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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2011
November
Aloha State Championship of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
August
State of Hawaii Championship of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
7/1/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
5/28/11
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
5/21/11
Scraplafest 3
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Kauai)
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)
4/2/11
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)
2010
12/17/10
Destiny & 808 Battleground
All or Nothing - Champion vs Champion
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
12/3/10
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
11/27/10
Aloha
State BJJ Championships: Final Conflict
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
11/6/10
X-1 Island Pride
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
Man Up & Stand Up Kickboxing Championship
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
10/30/10
6th Annual Clinton A.J. Shelton Memorial Match Event
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym, Honolulu)
10/29/10
808Battleground
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom, Honolulu)
10/23/10
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Radford H.S. Gym)
10/15-17/10
ETERNAL SUBMISSIONS: GI/NO-GI tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kauai Beach Resort, Kauai)
10/16/10
DESTINY: Undisputed
Beyer vs Manners II
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
10/2/10
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
9/11/10
X-1: Heroes
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Blaisdell Arena)
9/10/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
9/4/10
DESTINY:New Era
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center, Waipahu)
8/28/10
Big
Island Open
(BJJ)
(Hilo Armory, Hilo)
8/14/10
Hawaiian
Open Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
USA Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Lihue Convention Hall, Lihue, Kauai)
8/13/10
Battleground Challenge 2
(MMA)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
8/7/10
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
8/6/10
Mad Skills
(Triple Threat/Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
7/24/10
The Quest for Champions 2010 Martial Arts Tournament
(Sport-Pankration, Submission Grappling & Continuous Sparring)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
7/17/10
Maui Jiu-Jitsu Open
(BJJ & No Gi)
(Maui War Memorial, Wailuku, Maui)
Mad Skillz
(Kickboxing, Triple Threat)
(99 Market Shopping Center, Mapunapuna)
7/9/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
7/3/10
Amateur Boxing
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
6/26/10
Kauai Cage Match 9
(MMA)
(Kilohana, Gaylords Mansion, Kauai)
6/25-26/10
50th
State BJJ Championships
(BJJ)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/24/10
Quest for Champions
(Kumite/Grappling)
(St. Louis High School Gym)
6/19/10
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Center, Hilo)
6/18-19/10
Select
Combat
(Triple Threat)
(50th State Fair,
Aloha Stadium)
6/12/10
Destiny: Fury
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Center)
6/11-13/10
MMA Hawaii Expo
(Blaisdell Ballroom)
6/11-12/10
3rd
Annual Pacific Submission Championships
(BJJ & Submission Grappling)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/11/10
Legacy Combat MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/4/10
X-1:
Nations Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
6/3-6/10
World
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(The Pyramid, University of California at Long Beach, Long Beach,
CA)
5/22/10
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waiphau Filcom Center)
5/15/10
Scrappla Fest 2
Relson Gracie KTI Jiu-Jitsu Tournament
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Island School, Kauai)
X-1 World Events
(MMA)
(Waipahu HS Gym)
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Boxing Event
(Boxing)
(Evolution Training Center, Waipio Industrial Court #110)
5/1/10
Galaxy
MMA: Worlds Collide
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
4/28/10
Chris Smith BJJ Tournament
(BJJ)
(Hilo)
4/23/10
2010 Hawaii State/Regional Junior Olympic Boxing Championships
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
4/17/10
Hawaiian
Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser
H.S. Gym)
Strikeforce:
Shields vs Henderson
(CBS)
4/16/10
808 Battleground
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
4/8-11/10
Pan
Jiu-Jitsu Championships
(BJJ)
(University California Irvine, Irvine, CA)
4/3/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
Amateur Boxing Smoker
(Boxing)
(Palolo District Park Gym)
3/27/10
DESTINY: No Ka Oi 2: Oahu vs Maui
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
3/20/10
X-1: Champions 2
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
3/20/10
Hawaiian Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
3/14/10
Hawaiian Kimono Combat
(BJJ)
(PCHS Gym)
3/10/10
Sera's Kajukenbo Tournament
(Kumite, Katas, Grappling)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
3/6/10
Destiny Fast N Furious
(MMA)
(Level 4 RHSC)
2/19/10
808 Battleground
(MMA)
(Filcom, Waipahu)
2/6/10
UpNUp 6: Unstoppable
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
2/5/10
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
1/30/10
Destiny
(Level 4,
Royal HI Shopping Ctr)
(MMA)
Quest for Champions
(Pankration/Sub Grappling)
(Kalani HS)
1/23/10
Kauai Knockout Championship Total Domination
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Kauai War Memorial Convention Center, Lihue, Kauai)
1/17/10
X1: Showdown In Waipahu
(Boxing, Kickboxing, MMA)
(Waipahu H.S. Gym)
|
|
March
2011 News Part 3
|
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
UFC
Fight Night 24 Results: Amir Sadollah Bludgeons DaMarques Johnson
To a Finish in Seattle
It
must have felt like a revolving door of opponents leading into
UFC Fight Night 24, but Amir Sadollah made the most of his moment,
bludgeoning opponent DaMarques Johnson with elbows to get a win
in Seattle.
Sadollah
was originally paired up with fellow striker Duane “Bang”
Ludwig for Saturday’s card, but a late injury forced him
out of the fight. In stepped former “Ultimate Fighter”
winner James Wilks, but almost as soon as he signed his bout
agreement, he got injured and the search was on again.
DaMarques
Johnson opted to take the fight on just over 2 weeks notices,
and in the early going it looked like he made a good decision
taking the fight. Johnson popped Sadollah with some good strikes
before landing a beautiful judo throw midway through the first
round.
That
was however as good as the night got for Johnson because from
that point on it was all Amir Sadollah.
The
Las Vegas based fighter came out like a ball of fire in the 2nd
round, coming after Johnson with everything in his arsenal, including
the kitchen sink.
“I
like to be aggressive, but I felt for sure that would be an advantage,”
Sadollah said about his approach to the fight.
After
taking the fight to the ground, Sadollah passed Johnson’s
guard, gaining the full mount, and proceeded to trap his opponent’s
arm.
With
his defense at a minimum, Johnson started eating nasty elbows
from Sadollah, and after a few clubbing blows, he had to tap
out to stop the punishment.
Sadollah
was very happy with his performance, but also gave credit to
his opponent for stepping up on short notice to take the fight.
“I
am ecstatic,” Sadollah said about his emotion following
the win. “First of all, I want to say a huge, huge thank
you to DaMarques. For those of you that don’t know, he took
this fight on 2 weeks notice, which a lot of guys wouldn’t
have done, and I have all the respect in the world for him.”
Now
a winner of two in a row, Sadollah continues to improve and grow
as he has literally had every pro fight in his career in the
Octagon. His goals remain the same, and Sadollah is still focused
on the future.
“I’m
here not just to look good,” said Sadollah with a smile.
“I want to be the best, I want to fight the best.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Meet
the brown belt champs
The
grand champion brown belt of the 2011 Pan was Alexander Trans.
The CheckMat whiz took first at ultraheavyweight and open weight.
Trans has been on a roll this season, having won his weight group
and the absolute at the European Championship as well.
Also
among the competition’s standouts are Alliance duo Jonathan
Thomas and Michel Langhi, who closed out the featherweight division.
At
lightweight, Roberto Satoshi carries on reaping great results,
beating the hard-nosed Thiago Gaia in the final.
James
Harbison won the middleweight final against Alex Baulding, one
of the favorites.
Other
brown belt champions were Jeff Bourgeois, at roosterweight; Mark
Ramos, at light featherweight; Daniel O’Brien, at medium
heavyweight; and James Puopolo, at heavyweight.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Daniel
Gracie loses at Bellator
Daniel
Gracie fought hard, but lost his Bellator light heavyweight bid
this Saturday in Tunica, Mississippi.
After
two evenly-matched rounds, Tim Carpenter landed a hook that wobbled
the black belt in the final round, which likely helped sway the
judges’ opinions. When the scorecards came in, the decision
was in the American’s favor, thus maintaining his invincibility
and bringing his tally to seven career wins.
The
others still afloat in the GP are D.J. Linderman, who beat Raphael
Davis by technical knockout; Richard hale, who submitted Nik
Fekete with a reverse triangle; and Christian M’Pumbu landed
an on-the-button bomb on Chris Davis, putting a stop to the action.
Check
out the results:
Bellator
38
Tunica, Mississippi, Estados Unidos
March 26, 2011
Tim
Carpenter defeated Daniel Gracie via split decision
D.J.
Linderman defeated Raphael Davis via TKO in R3
Richard
Hale submitted Nik Fekete via reverse triangle in R1
Christian
M’Pumbu defeated Chris Davis via TKO in R3
Blagoi
Ivanov defeated William Penn by TKO in R1
Austin
Lyons submitted Jimmy Van Horn via armbar in R1
Jake
Underwood submitted Tim Galluzzi via triangle in R1
Cody
Donovan defeated Brian Albin via unanimous decision
Amaechi
Oselukwue defeated Abe Wilson via unanimous decision
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
Fight Night 24 Results: Anthony Johnson Rumbles Over Dan Hardy
The
disclaimer on Dan Hardy and Anthony Johnson’s UFC Fight
Night 24 bout on Saturday night in Seattle read, “Don’t
Blink or You Might Miss It.”
The
fight didn’t live up to it’s billing, but most fights
that promise an explosive knockout rarely do.
Johnson
dropped Hardy early with a left head kick, tried to finish with
a choke, but Hardy survived and returned to his feet, but that
sequence would be the only spark of the fireworks promised.
Johnson
quickly put Hardy right back on the mat, looking to finish with
the hammers that are disguised as his fists. Hardy searched for
submissions, but Johnson easily powered out of everything Hardy
went after.
Hardy
then looked to get his striking going in round two, but Johnson
quickly shot the double-leg and again put the Brit on his back.
Hardy tried for more submissions, but Johnson was too powerful
and continued punishing him with punches while he defended his
Kimura attempts.
Going
for a different approach in the final round, Hardy immediately
shot for the takedown, but Johnson powered him to his back, continuing
his fight-long ground and pound attack. Hardy again made it back
to his feet, but ate a knee for his efforts and quickly was taken
back to the mat where Johnson took full back mount, pummeling
Hardy.
The
Brit rolled, but Johnson synched on an arm triangle choke. Hardy
survived the choke and the ensuing neck crank, but Johnson dominated
the fight, earning the unanimous nod of the judges.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
It’s
a Wonderful Life: Phil Davis Earns Hard Fought Victory Over Nogueira
Adaptation
is defined by Merriam-Webster as a modification of an organism
or its parts that makes it more fit for existence under the conditions
of its environment.
Phil
Davis found out a lot about adaptation during his fight with
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The former NCAA champion had steam
rolled all of his previous opponents in the UFC, but he ran into
his toughest test to date on Saturday night in Seattle, and he
had to change, modify and fit a new attack to carry him to victory
over Nogeuira.
Davis
has been called a physical freak and possibly a future contender
in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, but taking a fight
against a top ten opponent like Nogueira tested the young Pennsylvanian
to his core.
A
powerful wrestler, Davis simply could not land his double leg
on Nogueira during the first five minutes of their fight. Davis
tried valiantly, but Nogueira was ready for the attack, and shrugged
him off with little struggle.
“I
know he’s tough, he’s resilient, he learns, I couldn’t
take him down with anything else I saw somebody else doing in
the past,” Davis commented about his trouble getting Nogueira
down early.
Once
he realized his primary takedown wasn’t working, Davis switched
things up and decided to go for a single leg instead, which worked
effectively for the remainder of the fight. With time ticking
away in the 2nd round, Davis was able to take advantage of the
bad position he put Nogueira in, and blasted away with punches
and some rib shattering knees to his midsection.
Realizing
he found a more effective weapon, Davis slipped inside a few
more times in the remaining time during the fight to take Nogueira
down, using the single leg attack again and again. Davis stayed
on top and fought a smart fight to pull out the unanimous decision
win.
Following
the victory, Davis admitted to having several injuries that plagued
him throughout this training camp, but he was happy he was able
to get through them and take this fight.
The
win will likely earn Davis a slot among the top ten light heavyweights
in the world, but even by his own admission he still has a lot
to learn before challenging for a title. For now however, Davis
is still a raw piece of clay that’s just begun to be molded
into what one day will likely be a champion in the UFC.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Samurai
Pro has US$30 thousand in rewards 9h
Two
times world champion of Jiu-Jitsu and of ADCC, Fabricio Werdum
now plays as a promoter. Having Lucas Pires as a partner, Werdum
is organizing Samurai Pro Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, scheduled for
May 8th, when the gentle art will break into the famous Long
Beach Pyramid, in California, United States. The event will be
divided in two: the Samurai BJJ Tournament, which consists in
disputes from the white to the brown belt, and the Samurai Black
Belt Pro Tournament, only for black belt owners.
The
US$30 thousand will be given to the champions of the blue, purple,
the open disputes on the brown belt, and the winners of five
black belt categories. Known for a pretty sharpen ground game,
responsible for beating the live legend of MMA Fedor Emelianenko,
Werdum is excited about this competition. “I am very excited
to be part of such a great competition…With all the cash
prizes being given away, I’m sure it will be the most successful
and memorable Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament of 2011”, tells
Strikeforce’s fighter.
The
subscriptions can be done until May 3rd, or until the limit of
fighters is hit. The interested may guarantee their vacancies
on www.samuraijjpro.com, and its fee will depend on the subscribing
day.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Rodolfo
Vieira grand champion of 2011 Pan
The
Pan-American champions of 2011 have just been defined in Irvine,
California. The big name of the tournament was Rodolfo Vieira,
who won the heavyweight and open weight classes by beating Bernardo
Faria, the winner of the very same divisions at last year’s
Pan. Head to the GRACIEMAG at the Pan Blog for more detailed
descriptions of the matches.
Absolute
Rodolfo Vieira defeats Bernardo Faria on advantage points after
0-0 draw.
Roosterweight
Felipe Costa and Rafael de Freitas drew 4 to 4, with Rafael taking
the gold by decision.
Light
featherweight
Caio Terra defeated Bruno Malfacine by 2 points to 0.
Featherweight
Rafael Mendes and Bruno Frazatto closed out for Atos, with Guilherme
Mendes and Eduardo Ramos taking third. The gold went to Frazatto.
Lightweight
Michael Langhi and Lucas Lepri closed out for Alliance with it
being Lepri’s turn to take gold in the rotation.
Middleweight
Claudio Calasans submitted Lucas Leite with a wristlock after
just 53 seconds.
Medium
heavyweight
André Galvão defeats Eduardo Santoro by 2 to 0,
in a close match. André scored with a sweep; Eduardo tried
for an omoplata towards the end, but it was too late.
Heavyweight
Rodolfo Vieira defeated Bernardo Faria by a score of 8 to 0,
with a takedown and two guard passes.
Superheavyweight
Marcus “Bochecha” Vinícius submitted Bruno Bastos
with a choke from the mount.
Ultraheavyweight
Antônio Braga Neto defeats Antônio Peinado by 2 to
0.
Female
division
Light
featherweight
Gezary Matuda submitted Angélica Vieira with an armbar
from the triangle. Prior to that, the ATT brown belt was winning
6 to 0.
Featherweight
Michelle Nicolini submitted Fabiana Borges with an armbar from
the triangle while losing by 4 to 2.
Lightweight
Beatriz Mesquita took first after closing out with Ana Carolina
Lebre.
Middleweight
Luanna Alzuguir defeated Hannette Staack by 1 to 0 in advantage
points.
Medium
heavyweight
Luiza Monteiro defeated Carolyn Sthephens by W.O.
Heavyweight
Gabrielle Garcia defeated Tammy Griecco on advantages (4) after
a 2-2 draw.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Pan’s
absolute finale: Rodolfo Vieira VS. Bernardo Faria
The
traditional Pan American of Jiu-Jitsu is happening now in Irvine,
and TATAME bring you the best coverage directly from the gym
of the University of California. The championship started Thursday
(24), focusing the white, blue and purple belts. Saturday (26),
the highly graduated fighters were on the center of all attentions,
especially the black belts, who gave a spectacular show. Today,
the ones who promise to show off are the athletes who’ll
fight on the weight divisions of the black belt, and Rodolfo
Vieira and Bernardo Faria will face each other on the absolute
finale. Check below how things went and the main highlights of
Pan 2011 and Click here to check the parcial results.
The
greatest highlight of Saturday was the fighter of GFTeam, Rodolfo
Vieira, who submitted all his opponents and will now face Bernardo
Faria, of Alliance, on the final. Rodolfo submitted his two first
opponents from the mount and then fought Leo Nogueira with a
choke from the back. On the semifinals, Vieira fought Braga Neto
after beating Ricardo Demente. But it was Rodolfo’s big
day, and he submitted Braga Neto with a choke from the backs,
guaranteeing a vacancy on the finale. “I came excited for
this final, I’ll give my best, I’ve trained a lot.
I joked about having partied on the Carnival, that I went party
and all that, but it was a lie, I was joking, I trained a lot”,
commented Rodolfo.
On
the other side of the key, Bernardo Feria didn’t submit
his opponents, but he did a pretty solid campaign. The athlete
of Alliance won his three first fights with good advantages and
did a freaking good fight on the semifinals with Marcus Buchecha,
who was then defeated by 6 to 4, getting his ticket to the final
against Rodolfo Vieira. The black belt of Alliance is coming
confident. “He’s a great athlete, he’s also a
good person too, he’s wining everything, but I’ve never
chosen who I’d fight, so he’ll be like anybody else.
Last year I’ve fought Braga Neto, who was a pretty tough
opponent, but I got a win, and I’m confident for fighting
tomorrow and I intend to win”, said Bernardo.
Once
again, the dynamic-two from Alliance, Luanna Alzuguir and Gabi
Garcia gave a show on the black belt. Luanna submitter her two
first opponents from the back and had a tough fight with Beatriz
Mesquita, who she defeated with 4 points in advance, after grabbing
her back. “It’s the fourth title we share”, celebrated
Luanna after the triumph, sighting the weight disputes which
happens today, with a possible duel with Hannette Staack on the
finale. “She’s my idol”, revealed Luanna.
On
the other side of the key, Gabi Garcia came from the bay and
did two tough bouts. On the first one, she beaten down Katrina
Weilbache, who she has already defeated of World’s finale
in 2010, and then submitted Luiza Monteiro on the semifinals.
Gabi will now have another meeting with Katrina, on the weight
disputes, and she’s excited to grab another medal. “I
hope I can let my game go more and be the champion. I’ll
really go for it, I want it pretty bad and I want to be weight
and absolute champion of Pan”, promised Gabi.
Source: Tatame
|
Cris
Cyborg trains Jiu-Jitsu with Galvao
Known
for her aggressive Muay Thai, Cris Cyborg is training at the
gym of two-times world champion of the modality, Andre Galvao,
in San Diego, California. While Strikeforce doesn’t schedule
a fight for her, Cris is sharpening her techniques. “An
athlete might train every day, not only when the bout’s
scheduled. I still don’t know when I’ll fight, but
I keep on training. I’m sharpening my game, I believe I
still have got much to learn. I’m training at Andre Galvao’s
gym for a while, learning Jiu-Jitsu to amuse the fans”,
said Cris Cyborg, who guaranteed she’s not unexcited and
talked about Strikeforce’s bought by UFC, believing it’ll
be good for female MMA.
While
Strikeforce doesn’t set you up for a fight, how are your
Jiu-Jitsu trainings going?
An
athlete might train every day, not only when the bout’s
scheduled. I still don’t know when I’ll fight, but
I keep on training. I’m sharpening my game, I believe I
still have got much to learn. I’m training at Andre Galvao’s
gym for a while, learning Jiu-Jitsu to amuse the fans.
We’re
used to see you striking, but we haven’t seen you playing
on the ground. How’s your ground game?
I
like Jiu-Jitsu, but I rather strike. The sport’s been evolving
a lot, so you have to keep improving your skills, like your ground
game, train more what you are worst on. I believe I have to improve
my ground game, and I’ll submit my opponent if the opportunity
comes to me, but if I can knock them out, I will. I’ll do
what’s best at the time.
Do
you keep training hard even don’t having a fight scheduled?
Well,
I work along with Alejarra on my conditioning, and now we’re
doing a different work than the one we do when I have a fight
to do, Andre Galvao helps me on Jiu-Jitsu, Cyborg helps me to
train MMA on the cage. I train Wrestling and Boxing because I
like it too and I’m improving all my techniques. When I
have a fight scheduled I can’t improve my techniques because
I have to lose weight, I have to set my game plan, so now’s
the time for me to sharpen my techniques.
What
are your expectations for the future? Have you talked to Strikeforce?
Currently
I don’t have a contract signed, but on my former contract
there was something saying that for a year I’m connected
to the event and we might sign a new one, and I believe the fact
UFC bought Strikeforce is a good thing for women, because we
have two years to do a good job and prove them our value, to
prove it to Dana White. I’m not unexcited, I’m happy,
I’m not worried and I keep on training.
What
do you think must change so that Dana White sees female MMA differently?
I believe we have to put on good shows, we need more women to
come and fight, our market is small when compared to men, but
I believe we’ve been proving ourselves to be good at it.
Do
you think women’s bout on Strikeforce has been as good as
men’s?
Lately
Strikeforce has been supporting female MMA a lot, my fight with
Gina (Carano) was a good one, and there’re lots of good
fighters. There are lots of women on MMA.
Gina’s
announced she’ll be back on the second semester. She was
a female icon on the sport. How important it is that he comes
back?
I
believe it’s pretty important because she’s always
been there and people got to know it better because of her, there’re
many fans that enjoy watching her fighting and I believe that,
for us to grow on the sport, we can’t think only about ourselves,
we have take one for the team. I cheer for her and for all women
on the sport. I think we must get together and make the sport
grow.
Send
your message for people in Brazil…
I
really miss you guys. I’d like to send my good thoughts
for the guys at Chute Boxe, and say that I keep on training and
that I’ll start a Chute Boxe branch here, I hope I please
my fans and they can be sure I’m training, I want to fight
soon, I’m just waiting for a chance to put on a good show
for you guys.
Source: Tatame
|
UFC
Fight Night 24 Results: Not Epic, But Jung Adds a Twist To Garcia
Rematch
When
you have one of those epic fights that has a crowd on its feet
from bell to bell, like Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung did
at WEC 48 last April, there is always the desire for more.
But
just like Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar could never live
up to their historical fight at the first Ultimate Fighter Finale,
neither could Garcia and Jung at UFC Fight Night 24 on Saturday
night in Seattle… although Jung added some spice in the
end.
While
Garcia and Jung both swung for the fences for the duration of
their WEC 48 bout, each was much more calculated the second time
around.
The
first round was close, both fighters searching for openings.
Jung, however, took over at the end of the round, forcing Garcia
to his back, taking full mount, and finishing the round with
a strong dose of ground and pound.
Garcia
and Jung exchanged numerous knees during the second stanza, but
again, Jung took over in the latter part of the round. The two
clashed and Garcia fell to his back, Jung immediately dropping
into his guard, punishing Garcia with huge elbows and punches.
When
Garcia turned to escape, Jung would have none of it, taking Garcia’s
back. Jung wouldn’t relent, the seconds ticking away in
the round, slowly working his way into Eddie Bravo’s Twister
maneuver, figure-fouring one of Garcia’s legs and then torqueing
his spine by cranking on his head.
Evidently
unaware of how much time was left, Garcia tapped out with one
second left in the round.
“For
all the fans he felt like he let down for the first fight, he
finally feels like he made up for it,” Jung’s translator
relayed after the fight, referencing a split decision loss in
the their first go-around.
For
sure, it wasn’t the epic that their first fight was, but
Jung added some drama, finishing a fighter with the Twister for
the first time ever in the UFC.
“He
has been watching Eddie Bravo’s videos on YouTube for a
long time… and has been saying that he’s going to do
a Twister in the UFC some day, and finally he got the opportunity,”
his translator said, adding, “Hopefully we’ll get the
Submission of the Night for that one.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
Fight Night 24 Results: Semerzier and Russow Light Up Facebook
Prelims
Mackens
Semerzier made short work of “Bruce Leroy” in a featherweight
bout featured on Facebook during the UFC Fight Night 24 prelims,
while Mike Russow came back strong after a long layoff putting
Jon Madsen away in their heavyweight match-up.
The
big boys came to throw down in Seattle on Saturday night as Mike
Russow got the best of Jon Madsen after punches closed the former
TUF fighter’s eye, forcing a stoppage between rounds.
The
fight between Russow and Madsen ended up being a somewhat sloppy
and slow moving stand-up bout, as each man tried his best to
land the perfect shot to end the other’s night. Russow was
more aggressive throughout both rounds, while Madsen seemed to
lose his gas tank after the first three minutes.
Russow
looked to take advantage of his opponent’s waning cardio
and pushed forward and landed a good overhand punch that left
Madsen with a swollen eye, that apparently cut off his vision.
The swelling was so bad that between the 2nd and 3rd rounds,
the ringside physician called a stop to the bout declaring Mike
Russow the winner.
“I
think it was that overhand right that I tried to set up,”
Russow said about the strike that ended the fight. “It’s
been 10 months since I’ve been here, and this camp really
worked on my conditioning, and hands a lot. I think it paid off.”
Alex
Caceres may be nicknamed “Bruce Leroy” but he didn’t
have the power of the “Last Dragon” with him on Saturday
night as former WEC featherweight Mackens Semerzier dominated
the former “Ultimate Fighter” winner en route to a
rear naked choke victory.
It
was apparent in the early going that Semerzier wanted to showcase
his dominance, and he looked powerful pushing Caceres around
the cage before taking the fight to the mat.
Once
the fight hit the canvas, it was all Semerzier.
Semerzier
took Caceres’ back within a few moments, and as soon as
he locked his arm under his opponent’s chin, like a vice
grip he tightened the hold and soon forced the tap out.
“I’m
pretty happy about my performance, but I ate a left hand that
I’m not happy about. I got a bloody nose. My jiu-jitsu was
good. Fifteen years of training for 15 minutes – I’m
real happy to be here,” Semerzier said after the victory.
“I’ve
been working hard. I want to thank my team for training me. I’m
happy I got the win, but I have to get better.”
Making
the most of his UFC debut, Semerzier looked extremely impressive
in a dominant win over Caceres, while “Bruce Leroy”
may exit the UFC after the loss and get a chance to improve and
then make his way back to the Octagon.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
Fight Night 24 Results: Facebook Bonus Fights Deliver Excitement
in Seattle
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday night not only gave
fans fights on facebook.com, they gave them a whopping five fights
if you “like” the UFC page. The initial announcement
was for two bouts on facebook, but the UFC quickly shifted gears
and added three UFC Fight Night 24 bonus fights to the online
stream.
The
final of the three bonus bouts was a war of attrition between
Brit John Hathaway and American Kris McCray, but don’t let
the word attrition fool you. This was a tough, competitive fight
from bell to bell.
Hathaway
started out with a quick foot lock attempt that looked like it
would finish the fight, but McCray fought his way out of it and
stamped his takedowns all over Hathaway during round one. But
as often as McCray was on top, Hathaway was fighting just as
strong from his back.
Round
two was similar, both men having their moments, neither gaining
a distinct advantage, splitting takedowns, and taking turns with
their ground and pound attack.
The
third round is what secured the fight for Hathaway, however.
He took McCray down numerous times in the final stanza, as McCray
grew weary. Hathaway was also quicker to the punch on their feet.
The
scorecards reflected how closely the efforts of McCray and Hathaway
matched. One judge gave a 29-28 nod to McCray, while the other
two scored it the same in Hathaway’s favor, handing the
Brit a split decision victory.
One
of the most highly touted young fighters in the UFC, Michael
McDonald showed why by utilizing his full arsenal to get a victory
over late replacement Edwin Figueroa.
McDonald
was on fire early, blistering Figueroa with his striking attack
throughout the first round. He continued to impress in round
two, shifting gears to a submission attack. McDonald locked on
several deep submissions, but couldn’t secure the finish
on a very game Figueroa, who got his shot in the Octagon on a
mere 10 days notice and wasn’t going to let it go to waste.
Both
fighters tiring, Figueroa finally got some offense going in round
three, but McDonald dug deep, finding a way to win by stifling
Figueroa’s striking with takedown after takedown to earn
a unanimous decision victory.
“He’s
definitely the toughest guy I’ve fought,” said McDonald
after the fight, clearly ready to continue his ascension up the
UFC bantamweight ladder.
There
was a whole lotta man in the first bout on facebook. Six-foot-eight
Christian Morecraft and six-foot-seven Sean McCorkle, both 265
pounds, are pushing the limits of the heavyweight division.
It
was Morecraft, however, that used his size to his advantage on
Saturday night. Though McCorkle started the fight out by landing
on top following a takedown, Morecraft quickly turned the tables
and punished McCorkle with some brutal ground and pound to finish
round one, and again to open round two.
Morecraft
landed an accidental low knee just past the midway point of round
two. McCorkle took full advantage of his five minutes to recover,
but it didn’t do him any good. Shortly after the fight restarted,
Morecraft applied a standing guillotine choke that put McCorkle
to sleep.
Both
men were coming off of losses to Stefan Struve. A loss here doesn’t
bode well for McCorkle, but Morecraft was impressive, earning
further life in the Octagon.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC:
Phil Davis defeats Rogerio Nogueira on UFN 24
The
experienced Rogerio Nogueira went through another hard time,
now on UFC Fight Night 24, which happened Saturday night, in
Seattle, United States. The American guy Phil Davis remains undefeated,
now with nine wins, after beating down the Brazilian on a tight
fight. The night really wasn’t a good one for the Brazilians.
Mario Miranda was also defeated by points, by Aaron Simpson,
who controlled the fight with good takedowns. Check below more
details about the main bouts.
On
the main event of the evening, Rogerio Minotouro and Phil Davis
started things slow, showing much respect for each other. The
American launched high kicks, but the Brazilian responded well.
After that, Rogerio started to dominate the center of the octagon
and connected better coups. Mr Wonderful responded with good
kicks. Rogerio did a good first round, where he showed good takedown
defense, but the American’s persistence on the single leg
proved to work out. Phil imposed his Wrestling game and dominated
the following rounds, with good takedowns and knees, defeating
the Brazilian on a unanimous decision of the judges.
Anthony
Johnson dominates Dan Hardy
On
the last but one bout of the evening, the American Anthony Johnson
came with a game plan set over the English guy, Dan Hardy. With
an efficient takedown game and a pretty tough ground and pound,
the American punished the English guy on the two first rounds,
and got a knockdown with a high kick. On the final round, Johnson
kept dominating and grabbed Hardy’s back for a long time,
where he tried to fit a katagatame, defended by the English guy.
A unanimous decision came in favor to the American, who got a
good result after being defeated by Josh Koscheck.
The
welterweight fighters Amir Sadollah and DaMarques Johnson faced
each other on the main card. Sadollah knew how to take advantage
of the positions on the ground and imposed a hard punishment
to DaMarques, who defended himself at any cost. Many elbows from
the mount were launched, defining the bout in favor of Amir,
who won by TKO on the second round.
Korean
submitted Leonard Garcia on the last second of the second round
The
first bout of the main card, between Leonard Garcia and Chan
Sung Jung, started tight until the Korean got a takedown, and
with it the mount and finished the round grabbing the American’s
back, who was saved by the bell. On the second round, Garcia
came for it and balanced things until being taken down again.
On the ground, the Korean proved why he’s a BJJ brown belt
and submitted the American guy with a neck choke. In case Leonard
had handled it for one more second, he’d be saved by the
bell again.
Mario
Miranda is beaten down and gets to a complicated situation
The
Brazilian Mario Miranda was on the second bout of the preliminary
card and ended up being beaten down on a unanimous decision of
the judges to Aaron Simpson, who dominate the Brazilian using
his efficient takedowns and controlling things on the floor.
Now Miranda has three losses within four fights on UFC and might
be cut off, while Simpson is “saved”, after losing
to Chris Leben and Mark Munoz.
FULL
RESULTS:
UFC
Fight Night 24
Keu
Arena, Seattle, United States
Saturday,
March 26th of 2011
Main
card:
-
Phil Davis beat Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on a unanimous decision
of the judges ;
-
Anthony Johnson beat Dan Hardy on a unanimous decision of the
judges;
-
Amir Sadollah beat DaMarques Johnson by TKO at 3min27s of R2;
-
Chan Sung Jung submitted Leonard Garcia at 4min59s of R2;
Preliminary
card:
-
Mike Russow beat Jon Madsen by doctor’s stoppage at the
end of R2;
-
Macksens Semerzie submitted Alex Caceres with a rear naked choke
at 3min18s of R1;
-
John Hathaway beat Kris McCray on a split decision of the judges;
-
Michael McDonald beat Edwin Figueroa on a unanimous decision
of the judges;
-
Christian Morecraft submitted Sean McCorkle with a guillotine
choke at 4min10s of R2;
-
Johny Hendricks knocked out Anthony Waldburger at 1min35s of
R1;
-
Aaron Simpson beat Mario Miranda on a unanimous decision of the
judges;
-
Nik Lentz submitted Waylon Lowe with a guillotine choke at 2min24s
of R3.
Source: Tatame |
UFC
Fight Night 24 Pulls in Sell Out Crowd and Tremendous Gate for
Seattle Debut
Count
Seattle as a success for the UFC’s debut effort in the city
with a sold-out crowd and tremendous live gate.
UFC
Fight Night 24 took place at Key Arena in Seattle and pulled
in a sellout crowd of 14,212 for Saturday night’s fights,
which aired on Spike TV and Facebook.
The
attendance pulled in a live gate of $1,182,850, according to
UFC officials.
The
attendance will rank as one of the highest for a UFC Fight Night
show, and Seattle will more than likely see an event back in
their city after a warm welcome for the promotion.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Effective
Immediatley, No More Strikeforce Amateur Bouts
Strikeforce
MMA LogoIt has been little more than a week since Zuffa (the
UFC’s parent company) swooped in and swallowed up Strikeforce,
but a few changes are already underway.
Right
out of the gate, Zuffa co-owner and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said
that Strikeforce would conform to the Unified Rules of mixed
martial arts. Strikeforce had already largely done so, but maintained
a few tweaks of their own, such as no elbow strikes on the ground.
That
immediately came to an end when Fertitta and UFC president Dana
White held a conference call with reporters to announce the acquisition.
Another
change that goes into effect immediately is no more amateur fights.
Nick Diaz trainer Cesar Gracie first posted the news on his website.
Strikeforce Director of Communication Mike Afromowitz later confirmed
the change to MMAWeekly.com.
White
has long been a detractor of amateur fights, indicating that
such bouts were largely a way for promoters to get away with
putting on fights without having to pay the fighters.
Strikeforce
had utilized amateurs primarily on its builder show, Strikeforce
Challengers, under the sanctioning of CAMO, the California Mixed
Martial Arts Organization.
Source: MMA Weekly |
TUF
Lessons Learned, Vinny Magalhaes Prepared For M-1 Challenge
“Ultimate
Fighter” alum Vinny Magalhaes admits his time in the UFC
didn’t go as anticipated.
“When
I was first got to the UFC and people were just starting to get
to know me, that’s when I wasn’t really training for
MMA. I wasn’t really focused,” Magalhaes told MMAWeekly.com.
“People
just assume that you give 100 percent of yourself just because
you’re in the UFC; you’re in the show, which wasn’t
true.”
It’s
not that Magalhaes was lazy or any such thing, it’s just
difficult for anyone to excel at anything when they are being
pulled in multiple directions.
“I
was still doing grappling tournaments, but if you want to do
well in MMA, you’ve got to dedicate yourself 100 percent
just to MMA,” he stated.
While
focus was one issue that kept Magalhaes from achieving the kind
of success he had in the grappling world, he feels his biggest
problem may have been more how he approached his opposition in
the cage.
“To
be honest with you, I don’t think the lack of striking was
ever the problem, it was the lack of strategy,” he admitted.
“Just not being smart, like going in there and trying to
fight 15 minutes on my feet when I was not a good striker.”
Since
leaving the promotion, Magalhaes has gotten things on track,
and appears to have turned the corner towards achieving the kind
of success many felt he’s been capable of.
“The
last two years have been pretty good to me when it comes to MMA,”
he said. “I had two wins, both by submission, then I had
my knee injury and I took a fight (and lost) – which was
not a good decision – but I came back and had two other
wins by submission as well, so I have nothing to complain about.
“My
plan from now on is to just keep getting wins and just forget
about my first couple years of fighting.”
Magalhaes
will get an opportunity to show a national audience how he’s
changed when he steps back into the M-1 Global ring against Jake
Doerr on Friday night for the promotion’s debut event on
Showtime.
“I’m
expecting him to swing and try to take my head off,” chuckled
Magalhaes. “Normally he tries to take his opponents to the
ground, but I don’t think that will be his game plan, at
least at first.
“He
might try to take me down and hold me down once or twice, but
I don’t think that’s going to be his game plan. I’ve
never been taken down – not because my defense is great
– but because people don’t want to take me down and
get caught in submissions.”
When
it comes to Magalhaes’ strategy, a sense of urgency is key.
“As
for me, I’ve just got to go in there and be the aggressor,”
he stated. “I’ve lost fights just by trying to set
up for 15 minutes when I didn’t have the striking skills,
and other fights that I could take it to the ground and get the
submission.
“I
don’t care what he’s going to bring, but my game plan
is to bring my ground game and try to finish the fight as fast
as I can.”
Admittedly,
Magalhaes’ record isn’t where he wants it to be, so
his goal for the year is to get it on par with where he feels
it should be and give the fans the thing he feels he lacked in
his initial UFC run.
“I
want to thank my sponsors Chipotle Mexican Grill and Xyience,”
he concluded. “If you want to follow what’s going on
with me you can check me out on Twitter @VinnyMMA or find me
on Facebook.
“I
still feel like I owe people something, so I’ve got to go
in there like a vicious fighter, like I’ve got something
to prove and they can expect that from me. I’m going to
go in there and get a win.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Shane
Carwin vs. Jon Olav Einemo Set, Likely For UFC 131 In Vancouver
Shane
Carwin finally has an opponent for his next fight, and that opponent
is Jon Olav Einemo.
UFC
president Dana White made the announcement during a live chat
with fans on the Seattle Times website Wednesday afternoon.
“As
for Shane Carwin: Jon Olav Einemo. That’s his next opponent,”
White said during the live chat. “He’s from Norway.
He’s 6 foot 6, and he’s the Abu Dabi submission champion.”
Einemo
will be making his UFC debut after signing with the organization
earlier this month. At 7-1, the Norwegian big man will look to
walk tall in the UFC heavyweight division.
Carwin
(12-1) hasn’t seen action since being submitted by Brock
Lesnar at UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin last July. The loss was
the first of his professional career and it was followed up by
back problems that kept him out of action until now.
As
of now, there is no official date for the fight, but MMAWeekly.com
previously reported that Carwin had accepted a slot on the UFC
131 fight card expected to take place in Vanouver in June.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC
Fight Night 24 Gets Facebook Treatment with Caceres vs. Semerzier,
Madsen vs. Russow
The
UFC will return to Facebook this Saturday night with two of the
featured fights from the UFC Fight Night in Seattle show leading
the way.
The
featured fights on the Facebook broadcast include former “Ultimate
Fighter” competitor Alex “Bruce Leroy” Caceres
facing former WEC fighter Mackens Semerzier, as well as heavyweights
Jon Madsen and Mike Russow.
The
stream will begin at 9pm ET/6pm PT and to watch the fights, fans
just need a Facebook page, and then ‘like’ the UFC’s
official Facebook page to view the show for free.
The
UFC has made an internet home on the social network giant over
the past several events, and it appears most UFC broadcasts will
find at least a few fights on Facebook whenever it’s available.
The
main card will kick off at 10pm ET on Spike TV, but is delayed
until 10pm PT on the West Coast.
Source: MMA Weekly |
UFC:
Murilo regrets Shogun’s loss on UFC 128
On
the following day of the defeat of Mauricio Shogun Rua to Jon
Jones, on UFC 128’s main event, the Brazilian Murilo Ninja
Rua, brother of the now former champion of Ultimate, chatted
with TATAME and commented Shogun’s defeat complimenting
the American guy and betting on a stronger return of Mauricio.
Check below the complete interview with Murilo Ninja, directly
from New Jersey.
Were
you surprised by Jon Jones’ game?
Yes,
I was. My brother was training hard, but Jon Jones blocked his
game wisely, and he was indeed ready for it, but Jon Jones proved,
on the fight, he’s a great fighter and he’s to be congratulated.
Now my brother will return to Brazil, analyzed the fight, see
the mistakes he made and move on.
It’s
hard to keep the belt on this weight class. Since Quinton Jackson
nobody was able to defend the title, except for Lyoto, who was
later beaten up by your brother. Do you think Jon Jones will
keep this belt for long?
He
has a bright future ahead of him, he’s young, he has a full
stamina supply, he’s shinning, but on this weight division
it’s pretty hard to evaluate because you can become a champion,
but you can remain one after one fight, you losses it right away,
but I’m sure my brother will train harder now and he’ll
return better and he’ll win this belt again.
What
do you think Shogun lacked in order to return to Brazil with
the belt?
Actually,
one of the first coups launched on him, a knee and a kick on
his head, right on the beginning of the fight, finished his conditioning
and it changed the course of the fight.
Do
you believe Rashad can take this belt away from Jon Jones?
I
don’t think so. I remember Jon Jones’ Begin on Ultimate,
he was pretty young and yet a tough athlete, he’s been improving
a lot his Wrestling, Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu, he’s tough,
but nowadays we can’t say much about it, you never know,
because if a coups hits the guy it’s complicated.
You
have a fight scheduled in England in May. What are the expectations
for 2011?
The
expectations are good, I’m glad to fight again and this
will be a very important one, because it’s worth the belt.
The guys in Brazil can be sure I’ll give my whole best and
I’m working hard to win this fight.
You
were on a good winning streak, but you end up being defeated
last time. How do you intend to win again and singing in with
a big event?
I’m
training hard, I’ve had a few proposals, but I’m taking
it slow so I sign with a big event later. I already have a name,
so I have to be on a event that worships me, with a title shot,
I don’t want simply to fight, I want to have a title shot
knocking on my door, that’s how I think. I leave it to my
manager to deal with, so let’s see what happens, but I already
have proposals in Japan, so we’ll see.
Source: Tatame
|
Dana
White: Brock Lesnar Is UFC's Most Underrated Fighter
Brock
Lesnar A lot of mixed martial arts fans think Brock Lesnar is
overrated: He lost his first UFC fight in 90 seconds, got fast-tracked
to a title shot because of his pro wrestling fame, beat a man
he outweighed by 50 pounds to win the title, then crumpled when
someone finally hit him in the face and lost his title to Cain
Velasquez.
UFC
President Dana White has heard those comments. But he says that
viewpoint is actually an example of Lesnar being underrated.
In fact, White calls Lesnar the most underrated fighter in the
UFC.
In
a live chat with the Seattle Times to promote Saturday night's
Fight Night in Seattle, White was asked to name the most underrated
fighter, and Lesnar was the man he picked.
"I
don't think people give him enough credit for how good he really
is and what he has accomplished," White said.
It
sounds a little crazy at first to think that a guy who has been
perhaps the most hyped-up fighter in UFC history could also be
the sport's most underrated fighter, but there may be some truth
to what White is saying. Lesnar is, after all, one of the two
or three best heavyweights in the sport, and yet in the months
since Lesnar's loss to Velasquez, there has been a steady stream
of fans who question whether he even belongs in the cage at all,
and who think he ought to return to wrestling and leave MMA to
guys who can take a punch.
So
Lesnar may have gone from overrated to underrated in just a few
months. In three months, he'll get a chance to prove against
Junior dos Santos that all the people who questioned his abilities
inside the cage have been underrating him.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Waters
Tested, Anderson Silva Not Planning Return To Light Heavyweight
Whenever
the term “super fight” is thrown around, UFC middleweight
champion Anderson Silva’s name inevitably comes up.
The
man who has stayed undefeated in the UFC while riding a nearly
five-year, 14-fight unbeaten streak, is almost universally ranked
as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. Silva has also
ventured out of his usual weight class and laid a beatdown on
fighters like Forrest Griffin and James Irvin at 205 pounds.
It’s
no wonder that almost the moment that Jon Jones finished off
Maurcio “Shogun” Rua, the questions immediately came
flowing in about the new UFC light heavyweight champion squaring
off against Silva.
Well,
it doesn’t appear likely that fight will happen.
Silva,
who is currently waiting to hear about who his next opponent
will be, has informed UFC president Dana White that he doesn’t
have any desire to go back to 205 pounds again. He wants to finish
his career as a middleweight.
“Anderson
Silva has made it very clear to me that he does not want to fight
at 205 pounds,” White stated following UFC 128.
The
UFC’s reigning and defending middleweight champion will
more than likely face either top 185-pound contender Yushin Okami
or, in true super fight fashion, take on Georges St-Pierre if
the Canadian is able to get past Jake Shields at UFC 129.
Silva
vs. St-Pierre is the super fight everyone has been talking about
for years, at least until Jon Jones put on a show at UFC 128.
According
to White, Silva only tested the waters at 205 pounds because
the UFC was essentially asking him to do it. Now he is content
to stay at 185 pounds, defend his title, and let the best of
the best come to him.
Even
with the temptation of adding another title to his mantle, Silva
just doesn’t seem interested in any fight at light heavyweight.
“Originally,
when I was always talking about him trying to go for another
belt at 205 pounds, and he stuck his big toe in it a couple times,
I think because I was pushing the issue. He’s made it very
clear he doesn’t want to fight at 205,” White stated.
Silva
still has plenty of challenges, however, without ever facing
Jon Jones. Beyond St-Pierre and Okami, there’s still a potential
rematch with Chael Sonnen looming overhead. The middleweight
champion can stay plenty busy and face a lot of top competition,
it just won’t be at 205 pounds.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Against
Davis, Minotouro will need to row against the tide
Rogério
Minotouro’s generation is having some problems. Fedor Emelianenko,
Mirko Cro Cop and Mauricio Shogun are coming off recent and crushing
losses. Can the most dreaded light heavyweight twin of yesteryear
escape this trend, at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event?
To
make matters worse, his opponent is young and athletic Phil Davis,
seen by many to be a future rival for Jon Jones, who has hardly
settled into his throne since his win over Maurício Shogun
last Saturday.
A
peculiar detail regarding the fight is that Davis and Minotouro
recently trained together in the United States, which can make
a number of things easier – for both of them. Originally,
Rogério was set to face Tito Ortiz, who suffered a severe
injury to his forehead while training and was replaced.
What
about you, dear reader, who do you have winning the fight? Which
will be the fight of the night this Saturday? Comment below!
UFC
Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis
Key Arena, Seattle, Washington, USA
March 26, 2011
Antônio
Rogério Nogueira vs. Phil Davis
Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson
Amir Sadollah vs. DaMarques Johnson
Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung
Preliminary
card
Alex
Caceres vs. Mackens Semerzier
Jon Madsen vs. Mike Russow
John Hathaway vs. Kris McCray
Michael McDonald vs. Edwin Figueroa
Sean McCorkle vs. Christian Morecraft
Johny Hendricks vs. TJ Waldburger
Mario Miranda vs. Aaron Simpson
Waylon Lowe vs. Nik Lentz
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Russia-vs.-Cuba
boxing bout a letdown
The
heavily-anticipated showdown between Russia’s Vitali Klitschko
(42w, 2l) and Cuba’s Odlanier Solís ended in a first-round
knockout last Saturday. But it wasn’t what fans watching
on TV and the 19 thousand in attendance in Cologne, Germany,
expected.
Vitali
landed a straight right to the Cuban’s face three minutes
into the bout, but what ended the affair was a knee injury that
left the fallen athlete unable to get up due to torn ligaments.
Vitali
thus retains his Boxing Council title and remains unbeaten since
2003.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
128 Victory Puts Mike Pyle Back In The Welterweight Running
After
his win at UFC 128 this past weekend, welterweight Mike Pyle
is on a three-fight winning streak, but he still feels he can
improve.
“I
guess I’m about 80-percent happy with my performance,”
he said of his unanimous decision victory over Ricardo Almeida.
“I figured the pace of the fight would go the way it would.
I trained hard to shut down his wrestling; which I did.
“I
would have liked for my striking to be a bit more damaging. But
I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
As
for where he sees himself in the 170-pound weight class with
his recent success, Pyle told MMAWeekly.com, “All I can
say is, that’s three in a row and I want to continue to
keep winning.
“Whatever
the UFC has in store for me, I’m willing and ready for the
challenge.”
Pyle
credits his recent winning to the fact that he’s managed
to add the psychological game to his already outstanding physical
abilities.
“I’m
just getting comfortable in the UFC,” commented Pyle. “It
took me a little bit more to get the jitters out and extra time
to get my mental preparation and mental training and things like
that I was lacking.
“Once
I picked that up, it began to show in the fights. I’m able
to show what a talented fighter I am. I’m thankful that
I’m finally starting to come into my full potential.”
Pyle
admits at times he may have gotten too lost in his jiu-jitsu
training and neglected parts of his game he needed to improve
to be a more successful fighter.
Of
late, he’s worked hard to fix that and with his striking
in particular he feels he’s become that much better.
“If
you can’t take a wrestler down, what can you do?” he
asked. “You’ve got to out-strike them. Basically what
it came down to, I had to evolve with the sport, which I’ve
done.”
He’s
also worked hard to develop the kind of diet, with the help of
one of the sport’s premier coaches, a fighter at this level
needs.
“I
listen to my body and am doing the things I need to do such as
hiring Mike Dolce of DolceDiet.com to put the right fuel back
in my body so I can continue on with the hard weeks,” said
Pyle. “It was one of the best moves I could have made to
bring in Mike.
“It
was very critical in my fight, because cardio was great and going
into the third round it felt like it was the first. I was fresh,
I was moving around, and was able to put on a dominating performance
in the third. I’m very happy with the moves I’ve made
in my training of late.”
Many
felt Pyle was one of the best fighters not in the UFC before
he entered the company, and after a brief stumble when he first
arrived, he’s put himself on track to become one of the
welterweight division’s premier fighters once again.
“I
want to thank all my fans and Twitter followers (@Mike_Pyle);
they gave me a lot of support leading up to the fight,”
he concluded. “I want to thank all my teammates at Xtreme
Couture, and all my sponsors. I appreciate everything they’ve
done for me.
“I
don’t want to look too far ahead and fall off the bike.
I know what I’m capable of doing and that’s what I’m
focused on.”
Source: MMA Weekly |
Jesse
Finney Buys H.I.T. Squad, Matt Hughes and Coaches Remain
Representatives
from the H.I.T. Squad gym on Wednesday announced that they are
under new ownership. The Granite City, Illinois, training facility
of UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes is now officially “Finney’s
H.I.T. Squad.”
The
new owner is Jesse Finney. A Strikeforce veteran with a 6-1 overall
professional record, the 36-year-old Finney already owns Finney’s
MMA in St. Louis.
Hughes
will reportedly continue training at Finney’s H.I.T. Squad
and the coaching staff – headed up by Marc Fiore and Kyle
Watson – will remain intact.
“We
are very excited about working with Matt Hughes, Marc Fiore,
and Kyle Watson,” said Finney. “The H.I.T. Squad (now
Finney’s H.I.T. Squad) is already considered one of the
top MMA gyms in the world. Our goal is to make it THE top MMA
gym. We have already begun making improvements to both training
facilities, improvements that will ultimately generate bigger
and better opportunities for our fighters as we evolve.”
A
full size competition cage has been installed in Finney’s
H.I.T. Squad facility as a result of the new ownership, and they
have already begun implementing the Shamrock Fighter Development
System (SDS). The system mirrors that of Major League Baseball,
where players start out in a development league and work their
way up based on their skills and performance.
“This
is a positive change that will generate new opportunities for
the gym and make the H.I.T. Squad brand even stronger,”
commented Fiore. “The new build out has added value to the
facility and our stable of fighters has already increased from
40 to 80. We are all very excited about the direction the gym
is going.”
Finney’s
MMA and Finney’s H.I.T. Squad are both 20,000 square foot
state-of-the-art facilities that cater to professional fighters,
as well as the general public. Classes are offered in boxing,
kickboxing, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, mixed martial arts, wrestling,
and sports conditioning.
Source: MMA Weekly |
Igor
Silva and surprising sweep on Big Mac
Igor
Silva was one of the competitors to come up big at the World
Pro tryouts in Gramado, Brazil. The fighter tapped out aces like
Márcio Pé de Pano and Luiz Big Mac in securing
a spot for himself in the main event, in Abu Dhabi.
“I
had five matches in all and couldn’t have had a better showing.
I feel that if I made any mistakes, I made little ones. The first
day I started out poorly against Pé de Pano; he caught
me in an omoplata and made things rough. On the second day I
did better and managed to get my game going just right. It was
great!”
The
opponent in the final was Big Mac, known for his excellent base.
Few are those who have managed to sweep the big fellow, and Igor
joined this select group.
“A
lot of people told me pulling Big Mac into guard would be insane,
but there was no way I could change the game I’d been doing
nor could I deal with him standing; Big Mac’s a black belt
in judo. I had faith, my sweeps were sharp and, thank God, I
managed to sweep at the right moment, besides defending myself
when he was attacking. It was the way to go to pull off the win,”
said the Muzio De Angelis student in analysis.
With
his latest results, Igor now figures among the favorites at black
belt. The fighter commented on what he’s doing differently
in training:
“I
always fought much stronger athletes, so I’m working on
my strength a lot more. From heavyweight up the gang is really
strong and I improved my strength work. And now, besides training
with the gang at Brasa, I’m training at GFTeam. I have a
lot of different training partners and that’s helping me
a lot. I’m also entering more championships and that’s
getting me into rhythm. I won the Asian Open, Rio Open , Euro
Open, I’m on a solid series of wins and I want to continue
like this,” he says in closing.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Congratulations
to O2MAA's Kaleo and Bobby!
O2
Martial Arts Academy Brown Belts Kaleo Hosaka took 2nd Place
and Bobby Moss took 3rd Place in their weight classes at the
Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Championships today. Bobby also entered
the absolute and ended up submitting his first two opponents
before losing by a close 2 points in his third match.
Rhalan
Gracie lost his first match 6-2 because while going for a toe
hold, his opponent got his back. Congratulations to Rhalan for
going for the submission!
Congratulations
to the guys representing the Relson Gracie Team and Kaleo and
Bobby representing O2 Martial Arts Academy!
We are all proud of you guys!
|
Congratulations
to O2MAA's Al Napoleon!
O2
Martial Arts Academy's Albert Napoleon won his triple threat
match by decision in a tough fight against Vinnie Fowler of Jesus
is Lord last night at the Mad Skills event.
Congratulations!
|
Dominating
performances by O2 at the HUAWA Fila Submission Wrestling Tournament!
Kyle Snyder-Olivares and Jence Kona submitted all their opponents
to win the weight classes and to close to absolute! Chris Kansaki
also entered, but injured his knee in his first match. Hopefully
he is doing ok.
Liam and Malia Mason and Casey Nitta dominated in their kids
weight classes as well to win their divisions!
We
are proud of all of you the dominated on Saturday at Mililani
High School!
|
UFC
129: Lyoto trains hard, Dana shows affection
The
stage for UFC 129 in Toronto will be the Rogers Centre, with
it's classic retractable roof. Photo: Mike Russell.
He’s
only had two career losses, back-to-back setbacks in 2010, but
Lyoto Machida (16w, 2l) knows it’s no time to let himself
go.
Former
light heavyweight of the UFC Lyoto saw the belt once his change
hands yet again. Jon Jones’s victory changed nothing in
the Brazilian karateca’s routine, as he continues training
hard in Belém, in the Brazilian state of Pará,
to face his coming obstacles, among them a legendary middle-ager
good at takedowns.
At
UFC 129, on April 30 in Canada), Machida faces the 47-year-old
Randy Couture.
To
ward off any bad results, the Brazilian has been doing technical
and physical training in three sessions, three times a week,
coming to four and a half hours of prep work per day. On the
other days of the week dedicates himself to sparring, while Saturdays
are specifically for physical conditioning. His father, Yoshizo
Machida, a reference in Brazilian karate, stays by his side throughout.
The
training may be rough, but the former champion continues softening
up his fans’ hearts, including of the president of the UFC.
Interviewed for the Sunday edition of Brazil’s “O Globo”
newspaper, Dana stressed that he looks kindly on Machida and
his style of fighting.
“Is
it true Lyoto Machida is in danger of getting axed by the UFC
if he loses again?” queried “O Globo.”
“I
love Machida, I love his style, the way he carries himself. And
this next fight is really important for him. Let’s see what
happens,” replied White.
What
about you, dear reader, what’s going to happen in the Octagon?
UFC
129
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Georges
St-Pierre vs. Jake Shields
José Aldo vs. Mark Hominick
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Jason Brilz
Lyoto Machida vs. Randy Couture
Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson
Spike
TV broadcast card
Nate
Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald
Sean Pierson vs. Brian Foster
Preliminary
card (informal Canada vs. USA)
Yves
Jabouin vs. Pablo Garza
Claude Patrick vs. Daniel Roberts
Ivan Menjivar vs. Charlie Valencia
Jason MacDonald vs. Ryan Jensen
John Makdessi vs. Kyle Watson
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Anderson
Silva: “Jon Jones will be champion for a long time”
Anderson
Silva is forging ahead with his commitments and routine in the
United States. Over there, the fighters was interviewed by the
website MMA Convert, and the Spider didn’t discard the possibility
but seemed not to keen on the fight everyone has on their minds
at the moment: a showdown with new light heavyweight champion
Jon Jones.
“I
don’t know. . . I’m happy in my category, where I have
my own problems. I don’t plan to move up, I don’t know.
. .” says the beast, who heaped praise on Shogun’s
toppler.
“Jon
Jones is incredible, he’s the best in the division and should
be champion for a long time.”
Silva
also has his eye on the George Saint-Pierre-Jake Shields fight.
According to UFC president Dana White, GSP may be a future opponent
of the Spider’s.
“It’s
a great fight, Georges is great and his opponent too.”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC:
Jim Miller wants a title shot
The
American Jim Miller conquered his seventh win in a row Saturday
(19) as he knocked out the Iranian Kamal Shalorus, on UFC 128
on a great performance. The fighter has defeated athletes like
the Brazilian Gleison Tibau and Charles do Bronx’s, and
never spoke up or asked for a title shot. But this time, Miller
stated to TATAME that there’s no certain moment for a guy
to earn a chance to fight for the belt, which currently is on
Frankie Edgar’s waist.
First
of all, things happened like you had planned?
Pretty
much. You know, I figured he would try to stand and try to hit
me. I knew he was a big puncher, so I tried to fit him straight
punches and I worked on my takedowns and tried to work them.
That’s what I end up doing and found my opportunity to finish
the fight.
Your
last fight against Oliveira was seen as a bright future for the
Brazilian fans and the press, and you won. Were you surprised
to be considered the underdog on this fight too?
I
was a little surprised to be considered the underdog on this
fight. Charles is a very tough fighter and he has tons of potential,
he’ll definitely be a tough guy to fight with in the future,
I personally think he’s a little small for 155lbs right
now, I think he would do better on 145lbs, so in a couple of
years we’ll see because there are lots of big boys on the
lightweight division.
Where
do you see yourself on this division?
I
see myself near the top. Like Dana was saying, there’s a
lot going on in our division, so we need to see how everything
pans out. I’ll fight who they put in front of me.
Do
you think you deserve a title shot more than Pettis or Guida?
You
know, I think I deserve it more than Guida. Pettis, if he wins,
they’ll unify the WEC and UFC belt, so that makes sense.
If he loses, I think I should be right up there knocking on the
door.
Unfortunately
your brother didn’t win. What did you think about his fight?
It’s
a tough fight. We knew Nate was a tough fighter, and there’s
a lot of stress and pressure on both of us, fighting back to
back, and it just happens sometimes. Sometimes it’s not
your night. He fought hard and I’m proud of him, and we
know he’ll come back stronger.
Do
you think he’ll come back hungrier after a loss?
A
little bit, yes. I always feed of his fighting, I get more excited
when he’s fighting and I fight after him. It’s tough
when he losses and I have to go out there, and it kind of piss
me off a little bit, so I think I’m going in this fight
and I’m going to beat this kid up.
Do
you watch his fights or do you concentrate on yours?
I
watch his fights. You know, I was trying to warm up and keep
myself warm and not psych myself watching his, so I didn’t
watch it intently as I usually watch, but you couldn’t stop
me from watching (laughs).
Give
me your thought about Edgar VS. Gray and Pettis VS. Guida?
I
think Frankie’s going to pick it where he loss off, and
then use that work. Gray you never know… Gray might come
in with the same game plan and try to hit him, and he does hit
hard, he’s dangerous, but I still think Frankie will be
able to overcome that, and stay with the title on his hands.
I feel that Guida is a tough fight for Pettis, to be honest.
I think that once he gets Pettis to the ground, you know, Clay
has done so good on his last couple of fights on the mat, and
it’ll probably solve things out.
How
do you see this division with the merger between WEC and UFC
and the future of lightweights with Strikeforce coming? Will
it be the toughest division?
(laughs)
Oh yeah, there’re lots of tough guys in the lightweight
division now, which is exciting. There’re lots of great
fights out there and a lot of great fighters, so we all have
to be on the top of our game, so it should be tough.
You
want a title shot before UFC merging with Strikeforce, right?
(laughs)
(laughs)
I hope so. That’s the seventh win in a row for me, I have
more wins since I sign then anybody else on UFC, since 2008.
I definitely state my claim. If they give it to me, they give
it to me.
Source: Tatame
|
Fedor
Makes Cinematic Debut This Week In “The Salamander Key”
His
mixed martial arts career may be flagging, but the former No.
1 heavyweight fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, may see
his star rising in the cinematic world.
Fedor
is set to make his cinematic debut with the world premiere of
The Salamander Key on Thursday in Moscow. The action film, in
addition to Fedor, also stars Rutger Hauer and Michael Madsen.
M-1
Global, Fedor’s management company, released the following
description of the movie on Tuesday:
Premised
on a group of international scientists who disappear on a remote
island in South-Eastern Asia while conducting advanced medical
research, the Rescue Group commissioned to seek out the team
locate remnants of a high-tech laboratory revealing evidence
that experimental testing has been conducted on animals and humans.
The last communication from the scientists prior to their disappearance
cautions the world of immanent, grave global disaster.
“Today
we’ve been given a priceless gift – the Elixir of Life…”
was the sensational statement decreed by the CEO of ‘Farm-line
Corporation’ in Bangkok. The miraculous discovery came whilst
researching the salamander’s ability to renew its cells.
‘Congressman
commits suicide to mark the eighth death in one month!’
‘An epidemic of suicide!’ reads headlines on the front
pages of all major newspapers, leaving one of Thailand’s
top-cops to initiate the investigation behind the continuous
string of rash, mysterious deaths.
What
joins all these events together? And why is a small island in
South-Eastern Asia key to solving the complex questions. The
Salamander Key opens the door for a peek into a scientific breakthrough
abused for personal gain.
The
Salamander Key Cast: Fedor Emelianenko, Rutger Hauer, Zunis Dzhongsavat,
Govit Vattanakun, Adrian Bowden, Bo Dzhittrang, Valery Nikolaev,
Pavel delagila, Michael Madsen, Oleg Chernov, Valeriy Solovyov,
Julia Gorshenin, Alexander Lenin, Aleksei Gorbunov, Anna Geller.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MMA
Top 10 Rankings: Jon Jones Rockets To The Top
The
updated MMAWeekly.com World MMA Rankings were released on Wednesday,
March 23. This system ranks the Top 10 MMA fighters from all
across the world in each of the seven most widely accepted weight
classes.
Taken
into consideration are a fighter’s performance in addition
to win-loss record, head-to-head and common opponents, difficulty
of opponents, and numerous other factors in what is the most
comprehensive rankings system in the sport.
Fighters
who are currently serving drug-related suspensions are not eligible
for Top 10 consideration until they have fought one time after
the completion of their suspension.
Fighters
must also have competed within the past 12 months in order to
be eligible for Top 10 consideration unless they have a bout
scheduled within a reasonable time frame.
Below
are the current MMAWeekly.com World MMA Rankings:
HEAVYWEIGHT
DIVISION (over 205 pounds)
1. Cain Velasquez
2. Fabricio Werdum
3. Brock Lesnar
4. Junior Dos Santos
5. Alistair Overeem
6. Antonio Silva
7. Fedor Emelianenko
8. Shane Carwin
9. Frank Mir
10. Sergei Kharitonov
LIGHT
HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION (205-pound limit)
1. Jon Jones
2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
3. Rashad Evans
4. Quinton Jackson
5. Lyoto Machida
6. Forrest Griffin
7. Thiago Silva
8. Ryan Bader
9. Dan Henderson
10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
MIDDLEWEIGHT
DIVISION (185-pound limit)
1. Anderson Silva
2. Yushin Okami
3. Nathan Marquardt
4. Demian Maia
5. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza
6. Jorge Santiago
7. Michael Bisping
8. Robbie Lawler
9. Hector Lombard
10. Vitor Belfort
WELTERWEIGHT
DIVISION (170-pound limit)
1. Georges St-Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Thiago Alves
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Nick Diaz
7. Paul Daley
8. Carlos Condit
9. B.J.
Penn
10. Diego Sanchez
LIGHTWEIGHT
DIVISION (160-pound limit)
1. Frankie Edgar
2. Gilbert Melendez
3. Gray Maynard
4. Shinya Aoki
5. Eddie Alvarez
6. Jim Miller
7. Tatsuya Kawajiri
8. Kenny Florian
9. Anthony Pettis
10. Melvin Guillard
FEATHERWEIGHT
DIVISION (145 pound-limit)
1. Jose Aldo
2. Chad Mendes
3. Manny Gamburyan
4. Diego Nunes
5. Hatsu Hioki
6. Dustin Poirier
7. Mark Hominick
8. Erik Koch
9. Michihiro Omigawa
10. Josh Grispi
BANTAMWEIGHT
DIVISION (135 pounds or less)
1. Dominick Cruz
2. Brian Bowles
3. Joseph Benavidez
4. Scott Jorgensen
5. Urijah Faber
6. Miguel Torres
7. Brad Pickett
8. Demetrious Johnson
9. Masakatsu Ueda
10. Eddie Wineland
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Not
Worried About Collecting Titles, Magomed Sultanakhmedov Plans
To Win M-1 Belt
With
wins in eight of his last nine fights, M-1 Global middleweight
title contender Magomed “White Wolf” Sultanakhmedov
is proving himself to be one of the promotion’s premier
fighters.
Already
a well respected fighter when he entered M-1 three years ago,
Sultanakhmedov achieved a career high in 2010 by taking the promotion’s
Eastern European tournament title, knocking out all three of
his opponents in the process.
“I
feel this past year was extremely successful for me,” Sultanakhmedov
told MMAWeekly.com. “I was able to stay in good physical
shape, made advancements in my training, and was able to recover
from my ankle injury.
“I’m
looking forward to continuing with this momentum.”
It
was that ankle injury that Sultanakhmedov believes cost him his
first loss in two years when he challenged Rafal Moks for the
M-1 middleweight championship in December.
“I
tried my best to hide (my injury), but Moks knew about it going
in and capitalized on it,” said Sultanakhmedov. “Had
I not tapped, I could have injured my ankle further and been
out for a long period of time.
“I’m
recovered and the win over Cruz was good. Now I’m looking
forward to meeting Tyson Jeffries for the championship belt.”
As
Sultanakhmedov mentioned, he will be part of M-1’s historic
first event broadcast live on Showtime on March 25 from Norfolk,
Va. It is an opportunity he intends on making the most of.
“I
will do my best to put on a great fight and let the American
fans see the level of fights M-1 puts on,” commented Sultanakhmedov.
“For my first time travelling overseas, it is a very big
deal to fight on Showtime, and I hope to come back to America
again for another (show) on a great network.”
For
his second attempt at the middleweight title, Sultanakhmedov
will be facing up-and-coming Team Quest fighter Tyson Jeffries,
who is currently riding a three-fight winning streak.
“He
is good at takedowns and he is a good fighter from a well respected
camp,” said Sultanakhmedov. “I think my advantage is
my stand-up game and striking. I will try to use this (advantage)
the best I can and keep the fight standing up.”
While
some fighters might let the prospect of winning a major championship
and the reign afterwards distract them from the fight itself,
Sultanakhmedov is not such a person.
“As
great as an honor it is to be the champion, I’m really not
concerned about amassing titles,” he commented. “Should
I win, it’s just another win for me and I will be the best
champion I can be.
“To
be honest, I don’t make plans for the future. I take things
one fight at a time and do the best I can to prepare and win.”
While
he might not be familiar to American fans at the moment, Sultanakhmedov
has an opportunity to change that on March 25 and show people
all over the world that he’s one of the best in the 185-pound
division.
“Thank
you for your support,” said Sultanakhmedov in closing. “I
will bring a good fight to everyone watching in America and hopefully
will earn more fans.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
HUAWA
GRAPPLING TOURNAMENT TODAY!
Oahu Grappling Series 1
Date: March 26, 2011
Location: Mililani High School Gym
Weigh-in: Friday 6pm-7:30pm or Saturday 7am-7:45am
Competition Starts: 9:00am
Age and Weight Divisions:
Novice (12-13 years old)
_ Boys: 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 75, +75kg 70kg max
_ Girls: 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, +55kg
Schoolboys/girls (14-15 years old)
_ Boys: 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 80, +80kg 87kg max
_ Girls: 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, +60kg 67kg max
Cadets (16-17 years old)
_ Men: 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 85, +85kg 95kg max
_ Women: 45, 50, 55, 65, 70, +70kg 80kg max
Juniors (18-19 years old)
_ Men: 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 90, 110 kg, Absolute
_ Women: 50, 55, 60, 65, 75 kg, Absolute
Seniors (20 and older)
_ Men: 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 90, 110 kg, Absolute
_ Women: 50, 55, 60, 65, 75 kg, Absolute
Rules: FILA http://www.fila-official.com/images/FILA/reglements/grappling/Basic_Rules_Grappling.pdf
No Gi
Must have a current 2011 USAW card:
Online - http://www.usawmembership.com/
USAW card $35.00 at the door.
Entry Fee: $50.00 online preregistration ends Thursday, 3/24/11
at 12pm
http://www.trackwrestling.com/registration/BasicPreReg1.jsp?tournamentGroupId=1906009
$60.00 Walk-in registration ends Saturday, 3/26/11 at 7:30am
For more info: Contact John Robinson (808) 381-3048 or click
here to email.
|
Mad
Skills Tonight!
Vendetta Mad Skills
Saturday March 26
This Saturday!
Waipahu Filcom Center
Doors open at 6:00
Weighs are at Kapolei Community Ctr (Next to Kapolei Elem) on
Friday.
ROBBIE
OSTAVICH 155 ARNOLD RAMOS
WESLEY
MOSSMAN 125 DONOVAN CALLURUDA
VINNIE
FOWLER 185 ALBERT
NAPOLEON (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
CHAD
PUHA 165 EDDIE MANU
LAITA
200 AARON PUAHALA
TERRENCE
TAANOA 230 MATT
STEVEN
TAANOA 230 BEN BOYCE
DENNIS
MONTIRA 125 JAN QUIMOYOG
KEPPA
165 TYLER KENEMURI
JACOB
CARTER 45 DIESEL VISTANTE
JONAH
60 STANFORD
LORENZO
MATTHIAS 170-175 LAWRENCE COLLINS
ROB
BAKER 140 NEVADA HARRISON
EVAN
QUIZON 125 JAMIN TABUYA
MAURICE
150 LANCE BELL
KALVIN
BAGOYO 130 ANU LUSI
TUIMAUAUA
210 KANOI KAHIKINA
TONY
LASSITT 185 CHRIS KAHELE
MATT
STONE 200 JON TEXEIRA
TOFI
MIKA 150 ANTHONY RIVERA
KAIMI
PAKELE 165 WALTER WALKER
NALU
H. 145 PRESTON S.
All
matches & participants may be subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
UFC
Fight Night 24 Preview: The Main Card
Davis
vs. Nogueira
UFC
Fight Night 24 kicks off on Saturday at the Key Arena in Seattle,
with Phil Davis and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira meeting in a compelling
main event.
One-time
NCAA wrestling champion Davis takes on the savvy veteran Nogueira
in a bout with added relevance in the 205-pound division, given
Jon Jones’ title-winning performance at UFC 128. Like Jones,
Davis has exceptional talents wrapped around a great wrestling
base. Nogueira, however, poses a tough test and does not figure
to go easily.
In
the co-headliner sluggers Anthony Johnson and Dan Hardy will
square off in what promises to be an exciting fight at 170 pounds.
Light
Heavyweights
Phil Davis vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
The
Matchup: If there is a new breed of fighters taking over MMA,
this is another litmus test, as Nogueira has been a top light
heavyweight for years; Davis’ emergence has been equal parts
compelling and impressive, as he has rolled to an 8-0 record.
Davis’ grappling prowess has carried him to success, but
he is clearly implementing added elements to his game, showing
steady improvement with standup and submissions.
Nogueira
is a battle-tested veteran with a solid chin and iron will. His
submission game, particularly from the guard, is expectably dangerous.
The Brazilian also has clever counters and punches from a southpaw
stance, through which he will try and make the unpredictable
Davis pay for mistakes. Davis will probably want to test out
the standing game before taking it to the mat, and it is on the
feet where he will win or lose the fight. If Davis’ standup
has evolved to where he can land effectively and stay even, that
will open up clinches and explosive takedown shots.
On
the ground, Davis will have to strike a balance between scoring
points and opening himself up for Nog’s slick sweeps and
submission attempt. Nog is used to being outwrestled -- like
his twin brother Antonio Rodrigo, he’s made a career out
of using great jiu-jitsu and patience to pick apart foes. However,
this is a tough match for him, as Davis is a rising talent with
a huge upside.
The
advantage for Davis is that he can kill time to pace himself,
as Nogueira is not going to take him down and generally likes
to play a counter game on the feet.
The
Pick: Davis’ conditioning should hold up in a tense, back-and-forth
bout in which he escapes some bad positions and gets his chin
checked a time or two. He holds off Nogueira down the stretch
for a close decision win.
Welterweights
Dan Hardy vs. Anthony Johnson
The
Matchup: There are matches that give one a gut feeling that there
will not be fireworks, and then there are fights like this one,
where the Violence Quotient jumps off the charts.
Johnson
is a ridiculously larger welterweight, walking around well-muscled
at 210 or more pounds and making the kind of weight cut that
may be hazardous. It makes him larger and oftentimes stronger
than his opponents, but he is vulnerable to being gassed by those
who can outwrestle him, as Josh Koscheck did at UFC 106.
Johnson’s
size and numbing power make him a handful for anyone crazy enough
to keep it standing, and Hardy is exactly the kind of guy who
will try to do so. The Briton loves to trade shots and does not
figure to have the wrestling chops to take down Johnson.
Johnson’s
range and ability to drive home powerful shots, particularly
in combinations, mean Hardy will have to close the distance to
land his own punches. That is a tough task. Johnson’s days
as a welterweight are numbered, as he is simply too big to keep
making 170 pounds for long, particularly against grappler types.
However, this matchup is perfect for him because Hardy will come
right at him, which is pretty much the equivalent of throwing
fastballs at a cleanup hitter.
The
Pick: Look for Johnson to set the tone early with big one-twos
and Hardy to fire back. Johnson has a strong chin and will simply
keep pressing, dropping bombs en route to a savage second-round
knockout.
Welterweights
Amir Sadollah vs. DaMarques Johnson
The
Matchup: Sadollah is difficult to beat for those who cannot outmuscle
him, and Johnson is not the type to do so. Sadollah’s smooth
standup and thinking-man’s approach to fighting are a stylistic
departure from most guys. He does not carry a lot of menace or
swagger. He just gets the job done with clean technique and good
decisions.
Johnson
figures to want to keep it standing, as Sadollah’s two submission
wins over C.B. Dollaway showed how dangerous he can be from his
back. Johnson has decent standup, but it is not on the same level
as Sadollah, who delivers good kicks and crisp muay Thai combinations
straight out of a textbook. Sadollah is also strong in the clinch
and should be able to operate effectively there.
The
Pick: Look for a good standup battle, as Sadollah wears down
Johnson en route to a second-round knockout.
Featherweights
Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung
The
Matchup: In a rematch of their epic first bout a WEC 48 -- a
15-minute, wall-to-wall brawl -- one has to wonder if it can
live up to the expectations. Given Garcia’s style, he will
certainly do his best to ensure it does.
Jung
-- a replacement for Nam Phan, who lost a controversial decision
to Garcia in their first bout -- relocated to train with Urijah
Faber and Team Alpha Male for a month, which can only help his
overall game. The key question is whether he decides to stand
and bomb with the lively Garcia or force a ground fight in which
he can win rounds and a decision.
Garcia
has made a name for himself in epic wars, despite often losing
his technique and heaving wild shots at times when straight ones
would be more effective. He fights on heart and pluck, with great
conditioning, to boot. There is also the accompanying perception
that he has gotten decisions he did not deserve; the win over
Phan at “The Ultimate Fighter 12” Finale in December
unleashed serious controversy among fans, and his nod on the
judges’ cards in the first Jung bout was a close one, as
well.
Look
for a good back-and-forth fight, but it remains to be seen whether
or not Garcia can be controlled on the ground here; he is pretty
tough to keep down at featherweight. Jung has an exciting style,
and he is too much of a brawler to change it. He cannot help
but fire back when he gets tagged.
The
Pick: Garcia by close decision -- again.
Source: Sherdog
|
Regardless
of Odds, Davis Expecting Battle with Nogueira
When
it was announced last week that Phil Davis would be replacing
Tito Ortiz against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC Fight Night
24, plenty of fans did not hesitate to pick Davis to win.
Davis,
a standout wrestler at Penn State, has transitioned quickly to
MMA. In two years he has built an impressive 8-0 record en route
to becoming one of the top prospects in the sport.
Nogueira,
however, has been a top-class light heavyweight for roughly a
decade. Davis isn’t so sure he should be heavily favored
over the Brazilian.
“People
don’t always know exactly what they’re talking about.
… I, for one, am not taking this fight for granted,”
Davis said recently during a “Savage Dog Show” interview
on the Sherdog Radio Network. “This is a huge fight for
me. As far as I’m concerned -- I don’t care what the
bookmakers say -- this is a battle. But that’s what I’m
used to in my career and my life. I’m used to having an
uphill battle. I’m used to winning that fight.”
Davis
will have a little more than a month to prepare for the March
26 matchup at the Key Arena in Seattle. He’s filled in as
a replacement before, stepping up on short notice to fight Rodney
Wallace last August at UFC 117. Davis won a unanimous decision,
but he does not consider the bout one of his better performances.
A
key difference between that bout and this one, though, is that
Davis has already been in training. He had been scheduled to
fight Matt Hamill on April 30.
“I
was kind of geared up and kind of in fight mode, so to speak,”
Davis said. “The Rodney Wallace fight took me completely
by surprise. I’m a little bit more prepared this time around.”
Nogueira
fought last in September, dropping a unanimous decision to Ryan
Bader. While some may consider that defeat evidence that his
best days are behind him, it is Nogueira’s only loss since
February 2007.
“He’s
obviously a legend in the sport because he’s a proven winner,”
Davis said. “He’s just tough. [I] have to go out there
and just make it happen.”
Nogueira
is also a major step up in competition. Just a year into his
UFC tenure, Davis has a chance to beat a top-10 fighter and move
into the title hunt.
“It’s
a little daunting to think about, but you win because you did
the right things,” he said. “I know I’ve been
doing the right things.”
After
already progressing so rapidly, it’s hard for Davis to see
where he could be in another year. How he performs against Nogueira
could be pivotal as far as launching him forward or slowing down
his climb.
“A
year ago, I didn’t know where I’d be. It’s silly
to put a timeline on where I want to be and when because it’s
just -- it will happen,” Davis said of becoming a champion.
“It will happen, I’m certain of that. I’m going
to just sit back and enjoy the ride. … I’m not anxious
to get to that belt. It will be there waiting for me, polished
up and shiny.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Brandon
Vera Excited About Second Life with UFC, Ready To Fight Whenever
There
may not be a much lower point in a fighter’s career than
when they get the call that they’ve been released from their
UFC contract.
To
that same point, there may not be a better feeling of elation
than getting the call to come back just a few weeks later.
Those
are the highs and lows that light heavyweight Brandon Vera felt
over the last several months, but now he’s back in the UFC
and ready to begin his second life.
Following
his loss to Thiago Silva in January, Vera was released from the
UFC. Vera went 7-6 overall in the Octagon, but lost his last
three fights.
The
release didn’t last long, however, after his last opponent,
Thiago Silva, got caught up in a possible positive drug test
for their fight. Silva is still awaiting word from the Nevada
State Athletic Commission for the results of his testing, but
Vera has already been given new life by the UFC.
“He
is excited to fight, whenever they are ready for him,” Vera’s
manager, Matt Stansel, told MMAWeekly.com about his fighter’s
return to UFC action.
The
California based fighter is still healing up from injuries sustained
in the fight with Silva and his manager stated ‘almost’
when asked if he was ready to return to action.
With
a renewed lease on his UFC life, Vera will undoubtedly have a
lot of pressure on him when he returns, but now that he’s
tasted, even if only for a moment, what life outside the UFC
is like, he will fight for his right to stay there.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Tatsuya
Kawajiri Still Set To Face Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce April
9
Tatsuya
Kawajiri will still be facing Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce:
Diaz vs. Daley on April 9 with the Strikeforce lightweight title
on the line.
Japan
has been an uncertain place over the past couple of weeks since
the tragic earthquake and tsunami that struck the island have
now claimed over 9,000 lives with more than 13,000 people still
missing.
The
tragedy has affected everyone in Japan on some level. UFC middleweight
Yoshihiro Akiyama opted to stay home and not fight at UFC 128
last weekend after the situation in his home country.
Strikeforce
officials confirmed with MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday, however, that
Kawajiri will still participate on the April 9 show.
Kawajiri,
who trains with the T-Blood team in Japan, enters the fight after
dispatching of former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson
at Dream’s New Year’s Eve show in Japan to close out
2010.
This
will be the second time Kawajiri has faced Melendez. The pair
first met in Pride in late 2006 with Melendez coming out on top
by unanimous decision.
Kawajiri
will undoubtedly compete with a purpose and a heavy heart as
he fights for Japan when he faces Melendez on April 9.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC:
Schaub and the “collision course” with Rodrigo Nogueira
The
heavyweight Brandan Schaub knocked his greatest idol out, on
UFC 128, which happened last Saturday (19), in New Jersey. The
fighters was inspired by Mirko Cro Cop, but didn’t take
it easy on the veteran, applying a hard punch which knocked him
out, earning the USD$70 thousand bonus for the best knockout
of the evening. The American guy analyzed the bout and told exclusively
to TATAME how he retired his idol, according to Dana White’s
statement.
“Mirko
is tough, and I’ve been there with Gabriel Gonzaga, so I’m
used to the high caliber guys and Mirko’s tough, so it took
me to finish him off tonight, so it was a tough fight. My corner
said “you need to go for a finish”, so who knows? You
never know what the judges think. We didn’t know, so he
told me to go for a finish, so that was the plan”, commented.
Schaub
is on a four-win-streak and, according to what he said to TATAME,
he’d like to face Rodrigo Minotauro. “There’re
a Brazilian heavyweight who can be matched, who’s Nogueira,
so maybe… But I’ll fight who they want me to fight”,
said the lightweight, who also wants to fight on UFC Rio. Check
below the complete interview with the fighter.
First
of all, what are your thoughts about the fight? Did things go
according to your plan?
Yeah.
Mirko is tough, and I’ve been there with Gabriel Gonzaga,
so I’m used to the high caliber guys and Mirko’s tough,
so it took me to finish him off tonight, so it was a tough fight.
On
the second round you had no problems, but the first one was tied.
Did you think you’d have to go for the knockout or the submission
on the third round?
No.
I know we get scorecards, so I was 10-9, 10-9 for me. My corner
said “you need to go for a finish”, so who knows? You
never know what the judges think. We didn’t know, so he
told me to go for a finish, so that was the plan.
It’s
two wins in a row against Gonzaga and Cro Cop. How do you feel
about that?
That
feels good. The big names put me on the top of the division,
so things are good.
Gonzaga
retired after the loss he had for you and Dana White said that
Cro Cop’s leading to the same course. What do you think?
Do you think Cro Cop should stop now, or do you think he should
do more fights?
You
know, it’s really up to Cro Cop. He can beat tons of guys
out there, he can beat 95% of the heavyweights in the world right
now. It’s really up to Cro Cop… He has such a huge
fan base, and it’s really up to him.
Where
do you see yourself now on the UFC heavyweight division?
Top
6 or 7. Let’s see what they give me next. I’d love
to fight in Brazil, in August.
If
you could someone to fight next, who would it be?
There’re
a Brazilian heavyweight who can be matched, who’s Nogueira,
so maybe… But I’ll fight who they want me to fight.
Do
you expect to return on UFC Rio?
Yeah.
How
do you think it would be a fight against him?
That’d
be a tough one. He’s talented, he’s good on the ground,
he’s a veteran, so it’s the same story, another monster,
another legend.
Third
legend in a row…
(laughs)
Yeah… Three legends. It might be some good.
How
is your training? What’s your focus on training?
Everything.
Jiu-Jitsu, it’s a real passion of mine. Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling,
Boxing…
When
did you start on MMA?
My
dad was doing martial arts when I was younger, the first UFC
was in my hometown, Denver, in 1993, so I was a huge fan and
I fell in love with it when I was really young.
Who
was your biggest idol?
Cro
Cop.
Are
you kidding?
No.
Crazy, right?
What
do you expect now? Have you talked to UFC already?
No.
I have a suspension because of my eye, so I’m gonna see
that, I’ll take a week off and then come back after.
Talking
about the event, what did you think about Shogun VS. Jon Jones?
Were you surprised?
No,
I think Shogun had a long layover on that first round , Jon was
kind of warm, so it’s a tough fight for Shogun since he’s
been such a long time off, so I expected it to be a better fight.
Do
you think Jon Jones is gonna defend his title? No one has done
that since Rampage…
Yeah,
I know. If anyone’s gonna beat him, it’s going to be
Rashad Evans, he’s so tough, man… It’s gonna be
an interesting matchup.
How
do you think this fight would be like? Do you think Rashad has
enough Wresling…
Yeah,
prior decision, he’d use his Wrestling.
Source: Tatame
|
Know
who Barral’s betting on for Pan absolute?
One
of Gracie Barra’s greatest representatives at present and
the owner of a slick guard, Rômulo Barral won’t make
it to the Jiu-Jitsu Pan, as he is only just getting back into
rhythm in training after suffering a knee injury.
However,
the black belt has been keeping close watch of the competition
scene and, over Twitter (@romulobarral) didn’t waver when
it came time to name a favorite to take the absolute:
“I’m
betting on Rodolfo Vieira to win the absolute at the Pan,”
he wagered.
Tonight
Rodolfo flies out to Los Angeles, USA, where he will rendevouz
with GFTeam for the Pan. In a conversation with GRACIEMAG.com,
the fighter guarantees he will be in the absolute.
“That’s
right, I’m entering at weight and open weight,” he
says, flattered by Barral giving him the nod.
“The
one who came and told me about it was Gabi Garcia, and I was
overjoyed by it. I even got goosebumps getting a vote of confidence
from a guy like Barral!” says the Master Julio Cesar student.
But
the excitement won’t be limited to the open weight category.
In the heavyweight division, Rodolfo’s division, the top
places will be even more hotly disputed with the inclusion of
Ricardo Demente in the category, not to mention current champion
of both the division Bernardo Faria.
“It
was already rough, now with Demente it will be even tougher still!”
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
Wastes No Time Pitting Jones Against Evans, With Good Reason
NEWARK,
N.J. – Call it the championship life cycle: one legend is
barely out of his post-knockout haze, his facial tissue still
in mid-swell, when the new champ is already confronting his next
challenger on a canvas where the blood hasn't even dried yet.
It
wasn't an unfamiliar encounter when former training partners
Jon Jones and Rashad Evans shook hands in the middle of the Octagon
before agreeing to beat each other up at some point in the near
future. It also wasn't exactly an enthusiastic agreement on either
man's part, though it was a decisive one.
Jones
didn't just beat Mauricio "Shogun" Rua to claim the
UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 128 – he utterly demolished
him. In a little less than three full rounds of combat, there
wasn't a second where it wasn't Jones' fight. Aside from possibly
hurting his elbow on Rua's skull, Jones had almost nothing to
worry about in the biggest fight of his career.
After
such a dominant victory over such a celebrated opponent, you'd
think the 23-year-old phenom might get a minute to savor the
moment before being faced with a fight against his teammate.
Unfortunately,
the fight game doesn't have time for such pleasantries. Not when
there's another fight to sell.
As
much as we might love the friend-versus-friend angle of a Jones-Evans
title fight, it's only partially rooted in fact. Yes, they've
been training partners for a relatively brief period of time,
but these two aren't best buds, according to just about everyone
who knows them. They're colleagues, maybe. Training partners,
occasionally. But let's just say they don't have a standing movie
date every Sunday afternoon, nor are they likely to be all that
broken up about the possibility of hurting each other.
Still,
their familiarity with one another in the training room makes
for an interesting, if slightly uncomfortable situation, and
the UFC wasted no time seizing on that even as Jones was still
getting used to having the weight of the belt around his waist.
After
the way Jones ran through Rua, the difficult part for the UFC
might be convincing fans that Evans stands a chance against him.
You could argue that Rua might not have been at his best after
the injury layoff, or that Jones was simply a horrible style
match-up for him, but when's the last time we saw even the very
worst version of Rua look so helpless from start to finish? The
only thing the champion did better than the challenger on Saturday
night was fall down.
Now
Evans will get his chance to poke a hole in the legend of Jon
Jones, even if there aren't many people who are giving him a
chance to be anything other than the next chapter in that story.
Obviously,
after testing each other in the gym the fighters have a better
idea than we do about how that match-up might unfold. You don't
see Evans throwing up his hands and declaring that he'd rather
move weight classes than have to take the kind of punishment
Rua did, so he must think he stands a chance even if most fans
don't.
Then
again, if Evans doesn't feel like he can beat anyone on any given
night, he's in the wrong business. As soon as Jones declared
himself open to a potential fight against his (now former) teammate,
Evans really had no choice but to accept or risk appearing like
he was running from a potential beatdown.
Let's
face it: at 31 years old, Evans doesn't have time to wait around
for Jones to drop the belt of his own volition. And the way Jones
looked on Saturday night, that probably won't happen for a good
long while anyway.
Making
Evans his first challenger – not to mention getting the
two to seal it with a handshake just moments after Jones became
the champ – was a minor coup for UFC president Dana White.
Regardless of whether the fight is competitive in the end, he's
already gotten what he wanted. White has been battering away
at this particular barrier for years, and now he's finally broken
through it, pitting two of Greg Jackson's fighters against each
other mere months after they'd both sworn it would never happen.
It
just goes to show how in this business a 'never' becomes a 'maybe'
just before turning into an 'absolutely.' As soon as the championship
belt enters the picture, guys start rethinking the difference
between true friendships and working relationships.
At
least for the next few months, Jones and Evans will share neither.
And for better or worse, every other fighter who's ever made
a similar non-compete promise to his buddies in the gym will
be watching and wondering.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
St-Pierre
and Shields Get UFC Primetime Treatment for their Fight at UFC
129
Fans
were treated to the first promo for UFC 129 on Saturday night
during the UFC 128 broadcast, featuring challenger Jake Shields
and champion Georges St-Pierre.
The
promo showcased a list of all of the fighters who Shields has
beaten over the last five plus year unbeaten streak, along with
showcasing all the title belts he’s collected along the
way.
But
while the stories about Shields’ wins are great, what about
the UFC fans that only know the Cesar Gracie black belt from
his lone fight in the Octagon against Martin Kampmann?
Well,
according to UFC president Dana White everyone will learn a lot
more about Shields and St-Pierre as they are paired off in the
latest UFC Primetime series leading to UFC 129 in Toronto.
“Yeah
we’re going to do a Primetime on those two,” White
confirmed to MMAWeekly.com. “So everything you didn’t
know about Georges St-Pierre from the other 7 Primetimes, you’ll
learn in this one.”
The
other possibility that may happen during the Primetime series
are Shields past fights from organizations like Elite XC and
Strikeforce. See with the recent purchase of the San Jose based
promotion, the UFC now retains their entire catalog of videos
as well, which includes some of Shields biggest wins including
victories over Dan Henderson, Jason “Mayhem” Miller,
and Paul Daley.
St-Pierre
and Shields square off on April 30 in Toronto, which would make
the latest UFC Primetime series set to debut in mid-April.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
128 Results: Faber Wins Debut, Calls out Cruz
The
co-main event of UFC 128 saw the octagon debut of two of the
best bantamweight fighters today. Former WEC champions Urijah
Faber and Eddie Wineland faced off in a match-up that could potentially
determine a future title contender.
Wineland
was able to stuff Faber against the fence early on, staggering
his offense and minimized damage. The Midwest fighter was able
to take Faber down on a few occasions while Urijah was unable
to succeed with his own attempts. The “California Kid”
utilized his hand speed and quickness to balance his unsuccessful
takedown attempts.
Faber
secured a takedown in the second round and proceeded to attack
with his trademark short elbows. The Team Alpha Male fighter
punished Wineland from his guard for the duration of the second.
Urijah
came out the aggressor in the final round, moving forward and
countering accurately. The former featherweight champion took
Wineland down with a little over a minute remaining to help earn
him a unanimous decision and his first UFC victory.
“I
felt pretty good. He caught me off guard. Eddie has a bright
future here,” commented Faber afterwards.
“I
want to get that UFC belt. Dominick Cruz, hide your kids, hide
your wife,” jested Faber. “I’m coming for that
belt.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC:
Tibau celebrates victory on TATAME TV
The
Brazilian Gleison Tibau finally won in great style on UFC 128.
Facing a pretty tough opponent, Kurt Pellegrino, the representative
of American Top Team dominated the bout, and chatted with TATAME
TV about his triumph. “Pellegrino is much experienced and
technical, on the second round he punched me pretty hard, but
I got over it and came back for it on the third round. I didn’t
knocked him out, but I did a good third round and won the fight”,
commented Tibau, who analyzed the pressure the local fans had
over him.
“I
was being pressured by the fans since the weighting, but thanks’
God I did a good job and brought this win to Brazil. Since the
weighting the entire gym booed me and yelled his name, so he
had backup”, said the fighter. Check below the complete
interview Gleison Tibau conceded to TATAME TV, on which he revealed
how he weigh almost 184lbs, one day after weighting the weight
class limit.
On
a tough fight, you finally won again. What are your thoughts
about the fight?
Yeah,
it was a very good fight for me. Pellegrino’s a great name
here on the United States, especially here, on his hometown,
I was being pressured by the fans since the weighting, but thanks’
God I did a good job and brought this win to Brazil.
It’s
the first time he losses while fighting at home. Did you feel
the fans cheering for him or were you cool about it?
Since
the weighting the entire gym booed me and yelled his name, so
he had backup.
What
are your thoughts about the fight? Things went like you were
expecting?
The
fight was tough. Pellegrino is much experienced and technical,
on the second round he punched me pretty hard, but I got over
it and came back for it on the third round. I didn’t knocked
him out, but I did a good third round and won the fight.
When
it was over, did you know you had won or were you anxious since
the fight happened on his hometown, with the fans yelling?
When
we go for the judges’ call, especially against an American
guy, and Pellegrino had full backup, with the fans cheering for
him, with an American Athletic Commission, it made me wonder
if they’d steal this win way from me, but thanks’ God
things were ok and I got the win.
You
were coming from a good sequence of victories, then loss to Jim
Miller, who was defeated Saturday, and now you beat up a tough
guy like Pellegrino. How do you see yourself on the weight division?
It’s
one of the most disputed weight classes, there’re much good
guys fighting on it, the athletes are complete fighters…
Beating down a guy like Pellegrino, having Jim Miller one step
forwards and he truly deserves it because he’s been fighting
for a long time and he’s been proving his evolution on his
fights, but I’m getting closer. I don’t want to pick
out an opponent to fight, I want UFC to give me the chance to
fight a lot this year, not only for me that I want it, I want
it for the top guys too. I want to bring this title of the lightweight
division to Brazil. I know it’s rough, it’s a busy
division, but I won’t lose hope. Let’s cheer and I’ll
bring this title to Brazil.
I’ve
talked to Jim Miller about his seven-win-streak and not having
a title shot. Now there’s this fight between Clay Guida
and Pettis, and the winner of this bout might have a title shot.
Do you think Miller deserves it better than Pettis?
Man,
I believe so. Jim Miller is on a good sequence of wins, he’s
a good fighter, he’s a catcher, he’s aggressive, he
really goes for it, he has done great fights and I believe he’s
almost there, he truly deserves.
UFC
has bought Strikeforce and in two years from now they’ll
probably merge both events and the lightweight division will
be the busier one. How do you see it?
(laughs)
Oh yeah… The division is becoming harder and busier, there’re
great athletes, complete and skilled fighters. I’m considering
changing to a heaving division, the 177lbs (laughs).
You
fought with almost 183lbs. You always get big for the fight,
right?
Yeah,
me and Stefane Dias do a good job, we begin to lose weight much
before the fight, then I lose 17 to 22lbs on the week of the
fight, and I let Stefane handle this work.
Source: Tatame
|
Rashad
Evans appears to have cut ties with longtime trainer Greg Jackson.
Evans
on Sunday let his displeasure with the popular Albuquerque, N.M.-based
coach be known via Twitter, as he outlined his decision to leave
the camp with which he has been associated for years. The 31-year-old
will likely face former Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts teammate
Jon Jones for the light heavyweight championship later this year.
Jones joined the Jackson stable in 2009.
“Greg
brought this situation about,” Evans wrote. “He brought
Jones on board a while back against my wishes [and] here we [are]
today. I decided [to] leave Greg because I felt like he didn’t
have my best interest anymore. Greg is not the same coach he
[used to be].”
Under
Jackson’s direction, the once-beaten Evans became one of
the world’s premier mixed martial artists at 205 pounds.
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 2 winner captured the
light heavyweight championship in a technical knockout victory
over Forrest Griffin at UFC 92, only to relinquish it five months
later in a brutal knockout defeat to Lyoto Machida. Evans has
not lost since, posting decision victories over Thiago Silva
and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
Evans
was originally scheduled to meet Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua for the light heavyweight crown in the UFC 128 main event
on Saturday, but a knee injury forced him to withdraw from the
event and opened the door for Jones. With Jackson in his corner,
Jones annihilated Rua en route to a third-round TKO and became
the youngest UFC champion in history.
“Many
of [you have] probably already seen that I got offered the title
shot [and] decided [to] take it,” Evans wrote. “[Jones]
fought amazing! I’m very happy [for] him! With that said
I can’t wait [for] the chance [to] compete against him!
I no longer will use Greg Jackson as my coach but we [are] still
[cool]!”
Source: Sherdog
|
The
latest spin from everyone on UFC’s purchase of Strikeforce
JOSH
BARNETT: “I want to fight in the biggest stage that they
can possibly give me and I know that Dana has done a big-time
job with the UFC in terms of creating that stage and if Dana
White is who I got to get in bed with to be the best fighter
in the world and to be in the biggest opportunity for MMA, then
I’ll do it and I’ll do it easily. At the end of the
day, I’m not here to have a grudge with somebody. I’m
here to fight.”
GILBERT
MELENDEZ: “It’s cool, man. I’m a big fan of UFC
and I love Strikeforce. Strikeforce is a great organization but
it’d be cool to have the marketing machine of the UFC behind
it.”
JAKE
SHIELDS: “Of course there’s a few negatives, you know.
Some of the guys who aren’t on the good side of Zuffa and
Dana, guys like you know Paul Daley and Josh Barnett who are,
you know, who are some good fighters. They’re kind of in
a situation that’s a little tricky and so, obviously, on
that end it’s not the best but overall for my friends in
Strikeforce I think it’s going to be a better thing.”
JOSH
THOMSON: “It’s different, you know, something that
caught me so off-guard. I think I’m still in a little shock
because I think everyone just assumed that Strikeforce was doing
well, which I think it was. It just, um, you know when you have
two or three different partners involved to keep the business
going, you know, when the partner has the most shares in the
company wants out, you got nothing to say.”
FABRICIO
WERDUM: “My first goal now is to get a title from the Strikeforce
Heavyweight GP. That’s one thing that I promised to Scott
Coker and that’s my first goal. So after I get this belt,
I will be behind the UFC champion to get the other belt and be
the #1 in the world and show to everybody that I’m the #1
(fighter) in the world.”
MIKE
STRAKA: “There’s a lot of theories out in the blogosphere
about why you purchased it now and were the UFC the only suitors
for Strikeforce. One of the theories is that Pro Elite, who brought
us Elite XC, was one of the people trying to buy it and I would
position it and say, well UFC probably bought it not because
they were afraid of Pro Elite but they were afraid of Pro Elite
bringing the sport back another 10 years. How do you respond
to that?”
DANA
WHITE: “I would agree with (you) 1 million percent but,
uh, I didn’t know of any other company out there trying
to buy it but I wasn’t on that side of the deal. Um, who
knows? It could have been, it could not have been, who knows?
I honestly don’t know the answer to that answer.”
MIKE
STRAKA: “I know you are not going to answer this question
but if you, from what I understand the purchase price, I won’t
even say the purchase price, but I’ve heard. I also heard
that it’s less money than you offered Fedor Emelianenko
for six fights. Is that true?”
DANA
WHITE: “Yeah, I saw some of the numbers floating out there
and they’re all wrong, all the numbers are incorrect from
what I’ve seen. Heh heh heh. It wasn’t less than what
we offered for him. I’ll tell you this — Vadim has
to be kicking himself in the ass.”
MIKE
STRAKA: “Uh, why?”
DANA
WHITE: “Because they should have been in the UFC. They should
have come into the UFC when there was an opportunity for them
to do it and… they should have got in. I think even for
his legacy, you know. If you’re going to get beat, whether
it’s getting triangle choked or your face smashed, ast least
get it done by the best guys in the world so you don’t lose,
you know… listen, they don’t probably don’t care
as much about legacy as I do but I think legacy’s important
and for the last however-many-years, Fedor hasn’t fought
anybody.”
MIKE
STRAKA: “If there’s anybody though, Dana, who could
fix that legacy for Fedor Emelianenko, it’s Dana White.
Would you be interested in giving him fights with Randy Couture
and giving him fights that could fix his legacy?”
DANA
WHITE: “I don’t think it’s Fedor. You know. I’ve
dealt with his management and it’s 100% those guys. So,
but the problem is I don’t think you’re ever going
to have a situation where Fedor’s on his own, making his
own decisions. So, the answer’s probably no.”
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Vendetta Mad Skills
Saturday March 26
This Saturday!
Waipahu Filcom Center
Doors open at 6:00
Weighs are at Kapolei Community Ctr (Next to Kapolei Elem) on
Friday.
ROBBIE
OSTAVICH 155 ARNOLD RAMOS
WESLEY
MOSSMAN 125 DONOVAN CALLURUDA
VINNIE
FOWLER 185 ALBERT
NAPOLEON (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
CHAD
PUHA 165 EDDIE MANU
LAITA
200 AARON PUAHALA
TERRENCE
TAANOA 230 MATT
STEVEN
TAANOA 230 BEN BOYCE
DENNIS
MONTIRA 125 JAN QUIMOYOG
KEPPA
165 TYLER KENEMURI
JACOB
CARTER 45 DIESEL VISTANTE
JONAH
60 STANFORD
LORENZO
MATTHIAS 170-175 LAWRENCE COLLINS
ROB
BAKER 140 NEVADA HARRISON
SAM
SNIFFEN 140 JOSH
FARR (O2 Martial Arts Academy)
EVAN
QUIZON 125 JAMIN TABUYA
MAURICE
150 LANCE BELL
KALVIN
BAGOYO 130 ANU LUSI
TUIMAUAUA
210 KANOI KAHIKINA
TONY
LASSITT 185 CHRIS KAHELE
MATT
STONE 200 JON TEXEIRA
TOFI
MIKA 150 ANTHONY RIVERA
KAIMI
PAKELE 165 WALTER WALKER
NALU
H. 145 PRESTON S.
All
matches & participants may be subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
Evans
on deck after Jones’ whirlwind weeks
NEWARK,
N.J. – One day, we may all look back at Saturday night’s
destruction of Mauricio ”Shogun” Rua as the launching
of one of the great championship reigns in MMA history, with
Jon Jones as the new UFC light heavyweight champion.
UFC
128 was the culmination of a breathtaking six-week period in
which Jones went from being a very promising three-year veteran
who was in the pack with a half-dozen other light heavyweights
to having fans talk about who could possibly defeat him.
As
the upstate New York native came down the aisle to ”Empire
State of Mind,” then got in the cage and calmly did a cartwheel,
the crowd at the Prudential Center seemed to sense they were
witnesses to something more than just a typical UFC championship
match.
It
was quickly apparent that Jones’ speed, reach, versatility
and amazing wrestling made even Rua, ranked No. 4 in the Yahoo!
Sports pound-for-pound rankings, look like a man placed in a
horrible mismatch.
What’s
scary is that not only was this Jon Jones a completely different
fighter than one year ago, but he improved greatly from six weeks
ago, when he beat Ryan Bader and earned the title shot.
During
the week, as Jones signed autographs with the tag ”Champion
2011,” and as people casually threw around comparisons to
Muhammad Ali, the down-to-Earth reality was that he’d really
only beaten one borderline top-ten fighter (Bader) in his career.
Many
in the industry, including UFC President Dana White, saw the
2-to-1 odds favoring Jones as ridiculous, but even at those odds,
most of the money came in on Jones.
In
this case, the hype the public believed very quickly proved to
be the reality.
When
it was over, White said that Jones may be that true crossover
sports superstar that the company has come close to having with
a number of people, but have never quite gotten.
Chuck
Liddell perhaps came a few years too early and had a fighting
style and demeanor that connected with the UFC fan base, but
he was nowhere near the all-around athletic freak Jones is. Georges
St. Pierre’s and Anderson Silva’s success can’t
be denied, and its almost disrespectful to what both men have
accomplished to talk about Jones reaching a level they didn’t.
Yet
watching the destruction of Rua – considering Jones has
had only three years in the sport – he had to make believers
out of any skeptic.
Jones
is flashier and more spectacular than St. Pierre, as well as
more dangerous standing up. And his wrestling is miles ahead
of Silva. The only question before the fight was whether he would
look this good against a high-caliber opponent, and that has
now been answered.
”I
told him he could be a mix between Jordan and Ali,” said
former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber, who saw Jones’
appeal early on and had his clothing line sponsor Jones. ”He’s
got a lot of character, a great personality and he’s a good
person. I remember the first time we sat down and talked. I talked
to him about sponsoring and he didn’t even know there was
money involved.”
I’m
seriously stoked to have one of my brands behind him on a guy
who is going to bring the sport up. I was impressed. He looked
awesome.”
Of
course, it was less than two years ago when Lyoto Machida destroyed
light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in similar fashion, making
it appear that nobody in the weight division was in his class.
Rua
– an idol of Jones because Rua was at the top of the sport
when he similarly was 23 – was just the first contender
of what was supposed to be a long reign. Instead, Rua should
have taken the decision in the first fight against Machida, a
controversial split-decision loss, and left no doubt with a first-round
knockout during the second fight in May.
Up
next for Jones is a fighter who two months ago figured to be
the last person in the world who would ever get in the cage with
him – Evans, who Jones has called a brother, a best friend
and a training partner.
It
was a freak injury to Evans as he trained for what was supposed
to be his shot at Rua that sped the Jones express up to warp
speed. Six weeks ago, Jones thought after his fight with Bader,
he’d been training with Evans by mimicking ”Shogun,”
for Evan’s title shot. The new champ pondered that if Evans
won that, it would eliminate Jones from title contention, noting
he would never have challenged Evans for the title.
Jones
said when he was first invited to Albuquerque to train under
Greg Jackson that he had to promise never to fight campmates
Evans or Keith Jardine.
But
with the shoe on the other foot, everything has changed.
White
said he did not have to put any pressure on Evans to do what
Jackson fighters have never done.
”He’s
100 percent on board to fight Jon Jones,” White said. ”I
don’t know if I’m supposed to say this, but Rashad,
he’s done with Greg Jackson. He’s no longer a Greg
Jackson fighter.”
”Listen,
being friends doesn’t fly,” White said. ”Everyone’s
friends in this sport. They all hang out when we do press stuff
and whatever else. These guys are always together. They eat lunch
together. It’s not personal. The easiest way to explain
it is Jon Jones and Rashad Evans are friends, they’re both
good guys and they want to hang out together. But for fighters,
there is a small window of opportunity and in that time you have
to make a bunch of money and get as famous as you can. I’ve
got friends, they’ve got friends, but at the end of the
day, none of my friends are going to pay my bills. This is a
sport. This is a business. You’re job is to go out there
and win and you have to get out there and do it.”
It
was a coup for White, who has tried to get teammates to fight
in the past, often with little success.
No
timeframe was announced for the fight. White said that Jones,
after fighting two bouts so close together, deserved a break.
Jones
also said he wanted a little bit of a break, to take a vacation
with his family, and shortly talked about marrying his girlfriend.
If
Jones gets by Evans, there may be no bigger fight in the sport
than Jones against Anderson Silva. Unlike the proposed St. Pierre
vs. Silva fight that White still mentioned was a likelihood should
St. Pierre beat Jake Shields on April 30 in Toronto, this doesn’t
have the obvious size and frame difference between competitors.
”About
75 people have asked me already about that fight,” White
said. ”Anderson Silva has made it very clear to me he doesn’t
want to fight at 205 pounds. I’ve been talking to him about
going for another belt at 205, but he’s made it very clear
he doesn’t want to fight at 205. Maybe he sees someone as
talented as Jon Jones, maybe then he will want to try.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Faber
escapes against surprising Wineland at UFC 128
Eddie
Wineland was supposed to be a nice showcase opportunity for Urijah
Faber in his UFC debut. Instead, the 26-year-old made Faber work
all 15 minutes. The former WEC featherweight champion, scored
several takedowns in the final two rounds and was faster with
his hands on the way to a unanimous decision victory, 29-28 on
all three scorecards, at UFC 128 in Newark, N.J.
After
the fight, Faber (25-4, 1-0 UFC) sent a message to UFC bantamweight
champ Dominick Cruz to get ready. Faber doesn't talk much trash
but he's been very critical of Cruz, who he feels is way too
cocky. They squared off in 2007 at 145 pounds. Faber scored a
submission win with a guillotine choke at WEC 30.
Wineland
(18-7, 0-1 UFC) was a lot tougher than most expected. He's big
for the weight class and more than matched Faber in the clinch.
Faber's
an excellent grappler with nasty takedowns, but he couldn't get
Wineland off his feet in the opening round. Wineland used the
clinch to avoid the whizzer attempts by Faber.
Faber
began opening up on the feet in the second. There was a clear
speed advantage. Holding his hands low, Faber was able to pick
his spots. Wineland really offered very little back.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Koch
on ‘Cloud 9’ Following ‘Knockout of the Night’
at UFC 128
World Extreme Cagefighting import Erik Koch made a strong statement
in his first trip to the Octagon, earning “Knockout of the
Night” honors with a first-round demolition of Raphael Assuncao
at UFC 128.
“I’m
feeling great. That was the perfect way to [make] my UFC debut,”
the Roufusport featherweight said in a post-fight interview on
UFC.com after his victory in the show’s opener at the Prudential
Center in Newark, N.J. “Just setting the night off right
like that... I’m on cloud nine right now. I’m still
kind of in shock.”
According
to Koch (Pictured; file photo), Assuncao provided a surprise
when the Brazilian disregarded Koch’s length and failed
to close the distance in the early going.
“The
game plan was just to feel him out. I thought he was going to
come out and rush me a little bit more, but he was actually trying
to play the range game and kick me. It caught me off guard,”
said Koch. “He threw a couple of body kicks and I was kind
of thrown off, but I felt that his timing, his movement and his
speed were kind of off. He was missing me by a mile and I knew
that I would catch him with a counter.”
And
catch him Koch did. As Assuncao finally rushed forward, “New
Breed” countered with a beautiful right hook that knocked
the Brazilian stiff at 2:32 of the first frame and earned Koch
an extra $70,000 in bonus pay.
“It’s
the southpaw jinx, man. It’s that overturned hook. It’s
not a big, looping hook. It’s just right over [the top]
with a little snap of the wrist at the end,” Koch explained.
“You watch Anderson Silva against Forrest Griffin and it’s
the exact same thing. It doesn’t take much. With these little
gloves, that’s all it takes.”
The
strike Koch used to finish the fight did not land by accident.
Rather, the 22-year-old said, the technique was honed through
practice under the tutelage of noted coach Duke Roufus.
“I’ve
been working that for months,” said Koch. “That’s
actually the No. 1 punch that I’ve been working on, and
it’s been working in training like crazy, so it worked out
perfect tonight.”
With
regard to whom he would like to fight next, Koch hinted at two
possibilities for the future.
“I
hear that Dustin Poirier is talking a lot of crap. I’m a
gamer, so I’ll fight whoever. I want a title shot, so there’s
still a lot of people out there I’d like to fight,”
Koch said. “I’d still like to fight Cub [Swanson],
because I was supposed to fight him [at UFC Live 3], but Dustin
has been talking crap, so let's do it.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Jiu-Jitsu
Pan: Langhi confirms presence at eleventh hour
“I
read on GRACIEMAG.com that the Pan 2011 lightweight division
could be the best of all times, so I didn’t want to miss
out,” chides black belt Michael Langhi over the radio.
And
that’s that, the lightweight world champion is another name
to confirm his participation at the last minute, as did a number
of other teachers – Wellington Megaton, Theodoro Canal,
Bia Mesquita and more.
Yesterday,
Langhi told GRACIEMAG.com he needed one more visit to the doctor
to decide whether he will go. The reason being a recent leg injury.
“It was bothering me, but I’m already training. So
I’m 70%,” he told us on Wednesday.
Injury
cured, the likelihood rose to 100% at night, when the teacher
at Alliance São Paulo entered the IBJJF website and put
in his name. “Now I’m already feeling good in training,
going strong against everyone in the academy, so I decided to
compete at the Pan too. I’m heading to Irvine to try and
steamroll everyone there.”
Next
Wednesday the world champion embarks for California, where he
will meet up with Lucas Lepri, his teammate in his weight group,
and other Alliance aces. “I’ll arrive there, do a last
training session at Cobrinha’s academy, rest Friday and
I’ll be ready to throw some weight around,” he says
in farewell.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
Wants Wanderlei Silva vs. Vitor Belfort in July, Silva Continues
to Ask for Leben
The
UFC has Wanderlei Silva’s next fight all picked out for
him. The only problem is Wanderleis Silva has yet to accept.
The
one time Pride middleweight champion has been on the sidelines
since his win over Michael Bisping at UFC 110 last February,
dealing with injuries. Now that Silva is ready to come back,
he’s turned down one fight already and wants another fight
that the UFC has no interest in making.
UFC
president Dana White is ready to put Silva in the cage against
Vitor Belfort in July, most likely at UFC 132, but Wanderlei
doesn’t seem to be on board with the idea.
Silva
actually wants a whole different fight, but White doesn’t
want to make that one happen.
“We
offer him the Vitor (Belfort) fight, and now he’s on Twitter
lobbying to fight Chris Leben,” White said about Silva’s
next fight when speaking to MMAWeekly.com
“I
don’t want him to fight Chris Leben, I want him to fight
Vitor Belfort. Vitor Belfort has accepted the fight, wants the
fight, now we’re waiting for Wanderlei to accept.”
Belfort
is coming off his stunning first round loss at the hands of UFC
middleweight champion Anderson Silva just a few weeks ago, but
he’s ready to take on his next challenge, and that would
be a rematch against Wanderlei Silva.
Belfort
and Silva first met in 1998 during UFC 17.5, which was also titled
UFC: Ultimate Brazil. Belfort blasted his fellow countryman early
in the fight, and finished with a flurry of strikes at just :44
seconds into the fight.
Silva
has become a bit of an anomaly to White lately. The Brazilian
has always been known as a fighter who will face anyone that
steps in the cage against him, but he’s now turned down
one fight and is hesitant about another bout.
“Wanderlei
Silva turned down Brian Stann, too,” White stated. “Wanderlei
turned down the fight with Brian Stann. We asked him to take
that fight and he turned it down.
“That’s
the fight (against Belfort) that I want. Wanderlei is lobbying
for a Chris Leben fight.”
If
the fight does get made, White is looking for a summertime showdown
between Silva and Belfort, and wouldn’t save the fight for
the UFC event headed to Brazil in August.
“It
would be in Las Vegas, in July I think,” White said about
a potential Silva vs. Belfort 2 fight.
The
ball is now in Silva’s court if he wants to accept the fight
with Belfort or continue to try and convince the UFC of a different
fight.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
128 Results: Marquardt Decisions Miller
Nate
Marquardt Dan Miller UFC 128Due to the unfortunate natural disaster
in Japan, Yoshihiro Akiyama was unable to compete, leaving Nate
Marquardt without an opponent. Dan Miller was more than happy
to oblige the vacancy. The New Jersey fighter was originally
slated to face Nick Catone on the same card but couldn’t
pass up a great opportunity to catapult himself back into the
middleweight division.
After
a short feeling out process, Miller tried to get the fight to
the ground and he eventually succeeded on his second single leg
attempt. Marquardt scrambled back up and defended a guillotine
attempt by Miller. The seven time King of Pancrase slammed Miller
in the last minute of the round and finished on top.
The
second round saw Marquardt throwing more combinations and showed
improvement in his strikes. Nate “The Great” landed
many clean right hands and kicks and displayed quick movement.
A missed flying knee attempt by Marquardt allowed Miller to temporarily
take him down; the two scrambled back up shortly after. Miller
attempted another guillotine near the end of round two but Marquardt
was able to defend it again.
In
between rounds, a sense of urgency was expressed by Miller’s
corner. Blood dripped out of the left eye of Dan Miller as the
final round began to mimic the second. Marquardt got Miller to
his back halfway in the round and never looked back.
Nate
Marquardt earned a unanimous decision on the judges’ score
cards and tallied his tenth victory in the octagon.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
128 Results: Jon Jones Dominates “Shogun” Rua, Wins
Light Heavyweight Title
Jon
Jones lived up to all the hype in the world and TKO’d Mauricio
“Shogun” Rua in the third round to win the light heavyweight
title at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones.
Jones
made it look easy for the majority of the match-up, striking
and controlling the champion at will, breaking him down bit by
bit.
Jones
started the fight wildly, throwing a flying knee to open it up.
Shortly there after, Jones got the takedown and the champion
was on his back. Jones traded from guard to half guard, working
to get short strikes in and dropping elbows. Shogun got back
to his feet, but numerous shots to the champion wobbled him as
he looked very winded. Later, he tried to pull a leg lock on
Jones, but didn’t get his grip and Jones ended up falling
in the champ’s guard. The round ended with Jones doing a
majority of the control in the opening five minutes.
Round
two had Shogun coming forward, but Jones landed a nice spinning
back elbow that shook Rua. Jones seemed to pick apart the champion
halfway through the round. An attempted kick by Rua had Jones
taking advantage with a takedown into guard. After transitioning
to halfguard, Jones worked from there and landed several short
shots. An attempt at a knee bar by Jones was cut short by round
coming to an end, but not before he landed a hammer fist for
good measure.
The
third round had Shogun attempting another leg lock, but Jones
jumped out of that quickly, making a kimura attempt in the process.
Working to Rua’s guard, Jones laid down more and more punches
and elbows, leaving Rua taking a wealth of punishment. Getting
back to the feet, Rua dealt with more knees and punches, leaving
no opening for Rua to defend himself as Jones overwhelmed him,
forcing referee, Herb Dean, to step in and stop the fight.
Jon Jones Mauricio Shogun Rua UFC 128
A
defeated Mauricio Shogun Rua UFC 128
The
official time of the stoppage was 2:37 of round three.
“Believe
in yourself, believe in your heart,” Jones said following
the victory. “Once you get there, don’t slow down.”
After
one of the most crushing losses in his career, Rua reflected
on the fight.
“The
strategy was to fight Jones…anywhere that the fight would
go,” he said. “I have to congratulate him. He was better
than me.”
Jon
Jones is the new Light-Heavyweight Champion
With
the win, Jones is now atop the UFC’s light heavyweight division,
and next in line to fight him is his friend and training partner,
Rashad Evans. Jones spoke on facing a friend and teammate.
“We
are teammates,” Jones said about his friend and number one
contender. “It sucks that I have to do this, but this is
my dream. This is everything I believe in.
“I
got to do exactly what I have to do.”
Evans
sat cageside and witnessed his Team Jackson teammate put on one
of the best performances of his young career. Although they both
see it as unfortunate, the two will put friendships aside and
fight for the gold.
“We
train together and he got that strap, so I got to go after it,”
Evans said after congratulating the new champion.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Rashad
Evans Leaves Team Jackson, Fired Up to Face Jon Jones
Rashad
Evans will still get his title shot next, but he will have to
face friend, new champion, and former teammate Jon Jones to get
that gold belt back around his waist.
The
most stunning part of that statement of course is the ‘former
teammate’ part.
It
appears as of now, Rashad Evans has left Team Jackson and will
pursue his training elsewhere as he prepares for his showdown
against Jon Jones.
Rumors
of Evans’ exit from the team surfaced a few days ago, but
just about everyone around the former Michigan State wrestler
denied that it was happening. Now according to UFC president
Dana White, Evans has indeed left the team and will face Jon
Jones with a renewed vigor.
“From
what I understand, he has left Greg Jackson’s camp. He’s
no longer with Jackson’s,” White revealed to MMAWeekly.com.
“Rashad
and I have had our differences, and we’ll probably continue
to have our differences, but Rashad is 100% on board to fight
Jon Jones, and is actually very fired up about the opportunity.”
Sources
close to the situation have mentioned a couple of camps where
Evans will train as he gets ready for his fight against Jones
at an as of yet undetermined date.
Evans
has close ties with the team at the Grudge Training Center in
Colorado, where he has worked extensively with coaches like Trevor
Wittman, as well as fighters like Nate Marquardt, Shane Carwin
and Brendan Schaub.
The
other place Evans will likely call home for some of his training
will be the Renzo Gracie Academy in Manhattan. Evans has trained
with the team before, and Team Jackson’s Keith Jardine just
recently revealed to MMAWeekly.com that he intends to train there
as well over the next few months.
At
this time, there is no determination when Evans and Jones could
face one another, but the new UFC light heavyweight champion
mentioned following his win on Saturday night that he owes it
to his family to take some much needed time off.
How
much time that will equal out to remains to be seen, but Jones
already knows now that he will be facing Rashad Evans for his
first title defense, and now it’s no longer teammate vs.
teammate.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
President Dana White Confirms Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber
Happens Next
It
seems like any time Urijah Faber does an interview he’s
always asked about a future showdown with UFC bantamweight champion
Dominick Cruz.
Well,
now he has good reason to talk about him because they are fighting
next.
UFC
President Dana White confirmed the news following the UFC 128
press conference. While Faber and Cruz could still be in line
for a coaching opportunity on the “Ultimate Fighter”
14, the two rivals will definitely be facing off for the title
in each of their respective next fights.
“Yeah,
that fight’s gonna happen,” White told MMAWeekly.com
As
far as the timing goes, that’s the only question that remains
to be answered. Faber and Cruz could end up as coaches on the
reality show or they could just fight later this year.
Faber
is coming off a three round war against Eddie Wineland, and Dominick
Cruz told MMAWeekly.com on Saturday night that he’s probably
3 to 4 weeks away from being able to head back to the gym.
White
echoed similar sentiments when talking about Faber and Cruz and
the timing of their 135lb title fight.
“No,
I don’t,” White answered when asked if he had a timeline
for when the fight could happen.
Faber
of course holds a win over Cruz from when the pair fought with
the WEC featherweight title on the line a few years ago, and
ever since then there has been an uneasy tension between the
two fighters.
Now
they are on a collision course to fight each other, and it will
be for the UFC bantamweight title.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
UFC
128 Results: Jim Miller Makes a Statement for Title Contention,
TKOs Kamal Shalorus
Jim
Miller secured his seventh win in a row, grabbing the TKO victory
over Kamal Shalorus at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones.
After
entertaining exchanges throughout the fight, Miller landed an
uppercut, following it up with a knee en route to the win in
the third round.
Miller
and Shalorus came out the gate aggreissive on the feet, trading
blows early. Going back and forth, the two fighters landed punches
in bunches, but Shalorus landed some strong leg kicks that left
their mark. Miller landed a tremendous left high kick with two
minutes left in the opening round, but Shalorus recovered nicely.
Miller pulled guard and his opponent worked from that position
eventually pinning him against the cage. The two were stood up
and the two traded more strikes for the remainder of the entertaining
opening round.
Round
two had more of the same with the fighters trading blows. “The
Prince of Persia,” Shalorus, added some nice leg kicks that
landed solidly. Miller was able to get a quick takedown and within
the blink of an eye, obtained his opponent’s back. Miller
worked from Shalorus’ back for several minutes, attempting
to find a hole to sink in a rear naked choke, but Shalorus showed
some active defense to prevent any submission. The round ended
with Miller working to get some strikes while controlling his
opponent’s back.
Round
three had landing some clean straight left hands. An unintentional
groin strike by Miller put a hold to the action, but it continued
shortly there after. Miller landed a huge left uppercut the followed
it up with a knee that had Shalorus falling to his back. Miller
attacked his opponent until there was no defense by Shalorus,
forcing the referee to step in and put a stop to the fight.
The
fight officially came to end at 2:15 of the third round.
“That’s
seven in a row,” Miller said after the win. “That’s
seven in a row in [arguably the] toughest division in the UFC.”
Miller
makes a strong point for title contention, but it will be up
to Dana White, Joe Silva the rest of the UFC front office to
decide if he’ll be the next in line to fight for the lightweight
belt.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Pan
2011: best lightweight of all times?
Lucas
Lepri is one of the favorites to win gold at the 2011 Pan.
The
one who wins the IBJJF Pan can, throughout an entire year, metaphorically
pound his chest and claim he’s the best Jiu-Jitsu fighter
in the Americas.
And
the winner of the lightweight division at this year’s Pan
may be able to gloat about even more. That’s so because
pretty much all the best in the world will be there, as you can
see in the official list from the IBJJF below. Plus, as GRACIEMAG.com
has ascertained, a a burly surprise could show up at the last
minute. . .
Among
those guaranteed to be there: Lucas Lepri, Augusto Tanquinho,
JT, Davi Ramos, Sandro Batata, Rodrigo Freitas, Zak Maxwell.
Get the picture?
How
about you, you secured your spot in the thick of the action yet?
Sign up here, today’s the last day!
Adult
black belt lightweights
Edson
Pereira (Alliance)
Lucas
A. Lepri (Alliance)
Davi
Ramos (Atos)
Rodrigo
Caporal (Atos)
Francisco
Tavares (Combative Martial Arts)
Rodrigo
Freitas (Gracie Barra América)
Zak
Maxwell (Gracie Humaitá)
Jonathan
Torres (Lloyd Irvin)
Evan
Michael (Lotus Club)
Leandro
Nascimento (Manimal)
Alexandre
Henrique (Ryan)
Sandro
Santiago (Sandro Batata)
Julio
Armando (Sandro Batata)
Augusto
Mendes (Soul Fighters)
What
do you think of the list so far? Who’s going to take it?
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
UFC
128 KO of Night: Schaub takes next step by stopping ‘Cro
Cop’
Brendan
Schaub is still a work in progress, but he's got something every
fighter would love to possess - one-punch knockout power.
After
a rough, grinder of a fight, waged mostly along the cage, Schaub
drilled Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic with a counter right
hand. Cro Cop crumbled to the floor and Schaub landed one more
finishing punch that bounced the Croatian's head off the floor
like a basketball. Referee Herb Dean sprinted across the cage
to stop the fight at the 3:44 mark of the third round.
Update:
During the postfight press conference, UFC president Dana White
said this was probably the last time the 36-year-old Cro Cop
would be fighting for the promotion. He's lost two straight fights
and lacks the explosiveness and size to compete at the highest
level with the new breed heavyweight. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound
Schaub, has only been a pro since the middle of 2008.
It
wasn't easy for Schaub, who was wary of Cro Cop's devasting left
head kick throughout. The former Colorado fullback tried to keep
the fight at close quarters. In most of the cases when Cro Cop
tried a kick or moved forward with a punch, Schaub (8-1, 4-1
UFC) looked for the clinch or a takedown.
The
wily veteran Cro Cop (27-9, 4-5 UFC) did some fine work of his
own in those clinch situations along the cage. He landed some
nasty short elbows including one in the second that caused Schaub's
nose to start leaking blood. He also opened up a cut over Schaub's
left eye.
The
younger Schaub took the first two rounds, but in the second he
had a point taken away for punches to the back of the head.
Schaub,
the runner-up on Season 10 of "The Ultimate Fighter,"
lost in the final to another vet in Roy Nelson. Since then, he's
scored three knockout finishes in four victories.
Schaub,
who turned 28 yesterday, asked Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta
for the Knockout of the Night bonus. Through eight fights, his
only competition is Erik Koch, who scored a first-round KO of
Raphael Assuncao.
Update
II: The UFC gave out two KO of the Night bonuses. Schaub and
Koch each got $70,000.
Source: Yahoo Sports |
|
3/22/11
Happy Birthday to Us! |
Report:
‘Bones’ Subdues Thief Hours Before Title Fight
When Jon Jones steps into the Octagon to challenge Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua for his light heavyweight title at UFC 128 at the Prudential
Center in Newark, N.J., it will not be the first confrontation
Jones has had on Saturday.
The
lanky Greco-Roman specialist informed the public that he had
chased down and apprehended an individual who allegedly broke
into a woman’s car and stole her G.P.S. Jones wrote that
his two coaches, Mike Winkeljohn and Greg Jackson, chased after
the man first.
“So
while we were at the park today, a crack head smashed this old
lady’s car window and took off running with her G.P.S. just
as we were pulling up,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “Right
away, coach [Winkeljohn] goes after this guy. Without hesitation,
coach Jackson went after him. I was shocked and stood there for
a second. Then I threw my phone down and went with my coaches.
Before you know it, we’re sprinting up a steep hill chasing
after him.”
Jones,
who fights in the UFC 128 main event, reportedly caught the suspect
and took him to the ground, according to a report from TMZ.com.
Jones’ driver even snapped a picture of Jones and his trainers
apprehending the man before the police arrived.
“I
turned the jets on. We caught the guy. We got the lady’s
G.P.S. back,” wrote Jones. “It feels so good to help
others. It gives me power and energy.”
Source: Sherdog
|
Trainer:
Jones Overcame Fatigue, Found ‘Another Gear’ to Beat
Rua
To
the naked eye, it appeared that Jon Jones was never in the slightest
bit of trouble during his 205-pound title-winning performance
against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of
Saturday’s UFC 128.
Jones
dissected Rua en route to a third-round technical knockout at
the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Throughout the bout, “Bones”
seemed to go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and Rua
seemed helpless to stop him.
However,
Jones’ striking coach, Mike Winkeljohn, had a different
view of the competition from the fighter’s corner. According
to “Coach Wink,” Jones had plenty of adversity to overcome.
“There
was a turning point after the second round where we were real
scared, because [Jones] was tired,” Winkeljohn told Sherdog.com
after the bout. “He had pressed all day long. Well, s--t,
the whole last two weeks, [cameras] following him around 24-7.
I think all that hoopla got to him, and the pressure got to him
a little bit. He was tired after the second round, and I was
worried.”
“But
you know what he did? He pushed through it, and that is a champion.
That is a veteran. At 23 years old, that is incredible. All of
a sudden, in the third round, he just decided, ‘Yeah, I’m
going to win this thing,’ and he just went to another gear.”
Jones,
who unexpectedly apprehended a robber in a New Jersey park just
hours before the title bout, opened the fight with his trademark
unorthodox standup attack. Though many would view spinning back
kicks and elbow strikes as risky maneuvers in such an important
fight, Winkeljohn asserts that those techniques did not concern
him.
“The
spinning elbow and the distraction kicks don’t worry me
at all. What worried me was that ‘Shogun’ was trying
to counter Jon’s punches. That’s where I thought we
might have been in trouble,” said Winkeljohn. “Sometimes
Jon stayed in the pocket and didn’t bail out the right direction
or the proper defense. That’s what scared me.”
Though
Winkeljohn saw room for improvement in his pupil’s performance,
the revered striking coach spoke proudly of Jones’ poise
and skill under the pressure of the moment.
“I
see the progression in the gym. I was telling everybody that
he could beat ‘Shogun’ standing up,” said Winkeljohn.
“I’ll never say it was easy, though. ‘Shogun’
is very tough, and he was inches away from a few counters in
there when Jon was punching. But, for the most part, [Jon] dominated.
He stayed long, and he hit him long and often. He [used] angles
and he took [Rua] down when he wanted to. It was a great performance.
I’m very happy. It’s the beginning of the Jon Jones
era.”
Up
next for the new champion is a defense of his title against friend
and fellow Jackson’s MMA product Rashad Evans. Though the
two had stated in the past that they would never clash in the
cage, it appears that mentality has changed. Trainer Greg Jackson
has vowed to help prepare neither man in the case of such a fight,
but for Winkeljohn, the situation is a bit trickier.
“I
have to think about it. I have a dilemma in that Rashad kind
of left our camp a couple of fights back, and I wasn’t in
his corner in his last two fights because he was really training
up in Denver. Jon Jones came in and I started working with Jon,
so it’s kind of tough. I’ll have to figure that one
out,” said Winkeljohn. “I love Rashad to death. I think
he’s much better than people even know. He could be scary
for Jon. He has the tools to beat Jon Jones. So I’m not
sure yet. I have to think about it.”
Source: Sherdog
|
New
champion Jones is one of a kind
NEWARK,
N.J. – Next up for Jon Jones, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s
new light heavyweight champion, may be solving unemployment,
saving the environment and ending terrorism. After his day on
Saturday, there’s not much that seems out of his reach.
Hours
after chasing down a thief on the streets of Paterson, N.J.,
the 23-year-old Jones obliterated one of the great fighters in
mixed martial arts history, stopping Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua in the third round of UFC 128’s main event at the Prudential
Center.
Jones,
who became the youngest titleholder in UFC history, stunned the
12,619 fans, UFC executives, media and a worldwide television
audience with one of the most dominant performances in the sport’s
history.
“He
may deliver a baby on the way out of here,” UFC president
Dana White said, only half-jokingly, after Jones dominated Rua
with every type of strike imaginable. “What else could a
guy do in a day?”
Jones
went to Paterson to meditate near a waterfall with his coaches,
Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, late Saturday afternoon when
they came across an out-of-breath and upset elderly couple. The
woman explained that a man had broken a window of their car,
stolen the items in it and taken off running.
Winkeljohn
and Jackson took off after the thief immediately. It took a second
for Jones, who would face the biggest night of his life in a
few hours, to figure out what was going on. When he processed
the situation, he said, “OK, time to take action now,”
and joined the chase.
The
6-foot-4 Jones quickly caught and passed his coaches and was
soon on the heels of the thief.
“I’m
closing in on this guy and I’m like 20 yards away and the
guy, you could see he was starting to get winded,” Jones
said. “He’s got their stuff and he’s running.
He looks back and he sees me, 6-4, and Greg and Wink are behind
me and I’m just running. The guy tripped over his own foot
and I got so scared because I didn’t know what I was going
to do when I actually caught him. I actually started barking
at him.”
Jones
sneered, emulated what had happened and said, “Ruff. Ruff.
Ruff.”
Yep,
the new UFC champion was barking at his postfight news conference.
Jackson
put an armbar on the man, and he and Winkeljohn held him down,
awaiting the police. The police arrested the man, but not before
Jones lectured the guy about crime.
Rua,
one of the world’s most accomplished fighters and No. 4
in the Yahoo! Sports rankings going into the night, had no more
success against Jones than the thief. Jones opened the bout with
a flying knee and a couple of kicks and the rout was on.
Jones
hit Rua with every limb of his body and every shot imaginable.
Knees, kicks, elbows, punches, knees – you name it –
Jones landed it. And not only did he land them, he landed them
very hard and very accurately.
“With
what I saw tonight, he looks like he’s a mile ahead of everybody
else,” White said. “He looks incredible. In my opinion,
not only is he the No. 1 light heavyweight in the world, he just
shot up in the pound-for-pound category, too.”
Jones
did it all in the flashiest manner possible, bringing together
everything he learned from hours of watching YouTube videos to
teaching himself mixed martial arts and turning it into one of
the most fearsome fighting machines on the planet.
Spinning
elbows and flying knees are generally risky maneuvers, particularly
against a powerful striker like Rua, but it’s been a part
of Jones’ repertoire since he began. He said he felt no
risk.
“I
don’t look at my moves and my style as being flashy, I really
don’t,” Jones said. “It’s the only way I
know. I started off with pretty much zero trainers. I taught
myself from YouTube. Where most people start by learning, ‘One,
two, hook,’ I started my first classes by watching YouTube
and I’d come home and try the spinning things. It’s
the only way I know.
“I
really don’t see it as dangerous or flashy at all. I call
it more like unpredictable. I don’t worry about the danger
I put myself in when I go for these unpredictable techniques,
because once you’re initiating the technique, most people
are like, ‘Oh crap, what is this?’ and they’re
more worried about defending their head.”
Rua
was in plenty of danger from those unpredictable techniques and
his body showed it when the fight ended when referee Herb Dean
mercifully pulled Jones off at 2:37 of the third. Both of Rua’s
eyes were swollen almost shut, he was bleeding from the nose
and mouth and his body was covered with red welts.
Rua
never landed a kick or a punch of consequence and was beaten
down as if he were a rank amateur. One of the first questions
White was asked at the postfight news conference was whether
he’d match Jones with middleweight champion Anderson Silva,
since after seeing that demolition on Saturday it doesn’t
seem there’s anyone close to being able to handle Jones.
Even
Silva, the top-ranked fighter in the world, would have a tough
time with Jones. And that fight isn’t expected to happen
any time soon since Silva has made it plain to White he has no
plans to leave the sanctuary of the middleweight division.
Jones’
teammate, Rashad Evans, will get the next crack and, likely,
the next beating. The scary thing about it all is that Jones
is far from his peak and is going to get better.
“I
need to relax for a little while and work on being a better man,
a better champion and a better martial artist and come back even
better,” Jones said.
If
he comes back better, there could be problems. Congress may try
to pass a law banning him. He’s that scary and he’s
that good.
“I
told him before the fight he could be a mixture of Michael Jordan
and Muhammad Ali for our sport,” said UFC bantamweight Urijah
Faber, who defeated Eddie Wineland in the co-main event.
That’s
not hyperbole. Jordan and Ali are the greatest of the greats
and Jones is still a fresh-faced 23-year-old.
And
as good as Jordan and Ali were, they never ran down a thief on
the night of their biggest event. Jones is, truly, one of a kind.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC:
Jon Jones beats Shogun down to become a UFC champion
UFC
128, which happened at Prudential Center, in New Jersey, had
a bitter outcome for the Brazilians. If on one side Tibau, Edson
Junior and Luis Cane shone, on the other hand Shogun, Raphael
Assuncao and Ricardo Almeida didn’t please the fans so much.
The challenger Jon Jones explained inside the octagon why many
considered Mauricio Shogun the underdog and beat the now former
champion down pitiless. The Brazilian resisted as hard as he
could the two first rounds, being punished while on his foot
and suffering with the good ground and pound work performed by
his opponent. Shogun tried a knee bar, unsuccessfully, due to
Jones’ power. The sad outcome came for the Brazilian on
the third round, when Jones put him against the grid, launched
hard punches and a knee, which defined the bout. The American
Jon “Bones” Jones is the newest UFC light heavyweight
champion of the world.
Standing
on the octagon, a brave Shogun, with a pretty hurt face, acted
like a truth champion, as he is, and recognized his opponent’s
superiority. “He was better than me and deserved to win,
he showed a good ground work and good Muay Thai, congratulations
for him”, said Shogun, with his face all messed up.
On
the co-main event of the evening, Urijah Faber and Eddie Wineland
debuted on UFC with a good bout. After a tied first round, the
Californian Kid started to dominate the actions and Wineland
couldn’t take advantage of his bigger reach. With good takedowns
and an efficient ground and pound, Faber beat Wineland down on
a unanimous decision of the judges.
Jim
Miller dominates Iranian on a huge performance
On
the third last fight of the evening, the lightweights Miller
and Kamal entered on a real war. He first round was pretty busy,
and Jim got an advantage on a nice high kick. On the second round,
Miller kept on fast and showed much talent when applied a single
leg takedown and grabbing Kamal’s back, where he punished
his opponent until the end of the round. On the final round,
a powerful upper opened the way for a knee and the Iranian went
down, being punished with elbow, until the referee’s intermission
at 2min15s. This was the seventh triumph of Jim Miller, who asked
for a title shot.
Coming
from a loss to the Japanese Okami, on a boring fight, Nate Marquardt
showed his great willingness against Dan Miller. “The Great”
imposed a good rhythm and launched good elbows, stopping the
victory sequence of Miller and getting the win on a unanimous
decision of the judges.
On
the first fight on the main card of the event, the veteran Mirko
Cro Cop showed he’s not more that guy who was champion of
Pride’s GP Open Weight. Brend Schaub dominated the two first
rounds, punishing the Croatian on the ground and pound and a
knockout came after a famous home-run knockout punch was launched
on Cro Cop, who felt and hit his head on the floor, at 3min24s
of the third round. Schaub, who was coming from a win over Gabriel
Napao, now got a fourth triumph in a row.
Edson
wins by points and Luis Cane by TKO
On
the last bout on the preliminary card, Luis Cane got an amazing
win with a deadly knockout over Eliot Marshall. The Brazilian
was coming from two consecutive losses and was almost a year
off the rings, but wasn’t bothered by Marshall, taking him
to the floor to finish the fight with hard elbows, which leaded
the American to a TKO, at 2min15s of the first round, after the
referee’s intermission.
Edson
Junior did a good start and almost knocked his opponent down
right on the beginning with a tough punch, but hasn’t applied
more coups right after that. on the second round, Anthony started
to improve and fit a rounded elbow, but Edson took him down in
the end of the round, but he hadn’t enough time to work
on the position. The round kept tight and the Brazilian proved
himself to be better as he launched an awesome rounded kick on
the Nigerian’s head, who got dizzy. The unbeaten Edson got
his second win in a row on UFC, this time on a unanimous decision
of the judges and now has eight triumphs on his career.
On
the fifth fight of the evening, Ricardo Almeida and Mike Pyle
had a warm and tied fight. After a tough first round, the Brazilian
tied up the scoreboard on the following one with good takedowns,
but didn’t take much advantage of the ground game. The fight
kept on warm and the judges have decided to declare Mike Pyle
winner on a controversy call.
Tibau
conquests the first Brazilian win of the evening
Not
even all the support of the fans present at the Prudential Center
in New Jersey was enough to stop the Brazilian Gleison Tibau,
who came determined. The local fighter, Kurt Pellegrino, came
for it on the first round, but the Brazilian managed to block
his opponent’s willingness and proved he has a better game
in all aspects of the fight and dominated the bout. The first
Brazilian win of the evening came on a split decision of the
judges in TIbau’s favor.
The
first fighter to step on UFC 128’s octagon, Raphael Assuncao
didn’t have a good debut on the greatest event on earth.
The Brazilian and Erik Koch didn’t show much action on the
beginning of their fight, as both fighters tried to find the
right distance and launching low kicks. Assuncao tried to fit
a jab, but his opponent counter attacked with a deadly crossed
punch, which switched the Brazilian off at 2min32s of the very
first round.
Source: Tatame
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Jiu-Jitsu
Pan: Langhi confirms presence at eleventh hour
“I
read on GRACIEMAG.com that the Pan 2011 lightweight division
could be the best of all times, so I didn’t want to miss
out,” chides black belt Michael Langhi over the radio.
And
that’s that, the lightweight world champion is another name
to confirm his participation at the last minute, as did a number
of other teachers – Wellington Megaton, Theodoro Canal,
Bia Mesquita and more.
Yesterday,
Langhi told GRACIEMAG.com he needed one more visit to the doctor
to decide whether he will go. The reason being a recent leg injury.
“It was bothering me, but I’m already training. So
I’m 70%,” he told us on Wednesday.
Injury
cured, the likelihood rose to 100% at night, when the teacher
at Alliance São Paulo entered the IBJJF website and put
in his name. “Now I’m already feeling good in training,
going strong against everyone in the academy, so I decided to
compete at the Pan too. I’m heading to Irvine to try and
steamroll everyone there.”
Next
Wednesday the world champion embarks for California, where he
will meet up with Lucas Lepri, his teammate in his weight group,
and other Alliance aces. “I’ll arrive there, do a last
training session at Cobrinha’s academy, rest Friday and
I’ll be ready to throw some weight around,” he says
in farewell.
Source: Gracie Magazine
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UFC
128 Results: Faber Wins Debut, Calls out Cruz
The
co-main event of UFC 128 saw the octagon debut of two of the
best bantamweight fighters today. Former WEC champions Urijah
Faber and Eddie Wineland faced off in a match-up that could potentially
determine a future title contender.
Wineland
was able to stuff Faber against the fence early on, staggering
his offense and minimized damage. The Midwest fighter was able
to take Faber down on a few occasions while Urijah was unable
to succeed with his own attempts. The “California Kid”
utilized his hand speed and quickness to balance his unsuccessful
takedown attempts.
Faber
secured a takedown in the second round and proceeded to attack
with his trademark short elbows. The Team Alpha Male fighter
punished Wineland from his guard for the duration of the second.
Urijah
came out the aggressor in the final round, moving forward and
countering accurately. The former featherweight champion took
Wineland down with a little over a minute remaining to help earn
him a unanimous decision and his first UFC victory.
“I
felt pretty good. He caught me off guard. Eddie has a bright
future here,” commented Faber afterwards.
“I
want to get that UFC belt. Dominick Cruz, hide your kids, hide
your wife,” jested Faber. “I’m coming for that
belt.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
HUAWA
GRAPPLING TOURNAMENT
Oahu Grappling Series 1
Date: March 26, 2011
Location: Mililani High School Gym
Weigh-in: Friday 6pm-7:30pm or Saturday 7am-7:45am
Competition Starts: 9:00am
Age and Weight Divisions:
Novice (12-13 years old)
_ Boys: 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 75, +75kg 70kg max
_ Girls: 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, +55kg
Schoolboys/girls (14-15 years old)
_ Boys: 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 80, +80kg 87kg max
_ Girls: 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, +60kg 67kg max
Cadets (16-17 years old)
_ Men: 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 85, +85kg 95kg max
_ Women: 45, 50, 55, 65, 70, +70kg 80kg max
Juniors (18-19 years old)
_ Men: 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 90, 110 kg, Absolute
_ Women: 50, 55, 60, 65, 75 kg, Absolute
Seniors (20 and older)
_ Men: 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 90, 110 kg, Absolute
_ Women: 50, 55, 60, 65, 75 kg, Absolute
Rules: FILA http://www.fila-official.com/images/FILA/reglements/grappling/Basic_Rules_Grappling.pdf
No Gi
Must have a current 2011 USAW card:
Online - http://www.usawmembership.com/
USAW card $35.00 at the door.
Entry Fee: $50.00 online preregistration ends Thursday, 3/24/11
at 12pm
http://www.trackwrestling.com/registration/BasicPreReg1.jsp?tournamentGroupId=1906009
$60.00 Walk-in registration ends Saturday, 3/26/11 at 7:30am
For more info: Contact John Robinson (808) 381-3048 or click
here to email.
|
Vendetta Mad Skills
Saturday March 26
Waipahu Filcom Center
Doors open at 6:00
ROBBIE
OSTAVICH 155 ARNOLD RAMOS
WESLEY
MOSSMAN 125 DONOVAN CALLURUDA
VINNIE
FOWLER 185 ALBERT
NAPOLEION
CHAD
PUHA 165 EDDIE MANU
LAITA
200 AARON PUAHALA
TERRENCE
TAANOA 230 MATT
STEVEN
TAANOA 230 BEN BOYCE
DENNIS
MONTIRA 125 JAN QUIMOYOG
KEPPA
165 TYLER KENEMURI
JACOB
CARTER 45 DIESEL VISTANTE
JONAH
60 STANFORD
LORENZO
MATTHIAS 170-175 LAWRENCE COLLINS
ROB
BAKER 140 NEVADA HARRISON
SAM
SNIFFEN 140 JOSH
FARR
EVAN
QUIZON 125 JAMIN TABUYA
MAURICE
150 LANCE BELL
KALVIN
BAGOYO 130 ANU LUSI
TUIMAUAUA
210 KANOI KAHIKINA
TONY
LASSITT 185 CHRIS KAHELE
MATT
STONE 200 JON TEXEIRA
TOFI
MIKA 150 ANTHONY RIVERA
KAIMI
PAKELE 165 WALTER WALKER
NALU
H. 145 PRESTON S.
All
matches & participants may be subject to change
Source: Event Promoter
|
The Toughman Hawaii Association Presents another night of non-stop
action April 2nd 2011, as the Tournament Of Champions continues,
winners of round one will meet up as all new comers will take
center stage and make their stat...ement in this ...outstanding
night of Stand up action.
Also the Toughman Hawaii association ad’s a twist with the
round one of the Tough Wahine Competition, some of the toughest
girl fighters will be making their way here from Oahu, and Maui
to take on some of the women of Big Island, I promise you won’t
want to miss this one, 2 of Hilo’s favorites will be The
Pruett sisters Ashley and Tiane trained by their father legendary
Trainer Tony( TKO) Pruett these girls are sure to rock the house,
also making their way over from the West side of the Island Lani
Pauhiva and Kapua Kahulamu will be here to show you what’s
happening on the Kona side of the Island. From Oahu Vee Vickers
and Kailin Carren will test the waters of the Big Island.
On the under card Kawika Paleikiko, Mathew Brigoli, Daniel Jayne,
Nick Carvalho, Trevor Liopoldino, Josh Jacobo, David Mc Kinney
, Robert Kamakai, Gary (the Beast) Gouveia, Isriel Lovelace,
Tyler Liopoldino, Bryan Silva, Shaun Robbins, Brandon Beck are
just some of the names you can expect to see.
On the Main Card:
Jon (Untamable) Barnard will take on Carlos( Mountain Boy) Rincon
Ikaika( Scarface) Martin vs. Ben (Da King) Santiago
Richard (Hit 2 Hard) Barnard vs. Chris( Red Bull) Willems
Shaison (Ruthless) Laipalo vs. Brandon(The Hitman) Torres
Keone ( Too Sharp) Rodrigues vs Elijah Manners
Conrado Martin vs. Reed Akashi
Lavelle Brown vs. Iron Kona Ke
In a special attraction 2 longtime Pro Boxing Veterans Dave (Mad
Dog) Motta will take on Hawaii’s Former Top Jr Welter weight
contender Donald( Dynamite) Gonzales Sr. In the Main Event of
the evening Oahu’s Champion 7 Titles Jonavan ( The Immortal
Warrior) Visante will be taking on one of Toughman Hawaii’s
Interim Light heavy Weight Champ Superstars Chris (The Maverick)Cisneros.
This will be a night you won’t soon forget!!!
Doors
open at 6:00pm show starts at 7:00pm
Tickets go on sale This Friday at CD WIZARD $20.00 FOR GENERAL
ADMISSION FOR RESERVE CAGESIDE SEATING CALL 808-960-4341
Source: Event Promoter
|
UFC
128 Shogun vs. Jones Quick Results
UFC
128: Shogun vs. Jones Main Bouts (On Pay-Per-View):
-Jon “Bones” Jones def. Maurcio “Shogun”
Rua by TKO at 2:37, R3
-Urijah Faber def. Eddie Wineland by unanimous decision (29-28
on all cards)
-Jim Miller def. Kamal Shalorus by TKO (knee and strikes) at
2:15, R3
-Nate Marquardt def. Dan Miller by unanimous decision (30-27
on all cards)
-Brendan Schaub def. Mirko CroCop by TKO at 3:44, R3
UFC
128: Shogun vs. Jones Preliminary Bouts (On Spike TV):
-Luis Cane def. Eliot Marshall by TKO (referee’s stoppage
due to strikes) at 2:15, R1
-Edson Barboza def. Anthony Njokuani by unanimous decision (29-28
on all cards)
UFC
128: Shogun vs. Jones Preliminary Bouts (On Facebook):
-Mike Pyle def. Ricardo Almeida by unanimous decision (29-28,
30-27, 30-27)
-Gleison Tibau def. Kurt Pellegrino by split decision (29-28,
29-28, 28-29)
UFC
128: Shogun vs. Jones Preliminary Bouts (Non-Televised):
-Joseph Benavidez def. Ian Loveland by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27, 29-28)
-Nick Catone def. Constantinos Phillippou by unanimous decision
(30-27 on all cards)
-Erik Koch def. Raphael Assuncao by KO at 2:32, R1
Source: MMA Weekly
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UFC
128: Post-Fight Bonuses Revealed
The
UFC returned to New Jersey and featured a highly anticipated
light heavyweight showdown between Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua and John “Bones” Jones. A total of $280,000 was
handed out to the night’s most outstanding performers.
At
the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White reported
that UFC 128 earned $2.4 million at the gate and announced the
bonus winners.
Edson
Barboza and Anthony Njokuani were awarded bonuses for “Fight
of the Night.” Both fighters received $70,000 for their
efforts. Barboza earned a unanimous decision over Njokuani after
three rounds of action.
Erik Koch Raphael Assuncao UFC 128
Erik
Koch KO's Raphael Assuncao at UFC 128
Erik
Koch had an impressive UFC debut with a first-round knockout
of Raphael Assuncao. A well timed counter right hook earned the
Midwest fighter an extra $70,000.
Brendan Schaub Mirko CroCop UFC 128
Brendan
Schaub gets the second KO of the Night bonus at UFC 128
UFC
128 did not produce a single submission victory after twelve
fights so an additional $70,000 “Knockout of the Night”
bonus was awarded to Brendan Schaub for his late knockout of
Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
‘Bones’
Takes Throne by Force at UFC 128
Consider the star born.
Jon
Jones handed Mauricio “Shogun” Rua a savage beating
in the UFC 128 headliner, as he captured the light heavyweight
championship in a third-round technical knockout on Saturday
at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Beaten almost beyond
recognition, the great Rua finally wilted 2:37 into round three.
“It
feels so good,” said Jones, who, at 23, became the youngest
UFC champion in history. “It’s a testament that dreams
do come true. Believe in yourself, and once you get there, don’t
slow down. It comes true, everybody.”
Shogun
never had a chance. Jones secured his first takedown inside the
first 30 seconds and patiently brutalized the Brazilian with
punches and elbows. Rua stood near the cage, ate a knee to the
body, a shin to the face and punches to the head. He wobbled
forward and was never the same. Jones landed one of his patented
spinning back elbows to open round two, caught an attempted leg
kick and drove Rua to the ground, where elbows and punches to
the head and body greeted the battered and broken champion. So
complete was Jones’ dominance that he attempted a kneebar
on the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt near the end of the period.
At
the start of round three, it was clear Shogun had little left
in the tank. He swooped in for a leg lock, only to wind up on
his back. There, he was at the mercy of the challenger. Shogun
returned to a standing position, as Jones backed him into the
cage and cracked him with a mean left hook to the body that put
him down for good. With that, Jones’ ascent was complete.
“It
means a lot to me, but now I know I have a huge target on my
back,” Jones said. “And when you guys come and strike
at me, I’ll be ready to strike right back.”
The
beating left Shogun a mangled mess.
“The
strategy was to fight him anywhere the fight would go,”
Rua said. “I have to congratulate him. He was better than
me. He is a very tough guy, and he showed great muay Thai and
ground work. He is the man.”
Former
light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, who trains with Jones
at Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts in Albuquerque, N.M., entered
the cage afterward. Recovering from a knee injury, he appears
to be next in line to challenge for the belt.
“Well,
I guess you should never say never, right?” Evans said.
“We train together, but he’s got that strap, and I
have to go after it.”
Jones
agreed.
“We
are teammates, and it sucks that we’re going to have to
do this, but this is my dream,” he said. “This is everything
I believe in. I have to do exactly what I have to do.”
Faber
Closes Strong, Outpoints Wineland
Urijah
Faber outworked, outmaneuvered and ultimately outclassed Eddie
Wineland in a competitive battle between former WEC champions,
as he earned a unanimous verdict from the cageside judges in
the co-main event. Scores were 29-28 across the board for Faber,
who made a successful if not memorable UFC debut.
Wineland
enjoyed early success, as he stuffed Faber’s repeated takedown
attempts in the first round, walked through a pair of heavy overhand
rights and worked effectively from the clinch.
“I
felt pretty good,” Faber said. “Eddie is really tough.
He caught me off guard coming with the clinch as much as he did.
Eddie is a young guy. He has a bright future here.”
Faber
found his stride in round two, as he delivered his first takedown
and attacked with elbows from the top and standing-to-ground
punches from inside his foe’s guard. He carried his momentum
into the third, where his quick hands began to take their toll
on Wineland. “The California Kid” sealed it with a
takedown with a little more than a minute remaining.
“You
don’t know how fast or how powerful someone is until you
get right in front of them, so I was gauging that,” Faber
said. “I felt comfortable standing in front of him and then
tagging him defensively. I would have liked to have gotten the
finish, guys. I’ll be back, and I’ll be stronger than
ever.”
Afterward,
Faber set his sights on UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz,
a man he has already beaten.
“I’m
coming to get that UFC belt,” Faber said. “Dominick,
if you’re out there, hide your kids, hide your wife and
hide that UFC belt, baby, because I’m coming to get it.”
Miller
handed Shalorus his first loss.
Miller Stops ‘Prince of Persia’
Surging
lightweight contender Jim Miller stopped previously unbeaten
WEC import Kamal Shalorus on third-round strikes in a 155-pound
showcase. The world-ranked Miller, moving into position to challenge
for the UFC lightweight crown, has pieced together an impressive
seven-fight winning streak.
“That’s
seven in a row in arguably the toughest division in the UFC,”
Miller said. “I’m ready [for a title shot]. I come
in here and I fight my heart out.”
Miller
picked apart Shalorus with clean, technical strikes, but it took
some time to chop down the rugged Texas-based Iranian. The AMA
Fight Club representative spent more than half the second round
on Shalorus’ back after a successful single-leg takedown,
working for a choke.
“Kamal
is as tough as a coffin nail,” Miller said. “I hit
him so hard. I might have cracked something in my hand. He’s
got a hard head.”
Shalorus
survived, but his outing took a turn for the worse in the third.
The 27-year-old Miller connected with a beautiful uppercut and
backed it up with a ringing knee that realigned his foe’s
nose. Follow up punches went unanswered, and the referee intervened
on Shalorus’ behalf. Miller owns a 9-1 mark in the UFC.
Marquardt
Decisions Miller
One-time
UFC middleweight title contender Nate Marquardt took care of
business against a game but overmatched Dan Miller, as he outpointed
the former International Fight League champion en route to a
clear-cut unanimous decision. All three judges scored it 30-27
for Marquardt, who won for the 10th time in 14 Octagon appearances.
Marquardt
fought through a pair of guillotine attempts and a bloodied lip.
The 31-year-old Grudge Training Center representative utilized
a multi-pronged standup attack, made Miller pay when they went
to the ground and peppered his foe with one straight right after
another throughout their 15-minute encounter. By the time the
fight reached the third round, blood was streaming down the left
side of Miller’s face.
A
former middleweight King of Pancrase, Marquardt entered the cage
in need of a victory, having lost two of his last three bouts.
The Lander, Wyo., native was originally scheduled to meet Yoshihiro
Akiyama, who withdrew from the event after a catastrophic earthquake
and tsunami struck Japan on March 11.
Schaub
Right Takes Out ‘Cro Cop’
“The
Ultimate Fighter” Season 10 finalist Brendan Schaub stuck
another important feather in his cap, as he knocked out Mirko
“Cro Cop” Filipovic with a clubbing right hand 3:44
into the third round of their featured heavyweight scrap.
Schaub
and Filipovic spent a significant portion of their encounter
in the clinch, trading blows and positions. Schaub, the larger
man and the superior athlete, delivered takedowns in every round
and more than held his own standing against the 2006 Pride Fighting
Championships open weight grand prix winner. Schaub did not escape
the bout unscathed, as Cro Cop opened a cut on his left eyelid
and bloodied his nose with a nice close-quarters elbow.
“I
just keep getting more and more experience,” Schaub said.
“I got to showcase my wrestling in this one, because Mirko
is so dangerous [standing].”
Round
three seemed to be following a similar pattern, until Schaub
felled the Croatian with a right hand behind the ear. Cro Cop
fell awkwardly onto his shoulder, his right arm pinned behind
his back, and Schaub polished him off with another right on the
ground.
“That’s
what we were drilling all day in camp,” Schaub said. “I
wanted to get him to kick. He didn’t kick that much, but
it paid off in the end.”
Source: Sherdog
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