or a title defense against the
surging Demetrious Johnson.
10.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5)
Returning from nearly a year-long layoff due to surgery on his
seemingly ever-injured knee, Rua did not have much to offer young
challenger Jon Jones in their March 19 title bout at UFC 128.
The third-round stoppage was the first true knockout of the Brazilian’s
career, and perhaps the first fight when Rua never looked competitive.
The “Shogun” will have a chance to both reclaim his
past glory and avenge a stinging loss when he rematches fellow
ex-champ Forrest Griffin in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 27.
With
the entry of Dominick Cruz, previously 10th-ranked Rashad Evans
exits the pound-for-pound top 10.
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
134
Rio de Janeiro at HSBC Arena
8/27/11
By Zach Arnold
Dark matches/Facebook
Featherweights: Yves Jabouin vs. Ian Loveland
Featherweights: Yuri Alcantara vs. Antonio Carvalho
Middleweights: Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Miller
Welterweights: Mike Swick vs. Erick Silva
Welterweights: Paulo Thiago vs. David Mitchell
Lightweights: Thiago Tavares vs. Spencer Fisher
Main card
Light Heavyweights: Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov
Lightweights: Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza
Heavyweights: Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Light Heavyweights: Mauricio Shogun vs. Forrest Griffin
UFC Middleweight title match: Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami
UFC
Live 5 on Versus
Milwaukee
at Bradley Center
8/14/11
By Zach Arnold
Dark matches/Facebook
Bantamweights: Edwin Figueroa vs. Jason Reinhardt
Lightweights: Jacob Volkmann vs. Danny Castillo
Lightweights: Cole Miller vs. TJ O’Brien
Featherweights: Leonard Garcia vs. Alex Caceres
Light Heavyweights: Karlos Vemola vs. Ronny Markes
Bantamweights: Joseph Benavidez vs. Eddie Wineland
Middleweights: CB Dollaway vs. Jared Hamman
Main card
Welterweights: Amir Sadollah vs. Duane Ludwig
Lightweights: Jim Miller vs. Ben Henderson
Welterweights: Dan Hardy vs. Chris Lytle
UFC
133
Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center
8/6/11
By Zach Arnold
Dark matches/Facebook
Middleweights: Rafael Natal vs. Costantinos Philippou
Featherweights: Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan
Welterweights: Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce
Bantamweights: Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace
Welterweights: Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole
Featherweights: Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya
Light Heavyweights: Matt Hamil vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Main card
Welterweights: Rory MacDonald vs. Mike Pyle
Welterweights: Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara
Middleweights: Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama
Light Heavyweights: Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Light Heavyweights: Rashad Evans vs. Tito Ortiz
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Dana
White: Lyoto Machida Demanded More Money, Tito Ortiz Didn't
By Michael
David Smith
UFC
President Dana White said on Thursday that the reason Tito Ortiz
-- rather than Lyoto Machida -- is fighting Rashad Evans at UFC
133 is simple: Machida demanded a pay raise to take the fight,
while Ortiz was willing to take the fight without renegotiating
his contract first.
White
sounded upset about his dealings with Machida, saying that Machida
has been asking for a fight and initially agreed to take on Evans,
but that his representatives later came back to White and told
him Machida would only take the fight if he got a pay raise to
pay him as much money as UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva
makes.
"Lyoto
Machida has been terrorizing me for a long time for a fight and
saying he wanted a fight," White said, adding that when
he first proposed the Evans bout to Machida, "He accepted
the fight."
But
when White talked to Machida's management, he was told, "If
you pay us Anderson Silva money we'll take this fight."
"I
opted not to pay him Anderson Silva money and told him, 'When
you accomplish all the things Anderson Silva has accomplished,
we'll pay you Anderson Silva money.'"
"Lots
of crazy things happen in this business," White said. "Usually
when stuff like that happens you know the guys it's going to
happen with ... I did not expect that from Lyoto Machida."
Ortiz,
however, was willing to fight Evans without any negotiation.
"Tito
did not ask for any more money," White said. "People
were asking, 'Did he go for more money?' Tito didn't get any
more money. He didn't get anything. He had the same deal, a regular
fight, we called him up and said, 'Tito, this is your next fight.'"
If
Ortiz could do the unthinkable and follow his upset victory over
Ryan Bader with an upset of Evans, White says Ortiz could be
close to challenging for the light heavyweight belt, eight years
after he lost that belt to Randy Couture.
"Tito
is stepping up and he's taking a big fight on short notice, and
I respect that," White said. "It would definitely put
Tito in the mix. I wouldn't say he's necessarily the No. 1 contender
after this fight, but he's Top 3."
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Hayato
‘Mach’ Sakurai Injured, Out of Dream 17 Fight with
Marius Zaromskis
by Ken
Pishna
Dream event producer Keiichi Sasahara on Thursday announced that
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai has had to withdraw from his
proposed non-title bout with Dream welterweight champion Marius
Zaromskis. The two were expected to meet at Sunday’s Dream
17 “Fight for Japan: 2011 Japan Bantamweight Tournament
Final.”
Sasahara stated at a press conference that Sakurai suffered a
leg injury.
Zaromskis, however, will remain on the Dream 17 fight card. Stepping
in to face him is Eiji Ishikawa. They will reportedly meet in
a catch weight bout, although the specific weight was not specified.
Zaromskis (14-6) has had a rough go of it lately with a 1-3-1
record over his past five bouts. The three losses and one no
contest were all outside of the FEG family, including losing
a Strikeforce title bid against then-champion Nick Diaz. He defeated
Kazushi Sakuraba at FEG’s Dynamite!! 2010 New Year’s
Eve event.
Like Zaromskis, Ishikawa (22-16-2) has been fighting for more
than a decade. He has faired much better than Zaromskis recently,
winning seven of his last nine bouts, fighting primarily for
DEEP and Pancrase.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Culture
in Brazil drops its guard for Jiu-Jitsu and MMA
Marcelo
Dunlop
“Fighting
in the octagon is a metaphor for man’s struggle to affirm
his place in the world, to survive, and to be loved,” says
Brazilian movie director Henrique Goldman in an article on the
front page of the culture section in today’s “O Globo”
newspaper.
Now film producer Gláucia Camargos adds: “MMA is
a way to climb the social ladder, like soccer. Underprivileged
people can become champions.”
For these and other takes on MMA’s place in the world, the
newspaper serves up an article by Mauro Ventura entitled “Cinema
de luta” (“Fight Cinema”), which takes a look
at dozens of movies, documentaries and works of fiction about
MMA that have been produced or are planned for production. “MMA
(…) has struck a chord with the Brazilian public and consequently
with film makers,” says Ventura’s piece.
Among the full-length features mentioned is the award-winning
documentary “Like Water”, about Anderson Silva; docudrama
“Minotauro”, about Rodrigo Minotauro; “Os Gracie
e o nascimento do vale-tudo” (The Gracies and the birth
of MMA); the story of José Aldo (fiction); “Rinha”,
about São Paulo’s gambling MMA underworld; “Dias
de luta” (Fighting days), about MMA in Rios favelas; the
life of Fábio Leão, who spent ten years in jail
and found salvation through the martial arts; and Goldman’s
own “O cara” (The Man), about a young fighter and an
old master.
“It’s violence that saves people. They channel their
energy through a healthy path,” says Eduardo Brand, director
of “Dias de luta”.
The cultural interest in Jiu-Jitsu and MMA is not limited to
the cinema. On the list of keynote speakers at Rio de Janeiro’s
prestigious Casa do Saber, amid journalists, sociologists, actresses
and psychoanalysts, the date November 4 is reserved for a guy
with a law degree who knows the origins of the UFC like few do:
its founder, Rorion Gracie.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
A
look at the latest UFC sportsbook favorites & underdogs
By Zach
Arnold
We often rely on the sage wisdom of Nick Kalikas of BetonFighting
to help us traverse through the various lines set for major MMA
fights. It’s no different this time and we’ll take
a look at some of the major lines for upcoming fights and discuss
whether the favorites are too strong or just right.
Fedor (-220) vs. Dan Henderson (+180)
The line has gone down on Fedor as seemingly more money has been
coming in on Henderson. I always believed in Henderson having
a legitimate shot of winning this fight (as opposed to bettors
who believe in ‘betting on value’ which is an oxymoron).
At -220, Fedor is an 11-to-5 favorite (69%) to win. Yes, Henderson
plans on fighting near the 210 pound range, but what have we
seen lately from Fedor to indicate that he should be this strong
of a favorite heading into the fight?
Marloes Coenen (-120) vs. Miesha Tate (+110)
Since it’s a championship fight and that means 5 rounds,
I would expect Coenen to be a higher favorite despite her last
fight with Liz Carmouche. A 6-to-5 favorite is not exactly a
ringing endorsement of her winning by the ‘books.
Rashad Evans (-140) vs. Phil Davis (+115)
The lines on Evans are wildly fluctuating. He was -120 earlier
in the week and now has inched up to -140. A 7-to-5 favorite,
that still puts Rashad as only a 58% favorite against Phil Davis
at 42%. Yes, Rashad has switched up his training camp and is
coming off of a knee injury… and has not been active recently…
but Greg Jackson is right, what Phil Davis does best Rashad does
better. Phil Davis has a high learning curve still on the offensive
end of his game and I definitely see this fight going to a decision.
Vitor Belfort (-280) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (+240)
Despite the brutal KO loss to Anderson Silva, Vitor opens up
as nearly a 3-to-1 favorite here to win. He should win, but this
line is too high for me (if I was a bettor).
If Akiyama loses, is his career in the UFC done?
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (-160) vs. Rich Franklin (+140)
The line for this fight has been tilting towards Rogerio. Rogerio
was at -140 earlier in the week and is now at -160, meaning he’s
a solid 8-to-5 favorite (62%) to Rich Franklin (38%). I still
am not sure why Franklin is such an underdog here. The conventional
wisdom here is that Rogerio will win a decision.
Chad Mendes (-600) vs. Rani Yahya (+400)
Chad goes into this fight as a 6-to-1 favorite (85%). He took
this fight because he didn’t want to wait for Jose Aldo
while Aldo was recovering from injury after his bout at UFC 129
with Mark Hominick.
Any possibility of this being a trap fight for Mendes or is it
(more or less) another decision victory?
Chris Lytle (-120) vs. Dan Hardy (even)
This line surprised me. Hardy’s fighting for his career
here against a guy who should, flat out, beat him. The only way
Lytle loses is if he does the same thing that he did against
Marcus Davis and get into a sloppy C-level kickboxing match.
Lytle as a 6-to-5 favorite?
Jim Miller (-150) vs. Ben Henderson (+125)
Jim Miller has been, seemingly forever, a dream for bettors in
both single bets and parlays. He just wins. He has been the favorite
since day, despite the protests of the estimable Luca Fury who
is completely sold on Henderson winning.
Miller as a 3-to-2 favorite sounds about right.
Anderson Silva (-450) vs. Yushin Okami (+350)
Anderson is a 9-to-2 favorite here (82%) pretty much makes this
a ‘parlay only’ bet.
Mauricio Shogun (-220) vs. Forrest Griffin (+180)
This line has stayed steady throughout the week, but it certainly
got more interesting given recent reports of Forrest needing
to lose a lot of weight in order to get ready to make the weight
cut here. Both guys are flawed deeply, it’s just a matter
of whether or not Shogun is healthy (or as healthy as can be).
Brendan Schaub (-220) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (+180)
Schaub’s line has risen steadily as we get closer to the
fight. As an 11-to-5 favorite (69%), the line on him sounds about
right. Nogueira is talking about how Dana White isn’t God
and can’t retire him. He’s wrong. After Schaub likely
beats him on his home turf, this could very well be the end.
Josh Thomson (-200) vs. Maximo Blanco (+170)
Consider this line based on ‘The Japan Factor” of Blanco
being another foreigner who has ripped through competition in
Japan. Thomson has looked kind of shaky in his last few fights,
so to see him as a 2-to-1 favorite here is a little surprising.
Jon Jones (-380) vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (+300)
Jones as nearly a 4-to-1 favorite to win (79%) is not a big surprise.
It all depends on which Rampage shows up and how motivated he
is. If he couldn’t beat Rashad last year, it’s hard
to see how he’ll beat Jones this time around.
Diego Sanchez (-200) vs. Matt Hughes (+175)
This may be my favorite line to analyze. Sanchez as a 2-to-1
favorite is basically an indictment on where the oddsmakers think
Hughes currently stands. I thought Kampmann beat Diego in their
Louisville fight (despite the fact that Martin didn’t fight
the smartest fight he possibly could). Hughes will be physically
stronger here but certainly slower and I could see Diego outpointing
him. On the ground, will he really be able to submit Matt?
Chael Sonnen (-250) vs. Brian Stann (+200)
Talk about everyone being in Sonnen’s corner here for the
return bout. For a guy of his record & skill set, that’s
a pretty high number (5-to-2 favorite, 72%). Stann is not going
to submit Sonnen, so it likely will go the distance. Given that
it’s Texas, we know the drug testing standards/protocols
there so all’s fair in love & war on that front.
Georges St. Pierre (-370) vs. Nick Diaz (+300)
The line is basically in the same ball park as they always are
for St. Pierre fights against the Jon Fitchs and Josh Koschecks
of the world. St. Pierre as a 79% favorite.
Cain Velasquez (-150) vs. Junior dos Santos (+125)
The $64,000 question here is whether or not Velasquez will be
able to fully recover from the rotator cuff surgery. It’s
a major surgery and recovery time usually takes much longer than
expected. JDS’s best shot here is to try to get Cain in
a slug fest early and get him caught up emotionally (like Brock
Lesnar initially did).
Velasquez as a 60% favorite actually sounds a little low to me
here.
Michael Bisping (-200) vs. Mayhem Miller (+165)
Bisping as a 2-to-1 favorite is not exactly a vote of confidence
for Miller facing a mid-card level fighter in the Middleweight
division.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Lyoto
vs. Rashad “won’t happen”, says Ed Soares
By Guilherme
Cruz
Phil
Davis got hurt and the UFC offered Lyoto Machida the chance to
replace him against Rashad Evans at the UFC 133 main event, but
the rematch probably won’t happen.
On Tuesday night, TATAME spoke with Lyoto’s wife, who told
us he received the offer, but didn’t decide yet to take
it or not. On Wednesday morning, Machida’s manager Ed Soares
told TATAME that the former light heavyweight champion decided
not to take it.
“It won’t happen… I think he doesn’t have
enough time to get ready,” Soares told TATAME. “I’m
at Rio de Janeiro with Jose Aldo, Anderson (Silva) and (Rodrigo)
Minotauro, do Joinha (Jorge Guimarães) is dealing with
this negotiations, but, from what I know, it won’t happen”.
TATAME called Guiamarães and Lyoto, but could reach them
at the moment. Stay tuned for more news.
Source:
Tatame
|
Injured
Phil Davis Still Wanted to Go Through With Rashad Evans Fight
By Mike
Chiappetta
The
UFC found out about Phil Davis' knee injury last week, and soon
broke the glass on its emergency backup plans. Even before they
knew the extent of Davis' knee problems, they reached out to
two fighters about possibly replacing him. One of them -- Lyoto
Machida -- said yes, then changed his mind. The other -- Tito
Ortiz -- said no, then agreed to step in.
But
according to UFC president Dana White, all of it wouldn't have
been necessary if it was up to Davis, who wanted to remain in
the UFC 133 main event against Rashad Evans regardless of his
knee issues.
"Let
me tell you this: Phil Davis 100 percent still wanted this fight,"
he said. "And I'm like, there's no way, kid."
White
said the injury, the extent of which was later revealed in an
MRI, would not allow Davis to kickbox for nearly three weeks.
While he was able to do some training, White pulled him from
the match for a pair of reasons.
"What
if he starts full training again and fully blows it out and gets
hurt?," he said. "Now, he's going to be out for God
knows how long, and we just lost the main event a week before
the fight."
The
other factor was Davis' youth in the game. The 26-year-old is
a perfect 9-0, and White saw no reason to put him in an important,
high-pressure match when he was nowhere close to being full strength.
"Why
would I want to do that to a young, up-and-coming kid?"
he said.
White
could not recall the exact injury diagnosis, but said it was
either a sprain or strain that wouldn't sideline Davis long.
And when Davis returns, it will be in a similar situation as
the one he just left. According to White, Davis can expect his
next bout to be against a top 10 light-heavyweight.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Phil
Davis Injured, Out of UFC 133 Main Event
by Mike
Whitman
Phil Davis has suffered an injury and has been forced to withdraw
from his UFC 133 light heavyweight headliner against Rashad Evans.
MMAFighting.com
reported the news Tuesday, and UFC President Dana White has since
confirmed Davis’ withdrawal. This marks the second time
Evans has been left without an opponent, as “Suga”
was initially slated to face former training partner Jon Jones
for the light heavyweight title at the Aug. 6 event before Jones
withdrew with an injury.
The
search for a replacement opponent for Evans is currently underway.
Former champion Lyoto Machida has reportedly been contacted to
fill Davis’ shoes.
Featuring
a light heavyweight confrontation between former Pride Fighting
Championships star Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and onetime UFC middleweight
king Rich Franklin, UFC 133 will emanate from Wells Fargo Center
in Philadelphia.
A
former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion, Davis has
yet to taste defeat as a mixed martial artist. The 26-year-old
has racked up a 5-0 record in the Octagon, most recently outpointing
Nogueira at UFC Fight Night 24 in March.
Evans,
31, has been bested only once as a professional, losing the UFC
light heavyweight title to Machida in his first title defense.
Since that 2009 knockout defeat, Evans has won back-to-back contest,
outpointing Thiago Silva and Quinton Jackson in 2010.
Source
Sherdog
|
Andrei
Arlovski and Mark Ellis Officially Signed; Signals New Approach
for Pro Elite
by Damon
Martin
Call it Pro Elite 2.0. Call it a new and improved version. Call
it whatever you want, but the new version of Pro Elite is up
and running and signing fighters for their return show in August.
The organization that once promoted Elite XC, which landed on
both Showtime and CBS, is now under new leadership and they are
putting the finishing touches on the business model that will
lead them in a new direction.
Director of Fight Operations T. Jay Thompson knows a lot about
building a fight promotion from the ground up.
From his days in Hawaii running Superbrawl which then turned
into ICON, Thompson helped mold and shape many young fighter’s
careers as well as veterans looking to build themselves back
up.
It’s that very business model that Thompson along with fellow
executive Rich Chou are doing with their first two major signings
confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Thursday.
As previously speculated, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei
Arlovski has signed a deal to compete for Pro Elite and will
be headlining the first fight card on Aug 27 in Hawaii.
Arlovski has fallen on tough times of late, dropping four fights
in a row, but with his training now fully integrated at Greg
Jackson’s gym in New Mexico, the Belarus native will look
for a rebirth of sorts when he debuts with Pro Elite next month.
The other signing Thompson confirmed has the pedigree of a champion,
even though he hasn’t stepped foot in the cage for a professional
fight yet.
NCAA heavyweight champion wrestler Mark Ellis has signed a multi-fight
deal with Pro Elite to compete for the promotion, and will make
his professional debut in August.
Why is Ellis, a 0-0 fighter, so special as a signee for Pro Elite?
Ellis signed on with the American Kickboxing Academy last year,
and began working alongside fighters like UFC heavyweight champion
Cain Velasquez and current Strikeforce contender Daniel Cormier.
Serving as a major training partner for Velasquez as he got ready
for Brock Lesnar, as well as assisting other teammates, Ellis
is expected to be the next heavyweight stand out produced from
the AKA system.
“Bringing in a mix of veterans and young fighters are exactly
how we want to build Pro Elite,” Thompson said. “Watching
Andrei Arlovski work his way back to the top, and then seeing
a young guy like Mark Ellis develop into a potential star, it’s
going to be great to see how this all develops.”
It’s a proven formula that Thompson has seen unfold before.
He helped develop the career a young Jason ‘Mayhem’
Miller, and then helped resurrect fighters like Robbie Lawler
and Frank Trigg after their time ended in the UFC.
Thompson knows the formula can work again and he’s banking
on Arlovski and Mark Ellis as the first two pieces to this puzzle
now called Pro Elite.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Bas
Rutten’s had enough of lousy officiating & TRT usage
by steroiders in MMA
By Zach
Arnold
OVINCE ST. PREUX:“I mean, when I was playing football some
type of guys were on some type of supplements just to give them
that extra edge. Everybody wants that extra edge. I mean, with
football, if you’re with the third team or second team and
you know this guy right here’s is first team and what separates
you between him and you, you need that extra edge and once you
get that extra edge it kind of help you a lot. Unfortunately,
in a situation like that, I mean in the long run it’s going
to hurt you, in the short term it’s not. So, a lot of times
you end up getting caught. I know with football I know what they
do a lot is do random drug testing, which is they show up and,
hey, you got to take a drug test.”
KENNY RICE:“And they regulate it more in college football
than in any of the MMA world.”
FRANK TRIGG:“Well, it’s different, too, in college
football because you’re basically… this is going to
sound bad the way it comes out of my mouth… You’re
basically owned by the university that you play for, if they
give you a scholarship to play…”
KENNY RICE:“You’re not owned by the UFC when you’re
in the UFC?”
FRANK TRIGG:“But remember, you’re not at the dorm,
you’re not living at campus. They don’t know where
you’re at 24 hours a day.”
KENNY RICE:“In MMA, you can say one thing in any organization
and be booted. In college football, you could take a stand and
they say freedom of speech, they may reprimand you.”
FRANK TRIGG:“True, true, you know, but it’s still…
it’s easier in college football because they know what dorm
you’re staying at. They know where he was, every moment
of the day. They don’t know where I am every moment of the
day.”
KENNY RICE:“Nobody does.”
OVINCE ST. PREUX:“Basically you get a phone call from the
training room and be like, ‘Ovince, we need you down in
the training room.’ ‘For what?’ You come down,
you got to take a drug test.”
KENNY RICE:“Does it come down to what Bas said last week,
you know, he never had any worries about this because he ate
food and drank water. And that was kind of the end of the story.”
BAS RUTTEN:“Plus, I feel good about myself. The moment you’re
taking it, you’re weak in the mind, that’s what I’m
saying. If it’s up to you that you have to take all that
shit, that’s what I call it, to compete with the other ones,
then don’t compete. Know your fight.”
DENNIS HALLMAN:“Hey Bas, what if you’re weak in the
body?”
BAS RUTTEN:“If you’re weak in the body?”
DENNIS HALLMAN:“Like… first, you have to be educated
and understand…”
BAS RUTTEN:“Oh, so, we have the doctor on the thing and
the low testosterone that it comes from prior use, that’s
what you mean?”
DENNIS HALLMAN:“No, no, no. Okay, testosterone is metabolized
from cholesterol, okay, cholesterol is made in your small intestines
and your liver. Okay, say you have an intestinal disease like
I have, celiac, and now your body is not producing the right
cholesterol which metabolizes into Pregnenolone, which will then
metabolize into your hormones and now you have low hormones because
you have an intestinal disease. Does that mean that you’re
weak in the mind or does it mean you’re weak in the body?”
BAS RUTTEN:“What I said on this show is if you’re taking
it for an injury, it’s cool. If you’re lower testosterone
and you want to be average, that’s cool. If you take it
for performance-enhancing drugs, you’re a loser. That’s
what I’m saying. You see a lot of guys doing it and then
they get armbarred or choked. It doesn’t improve your techniques.
It doesn’t improve, for me it shows the bigger they are…
When I was fighting in Japan, the bigger they are they say for
me it shows weakness. For me it shows, oh, this guy is not happy
with himself and that’s why he’s doing it.”
DENNIS HALLMAN:“So, we should have two standards then, the
people that are on Hormone Replacement Therapy and then the people
that are taking steroids illegally.”
BAS RUTTEN:“I say just don’t cross the line. I think
that Nate Marquardt crossed the line because he did it, he took
the choice to do it and he wrecks up a main event, that’s
a serious thing. Not if you’re a lower card guy, then I
say, okay, if you do it, do it and don’t get caught. But
that’s what I’m saying, you got to do Olympic testing.
Go test in between also, do the HRT, let them make sure that
you never get over that certain amount for testing.”
DENNIS HALLMAN:“If you’re on HRT, you should get tested
every six weeks. If you have a legitimate doctor, then you’re
tested every 6-8 weeks for your hormone levels to make sure that
your hormones, your body could be producing hormones again by
themselves, you don’t know the extent of the damage to your
body.”
As a bonus, here’s Kenny Rice talking about how bad the
state of MMA officiating is. So bad, as he puts it, that fighters
‘can be shooting up in the corner’ and nobody cares.
He’s referring to an online MMA Junkie poll on the matter.
KENNY RICE:“I mean, three out of four people say it’s
officiating and judging, that’s some serious stuff.”
BAS RUTTEN:“It is serious and it is true, you know, they
should put the paychecks higher, let ex-fighters judge because
they can’t do it right now is because they don’t make
anything.”
KENNY RICE:“There’s nothing to gain in there, is it?
There’s nothing to gain out there.”
BAS RUTTEN:“It’s like being a cop, you know, those
people deserve more money.”
KENNY RICE:“I say it’s going to take this, it’s
going to take another 4-5 years down the road maybe when one
of you guys decide to retire and say, this is what I’m going
to do possibly and where you get more guys who have actually
competed where you don’t have the boxing background guy
or the wrestling background guy but the MMA background guy that’s
going to be sitting there judging the fights. It may be a while
off but I don’t know, what other solution can anybody come
up with immediately?”
DENNIS HALLMAN:“Well, in my state, you’re allowed to
be a fighter. I’m a licensed judge and referee and inspector,
I just can’t judge or referee anybody that I have anything
to do with in training or been affiliated with, so that helps
a lot. But for up-and-coming fighters, you know, it lets them
have a experienced judge or referee. I think the biggest problem
is you got these judges that make horrendous decisions and then
they can continually get put back in there judging fights over
and over.”
KENNY RICE:“Do they have anybody on deck, though? That’s
what I wonder. I don’t know how competitive is it out there
where somebody says, you know, I can do better, I want to be
the next judge? I mean, who’s out there? Bas is making movies,
Frank is doing commentating for us and fighting as well, Ovince
is busy with his career, Dennis is busy with his career.”
FRANK TRIGG:“I agree with you, Kenny, it’s going to
be one of us having to retire and go, look, we’re going
to step into the judging and, you know, someone who’s got
a legit, full-time background in MMA to become a judge and kind
of clean it up, not clean it up but make it better, improve it.
You know, Keith Kizer of Nevada is doing the best job he can
with what he has and he stands behind all his judges, stands
behind all his refs because he really tries with what he’s
got but what you got is what you got, you’re right, there’s
no one in the wings waiting to come in and step in and once you
get a better guy, people are going to start asking for, hey,
I need Bas Rutten as my judge, this is the guy, I want him as
my judge and people start requesting him, then other people start
coming in as well. But it’s not going to be (at least) 4-5
years…”
Source:
Fight Opinion
|
Robbery
of the Half-Year: Nick Ring vs. Riki Fukuda
Nothing seems to get a fight fan more riled up than an unjust
decision, and perhaps rightfully so, considering there's so much
on the line between whose hand is raised and whose isn't.
There
are times when fights are close and any objective witness are
hard-pressed to single out a winner. Those results are understandable.
For "Robbery of the Half-Year," we'll look at the the
top cases where there's a clear victor in a fight -- and somehow
he's not the one walking out of the cage with a W.
No.
1: Nick Ring beats Riki Fukuda via unanimous decision
How the judges scored it: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 for Ring
How FightMetric scored it: 30-27 for Fukuda
One
of the criticisms of MMA judging is the high value of takedowns
even if it leads to little offense. In a rare exception to the
observation, Riki Fukuda lost to Nick Ring despite completing
five-plus takedowns (FightMetric counted six, CompuStrike five)
to Ring's zero. But takedowns withstanding, Fukuda on a round-by-round
basis also landed more damaging strikes and only fell short to
Ring when it came to leg kicks. The first round was close enough
you can make a case for Ring, but should have at least taken
this fight two rounds to one.
Runner-Up:
Gegard Mousasi and Keith Jardine fight to a majority draw
How the judges scored it: 28-28 draw, 28-28 draw, 29-27 Mousasi
How FightMetric scored it: 29-27 Mousasi after the point deduction
While
Keith Jardine should be applauded for fighting his heart out
on a week's notice against a prime Gegard Mousasi, this was a
fight Mousasi should have won. Mousasi battered Jardine with
superior striking through three rounds, leaving the former UFC
contender's face in a bloody mess. And according to the stats,
Mousasi outscored Jardine in total strikes 58 to 3 on FightMetric
and 45-20 on CompuStrike. Mousasi's weakness was once again his
takedown defense, but there was little damage done when Jardine
was on top. Two of the judges gave Mousasi two of three rounds,
but since Mousasi was deducted a point in the first for an illegal
upkick, those two scores were turned in as 28-28s. Mousasi arguably
should have won all three rounds as one of the judges scored
it. What separates this particular from the other bad decisions
though is that Mousasi may have been "robbed" of a
win, but at least he wasn't handed a loss either.
Tough
Calls
While
compiling "bad" decision candidates for this list,
there were several fights that on repeated viewings didn't turn
out to be the "robberies" that one may initially see
them as.
Joe
Warren beats Marcos Galvao via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28,
30-27)
Joe Warren is no stranger to close decisions, but none was more
controversial than his decision win over Marcos Galvao in a catchweight
bout. Galvao stuffed takedowns and even took top position against
the wrestler in the first round. The first round was all Galvao,
and so was the second, arguably. The final round was definitely
Warren's, so it really came down to the close second round. Looking
at the CompuStrike numbers after the fight, Warren actually landed
more even though it might have seemed Galvao was winning the
standup battle. With that said, one of the judges scored it 30-27
Warren, which is mind-boggling.
Darren
Elkins beats Michiro Omigawa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28,
30-27)
Maybe the universe balancing itself out for Michihiro Omigawa's
win over Hatsu Hioki at Sengoku 11, but Omigawa arguably deserved
the nod over Elkins at UFC 131. Fans in attendance and UFC president
Dana White were immediately outraged when Elkins was announced
as the winner. To the judges' defense, the first two rounds are
closer under repeated viewings. According to FightMetric, Elkins
landed more total strikes, even though Omigawa landed more significant
ones, but you can at least see why the judges gave the first
two rounds to Elkins. The one explicable scorecard was judge
Dave Hagen's 10-9 for Elkins in the third round. That one was
clearly Omigawa's and the final stanza probably played a part
in the cries for robbery from how dominant Omigawa was in the
final minutes.
Diego
Sanchez def. Martin Kampmann (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Just by looking at the before and after pictures, Kampmann was
the winner of the fight, but we're not judging a beauty contest
here. When it comes to statistics, although the two statistical
providers' numbers don't always match, both FightMetric and CompuStrike
gave this Fight of the Year candidate to Kampmann. To Sanchez's
credit, he fought his heart out and his best round was the third
and final one. In the first round, Sanchez was completely dominated
on the feet and Kampmann stuffed takedown after takedown, but
taking a closer look at the last two rounds, you can at least
see why the judges gave it to Sanchez even if you felt Kampmann
deserved the nod. Interesting to note, although UFC president
Dana White cried foul after the Ring-Fukuda and Elkins-Omigawa
fight, he was fine with Sanchez's win.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
MMA
Top 10 Middleweights: Sonnen Is Back, Wanderlei Is Gone
The last time we ranked the middleweights in mixed martial arts,
Wanderlei Silva appeared to be near title contention, and Chael
Sonnen's future looked murky. That was less than a month ago,
but things change quickly in this sport.
Now
Silva appears to be at the end of the line, and Sonnen will be
getting back into the Octagon soon.
Silva
is nowhere to be seen in my latest middleweight rankings after
his knockout loss to Chris Leben at UFC 132, and UFC President
Dana White has said he thinks Silva is finished completely. Meanwhile,
the California State Athletic Commission says it's OK for Sonnen
to start fighting again, and Sonnen's return has been scheduled.
Our
latest rankings, with Sonnen in a strong position and Silva off
the list, are below.
Top
10 Middleweights in MMA
(Editor's note: The individual fighter's ranking the last time
we did middleweights are in parentheses.)
1.
Anderson Silva (1): The best fighter on the planet returns to
fight in his native Brazil for the first time in almost eight
years when he takes on Yushin Okami at UFC 134.
2.
Chael Sonnen (2): With his California suspension behind him,
Sonnen is now free to fight again, and he's booked to fight Brian
Stann next. Whatever else Sonnen does, the UFC would love to
see him win his comeback fight so it can book him in a rematch
with Anderson Silva.
3.
Vitor Belfort (3): Belfort gets Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 133
in August as he tries to bounce back from his UFC 126 loss to
Anderson Silva. Akiyama is a solid opponent, but one Belfort
should beat comfortably.
4.
Yushin Okami (4): Okami could shock the world and completely
shake up the middleweight division with an upset of Silva in
Brazil, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who actually
believes that's going to happen. Much more likely is that Silva
will get his revenge on Okami, who won by controversial disqualification
when these two fought in 2006.
5.
Mark Munoz (5): Munoz earned by far the biggest win of his MMA
career when he beat Demian Maia, and it may be time to start
wondering if he's capable of being a future title contender.
Since dropping down to middleweight two years ago, Munoz has
gone 6-1, with the only loss coming by split decision to Okami.
6.
Demian Maia (6): A Maia-Sonnen rematch could make a lot of sense.
Maia submitted Sonnen in the first round of their 2009 fight,
and a rematch would be just the kind of test that would force
Sonnen to prove he has improved his submission defense.
7.
Brian Stann (7): Stann is 3-0 since moving down to middleweight
and may be getting close to title contention himself. He's a
natural fit for Sonnen's comeback fight: They're both among the
sport's elite middleweights and it's an easy fight to market
because Stann relishes the role of hero, while Sonnen relishes
the role of villain.
8.
Chris Leben (NR): The headlines coming out of UFC 132 were more
about Wanderlei losing than about Leben winning, and that strikes
me as a little unfair. Leben has won four of his last five fights,
and all four wins have been decisive. He's a real force in the
middleweight division.
9.
Ronaldo Souza (8): Jacare's problem is the same as the problem
for virtually every fighter outside the UFC: In order to be considered
one of the best fighters in the world, you have to beat high-quality
opponents. But in Strikeforce, there aren't many high-quality
opponents for Jacare to fight. Jacare is expected to defend his
Strikeforce middleweight title against Luke Rockhold -- who's
not even in the Top 25, let alone the Top 10 -- in September.
10.
Michael Bisping (10): Bisping will coach against Jason "Mayhem"
Miller on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, then fight
Miller in December. This may be Bisping's last, best chance to
prove he's worthy of fighting for the middleweight title some
day.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Future
of women’s fighting uncertain under Zuffa
Two
summers ago, a fight between Gina Carano and Cristiane “Cyborg”
Santos appeared to answer any questions about the long-term future
of women’s mixed martial arts.
A
Strikeforce event in San Jose, Calif. on Aug. 15, 2009, advertised
as the first time women had ever headlined a combat sport on
premium cable, drew 13,524 fans, still the fourth-largest paid
crowd for a non-Zuffa produced event in North American history,
and largest for any show not headlined by Frank Shamrock.
Ratings
for the event were through the roof. It is still the highest-rated
overall MMA show (a 2.17 rating) and second-highest-rated fight
itself (2.91) ever on Showtime, trailing only February’s
Fedor Emelianenko-Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva bout. On
the night of the fight, Carano-Santos was the most talked about
subject on Twitter, the most-searched item on Yahoo! and second-most
searched on Google.
Carano-Santos
was the culmination of a run, largely based on the popularity
of Carano, and the importance of making the right first impression.
Strikeforce
was the first major promotion to feature a women’s fight
in the U.S., a Carano vs. Elaina Maxwell fight that tore the
house down in San Jose in 2006.
When
Showtime got into the MMA business in 2007 with Elite XC, its
promotional head, Gary Shaw, felt Carano could be one of the
company’s building blocks. At the time, as funny as this
sounds today, just broadcasting MMA on television was controversial
enough, and the idea of women fighting in a cage was something
Showtime, at first, wanted no part of, and her fight was scheduled
for the untelevised undercard.
Shaw
had to beg and plead, and eventually an agreement was made that
Carano would get one chance on television. If it didn’t
work, Shaw was never to bring up the subject again. Carano and
Julie Kedzie stole the show in an emotional three-round fight,
and women’s fighting became a fixture everywhere except
Zuffa, parent company of the UFC.
Two
years later, not only has women’s MMA never come close to
the level it reached with Carano vs. “Cyborg,” but
a series of events has led to many questions as to its future
under the national spotlight.
Three
major factors are involved:
•
The first and most important was the purchase of Strikeforce
on March 10 by Zuffa, the dominant MMA company in the world,
and one that has never promoted a women’s fight. UFC president
Dana White’s opinion on women’s fighting has evolved
over the years. At first, when rival promotions featured women,
he responded that he didn’t like the idea of women fighting,
and that he didn’t feel like fighting of any kind was a
sport for women. As Carano’s fights proved to be big hits
with the public on Showtime and CBS, he softened his stance,
stating that there were some very good women fighters, but simply
not enough of them. The UFC’s model is for a full complement
of weight classes separate divisions there aren’t enough
quality fighters.
When
XC went out of business, Zuffa did try and land Carano, due to
her ratings drawing ability, and thus was willing to feature
women’s MMA at one point in the since-folded WEC. After
Carano went with Strikeforce, there never appeared to be any
interest from Zuffa in women’s fighting.
Miesha
Tate, 24, has a chance to become Carano’s heir apparent
as the face of the women’s sport if she can beat welterweight
(135-pound weight class) champion Marloes Coenen on July 30 at
the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill. When she woke up to
the March news that UFC bought Strikeforce, she quickly recognized
how significant it was for her side of the sport.
“I
thought it was a joke,” said Tate about when she was first
told the news. “I wanted to check my calendar to see if
it was April 1. I was caught completely off-guard. Once I realized
it was reality, obviously I had some concerns about the future
of women’s MMA. I can’t say worrying is going to change
anything. If Dana and [co-owner] Lorenzo [Fertitta] and Zuffa
decide not to have it, me stressing isn’t going to make
a difference. I have to put on a performance that will convince
them that women’s MMA is valuable and worth keeping around.”
•
The second factor is the departure of Carano, who has not fought
since facing Santos. While Santos proved to be the better fighter
in that match, becoming Strikeforce’s first recognized world
champion with a first-round TKO, it was clear going in and coming
out that the popularity and growth of the sport was due to Carano,
who has both a model’s looks and had proven her mettle through
grueling battles in the cage. Santos, as champion, has fought
twice since then, and neither fight garnered even a fraction
of the interest the Carano fight did.
Carano
had a movie, “Haywire,” produced by Steven Soderbergh,
built around her as the lead featuring a cast of Hollywood heavyweights
such as Michael Douglas, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor, Bill
Paxton and Antonio Banderas. She was scheduled to return in June,
suffered a mysterious medical issue and pulled out. According
to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, there is nothing new to report
on her since.
•
Finally, Santos has also not fought in more than a year, and
has no fights on the agenda due to a contract dispute. Essentially,
Santos, having beaten Carano, was looking to be paid in the $125,000
per-fight range Carano earns. Santos made $35,000 in her last
fight, a June 28, 2010, win in a fight so one-sided it became
almost hard to watch at times, against Jan Finney.
“Negotiations
are still going on,” said Coker regarding Santos, who indicated
he didn’t believe talks were dead, but they’ve been
at an impasse for several months. “Her understanding and
our understanding is a little different.”
With
Santos out of the picture, Coker has shifted focus from the 145-pound
weight class to 135. The Coenen vs. Tate fight, a five-rounder,
is being promoted as the No. 2 fight on the Showtime broadcast
headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson.
A
former high school wrestler in Olympia, Wash., the 11-2 Tate
moved to Sacramento to train with Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha
Male camp, citing the positives of training with the best male
fighters in the world that are in her weight class.
“It’s
huge. I think this fight has a lot riding on it you could say,”
she said between her workouts earlier this week. “That’s
why I hope Marloes comes in just as ready as I am. As much as
I’d like to knock her out in 10 seconds, for the big picture,
I’d like for us to battle it out and let people see what
women’s MMA is all about. I’m looking to raise the
bar.”
Women
will be a fixture as long as the Strikeforce brand remains on
Showtime. There have been two instances in the past year where
a women’s fight was put on in the second-from-top position
on a show, and ended up drawing higher ratings than the more
publicized men’s main event. That’s not likely to be
repeated on a show with Fedor vs. Henderson as the headliner.
Long-term,
its survival is going to depend on whether White and the other
key decision makers in Zuffa see it as something viable to promote.
“I
think that generally speaking, the head honchos of UFC are not
as gung-ho on women’s MMA, not as big supporters and it’s
going to take a little bit of work on our part,” said Tate.
“But I also feel like they’re also going to be paying
more attention. Before, I don’t think they did.
“Dana
was relatively ignorant to women’s MMA. He said he watched
one fight, a total mismatch, and it left a sour taste and didn’t
give it the time of day. I don’t think that was fair. I’m
hoping that now they will be more observant, watch Marloes and
I fight, and see that we’re entertaining, we’re skillful,
we’re powerful, and we can make them money. They’re
smart businessmen and they’ll understand that and want to
keep us around.” While technically Julia Budd’s split-decision
win Germaine de Randamie on June 24 in Kent, Wash., on a minor
Strikeforce Challengers show, would have been the first women’s
fight under the Zuffa umbrella, Coenen vs. Tate is the first
one under any kind of a real spotlight. And its importance can’t
be overestimated, because the history of women’s fighting
has been about being given one chance and making that right first
impression.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Tito
loves Dana: MMA’s favorite marriage continues, what’s
next for Ortiz?
There's
nothing better than the special bond between boss and employee.
Dana White and Tito Ortiz are proof of that. The UFC president
was looking forward to a clean separation, but Tito spoiled the
party with his upset of Ryan Bader at UFC 132.
Going
back to the postfight press conference at UFC 84, it's simply
amazing that the Tito-Dana marriage is going to continue. Remember,
that was night Ortiz was nearly denied access to the room. Las
Vegas Metro Police were standing by in case some insane unfolded.
Tito, girlfriend Jenna Jameson, broke into the room before White
arrived. What ensued was a legendary sniping session between
boss and employee. Tito probably didn't help his cause by wearing
a "mean" t-shirt to the weigh-in.
Ortiz
lost two more fights after the Machida defeat, but won with his
back against the wall. Judging by the reaction from the fans
at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Ortiz certainly has
to be re-signed, but you have to wonder if there's any shot at
a smooth negotiation. Boss and employee buried that hatchet at
the UFC 132 postfight press conference.
Source:
Yahoo Sports
|
Half-Year
in Review: 2011's UFC Stats, Facts & Figures
With 36 days between UFC events, these are the dog days of summer
for many fight fans who anxiously await their next fix. The long
break, however, give us plenty of time to look back on what's
happened so far in the MMA world.
In
just over six months, we've already experienced quite a bit.
We've watched the rise of Jon Jones, accepted the retirement
of Randy Couture, witnessed Tito Ortiz resurrect a career on
life support, and marveled at the biggest event in UFC history.
Some
of those highlights, and a few lowlights are presented here in
a look at 2011's statistics, facts and figures thus far.
(Note:
All stats are through UFC 132 on July 2)
Finishing
Rates
147 - Total fights
75 - Decisions
70 - Finishes (48.3% finishing rate)
45 - Knockouts/TKOs
25 - Submissions
2 - Draws
2 - No Contests
Class
Warfare
76.9% - Finishing rate in heavyweight fights (10 out of 13)
65% - Finishing rate in middleweight fights (13 out of 20)
62.5% - Finishing rate in light-heavyweight fights (10 out of
16)
48.5% - Finishing rate in lightweight fights (16 out of 33)
47.4% - Finishing rate in featherweight fights (9 out of 19)
30.8% - Finishing rate in welterweight fights (8 out of 26)
23.5% - Finishing rate in bantamweight fights (4 out of 17)
0% - Finishing rate in catchweight fights (0 out of 1)
Age
Warfare
Youngest to compete in 2011 - Michael McDonald at Fight Night:
Nogueria vs. Davis (20 years, 2 months, 11 days)
Youngest to win in 2011 - McDonald, who defeated Edwin Figueroa
at Fight Night: Nogueria vs. Davis
Oldest to compete in 2011 - Randy Couture at UFC 129 (47 years,
10 months, 8 days)
Oldest to win in 2011 - Vladimir Matyushenko, who defeated Jason
Brilz at UFC 129 (40 years, 3 months, 26 days)
From
Champions to Rookies
4-1-1 - Record of UFC champions fighting in 2011
15-14-1 - Record of former UFC, WEC, Strikeforce & PRIDE
champions fighting in 2011
9 - Wins by fighters competing under Zuffa banner for 1st time
21 - Losses by fighters competing under Zuffa banner for 1st
time
2 - Debuting Zuffa fighters to defeat Zuffa veterans (Chris Weidman
& Brian Ebersole)
Gates
& Attendance
13 - Events
185,786 - Total Attendance
$33,829,515 - Total gate receipts
55,724 - Largest attendance of 2011 so far, at UFC 129
2,053 - Smallest attendance of 2011 so far, at TUF 13 Finale
Time
& Distance
20 - Time in seconds of fastest KO of 2011 (Vladimir Matyushenko
over Jason Brilz)
48 - Time in seconds of fastest submission win of 2011 (Zhang
Tie Quan over Jason Reinhardt via guillotine)
3:33, Rd. 3 - Latest submission win of 2011 (Nick Ring over James
Head via rear naked choke)
3:44, Rd. 3 - Latest KO win of 2011 (Brendan Schaub over Mirko
Cro Cop)
1,726 - Days elapsed between UFC wins for Tito Ortiz before defeating
Ryan Bader at UFC 132
Odds
& Ends
• Despite his dry spell, Ortiz doesn't have the longest
time between wins in UFC history. That record belongs to Dan
Henderson, who went 3,767 days between wins at UFC 17 and UFC
88
• There's been only 1 catchweight fight in 2011 (Nick Catone
def. Constantinos Philippou at UFC 128)
• On March 26, 2011, Chan Sung Jung pulled off the first
successful Twister submission in UFC history, forcing Leonard
Garcia to tap out
• Three fighters have scored 2 knockouts apiece in 2011:
Brian Stann, Melvin Guillard and Matt Mitrione
• Ryan Bader is the only fighter to be stopped twice in
2011, both via submission
• Mike Brown lost twice in a 21-day span, dropping decisions
at UFC 125 on Jan. 1 and Fight for the Troops 2 on Jan. 22
• Daniel Roberts is the only UFC fighter to compete three
times in 2011; he's 1-2
• UFC 129's $12,075,000 gate accounts for 35.7% of UFC's
gate receipts for the entire year
• The rear naked choke has been the most popular submission
finisher of 2011, closing out 9 fights; the guillotine is just
behind with 8 finishes
• 42 out of 147 fights ended in the first round (28.6 percent);
only 28 were finished in the second and third rounds combined
• With his win at UFC 129, Georges St-Pierre earned his
16th career octagon victory, tied with Chuck Liddell and Randy
Couture for second all-time (Matt Hughes has the most, at 18)
• With his win at UFC 126, Anderson Silva won his 13th straight
UFC fight, extending his own record. Royce Gracie is second with
an 11-fight win streak
• With his next fight, Tito Ortiz will grace the UFC octagon
for the 25th time, which will be a new record. He is currently
tied with Hughes and Couture.
• In losing at UFC 127, Chris Lytle tied Tank Abbott for
most losses in UFC history with 10
• In losing at UFC 129, Randy Couture was stopped via KO
or TKO for the sixth time, one more than fellow former champions
Chuck Liddell and Evan Tanner for most all-time
• There have only been two draws in UFC championship fight
history. Both have come in the lightweight division (Penn vs.
Uno, UFC 41 & Edgar vs. Maynard, UFC 125)
UFC
129
An event so big, it deserves its own "By the numbers."
Here's what we got...
55,724 - Official attendance
$12.075 million - Gate, in U.S. dollars
$11.5 million - Gate, in Canadian dollars
850,000 - estimated pay-per-view buys
$129,000 - nightly bonuses, awarded to Lyoto Machida (knockout),
Pablo Garza (submission), and Jose Aldo & Mark Hominick (Fight
of the Night)
12 - matches
7 - matches finished by KO or submission
6 - consecutive title defenses by Georges St-Pierre
47 - age of oldest fighter, Randy Couture
21 - age of youngest fighter, Rory MacDonald
21 - cameras used in the broadcast (14 usually used)
38 - semi-trucks used by Zuffa for location setup (usually 5)
329 - rigging points in Rogers Centre setup (usually around 70)
1.4 million - kilowatt stereo system in Rogers Centre (usually
400,000 kilowatts)
14 - arena viewing screens (usually 6)
8 - broadcast trucks (usually 3)
85 - size in feet of replay screen erected in Rogers Centre by
UFC
33 - Final number of consecutive rounds won by St-Pierre, a record
streak snapped when challenger Jake Shields won the fourth
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
MMA
Top 10 Lightweights: Melvin Guillard Makes a Statement
Guillard punches Roller at UFC 132.Three years ago, the UFC decided
to give Melvin Guillard a second chance. To say he's made the
most of it would be an understatement.
Guillard
returned to the UFC in July of 2008 after having been released
by the promotion after an 0-2 record in 2007. Guillard won his
UFC return by knocking out Dennis Siver in just 36 seconds (an
impressive win that looks even more impressive in hindsight,
given how well Siver has fought since then), and he's gone on
a great run since then, winning seven of his last eight UFC fights,
including a first-round knockout victory over Shane Roller at
UFC 132.
The
UFC's lightweight division is a shark tank, and there are several
good fighters in line for a title shot. But Guillard has at least
shown in the last three years that he deserves a place in that
line. Find out exactly where his place is below.
Top
10 Lightweights in MMA
(Editor's
Note: The fighter's rankings the last time we ranked the lightweights
are in parentheses.)
1.
Frank Edgar (1): Edgar has now been at the top of the lightweight
division for more than a year, but there's a bottleneck at the
top because of rematches and injuries: Edgar beat B.J. Penn,
then won a rematch, then drew with Gray Maynard and is now awaiting
a rematch. There's still no word on when Edgar and Maynard will
settle things, which means there's still no word on when we'll
get to see some fresh title fights in the lightweight division.
2.
Gray Maynard (2): The third fight of the Maynard-Edgar trilogy
is one of the most anticipated fights in all of MMA right now,
but it's hard not to worry that the long layoff for both fighters
since their New Year's Day meeting could make them both rusty
when they finally step into the Octagon again.
3.
Gilbert Melendez (3): The Strikeforce champion would love to
follow Nick Diaz into the UFC. Melendez would make a lot of sense
as the next opponent for the Edgar-Maynard winner, but we might
have to settle for seeing Melendez defend the Strikeforce belt
against Jorge Masvidal.
4.
Shinya Aoki (5): Aoki has now won five straight MMA fights since
losing to Melendez last year in Strikeforce, but there aren't
many high-level opponents remaining for him in Japan. It would
be great to see Aoki in the UFC, but that doesn't look likely.
5.
Jim Miller (6): If Miller beats Ben Henderson in August, he's
supposed to get the next title shot. But given the slow pace
of news on the Edgar-Maynard 3 front, Miller might be waiting
a long time.
6.
Clay Guida (9): His impressive win over Pettis has firmly established
Guida as one of the top lightweights in the world. The best-case
scenario for both the fans and the fighters would be a deal to
put Guida in the cage with Melendez, with the Strikeforce title
on the line. Few fans remember this anymore, but Guida was the
Strikeforce lightweight champion in 2006, and he lost the belt
by split decision to Melendez. That rematch would be a lot of
fun.
7.
Eddie Alvarez (7): Alvarez continues to win in Bellator and look
good doing it, but until he faces better competition it's going
to be tough for him to move up in the rankings. Alvarez will
next defend his Bellator lightweight title against Michael Chandler,
who's a solid young fighter but nowhere near the kind of opponent
that the top lightweights in the UFC are facing.
8.
Melvin Guillard (NR): Guillard has been around so long and had
so many pro fights that people forget he's only 28 years old.
Guillard was 19 when he started fighting professionally and 22
when he got his big break with an invitation to appear in The
Ultimate Fighter. At that time, Guillard wasn't ready mentally
to be a professional fighter. But he's doing great things now.
9.
Anthony Pettis (8): Pettis's loss to Guida exposed some flaws,
and he undoubtedly needs to work on his wrestling, but this is
still a young man with a big future. At age 24, Pettis is the
youngest fighter on this list, and he'll have plenty of time
to improve.
10.
Tatsuya Kawajiri (10): At the moment, Kawajiri holds onto his
spot in the lightweight Top 10 based on the high quality of the
competition he's faced: His losses have all come against Top
10 opponents. But Kawajiri is going to have to start beating
Top 10 opponents soon, and it's going to be hard to get any Top
10 fights outside the UFC. Up next for Kawajiri is a fight with
Drew Fickett at Dream 17.
Source:
MMA Fighting
|
Strikeforce
Odds Open with Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza as Huge Favorite
over Luke Rockhold
With
Strikeforce’s next few events already in the planning, the
odds for the upcoming fights have been released for the major
bouts.
MMA
oddsmaker Nick Kalikas from BetonFighting.com and BetDSI.com
released the odds to MMAWeekly.com over the weekend, with several
new fights making the docket.
The
Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix will be heading into the semifinals
later this year and the last event has resulted in much closer
odds for the next round of the tournament.
The
favorite to win the whole Grand Prix remains Strikeforce heavyweight
champion Alistair Overeem and he’s still currently sitting
at a -230 favorite over his next opponent Antonio ‘Bigfoot’
Silva who is at a +180.
While
Overeem remains the favorite, Silva is creeping up the betting
lines after his dominant performance over Fedor Emelianenko while
Strikeforce’s current champion had a lackluster fight against
Fabricio Werdum.
The
other side of the bracket shows Josh Barnett as a -255 favorite
over Sergei Kharitonov at a +205 underdog. Both had strong showings
in their first fights, but Barnett comes in as a fairly heavy
favorite currently.
The
other odds released over the weekend are for the upcoming Sept
10 show featuring Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo ‘Jacare’
Souza who comes in at a huge -345 favorite over challenger Luke
Rockhold at +275 as an underdog.
Former
Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson will return to action on the
same show facing Sengoku transplant Maximo Blanco.
Thomson
comes in at a -205 favorite while Blanco is currently a +165
underdog.
Obviously
the odds can and likely will shift a bit closer to fight time,
but for now Souza is a humongous favorite in his title fight
against an unlikely contender in Rockhold, while Thomson is still
favored in his bout with Blanco, but not at the same level in
the main event.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Anderson
tastefully responds to Sonnen
We
got a close-up look at Anderson Silva toiling away at the Nogueira
brothers’ training center in preparation for his August
27 fight with Yushin Okami at UFC Rio. Alongside beasts like
Erick Silva – who will also see action at the big Rio de
Janeiro event –, Rafael Feijão and Paulo Bananada,
the “Spider” received his instruction from Josuel Distak
and Ramon Lemos while sparring. Afterwards, he didn’t even
towel off the sweat before having a chat with GRACIEMAG.com,
then continuing the conversation while hitching a ride to the
Barra da Tijuca part of the city. Check out what the superstar
had to say, addressing the latest news from his side and responding
to contentious statements made by his last opponent, Chael Sonnen.
And don’t miss the exclusive picture gallery!
How
significant is the UFC’s return to Brazil for the first
time in ten years?
MMA
is growing by leaps and bounds and gaining popularity. We have
to be ever more serious about the work we’re doing in order
for it to stay that way. The UFC coming here is really important
for the big companies and sponsors to see and believe in this
sport.
You’re
managed by former soccer star Ronaldo and represent Corinthians
soccer club in the octagon. Do you feel MMA may one day have
as many fans in Brazil as soccer does?
Getting
up there with soccer… Soccer has its own parameters and
numbers. I have friends on the soccer inside and from being around
them I’ve realized it’s something completely different
in many respects, but I hope MMA gets close. In the United States,
the UFC has managed to outdo American football, which is the
biggest sporting event over there. We have to try and come close
to doing that here. Beating soccer is impossible, but it would
be great just to come close and get a similar level of recognition.
You
always admitted to being a Corinthians fan, even tried to play
for them. How do you feel now that you represent the “Timão”
when you fight?
I
was born in São Paulo [Corinthians is the most popular
team in São Paulo] and moved to Curitiba when I was four
but I’ve been a Corinthians fan ever since I was a kid.
Life works in funny ways. I lived in São Paulo with my
dad for a year and tried out for the Corinthians. Everything
ended up going wrong, I didn’t make the cut, but I stuck
around at Corinthians training boxing with Coach Vitor Ribeiro.
I’m blessed, as now I’ve joined the ranks, I got to
meet Ronaldo and have this relationship with the club together
with 9ine [Ronaldo's marketing firm]. Thank God it’s all
working out and we’re reaping the rewards. My greatest frustration
was always that I didn’t make it as a soccer player, and
now I get to represent the Corinthians in a different way. It’s
really gratifying.
You
broke barriers, gained exposure in the mass media, and your agenda
is always packed. Does that get in the way of training?
We
try keeping a balance between outside commitments and my work
as a professional fighter, and it’s going smoothly. I’m
working with super professional people and we’ve managed
to put everything in order, always as a team. It’s been
great, man. I feel this business of breaking barriers in other
sectors of society when it comes to fighting has been going on
for some time now. There’s the example of Master Rickson
[Gracie] and other fighters. We just have to keep it up, keep
working to get our sport to where it should be.
Do
you feel greater responsibility now you’ll be fighting in
Brazil for your next outing?
I’m
chill, relaxed. I’m carrying on with my training and I’m
focused. I don’t feel any pressure, if just because I’ve
always rose to this type of occasion in the past and I’m
training to do it again: to handle all kinds of pressure in any
situation. Of course, it’s tough sometimes but I manage
to keep focused and working on my objectives and goals. Master
Pedro Rizzo just got back from Holland, so there’s that
extra added energy now. Everything’s great.
Your
last opponent, Chael Sonnen, recently made some derogatory statements
about you, Brazilian fighters, and the Brazilian people. Do you
have anything to say about that?
Man,
what can I say about him? All of us, as Brazilians, get upset
by his attitudes. We respect Americans, Japanese; we respect
everybody. We have a tradition in this sport dating back many
years and it’s sad to see people not respecting that. But
if they don’t respect you in one way, they will in another.
We’ll show our hegemony, our strength and heart in another
way. Unfortunately, there are people living in the first world
who aren’t all that evolved. We have to show our intelligence,
take in the good and filter out the bad.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
Melvin
Guillard Says He’s the Best at 155 Even Without a Belt,
Calls for Fight with Joe Lauzon
Mr.
DeMille, Melvin Guillard is ready for his close up.
The
one time ‘Ultimate Fighter’ competitor has gone from
mid-card talent to main event star over the last few years, and
with Guillard’s latest bone rattling knockout of Shane Roller
at UFC 132, the New Orleans native is due for a title shot.
Just
when people thought they could predict the future for Guillard,
who had always been exciting but not always fought up to his
potential, he joined up with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn.
The two top trainers have now built a Frankenstein like monster
with devastating KO power and an overall MMA game that just keeps
getting better.
Every
time Guillard connects with his fists, knees or feet, he’s
sending a message to the best fighters at 155lbs.
“I’m
a finisher. I’m the best 155er at finishing fights. I respect
a lot of guys in my weight class, but you’ve got Frankie
Edgar and Gray Maynard, and you get a lot of these guys and they
get in there and bang with these guys and they’re not even
rocking them. Frankie Edgar got rocked by Gray Maynard, and then
Gray couldn’t even finish him,” Guillard said during
an interview with MMAWeekly Radio.
“I
pay attention to small details like that. Because I know when
my time comes, and it will come, when I hit somebody and they
fall, I’m going in for the kill.”
Improvement
and growth are the keys to Guillard’s success. In previous
runs, Guillard relied on pure talent and athletic ability to
get him wins, but now he’s paying attention to his coaches,
becoming a student of the game, and the end result is a wrecking
machine that destroys UFC lightweights.
It
would be hard to argue Guillard’s stature in the division
when talking about title shots. Currently, Jim Miller is the
only other lightweight with the winning streak and credentials
to be in the top contender spot.
But
much like Miller’s attitude when it comes to staying busy
and keeping active, Guillard has no plans to sit and wait for
a title shot. As a matter of fact, he wants to fight, fight and
fight some more because he knows his blade will only get sharper
with every strike across the stone.
“I
want to fight on this Houston card coming up. I just want to
stay focused on the task at hand, and that’s getting better.
I’m telling everybody now the longer it takes for them to
give me a title shot, the better I’m going to be. By the
time I fight for that title, I feel sorry for whoever’s
holding that belt,” Guillard stated.
“The
old Melvin that’s getting caught in submissions, and getting
taken down, and letting people control him, those days are over
with.”
Guillard,
who is from New Orleans, even mentioned that he would be happy
to accept a fight on the upcoming card in September headlined
by Jake Shields and Jake Ellenberger.
While
there aren’t many names out there currently viable in the
division that aren’t already booked for fights, Guillard
has at least one name on his list of potential opponents.
“I
don’t want to try to throw a name out there, but I was thinking
maybe I could ask them to fight Joe Lauzon,” Guillard said.
“Right now technically nobody else is available, he already
fought and walked away with a submission of the night victory,
he didn’t take any damage in his last fight so maybe he’ll
want to take the fight.”
Whoever
the opposition is, Guillard vows to be ready to continue his
winning streak, and his Hannibal like march towards the title.
The
message he’s spreading goes to everyone in the division,
including UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and challenger
Gray Maynard.
“I
am the best 155lber in the UFC right now,” Guillard said.
“I just don’t have a belt around my waist just yet.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Charlie
Brenneman Turned His Nightmare into a Dream at UFC on Versus
4
UFC
welterweight Charlie Brenneman experienced a truly rare turn
of events in combat sports building up to UFC on Versus 4 and
the events following it.
Brenneman
came from being a lightly known welterweight commodity straight
into facing a Top 10 opponent in Rick Story. The turn came after
Nate Marquardt was not allowed to fight due to elevated levels
of testosterone and was subsequently released from the UFC.
The
30-year-old Brenneman was removed from the UFC on Versus 4 fight
card after his original opponent T.J. Grant had to bow out due
to an illness. Hard times seemed to surround Brenneman, as it
appeared that he wouldn’t be able to fight in his home state
of Pennsylvania as planned.
“We
got off the plane on Wednesday. We got checked in. Mike Constantino
(Brenneman’s trainer and manager from AMA Fight Club) and
I were walking around, taking in the scene and feeling good,
and he got a call Wednesday afternoon from Joe Silva that T.J.
wasn’t coming and that I don’t have a fight.”
Brenneman told MMAWeekly Radio.
The
Pennsylvanian was so down about losing the fight with Grant that
he had trouble processing the fact he wouldn’t be able to
fight in his home state that Sunday night.
“I
honestly felt like I was dreaming, like it wasn’t real.
It was like I was sleeping, I don’t even know, it didn’t
feel real.”
Most
people at this point may have gotten down to the point of drowning
their sorrows in fast food, but Brenneman couldn’t nurse
his sorrows then because the UFC officials told him he still
had to make weight even with Grant being out of the fight.
“It
was devastating from Wednesday, Thursday, and most of Friday
I told everyone I wasn’t fighting. People were trying to
sell their tickets back; they were not coming, just going to
suffer the loss of the money for the ticket. I would say that
at least 75-80 percent of people were still coming anyway, so
it was neat to see their loyalty, but it was just devastating
and obviously most of my sponsors backed out, so it wasn’t
good.”
On
the Friday before the fight, the AMA Fight Club member was in
the sauna next to Nate Marquardt.
At
approximately 40 minutes before the weigh-ins, Brenneman’s
journey as a UFC fighter would take an enormous upswing as he
was told that Marquardt was out of the fight and he would get
to take on Story.
“Euphoric
is a goofy word, but I couldn’t even comprehend the situation.
It was as if the answer to every prayer that I had ever set in
my life came true. At that moment it was surreal. Is this really
happening?”
It
was and it did.
Not
only did Brenneman get to fight on his home turf, he nabbed the
win as well.
It
took him all three rounds, but being that guy that is always
ready to step up on a moment’s notice paid off in spades.
Brenneman scored a unanimous decision victory over Story, launching
himself into the upper reaches of the UFC welterweight division.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
|
Manny
Gamburyan on Tyson Griffin, ‘I Still Believe I Won the Fight’
Manny
Gamburyan suffered his second loss in a row when he dropped a
unanimous decision to Xtreme Couture standout Tyson Griffin at
UFC on Versus 4 in Pittsburgh.
While
Griffin emerged victorious, some observers felt that Gamburyan
had done enough to get the victory after scoring several takedowns
in the fight.
The
30-year-old was irate at the judges’ scoring of his fight
and believes that he had fought a smart game plan, but was denied
the win.
“To
be honest with you, it’s one of the smartest fights I’ve
ever fought in my life,” Gamburyan told MMAWeekly Radio.
“I
stuck with the game plan. I had to move a lot and I had to take
his power away. He’s pretty powerful when you’re in
close to him; I had to move a lot. I had to work on my footwork,
which I did, I took him down, and I controlled it. The thing
is, I don’t know how the judges looked at it. I guess leg
kicks was the main thing. But personally, I’m being really
honest, I’m an honest guy, I’ll say if I lose, I lose,
but I really believe that I won the fight fair and square.”
Gamburyan’s
plan was to stifle Griffin with his movement, use his footwork
to set up the takedown, and not let the Xtreme Couture fighter
find his rhythm and work angles.
“The
style of the guys he was fighting like Clay Guida, he fought
Sean Sherk, all those guys, and they stand up with him and just
exchange with him. This time I stuck with my game plan and moved
around, work on my technique and work on my footwork. I think
he never got me in a good punch. I even rocked him once, I took
him down, I got on top of him, and never rested on top and put
him on his back. All he did was kick my leg, and I don’t
know how you win the game like that, but it’s all good.
I’ll come back stronger; it’s not his fault. The referee
and the judges really sucked this time.”
Now
with the decision loss behind him, the Armenian will look to
bounce back and not let his next fight make it to the judges.
“He
wasn’t strong at all. I mean he was alright, he wasn’t
feeling weak, but he wasn’t feeling tough. He usually takes
everyone down, but he couldn’t even take me down once. I
took him down a couple of times and in the third round I slammed
him. So, I really don’t know what the judges are looking
at, maybe they were watching porn I guess instead of watching
the fights.
“I
hate leaving it in the hands of the judges, but every fight is
not easy, it is what it is. Tyson is a gamer.
“Everyone
complains about how GSP doesn’t finish, but look at the
guys he fights; he fights all those champions, all those warriors.
We’re fighting at the top level, Tyson Griffin is not a
joke. All of his fights go the distance, but I was trying to
counter punch, I was trying to put him away, but it didn’t
work. I personally think I won the fight, a lot of people think
I won the fight, too, and hopefully people realize I won the
fight.
“I
still believe I won the fight.”
Source:
MMA Weekly |
Faber
‘Almost Positive’ Third Bout Against Cruz Will Happen
Urijah
Faber came up short against champion Dominick Cruz in their UFC
132 bantamweight title fight, but he’s confident he’ll
get another crack at Cruz down the road.
“I’m
almost positive we’re going to have a rematch,” Faber
said recently on Bruce Buffer’s “It’s Time”
show on the Sherdog Radio Network. “I think it needs to
happen to find out who’s the boss. I don’t feel like
I was threatened at all. I feel like I could have done more.
He probably feels like he could have done more. I think it needs
to happen.”
Cruz
outpointed Faber in the entertaining five-round bout to win a
unanimous decision. Faber also holds a win over Cruz, though.
He won their March 2007 encounter at WEC 26 via guillotine choke.
A third encounter would make sense, but Faber isn’t sure
when it could be scheduled.
“I
don’t know if it will happen right away because there’s
other guys that have earned shots like Demetrious Johnson and
Brian Bowles and even a Joseph Benavidez, who’s been just
killing guys,” Faber said. “So I’m not like demanding
it, but I know it’s going to happen. I’m not going
to get beat. I’m going to keep coming for that belt. It’s
just a matter of time. Whether it’s right away or I have
to win a couple or whatever the case, I’m ready to go again.
I think Dana [White], Lorenzo [Fertitta] and everyone else wants
that and I think it needs to happen.”
Faber
wasn’t so sure he deserved to lose the rematch. He accepts
the decision, but his feeling right after the fight was that
he’d won.
“I
think that’s because I didn’t really get hurt in the
fight and I feel like I hurt him a couple of times, but you can’t
really complain about a close fight,” Faber said. “It’s
up to discretion. Although it feels like most people don’t
really know what the judges are talking about -- I mean, it feels
like these days the MMA judges are so off their rockers, you
don’t really know what you’re trying to do out there.
It’d be great if we had some consistency, but Dominick fought
a good fight.”
Faber
also believes he fought a good fight himself. If he gets another
shot at Cruz, though, he might have to try a different approach
that keeps winning a decision in mind.
“I
tried going for the finish,” Faber said. “I don’t
really think about decisions very much and I think I need to
start being a little more cognizant of that. I definitely feel
like I could have been more of a person that’s put on the
appearance of winning the fight rather than trying to finish
the fight. I think that was the difference.”
Source:
Sherdog
|
UFC
Veteran Falcao Scores Brutal KO in Return Bout
ITAJAI,
Brazil -- Fresh off his release from the UFC due to reported
legal issues, Maiquel “Big Rig” Falcao made quick work
of Julio Cesar Bilik in the main event of Centurion Mixed Martial
Arts 2 at the Marejada Pavilion.
Falcao,
who last saw action in a victory over Gerald Harris at UFC 123,
landed a perfect punch to his opponent’s chin during the
first exchange and then followed with a barrage of heavy leather.
As is fairly common in the region, an official time of the first-round
technical knockout was not immediately available, but is estimated
to have taken place in less than 60 seconds.
“Unfortunately it was a fight outside the UFC,” said
the Renovacao Fight Team product. “It’s a dream for
everyone to fight there. Thank God I got this fight against a
tough guy, and I could show my value to everyone again. I hope
someday I can return to [the UFC] and display our flag there.”
One
of the top athletes in Santa Catarina, Brazil, Ricardo Tirloni
electrified the hometown crowd with a vicious head-kick knockout
of Mauro Chalet.
A
training partner of Thiago Tavares at Ataque Duplo, Tirloni delivered
a well-aimed kick to his opponent's face, whose eyes closed immediately
upon contact.
“I
trained this move in the locker room with Tavares, and I knew
I could use it today,” stated a triumphant Tirloni. “During
the fight, Thiago shouted for me to try it, and I did it well
and knocked him out.”
Flyweight
prospect Jose Maria “No Chance” Tome showed Wagner
Mexicano a large arsenal of techniques in a one-sided unanimous
decision win.
“No
Chance” landed a plenty of powerful punches, flying knees
and also dominated on the floor.
In
other action, Gustavo Efron took a unanimous decision over Dimitri
Burgos; Leonardo “Macarrao” Mafra stopped Santiago
Ponzinibbio with first-round punches; Franklin Jensen rear-naked
choked Christiano “Psicopata” Marques in the first
round; Rafael “Morcego” Silva did likewise against
Jonatan Feitosa with a third-round RNC; Ivan Ceggata stopped
Roberto “Cigano” with a third-round TKO; Juliano Pin
halted Fabiano Rodrigues in round two via TKO.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Sperry
training hard for Renzo; teaches position
At
44 years of age, Zé Mario Sperry is getting ready for
his next big challenge. In September the Carlson Gracie black
belt, who is a past Jiu-Jitsu world champion and had a stellar
career in the Pride FC ring, will take on Renzo Gracie in an
all-veteran superfight at the ADCC in England.
We
caught up with the submission savant at the Nogueira brothers’
Rio de Janeiro training center for a close-up look at his preparations
for Renzo. Zé is hard at it with established beasts like
Rodrigo Minotauro and Rogério Minotouro, as well as getting
the chance to rekindle his friendship with old training partners
like Amaury Bitetti. Take a look at the following interview and
exclusive photos of his preparations and, to boot, learn a technique
for making it to back mount that Sperry teaches exclusively to
GRACIEMAG.com readers:
How
did this opportunity to face Renzo Gracie come about?
I
was caught off guard; I’d been away from the fighting world
for a while, about three or four years, but I see this opportunity
as a privilege I get for the years of my life that I dedicated
to the sport. I decided to accept because of the esteem the ADCC
organization held me in and also because of the opponent, who’s
a highly regarded fighter with a past, as well as being a big
name. I couldn’t be more grateful for the invitation.
But
you what kind of training routine have you been keeping all this
time you’ve been away?
I’d
train when I could, but I didn’t have a routine. I was training
because I like it. I travel a lot and, every now and again, I’d
get in some training, so I’ve basically been out of the
game for around four years. This is an opportunity to catch up
with old friends and get back into the fight world, and I’m
enjoying it. I’m being pushed into getting back into the
shape I was in, and it’s been interesting. I can get a sense
of the legacy I built through the respect I’m feeling from
these kids who are backing me, and it’s great.
So,
after so long without fully dedicating yourself, what’s
it like getting back to full-on training?
It’s
a challenge, as is everything in life. Every day brings a new
challenge, and one of the biggest reasons for taking this one
on was not the opportunity or the adversary but the chance to
see how far I can go. In a way, it serves as an example to these
kids by showing that with discipline and dedication we can overcome
all obstacles.
Will
you be doing your training at Minotauro and Minotouro’s
academy?
I’m
training with Minotauro’s crew. I had the pleasure of meeting
athletes I’d only ever seen on TV and the opportunity to
train with athletes I’ve worked with in the past. I’m
savoring every moment.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
|
Controversial
Sonnen makes return against Stann
Chael
Sonnen, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s trash-talking
middleweight contender, will return to competition following
a year’s absence when he takes on hard-hitting Brian Stann
at UFC 136 in Houston.
Sonnen
has been sidelined since Aug. 17, 2010, when he nearly defeated
Anderson Silva to win the UFC middleweight title. Sonnen dominated
the first four rounds and was controlling the fifth when, with
just over two minutes left, he was caught in a triangle choke.
After
the fight, Sonnen failed a post-fight urinalysis and was suspended
by the California State Athletic Commission for improperly reporting
his use of testosterone replacement therapy to executive officer
George Dodd.
Sonnen’s
suspension ended last week.
In
Stann, he’ll face a hard-hitting ex-Marine who once held
the World Extreme Cagefighting light heavyweight belt. Stann
has won three in a row and five of his last six.
“Surging
middleweight contender ‘The All-American’ Brian Stann
has verbally agreed to the toughest test of his career as he
will face top-ranked contender Chael Sonnen Oct. 8 in Houston,”
UFC president Dana White said in a statement. “Stann is
coming off three straight victories, finishing all of them including
TKO victories over Jorge Rivera and Chris Leben. He is ready
to prove he can compete with the elite in the UFC middleweight
division.
“Sonnen
was two minutes from becoming the UFC middleweight champion before
succumbing to an Anderson Silva triangle. He looks to get back
on track for another shot at the title by taking on Brian Stann.”
Source:
Yahoo Sports |
Hatsu
Hioki to Make Octagon Debut Against George Roop at UFC 137
Hatsu HiokiNewly signed Japanese featherweight Hatsu Hioki has
been penciled in to make his UFC debut at UFC 137. The promotion
announced on Saturday that Hioki would face George Roop at the
Las Vegas event on October 29.
Hioki,
who boasts a 24-4-2 record, is considered by most to be among
the world's top featherweights.
A
winner of four straight, the 27-year-old Hioki has spent almost
his entire career fighting for Japanese promotions, though he
has fought a handful of times in Canada. He is currently riding
a four-fight win streak and holds two wins over recent No. 1
contender Mark Hominick. He also has career victories over Marlon
Sandro, Ronnie Mann and Rumina Sato.
During
his career, Hioki has won some of MMA's most prestigious 145-pound
championships, including the Shooto and Sengoku titles in Japan.
With Sengoku in dire financial trouble, he recently vacated their
belt to sign with the UFC.
Roop
(12-7-1) is coming off a third-round TKO victory over Josh Grispi
at June's Ultimate FIghter 13 Finale.
UFC
137 will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and feature
Georges St-Pierre attempting to defend his welterweight championship
for the seventh time while facing former Strikeforce champion
Nick Diaz.
Source:
MMA Fghting
|
How
Pat Barry Lost a Fight, and His Fear of the Knockout, All in
a Few Seconds
When Pat Barry saw his coach's face appear in front of him, that's
when he knew the fight was over.
He
didn't know how that face had gotten there, inches from his own,
inside the cage. All he knew was that one moment he was attacking
Cheick Kongo in full-scale beast mode, and the next they were
letting the coaches in the cage. It must be all over. Done.
The
fact that he couldn't remember exactly how it had ended, that
didn't bother him. Not at first.
"I
was hitting [Kongo] and then all of a sudden I opened my eyes
and I thought I won," Barry said. "That was the first
thing out of my mouth was, 'Yo, we got him.'"
At
the time, he had no idea that he was saying it from flat on his
back, or that just seconds earlier he'd been on the business
end of one of the greatest come-from-behind knockouts in MMA
history.
His
coach, Marty Morgan, had to try and explain it to him -- and
the news wasn't easy for Barry to comprehend. How could he be
the one who'd gotten knocked out, when the last thing he remembered
was knocking Kongo from one end of the cage to the other? It
seemed impossible.
"I
also didn't know I was lying on my back," Barry said. "I
thought I was standing face-to-face with him. So when the doctor
said, 'Can you try to sit up for me?' I looked at him like, how
am I going to sit up when I'm already standing? That doesn't
even make sense. You're the worst doctor in the world. You should
be fired."
To
Barry, none of it made sense. In nine MMA bouts and scores of
kickboxing matches, he'd never suffered a knockout. He'd delivered
plenty, but he had no idea what it felt like to be on the other
side of it.
And
truthfully, he said, he spent most of his career in fear of finding
out.
"I
was like, this is what this feels like? First, I was having this
little moment, almost like when you're a kid and you finally
get on that scary rollercoaster, like the Texas Giant that you've
been avoiding for years and years. Then you finally get on and
you realize it's not that bad. Guess what, you don't die when
you get on it. ... I got knocked out, but I'm still alive. I
can get up, walk around, still function. I'm okay. It's not as
bad as I thought."
At
least, physically it wasn't so bad. But in a few short seconds
Barry had gone from almost winning to definitely losing, and
that stung. It stung even more when he realized how close the
fight had been to being stopped. A hard shot had crumpled Kongo
to his knees, and referee Dan Miragliotta had seemed right on
the verge of stepping in to wave it off.
"He
wasn't pretty much out," said Barry. "He was out out.
But I will say this, and I come from a few different viewpoints,
but from my personal standpoint, it sucks. It sucks financially.
It sucks for my record. It sucks emotionally and mentally. I
lost. I got knocked out. Not only did I lose, I lost my third
MMA fight to a guy who was knocked out."
Then
again, Barry said, a part of him appreciates just what an amazing
finish it was. His fight with Kongo will be remembered for years
to come -- the highlight has already spread far and wide on the
internet -- all because of the nature of the comeback.
A
lot of guys might find that to be of little consolation, but
not Barry.
"From
a fan point of view, there could have been no better outcome
to that fight. That was the best possible end to that fight that
could have happened. If I would have just kept going and knocked
him out, it would have been awesome for me financially and for
my record. And yeah, it would have been awesome for the crowd,
but it would have been nowhere near as exciting as the way it
ended. That was the best ending to that fight possible.
"If
Dan Miragliotta would have stopped it, he would have robbed Cheick
Kongo of one of the best comebacks in UFC history," Barry
said. "And if he would have stopped it, he would have robbed
the fans of one of the most exciting endings in the history of
the UFC. If he would have stopped that fight, with the way it
turned out, it would have been a terrible injustice. We would
have all missed one of the greatest 20 seconds in MMA ever."
Of
course, anybody who saw the pained look on Barry's face as Kongo
was pronounced the winner knows that the loss didn't settle on
him easily. It brought his UFC record to a mediocre 3-3, and
it cost him the win bonus that he'd practically held in his hand
moments earlier.
After
all that, Barry wasn't feeling so great about things. Not until
UFC president Dana White covered up his own microphone at the
post-fight press conference and leaned over to tell Barry that
he'd never seen him look better in the Octagon. That he'd just
had the best fight of his MMA career. That, regardless of the
loss, this was what everyone had been waiting to see out of him.
Which
wasn't exactly what Barry had been expecting to hear from his
boss after getting knocked out on live TV. But still, he had
to admit, it helped.
"Dana
White telling me that he thought my best performance was me getting
knocked out, you know, I hear what he's really saying. He likes
that level of aggression. Everybody's been waiting to see it.
Like, 'Come on, man. You're the nicest guy in MMA. Why don't
you go out there to kill somebody.' And this, I came out ready
for war, and it showed."
You
could argue that his aggression cost him dearly. After all, it
was as he was charging in on a wounded Kongo that Barry got clipped
behind the ear with a right hand. But he doesn't regret that,
he said. He did everything more or less right. Kongo punched,
Barry blocked. It just so happened that the punch barely slipped
past his glove and onto his skull. If it had been a kickboxing
match, with the big, padded gloves, he'd have been fine.
"I
put up a block for the wrong size glove," Barry mused later.
"What can you do?"
But
even though he suffered the first knockout loss of his career,
Barry said, a part of him feels liberated. The worst-case scenario
had just happened. Now he could stop worrying about it.
"Every
fight, I can honestly say, a part of me has held back because
of that fear. So it was kind of a relief. Like, it finally happened.
Now I honestly can't wait to get back into the next one and really
go off on someone, because now I don't have to worry about what
it's like anymore. I don't have that fear of what's going to
happen, because now I already know."
Now
all he can think about, Barry said, is the next time. He may
have lost the Kongo fight, but he can't think of much he'd do
differently if he had it to do all over again. Win or lose, he
was still part of a thrilling two-and-a-half-minute show that
the MMA world would never forget. That counted for something,
didn't it?
"I
came into that fight just fearless. Kill or be killed. That's
the sacred oath that all kickboxers take. No kickboxer wants
to win a decision. I'm going to knock you out or you're going
to have to knock me out. I'm coming back with my shield or on
it. I'm HD, man. That's what I do. I'm going to win all the way,
or I'm going to lose all the way. I'm going to lose better than
everybody."
Source:
MMA Fighting |
One
Man’s View: Bellator as Second Fiddle
Bellator
CEO Bjorn Rebney studied the failures of those who came before
him.
In
the fast-changing business side of the mixed martial arts landscape,
numerous organizations have emerged as fleeting, big-time players,
only to disappear in sudden, often shocking fashion. With an
eclectic mix of business models, promotional tactics and unforgettable
characters and events shaping their fates, the classification
of “second-tier MMA promotion” has often served as
the preamble to an ultimately doomed effort.
Some
flirt with major television deals before everything goes awry
-- think EliteXC. Others are undone by both inevitable and unanticipated
forces -- think Affliction. Still others, like the International
Fight League, go bankrupt or, like Strikeforce, are acquired
by Zuffa LLC, parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
In
2011, the playing field has been radically culled down compared
to just a few years ago, with the UFC enjoying the post-2005
boost and a host of imitators and carpetbaggers. The game itself
has changed, as well. Now largely unfettered by noxious, Johnny-come-lately
promotions, the UFC finds its sole major remaining competitor
in Bellator Fighting Championships, which has quietly slid into
the No. 2 promotion spot since Zuffa acquired Strikeforce in
March.
“Having
gone to business school and with a law degree, I know you can’t
just jump into this,” said Bjorn Rebney, Bellator’s
founder and CEO. “You have to do a lot of empirical digging
and really understand the industry -- and brand differently from
the 800-pound gorilla that is the UFC.”
Rebney
was president and CEO of Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing, which aired
Leonard’s “Friday Night Fights” series on ESPN2
from 2001-04.
If
there is a defining ethos for how Bellator has approached establishing
itself in the MMA world, it comes from tapping into proven strategies
to build a promotion while avoiding the mistakes of its predecessors,
many of which brought a fatal mix of hubris to the equation in
thinking they would compete with the UFC after a few shows out
of the gate.
Thus
far for Bellator’s Rebney, the promotion sits right where
it is supposed to be: well-entrenched in a recurring network
deal on a major channel -- MTV2 -- and populated with good talent,
including world-ranked champions Joe Warren, Eddie Alvarez and
Hector Lombard. Currently eying its fifth season, the promotion
has jumped from ESPN Deportes to Season 2 and Season 3 on the
Fox Sports Network, with Telemundo and NBC doing delayed, late
night airings. In its current incarnation, the MTV2 deal runs
through 2013, with an average of 27 shows per year.
“Seasons
two and three weren’t the optimal television deal, but it
allowed a lot of people to see Bellator many times each week.
It was that next evolution,” Rebney said. “And the
tournaments worked well. Guys didn’t get injured, and they
moved forward.”
Anything
can happen in MMA.
Rebney knows as well as anyone that unforeseen events can make
huge impacts on a fledgling promotion. Some, like last-minute
substitution Seth Petruzelli knocking out Kimbo Slice in 14 seconds,
scuttle network deals and a promotion like EliteXC. It also sent
EliteXC head Gary Shaw and his son/sidekick, Jared “Skala”
Shaw, back to boxing in a move that elicited no small degree
of remorse from quote-hungry journalists across the industry.
Meanwhile,
Josh Barnett’s alleged failed drug test began the unraveling
that ultimately killed Affliction’s doomed final pay-per-view
in August 2009, though that promotion’s demise may have
been inevitable given Affliction’s jumping into the deep
end of the pool with little brand awareness among fans; its initial
pay-per-view numbers were paltry, at best.
Fate
tipped the scales in Bellator’s favor when Toby Imada’s
inverted triangle over Jorge Masdival, voted “Submission
of the Year,” went viral two years ago, providing a huge
spike in free advertising for the promotion. The footage, pushed
out by Bellator and quickly picked up in the blogosphere and
on MMA sites,
gave it a huge stamp of recognition -- something no
MBAs can factor into a business plan.
“We
started seeing one or two million views of it. It became a free
branding tool. Everything was working in synergy,” Rebney
said.
While
Bellator’s top-level talent -- Alvarez, Warren and Lombard
-- is impressive, the gap between it and potential title contenders
remains considerable. However, the belief in the tournament format
and its ability to generate interest in potential challengers
is what endures, Rebney believes. For example, the much-anticipated
Warren-Patricio Friere featherweight title bout -- delayed from
July 23 after Friere broke his foot -- will still happen this
fall. Friere’s Season 4 tournament win guarantees it. In
the interim, Warren will still compete in the Season 5 bantamweight
draw. There are a lot of moving parts to the equation, but an
earned title shot is an earned title shot in Bellator. There
are no substitutes.
Another
unique part of being the second-tier promotion involves the war
for talent. For Bellator, that means holding on to existing big
names.
“It’s
the nature of a competitive landscape,” Rebney said. “If
you sign a multi-year contract to work for somebody and you’re
highly talented in what you do, when that contract comes up,
you’re gonna have the option to go on the open market and
secure a better deal.”
Ironically,
the battle over Bellator’s best fighters may play a more
significant role in its ultimate success than previous UFC rivals.
Few stuck around long enough for that to become a deciding factor,
but none had achieved a long-term programming deal like Bellator.
For
potential free agents going either way, Bellator’s growth
provides a fallback bargaining position for UFC fighters, as
well as swoop-in opportunities for the UFC; in the months and
years ahead, we will be able to gauge how much of a competitor
the UFC thinks Bellator is precisely according to how much effort
it puts into luring away its best fighters. Promoters, PR hacks
and sound bites often lie, but the numbers never do.
Source:
Sherdog
|
Chael
Sonnen calls out Lyoto Machida, Machida accepts
Chael Sonnen calls out Machida Chael Sonnen calls out Lyoto Machida,
Machida accepts
Shortly
after news of Chael Sonnen’s ability to fight once again
in the UFC, the ‘Oregon State Gangster‘ was quick to
call out a new adversary after the decimation of Wanderlei Silva
by Chris Leben. Sonnen is considering a welcome back fight perhaps
returning to the bigger light heavyweight division in a fight
against a former champion.
“I
don’t know what the future holds, there’s plenty of
guys out there to fight said Sonnen. There’s a karate guy
at 205 pounds, I might stop there on my way back to 185 for a
tune-up fight and take out Machida, but we’ll see, we’ll
see where it goes.”
Machida
responds to Sonnen’s call out shortly after via Tatame Magazine.
“I
think that’s great, I’m excited to do that. He’s
coming back now, wants to fight, and I really think it’s
a good fight for me. If Sonnen really wants this fight, I’ll
sign it immediately, no problem at all.”
Does
the match-up make since? Should Sonnen be jumping in with the
elite of the 205 lb. division?
Source:
Cage Fighter
|
MMA
Business: Music Sponsor Steps In to Provide Walkout Music for
Nick Diaz at UFC 137
The
evolution of sponsors in the MMA game can usually only go so
far.
Patches
on fight shorts, t-shirts, an occasional can of an energy drink,
and supplements are the standards in the MMA world of sponsorships.
Well
one music group is expanding their reach by sponsoring fighters
and providing them with walkout music, while giving them a cut
of proceeds for any sales the song might generate.
Coalition
Fight Music (CFM) have inked a deal with J. Manly of Team Cesar
Gracie to provide walkout music for many of the team’s fighters
starting with Nick Diaz for his upcoming fight at UFC 137 against
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
“CFM
is proud to partner with Team Cesar Gracie for this monumental
arrangement,” said Tony Savo, producer for CFM. “Now
the music industry has officially “co-signed” on the
fastest growing sport in the world. We’ve always been very
fond of Nick and are excited to be in his corner for what we
believe will be the fight of the year.”
CFM’s
song that will be used for Diaz’s walkout music will also
be featured in the upcoming 505 Games release ‘Supremacy
MMA’ for Xbox and PS3, as well as the upcoming Jackie Chan
feature ‘Life is War’.
Countless
numbers of bands have shown support for MMA over the years, and
fighters in the past like Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson
have even had tracks made specifically for them, but this will
be a new generation of sponsorship for the sport.
The
partnership between CFM and Team Cesar Gracie will extend beyond
the fight with Diaz, but they will debut their track specifically
for the UFC 137 main event.
Diaz
takes on St-Pierre in a battle for the UFC welterweight title
in Las Vegas on Oct 29.
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
Tyson
Griffin Not Starting Over as UFC Featherweight; Shoots Straight
for the Top
Tyson Griffin has long been considered one of the top fighters
in the UFC’s lightweight division. He flirted with title
contention, amassing seven wins and only two losses in his first
nine bouts in the Octagon.
That’s
when he hit a skid that lasted three fights.
It’s
not like Griffin lost to nobodies. He dropped three-straight
to Evan Dunham, Takanori Gomi, and Nik Lentz; the Dunham and
Lentz bouts by razor-thin split decisions.
Having
made the drop to featherweight once before in his career –
he defeated former WEC kingpin Urijah Faber to win the Gladiator
Challenge featherweight title – Griffin was confident that
he could do it again.
“The
weight cut was easier than I thought (it would be),” Griffin
told MMAWeekly Radio after taking the plunge at UFC on Versus
4.
Having
fought some of the best in the 155-pound division, Griffin didn’t
want to do anything less at 145. He started his latest phase
in the division against Top 10 ranked Manny Gamburyan, walking
away with a unanimous decision victory.
Griffin
doesn’t want to slow down either. He wants to keep racing
head-on into the best that the UFC has to offer, not work his
way up from the bottom of the barrel.
“I
think I stack up great (at 145). I’m ready to fight more
contenders and establish myself as number one,” he said.
“I’m
ready to sign a fight with Kenny Florian or Chad Mendes or anybody
that’s fought for the title or they consider number one.
If Jose Aldo gets lined up for a fight and somebody gets injured,
I’ll fight Jose Aldo next. I don’t care.”
That’s
definitely aiming right at the top, but it’s not like Griffin
isn’t used to fight top tier talent. He may be in a new
weight class, fighting a slightly smaller version of the competition
he faced at 155, but nothing’s changed. Griffin didn’t
leave his skill set behind when he dropped 10 extra pounds.
“I’m
definitely ready for the challenge.”
Source:
MMA Weekly
|
UFC
Rio: Rousimar Palhares doesn’t care about rankings, just
wants to defeat Dan Miller
After
six month of expectations, the name of Rousimar “Toquinho”
Palhares was finally announced for UFC Rio’s card, event
that will happen on August 27th at HSBC Arena, and the Brazilian
is looking forwards to fight again on the cage.
“The
expectations are the best possible, I can’t wait to fight.
It’s the best thing that could’ve happened to me, it’s
a great experience,” Rousimar told TATAME, analyzing the
bout against Dan Miller, after a long-rumored fight against Alexandre
‘Cacareco’ Ferreira.
“We
won’t be fighting Jiu-Jitsu, we’ll fight MMA, so it’s
a little different, so let’s see what happens when we do
so (laughs),” he said. “I haven’t seen his bouts,
but my coaches are studying his fights, and let’s see what
we can come up with when the time comes”.
With
only one fight this year, when he submitted Dave Branch with
a leglock at UFC on Versus, the black belt from Brazilian Top
Team only thinks about fighting.
“I’m
ready, I prepare myself for anything. We’ve changed little
things, but the trainings still is hard,” guarantee, without
considering his next step yet. “I don’t mind much where
I’m in the ranking, I just care about winning”.
Source:
Tatame
|
Illinois
passes law slamming Jiu-Jitsu
Bad
news for Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. The Illinois general assembly
has passed a law that may put an end to Jiu-Jitsu tournaments
in the state once and for all, as reported by two-time world
absolute-winning black belt Rodrigo Comprido.
“The
Illinois state senators approved a law that equates Jiu-Jitsu
competitions to MMA events. That, ultimately, makes it impossible
to hold competitions in the state, besides the fact that the
rules will be set out by the Boxing Commission,” he explains.
“For
example, all the athletes will have to undergo a pre-competition
blood test. And the law is already having its effect. The IBJJF
postponed the Chicago Open, which was the only championship around
here with 100% Jiu-Jitsu rules,” he adds.
And
there’s already a movement to try and overturn the resolution
in Illinois.
“There’s
a petition on Facebook where to put pressure on the senators
to negotiate,” added Comprido, who calls on one and all
to participate.
Source:
Gracie Magazine
|
M-1
Challenge 26 Results: Garner Knocks Out Bennett, Guseinov’s
Spinning Backfist Highlights
Kenny
Garner knocked out Pat Bennett to cap off an entertaining night
of fights in Costa Mesa, Calif., at M-1 Challenge 26: Bennett
vs. Garner 2.
Garner
overwhelmed Bennett on the feet and landed a left hook that sealed
the deal in the rematch between the two heavy hitters.
The
heavyweights started out intense, swinging for the fences wildly,
attempting to finish the fight with a quick knockout. Garner
threw some heavy left and right hooks and landed some, but it
clearly used up a lot of his gas tank. Bennett landed some shots
of his own, but spent the majority of the opening round covering
up. Just before the end of the round, Bennett scored a takedown,
landing in his opponent’s guard, and remained there for
the rest of the round.
The
second round began with Garner throwing heavy leather again,
ending up in a clinch in the corner where he landed some mean
body punches. After separating with a quick knee to Bennett’s
head, Garner saw an opening and landed a left hook, dropping
his opponent to end the fight.
The
referee stepped in at 1:15 of the second round.
After
the bout, Garner reflected on the win and talked about getting
another shot at the M-1 heavyweight title against champion Guram
Gugenishvili.
“He
got a nice little punch, congratulations, he’s been working
a little bit,” Garner said about the man he just defeated.
“So now, I’m coming to get my belt.”
Garner
previously fought Gugennishvili in St. Petersburg, Russia, last
October, but fell short to the Georgian heavyweight courtesy
of a guillotine submission in the second round of the title fight.
When
asked how things will be different for him a second time around,
Garner put it simply.
“I’m
going to beat your brains out like a professional.”
Arthur
Guseinov had a highlight reel first-round knockout of Tyson Jeffries
in their co-main event bout.
After
getting mounted on the ground early in fight, Guseinov recovered
from being kneed while in a front headlock and landed a picture-perfect
spinning backfist that knocked Jeffries out cold. The referee
stepped in at 1:32 of the first round after Jeffries fell back
and was obviously in no condition to provide any intelligent
defense.
The
knockout of Jeffries was one of the most impressive in all of
MMA so far this year, let alone the M-1 Challenge card on Friday
night. After the fight, Guseinov talked about the knockout, claiming
that the strike was something that was worked on in training.
“Yes,
I trained for that, I was prepared for that,” Guseinov said
in his post-fight interview.
Mairbek
Taisumov stopped Josh Bacallao with a heavy punch in the first
round of their M-1 Challenge affair.
The
two started out intense with Taisumov showing the power in his
low kicks. The two scrambled to the floor before getting back
up to a standing fight, but Taisumov planted his feet and threw
a laser right hand that connected, sending Bacallao falling back.
Taisumov chased his opponent to the ground, landing one more
punch for good measure before the referee put a stop to the fight
at 2:01 of the opening round.
Daniel
Weichel put on a striking clinic with a decision win over Beau
Baker in their main card bout.
Weichel
looked a lot quicker than Baker from the get-go. His Thai clinch
was strong, scoring a lot of points from that position with knees
at close range to top off an impressive first-round drubbing
on the feet. The second round had more of the same with Weichel
out-pointing Baker at every avenue. Baker looked uncomfortable
standing, leaving himself open and even getting caught with a
powerful right hand at one point in the second round. The final
round had Weichel continuing his domination against the much
slower Baker, bloodying up his foe en route to a unanimous decision
win with the judges scoring it 30-27, 30-27 and 30-25.
Eddie
Arizmendi scored a knockout over Jason Norwood in the second
round of their middleweight fight to open up the M-1 Challenge
Showtime broadcast.
Arizmendi
won the first round, keeping the fight standing while Norwood,
a wrestler, worked vigorously to bring down his opponent. After
getting rocked with an uppercut early in the second round, Norwood
did well to recover, scoring a takedown. A vicious left hook
by Arizmendi, however, sent him crashing to the mat, forcing
referee John McCarthy to stop the fight just before the end of
round two at 4:55.
On
the undercard, Max Martyniouk defeated Mike De Robles via TKO,
while Diman Morris won a split decision over Brandon Michaels.
Source:
MMA Weekly
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808
Battleground & X-1 World Events
Domination
Mixed Martial Arts
at the Waterfront at Aloha Tower
Doors open at 5 pm, Fights start at 6 pm
$30 Pre-sale, $40 at the door
http://www.808battleground.com/
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Aloha everyone,
Hope
all is well with everyone. Our 2011 Sera's Kajukenbo Open Tournament
will be held on Saturday, July 16th at War Memorial Gym in Wailuku,
Maui. This year, in addition to 1st and 2nd place trophies for
each division, we will be awarding Team Champions trophies for
each of the three events (Continuous Sparring, MMA (Controlled),
and Submission Grappling). Attached is an event flier for your
reference and distribution. If you have any questions, e-mail
or call me at 205-9133. Mahalo,
Sigung
Trent Sera
Sera's Kajukenbo
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